There is a place that I will always love.
A place where you can get freshly caught shrimp fried up for you only after you order it, where you can go in your bikini, strewing sand everywhere, where you can watch the sunset, and feel perfect. That place is called Bowen’s Island.
Please excuse the quality of the pictures; they are from my cellphone.
When I was a kid I would go to Bowen’s Island. Then as a teenager during the summer I would drag my friends all the way down to Folly Beach. We would run around in the sun all day, having a blast, and then right before the sun would go down we would drive out to Bowen’s. It’s on Folly Road, which if you’ve been there you know is just two lanes, surrounded by marsh on all sides, with a few turn offs. Bowen’s is on a turn off so far back the city doesn’t even do maintenance back there.
On a dirt and gravel road your car will bounce under the spanish moss until you get to… a shack. And in that shack you can take your sandy skin, flip flops, and walk right in, grab a sweet tea, sit on the dock and wait for some fried shrimp. Or oysters. Or fish. And then you will fall in love.
Since I was a kid though, the building burned down and they built a new one. It’s a bummer because as a kid I have memories of an entire wall filled with old broken TVs and those old, old walls and tables which were covered in names and dates either written in paint or sharpee or just carved in with a knife. But, all is well, the new building is still nice, with all the walls full of windows or screens looking out on the water. People are putting forth their best effort to restore it to it’s original amount of signatures.
Usually Bowen’s Island is a summer food spot for me. Without air or heat, and pretty much just a room on the dock, it’s freezing during the winter. But although it was unnaturally cold yesterday, I decided I wanted to go!
It wasn’t too bad, except it was the most crowded I’d ever seen it. I love the new bar 🙂 There was no room upstairs where there are glass windows, so we ate in the Oyster Room, which was actually nice because it was mostly locals and people who have been coming to Bowen’s for forever.
I got the Frogmore Stew which some people call Lowcountry Boil. 🙂
It’s one of my favorite Charleston dishes and its just corn, potatoes, sausage, and shrimp.
The food is always amazing. You know that it is fresh, and just came in. Jeeze, if they run out, they could just get on the boat…
but it’s not just that, or even the memories. It’s just a good vibe. Right on the water, right by the beach, people shucking oysters into bins, everyone smiling. I love it there!
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