The Flying Biscuit Cafe, Raleigh NC

First of all, let me say, anywhere that you can get a Blue Moon and a plate of homemade biscuits at noon on a Saturday, is okay by me.  And that place is The Flying Biscuit Cafe.

My sister and I wandered into The Flying Biscuit Cafe last Saturday.  We were drawn in by the amount of people we saw eating at the sidewalk tables, and when we saw beer bottles next to their omelets, we knew it was just the kind of place we were in the mood for.

When you walk in, the place is colorfully painted with a mix of large family tables, four tops,  and two person bar tables, or you can saddle up to the bar, should you care to grab a beverage while waiting for your table.  We chose to wait for our table outside and people watch (the day before Halloween was quite entertaining).

Once you place your order, they bring you a plate of the fluffiest homemade biscuits I've ever seen, but even more amazing than the fact that they mastered the art of biscuits, they served them with cranberry butter!  I had never had cranberry butter, but if I had a jar at home, it would go on everything.  Delightful!

They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day and we decided to split several things, but what sticks out in my mind that I must share with you....Love Cakes.  It's an entree, but we ordered the appetizer portion, Side of Love.  I'll warn you, when it comes to the table it does not look very appetizing (it's comprised of black beans, tomatillo salsa, sour cream, feta and a few other things).   But honey, remember when your Momma told you not to judge a book by it's cover?  Well, as always, she was right.  This is an amazing combinations of flavor and we actually abandoned the other dishes we ordered to sop up the remnants of this dish.

The Flying Biscuit Cafe is a great place to bring a family or to go with friends.  It's a great atmosphere for all crowds and perfect for those meals when someone wants to go to lunch and the other wants to go to breakfast.  No matter who you bring, bring your appetite!

Wren, Beaufort SC

Oh Beaufort, SC, what a charming town you are!  A beautiful mix of restaurants and shops, running along a river, where life seems to move slow as molasses, and it should.  As soon as you step onto the sidewalk of Beaufort, all stress and anxiety just swoosh out of you and a mellow feeling overtakes you.  When I'm there I just want to sit on a front porch, drink lemonade, and smile at the neighbors.

The mellow feeling follows you into Wren, a great restaurant for lunch or dinner.  When you walk in, you find a mix of long tables as well as some smaller ones and an eclectic collection of chairs.  There is a nice long bar to eat at (my preferred seating when dining alone).  Now, when you go, just remember I told you this is a slow-moving town (and I mean this with the utmost respect...we hurry along too much these days), and with that, you may be looking forward to a long and leisurely meal.  And wow, the food is worth it!

I often utilize Wren for catering orders and I love that no matter if I order the same thing each time, it is just a bit different every time it comes.  Their sandwiches are amazing and funnily enough the vegetarian one is the one that disappears the quickest, even at a table full of carnivores.  It's a tomato mozzarella sandwich, that can only be described as an explosion of summer in your mouth.  It's tomato, mozzarella, pesto, and what I believe may be some type of vinaigrette dressing.  I can't quite figure out how they make it to replicate it at home, but perhaps that's part of the reason Wren has intoxicated me and has me driving out of my way to eat lunch in Beaufort.   But it may just be Beaufort.