Crossing the Lines

      

As I said in a previous post, I keep that yellow ruled sticky pad by me (and often lose it) and last time we whittled it down some (I ramble too much), but there are still uncrossed off lines, so I have a few odds and ends to mop up, and a couple are even about food!

NOT FOOD

Show Biz: this is a bit moldy, but still valid.  NBC spent weeks hyping their broadcast of the “Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade”, showing rosy cheeked little cherubs looking wide-eyed at the “famous” balloons.  Somehow the weather channel cashed in and spend a lot of segments taking about how the wind would affect them, etc.  So, what the hell, I’ll tune in and watch some.  So, the first thing I see is some dance troupe strutting around on what is apparently “our new stage” with some “star” I never heard of, but guess what?  I can see them on NBC on such and such a night.  Well, in order to cross off another line and not get to more, I’ll just say that the Macy’s event was indeed a parade, but it was a parade of “Our New Show” with lame productions one after another.  Oh yeah, here’s this balloon thing.  Tune in to NBC…

Sports: always easy pickings.. A): I don’t know how much you listen to the sport talking heads, but I do a fair amount in the wee smalls to ward off the demons some.  There’s a couple of things that bug me (easily done):   Head A: “expanding the (NCAA) football playoffs to eight teams is a must!  The current set-up with four just isn’t working”.  B): Very next program (Same network), Head B: “The current NCAA playoff of four teams is perfect! Opening it up to more teams just dilutes the whole thing by letting teams in with more losses”.  Don’t these guys ever listen to each other?

Last night (Saturday) saw the much awaited bestowing of the hallowed (and overrated) Heisman trophy to the odds on favorite, the guy from LSU.  That concluded weeks (months?) of speculation and Heisman Watch programs with scrutiny of every QB on every play trying to increase the drama. And INVARIABLY, every time they talk about so-and-so he is always characterized as being “In the conversation”.. same phrase over and over.  “Certainly his record doesn’t support it, but he deserves to be “in the conversation””… who’s the best wide receiver.  “Edelman of course, but don’t forget Stone Hands who is certainly “in the conversation””  watch for it...  Makes them sound intelligent and learned I suppose.

IS FOOD

And Drink:  sort of teeing off last entry of sounding pedantic, Total Wine & More is (understandably) ramping up marketing for the holidays.  Many radio spots.  Most feature some self-styled expert telling me that he or she suggests a “Fruit Forward” cabernet from Paso Robles, and I can direct you to the perfect bottle”  They sling around “fruit forward” to show you how much they know about wine.  Gosh!  Another suggests a “daring pairing” for deep fried turkey of a “fruity” Chateaueuf Du Pape.   Beer, my friend, beer.  But gee you must know a lot about that exotic French wine!   They mention their “ridiculous” inventory of wines at affordable prices. At least they don’t push Barefoot. 

Reviews:  for years, as alert readers know, I have followed (and yes, somewhat emulated) Tom Sietsema’ reviews in the WAPO.  I was bowled over by his review of the “House Member’s Dining Room”.  For the first time ever that I know of, he bestowed a HALF STAR on the place.  He ripped them up and down.  Samples:    He calls their Bean Soup (NOT the Senate version) “one of the sorriest dining experiences in Washington; “No sooner does foot start coming than you wish you were grazing away – far, far, away from George Washington’s gaze (a picture on the wall)”; the Caesar looks like a grade-school art project… slices of chicken that taste like they emerged from a freezer bag”.  Space and temerity forbids me to go on.  You can look it up on line.   A Masterpiece of criticism..

Something of Value:  In today’s post Dave Mcintyre the wine critic, who I am growing to appreciate more and more writes “Five tips to help you with sparkling wine”.  Worth reading – the main headings are:

It ain’t champagne unless it comes from Champagne

Vintage isn’t (always) important

Wine is the noun, sparkling is the modifier

Because it’s not just about the bubbles, it’s not just about toasting

Don’t drink it from a Coupe

Space and time doesn’t let me elucidate, but it contains some very basic good information.  Look it up on line Okay, all the lines are crossed off on the pad so time to tell you to

DFD

Of this and That, longer than i originally thought

Just kind of a short (I hope) “this and that” compendium of things worth mentioning, but maybe not dwell upon (hopefully). No particular order

Au

While the metal has been made into pieces to adorn humans

It is now showing up on menus and culinary items (as we have seen)

With apologies to the dear lady who supplied a sample for me to play with

 My question has to be “Why Gold”?  I suppose it has a wow factor, but why “guild the lily” (ha ha) of a perfectly good dish (in this case pancakes)?  I played a little with the sheet and it sticks to anything, blows away easily, so I have nothing but respect for the chef trying to make it behave.   And the question might be: “Is it okay to eat the stuff”?  the short answer is “yes” because: “Gold is considered "biologically inert," meaning it passes through the digestive tract without being absorbed”;  hmm without getting too graphic, if it passes without being absorbed….think briefly about the end result…. Nuff said.   Anyway, I might try to use it and see what happens!

Venues

Got a little more gouge on the history of the CD Café.  Apparently the original “Deb” (the “D”) and her original colleague “Chris” (the “C”) had a disagreement which led to splitting up, with Deb keeping the restaurant.  She may have sold it again recently.

A reader responded about “The Slice” in Leonardtown (old “Kevin’s” space) and allowed it was good, but that person likes “The Brick (nee: Brick Wood Fired Bistro)” in Price Frederick I think in the old “Jericho’s” space which, as I recall, burned.  You can peruse the menu here.  They also list local sourcing of their ingredients.

Tips

Among the lot of food magazines I get is “Cook’s Country” kind of a spin-off from Cook’s Illustrated, now part of the “America’s Test Kitchen” empire, which MAYBE had Chris Kimball involved originally, but he has since moved on to become president and founder of “Milk Street”, which has more of an international bent.    Anyway, back to Cooks Country.  It has some interesting recipes, equipment reviews, “how to’s” and so forth.  It also, like other publications of its ilk, always has a section of reader submitted questions.  There’s a doozy in the latest issue which should go to the Smithsonian archive of idiocy.  The person submitting it might have a hard time boiling water… (how do I..)  I will include the complete quote from “New York” for your edification (and hopefully not education!)

“Recipes often call for slicing beef against the grain, but I don’t understand what this means or how to do it. Can you clarify?”  Okay, N.Y. immediately sell all your pots and cooking equipment, and find a different hobby, cooking is not for you.  The editors do not dismiss the query, but spend a couple of columns explaining fibers, etc., (including a photo of some eye of the round thing, clearly showing “grain”.) and helpful explanations like: “If you think of the fibers as a handful of dry spaghetti, you want to cut the bundle of spaghetti into shorter sections”

Hooey Department

Well, I will be the first to admit I am a fan of Robert Parker and his “Wine Advocate”, which originally had what I found to be valuable and reliable reviews of wines.  Of course there grew to be many “imitators” like Wine Spectator who, while it does contain some interesting articles, never met a wine they didn’t like, seldom rating anything below 90 points. 

Anyway the Wine Advocate has expanded over the years, spending more time reviewing international wines, and Parker has hired several “experts” who specialize in various wine regions (Italy – Monica Larner; Bordeaux, Sonoma County Bordeaux Varieties and Napa Valley by Lisa Perotti-Brown) and so on.  Well now that they can spend more time on narrower topics they seem to have taken the art of “Wine Speak” to new levels.   A quick and tiny sampling:

2018 Ausone (Lisa Perrotti): Deep purple-black in color, it is an impenetrable wall to begin, unrelenting without persistent coaxing, at last uncoiling to offer glimpses of preserved plums, blueberry coulis, molten licorice, and underbrush with emerging scents of lavender iron ore, crushed stones,  (mick???) charcoal and Indian spices plus a waft of red roses.

2018 Cheval Blanc (and le Petit Cheval)… “comes strutting out of the glass with …. Candied violets, star anise, …. Kirsh and unsmoked cigars”

2005 Joy! (Iron Horse vineyards, Sonoma; Erin Brooks)  It has a bright, saline-accented nose with mineral aromas of crushed stone and shell, lemon pith, acacia blossoms, and Golden Delicious apples. Not Macintosh, mind you, Golden Delicious!

I could go on forever (as did they!).   Give me a break!! Do they just make this crap up?  Is there a wheel in their office they spin for phrases?   Geez, it’s GRAPE JUICE!!  Some hints as to tannins, fruity or no, ready to drink or cellar, stuff like that is helpful to some degree, but “unsmoked cigars”..   C’mon, man!!

Okay enough for today

DFD and DAMJ

hello again, sort of

Well, I just looked, and last posting was 18 September! And here is it, 3 October (the day after MFO’s X^th Birthday).   The temporary darkness was due to a number of things not the least of which was a trip to STL to see both FOJ’s and take in a “National Specialty” event hosted by the American Kennel Club.  A specialty show is a dog show which reviews a single breed, unlike other dog shows, which are generally referred to as "all-breed" because they are open to all breeds recognized by the sponsoring kennel club.  FOJTY’s dogs are American Wire Haired Pointing Griffons, and so his portion was only for the AWPGA breed.   While there is a lot more “in the can” here is a picture of a “Griff” (not his, but related, another story for another time

And in action with Duke

They are basically a hunting breed, and alert readers will remember I have posted pictures before of FOJTY doing training. 

There will be more scenes from the competition in editions to come.

And now for something completely different!

I had a most pleasant surprise the other day, that kind of astounded me (I am trying to avoid using the overworked term: “aMAAAAAAzing”).  I was able to procure a whole beef tenderloin from a local farm, and a friend was kind enough to cut it into filets for me.  In exchange for a good glass of wine he agreed to come over and grill it for us (another lesson!).  In the end, an empty propane bottle scuttled the grilling scheme, but a nice job by me in a cast iron skillet did well.  Anyway, in honor of the steaks, I decided that we should raid the “Silver Oak” stash, as the “never the right time for THIS wine” syndrome has resulted in a growing inventory of said wine. 

On a whim, I went to the far end of the selections, and found this:

In case your eyes are fading like mine, look at the vintage on the label!

That wine is approximately 31 years old!  Expecting the worst, we also brought up a younger vintage.  My friend is quite an accomplished consumer of wine, and was able to extract the cork with help of an Ah So without crumbling it – which is common with older bottles, and employed the coffee filter trick to capture the sediment (after all, if you had been laying down for 20 odd years, you’d have sediment too!

After letting it breathe a little we hesitatingly poured it into a glass

Now those of you who are familiar with older vintages of wine know that in general, the older the wine, the more it takes on a “brick” color, which doesn’t extend far into the edge of the wine.

We were both surprised that while this one exhibited some of that, it held its color pretty well.   On top of that, the nose still revealed fruit, and on the palate there were noticable tannins.  Instead of having to dump it, we enjoyed it.   Pretty special

It gives me hope that the 2000’s vintages are worth drinking.   I will have to investigate and report!  I have decided that there is no sense in not drinking my “special” wines, who know what the future holds (the Shadow do….).

Harvest

Last spring, with the help of our landscape team, we planted a bunch of plants (butterfly bushes, a couple of those red stick Dogwoods, an American Beauty Bush (for the birds), and my usual brace of herbs: parsley, basil, thyme, and our existing tarragon, chives, and the seemingly ageless volunteer Dill..  The deer made short work of the parsley, the basil wend wild, as did the tarragon, and the thyme hung on…

So finally we decided to “clean up” the bed by the pool, and harvest some of the stuff for culinary purposes.  We focused on the basil, dill, and tarragon, and came up with quite a lot.

PH-18

We don’t get fancy trying to preserve them, just (painstakingly) editing them for the “good ones” and then after washing laying out in front of our window.

Eventually I will strip the leaves from the dill and tarragon, and kind of crush the basil into flakes.  Next year I’ll take more pains to cover the parsley.. home dried.

Finally, just kind of a pretty “still life” on our counter

 and as usual, we won't forget to say:

DFD and

NMMJ

(and for the few who still ask about the latter, No More Mason Jars is a plea for restaurants to stop bringing me water/tea/soda in those clunky Ball Mason Jars with a handle on it.  Disgusting)

As Willie said:

Whiskey River take my mind
Don't let her memory torture me
Whiskey River don't run dry
You're all I've got, take care of me

-Willie Nelson

Well, at LONG (long!) last we can take that River and talk about WhiskEy/Bourbon.. what started out as a story about our quick little tour of our local Tobacco Barn Distillery has snowballed into maybe more than you want to know about our American Bourbon.  Strap In! Before we get specifically into Tobacco Barn perhaps a little background is appropriate (hopefully not TMI!)

Definitions

While Bourbon is an American Whiskey, not all American whiskey is Bourbon.  To be called “Bourbon” the spirit must meet the following criteria according to the US Government:

The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits state that Bourbon made for U.S. consumption must be:

Produced in the United States

Made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn

Aged in new, charred oak containers

Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume (ABV))

Entered into the barrel for aging at no more than 125 proof (62.5% ABV)

Bottled (like other whiskeys) at 80 proof or more (40% ABV)

Bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period. Products aged for as little as three months are sold as bourbon. The exception is “straight” bourbon, which has a minimum aging requirement of two years. In addition, any bourbon aged less than four years must include an age statement on its label.

Bourbon that meets the above requirements, has been aged for a minimum of two years, and does not have added coloring, flavoring, or other spirits may (but is not required to) be called straight bourbon. *

Bourbon that is labeled as straight that has been aged under four years must be labeled with the duration of its aging.

Bourbon that has an age stated on its label must be labeled with the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle (not counting the age of any added neutral grain spirits in a bourbon that is labeled as blended, as neutral-grain spirits are not considered whiskey under the regulations and are not required to be aged at all).

Bourbon that is labeled blended (or as a blend) may contain added coloring, flavoring, and other spirits (such as un-aged neutral grain spirits); but at least 51% of the product must be straight bourbon.

Bourbon which has been aged for fewer than 3 years cannot legally be referred to as whiskey (or whisky) in the EU.

*Bourbon can be made anywhere in the US. Only whiskey produced in the State of Kentucky can be called labeled Kentucky (Straight) Whiskey for instance.

Okay, so you and Jeb don’t just set up a still in your backyard and create Moonshine (unless you want a visit by the ATF or “revenuers”).

The Process

There are several general steps (all regulated by the “rules” above) in creating the Bourbon:

One:  Determine the “mash bill” grain mix (>50% (usually more) corn for Bourbon, plus rye, wheat, etc.) that is crushed into a flour.

Two:  Add water to begin extracting soluble sugars from starch

Three: Cook the grain extracting the maximum amount of sugar to create the Mash

Four: transfer the Mash to the fermentation tank external adding yeast to convert sugars to alcohol, creating a low alcohol “beer”

Five: Distill the “Beer” by cooking the “wash” to produce and condense the vapors to create the spirits

Six: put spirits into vessels for aging

Seven: Age the spirits.

Eight:  Bottle the product

In Practice

Within each of the steps above, there is science and chemistry.  Temperatures must be closely monitored, progress must be closely watched and measured to assure nothing goes awry (like overheating and killing the yeast!).   Experience, instrumentation, electronics and the watchful eye of the master distiller all play a part. So we circle back to Southern Maryland and the Tobacco Barn distillery and how they actually “Do it!”.

Step One:  The Mash Bill is cooked in this 300 gallon tank

For about 90 Minutes

And then it is transferred to the 900-gallon fermenter, which is temperature controlled to cool the heat generated by the fermentation process.  They use multiple cooling steps that support two distinct starch-to-sugar conversions

The resulting low alcohol “beer” goes back to the 300-gallon stainless tank for the “stripping run”, the initial distillation of the mash which removes the water, yeast, impurities, and sediment, which produces the “white dog” raw whiskey. 

After the “Stripping Run” the raw stuff goes to a 100 gallon spirit still with condenser to further refine the spirits

And is (computer) temperature controlled which provides ½ percent variability in final spirit proof (which by law must be no more than 80% ABV).

It is then transferred to a bonded spirit locker await barreling

where the spirit looks like

And then it goes into the barrels (at less than 62.5% ABV by law), Tobacco Barn generally barrel around 55%, (which they think produces a richer bourbon at bottling) for a long rest in the warehouse

Remember the barrels must be charred new oak providing the rich color of the finished Bourbon.  we did some “barrel tasting” showing what happens to the clear liquid that went in years ago

It is then bottled at more than greater than 40% ABV, or 80 proof.  

While there is a lot of experience and love used, there is also modern technology to help monitor things!

Their product is usually bottled around 90 proof. 

Besides Bourbon, they also produce a (Constellation) Rum a whole other story, a Moll Dyer Cinnamon whiskey, a honey Bourbon, and a “First Landing Bourbon and Rye Whisky.  You can visit their web site for more details.

After the education during the "tour" we adjourned to the Manor House for that lovely shrimp and remoulade (recipe in earlier posting).

Kudos to the Dawsons, who developed the distillery in St. Mary’s County a new venture the county, and provided a wonderful afternoon for FOJTE and wife, and friends.  They are a true county treasure!  

So there you have my (lengthy) bourbon treatise, I hope there aren’t egregious errors.  And now, as cocktail hour again approaches, the standard reminder to

Drink Local! and

DFD

And fight for NMMJ

 

Kids Come Calling, 1st Edition!

As some know, FOJTE and wife were able to visit us for a few days last weekend. Back in the day, when I did extended travel for the company, I used to have a “rule” that said it takes at least half the time you’ve been gone to return to “normal”.   In kind of a reverse to that, it’s taken a few days to resume our lives, missing them a lot. After a wonderful couple of days, this was the last we saw of them. 

During their stay we did a lot of things, some fun and some utilitarian.   For instance, they mucked out the garage for us.  Didn’t have the foresight (or guts) to take a “before” picture, but after their efforts, it looked like

Which is a vast improvement, and shows my newly created “bird feeder office” where I can fill the feeders on the near side of the garage instead of on the far side, a most welcome station for me. And the “cabinet” which was piled high was reduced to

(the tub contains the yellow name boards for the Oyster Festival cook-off, which I routinely lose)

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was a “tour” of the first distillery in St. Mary’s County

At this year’s Sotterley, gala, we and another couple “won” a mixology class from the Social Coffeehouse and Speakeasy in Leonardtown (nee "Behind the Bookcase").  I used to work with one of the organizers, who also happens to be one of the founders of the distillery.  He offered to give us a tour of the distillery.

So, oiginally this posting was to be about that tour (which turned out to be so much more than just a "tour") and Bourbon making, but didn’t want to show just a bunch of pictures of tanks and pipes, so started looking into the making of Bourbon.  The more layers of the onion I peeled back, the more I realized I didn’t know as much about the process as I thought I did.  Usually the case….  SO… I have a little more research to conduct in order to give you the most accurate knowledge I can about

So as not to look like I’m doing nothing, another aspect of the "kids" visit was about…..

FOOD!

 After the “tour” and the exhausting work of sampling bourbons, we were invited back to their lovely home to have a little restorative.   We were offered the cocktail of our choice, and also what they called an Aperol Spritz.  I, of course opted for a DMOTWAT, kind of your duty at a Bourbon house. Those that tried the Spritz loved it, a perfect libation for a summer’s day.   Composed of Aperol, Prosecco, and (Club) Soda over ice, a lovely drink both for the eye and palate.   To offset the alcohol, they also offered a (country) ham biscuit with 4 year old ham which was lovely (I just sampled, vary of the Sodium) and also Shrimp in Remoulade.   I never think of taking the picture before messing up the dish, but here it is:

Alert readers (and chefs) might say:  Hey! That doesn’t look like “remoulade” and indeed it doesn’t.  Most remoulade sauces are based on Mayo, this one is not.  All thought it was a lovely accompaniment to the cold shrimp.  While the recipe was shared with the “tour group” I will not publish it at this time.  I am always skittish about putting recipe out there without permission of the owner, so I will hold off until I receive clearance to share it.   Upon returning to STL, FOJTE made a batch

And served up a platter for their cocktail enjoyment

Where’s the Beef?

Another piece of luck on “the visit” was that I got a call (Sunday morning) from a friend who is also local chef and restaurateur letting me know he was going to make up a batch of Steak Tartare and Chicken Diane and would I like to watch?  Sure! and said to be sure to bring along FOJTE as they hadn’t seen each other for a few visits.  So we went down to the restaurant to watch him work. 

As you (should) know, Steak Tartare is raw beef (or horsemeat).  There are some food historians that say Tartare was a product of Mongolian horsemen who put raw strips of (horse)meat under their saddle to be tenderized by a day of riding.  Mercifully, these days prime beef steak is more commonly used, although purists apparently still can get horse meat at some places. It is prepared ground or thinly sliced, and uses an egg for binder.

Ours started out with an aged prime steak

Which he prefers to slice thinly.   Since we were taking some home for our cocktails that evening he made us a “kit” Including the beef, the egg, some capers, onion, and an addition he prefers: sun dried tomatoes.

Up to the consumer to decide whether or not to eat it “deconstructed” or mix it all up, which we opted for.

FOJTE added a cheese board (Huntsman and Blue)

we also reserved some of the capers, got some baguettes which we toasted, assembled all, and sat down for cocktails 

( photgrapher's hazard of glass topped tables, also a nice view of one of my “bird books”).

to add to the celebration, we had special treat, a bottle of

Which we received as a gift.  It was luscious.

That was a prelude to dinner of the chicken Diane prepared by chef after making the Tartare.  Basically Chicken Diane is thinly sliced chicken breasts which are sautéed, and dressed with a pan sauce which varies according to the chef.   Ours likes one based on demi glace.

Anyway, one of the skills possessed by accomplished chefs (not the feeder) is that they know (and use generally) one burner setting: high.   And in a commercial kitchen you can certainly get that!

 So into the pan goes the chicken

For a brief stay (maybe 30 seconds per side)

Leaving the fond for the start of the sauce

It went home with us and the Tartare and made for a great evening.

What a couple of days!   The “Bourbon” edition to come.

Meanwhile if you go out to eat, or even at home

DFD

And NMMJ

KKK and the bubbles...

No, not THAT KKK! 

With a little bit of poetic license, this triple K is Kevin’s Korner Kafe (he doesn’t use the middle K for some reason, how he passes up the alliteration is beyond me!).  Most folks know by now that Kevin moved his shop from a back street up in Leonardtown to the one time Willows down the hill by the intersection of St. Andrew’s Church Road and Point Lookout Road.  Won’t use official route numbers, more quaint to use the county name.  In looking back, I see I had a look at them a couple of years ago, as a candidate for a “just right” award.  Here’s what I concluded then on the 21^st of November, 2016:

“I am in kind of a quandary as to whether or not to add them to a “just right” list.   Certainly the building qualifies, largely unchanged for decades, but I’m not yet sure how the seafood component fits.  Let’s wait a while before deciding.   Somehow, the whole space made me uneasy.   Just not comfy or welcoming.  Maybe the ghost of John Nucci”

So with another couple of years under our collective belts, what about now?  At the risk of inserting a spoiler, I would have to say that they are closer, but maybe not quite there yet.  Most of the elements are present: the building, the trifold plastic laminated menu with the hidden list of specials, all the “just right” menu choices (crab dip and balls, stuffed shrimp, fisherman’s and Captain’s platters, steamed this or that, burgers and subs, fried chicken and nuggets for “The Minnows”, hard and soft crabs in season, etc.), Bud and Bud Light and both Coor’s available, and so forth.   Servers who call you “honey” or “dear”.  Nautical and cute stuff on the wall. So all that qualifies.  Plus, they DON’T make you drink water from a Mason Jar!  However, I still have a bit of trouble with a seafood centric menu with no water in sight, although Breton Bay is very close by.  I don’t know, maybe that’s unfair, but just strikes me as incongruous to have a classic waterfront menu on Route 5.  So that for me is a negative, plus they haven’t been there very long (even though the building has).

So anyway, the “Just Right” committee convened there a week or so ago, during the multi day monsoon.  The entrance gets you in the nautical mood with a self proclaimed statement about soft shells 

And on top of their sandwich,  it’s good to know they serve their large crab legs cooked!

Once inside you could be in a time warp back to the old willows, pretty much same floor plan with bar in the middle

And clever signs all over the place (also leaving no doubt as to your table number!), and some more up to date clever trappings on the wall

Tables are set with cutesy nautical themed tablecloths

To hold your beverages: that’s Chardonnay in the glass! A nice pour, with our hard cider devotee’s choice in the background.

The condiment caddy passes muster for the right stuff (vinegar, old bay in a shaker, hot sauce, French’s classic yellow mustard and Heinz ketchup (or catsup).

These days my menu choices are more driven by trying to figure out the lower sodium dishes, which is tough in a place that has most everything fried.  So while one of the team had a crab ball basket (of just right red plastic)

Another had a pulled pork sandwich

Besides the menu offerings there was quite a few specials one of which was a grilled salmon ($15.95), so I chose that with my new mantra in ordering: “with no added salt please”. Was a bit apprehensive, but was very pleasantly surprised with the result

Fish was cooked very well, firm, opaque, and not “flaky”, with a nice char and some herbs that I hoped were not laden with salt.  It really was tasty and I ate it all!  Notice all the other “sides” served with all the main dishes are in containers, oh well.  The slaw was also quite nice.

So, I think in the intervening two years, things have improved. So maybe in the next couple of years, if nothing drastically changes, they might earn the coveted “Just Right” designation.

Other side dishes:

Ruby Tuesday in First Colony appears to have gone dark.   Passing by nearly every day, I’ve noticed that they are indeed “dark” most of the time.  There are the dreaded 8½ x 11 white sheets of paper in the front doors.  And if you Google RT/Locations the “nearest to me” is in Prince Frederick.

PM update:  swung (swang?) by Ruby’s on way home from therapy to check the handbill on the door.  (shaky hand held images).  Seems to seal their fate.  Was this the first chain to close in the area?

Here’s the sign if you can read it (containing the words "permanently closed".

And thought it was nice placement above the permanent “Now Hiring” thing in the window.  Doubt it.

DOS Amigos in Leonardtown is still not open.  Place is cursed!

Another Tex Mex place near Callaway by the Wise food market has recently(?) opened.  Just what the area needs!

Steak in a Sack in Charlotte Hall has apparently shuttered.

Bay Dawgz in San Souci which has been vacant for quite a while now is now home to a Korean Barbeque place.

And, a nice way to end (the bubbles part)

MFO has a real love for Champagne.  Not Friexenet, not “Sparkling” wine, not the Charmat process (“tank method”):

“The Tank Method is a much less expensive and less time-consuming method of sparkling wine production”.

but the honest to God traditional method used in the Champagne district in France with a second fermentation in the bottle not in a tank, producing the only wine in the world that can be called Champagne which by “law” must be made with only Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes, although other varietals (pinot blanc, pinot gris, arbane, and petit meslier) sneak in there.   I am digressing far beyond what I started out to do, but one of our favorite memories of one of our trips to France was a tour of the cellars followed by a wonderful lunch at Moët and Chandon

Anyway, we found a very tasty bottle from Aubrey

Which was a Terry Theise selection.  He goes about making selections of little known grower wines and the Aubrey was one of his finds. He is VERY highly regarded in the world of champagne. 

So anyway, we opened the bottle in honor of a visit of some friends who were on an odyssey.  It was gorgeous.   Robert Parker gives it a 92 point rating.  HOWEVER, his(?) description of the wine is classic “wine speak” it reads:

It was a lovely glass, but try as we might, we just never could get the “bittersweet perfume suggestive of gentian and Iris with intimations of fresh lime and sea breezes". 

Anyway, I ramble too much!  A final reminder to

DFD

And NMMJ (interesting juxtaposition with visions of champagne flutes)