Everything's Better at the Beach

Hi! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

So, I should probably write the last Folly Beach post, since I got back like a week ago. I was just busy; we went to Asheville almost immediately afterwards, because it's a Fourth of July tradition.

 

Want.

Every night, we went to a small ice cream shop called Sugartime. This place doesn't look like much; it's really small and doesn't even have tables. But the ice cream is really, really tasty. It's fresh, flavorful, locally made ice cream from a brand called Wholly Cow. Sugartime only has a few flavors, but they change some of them up each night.

I had cookie dough the first night, vanilla the second night, and mint chocolate chip the last night. Mmmmm. The vanilla was really vanilla-y. I think the mint chocolate chip was my favorite though. I thought the cookie dough could have used more cookie dough. Mom got brownie batter the first night and peach the other nights. Both were really good, especially the peach. It was made with real South Carolina peaches. Dad had heath bar. Like the cookie dough, it needed more stuff. I don't remember what my sister got, except she got vanilla the last night. I'm sure whatever she got was good though, because she was very happy.

Folly is a great town. I really recommend it. But if you go, you have to take me with you.
 Love,
Mellie

Ciao from Chucktown

I'm officially in love with Charleston. Right now we're at Folly Beach, but I would have loved to stay in downtown Chucktown. It is the prettiest thing EVER! So many lovely old fashioned homes.

Today we ate lunch at Cosmic Dogs. My family acted like it was the best thing ever, but I thought it was just OK. The hot dogs, the milkshakes, the fries, the slaw-i think you could make just as good or better food at home. I did like the vintagey atmosphere of the place. Overall, it gets a B.

In Charleston we went on a carriage ride. Biggest. Ripoff. Ever. The old homes are beautiful, but we could have looked at them for free and not listened all the boring details. Plus, it was sooo hot. By the end I was too sweaty to go to any shops, but maybe tomorrow.

Overall, I'm pleased with Charleston and Folly. I'll blog more about it later. Bye!

Mellie

Ed Boudreaux's Bayou BBQ

Oh how I love Asheville. I grew up in a biggish (that's a word, because...I said so) small town and now live in an even smaller town, but my heart belongs to the city. And Asheville is a great size-large enough to have the  rush and energy of a city, yet small enough to have less traffic.

I absolutely adore downtown. I love, love, love, love it. It's so funky and unique. I love those Bohemian dresses the hippie women wear. I love the art. I really love the boutiques. And of course I love the food. 

Last weekend, I visited my family in Asheville, and on Friday night we went to Ed Boudreaux Bayou Barbecue. We went back in November and I had some amazing barbecue and the best sweet potato fries I've ever eaten. These fries are the perfect doneness, and slightly sweet and salty. And they must be eaten with Alabama White BBQ sauce. This sauce is divine-mild, tangy, not really sweet. I also tried Rajun Cajun BBQ sauce and it was good but it paled in comparison. 

This time, i decided to get a portabello melt, because I'd never had portabellos before. It was delicious- it had portabellos, avocados, lots of swiss cheese, red onions, tomatoes, balsamic ailoli, and sprouts. It was absolutely amazing. I only ate half but it was really satisfying. (I managed to eat all my fries though-they are that amazing!) They also have other vegetarian options like black bean burgers, avocado melts, and a couple of sandwiches with tempeh.

Afterwords we went to the drum circle. That's just what it sounds like- a place where all the hippies dance and play drums. People come from all over to participate. They look really ridiculous and a little creepy-but it's really cool.

I love Asheville. But I guess you probably figured that out. 

Have a good night,

Mellie

R and M Sandwich Shop

Today I ate one of the best lunches-no, meals period, that I've EVER eaten. And that's saying a lot.

A while back, my mom and sister went to Canton, GA and came back raving about the downtown, especially this amazing sandwich shop. Then, today we went shopping and Mom and my sister insisted we go here for lunch. And I fell in love.

I was thinking it would be one of those girly places where you get a light little sandwich and soup. Was I ever wrong. The sandwiches are every bit as filling as big thick burgers. And the atmosphere isn't like a girly sandwich place. It's very vintage-y ; they have old Coca-cola decorations and stuff like that. I just love those types of places. 

But you don't care, you want to know about the food! OK. First off are the french fries. They were really tasty; They tasted like Arby's fries. They weren't too soggy or too crisp.

My mom and sister split the donna special, which is grilled roast beef on rye with Swiss and mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, onions, jalapenos, mustard, mayonnaise and tomatoes. O my goodness. To die for!

I had grilled salami and swiss on rye. It was soo good, but ugh, it was so greasy! I used like four paper napkins and didn't get even a tenth of the grease off. But it wasn't one of those greasy foods where grease is the only flavor- it was like there was a treasure buried underneath. The salami was good quality.I didn't eat nearly all of it but I was soo stuffed!

You should go to R and M!  It's quite amazing. And downtown Canton is actually pretty. I'm more interested in the city part though. :)

What could be better than a day with good food, good books, and shopping?

Questions of the day: What are your favorite independent/local restaurants?

Have a good night!

Mellie

Summer Sandwiches

Hello!

It was a lovely day today. And-you guessed it- I have no pictures! Ugh! Have I mentioned that I really, really hate this computer? I mean really. Ugh!

But you know what I DO love? A good sandwich. Not a pbj or a fake ham and american cheese on regular bread. A GOOD sandwich. I love to experiment with different cheeses, meats, toppings, and breads. 

For lunch today, I broiled half a multi-grain ciabatta roll with pepper jack cheese, and added a piece of bacon and homegrown lettuce. It was amazing! I love the contrasting textures...the crispy bread, the gooey melted cheese, the chewy bacon. And I think broiled sandwiches are way better than grilled. But I do like grilled sandwiches! And so for supper, we had this amazing meal that my mom created last summer:

Chicken Panini

4 chicken breast halves, grilled

4 slices extra-sharp cheddar cheese (I used cabot's)

Cream cheese ( I used Laughing Cow lite creamy swiss)

4 leaves of cabbage

fresh basil to taste

Grill till cheese is melted and bread is browned.

I love most anything in the ice cream/frozen yogurt family, (I eat a lot of it even when it's snowing outside.) So, for dessert, I had a Jamba Coconut Pineapple yogurt and sorbet bar. It was very good! I had never tried that brand before. And it has only 90 calories per bar.  These are now one of my favorite frozen treats.

 I'm really ready for summer! Just 2 more weeks of school, and the last week I only have to go in the mornings. It seems sooo long. But my cousin has like a month left, so it could be worse. It still seems long.

Questions of the day: What are your favorite summer foods? What's your favorite part of summer?

Have a good night!

Love,

Mellie

Last Weekend...

...I went to Asheville, which is THE ONLY thing even REMOTELY worth seeing in Appalachia. 

Of course, there are rednecks there, and hiking trails, and gift shops with cheesy deer head-black bear-rustic cabin decor, but there are fun things, too. Like... funky hippies. And good food. And shops. And a mall. Yes, there are malls everywhere, except my town. We go to an endless variety of stores: Cato, Bealle's Outlet, and Wal-Mart. I hate it. But I digress.

Friday night we went downtown to Dok Chey's thai restaurant. We got a shrimp roll appetizer and it was amazing!! We also got green beans with soy sauce. To die for! I ordered spicy thai basil pasta with chicken. So good! It was VERY spicy, and very flavorful. The noodles were cooked to perfection. To drink I got housemade ginger ale. Uhh.. good, but EXTREMELY hot. Like chewing a ginger root. I think I would've liked it better if my meal hadn;t also been spicy.

Other Doc Chey's picks:schezwan (sp?) stir fry, pad thai noodles (my favorite), thai fried rice.

For dessert we went to French Broad Chocolate Lounge! It's also downtown. I got a piece of  Quintessential Chocolate Cake. Three layers of incredibly moist chocolate cake, sandwiched with delicious chocolate frosting, topped with bitter, rich ganache and chocolate shavings. Amazing, and I don't even like things that chocolatey. 

I've also had the chocoalte chip cookies which are great, and chocolate creme brulee, which is my favorite. I hate pudding but I love the contrast of the creamy, rich chocolate bottom and crunchy top. 

Saturday the adults went to the Fresh Market and got Toffee chip and peanut butter chocolate cookies. They were amazing; i usually prefer homemade but these were great.

Last but not least, at TJMaxx my aunt bought fig balsamic vinegar. Oh, my. So good. Much better than plain balsamic vinegar. We mixed it with olive oil and dipped french bread in it, I could live off of it.

I love it. I love Asheville. Even if you're not a foodie, you'd love it. There's so much to do, and believe me, Downtown Asheville is the closest you can get to heaven- in the mountains, of course.

Sorry for the long post!

Love,

Mellie