Tag Archive | yeah that greenville

Basil Thai Cuisine #greenvillesceats

Decided to check out a new Thai restaurant in Greenville South Carolina. I know what I usually get at Thai restaurants, but I wanted to try something a little different.

My friend and I went to Basil in downtown Greenville SC.

We arrived at the restaurant about 5:30pm. The ambience was nice. We decided to sit outside because it was a lovely Saturday evening. There were people dining, but it was still early, so there wasn’t a crowd. By the time we left, the place was packed.

I started with appetizers. Instead of the traditional crab Rangoon (which is a wonton wrapper stuffed with cream cheese, seasonings, imitation crab meat, fried), this was stuffed with ground, chicken, shrimp, and cream cheese, served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Rating: 4/5 – this was tasty, but I was not used to the ground chicken so the texture threw me off. if you like ground chicken, you will love this appetizer, but I probably wouldn’t buy it again.

I ordered the Pad Woo Sen with chicken. This dish was the cellophane noodles along with egg, Napa, cabbage, bean sprouts, snow peas, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Rating:4/5 – The flavors were well executed, the chicken and veggies were cooked well, and the sauce was tasty. I inadvertently ordered it hot on the spicy level and it was enough heat that I could tell it was there, but not so overpowering that my mouth was on fire. I did add some of my leftover sweet-and-sour sauce to have a little sweet, to balance out the heat. My only complaint would be that I felt like there were not enough noodles.

My friend ordered the pad Thai.

Rating: 3/5 – she said her meal was OK. In her opinion, the shrimp was undercooked and so she everything but that. they did forget to top her plate with peanuts, but provided them after and she sprinkled on herself. she said overall the dish was underwhelming and she probably wouldn’t get that again, but is open to try other dishes on the menu.

Of course, I had to order something from the bar and I got the lychee martini.

Rating: 5/5 – this was so good. It was very strong and sweet. Definitely packs of punch if you are not expecting it. I would not advise drinking these on an empty stomach because you will be falling down! However, it was a nice compliment to my meal, and very refreshing.

TOW FINAL COMMENTS: I am conflicted on how I feel about this restaurant, because the execution of the flavors as described were on point. The waitstaff were friendly and very accommodating. However, the dishes were not what I was looking for. If you like Thai food, but want it a little bit Americanized, this is the place for you. and come with your wallet full because this is definitely a $$$ restaurant .

Price per person

Entree only $30-40
Entree + drinks $40-50
Entree + drinks + appetizer $60+

Basilico Pizzeria & Italian #greenvillesc

Jan20

We were in the mood for Italian and had an very delicious dinner at Basilico Pizzeria & Italian cuisine next to the Haywood mall.

My cousin and I arrived about 5pm for an early dinner and fortunately there was not a wait. We were seated and the server came quickly to ask for our drink order.

While the server was polite, I did not get the type of reception I read about in reviews on a local foodie facebook page I follow. In their reviews, they said the servers were super friendly and treated you like family.

Case in point: I asked the sever what wines they had. She said “all kinds”. She acted like it would be an imposition to bring a wine list. I ended up ordering a house Pinot Grigio. Price unknown at time of ordering!! I figured it could not be more than $10-12 but it felt awkward to ask.

After that unpleasantness, we were ready to order because we were hungry and the service was not so bad we felt we had to leave.

The food was FANTASTIC!

Portion size 5/5 Taste 4/5 Appearance 4/5

Photo Blogging #Challenge July 2016 theme: #photographer choice #photoblog #fun #influenster

Aug1

july_results

July’s theme for the photo blogging challenge hosted by http://hoohaablog.com was Photographer’s Choice.

The hardest part about this was deciding which pictures to use. When the theme is whatever I want to share, that is really easy but really hard at the same time. Without further ado, my photo picks.

Photo #1
I received a sample of ZzzQuil from Influenster to try their product I’m exchange for an honest review. Click here to see my review on YouTube. In short, this product works as advertised. I slept well with no drowsiness the next day. I participated in an Instagram campaign to post the product reveal and I liked the picture I posted so much that I’m sharing here. This is for the sleep lovers!

Influenster is a product discovery platform that guides members to products that suit their interests and needs, as well as how to use them. To learn more or to sign up visit their website using this link www.influenster.com/r/1013305

Photo #2
In my plants on the porch of my house, I saw a baby lizard (I think it is a Green Anole -Anolis carolinensis). He was too cute and was being so still, I wanted to capture him on camera. He darted off as soon as the picture was taken. 🙂 Can you see him? He blends in so well with the green leaves.

Photo #3

A new donut shop opened in town. I love their box because it is so positive. Makes you feel good about eating donuts. YES! I DO deserve a donut! 😀

Photo #4
I had to go on a business trip and I at lunch at Volare in Hapeville, GA. I love the colors of this plate. It is grilled Atlantic salmon with a blueberry reduction, honeyed goat cheese and a side of whole grain rice. The salmon was superb! The blueberry reduction was slightly sweet and paired well with the goat cheese. It was creamy and tart with a hint of honeyed sweetness too. The dish had everything I wanted in a meal: salty, sweet, tangy, tart.

Photo #5

My bucket/ Life’s-to-do list has one less item on it. I went to my first Cirque du Soliel show in July. Ovo was playing at the Bon Secours Wellness Area. I decided back in April that I was going with or without any of my friends. I sent out the text and asked who wanted to go, and a few people responded in time for me to buy the tickets. We had a blast and enjoyed the show thoroughly. It makes you appreciate the dedication it must take for the performers to have that much control over their bodies to master such feats.

I had a fun filled month and cannot wait to see what August will bring 🙂

Click to check out other bloggers photo challenge submission links

City Scape Winery #winetasting #drinklocal #SCwine

Nov6

This Foodie Friday is about City Scape Winery!

City Scape is a winery making wines in the Upstate. They like to say that they are “Greenville County’s premier winery”. Actually, they are located in Pelzer. Not where you would think to go for a wine tasting. I found them on Groupon. Follow the GPS and make sure the gas tank is full because they are deep in the country. But once there, the tasting is worth the trip.

As you can tell from my notes below, their wine flavors run the gamut so there is something for everyone.

Tasting Room Hours: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (if you have a group, call ahead to make sure they will have room to serve you)

Of the 9 different wines that I tried during the wine tasting, here are my notes

Uptown White – Dry, light. I consider this to be a standard white dinner wine.

Pineapple Riesling – Very sweet almost like a nectar. Would go well in a fruit punch drink.

Carolina Charm – Sweet tea flavored, does not taste like wine. I prefer unsweet tea, so this was too sweet.

Green Apply Gewurz – Refreshing, crisp flavors. I could taste hints of the apple. This was more tart than sweet for me.

Upstate Blush – Smells pretty, but not as sweet as I anticipated

Raspberry White Zinfandel – Smells like cotton candy, tastes like berries

Urban Red – Dry, strong flavor, heavy on the tongue

Downtown Red – Tart, dry, strong

Palmetto Red – Dry, smells like muscadines

Favorite from the tasting: Raspberry White Zinfandel

The reds were too dry for me. Most of the whites were light but not very sweet.