The end of my restaurant bantering

I realize that if you're not into food and you're not taking a trip to Charleston, my blog has been quite boring the last week or so. So for those of you, this will be my last restaurant review(s) post.

Taco Boy: I do have 2 though so I'll try to make them short and to the point. First up is Taco Boy on Folly. It's a very small eatery but they do know a thing or two about tacos. For being so small, they certainly don't skimp on the choices. The menu includes a few traditional appetizers, chips and salsa, guacamole, queso, nachos and taquitos. They have one salad, quesadillas, platters, and of course, tacos. I've eaten quite a bit of Mexican in my day and never have I seen such a comprehensive list of tacos. Here's the rundown: baja fish, grilled fish, tempura shrimp, sauteed shrimp, carne asada, grilled chicken, carnitas norteno, chorizo and potato, obrero(pork sausage & potato), tuna, and portobello mushroom. They range from $3.50 to $3.95 per taco.

We started with the salsa trio, a roasted jalapeno tomato salsa, salsa cruda, and another "rotating salsa special". Both the salsa and the chips were pretty standard Mexican fare. Some were spicy, some not. We moved on to the tacos from here. We both ordered 3 and while that was probably more than enough, we both managed to eat them all! I ordered the Baja Fish, the Sauteed Shrimp, and the Portobello Mushroom. Each were served with a heaping mound of shredded red cabbage on top. The fish taco also was adorned with a cilantro & ancho chile yogurt sauce - this one was my favorite. The fish was lightly fried in a tempura batter and it was quite flavorful. The sauteed shrimp was served with the same yogurt sauce in addition to a salsa. The portobello mushroom was marinated in garlic-cumin and topped with refried black beans, poblano rajas, queso fresco & cilantro. This was my second favorite. The refried black beans kind of overtook the mushrooms but they were so tasty that it really didn't matter. The shells were corn tortillas, I think. They were the small 6" kind and were doubled because corn tortillas have a tendency to break. I would strongly recommend Taco Boy if you're going to be on Folly. It's a nice laid back atmosphere and change of pace from the typical seafood restaurant.

Rating: 4 stars

Peninsula Grill - I really hate that I decided to have this one share a post. This was BY FAR the best restaurant we ate at and quite possibly one of the best Wes and I have ever eaten at. If we had a Top 10 list, this one would be on there. My friend had suggested this over McCrady's and again, I will always trust her judgement because she's never led me astray! The restaurant is located inside The Planter's Inn, which is a very old and stately Inn in downtown Charleston. The menu is award-winning and has received top marks from every reviewer coming and going. As a side note, the owner and/or chef is also tied to Hanks's Seafood Restaurant and another Italian eatery right down from Peninsula Grill.

On to the good stuff! The menu has a section entitled "Champagne Bar Menu" which our waiter informed us we could also order from. Thank goodness because this sounded phenomenal to both Wes and I. Oh I forgot to mention that this was our special date night when we got to go out ALONE and Colin stayed with Grams and the rest of the crew. The Bar Menu included three sections, oysters, lobster/crab, and specialties. We focused on the lobster/crab. Wes chose the Lobster '3 Way', which was a ravioli filled with lobster meat, atop a pool of warm tomato-basil vinaigrette, speckled with sauteed lobster meat, and topped with a tempura battered piece of claw meat. He thought his was good until he tasted mine! I chose the Jumbo Lump Crab Salad. It was billed as a spinach and tomato salad with fried green tomatoes but I don't think that does it justice. The fried green tomatoes were sliced, cut in half and arranged in a star shape on the bottom of the plate (I believe there were 6 halves). Then there was a mound of chiffonade-cut spinach, basil, HUGE chunks of lump crab, and a few diced tomatoes, all dressed in a very light basil vinaigrette. Wow, this was fantastic! I couldn't believe the amount of crab I got. I had to keep giving Wes chunks because I was already getting full. Yes, when our waiter told us we could "start" with items off the bar menu, he failed to tell us that we could also make that our meal. But since we're glutens, we moved right on to our entrees. I had the Bourbon Grilled Jumbo Shrimp. I believe there were 5 very large shrimp, served with Hoppin' John, creamed corn, and lobster-basil hushpuppies. The shrimp were perfectly grilled and seasoned. The Hoppin' John was fine but the creamed corn was as sweet as candy. Surprisingly, the hushpuppies were just ok - we had had better previously on this trip.

Wes ordered the Grilled Boneless "Berkshire" pork chop. He received a HUGE chunk of meat that was cut similar to a filet of beef tenderloin. His sides were smoked bacon-cheddar grits and creamy collard greens - both were excellent. Again, I had had better grits but then again I'm not the world's biggest fan of bacon. Wes, on the other hand, thought they were quite tasty and thoroughly enjoyed the bacon taste. His chop was topped with a shitake gravy and he declared this the best pork chop he had ever eaten. Granted we don't eat a ton of pork (as if I would have cooked the best one or something) but this was still a very strong statement for Wes to say anything was THE best. Well at that, I had to try it for myself. It was so tender, so smooth, and yet so flavorful.

Since we wanted to make the most of this experience, we couldn't skip dessert. They are famous for their 7-layer coconut cake but that didn't make our cut. Wes chose the Chocolate Cake but this wasn't just any chocolate cake. Since I'm not a fan of chocolate, it was mostly lost on me but I believe it was about 4-5 layers of different chocolate varietals. There was a flourless chocolate cake layer, a chocolate cheesecake layer, a regular chocolate cake layer, all covered in a chocolate ganache. I ordered their Banana Panna Cotta. What I received was out of this world! I still have dreams about this thing. It was baseball shaped mound of banana goodness, with a banana sponge cake bottom, topped with a very creamy banana panna cotta, covered in milk chocolate. I know I said I didn't like chocolate but the banana flavor far outweighed any chocolate flavor. Additionally, the plate was garnished with 4 caramelized bananas and a pool of caramel sauce.

To say this meal was wonderful would somehow be an understatement. The only other thing I could have asked for would have been a wheelbarrow to get me out of there and fat me home! Please, if you're in Charleston, GO THERE! You will not be disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars (Yes, the illustrious perfect rating, reserved for only THE best!)

A second, okay third, visit to Magnolia's

The last time Wes and I went to Charleston we discovered Magnolia's and liked it so much we went back the same week! Okay to fully appreciate that statement, please understand that I rarely go anywhere twice, let alone in the same week! While on vacation or in a foreign city I like to try as many different places as I can. The very thought of going back to the same place twice is sacrilege to me. That alone should be a ringing endorsement for Magnolia's and make you run right to it.

The biggest problem is deciding what to order! The menu is what I would describe as fancy southern comfort food. I ordered the Shellfish Over Grits, which was superb! I will admit that I was slightly less enamoured since my culinary palate has expanded a bit since our first visit, but I still could appreciate the entree. The menu description said that my dish would include sauteed shrimp, sea scallops and lobster over creamy white grits with lobster butter sauce and fried spinach. Is your mouth watering yet? The portion was enormous but that didn't stop me from eating every bite. Both the shrimp and scallops were large and I think I got about 3 of each. There was a large piece of lobster claw meat on the top and several smaller chunks decorating the dish. The "lobster" in the butter was lost but it still made a nice creamy sauce atop the grits. The fried spinach was actually threads of crunchy spinach. I thought for sure it would be somewhat of a play on words and the spinach would just be pan sauteed (fried) but alas I was wrong.

Wes ordered a repeat of last year, the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. His was served with cracked pepper biscuits, mashed potatoes, collards greens, cream style corn and sausage herb gravy. Seriously, the plate probably weighed 20 pounds! It was overflowing with food but thankfully he didn't eat it all. He said it was as good as he remembered. The biscuits are small and since they're covered in the sausage gravy you don't really get to taste the cracked black pepper, but they're still good, a little dry, but good. The greens and the corn taste like your granny's country cookin'.

The atmosphere is elegant yet casual. We took Colin and the girls with us and no one batted an eye. Colin even screamed/grunted most of the meal and no one thought a thing of it. Of course my stomach was in knots and I inhaled my dinner, but I digress. They serve both lunch and dinner and both are equally delicious. The portions are large but hey, you're on vacation so live it up!

Rating: 4.5* (notice that I still haven't and can't give a 5)

Has is really been a year?!

It's hard to believe that this time last year I was laying up in the hospital bed, hooked up to Pitocin, attempting to distract myself by reading a magazine, and waiting for the contractions to get more intense (yes, isn't it funny that you WANT the contractions to get stronger?!). Little did I know that in about 7 hours my life would change more than I ever dreamed. Yes there have been some trials and tribulations but I've only grown from those and learned so much. It's hard to even remember my life without him, but then again it's also hard for me to remember what I did yesterday! He is truly a blessing and he has brought such joy to our lives.

Wes and I sang Happy Birthday to him this morning and I swear it was like he knew what we were saying, as he grined through his thumb sucking. I'm really not that niave to think that he really knew but my 1-year old is smarter than your 1-year old and if I want to pretend he's super smart, that's my perogotive! Against my Granny's wishes, we won't be celebrating his birthday until Sunday. Granny thinks in addition to that, we should give him some form of cake today since it is his actual birthday. Um yeah, pretty sure he doesn't know the difference. Oh wait, yes he does because he's SO smart! Anywho, Wes' family, his brother's family, my Mom, my sister and girls, and his girlfriend Sidney and her parents will all be celebrating the big event with him. I'm making him his own little cake for him to plow into. Pictures to come!

We also had pictures taken yesterday so hopefully I'll have some of those to post relatively soon too. He was such a ham and ate up the attention. He is such a flirt and never meets a female that he doesn't love! Good lord, I'm in for it!

Bowens Island, A True Seafood Dive!

A lesson in restaurant selection while travelling, trust the locals! Rachel Ray lives by that on her $40 A Day program and this is a perfect example. My friend who lives in Charleston had previously taken Wes and I to The Wreck the last time we visited. It was delicious but definitely a hole-in-the-wall kind of place. Since we were staying on Folly this time, she suggested yet another dive. She warned me that it was sketchy but as is often the case, those are the best ones! We did a drive by one day as we were coming back onto the island (because the restaurant is technically on James Island, which you have to pass through to get to Folly), and she was right it was shabby. We weren't even really sure it was a restaurant we were looking at. It was at the end of a country road and there was no restaurant structure in the normal sense. There was a sign that said, "Order Here", an eating area that looked like a shelter from a public park, and another partially burned structure from a previous fire. Yes, the restaurant previously caught fire and instead of tearing down and starting anew, they just left that one as is and built beside it. That just adds to the "dive" charm!

We decided to go back for dinner one night. They are only open Tuesday-Saturday from 5-10. So Wes and I gave all the disclaimers we could and off we went. Yes, I think everyone was a little apprehensive but the food spoke for itself. The menu was a single piece of paper in a plastic sleeve. The choices were shrimp, fish, oysters, chicken fingers (thank goodness because of the kids), and combinations of the above. My friend had told me the oysters were really good but I'm not a fan. Wes had gotten online and read reviews and heard that the shrimp were really good. So I opted for the shrimp and fish, thinking the fish might be caught fresh. All the entrees were served with fries, coleslaw, and hushpuppies. The coleslaw was unique, it was chopped cabbage that had been dressed with pickle juice! The hushpuppies were tasty and again were slightly sweet. The food was overflowing off the paper plate. The fish was the entire length of the plate and partially hanging over the plate. I must have gotten about a dozen shrimp as well. The batter was very light and everything was piping hot. As we were finishing up, the tables started filling up - everything from business men, to college kids, to families. The locals clearly know where to go for good eats.

An interesting side note, this place won a prestigious James Beard Foundation Award in 2006 for being one of eight "American Classic Restaurants" that "boasts timeless appeal and quality food that reflects the history and character of its community." Wow, James Beard? Enough said.

Rating - 4.5*

Flip That House (Restaurant)

If you're a fan of TLC's Flip That House, you know that it takes place in Charleston, SC. Richard is the "flipper" and he normally flips houses. However one time he agreed to help a friend flip a restaurant, The Crab House. Well the lady that set up our crib in our rental house strongly suggested this and exclaimed that this was the best place to go for seafood. Not having talked to my friend that lives in Charleston, I took this lady's word for it and made reservations at The Crab House. I later talked to my friend and she said, while she'd never been there, she still wouldn't recommend it. I should have listened to her! It was mediocre at best. The best part was the crab-puppies, hushpuppies with very finite flecks of crab. I was somewhat ashamed that I had eaten 3 until I heard my dad say that he had 6 or 7! I even gave Colin some and while he loved it, I thought oh what am I doing to my poor child, filling his belly with total grease! The menu was comparable to Red Lobster - typical generic seafood with traditional American junk food tossed in. The appetizers fall into the American junk food category - cheese sticks, buffalo wings, calamari, and several crab varieties of junk (i.e. crab cakes, stuffed mushroom, and crab wontons). The entrees ranged from fried to fried, with a few broiled items in between. I opted for a non-fried meal and ordered the Island Shrimp. I got 2 skewers of small shrimp (about 10 in total) atop a bed of Cajun rice, with a Thai chili sauce. The shrimp, although quite small, were tasty, but it was in large part because of the Thai chili sauce. Each entree comes with 2 sides and I chose the tossed salad and grits. The salad was, well a typical green salad, but the grits were fabulous. They were easily the highlight of both Wes' and my meal. Wes got the fried shrimp and scallops with collard greens and slaw as his sides. The greens were also good but the slaw wasn't anything great. His fried food was pretty tasteless and over cooked. My entree was $13.99 and Wes' was $16.99.

While it was neat to see the restaurant in person and reminisce about watching the flip on tv, the food left me wondering why this place gets the hype that it does. It also left me questioning the crib lady, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion!

Rating: 2*

A burger worth talking about: Five Guys

If you haven't heard the hype surrounding the up-and-coming chain, Five Guys, you will soon! A fellow coworker of mine mentioned it to me prior to my trip and told me there was one in Charleston. Once I told Wes it was all over. Let's see, a hamburger joint with a cult following and national notoriety, please it was over before it ever began. So to appease him, I decided to get it over with and go the very first night we were there. There were a few trials and tribulations with the directions but we made it. The menu is somewhat limited as far as the burgers, but the toppings are plentiful. For the burger, you can either get a hamburger, cheeseburger, or bacon cheeseburger. They come in 2 sizes, regular or little. The regular is a double and the "little" is a perfectly big enough single. They are also known for their fries that they cook in peanut oil. If you've ever had the fries from Penn Station, they are one in the same. What caught my attention immediately upon entering the restaurant (which was in a strip mall) was how clean the place was. It was white and red and you would have been hard pressed to find a crumb anywhere! They even have large barrels of peanuts for the taking, yet still there were no shells on the floor. I did see a boy walking around practically the whole time with a broom and dustpan, so I guess cleanliness is important to them.

On to the food. I got a little cheeseburger with sauteed onions and mushrooms, lettuce, ketchup, and mustard (no tomatoes because they weren't offering them do to the salmonella outbreak). Wes and I split an order of regular fries - which were enough for a small family! The burger was in fact quite tasty. It actually lived up to the hype. I'm not sure what set it apart from others but it did taste grilled, it was real meat, and it was a decent size. Perhaps those attributes made it excel but I'm not sure. It could also be that we were all also starving, but we'll assume it was actually the taste of the burger. The burgers come wrapped in foil and the fries come in a brown paper bag. My burger was $3.49 and the fries were $2.19.

Look out Lexington, I understand that someone has already bought the rights to the franchise for our area. So keep your eyes peeled because we might be getting our very own Five Guys! You won't have to drive all the way to Charleston to get a $3 burger!

4.5* - That's based on a "fast food" rating scale.

Joseph's - Good enough for Rachel Ray, good enough for me!

After walking what was supposed to be 6 blocks but turned into about 12, our first stop in Charleston was at Joseph's for lunch. My friend Toni had recommended this restaurant because she had seen it on Rachel Ray's $40 a Day. Both and Toni and Rachel ate there for breakfast and had their sweet potato pancakes but we were there at lunch and I thought it should be good too. I was right, it was worth the walk. They had a very diverse and creative menu. Yes, it was mostly sandwiches but it wasn't just your typical turkey or ham sandwich. As we were waiting (which is always a good sign to me), we got to see several plates go by. The resounding similarity was the size of the portions - they were HUGE! Mom and I quickly decided that we would split a sandwich. Now the tough decision of which one. We managed to narrow our choices down to the Creole Classic (grilled shrimp, spicy remoulade, romano cheese on pumpernickel), the Wicked Forest (black forest ham, swiss, fried green tomatoes, and a chipotle aioli on a croissant), or the 129 Meeting St (roast beef, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, balsamic syrup on a croissant). You see the dilemma! We ended up choosing the Wicked Forest and it was delicious. It was plenty big enough to split but when the waitress heard Mom and I saying that we were going share, she went ahead and divided the sandwiches for us and gave us each our own side. At this point we thought she was just being very nice and accommodating but then when we got the bill we saw that we had been charged for her niceness. Oh well, it was just $1.50 so we figured that was the price of the additional side. The sides are also good. We chose the pesto pasta salad and ate every bite. The other choices are potato salad or fries. Wes got the Pastrami and fries. The portion of fries was obscene! Don't worry, he managed to eat almost every one, despite the large sandwich. He thoroughly enjoyed his sandwich as well. Most entrees are in the $8-$10 range.

We did see several other plates that went by that also looked quite tasty. The shrimp po' boy sandwiches were enormous! I seriously think they piled a full pound of fried popcorn shrimp on each roll. The salads were also quite large but we didn't see any pizzas. I think that about rounds out the menu.

Of course we did go back for breakfast later in the week. Do you think Mom and I could pass up Sweet Potato Pancakes? Seriously. Well they weren't all that I had hoped for. There was actually a little wang to them that wasn't quite distinguishable. I think there was too much baking soda in the batter. No, my palate is really not that refined, I'm only speaking from experience! In an old US Weekly, there was a little sidebar that told some famous people's favorite foods. I can't remember who it was, but someone said they like to cook pancakes with their boys on the weekends and one weekend the boys cooked them alone. They wanted them to be really fluffy so they added a ton of baking soda. At the time I didn't know that baking soda would make pancakes fluffy so I had to try it. The first time I added just a little and they didn't rise enough. I took care of that the next time and literally had "cakes"! They had a funny taste and I determined it must be the excessive amount of soda I used. But I digress. I did overhear another patron say the pancakes tasted funny and they didn't taste like that yesterday. I was too shocked at the fact that they came there 2 days in a row and ordered the same thing, pancakes no less, to say I conquered. I have no doubt this was just a bad batch and that they are really quite tasty. I mean with toasted pecan butter how can you go wrong?

Lunch - 4*
Breakfast - 2* (realizing that's probably an unfair rating but I only have that one meal to base it on)

Happy (belated) Birthday To Me!

I realize that might be a bit self indulgent but I only get a birthday once a year so I might as well enjoy it! My birthday was Tuesday and I had a wonderful day. Colin's gift was a restful night and sleeping until 6:45. Ah, how our ideas of good gifts change over the years. My mom took me to lunch at Ashland, Henry Clay's home, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch out in the garden. The weather was absolutely perfect - so perfect in fact that everyone else had the same idea! Or maybe they just all wanted to celebrate my birthday. My friend Joyce made me a wonderful red velvet cake with berries. As most of you probably know, I'm usually the one who makes all the cakes for coworkers, but Joyce was kind enough to make mine so I wouldn't have to make my own! What a pal! I chose a red velvet with berries because I thought it sounded good and I love the addition of the fresh berries. Of course I had to have at least one stipulation, that she not use red food coloring. I am not a fan of random chemicals. So the cake was tan in color but who cares because it was delicious. The berries were such a good addition. Here's the picture off Epicurious as to what the cake was supposed to look like.

Back to my birthday festivities. My mom had originally offered to cook dinner for me on my birthday so that I wouldn't have to. I told her no, I really didn't mind and we weren't having anything fancy. That's why she ended up taking me to lunch instead. So about 4:50, I'm sitting at my desk and I feel the presence of someone beside me. It was Wes and he was dressed up. He was surprising me to take me to dinner. I should have known something was cooking with all the talk of dinner. We went back to Azur (the place we went for Valentine's) and had a lovely dinner out on their patio. He also got me a new digital camera because mine is outdated and I haven't been satisfied with the quality of the pictures. When we got home Mom was there with Colin and she had bought me some kitchen items (big surprise) and some clothes.

What a great birthday! I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful family.

Asheville: Three (very little) Pigs

This is the first of several restaurant reviews. Since food is such a passion of mine, I want to share reviews of some of the restaurants we ate at during our trip. Our first stop was Asheville, NC and since NC is known for their barbecue, Wes wanted to try it out. The problem is, Asheville isn't one of the cities that is particularly known for bbq. After our dinner at Little Pigs, I can see why! The food was mediocre at best. The portions were very small and the selection was minimal. The decor was about what you would expect for an outdoor family bbq - red and white checkered tablecloths, picnic tables, divided paper plates, and the menu was written on a big chalkboard. The choices on the board were not necessarily the choices they had available that day. My nieces wanted hamburgers but they were out?? Wes and I both got the bbq plate, which included a small serving of pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw, and 2 hush puppies. Yes, apparently in NC hush puppies are synonymous with bbq. They were the highlight of the meal. There were 2 sauces available on the table - one a mustard-based sauce and the other was a tomato-vinegar sauce. The pork was very finely chopped, in fact it was almost mushy it was so fine. The flavor was slightly smokey but otherwise quite bland. The meat came dry so you could choose which sauce better suited your taste buds. Of course I tried them both, and while neither were outstanding on their own, they did combine pretty nicely. The beans were very sweet and had been made with the tomato-vinegar sauce. The coleslaw was pretty standard. The hush puppies were a tad sweet and almost tasted like little fritters. I can't remember exactly, but I believe that meal was around $9.95 per person, a tad much for the portion and quality of the food. Having driven for 4 hours without eating, we were so hungry that this did appease our need for nourishment. Using a 5* rating, 5 being the best and 1 being the worst, I'd have to give Little Pigs 1*.

Luckily, our stop in Asheville on the way home was much more enjoyable on the food front! Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, there are several more posts to come about Charleston and the surrounding area first.

There's No Place Like Home!

Although we had a wonderful trip, it's still nice to be home and sleep in our own bed. Colin obviously echos that statement because he slept better last night than he did most of the trip. How he knows one crib from another I don't know, but he must. On the way down we stopped in Asheville, NC. Colin actually did quite well there so we were optimistic. The next morning we were off to SC. We arrived too early to check in so we went into Charleston for lunch. The only lunch place I could think of that was generic enough for everyone was Joseph's. My friend Toni had suggested it for breakfast or lunch because she had eaten there after seeing Rachel Ray eat there on $40 A Day. The food was really good and I'll expound upon that later. It was time to head to our rental house. WOW! It was amazing. The pictures didn't do it justice. We felt like we were living like the rich and famous for a week. I don't have pictures to share because we recorded it on our video camera to get the full effect. I really don't think pictures would do it justice. The girls were a little sad because the pool wasn't huge but they adjusted just fine and were perfectly content by the end of the week. Colin enjoyed the pool, while floating away in his little inner tube. He was fine with the beach too until a wave crashed against us and splashed the salt water in his eyes. He was none too pleased with that and was quickly ready to exit the beach. It was cute though as we were walking up to the beach, he reached his hand out towards the water and gave his "I want that" grunt. Mommy will have to work on that one!

We ate at a lot of great restaurants and I'll post those in mini posts later. For now, here are a few pictures from the trip.

It's good to be home and I look forward to catching up with all of you soon!

Deskins/Ellison Summer Vacation

Here we go, we're off on our first family trip. We leave Friday for Folly Beach, SC (Charleston). It was supposed to be a family vacation, but unfortunately my sister won't be able to join us. The girls are going, as is my Dad's sister, and of course my Mom and Dad. I'm not sure who is more excited, Wes and I who haven't had a vacation in 3 years, Elise who will get to spend an entire week with her Grandpa, Kiara who will get to go swimming every day, Margaret who will get to be away from school for a week, or Grams who will get to enjoy all of her grandkids!! I know there will be some trials and tribulations with Colin and the drive down there, but we'll make it and have good stories to tell afterward. I'll be back in about 2 weeks with stories, restaurant reviews, and lots of pictures. Enjoy the beginning of your summer! And we're off...

Here's a picture of the house we're renting. Hopefully it will look something like this!