Must See, Eat, Do in Columbia

My husband and I will be traveling to South Carolina in a couple weeks. We will probably be in the areas of Charleston, Hilton Head, Beufort, Augusta, Columbia, Orangeburg and Gaffney. I%26#39;m looking for some good old fashioned southern food resaurants, not touristy where the locals might like to go. Also looking for fun things to see or do.

Any ideas, especially from locals would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Must See, Eat, Do in Columbia

maurice bessinger%26#39;s piggy park bbq

Must See, Eat, Do in Columbia

gotta be Lizards Thicket - there is about 10 of them now, best one is on St Andrews Road. They have a website complete with menu if you want to check it out.

The North East side of town has a Live/Work/play style outdoors mall called Village of Sandhills. Lots of stores and places to eat! My wife and i enjoy Hola Mexico. They have great food that is locals only type place. Very fast service and never crowded. My self personally i don%26#39;t like lizards thicket, but just my preference.

The North East side of town has a Live/Work/play style outdoors mall called Village of Sandhills. Lots of stores and places to eat! My wife and i enjoy Hola Mexico. They have great food that is locals only type place. Very fast service and never crowded. My self personally i don%26#39;t like lizards thicket, but just my preference.

Here are Charleston-area restaurants just in case you%26#39;re not posting on the Charleston forum,...

Seewee Restaurant in Awendaw;

Boulevard Diner in Mt. Pleasant;

Long Point Grill or Mustard Seed in Mt. Pleasant;

Hominy Grill in Charleston (though it has been in the news a lot lately since the Chef won the award for best chef in the southeast);

Melvin%26#39;s Barbecue in Mt. Pleasant;

Red%26#39;s Icehouse (Not great food but a FUN FUN place) in Mt. Pleasant at Shem Creek); for ';buckets of beer'; and great views of Shrimp boats, dolphins, pelicans; outdoor live music

Gullah Restaurant, Mt. Pleasant

Welcome and enjoy!

The best bbq is at Little Pigs, although it is a bit hard to get to. http://www.littlepigs.biz/ But then everyone has their own favorite bbq restaurant. Maurice%26#39;s is good, but not even close to the best. Also Little Pigs is a buffet, so that makes it all the better--and even more %26#39;traditional.%26#39;

As far as things to do, it all depends on you. We have a really nice National Park, but being from Idaho, it might not impress you too much. But, if you are outdoorsy and can handle the mosquitos, I would definitely check out Congaree National Park http://www.nps.gov/cosw/. It%26#39;s swampy and they have guided walks and stuff like that.

Our state museum is pretty neat and although I%26#39;ve never been to it, there%26#39;s a kid%26#39;s section.

Our zoo is very nice for a city our size and really just all around. (I hate to say it, but I wouldn%26#39;t bother with the Charleston Aquarium, but I have heard GREAT things about the aquarium in Atlanta if you%26#39;re going that way.)

We have two different bar areas. The Vista is much nicer than 5 Points (and more expensive), but if you%26#39;re not a sorority girl/frat boy, I%26#39;d stick with the Vista.

Good luck, have fun! It%26#39;s hot!

I%26#39;m from Northeast Columbia and have NEVER heard of Little Pigs. Thanks for the post! I%26#39;m going this weekend and must eat there!

I just ate at little pigs last week for the first time and wasn%26#39;t the slightest bit impressed.

Many great eats in Columbia, SC. If you like good ol%26#39; southern home cookin%26#39;, go with Lizard%26#39;s Thicket (which is essentially a ';meat and three (veggie side dishes)'; joint and the barbecue kinds of places.

If you%26#39;re a foodie, you may wish to opt out of those and instead hit one of these places around town:

Gourmet Shop - great for casual lunch and people watching (outdoor seating)

Gervais and Vine - tapas selections and great wine

Solstice - one of the best new restaurants to open in Columbia in recent years (New American) - close to Village at Sandhill

Mr. Friendly%26#39;s (New American fused with Southern twist (not to be confused with the chain Friendly%26#39;s)

DiPrato%26#39;s - an upscale deli - casual and delicious

Mai Thai - GREAT new Thai place in a strip shopping center (but don%26#39;t be turned off by its placement - well worth a trip!)

Almost all of these are listed on the Restaurants in Columbia list on this site. Feel free to send me a message if you want more recommendations!

I do like barbecue and find that Hudson%26#39;s in Lexington SC (about a 20 minute drive) has the best ribs I%26#39;ve ever had. But people take their barbecue seriously around here, and we%26#39;ll all have very strong opinions about that topic. :)

Okay, if you%26#39;re really up for an adventurous, local, Southern dining experience, you can go to Shealy%26#39;s in Batesburg/Leesville. It is a buffet with barbecue, friend chicken, and all the sides that would go with that. It is not fancy at all, and the lines can be really long. Also, they are not open always, so you have to check to make sure they%26#39;re open. It is kind of a drive from Columbia, though, but it is the best fried chicken you will find, in my opinion (and that of my Yankee husband!).

http://chefmoz.org/United_States/SC/Batesburg-Leesville/Shealy%26#39;s_Bar-B-Que_House_1051364923.html

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