Thursday, March 17, 2016

First Taste: Frisk Prickly Riesling


I think I've found a new favorite. This wonderful wine comes from Victoria, Australia (Victorian Alps, actually. Did you know there were Alps in Australia? Me neither) and sells for about $11 at the Teeter. See those little bubbles there? A bit spritzy. The wine is a little sweet but not too, and has a gentle limey zest to it. It reminds me of D.R. Loosen's Riesling, another favorite of mine, but is a little sweeter than that. 

They have a cool website, with very "young" sounding text. The scrolling is a little tricky. If you scroll down, you kind of have to be careful not to go too fast, and then it's a little difficult to get back to the top. The photos are very cool. 

This would be good alone as an after-school sip, or with nachos (my afternoon snack today), or with really any kind of food you might feel like having. 

Sunday, March 13, 2016

First Visit: Famous Toastery-Indian Land

"How is everything?"
"Everyone is your server. We don't assign a server to your table."

And this is kind of what lessened our enjoyment of the experience. They interrupted our conversation 6 or 7 times. We were in the restaurant only about 45 minutes and it was so hard to keep our conversation going because of all the interruptions. In fact, when the manager came by and started asking our opinion, I even mentioned it (after Bob explained that the potatoes, while good, are NOT hash browns). He STILL STAYED and talked to us longer! He explained to us that everyone is our server and also that they weren't busy, so...
So here is the New Yorker (what's left of it):
I love smoked salmon in scrambled eggs. Like most breakfast places, the omelette is a 3-egg one, which is way too much food. The potatoes are ok. They have a good taste, but they are more boiled and sauteed than anything. There is nothing crisp about about them, They are not hashbrowns, as the menu implies and the manager even said there has been conversation about changing the name. These are more like home fries, but I don't think I'd even call them that, since there is nothing fried about them. Oh, and the toast? Not really toasted. It's funny they didn't ask how I'd like that. We had sourdough toast, which is a great option, but I think it has barely passed under the broiler. It was mostly just hardened up a bit, with a tiny bit of browning on one end.
The restaurant itself is very cool and spacious. We ate in the sunroom next to the see-through fireplace and it was very comfortable. They weren't busy because it was early. We were there before 9, but I know the place is jumping later in the morning, after the Baptists and Methodists get out of church. 
The prices are pretty similar to Another Broken Egg's prices. The best deal is an omelette plate, which comes with toast or fruit, and potatoes or grits. But if you add a side with bacon (which Bob said was wonderfully delicious...and they ask how you like it cooked), or orange juice (which is freshly squeezed to order), it can get spendy for a breakfast.
Famous Toastery would not be a common spot for us. We are more into places like The Yolk in Rock Hill.