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US: Skippers, VA – Good Earth Peanuts are Virginia Peanuts at their Best
Virginia grows the largest variety of peanuts in the world. The Good Earth Peanut Company ships Virginia peanuts fresh in a variety of forms: raw and cooked, in and out of the shell. Sitting right on a 1650’s Tuscarora Indian trail which is now a railroad junction, in an old time (circa 1854) general store, this family business roasts and sells peanuts.
Lindsey and Scott Vincent go beyond the ordinary nut to sell cashew brittle, wasabi flavored peas, nut berry thrill, diet trail mix, cracked pepper and sea salt peanuts, chocolate covered peanut brittle (Sandra’s favorite) and maple covered nuts, as well as pecans like key lime ones (we’re addicted to the butter toasted pecans in our salads).
There are FREE tastes of the 36 or so salty and sweet treats. We’ll take the dark chocolate
covered cherries. Some groceries still line the walls, like McCutcheon’s preserves and Virginia hams.
You’ve gotta stop here, you won’t be disappointed, the quality and the assortment are amazing. You can even order them on-line and have them shipped to you. They will include information about the history of peanuts, also known as goobers and groundnuts, and how peanuts are grown. WARNING: These products are addictive!
Location: The Good Earth Peanut Company, 5334 Skippers Road, Skippers, Va 23879
Hours: Mon – Fri 8-6pm, Sat 9-4pm
Tel: 1-800-643-1695
goodearthpeanuts.com
US: Columbia, MD – Stop for a Broadway Show in Columbia
Wow. Instead of a night with the boob tube while you travel, why not get energized by a live musical production. Located in the heart of Columbia, Toby’s Dinner Theatre offers award-winning Broadway and original musicals with a tasty buffet-style dinner.
The featured production is Sister Act: A woman hiding in a convent helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she rediscovers her own. Sister Act is the feel-amazing musical comedy based on the smash hit 1992 film that has audiences jumping to their feet. Featuring original music by TONY and 8-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), this uplifting musical was nominated for 5 TONY Awards including Best Musical. A sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, Sister Act is a reason to REJOICE! 
The quality of the performance would make New York proud. The dinner buffet offers: turkey, ham, baked fish, chicken, roast beef, onion/pepper mashies, spinach phunque, fresh salad bar and “Make-your-own” ice cream Sundae bar for dessert. Keep an eye on your servers, for they become the performers.
Location: Toby’s Dinner Theatre,5900 Symphony Woods Rd, Columbia, MD 21044
Dates: running until Nov 13, 2016 (Tues – Sun)
Hours: Tues – Sat Evening – Doors open 6pm, Buffet Served 6:15-7:30, show starts 8pm, Sunday Evening – Doors open 5pm, Buffet Served 5:15-6:30, show starts 7pm
Wed & Sun Matinee Brunch Doors open 10:30am, Buffet 10:30-11:50, Matinee 12:30
Tel: 1-800-888-6297
tobysdinnertheatre.com
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visithowardcounty.com
US: Florence, SC – Basically Love at First Bite at Fatz Cafe
At Fatz Cafe, the motto on the menu,“Where everybody is a regular”, is true and that’s because they
get addicted to the warm buttery poppy seed rolls (hint of donut taste to us). Locals come for the fried Calabash
chicken, which is marinated in buttermilk and served with honey mustard, and to enjoy the oldies music and photos of
the Florence/PeeDee area in the 60’s and 70’s. 
A popular starter is the fried green tomatoes on cheese grits with remoulade sauce or the shareable hot Cajun firecracker sticks stuffed with spicy shrimp, andouille sausage, onions, peppers, melted cheese in a tomato/basil tortilla. A hit of the meal was the Edisto shrimps and grits made with crumbled bacon in a mushroom burgundy gravy with Parmesan cheese. You could come in for the mahi mahi, spinach salad, ribs, pork chops, burgers or a sirloin steak marinated in hard cider, but you must leave room for the Carolina peach cobbler, which tastes like your gramma made it (vanilla ice cream and walnuts on top).
Location: 2007 W. Lucas, Florence, SC
Tel: 843-413-9186
www.fatzcafe.com
For Regional Accommodations and Attractions: www.visitflo.com
www.drivei95.com
US: California Lemonade Chain – Healthy, Inexpensive & Delish
The California Lemonade chain has fabulously delicious, healthy, inexpensive, 
seasonal Southern California comfort food. You can choose a 3 or 2-plate meal for only $10. We love that pricing goes by portion size – you can get 1, 2, or 3 portions of each.
Start with the wildly creative salad bar (beets, tangerines, walnuts & onions or watermelon radish, ahi tuna & snap peas or Thai quinoa, cuke, red pepper, mango, peanuts & carrots). Sandwiches are called “right-sized” as they aren’t the gi-normous ones often found in US restaurants.
The hot section features some land and sea food (buttermilk chicken, red curry salmon, pot roast, BBQ brisket). Yes there are desserts and of course, as it’s name implies, 7 kinds of lemonade (ginger peach, blackberry thyme, cucumber mint) to wash it all down. Don’t skip the mac ‘n cheese (only $3.75) or the (yikes!) brussel sprouts.
This photo’s at LAX airport in the Delta departure lounge but there’s about a dozen of them all over LA. California. They also have a yummy cookbook.
Bitter Chocolates?
Laurent Gerbaud, Belgian chocolatier, was so good that he was sent to Shanghai for the World Expo to show off the sweet talents of his country. However, when he got there he soured on chocolates. Gerbaud discovered that the Chinese were not used to so much sugar so making use of his creative skills he revised his recipes and started to work on tart and bitter tastes.
He searches purveyors for ingredients such as South African Barrrydale apricots, Persian cranberries, Turkish figs, pepper, spicy ginger and orange peel, and mixes them with his dark dark 70 % chocolate recipe using chocolate from Madagascar and Ecuador. The Turkish figs are crunchy, chewy and just slightly sweet. One with Greek pistachios blends salt, sweet (milk chocolate) and nut crunch. There’s a salute to Belgians love for specoloos (gingerbread) by rolling a truffle in the crumbs.
Gerbaud is really a chocolate pusher because once you get addicted to his intense flavor combos, it is very hard to go back to sweetened chocolate.
