Now, it will be a tradition for us every year.
This drinks screams “dream of me” on a midsummer’s night in Alabama. Just as a refresher, I write this blog as an homage to all things edible that are ridiculously memorable to my taste buds. The prickly pear qualifies. I like to order the fish tacos as a supplemental dose of bliss. Slaw on the side please. See Danny at Patton Creek if you aren’t close to the Pepper Place location.
This roll is so divinely yum that I hired a sitter, rearranged my plans, and completely blew off the 30 things I should have been taking care of at home, just to satifsy the craving. I had been denied the stupid goodness of most all sushi for nine months while pregnant. The instant that I realized that I could have a free moment sans two of my three kids, my mouth began to water for some spicy tuna.
I also like Surin’s version, but there is something about the Stix roll that lingers on your taste buds. It seems the bursts of flavor compound as you crunch each piece. So, if you know of a dish that will make me abandon my children and rush to an establishment to partake of it, by all means, send it to me for review. But, as for now – in my post partum state, there is little more “stupid good” than the spice of this tuna roll!
Never tried sushi? Try this roll. You’ll be hooked.
I haven’t dined at Old Taylor Grocery in over 17 years but everytime I eat catfish it pales in comparison. Old Taylor Grocery is one of the most memorable places in the south. I hope to return this year. Google it, you’ll love what you learn. Go there, you’ll love what you eat!
On a family trip to the mountains of North Carolina, I strongly urged an outing that was an hour and a half away from our lovely campground in Maggie Valley in order to resolve two cravings. The first, a repeat of an exhilirating thrill ride. The second the serious need for a slurp.
The thrill seeker in me was satisfied by our trip down Sliding Rock, a water slide that most children of the new millenium could never imagine. A natural rock slide in Pisgah Forest, Sliding Rock, welcomes the not so sure footed to slip and slide down into frigid cold puddle of a mountain stream.
Thrilling as the experience was, it held nothing on my anticipation for the treat at the other end of a small tourist town called Brevard, NC. There would await my all time favortie milk shake, the Cardinal Drive In Strawberry, size large! Here’s why it has been dubbed, Stupid Good. The chunks of strawberry are so large they lodge themselves in the bottom of the straw forcing you to remove the top, suck them free, lick the straw clean of the clinging shake, and return to normal slurpdom. The the lovely richness of this shake, has been worth the drive, every time.
The drive through winding mountain roads was no simple experience given the large family mobile we were piled into and my propensity to get car sick. But, it was worth every nauseous moment, to slurp the sweetness again. Hail to you Cardinal.
Our second item to be dubbed Stupid Good hails from a tiny soda fountain in a strangely named town. Elliott’s Pharmacy in Fuquay-Varina, NC. http://elliottspharmacy.spidlewebs.info/epmenu.html Reminiscent of Mr. Gower’s store in Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, Elliotts is one of the best representations of Main Street USA that you could find.
The whole experience is delightful. Hometown service at its best. But it is the perfectly toasted bread and the oozing pimiento cheese that make me yearn for a return visit. The sandwich is the perfect texture combination. The tastes blend together perfectly in your mouth. However, a note of caution, if prepared properly, the ham is a bit slippery. Watch that you don’t let it slip out on the floor when you raise your sandwich to your mouth.
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup – Crape Myrtle’s Cafe (within the Little Professor Bookstore), Homewood, Alabama. http://cmycafe.com/
This soup was my official inspiration for the whole concept of Stupid Good things. I was having my bowl, not cup, of this yummy, year round offering when I realized, I don’t think I have thought about one thing except how Stupid Good this soup is during the first five spoonfuls.
I had eaten the soup many times before, when the Cafe had a satellite offering inside the Interiors Market. Each time the smoothness of the cream base blended perfectly with the rice and my senses came alive. While sucking every drop from the spoon and sopping (if you don’t know what that term means, check with a Southerner) up the remaining juices from the bottom of the bowl with a cornbread muffin, I would literally, not think, about anything at all.
But it was in the original location (before the renovation) that I realized what an inspiration the soup really was. I began to think of all the other foods around the ‘ham that may qualify as Stupid Good:
Spicy Tuna Roll followed by the Chicken Noodle Bowl – Surin West
Chicken Salad with Black Olives – Silvertron
Chocolate Martini – The View
These were a few that came to mind. Then, I realized, the title of Stupid Good should only be bestowed on the mind numbingly good. So, I decided to think long and hard about any and all things in my life that have or will be Stupid Good. The idea was born. A year and an 11-month-old later. The blog is here. I hope you enjoy.
So, Congratulations Crape Myrtle Cafe! You’ve earned the first Stupid Good title.
