My source for restaurants is chowhound.com, where I frequently post. Of course the big metropolitan areas are better represented, but when I had to work in South Carolina for several months I found very good recommendations.
The SC city in which I worked and lived had about every single chain restaurant in existence...except Cheesecake Factory. The non-chain mid-to-upscale restaurants would typically be a steakhouse, which can get boring. I would frequently overhear the locals excitedy talk about how there would be a Cheesecake Factory opening soon.
My favorite restaurant I found there (a $18-26 main dish type of place) was family run, small, great food with Southern influences, and used local produce. Unfortunately they closed due to the slowing economy at the end of last year, but I made sure to eat there as often as I could.