TW Boons – Greenwood SC

Jan6

Until last October, every time I went to TW Boons , I ordered the same thing: Roadrunner with fries (see top photo). It is basically a chicken sandwich with bacon, cheese, and honey mustard sauce. I used to get the chicken fried, but once I started trying to lower my calorie intake, I ordered it blackened. I love the seasoning mixture they put on the chicken when they put it on the grill. The fries are standard with a dash of season salt. Since they can be skimpy on the salt, I ask them to add extra.
Even though I have been to TW Boons several times in the last few months, I have not ordered my standby sandwich. They installed a hot bar! I am not usually one for eating bar food. I detest Ryans / Quincy’s and many of the chain all-you-can-eat places. But TW Boons’ hot bar is so different.

1. They only put out a little bit of food at a time so the food does not get stale
2. They have REAL mashed potatoes (that are a little lumpy just like I like them) and other vegetables PLUS salad bar
3. The fried chicken is really good
4. Dessert is included!

I think that reason #4 is the best reason of all. I don’t have a picture of my dessert but try to imagine this: Fried sweet pastry with a cheesecake filling with a light dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar.
My goal was to lower my calorie intake, but I am eating fried chicken and dessert now. Oh the irony!

Buffalo Grill part 2

Jan4

I went to Buffalo Grill a second time with some people from work. This time, we got wings and appetizers.
Home run out of the park!
We ordered the lemon pepper and classic buffalo hot flavors. I think lemon pepper is my new favorite. The citrusy flavor coupled with the pepper salt seasoning was on point. Is the picture making your mouth water yet? The wings were fried enough so that the skin was crispy without being overly greasy. Their buffalo hot sauce was not too spicy for me, but I think others might find it has heat.

We also ordered fried banana peppers. Every time I looked at it, I would think calamari. The batter was light and adhered to the peppers well. These were not spicy at all. There was a slight vinegary taste which led me to believe these banana peppers were probably pickled. The flavor was good but I don’t think I could eat a whole serving of these since they are not very filling. Good thing I had some buffalo fries on the side.

This was not the most healthy meal I ever had, but it was quite tasty!

Grits and Groceries – Saylors Crossing

Jan3

If you don’t know where Grits and Groceries is located, is hard for me to explain. It is in the middle of nowhere between Abbeville and Anderson South Carolina. Yes there is a sign that says Saylors Crossing, but that means nothing to me. All I know is that when I want to go to Grits and Groceries, I have to travel on a two-lane road through a small town called Due West going for some distance through a speed trap at 25 miles an hour. About 15 or 20 minutes on the other side of Due West, there is an intersection with a large chicken statute as your landmark. And this is how you know you’ve reached your destination.

So why would I make the trek into the deep country? For the praline bacon, of course. The praline bacon is delicious. It is scrumptious. It is addictive. It’s sweet, salty, crunchy, and everything you would want a vice to be.

But one cannot live on praline bacon alone. I ordered the big breakfast sandwich. It is basically a couple of eggs, bacon, and cheese on Texas toast. It is way too much food for me, but it was sufficient.

The picture in the top right corner was what my friend ordered. It was rabbit with a tomato based sauce served over grits. I don’t like grits, but I did taste the rabbit and it was good too.

If you want to go to Grits and Groceries, it is best to go in the summer time so that you can sit outside while you eat your breakfast. If you go in the winter time, there is probably going to be a 45 minute to an hour wait because this place is always crowded (and they don’t take reservations). I have talked to people that have traveled over an hour just to eat at this restaurant.

My suggestion is to order the praline bacon definitely. If you feel adventurous, try one of their gourmet specials. Pretty much everything on their menu is good, but something are AWESOME while others are just okay. Did I mention the praline bacon?

Farmer Shed – Tuesday lunch

Jan1

I was on my way to Savannah and was driving through Lexington, SC at lunch time. How fortuitous for me! I decided that I needed to stop by Farmer’s Shed for lunch. I was all ready to order the cranberry pork chop, when the lady taking my order said "That is Wednesday’s menu. Today is Tuesday."

Oh.
I was in a quandary now. I did not know what I wanted to order. I finally decided to get the chicken pot pie, collards, and squash casserole. The collards were very tasty as usual. And the squash casserole was equally wonderful. However, for me, the chicken pot pie was just okay.

(1) I thought I was going to order pork chops. I was so thrown off, that it did not really matter what I ate. The enthusiasm that I had going in was gone.
(2) Even though there was a lot of good flavor in the pot pie, there was so many peas. I don’t like peas. I spend more time picking peas out of the pie than actually eating it.
Complaints aside, the crust on the pie was flakey, delicious goodness. There was a lot of meat which made this very filling. That being said, the peas are a deal breaker so I would not order again. I hate peas that much.

If I do, I will make sure of the day’s menu so I can avoid taste bud disappointment (that has to be a first world problem). All in all, this a Triple D pick that was on point. Sometimes his suggestions can be hit or miss. I am not above giving credit when credit is due. Good going Guy Fieri!

Amerigo’s

Jan1

Amerigo’s
Nashville, TN
Italian

While visiting my bestie Nashville, we all went to Amerigo’s because their menu looked delicious and we were hungry for Italian food.

First item that caught my eye was the cheese fritter. There was a blurb on the menu saying that they were given an award by Bon Appetit for their cheese fritters. I had to try these to see what all the fuss was about. About the size of a large hush puppy, it was fried cheddar cheese served with marinara and honey mustard sauce. I like cheese and I like fried foods, but this was a little too rich for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was good but I don’t know if I will order that again. It was kind of heavy as an appetizer.

On the other hand, the crab cake appetizer was TO DIE FOR. I can describe it is two words: No Filler. It was pure chunks of tender, flakey crab meat in the center of a some sort of salad with corn, white beans, and other stuff. I loved the crab cake.

For my main course I ordered Gemilli and Sausage in vodka tomato cream sauce. Instead of gemilli pasta, I substituted angel hair. The dish contained ground sausage, peppers, onions, and asiago cheese. I topped with a mountain of Parmesan cheese. YUM

I love angel hair spaghetti and this sauce was cheesy deliciousness. There was so much sausage, it seemed that every bit had a piece in it.
Some Italian restaurants serve dishes with sauces that are kind of bland, but that is not the case with Amerigo’s. This entrée was full of flavor from the tomatoes, peppers and onions while the sausage provided hearty, meaty goodness.

And even though I did not have any room, I ordered dessert. I had been told that their tiramisu was really good. That analysis was correct. The ladyfingers were not totally soaked but moist enough to provide texture to the dessert. The mascarpone cheese had a hint of sweetness that complimented the chocolate sauce that was on the plate. I so full from dinner that I ended up taking most of it in a to-go box but it was gone by morning. After having a dream about it, I woke up during the night to finish it off. IT. WAS. THAT. GOOD.

Overall: Go to Amerigos for dinner (and possibly a crab cake) but make sure to save room for tiramisu.