She-Crab Soup & Shrimp and Grits for Alaska

The Alaska Aces are in town tonight for game three of the Kelly Cup finals against the South Carolina Stingrays. SC Governor Mark Sanford and his Alaskan counterpart, Sarah Palin, have a little wager on the outcome: he'll deliver Palin some she-crab soup and shrimp-and-grits from Tristan if the Aces win, and she'll pony up king salmon if the Stingrays come out on top.

Nothing against salmon, but this somehow doesn't seem like a fair trade. Maybe that Palin's wilier than she looks.

Right now the series is tied 1-1 . . .

Crawfish Boil at Fiery Ron's

Here's something you don't see much in the Lowcountry: a crawfish boil.

Fiery Ron's Hometeam BBQ in West Ashley will be dishing up crawfish Sunday May 3rd from noon to 10 PM. I saw a notice about the event the other day, but mostly it just listed a bunch of musicians, part of some sort of "Allstar Americana Jam" thing that for some reason is mentioned BEFORE the crawfish, which clearly must be a mistake, for how could anyone give a bunch of banjo pickers top billing over mudbugs?

If you've never been to a real crawfish boil you've missed out. It's a lot like a Lowcountry Boil or an Oyster Roast, only with crawfish. And a lot stinkier and more disgusting. For 12 bucks it's all you can eat crawfish and a bunch of good music, too.

Lowcountry Grits Throwdown

Tomorrow afternoon is the First Annual Lowcountry Grits Festival out on Bowen's Island. In addition to beer and live music, there will be a Best Grits competition with cooks from The Boathouse, Bull Street Gourmet, Carolinas, JPaulz, McCrady's, Triangle Bar and Char, and Lost Dog Cafe'. That's a pretty good line up.

Boone Hall Strawberry Festival

The Boone Hall Strawberry Festival is coming up this week . . . as our three-year-old is quick to remind us everytime we drive past and he sees the little strawberry tilt-a-whirl ride sitting idle at the edge of US 17 waiting for the big festival day. "See strawberry! See strawberry!" he intones unfailingly.

It's about as much fun as you can have at an event that doesn't serve beer. Rides for the kids, fresh strawberry picking for all . . . Just one of my little signs that Spring has arrived.