…on a restaurant. Keep reading to see what little cafe holds my heart!
I’ve always been a tad in awe of people who post 2-3 times per day, but now that I take pictures of EVERY. LITTLE. THING., I totally see where they’re coming from. For better or worse, I’ll try to post more frequently; these marathon catch-up posts just beg to be skimmed. 
Thursday
Mom and I did Irish Car Bombs on Thursday. The kind you drink, not the kind you eat.
I was so excited she consented to trying one that I didn’t pause to photograph until after we had chugged. Her verdict? “That tastes pretty darned good!” and “For some reason, I’m feeling a little proud of myself.” I’m proud of you, too, Mother Dearest. I’m proud of you, too.
For dinner that night, I tried to replicate a dish from Gervais & Vine – Moroccan-spiced pork with gorgonzola fondue.
I used this recipe (sans couscous) for the pork, and then melted gorgonzola, cream, and a dash of allspice together for the “fondue.” Ohhh it was so good!!! I served it alongside steamed zucchini. w00t.
Friday
On Friday, I visited The Fresh Market for the first time in a couple of years (ours closed a looong time ago; there’s one on the other side of Columbia from us, but it’s like 40 min away and I rarely have an occasion to be on that side of town). While I was there, I got a brie-and-cranberry-stuffed chicken breast and some broccolini (which I can’t find ANYWHERE! My local grocery store in grad school had this stuff every day, and I can’t find it anywhere around here!)
I didn’t realize the chicken had actual stuffing in it; silly me just thought it had brie and cranberries inside. I prepared the broccolini by half-sauteeing, half-steaming it in a pan with EVOO and balsamic vinegar, then sprinkling some feta on top.
Saturday
Today, Mom and I went to a home and garden expo at the fairgrounds; we weren’t looking for anything in particular, but we hoped that some inspiration would hit. I think we’re both going into spring cleaning mode. 
It started out as such a nice day, even though there were a few clouds and wind gusts later on!
Mom and I tried a new (to us) place for lunch, and I now have a massive crush…Zoë’s Kitchen.
How flipping cute is this place? I love the colors!
Yeah, I took these from my seat so as not to scare the other patrons.
They had Coke Zero at the fountain! Wooo!
I think their offerings are mostly Greek in origin, and everything seemed really fresh. I ended up with the Greek salad with chicken, and OH MY GOD it was amazing. They have a bottle of Greekish dressing on every table, and I swear to god it’s laced with crack.
This salad was so hardcore, I broke my fork eating it (I was disappointed to see they used styrofoam plates and plastic knives and forks; I hoped they’d use reusable stuff like Panera does)
After Zoë’s, we went across the street to The Fresh Market (I haven’t been in like 2 years and here I go twice in 3 days) where we got a few odds and ends. When I was little and we had one near us, we’d often get a petit four for the ride home, so we did just that today.
It was amaaaa-zing. And teensy-tiny - just perfect!!
I had more stuff to recap, but for the sake of brevity (HA!), I’ll end it there. What restaurant do you have a crush on? For me, it’s always been Panera…it’s a good thing Zoë’s is far away, or else I’d cheat on my long-standing crush.