Hide Report
Picture the scene –
11am, sat on the deck reading, waiting for friend to go shopping.
Suddenly aware of very loud buzzing. In this neck of the woods you
get huge insects, defying gravity, how they take off at all I'll
never know so no great surprise. Lifting eyes from book and no
further than two feet away was a hummingbird – dancing just for me.
It's very difficult for me to keep still and quiet at the best of
times but I managed it and for probably 20 seconds or so I was
treated to this breathtaking display. I had no idea they were so
tiny. I'll find this difficult to beat for the Hide Reports.
As quickly as it
appeared it was gone. I said at the beginning I was on my own –
no-one believed me! Suffice it to say that for the rest of my stay,
if possible, I'll be on hide duty around 11am and we'll see if my
diligence is rewarded. After all, tomorrow is another day –
couldn't resist the closing line from Gone with the Wind...
Back to
earth and a trip out Downtown with a friend. My first port of call
is to Charleston Cooks! Maverick kitchen store. I visit this store
every time I visit South Carolina at least twice - it's in two parts.
The first a shop selling everything from high end kitchen equipment
and gadgets to cookery books specific to the region. The second is a
cookery school where you can enjoy a demonstration on a variety of
menus. I think it's time to book. I've learnt over the years that
there has to be two visits, particularly where the shop is concerned
– one to look, one to buy.
Our lunch
stop is Gaulart & Maliclet, aka Fast & French, on Broad
Street - this is my kinda place, stools at a bar, noisy, friendly and
the menu looks amazing. Spoilt for choice I eventually settle on hot
goat's cheese on a croissant and my soup accompaniment is French
onion.
It's hard
not to anticipate – I had this image of a warm buttery croissant
with toasted goat's cheese along with a dark rich soup. Sadly the
croissant was split and toasted and the cheese spread on cold –
what a shame – when you bit into it the croissant crumbled into
nothing and the cheese could have been Laughing Cow, Dairylea or
similar. The soup tasted ok but looked like washing-up water, not at
all appetizing – not like the unctuous bowlful in the Citadel,
Carcassonne.
However what
was memorable was the Perrier Cassis – roll a drop of cassis around
your glass and add ice cold perrier – heavenly and it has to be, a
la francaise, gazeux. We are in the French Quarter after all, when
in Rome!
A memorable
day.
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