Charleston Quickie

It's finally Friday!  Our family is headed to Charleston tomorrow to visit some friends, eat some fresh seafood, and ogle the fishes.

My oldest friend, (seriously, we were at each other's 1st birthday parties), just had her 2nd little girl, and her first child is just a bit older than Jones, so the babes will likely have a blast playing together.

Hank's- image via here

We're getting a babysitter Saturday night and going out to Hank's Seafood Restaurant.  I've never been, but it's been voted "Best Seafood Restaurant" by the Charleston City Paper for 13 years, so there's that. 

Before we head home on Sunday, we're gonna take all the kiddos to the South Carolina Aquarium.  Another place I've never been; I think Jones will love it!  

Juanita Greenberg's- I want the crown light for my home.

If I can talk James into it, we'll also probably hit Juanita Greenberg's on our way out of town.  I'm an addict.

What should we order at Hank's?  What are you up to this weekend? 

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Jones- 7 Months

You guessed it, the babe just keeps on getting older...and more fun!  We have taken a couple trips in the past month, one to the beach with family, and another to visit friends in Charleston.  Jones has turned into quite the easy traveler.  The days of hating the carseat seem to be behind us, (please knock on wood for us on that), and he adjusts nicely to sleeping in his pack 'n play in our room when on trips.  We are blessed to have a very happy, easy baby.

Without further ado, the baby highlights of the last month:

can totally hit two things together

preferred arm position while eating

Jones loves sand. a lot.

"Look Ma, I got three teef!"

Love this sweet, goofy boy to pieces.

XO, B

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Brunch at Fat Hen

Last weekend I made a day-trip to Charleston to see some of my best friends, Austin & Collin, and their brand new baby, Martha Bennett.  Bennett is adorable, and slept most of my visit, (she's only 3 weeks old).

It was a beautiful day, so we ventured out to grab some brunch at Fat Hen, the sister restaurant to Wild Olive, which I reviewed here a few months ago.

Fat Hen is located on Johns Island, and the atmosphere is comfortable and the servers warm and helpful.  We sat on the back porch to catch the cool fall breeze-- Miss Bennett snoozed the whole time.

Austin and Collin indulged in a Sunday morning Bloody Mary, (served in a mason jar and rimmed with Old Bay), and I stuck with water. 

We were all pretty ravenous, so we started with soup; Austin and I had the French Onion and Collin had the Soup du Jour, Tomato Basil with Creme Fraiche.  Both were delicious!

And there ends the pictures...I totally forgot to snap any of the main course, sorry!  I ordered the Fat Hen Burrito--which was huge and delicious.  Austin had the Fried Egg Sandwich, and I believe Collin had the Duck & Apple Sausage Gratin--it was sooo rich, but yummy!

Some other menu items that I might have tried in addition to my burrito and soup, (if I weren't actively trying to not be the largest pregnant woman of all time): Bacon Cheese Grits, Blue Cheese Bacon Cole Slaw, and the Creme Brulee French Toast--next time!

All in all, a wonderful brunch with wonderful company--love Charleston!
XO

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Thursday's Thinking of Food

*You all know by now my affinity for the All Local Farmer's Market--I went last Saturday and it was hoppin', y'all!  It was the busiest I've seen it ever, maybe-and I didn't get there until almost 11.  There were lots more vendors than usual, including many with fresh produce like locally-grown tomatoes.  Here's what you can expect there this Saturday:
Any child with his/her Dad will receive a FREE doughnut in honor of Father's Day--and Dad will get one too!


And, City Roots will be there with so many wonderful herbs, lettuces, and veggies, including chanterelle mushrooms, foraged from the mountains of NC!  That's pretty cool.

*And speaking of farmers markets, the Seeds of Hope markets have opened back around town--you may have noticed signs at various locations for these small markets.  Seeds of Hope invites small, local farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers, ensuring that they can earn a decent living from their farming.  "My" Seeds of Hope market is located at a small church off of Rosewood Drive; the couple who sells their produce there is from Kingstree, SC and they are so sweet.  And they grow the best cantaloupes I've ever eaten!  Seriously, I am eating their cantaloupe as I type this, and I will be back this Saturday to get another.  "My" market is open 8-12 on Saturdays.  Others around town are open different hours--there is one at Shandon Methodist Church, one at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, one at the Unitarian Universalist Church, and many more....check one out!  Click here for a list of all Columbia Seeds of Hope markets.

Angelo--he just exudes "chach," no?

image via here

*Did you watch Top Chef last night?  It was exciting, although I don't have a clear favorite yet.  Obviously, Angelo is really good, (he won both the Quick Fire and the Elimination Challenge last night), but he's a bit of a "chach."*  So far, I think I like Kenny, just because he agrees with me that Angelo is indeed a "chach," and because he was pretty bangin' at the mise en place challenge. No other stand-outs to me, so far.  What did you think?  Here's another review of the season premiere.

image via here

 

*On a sweeter note, I read about a fun new candy store, Sweeteeth, in Charleston, SC here.  Isn't the packaging cool?  And they specialize in artisan chocolates like peanut butter & chipotle dark chocolate or salted caramel with dark chocolate.  I really want to try some...and, lucky me, (and all the rest of you who don't live in Charleston), you can order the bars on-line here.  The bars are also sold at various local shops in and around Charleston, for list, click here.

Happy Thursday, folks!  I think I'm going to try the new Vista restaurant, Tako Sushi, Saturday night--I'll let you know my thoughts next week.

*"Chach" is a word that I learned from my sister and her husband...not sure of the origin, but I find it is the perfect word in many cases.  Basically, it means d*bag or tool...you know, a guy who is arrogant for no reason whatsoever.  I looked it up in Urban Dictionary, and it is defined there as "a person (usually male) who attempts to exhibit a cool and popular look but generally comes across as either an asshole and/or a total loser."  (We all just brought one to mind, right)?

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Eating Our Way Through Charleston, SC, Part II

So, here's the second half of our Charleston culinary adventures over Memorial Day weekend.

On Saturday, we didn't partake of food, but drinks at the super-luxe Pavilion rooftop bar.

 Grill 225 is also in this hotel, but that wasn't in our price-range for the weekend.  My Dad swears it's the best steak he's ever eaten though, and that's saying a lot coming from him.

 The view from our table.

 

The Carnival Cruise Ship that now docks in the Charleston harbor weekly.

Collin's amazing-looking mojito.  (If only I liked mint and lime in drinks...)

 

After a leisurely afternoon filled with good food at Blossom and drinks at Pavilion Bar, we headed home to rest up a bit for the main event--Wild Olive for dinner.

 

Our friend from high school, Caroline, and her boyfriend, Matt, joined us for dinner at this John's Island "Cucina Italiana."  The 6 of us arrived a little late for our 8 o'clock reservation, but no worries, the staff was prepared and sat us immediately.  The restaurant was pretty hoppin', and actually was still busy when we left almost 2 hours later, but service suffered none.  

 

We got a few appetizers for the table- calamari, beef carpaccio, and 2 orders of the fried risotto fritters.  The fritters took the cake for me--they were stuffed with house made sausage, (yes, I ate some meat), spinach and Parmesan, served with a vodka-tomato aioli.  I would go back just to eat these.

 

For the main course, I enjoyed a Ricotta Gnocchi alla Marinara, which was tasty, but it was not the best entree at the table in my opinion--that title is reserved for Austin's Goat Cheese Ravioli.  I had debated between the ravioli and the gnocchi, and after tasting Austin's (a few times), was disappointed in my decision.  The ravioli is not only stuffed with goat cheese, but also dried orange, thyme and hazelnuts.  The flavor combination was unbelievable.  Seriously, I want some right now.

 

 Goat Cheese Ravioli

Caroline's Shrimp "Picatta" served over Fried Green Tomatoes

 

I don't really remember what everyone else at the table had to eat, (sorry y'all, I was really excited about mine and Austin's food), and it also may have had something to do with the  wine and extra-dirty martinis that were flowing...

 

 

 I definitely remember the desserts though.  We debated getting dessert at all, as we were all very satiated at this point, but we ordered anyway, and I'm glad we did.

 

 Chocolate Pistachio Custard--amazing presentation, don't you think?  And equally tasty.

 

 Black and White Semifreddo- dark chocolate, white chocolate, pistachios, and strawberries.  The best of the 2, I thought.

 

And so ended a perfect meal with super-fun dining companions.  Highly recommend Wild Olive.

 

 A very dark picture of the amazing chandelier hanging from a tree outside Wild Olive's door.

 

 And the very cool shadow cast on the ground underneath the chandelier.

 

Charleston, and Wild Olive, we will return.  Soon, I hope.

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A Word for Wednesday

 


chelon: a level of command, authority, or rank

As in: In my humble opinion, Charleston, SC is in the upper echelon in terms of bangin' restaurants.  See this post about Eating Our Way Through Charleston, SC.

And: According to this post  by Two Brunettes, as evidenced by her amazing graphic and typographic work, Jessica Hische is in the upper echelon of her field.

Illustration done by Jessica Hische for the Wall St. Journal's Summer Book Preview

Have a great Wednesday!

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische.

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Eating Our Way Through Charleston, SC, Part I

Do you see a recurring theme here? I like to eat, and I surround myself with others that like to eat too.  Thanks, Austin and Collin for an amazing 36 hours in Charleston, SC--we dined at 4 restaurants in that time and all were superb.  Here goes:

Lost Dog Cafe- we ate brunch here Sunday morning.  It's a quaint little spot on Folly Beach, where dogs are welcome, as you'll see from some pics below.

Pretty darn good bloody; served in a Mason Jar with an array of accoutrement.

Mimosa, also served in a Mason jar.

Some doggie diners.

My black bean breakfast burrito.

Austin's lox bagel sandwich.

Amazing homemade cinnamon roll.  It was the size of my head.

Another cute doggie diner.

After a day of sun and sand at Folly, we packed it up and headed to Taco Boy, which was the only request I had made for the weekend.  Austin and Collin took me to Taco Boy last time I was in town and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

Nachos.  So yummy.

Margarita.

Cheese quesadilla, sidfe of black beans.  Some of the freshest, tastiest guacamole I've ever had.

Tempura fish tacos.

Saturday afternoon, after James and I arrived in Cuck-town, we headed downtown to this gem, Blossom.

Fish tacos with cheese sauce.  I particularly liked these fish tacos--most places do not serve cheese on fish tacos, much less amazing, warm cheese sauce, but since cheese sauce is one of my favorite foods, I loved this dish.

Amazing-looking bacon cheddar burger.

And when you eat these things with a side of fruit, it totally balances out, don't you think?!

Check back later for a post about Wild Olive--our Saturday night eating adventure.

What is your favorite dining spot in Charleston?

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