EDITOR’S NOTE

Grill Master

Iam terrible on the grill. While I will attempt most any culinary project in the kitchen, to master the open flame seems a bit daunting. Then again, to paraphrase Elizabeth Bennett from “Pride and Prejudice,” I do not grill so well as I should like, but that is because I have not practiced. There are always too many men around who are so much more excited about standing over smoke and flames than I am, and it is one place I will happily relinquish.

However, when the time comes for a grilling photoshoot, and I can’t get one of the trusty men in my life to bail me out of a work pickle, I have been known to give it a go. Once I attempted to grill lettuce on the wharf in the rain, but all I managed to create was smoke. There wasn’t a lick of char on that romaine. Another time I made barbecue shrimp over a grill at the public beach beside the Fairhope Pier. The wind was blowing so hard I had to serve as a human wind shield and occasionally drizzle olive oil on the coals to get them to flame up for pictures. It was a total waste of good olive oil, to be sure, sure, but it was all that was available, and I wanted the photographer to get the money shot!

Despite my inabilities working the coals, I certainly love what they produce! Maybe a little too much. Each of us has experienced the moment when you smell a neighbor’s grill and you start salivating thinking of the burgers you are missing. Once, when that very thing happened, I took a deep inhale of the glorious smell and exclaimed to my husband, “Oh, those burgers smell so good!” He literally stopped walking and turned to me, saying, “That smell is just lighter fluid.” My inner Pavlov’s dog might not know the difference between the smell of lighter fluid and cooking meat, but it knows that after that smell comes the good stuff. That’s all I really need to know about grilling, I think. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH GELINEAU Maggie Lacey EXECUTIVE EDITOR maggie@pmtpublishing.com Who’s ready for some cool weather and barbecue? I’m salivating just thinking about it.

 Have you seen the construction on Hillwood Road in Spring Hill? Our next Inspiration home is coming right along and the designers are busy planning fabulous spaces. Stay tuned for more details!

I SAW MY FIRST MG CONVERTIBLE IN THE PARKING LOT AT WIDEMIRE’S WHEN I WAS A KID AND SWORE I’D HAVE ONE SOME DAY! CHECK OUT SEVERAL MORE ANTIQUE BRITISH RIDES IN THIS ISSUE. PAGE 40

LOVE THIS ISSUE

GETTIN’ SAUCY AS IF THE BBQ AT MEAT BOSS NEEDED IMPROVEMENT, THEIR HOMEMADE SAUCE TAKES IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL! NOW YOU CAN TAKE IT HOME, TOO. MEAT BOSS BBQ SAUCE, $6

HOT, HOT, HOT IT’S NOT A GIANT CURLING IRON! THIS HOT ROD PRODUCES 1200°F SUPERHEATED AIR TO LIGHT YOUR CHARCOAL IN SECONDS. LOOFT LIGHTER, EASTERN SHORE ACE HARDWARE, $100

SWIM WITH THE FISHES THE CUSTOM PAPER ADORNING THE WALLS OF PEARL IN FAIRHOPE SETS THE PERFECT TONE FOR A SEAFOOD JOINT! PAGE 18

TAKE OUT WRITER AUDREY MCDONALD ATKINS PERFECTLY CAPTURES THE FEEL OF A GREASY BBQ JOINT IN THIS ISSUE AND HAS ME HANKERING FOR THAT WOODSMOKED TASTE!

DIVINE DENIM HANDMADE IN COASTAL GEORGIA, THESE DENIM CLOTH NAPKINS HAVE JUST ENOUGH POLISH TO GUSSY UP ANY BACKYARD BBQ. LOVE THE COLORFUL STITCHED HEMS! DOT & ARMY NAPKINS, CHAPEL FARM COLLECTION, $74 FOR SET OF 8