Sunday of This and That...

Settling on the proverbial couch to be “ready for some football?” on a gloomy, chilly, wet Sunday (Finally!!!), I’m resisting firing up the fantasy team only to get my usual dose of humility with my elite, carefully selected players act like they’re running in mud or trying to catch passes with Vaseline coated hands.. so to kill some time, here’s a few this and that’s that have been building up..some food related, some not…

Food Related:

Somebody (there they are again) said they heard there will be an “Italian place” going into the Wildewood Tavern/Woodland Grill spot. That immediately reminded me of my report of a liquor license for a place called “La Tarbella” located in the vicinity. Sounds like maybe that’s right. Good luck to them, I’ve never cared much for that space. Too big, roomy, and I can’t help but thinking I’m in the dining room of a retirement center. Oh, wait……Maybe they’ll address that. We’ll see, at least it’s not a chain.

Kind of speaking of which, there’s a new set of Geico commercials I’ve heard on the radio. They’re based on some stupid guy yelling at you because you haven’t “switched”, and in one edition accusing you of living on Jupiter, ending with something like “welcome to planet earth”. And in another, he starts out by stating “when you want to find the best place to eat, you look for the most cars in the parking lot”. Well, there’s a nice criteria! Applying that around here, you’d wind up a the OG or Red Robin, or maybe McDonalds. Sheesh.

And lastly the Feeder was heartened to read a short Q&A column in the latest Bon Appétit with Mimi Sheraton. Alert readers will know she is one of the great pioneering restaurant reviewer and food writer, right up there with M.F.K. Fischer, Calvin Trillin, and yes, Ruth Reichl. She wrote for the New York Times from ’75 to ’83. Anyway, one of the questions asked her was: “Do you think anything has been lost as dining has become more casual?”. Her answer? “Yes and no. If you’re at a very nice restaurant and you’re seated next to somebody in a T-Shirt, it does sort of spoil your evening”. Thank you, Mimi…

Oh, by the way, the word “best” did not appear on the cover. Maybe they’re listening to me..

Not Food Related:

Most readers know that in my copious free time, I do (decent) docent work for Historic St. Mary’s City at the reconstructed Brick Chapel (of 1667) explaining the history and the story of the reconstruction to the museum visitors. I truly enjoy doing that as I get to meet all sorts of people. Yesterday was a special day at the museum, an annual event called Woodland Indian Discovery Day, with lots of activities for kids and families. Consequently the place is usually pretty full and yesterday was certainly that. I was “on duty” from around noon till closing (5:00) and we had 132 visitors.

But, that’s not my point. Along about 4:15 a group of (what I believe were) Mennonites showed up. All told, there were about 24 of them, and they arrived in waves. First were the small ones, exuberantly running up the path, and then neatly sitting on the benches inside the chapel. Next were the pre-teens, then the teens and finally the adults. I don’t think it was organized, just the enthusiasm of youth. Finally were a couple that were about my age, and by this time all were seated on the benches inside the chapel. The leader (who wore a great little brimmed black hat, by the way) asked if they could sing. Of course you are welcome to do that (I had been told they have visited on a previous occasion). They then pulled out a sheaf of music, handed everybody a sheet and proceeded to sing about three hymns, in perfect harmony. The acoustics of the chapel are wonderful for music and they filled the air with beautiful music. Other museum visitors were attracted, and all of us were just mesmerized by the music. When they were done, we thanked them and they went on their way. I can only imagine the Jesuit builders of the chapel were listening and enjoyed it as much as we did. What a great use of the Chapel. Seems just right. I’m reminded of “build it and they will come”. What a great place to live.

And, back to food, Mimi and I must always remind you to

DFD