Neely's Bar-B-Que in Memphis, Tennessee

Some of you may know that Nick and I picked up our stuff and had a cross-country adventure last September. Along our journey West we wanted to stop at cool little places along the way, but we did not have a lot of time, unfortunately. So we managed the best we could. One of the places we wanted to stop was the Neely's family restaurant. Most of you may recognize the name because of they are a Food Network couple! The family has two restaurants in Memphis, Nick and I visited  Neely's Barbecue (West). If you are ever in the Nashville area, they have a variety of sauces and spices available in the airport and also have a restaurant on Rosa Parks Blvd. in the city.

The atmosphere is laid back and very welcoming. When you walk into the restaurant the walls are lined with pictures of the family through the years with people and celebrities who have visited and of the Neely's with some of the food network personalities. It was so cool to be there!

The menu has a variety of options, keep in mind this is a true bar-be-que dynasty so prepare yourself for BARBEQUE EVERYTHING!!! We ordered a lot of food and it was delicious. Nick absolutely loved the platter he picked. Remember you are not only eating in a barbeque restaurant, but you are eating at a barbeque restaurant in the south! People in the south do not mess around with their side dishes and sweet tea.

In addition to the food we ordered, we also knew we were going to end up in a hotel room later that night and we were going to be hungry! So we ordered some of their hot wings with their spicy - homemade - family - secret - hot sauce. It had wonderful flavor and was hot, hot, hot. We pleaded with them to give us an additional container of it and because they knew we were traveling across the country and stopped in they felt for us and agreed to give us an extra container of the sauce. I'm not sure if that is abnormal and if it is, I am not sure if it is because they do not want people trying to replicate it... either way we scored an additional container of the yummy sauce and it was well worth it!! The wings are HUGE!! They are serious wings, so come with an empty stomach and hungry wide eyes!

I've included the contact information, address and hours below! The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. I hope you all find some time to visit this historical restaurant in Memphis!

Until Next Time,
Happy Exploring!!

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Neely's Barbecue (West)

670 Jefferson

Memphis, Tennessee 38103

(901) 521 - 9798

Hours: 

Monday through Thursday - 10:30 am to 10:00 pm

Friday and Saturday - 10:30 am to 10:00 pm

Sunday - 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

Velvet Elvis in Patagonia, Arizona

Nick and I were craving pizza and we were about up to our ears in chain restaurant pizza, so his friend suggested visiting the Velvet Elvis. Surprisingly it was pretty good. Nothing will ever compare to my hometown favorite - Park Pizza - but the selection at this restaurant was warmly received by Nick, Rob and myself.

If none of you have visited Arizona [or southern Arizona for that matter] what you need to know is there are many classic, old Southwestern style towns; Patagonia is one of these old towns. Many of these towns have a rich history filled with stories about Native Americans, conflicts, railroads, etc. Patagonia is not outside of these rich stories. Be careful if you are ever visiting this town because with the blink of an eye you will have passed through it and will have missed the eclectic houses, cars and people.

The Velvet Elvis is amongst the variety of types of people, places and things. It is tucked nicely behind a high iron fence, which is decorated with vines and other greenery. When you walk through the gate you are welcomed with a small fire pit and tables and chairs for cozy outside eating when the weather permits. We passed on outside eating because it was cold outside! Inside you will find the walls full of homemade carpets and other artifacts. And, if you really wanted, you could take home a Velvet Elvis t-shirt!

The menu at this place has a lot of pizza variety to offer [along with soups, salads and calzones]. The best part about this restaurant is the designer pizza options; in fact, one of the pizzas requires 24 hour notice so that the chef has adequate time to prepare it. WOW! We ordered the Chicken Saltimbocca. It was great! Take a look at the menu so that you can see what you're missing!

If you want to take a drive past Patagonia, you can find your way to Nogales and the Mexican border. It is an incredibly different area down there. It's almost like a city popped up only because people were coming to this country from Mexico. I do not know how to describe the town. It is isolated, yet it is is not and it's compact but with a bunch of land on the periphery. It's weird, but cool.

If any of you ever get down to South Arizona, I suggest you take a little time to stop by the Velvet Elvis and take a drive toward Nogales... there is a bunch of beautiful scenery, hiking trails and mountains all around! It is easy to get lost for an afternoon in the wonderful nature.

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Railroad Crossing; picture adapted from
Patagonia Area Business Association 

Capitol Diner in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

I spent a lot of time in and around Harrisburg because Nick's family lives in the area; that is how I was introduced to a wonderful diner. One thing you should know is there are a ton of diners in the area, but only a couple stick out to me. The Capitol Diner holds a special place in my heart because I first ate at the Diner when Nick was leaving for his deployment training. As you can imagine I was a total wreck and I smothered my sorrow in the rich flavors of syrup and pancakes, bacon and coffee. I ate far too much that day, but it was well worth it after I realized how wonderful the food was.

The diner offers very generous portions and a wide ranging menu, which means even the picky eaters can find something tasty on this menu and walk away with a full stomach! In my opinion, however, I think this place is ideal for the breakfast seekers!! The service was great and the people are very friendly. We generally have a fairly large party when we go there and the service is always fast!

This place is made for any person - the young and old! The atmosphere is very laid back and pleasant to spend time in. Usually I like to sit and talk when I go out to eat and the managers and waiters do not pressure you to leave immediately. However, it may become more difficult to get the never-ending coffee fill after you pay for the bill. If you are okay with waiting, so that the servers can take care of other customers, then this place is right for you!!

Unfortunately, the diner does not have a website, but here is some important information:

800 Eisenhower Blvd

Harrisburg, PA 17111

(717) 939-2279

I hope anybody living in the area or driving through the area will give this place a try. I guarantee you will not leave unhappy!

Until next time, 

Happy Exploring! 

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Picture adapted from Yelp.com

Picture adapted from Yelp.com

Antelope Island in Salt Lake City, Utah

Nick had to spend some time in Utah before he deployed to Iraq, which is the reason I found myself spending some time there. One weekend he decided to take me to Antelope Island, which is a great way to see the Great Salt Lake. Utah has some beautiful scenery, but entering Antelope Island is so cool. When you enter, you drive on this very long stretch of road directly over the Great Salt Lake. It is such a great experience! Once you enter you can roam around in your car or on foot. Nick and I elected to do it mainly in the car. The twists and turns lead you to never-ending picture worthy moments and backgrounds.

The island offers much more than the possibility of beautiful pictures. There are tons of recreational opportunities, like tanning at the white sandy beaches or picnicking around the salty waters. If you are a lover or water, the Island has a sailboat marina. For those people that want to be direct and actively involved with their surroundings, the Island offers a kind of park and hike system; where people can feel free to hike or bike the terrain and the trails.

In addition to beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the Island has many other opportunities like camping. Nick and I did not do any camping, but it would be relatively easy for those people who have a recreational vehicle. In addition, those people camping will have an access pass to all of those hiking and biking trails. I could imagine that it would be cool to camp out on the Island. There are tons of Buffalo roaming around with Antelope. Although, the antelope were quite evasive, Nick and I were able to find some in the brush and around some of the small homes located on the property.

If any of you end up out in Salt Lake City you should visit Antelope Island, even in for a couple of hours.
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Greenville, Maine

It has been almost three years since Nick and I began dating! Among the deep conversation that unfolded during our first date, Nick mentioned that he was thinking about taking a trip to Vermont to go skiing for part of Spring Break. I was surprised when he asked if I would be interested. I should tell you, I had never skied before but I was really interested in Nick, so I told him I was interested. About a week later Nick picked me up and we started our journey into New England, with Nick having giving me one new caveat to the trip: If there is no snow in Vermont, he would continue driving until he found snow. I agreed that I was okay with that and off we went. About 8 hours into the trip we realized quickly it was only raining in Vermont, New Hampshire, etc. and as promised Nick continued driving North. About 12 [or 14, who knows now] hours later we were in the middle of nowhere Maine, in the midst of snow piles easily 15 feet high and looking for a place to stay at one in the morning. We were very lucky and found Pleasant Street Inn, a beautiful bed and breakfast! If you check out the website, take a look at the tours of the rooms. Nick and I stayed in Room 8!

Our Bed and Breakfast had a wonderful house manager who took great care of us, especially that first night we showed up on her door step in the middle of a cold night. Each morning we were offered breakfast and advice about what we should see and where to go during the day. One of the things I wanted to see was a Moose. One afternoon Nick and I drove around for a while looking for Melvin the Moose, but without success. The almighty Moose still evades me; it's very upsetting. I suggest anybody up in Maine to take a look around for Moose! If you don't see one, you still get to see the beautiful landscape!!

This little bed and breakfast is walking distance from what was two very awesome establishments. The first was a great little snowmobile rental, ski and snowboard and gear store called Northern Outfitters. It was located right around the corner from our B&B, which was great for this first time skier [and shopping addict]. I was able to pick up some pretty great gear, while Nick shopped for new skies. Yep, he bought skies! Since we arrived so late the first night, we decided to take it easy and stay around the area, so our little ski shop rented us a snowmobile and we went out and around Moosehead Lake! It was such great fun! We spent half a day exploring the Greenville area on our snowmobile. One very awesome thing about Maine is it has an intrastate for snowmobiles [in the winter] and four-wheelers [in the summer]. It is awesome to be able to travel all around Maine on something like a snowmobile, but remember to dress in layers and take a rest because your butt will begin to hurt!!

After a half day of exploring the area we worked up an awful big appetite! So very near our ski shop and bed and breakfast was The Black Frog, an awesome restaurant that has dining that overlooks the lake. It had a great atmosphere and was very laid back. I remember stuffing my face with all of the great food they had.

Finally, we did go there to ski. So we ended up skiing on Saddleback Mountain. While we were there the weather conditions were pretty harsh. The first night we arrived it was snowing like crazy, when we woke up the next morning [our first full day] an additional 12 inches fell and the next day an additional 6 to 12 inches fell. It was WONDERFUL for people who love snow, like Nick and I! However, with the snow came lots of wind, which made conditions on one of the local mountains very dangerous. We were only able to get out there one full day. I had a great time learning how to ski, but I was very scared! The mountain had a nice program for beginners - there was a 1/2 day training course by an expert skier so I was in great hands! I psyched myself out well before I got in my skis so I was a little tense most of the day!

I would recommend this adventure to ANYBODY! It was a great experience with my very new man and it is something we talk about frequently! In fact, we were so inspired during this trip that we went up again during another Spring Break, but we traveled to a different location [which I will be blogging about soon!]

Until next time,
Happy Adventuring!!

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Overlooking Moosehead Lake
Photo adapted from The Black Frog

Pleasant Street Inn
photo adapted from Pleasant Street Inn

Pineapple Grill in Williamsport, Pennsylvania

I come from a place where Millionaires march, little leaguers from the world play ball in front of millions, and where the words Cherry and White mean something on top of the Hill. So, I thought it would be fitting to start this section by talking about one of my most favorite little restaurants in Williamsport, Pennsylvania -The Pineapple Grill or now known as Jasmine Chinese & Thai Cuisine!

For a long time this was the only local Thai restaurant in the Williamsport area [recently I got word of a new restaurant?]. Either way this place is to die for - it offers both Thai and Chinese food, which is wonderful for Nick and I because we both love Thai and Chinese. Among the dozens of choices, the Chicken panang is always a must. It is a soup based dish with lots of great flavor - beware it has a spicy kick to it! I usually use it to smother the abundant white rice we usually get with our meals. 

The people who operate the business are wonderful. We frequented often enough that the women recognized and socialized with us; telling us about their families in China and their children working hard here in the U.S. trying to get a good education! They were always generous with us; good management is always a great attribute to running a successful business and the people at the Pineapple Grill easily receive an A+!

The restaurant is centrally located to Lycoming College; if I went to Lycoming I would have walked there every weekend [I would have been in serious trouble!]. The address is 331 Washington Blvd., Williamsport, Pa 17701. The hours are Monday - Thursday: 11am to 10:30 pm; Friday & Saturday: 11 am to 11:30 pm and Sunday 12 noon to 10 pm. I would recommend anybody living in the area, who has yet to do so, go visit this place immediately!!! Or if you are visiting family, friends or planning on passing through our historic town to take a slight detour to go taste a piece of Thai cuisine heaven! Unfortunately, Pineapple Grill does not have its own website or I would include it for you all to peruse! 

courtesy of yelp.com

Remember, if you have a favorite diner, bed and breakfast, bar/pub/grille that made a favorable impression on you along your journey's, please feel free to contact me at cooking.with.mel.p@gmail.com and I will feature it here with all kudos going to you! All I ask is you include a small blurb about why it is so fabulous, a website [if it exists] and a picture! I look forward to hearing from all of you!!! :)