16 Years!

Last week, on the 21st of August, my husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary!! Yep, we've actually made it that long and are still in love! It hasn't always been easy but we've always stuck together…okay enough of the cheesy, mushy stuff!

 Anywho…so we took the day off from work to relax and do some fun stuff. We ended up going to see the movie Shaun the Sheep (which is very cute and funny…big fan of Wallace and Grommet and most things from Aardman Studios) at the Alamo Drafthouse in One Loudoun. If you haven't been to the Alamo, you need to go check it out. The theaters are very nice and small, which is good because you know it won't be overcrowded. You have the option to assign your own seats and they serve food like in a restaurant, with a waitress and everything. And I have to say, I was surprised how good the food was the first time we went.

Its nothing spectacular or 5 star but its like upscale bar food and everything we've had has been pretty tasty. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures because 1. its dark in there, and 2. they are very strict about no cell phone use. But we've tried their loaded fries, a couple pizzas, and fish 'n chips. Everything was delicious and not very overpriced. They also have a few different sodas for those who are more drink connoisseurs. If there is a unique drink offered, I'm probably gonna try it. They have homemade root beer, which is probably my favorite soda, and they also offer Italian sodas which are sweet and creamy!

hotel bathroom...never seen a sink like this before!

hotel lobby...love the green glass chandeliers!

Later that night we went downtown to have a nice dinner in the Penn Quarter area of DC.  There are a ton of good restaurants in that little area and there was one we've had our eye on for quite a while, called Poste. It serves French-American cuisine and it sits in the middle of the Hotel Monaco. That evening the weather was very tolerable for being August so we got to dine outside in the courtyard. It was a beautiful night and the food was delicious!

First we were served an amuse bouche…a little kiss or taste from the kitchen. A roasted mushroom crostini…savory, earthy, just melts in your mouth! A good sign of things to come!

It just so happened to be restaurant week when we were there so we got to take advantage of some specials. If you choose to order from the restaurant week menu, you get an appetizer, entree, and dessert for $35. Not bad at a place like this. Hubby is not a dessert guy so he didn't take this option. But we both ordered an appetizer. I chose the crispy duck ravioli. It was a large crispy wonton stuffed with juicy, tender duck meat that had been braised with Asian flavors, served with a caramelized onion and carrot slaw, and drizzled with a soy garlic sauce. A good combination of sweet and salty.

Hubby's appetizer was wagyu tartare, basically raw wagyu beef that was served like a terrine on a crostini. It was prepared with pine nuts, arugula, parmesan, and truffle vinaigrette, and topped with potato croutons (like fancy tater tots!). If the thought of raw beef scares you, you are missing out on a good thing! Trust me, its yumma yumma!

Then for the entrees: steak frites and halibut. The steak frites is a 12oz ribeye served with truffle fries and a couple of savory dipping sauces. What's not to like? For me, I chose halibut, a bit of a lighter dish because I was holding out for dessert!  The halibut was pan seared and served with sautéed pea leaves, wild mushrooms, ramps, and a chili oil sauce. It was light and fresh! The sauce made even the greens taste good!

Then came my favorite part: dessert! I'm a sucker for goat cheese, especially when it comes in a cheesecake! This goat cheese cheesecake was served with sour cherries, buckwheat-hazelnut sable, micro sorrel, and sangria sorbet. Ok so first, a definition lesson. I actually had to look up a few of these words while at dinner so I would know what I was eating. Let's start with the buckwheat hazelnut sable.  This is essentially a fancy thin crispy shortbread style cookie. It sort of had a nutty, slightly bitter taste. That might sound like a bad thing, however, the bitterness created the perfect balance for all the other flavors there.

Next definition: micro sorrel. Sorrel is a type of green herb and micro just means it has small leaves. Yes there was a green herb in my dessert! It was a little strange but somehow it worked! The whole dessert had every flavor combo…sweet, bitter, savory, tart, salty. As much as I love the whole over-the-top-chocolate-peanut butter things, these kind of unique desserts end up being some of my favorite. Unexpected flavors that tantalize every area of your tongue!

And since it was our anniversary, the staff also brought out a special surprise! A miniature chocolate coffee mousse cake topped with strawberry sorbet! Hubby only took one bite so it was up to me to finish my own dessert and this one before the candle burnt out…I won!

And THEN, as if that all wasn't enough, while we were waiting for our check, they brought us out another amuse bouche…some kind of little almond sponge cake topped with apricot jam, I believe. So instead of an after-dinner mint, we got after-dinner cake!

It was a great night! Was it absolutely the best restaurant ever? No, but it was deliciously satisfying food and the company wasn't too bad either! Happy 16 years, Superking! Here's to many more! <3

Range

Some great friends of ours surprised my hubby and I to a day of fun recently. First we saw an amazing concert pianist and then we had dinner at a restaurant called Range, which features modern American cuisine by celebrity chef, Bryan Voltaggio.  Range is also known for its Chesapeake shellfish at the raw bar and their wood-fired hearth.

 The first course was a cheese plate, of course! The four cheeses were cabot (a hard cheddar with a nutty flavor), hazen blue (nice mild blue tanginess), kunik (soft and creamy, similar to a brie), and grayson (kinda stinky, but reminiscent of a swiss). It was served with raisin toasts and a pear compote. I love cheese! I haven't met too many cheeses I haven't liked (and I've even tried limburger), and these were no exception.

Left to right: kunik, grayson, hazen blue, cabot

We also had a ham tasting...a country ham and a surryano ham, both from Virginia, served with a creamy, spicy mustard that had a bit of a punch. But it was a nice compliment to the salty sweet hams.

Being a Southern girl at heart, I love biscuits and I love pepper jelly. So when I saw an appetizer for cheddar jalepeno biscuits with pepper jelly, I knew I had to get them. So yumma yumma! The biscuit was warm and flaky and the pepper jelly was the perfect combo of sweet and spicy!

Next came the bone marrow. If you've never had bone marrow, you need to. Its so delicious and unctuous. We first had bone marrow at the Blue Duck in DC which was amazing. The bone marrow dish at Range, cannot compare to the Blue Duck, however, it was pretty tasty on its own merit. This dish was served with shallots, pinenuts, and raisins, which added an unexpected sweet element.

All the above dishes were small plates, which we all shared between the four of us. Next came entrees...Superking chose the hangar steak, cooked medium rare, served with bacon grits, swiss chard, and a chimichurri sauce. Bacon grits...need I say more?

I had the lamb neck with coconut curry sauce and flatbread, which was accompanied by roasted cauliflower with a za'atar seasoning and tzatziki sauce. The lamb was so tender it was practically falling off the bone and melted in my mouth. I love all those mediterranean flavors and aromas!

One of our friends with us was gracious enough to let me take a picture of her dish as well. Her dish was pork belly with a smoked apple, vanilla, and fennel salad. Bright, sweet, salty, delicious!

For dessert they had this adorable "candy cart" that they could wheel around the restaurant to your table. Very non-traditional dessert offerings of chocolate covered rice krispie treats on a stick, variety of truffles, and caramel corn. I chose bacon caramel corn. It was gone in no time flat. While my friend went for a cute little custard of orange and cream with some sort of crumble on top, served in a little jar.

Overall, the food was delicious and unique, as was the atmosphere. The service was just "ok" though. It took a long time for the each course to come out, and all the dishes came out at different times, which was a little odd. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that it was because its a fairly new restaurant to the area and they are still working out the kinks? Nevertheless, it was a night of great fun, great food, and great friends!

The Silver Diner

"We Buy Fresh and Local, You Eat Well!"  That is the motto of the Silver Diner restaurant.  And from what I can tell, they truly live up to that.

The first "diner" was credited to a man named Walter Scott in 1872, who started selling lunches out of his horse-drawn wagon. It wasn't until 1939 that we began to see diners as we think of them today...modeled after streamlined train cars or mobile homes with stainless steel or chrome accents and neon signs and art deco decor. The diner was a way to provide fast food while still maintaining a home-cooked-meal atmosphere in a casual friendly environment.

tabletop jukeboxes

There is still a certain nostalgia about them that reminds us of our childhoods or just a simpler time where being kind to your neighbor and going to church on Sunday and having strong family values were still top priorities. The women wore pearls and pretty dresses, the men dressed in nice slacks and  knew how to be gentlemen and kids knew how to behave in public and learned respect for adults. Maybe I'm overgeneralizing or dreaming that is was a more perfect time than it was. Or maybe I've watched the movie, Pleasantville too many times. At any rate, the diner still exists, though rare.

At Silver Diner, one can get a glimpse into that old America. Their food is hearty and fresh. They strive to use local ingredients whenever available and to be environmentally conscious. And they always serve with a smile! When we go there, we like to sit at the bar instead of a booth.  Sitting at the bar gives you more of the nostalgic feel of a diner and you get a close-up look at the staff hard at work.

Two of our favorite breakfasts to get there are corned beef hash and country fried steak!  I'll be the first to admit, corned beef hash looks, smells, and tastes a bit like cat food. But I can't help but love it! Part of the reason I love corned beef hash, is because of a childhood memory. When my dad would take me camping as a child, we almost always had corned beef hash for breakfast cooked over the campfire stove! I usually order mine with eggs-over-easy (one of the few times I don't get scrambled) and it comes with potatoes as well.  I'm normally the kind of person who eats one thing at a time on my plate, but this is one exception.  I love to mix that runny broken egg yolk with the salty corned beef hash! So delicious and unctuous!!

My husband actually turned me on to the country fried steak and eggs. I used to not really be a fan of steak until I learned what good steak tastes like! And how can you go wrong when you batter it, fry it, and top it with sausage pepper gravy!! Man, I love that stuff! I could just drink a glass of pepper gravy! Yes, its that good!  And on top of that, you get a warm, flaky, buttermilk biscuit. Put a little pat of butter and a drizzle of honey on there...almost heaven.

This diner food makes the perfect hearty breakfast on a snowy day too! And then afterwards, you can go home and take a nap! You're gonna need it!

Nacho Hippo

Nacho Hippo is one our favorite places to go in Myrtle Beach.  And we sort of have a tradition of going there for dinner our first night in town. This year was no different.

this is our hotel, The Anderson. We are waiting in the parking lot for the rain to die down.

We had arrived in Myrtle earlier that afternoon and were welcomed by a torrential rainstorm.  Great start to our week at the beach. A little rain (ok, a lot of rain) wasn't going to stop us from enjoying our vacation though. After we got settled into our room and unpacked, it was off to Nacho Hippo at the Market Common.

Obviously nachos are their signature dish and there is a wide variety of toppings for the nachos.  Some have queso and chili, or jerk chicken with mango salsa, chorizo with jalepenos, taco beef and pico de gallo, one even has lobster and shrimp! And be prepared to share your plate of nachos with someone because they are huge!!

this is from last year's trip

also last year's trip

But aside from nachos, their tacos are really good as well. Just like my earlier post I wrote about going to Taco Boy in Charleston, the tacos at Nacho Hippo are also by the piece so you can mix and match as many as you want.  I had the Thai One On taco with red curry chicken, spring roll slaw, toasted coconut, and Thai peanut sauce. And also the Bangin' Shrimp taco with spicy sweet chili sauce, lettuce, and mango salsa. Both of which had a little bit of heat and a little bit of sweet.

Left: bangin shrimp; Right: curry chicken

Hubby got one of his favorite Mexican dishes...a steak quesadilla, otherwise known as the Good Stuff quesadilla. Grilled steak, blend of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, sautéed peppers and onions, served with lettuce, sour cream, and pico de gallo on the side.  Nothing super adventurous but delicious nonetheless.

And to top off the evening, churros for dessert!! Warm and crispy, sugary, cinnamony goodness...so good in fact, I think I forgot to take a picture of them before I scarfed them down! Sorry! Trust me, they were good!

Pablo gave Nacho Hippo 3.5 stars! Pablo approved!

From Charleston to Myrtle

Our last day in Charleston, we visited the South Carolina Aquarium.  There was no food adventure at the aquarium but we did see some really cool oceanic critters (as well as some other kinds of critters). I'm a huge animal lover so anything involving furry creatures and other wildlife, I'm all in. Pablo seemed to have fun seeing all the other animals too!

Shark Week...hoo ha ha!

 

The touch tank was one of the best parts. I got to hold a sea urchin and pet a stingray! Pablo and I even got to experience the hurricane tunnel. Um, it was a little windy.

Pablo met a raccoon!

spiny sea urchins

petting a horseshoe crab too

Pablo and I in the mouth of a fish!

Pablo and I do everything together

there are some sleeping lemurs in the background high up in a tree.
we were trying to get their attention!

hurricane winds! Don't blow away Pablo!

After all that excitement, it was time to leave Charleston and head to Myrtle.  And it was time for lunch on the way! We decided to swing in to Pawley's Island at  Quigley's Pint & Plate. We've been here a couple times before during previous vacations and have had a variety of southern food...shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, blue crab dip. This time we opted for simple dishes to fill the tummies.

A Steak sandwich with sliced London broil, caramelized onions, and gorgonzola cheese on a toasted ciabatta roll, served with fries. Very tasty, a little greasy and messy, but hey, it is a burger. Juicy meat, sweet onions, sharp cheese, and a toasty bun. What's not to like?

And a catfish po'boy with cornmeal crusted catfish, lettuce, tomato, and caper-tartar sauce on a crusty French roll, also served with fries, of course. Light and fresh veggies on a warm crispy flaky catfish! And the creamy tart tartar sauce perfectly topped it off! Good comfort food sandwich. Would definitely order this again!

We were a little tired and ready for the beach at this point, so it was a nice lunch stop. And just as we were about to leave the restaurant to finish our trek to the beach...it began to pour down rain!! Stay tuned on what happened next!

Pablo gave Quigley's 3 ants. Good food but nothing outstanding. Still Pablo-approved!