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Snack Situation 068: Charleston Treats
586 Plays3 months ago
On this round of Snack Situation, Matt and Marlene try some praline pecans and tea cookies from the Charleston City Market!
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Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
You'll have to fight for something to eat. Sometimes it's savory, sometimes it's sweet. Snack situation, watch us snack it on. Hello hungry people and welcome to Snack Situation. This is the show where we try snacks. My name is Matt Wilson. And my name is Marlene Thompson. Yeah, we're married and we try snacks on this show, Snack Situation. That's the show. Yep. We're on yeah vacation. Yeah, vacation. Can we use that? Cut that. You sang it about as much as we could use, I think. We are in Charleston, South Carolina. It was my birthday two days ago.
00:00:46
Speaker
And we have had a ah very good trip so far. Yeah. We ah arrived on Saturday and went straight to our favorite seafood restaurant. Bowens Island. Bowens Island. So good. Incredible. Yeah. Fresh, fresh seafood. Yeah. I had crab cakes, which is more of like not what you would think. I guess Charleston, you'd think more Northeast, I guess. I don't know, but. I mean, I don't know. You know what, I don't know. it was They were fucking good. So we did that. We went to an ice cream place called Turbo Cone that was really good. The air conditioner just came on, so you might be hearing that. yeah Then on Sunday, we went to the beach. It was fun. We went to the beach bar slash restaurant that we love, Low Life.
00:01:38
Speaker
Yeah, it's really good. Has a drink called the Eric Estrada. Uh-huh, and it's a pina colada. But it's... But they call it the Eric Estrada because it's got... It's got spices in it. Yeah, which I don't... It's very good. Yes. Then we were at the beach for most of the afternoon. Then we... For dinner, we had pizza that I liked and you didn't. It was fine. It was fine. It wasn't bad. It was pizza. and Most pizza isn't bad, but it just... It wasn't... Like, I don't know, just wasn't the kind of pizza that I enjoy. I don't know. You prefer. That I prefer. Yeah. I thought it was pretty good. We went to an arcade bar that we stayed at for maybe 20 minutes. Yeah. It was not the vibe. I mean, it's fine. They just don't have that very many games yeah there. Yeah. And I just, you know, those places are sometimes a rip off. For sure. Yeah. Then today, we
00:02:38
Speaker
got donuts this morning at a place called Hero. Literally so good. Highly recommended. They have breakfast sandwiches. They have coffee. they It's great. um I had a blueberry cake donut and ah a bacon, egg, and cheese on a bun. They don't have anything but buns, which is fine. But um yeah, that was really good. I got a regular vanilla glazed donut, which. Cause you're boring. Is so good. It's so, I don't care if people say I'm boring, delicious. And then the strawberry donut. Strawberry donut. It was just like a regular, like cake, I mean, whatever kind of donut, vanilla donut. It was a yeast donut. Yeast donut. And then it had like a, straw it literally tasted like a strawberry daiquiri, but without the alcohol. It was great. It was so good. Yeah. ah Hero donuts, high recommendation. Mm-hmm. If you're in the Charleston area, you should go try it. yeah um Then we did some shopping this afternoon. Mostly you. I just kind of walked around. And then we went to what we're talking about on the show here. The snacks we purchased were at the Charleston City Market.
00:03:54
Speaker
which if you've ever been to Charleston, South Carolina, you probably know of the Charleston City Market. It's right in the middle of downtown. It is a big open air market. There's also like an enclosed air conditioned part, which it's nice to walk through that part, but also don't buy anything in that part. It's all kind of scammy. Yeah, it's like a Hallmark store. It's kind of like a Hallmark store, but the parts in the open, air the stuff in the open air areas, is like very cool, like some of it's handmade stuff, and they have- And some of it's kitschy. Some of it's kitschy, and ah they also have ah food for sale yeah in some places, and a lot of it is like- Treats. Treats. Cookies and other things that are sort of like Charleston specialties, and we'll be trying like the famous Charleston cookie yeah here, but we're not gonna try that first.
00:04:48
Speaker
because first what we're going to try is something we already tried because we got a free sample. We are in our hotel room now. And also, if you're wondering what the drink pairing is for these snacks, we got lemonade at the or air market. It was really good. But we we couldn't find anywhere to record there that was not very noisy. yeah So we came back to our hotel with the snacks. The lemonade was very tasty though. So good. It was just you know that that thing where the like they take lemon and squeeze it into water and then put sugar in it and then they just like kind of shake it up for a while and serve it to you. and You know, like lemonade? Like real lemonade, yes. Like how you make lemonade? Not out of a like cooler full of pre-made lemonade. Country time lemonade. Not like that. Not like that. ah So, we already tried these because we got a free sample at the market, but we're going to have another one. They are praline pecans, or you might say praline here in Charleston. You mean praline pecans?
00:05:54
Speaker
If you're from Philadelphia, you say praline pecans. If you're in Charleston, you say praline pecans. I have to put one in my mouth. Okay. I'm going to have one too. no Here we go. The clerk, so good the clerk or the saleswoman at the booth where we bought these said she and her mom make these themselves. They're I forget what the booth was, but the, Praline brand is Dolores's Southern Delights. It's very good. Very buttery. I've always loved pecans. Praline, I guess what makes it Praline is the sugar and the butter. Yeah, very buttery. You know, can't go wrong. They're really good. Yeah, I like to put these in my salads to make it fun. Well, we'll have some you can take home to put in your salads. They're such a treat. That's good. Yeah.
00:06:56
Speaker
Delicious. I highly recommend. What's your favorite nut, Matt? Cashew. Cashew's pretty good. I would say probably cashew's my second. I'm a classic gal. I love a peanut. We know this. We've talked about it. Peanuts are great. Yeah. I like almonds. I eat a lot of almonds. Almonds are good. Almonds are bland. I lied. I like almonds. Almonds I feel like are a diet food. You know what? We try to break up with diet culture on this podcast because we're trying snacks. That's true. Uh, so now, okay, started with praline, praline pecans or. Don't make fun of me. Praline pecans. Are you sure that's how they say it here? Yeah, they certainly, if you go to certain areas, they're going to say praline. Yeah.
00:07:52
Speaker
Well, pecan I know is like the way that you and like your family and like whoever else says it is from the south, but yeah. Praline, I don't get it. Praline. Praline, it feels like you should say Praline. I'm not trying to make fun of the southern accent, I'm just saying that it that's how it rolls off the tongue. Okay. Okay. So now we're gonna try the the like official cookie. of Charleston, which is known as the Bennett Wafer. Ooh, it smells really good. And I looked up, these are from Southern Sisters Bakers and Confectioners. Which, I don't know, they might just have them at the, wherever. But I looked up the history of the Bennett Wafer. This is on a website for Old Colony Bakery. Sounds weird.
00:08:50
Speaker
And here's what they say. Unique to the low country since colonial times, Beni, the Bantu word for sesame, was brought from East Africa, Madagascar, through West Africa, and brought over to the southern United States by African enslaved people. Well, yeah, can we know how that got here. ah It was planted extensively through the south. Other foods brought from Africa in the 17th and 18th century include peanuts, sweet potatoes, okra, black eyed peas, and collard greens. So like all of the good things. Yeah. Yeah. So essentially these are sesame cookies. Yeah. And they are specifically a thing in the Charleston area. I think you can also get them in like Savannah. Yeah. I, I like sesame. I like a sesame flavor. I really love like a sesame cracker. Let's, let's try it. Let's try a sesame cookie. Yeah. Let's try a Ben & Wafer. Let's try a Ben & Wafer. Are you ready? Here we go.
00:09:48
Speaker
um Oh.
00:09:58
Speaker
They're definitely like a savory cookie. Yeah. I like that the cookie itself is very light. Oh, it's very crunchy. Yeah, and it's got the sesame seeds in there. It's like you could dip it in like a, you know what would be really good? You could dip this in like a flavored kind of coffee, like a flavored latte. It does have that kind of like, almost biscotti kind of sense to it. Or you could dip it in like something. I might have another. They're good. I think it would be really cool to dip it in chocolate. Yeah? I don't know if they do that here. That might not be a thing people do. People like chocolate. All right. These are good. They're good, yeah. ah We got, so we went to the, the
00:10:50
Speaker
the booth that had those, and they had a deal where you got a discount if you bought three packs of cookies. Yeah, so we said more cookies. So we said yes. Yes, please. And so another one that we got are lemon tea cookies. I'm excited to try these. Which are covered in powdered sugar. Because I love tea, and I love a tea cookie, and I love powdered sugar. Alright, here we go. What's not to love? Tea cookies.
00:11:20
Speaker
Ooh. I have made such a mess. Yeah. Ooh, ooh. They're very lemony. They're super lemony, but they're really good. Ooh. The powdered sugar went everywhere. Ooh. Well, I was prepared for it, so I had my hand out. Mm.
00:11:43
Speaker
It literally, like it tastes like you're biting into a lemon. It's a very tart cookie. But it's not that, it's like tart, but it's, the powdered sugar really helps tone that down. I like them. I feel like, if if we had had the lemonade while we tried those. Too much lemon. That would have been too much. It's cold. There's a loud banging sound just outside
00:12:18
Speaker
our hotel room just now. yeah I think it was just a door slamming, maybe. Anyway, I like those. I feel like you need to have them with something that cuts. Cuts the lemon. Like a drink that cuts the acidity of the lemon. I think they'd be really good with a Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola or like. Like a real southern. Like a hot chocolate or something. Oh, really? Hot chocolate with a lemon? Maybe tea. Maybe tea. I mean, they are tea cookies. But I wonder what kind of tea they're talking about. Because in the South, when you say tea, usually it means sweet tea. It can be. I mean, people drink hot tea. you I mean, they do. But like, if I were to tell, like, for example, your mom might say tea and I'm like, great, what kind of tea? and She means sweet tea. If she says I'm making tea,
00:13:18
Speaker
she means well she means specifically sweet tea that's but it that's like decaffeinated and only half real sugar because that's what she makes so bad i'm kidding i'm kidding it's not bad it's the it's the decaf part that i don't like Yeah, she but she she has specific needs dietary needs. yeah yeah So, I say, yeah, lemon cookies, very good. I like them. They're good. I i just feel like... I'm surprised you don't like them more, Matt. Lemon is like your flavor. I love lemon. Those are just very tart. They're not that tart. They're very tart. They're tart in a way that, like, it it's like you're biting into a lemon candy, but it's a cookie and then...
00:14:04
Speaker
There's powdered sugar on it. yeah I like it. I just think you gotta have the right drink with them is the only thing. Okay. um So we there's another tea, I'm excited to try this one because again, I love pecans. Okay. These are, well, let's say what they are. They're the Charleston pecan tea cookies or pecan. Whatever. So here's the thing about pecans. I really like, love them. I love pecan pie. I love like a, you know, clearly love a praline. Which praline pecans, I guess you could praline anything? Is it more of like a verb?
00:14:45
Speaker
Because when I think praline, I think a pecan. Well, I think you can have a praline that's just the stuff with nothing inside. But I think
00:15:02
Speaker
It's a French term. It's gonna have, okay, so it does have to have some kind of nut in it, but it can be any kind of nut. Interesting. I like that they say, we're looking on Google now and it says, a sugar coated almond or other nut meat. Nut meat? What does it say? It says nut meat. It says nut meat. Wow, that is in. Go Google Praline, it's fucking weird. That's in Britannica, that's in Encyclopedia Britannica. Any kind of nut meat. I'll give you a nut meat. A nut is required for praline. Wow. Cool. Okay. So I was going to say something about pecan. Oh yeah. Like I love butter. So here's something that I'll say that's pecan butter pecan. That's a good fucking ice cream.
00:15:50
Speaker
You know why? wait wait So it tastes like pecan. You wouldn't say butter pecan? No, because it rolls off the tongue much better when you say butter pecan. No, think about it! Like, say it. Say butter pecan. Butter pecan. So you're dogmatic about it being pecan. Yes. Unless it's butter pecan. So my dad loved butter pecan ice cream. Specifically, like, the Briar's butter pecan. And I remember it, like, being in our house. Okay. ah When I was a kid, but like, yeah, it's just, I just say butter pecan. because Would he say butter pecan? He would. But would he otherwise say pecan? I think he would say pecan. I don't really know, honestly. I think he, I mean, my dad had a weird accent. Who knows? All right. Okay. We're trying these cookies. Charleston pecan tea cookies.
00:16:42
Speaker
oh Yeah. That's like a pecan Sandy. It's like a pecan Sandy. and I love pecans. Okay. Butter pecan, pecan Sandy. I think it's the A.
00:17:01
Speaker
These are good. These are good. That's another thing my dad, my dad would like pecans. He does like pecans or jib, but pecan Sandy's were always something that he really liked. It's a good nut.
00:17:17
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I like these. and I like these better than the, dare I say, I think I like them better than the Bennett wafer. Okay. um You don't seem so shocked by that or seem to care. I think I like the cookie and the Bennett wafer more. They're the same kind of cookie. What are you talking about? It's like a light little airy cookie. Well, okay. They have the same ingredients. Well then in that, I think I like the Bennett wafer more. I feel like all of them would probably be better with like tea than they are just on their own. Like a hot tea? Yeah. Or like coffee. Coffee would be fine too. The thing about the... It would be really good with the coffee. The thing about pecans, I would never just sit down and eat pecans.
00:18:16
Speaker
No, but they need to be in something. right i like I would sit down and eat peanuts or cashews or almonds. I would not just like grab a handful of pecans and eat them. Yeah, unless they were covered in sugar and sugar. Yeah, if they're praline or praline, that's a different deal. those The pralines are actually the best thing we got. i think These I can't stop eating. Cause it's just butter and sugar. yeah like And a nut yeah and pasture ice cream and a little bit of salt. That's it. They're delicious. Creoleines are my favorite out of this bunch. Then I think I'm going to put, yeah, I'm a pecan gal. I like the pecan tea cookies.
00:19:14
Speaker
I'm them, so we're ranking them, right? if you I mean, you are. Right. I just don't know, you and Chris rank so much stuff. All the time. Yeah. So I just didn't know if that was appropriate. We can. Great, so I'm gonna rank them. Praylings. Okay. Number one. Pecan cookies, number two. I'm gonna be an asshole. I'm putting the lemon cookies at number three. and the Benway wafers at number four. Actually, I might put them on the equal, equal footing. Tied for third. Tied for third, because everything was good. All right, I'm gonna, here's my ranking. Praline and or praline, number one. Benway for number two, lemon cookie number three, pecan cookie number four. so These are mine then. Yeah, sure.
00:20:05
Speaker
I am gonna eat them in the hotel bathtub. Yes, our hotel room has a, every we stay at the hotel the same hotel every time we come here. Yeah, don't tell them what it is though. Okay. I'm just saying privacy. And you can get rooms that have like a jacuzzi tub. Yeah. And ah we always do. I don't gatekeep many things, but I'm gatekeeping this fucking hotel. Okay. So we like, we're not like, you know, big high roller travel spenders, but I will drop a little more to get the room with the Jacuzzi tub. Yeah. Cause it's, it's very nice. I forgot to take a picture of these. So we're going to end the episode and then I'm going to take a picture of these open bags of cookies. Uh, and, uh, that's it. Do we want to say anything else?
00:21:03
Speaker
what would you What else would you like to say? um Have a good summer. oh and This is the July episode. We're here in June, but it's the July episode. Keep having a good summer. Remember that I don't know. Remember that I don't know. Remember, remember you cut this part out now, please. I was gonna say, remember cops aren't your friends, but that's like y'all's thing. You can say that. Chris isn't here. he He's the one who always says that at the end of an Ajax episode. Cops aren't your friends, guys. Okay. And Charleston is a city built by not white people. And we are tomorrow. Our plan for tomorrow is to go to the African-American
00:21:54
Speaker
History Museum, yes which we have not been to yet, um but we come here every year. and it is um like Even we walked by a plaque on King Street. ah with said it it The plaque talked about how this restaurant there used to be a restaurant there, and it was famous for ah sit-in in the 1960s. I think it was like a lunch counter. It was a lunch counter. I think it was like a Woolworth's lunch counter. And now it's a fucking H&M. Yeah. So, yeah. America, to quote the Queen, America has a problem. I do think the lunch counter in Greensboro. The Queen Beyonce, not like the Queen, it's not, I'm talking about Beyonce.
00:22:47
Speaker
What other queen would you be talking about? Camilla? Oh, no. I mean, she's not a queen in my eyes. She is officially a queen. Fuck her. She's technically a queen consort. I don't care. But they call her queen. I don't care. We actually were wondering about this, so I'm looking it up now. The International African American Museum was closed today, because this is Monday when we're recording this, but it's open tomorrow. Heck yeah. Tuesday. We're doing it. So we're gonna go. Yeah. ah So. I didn't mean to get so political at the end, but I just feel like it's hard not to when you're in a city like Charleston. Right? Yeah. and Especially when you're talking about stuff like ingredients like we just tried that weren't native.
00:23:37
Speaker
to the country until we brought people over. That's true. I mean, well, so much of the culture of this... Until people were brought over. Yes. ah So much of the culture of this part of the country is is because of that. Yeah. And, yeah. But our culture is certainly better to have those elements in it. Yeah. It just sucks how it got here. Very true. Well, I'm gonna take a picture of these cookies and then this episode will go up in July. Thank you for listening everybody, we appreciate it. Thank you for indulging us as we tried some snacks in Charleston, South Carolina. um We're not gonna go to the battery. If you go here, don't go to the battery. It's a monument to bad stuff. Just like Fort Sumter. I mean, I guess it could be like a
00:24:35
Speaker
You know what's beautiful? I don't even know what you're talking about. Fort Sumter is... I mean, I know what Fort Sumter is, but the battery, I don't know what you're talking about what that is. It's also part of the same deal. Oh, well, fuck that. Where it's all like the start of the Civil War. Right. But I guess it's like a learn from your mistakes kind of thing. There is... And people don't go there to... I mean, some people might, but I don't think a lot of people go there to... We saw a lot. You know what? It's not the end of the episode. Hang on. Because we saw a lot of weird political shit. Like while we were on the road and just people here fucking...
00:25:09
Speaker
yeah can i talk Can I tell them about, I'm gonna tell them about this, okay. Well, we just saw a sign that, or we saw a car that had a bumper sticker that said, it's happening I'm voting for the felon. It said, I'm voting for the felon. It was a Jeep, shocker. It was a Jeep with a middle finger that said, ah the haters, which clearly means fuck the haters, yeah which like, I don't know how they co-opted that fucking phrase. And then there was a bumper sticker that said, that it was the same Jeep, that had, I'm voting for the felon. What makes you, like in the weeks, not even like a week and a half, not even two weeks, you got a bumper sticker and were just like, I'm voting for the felon, fuck off.
00:26:01
Speaker
Alright, that's really all we saw. I mean we saw some t-shirts that weren't great. Yeah, but you know, you're always going to see that. It's to be expected. I'm just like every time I see it I get mad. Yes. And you know what? Maybe you should just cut this whole part out because I'm just going to go on a little rant and it's not fun. I i think... This isn't a fun rant, Matt. We're talking about snacks. Okay, then this episode is over. Okay, bye. Bye. Stay hungry.