Friday, January 28, 2011

Mostly tasteless

My ears are pretty clogged. Going up and down the elevator is rather uncomfortable. I am having trouble (more so than normal) hearing.

The backstory here is that I had a cold that had my feeling pretty crappy from Monday through Wednesday. Yesterday I felt almost normal. Today I am 99% not a mouth-breather anymore.

My taste buds are operating at about 10%, I think, although it's kind of hard to tell since my brain seems to do a pretty good job of filling in the blanks.

I drank some red wine last night and I'm fairly certain that I detected enough of the flavor to appreciate it. Why else would I have drunk two glasses??

I ate a piece of sharp cheddar cheese and didn't taste it, but I like chewing cheese, so I had a second piece.

I made a sauce from scratch to put on chicken tacos. The spice was readily apparent in the back of my mouth, but other than that, nothing. Jeff, ever afraid to criticize my cooking (probably wise), only told me that it was "good."

Here's another weird fact: I didn't mind eating my taco cold as I would have if I could have tasted it.

I am quite fond of the chopped salads at Fresh & Co, so that's what I got for lunch today. What makes them especially delicious is the sesame ginger dressing. But let me tell you: eating salad that has no flavor is not at all pleasant. It is like eating wet lettuce. As it turns out, it's ALL about the dressing. Lettuce does not have good mouthfeel.

When I stick my nose down in the plastic bowl and take a deep whiff, I feel a slight burning up inside my sinuses, which masks the very very faint odor of ginger.

I picked out a cherry tomato. It does have a good mouthfeel. And I can detect the acidity in the back of my mouth.

Give me other things to try! Although not too many things. This might be a good diet. Although I am going to a beer, bourbon and BBQ tasting tomorrow, so let's hope it goes away before then. Otherwise, Jeff might be looking for someone to go with him tomorrow...

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Charleston, SC

Preppiness is alive and well down south. I did not see any outrageously dressed people. 

The craft beer scene here is burgeoning and will definitely be worth checking on again in a few years. My favorite was the Duck Rabbit milk stout from NC. Terrapin makes a good porter. We finally found Wake & Bake at a beer store in Charleston. We didn't notice it on the shelf at first because, we were told, the name had to be changed to W&B for legal reasons. 

Yelp is not at all big in the south. Or at least not in Savannah or Charleston. 

Yes we smelled fried food as soon as we got off the plane and yes fried food is quite prevalent down here. However: they do it RIGHT. It's not heavy or greasy. Okay well maybe a little heavy. They tend to call it "lightly fried." Come on. Is that an oxymoron?

Fried foods we've eaten on this trip: oysters, shrimp, alligator, tomatoes, catfish, hush puppies, okra. Fried alligator tastes a lot like calimari but a little more like chicken. My favorite meal was smoked Virginia pork chop. So tender!

We got upgraded to a penthouse room (well, the penthouse is on the 4th floor). Our room had a fireplace! Traveling during the off season definitely has its perks. 

Sunday, January 16, 2011

More on Savannah

I don't think I sufficiently explained the way that people are not bundled up here. Is it possible that many people here don't even own any long-sleeved clothing?? 

What is it about southern men that makes them look so southern? The women look the same as northern women though. Yes it's a generalization, but it's true. 

I'm not kidding! We're currently sitting indoors at a cafe. I'm wearing a long sleeved shirt over a t-shirt and I have my scarf on because I'm cold. A woman wearing a short sleeved sweater just sat down at a table outside! In the shade! She's not smoking or anything! Do these people have Vermont blood??

Places I can recommend:

Moon River brewing: get the pulled pork sandwich and a porter. 

Rail Pub: divey, peanuts to be shelled onto the floor, some craft beers (ask about bottles). 

Planters Inn: 4 poster bed! Huge room. Centrally located. Wine & cheese happy hour! 

The Distillery: great diverse craft beer selection from all over US plus Belgium. 

ShopSCAD: art for sale made by locals 

Gryphon: classy little tea room across from ShopSCAD

Harris Bread Co.: 4.5 stars on Yelp but 3 locals waiting to get into a different breakfast spot a block away had no idea about it. (it's in the back) No line at all and excellent bread. 

Colonial Park graveyard: great history lesson (tons of signs about the famous residents) and also beautiful and central

Sweet Melissa's: the only place to get a snack at 11pm. Hot dog stand outside (Jeff loved), pizza inside (I loved). A mixed crowd of folks out on the town but not at all rowdy.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Savannah, Georgia

It's in the high 30s here and Jeff and I are by far more warmly dressed than 99% of the people out tonight. Is this because they don't own coats? (definitely possible) Or because they're in denial?

The whole concept of being able to walk around with an open container is so very strange. The bars should give straws with the plastic cups, though. It's hard to walk and drink. 

There is some good beer to be had here, including Bell's, Sweetwater and New Belgium. 

We gave up going out to a nice dinner and instead went on a haunted pub crawl. The best part was going upstairs above Moon River Brewing, which is a falling down old hotel and has gorgeous old details. I guess they only fixed up the ground floor and called it good.