a nice day

Wow. Has it been that long (13 August?)  since I last bothered you with my disastrous attempt at cooking?  I suppose it’s like the old falling off the horse thing, get up and try again.  Soon…ish.  Anyway, let me crank up again… 

Odds and ends, a journey/feeder report, and a teaser!

Odd

The St. Mary’s County Historical Society recently put on a “summer social”, a Friendraiser as they say.  Was quite successful and we may have picked up a few new members.  Hope so!  The format was one of those “bring something” affairs, and the board members responded.  Long time readers may remember that I loved the Christmas buffet,  where people strut their culinary stuff, and this was sort of like that

At about the 7 o’clock position, those are country biscuits with country ham.   Loaded with salt, but oh, so good.  I had one.  Right below that are MFO’s old reliable cheese crackers that look like a cookie but are delicious.

Tudor Hall might be worth a visit if you’ve not been.  Very nice

And if you visit on Wednesday through Friday you could ascend the lovely staircase and visit MFO’s “desk” where she does her great work organizing the letters, pictures, and stuff from Grandma’s attic etc. of our Mother County.

The Journey

Every three months or so, we have to go check in at John Hopkins with the grand lady of Pulmonary Hypertension.   We really like her, she treats you as a person, not a “patient”.  We spent a lot of time talking about her recent vacation to SOCAL with her (Croatian) husband and his family where English is not first language (hers is). 

Anyway, we loaded me into the MOMSTER and headed north, eventually entering Charm City

Where the (American) football and baseball stadia dominate the skyline

The route we take to the (Hopkins) Outpatient Center takes us through some older parts of Baltimore.  

by the (world famous) Lexington Market

the Basilica

And some unique local places I love

Where there’s usually a few um, “interesting characters” hanging around but I finally got a shot of the place without them. 

the local chains are joining the rampant “Plant Based” movement

Don’t think I remember our local BK offering bags of ice, and if you don’t feel Impossible, you can get a Taco!

Anyway I got (verbally) sidetracked.   After we had a positive medical discussion with Dr. D, we were in and out shortly after noon, and decided to stop for lunch at

That's a real water glass by the way, no Mason crap

Feeder Thoughts

Speaking of sidetracked..  In thinking (and writing) about (sit down) restaurants, the two main considerations for the Feeder are: a) Food, and b) Service.  It’s a close call which dominates, but generally I think a) can overcome flaws in b).  I’m willing to put up with “are ya still werkin’ on that?” if the food is exceptional.  It’s the best restaurant experience when they both come together, .   I think in certain circumstances, c) would be “venue”.  Sometimes you know a) and b) will be whimsical (food mostly from that big silver truck; I’ll be takin’ care of ya) but in that case you aren’t there for that, you know what to expect going in.  Maybe just enjoying the moment is paramount. YellowFin is such a place.  a) and b) are a known quantity, but so what?  It’s pleasant, the view is nice (and you can get Sonoma Cutrer – at a price, but it’s not YellowTail at YellowFin). 

While looking out at boats and

 I kind of blew my dietary restrictions and got the crab cake

Which was quite nice, the haricot vert beans were a bit tough, the wild rice a bit al dente and the Ken’s Tartar sauce was palatable not cloying (Shhhh, the feeder had a couple pieces of the cake lightly dipped in it – usually avoided).  MFO had a tenderloin steak sandwich and fries.

So in this case c) overcame both a) and b).  Very pleasant stop on our return journey to the digs..

Almost forgot, so kind of out of order, but while we were enjoying our lunch a family of five (I THINK Japanese, but I’m lousy at that) came in and were seated a few tables down from us:  Dad, Mom maybe her sister, and two daughters of reasonable age (upper teens and lower twenties – another talent I’m awful at).  I was impressed by how much they enjoyed being together, had appetizers, and eventually more substantial dishes, all the time laughing and talking, trading tastes and okay, taking a few selfies and group shots.   Food is such a great convener.   Makes me feel good.

Ends

Quickly, we think a) is paramount at Ruddy Duck Seafood (St. George Island) as evidenced by this Redfish and assorted shellfish.

usually b) is very pleasant, and c) is nice, albeit usually noisy (as Mr. Sietsema would say:  “must speak with raised voice”). 

The Tease

Am on the trail for more detail (hey! that rhymes!) on “the corner” in Leonardtown

Stay tuned.  Took “in the works”, in lieu of the usual SMC “Coming Soon” as a good sign (pun intended)

As Usual…

Oh, notice no Mason Jars at YellowFin, but I have to admit I was

DFH(hospital) but not the only (tasteful) T-Shirt in the place.