Sunday, June 1, 2014

Let's do Lunch and memory lane


During the course of a (busy) holiday week last week, I had lunches here and there, plus a disappointing look into the past.

Lunch Here:

The “Here” was when I joined some friends at the local (independent) Mixing Bowl restaurant which has occupied the same spot in Lexington Park for a number of years now.  My friends pretty much lunch out every day, and have kind of a luncheon rotation, and Tuesdays is Mixing Bowl day. They also drive a Hyundai Genesis, and so we like to compare car foibles and odd auto symptoms occasionally.  The list had grown beyond texting, so that provided a reason to finally meet up.  It had been too long since we talked so I was happy to get together.  Since they go to the Mixing Bowl so often, they pretty much don’t have to have a menu as they normally order the same thing (chicken salad) most of the time.  Fortunately I was early enough that I could peruse the menu a bit before they arrived.  There are appetizers, but the menu is mostly populated by sandwiches of various sorts (about fifteen choices), all with "names" such as: “the Gobbler; Kickin’ Chicken; Hog Heaven; No Bull” fortunately there is a description included. They also offer Big Salads, and some heavier dishes if one cares for that.  I presume that the same menu applies for dinner, but I think their main rush is for lunch.  It has always amazed me how many people leave the base for lunch every day. Most places in the area are jammed at lunchtime.

Anyway, the "Bowl" is always clean, and has fairly fast and courteous service, and the food is fresh.  All you could want for a lunch on a business day.  The owner usually comes around and checks on you, and since my friends are very regulars, she stopped and chatted with us.  She is a nice lady.   During our conversations on radio knobs, warped oil pan washers, funnies with the software, our food arrived.  Everything was as it should be, my salad was fairly large and had ham, chicken, tomato, cucumber, and shredded cheddar distributed around the side.  As noted on the menu, dressing is served “on the side” in a 3.5 oz. container.  The meats were sliced lunch meat, but they were fresh and tasty.  Anyway, The Mixing Bowl deserves be on any regular rotation for lunch outside the gates of the base.  Better than a chain.

Lunch There:

Friday, I braved the traffic of the beltway to attend a conference with a potential caterer for a Gala this coming fall.  We met in their showroom of rental stuff, a HUGE building chocked full of table linens in all colors of the rainbow, chairs of every ilk, dishes in all shapes and sizes, glassware and everything needed for the non-food part of an event.  We discussed the menu and will most likely go up for a tasting later this summer.  We asked about places to have lunch following our meeting and were directed to a place in “The Village At Shirlington”, called Carlyle



The Village at Shirlington is a pleasant two or three block tree lined area with an enclave of cafés, bistros, brewpubs, and restaurants of all sorts.  Just what you would expect in the “big city”.  And so is the inside of the restaurant, a fairly large, sleek contemporary space



We were led to the table by the lady at the desk who gave us menus as we were seated.  It was a nice table at the window, which gave us a good view of the goings on outside, including diners on the patio and the passers by.  Very civilized.  Their menu for lunch was divided into categories: Starters; Small and Large Salads; Sandwiches; From the Pan; and From the Grill. 



At just about the appropriate time a server approached in a crisp white shirt, and announced: “my name is <…> would you care for something besides water to drink?”.  As alert readers know, I have a big problem with the all too common "Hi, I'm.... be taking care of you", but this is acceptable.  So we ordered iced tea and a glass of KJ chardonnay, and then he told us about the specials, among which was a pan fried Halibut, and a soft shell crab sandwich.  He left us to ponder our food selections and went off to fetch the drinks.  After a brief discussion of the nuances of soft shell crabs and sandwiches, we both sort of settled on the “regular” crab cake sandwich which came with “remoulade sauce, cole slaw and fries” a sort of ho hum description.  After a bit of people watching and pleasant conversation our sandwiches arrived



The cake was barely bound big lumps of crab, perched on a bed of remoulade that made you notice it, tasty shoestring fries, and a very nice tart cole slaw.  We couldn’t quite put our finger on it, but I think there was fennel in there, and maybe celery root.. it wasn’t just a bunch of chopped cabbage.  All in all a very nice dish, kind of belying its plebian description.  Time and road pressures led us to not linger any longer than necessary, but it was a very nice lunch.  It must be nice to have options like that available.  I guess we do, its just that 65 mile drive to get there. 

Fluffy

The team that educated me about Crab Fluff is in with another find.  They were up in Pasadena, Maryland and found a place called Anne Arundel Seafood.  From peeking on the web, it looks like one of those places where you go to the counter and order.  Apparently Crab Fluff was an option so they tried it and sent along a picture. 



As you might expect, paper, plastic, and the fluff.  And also as you might remember (as I had to be refreshed) the fluff is basically a crab cake and dipped in batter (in this case pancake) and deep fried.  Somehow this dish and the name “fluff” don’t seem compatible.

Sad

We had a meeting of a local board the other day, and for some reason the convener settled on “the Lexington”, the current incarnation of the Roost.  I was quite surprised upon entering.  Gone was the venerable “salad cart”, long a fixture of the place, and to the right no tables except a couple of the pool variety.  The bar was still to the left, but of course with none of the classic aviation memorabilia, leaving only a couple of flat screens and some Keno monitors.  There were a few apparent regulars seated at the bar sucking Bud Light drafts. Our meeting was in a back room that we shared with an upside down kitchen sink, and a few other relics (which some might say applied to us) strewn about.  Kind of sad that what once was a “go to” place is now just another victim of the northern movement away from the middle of Lexington Park.

Well, hope you had a wonderful weekend.  Next weekend will be the Raiders and Invaders weekend, filled with events marking the local impact of that seemingly endless War of 1812.  Maybe you’ll have to be

DFD



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