Shout-out to Costa in Charleston. You had me at the porchetta!

One that people who don’t live in the U.S. south don’t realize is that southerners appreciate and expect great cooking more than in any other part of the U.S.

When I flew into Charleston week before last to speak at an event (for the Abruzzo consortium and the Charming Taste of Europe campaign), I went straight to my hotel, one of those corporate affairs where you’re lucky to find a bag of Doritos in the “shoppe.” Super clean and professionally managed lodging but equally anonymous and depressing.

It was around 9:30 but the hotel restaurant was still open. So, I thought, maybe maybe maybe I can get something decent to eat and a beer.

Not wanting to take any chances, I aimed low: a grilled cheese sandwich would do the trick, I thought.

To my surprise, it was probably the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had. The quality of the bread and cheese and the apple peperoncino spread were in a perfect balance of sweet and savory. What a simple but wonderful sandwich! Even the fries: no Sysco here (no offense, Sysco).

I later met the chef and his wife and found that they are proudly running an entirely independent restaurant at the otherwise anodyne hotel.

The next morning, following our seminar, I was blown away by the porchetta (above) prepared by Costa, the restaurant where we held our event.

The crust was crunchy and the pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender.

I was also impressed by the caliber of service and wine professionalism. What a great and wonderful team. Even the servers that day listened intently to my talk and had a ton of comments and questions afterward.

Costa seemed in synchronicity with the overarching quality of food and food service in Charleston. I enjoyed everywhere I ate and drank.

Shout-out and warm thanks also to the amazing Kellie Holmes who put together a wonderful group of pros for our tasting.

People on the coasts disdain us southerners. But they sure love our food when they’re here. Maybe they should take a closer look at where that food culture comes from and they should take the time out to meet and know the people that make it.