Family Dinner East Village Remix

The Frans ventured downtown to the Easy Village for Family Dinner last week. Bryan wanted to host and show off "his" area of the city. Always up for a food and Fran adventure, we were game. Since it is summer, I get off work a bit earlier, so Mer and I met up for "The Happiest of Happy Hours" at The Mermaid Inn. Their $1 oysters and $7 glasses of wine are on point. 

A few more Frans joined, and we walked across the street to our dining destination. Bryan enticed us with $1 Fish Tacos at Cooper's Craft & Kitchen.

The space has a Gastropub atmosphere and was packed with people eating up the daily deal. They have an awesome selection of beers, ciders and wine as well.

The tacos are filled with a simple white fish and cabbage. It is necessary to add some hot sauce for a kick of flavor and spice.

We also indulged in the truffle parmesan fries.

With one more stop on the itinerary, we headed even more east to The Wayland. The bar has a boho-chic atmosphere, interesting cocktails and live music pretty much every night.

This unique cocktail is the Stirred and Smoked. It is Apple Pie Moonshine, Rye Whiskey, house apple-spiced bitters, and applewood-cinnamon bark smoke. You're supposed to slowly release the smoke near your face and then enjoy the drink.

I got the Essex's Cup, filled with Gin, Pimm's, Strawberries and Ginger Beer. Super refreshing and delicious.

Another successful Family Dinner.

Exploring Savannah

In order to get my skin a break from the sun, Mom and I headed to Savannah, GA for the day. Savannah is a quaint city that is packed with tons of histroy in a small space. Large trees drapped with moss fill the streets and shade visitors. Savannah's squares and parks are one of the city's most beloved icons, 22 remain today for people to enjoy while touring. The squares were constructed to give people a place of shade to rest while walking from place to place, as well as gathering places for town metings. 

(Dress: Target (old - similar here & here) / Shoes: Seychelles (similar here) / Bag & Sunglasses: Kate Spade / Watch: Michael Kors)

We headed to Soho South Cafe for lunch. It is named after the Soho area of NYC because the restaurant is located in an area of Savannah similar to NYC's Soho. It is packed with restaurants, shops and cultural activity. Two of my favorite shops nearby are Harper and Red Clover. 

The space is an old automotive service station that the owners transformed into a trendy restaurant with a classic, southern and modern feel. It is NYC meets Shabby Chic. 

Eeekk... I died over these turquoise tufted hightop chairs. 

We settled in at a quirky table right under a tree, which was blooming in the middle of the restaurant.

I ordered the Salmon Croquette. It is a sauteed grit cake topped with a salmon croquette (similar to a crab cake but with salmon), a seared heirloom tomato, spinach and a rich corn gravy sauce. I literally licked my plate clean.

Mom decided on Salmon as well but in the form of the Grilled Salmon BLT. Pretty straight forward with a side of coleslaw.

Afterwards we headed down to the famous River Street on the Savannah River. This is what you would call the tourist trap of Savannah, but it is worth fighting the crowds in order to get your hands on some Pralines. 

Welcome to River Street Sweets Candy Store. Homemade sweets include Pralines, Bear Claws, Chocolate Covered Oreos, Fudge, Candy Apples and Chocolate Dipped Pretzels. You pretty much go into a sugar coma just walking through the store.  We grabbed a few of our favorites and quickly headed back outside to have a nibble.

I highly recommend visiting Savannah. It is great place for a quick weekend getaway. The history is rich and the culture is growing. For more ideas on what to do you can check out the Visit Savannah website or comment below!  

xoxo

naturally ginger

It's those Wiseguys again.

In celebration of my mother and sister's birthdays, we headed to dinner at one of our SC favorites, Wiseguys (I wrote about Wiseguys back in December when I first started the blog). 

Fashion in Bluffton, SC is much more relaxed than in NYC. I find myself throwing on shorts and a tank most days over my bathing suit. With sweltering temperatures and thick humidity, you honestly want to wear as little clothing as possible. For our dinner celebration I chose a loose fitting maxi from Target with a beautiful crochet back (similar here). I couldn't help brining along my favorite Clare Vivier Foldover Clutch. 

Please notice the Flash Tattoo armband. With all the buzz around these things, I wanted to try them on my vacation. What I found is that they look great, but do not last very long, especially with suntan lotion, chlorine and salt water. My new Rose Gold Bow Ring is from Kate Spade. 

Wiseguys serves New-American cuisine and they are known for their steaks as well as small plates. We always go for a variety of small plates. 

We started with Smoke Salmon Bruschetta. The house smoked salmon was mixed with chipotle cream cheese, cucumber, red onion, and a citrus creme fraiche.

I'm not a huge Caesar Salad fan, but was intrigued by their Avocado Caesar Dressing. Nothing better than fresh anchovies on top.

Here we have Truffle, Parmesan, Bacon French Fries. Oh my gosh.

These nibbles are the Short Rib Stuffed Mushrooms. Braised short rib, caramelized onion, roasted sweet peppers were stuffed into jumbo mushrooms and topped with a gorgonzola cream and balsamic reduction.

Here we have the Prosciutto & Fig Pizzetta.  Fig confit, mozzarella, gorgonzola, prosciutto di parma and caramelized onion. It was just as good left over the next day.

Finally, Seared Sashimi Tuna Sliders with Truffle Aioli and Arugula on a fresh baked roll.

Too full, we opted out of dessert. I decided to just sing them happy birthday and give them big hugs. This little sign on the way out made me chuckle Sadly, it is a bit true.

Bon Appetit!

xoxo