The Deli Shuffle
Do you remember the Ickey Woods (Geico) commercial in the grocery store about
“gonna get me some cold cuts”? I don’t
shuffle, and we normally get our cold cuts at our local Giant, mostly because
they have Boar’s Head products, which I prefer over the Dietz and Watson brand
carried elsewhere, after some degree of experimentation. BH just seems to taste better. I kind of feel
like Ickey when I get my ticket number 86, and wait while they are “now serving
number 23”. Anyway, there are a couple
of pet peeves I have in regards to luncheon meats at the deli counter (me? Picky?).
First, I HATE anything that has a skin or rind around it
that you have to peel off before you can consume it, or you’ll be picking
strings out of your teeth all afternoon.
Most hams are a loser, some turkey and chicken breasts have them, and
generally most varieties of sausage make you work to get your food. It took me a long time to find something I
like that does NOT have one. Black Forest Chicken Breast seems to be okay, and
I’ve had some luck with Mortadella. Usually
I have plenty of time to plan my order while they serve people who make up
their mind real time facing the person behind the counter—“may I help you”? “what do you think, Earl? Maybe some bologna? No, I don’t like that Emma, how about…etc.”.. when number 86 is finally called, I’m ready.
“I’ll have half a pound of the Black Forest Chicken Breast”. And here comes the second peeve: “Yes sir,
and they rummage around in the cooler and invariably produce the “heel” of the package. So your slices decrease in diameter as they
cut them. Making a sandwich with those
is like doing a jig saw puzzle.
And
also invariably, when you ask for a half pound, when it plops on the scale,
they say “it’s a bit over, is that okay?”. (Okay, three peeves)
A “bit” usually means your requested 0.5 pounds weighs in at 0.63 or
so. I have occasionally asked them to
take off a slice, mostly because much more than a half pound goes slimy before
I use it all. Okay, enough carping. I did learn something valuable. They always politely ask “how would you like
it sliced?”. A reply of “medium” gets a
variety of subjective thicknesses, from really thin, to just average. A friend of mine from the old days had a
“rule” for sandwiches that the filling had to be thicker than the bread, which
I sort of subscribe to. The result is
that I like mine really thickly sliced to pile it up, like at least an eighth
of an inch. Normally that results in a
shuffle of “how’s this?” with me trying to see a limp piece of chicken held up
10 feet away. FINALLY a nice young man
told me (after we had converged on an acceptable thickness): “next time just
say slice it on two and a half”. Works
like a charm, another useful hint from your loyal bottom feeder..
To the Point
Had an occasion to re-visit Morris Point (in Abell) last
weekend. Alert readers will remember I
have always kind of had an attraction for the place. I think it belongs on the “just right” list
in the waterfront division. A very
pleasant setting, the only caveat is that although it has been home to a
restaurant in the past (the Ebb Tide according to the MP website), it has only
been in its current form for a few years, operated by Deb and Chris
Soussanin. He runs the BOH, and she
does the front. It’s cozy, the kitchen
and Chris are right there, and people often talk between tables and sometimes
even the kitchen. I have likened it to
dining in somebody’s home and that’s not far from the truth.
Had not been there in quite a while, so Saturday night we
decided to join a friend there for dinner.
However, based on a previous experience with “live music” we thought
we’d check before locking in a booking.
Now, you might think that we wanted to make sure there WAS music. That’s where you’re wrong, dear reader. We wanted to make sure there was NOT live
music that evening. I think the last
time we ate there we shared the space with a bluegrass band, and although they
were acoustic, they were plenty loud making, as Tom Sietsema would say,
“Conversation is Difficult”. It was. You had to lean in to shout to your partner or
resort to hand motions to pass the salt.
So we had kind of an awkward conversation, and the good news was that
although there WAS music, it would be out on the porch/deck
As a quick aside, the talent was identified as a David
Flood, and in an effort to find out who the guy was, I stumbled across him in
Facebook, and he listed his day job as “Grounds Director at Historic St. Mary’s
City”!!! Huh? Never have seen him, and I
do hang out there. Checked with a
reliable source at the city, and sure enough he was. Good old St. Mary’s County!
Anyway, we ordered a couple of glasses of wine, eschewing
the menu we chose blackboard specials of crab stuffed rockfish and fried
perch. Can’t be more “right” than that! As with most places down here, you also get
two “sides” requiring you to scour the menu to find where they are tucked. Picked a couple of salads, MFO chose pickled
beets (how many beets can MFO pick when….) and also green beans (straight from
Del Monte – just right); I also got an order of hush puppies.
We watched herons and ospreys cruising by while we had
“conversation is easy” talk about this and that, and eventually the food
arrived. As usual, I dive in before
thinking of the readership, but did get a shot after a couple of forkfuls.
It was very good, sweet crab and fresh, firm rockfish. The puppies were so hot you had to wait
before dipping them into the honey.
Kind of a plain presentation, as it should be. No kale here!!
Anyway it was a pleasant evening as usual, and we were glad
we came back. As kind of an indication
of the formality, here’s what the check looked like
Friday through Sunday, check their site for hours (and
Saturday music!)
Buzz:
Quality Street in Leonardtown will be changing ownership
(think that’s only change). Steve and Joann have been a wonderful addition to Leonardtown. Chef and sometimes class teacher Jenn Purcell will be taking the helm..
Another group giving the restaurant space in Wildewood
Center a try. Avenue54. You can find them on Facebook (the new
reality). I wish them luck.
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