And most refreshing city. Ooh, strong and unusual gonna get me good tonight. Ashley roberts voiceover were getting loose in charleston, honey. [squeals] i see a dolphin Ashley Roberts voiceover and it all starts right now. [theme music] charleston, south carolina, is widely celebrated as a premier destination in not just the us but the entire world. A big part of that distinction comes from charlestons thriving culinary scene, defined by traditional southern flavors, prime local ingredients, and mouthwatering ingenuity. Narrator the cuisine down here is made with love. Its made with soul. And at hominy grill, its made to order. Under James Beard Award winning chef robert stehling, hominy has become a staple for local south carolinians and tourists alike by serving up low country flavors for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And me . Im ready to get cooking. Ashley roberts voiceover so what are we making today, robert . Were making the charleston nasty biscuit. Narrator a lightly breaded chicken breast fried until golden brown, sandwiched between a flaky, freshly baked buttermilk biscuit, a hearty sprinkling of sharp cheddar cheese, and then slathered with thick and creamy sausage gravy. The only thing thats nasty about this heavenly creation is the cholesterol. We are on the heart associations hit list, but it tastes real, real good. When making these biscuit, start with a little biscuit mix soft wheat flour, salt, and baking powder and some sugar in it. And it also has butter, shortening, and large, because i can never decide which one is best. Not a light meal, is it . No. Its a little nasty. Its nasty. Theres no such thing as a little nasty, so. How it got the name . We were going into a fast food restaurant, ordering the chicken biscuits with cheese on them. We wanted a little extra gravy on the side. And the girls behind the counter started going, oh, thats nasty. You boys are nasty. Nasty boys. And then we were like, oh i like the sound of that the charleston nasty. It took a little while getting used to. Narrator we combine a splash of whole milk to the dry ingredients and give it a good mix and a knead. So we got a nice little dough ball there. You want to roll them out for us . I totally want to roll them out. Just go back and forth. And then this way, youre looking to be about two inches tall. Like this . Yep. Great job. Oh. Its my beautiful little biscuit right there. Oh yeah, nice tray full of biscuits. Very well done. Well pop them in the oven. Narrator we assemble the beast, and then its ready to eat. All right, guys, a couple charleston nasties. Oh, here we go. Im just going to get in here. Thats really good. Its, like, soft for the biscuit, but then you have a little bit of crunch. The flavors in that gravy are amazing. Very traditional kind of Breakfast Sausage ground up. Taste the sausage. Just a little bit of chicken broth. Peppers are in there. And that chicken is like a little goodness in the middle. Is this traditional Southern Food . It is all the traditional Southern Food on one plate. All of it. And what is it about Southern Food that makes it feel good . Whats not to like about sausage and cheese and butter . Food for the heart. Good for the heart, exactly. Food for the hea oh narrator and if after that hearty helping of hominy, youve got room for another bite, youre in luck. Because in a town known for its culinary creations, youre only a few blocks away from your next delicious meal. At xiao bao biscuit, the traditional southern fare youve come to expect in charleston has evolved with chef josh walkers asianinspired flavors in the best possible way. Two biscuits walking in, steven. Narrator along with his partners, wife duolan and mixologist joey, josh is serving up small plates that feature enormously robust flavors. And youre going to want to start with their okonomiyaki, a japanese cabbage pancake topped with the optional fried farm egg, bacon, and pork candy. And when we say thats optional, we mean necessary. Thats bangin. Awesome. Oh, my god. Theres so many flavors the crunchiness and the cabbage, and the egg is creamy, that pork. Josh walker that pork candy, right . That is where its at. Wow, thats amazing. So tell how this came about, all these flavors. Josh walker we were living in new york. I was working mostly in fine dining restaurants. We went to japan, and then we traveled to southeast asia. And i would have cravings for okonomiyaki. And thats kind of how it came out. Josh walker so that was the emphasis of the restaurant, was to recreate all these foods that we loved and missed and wanted to eat. Ashley roberts and are you guys the only authentic asian restaurant in charleston . I think were the only people to do our style, because its inspired by street food and familystyle country food. Its so delicious. Ashley roberts voiceover so whether feeling adventurous or hankering for something familiar, when Southern Comfort food is what you crave, charleston has got you covered. Coming up this is why you come and paddleboard in charleston. This is my life right now. This is pretty frickin cool. Ashley roberts voiceover its goin down in the low country machete [sighs] i dont know if im built for this manual labor stuff. Ashley roberts voiceover from tea fields to gin joints whoa dangerous Ashley Roberts voiceover watch us turn up the heat in the holy city, when 1st look returns. Cant get enough of 1st look . Check out 1stlooktv. Com for full episodes, behindthescenes extras, and more. Baback in the e day, snsneaker dropops meant gettining online t to waitit in line. Now wiwith xfinityty mobile. We get t the fastesest mobilele service and cacan get the e freshest kicks asasap. I got ththis. Get ththe best pririce for 2 s of unlimitited when yoyou switch t to xfinity y mobiler 30 0 a line perer month. Nicece job, littttle sis ththey grow upup so fast. Im m a fan. Frfrom xfinityty. warehouse ambience inintroducing g togos new frfrench dip s sandwiches feataturing frfresh artisasan b piled highgh with tendnder roast bebeef, smothehered with m melty provovolone cheeeese and seserved with h hot au ju fofor dipping. G. Try y the roast t beef or papasi frenench dips totoday only at togos tonight were turning up the charm in charleston, south carolina. Sandwiched between two rivers, coincidentally named ashley and cooper, charleston is known for its ancient architecture, lush gardens, and sprawling plantations. And travel just 10 minutes from downtown, and youll end up at the edge of america, otherwise known as folly beach. All right, guys, were off. Woohoo lets go what body of water are we on . I call this the folly harbor, which is part of the folly river, which is just a small part of the atlantic ocean. I love it. I love being on the water. I love the wind just oh, i feel so free. What kind of marine life will we find here . Richard dolphins. This is where they hang out. All these rocklike looking structures, those are oysters. Ashley roberts all these . When youre sitting in a restaurant and youre feeling fancy and youre like, ill order the oysters, theres a good chance they come from right here. They dont look that appetizing from here, im not gonna lie. So what are we slowing down for . Oh, this is the part of the tour where i slow it down a little bit. Wow, do we get music . [squeals] i see a dolphin captain richard, you found them right away. What is that . Is that something . Thats a pelican. Ok, good times. Richard so ashley, thats the Morris Island lighthouse. Thats where were headed. Youre going to paddlesurf, and youre going to do your yoga. Down. Wait for it. Boop. Woo sweet. Oh, am i supposed to help you . Thanks. Ashley roberts voiceover and waiting for me on shore is sup safaris instructor al with a few interesting tidbits about paddle boarding on folly beach. Why is this the Perfect Place to come and do paddle surfing. Al a great bohemian atmosphere, lots of natural wildlife here. South carolina has the most untouched coastline along the east coast. We got dolphins swimming all around. Thats really what makes it. [inaudible] 10 times. Were gonna see some dolphins. Right behind us. Hes coming to play. His eye came up above the water. Hes checking you out. Wow. So thats why follys a great place to come. Ashley roberts voiceover and after a crash course in the basics, im ready to some paddle boarding before squeezing in a bit of yoga. Where am i going . Forward paddle on your right side like youre doing. There you go. Hows this feel . All right. Go ahead. Well, stand up. One. Two. Keep the knees bent. Three. Youre crushing it. Just keep those legs bents, hips in a swivel. Nice. This is why you come and paddleboard in charleston. This is my life right now. Its pretty freaking cool. Ashley roberts voiceover now its officially warmed up, i meet with a few local yogis. And together, were going to see just how balanced we really are. Instructor well start on hand and knees. Get acquainted with the board itself. Look up towards the sky. Exhale. Push your back up. Lets go ahead and just tuck our toes on the floor and push up into downward facing dog. Woo nice and from here, lets go ahead and step your right in between your hands. Oh. Yeah, thats at a balance there. And then lets try inhaling up towards the sky. [harmonizes] warrior one. Oh, [bleep]. Aah girl down i was like, i should not grab for her board well, we got it there. Namaste. Namaste. Namaste. Ashley roberts voiceover well, whats a trip to the beach without a little dip . Lets try that again. Oh. Congratulations. You are standing on your paddle board. Woo core tight. Nice. Ever so slightly, take your hands behind your head. Form a little triangle. And this is shark pose. Nananana, nananana. Ha thats amazing and then bring your hands in front of your heart. Namaste. Namaste. At least for me, i know that yogas about being calm, being balanced, being serene. And so i think the surroundings here and the landscape definitely adds to that. Thats really special. So are you going to leave tomorrow . Nah, ima stay. [others chuckle] Ashley Roberts voiceover coming up do you want to smell . Hows it smell . Ready to drink is how it smells. Ashley roberts voiceover were turning over a new leaf in chucktown, south carolina. Ooh. [clears throat] it has flavors, wow. James, you have successfully turned me into a gin girl. Ashley roberts voiceover up next on 1st look. So many hotels. [yelells] [yelells] [yellsls] trtrouble bookoking the famimily vacay . . Come on. Trtrouble bookoking the famimily vacay . . Cocomfort has s free hot breakfasast for the e whole fam they h have waffleles and splendndid pools cacannonball faster is possible. New renergie h. P. N. 300peptide cream with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. Now skin renews faster, as if its younger. Visibly reduce lower face sagging, wrinkles, dark spots. New renergie h. P. N. 300peptide cream. Lancome. visit yr lolocal volvo retail, to explore mild hybrid suvs during the summer safely savings event. Wake up, achievers. Youre making the most of every hourur of your life. To explore mild hybrid suvs exexcept the h hours thatt youre s sleeping. So why d do we leaveve so muh untapped p potential o on the t . Ththis is a nenext level b , fofor a next l level you. My c circadian r rhythm is k kg your circacadian rhyththms bu its n not a compepetition. I know, but im still wiwinning so, itit is a compmpetition. Saveve 50 on ththe sleep nunr lilimited editition smart t. Plus, 3636month fininancing on select t smart bedsds. Shop n now only atat sleep p number. Tonight, were down south south carolina, to be exact. When you think of life in the low country, you might picture sitting on a porch while sipping a tall glass of sweet tea on the sticky summer day. And here on this remote corner of charleston, thats more than just a thought. Its a way of life. So i cant believe that this is the only working tea plantation within the united states. So where does the rest of the bulk of tea come from . The huge producers of tea is india and china. Argentina is one of the huge suppliers of tea to america. And how many acres of tea are we looking at here . The whole farm is 127 acres. Were on an island called wadmalaw, and that is about 20 miles south of charleston. Ashley roberts so tell me about this island. What makes it perfect for growing tea . What tea likes is high temperature, high humidity, and good rainfall. And you got that all here. I love tea. Im excited to drink this. So am i just going to grab some of those leaves, and well put some mint and some awesome flavors in it and drink it . No, no, no. Ive got to put you to work in a field pulling some ways before we can harvest that tea and bring it to the factory. Ashley roberts voiceover and since this plantation doesnt use any pesticides, im attacking the weeds the Old Fashioned way. Machete yo, this is not working. [sighs] i dont know if im built for this manual labor stuff. Go ahead and really whack it. Rah there you go. Yes all right, look at that. Im macheted that weed heroically dah, dahdahdah, dah now we can just finish these rows all the way down here. Were doing this whole row . This whole field. See, basically, what were looking for is just to harvest these top leaves. Ashley roberts only the top two . Yep. Every 15 days, these tea leaves grow back up. [giggles] aah. Ew, theres sticky little dudes down here. Oh, [bleep] it. [laughs] ok, well just leave that. Maybe he wont notice. Ooh, i found one. Oh yeah, i dont like this job. I just want to drink the tea. Theres only three types of tea green, black, and oolong. What were making here on the tea plantation is black tea and green tea. Ashley roberts voiceover with my hack job complete, we roll out the tractor for harvesting then hit the factory for processing. Thats a load of leaves, honey. This is a leaf that has just been ground up. And this is the leaf thats been on the oxidation belt for 50 minutes. To give you an analogy, it would be like taking a bite of an apple, leave the apple on the counter, begins turning brown. Same thing happens with the tea leaves. And this is for black tea. Green tea, we would eliminate this whole oxidation stage. And it would stay green through the whole process. Should we drink it . Not yet. We got to put it through the dryer. So the teas now dry. So you need to pull these stems and fibers out all the way to the back and bring them forward. Ashley roberts woo and then the black tea continues on. Ashley roberts next step. Pick up this bucket. Now, we will put it in the air to get all the rest of the fiber out. And youre done. Now we can drink it . Almost. Ok, ashley, this is the result of all the hard work youve done today. You want to smell . Mm. Hows it smell . Ready to drink is how it smells. Absolutely. Lets go do some tea tasting. Thats what im talking about, bill. All right. Theres some elements that you need to know when youre making a good cup of tea. You pour the hot water on the tea. You never put the tea into the hot water. If you want it a little stronger, brew it for six to seven minutes. If you want it lighter, two to three minutes is all you need. And this is how we taste. You dip your spoon in, and you want to go like this. [slurps loudly] Ashley Roberts ooh. Bill and what youre doing there is rolling the flavor over your pallet. [lips squeaking] [laughter] are you all right . This is a delicious black tea, though. Its totally different than anything you had. Try the green. [slurps] whoa. Ok, yeah. You taste the freshness. Which one do you like more . I think i like the black tea better than the green. I do too. I just like the more rounded flavor that the black tea gives you. After today, i have a greater appreciation for the love and the effort that gets put into making a fresh, beautiful cup of tea. Thanks for all your hard work today. Cheers. Ashley roberts voiceover coming up, were chopping it up in the countrys friendliest city. Are you double dipping . [laughs] its ok. Weve only known each other i few seconds, but im excited to share this cheese with you. Ashley roberts voiceover when 1st look returns. Tonight, were turning it up down south. Voted americas best city several times over, charleston is famous for its great food, good manners, and proper drinks. Bourbon is king in south carolina. And for being the holy city, theres a lot of drinking going on. Nonholiness going on. Ashley roberts voiceover preserving that culture is the gin joint, specializing in expertly crafted preprohibition cocktails. And in those days, some of todays goto spirits werent even on the menu. Ashley roberts im pretty much a vodka girl. Thats usually my poison. So am i definitely in the wrong place . We dont have vodka here, but not because were called the gin joint. We just wanted people to come here and try something out of the ordinary. Ashley roberts voiceover while keeping their libations unique, the gin joint takes the art of crafting cocktails very seriously. From the mixers to the ice, every ingredient is handmade. [saw buzzing] woo Ashley Roberts voiceover in the 1920s, icemakers didnt exist, a fact joe doesnt taste lightly. Oh oh, god. Joe raya all the way. There you go. Then you turn it, and you can do it the other way. Like a baller woo boom, baby. So that seems like a lot of work for the cocktail. You feel like its definitely worth it, huh . If you look at this ice, its perfectly clear, which is visually really attractive in a drink. But also the ice inside of a really large block is a lot colder. I cut up my cubes. Ashley roberts voiceover to pair with their bold cocktails, joes wife and partner, marielena, handcrafts what the gin joint calls defiant bar food. Since day one, weve been known for our soft pretzels. We make the dough, roll it. We use a nice local bulls bay sea salt on top. And then we serve it with a spicy sriracha cheese sauce. Ashley roberts ooh i want to get down and dirty with this pretzel dough. Charlestons a foodie place, isnt it . It really is. Theres so much competition here now, so many great restaurants. And our focus isnt the food. Although once you start having a drink or two, i mean, he doesnt want a salty bittersweet snack to kind of go with it . I definitely do. All right, bartenders choice tell me about. Just choose two words off there, and then i come up with a concoction. Im gonna go with refreshing and fizzy. Perfect. Ashley roberts you could maybe turn me into a gin tonight. Hopefully. Whats that stuff . So we housemake all our cordials and juices in house. So that is a housemade violet cordial. And an egg. All egg white. Ashley roberts ok. Ooh. This is refreshing and fizzy. Yep. So that has gin, egg white, lime juice, simple syrup, sage. Wow. Thats really good. I would have never ordered Something Like this before. Round two strong and unusual. What are you doing there . This is the ice. Oh, thats the cube. Yep. I chainsawed one of those cubes out there earlier. Just in case youre wondering. Yeah, it felt pretty pretty awesome. So this one is housemade vanilla, pineapple juice, mint leaves, sage, and then some burlesque bitters. Its got a nice spice to it. Ashley roberts look at that presentation. Thats the most beautiful cocktail ive ever seen. Here you are. Oh, wow. You get the mint as you go in, and then all the flavors. The bitters get you on the back end. Strong and unusual going to get me good tonight. Im wondering if i just come up with two words, could you just make something that maybe isnt on the menu . Possibly. Dangerous and dirty. Sure. Are you double dipping . [laughs] whoa dangerous what are you doing . Its an old whiskey barrel. Woo dangerous and dirty. All right, james, im going in. James lets see if it lives up to the words. Ooh. [clears throat] it has flavors. Wow. James, you have successfully turned me into a gin girl. Perfect. Cheers to the gin joint . Together cheers. Cheers gracias, james. James cheers, yep. Ashley roberts voiceover with its sinful bites, stunning views, and dangerous spirits, charleston really knows how to show a girl a good time. Catch me on my next adventure same time next week. Every bubusiness deserves a a great deaeal. Thats whyhy comcast b busins is lauaunching thehe mobile m made free e event. With ourur businesss ininternet, nenew and exisisg cucustomers cacan geget one yearar of unlimimd momobile for f free. Its our b best internrnet. Powered byby the nextt geneneration 10g0g network ad wiwith 99. 9 r reliabilityt. Plus one l line of freree momobile for a an entire y y. Itss the mobilile made fre eveventhappenening now. Get t started fofor jujust 49. 99 9 a month. Plusus, ask how w to get onene line of f unlimited d mobil. Comcast t business,s, poweriring possibibilities. Introducucing togoss new frech dip p sandwicheses. Feataturing fresesh artisan n d piled hihigh with tendnder roast b beef, smothered d with meltyty provolonone cheese, just enougugh chipotlele mayo and d served witith hot au j for dippining. Try ththe roast bebeef or pasti french d dips today. Y. Onlyly at togogos. F from the momountains to the c coast. Heatin u up the kitctchen we e got someththin differer s spreadin g good vibebes all day y t todos a la a mesa queue buena la a mezcla it dont t get no betetter livin in the gololden sta lovinin this lanand everyda n norte a surur lo puedeses nada sese puede comomparar l livin in t the golden n s vive en el estadado dorado. Yeah the l still operable windows n s when we open these windows and pull the blinds up. The bedroom looks out in the space, and the space actually is part of the bedroom. [theme music]