old traditions, new favorites

Any time I visit Baker Blonde, I know I'll eat well. She's not only a good baker (as her nickname would suggest), but a good cook. What I also like, though, especially now that I stay at their home (v. the staying with family that we used to do during our mutual visits), is that there's usually a fun blend of eating in and eating out - at longstanding favorites or at new places she's heard about or discovered since my last trip. This most recent trip was no exception.

(On my first night there, she hosted a neighborhood party. Being the helpful person that I am, I offered to bake the lemon cookies. Classic Goldilocks moment - some were undercooked, some were overcooked - but thankfully, all of them tasted good.)

(She does awesome buffets of finger foods that let people mix, mingle and munch as much or little as they - and their stomachs - would like. This spinach-artichoke dip was delicious.)

(The new neighbors from across the street brought this cake. It looks like a traditional chocolate cake, right? Wrong! Cut into it, and there's cheesecake hiding under that chocolate. Mmm, mmm.)

(Friday night, we went for all-you-can-eat sushi at our current favorite local sushi place. Seriously - all-you-can-eat. It's awesome...)

(...especially because that includes all the yummy sides like gyoza and crab rangoons. And yes, I'm that person who likes sushi, but realllly likes the yummy sides.)

(So what do you do after you've semi-gorged yourself on sushi? You stop at Krispy Kreme for dessert, of course! It's even better when the "Hot Now" sign is on and you get to eat a fresh, melt-in-your-mouth doughnut right off the conveyor belt.)

 

(Saturday morning, since we were downtown for the St. Patrick's Day parade, a stop at the cupcake shop was necessary. We bought an assorted box of mini cupcakes - which Baker Blonde and I both like because the mini's mean one or two bites of lots of different flavors (v. just one large cupcake). That almost all of the cupcakes had green frosting was a little disconcerting at first - because my brain definitely associates green with mint - but that didn't stop me from enjoying them.)

(Lunch was a funny experience. For as long as I've known Wilmington, I've known of Dockside. But in that seventeen years, I had never (never!) eaten there. Thankfully, that glitch in the universe has been resolved.)

(As seen above, Baker Blonde opted for a large, potentially awkward shrimp po'boy. My sandwich of choice? The crab cake sandwich, and more sweet potato fries than I could possibly eat.)

(Sunday afternoon, lunch was all about the leftovers from Thursday night - made even better by eating lunch on the driveway in the sunshine.)

(Then - oh, then - Sunday night, I was introduced to the indulgence that is the Brazilian steakhouse. I've wanted to go to one for years - ever since I used to see them in Houston - and I'm so glad I finally got to. Granted, I ate more meat in one meal than I probably had all week before that, but mmm, it was good meat. I cannot wait to take Wildcat Guy there the next time we're in Wilmington together.)

(And yes, some of the appeal is the novelty of having all the meats (and grilled pineapple) served from large cuts of meats on skewers.)

(Monday, I decided that the best reward for walking the Loop that morning was one last mini cupcake from the box o' cupcakes. This cookies-n-cream mini was just right...the perfect little treat to end my Wilmington eats.)

Where I am: home
What I'm reading: the April issue of Self magazine