xmas day.

Christmas Day in my family has always been a day to indulge in some great comfort food around a fire. Just because we are in South Carolina doesn't mean that tradition was going to stop. Charged with making some breakfast for everyone this year, I made a 'strata' - sort of a savory bread pudding with swiss chard, sausage, caramelized onions, garlic, french bread and eggs.

We also have a homemade persimmon pudding that some of my parents' friends give to us every year with locally grown persimmons. Yum indeed.

still waiting for finn.

Went today to pick up the cake from Baked. A very cool shop - somewhat out of place with the very trad-happy style of most of the lowcountry cookshops surrounding it, but still seemed to be a welcome addition. Jars of cookies were calling my name. I went with oatmeal.
A view to a kill.
They served Stumptown Coffee, wet dream of any coffee geek. They are a microroaster of Portland, Oregon. Also have a branch in the ACE Hotel, next to Clyde Common. They look cool as hell, though I've never been there. I got a cup of coffee, which was actually not as great as I thought it would be. Maybe an espresso was more representative of their skills?

awesome.

This video may have just convinced me to start drinking Miller High Life Light. "Keep those tall blonds cold."

teeter's pizza.

"Two fingers on every hot slice."

Can't explain. All I can say is I've made pizzas for them in the past.

charleston thai.

Went for lunch today to a great place in downtown Charleston called 'Basil.' One of the coolest signs I have ever seen, it was a neon sign adorned with a 'cruiser' on top - cruisers are very popular in a lot of foreign countries, Thailand being one of them. I can't remember the name of the most popular brand, but they've started to sell them in NYC. I wonder if the one at the top of the sign is the same kind...
For lunch we had a couple of things, all of which were stellar. The place had a great energy, and we opted to sit at the counter where you could see the line staff preparing all of the hot items. It was really cool to see how this kitchen was arranged - not like any restaurant I've ever worked in before. It was like a mash-up between a short order Waffle House-esque arrangement and a Thai street food vendor.

The food was so clean and multi layered -- the soup was served in the contraption above. You can't tell from the picture, but there was a flame that burned through the cylinder in the middle the entire time we were eating the soup, keeping it all simmering and releasing the most insane smell.

Definitely plan on going back.

best birthday cake.

So I'm heading to Charleston, SC in the morning to be there for the birth of my son, Finn. Not only will it be the celebration of his first (day) birthday, but it will also be Christmas. Now obviously, how do you welcome a beautiful new being into this world when his birthday could be on the same day as Christmas?

The first step: the best birthday cake possible.

BakedNYC (located in Brooklyn) recently opened their first outpost in Charleston. Very different slice of life than Brooklyn, but a great place for foodies, as well. SO, in anticipation of my own monumental event, I decided to special order a birthday cake for Finn from Baked (they've been in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, etc.). I went with the sweet and salty, because if he is anything like his Dad, he's going to love caramel and sea salt.

They describe the cake as: "Dark chocolate cake infused with a salty caramel, caramel chocolate ganache and topped with fleur de sel." Wow.

This little guy is gonna have it good.

fried chicken.

Though I'm trying to keep swizzle a blog focused on my love of the drink, I couldn't resist snapping this photo as I strolled through the kitchen before service on Wednesday evening. Wednesday's have become our fried chicken day, and it's been well received from the day we began running that daily special.

In my opinion, it's one of the biggest deals in the Louisville restaurant world - a hidden gem of great proportion that even the largest men struggle to complete. Let it be known, there is always a take-out box in the mix post-Chicken frenzy.

Anyway, I couldn't resist the shimmering golden brown skin and thought I would share with my three blog readers.

Also, an interesting bit of information: the Sterns, who write the 'Road Food' column for Gourmet, called Henderson, KY (my hometown) "the fried chicken capital of the solar system." No lie. There is a place called Bon Ton Mini Mart that makes the best fried chicken you've never had.

By the way, all three of you: I am so so sorry. But thank you for continuing to read.