*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

DaufusKEYS Gullah Bistro & Piano Bar – 1710 Main St. Columbia, SC

The revitalization of Main Street has been exciting in these recent years, bringing some cool new places to eat and entertain one’s self. With every new renovation, I perk up to see what new restaurant I’ll get to try. About three weeks ago, DaufusKEYS Gullah Bistro & Piano Bar opened on Main Street (Where Mac’s on Main used to be). I put it on my list of places to visit, but wasn’t sure when I’d get to give it a go.

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*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

Shealy’s BBQ – 340 E Columbia Ave, Leesville, SC 29070

One of my favorite yearly events here is the First Seniors trip to Shealy’s BBQ. Shealy’s and I go way back, so nary will you find an occasion when I won’t seize the opportunity to go. I also like hanging out with the First Seniors because they’re super fun. For this blog entry, I didn’t take still photos and I’m not going to do a write up. Instead, I’m vlogging (video blogging) and allowing my friends from the First Seniors ministry to tell you about some of the things that they like to eat at Shealy’s. So, without further ado, I give you the Sunday Lunch VLOG.

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*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

The War Mouth – 1209 Franklin St. Columbia, SC

The War Mouth was on my list for a while. I think the fact that they had $16 Chicken Bog on their menu made me nervous to go. I make a pretty good Chicken Bog at home and get way more than a serving for that price. But I had heard good things about it this funky New Southern restaurant and my curiosity was piqued. When a few of my girl friends that I hadn’t seen in a while suggested that we all get together at The War Mouth, I was doubly in.

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*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

I know. By the time that you’re reading this, the SC State Fair has already passed for the year and I’m moving into a season of cleansing from all of the delicious junk that I’ve consumed. See this as a State Fair food recap, or bookmark it as a guide for next year. I’ve been going to the fair since I was just a little girl. Several of the stands have been there for that long at least. This year I had the good fortune of attending several times for various reasons. The first being our promo shoot for the Fall Festival, which will be taking place Sunday, October 30. Super huge thank you to FBC member Dan Douglas for setting us up really well with the Fair so we could do that. In the promo, we featured the type of foods that we’re going to have at our Fall Festival, corn dogs, pizza, popcorn, and cotton candy. Of those items, the only one that I typically get when I’m at the fair is the corn dog. This leads me to my 3 must haves at the fair each year and which stand to visit to obtain them because it totally matters.

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*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

I’ve had several really good eating days recently. One day that sticks out well in my mind is the day that I had what might have been the best burger I’ve ever eaten. And no, I don’t think I’m exaggerating! I’ve eaten a lot of burgers in my life. Many have been those hockey puck burgers that you get at ministry events (I’ve worked with a lot of ministries and they are often all the same … those frozen patties from Sam’s Club that come in a box of 50 or 60 for about $20 or something like that). They’re cheap and will fill a stomach; you just pray that they have cheese and plenty of condiments there.

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*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

Arepazo Latin Foods 904 Knox Abbott Drive Cayce, SC

A couple Saturdays ago (9-24-16) a new Latin restaurant opened near my house in Cayce. I made plans with Kara (of the First College Ministry) on Sunday to go that Monday for lunch. My only previous experience with Colombian/Venezuelan cuisine was when I got talked into cooking a Colombian meal for the weekly free International lunch a few years ago at the BCM when I worked in College and International Ministry. The only information I had was what two Columbian exchange students told me that their mothers said to do and Google to fill in the rest. I was told that I managed to make it fairly authentic, but have never had anything to compare it to. Until now!

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*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

BIG Food Truck Rodeo at FIRST / Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles Food Truck

Last Sunday we had a bunch of church community fun with the BIG Food Truck Rodeo. Several trucks lined up on Washington Street near our parking lot to serve delicious food to us after church. I had been eyeing the food truck list for days (of course) and was most excited about Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles. I’ve always heard good things about them, but have never made it over to their restaurant. BIG was my chance!

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*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

International Lunch at BCM (819 Main St.) / Red Bowl Asian Bistro – Village At Sandhill Columbia, SC 

This week I got to have a homecoming of sorts when Aaron and I joined our International Minister, Ryan Dupree for the weekly free International Lunch at the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) building on Main Street within campus. Before coming to FIRST, Thursday lunches were a regular part of my life since International Ministry was a big (and fun!) part of my job when I worked at the BCM. While the lunch is hosted each week at the BCM, the lunches are provided by CMI (Columbia Ministries to Internationals), which is pretty much a group of ministries in Columbia who like to minister to Internationals. First Baptist is a part of that, and this week, we provided the food and volunteers.

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*Disclaimer: First Baptist Church is not affiliated with, nor does it necessarily endorse any of the restaurants that are discussed in these posts. These are just the personal opinions of the blog writer and are meant only for information and fun.

Black Bean Co. – 701 Gervais St. Columbia, SC

This is probably going to be one of my least popular lunch blogs because I’ve chosen a place that encourages veganism. If you’re like me, the term “vegan” almost seems like a bad word or something that sounds like torture. But hang in there because this isn’t as bad as your meat-loving self might think. And *spoiler alert* there is actually meat involved. This might all look healthy, but I promise that it is delicious as well. And if you are a health nut, you’ll really like it.

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