Parker Milner, the Post & Courier's food editor, has the kind of job most Charlestonians would do for free. His June short list landed Wednesday, and it's the rare best-of round-up that pulls off something genuinely useful: scaffolding the city's range without anointing only the new shiny things.
Five spots. One Michelin star. One decades-old hot dog stand. Two newcomers. And a tavern that's been quietly grinding out a great burger since 2016.
The Michelin one.
Vern's, on Bogard, earned its star in November and Milner says it's only gotten better. He frames the experience through the lens of the Wagyu porterhouse — sourced from a farm in Kentucky, seasoned in miso and tamarind, with "a sweet tang and lovely outer crunch that's best when paired with a bold red wine from Bethany Heinze's expansive, thoughtful list," he wrote in the Post & Courier. The snails get the same treatment: Burgundy ones skewered, grilled over charcoal, then drowned in butter, ramps, tarragon, and cheese melted with a torch. None of it sounds like Lowcountry. All of it sounds like a restaurant figuring out exactly what its identity is.
The decades-old one.
Skoogies, the Coleman Boulevard hot dog joint, gets the most affectionate write-up of the five. Milner stops just short of declaring it a religious site. The frame is "Vienna beef tucked beneath mustard, relish, onions, sauerkraut, sport peppers and cheese," with a tomato wedge, a long pickle, and "a generous sprinkle of celery salt" finishing the build. It costs under twenty bucks. The press clippings on the wall reference a half-pound burger called the Godzilla. The staff is "the friendliest food and beverage employees" he says he's encountered lately — which, in a 2026 service economy, is itself a flex.
The two newcomers.
Bareo, the Japanese-Filipino spot from the Kultura team that took over the old Spring Street space, lands on the list largely on the strength of its dessert — specifically kakigori, the Filipino shaved ice that arrives as a "vibrant purple mountain of ube-infused soft-shaved ice crowned in a miniature flan and Fruity Pebbles." Rivayat, the Indian restaurant that took over the Makan space on Rutledge, gets a more measured rave: tandoori oysters from Steamboat Creek on Edisto, prawn korma thickened with pistachios, rosemary naan you can corral a piece of lamb with. Both restaurants are getting credit for doing something Charleston usually doesn't do — actually serving regional cuisine, not vaguely-globally-flavored Southern food.
The tavern.
Little Jack's on Upper King — burger people know the burger, but the rest of the menu has been quietly overlooked. Milner orders the fish and chips, with haddock and "minty mushy peas," and recommends the shrimp cocktail paired with a Guinness. He's nudging readers past the cult-favorite tavern burger to everything else the kitchen's been doing for almost a decade.
It's a thoughtful list. Less "where to be seen" and more "where to actually eat." Which is exactly what you want from a food editor in June.
This is a summary of an article published in the Post & Courier. Click here if you'd like to read that article.
