If it seems like I've been lost in lets remember...

The other day the Dining Companion said that I was "always nostalgic about the places we've been." That's true. I tend to get wistful about places we've visited.

Revisiting a place we enjoyed doesn't feel like a rerun or a an attempt to relive past good times. Returning for me, is the chance to seek out new experiences, things we might have missed the first time around. Maybe the chance to see a place in a whole new light. 

Lets be honest, New Orleans at Mardi Gras is not the same New Orleans you'll see at other times of the year. Mardi Gras is fun but the city is about so much more than that. How could you not want to see it in a different guise?

The same could be said of Munich in September. We loved Oktoberfest and had an awesome, beyond belief time. But I long to return; to see the city under a summer sky. To experience a different Munich than the one we saw before.

So nostalgic? Maybe. But not so much a look back through rose colored glasses or with a hope to recapture some ideal. No, more of a chance to see more and do more in a place I've grown fond of.

While the list of places I want to see is long, there will hopefully always be room on it to return to the places I love. 



Happy traveling!


*
If it seems like I've been lost
In let's remember
If you think I'm feeling older
And missing my younger days
Oh, then you should have known
Me much better
Cause my past is something that never
Got in my way

Billy Joel - Keeping the Faith

The Rotisserie Shop - Kennesaw, Georgia

I've been keeping a list of restaurants that I want to try so when the Dining Companion asks what I want to do for lunch I have some ideas. Some of the places on the list made it there because of one dish on their menu. The Rotisserie Shop is one of those places.

Specials menu and featured desserts

The interior has a homey, rustic vibe. One that carries through in the original art work displayed in the space. I believe the artist is Jeanie Tomanek. I loved the art. Loved.

Now to the good and not so good parts of lunch and the reason this place made my list.

One not so good thing was the service. It was way too intrusive. I get that everyone is different and some customers like very high-touch. I'm just not one of them. Very kind but trying way too hard. 

Another little bump was timing out of the kitchen. We ordered an appetizer (really the whole reason I was there) and a little later ordered our entrees. We were just starting on our appetizer when the entrees hit the table. Better timing by the kitchen is definitely in order.

Now the good stuff, the food, and the reason I was there. The Pork Poutine starter. Poutine is a French Canadian dish that got its start in Quebec. It consists of french fries, gravy and cheese curds. I've seen different versions of this dish on menus lately but the one at The Rotisserie Shop had the ring of authenticity and I just had to try it. (Yes, I know that roasted pork is not authentic to poutine. It sure was good though!)

Pork Poutine - hand cut fries, pulled pork, cheese curds and rotisserie gravy

Our untimely entrees were good as well. I had the Rotisserie Chicken Club with a side of the days special Brunswick Stew.

Rotisserie Chicken Club and Brunswick Stew

The Dining Companion had the Rotisserie Chicken with a side of Jalapeno Cole Slaw.

Rotisserie Chicken with Jalapeno Cole Slaw

I tasted the jalapeno cole slaw and immediately started planning a way to swipe it. I did manage to kind of trade the Dining Companion my Brunswick stew for his cole slaw so I didn't need to outright steal it. All of the food that we ordered was tasty and well prepared. However, the jalapeno cole slaw and the poutine is what will get me back in the door.

The Rotisserie Shop is a good, local, non chain option serving thoughtfully prepared, locally sourced food. If you're ever in the northwest Atlanta area in need of a good lunch spot you'd do well to give these guys a try.

Happy dining! 

Bay Breeze Seafood Restaurant - Marietta, Georgia

Image from Bay Breeze website

Bay Breeze Seafood Restaurant is one of the places the Dining Companion and I visited the last time we were in the Atlanta area.

Bay Breeze is a local place that, while not fancy, offers good food at reasonable prices.

Image from Bay Breeze website

Image from Bay Breeze website

We started with grilled jumbo shrimp. 

Then moved on to entrees.

Jumbo shrimp stuffed with crab stuffing

My favorite side is shown wrapped in foil above. It's a perfectly baked sweet potato. I love sweet potatoes and I'm always happy to see them on a menu.

We also ordered a mixed seafood platter. There was fish, clams, oysters and a couple of other items. I'm definitely a fried seafood fan. For those that aren't there are broiled platters available too.

Fried seafood platter - and no, those round things are not onion rings, they're hush puppies

There are plenty of options available for the non-seafood eaters in the party. Bay Breeze offers chicken, steak, burgers and a few other landlubber options.

There are daily dessert specials as well. The day we were there we had the chocolate cake.

The tipped over but still delicious chocolate cake

No matter where our travels take us we find it's a good idea to look past the chains and seek out something local. It usually works out. There's been a clinker or two over the years surely. But when that strategy pays off we end up at a place like Bay Breeze. Good food, friendly service and only available while we're local. 

Happy dining!

A Taste of South Texas

The Texas Gulf Coast; it's hard to imagine a more perfect storm of foods that I love. It's where you can find a mix of great seafood, steaks, barbecue, TexMex and even authentic Cajun food.

There's everything from good BBQ at a chain like Rudy's to really great barbecue at a local one-off like Killen's Texas Barbecue.

Rudy's Texas meat market style barbecue

Rudy's Green chili stew

Killen's Beef Rib and Brisket

Killen's Ribs and Sausage

All the great TexMex is like my idea of heaven.

Everything good about a TexMex breakfast

Freshly made tortillas

Breakfast tacos

Some of the best TexMex we had was at Lupe Tortilla. The best veggie fajitas and awesome margaritas. Just so good.

There's a place in Houston called Abe's Cajun Market. I can't even remember all the times that we ate there. It's a local place, off the beaten track, but for Cajun influenced cooking it was our go-to.

Cajun spiced boiled shrimp (image from Abe's website)

Crawfish Etouffee and Seafood Gumbo (image from Abe's website)

Image from Eater Houston

Besides a barbecue joint, Chef Ronnie Killen also helms Killen's Steakhouse. A gem of a restaurant located in the Houston suburb of Pearland. I had a wonderful meal there highlighted by both a perfect Manhattan and a perfectly prepared steak. Definitely worth the drive.

Another favorite is Perry's Steakhouse and Grill. Although we never did have a steak at Perry's, their signature Famous Pork Chop is amazing.

While there are a lot of places to find fresh seafood in the area, one of the nicest is Pappas Seafood House. Wonderful fresh fish cooked simply and a fried stuffed avocado appetizer I love.

A short and sweet list of the places the Dining Companion and I enjoyed. If you find yourself in the Houston area any of these places would be well worth a stop.

When I think about places with a food culture I think about a place like Southern Louisiana with its creole and Cajun flavors or coastal New England with its great seafood. Houston, for me, hadn't been a part of that conversation before. It is now. If you're looking for a place with a great mix of some of the best food cultures look no further. You'll find it in the Lone Star state, on the Third Coast, where the best of land and sea come together.

Happy dining!

Tom+Chee - Kennesaw, Georgia

The Tom+Chee in the name of this place is for tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. A restaurant that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup? Yes please! 

What better to do on a chilly, damp day than dive into a bowl of soup and a crispy, comforting, warm sandwich? Nothing better that's what. Faced with just such a day recently the Dining Companion and I stopped in at Tom+Chee.

The brightly colored red and yellow space is the perfect antidote for a drab day.

Hanging over the counter is a menu board that lists not only the dozens of grilled cheese options but also the soups, salads and grilled donuts(!) that are available. To the left is a chalkboard that shows all of the days specials. You order at the counter and the food is delivered to you at your table. Standard fast casual set-up.

There are so many choices that it can be a little overwhelming. The Dining Companion ordered the Tom+Chee and I ordered BBQ+Bacon with a Soup Dipper. The Dippers are small containers of soup to, you got it, dip your sandwich in. I love that.

TOM+CHEE
diced tomato+garlic seasoning
+mozz+cheddar+hardy white bread

BBQ+BACON
bbq potato chips+bacon+american+hardy white bread w/a creamy chicken soup dipper

The sandwiches were crispy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. Just like you'd expect from a grilled cheese sandwich.

Oh, I also ordered the Grilled Donut of the day because of course I did. The donut this day was the Buckeye. A grilled donut topped with chocolate, peanut butter mascarpone, chocolate syrup and mozzarella cheese. I know!

This was the strangest thing I've eaten in a long time but man oh man, it was crazy good. Don't try to make sense of this insanity; just eat it.

(this is the first donut that's tempted me since my visit to Voodoo Doughnut last year)

The Buckeye - A grilled donut topped with chocolate, peanut butter mascarpone, chocolate syrup and mozzarella cheese

Everything we tried was good and there are enough bread and cheese choices, add-ins and variety that I'm sure we'll be back. I may or may not be plotting what my next donut is going to be. Maybe.

Happy dining!