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Charleston
It’s always a race to the finish, but I made it to the line again, crossed (or typed) all my t’s and put down my fork on this project.
Charleston’s Best Restaurants list for 2026 is live on Conde Nast Traveler, and this year, I counted 44 to be the best (which gives you 44 full reviews). I mentioned in the intro that the list gets bigger every year, and it does because this city’s restaurant scene continues to grow.
I’m truly honored to have worked on this list since 2017, and I have learned so much since that first assignment, growing along with the scene.
I’ve developed a keener eye for emerging talent and neighborhoods on the rise, learned enough about sushi to know that I need to learn a lot more, and gained even more respect for the people who do the hard restaurant work it takes to be one of the best in a city full of good eating.
And yes, there’s been a lot of eating, probably at least 1/3 of the crudo offerings in a town full of them, a banger of a roasted chicken at Kultura, frog legs that I wish Chef Bob Cook would put on the menu permanently at Edmund’s Original, and almost $40 worth of pastries by myself at Welton’s Tiny Bakeshop, just to name a few.
I hope my work will inspire you to get out there and eat, sit together and chat over whether or not you like the tartare versus the carpaccio, learn that your server likes to surf on his days off, and be thrilled that the bartender remembered your drink order from last time. I’ve never forgotten that eating out is a treat, and I hope you feel like that too if you take me up on any of these recommendations.
Updates
Podcasts
Note: All links below are for Apple Podcasts, but you can find The Southern Fork on almost any platform that streams audio, from YouTube to Spotify and many places in between.
Virginia Living included The Southern Fork in “5 Southern Food Podcasts Every Food Lover Should Hear” this month, so in honor of that, here are a couple of Virginia episodes to snack on from the archive of more than 380 interviews:
Travis Milton is a familiar figure in Southern food, having been featured in press from Tasting Table to Atlas Obsura, talking up the goodness of heirloom vegetables, whiskey, and the power of a piece of streaky pig meat in a pot of beans. But he's more than a stereotype of the Appalachian region that raised him. This chef, born in Castlewood, Virginia, honed his modernist cooking skills at WD-50 in New York City and we spoke in 2020 from at Nicewonder Farm & Vineyard in SW Virginia.
At Pakalachian, Mohsin and Katlin Kazmi blend the culinary elements of both Southwest Virginia and South Asia to produce unique, vibrant dishes that combine the comforting elements of the foods they grew up with. It was a food truck when I spoke with them, but now they have a brick and mortar too!
Other published media I like right now: Thank You, Please Come Again by Kate Medley continues to fascinate me. I had a couple of conversations with Kate while she was working on the book, so I already knew I would like it, but her photographs are truly windows into the American South I experience on the surface streets off the interstates. If you like roadtrips, this book is for you too.
Cooking soundtrack album: Sonido Cosmico, Hermanos Gutierrez
Best thing I cooked this month: Roasted okra with Kalamata olives. I can’t remember who shared this combo with me, but it’s delicious! The key is finding tender pods on the smaller size. Toss with olive oil and a little kosher salt, stud with olives and roast @ 350 for around 25 minutes.
Until next time,
Steph
FORTY FOUR!! That's heroic. You amaze me. (And I too love Kate Medley's book.)