Carolina Gold rice cooked with field peas (or black-eyed peas), bacon and onion. The New Year's Day dish for luck, eaten year-round in Charleston.
Hoppin' John is a Gullah-Geechee staple of West African origin, brought to the Sea Islands and Carolina rice plantations through the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The earliest printed recipe appears in Sarah Rutledge's 1847 Charleston cookbook The Carolina Housewife. Traditional versions use Sea Island red peas or field peas with Carolina Gold rice, slow-cooked with smoked ham hock. The plate is eaten on New Year's Day across the South for prosperity, paired with collards (for money) and cornbread. Glenn Roberts at Anson Mills in Columbia has spent thirty years restoring heirloom Carolina Gold rice; that rice now anchors versions at Husk and FIG.
4 editor picks for Hoppin' John in Charleston, ranked by editorial score. All Charleston signature dishes · Hoppin' John across every city.
Husk ★ 4.9
downtown · 76 Queen St, Charleston, SC 29401
Sean Brock's Husk in Charleston opened on Queen Street in 2010 and rebuilt Southern fine dining around heritage Anson Mills grains, Sea Island peas, hyper-local produce.
Slightly North of Broad ★ 4.6
downtown · 192 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401
Slightly North of Broad in Charleston has run on East Bay Street since 1993. Frank Lee's reworked shrimp and grits became the canonical restaurant version of the Lowcountry plate.
Bertha's Kitchen ★ 4.5
north-charleston · 2332 Meeting Street Rd, North Charleston, SC 29405
Bertha's Kitchen in North Charleston has run family-owned soul food cooking since 1979. James Beard America's Classics winner in 2017; the Gadsden family kept the kitchen running through three generations.
Hannibal's Kitchen ★ 4.4
eastside · 16 Blake St, Charleston, SC 29403
Hannibal's Kitchen on Blake Street in Charleston has run family-owned soul food cooking since 1985. Crab rice, lima beans over rice, smothered pork chops, sweet tea included.