Episode 10 starts with our last meal in Huntsville, AL before we continue to Charleston, SC. I’ve had a couple of people as me where I find these places, and it’s almost entirely word of mouth. For Charlottesville, Charlottesville Dining is an excellent resource. Nationwide, I’d say my favorite resource by far is Chowhound. It’s just an old school message board with an ancient script, but it’s by far the largest online community for people who like to eat. My first meal this week was based on recommendations by several users at Chowhound, so without further adieu…
- Monday: Lunch at La Michoacana: Several Chowhound members have
proclaimed La Michoacana as the most authentic Mexican in Huntsville. I ordered the Chile Colorado, which was beef tips in a fiery red sauce. Except for the sauce being a little too watery, I was very pleased. The beans and rice were pretty typical mexican restaurant fare. Overall, I’m happy with it, and I’ll go back, but it’s no La Hacienda in Nashville.
- Wednesday: Late Night Snack at Gilroy’s Pizza: Charleston bars close at 2 AM. Gilroy’s is pretty much the only place you can get food after that, so we went down there and got a pizza. I don’t remember it, but Gilroy’s is always satisfying, so let’s just assume that it was this time, too.
- Thursday: Dinner at Fast and French: After hearing about Fast and French from lpk’s friends for years, I final made it out with them for Fondue Thursdays. I ordered the Beef Fondue Special which came with a salad. The salad had a ginger dressing that has a sharp ginger bite to it. So delicious. The fondue itself was marinated chunks of lean beef and a few sauces: a red pepper aioli, horseradish sauce, and au jus. All very delicious. I also tried some of the swiss and blue cheese fondues that everybody else had, and they were cheeserific. Finally, I dipped a few pieces of my beef in the blue cheese fondue. Then I had eleven heart attacks.
- Thursday: Appetizer at Raval: Raval is a small wine and tapas bar on King Street in Charleston. I’ve walked by it before, and it never would have occurred to me to go in, but our friends took us there after fondue. I am so glad they did. I don’t really understand how I was able to eat anymore after just having the fondue, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try the Andalusian Meatballs. At their core, they’re just meatballs in a tomato based sauce, but the addition of some bold spices and chorizo to the sauce really blew me away. I could have them for every meal for a week without once being bored. So freaking tasty.
- Thursday: Pizza at Gilroy’s: Another late night, another pizza at Gilroy’s. I actually remember this time. I got a tomato and jalapeno pizza, and it was delicious.
- Friday: Dinner at Fleet Landing: I was itching for some seafood, so lpk got a recommendation from a friend for a place called Fleet Landing. Sometimes I get an idea in my head for what I want to eat, but I can’t really describe it. It’s a “I’ll know it when I see it” kind of thing. Well, when we walked into Fleet Landing, I saw it. It’s kind of like a beach seafood restaurant, without any of the kitchiness. I ordered seared sea scallops with cole slaw and charleston red rice. I expected to get three or four big scallops, so I was pretty shocked when I got nearly a dozen. They were excellent, as was the cole slaw and rice. lpk got the seared tuna with mashed potatoes and green beans. The tuna had a teriyaki glaze, which was awesome. The green beans were crisp and fresh. I’d say the mashed potatoes were the only disappointing part of the night. We’ll definitely be back here on our next visit.
- Friday: Late Night Snack at Slices by Doriano’s: We changed up the late night pizza tonight. I had a slice of sausage and jalapeno, and it was fairly average. I don’t really feel any need to go back.
And that’s it for Charleston. I weighed in when I got back home, and it looks like in ten days, I put on six pounds! I guess that makes the culinary portion of the trip a success. I’ll be taking it easy for a week or two to give my digestive system a chance to recover, so episode 11 should be a lightweight.
