It’s getting harder and harder, someone told us, to find bad food in Charleston. True enough! My wife and I could’ve easily eaten ourselves to oblivion on our recent visit.

And now, for something completely different…

Jack’s Cosmic Dogs sits outside Charleston on Highway 17 near Mt. Pleasant. It’s nestled among a forest of roadside stands offering Gullah straw grass baskets. Somebody had way too much fun collecting a bunch of retro junk and old toys and throwing ’em all together with a few surplus torpedoes and a vintage Air Stream trailer. I love retro! But then, I am of an age to recall when such aesthetic sensibilities were thought to be futuristic. Which, as it turns out, is oddly true.

We were too stuffed with shrimp ‘n grits and she crab soup to sample the cosmic dogs. But we did buy a jar of Jack’s Cosmic Sweet Potato Mustard. This alone will require a return trip.

I’ve missed drawing palm trees… or palmettos as they’re called here.

This little guy (about 2′ tall) stands on a high counter just inside the door, silently greeting everyone.

Who knew Cold War surplus items were after market products for old Air Stream trailers? Somehow, it works…