Hello, hello! Last weekend, my sister Rachel and her dog Skittles came to visit me in Charlotte. We had a really nice time, and one of the highlights was trying some new beer & food in Charlotte's Noda neighborhood. Since there are some places that dogs just can't go, little Skittles had to stay home for the evening. We started our evening in NoDa at the NoDa Brewing Company. The tasting room was fairly busy when we got there, but there were definitely still open seats for us to sit and enjoy our beer. We didn't get food since we wanted to eat dinner elsewhere, but NoDa Brewing had a food truck on site in case anyone wanted to get food. Great idea!
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During my trip to Charleston last weekend, I attended a Charleston Cooks! demonstration with my mom and sister. We weren't sure what to expect, my mom found information about the cooking demonstration online and thought it would be fun to check out. We knew that we would be watching chefs prepare southern food, and then get to taste the food afterwards. Southern food + cooking tips? Sign me up!
The Charleston Cooks! demonstrations and cooking classes take place at the retail store of Maverick Southern Kitchen in downtown Charleston. In addition to operating the store & classes, Maverick Southern Kitchen owns several restaurants in the Charleston area. I have been to one of their restaurants- SNOB- and loved it, so I had a feeling the food at the cooking demo would be delicious. Last night I met my friend Tracy and her friend Sarah at The Garlic Poet in New Cumberland PA. I had been wanting to try this place ever since I heard about it- it seemed like everyone in Central PA had been there except me! Obviously I had to remedy that situation ASAP.
Ahh, the Troegs tasting room. My first visit to Troegs Brewing Company was years ago when they were located in their original building in Harrisburg. Now, they have a huge new building in Hershey with brewery tours, the tasting room/snack bar, and a retail store. Matt and I love to go to the tasting room and have a beer or two and grab some food from the snack bar. Calling the Troegs facility a tasting room is a bit misconceiving, it is actually a restaurant-size room with a large bar and plenty of tables. Every time we have been to Troegs it has been super busy, but service is good and we have never had a bad experience. Last night it was really nice outside, so we took advantage and sat outside in their beer garden area. My absolute favorite beer (ever?) is the Troeg's JavaHead Stout. It's dark and rich with hints of coffee flavor. Mmm. I love that they brew the JavaHead with local coffee too. We also took advantage of some of the food from the snack bar- they have a bunch of creative sandwiches, tacos, and appetizers with a menu that changes seasonally. I ordered the Shrimp Po Boy, and Matt had the Meatloaf Sandwich. My only disappointment was that the Po Boy had arugula on it- one of the few vegetables I don't like. I did something that I typically am against as a healthy living advocate- I picked the leafy greens off my sandwich. Shame on me. Wondering what's in the brown paper bag? Homemade chex mix! So fun. Matt took the chex mix home to eat later, since we also shared some french fries. Overall a great meal. I am definitely planning to have a salad for dinner today though! You guys know I'm all about moderation, and having a weekly splurge can still fit into my healthy lifestyle.
Anyone else love the Troegs Tasting Room? Delicious craft beer? Yes. Killer food? Absolutely. Appalachian Brewing Company- or ABC as Harrisburg people call it- is definitely one of my favorite places. It's no secret that Matt and I love to have a beer and a yummy meal on the weekend, and ABC really delivers. For full disclosure, I will say that the service at the bar is a bit slow at times. I usually overlook this though because I'm not there to rush through a meal, I don't mind sitting and mulling over the menu or slowly sipping my beer while I wait for food. The beer I had during this visit was SO good, it was one of their seasonal brews- Chocolate Avenue Stout. Dark, rich, just the way I like my beer. A few other favorites from the regular beer rotation are the Susquehanna Stout or the Trail Blaze Ale. As a side note, I attempted to have a Miller Lite after running the Warrior Dash last weekend and it was an epic fail. I'm usually against wasting beer, or food for that matter, but I took 3 sips of Miller Lite and couldn't do it. #beersnob For lunch I ordered the Malt House Salad with ABC Balsamic Vinaigrette, and an order of Timberline Falafels. This picture is a little deceiving because the salad was huge, if you are looking to just have a light lunch it will probably be enough. During this meal I wanted to get my veggies with the salad, but I also wanted something a bit more decadent. Fried falafel definitely did the trick. It was particularly good dipped in the cucumber sauce.
I love making baked falafel at home, but it was a nice change of pace to order a fried version at a restaurant. If you are interested in dabbling into the world of falafel, here are two different versions you can make at home: Sweet Potato Kale Falafel Homemade Baked Falafel Of course, ABC has other great menu items besides falafel- their pizzas are good, the quasadillas are good, and Matt has been known to order the Mile High Meatloaf. And of course the beer is yummy. Is anyone else craving a craft beer right now? El Sol is one of my favorite Harrisburg restaurants- I love Mexican food. I make a ton of Mexican inspired dishes at home, but sometimes I need to just go to a Mexican restaurant and chow down. I started my meal with a House Margarita on the rocks. It was very refreshing, but a bit syrupy for my taste. On previous visits I have ordered the Fresca Margarita or the Organic Margarita, which are both made without the sour mix. The more natural versions taste much better to me, but I wanted to try the House since it costs $3 or $4 less than the Fresca or Organic Margarita. I guess I'll be paying more next time for what I really want. Sigh. The margarita was ordered along with a glass of water- one of the rules I set for myself to create a healthier eating out experience is to drink at least one glass of water for every alcoholic drink I have. You can read more of my healthy eating out tips here. The food at El Sol was once again amazing, doesn't this look delicious? My mom, Matt & I each ordered the taco trio; you get to choose three different tacos from a wide variety of taco options. Pictured here are the fried fish, grilled fish, and chicken tacos. Matt & my mom each got the fish, chicken, and some sort of beef option too.
We all agreed that the chicken tacos were the best, the chicken was juicy and had just the right amount of spice. The tomato salad and refried beans on the side were also delish. I ate the fried fish taco, the chicken taco and the salad, but then I got really full. I ate a few bites of the beans and the grilled fish taco so I could taste everything, but then Matt polished off the rest of the food for me. El Sol is a great place for fresh, delicious Mexican, but it probably isn't for everyone. If you are someone who likes to sit down and binge on chips & salsa (you have to buy chips separately at El Sol) then eat a big pile of greasy food doused in cheese, this probably isn't for you. But for me, having salsa, cilantro and onions on top of my food is right up my alley. This was my second visit to The Sturges Speakeasy- it's the new restaurant that was formerly Garrisons for you Harrisburg peeps. Matt & I went for lunch, so I started off the meal with my one of my favorite day drinks- the Bloody Mary. So yummy. I <3 green olives in my Bloody. I was in the mood for something light- I love going out to lunch on the weekend, but I don't love feeling weighed down all day from eating too heavy of a meal. I might be tempted to take after Sadie and spend my entire afternoon napping in the sun. Which actually doesn't sound too terrible. Anyway, back to the lunch. I ended up ordering an item off the weekly specials menu- it was lettuce wraps with shrimp, cabbage, corn, & black beans. It tasted good but was a little TOO light. I ended up needing a snack and eating a Greek yogurt when I got home. In retrospect I should have ordered another small appetizer, they had a bunch of yummy looking ones on the menu. On the other hand, Matt ordered a huge pork belly sandwich that was also on the weekly specials menu. He said it was really good, but was SO filling that he did end up taking a nap in the afternoon. So, good for the taste buds, but not so good for the waistline.
Sturges Speakeasy has different specials each week, which are definitely worth a try. I really want to go back now that the weather is warmer because they have a nice looking upstairs patio. Anyone else think that eating and drinking are automatically more enjoyable when done outside? After reading this article about a new BBQ place in Harrisburg, I knew we had to try it immediately. Regular readers- and anyone who knows my husband- knows he is obsessed with BBQ. I like BBQ sauce a lot, but as I eat less and less meat, the texture of too much BBQ is a bit yucky for this flexitarian girl. Looking at Smoke BBQ's menu, I noticed that they have an entire section of non-meat items- SCORE. I ended up ordering the smoked tofu, served with brussel sprouts and french fries. Matt ordered the brisket sandwich, which he LOVED, mac and cheese, and french fries. He also had the fried pig ear (EEWW!!!), which he said was cooked fine, but the texture & idea of eating a pig ear grossed him out. I'm sure he just wanted to try it as a novelty; we saw an episode of Diners Drive-ins and Dives where Guy Fieri choked down a pig ear. Yuck.
Splurge meal for the week= success! How was everyone's weekend? Mine was filled with friends, family, and lots of goodies to eat and drink! A few months ago, my friend Cristi and her husband Mike went on a mini getaway to Geneva on the Lake- a small town on Lake Erie that's known for having a TON of wineries. Cristi & Mike had such a great time at Geneva that they invited Matt & I to join them on a Geneva trip this past weekend- of course we were in! We ended up going to 6 different wineries where we tasted many, many wines and ate some really yummy food. We stayed at The Lodge at Geneva- where I ate this delicious breakfast both mornings we were there. I love getting vegetable omelets at diners and at breakfast buffets, that way I can get some protein and veggies to start off my day the right way. I had a slice of wheat toast, a few potatoes, and some fruit on the side. And coffee of course. Our favorite winery of the day was Debonne Vineyards; Matt & I both agreed we could have spent the entire afternoon there. It's really fun to visit Ohio wineries because many of them give you a tray with all the samples labeled- doesn't this look like an old school cafeteria tray? Love. Ferrante Winery was perhaps the classiest winery- it had more of an upscale restaurant feel. Matt & I shared this margarita pizza- one of many mini-meals we ate throughout the day. All four of us knew that we needed to keep eating lots of bread so all the wine samples didn't creep up on us!
A fantastic weekend, but now I'm definitely ready to be back on track with my healthy eating. Lots of gym time, lots of doggy walks, and lots of vegetable eating are on the schedule for this week! This sandwich looks delicious, right? It's called the "Pig Pen" and it's from Shakedown BBQ. It's hard to find Shakedown unless you are looking: it's located near Hollywood Casino in Grantville. We have actually tried to go to Shakedown multiple times, but due to weird situations (power outages, day before a holiday, etc.) it has been randomly closed during past attempts. My family will remember a few trips to the casino ending in driving around Grantville looking for somewhere else to eat.
Anyways, back to the sandwich. My regular readers know that I rarely eat meat, but thinking about going to a BBQ place made me crave pulled pork. The meat was tender, the BBQ sauce was delish, and having a scoop of coleslaw on top only makes things better. Matt got the crazy big 3-meat platter with ribs, pork, & brisket (pictured below)- which he loved. We were both REALLY full afterwards. Since I eat healthy 90% of the time, this meal was definitely part of my 10% unhealthy eating for the week. |