What a fantastic moment! On Tuesday night in downtown Raleigh at The Pit, barbecue house extraordinaire, my family experienced a moment to remember.

Food Network fans, all of us, we were enjoying our dinner when Ed Mitchell himself came into the dining room. We were sitting right by the hosts and I tapped my husband, Brian, and said, "Look. It's him." Brian glanced over and started laughing. He knows me well. I didn't waste any time, grabbing my handy iPhone (I'm loving this iPhone), grabbed my mother-in-law, Mary, and my daughter, Erin, who couldn't wipe the grin off her face, and introduced us to Mr. Mitchell, shaking his hand and smiling. We were totallly sappy and food star-struck.

We had only last week watched Ed knock down one of our favorite Food Network stars, Bobby Flay, a grillmaster we enjoy and whose restaurant in the Bahamas was one of Erin's top places ever. If you missed it, you can watch it again July 29 at 9:30 pm, July 30 at 12:30 am and Aug. 9 at 11:30 pm.

MIL is from Canada and she couldn't believe that the guy she watched entertain the crowds and cook up a storm on the Throwdown episode, laughing and joking with Bobby the entire time, was standing right there.

He was so much fun! When I told him she had come all the way from Canada to eat in his restaurant, he said it was meant to be that he was even there. Normally, he said, he doesn't come in to the dining room.

"It was meant to be, that's for sure," he laughed. "You wanna get a picture?"

You bet we did. How cool was this moment for my girl and her grandmother? Well, just take a look at their faces! Totally cool.

brenda