Fall is for Tailgating

So this may come as a shock to some of you, but until this weekend, I'd never actually watched a football game. I skipped all of them in high school, because they competed against new episodes of the X-Files (I am a huge nerd, I make no apologies.). I went to GSU before they had a football team. I have ignored this sport as much as is possible, given that I A) live in Georgia and B) married a Texan. All that changed yesterday when our friends in Seneca invited us to come up and watch the Clemson game.   Despite my complete indifference to the sport, I'll take any excuse to hang out with friends on a beautiful fall day and eat delicious food.

So how does one "tailgate" exactly? I knew before going that it was some sort of picnic done out of the back of your car, preferably a truck. Well, my pickup died in June and I replaced it with a Prius. I guess that'll do. Our friends have a big SUV, so we wouldn't look completely ridiculous. We threw a couple lawn chairs in the back, packed a cooler with bratwursts, growlers from Ale Yeah! and sliced apples and baked a batch of pumpkin rye muffins for dessert.  We met our friends at their house, where we picked up the rest of our tailgating party (and their food!)

A guy with a backyard smoker made a really nice pork shoulder. Don't ask about the rub, it's his secret recipe.

Someone else brought a batch of buffalo cauliflower, "because we need a vegetable".

We also picked up some chicken strips and cinnamon apples from Fatz, a local restaurant that's a tailgating tradition in Clemson/Seneca.

So we threw all our food, the coolers, the chairs, some tables and an awning in the back of both cars and headed off to the university to set up. We parked in a field called "Lot 13" and set up. First was a big orange awning, just like everyone else's.

We also set up tables and chairs and started setting out the food. Someone brought a portable grill and started cooking the brats. We'd brought games to play, but we were packed in so tight, there was no room for them. I took a walk around and saw others had set up big TVs with satellite dishes so they could watch other games. Other people had set up sound systems with speakers that dwarfed my car and were dancing. There were big grills and smokers set up. I saw an RV park where folks had clearly been there for awhile. It was really a big party.

We ate and drank for a few hours, then went to go watch the game. Not being a football fan, I can't tell you if it was a good game or not, but Clemson won, so there's that. After the game we went back to the cars and sat around eating leftovers until the crowd thinned enough we could navigate our cars back to the road.

So would I go to a football game again? Only if tailgating was involved. Sports are kinda boring to me, but food isn't.

Like my poorly lit iPhone pictures? I'm on Flickr now! You can see more of our tailgate party here! And you can like me on Facebook!

Apple Picking in Elijay, Georgia

Have I mentioned that fall is my favorite season? Well, it is. I think it's living in north Georgia that tipped me over the edge into a fall lover, because I don't remember being this excited for September and October before I lived in Roswell. Part of the appeal of fall is all the outdoor activities I can partake in now that summer's sweltering, sticky heat is done. Cool autumnal days feel wonderful after sweating your way through July and August and my allergies don't bother as much as they do during the spring pollen-stravaganza.

One of my favorite fall activities is getting apples in Elijay. You want to hear this story? You definitely want the story. So one year, me and a friend went to the Elijay Apple Festival. If you haven't been, it's next weekend. You should go. It's a fun mountain arts and crafts festival with a fall, apple theme. And you can buy fresh, local apples by the bushel. But bushels are heavy. There are only so many two tiny women can carry on their own. So the next year, we really sold it hard to our husbands and made it sound like the trip of a life time. So we get there and the guys look around and realize the planned activities for the day include looking at apple shaped candles we don't intend to buy and carrying things for us. My husband walked over to the nearest corn dog stand, angrily ate one, and then announced that he had done everything worth doing there and we were getting in the car to go to Oktoberfest in Helen.

But he still carried an extra bushel of apples for me.

Anyways, the next year I wanted to do something fun and fall themed in the mountains again. Jimmy agreed to go apple picking instead of the Apple Festival. And you know what? We both liked it enough we did it again today.

There's several u-pick orchards in Elijay, several of them clustered together on GA 52. We like BJ Reece Apple House, but I think you'll have a good time at any of them. BJ Reece also features a petting zoo, tractor ride and apple cannon in addition to the apple trees. For $14, we were able to wandered the orchard, full of dwarf varieties of various apple varietals (how's THAT for alliteration?) and pick what we wanted off the trees. We bought the full peck bag, which you just fill until you can't cram any more into it. Not the cheapest apples you'll buy, but they are right off the tree and so tasty.

BJ Reece also has a farm store that sells already picked apples, vegetables, local honey and baked goods. The apple fried pies smelled amazing today, but my husband's glucose has been running high lately, so we skipped it.


Do I recommend BJ Reece? Absolutely. They have a great variety and the orchard is big and easy to navigate. I plan to be back next fall to make my husband carry more apples for me.

Like my poorly lit iPhone pictures? I'm on Flickr now! You can see more of my apple picking pictures here! And you can like me on Facebook!

Roswell Ghost Tour: Spirit Crawl

So last Saturday night, Northside Foods Amalgamated Industries experienced the first "Spirit Crawl" hosted by the Roswell Ghost Tour. What's a Spirit Crawl? It's a ghost tour, but with booze. How can this go wrong? (Hint: It doesn't!)

Spooky old building? Or trendy new
Southern eatery? I'm so confused!

Before I get into reviewing the crawl itself, let me preface this by saying I'm not a believer in ghosts. I'm an "interested skeptic". I like hearing the history that goes with old buildings and feeling that creepy-cool shiver you get when you hear a scary story, but ghosts aren't a thing with me. That said, the Roswell Ghost Tour is one of my favorite local attractions and one I highly recommend. I've been on it multiple times and never had a bad experience. I like that they research and document their featured hauntings thoroughly before featuring them and never tell a story they don't have permission for. Even if I don't believe myself, I can respect someone that puts this kind of time and attention into creating a worthwhile experience.

So the Ghost Tour recently received permission from the owners of The Mill Kitchen and Bar to add their building to the tour. If you didn't know, that gorgeous stone building across the street from Barrington Hall used to be a funeral parlor throughout most of the twentieth century. The business has moved to Mansell road, leaving the building empty. Mimosa Salon on the lower level? Used to be where the corpses would get done up. The beautiful glass enclosed dining room? Used to be the portico where the hearse parked. The building has a fascinating history and it's no wonder it's thought to be haunted. The previous owner of Pico Autentico/Relish wasn't interested in any negative publicity from ghost investigators, so the building has only recently been added to the ghost tour.

For the spirit crawl, we were offered three flights along with the tour: beer, wine and specialty cocktails. All were provided by The Mill and served on the premises. You started the tour at the Square, where all Roswell Ghost tours begin, and walked over to the restaurant and upstairs to the private dining room where the beers were served. After that, we walked to Bulloch Hall and heard the stories associated with that house and the nearby Mimosa Hall. For the second leg, we went upstairs in The Mill again and enjoyed our tastings of wine while one of the restaurant employees told us about her personal experiences with the buildings ghosts. Afterwards, we walked over to Founders Cemetery, The Bricks and "The Creepy House", which is exactly as advertised. We ended at The Mill's bar, where we were served our cocktails.

This is the oldest example of townhouse architecture
in the United States. And it's haunted. 

All in all, it was a good tour. It took about twice as long as a regular ghost tour, so if they offer it again, be ready for a late night. Our guide, Beth, was friendly and knowledgeable and kept things moving along at a good pace. The drinks themselves didn't wow me much. Everything was good, but not great. The tastings felt a little rushed to me, I found myself having to quickly gulp a glass of wine I was enjoying so I could leave with the group. Maybe next time they can truncate the tour a bit to give you more time to enjoy the drinks? Either way, it was a really nice way to spend a fall evening. If they offer this tour again, I'd recommend it. If they offer it again, but this time featuring another restaurant on the Square, I'd go on it again.

I took a bunch of photos with my phone, including some with the coveted "orbs" that are supposed to indicate a haunting. You can check them all out here.

Like my poorly lit iPhone pictures? I'm on Flickr now! And you can like me on Facebook!

Wolf Mountain Winery in Dahlonega

So a couple days ago my husband came to pick me up at work. My truck died over the summer and we're down to one car right now. Anyways, he mentions something about having a surprise for me this weekend.

"Oh, what is it?", I ask.

"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise anymore."

"No, I'll just be surprised NOW."

Which is how I found out I was having lunch at Wolf Mountain Winery in north Georgia on Saturday. I had visited the winery for a tasting last summer when I went on a tour of three north Georgia wineries from LivingSocial with one of my sisters. (I've uploaded my pictures from that day to Flickr.)

Wolf Mountain is owned by the Boegner family. Karl Boegner was the original manager of Chateau Elan in Braselton and you can see that same attentiveness to detail and the experience at Wolf Mountain. In fact, I think they do a better job at making your time at the winery feel like a special occasion. It's definitely a smaller winery, but they make up for it in wonderful ways. I hesitate to call it "off the beaten path", because it's a pretty busy and well known winery, but it's not the same kind of resort destination.

Anyways, let's talk about our day! Look at that gorgeous building. That's the cafe and tasting room. You have to walk up the incredibly steep driveway to get there from the parking lot. My calves burned. But the walk is totally worth it, because at the top you have a gorgeous view of the valley and the vines themselves.

The tasting room is a beautiful glass enclosed patio that overlooks the vineyard. You can go out to sit a tables to enjoy your glass, or stand at the dark wood bar where they pour.  My husband and I shared a tasting flight of eight wines for $20. They tell you this will equal about two glasses, but the pours are generous, so its really just a bit more than that. I won't get into too much detail about the wines, since eight is a lot to keep track of in your head (I think it's tacky to take notes while I'm eating and drinking in public. I also think it's tacky to snap pictures with my phone, but my blog would be pretty boring without that. Sorry good taste and propriety.) But Wolf Mountain is an award winning wine maker and none of the wines offered disappointed.  Our server was knowledgeable and chatty and though he was busy with several other patrons, I never felt rushed or unattended. We could have taken longer, but we had a lunch reservation at the cafe upstairs.

The cafe is another beautiful, light, airy room overlooking the valley. We had a table on the patio, which was perfect with this early fall weather we are having.  We started with a tomato mozzarella spread with pita chips. The cheese spread was savory and delicious. The pita chips were thick toast points that were lightly fried, not baked. It makes a chip that's both chewy and crispy. It was a little much for two people, but we ate it all anyways. We're both gluttons for good cheese and bread.

I ordered the crab cake sandwich special. It was a large crab cake that included kernels of grilled corn, but otherwise very little filler and a house made mustard sauce. It came with fries, which were just fries. Very few places put effort into their fries. The bun overpowered the crab cake, so I just ate the cake by itself and left the bread. It was a pretty tasty crab cake by itself and I'd probably order it like that if I saw it on their menu.

I paired my sandwich with a glass of their Plentitude white wine. This is a 70/30 blend of Chardonnay and Viognier grapes. It's dry and crisp and just the sort of thing I like drinking on a pleasant almost fall day.  I've had it before and I think it's about a perfect wine for this time of year.

My husband ordered a smoked brisket sandwich which was served with a horse radish sauce on soft focaccia bread. This was a pretty amazing beef brisket. Mr. Northside is from Texas and they know their smoked beef down there. So if his semi-hysterical natterings while eating are any indication, this is really good brisket. You should eat it.

All the prices are pretty moderate, especially considering this is a "fancy" place. This isn't a cheap date, but it's not going to break your piggy bank either.

After lunch, we walked around the grounds again and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. Everything seems to have been placed to give you just the perfect view or backdrop wherever you go at Wolf Mountain. Like I said before, attention to detail.

So yeah. My husband pretty much wins at surprises. Aren't you jealous now?

Like my poorly lit iPhone pictures? I'm on Flickr now! And you can like me on Facebook!

Acceptable Chain Restaurants

I'm visiting family in Texas right now, and like most people, I struggle finding acceptable places to eat when I'm away from my familiar haunts and dealing with a large crowd of eaters with different tastes. It seems like for every seasoned world traveler who happily eats cold jellyfish salad, there's at least two more that seem to subsist on nothing but chicken fingers with ketchup as a side. If I'm at home, I can easily navigate everyone to a local, independent place. But on the road? I'm pretty much at anyone's mercy.

That's where chains step in. As much as they get a rap for boring, mediocre food, they do serve a very real need on occasional. Sometimes that lowest common denominator is the best everyone can agree on. And the dirty secret of hipster food bloggers like myself? Some of them aren't terrible. In fact, some of them can be good. Here's my list of acceptable chain restaurants that you don't have to twist my arm to get me to.

My go to spot for quick, casual and healthy eating is Panera Bread. Panera has fresh made salads, soups and sandwiches. Best of all, they post the calorie counts right there on the menu board so I never worry that I'll accidentally eat a thousand calorie salad.



If I'm in the mood for a burger, 5 Guys hits the spot. Not nearly as good as the offerings at Oak Street Cafe, or even The Counter, 5 Guys still manages to put together a decent burger and more fries than a human being should really eat. Sure, you can do better. But you can also do much, much worse.



For sit down meals, I'm fond of Chili's. Most of their menu is crap, but every location I've been to can grill a decent steak and I can order a double portion of steamed broccoli to go with it. (I am slightly more like to indulge my weakness for mashed potatoes and gravy though. Okay, not slightly. Very likely.) And my husband and I used to go to Chili's all the time when we were dating. Nostalgia!



For fast food, my favorite is Chik-fil-a. I'm under no illusions that it's healthier for you than any other fast food. But it's much tastier than McDonalds. The chicken is an honest to go chicken breast, not extruded "chicken", which reassures me that I'm eating food and not a chemistry project. On Sundays, when they are closed, Wendy's is my next choice. There I have the option to replace my fries with chili or a side salad, which helps me not be such a fatty mcfatterson.

For other chain dining suggestions, I recommend "Eat This, Not That" from Men's Health. They have comparison guides telling you the worst thing, diet wise on national menus and offering a much more reasonable substitute.

How about you? Any suggestions on where to eat when on the road?

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Well, I'm back

I had to take some time off from blogging. In fact, I disappeared almost entirely from the internet for the month of December. The holidays were part of it, but not entirely.

Back in September, my father in law was diagnosed with the late stages of stomach cancer.  When we went to visit the family in east Texas for Thanksgiving, he was being checked into a hospice. There was no way we could go back to Atlanta at that point, so we massively rearranged our lives so we could stay in Texas until the end. Joseph Liang passed away quietly on December 18th.  Since then, I've been trying to make up missed school work and get caught up on the rest of my life that I missed. Blogging here did not seem like a priority.

Though I would like to talk about Joseph for a bit. My father in law was a very kind man. He could have been furious that his only son chose to marry a white woman and live with her three states away, rather than marry a good Chinese girl nearby. If he ever disapproved of our choices, he never let on. Instead, he treated me like a daughter from the moment my husband said we were getting married.  Oh, he made no secret that he wanted us living closer, but it was never said in a hurtful way. 

Joseph came from a long line of professional chefs. My husband is actually the first Liang in several generations to not be a chef. Joseph's own father cooked for Nixon when the President made his historic visit to China.  The Liang's settled in Tyler, Texas, and opened the eponymous restaurant they are best know for there. My husband and his sisters grew up in that restaurant, waiting tables, working the register and folding wontons and eggrolls in the kitchen.  They sold it just before I met my husband to retire, but got bored and opened a new fast casual place called "Ming's Cafe".

People always ask if I learned how to cook anything from my father in law. I do have some of his recipes. Passing on recipes to me was always problematic. Joseph cooks like me, without a written guide, improvising on the spot. I'd have to watch him several times to get something down and infrequent visits during the holidays were not conducive to learning to cook.

Also, no matter how hard I try, I will never get it right. There was a certain magic to the way Joseph worked, a kind of wizardry I can't replicate. He tried to show me once how to fold a pork dumpling. My clumsy hands couldn't replicate it. My husband can't quite manage it either, but his come much closer to the neat, fluted pleats his father made.  So while I do make Chinese at home, I don't say that I make Liang family recipes. Those belong to other people.

One of the Chinese traditions that I like is the ancestor shrine. We have a big framed picture of Joseph in our kitchen now. Jimmy placed an offering of three oranges on a plate in front of him. I gave him a shot of whiskey. The picture is from Jimmy's college graduation party. Joseph is in his kitchen at home, cooking. There's big bowls of mu shu pork around him, and it looks like he's pouring a noodle dish out of his wok and onto a plate. This is how I'll always remember him, in the kitchen, happy.

Video of the Week: Cooking in a Hotel

Last weekend I went to Raleigh with the husband for a literature convention. I love attending geek conventions of any ilk. It's nice to not be the nerdiest, most socially awkward person in a given room.

Since this trip coincided with the official beginning of my unemployment, we decided to take a few cost cutting measures this time. Not huge ones, because of one the great joys of travel for us is trying new foods, but enough that we could feel like we were getting the best value from our trip. So we packed a batch of Blueberry Cream Cheese muffins and fresh peaches and bananas to snack on. It made for a good breakfast most days of the convention.

We haven't decided if we're doing this for Dragon*Con in a couple weeks. Since we're staff for the convention, it's harder for us to schedule meals. I might pack more substantial snacks than I usually do, just so I can skip the food court a couple times.

But if you want serious hotel room fine dining, this video is the perfect guide. George Egg makes English muffins, and pasta using just a few simple appliances and easy to get ingredients. I'm awfully tempted by that pasta recipe. It looks something I could live off for four days.

Anyways, check it out.