On our last night in Charleston, we had a late-night snack at The Ordinary, a hot, new seafood hall and oyster bar located in a old bank building on King Street.  You can vaguely see the bank vault behind the oyster bar leading into the kitchen.

We had the Capers Blade and Otter Island oysters, both from local South Carolina waters.  The Otter Islands tasted similar to Blue Points, fleshy with neutral flavors.  The Capers Blades were really nice - briny, sharp and slightly metallic (we also had the Capers Blades roasted with green garlic butter at Husk).  They were served with cocktail sauce, horseradish, a regular mignonette and a delicious rhubarb mignonette.

The leeks vinaigrette were served with a screened Sea Island egg, chives and caviar.  Very nice, classic, old-school dish.

The Ordinary also had a thoughtful and diverse wine list, with a terrific selection of white wines by the glass.  This is what we had:

Claude Riffault, “Les Chailloux” Sancerre 2011.  What a delicious wine and perfect accompaniment to our meal. The wine was clean and crisp, with lively acidity and minerality.  Nice green apple and grassy flavors carried into the tangy finish.

Domaine de la Pepiere, Muscadet 2011.  Muscadet is always one of my favorite wines to pair with oysters so I was happy to see that they had one of our favorites on the wine list (we carry the Pepiere both at Hoboken and Hudson Vine).  The wine was light and crisp, with tangy apple and melon flavors and a clean finish.  The wine was perfect with oysters.

Here are some more food pics from Charleston.  We checked out this spot called the Grocery on the corner of Cannon and King.  We started with the Piggy Plate, a platter of house-made charcuterie and pickles and had a few tapas-type dishes for dinner:

Fried Oysters, Deviled Egg Sauce, Bread and Butter Pickles

Crispy Sweetbreads, Four Bean Salad, Bacon, Ranch

We're down in Charleston, SC enjoying the Lowcountry cuisine and had supper at Husk last night. We had made reservations a month prior to our vacation and scored a 6:45 pm reservation on a Tuesday night, the only time available during the week that wasn't 5 or 9 pm!  Reading up on Husk, Sean Brock's homage to all things Southern, we read that Husk was on a few food writers' list of restaurants to eat at before you die.  Without deciding whether or not Husk belongs on that list, I can tell you that supper was amazing and we can cross Husk off our bucket list.

Here are our appetizers:

Fire Roasted Caper’s Blade Oysters with Wadmalaw Green Garlic Butter.  Delicate and decadent.  Absolutely delicious.

Crudo of Charleston Rudder Fish, Ember Roasted Shiitake and Cabbage, Red Pepper – Citrus Glaze, KY Soy.  A fresh take on local fish.  The brown plate makes this dish look like a pizza, though!

“Kentuckyaki” Glazed Pig Ear Lettuce Wraps with Sweet Vinegar Marinated Cucumber and Red Onions, Benne.  This was the biggest surprise of the evening.  The ladies were nervous about the pig ears, but we all wound up loving this dish.  Nice crunchy texture, crisper than bacon, with a delicious sweet, salty glaze offset by the tartness of the pickles.

Joaquin Rebolledo, Godello 2011.  Husk's wine list is interestingly grouped by terroir and soil type.  This was a delicious Godello from Galicia in Northwest Spain.  Under the Slate category, the wine was crisp and delicious, with nice apple and pear fruit flavors underscored with flinty, mineral characteristics.  The wine complimented all of our dishes extremely well.

And the Main Courses for Supper:

Grouper from Mark Marhefka with Wadmalaw Broccoli and Spring Onion, Red Pepper Tomato Broth.  I never had grouper like this.  Expertly prepared with a rich depth of flavors.  The broccoli was delicious as well!

NC Pheasant, Pete’s Carrots and Asparagus with Roasted Vidalias, Potato Dumplings, Lemon Thyme Consommé.  Delicious pheasant, rolled and tied.  Dumplings were soft and the broth was excellent.

Heritage Pork from Adam Musick, Creamy Pit Beans with Smoky Tomatoes and Heirloom Kale.  This dish was awesome.  It was a duo of pork shoulder and belly.  The belly literally melted in your mouth.  The shoulder looked like it was cooked in chunks, formed into a terrine, sliced, then browned on the flat-top.

Pecan Tart with Bourbon Ice Cream, Sorghum Syrup and Popcorn.  Although we were stuffed to the gills, we couldn't resist the Southern staple of dessert, pecan pie.  I liked the sorghum syrup as the tart was not so sweet to make your teeth hurt.