Charleston Eats

Wedding week is here!!!  I just don’t know how I’m going to focus on anything else this week.  I was trying to figure out what to blog about (don’t worry, I have some weekend eats (aka SALADS) to share but that can wait) and then I realized I never shared about the dining that went on in Charleston.  I love to read restaurant reviews, especially when I’m about to go to that city, so I want to write a few.  Now these reviews aren’t anything fancy – they’re just my honest opinion on the restaurant, taking into consideration the atmosphere, the staff and the FOOD.

First up, Hominy Grill.  We had scoped out several places to have brunch on Saturday morning but we didn’t make a reservation (most places don’t take ‘em for lunch).  With that being said, we made a decision in the middle of the street to hit up Hominy Grill.  On the phone we were told we were about a 15 minute walk away and there was a table for 8 ready when we were standing in front of Toast (heard great things, bottomless mimosas – for an hour, just decided not to eat there).

Hominy Grill

Well, we walked…and we walked…and we walked…and finally after about 45 minutes we made it.  We were starving.  And thirsty.  There are many things that could have gone wrong at this moment – but things started looking really nice (except to the Buttercream Queen) when we realized we could enjoy cocktails (AKA mimosas) while waiting for our table (that table for 8 had just been sat when we arrived).

beauties…hungry beauties

So we all enjoyed a drink while waiting and took lots of pictures.  We also glared at the table of 8 hoping to encourage them to eat faster (kidding…kind of).

blondies

Finally, the table cleared and we cheered.  Oh, yes we did.  A round of drinks was a must.  Obviously I went for the mimosa but I heard the bloody’s were on point (I enjoyed snacking on their pickled okra).

day drinking is necessary

After glancing over the menu, we were ready to order.  Or so we thought.  We were going to order some appetizers (that’s how famished we were) but come to find out, those are only available during the week.  Major fail.  We did order some fried green tomatoes and they were delicious (I’m going to add – I did eat gluten over the weekend.  And it was totally worth every bite.)

To eat, we all ventured around the menu, but I ultimately went with the Low Country Omelette – Charleston red rice with shrimp gravy & home fries.  Y’all!  An omelette stuffed with dirty rice!!!!  It was awesome!  I cleaned my plate, well except for the biscuit.  That biscuit saved the Buttercream Queen’s life.

Charleston Omelette

A couple of hens ordered the Huevos Rancheros - poached eggs served with black beans, rice, tortilla, fresh salsa & avocado and raved about how incredible they were.  Oh, and their jam is the jam.  Someone, who will remain nameless that was saved by a biscuit wanted to steal the jam.

huuuuevos

If you’re in Charleston, Hominy Grill is a MUST!  I totally recommend this restaurant.  Even after walking 45 minutes, waiting an hour and not being able to order appetizers, I would tell you to go.  The staff was amazingly friendly and sitting on the patio was just what I wanted to kick off the Saturday.

Post-brunch (about 2pm) we ventured to a bar/restaurant/dive called Fuel.  We obviously didn’t eat anything because we were stuffed but we did order a round of drinks while repeating over and over again how amazing the outside seating area was.  I want to go back and just sit for hours and hours and people watch.  And what do you know – I just realized it was featured on Triple D on the Food Network.  Now it’s even cooler!

Fuel

Following that stop, we ventured around Charleston and after stopping at a few boutiques and bars, we made it back to get ready for dinner.

Dinner in Charleston…so many options!  I had heard of Husk and High Cotton and ultimately we made a reservation at  two places:  High Cotton and Anson.  (I am very disappointed to say that Husk would not make accommodations for a party of 8. )  In the end, we decided to go Anson.  It was a stones-throw away from our hotel and I was impressed with their website.  (Just to note – I’m sure that Husk and High Cotton are fantastic, but I feel that restaurants that get as much publicity as they do don’t have to work as hard to get customers to return…)

hen party

Anson was perfect!  Despite having a few glitches with our reservation (the night before) I was blown away by their service and food.  I stuck with drinking Prosceco (bottles for the table!!!!) but I will be returning for a cocktail (someday, mark my word).  The waiter gave us multiple suggestions and really was honest about dishes, as far as his favorites were.

Instead of ordering a large plate, I went with a salad and small plate.  I think most of the table did the same.

To start, GOLDEN BEETS Feta Cheese, Pecans, Radish, Arugula, Banyuls Vinegar.  

The salad was gorgeous when it arrived.  It was so colorful and so perfectly arranged.  Loved the plating!

Ultimately, I couldn’t turn down the pork belly.  I just can’t.  If it’s on a menu, I’m going to order it.  That’s just how it is.

PORK BELLY Corn And Cheddar Waffle, Hot Pepper Jelly, Sunnyside-Up Farm Egg & Succotash

The pork belly was just as melt-in-you-mouth as I imagined and I loved the hot pepper jelly combined with the egg and succotash.  I must note, the waffle wasn’t my favorite (and wasn’t worth the gluten – the only thing the whole trip).  Marlo also ordered this dish – she’s never had pork belly – and is not a pork belly-iver.

pork belly

Other dishes that were enjoyed by the table:

FRIED OKRA Cornmeal Dusted, Goat Cheese & Chili Oil - to die for.

PAN SEARED SCALLOPS Avocado, Grapefruit, Sweet Onion, Citrus Vinaigrette

 SHE CRAB SOUP Laced With Golden Sherry

SEARED SCALLOPS Ragout Of Field Peas, Okra, House Smoked Pork, Anson’s Grits

The thing I”m most thankful for – everyone loves to share (and taste other people’s plates)!!!!  So I tried it ALL.  Oh, and Peaches got a steak that had the most incredible spice rub on the outside.  I need that spice rub in my life.

And finally, breakfast on Sunday.

Poogan’s Porch.

All I’m going to say about this restaurant, order the Chicken and Waffles.  Don’t even look at anything else.

Crispy fried chicken breasts, waffles, blueberry Texas Pete maple syrup…ummm, the blueberry Texan Pete maple syrup needs to be bottled and sold.  I could not keep my fork off people’s plates.  I wanted to dip everything in that syrup.  Every single bite was better than the one before – and that never happens.  Sweet, savory, breakfast perfection.

chicken ‘n waffles

So those are our eats.

Hominy Grill
Anson
Poogan’s Porch

I’d recommend them all!!!!!!

Friday Favorites! Almost no time to pin.

The key word in the above title:  ”Almost.”  I haven’t been on Pinterest in quite a while but I managed to pull myself from working too hard and did a little pinning.  I couldn’t leave you without “Friday Favorites” for two weeks in a row.

Favorite Small Bite:  Chicken and Waffles.  Let’s just say that we had an epic breakfast last Sunday morning.  Four girls ordered the chicken and waffles.  One of my friends insisted that I recreate the dish.

these bites just need blueberry Tabasco syrup

Favorite Bucket List Item:  I’ve never been sailing.  I don’t think Big Guy is a fan but I don’t care.  It’s on my bucket list as of today.

sail away

Favorite Table:  At the same place that we devoured chicken and waffles on Sunday, I fell in love with reclaimed wood tables.  How gorgeous and rustic at the same time!

reclaimed wood table

Favorite Bauble:  In one word:  adore.

make a statement

Favorite Dips:  Dips are totally different than appetizers, right?  I’ll just keep telling myself that…

Fire-Roasted Corn Dip

Favorite Grilled Cheese:  It is National Grilled Cheese month, after all.  So I think that I’ll celebrate this weekend.  You in, Big Guy?  How about we combine two of my favorites:  grilled cheese and pizza?

grilled cheese, please.

Favorite Truth:  This past weekend was simply amazing.  A lot of people would think that putting 8 girls together might cause some cattiness.  But I can honestly say there was no tears or mean words.  And that is why I have the best friends in the whole wide world!

laugh!

Well it’s my last weekend of being a single gal…so to celebrate, I think I’ll have a glass of wine and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Totally normal.

Spring Stir-Fry

This week it’s all about quick dinners.  And this stir-fry is no exception.  The beauty of this recipe is that you can substitute in what you have on hand.  I made my portion vegetarian with edamame while Big Guy enjoyed the addition of chicken.  Additionally, instead of carrots I went with sliced red bell pepper.  If you don’t use the chicken, dinner will be ready in under 15 minutes.  I served our Spring Stir-Fry over white rice.

 

I almost didn’t get green onions at the store but I’m so glad I did!  The freshness really brightens up the dish.  Also, I didn’t come armed with an intense grocery list.  Who knew I was out of soy sauce (tamari)?  I sure didn’t.  Fish sauce came to the rescue.  Seriously – don’t freak out if you’re missing an ingredient.  There is almost always a substitution.  Have fun in the kitchen!  Don’t make cooking dinner a chore.

 

The calorie count is rather low for this dish (without the rice) as a dinner – so if you’re not into rice, you might want to double your portion or add another starch.

 

Wedding Wednesday, 10 days.

Big Guy and I will say “I do.” in 10 days.  That means we’re in the single digits tomorrow.  Holy cow.  It seems like just yesterday I was picking out my wedding dress.  And next week my Momma picks up the dress for the last time.  What an incredible journey it’s been.

On Monday we got our marriage license paperwork.  Now all we need is the pastor’s signature and two witnesses.  It’s real, y’all!

There are little things that need to be completed, but for the most part all is said and done.

My To-Do List:

• Wrap wedding party gifts
• Anything Momma Bell tells me to do

Yep, that’s it.

I have written a Wedding Wednesday for over a year now (minus one week) and I can’t believe it’s coming to a close.  Don’t worry, post wedding I’ll catch everyone up on the events leading up to the wedding the week of plus all things reception.

April 27th is going to be the best day ever.

Insta-Hen Weekend

What a fabulous weekend!!!  Y’all, I couldn’t have asked for a better “hen” party.  I have the BEST friends in the whole wide world.  I can’t say “Thank you” enough.

I’m not going to lie – things are going to be a little cray-cray (crazy) the next couple of weeks (11 days) so bear with me.  But here’s what’s been happening lately via Instagram.  For the bachelorette party, we used the hashtag “bellhenparty” and it’s so great to be able to see the pictures that all eight of us took in one place (technology amazes me sometimes).  So enjoy some of my favorite memories.

I can’t even tell you how many times I heard “woo hoo!”

Friday night champs!

brunch on Saturday at Hominy Grill

blondies

cocktail time!

All the hens at fuel.

Beautiful Charleston

 

roof top sippin’

out on the town

Stay tuned for more recaps!

Charleston is always a good idea.

This weekend is all about me and my ladies.  So excuse me for not posting a fun recipe or Friday Favorites but here are some of my favorite gals that I’ll be hanging out with all weekend.  I hope you have a fantastic weekend and I can’t wait to share (some of) our adventures!!!!

peaches, me and mags

leann and me

KP, marlo and me

me and nat

me and kat

Charleston is always a good idea.

Smoothie Debate

Juicing seems to be “the in thing” right now.  Everyone is drinking green juice and getting their greens.  Except me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m still getting my greens and sometimes drinking green things but it’s not juice.  I don’t get the whole “juice” thing.  I’m more of a blender.  Smoothies are more my thing.

smooooothie

Lately I’ve been drinking a smoothie or two a day.  I was inspired by the book “The Body Reset Diet.”  But please, please, please note – I am not following this diet.  I am simply being inspired by some of his words and points (valid points) that he brings up in the book.  There is no way on Earth I could survive off 3 smoothies a day for 5 days straight.

You see, on “The Body Reset Diet” there are three phases, I won’t go into too much detail because that’s why he is selling the book.  In the first varies phases you drink smoothies, eat snacks and walk.  Walking is the only exercise he recommends during phase one and well, that’s not me.  I enjoy my time at the gym.  I enjoy lifting weights.  I enjoy spinning.

And besides, diets don’t work.  Moderation works.

So why smoothies over juice.  Well, for one, my smoothies contain the calories of a meal with a balance of carbs, fat and protein.  All three of those components are necessary and vital to our health.  Juice contains one of those components – carbs (in the form of sugar, yes, natural sugar, but still sugar).  Juice is not a meal.  Secondly, when you juice, you remove all the GOOD stuff and it gets left behind to go into the trash or compost.  That “trash” is fiber.  Which is so, so, so important.  Most American’s don’t get the recommended 25 grams of fiber each day.  When you juice an apple, you’re left with just the juice.  But when you blend an apple, you get all the nutrients, including the fiber that’s find throughout the fruit and mostly in the skin.  Also, you can blend protein and fat.  You can’t juice protein and fat.

A typical smoothie for me includes a protein (almond milk with Greek yogurt or protein powder), carbs (apples, bananas, grapes, berries – pretty much any fruit you can think of) and fat (nut butters, flax, chia seed, avocado).  I also like to add green to my diet.  Up until this week, the green was spinach.  Spinach is tasteless.  I promise!  But I branched out this week and tried baby kale.  Love!  But I would recommend starting with the spinach.  Without one of those components it’s just not a complete meal.  Smoothies run you at about 300 to 350 calories.  So if I’m drinking smoothies, I am snacking more to make sure I’m getting enough calories.  Also, sometimes I’ll leave the fat out of the smoothie and eat that on the side.

Am I trying to lose weight?  No.  The number that appears on the scale doesn’t matter to me at all.  But I do feel lighter this week.  Is it something that I’ll do for the rest of time?  Nope.  I probably won’t drink a smoothie this weekend or over the honeymoon (but I will be drinking pina coladas).

So there you have it.  That’s why I’m drinking smoothies.  And that’s why I’m not drinking juice.