Some of our Favorites!

 Ryan and I have been watching a lot of foodie shows lately. I claim it satisfies my need for carbs. Can't overload on them in reality, but not a single calorie crawls through that screen! :) 

The other day we watched several episodes of The Best Thing I Ever Ate, so of course it got me thinking about some of our favorites from our 8 years of marriage. Then I almost chickened out of making a list, because I didn't want anyone who ever took us somewhere to think we hated it if we didn't list it here. Rest assured, every food-related page of our scrapbook says something like "AND IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD!" 

These are not THE top ten, but they are A top ten of some of our favorites through the years.

1. Old Salty Dog - Sarasota, Florida

We will start with this one because it was one of the first places we ate after we got married. I think my friend Christi had recommended it to us in her list of ideas for our honeymoon. (She lived locally and sent me a list of places to go and eat that she thought we might enjoy, and we actually tried several of her suggestions!) Ryan wanted to try this one because it had been featured on Man vs. Food. He also wanted to eat what the guy on the show tried: the foot long beer battered hot dog loaded with multiple kinds of cheese, mushrooms, onions, and other things. I went for a smaller choice: beer battered hot dog bites. It felt like an appetizer compared to his! We both loved the food that is absolutely not healthy for you in ANY way at all. And though it was dark when we went, there was something extra delightful about sitting out on the porch, overlooking the water and the city lights in the distance - in December. We would go again for the food AND the atmosphere!  (Side note: it appears on their site that there is now a location in Siesta Key where we were married, but if it was there then, we didn't know about it. We went to the one I linked above.) 

2. Silver Beach Pizza - St. Joseph, Michigan

I'm drooling writing this one, just so you know. When we went on our second annual birthday trip to Holland, Michigan, many things turned out to be a disaster about that trip. It was winter in May, so we had to wear hats, gloves, and coats whilst romping on the beach. Our hotel was so awful that we actually left - something neither of us have ever done before or since. And OH! There were no tulips at the Tulip Time Festival that year. But one thing that went so, so right was our discovery of Silver Beach Pizza. It's actually in St. Joseph, Michigan, which we passed through on our way to Holland. Some of my WBCL buddies who love going to St. Joseph for the weekend told me about it, and we tried it out. GREAT choice. Even in the frigidness, we enjoyed eating by the window and seeing Lake Michigan just beyond the beach. We loved it so much that when we took a weekend trip there a couple of summers ago, we went back, just to give it a try in the summer! That day the windows (which are actually glass garage doors) were open and we could look right outside. This building is also a train depot, so the tracks run RIGHT by it! Atmosphere aside, the food is scrumptious. Those breadsticks are so soft and perfect - and the pizza is all good. I think last time we got the Whirlpool Wonder. YUM.

3. Scoops Ice Cream - Chilton, Wisconsin

I love me some ice cream. And to be honest with you, I don't think there's ever been an ice cream I didn't like. But when you still remember a very specific ice cream four years after you ate it, it should be on the list, right? Back in 2016, Ryan and I took our birthday trip in conjunction with a speaking engagement I had. It was in Chilton, Wisconsin, which is a small town not too terribly far from Green Bay. Our friends Tom and Olivia lived there at the time and we stayed with them. They took us to several of their favorite restaurants and coffee shops while we were with them, and one of those stops was to Scoops Ice Cream. I ordered Sea Salt Caramel (because of course) and it was so good that Ryan took me back again the next night, while we were on a date on our own. Furthermore, Olivia bought a pint of it one time and shipped it home to me with her mom! It is seriously the best salted caramel ice cream I've ever had - and there was just something about the way they made the ice cream itself - flavor aside - that was absolute perfection. Wisconsin is, after all, the land of dairy. I'd expect their ice cream to be the best. 

4. Shaka Shack Coffee Shop - Monroe, IN

In all our county tour travels, we find a local coffee shop before we come home. And we go to lots and lots of local coffee shops on our vacations. Each one is unique in its atmosphere, and we love coffee, so we love whatever we find wherever we go! It feels almost like trying to pick a favorite child to choose a favorite coffee shop. But the Shaka Shack in the tiny burg of Monroe, Indiana was the second county tour coffee shop we ever visited, and it is still our favorite. We have been back many, many times. (Helps to have friends living in the area!) The coffee is top notch, the atmosphere is fun, and we love the mission! The first time we went, the owner even treated us to a bunch of samples of hot and frozen coffees beyond what we purchased, so we've tried lots of flavors. Never have found a bad one! (Bonus: we also got to sign our name on the wall!)

5. Kings Island - Cincinnati, OH

I will not make Ryan claim this as part of his top ten, but I still talk about this meal with great regularity, so it HAS to make this list. Last December we went to WinterFest at Kings Island as part of our anniversary trip. (It was so much fun, by the way. Highly recommend.) The ticket we bought came with a meal voucher. We could choose any of the little food kiosks in the whole park and get a meal, drink, and hot chocolate or coffee with our voucher. We picked one at random - and OH my goodness. I don't remember the exact name of the little place, but I can tell you about the food. The concept was similar to Chipotle - building a bowl of food with all kinds of toppings. But instead of a rice base, you could choose between macaroni and cheese or tater tots. I chose the mac and Ryan took the tots. Then we built it up with meat, cheese, pico, you name it. I ate every. single. bite. I never eat every single bite of any meal out. Ever. Ryan was kind of in awe, I think. That meal was so calorie laden, but SO good. (By the way - Ryan laughed out loud that this made my top ten.)

6. Duck Donuts (Raleigh, NC)  AND Rise n Roll (Shipshewana, IN)

The only tie on my entire list. Donuts took me down. :) I love donuts but confess that cake donuts are not my favorite. I'm a yeast donut girl all the way. But when we were on our Friendtastic Fifth Anniversary trip, our friends Nate and Jenna took us to Duck Donuts in Raleigh, and they forever have my cake donut heart. Duck Donuts is actually a franchise that began in Duck, North Carolina, and now they have locations across the US. It is possible that we have been known to drive up to a half hour out of our way to find a location - and we have visited ones in North Carolina, Ohio, and Kansas. These little donuts are served warm and dipped in the frosting combo of your choice right in front of you before being handed over in the box. Ryan and I can polish off a half dozen in record time and I'm not ashamed to say it. The photo above was from our inaugural visit. I'll spare you the dozens of Duck Donut pictures we've taken since!

Now for Rise n Roll. These amazing donuts got their start in the Amish country of Shipshewana, Indiana, and around here they are known as Amish Crack. They really are addictive. I'll give them that! The original Rise n Roll is a plain yeast donut with this amazing, mysterious caramelly, powdered sugary, cinnamony goodness all over it. They also have several other versions of donuts and they're all good in my opinion. They're also opening new locations, and one of them is just ten minutes down the road from us. Send help now! These are so, so, SO good. (The picture of the building is the original Rise n Roll.) 

7. Jack Stack BBQ - Kansas City, MO

We have eaten a LOT of BBQ in our marriage. It's one of Ryan's favorite things, and I sure don't mind! And again - we've loved nearly every one we've tried. So good. But the one I picked was an extra special stop on our Midwest Meandering trip a couple of years ago. We were passing through Kansas City (which we learned is famous for its BBQ) and Ryan's boss recommended Jack Stack BBQ. We got so full at that dinner that we had no room left to try out the dessert place I'd picked out! (Next trip!) They have a few locations, but we ate at the one right by the canal. (Where we promptly attempted to walk off all we'd just eaten.) We split a platter so we could try a variety of what they had to offer, and Ryan quite literally licked that platter clean. OH, so good. 

8. Guy Fieri's Smokehouse - Louisville, KY

We've been on two Carnival cruises in our marriage, and both times we made multiple trips to the little Guy's Burgers kiosk on the ship. (You know...Guy Fieri from the Food Network?) Those burgers are so so good. So when we went to Louisville a couple of years ago for our anniversary, I discovered a Guy Fieri Smokehouse in their downtown area. I told Ryan we had to go. Had to! Took a lot of convincing, but he finally got on board with the idea. ;) We had a pretty mild night for December and got to eat in an area that is normally outdoor seating, but they had enclosed it for the winter. We got to look out at the Christmas lights, and it was so fun! And so good. Ryan got some huge burger on a pretzel bun, and I got the mac and cheese burger. And I could only eat half. The rest made a separate meal. 

9. Who Cut the Cheese Food Truck - Fort Wayne, IN 

We have never really lived in an area that had a bunch of food trucks, so we haven't visited too many. HOWEVER...this one made a lasting impression. You might remember that back in 2017, we did a year of alphabetically inspired dates, and our date for the letter T was a TINY house tour and food TRUCK lunch. We visited Fort Wayne and went to Foodstock 2017. I mean doesn't that name alone just make you so happy? We tried things from three different trucks (splitting all of them) but this sandwich was my favorite. The truck itself was called "Who Cut the Cheese" - and the sandwich was called The Three Little Pigs. It had bacon, black forest ham, and pulled pork with BBQ sauce and cheese - on grilled bread with a side of pickle.. (Mouth still watering. This post is killing me.) I checked and this truck appears to still be in business. I might need to find it again. 

10. Prodigy Burger Bar - Kokomo, IN

We'll wrap up this list with one of our favorite places in Kokomo. It was relatively new before we left, but Ryan had declared he wanted to go and try every single one of their burgers. The burgers are delicious and the fries come in the cutest little basket on the planet. We went a handful of times when we lived in Kokomo, but we will have to go back many more times to hit all the burgers. This is, hands-down, my favorite place to take pictures of Ryan eating burgers. They are HUGE!!

So now I pretty much just want one of each of the things I wrote about. And a few more things on the side just for fun!! Any of you been to any of these places?