A Family Affair: Spencer, NC

I love this time of year!  It's full of festivals, family get togethers, pumpkin lattes, and football!  My wife and I used to call Spencer, NC home.  She was born and raised there.  I like to say I was born in High Point, but it was there that I grew up.  This small town in North Carolina is home to the North Carolina Transportation Museum and.... well, thats about it.  But there is one more thing that Spencer has that no other town has... The Pless House.  James and Sherry Pless live off Brinkle Ferry Road on your way to Tamarac.  Every Sunday, James has what I call "A family affair".  The photo above is from the Easter gathering this year.  Everyone here is family.  If you break bread with us, you are family.

With James' state of the art outdoor kitchen, you never know what scent you are going to smell up next.  One Sunday we were there, we indulged on some truly amazing ON THE GRILL meatloaf!  And I must say, after eating grilled meatloaf, all others are just okay.  Accompanied with that grilled meatloaf was some green beans, potatoes, and as always it seems, a pound cake.  For my brother in laws bachelor party, he grilled steaks that hung off the plate they were so big.  This hunk of beef was so moist and flavorful you could cut it with a fork.  Served with a side of baked beans and potatoes, and boy howdy, what a meal.  With a newly developed horseshoe pit, basketball goal, and golf cart rides for the kids, this has turned into a great Sunday get together, I've grown to enjoy.  I guarantee you two things, you won't leave hungry and it WILL be divine.  He beckons many families to be a part of this family.

We gather together to break bread, and indulge in a sinful mouth watering steak to fellowship with company that we call family.  From the Pless's, to the Mowry's, To the Wilson's, to the Stowe's... we make up this thing called family.

And until next time, from the Stowe House to your house, this is Jordan Stowe reminding you to keep your knives sharp, but your minds sharper!

Orlando, FL: Friendly's

For Shanna and I's two year anniversary last year, we decided to hit the road to Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Shanna was pregnant with our little Adeline on this trip.  Friendly's satisfied all those cravings that are associated with early pregnancy. 

We fell in love with Friendly's in Florida but now everywhere we travel to, we look for a Friendly's. It is a nice diner type atmosphere with great food and amazing homemade ice cream. They offer close to 50 different flavors and almost 100 different toppings. The banana split I typically get has one scoop of vanilla ice cream, one scoop of chocolate, and one scoop of strawberry. These cold mountains of refreshing ice cream were drizzled lightly with caramel and chocolate sauce. And no banana split would be complete without the splitting of the ol' so perfect banana.   I also ordered 4 hamburger sliders. They are served with an amazingly delectable chipotle pepper mayonnaise for dipping. The sliders were my dessert. They allow you to break the rules here.  Eat dessert first. Be a rebel.  Some sinful destinations we frequent require you to take a step out of our comfort zone and jump off the spoon and into the giant ice cream bowl we call life. And with Friendly's in our life, it's just a little sweeter living. 

When you are on vacation look them up, take your family on your own culinary adventure. 

Till our next road trip destination, this is Shanna and Jordan reminding you to keep your knives sharp but your minds sharper. 

Greensboro, NC: Texas Roadhouse

My wife and I had the privilege of dining at Texas Roadhouse tonight.  They have opened a new location on Battleground in Greensboro, NC.  Again, as I have stated in past blogs, it is very difficult to have a flawless experience.  Going into it, this restaurant was no different.  In fact, our standards were higher because they opened their doors two days ago.  The restaurants ribbon cutting was just this morning, with the city commemorating the opening with a special plaque.  I will tell you in the coming paragraphs why I believe this restaurant is a definite HOT SPOT and a definite culinary adventure for my wife and I.

We arrived tonight around 4:30pm, to a full parking lot.   For a restaurant that has only been open for two days, I thought that was a great sign.  Upon entering, we were greeted with a hearty "Welcome to Texas Roadhouse!" The hostess explained to us on the way to our table that all their steaks were hand cut and prime beef.  She was very knowledgable and friendly.  Our server was Amy, when you go try this place for yourself, ask for her.  You won't be disappointed.  I was very surprised of her knowledge of the menu.  She was very punctual, and it didn't hurt that she continued to smile and talk to our daughter throughout the meal.

We first started our dinner with an appetizer of fried pickles with a side of ranch dressing for dipping.  They had the perfect amount of crisp and flavor.  Very good appetizer.  My wife and I both ordered steaks.  Shanna got the 10oz Ribeye and I ordered the 8oz Dallas Filet.  I got a loaded sweet potato as my side that came with my steak.  When I say loaded, I mean LOADED!  This delectable spud was covered in Cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and toasted marshmallows.  And if that doesn't have your mouth water yet, we tried their ribs last night as well.  They pride themselves on the ribs.  They have won numerous awards, and I found out why.  They claim the meat just falls off the bone, much in the same way, my tongue fell out of my mouth in amazement of this delicious dish.  I do not like ribs, I never have.  Texas Roadhouse made me a fan!  We ended our dinner with a delicious NY Cheesecake.  It was the perfect palette cleanser after the meal we had just dined on.  Cheesecake topped with whip cream and strawberries gracefully sliding the sides and onto the plate beneath.

This culinary adventure, right here in Greensboro, NC will become a household name for us.  A must dine for any local resident or passerby.  From the fresh baked bread, that come out of the oven every five minutes, to the dancing in the aisles of the restaurant, to the saloonesque atmosphere, this place had it going on!  My wife and I were very pleased and I will say this is a definite hot spot in Greensboro and a culinary adventure I hope to go on every week.  Whether our adventures take us near or far, we just sit back, loosen our belts, and dream of the next time we enjoy such a fabulous meal!  Till next time, remember to  keep your knives sharp and your minds sharper!

-jordan

(side note: Special thank you to our server Amy and the managers Amanda and Sarah, who took time out of their busy night to stop by our table.  It is because of spectacular management such as we experienced last night that you will make this restaurant thrive.  It truly was our pleasure.)

First Stop: New Orleans, LA

The first stop on this culinary adventure will be New Orleans, LA.  Shanna and I got married October 16, 2010.  We wanted to go somewhere with lots of culture, history, and of course great food.  We decided the best place to encompass all that would be New Orleans, LA.  New Orleans did not disappoint.  New Orleans is one place I think everyone needs to go just once before you die.  I say just once, because I think you'd be lucky to survive the first trip.  Wouldn't want you to press your luck.  Only kidding.

New Orleans was such an incredible experience on the cuisine front as well as a great historical destination.  We literally dined from one end of the city, to the other.  Here's a brief list of our favorite spots in New Orleans, LA.

Cafe Du Monde-- Located in the French Quarter, not too far off Canal street, is what I would call the best breakfast spot in the entire nation, possibly the world.  They served up beignets and a cafe au lait.  Which is a very creamy coffee, similar to a vanilla latte.  It is located across from the market so it provides a great place to sit and people watch.  And believe me, there are definitely characters in this fine city.

Natchez Steamboat--  The Natchez Steamboat sets out on the Mississippi every night to offer a delectable dinner buffet and jazz concert.  My wife still rants and raves about the blackened catfish she had aboard.  And I will tell you, there is nothing finer in life, than sitting on a deck of a boat cruising down the Mississippi River, sipping on a glass of Pinot Grigeo, listening to live jazz, and watching the sunset over the skyline of New Orleans, all of which with my new bride.  That steamboat was definitely a highlight of our trip.

Johnny's Po Boys-- Located on Magazine Street in the heart of the French Quarter.  Johnny's is famous for their Po Boys, as the name suggest.  I was very eager to try an Authentic New Orleans Fried Oyster Po Boy.  Although when we arrived, all restaurants in New Orleans were out of oysters to the BP Oil spill. I settled for a delicious fried shrimp po boy instead.  For those that don't know, a Po Boy is all about the bread.  It's a sandwich on french baguettes with some sort of fish, typically oysters or shrimp. This one again, was a great cuisine destination for us.

One thing about New Orleans that I found interesting was all the open air cafes.  Hardly any of the cafes had windows.  And their bars were open 24/7.  The bars there were only required to be closed one day a year, and that's the Wednesday before Mardi Gras.  This was definitely a destination that I hold dear, because it was our honeymoon.  I would love to go back there again someday.  Until then though I'll settle for my memories of sitting in a hot tub, on the roof of our resort, listening to jazz playing in the streets below, with the love of my life.

I've always been told, you only live once, but when you visit and enjoy cuisines and cultures such as this, once is enough.  New Orleans was just a taste of my little Heaven down here.

Don't forget to be a part of the discussion.  If you have been to any of the locations and destinations mentioned, we'd love to hear your thoughts and memories.  Comment and subscribe below!

-jordan