What's for Dinner

Christine and I sometimes like to go out for an inexpensive quick dinner or lunch. There are a lot of options to choose from in the East Cooper area. One of the ways that we decide (when we don’t have a coupon or gift certificate) is through the “restaurant bowl”. We have written the names of several inexpensive area restaurants on slips of paper, folded them and placed them in a bowl that sits on the microwave. When we want to go out, and don’t know where we want to go, we choose from the bowl. This game keeps us from forgetting about some of our favorites and keeps us rotating around.

The general rules for our bowl are (you can make up your own):

1. Dinner for two for under $20 or so.
2. Good food and service.
3. Locally owned
4. Must be in Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms (preferably within 10-15 minutes of Highway 41).

Currently, the selections in the bowl are:

• Five Guys Burgers –I already broke the rules. They are not local. They are the exception to the rule
• Benito’s
• Andolini’s
• Zeus
• Blue’s Wings
• Kickin’ Chicken - This restaurant has the cleverest website
• Pick Again - if one of us gets this, the other person gets to pick from the bowl.

I would love to have a great Mexican place in there. The one we had has gone so far downhill that we took it out. I am considering adding Poe’s and Budiroes. Poe’s is great. But, it is too hard to park around there from May to September. Budiroes new place is pretty good. I will have to see if I can get it by the other half of the approval committee. Sullivan’s is great. I just can’t get out of there for under $20 for the two of us. We still go there; they just aren’t in the bowl.

The pickin’s are slim right now due to The Loop closing and some bad experiences at some of the other restaurants. Any suggestions would be welcome.

I Love this Place

I have been considering a blog for a long time. I didn't know what I could write about that anyone would actually care to read. My area of expertise is theology. So, that would be interesting and inspire a lot of debate. It would also be a lot of work to maintain and a duplicate of what a lot of other people have done.
My wife, Christine, and I have been in Mount Pleasant, SC for a little over six years and love it here. Hardly a day goes by that I don't look around our area and think about what a blessing it is to be here. We have lived in Charlotte, Cocoa, St. Augustine, and I have lived in NJ. Of all of the places we have lived, this is our favorite. I suppose I should mention that we are warm weather people. Below 80 without sun is chilly and 85 with a light breeze is about perfect. We keep the A/C in the house at about 81.
There is a lot to do here and I hope to cover some of what we experience in weekly additions to the blog. We are not nightlife people. If that is what you are looking to find in this blog, I suggest you look further. We do go out to dinner now and then and we enjoy the outdoors. We also take advantage of the local culture. For example, we attend the Blessing of the Fleet every year we can.
Yesterday, I went kayak fishing in Shem Creek. It was a beautiful day; about 90 degrees or so and a slight breeze. On the way to the ramp, I stopped by Haddrell's and picked up some live shrimp (they were on the small side). The boat ramp was almost full. I think I got the last parking place. That isn't rare late on a Friday morning. I have arrived and had to park on another block. I paddled toward the harbor and fished a couple of docks. On one old dock, I caught a small redfish (7" or so) and a small toadfish, both on Gulp.
Later, I paddled to a spot that is known for flounder. After a few casts and slow retrieves of the flounder rig, I felt a tug. I let the pole rest for a moment and started reeling in. It fought hard and I was hoping for a big flounder. As it got closer to the boat, I could see it was a red. I looked for my measuring stick and realized that I left it at home. Not one to take chances with the law, I released it.
Shem creek is a beautiful place to paddle, whether you are fishing or not. There are several restaurants along the creek and people eating will often wave at the paddlers. We often see porpoises, birds, and other wildlife there. It is especially interesting to watch the shrimp boats come in and clean their catch. Seagulls and pelicans come in to scavenge whatever scraps they can.

Two companies run rentals and tours on Shem Creek - Coastal Expeditions and Nature Outfitters. My wife and I went on a Coastal Expeditions tour for our anniversary one year - before we purchased our own yaks. They are a good outfit and I see a lot of tours out of there. I purchased a paddle from Natures Outfitters one time and they were helpful with restroom accommodations while Christine and I were paddling the creek one day.
One of my favorite lunch spots is on Shem Creek. Vickery's Bar and Grill has beautiful views and great food. That is a rare combination. It has been my experience that one must settle for one or the other.