International and Crazy are the Key Ingredients

   

It was a day to hit the road and learn more about food.  Today we took a little different approach and headed south to the Grand Strand to visit a couple of places that we just needed to experience.

  Our first stop was Vitoria International Meat Market.  This is a shop that serves, according to the owner, 90% Latino customers and maybe 10% other nationalities.  The little market had a huge section of meats, some of which our Jr. Chefs recognized, some that they did not.  They also learned how folks prepare, preserve, and cook foods in other cultures is very different from America.  Also the cuts of meats we like versus what folks from other countries are looking for is different.  Not good or bad, just different.  We also had a chance to check out the store that had familiar labels or names but things looked a tad different.  Ms. Joanna took a moment to do a little shopping for her girls and our campers so they could taste test some cultural different items when we got back to the office on Friday.  We have to say the store owner took his time to talk with our youth and was gracious giving us chicken sausage to try and a discount on the items we bought there.  It was a really incredible learning experience for our youth.

  Our next stop was lunch, because looking at meat and food got everyone hungry.  So we stopped at Golden Corral and had a great lunch.  We appreciate everyone who took care of us there.  I also have to give a shout out to our campers.  When we go out to eat we have rules.  Most of our youth look forward to desert, which we understand.  However after have a talk before we left about where we were going and making sure they didn't let their eyes get bigger than their stomachs, they made some really great choices.  Not one of them indulged in desert at the restaurant.  They all ate real food and did not overindulge on that, knowing that they wanted to save room for the last stop of the day.  We were very proud of them for thinking ahead and making smart choices.

  Our last stop of the day was the Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar.  These folks have the most incredible, outlandish, creative milkshake choices ever seen.  The owners were kind enough to let us come in early and the assistant manager did a great job giving our youth a tour.  He and the manager answered several questions about the business and our campers were mesmerized by all the options available to them.  We were excited that we even had a birthday to celebrate with a special mason jar.  Our youth were thoughtful in their choices and ecstatic about the opportunity to sample some of the extensive menu of shakes.  It truly left a lasting impression and smiles on their faces.

  We headed home and pulled in right at 5 pm for waiting parents to hear all about our adventure as youth headed home.  To see all the enjoyment from our day please click this link.