The South Carolina Restaurant That’s Worth Crossing State Lines For

For those traveling through South Carolina, they're often blown away by just how delicious, diverse, and famous South Carolina's cuisine is. From old-school barbecue to low country specialties to modern gastropubs, you could spend weeks in Charleston alone and never run out of spots to eat —but there's one restaurant in South Carolina that has been getting more buzz than any other. Those who visit the Michelin-recommended FIG say this modern-day southern restaurant isn't just worth a spot when you're in town, it's worth a visit from anywhere in the country.

So what sets this restaurant apart? There are thousands of southern restaurants in the region that make their name for delicious food, but few put as much effort into seasonal, locally-influenced food that celebrates the bounty of the region. The menu changes regularly at FIG, so no visit is the same, and the food here is the perfect combination of classically influenced and stylishly modern. I know I'll be eating here on my next trip through the Palmetto State, but I may be tempted to speed up that visit after looking at some of these dishes!

Why This Restaurant Is Worth Traveling For

The true potential of southern food isn't always obvious to outsiders. While they certainly think it's delicious — who doesn't love fried chicken, barbecued ribs, and banana pudding, after all? — It's hard to get them to cross the threshold into seeing it as fine dining. That's why I'm always happy to see a place like FIG, an acclaimed restaurant in downtown Charleston with an official mention from the Michelin guide, making a name for itself.

The Highlights You Cannot Miss

FIG is one of the most upscale restaurants in the area, and one where every dish has an enormous amount of thought put into it. Local ingredients are frequently used, and humble ingredients are transformed into complex plates. Just look at this gorgeous plate of smoked mackerel with trout roe over Napa cabbage and chopped egg, a frequent specialty.

Coming from the New York area, I'm used to restaurants of this caliber locking you into a prix fixe or tasting menu for the full experience. FIG is an à la carte restaurant, though, with comparably reasonable pricing. The entrees will always look delicious, but if the restaurant has a signature dish, it has to be anything involving the famous suckling pig when available.

The menu is seasonal and changes frequently with the seasons and the chef's creativity, but you'll see those local influences everywhere. This dish takes the flavors of key lime pie and transforms it into a composed bowl involving ice cream, toasted marshmallow, and a deconstructed graham cracker crust.

What to Know Before You Go

It's the little things that stand out here, like the fact that they'll use local Carolina Gold rice as side dishes and as the base for an upscaled rice pudding. The restaurant has a refined casual dress code and is open Tuesdays to Saturdays every week. Open since 2003, it's made itself an indispensable part of the South Carolina dining scene.

Have you dined at this acclaimed southern restaurant in South Carolina before? If not, tell all your foodie friends about this unique restaurant and plan a visit! You can see the current menu on the FIG website, and the FIG Facebook page is full of delicious images of the newest dishes. Of course, if you want to compare FIG's take on modern southern cuisine to another Charleston legend, you'll want to pay a visit to Husk and try their world-famous cornbread.

Are you planning a foodie trip around the country? This should definitely be on your list — and so should all the other entries on Only in Your State's list of the best restaurants in the USA.