Free And For Me

This summer my family is focused on doing something every day of the summer.   We are doing fun things that are either big or small.  We have included dining at a few Culver City restaurants. 

When I think of summer, I think of spending time with family and friends and eating BBQ.

You cannot go wrong by dining out.  We recently dined at Maple Block Meat Co. in Culver City.  Maple Block is known for its wood-smoked meats.

There is a smoked meat restaurant near me but we wanted to enjoy an evening in the city.

This was our first time dining at Maple Block.  Prior to our visit, I viewed the menu.  After looking through it, I had an idea of what I wanted to order during our visit.

For starters, I wanted to order the smoked chicken wings.   As I placed my order, the waitress told me they had sold out.  She said this had never happened before.   I guess this was not a bad thing.  I figured if they were selling out, they had to be delicious.  As I sadly looked at her, she suggested I try the white sauce and fermented hot sauce on the Wood -Smoked Free Range Chicken if we decided to order it.

After getting over the shock that we would not be trying the smoked chicken wings, we decided to order some cornbread with whipped honey butter.  We absolutely love honey butter on biscuits or cornbread.  Maple Block does have biscuits as well, which can be paired with honey butter also.

As we snacked on the cornbread we looked over the menu, all the while enjoying the outdoor patio dining.

My son and I and I do not eat beef or pork.   After hearing about how delicious the sauce was on the smoked chicken wings, my son decided to order the Wood-Smoked Free-Range Chicken.  This restaurant smoked meat comes with the white sauce as well.   When his entree arrived I could not resist tasting it.  I absolutely loved the flavorful white sauce.  I could not stop tasting.  I guess at that point, I was eating.   My son kept saying, “It is okay mom.  You can have some more.”  We agreed that he would eat some of my salmon since I was enjoying his chicken.

Just as I was looking forward to eating the wings, I could not wait to try the Smoked Faroe Islands Salmon.  I did not eat the BBQ smoked salmon with sauce because it is an avocado sauce and I am allergic to avocados.  That was fine because it was nicely prepared. I did not miss having the sauce.  I was so in love with the white sauce and chicken I was fine.

My daughter decided a couple of years ago that she would occasionally eat beef and pork.  She could not resist ordering ribs.  She loved the accompanying sauces, especially the green sauce.

With the variety of smoked meat, we ordered a side of corn, smoked pee wee potatoes, mac and cheese, and potato salad.  I wanted to order a salad, but my family did not want that.  They said we eat salad all of the time.  They did not want to eat salad at a BBQ restaurant.  Since no one would share with me, I did not order a salad.   The seasonal salad seemed so delicious.

I like that Maple Block changes out some of the menu items based on the season.  I often wonder how restaurants have certain foods year around when the fruits and vegetables are not in season.

I have been to restaurants that offer peach cobbler year around.  Really???  I am guessing they may be using canned peaches.   Maple Block has a seasonal fruit cobbler on the menu, that is prepared with fresh peaches.  The peach cobbler was topped with whipped cream.   My family usually has our cobblers a la mode.   It was nice to try it with whipped cream.

On this cool summer night, we enjoyed our dining experience.   Feasting on a meal, on an outdoor patio, with heat lamps and light music, we literally stayed until Maple Block was minutes from closing.