Shorter Days/Cooler Nights - It's almost that time again

Not too much happening around here right now.

Family will take me to New England later this summer. Such a beautiful part of the country. I love visiting there.

Fall is right around the corner. Hard as that is to believe. Hopefully we'll be able to get back to the Smoky Mountains this fall. It's been a while since we last visited and fall is the perfect time to be there.

Speaking of fall. There is a town in Georgia (Helen) that has been hosting an Oktoberfest celebration for at least the last 45 years. It claims to be the longest running Oktoberfest in the US. I really want to check it out. The promise of beer and brats amid cries of Prost! What's not to love. Next best thing to being there.

So that's it for now. There'll be a few more patios to visit yet, a road trip here and there and another good burger to go in search of.

Before we know it the air will be filled with the scent of woodsmoke and apples, pumpkin spice lattes will be back at your local coffee shop and the clocks will swing back an hour.

Enjoy the rest of the summer. Grab a drink on your favorite patio and toast to the adventures ahead.

Happy travels!

La Carreta Hispanic Grocery and Taqueria - Marietta, GA

 

A few weekends ago the Dining Companion and I had lunch at La Carreta.

I loved these lights

 

The dining space is nice. It has a rustic feel. 

I liked the distressed wood on the tables

 La Carreta lists itself as Latin American. The menu features Mexican and Colombian food. Several different things are represented on the menu. Some familiar, some not. There are the usual tacos and burritos. Then there are also three different styles of tamales available and tortas too. We decided to start with the Guacamole Fresco. It was fresh just as the name states and very tasty.

Guacamole Fresco - Guacamole made to order served with chips & salsa

 

Being as how this is primarily a Mexican restaurant you may be surprised by the fact that chips and salsa are not free. I don't think that's a huge deal, at all. But if it's what you're looking for in your Mexican dining experience be forewarned.

After looking over all the delicious sounding options I decided on the tacos al pastor.

Pastor - Pork seasoned with adobo sauce & pineapple

Wow is all I can say. Everything on the plate was delicious. Including that unassuming scoop of white rice. The pork was tender with great flavor of adobo and pineapple. There are a lot of great sounding tacos on the menu but I would be hard pressed to select something different.

The Dining Companion ordered one of the Colombian options on offer. This was a dish similar to one we had at Sacha's Cafe in Greenville, SC.

Bandeja Paisa

The most Colombian traditional meal, delicious home made rice, beans, Colombian chorizo, pork belly, steak, fried egg, avocado & arepa

There was a lot going on and all of it was good. I was lucky enough to taste some of the chicharron and beans. Both were great as were the plantains. The fried egg, which may seem unusual, is typical for this type of cuisine. I wonder if i could get a stack of arepas with cheese and a bowl of beans? I might just have to ask next time we visit.

If you're in the mood for something a little different than your typical Mexican restaurant give La Carreta a try. The food is great and the variety just can't be beat.

Happy dining!

Note: Sacha's Cafe, Greenville, SC

Como's Pete's #4 - Greenville, SC

Como's Pete's #4 combines two of my favorite things: diners and cheeseburgers. The story of Como's Pete's #4 is an interesting one that goes back to the 1930's. Pete's is a burger and hotdog place and quite a bit more. They have a pretty diverse menu but all of my diner favorites are there. However, the reason I was there was to try their Pimento Cheeseburger.

Pimento Cheeseburger

Somewhere in there is a very tasty Chicken Salad Sandwich

Steak fries are a favorite of mine so I was happy to see them on the menu. It's a toss up between crinkle cut or steak fries for me. "Shoestring" style fries make me sad. I could never understand the love but I know they have their fans.

The burger was a typical flat top cooked burger. True to its diner roots my burger was well done and basically seasoned. Nothing gourmet here. But I wasn't expecting anything else. It's the magic of the pimento cheese that transforms something so ordinary into something so damn good.

The Dining Companion had the Homemade Chicken Salad Sandwich. He said it was good. From what I could see it was an overstuffed sandwich on Texas toast, served with slaw and a small salad. Looked good to me.

I have no doubt that Como's Pete's #4 will be around for a long time. It's been around for a long time already after all. While I might not make a special trip to visit it is definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

One of these days I'm going to compile a list of all of the burger places we've visited, There have been so many. A few clinkers in the bunch sure but a few gems as well.

Happy dining!

Note: We'll be on the road again in the next week or so. Heading back to the gulf coast and out of this area for a while.

Sacha's Cafe - Greenville, SC

The Dining Companion and I were looking for something different for lunch the other day. We looked around a bit and settled on Sacha's Cafe, a local Colombian place. We've both had Colombian food before and really enjoyed it.

Sacha's has the feel of a local's neighborhood place. 

 We settled in and looked over the menu.

I think that translate roughly to Your Meeting Place

We decided on a stuffed arepa (Arepa Rellenas). We got the one stuffed with steak tips, onions, green peppers, cheese and jalapenos. While not the prettiest sandwich in the world it is packed with flavor. Delicious ingredients melded together with warm melt-y cheese, perfection.

Arepa Rellenas Asada - The picture does it no justice

Next we decided on the Paisa Bowl and something called a Picada. The Paisa Bowl is just that, a bowl full of tasty things. The one we ordered featured rice and beans, steak, chicharones, an egg, sweet plantains, avocado and a fried arepa.

While it looks a bit of a mis-mash all of it was wonderful. The rich egg and avocado, the savory steak and crisp bacon, so good. Not the lightest lunch fare by far so a siesta may be in order.

And there's still more. Last but not least is the Picada. Picada means chopped in Spanish and is another mixed grill plate. The one we ordered had some of the same things on it that were in the Paisa Bowl. Along with the steak and bacon there was also yuca fries, pork sausage, pork tips, potatoes, limes, tomatoes and some patacones (which I know as tostones, fried green plantains). All of it was great.

I didn't get a picture of it but there are three sauces on the table. A mild pink sauce reminiscent of a remoulade sauce, a white garlic sauce and a nicely spiced green jalapeno based sauce. The green sauce was my favorite and was the perfect foil for all of the richness of the food.

While not just a very filling lunch, dining at Sacha's reminded me that A I really like South American and also Caribbean influenced food and B how many different places there are to try if you just take a look around.

If you haven't yet tried Colombian food definitely look for it in your area. It may turn out to be a new favorite.

Happy dining! 

The Northgate Soda Shop - Greenville, SC

 
The Northgate Soda Shop has been serving Greenville, SC since 1947. Nowadays it's a throwback; a nod to a bygone era. Besides being a local institution, it's also one of the best places to get a Pimento Cheeseburger in the area.

Inside you're greeted with all manner of mementos and local memorabilia.

 

Once you're seated you'll notice a few of the tables have small brass plaques attached them. These small plaques are there to commemorate some long time customers.

There are many things I've come to appreciate about living in the south. Two of those things are Pimento Cheeseburgers and Slaw Dogs. The first is obvious, the second may not be but the clues are right there in the name. A Slaw Dog is just that, a hotdog served with some standard condiments and coleslaw. All I can say is if you get the chance you should try it.

Carolina Slaw Dogs

 

Northgate Soda Shop's Famous Pimento Cheeseburger

The original slaw dogs here feature chili, onions, mustard, pimento cheese and slaw. But you can definitely have it your way. If the original seems like overkill feel free to change it up.  The slaw dogs shown here are being served with just pimento cheese and coleslaw per request.

The Northgate Soda Shop and the Pimento Cheeseburger are featured in the book Hamburger America. If you're a hamburger fan at all you'll find a lot to love in this book. The burger at the Northgate Soda Shop is served with lettuce, tomato, mayo and pimento cheese on a great grilled bun. The only downside is possibly the doneness of the burger. If you like your burgers on the rarer side (as I do) then you may find the burger a tad overcooked. There is so much flavor and so much more to recommend it that I find I can overlook that for this one iconic burger.

Truth is there are many places where you can get a pimento cheeseburger around here. But for me the Northgate Soda Shop will always be my first stop when slaw dogs and pimento cheeseburgers are what's for dinner.

Happy dining!

Another Sunrise, Another Beginning

We had a nice trip through the south. The weather was good and our newest family member proved to be a great traveler. We really couldn't have asked for more.

Ready to hit the road!

Along the way we enjoyed some beautiful scenery.

We even managed to make time to stop for breakfast at my favorite breakfast spot in the country, The Red Eyed Mule. Love!

Best breakfast sandwiches ever - The Red Eyed Mule - Marietta, GA

And now we're back in the land of the biscuit breakfast. Not that I'm complaining. There's definitely an art to great biscuits and there are no shortage of wonderful examples here.

And all of this for the princely sum of $3.50

To say nothing of the Pimento Cheeseburgers, Shrimp and Grits, Low Country Boil. I'm happy to be back in the South. And just to be on the safe side I've added some extra time to my workouts cause you know, Southern Food!

It's nice to be in familiar surroundings and also interesting to see how things have changed over the years. I'm sure we'll revisit some favorite places and discover some new ones along the way. I'll be posting my thoughts and impressions as well as thoughts on the places we visit and the great food I know we'll be eating. Now pass the biscuits and lets get this party started!

Happy travels!

Note: The title is a quote: Another Sunrise, Another New Beginning ~  (Jonathan Lockwood Huie)

Q Fanatic - Champlin, Minnesota

This whole BBQ thing got started about two years ago in June of 2011. The Dining Companion and I decided to spend the summer searching out and trying as many Minnesota BBQ joints as we could. We were, if memory serves, inspired by an article in MSP Magazine that listed their choices for top 10 BBQ in the area. Some we had heard of and some were new to us. Our goal was to try as many as we could over the summer. For me that included writing up my thoughts on these places and maybe doing some online blogging/reviews. Well as life has a tendency to do we were thrown an unexpected curve ball and the Summer of BBQ (as it came to be known) was cut short. We had gotten through a small part of our list when we left Minnesota for points south.

Over the last couple of years, most of it covered here on this blog, our travels have taken us to many of the country's top BBQ locations, Texas, Kansas and Missouri, The Carolina's and Georgia to name a few. (We've been to Tennessee as well but haven't yet had the Memphis BBQ experience. That's still an open item on our list) It's been a fun and eye opening experience for me and the Dining Companion (he wrote a bit about it here) I've come to realize that I like my brisket moist, my ribs dry rubbed and my sausage links served whole not sliced. For me ( and the Dining Companion as well I think) one of the biggest surprises was how little I enjoyed the BBQ offerings in most of Kansas' famous BBQ joints. For a lot of people BBQ is all about pulled pork and ribs. Not so for me. Don't get me wrong, I love ribs. However, I like good dry rubbed ribs not mediocre, over cooked ribs slathered in lousy sauce. Sadly that was what I was getting in the places in Kansas that we tried.

One bright spot in our journey was the stop that took us to Pappy's in St. Louis. There I found the best ribs of the trip. Perfectly smoked and seasoned, dry rubbed and not a drop of sauce on my plate. Very good and I would gladly go back again for them. That brings me to the other BBQ I enjoy, a good, moist, smoked brisket. A lot of places list brisket on their menus but they needn't bother. At best it's an after thought and at worst flat out awful.

By now you may be wondering what any of this has to do with Q Fanatic in Champlin, MN. Let me start by saying that when we decided to visit Q Fanatic recently I wasn't holding out any hope that it would be anything better than the stuff we had been eating on our trip back north. A BBQ joint in the Minnesota 'burbs? How good could that be? Pretty damn good as it turns out.

We got to Q around lunch time and stood in a short line to place our orders. We were informed that there was about a 30 minute wait. I looked around confused, most of the tables were empty and it was a counter service restaurant, what's with the wait? Turns out the wait was for our food.We grabbed our order number and headed to a table.

 

While we waited the Dining Companion and I discussed the dry uninspiring brisket we had encountered at most of the places we'd eaten at over the last week or so. We decided that maybe we should ask about the brisket that we were about to be served and find out a bit more about it. I approached the counter, the line was gone and there was a gentleman there speaking with the person who had taken our order. I told her I had a question about the brisket and she pointed to the man over her shoulder who turned out to be the pit master. I asked him how the brisket was served. Was it lean, was every bit of flavor, I mean fat, removed before service? I think I gave him the wrong impression because he started to assure me that yes, the brisket was lean. Before he could finish I told him that was too bad as we prefer the fatty less lean style. He said no problem, we remove the cap (fatty part of the brisket) because most people prefer their brisket lean but that he had some in back that was what we were looking for. I headed back to our table and told the DC about what just happened. Still skeptical we waited for our food to be served. I think you know where this is going. This BBQ joint in the Minnesota suburbs served us the best brisket of our whole trip. Better than the most well known BBQ places in several states. The best hands down. Thick cut, moist and fatty, smoked to perfection. A true representation of what Texas style brisket is all about. ( In Texas you can order your brisket moist OR lean. Hear that Kansas and Missouri?) The ribs were good too, dry rubbed and meaty, falling off the bone tender but not mushy or overcooked. Good sides, nice service and a true taste of the BBQ we were looking for. Home run.

So, there you have it. I should add something here about traveling and coming home to find the thing you were looking for all along. You know what I mean. Q Fanatic is serving up some fantastic BBQ. Well worth the drive, the wait and whatever other hurdle you may need to jump to get there. Go, just go, ask for the moist brisket or order it both ways to compare. You may be surprised at what you've been missing.

Happy dining!