Mother’s Day + Rippington’s Review

Happy Mother’s Day!

I’ve decided not to write about Mother’s Day in general—many words have been written already about it, and to add my own to the blogosphere seems self-centered.

Love your mothers.

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Rippington’s Restaurant Review

My mother’s day included an early dinner at Rippington’s Restaurant. Found in a century-old building on the historic Main Street in Waxhaw, NC, this is a sophisticated fine dining establishment.

Notice the reflection of the water tower in the window. That’s Waxhaw, all right. =)

I’d like to note that I was wearing some heels that made me almost as tall as Mom—I’m not  there yet, you know!

What’s better than being a mom? Being a grandmother! Us three made for a great girls’ time out.

symbolic of Alisha, Calvin, Peter, Ray, and Autumn (left to right)

The atmosphere is lovely. High curtains, eccentrically patterned walls, and fine art add character. We sat in front of the window, near the front – I love the natural light flooding the place! In the evening, however, lights are dim and a candle is lit at every table.

I know what you want to know about… There are two reasons for visiting a restaurant—to spend time with people, and for the food!

First: the complementary crusty bread, served with oil and vinegar.

I had my first taste of sweet balsamic vinegar at Rippington’s—I’ve been enamored ever since!

My main dish: mixed greens salad with berry vinaigrette.

$6.75 – baby greens, spiced pecans, crumbled gorgonzola, diced tomato, shredded carrots, and a few slices of crunchy cucumber with a berry vinaigrette

This is a delicious, perfectly-portioned salad. The pecans and gorgonzola are of very high quality, making every bite a balance of crunchy and mellow (the nut) and creamy and tangy (the cheese). However, the tomatoes were not the ripest, as expected in early May.

Another option: pecan-encrusted tilapia with summer squash and yellow rice.

This my grandmother ordered. The tilapia, I must admit, was amazing. I also sampled the squash. It was tasty, but I think the tilapia is truly the star of this entree. The rice, to me, is just for color—I’m not a fan of rice that isn’t sticky.

Dessert: mocha, chocolate, vanilla ice cream “cake.”

Oh, yes we did. It was covered in a light mocha-flavored substance and chocolate sauce. 

Rippington’s also offers a fine selection of wines – not that I tried them!

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Ultimate California Pizza + chocolate

These are the posts I’ve done about spring break at Myrtle Beach so far—

• How to take 5 monkeys on a vacation – traveling to and arriving at Myrtle Beach
• The beach: old traditions, new adventures – enjoying Springmaid and Piggly Wiggly

What next?

Ultimate California Pizza, of course!

Lunchtime on Wednesday (April 7) rolled around and we found ourselves at Ultimate California Pizza! (Not California Pizza Kitchen—that could be confusing!)

It was bright and cheerful; the waitress was very friendly.

I took forever trying to decide what to get! There were so many options. I settled on the Santa Cruz vegetarian pizza—garlic, mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes, red onions, artichoke hearts, and feta cheese (and black olives, but I took those out).

Oh my goodness! This was the best pizza I’ve ever had. The crust, the layers of toppings… amazing. I savored every bite from this 8” personal pizza pie.

Peter and Calvin got plain cheese pizza—boring! My mom got a pizza with steak on it… I’m not sure what it was, but she liked it.

Canipes Chocolates

After the pizza, we were walking back to the car, but before we could get there, we were lured into Canipes Chocolates store.

It was pretty, but nothing special – we got free slivers of fudge, and Mom bought some truffles: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, tiramisu, and raspberry hazelnut (pictured above). I tried the last two – they looked better than they tasted. Not bad chocolate, but I’m picky.

After all that eating, we went to play some tennis! Don’t you love spring break?

The way food should be.

Erin’s Restaurant review

Because I celebrated my birthday at Erin’s Restaurant with my parents, this is really part of the “Best Birthday” series (see some of my previous posts about my birthday: March 20, “waking up” and a track meet – how did I manage to drag it out so much?)

Erin’s Restaurant is a unique dining experience located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. They are committed to fresh, local, and organic ingredients, thus, the menu changes each week, depending on season and availability.

The building is a bagel and coffee shop by day, but they convert it, bringing out three long tables, fully set with eclectic china and three forks! I love the china mix-and-match.

We arrived at 6:00 on the dot, and they brought out the first course soon after.
This was the menu for March 19, 20, and 21— (click on pictures for larger size)

Pear Salad                          //                      Mozzarella Salad

My favorite: Thai cucumber salad. I hope more Thai food is in my future!

The salads were delicious; the cucumber salad really stood out. Next up:

Roasted carrots and roasted sweet potatoes with peanuts

I ate way more sweet potatoes than that little slice! The tops were caramelized and the peanuts were the perfect pairing. I love roasted veggies!

Ziti with marinara

Marinara is a favorite of mine—this was delicious!

At this point they served some type of fish and some meat (which my parents loved), along with some gravy and…

Mashed goat cheese + potatoes (with skin!)

I don’t love mashed potatoes, but these were good. I love skin and big chunks of potato. The chèvre (goat cheese) is from Bosky Acres in Waxhaw.

Time for dessert!

 Baked apples and pineapple upside-down cake

I loved the cake – you can’t beat homemade, complete with fresh pineapple!
The apples (which were served with a cream sauce) were very much too sweet for me, but my parents liked them.

Tea (and coffee) time!

Overall Experience

My parents and I really enjoyed this restaurant. Typically, I never eat out because of the lack of quality or real food. I think many Americans don’t even know what real food is. However, Erin’s provides gourmet meals made fresh in the kitchen, based on the creativity of the owner and her sous chefs.

My one complaint is the speed. They serve dinner at 6 and 8 pm, so in order to get everything cleared and re-set for the 8 o’clock group, I felt like they made our meal too hasty. The atmosphere and style of dining imply leisurely eating, but this food was almost thrust upon us before we were ready.

However, this restaurant has earned my applause—for their food, and what their food represents: local farmers and growers, food and cooking traditions, and basically, real food. Thanks, Erin!

This content was originally published on the blog Unusual Passions by Alisha Newton.

The Best Birthday – Track

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Marvin Ridge Invitational!

My life would be much less if it didn’t include track—i.e. if it didn’t include the people who run track with me! If I didn’t have at least Sidney to run with, I would quit! No one wants to run by themselves.

The track team all signed the most amazing birthday card! Here it is with Lyndsie’s gift of gumballs. That’s my racing number stuck on the envelope. I love you guys!

1:30 in the afternoon at Marvin Ridge High School!

The Results for Parkwood

Out of 18 events scored, the girls ranked 15 out of 30+ schools with 11 points total. This is because Lyndsie White came in 2nd for her event, pole vaulting, earning 8 points.

The awesome pole-vaulting coach, Coach Lockhart.

The boys tied for 25, with 2 points (courtesy Matthew Brantley, shot put).

This doesn’t sound like a lot, but these points are well-earned!

My time for the 800m was 2:48.22. This was a huge drop from Wednesday. (8 seconds!)
I came in 36th out of 54 girls that ran the event.

Most everyone improved and I think we all enjoyed the competition.

I didn’t take really great pictures of the races, but I found a photographer online who did—Ken Charnock. I won’t share links for everyone’s pictures—I don’t know if they would appreciate that! Here are some of me.

Photo 1 – race face  //  Photo 2  //  Photo 3 – getting tired!

The Best Birthday – Waking Up to Spring

On Saturday (March 20, my birthday), I woke up slowly. The sunshine (I love sunshine) was filtering through my green curtains. I love daylight saving time!

Well, this is the mirror that made much of me when I first stepped into the bathroom. On my birthday, my mom consistently puts a large banner where I will immediately see it. This made me smile. I know my mom loves me very much, and not just because she makes me feel good about myself (although she does).

I caught up on some reading, and got ready for the track meet. The rest of the family went out to breakfast, leaving me with a peaceful house. They know I love that!

It was a beautiful morning.

 
My mom got me some herbs—basil and parsley.

Last year I had basil and parsley, as well as cinnamon basil, oregano, mint, and rosemary (I still have the rosemary.) This year I just wanted the essentials.

The tomato plant was a bonus.

How appropriate for the first day of spring! On Sunday my dad potted all these for me—that was his part in this gift. (3/23 EDIT: added picture)

After this: Marvin Ridge Invitationals, and then Erin’s Restaurant. Tchao!