Gail Simmons, a judge on Bravo’s hit cooking show Top Chef, had never set foot in Charleston before filming the show’s 14th season, currently airing on Thursday nights. Yet she was quickly besotted with the city. “I love how tropical it felt,” says the culinary expert, who was raised in Canada and now lives in New York. “We shot there in May and June and the whole city was covered in palmetto trees.
“I also loved the food. I learned so much about Southern hospitality and culture shooting there. And I tried so many dishes native to the area that you really can’t find anywhere else (or aren’t nearly as good elsewhere), from tomato pie to Perloo, She-Crab soup, Hoppin’ John and of course, boiled peanuts. I was amazed at how genuine and kind everyone was to us—eager to share their stories and their unique culinary history.”
During breaks from overseeing the show’s 16 contestants—split, for the first time, between rookies and returning veterans—Gail tried out plenty of Charleston restaurants. Quite a few of them made it into the list of favorite Southern restaurants she shared with us here:
Gail Simmons’ 16 Favorite Southern Restaurants
1. Blackberry Farm in Wallund, TN (See our feature on Blackberry Farm here.)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNejdmwjBty/?taken-by=blackberryfarm
2. Compère Lapin in New Orleans (Chef is Top Chef finalist Nina Compton.)
3. DAI DUE in Austin
4. FIG in Charleston (See our feature on FIG here.)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBVuf0-L-Kz/?taken-by=eatatfig
5. The Florence in Savannah (Chef is Top Chef judge Hugh Acheson.)
6. Hattie B’s Hot Chicken in Nashville
7. Hog & Hominy in Memphis
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNSo4NfhC6f/?taken-by=hogandhominy
8. Husk in Charleston & Nashville (See our feature on Husk here.)
9. Leon’s Fine Poultry & Oysters in Charleston
10. La Petite Grocery in New Orleans (Chef is Top Chef contestant Justin Devillier.)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNzz1AqgE7M/?taken-at=665474
11. Lonesome Dove in Fort Worth
12. Olamaie in Austin
13. Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta
https://www.instagram.com/p/BM9lzfmDj2j/?taken-by=restauranteugeneatl
14. Seewee Restaurant in Awendaw, SC
15. Willa Jean in New Orleans
16. The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene in Charleston
https://www.instagram.com/p/BM4bk7Xhnnx/?taken-at=2575306
You can catch Top Chef every Thursday at 9/8c – only on Bravo.
