The One About The Sunscreen
Panic at the Checkout PLUS a local restaurant review
(lol. not me but what some much younger and thinner lady looks like having a panic attack in the sunscreen aisle. Thanks AI)
Ah summer….I think we’ve established is NOT my favorite season. Never has been. I’m not a fan of heat and humidity combos for days at a stretch that make me feel like I am walking into The Ovens of Hell every time I open my front door. I mean, I get it. Seasons gonna season but I think we can also agree, whether we agree on the causes or not, that Hot-Hotter-Hottest is not the best trend for the planet and those of us who inhabit it.
I had what I believe was a legit panic attack re: this today in, of all places, Target. The store where I go to buy 2 things and somehow end up, glassy-eyed and quivering with a cart full of crap and the check out lady saying “That’ll be a number north of two hundred dollars, hun.” Today was no different. Before that happened, I passed by a large display of sunscreen paraphernalia and stopped dead in my tracks, to the dismay of the family of six on my heels. Don’t worry, my ankles will recover eventually.
I thought to myself, “Welp, I haven’t bothered to stop and find a nice body of water to sit by with a book and a cold drink all summer long. How about that.” I blinked, realizing I have little excuse now that my new hip is hippng the way it’s supposed to hip and I live within 45 minutes of a decent lake not to mention 3 hours of one of my favorite coastlines. And then, without warning, my brain coughed up a reminder that, thanks to the actions of we humans (this is my belief and this is also my substack so that’s what I’m saying) I don’t know how many more years I will have the opportunity to relax by a body of water that we aren’t fighting over, Mad Max, style, for hydration.
And there it was.
The panic.
I had to retreat back into the fancy aisle of man beauty products, which, I noted as my breathing calmed and my pulse returned to normal, has it’s very own fake wood floor now. By way of distinguishing itself from the lady beauty products I guess. Wouldn’t want anyone to buy lady deodorant for the man in their life. Ew. Cooties.
Anyways, I’m not prone to panics in public so it was scary but I took care of myself by buying a large, completely unreusable plastic bucket of iced tea at Starbucks You Will Be Assimilated which I sipped on reflectively. All while patting myself on the back for my expensive, non-HOA approved solar panels (calm down. I paid their ludicrous fine.), my attempts at recycling which I strongly suspect are being dumped in the…dump, and all my random efforts to always bring reusable bags into every store. Except today, of course, because I forgot.
I hope your Friday Target run was better.
On another note, Mr. Liz and I had a truly lovely eating and drinking experience at a new-to-us restaurant in Greer, SC last night. For those of you who don’t know, Greer is not Greenville but it’s one of the ‘burbs around GVL. It has its own downtown, of course, and is super cute and lively. But this place wasn’t even downtown. It was way off the beaten path, in what looked like a planned community (again, all new to us). It came highly recommended to us and so we headed out there and I can confirm that House 509 is worth the trip.
Photo from: Greenville News Online.
In a nutshell, it’s wine bar and bistro. They serve meals “flight style” so you choose which flight of food you want, prepared by owner Chef Guichard Ulysse and can choose optional wine flights paired with them, chosen by owner Sommelier Jessica Charles. They opened House 509 in November 2022.
I was feeling a little bit pasta so I went for that flight with the “house favorites” wine flight. It was colorful, flavorful, and just a few bites shy of being too much food (my fault, not theirs). The Pinot Gris went perfectly with the bright and lively shrimp primavera, the Merlot was a solid accompaniment to the deeply delicious mushroom ravioli with pesto gorgonzola sauce that I personally would like to swim in, and their pinot noir choice was pitch perfect with a spicy sausage with penne and creamy vodka sauce.
Mr. Liz went for the ONV Favorite flight which was sea bass, the sausage/penne/vodka sauce that I had, and just enough of a filet mignon perfectly cooked. What was eye opening for him (and me because I had to be quality control on that whole deal) was he chose the recommended wine flight which was “Northwest Adventure.” It had the aforementioned yummy pinot noir with the pasta and a hearty cab to go with the red meat but the first pairing: a Reisling with the sea bass that came on a bed of risotto and gremolata. “I don’t like Reisling,” he protested. “Try it,” he was encouraged. He did. Then I did. And behold, Fans of House 509 Were Born.
I managed one photo. It was so good, I forgot about my phone.
I know that pairing wine with food, or beer with food, is many times 100% subjective. I’ve said as much in this very tome. But sometimes it’s poetry. And while I hope I can always wander into House 509—which is, btw a solid 30 minutes from my house but whatever I can wander that far—and sit at their bar and be served their food with fabulous pairings, I also hope more people catch on to it. Between the careful, attentive service, the chat with Chef, and the mind blowing special cake slice of the day which was something that would get pastry chef Taylor Burke a tackle-hug from Paul Hollywood, it deserves to be booked solid every night it’s open.
Here’s a link to their website with menus. Go there. You’ll thank me.
See ya there!
xoxo
Liz