Just a quick interlude to tell the story behind the video above.

My wife is half Bahamian and often speaks romantically about her childhood on the island and the roots of her love for seafood. I don’t share the intensity of that love. When she talks about conch fritters I have no connection to them other than wondering if that’s the thing that comes out of that big shell I have in the garage. You know, the thing I picked up and brought back from vacation? I’ve also never been into lobsters. I actually have no idea what they taste like. But they are clearly something she loves.

I remember being amazed years ago when we went to Orlando’s Boston Lobster Feast. I couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal to have all you can eat lobster. I was taken aback when my wife– who worries about phantom spinach in her teeth and at times obsessively wipes her mouth at dinner, allowed herself to don a bib and let butter drip down her cheeks while wolverine-ing down a plate full of lobsters. I feel the little guys. I’ve noticed too many times how in the supermarket when you walk by their tank, they’ll scurry to the back as quick as they can. Are they afraid of us?

But she also likes to cook. This spring (right after I turned vegan) she discovered a great Asian market. With lots of live seafood, this place would make preparing baked stuffed lobster something she could do at home. The process of making this dish essentially requires that you have a live, fresh and not boiled lobster. The market would take the live lobster and cut it up for her, making it easier since she was uncomfortable killing the lobster herself. Driving home with a live lobster was also out of the question. Her past experience of being attacked by a bag of live crawfish while she was driving home one day, kind of knocked out that option.

example of live crawfish

So off we went to the market, and the lobster was chosen. The employee cut two claws and a tail off the body. He remarked that the parts were jumping, but they were packed in ice and given to us. We drove 45 minutes home, and another 20 minutes elapsed before she began the preparation.

The rest of this story can be told in screams:

The first scream came when she was cutting the tail open and the bottom fins shook hands with her.

The second scream, accompanied by some whimpers and a Fred Flintstone jump into my arms came when the flesh in the newly opened and exposed tail started throbbing.

Now at this point I was in full, “see….you should be a vegan” mode. I tried to convince her to throw the lobster out. That this was surely a sign that she shouldn’t eat it. Didn’t work. She said she spent too much money on it to waste it. She also was rationalizing away the movement.

The third and final scream came at least 10 minutes later when she put the tail on a cookie sheet and seasoned it to go under the broiler. It was in full throb mode and would not stop. Did the seasonings irritate it? That’s when I grabbed my iphone and recorded.

Three screams and you’re out. The tail went in the trash.

The late essayist David Foster Wallace wrote a book of works that included the essay, “Consider the Lobster.” In that essay he addressed some of the questions people have about boiling, cutting, and eating lobsters. Our experience with the tail left us traumatized. The rest of the day was like a knot had formed in our stomachs. We didn’t talk about it. It was just creepy. This is one of those exercises in “meet your meat.” If we could really get close to the moments after death of live creatures what would we see? What would we feel? Would we still want to eat them?

Rochelle hasn’t eaten lobster since that day, though she still eats seafood that is a bit more removed from death then the lobster of that day. I still hold out hope for a vegan wife. But you know. …those Bahamian folk sure love their seafood.

Travel and Leisure Magazine recently named Charleston the second most romantic city in America behind Honolulu and in front of classic cities like San Francisco and New York. That would seem to be a pressure position to be in. Is it a romantic city? With its palm tree lined streets, shopping districts, and peaceful park-lined water views, it certainly seems to hang with the best of them. On a recent getaway I joked that these features, coupled with a 40% chance of summer showers might lead us to break into a chorus of Neil Sedaka’s lovely classic, “Laughter in the Rain.” Sure enough, on our first walk through the city we found ourselves running through raindrops and huddled under southern awnings, romantic moments broken only when I ran off across the cobblestone side streets to buy umbrellas at a 150 year old general store. The fact that we walked slowly back to our hotel under the umbrellas through streams of sunlight and bursts of humidity, let me know that this place was a special one to exhale in.

Choosing to stay at the Marriot Renaissance in the historic district, we found ourselves steps away from King Street, one of Charleston’s oldest streets. It runs far north through one of the cities party centers, down to the historic district with its diverse shopping and restaurants, and all the way south through homes and ending at Charleston Harbor and White Point Gardens Park.

Most of our walking experiences were based in this area but we were at no loss for things to do and of course, eat. On the north end, 2 blocks off King St., we enjoyed our first taste of Charleston at Alluettes Café. This is a family owned business and owner Alluette Jones-Smalls acts as your personal chef in the cozy café. She came out and discussed wants and needs with customers and went back in the kitchen. There she prepared our exceptionally delicious, holistically healthy soul foods in her “no pork” kitchen. Fish, shrimp, organic meats, vegetarian, and vegan choices were available. Alluette also owns and operates a jazz café on Calhoun St, between King and Meeting Streets. We spent one of our evenings with other jazz lovers listening to an excellent live house band, while being served even more of Alluettes menu items. It was a relaxed atmosphere with romance and joy infused into the night. Couples danced. Singles shared drinks. The band played “Lost Without You” by Robin Thicke twice. Perhaps they did this because during the first time, I left my table and grooved solo next to the keyboard player. Did they (and Rochelle) want to see that again? Who knows? It was just a great night.

Juanita Greenberg’s, also on King Street, brags out front that they have World Famous Margaritas. I had to try them. Not very tasty, but they were very tequila loaded which is probably why they gained their world status. It took no time at all before we were smiling from their effect and accepting of Greenberg’s unfortunately ultra sparse menu selection. We spilled out into the night air and realized that it being near midnight, King St. was beginning to come to life and party goers were wandering up and down the corridors. We were swept over to the sounds of House Trance music and discovered Club Pantheon, the centrally located club with a door sign welcoming those of “alternative lifestyles.” I know what that means and I embrace it, but this night in Pantheon, the alternative looked more like a place were people of all ages, races, and sexualities could dance into the night until the lights came up and the bouncers yelled for everyone to spill back onto the streets.

When you fall asleep with tequila and dancing running through your system, you awake ravenous and seeking of big grub. Lucky for us Hyman’s Seafood was a few blocks from the hotel and is the quintessential big grub spot. Owned by five generations of Hyman’s, this is the place to recharge and we wound up eating there every morning of our trip. While it is a space for seafood lovers, there were a few filling items on the menu for crafty vegans. One brunch visit I chose fettuccine with marinara sauce. Great grandson Eli Hyman noted my plate, and admitted this would not have been his choice of a meal. When I explained my veganism he remarked that I must be a dedicated friend to sit and watch Rochelle eat salmon and grits, oysters, crab cake, shrimp, pork laced collards, and hush puppies. It was not a problem. I enjoyed my pasta, as well as the great okra and fried green tomatoes from our other visit there.

You can’t visit a place like Charleston without dipping into its history. We chose not to take traditional tours that focused on the supposed romanticism of the plantation era. I am sure that my ancestors fought hard for love and family during these times, but I am almost certain this is not the romanticism discussed on the tours. We instead took a Black History tour offered by Al Miller of Sites and Insights tours. Al has been doing driven tours for 23 years. I found it sad that this excellent tour requires a bit of searching on a tourists part. It’s not listed in Frommers Guides and there are no brochures sitting around the hotel lobby. But this 3-hour tour of Gullah and Geechie culture, a rich mixture of African slaves and the generations that followed after them, is so worth experiencing.

And speaking of dipping, what of those long beaches that Charlestonians flock to? We asked our concierge which beach was best for relaxing and we were told that Folly Beach across the harbor was the place that locals go to relax. It was a windy day but we enjoyed sitting and doing a whole lot of nothing while watching the tide rise and eat away at our sandy shoreline. We didn’t leave until the water had risen to the vegetation, leaving us no choice but to leave. Still, we had moments of romance. Realizing that worrying about our coolers and blankets getting waterlogged was preoccupying my mind, I decided to put them on the other side of the sand wall and came back to sit on the moving sand. “Come sit with me.” I said, and for a good half hour we sat and allowed no worries to be entertained while the waves came in and out and over us. Touching the sand as it washed around me, letting the incoming and retreating waves push my seated body whichever way it wanted to was a relaxing, relinquishing heaven.

Our last nights dinner was at Basil Thai, a small restaurant with a city feel, securely meshed in the southern charm of King St. The food was amazing. The atmosphere eclectic and jumping. Loud and bustling. A perfect setting to turn romance not into words but into unspoken body language- hand touches, smiles, winks, and promises for the walk afterward and of the last evening of Charleston’s goodbye.

Be sure to check out some pictures from my Charleston trip here, and on the photo journal feed box in the upper right sidebar.

The Links– Both Mentioned and Suggested Ones:

Romantic Cities List (link)

Folly Beach (link)

Hyman’s Seafood (link)

Marriott Renaissance (link)

Alluettes Café (link)

Alluettes Jazz Café (link)

Juanita Greenberg’s (link)

Basil Thai (link)

Sites and Insights (link)

Club Pantheon (link)

The Sprout (link)

General Tso's Seitan- Springs Rolls Restaurant, Raleigh NC

The first time I had Seitan (SAY-tan) was in Palm Springs California at Native Foods. Native Foods is a completely vegan restaurant and its owner Chef Tanya Petronva came out to our table and explained to me as a vegan newbie, what Seitan is. It is wheat gluten created by mixing protein packed (1 serving has approx 30g of a typical 90g daily recommendation) and starch free wheat gluten with seasonings and water, then kneading it into a roll and slicing it to serve as a textured meat like substitute. Yes, it does have a kind of funny name. In fact in her cookbook, Chef Tanya describes passing out samples at a farmers market. A woman spit the food out when informed it was Seitan. She said, “No, thank you. I believe in Jesus Christ!”

I don’t think Seitan is evil at all, but it is curious how it can become such a dietary chameleon. The texture is so “meaty” and deceptive, that with the right seasonings it easily becomes a chicken finger masterpiece (pic), teriyaki (pic), or a Native Foods burger (pic).

It wasn’t Seitan that recently lured me into Spring Rolls at North Hills in Raleigh; I was in search of their namesake. Hoping to check off as “found,” yet another of my pre vegan favorites, I was looking for a good but elusive vegan style spring roll. The menu noted, “Vegetarian meat substitutes are made from soybeans, wheat gluten, and other non-animal sources. Originally made as a special cuisine in Buddhist monasteries it’s now available at Spring Rolls.” Interesting! It always excites me when I see restaurants and products volunteer a vegan option. It got even better when the waitress informed me that any of the meals on the menu could be switched with my choice of soy protein, tofu or wheat gluten (Seitan). That’s a major vegan score. Obviously this still has limitations. A dish with egg noodles isn’t vegan just because you switch tofu for the shrimp. But, I got very excited to know that I could revisit my General Tso’s love affair by including Seitan.

Spring Rolls Restaurant- Raleigh NC

I’d almost forgotten in my excitement of that discovery to enjoy my spring rolls- what I came there for. They were excellent. Simple but delectable vegan rolls stuffed with fresh cabbage and carrots and accompanied by a perfect dipping sauce. The picture above does them justice. They were as good as they look.

When the General Tso’s arrived I was taken aback and actually refused to taste it. This really looked like chicken. I just knew they made a mistake on the order. It looked tender, and I was able to pull what looked like layers of skin from the main body of the pieces. That alone was disturbing. When I cut into it, it looked in texture like a slice of chicken. “Waitress!?” She tried to assure me but I still wasn’t convinced. I asked Rochelle, who is working towards but not yet a vegan, to taste it for me. She said it tasted great but that it was clear to her that it wasn’t chicken. When I tasted it I still wasn’t giving up. It was delicious, but this had to be chicken!

General Tso's Seitan- Texture

Rochelle reminded me that my taste buds have probably almost forgotten what real chicken tastes like at this point, and what I was experiencing was more likely emotional guilt. True. I was a bit weirded out by this near perfect mock chicken. It was the closest I had been as a vegan to the visual presentation of real meat on my plate. Usually the taste and texture of a meat substitute is enough to provide the chew action I crave on occasion and this keeps me happy. The fact that my Gardein quick meals or tofu don’t really look like chicken is somewhat of a soother for my consciousness.

I am still a newbie vegan and I am just beginning to struggle with the idea of coveting meat substitutes. Point blank, on the one hand it seems that I still desire a dead animal that I’ve ethically chosen to protect by not consuming it. Yet, on the other hand it seems more relevant to eventually imagine the dish not as tasting like chicken at all, but being delish and perhaps “devilishly good” General Tso’s Seitan. Perhaps if more people can make this leap we won’t really need the poultry, pork, or beef industry. Tofu would be tofu. Soy Protein would be soy protein. The idea being that they are stand-alone well seasoned delicious meals instead of focusing on the idea of them as meat substitutes. So bring on the Seitan!

Recipe for Making Seitan at Home(link), or pick up WestSoy Brand at your grocery store.

Recipe for General Tso’s Sauce (link)

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Everyone around me knows by now that I’m always on the lookout for vegan foods. It’s amazing to me how many foods can be enjoyed without animal products. I keep tasting things that are clearly plant based foods and incredibly tasty, but I’m also discovering many that are my old omnivore favorites that I never imagined could be veganized. McQuirter has quite a few recipes in her book that I’m looking forward to trying out. Imagine a vegan cornbread- free of eggs and milk. Lasagna. Gravies. Strawberry Cheesecake. Can’t wait to get started on those. In the meantime, I checked out her informative site for the book and also found a great recipe for open faced black bean tortillas. Excellent source of protein!

Below, you’ll find a video of Tracey making a vegan pizza. Pizza was one of the first things I craved as a new vegan and I thought I would never have a good one again. That changed on a visit to Carrabbas when I ordered their outstanding Margherita Pizza with no cheese. (pic) I really would prefer to make my own pizza at home. Cheaper and I get more to grub on.

Take a look at this video. This munchie stacked pizza looks like it would fill even the hungriest vegan belly!

Tracey McQuirter- Author of “By Any Greens Necessary”

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Trader Joe's 1000 Layer Crackers and Rooibos Tea

Negotiate being a vegan:
5 months in. Hmm. Not too tough. Many say that the thing they couldn’t give up is cheese. I don’t miss it that much. I don’t eat cheese substitutes that often, although I do enjoy rice vegan cheese on a veggie burger now and then. It’s very good. I’ve found that vegan mayo is tasty. Vegan butter is just fine. I don’t miss meat at all. Grilled the chicken and burgers for guests on Memorial Day and had no yuck reaction, nor did I feel a need to preach. To each his own journey, but let me just say it is so possible to live a healthy and happy vegan life! 15lbs lighter. Doubtful that’s coming back. Feel healthier. Cleaner. Clearer. Feel like my body is able to do its work. Feel like my moral and ethical compass is pointing me in the right direction.

Discover food at home that tastes fantastic:
It’s hard to explain to those who question the taste of vegan food how flavorful it can be if your focus is not on meat and dairy. It’s not what you’re missing, it’s what you have to enjoy. That is the right mind set I think. Discovered that a vegan alfredo sauce poured over fettuccine with fresh grilled eggplant, zucchini, onions, and garlic from the garden could make my day. Chopping more fresh veggies and seeing Rochelle create a vegan tempura batter served with sauce made from ginger slices, scallions, soy sauce, and agave nectar? Delicious!

Eat out and find ‘vegan without trying’ discoveries:
There are lots of foods that are vegan but are “mainstream” everyday foods. Lots of my favorite comfort foods are still on my list as a vegan. I check this website often and love to find many foods and snacks that I can still enjoy. Trader Joe’s is great and they have an online listing of all their vegan products, including the 1000 layer crackers pictured at the top of this blog. Perfect with tea. I thought eating out would be tough, and it does take some planning…but what doesn’t? I have found some great stuff out and about as well: Fruit gelato is a special treat. All I had to do was ask about ingredients. Many are made with vegetable based emulsifiers. Our local favorite is Henry’s at North Hills in Raleigh, but most any gelato shoppe will do the trick. Noodles and Co’s Pasta Fresca dish without cheese? Excellente’! Ordered Carrabbas Margherita Pizza minus the cheese, added kalamata olives, had them substitute fresh herbs for the sprinkled parmesan, and I experienced an incredible flavor burst. Pei Wei adds great 5 spice firm tofu slices to their gee (melted butter) free sweet and sour veggie plate. The Cheesecake Factory’s fresh vegetable salad with asparagus, green beans, tomato, cucumber, roasted beets, apple, edamame, radicchio, romaine and pomegranate vinaigrette goes great with their grilled eggplant sandwich. And, you can never go wrong with a quick stop at Q’dobas for tortilla soup and grilled veggie and black bean tacos.

Henry's Gelato

Noodles and Co.

Carrabbas

Grow Veggies in the garden:
Nothing better than going out and picking food for lunch and dinner. It’s been so much fun to peek out every morning and see new things sprouting up. In less than 6 weeks we went from the small starter plants you see below to stuffed stomachs from their harvest. We’ve enjoyed eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, gourmet lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, and a handful of herbs. It’s been a wonderful experience. Caring for the garden is relaxing. The difference in the taste of home grown and fresh picked food is enough to make me think about homesteading! Been reading up on it in this great book, and I’m thinking about ways to expand the joys of urban vegan homestead/gardening.

Coming soon…. — Rediscovering Reading, Writing, and Buddhism

Image from VeganMonth.Com

I was a vegetarian for 8 years followed by a time when I was a pescetarian (fish eater). A couple of years ago during incredible periods of stress and family loss I fell completely off my wagon and began eating meat. The obvious changes came in weight gain, digestive difficulties, and mood swings. This is quite typical for omnivores, but I fought hard not to connect the problems my body was having to what I was eating:

Perhaps most importantly, I checked out of the world around me. I found myself becoming less and less conscious of my connection to nature, living beings, and the spirituality that I had chosen to pursue through Buddhism and Pantheism. In this way, my diet was connected to my spirituality and so I was totally out of whack. I began to realize that my diet was one internal contradiction that I could and should pay attention to and resolve.

I chose to become a Vegan in both diet and lifestyle because it ultimately addresses and complements what I believe in and what I want to stand for as a caring human being. This is a very personal decision. Returning to vegetarianism is not enough. As the joke goes, “you’ll eat an egg, but not a chicken?” I don’t want to spend any time contemplating the answer. In a nutshell there are 5 simple reasons why I’m becoming a Vegan.

1. I cannot justify an animal being slaughtered for my consumption. This is the inconvenient truth of the matter. No matter how organically raised, farm bred, free ranged, grass fed, beer fed or massaged they are before being led to slaughter (yes, massaged…watch the Kobe Steers in the YouTube video below get drunk too **no violence shown**). They are led to slaughter for me. I can no longer be disconnected from this simple fact.

2. My body is not separate from the world around me. How I manage my body is to me, directly related to how I manage my world. I want the two in balance. I want them to reflect health, patience, consciousness, and care. Love my body. Love the world around me.

3. The only foods that both the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society apply dietary restrictions to are meats, fish, chicken, and dairy. The only foods they apply no limitations to, encourage you to eat daily, and will categorically state that can reduce your cancer risk are grains, fruits, and vegetables.

4. I have had to take a lactaid pill to enjoy ice cream without after effects. I buy lactose free milk to be able to eat a bowl of cereal with milk. This has started to make no sense to me. I say no to science like in this Wall Street Journal article. Scientists in the article ponder why so many people become lactose and diary intolerant after childhood. They are actually working to create human genetic modifications so that we will tolerate dairy better. This study was funded by the American Diary Products Institute. Humans are the only mammals to drink milk past development and the only ones to willingly, and consistently drink the milk of another.

5. My understandings of my dietary needs have evolved enough to understand that I can be strong, healthy, and food happy as a Vegan. I can have flavor. I can have texture. I can have protein. I can have variety.

As to diet, it is also my health commitment to reduce my intake of sugars and processed foods. As this “helpful” website lists, there are lots of foods that are Vegan. A Pop Tart is vegan, but that doesn’t mean I should be eating this highly processed mess for breakfast every day. Still, while I am focused on whole, fresh foods, I’m not going to deny myself the pleasure of having someone else do the work every once in a while. I won’t turn my nose up at prepared or even mock meat products. Just know that to me, to fantasize about eating a turkey and to regularly pretend I’m eating a cow is not really overcoming. I’m cool with tofu, and it doesn’t have to look like a chicken strip for me to eat it. It’s the seasonings that make it fly and to me, it is the seasoning that holds memory. Remember, few actually eat meat naked with no spices or breading. What does it taste like without seasoning, sauces, and breading anyway?

Don’t misunderstand me. I was raised on meat and such, and in the past months I have really, really enjoyed the tastes that I’ve experienced on the road. (See here and here) But you know, afterwards I felt wrong in my spirit. I know that I am able to find just as remarkable dining experiences on this next road less traveled. I’ve already set up my iphone with apps to help me find vegan restaurants, and apps to tell me what’s vegan in popular restaurants.

As to the Vegan lifestyle, I don’t intend on demanding that the leather sofa that has been in our living room for 10 years be thrown out. But, when we buy a new set, it will surely be considered with more thought. I’ve never really brought leather products, but there is a gorgeous coat I brought last fall that looks like the real thing but I don’t think it is. I’ll be keeping that and it won’t go to Goodwill. Future purchases will be more conscious. I won’t be joining PETA and throwing things at people, but it would be cool to be a sexy Vegan eh? Finally, because this is my personal choice, no matter how I feel about it, you and I can be friends if you’re an omnivore. I will go to dinner with friends who don’t eat the way I want to, as long as I can eat the way I want to.

The next road less traveled awaits, and I’m very excited.

Interested in Veganism? Here are some concept and recipe books to get you started. If you have more that have helped you, just place the title and author in the comment box.

Sistah Vegan – A. Breeze Harper

The Kind Diet- Alicia Silverstone

Quantum Wellness 21 Day Cleanse- Kathy Freston

Vegan Soul Kitchen Bryant Terry

Eating Animals – Jonathan Safran Foer

The Omnivore’s Dilemma- Michael Pollard

Buy fruits and vegetables at your local farmers markets. Find em’ in your area here.

Our Visit to Popcorn Haven

I love popcorn probably as much as I love my iPhone. I eat popcorn almost daily, and when I can find flavored and gourmet popcorn it makes life all the better. Over the years I’ve enjoyed Dale and Thomas. Saw them on Oprah’s favorite things one year and tried them out. They were good but their flavors were limited. I’m a candied popcorn fan so the cheeses and toffee cashew mixes are great but not my first in line fav. One summer on a Myrtle Beach S.C. trip, I discovered a popcorn shop at Broadway at the Beach that had my simple and cherished cherry popcorn. Lost contact with them when they closed shop. Discovered Chicago’s famous Garrett’s popcorn. Very good but again, limited in flavors to about 4-6, and heavy on the cheese versions. Chagrin Falls (Ohio) Popcorn Shoppe surprised me with a limited edition cranberry mix. Good, but the cranberry pops were mixed in with kettle corn. Interesting flavor but not fully fruity like I wanted it.

As you can see, I’m always on the look for popcorn shoppes. Heading up to Chattanooga north of Atlanta on I-75, I noticed a highway billboard touting a shop with over 100 flavors. 100 flavors?! How could I have not seen this sign before? Reason being, this shop in Calhoun Ga is a new one that I hope will have a long life. Exceptionally friendly and dedicated to the mastery of the corn, twin brothers Deon and DaRon Ragland have sold 20,000 bags of gourmet corn in their first six months of operation.. Clearly there are a lot of popcorn fanatics out there.

Deon and DeRon Ragland

It’s a bit overwhelming when you walk into their store. I’ve never seen so many huge tubs of flavored popcorn. Nearly 100 face the customer counter and believe it or not, they say they now have TWO HUNDRED flavors available. Samples are given to help you make your decisions. Deciding is a difficult but enjoyable task. This is true gourmet popcorn magic. All of the flavors I tried tasted just as the names promised, demonstrating the utmost care in creation. I was amazed. Kit Kat popcorn? White Chocolate and Pretzel? Banana Pudding? Key Lime? Pumpkin Pie?

We left with a substantial bounty for the holidays. Our bag selections? Cajon, Ranch, Sour Cream and Chives, White Cheddar Peppermint, Cherry, White Chocolate, White Chocolate Strawberry, English Toffee, and Cranberry. Wish we could have gotten more, but I’ll surely be ordering online very soon. Visit Popcorn Haven in Calhoun Ga or click this (link) for flavors and order info.

DeRon works his magic.

Hmmm...Which to choose?

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I’ve added a few new categories to the blog. Hope you enjoy the content to come. Remember you can click “I’m Blogging On..” in the sidebar to see category related posts.

North Carolina- I was born here and spent nearly all of my childhood here. The road less traveled beckons me to explore my state through adult eyes and revisited experiences.

Road Trips- When I head off, I’ll be writing about the journey. Who knows what’s next!

For the Love of Food- Ah yes. From my struggles to return to vegetarianism, weight conscious food choices, or just musing about my favorite meals and restaurants I discover on adventures. It will all be here.

Raleigh Restaurants- A subcategory of “For The Love of Food,” especially for locals. I live here. Therefore I eat! (These local posts will not be posted to the homepage. They can be accessed at the sidebar. )

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Often when you hear “all you can eat,” it is a buffet setting. Typically you have a packed restaurant that will require you to wade through items cafeteria-style picking out what’s left, or waiting in line around bunsen trays for the refill crew. Additionally problematic is that the flow of your meal intimacy is always interrupted by “be right back,” as you have to leave the table to replenish. What a pleasant surprise it was then, to discover the Japan Inn on Falls of Neuse Rd in Raleigh.

The Japan Inn is newly opened and this is their second location in NC, the other being in Greenville. At the Raleigh location we were offered a semi private booth with traditional Japanese style floor seating. For those who are cross-legged challenged, there is a well under each table for you to stretch your legs. This provides a hidden, but comfortable restaurant style booth sitting option. The restaurant is well designed with floor seating booths, separate restaurant style booths, tables, and a comfortable sports bar area.

The staff was friendly and our server Sophy was knowledgeable, attentive, and understanding of our confusion at not seeing a buffet area. Instead, the Japan Inn offers a one price-off the menu option. You can order anything and as much of everything you want off their varied menu of sushi, hibachi, tempura, traditional Japanese appetizers, and a full desert menu- all for one price. Forgo any guilt and simply enjoy your meal being served to you course by course, and item by item. A few choices such as steak, are designated for dinner or added ala carte, and the prices vary by weekday or weekend lunch or dinner. Overall, the menu options are plentiful. Vegetarian choices are numerous as well.

By ordering off the menu, you ensure that the items are freshly made to order and are not burning at the buffet. The sauces, soups, and especially the tempura were delicious. The hibachi and teriyaki were exceptional. The sushi however, could use a little work. Some of the fish pieces were a bit fatty. The rolls themselves had too much rice on them, so the flavor of the smaller pieces didn’t shine through. Adding slightly bigger pieces and less rice will help. The sushi has potential, so sushi lovers shouldn’t shy away from including some rolls in their list of items to try. Because you’re ordering off the menu be forewarned that you might have to wait longer than expected between orders. Remember that the chefs are preparing multiple orders due to the nature of the all you can eat, so they are probably quite busy especially during dinner. Solution to that? Order up and save room for desert! For that course, be sure to try the banana tempura drizzled in chocolate.

The Japan Inn 4516 Falls of Neuse Rd. Raleigh NC 919-877-8636
Lunch Mon-Sat $12.95 Sun $15.95
Dinner Mon-Thurs $21.95 Fri-Sun $23.95
Greenville Website

Just returned from an excellent and quick getaway up to Washington DC. While at a family function Saturday night, I had a sudden craving for my favorite Mexican restaurant. So what if the restaurant was in DC 4 hours away? I could taste the Carne Asade and the Margarita’s that many say are the best in town. They’re the kind of ‘ritas that have just the right mix of top shelf tequila, grand marnier, cointreau, lime, and salt. The perfect combo of taste and disguise so that when you stand up to leave you’ll have a smile on your face, but also feel very fortunate that you’re walking to your hotel in the cool evening air. That, my friends, can be found at Alero in DuPont Circle. And so with those memories hot flagging my taste buds, I started to plan my escape.

Perhaps because it’s nearing Halloween, or perhaps because I recently saw “Paranormal Activity,” my thoughts had been running back to the mother of all paranormal activity films, “The Exorcist.” I was 7 yrs old when my birth father took me to see it against the screaming protest of my mother. Few people who considered themselves adults could handle this film when it came out, and this kid? ….well. I was touched for life. It was bad enough that I had “devilish” older brothers who immediately began finding ways to torture their little sister day after day. It took a good 2 decades before I was able to eat lime sherbet and get past memories of them screaming, cursing, and chasing me through the house with mouths full of sherbet gurgling and bubbling down their chins in a faithful imitation of poor unfortunate “Regan.”

So in between my plans to get a great walking buzz at Alero, I thought– why not visit Georgetown, the supposed scene of the crime in my classic nightmare? It was quite interesting. Neighborhoods like Georgetown and many of those in Boston share a kind of bewitching 17th century under current. I am sure that much of their quiet history has been touched by the occult. During our visit, it seemed not a stretch to consider that the year round Halloween-type decorations scattered along the cobblestoned streets and inside the low ceiling brownstones would have quite the story to tell if they could talk. For me, they paled next to the pop culture icons in the neighborhood in the form of the stairs and house that were crucial images and props to The Exorcist back-story.

We traveled up to 3600 Prospect NW, to see the very stairs that “Father Karras” was hurled down by a mix of his own suicide and demonic possession. The stairs are quite impressive. Seventy-five steep, narrow steps of cold stone with harsh sharp edges just ripe for an “accident.” They run alongside the home that many will recall as being part of the pivotal scene where “Father Marrin” arrived by cab on a foggy night, looking upwards to a window above the stairs that would eventually play a pivotal role in the final exorcism. Even though the real house is actually set back from the stairs, it was startling to see it, and even scarier to consider the nerve the owners must have to inhabit such a creepy icon next to an equally terrifying one. It is hard to imagine walking anywhere near this psychologically powerful area at night. We made our visit during the day, yet emotionally it felt like night. Imagine my surprise, when a Father Karras look alike engaging in the “running of the stairs,” a common fitness rite of passage for locals, nearly ran into us. We stopped him on his sixth ascent and told him of his resemblance to Karras. He laughed and shrugged it off, but I had chilling moment of movie déjà vu.

Georgetown isn’t all scares and secret signs above red doors. It is also a great shopping mecca and food discovery zone. To take the psychic chill off of our visit, we wandered up the main strip to the corner of Wisconsin and P Streets and found Thomas Sweet, a candy, fudge and ice cream shop that brags to have the best ice cream in the world. I can’t say that for sure, but they do have an incredible array of homemade ice creams in generous scoops. I had separate scoops of coconut and pralines and cream, rolled in health bar crumbles. Rochelle had coconut and pistachio and chocolate fudge scoops, proclaiming it a “pistachio joy.” The pistachio had a vanilla cream so clean and light that the flavors of the whole nuts burst through with a full onslaught of “shut your mouth power.” This is what I call it when food is so good that you become focused on it, you don’t speak for minutes, and you realize that you’ve ignored everything and everyone around you. Food so good, you hear no one talking around you. You’re just looking lovingly at your plate and rolling the flavors of the food around inside your shut mouth. Heaven.

Back in DuPont Circle on our second evening, we decided to venture out for sushi. Sushi Taro is said to be the sushi experience in DC, and that means very expensive sushi for the totally discriminating sushi lover. While one can go to Taro for simple rolls, the Kaiseki dinner experience with its 11 course seasonal menu is the experience to have here. Since to enjoy this is to experience it, and to experience it takes 2-3 hours, we decided to let our dinner choice be a daring one left up to the clerk at Kramerbooks and Cafe. Kramer’s is yet another DuPont Circle staple where row upon row of intellectual people and books are just waiting to make you smarter and more liberally aware of the world around you. I don’t think Rush Limbaugh shops for reading material here.

The clerk suggested Thai Chef Sushi Bar as a place with sushi described as “better than the ordinary,” and we walked up the block to check it out. In many cases the combo of sushi and Thai in one restaurant is a warning sign. Few do both well and one tends to suffer. This worried us and at first glance the restaurant appeared small, a bit dark, and foreboding. Slightly trendy and vampish, with a touch of risk. However, it was late into happy hour and the sign on the door proclaimed to serve “drinks that will make you brave,” so why not? Before it was over, we had been served platters of incredible sushi, in uncommonly huge portions. I exhibited my own bravado by eating slice after slice of rare meat soaked in spicy scallions and peppers. This was a first for me. I can’t eat meat without a certain gag reflex unless it’s roasted brown. But somehow I managed to make it through these tasty slices, seeing pink and ignoring my inner logic that as dark as it was in the place, the pink meat must really be red and raw in the light. Did I say it was vampish in there? Ah yes, I paid for this nerve of mine, barely making it back to the hotel without crying from the pain of a very angry stomach. Yet, as I fell asleep later, twisting into a crumbled “ache-ball,” I wondered…”can I handle a half smoke tomorrow?”

A half smoke? What the heck is a half smoke? You have to be raised between the DC to Philadelphia leg of I-95 to really understand this curious piece of meat. I admit I didn’t know what it was until I saw it on an episode of Man vs. Food. A half smoke is like a bratwurst. It’s a quarter pound sausage that’s half pork, and half beef stuffed into a sausage casing and cooked to perfection on a fryer grill by the cooks at Ben’s Chili Bowl- a DC staple and famous folk stop on U street since 1958. I couldn’t handle the classic Bill Cosby version with chili, onions, and mustard. Couldn’t risk the chili after the sushi and rawness the night before, so I settled for a cheese toping instead. To my surprise, even though it at first looked like instant cheese, it was rich, peppery and the perfect compliment for the monster underneath it. With a quick snap of the casing between my teeth, it was on, and it was very good! Being in Ben’s is a total experience. The walls are covered with famous guests, and the counter staff and many of the customers are interactive, open, and entertaining. Our server and manager Maurice, was certainly a charmer. Seeing my embroidered “Harpo Studios” t-shirt, he decided that we must be affiliated with “O” herself, and began to tell us about his recent speaking part in the Ben Affleck film “State of Play.” He then began to sing his heart out and into the little pixel eye of my iPhone. “Don’t erase that,” he winked, “I’m going to be famous one day.” You already are Maurice.

So it had been a whirlwind 48 hours and it was time to head home. I was full, tummy on the mend, and weary. Ready to put thoughts of food and haunts behind me. But then I saw this creepy cemetery along on the way…….

Check out a video clip of Maurice singing at Ben’s, pics of the awesome sushi, the Exorcist stairs, “Father Karras,” “the creepy cemetery,” and more at the travel side of Observations from the Road Less Traveled. Click here to see the shots and become a “fan.”

DC Links

Alero
Ben’s Chill Bowl
Sushi Taro –site crashes on occasion! (alternate)
Thai Chef Sushi
Thomas Sweet
Kimpton Hotels
Kramerbooks and Cafe

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