The Wreck is a casual eatery on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston. One of the challenges on the upcoming season of “Top Chef” was filmed here. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)
“Top Chef” finally takes on Charleston, a city that’s taken Lowcountry cuisine to a new level.
5Church restaurant in Charleston, S.C., opened last year in a century-old church, but the name of the restaurant stems from the Charlotte, N.C., streets — 5th and Church — where the original eatery opened a few years ago. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)
Xiao Bao Biscuit serves delicious Asian soul food in a former gas station in Charleston, S.C. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)
Okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancake topped with “pork candy,” left) and Som Tum with Chicken (black bean fried chicken over rice and spicy papaya salad) at Xiao Bao Biscuit. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)
Chef Sean Brock opened Husk, a bastion of Southern cuisine, in 2010. “If it doesn’t come from the South, it’s not coming through the door,” the chef writes on the esteemed eatery’s website. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)
McCrady’s high-end dining room seats 18 and serves a memorable multicourse tasting menu for $125 a person. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)
A Virginia oyster floats on a bed of rocks and smoke at McCrady’s upscale restaurant in Charleston, S.C. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)
Most diners at McCrady’s are seated around a counter, where they feast on a parade of small plates that make up the lauded restaurant’s tasting menu. (Lori Rackl / Chicago Tribune)
