FREE cookie

Did you know that the month of October is National Cookie Month AND National Book Month?! To celebrate both books and cookies (2 of my favorite things ), the 2010 National Book Drive kicks off on October 1st with a FREE Original Chocolate Chip Cookie giveaway from 10AM-2PM. Just visit a participating Great American Cookie store during this time for your FREE chocolate chip cookie (no donation is required on October 1st).

Throughout the entire month of October, you can receive a FREE cookie of your choice by donating a new or gently read book at your local Great American Cookie stores (Limit one cookie per person, per day at participating locations through October 31st). All books collected at each store will be offered as a donation to a local branch of the public library or a local charity. Click here for more information.

Free Ice Cream at Cold Stone

Tomorrow, September 30, 2010 Cold Stone is offering a 3 oz scoop of their new flavor of ice cream, Caramel Apple, for FREE all day!!!!!!!!! So go by the store and treat yourself, and bring friends!

 

Check out the website for details.

 

http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/promos/makeawish/index.html

Sermet's Corner-Restaurant Review

Friday night Beau and I went out to dinner with two of my friends, Trent and Nicole, to Sermet's Corner downtown Charleston at the corner of King and Wentworth. Out of a possible 10 being the best I would give it a 5. We were pretty excited about going becase the menu looked so amazing! I called around 1:00 that afternoon to make a reservation for that evening to which I was told that I didn't need one on a Friday night. I should have stuck to my gutt feeling on this because we arrived at 7:00 and the place was packed! And there was no telling when someone was going to leave! Beau and I waited at the bar for a table to open up. It wasn't until 7:45 that something opened up for us.

 

And after being hit with that shock I was engulfed with the noise of the place! By far one of the loudest places I've been in. It was honestly hard to hear Beau speak to me and he was sitting right next to me. After the four of us were seated we were greeted by a very friendly waitress who promptly brought us our drinks and some bread with dipping oil (premade). We perused the manu for a while and all decided on appetizers and entrees. I will say that one of the best things that Sermet's offers is an option for a "half portion entree" with a discounted price. You know us girls can't eat all that food! Or at least we shouldn't. :)

 

Here's what we ordered:

 

Beau and Kathryn:

Appetizer-Baked artichoke torta garnished with parmesan cheese and salsa cruda

B's Entree-Shrimp, prosciutto, and sun-dried tomatoes sautéed in a white wine tarragon cream sauce tossed in pearl cous cous topped with gorgonzola cheese

K's Entree-Grilled sea cakes served with crab avocado ravioli and mustard apricot ginger cream sauce served with sautéed vegetables

 

Trent and Nicole:

Appetizer-Prince Edward Island mussels sautéed with roastedgarlic and ginger in a curry lemon cream sauce

T's Entree-Grilled sea cakes served with crab avocado ravioli and mustard apricot ginger cream sauce served with sautéed vegetables

N's Entree-Shrimp, prosciutto, and sun-dried tomatoes sautéed in a white wine tarragon cream sauce tossed in pearl cous cous topped with gorgonzola cheese

 

(We didn't realize we ordered the same entrees until they were delivered to the table. :) )

 

Trent and Nicole's appetizer was very good. The sauce totally made that dish, which of course is always true with sauteed mussels. Mine and Beau's appetizer left much to be desired. I was unaware there were olives in there. Kathryn doesn't like olives. And Beau and I both agreed that it needed some sort of delivery device. It was basically an artichoke lump on a plate. Here you go! We were not excited.

 

I don't know how Trent and Nicole felt about their dishes so I can't speak for them, but Beau and I were not thrilled.

 

His shrimp were a little overcooked and the whole look of the dish was just, well, blah. It was all tossed together and in a bowl. And those sun-dried tomatoes that are usually so good in pasta dishes were very dry and really barely there. My "sea cake" which I found out later was made with Tilapia (a very cheap piece of fish) and no crab was dry and burnt. But the crab avocado ravioli was amazing and it was obvious it was made fresh. Wow! That was delicious! As was the mustard apricot ginger cream sauce. I ended up soaking up that sauce with the leftover bread it was so good.

 

Overall, food was below par, it was loud, one of two bathrooms were broken, service was poor and it quite overpriced for what you get.

 

Will not be returning. Sorry Sermet's.

New blog

In honor of my baking passion I have decided to get "out there" on my own if you will and display my works. This is the beginning to what will hopefully  be a business one day. So I've created a blog designed specifically to advertise my delicious masterpieces. There's currently nothing posted, but you can check out here and make sure you tag it as a favorite! Tell your friends. If you live in the Charleston area, they are available for order/purchase.

FREE items

Hey there everyone!

 

Because I love finding deals and getting things for free I am taking advantage of these two offers! You should too!

 

Today only, Carvel is giving away a FREE 3 oz. scoop of Swiss Miss ice cream at any of their locations. So check out their website and see where the location closest to you is!

 

Also, Saturday, September 25th is FREE Museum Day! http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/admission.html?  Check out that website to find out what museums in your city are participating and then register for two tickets per email address. What a great time to learn to go!

Free Magazine

Check out the link below and you can grab some free magazine subscriptions.

 

https://www.valuemags.com/freeoffer/thankyoumain.asp

Circa 1886-Restaurant Review

So it's the end of Restaurant Week in Charleston. Beau and I took advantage of the deals by going to one of the more expensive restaurants in town because of the set price that allowed us the biggest bang for our buck. And let's be honest, we probably wouldn't have gone here otherwise.

 

Here is Circa 1886. It's located downtown Charleston on Wentworth Street behind the Wentworth Mansion. We had a reservation for 8:30, but decided to get there a little bit early to sit at the bar. Beau and I ended up walking through the mansion, which is beautiful by the way and headed into a courtyard out the back. We walked through the courtyard to find the restaurant tucked away in bushes of flowers and old trees. The restaurant was able to seat us early and so we sat in beautiful high-back cushioned chairs that were perfectly spaced. By the way, I feel as though I should mention that there is slight dresscode. Women typically where a skirt or a dress with heels and men are not allowed to wear shorts. It's beautifully lit with a dim glow that's not too dark but not overpoweringly bright. I thought it was perfect.

 

Beau and I started our luxurious meal off with cocktails. He got his typical Bourbon and Diet and I got a Cosmopolitan. Then came the menu! During Restaurant Week, the deal is that there is a set menu and a set price and you get to pick an appetizer, entree and dessert for that set price. Oh and the waitor recommended a wine pairing, which we took advantage of. We each got a half glass of a different wine with each course.

 

My choices:

Appetizer-Lowcountry "One Pot"-braised local beans, duck leg confit, turnip greens and cornbread-served with Chardonnay

Entree-Anteloupe Loin cooked medium-rare with Quinoa, Stone Ground Mustard and Red Wine Sauce with long beans-served with a Bourdeaux

Dessert-Sweet Potato Creme Brulee with Roasted Marshmallow-Served with a Port Wine

 

Beau's choices:

Appetizer-Shrimp served over grits cakes and a spicy sauce-served with white wine

Entree-Beef Tenderloin cooked medium-rare with risotto and hearts of palm-served with a Cabernet Sauvignon

Dessert-Seared Angel Food Cake with Seasonal Berries and Honeysuckly Ice Cream-served with a sweet dessert wine

 

And we finished the night with a cup of coffee that was really nice.

 

The service was great and the ambience was peaceful and romantic.

 

I will be returning here for sure. A huge recommendation if ever you're looking for a really fancy, romantic meal that is equally delicious!

 

Alchemy Coffee-Restaurant Review

After picking up Beau's car at Firestone, he and I headed out to get some breakfast before heading into our work places. It was my pick and I chose Alchemy Coffee right there at the corner of Savannah Hwy and Magnolia Rd. at the Triangle in West Ashley. We had never been there and are trying to try the local coffee shops around these parts.

 

It's very local. It's a bit dark on the inside for my taste but there are high chairs and tables, couches, big soft chairs, stools, tables, etc. And there is seating outside. If you look around the place you'll see local artwork that looks like it all came from the same artist.

 

We walked in to the smell of eggs, two men sitting separately and a woman behind the counter. There's not much of a menu so you kind of stumble your way through it, but the lady was happy to answer any questions.

 

In a normal "Beau" fashion for breakfast he ordered a blueberry muffin and an iced latte. I ordered a White Mocha Latte and an everything bagel toasted with cream cheese. Beau said his muffin was very moist and quite delicious while his coffee was nothing really to rave over. My latte was quite good I thought and it made me even happier that they had a soy milk option, which I happily took advantage of. I was a bit disappointed with the service though. My toasted bagel with cream cheese was consequently a bagel that was sliced and put on a plastic plate with a to-go portion of cream cheese and I was told to go over next to the wall and toast my bagel myself.

 

Overall, I will say that I was pleased with my coffee and the ambience of the place. What a great place to go for some relaxation and coffee in the afternoon! But I wasn't thrilled about the service, the presentation or the options for breakfast foods. It's not a place to rave over. I might go back if I happen to be in the area, but I definitely won't seek it out to go there again...at least for breakfast.

 

Lunch could be another story. So maybe next visit....

Hubee D's - Restaurant Review

For those of you who live in West Ashley or those who like to wander over our way, there's a new joint next to Your Pie called Hubee D's. It's a chicken and wings joint that I was actually not too thrilled about trying. Tuesday Beau and I went running and it took a bit longer than we had anticipated (due my slow poke self) and then was unable to really make dinner so we went out. In trying to decide where we would go and wanting to go somewhere neither of us had been before, he suggested this place. Sure, why not. I was a bit scared to tell the truth.

 

When I walked it I kind of felt like I had walked into a part of Texas that you see in trashy movies. But some people like that atmosphere...some don't. I was pleased to see that they serve more than wings and chicken. They had salads! I love salads and that night, after my run, I wanted a cool salad. And to make me even happier, they had more than just a plain ol' chopped salad. I ordered this amazing salad that had lettuce topped with goat cheese, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, grilled chicken and a champagne vinaigrette. Who would have thought the word "champagne" would have been anywhere on that menu! But alas...

 

Hubee D's is kind of similar to Zaxby's in the sense that it's a chicken joint and it kind of has that look on the inside (i.e. order at the counter, kind of dark inside, get your own drink, etc.). But here are some highlights...

1. They serve sweet cornbread with each meal

2. Complimentary boiled peanuts

3. They bring the food to your table

 

My salad was really good. Beau seemed to really like his chicken fingers, which come with a spicy sauce, french fries and a side of coleslaw that he raved about. Malt vinegar is also given as an option for some topping on your fries. And btw, another perk-Coca-cola products.

 

There was question as to whether you clear your table or whether they do it. Just so you know...they do it. Leave your stuff there.

 

Overall, I would go back.