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Find a recipe for the Middle Eastern style versus the Greek style. They are nice and lemony rather than dripping with olive oil. I am at work and don't have access to my recipes...sorry. My wife is half Syrian; I learned to make them from her aunt when she was visiting many years ago. She lined the bottom of the pot with thick slices of potato. I believe this was to "tame" the boiling so as not to disrupt the dolmades and bust them up. And make sure you you weigh them down with a plate and brick.

My family and I have been going down to Charleston during Thanksgiving for the past 9-10 years. It's our "get away from the rest of the family" trip. It's a great eating town. Some of our faves (all are links):

Hank's Seafood Restaurtant
Magnolia's
S.N.O.B.

@jasonbrink
If you're going to try to be edgy or witty, at least spell it correctly: it proverbial.

Ralph's Restaurant for Italian: http://www.ralphsrestaurant.com/
(the meatballs will blow your mind; the recipe is on their site)

Tony Luke's for cheesesteaks: http://www.tonylukes.com/

In the late 90's, long before any of the serious regs we contend with today, I was flying back from Cincinnati and wanted to bring my friends a treat. They had both worked for Proctor & Gamble (HQ'ed in Cincy) and were familiar with Skyline Chili. So on the way to the airport I stopped in one and ordered 6 5-ways to go. For the uninitiated, that's their delicious beef chili over spaghetti with red beans, onions and heaps of shredded cheddar cheese. Yum!

They boxed them up and away I went. No problem with security (they chuckled at my carry-on), but I was almost jumped by my fellow passengers due to the wonderful aroma emanating from the overhead!

I 2ed FIG, we had an excellent dinner there. We also had a really great lunch at a very small place ( a converted house) on a side street in downtown, but I can not remember the name! I think is began with a C. Long wait for lunch but it was worth the wait.

We've been eating around Charleston for years. We never miss 82 Queen (82 Queen St.) for the stupendous she-crab soup. Go at lunch and you can enjoy the beautiful setting while paying lunch prices and not having to dress up! Their daily specials are imaginative and delicious. www.82queen.com
For South Carolina style BBQ we recommend Melvin's. There are two locations but the one we go to is on Folly Road on James Island. It's easy to reach from Charleston, just take the new bridge to Folly Beach (538 Folly Road, James Island).
Melvin's offers all sorts of side dishes with the BBQ pork ,chicken, pork ribs or turkey.
Chef Emeril Legasse and People Magazine named Melvin's cheeseburger best cheeseburger in the U.S.For non-BBQ fans the restaurant also serves chicken, hot dogs and sandwiches.www.melvinsbbq.com

I recommend Hominy Grill for lunch (more casual) and dinner (less casual, but that just means that they throw cloths over the dinner tables) and High Cotton for the jazz brunch. Even if you do not eat at McCrady's, the adjacent wine bar is a lovely place to have a post-dinner beverage.

In the hangover vein, we really enjoyed the Wild Wing Cafe. Yes, it has multiple locations, but fried is what you need the "morning after" . . .

Finally, if you are there on a weekend, don't miss the farmer's market on Marion Square. Lots of great local vendors, including a guy who sells stone ground grits and a nice lady who sells very tasty artichoke relish and tomato chutney.

Il Cortile Del Re is AMAZING! So cute and romantic. They recently opened up a sister restaurant called Pane e Vino which is also fabulous and not too expensive. Pane also has a really cute outdoor space. I'd also suggest McCrady's (the chef is up for a James Beard award for best new chef), which is a molecular gastronomy restaurant.
Hands down my favorite restaurant in Charleston is Lana Restaurant. It's actually across the street from Hominy Grill and is not open on Sunday's. It's Mediterranean and consistently excellent. Really good espresso Martini's. Plus it's out of the way from the main part of downtown and is relatively unknown.
High Cotton has really good shrimp and grits, but I'd suggest only going there for brunch b/c it is really stuffy. And if you feel like waiting, Jestine's is actually worthwhile, but I agree that there is better out there. Oh and while I'm at it, Fleet Landing is right on the water and has excellent shrimp and grits. It is a little touristy, but you'll see dolphins over lunch and that alone is worth it.
And as for SNOB, I think there is much much much better out there. For basically the same (expensive) price you can hit up Peninsula Grill and get amazing service and even better food.
A really good place for a healthy lunch is called 5 Loaves Cafe. It's cheap, small, and it's definitely all locals.
Please avoid Hymans, it's truly a waste of time and money. I'd also say skip Rue De Jean, it's overrated.
Good luck and enjoy!
***An NYC foodie who spent 5 years in Charleston***

What timing -- we're going for a week at the end of June. I'd like to hear about the dives -- bbq and seafood -- as well if anyone cares to pitch in.