A Day of Dairy

There's a little place about an hour or so away from where I live called the Moo Thru. They make ice cream and we've been wanting to go there for years and just haven't taken the time to make it out there. Well, due to budgets and savings, we decided to do a "stay-cation" this summer and do some things close to home. Going to the Moo Thru was at the top of our list.

Pablo is ready for some ice cream!

 The thing that makes Moo Thru so special, aside from their amazing ice cream, is that they use locally sourced milk to make their ice cream! They actually sometimes even sell the milk itself. They also have other offerings besides ice cream that use locally sourced products as well, such as butternut squash soup, cowboy chili, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

We decided to try their grilled cheese...ooey gooey melted gouda cheese with fresh tomatoes and crispy bacon! Yumma!!

And of course, we couldn't leave without having any ice cream! Superking got 3 scoops of cookie's n cream on a waffle cone!! And no, he was not able to finish the whole thing! But he shared a few pieces of his cone with me...sweet and crisp!

I had one scoop of blackberry and one scoop of cookie dough...both were good but the blackberry was my favorite! You could tell they used real blackberries, slightly tart, slightly sweet, and very creamy! It was all well-worth the drive!

Pablo made some friends!

Then we figured if we're going to drive out all this way, there must be something else to do besides eat ice cream! So we drove a little further into downtown historic Culpeper. It was quaint and reminded me a bit of old town Leesburg. The streets lined with old historic buildings that have been turned into cute little shops or restaurants.

One place that caught our eye was the Culpeper Cheese Company. I love anything cheese so we had to stop in. There were beautiful cheeses of all kinds everywhere you looked! They also sold things like charcuterie, craft beers, and wines. You could do cheese tastings, wine tastings, or just order a gourmet sandwich! We met this young girl working there, who was cute as a button. We couldn't believe she was only 17 years old and had such a wide knowledge of cheese. Her father owns the shop and she has aspirations of becoming a professional cheese monger by the age of 21.

Well after hearing her story and having her help me try several unique cheeses, I couldn't leave without buying some. Its called the Black Label Cambazola. Its a combination of camembert, which is like a brie (soft and sweet), and a gorgonzola which is a type of blue (tangy and sharp). The two flavors blend nicely together in a delicious cheesy balance! This would be a good one to try for those who are a little timid around the blue cheeses. It has enough of the blue to give it a bit of tang but without being overwhelming. Can't wait to go back for more ice cream and cheese!

A Hobbit's Tale

It was a cold, snowy winter day. We had traveled far and were hungry for something cozy and warming.  When we thought we could go no further, a hobbit hole appeared. It was warm and inviting and smelled of delicious vittles. The name of this establishment...Bilbo Baggins.

In downtown Alexandria, Bilbo Baggins is a little pub that looks like its straight out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel.  Creaky hardwood floors, small and cozy, wood and stone walls, and good hearty food. Perfect for a cold winter's day.  Superking and I, along with our friend Tierney, were ready for a hobbit's adventure of a meal.

We started with some small plates.  A portobello mushroom cap marinated in pesto, topped with a round of breaded brie cheese and a tomato tapenade and drizzled with a balsamic glaze. Looks pretty elegant for pub food. It was pretty tasty too. Though whats not to like about fried, breaded cheese.

We also had Calamari Fritti...fried calamari served with Thai chili aioli and a papaya relish. The calamari was perfectly cooked, which is quite a feat. It can be tricky to not overcook calamari and not turn it into rubber bands. Who wants to eat rubber bands? Well, Bilbo Baggins did it just right.  The aioli was creamy and spicy. I was not particularly a fan of the papaya relish but it was bright and fresh.

Or how about some buttermilk fried oysters? I used to not really like any oysters, that is until I went to Charleston and some proper ones. I still won't eat the raw ones (its a texture thing...too slimy) but a good fried one or baked one with the right toppings, sure does hit the spot when you're looking for a hearty meal. These at Bilbo's were crispy and briny and served with a nice basil lime aioli.

We also had a taste of a Carolina pulled pork BBQ sandwich, and two kinds of fries. I forgot to take pictures of those, unfortunately. Yucca fries with a  mustard aioli sauce and spicy cilantro fries with a chipotle chili sauce. I'd never had yucca fries but they were thick and salty, and more starchy than regular fries.

After a brisk walk through the old town street shops, we hustled in to one of the old time ice cream parlors...Pops Old Fashioned Ice Cream to be exact.  Even on a cold wintery day, nothing beats a good chocolate peanut butter ice cream!

Truckeroo 4

We've been lucky enough to be able to attend 2 truckeroo events so far and hoping to do the next one.  Truckeroo 4 in September was just as awesome as the first one we went to but we did learn a few things.  Bring lots of cash because a lot of trucks won't take cards and go earlier in the day instead of waiting til nighttime because its way too crowded, the lines are too long, and therefore you won't get to try as much tasty food.

Superking and I split up for the first course. I went to DC Empanadas. I don't think I had ever really had a proper empanada before and their menu looked yummy and reasonably priced, and their line was short.  Their menu only consisted of three types and they offered a deal where you could get three empanadas for only $9.  "Give me one of each, please!" I say. 

The first was a spiced shredded beef one with rice in a tomato-based sauce. The second was a pork one; chorizo to be exact with potatoes and spices.  A little bit of heat on the end. The third one was a vegetarian one with black beans, rice, peppers and onions, and melted Monterey Jack cheese.  All three of them had deliciously savory fillings with buttery flakey crusts on the outside.  I think our favorite was probably the chorizo. 

black beans and rice and cheese

Superking went over to the Cajunators truck, which serves Cajun and Creole cuisine.  He chose the shrimp po' boy.  It was a sub roll topped with tomatos, lettuce, pickles, remoulade, and fried little shrimp.  While we felt the bread was a little too crusty and there was a bit too much of it, the filling inside the bread was pretty tasty.  The veggies were crisp and fresh, the remoulade tangy, and the shrimp perfectly fried and seasoned. Even the pickles added a nice sour crunch. Next time though I would just eat the insides with a fork and use the bread to feed the birds.

The next truck stop was The Big Cheese, a grilled cheese truck.  You might think, ok grilled cheese, really? Its cheese and bread, whats the big deal? But these guys take grilled cheese to a whole new level.  We ordered the Mt Fuji grilled cheese.  Select brie cheese, sliced fuji apples, and honey on multigrain bread.  First of all I LOVE cheese and brie is one of my faves.  Cheese with apples and honey is an awesome flavor party in my mouth.  Normally I'm not really a fan of multigrain breads especially when there's a bunch of big seeds in it but even the bread was tasty.  It had little sunflower seeds on the crust and added a lovely grainy crunchy compliment to the other sweet and tart flavors.Yumm!

ooey gooey deliciousness

Then we needed one more small bite before dessert so we went to Stix.  Guess what they offer? Food on sticks of course!  They have meat sticks, veggie sticks, even fruit sticks and sweet sticks.  We went for the zesty tequila lime steak stick.  Juicy grilled steak drunk on tequila, lime, and cilantro.  It even came with an extra lime slice to squeeze for more soury goodness! It was served in a unique cone container with a crisp breadstick as well. A fun little bite!

Last of all we couldn't leave without dessert. We decided on ice cream from a truck called Sinplicity.  These guys are actually based in Falls Church but are looking to expand into the DC food truck scene.  They offer some unique ice cream and sorbet flavors such as strawberry shortcake with chocolate chunks and Grand Marnier, Snickerdoodle with cinnamon and dark rum, blackberry & cabernet, and mulled cider.  They also offer a few cookies and even ice cream sandwiches. 

Our flavor of ice cream was Mission Fig and Goat Cheese steeped in Merlot. YUMMA YUMMA! It was very creamy and we could really taste the sweetness from the fig, the tanginess from the goat cheese, and a hint from the grapey merlot.  And it was served with a crunchy biscotti, perfect for dipping in the ice cream.  And whats additionally cool about this truck, aside from the fact that they are locals and try to serve all-natural products, you can buy their ice cream by the pint in select Whole Foods stores and at certain farmers markets in the area.

Their sign says, " Skinny people can't be trusted."  :)

So another awesome food truck day in DC! The final one of the season is coming up Friday October 28th!! Go check it out!

Provision Company: The Return

Last October I blogged about this place called the Provision Company located in Holden Beach, NC that we just fell in love with.  This year when we made the trek back down there, we knew this was going to be one of our top three places to return to.

Every year we visit Myrtle, we always take a day to drive northward a little ways into North Carolina to visit Holden Beach, a more quiet family beach that holds a special place in our hearts and fond memories of past family vacations.  And every year on our way there, we make a shopping stop in Calabash.  Superking dreads it but he tolerates it for me.  There's one shop in particular called Callahan's.  Its huge, practically taking up an entire block of town, which is saying a lot considering the town of Calabash only consists of about two main streets, Callahan's being at the corner of both.

Callahan's at Calabash

Half the store is filled with your typical tourist beach gifts like T-shirts and mugs and home-made fudge.  But the other half is all about Christmas! Everything you can possibly imagine an ornament for, they most likely have it.  I like to do theme Christmas trees (this year its going to be candy) and this is where I start picking up my decorating ideas. Never too early to start planning! ;)

crossing the bridge over the canal from the mainland to Holden Beach

and there's the ocean

Anyway, enough about Christmas...how about a juicy shrimp burger on the beach??

beautiful serene Holden Beach

we saw like 2 people there

Thats one of the specialties at Provision Company.  Its completely awesome! I had it last year and couldn't resist getting it again.  Superking decided to go simple and get half a pound of steamed shrimp. This place is very down-to-earth...plastic forks, paper plates, styrofoam cups, even plastic chairs and wooden tables.  The food is great and the atmosphere so peaceful. Even though this time we came, the place was packed but everyone there was just relaxing, having fresh locally caught seafood, and enjoying the gorgeous beach weather.

they collect license plates on the wall

view of the canal and a shrimping boat from our table

full of people, all open-air, no windows

After we leave the Provision Company, we have to make a stop at The Scoop, the best little ice cream place there.  The ice cream is good but nothing special.  What makes this place great is the people, the location, and the memories.  Its not the beach, especially Holden Beach, without The Scoop.  We each get a scoop (peanut butter for Superking, spiced pumpkin for me) and a little bit of home-made fudge to take home for gifts. Ah, another perfect day at the beach!