What's A #CurvyCrave? Soup Season is here - Craving French Onion Soup

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter at Curvy in the City, you've likely noticed that I often hashtag things #curvycrave, so much so I started a separate Instagram account for it.  But, what exactly is a "curvy crave"?

A curvy crave is essentially anything I've eaten, cooked, been made, read, see throughout my week that gives me pause to say "God, that was good", "I want it" or "I need it" or "I gotta go there."  Essentially its my week in round up of the things you've gotta check out from my favorite publications and people online!

Also, I've recently changed my diet - lost a few pounds, cleanse once a week (I turn 40 soon...more on that another time) so my all my #curvycrave's recently (fine, ok ALWAYS) have been food related. Now that it's cold here in NYC I've been craving comfort food. And right now here's what I'm craving - lately. Cheese.Onions.Bread. Heaven, otherwise known as French Onion Soup!

#CurvyCrave French Onion Soup

from Serious Eats

One of my favorite ways to enjoy cheese is melted Gruyere over a classic French Onion soup. Here's a great recipe for you to make this indulgence at home via Serious Eats!

Not in the mood to make French Onion Soup?  Here are my recommendations of great places to enjoy this classic dish!

The Kettle (Manhattan Beach, CA) 
This is the first place I ever had this dish.  The Kettle may be my favorite 24 hour institution in LA. Where else can you get french cuisine with a Cali-healthy twist.  They have a different house-made soup on special daily (the broccoli cheese is reason enough to go) but the onion soup is there daily. Try the perfectly steaming, slaty, onion-y and cheesy version served as it should be in it's own personal earthen-ware crock, in addition to their delicious entrees (pot roast is among my favorites), sandwiches (squab bread, tuna, sprouts and avocado? yes, please) and salads (my cobb salad standards were also set here).

Chez Oskar (Brooklyn, NY)
So, sad that Chez Oskar is no longer walking distance in Fort Greene. But, I am happy they survived and relocated (to my old hood) in BedSty.  They make a perfect classic rendition of most French food and their French Onion Soup is no exception.  Order it (and some fries and a glass of house wine) and you won't even mind that the sun setting earlier and earlier these days.

Balthazar (New York City (Soho))
An obvious one, because they do every French classic so well.  But this is the perfect dish to order at the bar with some pommes frites and enjoy the scene.  Sometimes I like to order it as I wait for a table, which I end up never going to cause I'm usually having way too good a time at the bar.

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Curvy Crave of the Week: "The World's Most Indulgent Baked Potatoes"

I spend WAY too much time looking at pictures of food online.

Whether it's following Infatuation's #eeeeats hashtag on Instagram, reading posts from Saveur or Food and Wine or checking out tips from the food bloggers I love I can't get enough. Invariably, that leaves me headed in to my weekend with a serious cravings.

While it is very hard to pick what I am craving the most this week, hands down the one item that is making me go a bit crazy is this ridiculous recipe from Kitchen Daily for Poutine-Style Twice Baked Potatoes.

I love potatoes, it is my starch of choice...always.

You say in order to eat teriyaki chicken you need some great fragrant white rice? Puh-shah, put that over some french fries and be in heaven!  This combo was my go-to meal "treat meal" in elementary school at the Redondo Beach Pier (before the awesome teriyaki place burned down, RIP).  The fries soak up all that teriyaki sauce goodness and chicken and potatoes are good friends from way back.  But...I digress.

Oxtail Poutine from Chop Bar in Oakland, CA

The best thing about potatoes is that much like Bubba in Forest Gump, there are a kazillion ways to make them.  Having become all to well acquainted with cheese fries and gravy fries in my youth, I am a new convert to poutine.  However, poutine is a glorious, glorious food combining the things I love to cover my fries in (I forgot to put in an honorable mention for chili) with a French twist.  Even the name poutine makes you feel better about eating it..it doesn't exactly SOUND like fries covered in gravy and cheese (curds). It sounds sophisticated.

This recipe is AMAZING because it takes several of the BEST things about potatoes and combines them in to one deliciously decadent recipe.  "First they're stuffed with sour cream and Parmigiano-Reggiano, then they're topped with tangy gravy, melted mozzarella, bits of crisp bacon and, finally, fried potato skins."

Check out the full recipe at Kitchen Daily.

What are YOUR curves craving this week?

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Mrs. Wilkes, you had me at hello!

When I travel I always like to research where it is I am going.  I like to find out the must see attractions and the best bars and restaurants. So when my girls and I planned a trip to Tybee Island just a few miles from Savannah, GA I was excited.

You see, I have been wanting to visit Tybee, ever since reading about it in Pearl Cleage's Baby Brother Blues.  Since, I am waiting on my very own Blue Hamilton I knew I had to check out this magical place.  Tybee doesn't disappoint, its beautiful.  We saw dolphins, sting rays and ate amazing seafood.  What makes Tybee truly special though is the sense of peace and serenity of the place with the fun, causal Southern fun of Savannah only 20 miles away.  

View from our rented one-bedroom condo

Savannah is such an interesting city.  It is a virtual ghost town and southern charm exudes out of every corner. But that my curvy friends is not what excited me most about Savannah. No, it was the allure of fried chicken!

An avid Food Network and Travel Channel watcher I'd heard of Mrs. Wilkes.  The place is often mentioned in best places to eat list, all raving about the fried chicken, beef stew, country biscuits and more.  I HAD to go there, h-a-d to. I mean what curvy girl turns down a legendary Southern meal, and on vacation nonetheless.

OMG, Mrs. Wilkes is one of those places you MUST eat at once in your life.  This place is on my food bucket list. (Yes, I'm curvy I have a food bucket list.)  The food here was an experience.  

First, the wait is insane.  But you know that going in.  The thing about the wait, however; you get to meet the people in line and you have an idea about who you'll be eating with, since at Mrs. Wilkes you're eating family style.  

Once you get in the door you are lead in to a home with tables all set up, you pick an empty table and sit down to a full table full of Southern goodness.  One bite, sent me way back in to my childhood.  If I didn't know better my great grandmother, or Mother as we called her, was back there cooking.  They even made sweet potatoes like hers with coconut.  I found out that that style of southern cooking is known as "low country," and the delicious flavors took me back to the recipes and flavors I had grown up eating and learning how to cook.

Was it the best fried chicken I ever ate? Not sure about that one, but it is up there with some of the best I've ever eaten.  My other personal favorites on the menu: 

• beef stew (they make this simple dish taste like a rock star)
• sweet potatoes (mashed with butter, coconut, raisins and pecans--like Mother made)
• black-eyed peas (better than mine, and mine are d*mn good)
• turnips
• greens
• dirty rice/jambalaya
• mashed potatoes and gravy
• cabbage
• BBQ pork (also, in a word ridiculous)
• creamed corn
• BISCUITS!
• cornbread

The list above, isn't even HALF of what they bring you out to eat.  With sweet tea or water to drink, its like the Southern Sunday Dinner on acid.  What's more they bring out cobbler or banana pudding for dessert!

Mrs. Wilkes has a winning formula, good service, consistent delicious food and a heritage of low country southern cooking that made the trip to Savannah delicious and I certainly left a bit curvier.

Details:
Rent a condo with Tybee Vacation Rentals stay on the north end of the island if you prefer dolphin watching and less traffic and south if you want more local attractions, bars, etc.

YOU MUST EAT AT:
Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room
107 West Jones Street
Savannah, GA 31401
http://mrswilkes.com/
Open Monday-Friday
$18, cash only 
11-2pm

(pictured above, the spread POST meal)

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