Do-Gooder Monday

Some chances to do good this week:


1) Register for the first ever Race for the Place 5K run/walk to be held this Saturday, February 6th at 8:30 am. All proceeds from this event will benefit St. Lawrence Place, a transitional housing program for homeless families in the Midlands. {I work at SLP and have been helping organize this event, so I'm a bit biased, but you should do it!}

Sponsors include: BlueCross BlueShield, Bank of America, 621 Athletes, Pupcakes Pet Boutique, Doc's Barbeque and Southern Buffet, Edisto Irrigation & Landscaping, Pinnacle Physical Therapy, Shandon-Wood Animal Clinic, Cottage & Vine, Ed Robinson Dry Cleaners, Chick-fil-A, Young Chef's Academy, Allegra Printing, Piggly Wiggly, Colonial Life, and Mad Platter!

There will be a Fun Run for kid's under age 12, and Chick-fil-A will be on-site with the cow and free food, as well as Young Chef's Academy with an activity for kids and Ed Robinson Cleaners with a raffle for free dry cleaning!

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2) Eat at Village Idiot in 5 Points tonight--100% of sales from 4-close today will be given to the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund!

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3) Go to the Junior League's Clean Sweep event at the Fairgrounds this Saturday, (after the race of course!) 8am- 2 pm; $2 for parking and $2 admission; at 12:30-1 pm the sale closes and then from 1-2 pm you can pay $5 to fill up a bag as full as possible with donated items such as DVDs and music, linens, books, home and garden items, etc...a junk-finder's dream! And all the proceeds go to help the Junior League fund community projects for local non-profits.

Know of any other charitable events going on this week?

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New Fare in Columbia

(Or at least new to me...)

So, I am reading the latest Free Times, which includes an extensive Menu Guide. There are a number of restaurants with their menus printed that I have never even heard of...and I am excited and hungry!

Here's a few restaurants that I definitely want to try:

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@116 Espresso & Wine Bar: Yes, they serve coffee and wine, but in the evening they do a full dinner service including local produce, seafood and meats, prepared with a Spanish twist. Located at 116 State St, West Columbia.
What I want to eat: Cheese Plate- goat cheese truffles, marinated manchego, spiced almonds, roasted red onion cup stuffed with bleu cheese, and a toasted baguette. Yes, please.

Thirsty Fellow Pizzeria and Pub: Recently opened by the former owner of Durkin's along with the current owner of Publick House, this place is sure to have experience on it's side. I haven't seen a menu yet, but the Free Times ad boasts Live Trivia, Pint Night, and a Sunday Brunch. I love pizza, so I will definitely be trying this place out. Located at 621 Gadsden St. Click here to read an article The State did on Thirsty Fellow. MadPlatter has recently Twittered that One Eared Cow Glass is on display at the Thirsty Fellow--very cool.

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Garden Bistro: (This one's been around a while, but I've never tried it...) Located at 923 Gervais St in Columbia, this restaurant is located next to/behind one my favorite late night spots, Art Bar. The menu is as the restaurant title alludes, pretty healthy and fresh-sounding; salads and a good many vegetarian options. They also have Daily Specials listed on their website--nice.
What I want to eat: Garden Bounty Wrap- shredded zucchini, squash and carrots with pecans and strawberry vinaigrette wrapped in a spinach tortilla OR Smashed Three Cheese- combo of cheddar, Swiss and provolone on Texas toast. Or both.

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And, some more restaurant-related news: This coming Monday, February 1st, Village Idiot in 5 Points will donate 100% of its profits beginning at 4 pm to the American Red Cross' Haiti Relief Fund. A local band, Shallow Palace will play and there will be a raffle with prizes, (and VI pizza is some of my favorite in Columbia--try the Hurricane). Way to give back, Idiot!

Have you tried any of these restaurants?

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Helping Haiti

If you're like me, you've been feeling pretty darn helpless the past couple days listening to the horrors of the earthquake disaster in Haiti. As much as I would like to just pick up and go there to help with the relief effort, finances, job, and school just won't allow it--(I am always amazed by those that do find a way to do this).

Instead, here are some easy (and legit) ways you can help right now:

Text 'HAITI' to '90999' and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

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Musician Wyclef Jean, who's from Haiti, says if you text "Yele" to 501501, you'll automatically be donating $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund. The charge will show up on your phone bill. You can find out more about Yele here.

Give on-line at Partners In Health.

And, click here for NPR's up-to-date information on the disaster and other places to give.

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