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Neighborhood: Outer Mount Pleasant
Price range: $$
Dish to order: Sicilian Meatballs
As Charleston metro has grown, so have the dining options, and while this might feel far flung for a tourist staying on the peninsula, if you are visiting Isle of Palms, Sullivans, or one of the thousands of people living within 10 minutes of Lola Rose, it doesn’t feel far away. Sure, it’s next to a Costco, and a little off of Highway 17, but once you enter, the clean, David Thompson-designed interior and bustling crowd reveal that this is anything but the usual strip-mall fare. Chef Kevin Johnson is no stranger to this list—his downtown restaurant, The Grocery, has never left it—so this Mount Pleasant outpost is a delicious addendum to his masterclass in Mediterranean flavors using local ingredients. There are the wood-fired pizzas he’s known for, the hummus, and the pastas with ragu or bolognese that meld into a cacophony of flavor. Chef de Cuisine Isabel Picus puts her stamp on the menu too, though, including a beautiful roasted scallop dish with fennel and orange. What results is not a carbon copy of what Johnson cooks elsewhere, but a place worth a visit on its own.
Address: 3540 Park Ave Blvd #104, Mt Pleasant, SC 29466
