reunited (and it feels so good)

We checked out of Hotel Monteleone at 12:15pm (I think you get the idea not expect anything else if you ever find yourself traveling with us). Also, is it alarming to know that you’re traveling with someone who can break the code of your hotel safe with one guess? A testament of how well we know each other, I suppose. Please advise if I need to call LifeLock sooner than later. We quickly made it our mission to be one with sought out bagel. We did some research (which included Amy calling places to make sure they did more than just sell a bagel and cream cheese). So glad she did this bit of research and found Surrey’s. Surrey’s is a small artsy café advertised as a juice bar, but with so much more. I think it could possibly be top on the list of “hidden gems” found on this trip. Amy’s friend, Nicole, had mentioned hearing of this place, but not yet having found it. Nicole, GO! There was an extensive breakfast and lunch menu that included homemade bagels and house-cured salmon (lox). Amy ordered two scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, and an onion bagel with cream cheese. She made and consumed about twelve perfect bites to reveal a clean plate (well, I think she left some bacon – a little shocking, actually). I had the lox plate with an onion bagel. I love lox, but mostly for the caper/cream cheese/bagel combination. They also served this with an avocado mash – which was such a nice touch. I ate every bite and am not ashamed of that at all. I also washed it down with some awesome coffee. I like to think that Surrey’s has it all figured out – those that know, go; those that think it’s Jamba Juice, don’t. Oh, elusive bagel – today you were finally ours.

After brunch, we circled many blocks looking for the post office. Glad I finally got the chance to pass through a metal detector on the way to mail some postcards…that’s now checked off the bucket list. We made our way out of the Vieux Carre (we’re pros now), crossed the Mississippi, and headed on to Birmingham. Today’s drive didn’t contain as many profound moments as the drive from Austin to New Orleans, but we managed to keep each other entertained for the six-hour drive. We arrived in Birmingham with enough time to change our clothes and meet Amy’s friend, Smith, for dinner. Smith lives and works in Birmingham and I was more than thrilled to get to meet another one of Amy’s dear friends. After seeing Smith’s house, we headed to the Mountain Brook area for dinner at Avo. We had scoped out the menu en route to Birmingham and we were excited to try to options. We started with the fried okra sticks accompanied by a lemon-caper aioli and the homemade pimento cheese spread. Both delicious starters. For my meal I ordered the grilled cheese and tomato soup. The cheese was light and it had avocado, but the star was the sourdough bread. So toasty and sourdough-y – I loved it to the last crunchy bite. Amy had the panko-crusted chicken on polenta and she was pleasantly surprised by her dish. (I could tell she had hesitations about the chicken breast being dry and lacking flavor.) I looked over and it was quite juicy and it just looked appealing. The polenta was nicely cooked. Smith ordered the roasted beet salad and the bacon mac and cheese. She approved of the dishes by not leaving any leftovers – which was something we all did. We indulged in a few alcoholic beverages and a lot of conversation before heading back to the car. We got back to Smith’s and returned to our hotel (Holiday Inn Express in Birmingham, I love you) for a full night’s rest.

Joellen

P.S. Is it wrong to title your blog post for your bagel reunion? No.

big skies

Tonight we write to you from the lovely Livingston, Montana after a long day on the road.

We started out the day in Rapid City, South Dakota, where we tried to wake up early to see Mount Rushmore before getting on the road. Tried would be the operative word here. After struggling to move for almost an hour, we got up, repacked the car and headed to the Mount (that’s what all of the hip South Dakotans call it…?). Now, I thought that it was situated right in Rapid City, but I guess I was wrong, because it took us a good half hour before we were able to even see the mountain range where the Mount is carved. Oh, I don’t want to forget about the delicious breakfast that we had in RC (another hip South Dakotan abbreviation…?): bagels. Bagels have a particular significance for us, as they are delicious and we love them. That’s kind of the extent of it, but every time we are wondering what to have for breakfast, it’s usually in the top two. So we were thrilled to find Black Hills Bagels located conveniently on one of the two streets that run through RC, SD. We ordered the veggie bagel with sprouts, tomato and cucumber and added our own hummus, and we also got the sourdough bagel with an egg (we added our own old english cream cheese and it was to die for). After an easy and scenic drive, we arrived at the Mount, ready to see some former leaders.

So, the Mount. Let’s just break it down. It’s rocks. And it’s cool, and most certainly worth a trip, but I am not about to make it a destination…ever. So, if you find yourself on a road trip or passing through SD for whatever reason, you really should go. I would say that it’s worth going out of your way, but that’s pretty much a given since it’s not really in the way of anything. So that’s my spiel. Go see the Mount.

We spent many hours driving through the vast openness of South Dakota, then Wyoming, and finally, Montana before arriving here, in Livingston. We had a very notable stop in Garryowen, which is one of those little oddities on the side of the road that you wonder if you should stop for or just keep going. We stopped. And I think we really enjoyed scenic downtown.

Now Livingston is a really cool place to visit. I’m fairly certain that there is absolutely nothing here, but I did see signs for Sacajawea Park, so there’s that… We mostly decided to stay here because of a restaurant that we saw–shocker–on TV. The restaurant, The 2nd Street Bistro, is located in The Murray Hotel, a historical boutique hotel the a friendly staff and clean, quaint rooms. We definitely give four enthusiastic thumbs up. Now, I know what you’re thinking: what about the dinner? After all, I know that’s why all of you tune in day after day. To start, the bread was absolutely delicious. It had a nice soft texture and slightly salty flavor and the butter was creamy and delicious. We shared the seared sea scallops with a crawfish risotto and a red pepper sauce. I know what I said before about red peppers, but this dish was stellar. Really delicate seafood flavors and the risotto was cooked perfectly. We also had the fried okra, which was tasty but not worth ordering again, in my opinion. For the main course, Joellen had a margherita pizza which was very tasty and I had the lamb ragout, with lamb and goat cheese from a farm a few miles away. We finished with the yellow cake with lemon curd and a raspberry coulis. Delicious. Overall, a very successful and delicious dinner. I couldn’t be happier that we chose to stay in this little town, and I thank Travel Channel and Anthony Bourdain for showing us the way to The 2nd Street Bistro.

❤ Amy