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EATING THE SOUTHEAST CIRCUIT: Miami, Charleston, Hilton Head, Savannah, Nashville and Asheville
30
items Six cities I work, and places I've actually sat down and eaten in all of them. Some are for a buyer dinner, some are for the night you're on your own and don't want another hotel bar burger. Reservation situation is in the notes where it matters, bec...
Map
Sections
6
Miami
Charleston
Hilton Head
Savannah
Nashville
Asheville
Miami
Behind an unmarked door in Wynwood, which impresses a buyer who thinks they've seen everything. Omakase, a handful of seats, and the reservation is the hard part - get on it weeks out, not days. Not somewhere to talk business. Somewhere they'll remem...
Hiden
Two stars, and the only place in Florida carrying them. Counter seating, so you watch the pass all night and it does half the entertaining for you. Save this one for the account that just doubled its order, because it is not a casual number.
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Five seats on Brickell Key and one seating a night. No menu, no choices, the chef decides when you're done. Book months out. I'd take one buyer here and never a group - it's too close-quarters for a table of four making small talk.
Naoe
Keller's room in the old Surf Club in Surfside, and it feels like 1950s Miami without wearing a costume. Continental cooking, tableside service, a room where a long dinner doesn't feel long. This is the one for the older buyer who is unimpressed by a...
The Surf Club Restaurant
Starr's steakhouse in Bal Harbour and the newest of these. Steakhouse means nobody at the table ends up stuck with something they didn't want, which matters more on a work dinner than people admit. Loud, busy, and you can get a table of six through i...
Slim's
Charleston
Tasting menu with a Michelin star, and small enough that it never turns into a production. This is the approachable end of fine dining - you can bring somebody who doesn't eat out much and they won't feel like they're being tested. Reserve well ahead...
Wild Common
Spanish, small plates, and the easiest room on this list to actually enjoy. Shared plates keep a dinner moving and stop it turning into four people staring at their own entrees. Good wine list without a lecture attached to it.
Malagón
The Charleston standby, and it earns it. This has been the answer to where should we eat in this town for years. Not trying to shock anybody, just does everything properly and sends you out happy. If I only get one dinner in Charleston, it's usually ...
FIG
Seafood, whatever came in that day, and a menu that changes constantly. The reservation is genuinely the hardest in Charleston, so plan around it or don't count on it. Worth the effort - this is the one people ask me about afterwards.
Chubby Fish
Southern cooking in an old house on Queen Street, and the building does a lot of the work. Everything on the menu comes from the South, which is a gimmick that happens to produce good food. Tourists know about it, which is fine - it's still good.
Husk
Hilton Head
French bistro, handwritten menu, and the most loved room on the island for good reason. Been there forever and doesn't chase anything. If you're on Hilton Head for work and want one good dinner, this is it. Book it, because the locals fill it.
Charlie's L'Etoile Verte
French bistro, and about the highest-rated room on the island. The bistro format is the point - it still cooks properly at a late seating, which matters on Hilton Head where plenty of kitchens quietly give up after nine. Easier to get into late than ...
Chez Georges Bistro & Bar
The expensive one, and the room knows it. Steakhouse, which means nobody at the table ends up stuck with something they didn't want. Save it for the dinner that's meant to feel like an occasion - it is a lot of money for a Tuesday.
Bowdie's Chophouse
Steak without the chophouse price tag, and rated as high as anything on the island. More tavern than dining room - darker, easier, less performance. This is the one when you want a proper steak and not the show that usually comes with it.
Crane's Tavern
Italian, mid-price, and the easiest of the island's good rooms to just get into. Works whether it's a buyer or you on your own after a long day. This is the one I use when I don't want the evening to become a production.
Ombra Cucina Italiana
Savannah
An eighteenth century pink mansion downtown, and yes it's the tourist answer, but the food holds up and the building is genuinely something. Buyers who have never been to Savannah want to see this one. Book ahead, always - the tavern downstairs is th...
The Olde Pink House
Old bank building, Southern cooking done without ceremony. This is where I go once I've already done the historic-mansion dinner and want somewhere that feels like a normal restaurant with very good food. Easier to get into than the downtown names, t...
Cotton & Rye
This is a morning entry, not a dinner one. Australian-run, and the best coffee and breakfast downtown - where I eat before appointments rather than in a hotel lobby. The lavender mocha sounds ridiculous and people order it twice.
The Collins Quarter
Lunch only, communal tables, no reservations, and a line down the sidewalk. Family style Southern food passed around a table with strangers. Not a business lunch - go on your own, get there early, and treat the line as part of it. Cash is easiest.
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room
Built into an old train car, and a lot less stuffy than the historic-house dinners Savannah is known for. This is where I go when I don't want another candlelit mansion. Casual enough to walk into, interesting enough that it still feels like you pick...
STRANGEBIRD SAVANNAH
Nashville
French and Basque, and the most talked-about room Nashville has had in a while. It deserves it. Small, so the reservation matters. This is the one for a dinner where the food is supposed to be the event rather than the backdrop.
Junior
The splurge night. Steakhouse, service that knows what it's doing, and the room carries a dinner that's meant to feel like an occasion. Book this one in advance - along with the Olde Pink House in Savannah, it's the reservation on this whole list you...
Harper's
Spanish tapas, and the food-first pick in this city. Shared plates keep a dinner moving instead of four people staring at their own entrees, which makes it the easy call for a table that can't agree on anything. Near-perfect reviews and it earns them...
The Iberian Pig
In the Gulch, which makes it easy if your hotel is downtown and you don't want to fight for a cab. American grill, wood fire, and the kind of room that works for a buyer dinner without feeling like you're trying too hard. Book it - the Gulch fills up...
The Finch
12South, and the one on this list I'd send you to before a full day of appointments rather than after. Bakery side plus a real kitchen - the pastries are the reason the line exists, but the eggs and the sandwiches hold up. No reservation, so go early...
Butter Milk Ranch
Asheville
Spanish tapas downtown, and the reason a lot of people found out Asheville is a food town. Bar seating in front of the kitchen is the best seat in the house. Shared plates, so it works for a group that can't agree on anything.
Cúrate Bar de Tapas
On N Lexington downtown, so you can walk to it from most of the hotels. Small French room, properly done, and a short menu - which I take as a good sign every time. This is the Asheville dinner for a night you want something quieter than the brewery ...
Le Parisien
College Street, right in the middle of downtown, so it's a walk from wherever you're staying. Small room and a menu that isn't trying to do everything, which is usually the tell. This is my table-for-one Asheville spot - in and out without the two-ho...
JAZMIN
Coxe Ave in the South Slope, in a little yellow building you cannot miss. Venezuelan, counter service, and the arepas are the whole point. This is a lunch, not a dinner - it's what I grab between appointments when I've got forty minutes and don't wan...
Little Chango
Biltmore Ave downtown, and the one on the Asheville list I'd book for a buyer. Craft food and cocktails in an old building with the room to match - it reads like you put thought into it without being precious. Reserve on a weekend. Asheville downtown...
Chestnut