Bacon Mayonaise, ASADA's new home, and a little more pasta than I can handle

 I went sort of food nuts yesterday.  In the guise of dropping off Greenville Small Plate Crawl postcards, I hit some exciting foodie stops in Greenville.  I bounced into Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery and happily was greeted by Amy (my Twitter buddy @SheGotMox) who pointed me in the direction of the new BACON MAYONNAISE from Empire Mayonaise Co. in Brooklyn NYC. Holy crap. For real?  I grabbed up a jar of both that and the Sriracha Mayo.  My intention was just to run in and grab a jar of the Big Spoon Roasters Chai Spice Nut Butter, but as you can tell, I was wide-eyed with excitement and ran out with a couple more things than I intended, including a Espresso Bouchon Brownie.

Next up I grabbed my buddy Josie and we headed to Asada's new brickand morter place at 1237 Pendleton Street in Greenville's Pendleton Arts District.  My TR Cookbook Club girl, Gina, and her husband Roberto own Asada and have done a bang up job on the inside of the place.  The art on the walls and the big picnic style tables are made by Roberto. What a talented guy!  And the food, like their food truck, still knocks it out of the park. Seriously best tacos since my last trip to San Diego. I ordered up the Chicken Karaage Taco, a homage to Gina's Japanesse ancestory: Japanese style friend chicken marinated in Sake, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, topped with Latin-Asian slaw.  And they have these amazing thick chips with fresh tomatoes and onions.  Asada is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday starting at 11:30am. 

Asada's place shares a space with Mac Arnold's new music venue which brings in big crowds during the weekend music line-up. He'll be playing tonight, March 15, at the venue from 8:30-11pm.  Go check out some tunes and grab a taco.  And heavens to Betsy, don't miss the Coconut Flan on the Asada's menu!  I somehow walked out without seeing it on there and I dig some good flan.

While I was in the area, I finally got a chance to pop into Naked Pasta at 1286 Pendleton Street. The fresh made, locally sourced, pasta company has gotten raves from all my buddies, so I had to get my hands on some to try.  I walked out with four kinds of fresh cut pasta (Spinach, Mushroom, Plain and Tomato Basil Fettuccinie and Vodka and Italian Sausage and Basil Marinara).  $19 for at least four dinners for the fam.  That's pretty amazing.  They also have a TON of Gluten Free options including ready made gluten free Spinach and Artichoke, Five Cheese and Italian Sausage Lasagnas Along with Gluten Free Fettuccine.   Don't want to cook?  They offer Hot Lunch Take-Out 11am-5pm.  I can't wait to make some pasta this week! Keep an eye out for them at your local farmers' market, too!

And one last thing:

I'd like to say goodbye to our friends Lauren and Graham at Neue Southern Food Truck. I'm so glad I got back for one more bite. I wish you all the best with your food cart in Portland and I look forward to following your adventures via Facebook and Twitter!

Mark your calendar!!!

Monday Mashup: cronuts, the sushi nazi, showers and salt.

Monday, Monday! (she sings Mamas and the Papas) How's everyone doing?  I just finished shoving two lemons and rosemary sprigs in the cavity of a chicken and rubbed it down with butter. How's that vision to start your day?  Did I mention I hate bone-in chicken?  Gross. But I committed to make the Pioneer Woman Cooks Roasted Chicken recipe for Cookbook Club tonight in an effort to get over my phobia of cooking a whole chicken.  We'll see how this goes. (Turned out pretty good, I'd say!)

Rolling with it.

I spent ALL DAY yesterday making Ree Drummond's Cinnamon Rolls and Orange Marmalade Rolls to take to Cookbook Club, too. My kitchen looked like a natural disaster had hit.  The rolls are as-big-as-my-hand huge and beautiful and delicious, but I can't say I would make these things more than once a year.  For real.  All day. Seriously? Check out my Instagram page for photos of the experience.

Cronuts?

Yes, I finally found a cronut to stuff in my face.  LeGrand Bakery in Greenville is making their version of the famed Cronut, originally conceived and trademarked by chef Dominique Ansel of Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City.  My friend Ruta has been raving about the LeGrand version, so I had to get out and try one for the class. They are freaking incredible. I tried to share with my friend, but she, like every one else I know, is on a diet! Arg. I ate it myself.  Layers of buttery croissant goodness in the shape of a doughnut with the occasional custard mingled in then sprinkled with powdered sugar. Delish. You gotta go get one of these... or four.

No sushi for you! #sushinazi 

Everyone has been talking about this place called Purple (aka Purple International Bistro and Sushi) in Greenville. Best sushi in town, I was told.  And guess what?  The buzz was pretty dead on.  I met my buddy Josie and my new friend Karen Hammons of Everyday Orange there for lunch last week.  We were presented with a beautiful, plate of assorted sushi: Shrimp Tempura with Cherry Blossom Salt (lovely!), Bagel Roll, Cherry Blossom Leaf Sushi (amazing), Yellow Tail Sushi, and something I've never eaten before, Hako sushi, a pressed sushi (think layered sushi then sliced like a roll).  It was all really good, but here's the deal, the waitress basically berated us for even the thought of using soy sauce on their sushi. Dude!  You make your own soy sauce IN HOUSE!  Why would I not use it?! Her persistence was a little shocking. I love to get a good smear of wasbi on my sushi and then give it a quick dip in soy sauce.  It's the best!  Yes, it might cover up the subtle flavors of fresh fish, but it's tasty.  (So I'm not a sushi snob. I'm just now getting used to eating raw.) She was borderline mean.  Not sure I want to deal with that again.  Maybe sushi to go next time, so I can eat without shame.

Babies, babies everywhere!

One of my biggest fans, Erica, had a baby shower this weekend.  A very rocked out baby shower in anticipation of baby Emerson.  I am so jealous that my major life events fell outside the days of Pinterest! My sister just happens to be Erica's bff and totally scoured Pins and Boards to make sure it was a shower Erica would remember. I swear there were a dozen babies there under the age of one. Amid the bouncing and cooing and occasional crying,  I sat absolutely amazed watching the gifts being opened.  How many times can someone reinvent the wheel?  A grass counter top drying rack complete with a tree for hanging pacifiers and bottle miscellaneous. My baby days are so over, but I think I could find a purpose for this thing. Oooh! It would make a fantastic wine glass drying rack! 

Salt of the South.

Bulls Bay Saltworks Sea Salt is one of my new favorite things.  This South Carolina company is reviving an industry long since forgotten in our state's history.  Did you know that South Carolina made its own salt during the Civil War era?  I had no clue. According to their website, Bulls Bay Saltworks is the first operational salt works in South Carolina since February 25, 1865.  Go here for more history. As soon as I discovered the product, I called the company to find out a little about their salt.  Since, it has become one of our most prized commodities in the Livengood household.  We used the Smoked Sea Salt on our steak before grilling this weekend.  And I just sprinkled Carolina Flake all over a chicken. I know that Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery carries the salt in Greenville, but for a store near you, go here or you can order online.

That's all I've got folks.  I'm busy working on the new GapCreekGourmet.com to be launched soon.  So exciting.

Happy Monday!

An evening at Coal Fired Bistro and Wine Bar

On Tuesday night, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Coal Fired Bistro and Wine Bar on Pelham Road to sample a taste of their new menu under new (as of last Octoberish) chef Gerard Cribbin.  I met the chef at the Bacon Bros holiday party and he was incredibly nice to invite me to Coal Fired to see what he had done with the menu.  I brought my Greenville Small Plate Crawl partner and fellow food blogger, Laura, along for the evening.  You can visit her blog at www.CarolinaEpicurean.com.  

Isn't it funny I would start the post off with an empty table? I would just like to say that Coal Fired Bistro can set an elegant table! The atmosphere is very old school, dress up steak house, very mafia-esk. We were surrounded by men in jackets having business dinners. The red rose at the center of every table smelled heavenly and popped against the white tables and black draped windows.  This is definitely a place to celebrate, but not so highbrow that that special occasion couldn't just be that you are alive and happy and ready for a good meal. 

We started with drinks.  I ordered the Smoked Chocolate Martini (vodka, Dewars, Frangelico, Godiva milk chocolate, with chocolate drizzle) and Laura ordered the Mimi's Pumpkin Martini (spiced pumpkin liqueur, Kahlua, vodka and cream).  They were both incredible and dangerously delicious. Mine reminded me of a grown up version of the mudslides I drank in college.  

Food began arriving. Here are some of my favorites: Our first course was a light and flaky calamari with a side of caprese salad.  Sometimes when you order calamari out, it is heavily breaded, tough, soggy, and/or greasy.  This was presentation was perfectly delicate. The marinara was very nice, too. It added a hint of freshness with a kick. There was also a fried lemon slice, and whether ornamental or edible, I tried some and it was delicious too! Fried citrus.  Who knew?

(paired with a Rombauer Chardonnay)

There was a serious helping of lobster in the Linguine Cardinale (with rose lobster sauce and spinach).  And the flavor?  Think Lobster Bisque and POW!  Some bites were a little salty, but there was no hiding the lobster in this dish and that tickled us to no end.  Laura and I both have lost count of the times we've ordered lobster dishes and couldn't event taste the lobster.  Not the case here.  

The Scallops in sherry cream sauce with mushroom risotto was rich and savory. Delicious.  The scallops were perfectly cooked and so silky smooth. We covered each bite in the creamy sauce. 

(paired with a Cristom Eileen Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir)

Sometimes a dish hits you just rite.  By this time we were both stuffed, but I asked for a small bite of the Veal Saltimbocca, just a little taste.  I'm so glad I did.  It was eye rolling awesome and I inhaled mine before Laura finished taking pictures of her plate. I seriously wanted to sop up this gravy with my bread, but I had reached my bread quota. 

I am a dessert fan.  I think someone should invent something dessert like that starts off dinner. (No, our martinis don't count.)  A sweet amuse-bouche to celebrate the beginning of the meal.  Every meal should start with cake. This, for instance, would be perfect - a sliver of the house made tiramisu.   You'd think I would have stopped here, but no, I also ordered the Pistachio cheesecake.  I couldn't resist.  The girl beside us had some and it looked so very good, like something that shouldn't be missed.

Chef came out for a chat when we were sipping on our coffee and wrapping up dinner.  He came to Coal Fired via the Cliffs at Keowee Falls, but prior to that was the head chef at Gerard's, a popular restaurant in Greer, SC until it closed in 2008.  He was in negotiations to reopen Gerard's at La Bastide before the Cliff's hit a bit of financial trouble. 

Restructuring landed him at one of their other communities, until Eric Bergelson snagged him for the head chef position at Coal Fired, a position once held by Chef Anthony Gray of Bacon Bros, another one of Bergelson's restaurants (just a little info there for you). Chef Gerard was again, super welcoming and we lavished him with praise for a fantastic meal.

We were about to head out the door when we struck up a conversation about wine with Coal Fired employee, Jacob Ford.  He was super excited about all things wine and is in fact on a serious path to reach Master Sommelier status. I discussed my amazement with the Enomatic machines (which remind me of cow milking stations), and how dangerous it would be to set me free on them.   He just had to give us a sip and handed us one ounce pours of a white 2011 Barons de Rothschild Bordeaux. He said it was the perfect wine to end the night. Fresh and crisp, like a bite of apple. (I think he was right.)  They have an amazing wine selection, and come to find out, you can purchase and take any of them home with you that you desire. What an incredible night of food and wine!

"Every bottle of wine has a feeling. Every bottle of wine has a past. Every bottle of wine has a memory." (A quote from Jacob.)

Indeed.

New chefs mean new menus for The Nose Dive

Table 301's gastropub, The Nose Dive, recently rolled out new lunch and dinner menus under new Executive Chef Spencer Thomson (formerly head chef at Devereaux's) and I couldn't wait to get in the door to try the change of fare.  As you'll recall, The Nose Dive, is not on my top lists of restaurants in Greenville.  Not because the food is bad, or the service is horrible.  The food just never popped for me.  I was excited to give it another try and invited my business partner for the Greenville Small Plate Crawl and fellow food blogger (Carolina Epicurean) along for the adventure. 

Laura and I looked like we were visiting journalists with our cameras, phones and notebooks sitting all over the table.  I guess we technically were, now that I think about it... We were stoked to get a seat by the window which provided excellent lighting to photog the heck out of some food.  And I got to take my new camera for a roll!

Our first course, and favorite of the day was a lineup of three deviled eggs they call Devil Makes 3: a trio of southern ham salad, pimento cheese and traditional deviled egg. The ham salad was absolutely delicious!  I have to admit I was a little happy to see the Scotch egg replaced with something so incredibly flavorful!

One of the awesome things about Nose Dive is that they have a nice selection of wines on tap.  I sipped on a fresh and light  Elki Savignon Blanc.

We tried two of the salads on the new menu.  We enjoyed the Chef Salad (Black Oak Ham, cucumber, red onion, white cheddar, riced egg, and green goddess dressing) but nothing stood out about the dish. But the fried tomato rings were a nice surprise on the Southerner, and when scooped up in a bite of greens, goat cheese, spiced pecans and apple cider vinaigrette, you get an amazing assembly of flavor.

Next up was a creamy No Carb Carbonara made with squash, portobello mushrooms and a nice fried egg on top.  I have recently learned to appreciate two things when it comes to food: egg yolks and goat cheese.  They add something amazing to the flavor package.  By themselves?  No thank you, but when added to a dish, it's a total flavor enhancer.  It adds a savory richness that is just blissful.

I was super excited to try the Tator Tots.  I heard they were going to be a part of the menu and seriously couldn't wait to see what they were doing with them.  They came out and were absolutely beautiful!  Three housemade tots, bathed in duck jou and topped with aged cheddar.

We dug in happily, but after the second bite put our forks down.  No bam!  It was savory, for sure, but needed something.  Salt?  The flavors were just there.  No bliss.

This was the second time I've had this pot roast.  My first taste was on Greenville Culinary Tour's At the Chef's Table tour where we met Chef Craig Kuhns, who was Sou Chef at Devereaux's and followed Chef Spencer to The Nose Dive.  Chef Kuhns is responsible for creating most of the new lunch menu at The Nose Dive.   As a small bite on the tour, the pot roast was fantastic, creamy grits, savory pulled beef, delicious, with a touch of sweetness from the roasted winter carrots.  As a large serving, it was still nice and hearty, but undersalted and lacked the pow of the small bite I'd eaten before.

I still think about this sandwich all the time.  It befuddled me. I couldn't decided at the time if I liked it or not, but for days I've been craving it again, so I guess I did!  It's not often a chef can challenge your palate with a sandwich, but Chef Craig sure did with this one.  Mustard and black pepper-roasted pork with braised collard greens, and goat cheese on a hoagie roll.  And the brussels sprouts are just heaven.  A little vinegary with chunks of tasty ham.   We also tried the Mason-Dixon, a hoagie bun topped with New England Lobster Salad, fried scallops with lettuce, tomato and dill vinaigrette.  It's a twist on their once popular lobster roll. The brussels stole the show on this plate.

Dessert.  Isn't this plate lovely?  And when it landed in front of me, I couldn't contain myself.  The Lemon Goat Cheese Cheesecake is back.  I walked two blocks in shoes that were eating my feet once to get a piece of this cheesecake and it wasn't on their menu anymore.  Praise, praise, praise, it's back and so absolutely marvelous. As good as I remembered.  And why don't restaurants make desserts like this all the time? Just tiny bites of sweetness after a meal that's left you stuffed.  Perfect. 

I'm anxious to get back for a taste of their dinner menu. 

Bad snow, news from Facebook and a Crawl update.

I am breaking up with snow. I was her friend.  I even drove hours away to play with her. But now?  No.  Last week we got major snow storm in the south and she completely showed her butt, and then totally caused me to miss out on some really awesome opportunities (like my long anticipated breakfast with the Amateur Gourmet).  She and I are no longer speaking.  Spring.  Spring is my new best friend.

Happy 10 Years to Facebook.

Have you seen the new Facebook Paper?  It's a free app delivering your Facebook news feed along with other trending articles in other topics you enjoy (like headlines, food, entertainment) right to your palm. I was wondering what the next big thing from the folks at Facebook would be. Man, wouldn't it be cool if they actually printed your weekly Facebook feed and delivered to your doorstep and it was like 10 lb?   Remember the Sunday paper when you were a kid?  HUGE!  I loved it.  Sigh. (Remembering the good ole days.) For now, the Facebook Paper is only available to iPhone users.  I imagine if the Android people complain loud enough, they'll soon get it too.

Let's talk Starbuck's stars.  The Starbuck's app on your phone has this dandy little section called Rewards.  When you register your Starbuck's gift cards and use them to purchase coffee, you earn stars.  When you get 30 gold stars, you get a Gold Starbucks Card (what?!) mailed to you AND free product once and a while.  I'm a HUGE Starbucks girl.  I want that dang gold card.  I was so close.  Like two weeks close one day when I opened up the app to pay for my coffee and suddenly all of my stars flew out of my cup right before my eyes.  I almost stroked out. I emailed the company. Seriously.  I am serious about my stars.  Come to find out, you have to earn your 30 stars in one calendar year.  So now, I use my phone religiously to check out at Starbucks.  And I WILL get my gold card.  My Greenville Small Plate Crawl partner, Laura, says she's gonna start giving me gold stars since I get so excited about them.  Hmmmm... not a bad idea.  I always was a sticker girl.

Greenville Small Plate Crawl is absolutely on fire! More than 20 of Greenville's hottest restaurants are participating!  If it's not on your calendar, it really should be.  This is a super awesome way to try out new places in Greenville, or check out a new menu item at one of your regular places.  

How does this thing work?  You go to www.greenvillesmallplatecrawl.com (or go to our official free app, iOnGreenville and click on our icon), as the menus come in you can check out the menus, pick your favorites, then go to our interactive map and plot your path, print your passport and crawl.  At each restaurant you will be handed a special menu of 5-7 items ranging from $3-$8 (a lot of the restaurants will also have drink specials).  You order some small plates, order some drinks, eat some food, chat it up with your friends, then get your passport stamped when you pay and you're off to the next stop on your crawl. 

Crawlers turn in their passports at the last restaurant visited and if you go to more than five places, you are registered for prizes, including $25 gift cards to restaurants on the crawl.  Go to more than 15 places?  You could win one of our grand prizes including overnight packages at the Hyatt or Hotel Domestique. Simple as that.  And so fun, so be sure Monday, March 24 - Wednesday, March 26 (lunch and dinner) are blocked off for Crawling.

Alright, have a good Tuesday!

Squeak on. 

Zoe's Kitchen opens new location in Greenville

Last week I grabbed my friend Nina and we stopped into the new Zoe's Kitchen location on Woodruff Road in Greenville for a sampling of their menu offerings.  I've passed their Augusta Road location before, but it was always crowded, so me, being the eat-in-the-car kinda gal that I am, passed on by.  Their new location is right smack beside Trader Joe's, so I thought it might be time to get acquainted. I foresee many to-go orders in my future.

Some things you should know about Zoes: Everything is made in house. No microwaves and no freezers. From the moist and delicious chicken to the brownies, from the soup to the egg salad, everything is from scratch. Even the dressing on the table. Zoe's started in Birmingham Alabama and has grown to 107 restaurants across the Southeast including seven Zoe's Kitchens in South Carolina. Lots of items on the menu are Zoe's original recipes. The food here is all about the Mediterranean experience: fresh and natural. And the food at Zoe'sis sourced from as local as possible. The chicken is from Prestige Farms,the same company that supplies Whole Foods.

Everything on the menu looked amazing.  It would have been hard to try just one thing.  Luckily, the GM was there to greet us and hook us up with a sampling.  (Yes, it's hard work being a blogger.) He brought us a selection of salads including the egg salad and chicken salad, both made simply with mayo, salt and pepper and perfectly lovely.

The tabbouleh salad with orzo, slaw, pasta salad, quinoa salad and rice were all light and fresh.  And the chicken soup is some of the best I have ever had.

(If I'm sick and you're headed my way, will you please pick up and deliver?)  Most everything at Zoe's is sold by the pound. This is good news for your party planners out there. And I saw plenty of vegetarian and gluten free options!

We ended our lunch tasting with these cool little roll-ups.  Beef with onion and swiss and mushrooms. Melty delicious. I'm totally headed back there soon to sample some of their meats and get dinner to go.

And a little advice?  Go early!  Peak lunch hour is slam packed.  People were standing over us waiting on our table.