Charleston's Hottest Cocktail Chillingly Lives Up To The Hype--Served At The Market Pavilion Hotel

Teased by the salty scent of the bay and stroked by its balmy breezes, it is indisputably a cornerstone of the ever popular French Quarter. Built on land formerly below sea level, the 19th century European grand hotel style building rises to a height of four stories on the district's busiest crossroads, the Old City Market and East Bay Street. Many of the Revolutionary War-era bottles and historic artwork that adorn its public areas and guest rooms were pulled from the seabed of the very same waters that once held it in its pluff mud embrace.

Additionally, more than 300 pieces of original art, including oil paintings of former U.S. leaders, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, are displayed throughout. Gas lanterns, mahogany foyers, crown moldings, French-style chaises, marble baths, and chandeliers hung from high ceilings recall the charm of early Charleston. While teeming with this impressive collection of historical artifacts, contemporary works have been gracefully intermingled for a successful marriage of what Charleston was once upon a time and what it is today, the number one destination in the world. This is the Market Pavilion Hotel.

On this August day, I was not at the Market Pavilion Hotel to experience its luxury accommodations. I was not there to dine at its prestigious Grill 225, famed for its steaks that are "hand-selected and wet-aged 42-50 days to ensure tender texture and unsurpassed flavor." I was not there to experience its rooftop oasis called the Pavilion Bar, complete with views of historic Charleston, a cascading pool, signature cocktails, eclectic cuisine offerings, and the city's most spectacular sunsets. I was there to revel in its "dramatic, sexy and delicious" Nitrotini--Charleston's only cocktail infused with liquid nitrogen. It is Charleston's coldest cocktail at 320 degrees below zero.

There are 33 different Nitrotinis on the menu. Jessica, the expert on duty, specially trained in the art, science and safety of the Nitrotini, helped me narrow the long list down to a couple selections by pointing out what were her personal favorites. It came down to a choice between the Champagne Nitrotini and the Pomegranate Nitrotini.

The Champagne Nitrotini is a blend of Louis Perdrier Champagne, Pomegranate schnapps and Cointreau orange liqueur, garnished with an orange slice at $18 and the Pomegranate Nitrotini is a blend of Pomegranate flavored vodka and schnapps with a splash of Pomegranate juice at $17. I tend to favor vodka as a personal choice in liquors and am fond of anything containing pomegranate. So, I went with the Pomegranate Nitrotini. Jessica artfully prepared the ingredients and carefully topped it off with the colorless, odorless, tasteless and inert liquid nitrogen cooling the concoction to a frosty -320 degrees Fahrenheit.

Immediately, the ghostly cloud of condensed water vapor reacting with the warmer air of the bar area steadily ascended above the glass and flooded over its edges onto the bar top as she set it in front of me with early jazz music playing in the background. The temptation, to immediately raise the drink to my lips, was almost irresistible, but that would have resulted in a stiff upper lip in the form of a horrific frost bite followed by the zenith of brain freezes. A warning tag on the glass instructed to simply wait 1-2 minutes for the cloud and invisible liquid nitrogen to evaporate entirely, and then enjoy responsibly, and I did just that.

Dramatic--it was absorbingly entertaining to watch the cool wisps of water vapor spill out into the air and across the bar top. Sexy--there was an alluring and titillating feel to the 'affair', pun intended. Delicious--I would say, absolutely. It is a cocktail that irrefutably lives up to the hype. In the final analysis, the Nitrotini is "Charleston's hottest cocktail minus 320 degrees" and is quite refreshing.


The Market Pavilion Hotel front bar at the East Bay Street entrance is the only place it is served (not available at the Pavilion bar on the rooftop). The spacious atmosphere of the bar area with busy East Bay Street and the majestic United States Custom House for a backdrop adds to the experience.

Renaissance Charleston Historic District Hotel-Charm And Sophistication

Charleston is renowned as a walking city. After spending the day passing through the iron gates of its most famous estates you will be looking to cool your heels and just plain chill out for the rest of the day. There is no shortage of hotels and inns to choose from when it comes to accommodations in The Holy City's Historic District. Some are former residences of Charleston's elite of yesteryear and others are renovations of old structures that once graced its cobbled streets, some with not so graceful of a past. Each establishment is ready and willing to pamper your self indulgent side and cater to your most basic traveling needs. The Renaissance Charleston Historic District Hotel provides the ultimate experience in comfort and hospitality combining traditional southern charm with modern sophistication.

This AAA Four-Diamond award winning hotel was built in 2001 and went through a massive renovation that was completed in 2008. The Renaissance Charleston has marked themselves as the hotel known for "Unlocking the Gates of History." The beautiful iron gates found throughout the city was incorporated into the decor from the carpets to small details found throughout the building. Every room has new furnishings and fully equipped with a new 32-inch, flat screen HD Television, as well as a connectivity panel, allowing users to charge and integrate all their electronic devices.

The lobby area has also been redesigned and furnished to create a central meeting place in the heart of the hotel where you can relax with a drink while making plans or talk over the days activities. The Wentworth Grill serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Lounge at Wentworth Grill offers both local and specialty cocktails with patio seating. The Hotel also has a roof top swimming pool.

It is ideally located right next to the King Street Shopping District. Three blocks away is the Old City Market. South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston City Marina, and Fort Sumter Tours are also nearby. From the Old City Market you can catch a historic carriage ride to get a quick overall exposure to the city and its history, picking out sights to come back to for a more intimate look-see. The hotel staff will be glad to help you with information pertaining to tours and places of special interest. Rates start at $238 per night on hotels.com, $219 on priceline.-Vacation Rick Travel

The Old City Market-Important To The Charleston Experience

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig, home again, home again, jiggety jig. To market, to market, to buy a fat hog, home again, home again, jiggety jog. To market, to market, to buy a plum bun, home again, home again, market is done. This nursery rhyme came to mind when I thought of writing about the Old City Market. Now I don't know about buying fat pigs, fat hogs, and plum bun, but the Old City Market originally sold foodstuffs, including meat, fish and fresh produce grown locally.

Today, the City Market is definitely the center of attention and on any given day, especially the warmer months with cruises in port and tourists in abundance, quite crowded. Many of the carriage rides begin their tours here and on both sides of the Old Market numerous specialty shops and restaurants cater to the many visitors needs and wants. Locally crafted sweetgrass baskets, clothing, artwork, jewelry, local souvenirs, perfumes, food, T-shirts, and other gift items are displayed by numerous vendors.

Coming down Meeting Street from the interstate there is no mistaking you have arrived at Old City Market because Market Hall stands out rather distintively compared to the surrounding structures. It was built in 1841 from a design by Edward Brickwell White and is a copy of the Temple of the Wingless Victory in Athens, Greece. Charles Cotsworth Pinckney ceded the land to the City of Charleston in 1788. So far his wishes that a public market be built on the site and remain in use as a public market into perpetuity has been honored. The low buildings that stretch from Market Hall to the waterfront have survived fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and bombardment.

Even now, as a resident, when taking new visitors or relatives to Charleston I invariably end up at the Old City Market like it is "Go" on the Monopoly Board. All my favorite restaurants and sites are a short walking distance. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co is there with their "Bucket of Boat Trash" and at one time offered you a chance to embarass yourself or show off your hula hoop skills at its entrance. Around the corner on East Bay Street is Southend Brewery where I stop for a sidewalk lunch and sample their great microbrews. Charleston Place, one of Charleston's finest hotel venues graces this area and also the Market Pavillion Hotel with its rooftop bar overlooking the Market where on a hot, humid evening you can catch the slight breeze coming off the bay while leisurely consuming a cool alchoholic concockshun.

The Old City Market is an intricate piece of the Charleston experience. Parking can be a challenge and patience is a must if you are looking to park on one of the streets, but there are lots and parking garages in the area as an alternative. By the way, if you see a man hosing down the street creating a sudsy, foamy looking substance, don't ask him what he is doing. Looking forward to seeing you hobnobbing around beautiful Charleston.-Vacation Rick Travel Charleston