Very stylish crowd at Magolia; can't miss. Gin Joint is fun as well, but less stylish.

The rooftop bar at the Pavilion is also chic.

We LOVE a place up on John Street called Coast. Good food, fun crowd, good bar scene, not too dressy.

While you're up on King, consider the Cocktail Club above MacIntosh. A little more stylish than the Gin Joint, but same idea.

Exciting news -- Southern Seasons is going to open a store here in Mt. Pleasant, right in the heart of town. Opening scheduled for summer of 2013 in a building formerly occupied by a Food Lion, so space should be more than adequate.

What fun!

We had wanted to visit The Macintosh in Charleston, but we were waiting for that special occasion. Finally a birthday entered the picture, and away we went.

It started out at the bar with a very nice rum and tonic made perfectly: some nice Appleton Rum, some Jack Rudy tonic, and a splash of club soda. Yumm –

Then the fun began. The Macintosh is one of those places that has so many good things on the menu that you don’t know what to choose. We like small bites so my wife and I started by sharing the sausage plate appetizer. A stick of duck sausage and a stick of home-made Kielbasa accompanied by delicious bread-and-butter pickles, a nice whole grain mustard, and some crispy flat bread. Very good and plenty of food for two.

For my entrée, I opted for the pork belly appetizer accompanied by two sides: their bone marrow bread pudding and summer succotash. The bone marrow bread pudding lay somewhere between batter bread and Yorkshire pudding. Delish. I plated the succotash with the pork belly and it was a down-home feast.

We thought everything about The Macintosh was great: service, servers, food, ambiance. The only bad thing is that it adds complexity to the Charleston restaurant scene. The answer to “Where do you want to go for dinner tonight?” just got more complicated.

I've looked at a lot of the Tex-Mex places recommended by this board, but a lot of them don't feature tamales.

What's the best place in Dallas-Ft. Worth area for tamales?

Thanks --

Thanks for ideas on Tex-Mex, but I'm hoping to get both. I'm one of those gotta-have-it-all guys.

Pecan Lodge won't work. Rats. Sounds like great concept, but timing doesn't work.

Lockhart looks like it'll do for starters. Maybe not the BEST, but better than I can get here (except for when I make it myself).

Hi Twinwillow -- I thought it might be fun to see what shakes out. I hope everybody remains civil.

OK boys and girls, here we go!

I’m from Charleston (SC), and I’m going to be in the DFW area at the end of August for a ball game. I’ll be staying in Arlington near the stadium (although I could stay out near DFW). I’ll have a car, and I don’t mind driving a REASONABLE distance.

I’ll have a chance to eat two meals while I’m there, and I want to eat good Mexican (aka Tex-Mex) and good barbecue (brisket). Here’s my question:

If you were in the DFW area for 36 hours only, what Tex-Mex place would you want to hit? What barbecue joint (specializing in slices of brisket, not chopped brisket in sandwiches) would you hit?

I’ll probably never be in the DFW area again, so I’m looking for places that you would put on your bucket list.

Right now, Fuel City Tacos and Angelos (Ft. Worth) are on my radar.

Thanks and have fun --

Seven of us went here last night. The reservation had somehow slipped through the cracks, but the folks at Amen went ABOVE and BEYOND making things right. Way to go!

Service was great and the grilled grouper was marvelous. The corn pudding was terrific. I could make a meal of that.

Thanks to staff and servers at Amen for accommodating us and making things right. A grand time was had by all.

We like Rita's out in Folly. Unprepossessing, beachy vibe, dog friendly, good food.

There's a burger joint over in W. Ashley call Triangle Char and Bar. Not your average bear.

Glass Onion is HIGHLY recommended. Fat Hen out on Maybank Highway is also highly regarded.

No Sue-- It's down King (340 or something like that). Narrow building painted dark gray on east side of street. Stylish!

Yes -- sorry I was lazy

Went there the other night. I love Vietnamese food , and I was not disappointed. Started out with the pork belly on bun. Very tasty. Wife had pork and crab spring rolls. Also good.

But the pho was the star, and it was quite good. Served the traditional way – noodles, broth and meat in the bowl. Veggies and spicy sauces on the side to add as desired. Garnished with nice lime wedge and sliced jalapenos.

Very nice ambiance. Good selection of beers and interesting cocktails. Oh so stylish interior design and an equally stylish crowd of young folks.

Food top notch and good value for the money. Add in the ambiance and decor and I think they'll have a winner.

Russell's is at 4906 Hwy 17 Business
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

Easy to find on internet

I unequivocally recommend Russell's in Murrell's Inlet. Great seafood, great ambiance, down home. Don't go there expecting to be treated like a queen; go there expecting to be treated like a neighbor. If you get a chance, sit at the bar and watch the fun.

Russell and his wife are truly nice folks who run a good place.

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Russell's Seafood Grill
PO Box 303, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

No cheese in the grits at HG, but it's surely a personal preference. My take is that cheese in the grits would have been one MORE flavor to deal with. I'm not sure that would add a whole lot. The beauty of the HG's shrimp 'n grits is the simple ingredients that are blended together to complement each other.

Sue- I've been lurking for a while, and I always enjoy your comments. I liked my shrimp 'n grits today at Hominy Grill so much that I had to tell someone, so I signed on to Chowhound.

More later

Went to the Hominy Grill for brunch today. Good news: no wait. Better news: signature dish shrimp 'n grits was just outstanding.

It's a rare dish where the sum of the ingredients exceeds the ingredients themselves. I'm not sure what does it, but all of those flavors and textures just work wonderfully together.

I want to go back tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and ...