Al Di La

25 Magnolia Road. West Ashley.
843-571-2321
A great trattoria-style Italian restaurant with fresh pasta, homemade bread, and slow-cooked meats. Located in the West Ashley's funky Avondale district. Open for dinner Tuesday - Saturday.

Sunflower Cafe

Sunflower Cafe
2366 Ashley River Road/Highway 61 (West Ashley)

Don't understimate this small, unassuming looking restaurant in the corner of an shopping plaza off Ashley River Road. It looks like it would be a standard pancake-breakfast, meat-and-three lunch kind of place. But, the food is really fantastic.



The breakfast menu boasts a series of eggs benedict variations (including crab cakes and fried-green tomatoes), rich omlets, beignets, and french toast. For lunch, there's steak sandwiches made not with some cheap cut but tender filet(!), plus chicken and crabcake croissants, and a range of fresh salads.

The Sunflower is off the beaten path--way down Highway 61 past I-526. But, if you are heading out to Drayton Hall or Middleton Place, drop in and give it a try for breakfast or lunch (they close at 2:30 PM). It's one of my West Ashley favorites.

The Glass Onion

The Glass Onion
1219 Savannah Hwy., West Ashley
(843) 225-1717
www.ilovetheglassonion.com

The Glass Onion serves up good, solid Southern cooking with a slow-food sensibility. Top-quality items like Anson Mills grits and Benton's bacon are regulars on the menu. From the authentic New Orleans-style po-boys to the massive braised Pork Shank, you won't be disappointed.

For more: my Charleston City Paper review.

Bessinger's Barbecue

Bessinger's Barbecue
1602 Savannah Highway/US 17 (West Ashley)
843-556-1354
http://www.bessingersbbq.com

Though they are a barbecue joint and have great barbecue, my wife and I usually end up getting cheeseburgers because, without a doubt, Bessingers has the best cheeseburgers in town, hands down. If you're from out of town, though, I would recommend trying their barbecue. You can get a good cheeseburger almost anywhere; Bessinger's is an exceptional example of the mustard-based style, a variety unique to South Carolina. I also recommend getting one of the plates with hash and rice, for hash is the uniquely South Carolina side item. It's pork and various pork parts (don't ask--you're better off not knowing) minced up fine with a lot of spices and served like a very thin stew over rice: fantastic.

Bessinger's Barbecue on Highway 17

A heaping plate of mustard-based barbecue with hash from Bessinger's

Charleston's best cheeseburger

Andolini's

Andolini's Pizza

82 Wentworth St. (Downtown)

414 West Coleman Blvd. (Mt. Pleasant)

1117 Savannah Hwy. (West Ashley)

967 Folly Road (James Island)

6610 Rivers Ave (North Charleston)

http://www.andolinis.com/

A great independent pizzaria. Makes New York-style thin crust pies. You can get two slices of cheese pizza and a draft PBR Budweiser for five six seven bucks.

Okay, it was a lot cooler with a PBR and two slices for a Lincoln, but it's still pretty damn good.