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Rec Room tots
Rec Room tots
Erin Perkins

11 Tater Tot Dishes to Immediately Devour in Charleston

Get them while they're hot

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Rec Room tots
| Erin Perkins

Always seemingly playing second fiddle to French fries, the lowly tot is making its name as not just a second option but a worthy companion to anyone's meal. Maybe it was a little film made in Idaho and its protagonist's love of these cylindrical hash browns that got them back into the forefront of our minds as more than just bags of frozen food. It's certainly in the end just one version of fried potatoes but then again it could be celery. Either way, these fried bite size treats are showing up all over town and worthy of your indulgence. Many potatoes died to bring us this information, so enjoy with your favorite choice of condiment.

Note: Map points are listed in geographical order and are not ranked. Did we miss your favorite spot? Show it some love in the comments, send us an email, or start a forum thread in its honor.

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Big Billy's Burger Joint

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If you want a classic tot, head to this North Charleston restaurant near the Tanger Outlets. These crunchy tots are served in a mini fryer basket surrounded in newspaper. Pair it with a boozy shake and bring your childhood into adulthood.

Charleston Sports Pub

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Why not blend another amazing food like nachos with tots? Charleston Sports Pub takes this idea and adds brisket and peppers. Well-seasoned with spices and the queso being layered on the bottom keeps the crunch of the tots together. Dirty cheap mimosas and bloody marys on Sundays, plenty of TVs, and football coming soon means you have no excuses.

Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ

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The third iteration of the local BBQ restaurant chain added a few new items to their menu for this location. An order will get you rosemary herbed tots with harissa aioli on the side to dip. Watch your basket because wandering hands will certainly make their way towards you. Hoard them as best you can.
Robert Donovan
On the menu, the term "Fancy Tots" grabs your attention. When they hit the table, there is a veil of parmesan cheese on top which can never be a bad first impression. Add in some diced herbs and a dipping sauce full of truffle oil allowing you to decide how mushroom-y you want your tots. These will shut down any ping pong game you were playing until you finish them.
Erin Perkins

Charleston Beer Works

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CBW is also doing a take on the tot/nacho hybrid. Catch them after 10:00 p.m. on their late night menu. This is the perfect kind of messy. Taking all the elements of a classic Tex-Mex nacho (queso, pico de gallo, sour cream, sliced jalapeños, and chopped lettuce) and adding tots is pure genius. With a large selection of local beers, there is plenty to keep your night going in the right direction.
Erin Perkins

Mac's Place Pub And Grub

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Feeling a bit more sweet than savory, stop by the local Chicago sports bar for their sweet potato tots. These rounded, bit size bites of fried sweet potato come in a sizeable basket accompanied with seasoned butter to take these tots far beyond the norm.
These were the largest tots by far, bordering on oversized hush puppies stuffed with bacon. The order came on a long plate with a black-pepper, buttermilk dressing laid down for the tots to bathe in and be dipped in after each bite.

Recovery Room

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They have always been serious about tots at Rec Room, even hosting a multi-coursed, tots and beer dinner a few years back. These Tater Tachos™ take your standard tots and dress them up with a monterey jack/cheddar cheese blend, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños. Do your part and order a 12-ounce PBR can.
Erin Perkins

Bay Street Biergarten

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They aren’t fancy tots at Bay St, but rather freaky tatters. The fact that you get the option of adding pork, chicken, or shrimp as well as bacon jam to these tots means you can get all the meats too. You could just go with the standard demi-glaze, smoke haus cheese sauce, and green onions but why?
BSB

Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge

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This funky tiki bar wholly embraces the meshing of truffle and tots. Voodoo in Avondale tosses the tots in truffle oil and sea salt right after getting pulled from the fryer to maximize the amount that is on each bite. Add in their garlic aioli and green curry aioli on the side for dipping, any drink with lots of rum, and you are sitting pretty.

The Alley

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The tots at this downtown bowling alley are reminiscent of another great potato dish, the loaded baked potato. With two different kinds of cheeses, bacon, green onion, and a huge dollop of sour cream, it's almost a meal in itself. Pair it on Thursday with one of their $4 burgers and don't worry about being hungry for awhile.

Big Billy's Burger Joint

If you want a classic tot, head to this North Charleston restaurant near the Tanger Outlets. These crunchy tots are served in a mini fryer basket surrounded in newspaper. Pair it with a boozy shake and bring your childhood into adulthood.

Charleston Sports Pub

Why not blend another amazing food like nachos with tots? Charleston Sports Pub takes this idea and adds brisket and peppers. Well-seasoned with spices and the queso being layered on the bottom keeps the crunch of the tots together. Dirty cheap mimosas and bloody marys on Sundays, plenty of TVs, and football coming soon means you have no excuses.

Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ

The third iteration of the local BBQ restaurant chain added a few new items to their menu for this location. An order will get you rosemary herbed tots with harissa aioli on the side to dip. Watch your basket because wandering hands will certainly make their way towards you. Hoard them as best you can.
Robert Donovan

HŌM

On the menu, the term "Fancy Tots" grabs your attention. When they hit the table, there is a veil of parmesan cheese on top which can never be a bad first impression. Add in some diced herbs and a dipping sauce full of truffle oil allowing you to decide how mushroom-y you want your tots. These will shut down any ping pong game you were playing until you finish them.
Erin Perkins

Charleston Beer Works

CBW is also doing a take on the tot/nacho hybrid. Catch them after 10:00 p.m. on their late night menu. This is the perfect kind of messy. Taking all the elements of a classic Tex-Mex nacho (queso, pico de gallo, sour cream, sliced jalapeños, and chopped lettuce) and adding tots is pure genius. With a large selection of local beers, there is plenty to keep your night going in the right direction.
Erin Perkins

Mac's Place Pub And Grub

Feeling a bit more sweet than savory, stop by the local Chicago sports bar for their sweet potato tots. These rounded, bit size bites of fried sweet potato come in a sizeable basket accompanied with seasoned butter to take these tots far beyond the norm.

Stars

These were the largest tots by far, bordering on oversized hush puppies stuffed with bacon. The order came on a long plate with a black-pepper, buttermilk dressing laid down for the tots to bathe in and be dipped in after each bite.

Recovery Room

They have always been serious about tots at Rec Room, even hosting a multi-coursed, tots and beer dinner a few years back. These Tater Tachos™ take your standard tots and dress them up with a monterey jack/cheddar cheese blend, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños. Do your part and order a 12-ounce PBR can.
Erin Perkins

Bay Street Biergarten

They aren’t fancy tots at Bay St, but rather freaky tatters. The fact that you get the option of adding pork, chicken, or shrimp as well as bacon jam to these tots means you can get all the meats too. You could just go with the standard demi-glaze, smoke haus cheese sauce, and green onions but why?
BSB

Voodoo Tiki Bar & Lounge

This funky tiki bar wholly embraces the meshing of truffle and tots. Voodoo in Avondale tosses the tots in truffle oil and sea salt right after getting pulled from the fryer to maximize the amount that is on each bite. Add in their garlic aioli and green curry aioli on the side for dipping, any drink with lots of rum, and you are sitting pretty.

The Alley

The tots at this downtown bowling alley are reminiscent of another great potato dish, the loaded baked potato. With two different kinds of cheeses, bacon, green onion, and a huge dollop of sour cream, it's almost a meal in itself. Pair it on Thursday with one of their $4 burgers and don't worry about being hungry for awhile.

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