CoffeeCoffeeCoffee!

I may have mentioned a few times (or 6) how much I love coffee.  I'm a self-professed caffeine addict, and trust me, you're safer as a result.  I'm the exact opposite of a morning person, and coffee is what makes me at least semi-pleasant to be around.


Unfortunately, I'm not really in a city known for it's eclectic coffee selection.  I've talked some about Cool Beans, which is my favorite coffee shop in town.  It's tiny, unique, and comfortable.  I did quite a bit of homework and studying over double espressos at Cool Beans while in college.  Now, I pop over and grab coffee on mornings when I need a pick me up, or I grab some lunch.  As much as I love Cool Beans, it would be nice to have a second option when I want coffee.  And don't you dare suggest that I go to Starbucks.  Starbucks will do in a pinch, but I find them to be overpriced, and their coffee has a funky, burnt aftertaste.  Someone once told me that this is because Starbucks over-roasts their coffee beans.  I don't have any confirmation on that, all I know is that I try to avoid Starbucks coffee if I can.


Imagine how excited I was when I discovered that there was a new coffee shop opening up in 5 Points.  Since the demise of Adriana's a couple of years ago, 5 Points has been devoid of good coffee shops.  But no longer.  Drip has opened just down the street from the old Adriana's location.  I was on a mission to try it out as soon as humanly possible, which for me, meant Saturday.


I walked in around 1ish on Saturday afternoon.  It was surprisingly uncrowded, a fact that I'm sure will change once classes start back in the fall.  The very first thing I noticed was the decor.  It's simple and homey, and yet funky and modern.  Prints of assorted jazz artists line the walls, the tables are dark wood with bench seating and chairs, there is a little counter with couple of stools that looks out over Saluda Ave, and it's small. I dig it.  And then, I ordered coffee.  Nothing fancy, just a plain cup of coffee.  And it was made right in front of me.  I wasn't handed a to-go cup and shown where the assorted types of coffee in pots were,  nor was I given coffee poured from a pot that had been sitting for who knows how long.  I watched as the coffee was measured and stirred slowly as water was added.  The smell was divine, but the taste was even better.  It was so fresh, smooth, and fragrant.  Just an absolutely fabulous cup of coffee.


While I was waiting for my coffee (don't go in and expect to have a cup within seconds of your order), I entertained myself by reading the menu.  Right now Drip only serves breakfast, but lunch is in the works.  If the food is even half as good as the coffee, it's going to be fabulous.  I have fallen head over heels for Drip.  I'll be back as soon as I can, and let's be honest, they'll probably get tired of seeing me soon.


You can find Drip on Facebook .

There are so many perks to dining in.

I love having other people cook for me.  Especially when they do the cooking at my house, so that I don't have to drive anywhere (why yes, I will have that 4th glass of wine, thankyouverymuch).  The other weekend, R and I finally got back to our weekly dinner in.  We've skipped a few, as we've been making an effort to use up some of my gift cards and go to Columbia's various eateries instead.  But on this particular weekend, we decided to cook. And by we, I totally mean R, because while I can chop vegetables quite well, creating an actual meal is a little out of my comfort zone.

Pearlz, Redux

Y'all remember when I wrote about Pearlz Oyster Bar a couple of months ago?  No?  Well, you can read about it here.  Or maybe you shouldn't.  It wasn't the most complimentary post in the world.  At that time, the food was good, but our service was beyond awful.  I hate when something so basic ruins what would have been an otherwise good experience.  It turns out that Paul, one of the owners of Pearlz in Columbia, saw the post and wasn't too happy that his restaurant had left such a bad taste in my mouth (pun absolutely, 100% intended).  Paul emailed me to apologize for the bad experience and to invite me back so that they could make it up to me.  Of course I accepted - remember, it wasn't the food that was bad.  I totally understand that people have an "off" day, so I was happy to try Pearlz again.  I'm not exactly one to turn down a meal when it's offered.

In which The Hungry Lady tries her hand at cooking.

Y'all.  I did it.  I cooked.  And the house is still standing.  I promise.

So here's the thing.  I don't cook if I can avoid it.  I'm pretty good with a microwave and with pasta, but other than that, I really have to try to get it right.  It's not that I can't cook.  I'm sure that I possess the skill set to complete a culinary masterpiece. I just really don't like to cook.  Because I don't like it, I get bored and get distracted, and then everything burns.  And I do mean everything.  I once burnt Minute Rice.  I got tired of waiting the 5 minutes for the rice to absorb the water, so I accidentally left it on the hot stove, walked away and forgot about it, and then it burned.  True story.

At any rate, I do my best to stay out of the kitchen unless absolutely necessary.  This past weekend, I couldn't avoid it.  I was going to a baby shower for some friends (congrats R & A!), and had volunteered to make a pasta salad.  Mostly because I haven't yet managed to screw up pasta (and yes, I'm knocking on wood), and veggies are pretty easy to cut up.  I decided to be ambitious and make a slightly more complicated salad. 

What do you call a fish with no eyes? FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

For the approximately 10 years I've been in Columbia, I've been told to go to the Blue Marlin more times than I can count.  More often than not, I was told to go to try the shrimp & grits (not really an option for me, sorry), but was assured that everything else was pretty tasty too.  I finally got around to taking all of the unsolicited advice last weekend.  A restaurant that specializes in Low Country (that's the lower part of SC, primarily coastal, that is located below sea level) cuisine and features chefs who were invited to cook at the James Beard House?  How could I possibly have a bad experience?

Whoever first said "Fish are friends, not food" lied. Fish are totally (good) food.

I think I mentioned it before, but last week, I was on vacation with some friends.  What I don't think I mentioned was where I was vacationing.  We were in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  Aside from the obvious benefits of being right on the Gulf of Mexico - white sand, warm water, lots of sun - my favorite benefit was the plethora of restaurants serving fresh fish. And by fresh, I mean "caught that morning." Unfortunately, we were pretty busy for the four days we were there, and so didn't get to try any of these hole-in-the-wall type places.  It wasn't until we were headed back to Columbia, that we had time to stop and sample the local fare.  Indulging our slight Parrothead tendencies, we headed to LuLu's, a spot owned by Lucy Buffett, sister to one Jimmy Buffett.

Street Vendors make my Heart Happy.

If you're anything like me, you adore street food.  Anything you can get from a vendor on the street, whether it's a food truck, a fair, or a large outdoor event, just seems to taste better.  Maybe it's because I'm hungrier, or maybe it's the fresh air.  Whatever the cause, I'm always excited when I get the chance for street food.


Some friends and I were out of town last weekend for a music festival.  It was all music, all the time, from about 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.  Since there were about a zillion different bands I wanted to see, there wasn't much time for food.  I also tend not to eat much (or anything at all) when I'm out in the sun for awhile.  At that point, all I want is water.  By about 7 p.m. each day though, the sun had started to set, there was a little bit of time before the headlining acts took the stage, and I was getting hungry.  While I could have made the three block trek back to our condo and grabbed a sandwich, on Saturday and Sunday, I opted to hit the street vendors for food.  Sorry, y'all...no pictures, as my camera was pretty well covered in sand (did I mention this festival was on the beach?), and I didn't want sand in my dinner.


After surveying our options, and trust me, there were a ton - everything from crawfish etouffee to Asian cuisine to funnel cakes - we decided to hit the stand serving Greek food.  I have a huge affinity for street gyros, and Saturday's was not a disappointment.  The marvelous combination of lamb, beef, tzatziki sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions is one of my favorites.  It's hard to screw up, but these were particularly good.  L & E decided to get the Chicken pita, which looked to me like a chicken version of the traditional gyro.  They seemed to enjoy it.  We all loved what we ordered, although I'm not quite sure how much food tasting was actually going on, since we all pretty much inhaled our pitas.  Add in a couple cold beers and some fantastic music, and we were set.


Sunday found us in much the same situation.  After aimlessly wandering down food row, M & I decided to go with a good southern staple - pulled pork BBQ sandwiches.  Superb choice.  The bbq sauce was somehow sweet and spicy all at the same time, the pork was tender, and the french fries that accompanied it were crunchy and salty.  I'm super happy that I grabbed a fork though, because the bun was saturated with bbq sauce by the time I was halfway finished, and it started to fall apart.  Truly it didn't matter, because like on Saturday, I was wolfing down this sandwich.  It was absolutely delightful, and a firm confirmation of my love for street food.


Plus, the cold beers and dancing on the beach for three days definitely didn't hurt.

Hooray for Happy Hour!

I've been sitting on some random eating experiences for awhile, just because I didn't feel like I had enough information to make a meaningful post.  So here you go.  Three places for the price of one.

Supporting sustainable, local foods = Deliciousness

I've been dying to go to Solstice Kitchen for quite some time.  Solstice is a product of the same masterminds behind Columbia favorite, Mr. Friendly's and Hungry Lady favorite, Cellar on Greene.  Because of this, I had high expectations going in.  I was most definitely not disappointed, and was even pleasantly surprised at some points.


As usual, I roped R into going to dinner with me.  He took care of making our reservation, which we almost weren't able to get.  I forgot that it was both graduation weekend and Mother's Day weekend, add that to the fact that it was Saturday, and there wasn't anything available that night.  We were able to get in after a someone cancelled on Thursday.  To whomever cancelled your reservation, allowing me and R to get into Solstice, you have my eternal thanks and gratitude.

The Lunch Rush

Probably more frequently than I care to admit, I don't have food in my house.  Inevitably, I forget that I'm about to run out of bread or lunch meat or peanut butter, and I'm left with nothing to take for lunch.  It would be nice if I could remember these things and hit the store on my way home from work, but that rarely, if ever, happens.  Thankfully for my stomach, if not necessarily for my wallet, I know that I can always run across the street from my office and grab a pretty satisfying lunch for not a huge price at College Grounds Cafe.


For those of you in Columbia, College Grounds replaced Nice N Natural when Nice N Natural closed it's doors  in October 2010.  The upstairs of the building is home to Cool Beans (another of my favorite Columbia spots), and the owners decided to expand to the first floor when Nice N Natural closed.  Thus was College Grounds created.