16 Jan 09 Lowcountry Bloggers BBQ
We all met up at Bessingers BBQ on Savannah Highway, around 5.30pm.
It was actually the first time I’ve eaten there. I’ve stopped by a couple of times before but they’ve not been open – it’s been the wrong time of day.
I was looking forward to this as I am quite a fan of good BBQ food, and I wasn’t disappointed.
There is plenty to choose from, and you can eat as much as you like for just over twelve bucks for an adult.
I particularly enjoyed the ribs, with the yellow mustard sauce, and the collards were good too!
We had quite a good turn out, and although I didn’t do a head-count, I think about 15-16 people turned up.
Bessingers doesn’t serve alcohol, and as a few of us felt we ‘d like a beer or two after all that food, we decided to head to a nearby bar.
So, a few of us headed along Savannah Highway to the Triangle Bar, where we had a couple of beers, and did some Brightkite Synchronization, while we washed down the BBQ!
Jared and I were photographing each other photgraphing each other with our Blackberries.
It was certainly a fun event, and hopefully one that we will repeat again in the very near future!
Tags: adult, alcohol, bbq food, beers, blackberries, collards, fun event, jared, mustard sauce, nearby bar, ribs, savannah highway, synchronization, time of day, triangle bar, wrong time, yellow mustard
25 Oct 08 The Glass Onion, West Ashley, Charleston, SC
We left my wife’s office on Church Street around 6.30pm. Headed up Meeting Street, and made a left on Calhoun. The traffic was very slow, and as we got along towards the hospital area the reason became obvious. The torrential rain had, as is often the case in drainage-neglected downtown Charleston, caused flooding.
We edged our way along towards Lockwood Drive. I am always mindful of keeping a slow steady pace through any flooded water, so took it easy, even though, with an SUV the height means one is going to be able to keep going through deeper water than the average car.
Still, I was beginning to regret my decision to head out to West Ashley and The Glass Onion.
“What possessed you to want to go there on a night like this?” I said to myself. “I should have headed straight to I-26 and home to North Charleston”.
The heavy rain, reflection of the standing water on much of the road, and the patchy lighting along parts of Savannah Highway, made it difficult to find the place. I knew it was near Doschers Supermarket, and I knew exactly where that was. Thing is, my GPS took me into Doscher’s Parking lot too, and then drove me nuts, telling me that my destination was to my left, right, and center (well ok not quite, but you get the picture), as I circled around the parking lot in front of the store.
We went back out onto Savannah Highway, and found The Glass Onion a little further along, just past Doschers, if you’re coming from a downtown direction.
Now, I’d gotten the idea to go here from a fellow local blogger and twitterer, who had tweeted about the excellent fried chicken he’d had the night before. As I’d never been there before, I was expecting an establishment selling better than average chicken, home fries, and perhaps burgers etc.
Wrong.
Firstly, It’s quite pleasant inside, certainly clean and bright, but it’s not any kind of fast food establishment with stainless steel everywhere. Nope. Wooden tables and chairs laid out, with paper table clothes, and crayons for the kids (yes, I can be a kid sometimes too).
You order at the counter as you come in. The pleasant young lady gave us a small basket with some silverware and napkins in, and a 6×4 photo in a small spring stand of Jackie 0. (No, I don’t know why either!)
There is a varied menu, and the accent is on a lot of home produce too. As someone who is big on fresh food, and anti TV dinner, processed packet junk, this looks good to me from the get-go before I’ve even tasted anything.
Kathy and I went for two of the most expensive entrees on the menu. I plumped for the Crispy Pork Belly, with grits and collards ($12); Kathy went for the pork chop, with salad romoulade with radish and sweet mashed potatoes ($15). I also ordered a Rogue Half-E-Weizen (MoM Hefeweizen) brewed by Rogue Ales who are based in Newport, OR. An excellent choice, that was both refreshing, with hints of coriander and ginger, but was not too overpowering or heavy for me to enjoy my food.
We found a table, and sat down. We didn’t wait long for the food to arrive, and boy oh boy, was it delicious! I think the word ‘awesome’ is way overused, but this food truly was just that – awesome.
Now, anyone that knows me knows that I don’t have a sweet tooth, and rarely eat dessert. Many chains trot out the same tired old stuff – some version of cheesecake, apple pie and ice cream, Mississippi mud pie, or Key Lime Pie. As the entree was so very good, I had to ask about dessert though. The bread pudding with whiskey sauce ($5) sounded wonderful, and it was.
Actually, we ordered one between us; got about halfway through it, and decided that we needed to have one each, so we ordered another one, and shared that too. Kathy threatened to lick the bowl out in the middle of the restaurant!
To summarize, the place was clean and tidy; the service was good, but not too obtrusive; the food was wonderful; the beer was good too. We’ll certainly be back again, particularly, as their menu reflects locally grown seasonal produce.
The cost? Our bill came to $61, plus tip.
Tags: blogger, burgers, collards, crayon, deeper water, firstly, food establishment, fried chicken, glass onion, heavy rain, home fries, home-grown, left right and center, local produce, meeting street, north charleston, pok belly, pork chop, radishes, savannah highway, slow steady pace, table clothes, tables and chairs, torrential rain, west ashley, wooden tables
03 Dec 07 Real Age
I get these emails from this web site called Real Age. Now, I tend to take all this stuff with a pinch of salt, as they have a motive of course – to buy medications, and supplements from their sponsors.
However, I took their ‘real age” test again today, and I’ve got a bit younger, but I’m still older than I am really but only by 0.2 of a year.
I seem to be doing much that is right. They list things like little or no exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke (apparently that kills 20,000 people in the US every year). My blood pressure is good, I don’t drive to fast, I get enough vitamins, don’t eat too much red meat, have a diverse diet, don’t drink too much, take no medications, and clean my teeth every day.
Things I do wrong, which I already knew about, include not eating breakfast every day, being overweight and not doing enough exercise.
Although I clean my teeth every day, at least twice, and use a mouthwash, according to this survey, I am prematurely aging as I don’t floss my teeth on a daily basis. Oh shock, horror, disgust, I hear some of you exclaim!
It goes on to recommend that I should eat more grains, more vegetables and more fruit. I thought I did quite well in those areas, as I eat wholemeal bread at least 50% of the time, and always wholegrain rice. I eat fresh vegetables with most meals, with a good selection of green stuffs like broccoli, cauliflower, collards etc. As for fruit, I know I should probably eat more. I eat bananas quite often, but I simply don’t have much of a sweet tooth, and I find savory items more appealing. I will try harder.
All in all, not too bad then, but my biggest failing is lack of exercise. I guess I should start some kind of walking regime each morning. I always find lots of excuses of course. Lack of time for one. I’m not a morning person, but perhaps a brisk walk will help wake me up, and put me in the mood for some breakfast. We’ll see.
Tags: broccoli, cauliflower, collards, daily basis, disgust, floss, lack of exercise, medications, mouthwash, pinch of salt, real age test, savory, secondhand cigarette smoke, shock horror, sweet tooth, teeth, things i do, try harder, vegetables, wholemeal bread
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