A Roadtrip through South Carolina with Atlanta Food & Wine

We recently had the most amazing time in South Carolina, as I’m sure you can recall from our posts on Instagram and Snapchat (username WAITINGONMARTHA).  Coming back from the whirlwind of a trip (we were gone 10 days in total), I was officially convinced that South Carolina is probably my (second) favorite state.  With its incredible geographical delights, drool-worthy food and great drivability from us here in the A, it makes for a wonderful getaway and worthwhile trip – however long you can go.  

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival teamed up with our friends at Discover South Carolina and Lexus to send us on a food-and-drink filled 3 days-2 night road trip.  And man, the itinerary was GOOD.  There’s a lot to cover, but in today’s post, we’re talking about where to visit in Greenville. 

First on our itinerary was Six & Twenty Distillery, where founders David Raad and Robert “Farmer” Redmond welcomed us with open arms after a morning of road tripping north from Atlanta.  David and Farmer’s passion for their craft was apparent from the second we walked through their doors; we had a wonderful time hearing about their unique process in making a variety of handcraft whiskies, bourbon gin and vodka. The homemade touch was obvious with everything we saw (and tasted!); every bottle was meticulously filled, hand corked and labeled on site, and the batches of bottles were numbered and personally signed. The team left with t-shirts and bottles of Six & Twenty’s crowd favorite, Carolina Cream, in tow. 

We were enamored with the story behind the Six and Twenty name too.  Legend has it that before the Revolutionary War, a Choctaw woman was captured by the Cherokee and made a slave. She overheard the Cherokee’s attack plans for the trading post where her British lover lived. She escaped captivity to warn him of the looming danger, and traveled 96 miles to save him. She set geographical points along the way, based on her distance from the Cherokee village.  The distillery is located approximately 26 miles from the original village, giving it its name! Check out more on this love story that made history (and one heck of a great name for a distillery). 

Next on the itinerary: lunch at Grits & Groceries, which is located at Saylors Crossroads at the junction of 185 and 284.  Its closest town is a little place called Belton, about 30 minutes away. As we pulled up, we found cars lining both of th roads, seemingly at the only establishment around.  We knew we were in for a treat seeing how busy it was in the middle of the day.  We grabbed Bloody Mary’s at the outside bar and eagerly waited what we knew would be a feast to remember.  And we were right; Chef Heidi Trull sent out her fried country ham balls with homemade pepper jelly (AMAZING) and we scarfed them down in practically one bite.  When the place cleared up a bit, Chef Heidi sat us right at the bar so we could have a front-and-center view of the kitchen.  She then went and served us the royal treatment, bringing out samplings of all of her mainstays on the menu: her famous praline bacon, “Eggs Elizabeth”, fried cheese grits with tomato jam, “Three Little Piggies” sandwiches, shrimp and grits, the Palmetto Burger (possibly the best grassfed beef burger we’ve ever had with a big ole scoop of homemade pimento cheese on top), and of course (somehow we found room) for her husband Joe’s homemade fried apple pies.  I mean they had to roll us out of there, but not before they sent us on our way with more fried apple pies for later and plenty of homemade pepper jelly. 

Happy food comas set in, and we headed back to Greenville to check into the Westin Poinsett, which has a great central location in the downtown. We took a bit of a breather to reset, explore the town and gear up for dinner at the wildly popular Willy Taco Feed & Seed.  With two locations (the other in Spartanburg, SC), the “Willy” of Willy Taco, William Cribb, has knocked it out of the park with this full-service, upcycled cantina concept.  This location in particular is inside a renovated, historic Feed & Seed building that’s had a special place in Greenville residents’ hearts.  The owners did a fantastic job staying true to the historical details, while ushering in cool, modern details that fit the funky vibe. And on the menu: a great mix of conceptual tacos, burgers, sandwiches, salads, house-made chips and fresh juice margaritas. The vibe was electric and funky; people everywhere happy to be there, joining friends for a few drinks at the bar and noshing on some impressive taco creations at the tables. 

 This wasn’t our first time in Greenville, and it certainly won’t be our last.  We absolutely adored having this chance to see more of this great town, and highly suggest these spots if you’re wondering where to visit in Greenville.  A big thanks to AFWF, Discover SC and Lexus for showing us a few more must-visit gems, and introducing us to new faces and friends that we’ll be sure to seek out come June at the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival!  Stay tuned for our recap of Day 2 and 3, where we stopped in Columbia, Beaufort and Hilton Head.  Amazing lineup, right?!  Truly, MKR

P.S. Next time in Greenville and Traveller’s Rest, we’re hoping to check these off the list: Dark Corner Moonshine, Copperhead Mountain Distillery, Quest Brewing, Brewery 85, Grape and Grains of Greenville, Swamp Rabbit Trail Brewery and Blue Ridge Brewing Company.  Spread out, in moderation, of course! xo