Saturday Faturday.

This past weekend was jam-packed with festivities:

• Vespa pizza lunch with Rob on Friday
• Rue de Jean dinner for Lauren’s birthday on Friday night
• Strawberry picking and Mustard Seed lunch with Justin on Saturday
• Long Point Grill for family dinner Saturday night
• Out for beverages and dancing with Mariah
• Cookout at Lauren’s pool today

I am exhausted. Let’s review Saturday Faturday.

Justin called me to take him to his car that he left at the bar. Smart boy not driving! I told him I’d only take him if he’d go strawberry picking with me. The bribe worked and he ended up having more fun than he probably anticipated. We picked SO MANY STRAWBERRIES.

8.46 pounds to be exact. I think I’m obsessed.

I was picking at warp speed and got all those in about 20 minutes. I was trying to race Justin but he wasn’t trying to race me. I am competitive about the weirdest things! And now I have a massive amount of strawberries in my fridge.

All that picking worked up an appetite so we headed to the Mustard Seed for lunch. I had the roasted chicken salad with blue cheese, caramelized pear, in a raspberry port wine dressing.

Justin had the salad special with was the crab cake salad with a creamy onion dressing. Mustard seed has the best crab cakes!That evening, I met up with my family at another Dine with Sal restaurant: Long Point Grill. Everyone’s dinners were so so good. I had one of their “fit menu” (under 400 calorie) options: Hong Kong style mahi mahi in a tangerine curry sauce with lots of vegetables.

Grammy got a manly dinner: braised short ribs in a port wine jus, with boursin-whipped Yukon potatoes, and seared asparagus.

Kelly’s meal was very interesting – and delicious. She had seared scallops with apple-smoked bacon cream, wilted spinach, and potatoes.

Dinner was delicious and I had lots of fun hanging out with my adorable cousins.

Gabrielle:

Zachary, destroying some chocolate cake:

After dinner, I went downtown to meet up with Mariah for beverages and dancing. Oh, and man hunting. We went to Vendue Rooftop bar because the weather was so nice! Later we went dancing at Trio but there were only creeps there. While we were ordering a drink, a couple of guys asked us if we wanted to go for a late night booze cruise on Shem Creek. At 2 a.m. It sounded like a great way to get murdered, so we politely declined and had our own slumber party.

Obviously we had one too many shots, because we both felt the need to “check in” at our “slumber party” at 3 a.m.

I love people’s reactions and unfortunately Mariah’s friend was exactly right. We were in bed next to each other updating our statuses, liking them, and commenting on them. Is this normal?! Noooooooooooooooooo. Was it hilarious to us? Yessssssssssssss.

What are some of the things that you and your friends do that you know is just weird but you love it anyway?

Husk – One of The Best Restaurants in Charleston

Last night, Santo and I finally made it to Husk for dinner. We had been planning on going ever since its opening last November and after hearing many positive reviews, we were psyched to finally go. Husk’s cuisine is modern and playful and only local ingredients are allowed through the restaurant’s doors. “If it doesn’t come from the South, it’s not coming through the door,” says Chef Sean Brock. Typically, Southern cuisine is not my favorite, but it’s always fun to be daring with new foods.

Husk is not only known for its creative dishes, but also for their innovative cocktails. Again, cocktails are not my usual beverage of choice, but I could not resist trying one. I ordered the Champagne and Strawberries - Classic elegance with a modern twist - Champagne, Domaine de Canton-soaked strawberries, lemongrass and lavender simple syrup with black pepper.
Loooooooved this. I was worried that it would be too fruity, but it was perfect. The lemongrass was what gave it such dimension.

Santo opted for the The Southern Screwdriver - Not Just For Breakfast anymore - Jalapeno macerated vodka, basil syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice and orange bitters.

This was the spiciest drink I’ve ever tasted! I could not have finished it, but Santo really enjoyed it.

While deciding on appetizers, we were served four fresh yeast rolls with bacon butter.

As usual, we ordered two appetizers. First we had the Glazed Blueridge Bison Short Ribs with Parsnip Farotto and Pickled Mushrooms. These were incredible. They were placed in a barbecue teriyaki sauce that was just divine. And the pickled mushrooms were no joke – sour!

Our second appetizer was Dave’s Wood Fired Clams with Surry County Sausage, Spinach and Spring Onions, Crispy Bread. How cute is this serving bowl? The clams were equally delicious with a really lovely, light broth.

While we were looking at the entrees, I told Santo that I wished there was another fish option other than catfish. He replied, “There is. The Sheepshead.” I looked at him, puzzled, and said, “Oh gosh. I thought they meant an actual sheep’s head.” I couldn’t have been more wrong.
My chosen dish was the SC Spear Caught Sheepshead with Sweet Pea Big Grit “Risotto”, Charred Baby Vidalia Onions and Ramp Broth.

This might be my new favorite fish – very light and moist. The risotto was perfectly tender and the fresh peas added a nice crunch.

Santo ordered SC Beef Tenderloin, with Red Creamer Potatoes, Mepkin Abbey Oyster Mushrooms, Broccoli and Spring Garlic Cream. Although he ordered the tenderloin medium, it came out nearly mooing. It was a bit on the chewy side and the sides weren't too exciting.

And of course we ordered dessert. Within 2 seconds of seeing the dessert menu, we both knew we wanted the bread pudding with orange crème. It wasn’t bad, but different than what I was expecting. Neither of us cared for the orange crème sauce, but that’s not a favorite flavor of either of us.

Overall, I was very happy with my experience. Our server, Graham, was wonderful. He was attentive, extremely helpful, and remained cheerful when we asked him many questions about the restaurant. The inside of the restaurant was gorgeous, and the mood very relaxed. I was worried that the staff may be pretentious, but this was not at all the case. I would go back in a heartbeat and am very excited to try their brunch! More cocktails, please!