Local Cuisine and Bowling

Well, today IS the day, or yesterday WAS the day if you don’t see this until Monday… 

As you know, I tend to publish or talk about various meaningful articles and pieces I run across about food or bits of this and that..  Usually created by some people whom I, at least, respect.  So I guess it is only fair that I journey to the other end of the spectrum once in a while.

A local person whom I shall refer to as “Robert” is a PROLIFIC Facebook poster, and for the most part has interesting or relevant content.  Relatively few kitties and doggie pictures. So when I saw him “share” (if that is the technical term) a link to “The 9 things you must eat when you’re in Maryland”.  I thought, okay, that sounds interesting, so I clicked on over, which threw me to a page called “Thought Catalog”, and the entry by one Chelsea Fagan.  The page was festooned with ads, and links to her other postings such as “Beautiful Male Celebrities who Prove Glasses are Sexy”.. Hmm.. A food expert to be sure.

I will include a couple sentences from her introduction:

I know that I am biased, but I am also right: Maryland has the best food of any state. The diverse geography, combined with so much proximity to water, has led to an incredible culinary history, and about 17,000 ways to eat crabs.

Somehow, the term “diverse geography” seems odd to me, and yes, there it is, my favorite “B” word.  Red flags going up the flag pole.. and the flag hit the top when I saw the first one was:

All Old Bay Everything – with a small paragraph making an analogy to a “horrible drug” and addiction, was concluded with : just so good, so complex and familiar and warm and FLAWLESS. It is the One Spice To Rule Them All.

Without making this impossibly long, her complete list is:

1.     All Old Bay Everything

2.     Cream of Crab Soup

3.     (sic) Good BBQ

4.     Smith Island Cake

5.     Crab Dip

6.     Oysters

7.     Utz (picture of bag of “the Crab Chip – made with Chesapeake Bay Seasoning”

8.     Natty Boh

9.     Full – On Crabs (hard shells).

I won’t go point by point, but:

Utz – made in Pennsylvania;  Herr’s at least puts an Old Bay brand chips; 

Natty Boh – The beer is currently brewed under contract at the MillerCoors brewing facilities in Eden, NC and Albany, GA, and owned by the Pabst Brewing Company, although they claim 90% of sales are in Baltimore (where it was originally brewed).

Oysters – Admits she hates them but included because of her friends

Hard Crabs – “I didn’t move to Maryland until I was in fifth grade, so I didn’t have that crucial mallet-and-knife training that starts when you’re essentially a toddler”  Anybody knows mallets are for tourists..

I will accept the cake..

And excuse me… where are: crab cakes?  Berger Cookies?  Thrasher’s Fries?  Stuffed Ham?,  oh, did I mention that Chelsea currently lives in Brooklyn, New York..??   Enough.

It’s the Little things that get you

So after ten years (?) the fluorescent tube in our pantry burns out, or at least won’t go on anymore.  Fine.  Zip into Lowe’s pick up a new tube.  Come home, contort and get the new one installed.. click…. Nothing.  Re-install.  Nothing.  Maybe the starter?  Sigh..

Okay, it’s the Bowl

So after two weeks of endless dissection of the statement(s) from Mr. Sherman, comparing the Denver offense to the Seattle secondary, how Peyton throws “ducks”, on and on, at least it will be over today.  We are not attending any function, MFO made some bean soup, we have some lovely shrimp, a piece of Haddock, meat balls, and are inking in the “orange snack” box with some Cheeto Puffs.  We are not having wings, although that seems to be item of choice for the game.  We used to do Cajun stuff ( I guess for the spicy component).  So anyway, at least it will be over today.  I am hoping Peyton gets his second ring.

I am also hoping my little square on the (for recreational purposes only) matrix will be a winner.. and I can never watch a super bowl without remembering what good times we had at a friend’s house up the street.  They've moved on but the memories have not!!

Concert

Heard very good things about the Ganz concert last night.. was too late at the end of a long day..

Stayed home and was

DFD (and the game)