Food on the Go

A cool 58 this morning, after a night of showers. Yesterday was hot, in the 80's, but ended with rain.

Do you want to try different foods when you travel? For me, it's one of the delights of exploring new places. In Florida, our son told us there was a good Vietnamese restaurant close by. I've never tried Vietnamese food so I was up for giving it a try. Larry had it when he served over there, but he was game too.

We both had the dish called Pho, pronounced phuh. Mine had meatballs, or so it said. Larry had the beef version. Both were good, although I really dislike cilantro and it was a featured ingredient. I used the chopsticks too, very clumsily, but they seemed like the best way to attack the large chunks of vegetables. The noodles were a challenge; they were like spaghetti noodles but a very different consistencey. I looked them up to see what they were made from, and I think it was rice, although some are also made with mung beans. 

Eating with chopsticks has one advantage: one eats much more slowly. Lorena had an appetizer platter, and I think next time I will try that. Minus any cilantro. 

The other place we ate out in Florida was a lovely waterfront seafood restaurant. It wasn't on the ocean, but on one of the small bays on Sunny Isle. The servers were mostly Russian, as this area is heavily populated with Russian emigres. Trump Tower is here, and I wonder if this is why he always spoke well of Russians since both his Miami places are in Russian neighborhoods. 

Such a pretty view. We watched a large yacht flying the French flag pass by.

Tommy, his stepdaughter Natasha, and wife Lorena. The water here was delicious; there was an ever so slight tinge of melon flavor in it. 

Here I had a grilled chicken sandwich and Larry opted for a burger. Both were huge. I know it seems funny to eat at a seafood place and not eat fish, but with Larry's high sensitivity to shellfish we are perhaps too careful to avoid any chance of him coming in contact with it. This place was restful after our afternoon in the sun, but the service was beyond slow. 

On our way home we passed through the quaint village of Ridgeway, South Carolina. I was delighted to find a consignment and antique mall to browse here, and came away with all kinds of things for our booths. This was called the Cotton Yard Market. 

Across the street was Laura's Tea Room, so we stopped in there too for a couple coffees to go and some delicious donuts. 

There's an outside dining option here, which I so wanted to take advantage of. 

Laura's also has vendors upstairs selling antiques and vintage things but by then it was late afternoon and we really had to get going if we wanted to get home before midnight. Laura's serves other food too, and this little town is on our list of places to visit again. 

At home, Larry's been over the hill to look for morel mushrooms almost every day since we've been home. He found enough for a nice mess for breakfast the other day. He calls morels "mollymoochers". I have no idea where that name came from but it's the common one in southern West Virginia. Washed, dipped in flour with salt and pepper, and fried. Total ambrosia on the tongue. 

Yesterday we were on the road again, to Gallipolis, Ohio to pick up a tobacco basket. We browsed the local flea market and came away with a few finds, then stopped in town at a tiny little place called Zack and Scotties. Sidewalk tables were available and it was a beautiful day so we enjoyed the biggest club sandwiches I've ever seen while enjoying the weather. The food and service here was excellent, and it's another  must-go-back place on our list. Larry had a time keeping his sandwich together. He looks a little red too, even though we both used sunblock. The sun had some power, and even with a hat on he got a little rosy.

In case you're wondering, we've avoided gaining weight with all the eating by sticking with vegetable soup for dinner! It helps that all of these meals were in the middle of the day too. 

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