Sunday, May 31, 2009

Charleston Take Two


The next stop on the food tour in Charleston was Cypress Lowcountry Grille. This is part of the triple crown of restaurants in Charleston. The decor is wonderful and food matches. One touch that made me very happy was they gave the ladies with dark skirts or pants a black napkins to keep the white lint off our outfits.

I started with a yellow squash soup with basil, chervil and parsley. In the middle is a squash blossom filled ricotta salata. It was a creamy and spicy.

My friends had the salami plate and crab cakes.

Charleston and Spoletto

I have been very fortunate to attend the Spoletto Festival for the past few years. It is a festival of the arts. While I greatly enjoy the arts and have experience some of the best chamber music and dance performances I have seen, I must confess that the food in Charleston is wonderful.

This trip has been just as wonderful as the past one's so far. The first full day here, my crew (from Raleigh, NC and Murfreesboro, TN) went to 82 Queen.

I had, seared sea scallops with roasted apples, sweet potato gnocchi and feta cheese. This was a special appetizer, but I wanted it for dinner. I was a little disappointed, the apples were mushy and the flavors didn't have the connection to each other to hold up.


My friend from Raleigh had the traditional Shrimp and grits. I've had this and it is wonderful. The grits are smooth and creamy and the shrimp is firm with a little kick.


The star of the night was the Salmon Special. It was Seared North American Salmon with harricot verts and red pepper couli. The salmon was so fresh and it tasted light and crisp. Don't you hate when you order the wrong dish? I eat salmon at home and I didn't want to get something plain, oh boy was I wrong!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Clam Shack

Some types of food are specific to regions. The beach is all about the clam shack. My sister from NYC and I met 1/2 way in Hartford for a day of fun, catching up, hanging out and eating. I have great friends in Hartford and they were on the way to the beach, so we went with them to the pre-beach clam shack for lunch. This was a seafood lover's delight. Huge retail space with great product. A to-go section and tables in another room. The only thing missing was the sand in the food and I'm sure that is not missed. I had the soft shell crab with fries of course.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Grocery Hand Held Scanner

This is the greatest grocery invention EVER, okay maybe a cart wheel that doesn't go bad is better. But, this is better than self checkout, since you have scan then bag. I don't know if they are nationwide but I'm totally hooked. I bring my own bags and I like to arrange my purchases by temperature in the bags. I grab one of the scanners on the way in, and scan as I go, packing as I go. If I am lucky enough to have a little one with me, they get to hold the scanner, making it a little harder to put the other items that they MUST have in the cart. I do have to careful that they don't scan themselves as that could lead to eye damage. When it is time to check out---voila, you scan the code at the check-out, pay, and leave! There are even specials just for the scanners, but you have check that you really got them. Anyone else love them as much as I do?

In researching this, I found another tool that looks like just as much fun, a scanner for home to make your grocery list. Oh my god. The personal scanner so my grocery list would be made for me. This could come in handy for my clients. More on grocery lists shortly.

Brunch


I love going out for brunch or making a huge breakfast at home. A few weekends ago,
one of my girlfriends got a get-out-of-mommy-duty cards for the weekend.

I had this wonderful soup, squash with roasted pear and pesto. So yummy. I also had Bloody Mary, a wonderful spicy way to eat more vegtables.

I hope you get out and have some great brunches!

Crazy Fruit


I shop at Russo's in Watertown, and now is the beginning of great fruit season. I love the crazy things you can get there. This is a buddha's fingers, I don't think you can use it for much, but I love the way this looks.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Mission of Mercy

At the hospital where I work, bad smells are not uncommon.
But the smell from the staff room made the smell of body fluids
more like perfume. I loaded up the iPod, dressed in hazmat suit and
got to work. The after photos are blinding. We'll see how long this lasts.