Cooking Up Some Fun in Savannah

Every traveler knows that one of the joys of visiting a different city is savoring the local cuisine. The REAL foodies among you may want to take that love of travel and food one step further by enrolling in a cooking class taught by a local chef. While Madame Owner was recently visiting The Food Maven in Savannah, they did just that. It was the highlight of the week.

The Food Maven in her element!

Chef Darin Sehnert teaches at the Mansion on Foryth Park's 700 Cooking School. The Housewife and The Food Maven took his Stewing and Braising class in which that most illustrious dish of all dishes (okay, French beef stew) Boeuf bourguignon, with celery root mashed potatoes, and braised leeks were on the schedule. The chef covered some essential kitchen basics such as proper use of a knife as well as how to select a good one, some culinary definitions, and a little kitchen science. There's a reason you salt the food when cooking instead of at the table! Participation is encouraged and Chef Darin handles the session with a delightful combination of expertise and humor. Since you are more likely to learn and retain more information when you are relaxed and having fun, it is a great teaching combo. Who knew we were all cutting onions wrong all these years?   

Their class was comprised of 8 students and the facilities were posh yet comfortable. You will enjoy this class whether you are a diehard foodie like the Food Maven, a sometimes foodie, like Madame Owner, or just someone who loves food but has no idea how it magically ends up on your plate. You'll want to spend a little time wondering around if you attend. The chocolate brown, orange, and leopard print decor made The Housewife and The Food Maven's mouths water long before they got to the kitchen. 

Chef Darin is amiable and tolerant. He wasn't even put off by My Owner and her friend taking frequent pictures and cracking jokes. They did however refrain from speaking in their Julia Child voices during the class, something they had planned on beforehand. (This dish is practically synonymous with the Grand Dame of cooking) After all the cutting and chopping, while the stew was being made the chef called Madame Housewife over to do the flambe. She held the pan while the chef poured in the brandy and lit it creating a surprising amount of heat and flame. She'd been expecting a small flame within the pan, so it was a bit of a shock, as was the fact that the Food Maven didn't get a photo. Never fear. The Food Maven (and friend extraordinaire) asked Chef Darin if MO could do it again so she could document the moment.  He agreed and the scene was repeated. 

There is something delicious about a man who lets you play with fire in his kitchen!

 Madame Housewife may not try this at home, but if you are so inclined, here's the how-to: About.com-Home Cooking/ How to Flambe.

After the meal was finished, the wine was poured and the posse of "chefs" sat down together to dine. Friendly chatter surrounded the table until the first bit was taken. 

Madame Housewife and the chef

It took a few minutes for everyone to recover from the culinary nirvana they had entered. There is something social about preparing a meal together and at least for a few moments this little band of cuisine minded travelers shared something nearly familial: the ecstasy of creating and enjoying scrumptiously divine dishes. 

grapefruit granita and shortbread cookies

Dessert featured a clean and light grapefruit granita with home made shortbread cookies. The perfect citrusy foil for the heavy meal. 


Traveling to Savannah and want to cook with Chef Darin? Here's the info:


The Mansion Cooking School Programs


                                                                        Bon Appetit, Y'all!

Somethin' Else!

See the fleur di lis?

When you visit a city frequently you can fall into a rut of eating at the same places. Often you want to make sure that anyone traveling with you has a great experience and as a seasoned traveler acting as a guide you want to avoid disappointing them. On Madame Owner's recent trip to New Orleans something new was discovered. MO's new son-in-law was keen to have a delicious brunch someplace in The Quarter before starting out for the drive home. It isn't hard to find a great restaurant offering up delicious fare including everything from bananas foster to eggs benedict on a lazy Sunday morning. Goldilocks would have been proud as they roamed from place to place.

"This one's TOO expensive."

"This one's TOO crowded."

Then in the shadow of the Louisiana Supreme Court they happened upon a little place with outdoor seating in the alley and an interesting menu.

"This one's JUST right."

The Somethin' Else Cafe is located at 620 Conti and the has outdoor seating in the adjacent alley. The weather was just warm enough to sit there and discuss which palm tree on the grounds of the courthouse is most iconic.  Madame had been hoping for endless mimosas as part of the brunch scenario but wasn't disappointed at all with her second choice, a bloody mary. The vegetable garnishes were arranged in a clever fleur di lis. The service was a bit slow, which isn't a big deal if you are lounging around hoping to soak up a few extra moments of Cajun ambiance before leaving town. The waitress was friendly however, and the menu was worth studying in depth. MO's daughter and her new husband ordered the Somethin' Else French Toast and MO and Mr. MO ordered the Crab Cake NOLA. This restaurant gets points for creativity and new twists on old standards.

The French toast actually tasted like a banana bread and looked like muffins. It was topped with a praline sauce, and was amazing. The "crab cakes" were scoops of lump crab meat seasoned to perfection and grilled between a biscuit, then topped with a fried egg and surrounded by a warm creamy sauce. MO ordered the egg on top of hers scrambled instead. All the food was uniquely delicious.  It's a bit pricey and they would have liked to have seen the waitress more often, but the food was worth the wait. The  consensus  was that the mary was the best one ever. Every item gets this writer's praise for original and fun presentation!


While researching this post I ran across several reviews of this restaurant and they are extreme on both ends. Lots of folks raved about it and just as many seemed to have had a really bad experience. I will admit that the food is s-l-o-w to arrive but I am easily swayed to love something that was better than I had hoped for, which it absolutely was.

Happy travels and eating, y'all!

Jackie's OH!

Last weekend Madame Owner, her husband, daughter, and new son-in-law headed to New Orleans for the wedding of a cousin. MO's family has been to NOLA a lot over the years but this was the first time they hadn't taken the train.

A highway is less interesting than a train track running through the old parts of quaint, small southern towns. It is in this case, however, quicker. On this trip time was of the essence.

Dinner at Acme Oyster House always means standing in a line out front.  Might as well take some pictures while you're there, right?

MO and her daughter ordered something called an Alligator Martini. It was awful. At least MO thought so. It was green and had a strange flavor.

MO checked the list of ingredients.

Sierra Mist.

That explains it.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, can I get some water?"

It was pretty chilly but that didn't stop mother and daughter from window shopping after dinner.

"Ooooh, look at that dress."

"What street are we on?"

"We have to come back here tomorrow.

"Think we can find it? Wait. Where are we?"

This is what the men hear, but what MO and her daughter know is that their style homing instinct will lead them right where they want to go.

They still won't know what street they are on.

Except for Jackie's

This is one store that is a MUST whenever they are in town. Jackie's on Jackson Square, located a few steps from Cafe Du Mond on St. Anne Street, it is a trendy boutique full of chic and unusual items.  Some of MO's daughter's favorite pieces of clothing EVER have come from this shop.They always have a wide assortment of new and quirky pieces of clothing and accessories. MO needed a new purse and finally settled on a brown number, with gold details. Her daughter tried on several dresses but ended up with the two that were on display in the window.

Here she is wearing one of them at the wedding they attended. The ribbon is actually one she took out of her Converse tennis shoe to make an impromptu belt.

Style not only means taste, but the ability to be creative in a pinch. The dress itself has no waistline, and has layers of pretty eyelet detail in the back. The bright tomato red is a stunner.

The Quarter is full of shops running the gamut from high end, to trendy and inexpensive. You can find something that you will bring home and actually wear, unlike the naughty t-shirt that you thought was clever after your second hurricane. Trust me. Buy yourself something nice instead. You'll be glad you did.

Coming up next week: our favorite new breakfast spot in The Quarter!

Into the Wild Blue Yonder in Pensacola

Sometimes when we are traveling a negative turns into a positive. A day at the beach ruined by rain while vacationing on the Alabama Gulf Coast led to a discovery of the National Aviation Museum by Madame M and her crew. It is an excellent museum and the aviator and history lover will enjoy it thoroughly. One of Madame's favorite parts was Home Front U.S.A. (she is such a housewife) featuring little vignettes of typical American life during WWII. If you have boys that have been restless on other museum outings, this is one you may not be able to get them out of easily. Riding with the Blue Angels through the magic of IMAX is exciting enough to impress even the surliest teenager.

Don't miss eating at the Cubi Bar Cafe! Here's the history according to the site:

"For nearly 40 years, the NAS Cubi Point Officers' Club, in the Republic of the Philippines, was a marvelous mix of American efficiency and Filipino hospitality. The club was especially famous for its Plaque Bar, where transiting squadrons retired old plaques and commissioned new ones to commemorate each WestPac tour. The tradition of placing plaques in the O' Club bar was started during the Vietnam Conflict and endured until the closing of the base in 1992.

When the original officers' club was closed in 1992, the thousands of plaques that adorned the walls of the club as tokens of thanks were packed up and sent to the Museum to be placed as they were when the Cubi Club was closed. The legacy of this Cubi Bar brings back many memories to aviators whose squadron plaques decorate the walls."

Before you head to the cafe for lunch you may want to experience the flight simulators. The museum is located aboard the Pensacola Naval Air Station and you will be required to present ID upon entrance to the base. This is also the home of the Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron and from March to November you can watch them practice free of charge behind the museum. Check here for practice times: Blue Angels Practices.

Visit the official website of the Blue Angels here.

Don't miss Flight Deck, the gift shop at the museum. You know how Madame Owner loves a good gift shop.

This would be an excellent museum to visit with the kids before or after the WWII museum in New Orleans and the Smithsonians's Air and Space Museum. 

Happy travels and flying y'all!

London Calling

Since Madame Owner watched Night at the Museum a couple of months ago I've been thinking about some of the museums she's visited and many that are still on her list. The woman doesn't have a bucket list; she has a ticket one.  Museum tickets, boarding passes, railway stubs...things she always wants more of.

The list of some of her favorite museums is topped with Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms in London. While in many museums you are looking at collections if items grouped together in some generic setting, or going through someone's home, in this museum you are entering a time warp. It looks as though everyone got up the day the war ended, left, and locked the door behind them. The gritty determination of the British to survive and win hangs in the air, still.

Here's the link to the official site: Churchill's War Room

Your visit will be enhanced by reading up on your subject before you go. Here is a list of books Churchill supplied by the museum site: The Books of Sir Winston Churchill.

Madame would add a couple of additional writings to get you in the WWII London mood:

London at War and How We Lived Then.

Can't get to London? Watch a video tour of the museum here.

Madame's Map Project

Oh for the love of maps! Today I'm showing you a project Madame Owner did as a gift to her daughter and new son-in-law. I haven't been anyplace recently except to the church full of make-up, hair products, and flat irons. And Madame? Well, she has been distracted by all the wedding hoopla but will return next week to her normal gallivanting self. 

Here's the project I've stolen from Madame Owner's blog:

 The groom had been keeping the honeymoon destination a secret and decided the 1 year mark would be a good time for the big reveal.

Since The Housewife/Mother of the Bride was in on the secret I had a little project up my sleeve, thanks to Pinterest.

I found a map of the destination...

drum roll please....

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

A romantic return to the beach where he proposed. Remember?

back of the wrapped canvas

 Well, I don't love anything if it isn't a project so I decided to make them something special to commemorate the place.

And because I love maps.







I do not love hearts, but the bride does so I put my own aversion to them aside to do this sweet project. It's really easy. here's a walk through:

To start off I purchased a map of the destination (This would also be a really cute idea for a house warming gift for someone moving to a new city.), a canvas, and some spray adhesive.

Next I sprayed the canvas with the adhesive and proceeded to wrap the canvas as I would a present, tucking corners, etc.

I cut out a template of a heart and lightly traced the outline on the map.

Using embroidery thread (in red, of course) I began to stitch an outline of the heart. 

This is the back of the canvas. 

This is the finished product. I gave it to the bride this morning.

She did a happy dance.

Nothing starts a day off like seeing your child do a happy dance.



I have a lot of wedding related projects to share with you that I've been documenting as I've done them. So post wedding, this blog will be one project after another for a while.

Bolivar, Tennessee: Plantations, Ghost Stories, and Mexican Food.

Now there are a couple of things about Madame Owner that you may need to know since we have now come to a trip involving the Civil War, or as MO's husband likes to refer to it: The War of Northern Aggression. One is that her husband (who also answers to "The General" thanks to his new son-in-law) is a Civil War re-enactor and  is an expert on the Battle of Chickamauga, which he has written a book about, called Generation of Warriors. The second is that early in their marriage MO was a much better sport about visiting every battlefield in the south and a couple in the north and is over it in the most definite way. Any map with blue and red lines and talk of charges and flanks make her eyes glaze over.

But what she does care about, always, are people's stories. Her idea of history isn't what happened to an army but what happened to the people who made up that war machine and those around them. So while reading a plaque in the middle of a field about General So and So outmaneuvering General What's His Name leaves her bored, an antebellum home and stories about the family who lived there, their losses and loves, can perk her up better than a Starbucks hazelnut latte.

The General knows this of course, and so for a recent anniversary he found a lovely bed and breakfast in rural Tennessee that he thought MO would appreciate. Magnolia Manor sits in the little town of Bolivar (most famous for being the home of the state mental health center ) and was built in 1849 by Judge Austin Miller who was a prominent lawyer and banker. The architecture is Georgian and the house is listed on the National Historic Register and has been featured in National Geographic Magazine. It has found new notoriety for being a big hit with ghost hunters, something made clear when one of the owners, Tom, greeted MO and her husband at the door with his "Got Ghosts?" hat on.

Read more about their ghost tours HERE.

After finding their room and freshening up there was wine on the back porch with Tom and his wife Elaine who purchased the house and restored it in the eighties. They love to discuss the history of the house and tell stories of their encounters and the experiences guests have had that are hard to explain. Knowing that Madame's husband is a great lover of Civil War history Tom took him to the basement to show him a medical supply kit with connections to the Ames Plantation. They descended into the basement where the temperature was an easy twenty degrees cooler. MO took some pics just because it seemed like if there was anything spooky in this house it would be down there. She could not stop thinking what a great house this would be for a Halloween party.

The house was occupied during the war (in the south when they say "the war" they mean only the 1860s one) and used as headquarters by four Union Generals: Grant, Logan, Sherman, and McPherson. At dinner one night in the dining room Sherman made the comment that in his opinion all Southern women and children should be exterminated. Mrs. Miller left the room and was found crying on the back porch,  by General Grant who was infuriated and ordered Sherman to apologize, which he did. He was so angered by having to do so that he stormed out of the room and arriving at the bottom of the staircase drew his sword and whacked the bannister. The mark is still evident today. 

The rooms in this house have been lovingly restored by Elaine who spent years on the project. She did her homework researching original paint and wallpaper and collecting period furniture which gives the home a feeling of authenticity.  In the yard is the biggest, oldest magnolia MO had ever seen (likely the oldest in the state since it is recorded as being there when construction on the house was begun in 1844). It looked to MO like something from a child's story book.

For dinner MO and The General headed to a fairly new Mexican restaurant on Hwy. 64 called Los Portales. The actual address is 1700 W. Market Street but you can see the round building from the highway. It has a fresh and clean atmosphere and a menu with the usual Mexican fare but a few surprises. The General had mango shrimp with braised broccoli and rice. MO had what she always does when the waiter comes and she isn't ready, chicken fajitas. Everything was delicious. The fajitas were some of the best she's ever had but she ate nearly all of the broccoli off The General's plate. From the bar side they could hear live music that was so good that when they finished their meal, they took their margaritas and sat another whole hour listening to the couple who were singing. So if you are in Bolivar on Saturday night there is great food and wonderful live music at Los Polartes!

Update: Since writing this post I've learned the name of the musicians performing that night. Casting Our Pearls is made up of  Jim Zeigler and Vanessa Carrasco. Here's a link to their Facebook page. Check them out!

After an uneventful night (by this I mean no paranormal activities were reported) they awoke the next day and headed downstairs for a breakfast of coffee, juice, and eggs benedict and more conversation with their charming hosts before packing up and heading home. On the way out of town MO wanted a picture of the courthouse and movie theater. She imagined the stories of this town. She thought of it making its way back from reconstruction. She thought of it sending its sons off to WWII. She imagined it decked out for the 4th of July and Christmas. She imagined mothers in pillbox hats and fathers in skinny ties walking to church on chilly Sunday mornings. She could see the adults shaking their heads at cut offs and long hair and rock music. She thought how many other charming little towns like this there are all over the country...the world. She suddenly wanted to visit them all!

Isn't that just like her?

Happy Travels, Y'all!

Click HERE for the Hardeman County Visitor's Guide.

Mr. Suitcase at the Movies

I love travel films. I have an especially soft spot for the character of George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life because he must have lived for years with a dusty suitcase in his closet...as a child he had big travel dreams. Remember this scene?

CLOSE SHOT –– George and Mary at fountain.
GEORGE: Made up your mind yet?
MARY: I’ll take chocolate.
George puts some chocolate ice cream in a dish.
GEORGE: With coconuts?
MARY: I don’t like coconuts.
GEORGE: You don’t like coconuts! Say, brainless, don’t you know where coconuts come from? Lookit here –
– from Tahiti –– Fiji Islands, the Coral Sea!
He pulls a magazine from his pocket and shows it to her.
MARY: A new magazine! I never saw it before.
GEORGE: Of course you never. Only us explorers can get it. I’ve been nominated for membership in the
National Geographic Society.
He leans down to finish scooping out the ice cream, his deaf ear toward her. She leans over, speaking
softly.
CLOSE SHOT –– Mary, whispering.
MARY: Is this the ear you can’t hear on? George Bailey, I’ll love you till the day I die.

Of course, part of Mary's love means taming  George and keeping him from doing all the things he'd planned. So the suitcase that he is so excited to get from his old boss at the drugstore probably only sat on a shelf in the closet. The grown up theme of this film, that sometimes duty and love mean sacrifice, but offer up other rewards in their stead, is probably the reason for its enduring appeal. People can relate. So that movie isn't technically a travel film as much as a non-travel one, but he references his desire to see the world so often throughout it that it can't go unnoticed on my list. But let's move on to movies in which characters actually do GO somewhere.

Here's my list (in no particular order) of course, my list closely resembles Madame's! ;)

Out of Africa (Madame Owner's all time fave in the travel department)
Casablanca
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
James Bond in general and Casino Royale in particular
Roman Holiday
National Lampoon's Family  (and European) Vacation
Airplane!
A Passage To India
A Room With a View
North By Northwest
Summertime
Eat, Pray, Love
The Razor's Edge
Seven Years in Tibet

Got your list ready? Think I left the best one out? Want to rank the one's I've listed, or think some of them ARE rank? Let's hear it!

Stacey's Rexall, For Your Nolstaglic Inner Child

If you've ever watched an Andy Hardy movie from the 1940s and longed for the simplicity of those days you can have a taste of it in Foley, Alabama. Stacey's Rexall Drug and Old Tyme Soda Fountain is located amid several antique stores and gift shops and is the perfect place to stop for a trip down Pre-memory-Lane. The actual address is 121 W Laurel Avenue just off Hwy. 59. 

 
MO and her friends entered what felt like a time warp. Huge double doors, wooden floors, glass cases and the original soda fountain bar. They sat at a table and studied the menu. They went to the counter to order and noticed an old cash register in its original spot. She paid and the cashier rang up her purchase on that register! She had been sure there was a replacement elsewhere and that this one had been left only to lend to the ambiance. She went for her camera. They invited her behind the counter to get a better picture of the prehistoric till. MO was in nostalgia heaven.

My Owner had ordered a hotdog. It was delicious and not on her usual healthy at home menu which caused her to keep saying "Oh my gosh, I'm eating a hotdog!" between bites. It was the "Look Ma, no hands!" of nutrition for her. It was annoying but her friends humored her, thinking of all those "You aren't going to eat that, are you?" comments she sometimes throws out during a meal. Her friend smiled thinking of the earlier stop at Krispy Kreme. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. 

She washed it down with a real fountain cherry Coke and went back for a second for which she was only charged a quarter. How very satisfying and fun to eat in such a place. If you are interested in visiting other soda fountains, your favorite suitcase has found a website where someone has listed many of them that are still in business. Sodas Fountains Near You can guide you in your search.


Stacey's has been in business since 1929. Airplanes hang from the ceiling and there is a train that makes its way around the top of the walls, which is sure to fascinate children and your traveling inner tyke  as well. The soda fountain is known for its amazing milkshakes (everyone says the key lime pie one is swell!), ice cream and malts. MO couldn't help thinking of the scene in It's a Wonderful Life when George is waiting on Mary and she says "George Bailey I'll love you 'til the day I die." Of course my favorite part of that scene is him lecturing her for ordering plain old chocolate when there are more exotic flavors to order like coconut and he whips out a National Geographic.


Well, what do you expect from a suitcase?

More about that movie and other favorite travel flicks next week. They have a lot to do with Madame Owner's sense of adventure. 

Happy travels and happy eating y'all!

Chocolate, Anyone?

 My Owner really likes chocolate. When her friend first broached the subject of a trip to the gulf in June she listed all the reasons she couldn't go...so much to do with her daughter's wedding looming on the horizon. But friends know each other's weaknesses...

MO: "A trip a couple of months before the wedding? I don't know..."

Friend: "We'll be staying with Margaret. She works in a chocolate shop."

MO:  "What day did you say we were leaving?"

Owner, Todd Nelson and family

No matter how much time they spent at the beach, or shopping thrift stores and antique shops, there was always the promise of chocolate or frozen coffee. If you are traveling to Gulf Shores, Alabama and you love all things chocolate, don't miss  Chocolate Corner, located at 200 West Fort Morgan. If you are familiar with the area, this is where you turn off Hwy. 59 to head to Fort Morgan or to catch the ferry to Dauphin Island. MO is a big fan of supporting local businesses instead of big corporate chains whether she's at home or traveling. So she's always glad to find delightful local places to eat and shop. Does Walmart really need any more money? She's become even more dedicated to it during this recession. There's something wonderful about being able to put a face to a business venture.


You can get ice cream or a fabulous frozen coffee at CC but the main attraction is the chocolate. Do not miss the fudge. What is it about vacation that makes everyone want fudge? At home one of MO's favorite addictions is dark chocolate with sea salt by Lindt. So while she was fortunate to get to taste all the goodies she could stand, the peanut butter/chocolate fudge was her personal favorite. That salty/sweet combination...she's a sucker for that. She loved the chocolate pretzel as well.  It's fun to take some treats home with you from any trip and in this case you can remember your trip by stocking up on chocolate flip flops on a stick (you may even find one that shows your allegiance to your favorite team --especially if you are an Alabama or Auburn fan!) or chocolate turtles and dolphins.

MO's travel companion, Bev. Margaret, and Madame Owner in Chocolate Corner.

If you pop into Chocolate Corner and see Margaret's cheerful face there behind the counter, tell her Madame Owner (aka The Housewife) says hello.

Happy eating and travels, y'all!

Down Home at the Gulf

Singing "Sweet Home Alabama" all summer long...
 
Last week I covered Madame Owner's (MO for short) antiquing and general nonsense while she and her friend were the guests of Holly Hobby come to life, living in a rustic beach cottage on the bay in Gulf Shores. This week let's talk food! You can find good food other than seafood in and around this area, but why?

In the tourist season, Memorial Day to Labor Day expect a long wait (2 hours) most places if you wait until dinner time. Parents start to round up kids from the water around 4:30. By the time everyone is convinced to head to the condo for baths and clean clothes and dad can round everyone up while mom finishes her make-up, it's six. Dad parks and you have arrived at exactly the same time as every other sunburned family with cranky kids who are suddenly starving to death though just two hours ago they swore off dinner altogether if they could just stay in the surf or pool a few more minutes.  Drag the kids out just an hour earlier and you can cut the wait time in half.

One of the landmark restaurants in Gulf Shores is The Original Oyster House. It is situated in an area with several interesting shops so you can contemplate what piece of the beach to take home with you while you wait for your beeper to summon you to the hostess stand. The food is reasonably priced and it is very kid friendly. Your little darlings will be amused by the plastic alligator on their plate. MO had the shrimp florentine: "Shrimp stuffed with spinach, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese then topped with cream sauce." It was fabulous and beautifully presented, if you want seafood but cannot eat another fried shrimp. They have just recently (as in this month) been featured on Man Vs. Food and now offer a platter by that title. So good luck with that if it's your thing to see devouring food as a challenge. Here's what OOH's Facebook fan page says about the platter:

You have got to try our new Man vs. Food Platter available at both restaurant locations. This platter was created by Adam Richman, host of Man vs. Food with Original Oyster House owners Joe Roszkowski and David Dekle. Our new platter is $27.95 and includes the following seafood selections: Grilled Ahi Tuna, Shrimp Scampi, Fried Oysters, Stuffed Crab and Fried Crawfish Tails along with your choice of two side dishes

The Shrimp Basket is another moderately priced restaurant, and though nearly everyone orders fried shrimp, MO ordered the grilled shrimp skewers in Caribbean sauce which is served with shrimp slaw and toasted french bread. She passed on the slaw not being a big fan, but thought the entree was excellent.  For a more traditional family dining experience you can try Desoto's. MO had the shrimp bisque which was fair (not the best she's ever had, by far, THAT was at a cooking school in Memphis) though she probably could have done with a cup instead of the bowl, and a house salad. 

When MO travels to Gulf Shores with her family everyone wants to visit Lulu's. It is a destination dining experience. If you cross the Hwy. 59 bridge and hear loud music you might think there's a rowdy bar below but Lulu's is more of a place where mom and dad have a drink (something fun and colorful) with dinner while the kids play in one of the many sand pits, as opposed to someplace singles are going to tie one on and hook up.
Following the business plan of her famous brother (Lulu is Jimmy Buffet's sister) there is shopping for fun t-shirts while you wait for that beeper again. Such a clever idea to make money on folks while they wait instead of making them mad. The music aside from Buffet, of course is more vacation fare;
Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, and some oldies too. There is live music every night. Is there anything not delicious on this menu? See the complete menu HERE.  There is also a special food allergy menu available. MO's friend had the fried green tomato BLT which is outrageously delicious! MO had the mahi sandwich which is good but she should have gotten the mahi tacos which are unbelievable. One thing that is everyone's favorite is the pina coloda smoothie, which is non alcoholic . It is delicious and everyone is going to need their own because no one will want to share. MO tried the mango one this time. Don't do it. It wasn't any where nearly as good as the pina colada and she was mad at herself for wasting the calories. Lulu has a new cook book out also called Crazy Sista Cooking. Well, now you have to love that. Every Saturday during tourist season Lulu's also hosts a Fresh Art Market featuring arts and crafts by local artists and a portion of the proceeds is donated to the local county school's fine art departments



Personally MO's favorite thing from the gift shop, since she didn't really need a fan disguised as a crab was a sign that said:

              ASAP: As southern as possible. 


Happy travels and eating, y'all!

Foley, AL. Antique Mystique

 My owner and her friend headed down to the Gulf of Mexico earlier this month. There is a tiny strip of Alabama coastline that Southerners like to refer to as The Redneck Riviera as I've told you before. They have a friend (that's her in the center) who sold everything and moved down there a couple of years ago with her husband. MO dreams of such things so she is only encouraged by the fact that now she knows someone who has actually done it. The plan for the week was simple, bask in the sun, bathe in the water and help the local economy by eating seafood and trolling antique stores. Oh yeah, and they were going to eat healthy and skip carbs in all forms.


Which of course leads us to Krispy Kreme with that sign that is flashing "hot doughnuts now".  MO is quite weak in the face of temptation. What's more wonderful than walking in the door and having someone shove a hot doughnut in your face? Not a lot it seems since the place was packed. Most grown ups do doughnuts with coffee but My Owner has the taste of a middle class American ten year old so of course she is going to want milk.

This Krispy Kreme is  in the next town to the north of Gulf Shores is Foley, where there is a Tanger Outlet Mall. MO and her friends were interested in hitting all the antique stores and adorable shops so they were not tempted, but if you are wanting to hit Coach, Anne Taylor Loft, and Ralph Lauren, then here's the link: Tanger Outlet Mall, Foley Al. 



One of the few places where mass produced food can be made appetizing.

 Fortified by doughnuts (the breakfast of shopping champions)  they were ready to move on to the goal of the day, shopping. There are plenty of places to throw down a little cash around Foley. For the most convenient place to walk to all the shops park on the southwest corner of E. Laurel and McKenzie.


 
 
Here's a link to a list and map of the stores, MO and her friends spent the most time in Ole Crush where you can view a huge collection of vintage Orange Crush memorabilia, but don't get too excited, it's not for sale.

For new and completely charming things for the home visit Bungalow's. Interesting and unusual treasures, not to mention Vera Bradley, fragrances, and candles. The store had unique gift items. 

For lunch in the area don't miss Stacey's Rexall Drugstore with its original soda fountain and counter. More about that in a couple of weeks. At the end of the day when her wallet was lighter, the car was heavier and her feet hurt, this is what My Owner was looking forward to.