Back to Work! A Review of the Crescent City Grill!

The Crescent City Grill

During the summer, my dad doesn't have to work on Fridays. He, my mom and I try to spend a little time together every Friday and that time usually involves going out for lunch. This time, we decided to visit one of our favorite Hattiesburg restaurants, the Crescent City Grill. This restaurant specializes in seafood and Creole food but has something for everyone.

My dad ordered the Seafood Sampler, my mom ordered the crabcakes, and I had the lunch special.

One of my favorite dishes at the Crescent City Grill is the corn and crab bisque. It is thick and creamy and filled with fresh corn and crabmeat. They serve it with warm garlic toast, and I have to have some every time I visit. Robert St. John, the owner and executive chef of the Crescent City Grill, has posted the recipe for his corn and crab bisque on his website. You can find it here: Crescent City Grill Corn and Crab Bisque. My mom and make a quick corn and crab soup at home. It is not has complicated as the kind at Crescent City, but it's good. I will post a recipe for it in a later post.

My lunch special included a half shrimp po-boy, a cup of crawfish bisque (I substituted the corn and crab), and some blackened shrimp pasta salad. As I said earlier, the soup was awesome! The sandwich was really tasty and had plenty of shrimp on it. I ate the pasta salad last. I didn't finish it so I decided to take what I didn't eat home for later. The meal was a great value at $7.99and I would definitely order it again!

My dad enjoyed his seafood sampler. It contained fried shrimp and oysters, grilled mahi mahi, crab cakes and rice. The sampler came with a homemade remoulade sauce that he enjoyed very much. He said it was the best he had ever eaten. My dad usually orders his fish fried, but he said the mahi mahi was delicious. He said he will definitely order the sampler again!

My mom ordered the crabcakes. They were served on top of fried green eggplant and topped with melted cheeses and crabmeat. She ordered steamed vegetables as a side item. My dad tried the crabcakes and said they were excellent.

My mom ordered fresh watermelon sorbet for dessert. She shared it with me and it was so delicious! It wasn't too sweet and was very light. I will definitely order some the next time I go to the Crescent City Grill.

I highly recommend that anyone living in or visiting Hattiesburg who is looking for a reasonably-priced restaurant with excellent food visit the Crescent City Grill. I have never ordered a dish that I didn't really enjoy there!

Guess What!?!

I have a new baby sister! Her name will be Anna Grace Ainiu Daniels. She lives in an orphanage in China in the Jiangxi Province. We are going to get her in about 8 weeks. She is 8 months old and is very small. She laughs a lot and loves to play with toys that make sounds.

I am looking forward to my trip to China. I am going with my parents and my Grandpa Kenny. We will be there for 2 weeks. I am excited about trying REAL Chinese food. I have seen pictures of some of the strange things that Chinese people eat.

The Old Athens Grill (Hattiesburg, Mississippi)

Today my mom and I went to the Old Athens Grill for lunch. The food was really good. I had not eaten Greek food before today.

The decorations in the restaurant were really cool. They had guitars and old cigar boxes on the walls. I was a little bit disappointed because the decorations were the same as decorations at other places around town. Really cool, but not Greek.

The food was really good. We had an appetizer called Greek Cheese Rolls. They are made by stuffing several kinds of cheese in a wrapper that looked kind of like a wonton wrapper. They were deep fried and served with a red pepper jelly dipping sauce. They were very good.

We both had souvlaki for our entree. The pieces of steak were grilled with Greek seasoning and were served with rice pilaf, hummus, pita slices and some pickled vegetables. My steak was a little bit overcooked but the flavor was good. The hummus was delicious. I didn't like the pickled vegetables, but I usually do not like pickles. My mom really liked them.

We shared an order of baklava for dessert. I had never eaten it before. It tasted good -- kind of like pecan pie, but with cinnamon. I didn't like the texture, though. The next time I go I am going to try the cinnamon pita chips.

My dad really likes Greek food. We are going to take him to lunch there very soon so he can try the food. They have many different kinds of gyros (even barbeque). I am sure that anyone who tries out the Old Athens Grill will find something they really like on the menu.

My Favorite Restaurants

In the next couple of weeks I will be posting some reviews. I will be talking about my favorite restaurants and why I like them. Some of the restaurants I will be talking about are:

Leatha's
The Crescent City Grill
Mama Alma's Kitchen
Sushi Fusion
Fox's Pizza
Topher's
Bad to the Bone

All of these restaurants are in Hattiesburg or close to Hattiesburg. If anyone knows a place that's not on my list that I should try, please leave a comment and I will!

Getting Your Kids to Eat Fruit

I don't eat a lot of fruit. I like watermelon, bananas and strawberries, but don't eat them very often.

Last night my mom made some poppy seed dressing that she took to work with her. She told me that it was very good on fruit. At first, I didn't believe her, but I tried it and it was really very good. It is very easy to make. All you need is a blender and a few ingredients. Here is the recipe:

Poppy Seed Dressing for Fruit

3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. cider or white vinegar
1 t. dry mustard (you can buy this in the spice section at the market)
1 t. sea salt
1 1/2 T poppy seeds
1 c. vegetable oil

In a blender, combine sugar, vinegar, mustard and salt. Mix on high speed until well-combined (about 1 minute). While the blender is still running, SLOWLY add the oil until the dressing becomes thick and combined. Reduce speed to low and add poppy seeds. Blend on medium speed until well-mixed. You should scrape down the sides of the blender once to make sure that the poppy seeds are mixed in completely.

You can store this dressing in the refrigerator for over a week.

Comments

I forgot to tell everyone who reads this blog that I love reading your comments. If you read a post and want to make a comment, just click on the word comments at the bottom and it will allow you to leave me a message. I will check my messages every day and respond as soon as I can.

CAN'T TOUCH THIS!!!

When it comes to Italian food, the Magic Tomato (or as my little cousin calls it "The Magic Potato") is the best. My favorite dish is the Chicago-style deep-dish barbeque chicken pizza. The crust is crispy and seasoned very well. There are lots of toppings and it satisfies the hungriest customer.

My mom and dad's favorite dish is the New York-style thin-crust pizza. They like pepperoni, ham and cheese. It is always crispy and fresh and the perfect dinner for them to share!

The owner, Mr. Rich, is a very nice person. He always comes out of the kitchen and speaks to us to make sure the meal was good. It is always great! I have also tried their lasagna (which is VERY good) and their cheesy bread.

The restaurant is very kid-friendly. Every time I go I see families with children enjoying their meals without worrying about the fact that their children are having a great time. My mom and dad took my little cousin out to eat for her birthday. They told her she could go anywhere she wanted and she chose the Magic Tomato. I think it was the perfect choice! Here is a picture of Alyiah with the special birthday brownie sundae Mr. Rich gave her at the end of her meal!

She was VERY, VERY happy!

Restaurant Reviews

I am going to post reviews of restaurants that my family and I visit. Hattiesburg has some really good restaurants. My first review will be for The Magic Tomato.

Grape Salad (For My Friend Laura)

I made this grape salad for a Families with Chinese Children (FCC) swimming party last year. It was a HUGE hit! It has become one of my family's favorites. I hope you enjoy it!

Creamy Grape Salad

1 1/2 lb. green seedless grapes (washed and stemmed)
1 1/2 lb. black seedless grapes (washed and stemmed)
1 1/2 lb. red seedless grapes (washed and stemmed)
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 c. sugar
2 pkgs, vanilla sugar (found in German specialty groceries) (or sub. 2 t. vanilla extract
1 16 oz. carton of sour cream
1 1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 c. brown sugar

In large mixing bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla sugar or flavoring. Mix well. Add sour cream and mix until smooth.


In a large bowl, using a rubber spatula, pour mixture over grapes. Stir gently making sure that all grapes are covered. Spoon grape mixture into large bowl or into an oblong baking dish.

In separate bowl, combine brown sugar and nuts. Sprinkle over grape mixture and lightly cover. Store in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before eating.

Welcome!

I wanted to thank each person who has taken the time to visit my new blog. I will be posting my favorite recipes along with stories about why they are special to me. I will include photos whenever possible.

Late this summer I will be traveling to China with my mom and dad. We are adopting a baby girl and my dad and I plan to eat our way through China one interesting dish at a time. Chicken feet...here we come!