Hello, Velo

Well, it's official.  I have a new favorite restaurant in Greenville.  It takes a lot to win me over when I'm trying a restaurant for the first time.  I'm quite critical, I do admit.  The ambiance, menu selections, service, drink menu, and prices all have to be right to really get me excited about a new place.  The Velo Fellow in the West End District exceeded my expectations in all of these categories.
The Ambiance
This cozy yet quirky space is adorned with bare Edison-style light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, mis-matched chairs, worn church pews, and a giant "grand-bi" hanging on the exposed brick wall.  (A grand-bi is one of those funny looking old bikes with the giant front wheel and the little bitty back one)
The Menu
From the classic publick house creations like chicken pot pie, shepherd's pie, and fish and chips to the  more innovative culinary creations like the Falafel Po' Boy and and Tofu Marsala, everything the Velo Fellow offers is the epitome of comfort food.  They even offer a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich for 3 bucks.  Nothing says comfort food like a good 'ole PB and J. 

My Falafel Po' Boy

The Service
Our waiter was awesome.  Super friendly and his persona and attire matched and even added to the vibe of the restaurant.   His worn Levi's, plaid shirt, trucker hat, vintage square-rimmed glasses and mustache just oozed hipster.  
The Drink Menu 
They've got a great selection of wines by the glass and bottle and microbrews on draught.  The beer selections switch up every week.
This week on draught:
Highland's St. Terese's, Murphy's Irish Stout, Warsteiner Konig Ludwig Weiss, Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner,  Ommegang Rare Vos, and Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu
The Prices
$2 Session's all day, every day.  Need I say more?

 

If you're interested in giving the Velo Fellow a try, they're located at 1 Augusta St. Suite 126, below the Mellow Mushroom.  Open Monday-Wednesday 11am-10pm, Thursday 11am-12pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-2am, and Sunday 11am-9pm.

Greenville Welcomes Groucho's Deli

Born and raised in Columbia, SC, nothing tickles my taste buds like one of Groucho's signature sandwiches. Founded in 1941 by Harold "Groucho" Miller, Groucho's Deli offers great deli-style sandwiches adorned with high quality meats and cheeses and their famous Formula 45 Sauce. Groucho's Deli originated in Five Points just minutes away from the University of South Carolina's campus in Columbia, SC.  Seventy years later Groucho's now has 25 locations in three states.  Their newest venture is the location in Greenville, SC.  Located at 20 E. Coffee St. (the previous location of Hoops and Hops). Greenville's new deli is just paces away from the well-known Main Street area.
On Sunday Mr. T and I decided to give it a shot, and boy was it tasty!  I had the classic STP (I opted for the all turkey version) and Mr. T had his favorite, the Pink Moose.  Most sandwiches come with their Formula 45 sauce, a spiced and tangy variation of Russian dressing.  The sandwiches come with a bag of chips and kosher dill spear, which are all great dipped in the 45 sauce. 

 

And, as if it wasn't good enough, I washed it all down with one of their Dr. Brown's diet cream sodas.

Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm.

Recipe: Creamy Tomato Soup

I'm not a big fan of cold weather, and I'm dreading it as the summer is coming to an end.  Although I don't like those few chilly months that we have in South Carolina, there is one thing that I do like about them: soup.  I love making it and I love eating it.  I made my first soup of the season this week and it's one of my absolute favorites, Creamy Tomato Soup.  Once you try it you'll never go back to Campbell's. Its simple to make, pretty inexpensive, and it tastes phenomenal.

Creamy Tomato Soup

1 small onion, diced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 (28-oz.) cans chopped tomatoes

1 (14-oz.) can chicken broth

1 (5-oz.) package Brie without rind, cut into pieces

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. fresly ground pepper

Chopped fresh basil (optional)

Saute diced onion in 2 Tbsp. hot oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium low heat 8 minutes or until tender; add minced garlic, and saute 1 minute.  Increase heat to medium high; stir in chopped tomatoes and chicken broth, and bring mixture to a boil.  Simmer, stirring often, 10 minutes.  Remove pan from heat.  Allow tomato mixture to cool 10 minutes; stir in Brie pieces until melted.

Process soup with immersion blender until smooth.

Cook soup over medium low heat until thoroughly heated.  Stir in salt, pepper, and if desired, garnish with a fresh basil chiffonade. I made grilled cheeses with bacon to go along with our soup.  Perfect for dipping.

Do you have any soup recipes you'd like to share?  I'd love to add more recipes to my collection!

Recipe: Sparkling Lemon Elderflower and Cranberry Cocktail

I just made the best end of summer drink and wanted to share the recipe with you.  It's so simple:

1 part St. Germain
1 part lemoncello
1 part Ocean Spray Diet Sparkling Cranberry Juice

Mix all three ingredients with ice in a martini shaker and enjoy!  It would also be great with a sugared rim or sprig of mint to garnish.  Hope y'all have a great holiday weekend!

Soby's New South Cuisine

The other night Mr. T and I went to Soby's.  We haven't been there in two years, and decided it was high time we went back.  Not quite sure why it took us two years to return, their service is great and food is phenomenal.  Soby's opened in 1997, and was a major part of the City of Greenville's downtown revitalization.  It is considered the flagship restaurant of its corporate company Table 301, and quite arguably the flagship restaurant of all downtown Greenville. 
When I think of a restaurant that opened 14 years ago, I automatically assume its menu is out of date, interior past its prime, and the drink list has really boring cocktail and beer selections. Soby's has combated these stereotypes with its trendy environment, timeless fare, and iPad drink lists.  How cool is that!  All of their beers, wines, cocktails, and spirits are listed on these neat iPads that your server brings to your table. 

 

Not only does it look cool, it actually makes the drink selection process pretty easy too.  

As for our dinner, the food was great (no surprise here) and we will definitely be back much sooner than two years from now.  I would highly recommend starting with the fried green tomatoes.  YUM!

Folly Beach Vacation + An Exciting Announcement!

Last week our family took our annual summer vacation. For the past several years we've gone out of the country, but since our family is expanding, we decided to stay more local this year.  We decided on Folly Beach because of its proximity to Charleston and Columbia, and my sister April and her husband Ian love the area.  Folly Beach is such a relaxing vacation spot.  Its completely non-commercialized and has such a quaint downtown area.  You really feel like you're going back in time when you vacation there. All of the downtown bars and restaurants have great food and awesome atmospheres.

Mr. T and I at one of our favorite spots, Rita's

Our house was located right on the marsh which gave us an amazing view from our back porch.  We spent several nights out there with margaritas just enjoying the sunsets.  Our house came with crabbing equipment that we put to use one night.  We caught about 25 blue crabs which ended up yielding just enough meat for a tasty crab dip that we threw together.

The feisty crabs right after we took them out of the traps

We got some great beach time in, too.  Last week started Folly's off season, so we were one of the only groups on the beach.  The weather was great too, never got above 90 degrees. 

 

 One night we took advantage of being so close to Charleston, and went into their downtown area.  We started the evening with drinks at Market Pavilion's rooftop bar.  I had never been here before, but it's one of my new favorite spots.  The drinks are a little pricey, but the spectacular view made it so worth it. 

From there we took rickshaws to Rue De Jean for dinner.  The rickshaws were such a perfect tourist experience, taking us through the beautiful residential areas of downtown Charleston.

Mom and April in their rickshaw

Dinner at Rue De Jean was amazing as usual.   After dinner we took our stuffed bellies back to Folly Beach and got a good night's rest for another exhausting day of relaxing on the beach. 

And now for the announcement... Mr. T and I are getting married!  The first day we got there, Mr. T popped the question out on our back porch overlooking the marsh.  It was perfect; simple and just the two of us.  The rest of my family arrived shortly afterward, and we got to celebrate our engagement for the rest of the week!

We had to be cheesy and take a picture with the Tiger Rag

And if you're curious, here's the ring!  Isn't it beautiful? I primarily wear yellow gold, but also wanted today's traditional white gold ring.  The combination of white gold/white diamonds and yellow gold/yellow diamonds was a perfect solution.

 We had such an amazing time at Folly Beach.  It truly was one of the best and most memorable weeks of my life.  I am so excited for the next year of planning a wedding.  I'll be updating you with plans and all of the DIY projects I've got going on for it. 

Our Grown Up Friday Night

Hello all!  My apologies for my not-so-brief hiatus from the blogging world.  I've started a new job and it seems to be taking up all of my time.  This past Friday night, after an exhausting week, Mr. T and I decided to have a low-key Friday night; something not very common for us.  We started our night at Nose Dive Gastropub.  In appreciation for National IPA day, they had Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA on draft, something restaurants are currently struggling to keep on hand.  When we heard they got a hold of this rare beer, we rushed over there to make it in time for happy hour.  After a couple of beers at the bar, we decided to grab a table and eat dinner there, too.  Mr. T had the Fish and Chips which was great, and I had the Gastropub Burger.  I rarely order a burger and fries at a restaurant, I just find so pedestrian, but I'm glad I got it.  It was one of the tastiest burgers I've had in a while; flavorful beef and cooked to perfection. It was accompanied by sweet potato fries cooked in duck fat, need I say more?

thenosedive.com

After dinner we headed to the Roper Mountain Science Center for the viewing of their film "Starry Nights".  Roper Mountain Science Center shows a film every Friday night at 7:00 and 8:15 pm. Tickets for adults are only $5, almost half of what it costs to go to the movie theater nowadays.  We had a great time at the show, and it was quite entertaining and informative.  This month's film, "Starry Nights" focuses on the life cycles of stars, black holes, nubulae, star clusters, and some other cool sciencey stuff.  Mr. T and I had a great time, and were home and asleep by 10:00.  What a great grown-up Friday night. 


If you're interested in going to the Roper Mountain Science Center, you can find them at 402 Roper Mountian Rd.  Greenville, SC and at RoperMountain.org.