If I had to name the one place I’d like to be on a rainy spring night in Charleston, Félix would be it. The nearly floor-to-ceiling window-framed dining room is the perfect place to sit and sip and stare out the window pretending the Holy City is a bigger metropolis than it is. Making the scenario even better is Chef Elizabeth Schultenover’s French-inspired small plate menu, an ideal accompaniment to the restaurant’s cocktail menu. The Gnocchi à la Grand-Mère is a must with its decadent chicken confit, brown butter, and chestnut honey. The shaved chilled vegetables in the Salade Lafayette is a smart start with its whipped chili-chèvre, citrus, crispy carrots, and tomato-fig compote. My drink of choice, the Kir Royale, is a classic providing light bubbles appropriate for a fancy night out or Thursday splurge. And don’t forget to drink your dessert. The cognac milkshake may not scream Paris, but it is on point. —Kinsey Gidick (Dish, Winter 2018)