Bring your appetite to Savannah, GA!

In January our tour took us to Savannah, GA and lucky for us we had an entire day off (which doesn't happen too often!) Our awesome bus driver Jeremy took anyone who wanted to, downtown to do some exploring.
If you haven't been, I must tell you that Savannah is a beautiful town with lots of old, picture worthy architecture and a ton of amazing eateries. So yeah, it was going to be a fun day.

I couldn't wait to get there from the moment I saw our tour schedule.
Paula Deen's restaurant, "Lady and Sons" was there and I wasn't going to miss out on all that buttery goodness.

The closer we got to our stay in Savannah, I started to do more research on the restaurants in town.
Both locals and visitors were raving about a place that (arguably) served up even better cooking than Paula Deen's...and that place was Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room.

A lot of people were praising Mrs. Wilkes, saying they had superior food to Lady and Sons and some of the best southern cooking around, period. Naturally upon reading these reviews, our plans changed and we decided to check out Mrs. Wilkes for lunch and then head to Paula Deen's for dinner. Ok kidding about dinner, but hey, i'd be up for the challenge!

We set out on our walk, trusting our iPhones to get us there.
The weather was perfect and there were tons of cute houses and beautiful buildings to look at along the way.
On this adventure was a small, yet determined group of friends made up of Greg, Lisa, Meggie, Jenni and myself. After a bit of walking we finally found Mrs. Wilkes. It just kind of blended in with the surrounding houses. The type of place you could walk right past and miss if you're not paying attention.

Hungry and excited, we headed up to the front door. I like to remember it as a joyful skip, although I don't think it was. What I do know that is all of our dreams were crushed in an instant upon reading this sign...

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"
(Everybody deserves a vacation though!)

Seriously? We were all pretty shocked...then came the sadness. We had been walking for hours to get there. Starving and tired, we didn't know what to do next. Alright maybe we were only walking for 15 or 20 minutes...but we were pretty hungry.

We sucked up this defeat, took a few pictures outside and decided to move this train somewhere else. 

After a little discussion, we decided on Paula Deen's place, "Lady and Sons". 

We had gotten pretty excited about Mrs. Wilkes, but the original plan was to go to Lady and Sons, so we were still pretty stoked. We all knew it would still be delicious and began our trek across town to get lunch. 

After a lengthy walk, we spotted a brick building with red and white striped awnings.
The signs from a far appeared to read "Lady and Sons", but was it a mirage?
I mean, we were on a long journey without food and water for quite some time.

As we got closer we were hit with the delicious smell of fried chicken and knew it was the real deal.
We finally made it!

Business was booming in there...so much so that we had an hour wait to get seated! 

We decided to walk around some and find a coffee shop to kill some time and grab a small snack before indulging in the buttery delight that was just one hour away. 

We ended up in a fantastic place named Goose Feathers Cafe and Bakery. It was hard for us to not order an actual meal, but we really wanted to save space in our stomachs. I ended up grabbing a cup of cheese grits and I must say, they were amazing. Now i'm no grit conissuer, but these were absolutely the best i've ever had. Topped em with a little salt, fresh ground pepper, and hot sauce - they were perfection! I would have loved to stay in town another day or two so I could have eaten a full meal there, because everything on the menu seemed like it would be amazing...especially their dessert case! Next time i'm in Savannah, I will definitely be making a stop at Goose Feathers.

Anyway, let me get back on track here. After Goose Feathers we still had some time to kill so we walked a bit more and stumbled upon a place called "Planet Fun"...obviously had to stop in there.

If you're an 80's baby, you would LOVE this place! Upon entering, I was instantly transported back to my childhood. They had everything...Nintendo games, Atari, NINJA TURTLES (my favorite...bet you couldn't tell by the ALL CAPS) transformers and even beanie babies. The list could go on forever...I didn't want to leave...but after about 30 minutes we had to, because our table was ready! 

(Some of us did end up going back to Planet Fun after we ate to really look around)

Lady and Sons is a three story, 200 year old renovated building...15,000sqft of deliciousness. 

We walked in and spotted the buffet right away, but the hostess took us to the elevator since our table was on the 3rd floor. So we'd have to take a few trips downstairs to get our food...no big deal. 

Wrong - there is a buffet on every floor. I should have known. 

Once we sat down our courteous server gave each one of us a plate of this...

Paula's famous "Ho cake" and  garlic cheese biscuit.

So amazingly delicious! They had both hot sauce and syrup for the "ho cake" and both tasted great. Don't even get me started on the garlic cheese biscuit. Mine was gone before you could say butter, although I didn't finish the ho cake. It was great when it was hot, but once it got cold it kinda lost it's luster...I needed to save room for the meal ahead.

This place had quite the extensive menu...really great stuff, but we all ended up going with the buffet. All you can eat variety, that's what i'm talking about!

So we made our way to the buffet and piled on our first plate. 

I was too busy worrying about eating to take any more pictures, but luckily I found some online to kind of give you an idea of things. (Pictures really can't do this place justice though!)

The buffet had pretty much everything I wanted, #1 being fried chicken. There was also amazing mac and cheese, and the best mashed potatoes i've ever had...must be the butter. The candied yams were also phenomenal. Enjoy the pics!

           My actual plate was filled up much more than this...mashed potatoes and gravy everywhere!

                              

Fried please.

                                                                   Buffet of happiness

                                                         Cheese is a beautiful thing.

The sweet tea here...best i've ever had, hands down. SUPER sweet though...halfway through my 2nd glass I started to get the shakes, but it was soooOOoOoooo good!

After we stuffed our faces (and don't worry, more than one trip to the line was made) we sat there in our food comas only to be offered dessert! We had three choices...I believe it was peach cobbler, a chocolate cake brownie type thing, or banana pudding. I had the banana pudding and do not regret my decision. It was a small dessert that comes with the price of the buffet, but I don't know if I'd be able to eat anything bigger at this point (my body probably needed a break from the sugar party it was having anyway)
Absolutely delicious banana pudding...really great. I'm sure I could have managed to eat another just because it was that good.

It was hard to get up out of the booth, not gonna lie...but we knew we had to get moving before our bodies completely shut down. Here's a pic of the aftermath...

Well worth it! (Time to walk it off!)

Final Thoughts...

Lady and Sons has some delicious (and very rich) food! The staff was courteous and the menu was extensive. I hope to return there some day to order one of their dishes...the only problem will just choosing one! If Mrs.Wilkes makes better food than Lady and Sons, I don't know what i'll do with myself, because I couldn't imagine eating anything better than what I had.
The next time i'm in Savannah, i'll be hitting up both places to decide for myself, but either way, Lady and Sons was an incredible experience, so if you find yourself in Savannah I definitely recommend having lunch or dinner there...or both!

Thanks for reading! :)

The Middle of Nowhere

On March 11th we had a travel day from Fort Collins, CO to Reno, NV.

It was about time to stop for lunch and since we were in the middle of no where, there was a whole lot of nothin' around.
We soon found ourselves at a random shopping center in Winnemucca, NV.
This was the kind of shopping center that you probably wouldn't go to unless your bus stopped there for lunch and you had no other choice. 

There was a grocery store, two "interesting" Chinese restaurants, and some place called "Flying Pig BBQ." 

Not knowing what I wanted to eat, I headed to the grocery store to look for something there.

I wasn't feeling the vibe or selection and just as I had decided that I was going to leave, I made eye contact with two of my cast mates from across the store. They had that same "I wanna get out of here" look in their eyes. They came up to me and said, "come on, let's go to the BBQ place!"

At this point, I hadn't eaten red meat or pork in about a year and 8 months, which is why I didn't really think about going to the BBQ place at first.
I used to have a weakness for pulled pork, so sometimes it's a little torturous to be around it, but I was running out of options so we went in.
This place intrigued me to say the least.
Kind of a biker bar vibe and I didn't feel as if we were all living in the same decade. Still, I felt that we made the right choice and that this place could be a diamond in the rough.

The first thing on the menu to catch my attention was the Philly Cheesesteak stuffed giant baked potato. It seemed like it would be amazing, but I still wanted to lay off of the red meat, so I asked to substitute chicken, and the server made it happen.

How could something so simple, taste so incredible?! "The Pig" gets all of their potatoes right from the local Winnemuca Farms, and this was the biggest baked potato i've personally ever seen.
It looked like a small football. It came to the table overflowing with shredded chicken breast, grilled mushrooms, peppers, onions and was topped with melted pepper jack cheese.
The best part about this meal were the 3 kinds of BBQ sauce at the table for us. Original, Sweet and Spicy, and Spicy. I had to try all three, but my hands down favorite was the sweet and spicy. The sauce really brought my potato to the next level...it was the perfect side kick to that shredded chicken. Butter and sour cream had no business being there.

It looked so good I forgot to take a picture BEFORE I started to dig in! Whoops.

 I'm usually not one to order a baked potato as a main dish, but i'm glad that I did.
A valiant effort was given, but I couldn't finish that bad boy.
This is definitely something i'd like to cook up for dinner sometime.
If you're in a chicken philly type mood but don't want the fries and bread, this is the way to go!




The icing on the cake to our experience at "The Pig" had to be the "wall art" in the ladies restroom. Apparently the men's had their own pictures, but I didn't go in their bathroom to find out.

If you ever find yourself in Winnemucca, NV, make a pit stop at the Flying Pig BBQ!

Thanks for reading!

Homemade Pita Pizza

Hey everyone!


For tonight's dinner I decided to put something new together and ended up with some eggplant and veggie bbq pizzas on whole wheat pita. I've made pita pizzas before, but never this kind. I enjoy taking culinary risks and i'm glad I went through with this slightly crazy, non-traditional pizza because it was delicious! :)


I'm not really one for measurements...I like to eye things up and this is an easy to eye up meal.
Here's a list of the ingredients I used, and I'll walk you through the process later. Feel free to swap anything out! :)

• One medium eggplant
• Panko Breading
• Flour
• 3 Eggs
• Various seasonings - Adobo, garlic powder, ground cracked pepper, blackened redfish seasoning
• Tofuyan brand Pita Bread
• 2% milk shredded mozzarella and 2% shredded mexican blend
• Sweet Baby Rays Sweet Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce
• Broccoli florets
• 1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Olive oil
• Peanut (or other oil of your choice) for frying
• Baby spinach
• Sliced portabella mushrooms
• Cilantro
• Avocado

The most time consuming part of this whole operation was definitely the eggplant. I peeled and thinly sliced that bad boy and sent it to the assembly line to be breaded. You can choose whatever thickness you'd like, but I recommend keeping it under 1/2 inch...most of mine were thinner so they would fry faster.

I had four dishes lined up across the counter. The first one was for the eggplant, the next was a bowl with 3 beaten egg yolks, the third was for the flour and last was the panko breading.

Pretty easy, just cover each piece in flour on both sides then dip them into the eggs, covering thoroughly and then finishing off with enough panko to cover up the egg.

I had plain panko breading in the house so I added a few seasonings to kick it up a bit. 

I went with Adobo, ground cracked pepper, garlic powder, and just a touch of blackened seasoning. 

I didn't put crazy amounts in there, but there was enough to give it some great flavor. 

You can or course use whatever seasonings you'd like or even go with pre-seasoned panko or breadcrumbs. I personally like the panko better because it is lighter and gets a great crisp to it.

Once prepped, the eggplant doesn't take long to fry up at all.

Take the oil of your choice (although I would stay away from olive oil as it doesn't work well for frying foods) and put enough in the skillet to fry a few pieces at a time. Make sure not to crowd the pan. 

I like to put the setting on a little higher than medium and see how they fry from there. If you're not sure if your oil is hot enough just stick your finger in th pan...I mean, drop a crumb in and if it sizzles with some enthusiasm, the oil should be hot enough to start putting in some slices of eggplant.You don't want things to get too hot but make sure that they're hot enough. 

The edges should start to brown up a bit when it's about time to flip and the eggplant itself should be transparent looking and soft when finished.

I set up another plate with folded paper towels on it to catch some of the excess oil after they were out of the pan. Sprinkling on a little salt on em after they're out of the pan is a great finishing touch.

Doesn't quite do them justice, but here's a pic of some of the finished eggplant...

First batch...so what if it looks like a sunflower?!

Everyone in the house ended up having a few pieces as I was cooking it, but you get a lot of slices from one eggplant, so I was left with more than enough to slice up and put on our pizzas!

Towards the end of the eggplant project, I preheated my oven to 400 to get ready for the pitas.
The first time I made these pizzas I didn't toast the pita's before adding the sauce, cheese, and toppings, so they weren't quite crispy enough for my liking. If you'd like a crispy pizza, just put them on some foil, top side down and brush some olive oil on them. Let them hang out in the oven until they start to get a little bit brown. I don't cut them in half, I use the entire pita. It makes for a thicker, sturdier crust to hold all those awesome toppings.

Once the pitas were crispy enough, I took them out of the oven and smoothed on some Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce. I love this stuff! Just enough kick mixed with a little sweetness. Feel free to use your favorite BBQ sauce.
I sprinkled the 2% Mozzarella on first, then added a mixture of sautéed garlic, onions, and portabella mushrooms. Next was the sliced panko eggplant, broccoli florets, shredded spinach, raw onion and another layer of cheese, the 2% mexican blend for a little more flavor.

I made 6 pizzas total, so I tried a few variations, all of which were super tasty. Adding cilantro, sliced avocado, and Cholula hot sauce was my personal favorite!

Here's the pre-oven picture of the first pizza

Post-oven Pizzas...

We all had 2 and they were pretty filling, but it all depends on how hungry you are.

The best thing about pita pizzas is that the possibilities are pretty much endless. There are many varieties of pita out there, along with a boat load of cheese and topping options so if you're not an eggplant fan, make one with your favorite stuff!

In the past i've used grilled chicken, chicken parm, pepperoni, shrimp, and more. It just depends on what you and your guests are in the mood for!

Pita Pizzas are a pretty quick and crowd pleasing meal idea.
You also might want to try making them as an appetizer, just slice into fours, put out some ranch or other dipping sauce and they're ready to go!

I hope you make your version of these sometime...thanks for reading! :)

The Quest for the Greatest Chicken Wings Ever.

It was the morning of January 25th and my tour bus was en route to Buffalo, NY.
It may have only been 8am, but chicken wings were the only thing on my mind.

I had seen plenty of Food Network shows over the years featuring both Anchor Bar and Duff's chicken wings. Buffalo seemed to be a city divided. Some people would jump in front of a moving bus for Anchor Bar wings, while others said those couldn't hold a candle to Duff's. I had to find out for myself.

Anchor Bar

Anchor Bar claims to be home of the first chicken wing, created by owner Teressa Bellisimo in 1964. There are a few story versions of how it happened, but they all point to Anchor being the originators.  (except for one, which says that a man named John Young developed a "Mambo Sauce" and put it on a type of chicken wing. They were prepared in a different way than Teressa's, uncut with the sauce poured on top, not tossed, but there is no real proof that John was first.)


ANYWAY, on to Duff's, which opened in 1946. Owner Louise Duffney served up Duff's first batch of wings in 1969 and they were quickly a hit, selling about 20lbs a week.
Duff's quickly gained a reputation for having the best wings in Buffalo. (Thank you google)

I had high hopes of trying them both, but only being in Buffalo for one evening (and also performing a show) that dream wasn't gonna happen.
Transportation can be tricky while on tour. The cast travels on a bus, so we don't really have the luxury of jumping in our cars and driving wherever we please.
I googled directions for each place and ran into a problem. Anchor Bar was within walking distance of our hotel, but would be closed by time we got done with our show. Duff's was open late but was a 15 minute drive from the hotel.

I realized that I might be leaving Buffalo without trying some legendary wings!
Luckily, that didn't happen because my friend Sunny saved the day!
She happened to be in Buffalo watching our show because her brother Greg is in the cast.
Sunny happily piled 5 of us into her car and we were on our way to Duff's!


I'll spare you details of the restaurant itself...let's get onto the food!


For traditional sauces, they had Mild, Mild-Medium, Medium, Medium-Hot, Hot, Superhot, Death, and Armageddon.
They also had other sauces including Honey Garlic and a variety of BBQ sauces, and i'm sure they're fantastic, but as a first timer I was going with the original stuff.

10 piece medium wings with perfectly crisp veggies!

Our server (and the menu) warned us that Medium wings were HOT, Medium-hot were VERY HOT, and Hot were VERY VERY HOT... Armageddon wings...yeah, probably not a wise choice (unless you're into pooping out fireballs)



I decided on the Medium wings, and for me, that was the perfect decision. I'd say they were at least as spicy as other restaurants medium-hot, or hot sauces. It was the perfect amount of kick for me. My mouth/lips were burning a bit after having the first wing, but the creamy bleu cheese was a delicious help.
I do like my wings with some heat though, so I was happy. :)


The wings themselves were an average size and pretty drenched in their amazing sauce (but without a messy puddle of sauce on the plate!) but somehow still maintained their crispiness. I don't know how you do it Duff's, but bravo.
I also ordered a side of fries, which was massive! You can kind of see them in the next picture, but it does them no justice. They came out in a wooden bowl, piping hot, with the perfect mix of potato and crispiness.

Mission accomplished!

We all stuffed our faces and everyone was happy. Great service and a chill atmosphere...the night was a success!
In retrospect I should have bought a T-shirt, (Yeah, i'm one of those) but these pictures serve as a fantastic memory.

The aftermath!

Now it was time for a crammed car ride back through the freshly fallen snow to our hotel...for dessert of course! 

Sunny got us there safe and sound...aside from being an awesome driver, she is also an amazing baker. She makes the most delicious pie's i've ever had. She brought us a chocolate peanut butter pie. It was topped with mini Reeses cups and had an oreo crust. It was the kind of pie that makes you want to cry...in that good way. 

You can see more of Sunny's awesome creations and even get recipes on her blog For Your Pies Only

*End Shameless Plug* :)

                                                            Final Thoughts 

I really couldn't have asked for more from my Duff's experience. (except maybe for extra wings to-go)

I've eaten a lot of wings so far in my life, and in my humble opinion, I'll have to say that these were #1.

I left the restaurant with a full belly and a big smile. I look forward to returning to Buffalo some time to try out the wings at Anchor Bar, as I'm sure they are also delicious. Let's just say it's a good thing I don't live up there because i'd be eating wings wayyy too often!

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!