As the school year ended, I was able to celebrate with a very special visitor: my mom! A year after her last visit, she came back for more. This time, we didn’t do as much tourist stuff, partly because we had already done a ton last year but also because it was ridiculously hot outside and I didn’t really feel like being out in the sun passed 10am. With this in mind, I decided to document her trip the best way I know…with a diary of all of our meals! So here is it…
Tuesday, June 7:
Dinner: Empanada potstickers with a garden salad.
Empanada potstickers are what happen when you buy the wrong kind of wrappers to make potstickers. While they definitely weren’t real potstickers, the taste was great and the flaky crust was a nice addition. Mom’s flight arrived fairly late so these leftovers were the perfect quick and easy dinner once we arrived home.
Wednesday, June 8:
Lunch: ‘Shroom Shire Cheesesteak, Roasted Turkey Sandwich and Pommes Frites, from Fred’s Meat & Bread
Afternoon Snack: Salted Caramel & Nutella Gelato from Honeysuckle
Dinner: Garden salad with grilled shrimp
Since we walked the Beltline, we stopped at Krog Street Market for lunch. While we didn’t drink any beer, we did notice, Trou du Diable a brewery from my hometown in Quebec represented on Hop City‘s beer list!
On our way back, we stopped by Honeysuckle for a refreshing snack at Ponce City Market.
Dinner was simple and made at home to recover from our long day.
Thursday, June 9:
Lunch: Protein Power Plate & Steak Kabobs from Zoe’s Kitchen
Snack: New flavors of M&M’s! (Coffee Nut & Honey Nut)
Dinner: Taco Salads from Mama’s Cocina Latina
Thursday was our shopping day. We shopped in the morning and then went for mani-pedi in the afternoon. My mom told me it was her first manicure since her wedding day, 30-some years ago and her first pedicure ever! Jeff was coming back from work travel that night and that’s how we ended up at our go-to Mexican restaurant to grab dinner.
Friday, June 10:
Lunch: Duck Noodle Soup
Dinner: Swedish Meatballs and Veggie Balls from Ikea
Can you believe my mom had never tried Ikea’s famous meatballs?!? Well it was enough of a success that she suggested to buy a bag to eat some more once we got home! 😀
Saturday, June 11:
Lunch: Soft Pretzel and Knockwurst on a Bun, from Troll Tavern
Snack: Boiled Peanuts!
Dinner: Beef Wellington with Asparagus
On Saturday, we decided to go to Anna Ruby Falls and Helen GA. While both places were pretty, there wasn’t that much to do so we ate and came back home. Of course, somewhere along the way, I had to introduce my mom to boiled peanuts, a Southern delicacy. We made beef Wellington for dinner, a personal favorite. The kitties happily devoured Jeff’s filet mignon leftovers…
Sunday, June 12:
Dinner: Cheese Fondue
My mom asked us to make cheese fondue during her trip since it wasn’t something she was familiar with at home. Our version isn’t very traditional but that’s how we like it: cheddar and swiss cheese, cheap beer, nutmeg and garlic. Our dippers of choice are broccoli florets, apple slices and bread.
Monday, June 13:
Lunch: Captain’s Sampler Platter and Pecan Pie, from The Crab Shack
Dinner: Fried Green Tomatoes, Shrimp & Scallop Pasta and Filet & Lobster, from Riverhouse Seafood
Monday was the beginning of our adventure! We drove to Tybee Island for lunch and an afternoon at the beach and spent the evening by the river in Savannah. I was excited to try my first seafood platter. I had never had one of those were you have to eat everything with your hands! Messy but so tasty. For dinner, we fulfilled my mom’s vacation goal of lobster, lobster, lobster. 🙂 On our evening walk, we had to stop by the candy store for a free sample of pecan praline! Mmmm…
Tuesday, June 14:
Breakfast: Krispy Kreme Donuts at the Thunderbird Inn
Lunch: Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich & Savannah Socialite Ice Cream Cone, from Leopold’s Ice Cream
I need to take a moment to discuss how fun our hotel was. While I have become used to Marriott hotels and the likes, this was a fun little place with cool details. Moonpie on the pillow, RC Cola on the nightstand, 50’s music playing outside and general retro vibe. Oh and did I mention they served Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast? 😀
Now, that day was particularly hot. I complain about the heat a lot but, this time, I wasn’t exaggerating. We tried our best to enjoy the city trolley tour but it was so hot, I could barely focus. We didn’t walk and explore as much as we wanted to for the same reason. We did stop by a couple foodie stores, Kitchens on the Square and The Spice & Tea Exchange for A/C breaks and a few goodies. Thankfully, one of my planned lunch suggestion was perfect…ice cream! The perfect stop as it was 120F by lunchtime!
Wednesday, June 15:
Dinner: Honey sesame chicken, steamed potstickers and egg rolls, from Little Szechuan
Wednesday was our recovery day from the trip to Savannah. We didn’t do too much, just a bit of grocery shopping. In the evening, Jeff easily convinced us to get Chinese takeout from our favorite restaurant instead of making the dinner I had planned.
Thursday, June 16:
Lunch: Lobster Rolls on Homemade Buns
Dinner: Kale-Crust Pizza
I had promised these lobster rolls to my mom a while ago. I made them for the first time a few months ago when I had the urge to make my own burger buns and found lobster tails in the freezer. I found the super easy bun recipe on Portuguese Girl Cooks and the lobster roll mixture was loosely inspired by Just One Cookbook. For dinner, we introduced my mom to one of our favorite things to make: Sweet As Honey‘s kale-crust pizza! We each made our own little pizzas with the items of our choice. While Mom seemed a bit skeptical about the crust substitution at first, she later said she might try to make it for my dad when she goes back home.
Friday, June 17:
Dinner: Crab Dip and Bison sliders, at Treehouse Restaurant & Pub
This planned-at-the-last-minute meal was a good chance for my mom to meet some of my friends/co-workers. Since everyone spoke French, this was also a break from having to speak English at home with Jeff.
Saturday, June 18:
Lunch: Patatas Bravas, Ostiones Fritos, Ensalada de Mánzana, Chuletas de Borrego, Macarrones Con Queso, Quesos Espanoles, at Eclipse di Luna
Dinner: Garden Salad
We had never been to Eclipse di Luna for lunch and decided to give it a try since we had been out running errands. The three of us shared 6 small plates, which was more than enough. The highlight for me was definitely the butternut mac & cheese. I need to try making it at some point! Of course, dinner was simple as we were still recovering from our big lunch.
Sunday, June 19:
Brunch: Crab Cakes Benedict, at Après Diem
Dinner: Garden Salad and Jeff’s Famous Popcorn
Upon Jeff’s suggestion, we tried out Après Diem for a fantastic brunch. Later, as promised, Jeff made one of his tasty popcorn concoction for my mom. We enjoyed the crunchy treat as we introduced my mom to the 80’s classic, Pretty in Pink.
Monday, June 20:
Dinner: Kale, Bacon and Mushroom Fettuccine, and Maple Pudding
This was our last day together so we went big! After watching several episodes of America’s Test Kitchen, we decided to mix two recipes from one of their magazines to create the dish. It was rich, it was very filling, it was likely extremely unhealthy, but boy was it good! Afterward, I made a maple pudding in a jar for each of us.
While the post probably seems very long, my mom’s two-week visit flew by. It was so nice to have her here to share some of my favorite recipes and explore a few restaurants as well. Now I have about a year to plan our next foodie schedule!
The Hungry Quebbie 