Roost: Giving It A Second Shot

This weekend my parents came into town to stay with us. On Friday night we wanted to take them somewhere that they had never been before, and somewhere that T and I hadn't been in a while either. After throwing a couple of ideas around, we decided that we'd give Roost a second shot. The last time the two of us were there, it was nothing short of a disaster. We went on opening night which was probably our first mistake, and I ordered a dish that I typically don't order; mistake #2.  I wound up sending my entree back twice, something I NEVER do, and T wasn't fond of his entree either. It's been so long that I can't even recall what we ordered- I just remember that it didn't taste good.

Luckily the menu has changed significantly since then, and we had lots of choices to choose from on Friday night. We started with an order of the Parmesan Truffle Fries, because who can resist those when they're on the menu? For our entrees, we ordered the Pad Thai, the Twice Fried Korean Wings, the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, and the Pot Roasted Mussels & Clams Cioppino.
 

Parmesan Truffle Fries

Pot Roasted Mussels & Clams Cioppino

Pad Thai

Meat Loaf, Korean Wings, and Mountain High Cake

Everything was packed full of flavor, a great contrast to the bland meal that we had there before.  Although it took us over a year to return, I'm glad we decided to give it a second chance.  The stars of the meal were the Meatloaf and Pad Thai.  I only got one measly bite of the meatloaf that T ordered, he liked it so much he hogged the rest, but that one bite was wonderful.  The Pad Thai was vegetarian, only $14.00, and it was enough for three meals.  It had so much flavor and was so filling that you didn't even miss the meat. Next time T and I return, we plan to get an appetizer and split the Pad Thai. 

 

We let our waiter know that we had a bad experience the first time and that we were returning to give the restaurant a second chance.  Shortly after that he brought a piece of cake to the table thanking us for trying the restaurant again.  How's that for service?  I'm so happy to report that the meal at Roost was a success.  I don't know what it is that they're doing differently now, but I hope they'll keep it up.  We'll be back for sure, and it definitely won't take us a year this time.

A Trip to Bacon Bros.

T and I recently tried out Bacon Brothers for the first time.  I know I was a little late to jump on the Bacon Bros band wagon, but its hard for me to justify driving 30 minutes to a restaurant when I live so close to downtown and I'm minutes away from so many great places.   It was worth the drive though, the food and atmosphere were that darn good.

I was a little dubious at first when we pulled up, the restaurant is located in an unassuming strip mall, nestled between a Mexican restaurant and a Babies Furniture Plus.  Nothing about that oozes trendy, sexy, food.  But as soon as we walked in, we felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere.   Good lighting, rustic decor, and a fantastic smell coming from the kitchen.  We were also greeted by Ryan, a member of the waitstaff that we knew from his previous restaurant experience.

Sidenote: If you do go to Bacon Brothers, you must ask for Ryan to be your waiter.  I've never met a guy that was more passionate and more knowledgeable about a menu than him.   He made our experience just that much better.

The restaurant specializes in prohibition-style cocktails.  Very similar to the drinks that they serve at Husk if you've ever been there. T loves them because he describes them as "manly cocktails", the kind of drink he's not embarrassed to have sitting in front of him.  He opted for the Sazerac (rye whiskey, absinthe, bitters, and sage) and I ordered the Pomegranate Negroni (Aperol, Plymouth Gin, Sweet Vermouth, house made pomegranate grenadine syrup topped with dried rose petals).  There was nothing manly about my drink, and boy was it good.

For our appetizer, by recommendation of Ryan, we started with the Pimento Cheese Jar and two Deviled Dust Eggs.  The Pimento Cheese was very tasty.  It was topped with a bacon jam, which gave it a great smoky flavor that paired so well with the cheese.  And at $.75 a pop, it was hard not to order a few of the deviled eggs. They're topped with coppa ham and the house made "devil dust" which gave them just the right amount of heat.

As for our entrees, T ordered a pork chop special and I had the B.E.T. (pork belly pastrami, Swiss cheese, fried duck egg, green peppercorn mayo, arugula, yellow tomato)  I'm not a huge pork chop fan, so the T's entree wasn't necessarily my jam, but the B.E.T. was out of this world.   Definitely not the thing you want to order on a first date, because it was super messy, but the flavors went together beautifully.  Let's be honest, I love anything with cured meat and a fried duck egg. Throw in cheese and a special mayo?  Sold.

One thing that Ryan told us when talking about the restaurant is that they don't even own a freezer. Everything is just that fresh.  We loved seeing all of the meat hanging in the restaurant, too.  It made me wish that I had ordered the charcuterie plate.  I'll have to save that for next time though.

So all in all we were very impressed with Bacon Brothers.  In my opinion, the one thing that they don't have going for them is the location.  I think if they opened a location closer to downtown, they would be an even bigger hit.  Maybe even in the Pendleton Street Arts District,  or what T and I have deemed "the Brooklyn of Greenville".  I think the hipster vibe of the restaurant would be so successful there.  One of these days, maybe, just maybe...

Homemade Italian Breadcrumbs

Sunday night as I was taking inventory of our pantry, I realized we didn't have any Italian breadcrumbs.  I almost always keep a container of these on hand, and actually needed them for Monday night's dinner.  The last thing that I wanted to do after getting back into town was head back out to the grocery store.  So what did I do instead?  Started Googling. I found a couple of recipes for homemade Italian breadcrumbs and combined a few of them to create a recipe consisting of the ingredients that I had on hand.

I had half a loaf of stale wheat bread and half a loaf of Italian five grain bread that was just a day or two past its prime.  Here's the recipe that I concocted. 

Homemade Italian Breadcrumbs

4 oz of stale bread, cut or torn into one inch pieces

1/2 tsp salt

 1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil 

Place all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until coarse crumbs form.  Spread the crumbs evenly onto a large baking sheet.  Bake the crumbs for about 5 minutes at 300, until they begin to brown and are crisp. Cool for 15 to 20 minutes and store in a mason jar at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

 

 

The breadcrumbs turned out better than I thought they would, plus they made the house smell amazing.  I used them in the Eggplant Parmesan that I made last night and I could really tell a difference.  There was much more flavor, and the breadcrumbs were so much crunchier than the store bought kind. What a great use for stale bread!

The Carolina Cup 2014

For the ninth year in a row, I celebrated my birthday weekend at the Carolina Cup with my family.   The Cup is very special to us.  My parents have been going since before they were married, and it's where my family met T for the first time seven years ago.

We were concerned with the weather report for this year, there was an 80% chance of rain.  But somehow we lucked up and didn't see a drop.  The storms seamed to just go right around us, and we even saw the sun peek out from time to time.  

My big birthday gift this year was a new lens for my camera, so naturally I was taking an obscene amount of pictures.  Here's just a few from what I took. 

My cousin Katie came to the Cup for the first time this year, and stopped by our tent for a visit.  

T was in charge of the betting for the day, a task he takes very seriously.  I even managed to win $6.00.

And it isn't a family cup until there's some dancing.  Mainly mom and Dad shagging to a rap song in college park.   It always gets the college students' attention.  

Another successful year at the Carolina Cup races, and we're already looking forward to next year. 

Our New Puppy!

If you follow me on any kind of social media, you may already know that we got a puppy this weekend!   T and I have both wanted a puppy for years, but apartment living just wasn't fair for a dog.  Once we moved into our house, the search for our canine companion began.

After watching just about every episode of Dogs 101 on Animal Planet, we decided than an Airedale Terrier was the dog for us.  Airedales don't shed, are very smart, and get to be between 55 and 65 lbs.  Plus they have the cutest faces.  A few weeks ago after searching online, we found a breeder about an hour outside of Raleigh that had a litter of Airedale puppies for sale. 

Saturday morning we woke up early and started the five hour trip to pick up our sweet pup.  My Aunt and Uncle live in Raleigh, so we broke up the trip by staying with them on Saturday evening.  George loved meeting them and especially loved playing with their Cocker Spaniel, Cooper.

 

In addition to Cooper, they have four chickens, Mabel, Ethel, Ruby, and Hazel.  George got to meet Mabel up close and even gave her a lick on the beak.  What a sweetheart.  

We have had the best time with George so far.  He's already gotten so attached to us, which makes me love him even more.  These pictures were taken on Saturday, and believe it or not he's gained three pounds since then!  I didn't realize it until I looked back over these, but he's already noticeably larger.  I think we're going to have a big boy on our hands!

Cheesy Hearts of Palm Dip

T and I recently tried a new dip that was so good I had to share.  I'm a big fan of a hot cheesy dip.  Let's be real, who isn't?  The thing that I love most about this one though is it's different.  I don't think I have ever had a recipe that called for hearts of palm.  I wasn't even sure where to find them in the grocery store. (I did eventually find them, they're by the canned artichokes)  

When I was growing up, being an adventurous eater in my family meant you were a big girl.  And when you're the baby of the family this is B-I-G. Ever since then, I've always tried to be the most adventurous eater that I possibly could be.  I know that sounds silly, but I just love eating as many different foods as I can.  So when we found a recipe for a hot cheese dip that included an ingredient that I don't eat very often I was sold.

Hearts of Palm Dip

1 (14 ounce) can hearts of Palm, drained well and chopped finely
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons minced green onions
Paprika for dusting top

      Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray a pie plate or other baking dish with Pam. Combine hearts of palm, mozzarella, mayo, Parmesan, sour cream, and  2 Tbsp green onions. Spoon into prepared dish and sprinkle with paprika. (May be made several hours ahead to this point and refrigerated, covered.) Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly, top with remaining green onions. Serve with Fritos Scoops or Triscuits.

Life Lately

Things have been a little crazy at our house in the last few weeks. I did manage to snap a few pictures along the way, but haven't blogged about anything recently.

Over the past couple of weeks we...

...had some porch time in this wonderful springtime weather...

...sipped on our new favorite drinks, Frozen Beer-garitas, a light beer with frozen margarita poured on top...

...Showered my sweet sister April with gifts for her baby girl...

 ...Made more progress on our table...

 {side note: my husband would be humiliated if he knew I posted this picture of him using my pink hammer, let's hope he doesn't read this}

...and picked up this awesome bar cart for $45.00 from Craigslist!  I'm still working on getting all of the accoutrements, but here's what we're currently working with.  I just love the details of the cart and you can't beat that price.

 So now you're caught up at what's gone down over the past few weeks in my life. I hope this week brings a little bit more free time so that I can get back to blogging. Y'all have a great week!