Vacation Days: Charleston, South Carolina

"I thought Charlotte was in North Carolina...?"

"It is, Mom. We are going to Charleston."

^ This conversation took place right before getting on the plane to Charleston for my bachelorette party!

(...in other news, my mother has officially disowned me.)

Oh yeah, and Happy New Year everyone, since I haven't posted since 2016! I'll be all married and stuff in, oh, A MONTH, and blog life will be back to business as usual after that.

(Well sort of, since Jon and I decided that now would also be a good time to build a house. You know, since life is so calm for us at the moment.)

Last month, some of my favorite people in the whole world got together for a super fun trip to Charleston to celebrate my final crazy (they're not crazy.) days as a single woman! I caught an early flight out of Houston with my mom, my friends Lindsey and Danielle, and Jon's mom, Rosemary.

Snapchat: newishcityhou

My amazing sister and woman of honor Emily booked us rooms at the Hyatt House, a hotel that's located in historic Charleston on the main strip, King Street. And fun fact, they save a buck by swapping out wall decals for actual furniture!

Just kidding, that was only in the hallways. But that's my friend Heather proving that, despite what the world may tell you, you too can actually sit on large sticker benches!

When we walked into our room we were greeted with the world's MOST AMAZING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, roses, and a bottle of bubbly from my brideswoman Alice Ann and my sweet friend Sherz!

(We missed having them there with us, but this certainly eased our sadness).

Those of us who had arrived (my flight crew, plus Em and Heather) walked to lunch at a teeny, adorable restaurant called Five Loaves Cafe. I enjoyed their mediterranean garden burger and a chardonnay.

Then the rest of the gang arrived: my fabulous friend Christy, my brideswoman Courtney, and my bridesman L.J.! We set off walking down King Street (seriously, we were in such a central awesome location) and grabbed drinks at Charleston Beer Works.

After drinks, it was time for dinner! My sister made us reservations at Indaco, a rustic Italian eatery located off of King Street.

We ordered the burrata and ricotta toast for appetizers, and they were to die for! For my main course of food, I ordered the black pepper tagliatelle without the pork tesa. Our server seemed concerned about my vegetarian modification, but I ordered it, and it wasn't bad!

Then we decided to WIG OUT and hit up the bars!

Photo: Emily

(and by bars I mean one bar, Prohibition, because I was out way past my bedtime.)

The wigs were a hit, and it was so much fun! In fact, I'm planning on walking down the aisle in mine........

The next morning my mom and I woke up hours before everyone else (are you sensing a theme here?), and we enjoyed the FREE OMELETTE BAR at our hotel, OMG.

Then we all hopped in Ubers and headed to GORGEOUS Sullivan's Island, where my friends appeased me and endured pretty darn cold beach yoga!

(Mad props to Lindsey for teaching the class)

(Also, we lasted about 10 minutes and were like "okay, that was nice, get me to alcohol").

Photo: Rosemary

We received a tip from one of our Uber drivers that Poe's Tavern is the place to go on Sullivan Island. Well, you don't have to tell us twice.

This spontaneous, no-frills meal was easily one of my favorites of the weekend. The food was simple and delicious, and the Edgar Allan Poe decor was seriously cool.

We shared chips and queso to start, which was a delicious app, and I had my second yummy veggie burger of the weekend! (Fun fact, I actually had a third one the next day at home in Houston because I like to live on the wild side).

Then we went back to our hotel, freshened up (Read: NAPPED.), and took a walk down beautiful King Street! But not before stopping at the nearby Revelator for some awesome coffee. Seriously, this place revived my faith in and love for cappuccinos!

After tooling around town, it was time for a bevvy at Wine & Company, a lovely wine bar that basically looks like my dream house inside.

After a few glasses of rosé, we headed back to the hotel for the actual bachelorette party! I won't go into the nitty gritty details, but know that it involved toilet paper, underwear, a Jon-themed trivia game, wine, and snacks!

(Also Heather decided to move on from sitting on fake furniture to drinking fake champagne, which I assure you is way more fun than it sounds).

After these girls and guy went wild, we went to The Grocery, where Courtney had made dinner reservations for us.

Here was another meal in Charleston that I absolutely adored! The atmosphere was cozy and rustic, the service was fantastic, and the food was dynamite. We were given some complimentary, crusty fresh bread, and I ordered the roasted beet salad to start.

This sweet, light lovely salad was wonderful! I then ordered the cabbage gratinee, which was unique and incredibly enjoyable, followed by an off-menu vegetarian platter that our server recommended.

The platter contained a bunch of their vegetarian sides: roasted cauliflower, roasted carrots, brussels sprouts, the beet salad again (I wasn't mad about it), and something else that I don't remember because it's been too long, but it was all delicious!!

Then we were off to the bars (....bar), but not before hitting up Jeni's Ice Cream!

I've heard many-a rave review about Jeni's, and their creamy, flavor-popping ice cream did not disappoint!

After the bars (...bar), we went back to the hotel to rest up before our flights back the next day!

Charleston is an AWESOME city, filled with fascinating history, beautiful scenery, a great bar scene, and killer food. It definitely gets my glowing endorsement as a fantastic bachelorette party destination!

I mean, just look at that! (and pretend it's 80 degrees and not 42...)

1 comment bars, charleston, coffee, dessert, dinner, food, fun, pasta, restaurants, travel, vacation days, vegetarian, wine

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The Capital Grille's 2016 Generous Pour Summer Wine Event

This post was done in partnership with The Capital Grille, who provided me with food and drinks, free of charge. I was not monetarily compensated for writing this Houston restaurant review. All opinions are completely, 100% my own!

Would you like some wine?

Of course you would. I know you too well.

Last year I had such a great experience sampling The Capital Grille's Generous Pour menu, that when I was invited to try it this year, I jumped at the opportunity!

Jon came along for the ride, and we sampled seven different wonderful wines paired with food at the restaurant's Houston City Centre location. The theme of this year's event is "Rebels, Rule Breakers & Game Changers." For $28 per person with dinner, guests are invited to explore seven remarkable wines and enjoy as many as they like. This is an incredibly good value because some of the wines offered cost almost as much, just for a glass!

The first glass of wine we were presented with was the Stellina di Notte Pinot Grigio, which comes from the foothills of the Italian Alps (home of the world's most famous Pinot Grigio) and "is the result of a unique partnership of American innovation and traditional wine making." For our food pairing, Jon received prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella with vine ripe tomatoes, and I had the restaurant's fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil salad, with 15-year aged balsamic.

The wine itself - which had a hint of chardonnay - was lemony, oaky, and light. I was a big fan of this wine, and it was one of Jon's favorites. Regarding the food, my caprese was absolutely lovely. The hunk of mozzarella was super fresh, the variety of tomatoes was flavorful and welcoming, and I was delighted that they didn't skimp on oil and vinegar. The balsamic was syrupy and exquisite. I was a fan of the restaurant's caprese last year, and I am happy to report that I am still a fan!

Next up, we were poured a glass of Provenance Sauvignon Blanc. The folks who make this wine took a gamble on it because they grow it in Rutherford, California - an area that is traditionally known for its reds. For our food paring, Jon received a lobster and crab cake, and I was presented with roasted whole tomatoes stuffed with mushroom, asparagus, parsley, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan.

Sauvignon Blanc is usually low on my list of whites to buy. However, I was able to sip and enjoy the nuances in this one. Hints of citrus, grapefruit, and grass made this an intricate and interesting pour. While I also generally don't go nuts over roasted tomatoes, I did enjoy them, especially the filling inside. My absolute favorite part was the freshly grated slabs of oozy Parmesan cheese. The different earthy flavors and textures made this a unique and yummy appetizer!

We were then given a pour of the Chateau St. Jean, Robert Young Single Vineyard Chardonnay, which was a welcoming glass for me! This wine was produced from a single vineyard in 1975, which - for a chardonnay - was unheard of. Chardonnay is easily my favorite white varietal, and this one was no exception. Creamy, velvety, full, buttery, and oaky, I felt that it counteracted the citrus in my roasted tomatoes beautifully. It was by far my favorite pour of the evening!

For our next glass of wine, Jon and I were given a pour of the Lyric by Etude Pinot Noir. In 1982, its wine makers were determined to grow one of the world's most "unforgiving" grapes, and they definitely succeeded! For our food pairing, Jon's main course was the seared citrus glazed salmon with marcona almonds and brown butter, while I was given a plate of lasagna with roasted vegetables.

The wine was woodsy, spicy, and had a fuller body than your average Pinot Noir. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it. Jon adored his salmon, and I went crazy over my lasagna! The roasted vegetables inside included red peppers, asparagus, and mushrooms (shiitake and oyster), and the whole thing was topped off with a fresh salad. The cheese was bubbling, oozy, and crispy on top, and the vibrant flavors of everything were gasp-inducing. This was a really really REALLY exceptional lasagna!

We sampled the final three wines alongside our main course of food as well. The Penfolds Bin 2 Shiraz was a game-changer in that it ultimately altered the landscape of Australian wine when it was created in 1951. This wine was suuuuuper dry, and as such was probably my least favorite of all of them. Jammy, with flavors of stone fruits, I definitely could taste how special this wine was, but I was definitely puckering with each sip! I'll say it - I'm a ninny when it comes to super dry wines.

The Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Cabernet Blend was first created in 1938 using French oak barrels. This resulted in California's first "cult" cabernet. Though not as dry as the shiraz, this was also a very dry wine. It had perfume-y, piney aromas and had me puckering once again! (For the record, Jon enjoyed this wine, as well as the shiraz. He can stomach dry wines better than I can).

For our final pour, we tried the Stag's Leap "The Leap" Cabernet Sauvignon. This winery is so bold that it named an entire growing region after itself! Being a cab, this was also a dry wine; however, it was one I could take on. It was smooth and full, and my second favorite of the reds (first being the Lyric Etude Pinot Noir). This one is also an insanely good value as part of the restaurant's Generous Pour event, because on the restaurant's regular menu it goes for almost $30 a glass!

Even though we were stuffed on fabulous food and wine, Jon and I decided to go for the gold and order more food - dessert! He ordered the cheesecake, and I went with the cookies and ice cream (maybe gelato? I don't know, I blacked out).

I had tried their cheesecake the previous year, and it was just as creamy, crumbly, buttery, and delicious as before! For my scoops of ice cream, I selected vanilla, hazlenut, and chocolate. They were accompanied by a chocolate cookie and a vanilla/coconut-esque style cookie. Each element was lovely on it's own, and even more wonderful when paired with another. My favorite choose-your-own-adventure-party-in-my-mouth option was the vanilla coconut cookie combined with the chocolate ice cream. Heaven!

Once again I was completely blown away by my experience at The Capital Grille in Houston's City Centre area. The service at the restaurant was well beyond exceptional; the food was intricate, thoughtful, and outstanding; and the wine on The Generous Pour menu was interesting, varied, and delicious! It is also worth noting that neither my roasted tomato appetizer or lasagna were on the restaurant's menu-The Capital Grille is incredibly accommodating to all different kinds of diets and willing to work with its diners to create meals in line with their food preferences. And just like last year, The Capital Grille is also participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks, so if you pair that with the Generous Pour, you're going to have a fantastic evening of food and drinks at a fine dining restaurant for quite the bargain!

More wine?

4 comments city centre, cookies, dessert, dinner, fine dining, food, houston, ice cream, restaurant weeks, restaurants, vegetarian, wine

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Vacation Days: Napa (and some Russian River Valley), California

Picking up where we left off in wine country!

^ (Why, hellooooo ginormous tree!...we'll get to that in a bit.)

After having spent a day and a half [primarily] in Sonoma, Jon and I readied ourselves for a full day of drankin' wine in Napa Valley, starting with a 10:00 am appointment for a tasting at Paraduxx!

(Oh please, don't act like 10:00 am wine drinking is anything but normal, I KNOW YOU TOO WELL.)

The grounds of Paraduxx (of the Decoy/Duckhorn wine family) are - just like everything in Napa - absolutely gorgeous. The winery itself is a sleek building, with a super swanky patio. I sat with my feet up and didn't go anywhere near the vineyards due to "Rattlesnake Crossing" signs (did you faint? I just fainted.), but Jon and I plopped down in the shade of a beautiful tree and were immediately provided with a sample of chardonnay. 

Then we did a tasting of five of their different reds ($30 each because things get pricier in Napa, y'all), with some food (CHEESE) for good measure. The wines were full-bodied, with tons of character. Two of them were a little too full-bodied for me (I get painfully stomach-sick if I drink those kinds), and the nice, funny guy leading our tasting asked if he could do a "science experiment" on me. It involved more cheese, so naturally I obliged. 

He asked me to take a sip of one of those big red wines. I did, and the tannins were too strong. Then he said, okay, put this cheese in your mouth, take a sip, and drink the wine as you chew. I did, and the red was much more pleasant and manageable for me. He explained that since I'm a vegetarian, the plant-based proteins I eat aren't enough to cut through the tannins and mellow them out. So all I need to do to conquer this is pair full-bodied reds with big, fatty cheeses in the future!

Challenge accepted.

We stayed for quite a while, enjoying the beautiful setting, and then we purchased a few bottles and hit the road. Next up: Lunch!

As recommended to me by my coworker Pat, we stopped at the insanely quaint Oakville Grocery, which has been around for something like 1,000 years (give or take a few...hundred). The adorable store is filled with gourmet foods and wines, which are perfect for a picnic! After grabbing some sandwiches to go, we bopped over to Rutherford Grove Winery to sit amongst their idyllic gardens with a glass of their wine.

(Funny story - My parents recommended we do this at Rutherford Hill, which is also apparently very beautiful. We got our Rutherfords wrong (I think because my friend Renee visited Rutherford Grove on her trip to Napa, and I got that stuck in my head), but the outcome was still wonderful!)

The food and wine were delicious, and totally hit the spot. Also, check out this awesome picture Jon took of a bee!

(it's the little things).

After I finished eating and Jon finished laying the groundwork for his insect photography business, we headed to our final wine tasting of the day at Caldwell Vineyard.

My parents are members of this Napa winery, so we naturally mooched off of their free yearly tasting (at 60 bucks a pop, we certainly appreciated it!). The man you see stealing me from Jon above is owner John Caldwell, aka "JFC" (for John *ahem* Freaking Caldwell). This lively, animated, enthusiastic guy is incredibly fascinating and has the most amazing stories. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit with him for a little bit (in their gorgeous cave room) at the beginning of the tasting.

And the tasting was essentially sampling a ton of FABULOUS fancy wine (I have no idea how many glasses) with a bunch of FABULOUS fancy food (cheeses and meats), while listening to a bunch of wonderful stories from the director of the winery. Everything was absolutely outstanding, and while the club is a *little* pricey at this juncture of our lives, we did spring for a few bottles, which just arrived this week!

(Also, fun fact: the other two couples who were in the tasting with us were also from the Heights! How crazy is that?! H-TOWN WHADDUP.)

After the wine tasting, we went back to our cottage in Sonoma to regroup before dinner back in Napa!

...which was in Yountville again - aka my #1 Lover - at the restaurant Ad Hoc. I had majorly high expectations for Ad Hoc for a number of reasons, so I was pretty excited to try their food!

We were given some of the restaurant's fresh, rustic, delicious bread with butter to start. Dinner is a prix fixe four-course meal (that changes nightly) served family-style. I explained to our server that I was a vegetarian, and she said she'd make sure the first course of food - which was a salad - had meat on the side, and everything except for the entree was vegetarian. For the entree, Jon was getting their famous fried chicken, and I was getting........

..........an artichoke. (insert side eye emoji)

^ (In my previous post I talked about how the night before at Celedon my only food option was a grilled artichoke, and it was pretty underwhelming.)

Oh well, onward and upward, I thought!

The first course of food was a wedge salad with green goddess dressing that included sun-dried tomatoes, pickled onions, crusty croutons, and a side of thick-cut bacon (which smelled amazing). I was a BIG fan of this salad. The dressing was lovely, the sun dried tomatoes added a wonderful, playful tartness to the dish, and the texture of the croutons was so totally enjoyable. I definitely dug this salad.

Next up: The restaurant's famous fried chicken and the you-know-what.

I was completely surprised because Jon felt that the fried chicken was good, but nothing to write home about. He's a diehard stick-to-your-bones Frenchy's fan - and of course this was definitely something completely different - but he said there wasn't really anything about this chicken that stood out to him. It was served with a side of grits, which I tried. They were wonderfully thick, creamy, and lumpy, but I felt they were pretty lacking in flavor.

My artichoke once again was literally nothing special. HOWEVER. The dang RICE it was paired with was pretty earth-shattering. I very much liked my quinoa that was served with Celadon's artichoke, but I very much LOVED and devoured this rice. It had a creamy tomato base, a nice little kick, and was brimming with sauteed summer vegetables. The rice mixture had almost a jumbalaya feel to it, and I was absolutely enamored with it!

The next round of food was the cheese round:

I like cheese, and I liked this cheese. It was not life-changing cheese, but the biscuits served with it were pretty good - They had a tough exterior, a soft interior, and a lovely, light honey drizzle.

The last round of food was the dessert round, which was a brownie cake situation with ice cream and caramel on top.

The restaurant's brownie was dense and rich, and was nicely offset by the ice cream. It was an enjoyable dessert, but nothing too unique.

Overall, we had sort of a mixed bag at Ad Hoc, and probably mostly because there were some pretty high expectations for the food. If I'd not had a grilled artichoke situation happen at a restaurant the previous night, perhaps my experience might have been a bit different. But that rice really was a home run!

The next day was our last full day in wine country, and we played most of it by ear, starting with brunch at Boon Fly Cafe in Sonoma.

This restaurant came recommended to me by another Houston blogger (Andrew from Houston Fed), and in his email he wrote "GET. THE. DONUTS."

When a fantastic food blogger says something like this to you, you obey.

These little golden discs of joy were - I'm not kidding - maybe the best donuts I've ever had (right up there with Gourdough's, which really are more dessert than breakfast). The exterior of each donut was ever-so-lightly fried and golden, the inside was beautifully cake-y, but not overpowering, and the cinnamon-sugar dusting on top was absolute euphoria. So, if you go to Boon Fly Cafe?

GET. THE. DONUTS.

I also ordered a vegan bloody mary since it was an option, and #yolo.

I wasn't overly impressed with this bloody. It was heavy on the horseradish, which I don't usually mind, but it didn't really seem to have many other elements stick out in it.

For my main course of food, I ordered a veggie omelet, which came with toast and hashbrowns.

This was your standard diner omelet breakfast, and it was nothing revolutionary by any stretch. But after all of these fancy farm-to-table restaurant meals, it was a definite welcome change of pace!

Once Jon and I finished breakfast, we took the 90 minute drive north to the Russian River Valley to see some big trees.

Driving through the Russian River Valley was breathtaking (sorry, no pics, I'M THE WORST.), and certainly different from Napa Valley and Sonoma. It got a little touristy leading up to the Armstrong Natural Preserve, which is where we checked out the redwoods, but it was still a very impressive sight to see. Jon and I did a two mile (aka .25 mile) hike and took a bunch of pictures!

The next two photos are my favorite because little did we know we each snuck a picture of each other amongst all of these ginormous trees taking a photo of....... the ground.

I mean, Jon was working on his new Insect Glamour Shot business, so that's understandable. No clue what I was doing.

Once we were done frolicking in nature, we got changed at a gas station and headed east to try some wine at Chateau Montelena, located just north of Napa in St. Helena.

By far the most touristy of all the wineries we visited, Jon and I were set on trying this one because we fell in love with the [suuuuper cheesy] movie "Bottle Shock," which details the Paris Tasting of 1976. It's a seriously fascinating story about how Napa was put on the wine-making map, and the movie is centered around the beautiful Chateau Montelena winery.

Though there's not much to see inside, and the wine tasting ($25 per person) was pretty structured and impersonal, the grounds were really magnificent, and we were glad to have experienced a little history! We also bought two bottles of their yummy chardonnay.

Once we finished our wine at Chateau Montelena, we drove a few minutes to the main part of St. Helena, which - like everything else in this region - was absolutely quaint and charming. We had dinner reservations at the Farmstead Restaurant at Long Meadow Ranch.

The grounds of the ranch are gorgeous, and the inside of the restaurant is rustic and laid back. Most restaurants in the Napa area allow you to BYOB, and the Farmstead Restaurant's corking fee was only $5, so Jon and I were excited to enjoy a bottle of Caldwell red with dinner!

For our first round of food, we ordered their bay artisan cheese appetizer to share (because we'd not had enough cheese yet on this trip apparently).

This plate of three cheeses - which had a coffee coated cheese, a brie-like cheese, and I believe something akin to manchego - was actually the most varied cheese plate we'd ordered this trip. The crostini was firm and crunchy, and the accompanying treats of jam and fruit were lovely. This was one great cheese plate!

Next up for food, I ordered a side of the restaurants broccoli for us to split.

I don't think Jon was enthusiastic about me ordering this, but he ended up really liking it - and so did I! The baby broccoli was roasted whole with garlic and chili flakes. It was fresh, slightly acidic, simple, and tasty.

For our main course of food, Jon ordered the restaurant's grilled wild king salmon, and I went with the California arborio rice, with an egg.

Jon really loved his salmon, especially the summer squash combo it sat atop. He also ordered a side of the restaurant's mac and cheese (because, again, not enough cheese this trip), which I tried. It was suuuper thick, creamy, rich, and comforting.

My arborio rice was unbelievable. It was combined with wood grilled summer squash, corn, mushrooms and pistou (which is similar to pesto). This was also a very comforting dish - Thick and creamy, the rice was given some light touches with the velvety veggies and runny egg. And the basil-y pistou was so insanely flavorful. I absolutely loved this dish! The Farmstead Restaurant at Long Meadow Ranch was definitely one of our favorite dinners during our Napa trip.

After devouring all of our food and draining our wine, Jon and I went back to our cottage to rest up before heading to San Francisco the next day! Our time in Napa Valley was absolutely wonderful, and I cannot wait to go back!

TO BE CONTINUED (again).

(!!!!!!!!!!!)

*All photos were taken by me with my iPhone, or by Jon with his Nikon.

4 comments breakfast, brunch, byob, dessert, dinner, doughnuts, drinks, food, fun, hiking, lunch, napa, restaurants, travel, vacation days, vegetarian, wine

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