Sunday, June 5, 2011

Cities FoodGirlEats visits and a little bit about me

I love to eat. And when I travel, I am always looking for great places for food. And I love wine, so whether I’m traveling or eating at home, vino is included.

Since I want to eat well, I cook. I mean really, who can eat out 24/7? I'm not sure even foodie me can do that.

So this blog is about restaurants I think are worth going back to – and I do. It’s also about the other things that seem to go together:
Wine
A few recipes – (remember that having to eat at home syndrome)……….

Here are the cities where I will be doing restaurant recommendations. If you’re going there and would like info before it shows on my blog, just let me know.

Maryland – Annapolis, Kent Narrows, Ocean City, St. Michaels, Chestertown, Kent Island  
Delaware –  Fenwick Island
California – Pacific Grove, Monterey, San Juan Capistrano
South Carolina – Beaufort, Santee
North Carolina – Wilmington, Greensboro/High Point (ok it’s not on the coast, but I go there and it has the BEST BBQ, ever)
Georgia - St. Simons Island
Florida – Miami and Miami Beach, Palm Beach, Weston, Ft. Lauderdale, The Villages
Pennsylvania – Pottsville, The Poconos
Paradise Island, The Bahamas – (well it’s close to the American coast)


Welcome to FoodGirlEats          
and
Restaurant Dining on the American Coast

First, a few things about me. I’m a baby boomer; that means I’ve lived long enough to do some stuff. Growing up we ate very simply; a roast on Sunday with potatoes, carrots (hated the carrots) and onions. Leftovers the rest of the week with some new stuff added in, fried chicken, spaghetti. We never ate rice. I once asked my mom about that. Her reply was “I don’t like rice.” My great grandfather was a butcher at the stockyards, so we ate some pretty strange stuff – kidney stew poured over buckwheat cakes, hominy and scrapple, fried beef hearts. Rarely had salad. My grandfather crabbed on the Chesapeake Bay, lots of steamed crabs, soft crabs, rockfish, perch, smoked eels. My grandparents had a large summer garden, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers; lots of canned tomatoes and pickles in the winter. Food was fresh, but simple. Restaurant eating occurred only on very special occasions; Easter dinner with my whole family, around 40 of us.

When I got married I had never cooked a meal. I taught myself to cook by reading Bon Appetit magazine and having more than one disaster; overdone steak and raw chicken. Then I went to professional cooking school and the world opened up. I still remember the first time I ate Artichokes Remoulade. When I was in my 20s, the availability of fruits and vegetables was limited. You ate what was in season, not because it was fashionable, but because it was what you could get. Every spring I still make Veal Oscar, with its wonderful fresh asparagus, just to celebrate getting through another winter.

Today I travel and eat in restaurants that are worth going back to. I want to share those with you. I’ll also share some simple recipes of mine so that "dining at home" is also great. Yes, FoodGirlEats.