This SC city is a must-stop-and-eat destination for 2024, Southern Living says. Here’s why

Restaurant critic and food writer Jennifer Zyman has offered up the newest ode to Greenville and its food scene in a March article for Southern Living, calling the Upstate South Carolina city a “must-stop-and-eat destination.”

Zyman lives in Atlanta, where she was raised, but was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On her eclectic website The Blissful Glutton, she writes about kitchen tools, how to make your table look special and all sorts of recipes from chocolate mousse to carne asada.

She said in the Southern Living story she has often driven through Greenville on her way to visit her parents in Asheville.

“I can’t count the number of times that I’ve purchased superior South Carolina peaches from the roadside stand next to the Spinx gas station in nearby Travelers Rest because I was wondering what to eat but drawing a blank,” she wrote.

No more.

She went on an eating expedition to Greenville and not only discovered excellent food “to savor” but also some interesting things to do.

First on her list, not surprisingly, was The Cook’s Station, which she called “a hyper-Southern array of products showcased next to top-of-the-line BlueStar ovens.“

It is located on Buncombe Street across from Heritage Green, a collection of museums and other arts venues, two of which Zyman also recommends visiting — Greenville County Museum of Art and Upcountry History Museum.

Zyman said The Cook’s Station “sells gadgets and goodies that you never even knew you needed.”

As any number of national and regional publications have mentioned, Greenville’s green was a highlight for Zyman — Falls Park on the Reedy and the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Left out is the city’s newest and largest park, Unity, which covers 60 acres, also along the Reedy but without the waterfall in downtown and a cool curved bridge designed by noted bridge designer, Miquel Rosales of Boston.

Zyman recommends Greenville’s various festivals such as Artisphere — celebrating its 20th year May 10-12 — and performing arts venues including the Peace Center.

Then there’s a museum dedicated to Greenville’s most famous baseball player — shunned or otherwise — Shoeless Joe Jackson. Considered baseball’s greatest natural hitter, Jackson was banned from the Baseball Hall of Fame after being accused of being part of a plot to throw the 1919 World Series.

Jackson’s team, the Chicago White Sox, were considered the best team in baseball, but they lost to the Cincinnati Reds. Jackson denied any involvement. He and the other seven players charged were ultimately acquitted.

He returned to Greenville, where he ran a liquor store. He died in 1951 at age 64.

His home was moved in 2006 to a site closer to downtown and a museum opened and moved again to be across the street from Greenville’s minor league baseball park, home of The Drive.

Zyman also recommends a visit to Jackson’s grave in Woodlawn Memorial Park, where people leave baseballs.

Here’s what she says about eating. Jianna for fresh pasta,The Lazy Goat for Graze and Nibble (an array of appetizers) or Confit Duck Leg & Purple Potato Gnocchi or Tunisian Pork Tenderloin or The Anchorage, a James Beard Award semifinalist in 2018, for a handcrafted cheese plate with “silky smooth bourbon-liver mousse or a thick slab of North Carolina swordfish with fresh greens and fried garlic.”

Branch out, she says, with Aryana Afghan Cuisine or Califas.

And then Zyman tips her hat the the up and coming food scene in Travelers Rest, about 9 miles north of Greenville. She recommends Topsoil Restaurant.

“As soon as you see the door handles, which are cast from metal to look like curled carrots (with tops intact), you’ll know this is a place that takes the earth seriously,” she wrote. “Committed to farm-to-table cuisine, chef Adam Cooke was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast in 2020.”

She said many people are finally realizing the food scene in many Southern towns.

“After seeing other cities get their due, it’s great fun to watch the accolades for the Greenville area roll in and to see its tide rise,” she said.