I’ll just mention one thing: I don’t know if you care much for the beach, but there is no beach in the Charleston Peninsula (although there are some mud-flats-looking areas outside the Aquarium. If the beach appeals to you, you’ll need to go 20-30 minutes north or south to Sullivan’s Island/Isle of Palms or Folly Beach, respectively. Most of the places mentioned so far are in the Peninsula.
I’ll also give some personal opinions on restaurants. In my experience, restaurant recs can be meaningless, since people’s tastes vary so widely. I’ve found myself scratching my head so many times either finding someone extremely critical of a restaurant I liked or raving about one that I just didn’t “get.” Having said that, here are some thoughts:
Vickery’s: There’s one downtown, and one on Shem Creek. I’ve been only to the one on Shem Creek, and I can recommend it very highly. Bring an appetite, and save room for dessert (and that can be a challenge). ]: (Don’t let the Robert Tessier looking guy scare you. He’s one of the regulars, and they use him in just about all their promotional brochure.)
Shem Creek Bar and Grill The Shem Creek area (north of Charleston across the [Ravenel Bridge](” http://frank.itlab.us/bridge/wrapper.php?jul_14_2005_fireworks.html”) has a number of restaurants. This is one of my favorites, although, I must admit that the outside could use some touch-ups. Food quality has never been an issue, though. Popular with the locals and tourists alike.
Coconut Joes: Isle of Palms (north of Peninsula). My favorite on IOP.
Any restaurant in the Market I wish I could just spend a week in Charleston and go to every one of them. I can’t not recommend any of them. (Well there was an Applebee’s, but it went out of business. People that go to the Market usually ain’t looking for Applebee’s.)
Some other restaurants that get a lot of press:
82 Queen, slightly outside the Market: This is one of the most acclaimed restaurants in Charleston. I’ve never had a problem with the quality of the food, but if you’re not familiar with their menu, it can be a crapshoot. Some dishes have high price tags for small portions compared to stuff of the same quality elsewhere. I go to Charleston several times a year, and I haven’t been to 82 Queen since 2002.
Hominy Grill: Outside the downtown area a bit. It also gets high marks among the foodies, but I feel pretty much the same way about it as I do about 82 Queen.
Jestine’s Kitchen This is in the Market. I’ve never eaten there, but people rave about it. Nothing fancy, as I understand, just good amounts of good food at prices that won’t make your wallet say, “Ouch!”
The Wreck This is on Shem Creek, but is a real challenge to find. It’s a bit of a challenge to find the first time. It’s a little off th beaten path—not by distance, but accessibility. From the main highway, you have to twist thru a number of roads to finally arive a relatively short distance as the crow flies. The building is something to behold. There’s no sign to indicate that it’s a restaurant. In fact there’s no sign that there’s been any sign of life in the past 20 years! But there is. Good food, and they serve boiled peanuts to snack on while you wait for your food.
Hyman’s: This is practically in the Market, very close. There’s almost always a line during lunch. Why, I don’t know. The food is good, but there’s other good food nearby where you don’t have to wait in a long line. However, as with “The Wreck,” they serve you boiled peanuts to snack on, so I can’t complain too much.
