The Beautiful College Of Charleston Hosted BarcampCHS And After Party At the Mynt

This was my first detailed walk around the campus of the beautiful College of Charleston. The historic aspects of the city of Charleston and its charm flow onto the campus naturally like a wave to a beach and never misses a beat. It is an elegant blend of the old with the new. I was on the campus for the annual Barcamp.

The College of Charleston was founded in 1770. It is the oldest educational institution south of Virginia, and the 13th oldest in the United States. Three of its founders were signers of the Declaration of Independence and another three were framers of the U.S. Constitution. It offers learning experiences in business, science, teaching, the humanities, languages and the arts.

When you enter the stone archways of Porter's Lodge from George Street you are treated with the grand spectacle of the College's oldest building, the Randolph Hall. It is a humbling experience when you exit the archway and the grand hall comes into view. Stately live oak trees, draped with Spanish moss, shade the brick walkways of Randolf Hall and throughout the main campus. You can see the history. You can feel the history. Its at every corner you turn, it is in every alley you walk, and every iron gate you pass through.

The college has an interesting tradition that sets it apart from other learning institutions. Students, upon completing their undergraduate degrees at the College of Charleston do not wear robes or caps for the spring commencement ceremony. Instead, women students wear white dresses and men wear white dinner jackets each spring at graduation.

BarcampCHS is all about participation. It is all about opportunity. An opportunity for local area techies, developers, designers, and entrepreneurs to share ideas. When I arrived in Charleston, the streets around the campus were crowded. Since I was not familiar with the campus, I had to solicit some directions from various students. Thank goodness for students with smart phones. I immediately began to take pictures. I registered at the Physicians Auditorium and received a bag of swag containing a t-shirt, stickers from sponsors, writing tablets, and ear jacks for plug-ins. I hit the jackpot. I got two t-shirts.

Then, there was the opportunity for attendees to pitch their ideas and we all voted on what sessions we would be interested in attending. A schedule was posted of the winning sessions with the building, room number, and time. Pizza, snacks, and an assortment of refreshments were available to grab as you went from building to building, room to room. The pizza tasted like cheese and sauce on cardboard, but what the heck, it was free. Coastal Coffee Roasters of Summerville, one of the sponsors of the event, provided the coffee, hands down the best in the Lowcountry.


In between sessions, I walked around the campus and took more pictures. There was a robot shooting baskets in front of the Honors College building. An old, black clock nearby caught my attention. It is living relic of the college's glorious history. I walked to the entrance on George Street, admired the huge iron gate used to secure the grounds. A horse carriage loaded with tourists sauntered past. The live oaks along the walkways were huge and their canopy of leaves only allowed the suns rays to penetrate in select places. The final session I attended demonstrated how to get free stuff on the Internet. College students are very creative when it comes to finding ways to earn extra money, especially those in the computer sciences.

The after party was at the Mynt, a fairly new bar/nightclub on Calhoun Street. The Mynt's interior is dominated by the richness of wood and a ceiling accented with colorful lighting and symmetrical shapes. The seating is spacious and the bar area covers a good portion of one wall decorated with ceiling high shelving framed in squares with soft blue lighting. It features appetizers with sandwiches and wraps. The party was on their outside patio. If you were a sponsored attendee you received a free Holy City glass and unlimited Holy City beer. I was not, so no freebies for me. Still, the atmosphere was great, the nighttime weather on the patio pleasant, and it was fun. If you are in town, check out the Mynt for some late night entertainment and refreshment.

82 Queen And A Historic Carriage Ride-Completely Charleston During Charleston's Restaurant Week

It was a beautiful day for a Charleston carriage ride. It would be Keri's first. We selected Old South Carriage Tours to be our guide and purchased the tickets for $22 each. While waiting to board our carriage, we spent time talking with one of the guides about the horses and met Samson, a massively large gelding, 22 hands tall. Samson at first was attentive but after awhile became bored with our conversation and went to lean against one of the walls in his stall. It was time to board the carriage.

The guide introduced herself and informed us of our horses name, Dave. We pulled out onto the road and headed to the area where a machine randomly selects a colored ball. The colored ball drawn denotes the route the guide must take to regulate carriage traffic in any given location in the city. Ours was a red ball. Our carriage would be traveling to the Battery starting at Mills House Hotel, winding through White Point Gardens and back.

The guide was very entertaining and informative. I give her high marks. Dave didn't like making the scheduled stops and would push the carriage backwards to express his disapproval. After doing this tour repeatedly through the day you would probably feel the same way. The tour reached its conclusion. It was picture time. Keri, an experienced equestrian and horse lover, posed with Dave. We moved on and took a brief walk on King Street where Second Sunday had just come to an end. It was now time to walk to our restaurant destination on Queen Street, our Restaurant Week selection.

No landscaped walkway leading to a large porch and entrance greets you on arrival, no huge sign displaying its name. Two brass numbers on the street wall are all you have to go on aside from a tiny sign on the opened gate. If you are not paying attention you could unknowingly walk right past it and end up on busy King Street. It is 82 Queen. It can't get any simpler. The restaurant's address is its name.

Looking in from the street, you look up a narrow, beautifully landscaped alleyway. Alleys are common features in Charleston and part of its picturesque charm. At the end we could see a couple of well-dressed young ladies and after navigating the alley, we discovered they were the hostesses for the restaurant. We informed them of our 5:45pm reservation. With reservation confirmed, one of them asked what our preference would be, inside or out. Since it was a beautiful night, we said outside. The hostess led us on our way to the table. The outside dining area was a large white-trellised patio with green plants growing everywhere. Tables were strategically placed to maximize space. Overhead fans kept the area cool and comfortable.

 

Shortly after being seated we were brought the bread. Keri pointed to the four pieces and we both smiled. The amusement had to do with a previous visit to another restaurant where they only brought us out three pieces of bread, emphasis on "only". If you want to know why that was amusing, read my article about 82 Queen's neighbor restaurant the Husk.

Sonia, our server, greeted us next and handed us the menu. She gave a summary of each selection and took our drink order. I chose the Firefly Fruit Cocktail and my company, a wine person, picked Folonari Pinot Grigio. No surprise. We were undecided about our selections and took a little time. We sipped the drinks and Keri engaged in the traditional 'taste your drink' practice. She said, "I taste ice tea." I disbelievingly said, "Are you sure, I only saw vodka and fruit juices on the list of ingredients." "Nope, there's ice tea," she confidently reconfirmed. Well, the controversy needed settling. Ice tea is as common to Charleston as Rainbow Row, but in a vodka drink? I questioned the server on her return and she retrieved the drink list. The list of ingredients read: Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, Monin pomegranate mix, cranberry juice, lemonade. Firefly is a local distillery on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina and the tea comes from the Charleston Tea Plantation; a pure southern blend through and through. It's a good thing I didn't bet the house.

It was time for our 3 for $30 selections. First choice was She Crab Soup laced with Sherry. I may get in trouble with the locals for saying this, but I have been in Charleston for seven years and this was the first time I ordered she crab soup. What better place than 82 Queen for this first. It was superb and the Sherry a refreshing touch. No wonder it is called award winning. For our second selection, I chose the Barbados Style Fish Tostada and Keri picked Grilled Pork Chop. Barbados Style Fish Tostada consisted of the catch of the day with mild red chili sauce on baby greens, crispy tortilla, grilled pineapple, black bean salsa, Cilantro Lime Sour Cream. The chili sauce and salsa added a pleasant tomato taste, not too spicy. The fish wasn't anything extraordinary. I had no clue what specie it was and I didn't ask. Keri gave the pork chop a thumbs up. I liked the caramelized plantains from her dish. Key lime pie was the dessert.

Barbados Style Fish Tostada

Grilled Pork Chop

The whole staff from the front end to the server were professional. Sonia was very hospitable and very attentive, did everything with a pleasant smile. There was one issue but the management went above and beyond to correct it. The outside restaurant atmosphere was beautifully Charleston. Although I did not get to see the main dining area, I am sure it was equally enjoyable. It was Charleston Restaurant Week, so it was a 3 for $30 deal with a total bill of $86. The Pinot Grigio was $8 a glass and the Firefly Fruit Cocktail was $10. Reservations are suggested but from what I saw they will not turn away walk-ins. We saw a walk-in in the beginning and bumped into them leaving. 82 Queen is one address you will need to check out if for any reason, at least for the she crab soup. If you are feeling festive, order a Firefly Fruit Cocktail and clink your glasses to the number one destination in the nation and its top restaurants. Celebrate Charleston.