Carolina

Shrimp Boil

7:30:00 AM



One thing that I love about family road trips is actually spending time with my family. One thing that we love doing on family trips where we rent a house to stay in, is cooking! Back in 2011 when we took a holiday to the OuterBanks in North Carolina, we had a crab bake. 
This year, being in South Carolina, we set our hearts on a shrimp boil. 

Boiled Shrimp


Luckily, my step-aunt lives in Florida and while visiting us she brought fresh caught shrimp. She and my step-sister teamed up to get the shrimp ready for dinner, while I wetn to the story with my parents for a few last minute meal add-ons! But here are some of the photos they took for this blog post! 

Boiled Shrimp

Boiled Shrimp

South Carolina

Shrimp

All in all, it was a great meal and one of my favorite things to do on holiday with my family. I probably mentioned before, but this entire trip meant a lot to me because I realized this might be one of the last one's we take as a family where my parents pay for it. 

Shrimp Dinner

What are some of your favorite things to do on holiday with family? Have you ever rented a vacation home before? 

Food

SoHo South Cafe: Savannah

7:00:00 AM


Walking around downtown, historic Savannah Georgia can really work up an appetite! We wandered around the parks, looked at historic homes and gravestones, and our growing appetites lead us to a charming restaurant called SoHo South Cafe. No, we weren't actually in New York City. 


If you've been following my adventures in the south, you could have maybe guessed that we came to this place by a recommendation. Once you walk into the Soho South Cafe, you're instantly met with it's charm. There's a beautiful bar area with blue chairs and fancy lights, and a cute dinning area right ahead. 
SoHo south cafeGeorgia

Soho south

We were seated at a table in the middle of the cafe, each table has unique chairs, as we settled in, we realized how hungry we were. 
Having a few picky-eaters in my family, we had to find a place that could accommodate them. And luckily for us, SoHo south cafe, had a long list of food they offered. 
Southern Food

I've said this countless times before, but my favorite meal by far in the south was always shrimp. Shrimp, and fried okra. And sweet tea of course! 

Savannah

The above picture, is a shrimp po-boy! One of my sisters favorite dishes. 
The meal was so great, the atmosphere was lovely, and the bill even came in a cute little mason jar! 


I loved everything in this restaurant, the decorations, the character and the friendly staff! I hope when you go to Savannah, you'll pop in for a meal! 
What is your favorite meal on vacation? What is your favorite seafood dish? 
Thanks for reading as always! 
x Kenzie


Cheese

How To: Eat Grits

7:00:00 AM


I love recreating dishes that I've had on vacations. One of my favorite dishes, and one of my family's favorite dishes while we were in South Carolina was Shrimp and Grits. Grits are a popular item down south and if you've never tried them, I would highly recommend that you hurry down to the southern states and try some. 

Shrimp n Grits


So, what are Grits? Grits are corn that is coarsely grounded and boiled. They're delicious. 
One night, we decided to recreate our favorite meal. With some hush puppies from Louisiana, cheesy-garlic grits from South Carolina and some shrimp, we started cooking. 

 When we first arrived in Charleston, and went down to our hotels breakfast, a woman told us about all the different ways they eat their grits. 
Fried Grits
Grits with Cheese
Shrimp and Grits
Grit Cake

The list was really long, and I'm sure there are a million ways you can make them!
We made our shrimp and grits spicy, which isn't for everyone but there are a ton of other ways you can eat it! It didn't take long for the grits to be done boiling, and the sauce to be made, so this dish is pretty simple and easy! 

 Here's what we did:
We had bought garlic cheese grits at a country store in South Carolina, and the package said to just boil the grits and cheese for about 15 minutes.

 Making the sauce:

 What you'll need:
1 large pan
 2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon garlic
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

 Add all ingredients into pan and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add in the shrimp, mixing until covered by sauce. 
Shrimp n Grits

It might not look totally appetizing, but let me tell you, it was amazing! 
Shrimp and Grits

We also made cheesecurds with our meal, as we were using the deep-fryer anyway! 
What is your favorite meal to recreate? If you could recreate any meal that you've had what would it be? 
I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments! 
x

Best

Hyman's Seafood

8:00:00 AM


After a long morning of wandering around the streets of historic downtown Charleston in the humidity and sun, there is nothing better than escaping to a cool brick building off of Meeting Street for our last seafood meal of the trip. 


Flowers
Charleston is home to so many great places to eat. Having a delay of trip meant we were able to visit a recommended restaurant we would have otherwise missed. If you're lucky you can try out some hush puppies that the servers give out on the nearby corner, handing you a coupon for a free appetizer. When you enter the building, there are little plaques at every table that tell which celebrities have eaten at that spot. From Raven Symone, Lance Armstrong, The Beach Boys, Sandra Bullock, and so many more. 

 For our free appetizer, we ordered their specialty, Carolina Delight. This was my second time eating grits, and they were so yummy! The Carolina Delight is a lightly fried grit cake topped with your choice of seafood (we got shrimp). 
Hymans Seafood
Carolina Delight
The menu has a wide range of fresh seafood, and traditional foods from the south! 
My step-dad got the buffalo and regular shrimp with mac and cheese and hush-puppies!
Shrimp
Shrimp
 Not wanting to stuff ourselves, and knowing the dishes were large, my mom and I decided to split shrimp and grits (with cheese). Our sides were fries, okra and bread. Definitely a good dish to split, and I was so glad we did! 
Hymans Seafood
Shrimp and Grits
 If you're not in the mood for seafood like my sister, you can always just get some chicken strips and fries! 
Charleston
Chicken
We had a great time eating at Hyman's, our table was the only one filled in our little section so we had the room to ourselves. They also encourage you to visit their giftshop after you eat, where we bought some really yummy smelling scrubs before going back out into the heat. Later on, I opted for some Lemon Ice from one of the carts off the road while wandering around in the heat!
Charleston

Charleston was recently just ranked the #1 city in the world by travel and leisure, and Hyman's was definitely in my top 3 best places to eat while I was there! I hope you enjoyed this post, what is your favorite seafood dish? 
I hope you're all enjoying your week/summer! 

Make sure to follow me on Bloglovin and instagram to keep up with all my adventures!
Thanks for reading!
x


Charleston

Jestine's: Charleston

7:00:00 AM


5 years ago, in the month of June, my family and I did a different road trip where we spent the last few days in Charleston and then Nashville. When we had the opportunity to spend (what we thought) would be just one night back in Charleston, we wanted to eat at a local favorite. 

Charleston SC

 Our shuttle driver, JP, suggested Jestine's, which is near the historic district and as we drove past the restaurant, four out of five of us immediately recognized the place. Jestine's was our favorite spot to eat when we were there five years ago and we were eating there again. 
Sweet Ice Tea

 Walking into Jestine's I immediately knew where we had sat 5 years ago, which means not much as changed. Which is really great. There weren't any lines and we got in right away. At a popular place like Jestine's lines are pretty common and last time we had to wait about an hour before getting a table for four. This time we had my step sister along, and our party of five was seated right away. 

 The four of us that had been there before, reminisced about the cornbread and fried chicken (their specialty). We ordered cornbread for an appetizer, and put in our orders of food. 
Bad Girls Poster

Jestine's had cute little photos up, as well as magazine clippings that told about Jestine's life, a feature in Oprah's magazine and a ton of other bits. The staff were super kind too. 
Our entire table ordered something different, I did just a plate of shrimp with okra (I have never eaten so much okra in my life!). 
Table for five

Okra

Honestly, Jestine's is definitely one of my top 3 places I ate on this trip! They have a wide variety of food that locals love, a great atmosphere and I loved it. 
I still can't get over the fact that we couldn't remember the name of the place we had been to five years ago that we loved so much, and wound up back at it again! 

Jestine's is located at 251 Meeting St, Charleston, SC

I hope you enjoyed this post, I miss all that shrimp down there! Do you have a favorite place you always go on vacation/holiday to eat? If you could eat at one place for the rest of your life for free where would it be? 
x Thanks for reading! 
Make sure to comment below! 


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