Epilogue- 2010 Glee Club Charleston Meet n Greet aka "And then there were 2" finale

Sunday Evening February 14

I was waiting for others to complete posting photos for the Charleston Glee Club event prior to posting the epilogue but since a month has passed and no one has really done so yet, I thought I would continue the final leg of the the previous trip report
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/Prologue-to-7th-Annual-Presidents-Day-Weekend-Glee-Club-Event-in-Charleston-2010-Finale-m571764.aspx

Buffetbuster was the last to leave in the late afternoon. Afterwards Travelin Man and I met up with a friend of his who lives in town at a real "locals" bar a few blocks away from Charleston's Tourist Scene. A couple of hours and a could of Yuenglings later it was time for dinner.

Now this is Valentines Day Evening. I should have been spending it with my girlfriend.  Right?
Well, I planned this trip before I met her so she was very understanding...
But again, it's Valentines Day Evening and I get to spend it with....



No, not the Elvis Impersonator on the left, but the impersonation of this human piece of protoplasm on the right!

Our last real stop in Charleston was Jestine's Kitchen.


This is one of the few restaurants I went to where we were greeted by a line, however the line did move fairly quickly.

I was there once before in 1999 and wasn't very impressed, I don't even remember what I ordered but I know it wasn't fried chicken. Well, I kept hearing good things about the fried chicken here both from Nancypalooza and Travelin Man, so I figured I must have ordered wrong last time..

The meal started off with complimentary pickled cukes



And we then moved on to



warn, grainy corn bread with pats of honey butter on the side.

However it was the main meal that surprised me



Monstrously sized fried chicken parts coupled with cabbage and red rice. I didn't have any complaints with the cabbage, however I thought the red rice was somewhat bland and wimpy compared to the  savory gullah rice  I had the day before at Gullah Cuisine.
The fried chicken was surprisingly good,  with a crisp, crunchy nutty crust   reminiscent of the Fried Chicken I enjoyed at Lady and Sons in Savannah back in 2005, although we agreed that the breast was a little dry.

Of course we couldn't leave Jestine's without their trademark dessert.



Coca Cola Cake. Although it seems we were expecting an actual slice of  cake,  it was densely rich, moist and subtly sweet, like Coca- Cola but in cake form.

After dinner, I walked back to my hotel as we had a long drive heading South the next day....

much more to come....

(/clapping)  Jestine's!  Yaaaay!  I do love their fried chicken but we at least have to split that serving, which is a big reason I usually get the pecan fried whiting.  And I have been known to get an extra bowl of cukes.  The mains are so good at Jestine's that I think the sides suffer by comparison--the mac and cheese for example is excellent but not mindblowingly so.  Other things I love: the midweek sweet chicken with limas (combines a barbecuey fricassee with those limas you guys learned about over the President's Day weekend) and the pineapple bread pudding.  Jiminy.

WJ-
Like you, I wasn't overly impressed with Jestine's Kitchen on my one previous visit.  But, that coca-cola cake looks terrific!  Looking forward to the rest of the report. 

Nancypalooza

This meal was significantly better than my first meal there, but I still found the sides to be "nothing special"

Buffetbuster

I was anticipating that the Coca Cola cake was going to be too sweet, but to my surprise it wasn't.

I'm hoping to continue with the trip report this evening

  Mighty pretty chicken picture!  Are the cukes sweet? or bread & buttery? or South Carolina Thai?

What is South Carolina Thai exactly?  ;)  They're really pretty much soaked in vinegar with some seasoning; there are whole black peppercorns in the bottom of the bowl.  I think it might be a cider vinegar (?) so there's something tangy, but not a lot to it.

  So you're saying more of a NORTH Carolina Thai!?  Cool. 

I haven't forgotten to complete this trip report yet. I've been trying to combat some really nasty post nasal drip and have been feeling lousy. I'll try to start part 2 sometime this evening if I don't get caught up in something else.

I hate it when people don't complete trip reports in a timely manner!

Monday February 15

It was time to leave Charleston and head South after walking to  and enjoying a dark roast at one of my favorite coffee houses in the country- Kudu Coffee House.

We made one last stop stop in Charleston
Unfortunately for Chi Town Diner



Rising High Bakery was actually open on the third try



Besides baked goods, soup is on the menu too, I wonder what goes into  the SHRAMP gumbo?

TTM got a muffin, I got a coffee to go, I couldn't tell you about the muffin, but the coffee wasn't very good.

Heading south on Hwy 17 towards Savannah, our last stop in South Carolina was



The Carolina Cider Company in Yemassee.  Besides giving out free samples of their cider (I had the rich and full bottomed muscadine grape cider )  they also have balwed peanuts, pies and other cool items as well



I wanted the sweet potato pie, but they only had a large pie and that was just too much for me. They did have a mini sweet potato  pie but it was frozen.



(photo was taken on cell phone)

After it defrosted, I enjoyed half of it later that evening at my hotel and I finished the rest of it the next day. Even though it was frozen, it still tasted fresh with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg.

As we  crossed the bridge into Georgia,  the clouds were rolling in and lunch time was approaching.

Of course we had to hit an old Roadfood favorite



The Crab Shack on Tybee Island about 25 minutes outside of Savannah.

As you can see, The Crab Shack is surrounded by lots of kitch and   some would even say that the place is touristy






"Where the elite eat in their bare feet!"




Here's the gator lagoon,



I was curious to see what would happen if I stuck my head  in one
Well, the good thing is I lived to tell about it!

(Photo courtesy of Travelin Man)



Ok, lots of tacky tourist photos, but do they live up to the promise of good food?

The shack does offer outdoor seating



but unfortunately the weather was just not conducive to dining al fresco

As you enter the the shack- it is truly offers  an "eat in the rough" atmosphere.



you feel like you're surrounded by backwater swamp




Well actually you are.

This is my second visit, my first visit being back in 2005. And of course I had to have a repeat of what I ordered when I last visited.




The Shack Speciality- Shell Fish nirvana- loaded and loaded  with shrimp, mussels, crayfish, snow crab and stone crab claws accompanied by sausage, potato and corn, liberally spiced with old bay.  This is the real deal. Some say that the shellfish is imported, either way, it tastes fresh and is prepared well and I was completely satisfied with my meal.  The serving was so huge I left some sausage and potato over..

I believe Travelin Man had the half and half shrimp and snow crab combo.

Just one important note- don't leave your kids unattended or....




As we left it started to rain and we made our way back to Hwy 17 and eventually ended up back on I95

more later.....

wanderingjew


 

 
 
I can't tell. Is that third soup pastrami

Thanks for posting the Crab shack pics.  We are spending a week in a cottage in Tybee Island next month.  I'll have to check it out. 

BB, how do you feel about people who don't start their trip reports in a timely manner? Oops!... never mind.   

Monday February 15 continued

The spirit of Chi Town Diner  did not leave us, after lunch # 1 it was eventually time for lunch #2

We stopped at the everybody's favorite BBQ Nazi


The GA Pig in Brunswick.

Located inside this ramshackle shack



I had the opportunity to try Eastern and Lexington NC Style Q and South Carolina Q on this trip, now it was time for some Georgia Q.


A Happy Pig is always a good sign



 Inside the restaurant, there are lots of signs with rules to follow, such as no photos of employees etc, it could make some people feel intimidated if they unintentionally break one of the rules...

Either Way, I enjoyed my pork sandwich

 

The pork had a smokier  taste than I remembered compared to my previous visit in 2005

with a nice mix of dark and white meat




The brunswick stew was even better, loaded with pork and vegetables swimming in a dark rich base




I know alot of people have put The GA Pig down in the past, but I think the BBQ was pretty decent.

Still more to come including dinner in Florida....

Dale honey that is not backwater swamp--it's an inlet or a marsh.

That's a good-looking sandwich.  Is it normally served with the bark mixed in with the meat or did you have to ask for it?

Brad

I was very curious to find out what you guys thought of the GA Pig.  It has been years since I have been there.  My memories were that the food was very good, but served by some very unfriendly people.  Glad to hear the food is still up to snuff!

Brad,

That's the way the Sandwich came- with the dark meat mixed in with the white meat. I also like the way they toast the buns

Buffetbuster

We both enjoyed our meals, I specifically enjoyed the Brunswick Stew, although Travelin Man mentioned that he felt like he needed to go out of his way and not overstep any boundaries, and he wasn't sure if that was because of their "reputation" previously mentioned by other roadfooders or because of all the "rules" that were posted everywhere. I personally did not find any of the employees to be unfriendly.

I really need to finish Mondays report. This trip report is dragging  partly because I haven't been feeling well and partly because I've been so busy. 

Our initial plans were go to go O Steens in St Augustine. When we left the Crab Shack earlier that day, Travelin Man realized that O Steens might be closed on Mondays. I called them and confirmed that sadly they were in fact closed. After consultations with Buffetbuster and
Sundancer 7 we decided that taking O Steen's place would be



Saltwater Cowboys in St  Augustine

Upon entering



The restaurant decor made me realize that we were no longer in "The Low Country" and had officially entered "Old Florida"

We started out with some  hot, fresh and very tasty "cheesy garlic toast"



It came with some really good dippin sauce on the side.




That's the sauce on the left. The sauce on the right is the pink peppery sauce for the fried shrimp.

My only disappointment of the meal was the slaw.



Unfortunately there was raw onion or scallions in the slaw which I simply did not like.  I've had Garlic Slaw before (at Doc's Steak House in Wichita KS) which i thought was amazing, but onions in slaw are a definite no-no.

The  addictive peppery  red chowder  was also just out of this world.



I'm assuming this is Minorcan Style. I've never had it before so I'm not sure, either way, I did not load any crackers into my chowder, I enjoyed it "au natural"



The main meal arrived. Accompanied by one lone but really good Hushpuppy (one of the better ones of the trip) and rich cheese grits which was my choice of side. The shrimp had a light tempura like crispy coating, and it did not hide the taste of the shrimp. It was one of the best fried shrimp meals I ever had however Travelin Man said that the flavor of the shrimp at O Steen's was even better. I couldn't imagine anything much better than this meal.

Of course  this Floridian meal would not be complete without



A slice of  cool Key Lime Pie.

After dinner we finally arrived in Melbourne a couple of hours later arriving at around 10pm. I rented my car at the airport and arrived at my beachside motel where I crashed for the night.


Much more to come......eventually....

 Those cheesy grits look AMAZING! I don't get it, We've TONS of corn around here... So why no grits? this may bear some looking into....   Also, you gotta love the EXTREMELY regional Jumpin' Jack Shrimp! 

AHI MPLS


 Those cheesy grits look AMAZING! I don't get it, We've TONS of corn around here... So why no grits? this may bear some looking into....[8D]   Also, you gotta love the EXTREMELY regional Jumpin' Jack Shrimp! 

Sweet corn in the Midwest is for "roastin' ears".  Field corn is for fattening up cows and hogs (and making beer and ethanol for fuel.)  That's where all the TONS of corn go.

Yeah Dawn, grits were a byproduct of crappy corn, basically.  Trust me, yours is better.  It is hell to try and find grits in a store in Minnesota though.  The Quaker instant kind ain't it.

Well, you've taught me something, Nancy.  I never thought about grits before as a by-product of crappy corn.  You don't find them much on breakfast tables in western Kentucky, but they are here; usually they're the instant kind, though, which means they're eaten only to be regurgitated later.

They're pretty much reconstituted regurgitation.  :)

I am not much for 'Plain' grits, but some good Cheese-grits with a Mac & Cheese sort of browned topping are a great side dish for an egg & meat-centered breakfast.  I used to enjoy sweetened Grits like a Cream of Rice Hot Cereal, but don't do that much these days.  Shrimp n Grits are a fine lunch dish !

It's embarrassing that it has taken this long to finish this trip report. It looks like I completed the last chapter 6 weeks ago..... Well, after recent developments, It looks like I have allll the time in the world......now......

Since I now have a another trip report to start before the weekend is over, I promise this trip report will be complete by tomorrow...

Unfortunately my memory is fading fading away fast so I'm going to try to recall everything the best I can.

Tuesday February 16

Arriving in Melbourne the night before, this morning I woke up and went to "generic" "fill in the blank" coffee house, I dont' remember the name of it, I just remember the coffee being somewhat weak that I had to shell out an extra buck or so and ask them to add
a shot of espresso aka "a red eye"

Afterwards I met Travelin Man for breakfast at  Rolli



A place that is teeming with happy pigs




Rolli's is  a take out stand with outside seating offering breakfast and lunch sandwiches.
As some of you know, I'm not a big breakfast guy but decided to go with the pork loin egg and cheese sandwich



Served on a toasted kaiser bun, the porcine flavor took precedence over the egg and cheese, very reminiscent of the pea meal bacon sandwich I had in Toronto almost a year and a half earlier. 
I also had some decent albeit ever so slightly greasy home fries to go with my meal



After breakfast Travelin Man had to take care of some business and eventually we made our way up to Cocoa Beach about a half hour drive from Melbourne



For lunch we were in the mood for some Cuban food and decided on Roberto's



In the heart of Cocoa Beach

Roberto's offers a lunch time menu




The meal started out with some surprisingly good toasted and buttered Cuban bread



And I decided to go with the combination plate

which comes with choice of sides including in my case, black beans, yellow rice and fried plantains (although the plantains are served on the same plate as the main course)



 

Clockwise - we have Ropo Vieja (old clothes or shredded steak in tomato sauce), Picadillo (ground beef with tomato sauce, spices, olives and believe it or not raisins) and Roast Pork

The Ropo Vieja and Picadillo were good however the Roast Pork was dry, but did not lack flavor.

After lunch we walked around the beach






Ironically even though we were in Florida, the temps were still south of 60 degrees. Ironically one month later I would be enjoying 75 degree weather here in Rhode Island...

As we were heading back into town, we spotted this sign




I could never turn down a good brew- unfortunately they weren't open yet, but would be opening shortly. So we walked around for about 15 or 20 minutes.

We walked into a brewpub that literally could have been some one's living room. It was small and very non corporate

I ordered an outstanding pale ale




Reminiscent of Hales Pale Ale in Seattle, this brew was not only the best beer of the trip but is probably one of the best micro beers I enjoyed on the east coast.

Short on time, we thought we would hit the visitors center gift shop at




Kennedy Space Center

unfortunately we discovered that we would have to pay just to enter the visitors center and  go to the gift shop. We decided to ditch that but I did get a decent photo of this.




the final chapter tomorrow....(I promise!)

I love the food of South Carolina and Georgia.

You guys did it up well!

That picture of the combo plate at the Crab Shack is the meal of which I dream.

Great pics, great comentary and great jealousy!

  Uh-Oh, Sorry about the recent developments....But Yay to have you back (Damn I'm selfish! )  Excellent new batch of pics. That triple meat threat looks OH so good.  Also, the beach shot of a faraway and forlorn looking TTM walking into the distance...Priceless!  ( I know, I know. That's probably not him...But it COULD be! hee-hee!)    

 Ahi, My young lady friend,

  I am a bit tardy with a response to your comment on the lack of "Grits" in "The Great White North". Grits are ground from "Hominy" which is corn that has been soaked in Lye until it swells up . After drying it is ground into the grit consistency we have come to love.  Now even a warm-weather old-timer like me knows that ALL the available LYE for soaking stuff in Minnesota is under contract to the LUTEFISK Production Companies !!  The Grit-makers haven't been able to break into the production cycle controlled by the "LUKEFISK CARTEL" Known thru-out Roadfood as the "LIERS" !!!

That ought to set your mind at ease.

   Like I needed another reason to dislike lutefisk; Now I find out that it has deprived me of GRITS!!!! Grrrr They are SO getting a letter.     Now please tell me what the heck I did to my last post... That sucker sure is taking up a lot of room!