I love cousin Brad. Brad goes out of his way to make you feel welcome, entertained, well-fed and above all loved. Last year, I visited Cousin Brad in at his home in St Petersburg, Florida. Outside my Japanese family, I’ve never been made to feel more cared for through the thoughtfulness (and abundance) of each meal.

I’m in Charleston for Cousin Brad’s son Zach’s wedding. I mentioned in my last post how amazing the food scene in Charleston is.  I had formulated a Charleston itinerary that included many food adventures, but the purpose of my visit was to attend a wedding. And what a beautiful wedding it was.

Driving into the Boon Hall Plantation

Ceremony on the Boon Hall Cotton Dock

Congrats Zach and Ariana!

After the wedding, (and an evening of tearing up the dance floor), people were hungry for a (way-past) midnight snack. There was only 1 choice in everyone’s minds…

The Butcher & Bee is open for lunch and late night, and lucky for us, our group of 15 was able to squeeze together around one of their big tables. In true Brad style, he took care of the ordering. I had an inkling about what was about to happen, but wasn’t able to get the thought out before Brad had set me up under one of the lights in the dimly lit restaurant to snap photos of the food coming out. Oh yeah… In addition to all of the wonderful things I’d mentioned about Brad at the start of this post, he’s also one of callmeafoodlover’s most enthusiastic supporters.

Buffalo fries with blue cheese sauce and celery

Devilled egg with ham, dijon and parsley

WIngs – double fried and spicy

Fried rice with veggies, miso and a fried egg

Korean BLT – Lettuce wrap with crisp pork belly, ssam sauce and green tomatoes

Pork cheek torta with salsa verde, avocado and onion-cilantro

Egg sandwich with pimento cheese and caramelized onion

I was getting so hungry watching all the plates of food being carefully placed in front of me to shoot and then being whisked away to the long table of hungry people. I needed to switch modes from observer to participant, so I sat down to enjoy all the food being passed around the table.

My original inkling proved correct. Brad had ordered 1 of everything on the menu (minus the hummus). Although I didn’t photograph the double-double cheeseburger or pork and eggplant bahn mi’s, we had those as well.

We were cutting the sandwiches into 1/8’s to start, to ensure that everyone got a taste of everything, but then saw that there were multiples of the multiples being passed around the table and the 1/8’s became 1/4’s and 1/2’s. I was happy that I got to have a 1/2 of the egg sandwich which was definitely my favourite.

After sampling all of the menu (minus the hummus), I can say with confidence that everything is very good. Butcher & Bee does late night dining right. Deliciousness coupled with just the right about of fat to soak up the alcohol in our stomachs.

Thanks Cousin Brad for spoiling me once again!

 Butcher & Bee: 654 King St, Charleston, SC