Weekend Foodie Warriors- Take 8!
Hello hello, again, Foodie Friends 🙂 Hope you had a fantastic weekend! We spent a ton of time outside and I got to bake for friends, which I love. In this edition of Foodie Adventures, I’ll be talking about The Taco Crawl, Cupcakes, and Brunch galore!
*Click on the links to learn more about any restaurants I discuss later*
For the second year in a row my boyfriend, friends and I donned our taco themed shirts, chugged a glass of water, and headed downtown for one of the most fun foodie themed events Greenville throws- Bar Crawl USA’s Taco & Tequila Crawl.
This all day affair starts around 11 am – if you splurge for the VIP ticket- which gets you:
- 1 hour early access to start the event before everyone else
- 1 extra free taco tab, redeemable for either taco or drink specials
- A free shirt (always taco themed) & koozie
- And a free shot of Hornitos Tequila, this year’s sponsor.
Picture #1: Our new drawstring bags! Picture #2: Their new shirts this year…I swear “Turn Around, Bright Eyes” was stuck in our heads all day.
There were 12 participating restaurants and bars up and down Main Street, and this year we went in with a strategy- get the best tacos before they run out, and then hit up the next one! Below are our favorites, in no specific order:
Taco bottom left: Hawaiian BBQ Taco- slow cooked pulled pork, pinapple, and BBQ sauce
Taco top right: Buffalo Chicken Taco
Mini wonton tacos with pulled short rib and jalepeno cheddar slaw. This one was a personal favorite of mine, the tacos were made by the restaurant next door, Encore.
Awesome boozy slushies like you’d get in New Orleans and 16 hour pulled pork tacos with Jack Daniels mustard slaw and pickled jalapenos.
Surfer Chick Taco- Teriyaki chicken, pineapple, cabbage, red onions, and sesame seeds
Lastly (but not least), Pour Taproom
Tempura fried Broccoli, cheese, and zucchini taco, this one was super yummy!
This has become an awesome tradition since I moved here. It’s a great way to meet friends, new people, and visit restaurants and bars you may not have been to before! I’d highly recommend checking it out if one comes to your town 🌮
Cupcake Time 💜
Chocolate Strawberry Filled Whipped Cream Cupcakes-
Greenville, SC
It’s never fun when a friend or family member moves away, and unfortunately, we had to say “So long, farewell, to you my friends. Goodbye for now until we meet again!”.
I didn’t feel I could really put my thoughts into words by writing them a card, so instead I decided to make them something from my heart- cupcakes!
I liked to think of these as jazzed up, semi-homemade cupcakes. Above are the ingredients for my Chocolate Strawberry Filled Whipped Cream Cupcakes! I followed the box mix, but added extra chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup of semi sweet and 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips for that special something.
Once the cupcakes went in the oven, I finely chopped a pint of strawberries and mixed it in about 1/4 cup of sugar to macerate them and draw their natural juices out. I also melted 1/4 cup of strawberry jelly in the microwave and added it to the berries to finish off the filling.
Next was cutting holes into the cupcakes for the filling, about the same size as wine stoppers, and put in enough filling so it reaches the top level of the cupcake (see right picture below). Plug the hole back up with about half of the cupcake bits you took out before.
*Fun Fact!*
Keep your beaters and bowl in the freezer before you whip your whipped cream, as it’ll whip & come together faster.
Last but not least it’s time to make the whipped cream! All you need is a 16 oz container of heavy whipping cream, 1/4 tsp. of almond extract, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1/4 – 1/3 cup of powdered/confectioners sugar. If you like your whipped cream sweeter, go with the larger amount of sugar, you can always add more!
Depending on how cold your bowl is, it’ll take about 2-5 minutes of constant beating with a hand mixer on medium speed (to prevent it from splattering everywhere). You’ll know it’s properly whipped when the cream holds its shape when you take your beaters out and soft peaks form.
Dollop whipped cream onto the tops of your cupcakes just to cover the holes you filled with strawberries (and cupcake tops).
The final step was to drizzle the leftover juice/jam over top of the whipped cream for a little color an flair!
These cupcakes won’t last long though, better eat them quick! Keep them in the fridge as the whipped cream has no preservatives, and I wouldn’t keep these longer than 3-4 days (they’re so yummy they probably won’t last that long anyway 😋).
Sunday Brunch Adventures
Greenville, SC
The picture above was from Stax Omega Diner, a Greenville institution and a fantastic place for all day breakfast, with a sizable menu that rivals the enormity of the Cheesecake Factory’s.
I went for savory this Sunday and ate a Chipotle Turkey Wrap, which had Deli-sliced turkey breast, cheddar cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado, smoked bacon, smoked corn and black bean relish, tossed with a chipotle sauce in a flour tortilla. It made great leftovers!
Afterwards we were taking advantage of the lovely weather this weekend and ran into some adorable furry friends at the park…..🐶🐶 This cutie was 12 weeks old, had the cutest little wrinkly face 😍
Rounded our weekend off with a meat & three!
If you have no idea what that is, welcome to the South! I only learned this was a thing about a year after I moved to the Carolinas. It’s a traditional plate of food with a meat (usually meatloaf, fried chicken, pulled pork, etc.), and three sides, sometimes consisting of Southern classics like collard greens, fried okra, mashed potatoes & gravy, and of course- cornbread.
Zach went for the meatloaf, I the fried chicken, and we each got fun sides to go with it! This meat and three was at Bubba Annie’s, a little bar and restaurant close to where I am in Greenville.
How was your weekend Foodie Friends? Are you looking forward to warmer weather and Cinco de Mayo or the Derby next weekend? Sound out in the comments below and let me know where you think I should check out next! As always, feel free to like, comment, and share 🤗
