Charming Columbus

I am continuously amazed at how much personality Columbus has.  This weekend, the weather was incredible!  Perfect weather for cruising around town with the top down on the Mini.  After riding around town, Jon took me for a walk in the Historic District downtown and it was the most charming neighborhood I've ever seen with a brick road that made me feel like I was in Oz and plaques displaying the local history.  After this beautiful walk (and 10 mosquito bites later) we went over to the commercial side of the downtown and peaked into a bike store where we decided to become bikers!  Well, we are going to try it out with a bike rental but hopefully my knee won't complain and Jon and I can finally participate in events together, such as the GA BikeFest.  Jon loves doing these kind of physical events and has signed up to do the Mogadishu Mile 5k Run in October but I am unable to participate in such events due to several knee injuries and multiple knee surgeries. 

Now, to point out a couple local delightful eateries in town.  Last week, our schedules worked out to where we were able to meet for lunch during the week.  It was a rare event and such a treat!  We ate at Minnie's Uptown and boy did we eat...  Southern style curry chicken, fried chicken, mashed pototoes, broccoli, green beans, and the best cornbread (in pancake shape).  Oh and of course, sweet tea, and I do mean sweet!  There should be a disclaimer on the door: "Don't plan on doing much after you eat here, and plan for another hour at the gym later in the week to burn it off." Maybe I will suggest it next time ;-) For date night, we made sure to go back to Cafe Le Rue as mentioned in my Columbus Adventures post.  Luckily we did not have plans afterwards because we were there for over two hours!  But it was a very enjoyable experience.  New Orleans food done right, and by and Indian man!  The owner is from India but has spent a lot of time in Louisiana and studied culinary both in the US and Europe - he was amiable and talked to us about his experiences and his family as Jon and I raved about our dishes:
Jon's ~ Sampler of Seafood Gumbo with Crawfish and Shrimp, Shredded Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, & Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffe served over rice.  (We also got a free Sauteed Shrimp and Sausage on Creamy Grits because our order came out wrong - no complaints here!) 

Mine ~ Popcorm Shrimp Po-boy with Cajun Fries
The verdict?  We loved my po-boy and LOVED the cajun fries and out of Jon's sampler we liked everything but I especially enjoyed the shrimp/sausage grits and Jon's favorite was the jambalaya.  We were, of course, completely stuffed but everyone always has room for dessert!  Last weekend the owner had given us a coupon for a free order of beignets (see below) so why not, right?  WOW!  I would definitely recommend getting these every time (and taking it to go, served with vanilla ice cream!!). 

Finally, as a quick side note, I would like to brag about my husband.  Jon is in his 2nd/3rd ish week in the Captain's Career Course and during their PT (physical training) test he scored the highest PT score in his seminar group!!  BUT, he is not only in incredible physical shape, but he is also an intelligent man - he passed the Manuevor entrance exam on the first try!  I don't know how to explain this (probably because I don't really understand it myself) but Jon's branch the past 3 years has been MP and instead of going to an MP Captain's Career Course he is in the Infantry's Captain Career Course because he is now doing Special Ops so a lot of this information is new to him but repetitive for most of the guys in the course.  I made him (Whole Wheat) Beer Bread for a job well done!