durham

Friday Five… Things That I Am Doing Instead of Packing

/ foodsweatandbeers / 2 Comments

Ew.

I’ve said it before.  But seriously, moving is the worst.  And, as this is “the move that never ends,” it continues.  And it still is awful.

So here are five things I’ve been doing INSTEAD of packing/cleaning/moving stuff.

1. #PrincessProblems

Hello, beautiful.

Ogling tiaras at the local party store.  I know, my birthday’s at the end of August.  That has never stopped me before.

2. Oh, Don’t Mind Me

Umm.

I’m just the weirdo in the local grocery store not buying any groceries, but staring for a few moments too long at the helium-balloon that’s fading fast.  Poor little guy, he wasn’t ready for that helium shortage.

3. The Cupboards are Bare

Don’t mind if I do…

When you’ve either moved or tossed all the food in your apartment, you make due.  This little amuse-bouche is a mini hummus, ham, and provolone sammy made up of different samples at the store.  A tasty treat as I hunted for cleaning supplies.

4. Bears, Beets…

A Girl’s Best Friends.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA!

That bag of Quakes?

Gone.

This empty apartment is like my own personal hunger games.

5. Stocking Up

What happens when a beer nerd realizes that she soon won’t have access to some of her favorite breweries?

I have no self control.

$50 later, I feel confident that I can wean myself off the NC stuff and the New Belgium I’ve grown so accustomed to having at my fingertips.

Thanks to the guys at Sam’s Quik Shop (THE place to get any/all craft beers in Durham, NC) for tolerating my slow, lamenting shopping trip as I absentmindedly picked at the hundreds of bottles at hand before deciding on a few choice bottles.

And a shirt.

I’m gonna rep it so hard up in Philly.

What do you do when you’re procrastinating?

Normally, I end up cleaning.  BUT what if I’m PROCRASTINATING THE CLEANING?!

 

Dough-minated

/ foodsweatandbeers / 2 Comments

A spicy vegan tako, 1.8 BRUTAL miles in the NC sunshine, a quick paddle in the pool, lotsa bites of the teammate’s fried green tomato sammy, cheering my face off, a MONSTER vanilla + almond buttercream cupcake, 1/2 a chocolate chunk cookie, and a final run push. Now I relax. Thanks to everyone who made my dreams of The DOUGHMAN a reality!

Pardon the stains on my mirror, I’m a gross creature.

Full recap in the future. Time to relax, Memorial Day Weekend style.

You can find me at the pool.

Triangle Bucket List: Dos Perros in Durham

/ foodsweatandbeers / 5 Comments

Dos Perros. Two dogs.  Seems simple enough, right?

However, when placed in downtown Durham, NC, these two dogs are transformed into a magnificent Mexican spot perfect for date night or a get together with two ladies.  Since my main squeeze is located in Philadelphia (without me, for the next few months), I opted for my other partner-in-(legal)-crime: Melissa.  And, though our initial destination was Dame’s, plans changed and we ended up in a different Durham restaurant, but EQUALLY on my Triangle Bucket List.

Solid lineup

The menu wasn’t too long, but it had everything we needed. Dinner, appetizers, and, of course, cocktails!

Bevvies? BUENO!

Melissa ordered the Dos Perros Sangria: “Hibiscus, citrus, seasonal fruit and red wine, mixed into an addictive beverage.”

I opted for the always-popular classic margarita: “Fresh orange and lime juice, just a dash of sugar, and, of course, tequila.  If you agree that a margarita should be tart and refreshing, you’ll love it.”

I have to admit, after trying both our beverages, the margarita came out on top. Then again, anything with tequila, fresh lime juice, and rimmed with salt is all I need to be satisfied.  I will say that Dos Perros offers a load of craft beers on their extensive drink menu, but, when in Rome…

Speaking of menus,  I’d scoped their dinner menu out for quite some time before we headed to our seats (we had a bit of a wait, though nothing too off-putting), so I knew some ideas of what I wanted.  What we got was a mixed bunch of goodies (and… not AS goodies).

Chips and (tomatillo?) salsa

Hell of a heap of guac

The guacamole started the meal off on the best note possible. Creamy with just the right amount of chunks (yay corn!), this guacamole order for $5 was delicious and hearty! A rather large serving, that didn’t stop us from virtually (actually?) licking the bowl.

No worries, because our meal came shortly after we’d finished.

Empanadas!

As Melissa and I are both fond of sweet potato ANYTHING, we were all on board for the Sweet potato empanadas with chipotle, fig sauce (for $7). 

I’ll admit, the empanadas themselves were actually not all that life-changing. It was the sauce that brought the dish home for me.  The sweet mixed with the savory, salty fried pastry completed this plate.  We split this order, as well as a “main dish”.

Yeah, baby!

Lamb enchiladas w/ tomato-red pepper salsa. With shredded cabbage, avocado, queso fresco ($16).

The ends of these (3) enchiladas were actually a little dry. That’s all that I can complain about, though. The lamb inside was tender and the queso fresco on top of everything was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Again, the sauce (or, in this case, salsa) was slathered over all the best bites, and I even enjoyed some of the rice (which I normally avoid like the plague.)

I wish we’d opted to replace the pinto beans with black beans, but the whole plate worked.  It worked a-okay.

Since we got a patio seat outside, we enjoyed our dinner outside, lit by candles.  However, by 9pm, it was a little too chilly for us (who hadn’t thought to bring jackets or sweaters, in hopes that we could trick our body into believing that it was already summer) so we migrated inside for the grand finale (finale grande?)

HELL to the yeah!

Mole poblano ice cream topped with house-made granola.  I don’t remember the price of this, but it was totally worth it, whatever it was.

One bite seemed sweet and sumptuous, the next bite possessed a spicy kick that reminded you what an amazing feeling taste-dissonance can be.  This ice cream…. just go get it.  It’s ethereal.

Though there were not-so-highs during this dinner, nothing was bad and there were a few standouts that I’d go back again and again to enjoy.

The Triangle Bucket List continues to be a booming success.  I can’t wait to see what’s next…
What’s your favorite taste combination?  Salty sweet? Spicy and creamy? hot and cold?

Triangle Bucket List: Take Me Out to the Ballgame…

/ foodsweatandbeers / 7 Comments

As we all know, the Triangle Bucket List can’t just be about eating delicious honeysuckle sorbets (though that sounds like a tasty bucket list in itself.)  It’s about American traditions like Chicken & Waffles, state capitols, and BASEBALL!!

Or, in this case, basebull.

Diamonds are a boy’s best friend, too!

The Durham Bulls are the local minor league baseball team in Durham, NC, and, though I even BOUGHT tickets for a game last year, I’d still never found the time to go.  This summer, I knew I had to change that.  After checking out the promotions calendar, Melissa and I splurged for a $4.50/ticket Tuesday night game.  Deal of the century.

Broads, beers, and baseball!

The craft beers at the Foothills Beer Garden were actually more (per beer) than our tickets! But, at $6 a pop, they were cheaper than the $7 tallboys of Miller, and FAR more delicious.  And what we spent on brews, we saved on the glory of BYOD(inner).

Looks appetizing, yes?

Wrapped up in that gorgeous red cling wrap is tortilla filled with chicken, peppers, low fat mayo, tomatoes, and kale. Very tasty (and very messy.)  A side of baked Doritos (mmmmmmmmm) and I was ready for action.  Mother nature, however, was looking a little worse for wear.  We were definitely nervous of a rainout and, with skies like this, perhaps you can see why.

Dun dun DUN!

Luckily, before we knew it, she realized that there was a game to be played, hoots to be hollered, and fun to be had.

I’ll preface this by saying that, growing up, I had no interest in baseball games.  They were boring, they were long, I didn’t understand them, and it was normally sweaty.  Well, clearly, I was all wrong.  I think I just needed an attitude adjustment.

I went into the Bulls game intending on having a BLAST.  And that’s exactly what I did.

Since we brought in canned foods from Whole Foods, we were graciously given Bulls hats to rock in the stadium. $0.89 for a hat? YES!

Braids and baseball go hand in hand.

Then, due to me rocking the adorable hat, I was randomly plucked from the crowd (of no one, for a while… but it filled up later) as the Wild Wing Cafe fan of the game!  You know what that means!!

Oh.

You don’t know?

Yeah, I didn’t either.

But, apparently, what it meant was that I got my picture taken and received a $20 gift certificate to eat wings!

Cha-CHING!

I’ll take it.

Other highlights included running after a group of kids to get my hat signed by the Bulls mascot, Wool E. Bull, and rocking out on some ballpark peanuts with Melissa.

Now the hat is PRICELESS!

Melissa often gargles with peanuts.

Aftermath

After a brief stretch (aptly during the 7th Inning Stretch), I took a look at the clock, consulted with my cohort, and decided that, while we’d been screaming our faces off all night at the Bulls, we just couldn’t stay to see the result (at least not live).  At around 9:30, we left (though I checked online later, and the Bulls came out on top! GO TEAM!)

Seriously, I couldn’t have asked for a better, more affordable night out in Durham.  And if I had kids, you better BELIEVE I’d take them.

And then I’d use them as an excuse to run after the players begging for them to sign my baseball.

Bully babes!

Baseball games: love em or hate em?

Favorite ballpark food?

Though I didn’t enjoy one at this game, I love a good ballpark frank.  Maybe next time.

Portlandia the Tour Does Durham

/ foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

Before you read any further, if you’re intending to see any of the last two showings of Portlandia: The Tour, STOP READING THIS POST IMMEDIATELY!!

Seriously.

Quit reading, or you’ll regret it.  That’s not a threat. It’s a promise.

Ok, hopefully that worked. If you’re still reading, know you’ve been warned.

Let’s get back to the task at hand…  Portlandia: The Tour came to Durham, NC last night. The moment the tickets for this show went on sale, I bought myself one. I didn’t know if I’d go with anyone, I didn’t know what else I was doing that night, I just knew that I’d be there, and I’d be laughing.

If you’re not aware, Portlandia (click here for some clips on Hulu, they’re worth a minute or two if you enjoy laughter and joy… do you?) is a fantastic television show on IFC which acts as a satirical look at the ridiculous residents of Portland. You know the ones, every town has them. Those too-hip-for-thou hipsters that shop at thrift stores, whose main mode of transportation is bicycling, and whose main food groups are cigarettes and coffee.  At least, that’s how they’re portrayed in Portlandia.

I love this show, and I feel like I’ve seen these “Portlandians” in many of my travels (most of the time in Carrboro, the hip artsy next-door neighbor of Chapel Hill). The best thing about Portlandia, though, is that they don’t mock these folks in a mean-spirited way. And Fred and Carrie both mentioned during the show last night that their inspiration for the characters comes a lot from pieces of their own personality.

portlandia

My fatal mistake before seeing this show, however, was that I’m just too curious for my own good. Unsure of what kind of format the show would be in, how long it would be, or what I could expect, I started searching online for reviews.

IDIOT!

I basically robbed myself of any and all elements of surprise, and kind of set myself up for the worst.  When you read the words of another (for instance, the under-enthused Dan Zak at the Washington Post), you can’t help but have your own expectations tainted with their thoughts.  And so a seed of doubt was planted…

I had a great seat, right in the center of the orchestra seating in the Carolina Theatre.  The venue was fantastic, in my opinion, offering reasonably comfortable seats AND bottles of (affordable!!) craft beer at the concession stand.  I nabbed a Ruthless Rye IPA (Sierra Nevada) and scampered back to my seat before the show started.

So smooth

The show started off with a little dialogue between Fred and Carrie relaying texts that the other had sent to each of them to the audience.  Hands down, the funniest line was from Fred to Carrie: “Your birth was not a birth at all, it was the death of all others.”

Cue raucous laughter.

They, along with their bandmates, played the show’s infamous “The Dream of the ’90s”, and even included a quick jab at Chapel Hill to rile up the crowd (which, ironically, included a TON of UNC students…)  Highlights of the rest of the show?

  • Durham recon discussion with John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats (a Durham local) and the audience, who piped in about their favorite biscuits, food trucks, coffee shops, restaurants, and record label. There was a great Bojangles vs. Biscuitville vs. Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen debate, which Sunrise dominated, and it relayed a lot of authentic Durham love.
  • A reading of the poetry penned by a 7-year old Freddy Armisen “Dracula sucks blood, and so do I.”  You can’t make this stuff up.
  • Fred’s father (also named Fred), a Durham resident, coming out on stage to recreate a photo from when the Armisen family ventured to London in Fred’s youth.
Smattered throughout the show were video clips from upcoming episodes of Portlandia. I found one vignette about an overzealous couple gearing up for a hike particularly hilarious ($5,200 is TOTALLY worth it when buying a handheld GPS…) and Barbara Streisand (thanks to Jay Dav for correcting me, I meant JUST Barbara, former partner of the feminist bookstore) makes a surprise visit to the Feminist bookstore and is quite hilarious.  If you’ve never watched the show, sorry if that doesn’t make sense.
If you have, you’re in for a treat.

Sneaky Phone pics are GREAT for lousy quality!!

The Q&A session at the end allowed for a solid amount of audience interaction, which I think Fred and Carrie do pretty well with.  I liked this part the most because, as it was unscripted and dependent on the questions from the audience, it was impossible to spoil the surprise (hell, I think even Carrie was a little surprised when one audience member requested her actual address in Portland… Creeper.)
I raised my own hand and requested the answers to the three questions that’d been asked to the Durham crowd, re: Portland.  Their answers?
Favorite Coffeeshop: Stumptown
Favorite Foodtruck: Fred couldn’t remember the exact name, but said it was a BBQ truck that did “pure BBQ goodness”  (Maybe Eclectic Eatery?)
Favorite Bar: Aalto Lounge
You know, just in case I head to Portland in the near future.  Other highlights included when Fred was asked if he was romantically in love with Carrie.  His response?

“Cacao to that.”  (Check out the Cacao clip for a better understanding.)

There was an off-key singalong at the end featuring more audience participation (whoda thunk that it’d be so tough to musically add the words “Durham North Carolina” to a tune?) and a few songs by the Zooey Deschanel lookalike in a Canadian tuxedo (denim on denim) who I later learned was Eleanor Friedberger of…. Eleanor Friedberger.  Definitely not hip enough to catch on that she was more than a musician I should’ve heard of by now.  Oh well.

I laughed at times.  At other times, I was thankful that my phone was smart enough to allow me to read Twitter.  Overall, I’m stoked I went, for about $40 (with taxes and Ticketmaster fees included in that price) it was a combination of a stand-up comedian, a mini-film festival, and a concert. I’ll take it. Carrie Brownstein is a fantastic example of a female musician/performer that has her shit together, and can hang with anyone. I think her style of humor throughout the whole show was what I connected to the most. Fred sometimes took it a little too far in any direction, and sometimes felt hokey, but together… that’s where they really shine.

All that being said, I’ll NEVER make the mistake of researching a live variety-show-esque performance like this pre-attendance.  I need more life-spoiler alerts.

Have you ever seen Portlandia?

What area near you is most like Portlandia (read: full of hipsters, hippies, scene kids, granola type folks… you know the ones)?

The Science of Wine

/ foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

After last night’s Six Pack Sunday post, you might start thinking I’m some sort of wine-o. Lucky for you, I barely know the difference between tannin and a tastevin (And the only reason I DO know the difference is because I just Googled “wine terminology“.)  That didn’t make last Thursday’s Science of Wine event at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham any less fun!

I had a blast at September’s Science of Beer event at the same venue and, as we were walking out of the building, I remember the folks mentioning a Science of Wine coming up in February.  Well, I waited patiently and my dreams came to fruition. [Note: I was trying to make some sort of wine/fruit pun there, but it just wasn’t happening. Imagine you just read something hilarious.]

I asked my beer buddy, Melissa, to join me for all the shenanigans of the night.  Sometimes I worry that you who don’t know me might assume that I have no other friends, as Melissa seems to be the only person that comes up regularly in my blog.  I promise, I have more than one friend (if you count my bathrobe as a friend.  Do you? Good, me too.)

Our other friends came to visit in their fancy Chirba Chirba dumpling truck!! Well, who are we to resist their Juicy Buns (especially after realizing that they sponsor one of Durham’s infamous Luchadoras, aptly named Juicy Buns herself!)

Juicy and Delicious!

After a little juicy appetizer, we were ready for the wine.

But really, we were just ready for the main event of the night, one of the biggest reasons we decided to go to the event at all!

Also juicy: Grapes!

The second we heard about the opportunity to squish our own grapes with our toes, we couldn’t resist the chance to live out all our I Love Lucy fantasies.  Though the “barrel” was a little smaller, the experience was just as joyous.

Total rapture

I even took some time from my uncontrollable laughter to pose!

Oh, hey eyes, thanks for un-squinting for a moment!

Melissa squishing those grapes!

I made Melissa go after me so as not to have to squish in anyone’s foot germs but my own (luckily, she had faith in my own feet, and happily obliged my wishes.)  After we got our fill of the fun in a tub, we washed our tootsies and started the night off right with a glass of wine and a side of edu-tainment.

Marsh-MALO!

We discussed the effect that malo-lactic fermentation can have on the mouthfeel of a wine (and why some malic acidic wines give you the mouthfeel of a sharp, tart fruit like an apple while others with more lactic acid taste smoother, like a GIANT marshmallow.)

Trader Joe’s did a cool exhibit where they described the regions that two wines that derived from the same grape came from (such as New Zealand vs. Germany) and guess, by taste, which was which.  Melissa and I decided to make a game of it.

Guess who won that face-off?

#1 stunner!

(it was me.)

Another total treat of the night?

DIY Coaster Creation Station!

Mine's the one on the right (I like turtles.)

This station, along with the DIY Wine Charm station, were great additions to the night.  It was an excellent way to sit back without any wine and just relax with some Modge Podge, scrapbooking scissors, and beads. Bonus? We all got to take home some very nifty crafts.  And I flipping LOVE crafts.

The most exciting aspect of the night (after the grape squishing, of course) was probably from the folks at The Wine Feed. Their exhibit was dangerous enough to require everyone to rock safety goggles (don’t worry, Ol’ Four Eyes here brought her own glasses!) There were sharp knives, swords, and BUBBLY!

En garde!

They showed off their fancy sabers, explained where you need to hit the bottle for maximum poppage, and blasted off a few tops.

Pop bottles!

This was a fantastic party trick that doesn’t actually require a fancy saber to do… I wonder if it works with bottles of Andre (mostly since that might be all I can afford for a practice or two…) The cool part about the sabering of a bottle is, because of the angle you hit it, the glass breaks AWAY from the wine itself, allowing you to pour it into a glass and drink it without lining your throat with shards of glass!

We started to get hungry and ventured over to the Reliable Cheese Company’s table for some wine and cheese pairing (ah, the sweetest pairing of all?!)

Heaven must be missing angels...

Stinky, sharp, creamy, nutty, buttery, sheep’s, goat’s, I couldn’t get enough.  They really put on a solid presentation, and now I must get out to the store…  They even have cheese classes if anyone’s trying to get their PhCheese (bahahaha.)

Our photographer at the end of the night didn’t really understand how to snap a shot of a pair of ladies, but I appreciated the effort of getting our last few moments at the event.

Beer buddies venturing into the world of wine!

We finished the night with the tasty treats served up by newcomer Baguettaboutit and Pie Pushers, always a favorite.

Pesto Chicken don't mind if I do!

Perfect accessory to soak up that vino!

Thanks to all the amazing vendors, vineyards, food trucks, and OF COURSE the museum for putting on another great event.

What do you think your favorite exhibit would’ve been? 

Six Pack Sunday: There’s ALWAYS Time for Wine

/ foodsweatandbeers / 15 Comments

The saddest Sundays are always the ones when you’re in a long distance relationship.  Normally, Sundays are the days of travel, the days of farewell, and the days of planning the next visit.  LUCKILY, I’ve already got plans to see Ryan next week so let’s focus on the past week. Because it seems like the theme was WINE (and lots of it.)  No worries, though, because every now and then, it’s good to mix up a Six Pack Sunday with a little wine.  No worries, craft beer continues to be my jam…  But hey, when in Rome Durham…

1. The Blind Side Wine

Ok, I thought (at first) it was the wine talking. And then I thought maybe it was just the Ole Miss cup.  But check this out.

Note the Ole Miss cup on the bottom left of the image!!

This was our wine tasting/aroma educator, Barbara, at the Science of Wine event at the Museum of Life & Science.  But I just checked it out.  And she looks JUST like Miss Sue from The Blind Side.

TWINS!!

Kathy Bates, you have a wine-o doppleganger and she’s teaching the wine lovers of the Triangle!!

2. Champagne Wishes and Caviar… Nightmares

Oh, you fancy, huh?

Know what goes well with a sparkling wine tasting?

CAVIAR!!

Well, at least, in my opinion.  It’s not something I normally enjoy (Mama isn’t made of money!) but for the fancy Sparkling Wine tasting that Ryan and I enjoyed for our four year anniversary celebration, it was the food pairing for wine #2.  It was also the first caviar Ryan had ever tried.

The verdict?

Bearded bite!

The man was not a fan.

Oh well, more for me.

3. Button, Button, Who’s got the button?

Do any of you celebrate the Summer of Riesling? (Only 129 days left for 2012!!)  Well, it’s one of my favorite things about summer…  And now, thanks to the folks at Six Plates, I’ve got the button to prove it!

Sweet collection

Don’t Fear the Riesling, y’all.

4. Just Call Me Lucy

There’ll be more on this later… But here’s a teaser.

This little piggy went to Sonoma.

5. Never Fail with Kale!

Romance corner: Let's get in it.

I was having a lousy day on Wednesday. You know what made it better?

KALE!

I’d never tried it before and I followed this recipe  for something quick and easy. SO GOOD!  Oh, and incredibly cheap. It was about 34 cents for more than a full serving.

Yes, Kale, I’ll be getting you all the time.

5. Classin’ Up the Joint

Our sparkling wine tasting was at the ever-swanky King’s Daughter Inn located in the heart of Durham.  The digs were luxurious, and I wished that I had the cash money to stay there for a romantic weekend instead of just an hour or two.  However, Ryan and I decided a better way to treat the Marcona almonds paired with Sparkling Wine #1 than just eating them…

Trying to ogle my gullet? Perfect opportunity.

That’s right, we played “catch the almond in your mouth” in a 4-star hotel.

Bingo

Don’t worry, we caught every single one.

6. Love Biscuits

Oh hot damn.

King’s Daughter Inn, you make one hell of a biscuit.

Reading this is making me salivate...

Honey & Cracked Pepper Biscuits, Bacon, & goat cheese?

AHHHH!!

AND Ryan tried (and LIKED goat cheese)!

This was the best decision I’ve had in a while, just saying.

Wine, you ain’t too shabby…. But, don’t worry Craft Beer, you’re still my Valentine.

XOXO

Ever done any fun wine events or tastings?

Favorite food to pair with wine?

Putting the FULL in Fullstreet Wings!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 14 Comments

I LOVE chicken.  I love it roasted, fried, grilled, slow-cooked, and slathered in sauces.

Perhaps my favorite style of chicken consumption is in wing-form.  Wings bring people together, they’re my favorite eats during sports events, and they are actually finger-lickin’ good.  As in I shamelessly lick my fingers every time I eat wings.  The only problem is that, more often than not, they’re deep-fried and loaded with a buttery sauce.  And while that doesn’t negate the tastiness at all (on the contrary), it does stop me from eating wings constantly.

Well, I might be in trouble.

Wing me, baby!

Look unto the works of Carmen from Full Street Wings Cafe, Durham’s newest gourmet chicken wing spot!

These  never-frozen chicken bits are grilled and, trust me, the pictures don’t do them justice.

All smiles, wings for miles!

Carmen Settles, owner and chef, invited a number of folks from the Durham area to show off her delightful drumettes and have a little meet and greet.  She was also spreading the word about her KickStarter campaign which, if you like wings, you should consider donating to… I just love KickStarter, it gives community members the chance to back local projects they’re passionate about and be part of the entrepreneurial process.  Exciting, no?

Just some of the good stuff.

Carmen set out all of her favorite flavors and what kind of wing-eater would I be if I didn’t try them all?

  • Naked (Okay, I lied, I didn’t try this one, but can imagine if it’s anything like the other, it’s a clean crisp and juicy chicken wing)
  • Garlic Herb & Parmesan – Our first wing, the Parmesan and garlic pair up perfectly for a savory, flavorful bite. Delicious.
  • Classic BBQ – Sweet and saucy, though, I’ll admit, it was not my favorite wing.  Not because it wasn’t tasty…. but because the others were beyond tasty.
  • Papi’s Original – A medium heat wing, these are the recipe that Carmen’s father started her off with, and she never looked back. Loved the spices without hitting you in the face with salt.
  • The Full Street – Carmen’s classic wing, these are the closest to a classic wing-heat as I think we tried, and I could eat a dozen. Crisp skin, plump chicken, with all the right spices.
  • Jerky – See that sexy and proud wing on the top of my pile in the picture above? That was the jerky. It was excellent! It was savory with a nice heat, though, obviously a very different flavor than the next one.
  • Just D*%# Hot – The heat on this one was a nice, slow burn. It was a nice “hot” flavor and avoided the gimmicky “THIS IS SO HOT YOU NEED TO SIGN A WAIVER AND MAN VS. FOOD WILL BE HERE IN 15 MINUTES!”  I love this.  I’d probably get a number of these if I were making a big order. I don’t even need blue cheese to cool my mouth down (though I bet it’d be great with some blue cheese!)
  • Honey Hot – Our surprise favorite. I never would’ve thought that the flavors of honey and spice would pair so nicely, mostly since I don’t consume honey all that often.  Honey + chicken + spicy = a sneaky heat that creeps up on your palate and rocks your tastebuds like a hurricane of flavor!  Definitely sucked the bone dry on this wing…

Hungry like the wolf!

I think the best part of this whole experience was the fact that, despite eating 7 large, juicy wings, I didn’t feel sluggish, stuffed, or sleepy after the dining experience. These wings filled me up, but didn’t weigh me down or have me craving the usual post-wing coma.

Seriously, if you have the chance, TRY THESE PUPPIES CHICKIES! And the next step to getting Carmen all around the Triangle is to check out her KickStarter and, if the spirit moves you, donate! Every little bit counts and pushes her closer to the goal of getting a trailer to bring her wings to the masses.

Do you like chicken wings? 

And what’s your favorite flavor of chicken wing sauce? (or, if you’re not a meat-eater, ever try those veggie friendly wingz? I wonder what those are like…)

Vineyards at Southpoint and a Ladies’ Day Out!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

You’d never think a day that started out riding in the bed of a truck could get classier, right?

Wow, it's much breezier back here

After confirming with our lawyer buddy that having passengers in the bed of the truck was “legal… enough” (what does that even mean?), I accompanied 6 of my coworkers to the picturesque Vineyards at Southpoint. Sometimes, even beer girls like myself need a few antioxidants in the form of a few glasses of the fancy stuff.  Located only a few minutes from Southpoint mall, this is a little taste of wine country virtually in my backyard! Impossible to pass up.

The weather was glorious and, as we dismounted from our spacious truck bed (trust me, it’s the only way to travel), I spotted this little sign outside the vineyard welcoming us.

This is bound to get fun

I knew we were in for a treat.

Moments later, we were set up with souvenir glasses, tasting sheets, and some tasty things to nibble on while we boozed.  For $6, this was quite a deal.

I'm ready to drink learn!

Our tasting was conducted by our friendly and knowledgeable hostess, Kasha.

This was a PERFECT way to spend a day with some buddies.  Vineyards at Southpoint was fully welcoming, and had brie and gorgonzola cheese, a fig spread-type thing, and fancy chocolates.  Also, after we tasted about 6 wines, we were able to pick our favorite by the glass for $6 (and enjoy them on the deck, in the sunshine, in January.) Love that NC weather!

What a day!

Though, I’ll be honest, none of the wines really blew me away, I think that the day wasn’t made by the wine, but by the experience.  If you’re in the area and in need of an affordable date or a day out with some buddies, look no further than Vineyards at Southpoint! Plus, it gives you a reason to day drink AND eat chocolate and cheese.

As if you needed an excuse….

Freebies, Flights, and Frites

/ foodsweatandbeers / 5 Comments

It’s been a long time, but nothing TOO eventful happened this weekend other than a romantic lovenest weekend with Ryan. Lots of football was watched, zero soda was consumed (yay!!), and snuggling was had.  It was top notch.

However, as of 8:25 a.m. Tuesday morning, I was back in the RDU airport, and back to reality.  It’s okay though, because I had amazing goodies waiting for me in my mailbox.  It may have been the best mail haul I’ve ever had, at least in this apartment.

The good stuff

Free Wings, Free Pizza, AND my new Garmin FR60 HRM!! I know I mentioned before that I changed the batteries on my oldy and was ready to get back into action but, as I was making the change, I realized that the back of the watch was pulling apart from the plate that holds it all together.  It was time to get a new one, and since I already had a ANT stick, I got a great deal on a watch and heart band.  And, though it took me a bit to get the new one set up and figured out (that “bit” was about 10 minutes in the middle of my Zumba class yesterday) it paid off.  Check it out!

Killing it!

Average Heart Rate, 173 bpm and 627 calories burned, and that wasn’t even counting the first few minutes that I couldn’t get the dang thing working…

Also in the mailbox? 6 free wings from Buffalo Wild Wings when they open the new location right down the street, and a free Brixx pizza “just because.”  Seriously, if you like free foods, sign up for EVERYTHING!

On a less free note (but just as delicious), I headed back to Bull City Burger and Brewery (after a successful first visit) with a number of my brothers and sisters from my fraternity to celebrate the 165th anniversary of the founding of St. Anthony Hall.  The menu was just as delicious as I remembered….

Mouthwatering…

Since I’d already had an egg and Morningstar sausage before I left, I just stuck with fries and a beer (if it’s four tiny beers but served on one paddle, it’s still just one beer, right?)

The duck frites were glorious: Skinny, French cut, finished in duck fat with fresh rosemary and Fleur de Sel

For $3 I got a whopping serving and the rosemary totally made them worthy of me gobbling them in a reckless manner *wipes fleur de sel from her face…*

And, for $4, I received a flight of four of BCBB’s own beers!  On my paddle included: Littlen Horny, Clay St. British Style Ale, Snow Hill Winter Warmer, and Youngen Horny Barley Wine (hee hee Youngen Horny… I get it.)

The first three, while tasty, were sort of what I expected. Good, quality beers that were clearly made well and tasted wonderful.

It was the Youngen Horny that really excited me.  It’s their Barley Wine, but it’s not made with any grapes, just grain (sorry, gluten free drinkers!) At 9.5% ABV beer with “fruity fig and caramel aromas”, this beer had by far the best and longest lasting mouthfeel of the bunch. It was smooth and delicious, good to the last drop.  What I really liked about the beer, though, relative to the rest of the BCBB brews, was that it tasted like they’d gone out on a limb and done something a little riskier.  Like they fully committed to a flavor, and just went balls deep (I’m certain that was their exact thought process when brewing…)  They owned the fact that it was a “different” flavored beer, and they took barleywine, to me, to a different level with big and bold taste without being too cloying or overly sweet.  Admittedly, I haven’t enjoyed (or even tried) many barleywines in the past, but I think I’ll approach them with a more open mind in the future.

Ah, my bounty!

Thanks to BCBB for not being annoyed when we brought in a giant late night crew and for having a table big enough for the whole group!!