--- description: The next host of the Late Show dished on his favorite places to eat in his hometown of Charleston to Travel + Leisure title: These Are Stephen Colbert's Favorite Restaurants image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbbf88da4f00348d/69868f83810bbb1ed9c91999/stephen-colbert.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stephen Colbert's Favorite Restaurants by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 15, 2014 5:30 PM CUT  THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 0015 -- Pictured: Talk show host Stephen Colbert on March 7, 2014 -- (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank) THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 0015 -- Pictured: Talk show host Stephen Colbert on March 7, 2014 -- (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)NBC—NBC/NBCU Photo Bank by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 15, 2014 5:30 PM CUT Long before he agreed to take over as host of the _Late Show,_ Stephen Colbert was just another Charleston boy—swimming, fishing, and skateboarding down the quiet streets of what he recalls as a “sleepy Southern town.” Today, the South Carolina city is still one of his favorite vacation spots. Read on for Colbert’s down-home haunts. **Stay:** Growing up, Colbert helped his mother run a now-defunct B&B in their house in the South of Broad neighborhood. “Back then, if I booked a guest, I got ten percent. A kid could have a whole weekend of fun on fifteen bucks.” Hotels he remembers from boyhood: the [**Francis Marion Hotel**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/best-us-hotels-for-the-holidays/3 "undefined")_(_**$**_)_—with views of the harbor—and 1853’s[**Mills House Wyndham Grand Hotel**](http://www.millshouse.com/ "undefined")_(_**$**_)._ **Eat:** “I want shrimp and hominy when I’m in Charleston, at whatever place doesn’t call hominy _grits,_” Colbert declares with the emphatic authority of his _Colbert Report_ persona. He gets that or the catch of the day at [**Hominy Grill**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-guide/charleston/restaurants/hominy-grill-charleston "undefined") _(_**$$**_)_. Another pick? “[**Husk** ](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/charlestons-southern-hospitality "undefined")_(_**$$$**_)_ has fantastic fried chicken skin and a watermelon salad that’s really delicious. I like that everything there is focused on being from south of the Mason-Dixon Line.” **Shop:** King Street is the de facto center of retail and antiques stores. “In the past, it had no chains,” Colbert says. One of the oldest merchants, [**George C. Birlant & Co.**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/low-country-highs "undefined"), has carried 18th-century furniture and silver since 1922. **Do:** Colbert spent most of his salad days outside. “We’d go swimming off [**Sullivan’s Island**](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/lucys-charleston "undefined"). Afterward, we’d walk in to local bars with any kind of fake ID—a piece of paper that just about announced you were 18—and they’d serve you a beer.” MORE: [Charleston Hot Spots](http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-blog/carry-on/2014/5/14/stephen-colberts-favorite-things-to-do-in-charleston "undefined") MORE: [America’s Best Beer Cities](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-beer-cities "undefined") MORE: [America’s Best Cities for Hipsters](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-cities-for-hipsters-2013 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/101003/stephen-colberts-favorite-restaurants/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/101003/stephen-colberts-favorite-restaurants/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert's Favorite Restaurants","datePublished":"2014-05-15T17:30:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:51:48.822Z","description":"The next host of the Late Show dished on his favorite places to eat in his hometown of Charleston to Travel + Leisure","url":"https://time.com/101003/stephen-colberts-favorite-restaurants/","keywords":["Television","Food & Drink","Shopping","Travel","stephen colbert","late show","Hotel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbbf88da4f00348d/69868f83810bbb1ed9c91999/stephen-colbert.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbbf88da4f00348d/69868f83810bbb1ed9c91999/stephen-colbert.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Season 1","caption":"","creditText":"NBC—NBC/NBCU Photo Bank","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/101003/stephen-colberts-favorite-restaurants/","name":"Stephen Colbert's Favorite Restaurants"}}]}] ```