lunch at 7th Street Public Market.

matt and i spent the day downtown because we heard through the grapevine about the 

"Top Chef" tour coming through.  didn't really know what to expect, but we are huge

fans of the show so we definitely wanted to go.  ended up being a tad boring--we 

didn't know the 2 chefs cooking off, but glad we went anyway because we found

the 7th Street Public Market we'd been hearing about.

7th Street Public Market is still a work-in-progress but sooo cool so far.

Reminds me of the specialty markets found in big cities like the ones I've been

to in New York or Charleston.

 

Pure Pizza creates gorgeous artisan pizzas in unique flavor combinations

 we split the pulled pork pizza topped with purple slaw (what's with this

great purple slaw we keep seeing everywhere?!) on sprouted grain crust

served with a local honey/ cinnamon mixture for the crust.  *delicious*

 

Cloud 9 Confections for dessert.  Matt had the tuxedo cake which

he loved and i had a mediocre chocolate chip cookie.

 

lunch at Lulu

Lulu's dragon milk mussels: lemongrass, coconut milk, curry

today matt and i had lunch at LULU, a great little bistro tucked away in an old house in Plaza-Midwood.  it has a cool little lounge and bar area, a well-lit dining room and good food.


it drives matt crazy, but i ALWAYS want mussels when i see them on the menu!  i should probably just make them at home more often, but whatever i always want them. 

arrived with tiny forks and bread

mimosa salad: mesclun greens, fried brie, apples, spiced walnuts, berries, champagne citrus vinaigrette

hello frites!

pulled duck leg confit, pomegranate glaze, coleslaw, frizzled leeks, challah roll

lulu's butterscotch bread pudding

a gathering with friends

 

a gathering with my friends always involves lots of junk food.  which is fine with me!  i always try to hang out on an empty stomach and tonight was no different.  my friend Lizzie Loo (i call her) hosted a hanging out sesh with a few girlfriends with snacks and Just Dance.

 

 the spread was awesome!  we ended up getting a lot more not pictured here.

 

UGH i told Liz about these damn number candles.  NO NUMBER CANDLES!

 

two of my favorites side by side:  corn dip and funfetti cupcakes

 

my friend Sarah is a pastry chef and i'm always excited to see what sugary creation she'll bring.  she brought cookies topped with Goji berries and mint cookies topped with almonds.  also a unique-tasting rice krispie treat.

 

gorgeous goji berries

these have a cool 'vintage' look to them

 Liz made these homemade sweet treats out of pretzels, sugared peanut butter, and chocolate

 

i got some cute presents.....this one is from Steffie!

 

lots of cool gifts.  the green scarf is from shaughn (perfect for Charleston *ahem*), bath bomb from Leanda, tealight candle from Maly, some boygirlparty gear from Liz.

 

Fifi Lapin:  a bunny fashionista.  Love this!

 

 

 

lunch at cafe monte

lunch today at a sweet little restaurant i've been dying to try.  cafe monte is a little french restaurant over in the southpark area.  i loved the ambience right away...they even had this cute super frenchie guy as the host *lol*.  as soon as you walk in, there are cases of gorgeous and tempting french pastries like this stack of freshly made French Macaroons.  we tried a coffee, mango, and my favorite...pistachio!  i also had a couple of palmiers (my favorite!) and a couple of coconut macaroons.