The Weekend Update

Hi friends! Here are some highlights from the past few days.

We celebrated my cousin Gabrielle’s twelfth birthday. This sweet girl is 12 going on 22; she’s almost as tall as me and probably smarter and more mature. And quite the beauty!

She’s into the mustache trend, so one of my presents to her was this pair of gloves.

Thursday night, Amanda and I went to the early showing of Breaking Dawn Part 2. I mentioned this on Friday, but let me say it again: the movie is so good! It is definitely my favorite of the saga. I want to know what you all think!

This past weekend I went to my grandparents’ house in North Carolina. It’s always so nice to visit them. Our weekend was full of shopping, wine and eats. Their house is in a really pretty neighborhood on a mountain and driving up always freaks me out. The curves and bends, yikes!

When I got there, I found some presents on my bed: a chocolate advent calendar, a Chick-fil-A cow from a race my grandfather had run, socks my grandma made, and a recipe they thought I’d like. Bonus: a crossword puzzle book, not shown.

Onto the eats! On Saturday, we went to 131 Main while we were out shopping at Biltmore Park Town Square. Sarah insisted I go there for the beet burger that she always gets. Right up my alley!

Look at how red it is. You’d almost think it was meat, right? Ha. It was really, really good and I’ve got to remake this at home. Sarah, let’s do this!

Saturday night, we made Ina Garten’s recipe for Roasted Shrimp with Feta. Changes we made: we nixed the Pernod and used artichokes instead of fennel.

We wanted to make spanakopita (inspired by you, Sierra!) but the phyllo dough we bought had dried out. We improvised by placing the spinach mixture in a baking dish and making a crustless pie. This was originally another Ina Garten recipe too.

On Sunday morning, we made a frittata with red pepper, spinach, onion, and basil. This would be great to make for a week long of breakfasts. Just grab a slice, reheat, and go! I don’t have the recipe right now, but if you’re interested, shoot me an email and I’ll find it.

My 4-hour drive back was a bit slower than my ride up. On the way there, as soon as I hit North Carolina, I got pulled for speeding. Boo!! The way back I watched my heavy foot, listened to the Breaking Dawn 2 soundtrack, and fueled with coffee and candy.

What was the best thing you ate all weekend?

What are your road trip essentials?

Highlights From My Weekend

To say this weekend was low key would be an understatement. But don’t you worry, I had plenty of fun.

Friday: I picked up my little brother after school so we could hang out for the weekend. He’s 16 and all he does is EAT. I’m jealous of how much he can get away with eating!

I ate my delicious leftovers from Mi Xao, a new Vietnamese restaurant in Mt. Pleasant. Eric and I went on Thursday night and it was everything I hoped it would be. I ask for a combination of two types of pho. My bowl had shrimp, rice noodles, ginger broth, bean sprouts, basil, lime, jalapeno slices, cilantro, onion, and scallions.

Eric had the wonton pho. We also had the spring rolls, pot stickers, and a can of coconut juice. Okay, I had the coconut juice. I wish you had seen Eric’s face when he tried it. He was not a fan. I happily drank it.

I’m fond of any restaurant that keeps a gigantic bottle of Sriracha on the table. Please look at my broth in the above picture. Now look at this picture, after I had clearly added a ton of the magical sauce. I left with teary eyes and a watery nose.

Saturday: I woke up and made my new favorite breakfast: a pretzel Flatout wrap + scrambled eggs (1 egg, 2 whites) + avocado + Sriracha.

I signed Amanda and myself up for the Charleston 1/2 Marathon. Eeehh, it’s real!

I browsed Hobby Lobby for some craft ideas and ended up finding a birthday present for Rachel…and a majorly sassy glue gun.

I went for an easy 4-mile run around I’On then proceeded to get LOST in the DARK for 30 minutes. I couldn’t find my car and had to map myself with my phone. Typical!

The little brother and I made dinner, watched movies, and ate too much candy and frozen yogurt. Later I suffered from some serious FOMO when I received this text from Danielle:

Sunday: I made crackers. Yes, crackers. I’ve made these twice now and feel the recipe is ready for the blog! Stay tuned. If you’re my friend on instagram, you already know that they contain rosemary, raisins, and walnuts. It’s a fantastic combo, trust me.

Amanda and I started Week 3 of our 1/2 marathon training.

I love having a workout schedule mapped out for the next 10 weeks. I’ll share it with you soon! Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

What were the highlights of your weekend?

What was the best thing you ate?

Next Door–A Neighborhood Bistro

Have you been to Next Door in Mt. Pleasant yet? I hope you say yes, and if not, you should say you’re going very soon! Last week I connected with the social media reps behind Next Door who graciously invited me in for a dinner review. I had been to Next Door twice for pizza and wine – their fig and and goat cheese pizza is amazing – but never for an actual dinner. On Friday, Amanda and I started our weekend with a phenomenal meal.

In the space that Samos once was, Ben Berryhill and his partner from Red Drum opened up Next Door late last Summer. The restaurant is very open and inviting, but with low lighting that gives it somewhat romantic vibe. Our waitress epitomized what I look for in a perfect server. She was friendly, attentive, very patient, and offered her opinion of the menu items with emotion. When asking her thoughts on specific items, she spoke of them as if recalling fond memories, and not just repeating what we had read on the menu. 

While glancing over the menu, Amanda and I each ordered a glass of wine – Malbec for her and a Cabernet/Merlot blend for me. I’ve had several different wines here and they are all fabulous. Each glass is only $6, which I love; you don’t consider the price when choosing and your decision is more focused on a varietal you’ll enjoy. 

Chef Ben Berryhill suggested we start with a summery appetizer: Chilled Cucumber Melon Soup with Dill Cream and Radish. This cool soup was refreshing and silky smooth from the dill cream. Amanda and I thought the baby spoons were the cutest thing!

I immediately knew I wanted to try the Arancini with Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, and Braised Beef. I first discovered arancini in Rome and fell in love with the fried balls of rice, cheese, and meat. Next Door’s version is just as delicious – they were warm, crispy, and cheese poured out with each bite. The tomato sauce on the side was sweet and rich – a nice addition to the salty arancini.

The chef also suggested we try a new menu item that was very similar to the only entrée I tried at Samos: Shrimp Saganaki, Heirloom Tomatoes, Feta, Lemon. We loved this!

Next, we moved onto pasta. The Raviolo with House Ricotta, Prosciutto, Farm egg, and Sage is the largest piece of pasta I’ve ever seen. It took up the entire plate! The very delicate raviolo was filled with the perfect amount of ricotta and prosciutto and sat in a rich, buttery sauce.

Finally, it was time to try some main courses. First was the Wild Sockeye Salmon with Corn, Bacon, Charred Okra, Mushrooms, and Heirloom Tomatoes. The salmon was extremely moist and the corn and okra it sat upon gave the entrée a nice crunch.

Amanda had the Scamp Grouper with Jasmine Rice Pilaf, Peas, Asparagus, and a Fine Herb Vin. Her grouper, cooked perfectly, was buttery and sweet.

Don’t ask me how we made room for dessert and coffee, but we did. See, we’re still smiling.

Smiling about this! Dessert was an Almond Tart with Blueberry Compote and candied Almonds.

We were just as excited when our server brought out French press coffee. Silly excited.

Cheers! It was so good, we both drank our entire press full of coffee . No wonder why we were so bouncy the rest of the evening. French press coffee from Next Door + Trio could make for a very interesting evening.

Next time you’re in Mt. Pleasant, be sure to check out Next Door! It’s a fabulous place with incredible food. Don’t forget to check out their dinner menu beforehand!

Connect with them on:

• facebook
• twitter
• open table
• instagram – @nextdoormp

**Thank you to Jennifer, Chef Ben, Chef Nathan, Lauren, and the rest of the team! It was a pleasure meeting you all and we can’t wait to see you soon!**

Cúrate in Asheville, NC

Friday afternoon, in need of  a getaway, my littlest brother and I traveled to North Carolina to visit my grandparents. On Saturday, the four of us drove up to Asheville to walk around the city and have lunch.

Cúrate is a Spanish tapas bar in downtown Asheville. As my degree from College of Charleston is in Hispanic Studies, I was excited to experience some traditional Spanish cuisine. Cúrate, meaning “cure yourself” had just what we needed: delicious food and wine.

To drink, my grandmother and I both had a glass of the 2010 Peitán, Albariño, which is similar to a Pinot Grigio. Grandpa had a Highland Gaelic Ale and Jake had not one, but three Coca Colas. Oh, teenagers.

I was so sad when I realized I forgot the battery for my DSLR at home, so I apologize that these pictures are from my cell phone. :( Here we go!

Out of all the tapas, I was most impressed by the garlic shrimp. The sauce was so good, I kept dipping extra bread in it. I also really loved the Summer salad and would like to recreate that at home while watermelon is still in season. The Spanish tortilla tasted just like ones I’d had with friends from Spain. The eggplant was the most unusual dish, and I mean that in a positive way. I’ve never thought to drizzle eggplant with honey or rosemary.

Before our meal, my grandfather was sweet enough to mention that I had a Charleston-based food blog. Thanks to that, two of the dishes (the Summer salad and eggplant) were sent out on the house. The head chef, Katie Button, came out to introduce herself as well. She was sweet and seemed very glad we were there. I was impressed by her generosity and taking the time to come say hello. It’s the little things that make a restaurant special. We’ll definitely be back!

Do you like tapas-style restaurants?

Which of the above dishes would you enjoy most?