"Time flies when you're having fun"

February was a complete whirlwind of travel, food, and fun for B and me.  We started the month off with dinner at Bistro La Minette bookended by back-to-back weddings in Charleston and Florida.  In Charleston we took advantage of the 70 degree weather with a run on Mount Pleasant, a walk around downtown Charleston, and brunch at Virginia's on King.  B had the country ham with cheese grits, fried eggs, and a biscuit on the side while I opted for the biscuit and gravy.

Everything was delicious but the biscuits were buttery, light as air, and to die for... they just don't make biscuits like that up north.

After stuffing our faces we got cleaned up and headed to the wedding.  It was absolutely beautiful and we had a great time at the reception, as well as the "after party" at our friends' family home on Isle of Palms.

 

[taking a break for dancing for a quick pic]


After returning from Charleston, we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday at Bistro La Minette.  It is a charming little place and the food was fantastic.  I had the endive salad, followed by the Euf du Pêcheur.

The endive salad was served with forme d’ambert, walnuts, pear slices, and walnut vinaigrette.  It was crisp, refreshing, and delicious.  

The Euf du Pêcheur was served with a Fisherman’s-style poached egg and mussels over a thinly sliced toasted baguette and topped with tarragon cream sauce.  The mussels and egg sound like a strange combination but I absolutely loved it. 

The table shared a few desserts and we made sure to get in the obligatory candle-blowout.

Happy Birthday AJB!!

That weekend we headed to Florida for the wedding of one of B's high school friends.

[view from our balcony]

The bride and groom make wine at home, so their out of town guest bags at the hotel included a small bottle of their homemade wine for the guests to enjoy.  What a great idea!!

On Saturday morning we had brunch at Jan's Place with one of my college gal pals and her husband who live in Florida before getting ready for the big night.

I had the southwestern eggs benedict - poached eggs served with onion and avocado over corn bread and topped with enchilada hollandaise  It was heart attack-inducing good.

Back at the resort the couple exchanged their own vows at a beautiful ceremony and then we had a great time partying the night away.

<3<3<3

As if we hadn't already had enough to eat and drink, the following week we went to Sbraga to celebrate Valentine's day.  We've been really excited about trying out Sbraga ever since the owner, Kevin Sbraga, won Top Chef a few years back.  We did the tasting menu and beverage pairing.  Unique to most other tasting menus, Sbraga lets you choose one dish from each of four courses for a flat fee.  In addition, Sbraga recommends an alcoholic beverage to pair with each course so if you do the tasting and beverage pairing your drinks are dictated by the dishes you choose.  It was a really fresh approach to the standard tasting/pairing.  For our first course we had oysters and chick liver pate.

The oysters were a definite miss --  the dill totally over powered the oyster and the other flavors in the garnish -- but the pate was surprisingly good.  For our second course we had scallop and black cod.

Both were great.  The scallop was interestingly paired with a beet salad and pork belly, and the black cod went well with the cool and spicy kimchi salad.

For our third course we had the meatloaf and the squab.

I know you're thinking, meatloaf?  But it was juicy and topped with a terrific bacon marmalade.  It was definitely the best thing I had to eat all night.  The squab was good too, but paled in comparison to the meatloaf.

For our final course, we had a chocolate and a banana dessert.

Both were good but I think the best part of the dessert course was my after dinner drink pairing.  I usually hate ports but I found the Quinta do Noval to be smooth and delicious.

[happy tummy!]

After such a great meal, I was shocked to receive a sweet bouquet at work the next morning.

That weekend was President's Day.  Glad to be in Philly for a weekend, B and I met up with his brother, AJB, and his fiancee, J5, for drinks and food at Pub and Kitchen on Saturday night.  The guys enjoyed a variety of old school cocktails while the girls shared a bottle of champagne.

Things got a bit crazy, but we had a great time.

The next night we took advantage of a Sunday without the Monday dreads looming to cook a chili dinner, complete with oyster appetizers and homemade jalapeno cornbread.

We also made homemade cheddar biscuits, courtesy of Barefoot Contessa, to have with breakfast the following morning. 

They were quick, relatively simple, and quite tasty (if I say so myself!).


After a marathon month of eating, drinking, and traveling we are definitely a few pounds heavier, but it was totally worth it.  Here's hoping March is just as great!