Taste of Charleston--Literally

Remember that time I wore a dress made entirely out of cake? That was pretty cool. But this isn't about that. Not really, anyway. This is about everything else I did that weekend in Charleston, and by "everything else", I mean, everything I ate. And drank. And was coherent enough during to take pictures of. Ya heard?

The whole cake dress spectacle was part of Charleston's annual metaphorical toast to obesity, Taste of Charleston. My friend/hostess/baker extraordinaire Katelyn was on hand to see to it that, like Scarlett O'Hara, I would never go hungry again!

It started with these:

Yep, that's right. Coconut cake pops. Talk about knowing your audience. This was the best welcome gift I could have received. Then it was off to the Taste event! Our first responsibility was to find the drinks--mimosas it is/was/always will be!

{The adorable Katelyn!}

{The adorable...me!}

Having gained a bit of weight fame from the previous night, we were greeted with open arms and free food (tickets ran $2 a pop!). This shrimp and grits was lit'rally to die for.

The star of the whole show though was the lobster and white bean salad. I mean, obviously.

My last night in Charleston was spent celebrating a job very well done by Team Cake Dress at O-Ku, an amazeballs sushi joint in downtown Charleston. I'll say this: it pays to know people in the food industry. We were treated like KINGS!

KINGS I tell you!!

Do you know what this Japanese dessert is??

Well, neither did the pastry chef instructor!! But I did!!! It's mochi, an ice cream treat wrapped in rice paste (available at a Trader Joe's near you!). Is it wrong I got such a high knowing about a dessert that a pastry chef didn't?? SMALL VICTORIES, people! It's what I live for!!

We rounded off the night at the O-Ku-owned bar a few doors down (sorry I don't remember the name to all these places. I'm drunk right now, as I write this...) with the most over-the-top cocktails you can imagine. They were amazing, until I realized the bartender had this wicked cut on his wrist.

We all got tetanus shots the next day, right ladies???