Locals vs. Yokels: a Charleston Dining Dilemma
October 01, 2009
If you have ever driven down Meeting Street in downtown Charleston on a weekend day or evening, you have seen the throng. The anticipation is palpable as the crowd of people lines up outside a very famous local seafood restaurant. From open to close, 11 to 11, folks wait for the chance to sit at tables decorated with little plaques dedicated to the celebrities that have sat before them.
And by folks, I mean tourists. Because, even though this particular restaurant has earned praise from AAA, Mobil, Frommer's, and Conde Nast,we Charleston locals all “know” that it's a “tourist spot.”
I haven't eaten at this particular Charleston seafood restaurant in a few years. And, admittedly, the three times I have been were all before I lived here. (Coincidentally, I sat at the Lindsay Wagner table each time.) I recall telling folks I had just returned from Charleston, and they would immediately ask whether or not I had eaten at this place!
Now, as a Resident, it's suddenly taboo? Sure, tourists are the cause of much of my angst when I drive in downtown Charleston, whether I am behind them going 5mph or when they constantly get trapped in the right turn lane when they want to go straight. But does this mean they don't know good seafood? Do we assume that tourists choose a restaurant for its event value over the quality of the dining experience? Are they just yokels, or we Residents just need to get over ourselves?
I know what I think…but what's your take? Have you hugged a tourist today?
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