Charlotte, Eating, Food, Restaurant Snapshot, Travel, United States, Wine

Conversation with Claudia – A Wine Tasting Dinner at Aria Tuscan Grill

October 27, 2013

I was sitting at my computer staring blankly at an empty white screen trying to think of the perfect blog post to summarize our week long culinary tour of Tuscany. I flipped through pages of my journal, browsed the hundreds of photos we snapped, and wrote a somewhat decent but brief introduction before getting stuck. The synapses of my brain just weren’t connecting the gluttonous wine and food filled adventure to a…

Charlotte, Eating

Fighting to Get Fit at Title Club

August 22, 2013

It’s not easy being The Wandering Gourmand. Having this “expert” knowledge of food and drink comes with a price. There is a lot of sampling – roasted pork belly, brewery tours, wine tastings. I didn’t realize the toll my love of food and drink was having on my body until I saw a New Year’s Eve photo. I had become that “chubby” kid. My back-pain had also reached the level of excruciating…

Travel, Travel Tips

eReaders Versus Tablets Versus Hardcopies and a Zinio Giveaway

July 19, 2013

Many months ago I wrote a post about whether or not eReaders and tablets have made my life of travel easier. It’s a question I still ponder. Clearly, to a point, they have. I am an avid reader often engrossed in multiple books at one time. My Kindle Keyboard helps to consolidate so that right now I can have Founding Brothers, The Butcher, and How to Win a Pitch all at my…

Cooking, Food

I Support Paula Deen

June 30, 2013

This is a food blog and Paula Deen is a celebrity chef so this post is relevant however political it might get. And I hate that I even have to begin a post like this with a disclaimer that I am not a racist towards any ethnic or religious background or sexual orientation. It seems in today’s society that those disclaimers are needed when issuing an opinion like a defense of Paula…

Travel, Travel Tips

Turning Vacation Photos into a Home Art Gallery

May 23, 2013

I by no means lay claim to being a professional (or amateur for that matter) photographer or an interior decorator. However, I do have an eye for design with a bit of an artistic vein running through my body. I’m also quite frugal. Design and frugality don’t always work well together. But creativity and frugality I think are an ideal match. We love to travel and spend most of our hard earned money visiting…

Wine

Napa Valley Home Wine Tasting

January 24, 2013

The nose was soft with scents I hadn’t quite picked up before. There was floral, definitely, and even some honey and citrus. I swirled the glass again and took another whiff. Earth. But not dank, musty earth. A fresh earth. Like a clean sea breeze blowing through an open hotel balcony overlooking the ocean. Or maybe the scent of dyer sheets like “fresh linen” meets “outdoor fresh”. Yes! That’s it. One more…

Travel, United States

The Freedom Trail – Something to Ponder Before You Vote

November 5, 2012

I don’t venture into political discourse that often outside of my tight-knit circle of friends and family. My reason is a lack of self-confidence in my knowledge. I don’t want to come across as foolish and resort to name calling like I see so much on Facebook and in the media today. For example, read the exchange below from a friend’s Facebook posting after Romney’s gaffe went viral: Commenter 1 – Guy…

Charlotte Brewery Crawl

October 19, 2012

When I moved to Charlotte six years ago the city was void craft breweries, or micro-breweries as they were called way back then. Sure, there was Rock Bottom Brewery in Uptown, but have you checked recently? There’s a Rock Bottom in nearly every major city and then some. They are as corporate as Anheuser (sorry, InBev). There was also some brewery up near Mooresville that nobody new the name of, but they…

Spirits

The New Cocktail – The Hot Texan

August 8, 2012

For the most part I drink craft or homemade beer, good wine (mostly red), and scotch on the rocks. I don’t venture much into cocktails. I find them to be too sweet or too strong resulting in an ugly evening. The sweet one I can’t stop drinking and the strong ones like a blue cheese stuffed olive martini, well, we know what happens after multiple servings. I am intrigued by the new…

My First Blog Date and Midwood Smokehouse

August 6, 2012

My blogging neighbors over at Dee’s Adventures and Looks Like LuLu have both been on blog dates, but to be honest, I thought that was weird. A little background information here – my wife and I met and dated before online dating became as popular as it is now. It is existed back then, but most of the people who used it reeked of desperation (I know I pissed off some friends…

OG

Conversation with Claudia – A Wine Tasting Dinner at Aria Tuscan Grill

Fighting to Get Fit at Title Club

eReaders Versus Tablets Versus Hardcopies and a Zinio Giveaway

I Support Paula Deen

Turning Vacation Photos into a Home Art Gallery

Napa Valley Home Wine Tasting

The Freedom Trail – Something to Ponder Before You Vote

Charlotte Brewery Crawl

The New Cocktail – The Hot Texan

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