Category: Eats

The new James Island Duke’s BBQ on Folly Rd opened up while I was away at Dragon*Con so I missed being one of the first to try it out.

Duke’s occupies what used to be a Captain D’s, so it’s not very large inside. The first thing you see walking inside is the buffet line. $10 for the all you can eat buffet (including a drink). The selection is pretty standard: hash, rice, pulled pork, fried chicken, veggies, desserts.

The BBQ is pretty good here. Not quite as good as some of the other places I’ve been, but pretty darn tasty. I’m sure it will only improve over time. The fried chicken was also very tasty. I can also say that out of all the BBQ places I’ve been to in Charleston, this place has the best mac and cheese around.

There are 3 sauces to choose from: hot and mild mustard, and vinegar. The sauces are located above the buffet, so if you forget you’ll have to go back to the line. I went for the vinegar sauce this trip and thought it was pretty good. Nicely tangy without having too much of that harsh vinegary taste you sometimes get with vinegar based sauces. Goes quite well with the pulled pork. A loaf of bread is provided on each table to go along with your BBQ.

Duke’s already seems to have developed a following and was pretty busy inside when I stopped by for dinner on Tuesday. There was also a steady stream of cars driving around to the take-out window. It’s walking distance (a longish walk) from my house and on the way home from work, so it will probably end up being a place I go to more often than I should.

Rocket corn dog, chili dog and fries from Jack’s Cosmic Dogs on James Island

Finally made it out to Closed for Business again for two things: Coast beer night and to try the poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy).

This is what I got.

There were the fries, and the cheese curds but instead of the gravy I was expecting (which melts the cheese curds in to a delicious ooey gooey mess), the plate was topped with shredded beef (which melted the cheese curds into a nice ooey gooey mess). Not quite the poutine I was expecting, but very tasty nonetheless.

Went pretty well with the Coast HopArt IPA too.

Ultimate BLT

I first developed a taste for Korean food during my stay in Detroit, so I was very happy to discover Kim’s when I first moved to Charleston.

Kim’s is located in West Ashley on Old Towne Rd in a building that almost looks like it belongs in an alpine setting. The interior decor, even though it’s been renovated to add Japanese hibachi and sushi, doesn’t look like much. Covered up in the middle of the tables is what used to be a small gas stove, where at one point you could grill your own meat. Can’t do that anymore though.

Don’t let appearances put you off though. The food is where the action is really at. The bul-go-gi is always excellent and hasn’t changed in the 11 years I’ve been visiting Kim’s.

I usually end up ordering the family dinner for 2 (which can really feed 3-4), which gets you the pork, chicken and/or beef bul-go-gi, rice and the usual side dishes: kim-chi, bean sprouts, vegetables thoroughly doused in red hot sauce. The pachung (green onion pancake) is usually pretty good too.

Haven’t tried the sushi bar or the Japanese part of the restaurant yet. Usually when I go it’s Korean that I want. If you want Korean food, Kim’s is the place to go.