A second, okay third, visit to Magnolia's

The last time Wes and I went to Charleston we discovered Magnolia's and liked it so much we went back the same week! Okay to fully appreciate that statement, please understand that I rarely go anywhere twice, let alone in the same week! While on vacation or in a foreign city I like to try as many different places as I can. The very thought of going back to the same place twice is sacrilege to me. That alone should be a ringing endorsement for Magnolia's and make you run right to it.

The biggest problem is deciding what to order! The menu is what I would describe as fancy southern comfort food. I ordered the Shellfish Over Grits, which was superb! I will admit that I was slightly less enamoured since my culinary palate has expanded a bit since our first visit, but I still could appreciate the entree. The menu description said that my dish would include sauteed shrimp, sea scallops and lobster over creamy white grits with lobster butter sauce and fried spinach. Is your mouth watering yet? The portion was enormous but that didn't stop me from eating every bite. Both the shrimp and scallops were large and I think I got about 3 of each. There was a large piece of lobster claw meat on the top and several smaller chunks decorating the dish. The "lobster" in the butter was lost but it still made a nice creamy sauce atop the grits. The fried spinach was actually threads of crunchy spinach. I thought for sure it would be somewhat of a play on words and the spinach would just be pan sauteed (fried) but alas I was wrong.

Wes ordered a repeat of last year, the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. His was served with cracked pepper biscuits, mashed potatoes, collards greens, cream style corn and sausage herb gravy. Seriously, the plate probably weighed 20 pounds! It was overflowing with food but thankfully he didn't eat it all. He said it was as good as he remembered. The biscuits are small and since they're covered in the sausage gravy you don't really get to taste the cracked black pepper, but they're still good, a little dry, but good. The greens and the corn taste like your granny's country cookin'.

The atmosphere is elegant yet casual. We took Colin and the girls with us and no one batted an eye. Colin even screamed/grunted most of the meal and no one thought a thing of it. Of course my stomach was in knots and I inhaled my dinner, but I digress. They serve both lunch and dinner and both are equally delicious. The portions are large but hey, you're on vacation so live it up!

Rating: 4.5* (notice that I still haven't and can't give a 5)