Well, as you have noted before I sometimes get funky about
the blog, wondering if anybody out there actually reads this. Well, I was gratified to receive an email
from a good friend and reader inquiring whether I was okay because a Feeder had
not popped into his inbox lately. As you
may know I have been having some (annoying) health issues lately which kind of dulls my enthusiasm
a bit. So thank you for that, left coast
friend! Here we go again!
Another reason for hitting the air waves again is that today
marks the 48th Anniversary of the birth of FOJTE. I’m sure a good bottle of wine will be
opened to celebrate the event in STL. I
raise ‘em right! Bon Appétit!
Speaking of raising glasses, you might remember that I visited
La Rive Breton a couple of weeks ago, and was pleased to see a good selection
of Gins had been added to the bar options.
Through the good advice from a favorite server, I discovered “Bluecoat”
gin; which will join my original special occasion gin PlymouthGin (discovered a few years ago at Chez Pascal in Providence, RI). My first place Plymouth Gin is distilled at the Blackfriar’s
Distillery since 1793 in Plymouth, England.
A classic English Gin, smooth and clean using seven botanicals (Juniper, Coriander,
Orange and Lemon Peels, Cardamom, Angelica and Orris Roots). A lovely drink. Bluecoat is distilled
closer to home, in Philadelphia and classifies itself as an “American Dry Gin”. It only uses “four” botanicals in the process
(Juniper, Coriander, Citrus Peel(s), and Angelica Root). They claim their flavor profile leans more
toward the citrus than the English Juniper.
Plymouth (the ONLY producer allowed that name) is 83 proof, while Bluecoat
is a more powerful 94 (beware that second drink). Didn’t mean to get off on a tangent, but
interesting information..
Anyway, I found it in my local spirit purveyor’s store and
brought home a bottle. Both are fairly
dear, selling around $30 for a “fifth”.
Hence, the special occasion designation.
So I decided to try it out, and mix my own Martini, from my "kit"...
While I much prefer French Vermouth to the Italian, price drives
me to the latter since I also use that in my DMOTRWAT, which I consume at
home. Anyway, I chill the shaker, and
usually the glass, and STIR together the Gin and Vermouth normally about 4 to
1, strain into the chilled glass, then using a potato peeler get a nice strip
of Lemon Peel (no pith) drop it in, and voila!
Quite a nice drink.. I’ll
have to do a taste off (I didn’t that evening) between the two Gins…
Speaking of La Rive, quite a few readers have given me their
thoughts about the “new place” there in Leonardtown. Several of them tried the scallops (claiming
at my recommendation) and fortunately agreed it was a nice dish. The only “compliant” or maybe observation is
that while everything is good, service nicely done, etc., some people kind of
think the prices are a bit high. While
not a restaurateur, I’m not terribly familiar with how a price is set on a
given dish, but I imagine quality of ingredients, amount of house made stuff are included (sauces, etc.), labor involved in prep all go into setting a
price. I do not believe their prices are
out of line, although the thought has launched me on a little research project
which will take a few days.
One thing I did learn which I was oblivious of before showed
up on the bill. There were separate
lines for Food Total and Alcohol Total. And
below that was an accounting of the tax for each. Maybe it is common knowledge, but in Maryland,
alcohol is taxed at nine percent while food is only six. So, while
drinks and wine are usually a large part of the total, it piles on more
tax.. interesting..
Sea..
Now that crabbing has turned to "oystering" (commercial season
opened a bit ago) we see a lot of “work boats” harvesting so called "wild" Oysters almost
exclusively by the “patent tong” techniques.
Drop the clamshell bucket overboard, close the sides, haul it up, and
sort the catch. While crabbers seem to
be more of a solitary operation, the Oystermen together more. This morning we had quite a gathering south
of us
I am not sure why this is, the Oysters aren’t going
anywhere, they don’t “run” (like fish) and it would seem that with that many
boats working the same “bed” it would deplete the supply more quickly. Maybe the watermen just like to talk to each
other. Anyway, it does make a nice
image
We also had some feathered visitors this morning: a belted
kingfisher and a cruising loon.
I love this time of year, cocktail hour is dark, the leaves
are pretty, and temperatures are livable..
Which makes it easier to
DFD
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