I checked out the new Wednesday night “Sessions” musical series at South on Main with Daniel Walker and was not only super impressed by the always wonderful Amy Garland Angel and her crew, but also with our dinner and drinks. I enjoyed a Gold Rush cocktail (whiskey and lemon juice) with a side of soaked salad, as well as some skillet bread with duck confit and kale kimchi. Walker crushed a cheeseburger, which got a thumbs up, and we both fought over a bag of peanut butter dusted donuts. All said, it was another successful meal at South on Main.

Last Friday night at Trio’s was hopping. The place was packed with a pretty good mix of young and old, and per usual, the Shalin family did some serious eating. If you’re not familiar with Trio’s menu, it’s a wonderful balance of tried and true classics and highly creative seasonal options. We opted for a little of both. My side Peck Salad was the best I’ve had yet, due in large part to the chicken. It wasn’t at all dry, which was the case with my last one. Anyways, the entire meal, which included entrees of Tasman Glazed Salmon, Tri Tip Chimichurri, and San Francisco Cioppino, was absolute perfection … especially the latter dish, which had a wonderful array of seafood (mussels, shrimp, grouper, and scallops). Great food aside, the highlight of the evening was Merrick Fagan’s Fireside Lullaby. As he describes, it’s a “Torres 10 Spanish Imperial Brandy, my ‘hearth-thaw liqueur, and cranberry juice, with a Lagavulin 16 rinse … garnished with the snippet of charred poetry.” The cocktail was super tasty and the accompanying poetry damn near brought a tear to my wife’s eye.

I gotta say … that new food truck park in downtown (off Chester) is pretty cool. It’s got a nice vibe to it, ample parking, restrooms, a nice covered/enclosed area to sit, and what seems to be a good collection of participating trucks. What’s not to love? My fantastic cup of red beans and rice from Rick’s Beignet’s didn’t hurt my overall feeling about the place either. Count me as a fan of Rick’s, and although I’m not a beignets connoisseur, I can tell you the ones he’s cranking out are pretty damn good. Rarely do I get excited about a food truck, but this one seems to be a rare exception.