Spotlight : Charleston, South Carolina

"I'm going back to Charleston, back where I belong."
-Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind

Charleston: you're going up on the proverbial pedestal today! But you've earned it fair and square. Charleston was recently awarded Reader's Choice #1 City in the U.S. by Conde Nast for the second year in a row. Through this Thursday, vote for Charleston as Southern Living's "The South's Tastiest Town" (Greenville and Austin are also a contenders... rock the vote, family).

I keep saying I predict a Top Chef Charleston because it is a tasty treat for all the senses and producers would have so much to work with-- Sight: mossy trees. Sound: horses clopping on cobblestone. Smell: salty air. Touch: sandy toes. Taste: I could go on for days. Head Judge, Tom Colicchio, is consultant to Kiawah Island Club's Voysey's. This season, Executive Chef of Charleston's Husk and  McCrady's, Sean Brock, was a guest judge on Episode 14 of Top Chef and word is he is getting chummy with Anthony Bourdain. I can feel it, it's coming.

A tip of the hat to you, Mr. Brock.

Everyone loves Charleston. I love it, you love it, we all love it. Charleston satisfies on all ends of the spectrum. Spend the day at the beach, drop 20 bucks beach-side at Taco Boy or Coconut Joe's, crash on a friend's couch and you're good to go. Parents in town (wink face)? Shop King Street, walk along the Battery, then go see Chef Doyle at Poogan's Porch. Parents are less likely to go along with the sleeping arrangements in scenario one, so stay at the Market Pavilion Hotel and invite friends to meet you at their rooftop pool bar for a drink.

Spend a day, spend a week, move there. Charleston has a beach, a restaurant and an experience for everyone. No, no I could never (like... ever) spotlight Charleston in one measly post, but if I had to play favorites...

"Rainbow Row" by Virginia Fouche Bolton,
one of the most iconic scenes of the city.

Poogan's Porch Restaurant.
Order the pimento cheese fritters
as soon as you cross the threshold
and not a moment later.

...and Poogan :)

 

Shopping on King Street.
Boutiques to antiques.


A woman making and selling sweetgrass baskets outside the
City Market. Sweetgrass baskets were first made by Lowcountry
slaves to collect rice and cotton in plantation fields.
Today, they are more a work of art
and can be looked at as a status symbol...


This big boy, 24"W x 36"H, sells for $24,000.
That's 24 with three zero's.

Market Pavilion Hotel's rooftop pool and bar.
This is... how you say... "perfection"?

Coconut Joe's Beach Bar & Grill on Isle of Palms.
I can't understand why their Jamaican wrap is so good.
I suppose it is the pineapple salsa and cilantro mayo.


A performance during the annual Spoleto Festival in the Spring.


One of my favorite views.
No, not the chardonnay (well, maybe the chardonnay...).
View of the United States Custom House
across the marsh from the Fleet Landing Restaurant.

So, Charleston my love, keep on doing what you're doing. You do it so beautifully.

See you soon,

Em

[photo sources: Access Hollywood, Trip Advisor, Charleston CVB, Charleston Sweetgrass, Mrs. WRCIV]

Spotlight : Saudi Arabia

Three years ago, I would have never imagined that I would be sitting here not only blogging, but writing a post about Saudi Arabia of all places. The day I found out my dad was moving temporarily overseas to work on his dream project, our entire family spent hours on the phone together with an even 50/50 mix of emotions: 50% crying, 50% laughing. My first two questions were "Is it safe?" and "Is mom going?" The answers were "yes" and "hell no," respectively.

Although Saudi Arabia is a safe country, today it is still challenging for women to be independent and my mother, a redheaded business owner, is not an ideal candidate to live in an oppressive country. However, about half of the ex-patriots ("expats") that work for my dad's company, Parsons Corporation, choose to have their families move overseas with them. Luckily for the other half who live apart for a few years, Skype and Slingbox allow families to talk anywhere, anytime... and watch live cable. Saudi Arabia is 8-9 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (depending on daylight savings).

In addition to these modern luxuries, my dad and his friends have found a happy medium between the Middle East and the Western world in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia- a medium-sized port town located a few hours north of Jeddah on the beaches of the Red Sea. What did Rascal Flatts sing? "Flip flops, tans, and some white sand, I know the perfect spot"? Must have been singing about Yanbu.

The number one question I am always asked is how often we get to see him. Surprisingly and luckily, I see him as much and talk to him more often now than I did in college. His company flies him home twice per year and anywhere in Europe twice per year, so my mom gets to reap one of the biggest perks of having to live away from her husband: two-week trips over the pond. So far, she's gotten to check off France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Amsterdam is on deck this Spring. I hope to go visit one more time before he returns to the states (in the next year or two).

We email each other about as much as I text with my friends, so he can keep us updated on all of his thrilling and exotic happenings. A year as an expat in Yanbu goes a little something like this:

Pretend those camels are as abundant as cows in the Midwest
and you've got yourself farm animals along your drives out of town.
The Saudi people take much pride in their camels.
If you're asking yourself "I wonder if they have camel racing?"
You would be correct.
I quote Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities:
"Few things in Arabian culture are as exciting as the camel races."


I present to you: camel racing.

Time for business and speaking to investors during the Saturday-Wednesday work week.

Friday is the Kingdom's holy day, thus their weekends are Thursday and Friday,
the only country in the world that observes this.
He and his friends have coined, "TAIW: Thank Allah It's Wednesday."


An air view of dad's city center/waterfront development project.
They have in-house, full-time translators.


Family will want to come to you to go skiing at Ski Dubai,
an indoor, 22,500 square meters ski resort in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
(skis, poles, and jackets provided onsite, so yes, everyone is matching).
Although Dubai is located on the Arabian Peninsula, it is not a part of Saudi Arabia.
Dubai is a city-state of the United Arab Emirates
(seven emirates in total make up the Southeastern corner of the peninsula).


Wearing an abaya, thobe, or jeans,
keeping the beaches tidy during Parsons' annual beach clean up.
Saudis strictly follow the principles of hijab (modesty).
Typically, women wear abayas, a black cloak that covers head to toe
and men wear a thobe, an ankle length robe-like garment with long sleeves.
It is not expected for expats to wear these.


The local grocery store: HyperPanda.
But plan accordingly! No shopping during call to prayer,
which is five times per day.

Dad was lucky enough to be selected as Santa 2012.
Some friends packed a Santa suit for the move for their children.

Two proud members and co-founders of Yanbu's
"Polar Bear Plunge Club" on New Year's Day.
Sign reads: "Air 81* Water 80*"
Daredevils.

Last August, dad celebrated his two year Saudiversary and will decide later this year whether or not to sign on for a fourth year. Our family has learned so much about this part of the world through his experience. To me, he is a living example of the expression, "follow your dreams and shoot for the stars," and lucked out with a loving, strong, and supportive wife. Mom and dad, you are my بطل (hero).

This post is in loving memory of my dad's neighbor's cat 

who is, as was explained to him in broken English, "finished."

[photo sources: Geographic Guide, Telegraph, dad, Mrs. WRCIV]

Finger lickin'

I L-O-V-E barbecue. Smoke it, braise it, grill it, bake it, sauce it up. There are so many reasons I love barbecue, I wish the food pyramid would replace grains with pulled pork, that would be the best day ever. There are regional and national associations and competitions with crazy people and wet naps that smell like sweet lemons when it's all over with. And, whenever there is barbecue, beer is usually not far away.

Forget about grilled cheese or chicken fingers, I've been ordering baby back (baby back, baby back, baby back) ribs and steaks off the menu since I learned how to read. Baby back ribs are one of those foods that the last bite is just as good as the first. I'm going to pull in the reigns here because I could blog about nothing but ketchup-based barbecue sauce.

But, one of the other things I love so much is that all the meats and sides have a lot of history and love in them. Long hours over a fire pit surrounded by secret sauces and family recipes, there's nothing like it. And each style is so unique to its region and the people that have perfected it.

There are four main regional styles of barbecue in the US:

Kansas City: My favorite. Known for smokey meats and thick and sweet sauces. I hate to say it's my favorite out of bias, but... it's the best. My parents' house is a long 5 minute drive from Jack Stack, and I've celebrated many a birthday drinking their sauces. This is the kind of food you want to eat if you could have only one thing on a deserted island. 

Texas: My second favorite. Known for "cowboy style" meats cooked over mesquite. The first time I ever had Texas barbecue was when my sister was a freshman at UT. She took us to Salt Lick in Austin and my life has never been the same. Their sauce is inexplicable, buttery but sweet and salty and served with these magical slices of bread. 

Carolinas (5 regional styles between the two states): My third favorite. Known for pulled or chopped pork and mustard or vinegar-based sauces. The only reason it's my third favorite is because it's not what I was raised on. I love it, because it's barbecue, but I couldn't eat it as often as I could Kansas City style. Doc's is where we always return to. It's a little out of the way, but there's always a line at lunchtime. That's a good sign.

Memphis: My other third favorite. Known for barbecue sandwiches and wet (brushed with sauce) and dry (seasoned with dry rub) ribs. In college, Rhett and I went to the Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Contest and it was like an underground cult of the friendliest people in the world all organized to smoke meats in trucks converted to livestock and drink all day off of pig ice luges.

My family is the kind that when we go on vacation, after breakfast we talk about where we're going to lunch and after lunch we talk about where we're going to dinner (we also exercise regularly and eat fairly healthy during the work week). Before you think we're completely obsessed, it is important to remember that there are four stages for enjoying a happy event: anticipation, savoring, expression, and reflection. We just happen to take the first two stages very seriously.

And now, I give you a visual:

 

Plate of sauces. Love them.

.

Proud grill masters. Love them.

Messy hands (sister's are clean because she is a vegetarian, thus adopted). Love them.

 

Long lines. Love them.

Crazy people. Love them.

Simple menus. Love them.

 



 



[photo source: Mrs. WRCIV]

Hello blogosphere!

I wasn't expecting you! But, you kept tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Get with the program. Do it. Just start one. Come oooon. I'm fun and Google-y and you'll just love me!" so I've decided to put my fingers to the keyboard and document life through my lens: travel, food, and culture. Love cannot be blogged, and is there anything else to life?

Follow me if you can: My dad was born on Long Island, NY. My mother was born in Kansas City, MO. My sister, Sadie, was born in Vail, CO (where my parents were married 30 years ago!). And I was born Napa, CA (legend has it this is where my love of chardonnay comes from). Sadie and I were raised in a perfect, little place called Lawrence, KS, where you could drive across town in seven minutes and you went to K-12 with your neighbors.

Okay... So then, Sadie moved to Austin, TX, to earn a degree in Advertising and Marketing at the University of Texas. Then, I moved to Columbia, SC, to earn a degree in Marine Science Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of South Carolina. My parents gained a third daughter, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel I named Lucille "Lucy" McGillicuddy Caplan after my favorite show growing up, I Love Lucy. Sadie followed her boyfriend-soon-to-be-husband, Matthew, to spend a few years closer to his family near Winston-Salem, NC, then they returned to Austin because... well... I will "spotlight" Austin in a future post to tell you about why the locals campaign to "Keep Austin Weird." I found a blue-eyed blonde prince charming, Rhett, from Greenville, SC, and signed paperwork in May of this year to be his sidekick for life.

At the moment we call Columbia home because 1) we are exactly equidistant from the mountains to the beach, 2) we are both either currently or plan to earn our Master's Degrees at USC, 3) Rhett bought a house after Freshman year of college, and 4) Murphy and Jack- our two fuzzy kids- just aren't ready for any serious life changes yet.

Last, but absolutely not least, my dad signed on to his dream job and joined Parsons Corporation in 2010 to work on a waterfront city development project on the Red Sea for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is currently overseas while my superhero mother holds down the fort in Kansas City.

In my short 26 years on this earth, most of my life lessons, wisdom, humor, and friends have come through travel, food, and culture. I work daily with underserved crime victims and believe a lot of my passion for diversity and helping those in need comes from my experiences across the country and the world.

I found my favorite quote tucked in a book in our basement when I was growing up. My dad had ripped it out of his father's book and I stumbled across it and it was love at first sight:

"Broad, wholesome, charitable views 
of men and things cannot be acquired 
by vegetating in one little corner of the 
earth all one's lifetime." --Mark Twain.

I've known this quote by heart since the day I found it and I have the piece of paper I found framed on my desk at work.

I love every little thing about travel, food, and culture. Southeast of the Midwest will document highlights of my favorite places, regional recipes, and little life lessons I would have never learned if it weren't for getting out there and experiencing all the little corners of the world.

Hasta la proxima vez...
Until next time...

This blog is in honor of:

Grandma and Poppa Caplan

Grandma and Grandpa Kaiser

Mom and Dad

Without them, I don't know what I'd write about.