Days 1-2, April 3-4:

[Peter B Wolf]

I had never really heard of chef's clogs until eGullet (I learn the most amazing things on this site).  

jeesh, i thought mario batali made them famous worldwide!!

kidding aside, he is the first guy that i noticed wearing clogs.  after that, i started looking down more often in kitchens and found that they are extremely popular.  who knew?

Well, Peter Wolf knew, I started wearing them in the early sixties (buying them in Germany), don't know if Batali made them "world famous". Kidding aside, they are the best for long time standing on tile floors (as chefs/cooks do). I still got varicose veins over the years anyway (remember: "BIO 48yrs")

[tommy]

Well, Peter Wolf knew, I started wearing them in the early sixties

well aren't you just great peter wolf.

i've noticed hostipal staff wearing similar shoes.  it's hard to believe that in this day and age (as opposed to when peter was young) that they can't design a shoe that is comfortable to stand in and doesn't look so bloody silly at the same time.

[Steve Klc]

Steven--did you get the sense that the Charleston Grill valued pets more so than dessert?  I re-read your wonderful post and wondered how the meal ended--wondered whether you felt some of Bob Waggoner's whimsy, advanced technique and successful re-invention in the dessert or, sadly in too many of my experiences, got a typically underwhelming rustic New South dessert--some type of bread pudding, pie or crumble completely unrelated in either skill or interest to the savory cuisine that preceded it?

This actually is a larger issue than just one experience at the Charleston Grill.  Chefs in NYC, let alone around the country, are either taking control of the desserts themselves or de-emphasizing desserts and/or pastry chefs in general.

How successfully did Bob follow through all the way to the end?

[ernestegg]

Hey fat guy.  sounds like a dream trip. Great descriptions. Are you being sponsored on this adventure?  Also send my best to Ellen.  Tell her Eric Zamore says hello.  I'll be following your x-country journey.

[yvonne johnson]

Here you are. I was waiting down in Adventures to learn about the trip. We stayed at Planters Inn a few years back (rooms sparsely decorated, a little too much of a modern nothing for me), and I'd completely forgotten--we had dinner at the Plantation Inn (in Planters). I wish I kept a food diary, because I do not remember what I had to eat, though it was quite good. Sticky Fingers really stands out (as I said below in other thread) as does the Fish and Chips place that Wildrid mentions (a few doors down from Sticky Fingers). We were happy with the food in Charleston, but, overall I preferred Savannah because of its ragged-at-the-edges beauty.

[Rail Paul]

Savannah...

Like a dream, emerging from the swamps. Magnolias, oak lined squares, Elizabeth on 37th, Mrs Wilkes, hush puppies hissing as they emerge from the deep fryer.  The movie only caught a glimpse, and I only had a shred of that...

But, as shreds go, it was pretty good. Ate well, saw some interesting railroads, and rolled my way onto the airplane to go home.

[Fat Guy]

StellaBella: We're reading maps!

Steve: If there were weaknesses in the Charleston Grill meal, they were in the desserts and also in some of the savory sauces. Actually, there was nothing wrong with the sauces, but I thought they were too heavy. As for the desserts, well, the restaurant would certainly benefit from the aid of a serious pastry chef -- as would most restaurants with chefs who either think (wrongly, with very few exceptions) that they can do as well as a real pastry chef or who think the pastry department is an easy place to cut corners. There was for example a very nice fruit cobbler on offer. But it was, as these things tend to be, somewhat one dimensional. A real pastry chef would take that dessert and run with it, perhaps making the cobbler part of a larger plate with contrasting textures, flavors, and temperatures, or perhaps incorporating some savory seasonings to give it some balance. Otherwise, it's just a lot of sweet at the end of a big meal.

Ernestegg: I'll do that. As for sponsorship, I wish! This trip will cost many thousands of dollars and we'll have to sell a lot of stories afterwards just to break even (especially since we're still paying rent on our New York City apartment, etc., while on the road). We are however the grateful recipients of a lot of hospitality from friends, aquaintances, friends-of-friends, and other contacts along our route, which takes a bit of the financial edge off. And I do have a couple of story assignments in the works that should help get some expenses covered on some phases of the trip.

[Wilfrid]

Savannah indeed.  Bars serving vast buckets of crayfish, shrimp and crab.  Simply low country boils of shrimp, corn and the local sausage.  Mmm.  Oh, right, he's not going there...

[Bolivar Petit Corona]

Enjoyed "Stinky Finger" dry ribs while I was there.