Back from vacation

Well, after 10 days, driving over 1,800 miles and taking over 2,000 pictures I think I’m finally sorting it all out. I’m working on daily post from our trip on my travel blog. (Click HERE to see it as they’re posted.)

Since we ate A LOT on the trip I thought I would share some of my favorites.

When we flew into Nashville, we drove straight to Lynchburg, TN to eat at Miss Bobo’s Boarding House before touring Jack Daniels. Now my picture may not look the greatest, because we got there 30 minutes late. Everything is served family style, but because our flight was an hour late due to weather they where kind enough to get us a to go box and said we could have more if we wanted. Well, we didn’t need more this way plenty of food. I’ll be sharing a couple recipes from the cookbook in the next couple weeks, but here’s a recipe for the Candied Apples as long as your not on a diet haha! They do stir in a little Jack Daniels before they serve them which makes them extra good!!

Then we tried BBQ in Nashville and Memphis, not to be a hater, but I still like my own Texas style better. One thing I did love in Memphis was the New Orleans style atmosphere and being able to walk around with a drink in your hand. This frozen blue drink in my hand is AMAZING they call it a Walk Me Down, but some of the locals also call it a Lay Me Down because it’s nothing but liquor, but it’s super smooth and really tasty. Click HERE for the recipe. Another gem was the Mint Julep from the Peabody Hotel. I think my husband has a new obsession. Click HERE for the recipe.

Now normally I would turn my nose up at moonshine, but I gotta say the folks over at Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine really changed my mind. We sampled them all and overall I liked the Apple Pie, Grape and Lemon Drop. They have a neat set up in Gatlinburg and you can sample anything they have. We couldn’t buy any moonshine because it was Sunday and against the law, but we did end up getting some apple rub and cherry rub which we can’t wait to use next time we smoke some meat.

We found a couple of yummy finds in Asheville. Tupelo Honey Café has an awesome margarita (left picture) made with their own sweet and sour which is so good. I also tried a Rosemary Peach Lemonade (right picture), which sounded interesting, but wasn’t so good. I think it had too much rosemary infused.

We finally stayed in our first B&B in Asheville and it was fantastic. I hope all B&B’s are this great. They had a really nice Orange Zest French Toast that I feel in love with, Be sure you check out Princess Anne if you are looking for a place to stay.

I was a little upset I didn’t get to try an ostrich burger in Charlotte, NC so I guess that’ll have to wait for another time.

Charleston had some wonderful food finds. We ate at Husk for lunch and they have a to die for rolls and butter (OMG my mouth is watering thinking about them). The Fried Chicken BLT is out of this world good! We also stopped at Peninsula Grill for the famous Coconut Cake that was featured on shows such as Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Martha Stewart. Click HERE for the recipe.

One of the best stops was at Grill 225. If you go to the bar you’ll find the famous Andy of the Nitrotinis. Finding a good bartender is like finding a good hair stylist, yeah you can go to anyone to get the job done, but then there’s those that really have a passion for what they do. We had the Lemon Drop and the Nitromellow, both fantastic. He’s always coming up with something new so the menu is always adding something new. Maybe we can get him to do a guest post one day and share another yummy cocktail. He’s really got a gift for pairings so maybe we can learn some new tips.

Our last city was Savannah and oh did I find a yummy spot. You may know Paul Deen and if you have seen her show then  you know her brother Bubba has a restaurant too know called Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House. I’m a fan of oysters, but hubby isn’t so much. He really went to town on these! They are sooo good! They are chargrilled over and open flame, smothered in garlic butter and parmesan cheese. The corn muffins are good and so was the crab stew and the crab stuffed flounder. And because I’m being cheap I took pictures of the recipes in the gift shop haha. Click HERE for the crab stew recipe.

We even ate at Lady & Sons which is a major operation. I don’t know how they keep up. The food was really fresh and the fried chicken is really good! Of course this is as close to Paula Deen as I think I’ll get until I have a show on Food Network haha! I felt like I was eating a Thanksgiving meal after all this food! I loved her collard greens and black eyed peas which normally I’m not a fan of. We did try a Peach Julep which was good, except they seemed to have blended it and I don’t like getting tiny chunks of mint.

Well I’ll be on a diet this week to loose some of the weight I put on, but don’t worry I still have some yummy dishes to share as always!