Memorial Day Weekend Continued…

After too much fun on Friday and Saturday, Boding and I agreed that we wanted to start the week off on the right note. A healthy note. I tweeted the head chef at Crave, Landen Ganstrom, asking him if he could whip up something healthy for us. Although he wasn’t working, he dialed up his sous chef and told him we were coming in.

Like always, we started off brunch at Crave with their delicious cornbread muffins. These things are incredible. I rarely, if ever, butter my bread, but this is where I make an exception. They’re melt-in-your-mouth tender, sweet muffins.

Back on the healthy track, the sous chef served us an entrée that did not disappoint. We each had Coriander dusted salmon with a peach reduction served atop pulled zucchini, squash, and red pepper “fettuccini” in a light tomato sauce.

After brunch, we went shopping. Boding bought some of his favorite wine, Jam Jar…

…and I picked up a pair of (cheap!) wedges from Payless. I can’t remember the last time I went in that store, but I’m glad I did. Twenty bucks (yup!) later, I walked out with these.

All the shopping worked up an appetite, so we went to Tutti Frutti for some sorbet. I had pineapple and orange creamsicle topped with mango, blueberries, and cookie dough. I kid you not, this is the best froyo/sorbet in Charleston. Their soy yogurt is  even better than the regular froyo.

Side note: The girls at work and I decided not to give up sweets until Monday. It just didn’t seem right to start over MDW. :)

We then spent an hour or so at Barnes & Noble, doing “research.”

On Monday, the weather wasn’t so lovely in my area. I woke up, visited Brandy at Starbucks for a skinny caramel latte, and then hit the gym. Continuing on with my typical Monday, I ended up at Chick-fil-A for lunch.  Shocker.

I had a kid’s meal with grilled chicken nuggets and one of those cute applesauce packets.

I’m a sucker for cute packaging, especially when it contains fruit!

Monday afternoon, Amanda and I met some friends at Vickery’s to enjoy the sun, after it decided to come out from the clouds. When the boys told our server they wanted one more beer, Amanda and I couldn’t decide if we wanted another. Our server suggested we “share one more beer.” Initially we thought “how bizarre” but went with it. Two girls one straw.

What was the highlight of your Memorial Day Weekend?

Brunch at Carter’s Kitchen in I’On, Mt. Pleasant

This past Sunday, the lovely Sarah Jones of All Over It invited me join forces with her and review Carter’s Kitchen. Nestled in the I’On neighborhood, this charming little restaurant is a great spot for dining. My first impressions of the restaurant were how pretty it was inside and how welcoming the staff was. It was a beautiful day so we decided to sit on the porch and enjoy the sunshine.

Before we were seated, we ordered drinks from the bar. While waiting, I glanced over the menu and noticed one of my biggest pet peeves: the unnecessary apostrophe. Urrrgghhhh.

I let my pickiness for grammar go as soon as the bartender handed us the Bloody Marys.

The darker one to the left was made with a local product: the Charleston Bold & Spicy Bloody Mary mix. It’s thick and has a really nice kick to it. It made the second Bloody Mary taste watered down.

Then the ordering of multiple dishes began. We started with two recommendations from our server. Bruleed grapefruit with vanilla sugar:

This was as delicious as it was beautiful! The ratio of tart to sweet was perfect and I’m now inspired to make this at home.

Biscuit Sliders with country ham, bacon, sausage:

I had high hopes for these but the biscuits were very dry and the ham was extremely salty. The concept is cute though!

By this time, we were ready for round two: mimosas. We had a grapefruit and St. Germaine mimosa and a cranberry and Amaretto mimosa.They were both excellent. I now want only cranberry and Amaretto mimosas for brunch. See ya, OJ!

Out of all the entrees, my heart was set on the Seafood omelet with shrimp, crab, scallops, and lobster sauce with a side of grits and toast.

Both the texture and taste of the eggs made me question if they used eggs from a carton. Boo. The seafood stuff inside, however, was incredible. There was so much crab meat and the lobster sauce was divine. I’d eat this every weekend. The grits were fantastic – some of the best I’ve had in Charleston because of their perfect consistency.

We also tried the Orange-Vanilla French toast.

YUM! It had a slight hint of citrus and was perfectly crispy with a soft middle.

As odd as this sounds, one of my favorite parts of brunch was the home fries. They used red, white, purple, and sweet potatoes. So colorful and so tasty.

Carter’s Kitchen has really great brunch items at fair prices with an even charming atmosphere. I insist you sit on the porch! The food was prepared and plated well, aside from the dry biscuits and disappointing quality of eggs. My only gripe about our experience overall was that our server was inattentive and not very friendly. Maybe I should have given her one of my mimosas…

What’s your favorite brunch item? Do you prefer salty or sweet in terms of breakfast items?

Charleston friends: Where is your favorite spot for brunch?

Weekend Happenings

After a work project was completed on Friday, Rachel and I were given gift cards to Bottles for helping out. Woohoo! I managed to scoot out of work by 5 pm and headed over to find a delicious red wine.

I highly recommend this! It’s a full-bodied, fruity red with hints of strawberries and cherries. With a glass in hand, I finished Fifty Shades Darker. It left me wanting to jump into the third book immediately, but sleep was more important.

Saturday morning I took my 16th Pure Barre class in April. I’m so close to completing the 20 class challenge! During the day, I met up with my friend Courtney for lunch and shopping. That evening, a few of us went out for drinks and dancing at Closed for Business and Oku. Much later, somebody (no, not me) had a wise idea of going to IHOP. After being convinced they had “healthy options” on their menu, I went along with the gang.

My friend Dodd ordered probably the most disgusting thing on the entire menu. Country fried steak with um, “gravy.” It was just awful looking…

And I had the face to prove it.

I ordered one of the healthy menu options (egg whites, toast, fruit, and “bacon”) and it was terrible. Just terrible. Now I know why I don’t eat here. We did have a lot of fun though. The people watching was incredible.

Sunday Funday was much more delicious! For brunch, Steve, Ryan, and I went to Butcher & Bee. This place is BYOB, and Steve surprised us with beer, champagne, and orange juice. The pineapple o.j. is money in a mimosa! The shark that Steve is holding is actually a bottle opener.

To eat, I had the Shaksuka, an Israeli dish of poached eggs in a tomato sauce with onions, garlic, cilantro, and a dollop of tahini served with crusty bread.

It was really good. We also shared a cream puff for dessert.

Yum and yum.

Sunday night, a bunch of us went bowling. And by a bunch of us, I mean Lauren and I with eight boys. She and I really enjoyed that ratio. We also kicked their behinds. I definitely dominated my lane on the last game.

I swear, it’s because I’m left-handed.

What was the best thing you did this weekend?

NYC Day 3

On Sunday, Lucy and I went to brunch with Courtney, my friend from Charleston who moved up to the city a couple years ago. As of couple months ago, Courtney and her husband are Vegan, as is Lucy. Courtney found us a cute little Vegan brunch spot called Blossom. For being strictly Vegan, they had a menu full of delicious sounding meals. I opted for the French Toast with fresh fruit and tempeh bacon.

The French toast was crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. I was nervous to try the tempeh bacon, but I ended up liking it.

Both Lucy and Courtney had the Tofu Scramble  with sautéed onion, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, and soy sausage.

I wish we had more Vegan restaurants in Charleston. There were a lot of menu items I’d like to try and ultimately experiment with in my kitchen. Maybe I’ll use the menu as inspiration. Thanks, Courtney, for picking out a great spot and meeting us! :)

We also took Courtney’s recommendation to walk through Chelsea Market and pick up a cherry cream scone at Amy’s Bread.

I had just eaten breakfast, but couldn’t resist digging into this soft, buttery scone. It was incredible. Scones aren’t my typical go-to baked good, but I’m so glad I listened to Courtney. The girl is smart. I want to make these at home, too!

Sunday evening, Ben and I had a really fun dinner at Mario Batali’s restaurant, Casa Mono. First, while waiting for a table, we had a glass of wine at Bar Jamon, which is adjacent to Casa Mono. We both had the Nita, a blend of Cariñena, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. I liked it a lot.

Dinner was so exciting. We sat at the bar that overlooked the kitchen. Watching the chefs prepare everyone’s food was quite a show. They were quick, yet so particular about plating, and it showed in each dish.

Casa Mono is a Spanish tapas restaurant so we ordered several different plates.

Round 1:

Bacalao Croquetas with Orange Alioli

Razor Clams a la Plancha

Sepia with Salsa Verde

Of these three, I liked the croquetas best. They were glorified fish sticks – so light and the orange zest really added to it. The razor clams were garlicky and in a delicious olive oil. The sepia, a cuttlefish, had a chewy texture but were great.

Round 2:

Mussels with Cava and Chorizo - $15

Lobster with Spicy Sweet Potato and Agua de Coco

Seared scallops with a cherry parsnip puree

Each of these plates were amazing. I avoided the chorizo in the mussels and, even without it, the broth had so much flavor. The cherry parsnip puree with the scallops was one of the best flavors I’ve had in a while. I really enjoyed the fruit + seafood pairing. This was definitely a memorable dinner, both for the incredible food and the entertainment. I so badly wanted to jump over the counter into the kitchen with the chefs. Casa Mono is a must for your (and my!) next visit to NYC.

Dinner would not be complete without dessert. Both of us were in the mood for cookies, so we headed over to Momofuku Milk Bar. They have some crazy desserts, including cookies, pies, ice cream, truffles, milkshakes and more. We stuck with cookies and brought home 3 types:

• the famous Compost Cookie (pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, chocolate chips)
• Peanut Butter
• Blueberry & Cream (dried blueberries, milk crumbs, white chocolate)

The PB cookie was pretty standard, and while the Compost Cookie was good, it wasn’t as earth-shaking as the reviews I’d previously read. There weren’t any pretzels in it and it mostly tasted like coffee! I really liked, no loved, the Blueberry & Cream cookie.

What’s your favorite type of baked good?

Do you like tapas style restaurants?

Best Moments of the Weekend

*My healthy lunch from Ali Baba Deli: Pita bread, tabouli, fattoush salad, grilled vegetables, and pomegranate muhammara. Swing over to Daniel Island just for this muhammara. It’s one of the best things I’ve eaten.

I’m loving all the veggies I’ve been eating since I started being repulsed by stopped eating meat/poultry/eggs. It has been 5 full days and it’s so easy! I know I said I wouldn’t give myself a title, but if I did, I’d be a lacto-pesco-vegetarian, right? I’m eating some dairy and fish, but no meat, poultry, or eggs. Enlighten me.

*The lovely Starbuck’s cups.

*My facial from Facelogic. This was incredibly relaxing and my face now feels as soft as baby’s skin! I highly recommend Dina if you’re thinking about going to Facelogic.. I also purchased this Dermalogica starter kit that they used on me.

*A visit to TCBY for frozen yogurt! I had a strange, yet delicious combo. +

with

*The Vow. I thought the movie was really good, but not as passionate as, oh, say The Notebook? Does anything compare to that movie?  I shed no tears, but came close a couple times. Deep breaths and shoving gummy worms in my mouth fixed that.

*Winter decided to grace Charleston with its presence Saturday night. The cure for the blistering cold? Winter gear + beer.

Oh, and hot chocolate for good measure. I am unsure as to why I wore a hat, mittens, and a scarf, but no socks or real shoes. Clearly I was in a rush for the necessities. 

*Brunch with Rachel at Hall’s Chophouse. I love that before bartender Darryl handed me the menu, he asked me, “Beets, right?” Well, of course. I, for the 29862968th time, got the Blackened Salmon Salad with a side of beets.

*After brunch, Rachel and I went to HIP HOP CLASS. No joke. I didn’t fall! It was sooo much fun. Definitely worth laughing the whole time! Immediately after that, we did Body Pump. 2 hours of exercise on a Sunday? Heck yeah!

And just for giggles, let me tell you about the worst part of my weekend. On Saturday as I was leaning down to adjust my bike at the gym, I knocked my head into one of the handlebars. I smacked it so hard I gasped aloud and now have a bruise. Seriously, will I ever grow out of this clumsiness?!

What were the best moments of your weekend?

GIVEAWAY coming tomorrow! Hint: It’s going to be SWEET!