A Weekend in May...

Just a quick couple of notes for a busy weekend.

To "Do":

Kind of fruitless to pursue this.  As of this writing (Saturday morning), yesterday contained:

First Friday in Leonardtown

The first of the Boeing Lecture series at Sotterley

A “re-sale art show” down at Woodlawn

Today (Saturday) you could choose from:

The house tour of several lovely and historical homes in St. Mary’s County (including Tudor Hall where MFO will be hosting)
The Kentucky Derby event for Hospice

Find a place to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (Patron shots and Corona chaser)

And so it goes.  And for us, there is also a reception in DC sponsored by the corporate branch of one of the boards I am on.  It is always a lovely affair with great food (and drink)  I'll suck it up and try to take my little point and shoot...

It gets too hard to stay on top of all of these things..Just pick out something you like.  Or just stay home.. for which you may not have to

DFD

Home Cooking - not at home...

Back in my (Boeing) community relations days, I developed a close friendship with my counterpart in DC.  Recently, he has received an opportunity for a position in Boeing Headquarters in Chicago, so another very good friend from DC decided we would have a little "good bye" dinner for him.  Leaving guy is also pretty much a food guy and gets around DC a lot, so we let him pick the venue.  Based on a recent experience, he recommended a place called La Strada (Osteria & Enoteca), an Italian place in Del Ray (yes, there is one in DC).  I peeked at their web site and figured it would be a sleek, modern restaurant.

So MFO and I drove up to our (staying) friend's place in SW Tuesday afternoon, then went we all went and picked up "leaving" who drove us all to

Well, it turns out that La Strada and the Enoteca are two different places

With the “Eno” to the left, and La Strada to the right.  The "sleek" picture on the web site (did you look?) is actually the Enoteca, but the plainer Strada on the right is anything but.  Again, I have never been to Italy, but I would suspect that this place is replicated in many little squares and villages there.   Upon entering, it is anything but sleek, quite the opposite, with just some wooden tables in a very plain setting.

What you see is approximately half of their tables.  The lady who greeted us was in her fifties (?), very plain, just a white blouse over some "pedal pushers" (okay, I’m not a fasionista).  Hello, are you here for dinner?   Sit wherever you would like; only one other table occupied at this point.  It was a bit ealy since we pushed the hour a bit since it was a work night, and we had a drive home.  That one occupied table was a “mom” with a couple of little ones, who eventually had issues, but left fairly soon.  I thought it was more proof of just a homey, family style place.  We took a table along the wall opposite what you see.  She handed us menus, only one sheet in a plastic sleeve, but took one back because “it's greasy!”.  Like your Mom would..The menu was simple with the usual Italian classifications of Antipasti (five choices); Insalata (3); Zuppa (minestrone plus du jour or the Italian equivalent); Pasta (9); Pesce (2), and Carne (5).  Also a few Contori - which we would call sides. Pretty doable.  I was surprised to not find my benchmark Veal Piccata listed, although Ossobuco (Milanese) was.  A unique feature was that everything could be ordered “Solo” or “Famiglia”.  Prices were reasonable, most “solo” were in upper teens with the family version around one and a half to two times that price.

Soon a gentleman came around who looked like the other half of the lady that seated us, dressed in plain black and of a similar age.  Not unfriendly but not warm either.  He supplied the wine list and asked if we would like a glass, but we said we were still in conversation stage and not ready for libations.  On his heel, and left.  The two sided wine list was also in a sleeve, with one side for Vino Bianco and the other for Rosso. It was arranged only by region (Arbruzzo, Puglia, Piemonte, La Marche, etc.), and within that the variety and vineyard (Barbaresco DOCG, 2005 Produttori del Barbaresco (Nebbiolo)).  No descriptions, you kind of had to know your grapes.  I finally settled on an Orvieto ‘Novilunio’ , 2008 Tenuta Poggio del Lupo (Grechetto, Verdello, Drupeggio, Malvasia), and ordered up a Soave for MFO.  Bread was brought to the table with the wine, in a basket and only olive oil for dressing.  I will never understand why they can't slice the loaf all the way through!  I thought the bread indifferent, but I lean toward French.  No frills, no fan fare.  Plunk.

Although conversation flowed, so did the time so we finally got down to paying attention to the food.  It took a bit of struggling (I dunno, what are you having?), but with shared forks in mind, we finally settled on the Linguine alla Carbonara (a sucker dish for our non leaving friend – a devotee of St. Louis versions); MFO took the Gnocci on the recommendation of leaving friend;  and LF himself tried an interesting looking pork chop preparation (Costoletta di Maiale – Pork chop with a pine nut, currant, balsamic sweet and sour sauce over mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach), and I finally settled on (no veal piccata) Spaghetta al Aglio y Olio (pasta, garlic, extra virgin olive oil) with the shrimp scampi option (plus five bucks total $19.95).  We also decided on the “famiglia” Insalata Caprese (homemade mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, and pesto vinaigrette).  Due to the flowage of time, other tables began filling, but again with folks not looking like they were “going out”, just coming to eat and chat.

Our salad arrived colorful and a wonderful fresh start to the meal

It was very flavorful.  The homemade cheese was firm and subtly flavorful, not rubbery and squishy like some versions of "mozz", and the tomatoes and pesto was a great combination. Our "family" ate the whole thing.  Nothing was left on the plate!  When the main courses arrived, the pork chop (not surprisingly) turned out to be most interesting dish on the table.  The chop was tender and the whole combination (despite some initial misgivings) worked well.

My spaghetti, while not a great presentation - what else could you do??

Was cooked just right, al dente on the pasta and the (large!) shrimp were very flavorful, tender and just opaque.  There were actual slices of garlic clove, sweet and fresh, not at all tangy.  there was a third shrimp hiding under the one on the left.  MFO’s gnocci were light, not "lumps of dough" as you get sometimes, the (pork, beef, and veal!) sauce hearty to say the least. It was a large portion with the result that I was fortunate enough to benefit from the left overs at dinner last night.  Staying Friend said that he still liked the STL version of Carbonara better, but this was a close second.

Again, one of those just right places, with décor, service, and food all in harmony.  No glitz, just plain service and really well prepared food. Like a corner family restaurant.  Not a “special” place, but if you want good, solid, reasonably priced, rustic (a bad word, but you might get my drift) food, the feeder would send you there.  He would return.  There was just kind of a nice feel about the place (aided by our staying and leaving friends of course).

On the way back to our car in SW, LF drove us around close by the close by community of Shirlington a bit.  Many, many, small and larger cafes and restaurants most with outside seating.  I was amazed that most of them were full, and this early on a Tuesday night.  Scene looked vibrant. It was fun to hear LF tick them off as we passed.  No good, just okay, very good, average, etc. He gets around.

We wish him well in his new situation in the Windy City and are looking forward to be guided there, and are very grateful that staying friend will be…

If you go to La Strada on the “family” side, don’t worry about

DFD

Thumper says.....

Or was it Bambi?   Anyway, one of the tribe said if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.  Sorry, can’t resist.  Couple of things have been bugging me lately.

First One:

Since I watch some (okay a lot) of TV I am subjected to many, many, commercials as is anybody else.  There is one that really gets my goat lately (as if I had a goat).  It starts out with a concerned “Dad” peering through the passenger window (shot from inside car) talking about “are your seatbelts fastened?”; and “Don’t go out on the freeways yet, you're not ready for that”, and then it cuts to a child of maybe four or five, anyway really little struggling with a seat belt. a squeaky: “Yes, Daddy I will!”.  Back to shot of dad.  Okay here’s the keys (extends keys);  back to shot of passenger, this time a “teenager”, with same blond hair as was the kid, and in same clothes.  As car backs out of driveway, Dad looks really pensive and wistfully says: “We knew this day would come, that’s why we bought a Subaru”.  Gag, choke, I’ll rush right out and get one..what the heck does that mean??!!

Second one:

I also listen to a little pocket radio tucked under my pillow at night to ward off the demons.  Lately there’s been the rise of particularly offensive set of McDonald’s ads.  Starts out with some reference to Vincent Van Gogh as the “Egg McMuffin of Dutch Impressionist Painters” and goes on in that vein.  Can you imagine that?  How freaking awful and presumptive is that?  A TV version has a starry eyed post adolescent male staring at a young lady and tells her that he loves her.  A look comes over her face that implies she does not share that feeling and says “You’re the egg McMuffin of Boy Friends”.  Sigh.   Wonder how many bucks those clever ad people get for dreaming up stuff like that crap.

Okay Thumper (or…)

I’ll say something nice.  Last Sunday a friend came over for lunch and brought the solid food while I supplied the liquid accompaniment.

While staring out on the river watching the many boats on the river. we (really, really) enjoyed this bottle of bubbly which was a present from the FOJTE’s for our last anniversary.  It was lovely (thank you FOJ’s); a NV Laurent – Perrier Brut.

And yes, that IS a poinsettia in the background.  Don’t ask me why, but it has stayed glorious since the holidays.

We next had some lovely paté with capers and flatbreads.  This was paired with an ’05 Château Lascombes Margaux.

It was a heavenly combination.  The wine deserved every one of the 98 points Mr. Parker awarded it.  There’s just something great about good Bordeaux.

Finally we had some (lightly) Cuban spiced shrimp with fresh mango and tomatillo salsa and cherry tomatoes.

Those familiar with the quirky tastes of the feeder will remember that asparagus is not his favorite vegetable (I have no defense, but it's true) but it certainly makes a nice plate.

To paraphrase, lunch, lunch, beautiful lunch.  LWISTBR..

And we were pretty much

DFL

as a teaser, we're going up to DC tonight to dine with some friends, certainly a feeder opportunity!!

Catching up and to do list

Happy Friday

As I recall, I owe you a tidbit about food after the lovely Brian Ganz concert the other night.  As I was preparing to leave the parking lot at “the City”, I called MFO so she could order a pizza which I would pick up on the way home (convenience over quality).   A return call soon came to the cell with the information that Pepperoni’s had closed at nine.  Excuse me, a place that offers pizza closes at nine?  Most pizza eaters are just getting sentient at nine.  Oh well, let’s try (our new nearby) Jerry’s again.  A few minutes later I got another cell call (and yes, I was distracted) that said that our order was number 33. So a few minutes later I was in the parking lot and went into Jerry’s.  This is about twenty after nine.  I went in to be greeted by an incredibly happy oriental gentleman, and he said my order was not quite out of the oven.  Eventually it was, and with lots of smiles and nods I went home.  We have learned that store bought pizza improves with a session on the stone in the oven.  The size of the pizza provided challenges to get it on the stone, and we were only partially successful.  We had selected an “all meat” variety.

Okay the pizza, even though crisped by being on the stone, was not good.  The crust was still thin and mushy on the bottom and the ingredients were only average.   I'm sure the cheapest money can buy. With now maybe four or five orders from Jerry’s, I am almost ready to write them off.  Rice has been iffy, pizza has been uniformly bad.  They have an incredible kitchen, but nothing that has come out of it so far has impressed me.  Too bad.

OTOH

After MFO’s meeting of the Historical Preservation Commission yesterday we did our usual pilgrimage over the bridge to the Dry Dock.   We assumed our normal seats at the bar, and our drinks were set in front of us almost before we sat down. It’s nice to be known.  I may have said this before, but one of the servers who worked there in the golden days of the "old" Dry Dock is now there to assist in managing the place. I often emote about the “original” Dry Dock in the block house across the parking lot from the current location. Looking back I think they had best core of servers that has ever been assembled around here.  The food was good last night, and we especially enjoyed going over old times with our friend.  Sigh, those were the good old days..

Friday’s (partial) to do list:

Might include taking in this year’s offering of the Mark Twain Lecture Series on American Humor and Culture.  It will be given at 7 TONIGHT in the O’Brien Rec Center (the gym) at St. Mary’s College by David Rakoff.  Mr. Rakoff is a nationally recognized (Thurber Award, among other distinctions) humor writer.  It is to be noted (which just sunk into the feeder’s small brain) that the lecture has NOTHING to do with Mark Twain.  The only subject mentioned is that he will speak on “defensive pessimism, and his new award winning book…”  kind of a small red flag there, but it could be entertaining.  Think no fee.

Unfortunately at the same time tonight 7pm one of Historic St. Mary’s City Maryland Dove interpreters (and their waterfront supervisor) from, Joe Greeley will give a program called:

“Over the Ramparts – Fortifications in the Chesapeake, 1607 to 1945”: the fascinating story of the changing fortifications protecting the Chesapeake. HSMC Visitor Center auditorium, also free.

Musically there will be a concert tomorrow at that popular 7pm by guitarist Peter Griggs performing “500 years of Music for the Guitar” (hopefully that is NOT the length of the concert) down at Chaptico’s Christ Episcopal Church.  “a free will offering will be accepted”.

TODAY will be the last student recital of the school year ~ 3pm in Montgomery Hall, Room 25 on the campus of St. Mary's College. There will be a lot of great music.  Free.

On a grander scale, tomorrow is the annual Celtic Festival and Highland Gathering at Jefferson Patterson Park.  Usual stuff, hammer throws, bagpipes, drinking.  20 buck admission 10 – 6.

Closer to home is the Going Green Expo held at Annmarie Sculpture Gardens, 10 – 5. Free.

Okay, enough for today

DFD

Proper Behavior

Civility with a camera and a laptop - foodies take a seat, I have to get this off my chest...

Phase I - Cameras

Readers know (all too well) that I try to document this experience or that by including a photograph here and there.  I find that there are some ethical issues involved, at least for me (tormented as I am).  A plate of food doesn’t mind a camera sticking its nose at it, and a pretty scene doesn’t care, but there are some limits.  When in a restaurant, I pretty much resist shooting the food out of deference to the restaurant, and other diners (although with my new point and shoot it is easier) . If there is a particularly beautiful presentation I try to be as discreet as possible and never, never, use a flash.  You are there to appreciate and enjoy the food, not to capture or worship it.  I know there have been endless blog debates about this, but I try not to invade the experience if at all possible. 

In public situations, such as the “Taste of 235” event I attended last weekend, I don’t feel bad about taking general shots that include people.  The use of a long lens allows images to be captured without being conspicuous (like the balloon guy).

But then there are situations such as the performance of the CheeseLords last Sunday at Historic St. Mary's City.   While not in a “real” church, it nonetheless has a sacred atmosphere about it.  I really felt like I would like to preserve the event both for myself (and the readership), plus the City might want to document the performance. So, I did take my little point and shoot, and took the shots while sitting down two or three rows from the front.  I only took a total of four. The results (as you saw in the last post) had sort of “snapshot” quality, rather than a good picture. But it wasn’t intrusive at all.  IMHO.

Which sort of leads me toward not exactly a rant, but something I have strong feelings about.  In the very front row of the seating, right in front of the singers, there was a woman who held up her iPad like a sign board, staring upwards at the screen and shot (and most likely) recorded two or three pieces.  To be honest I don’t really know who she was, although it didn't look like it, maybe she was part of the group, but it certainly was annoying to others. Mercifully, after a few numbers,  she moved toward the back and continued, and after a while she quit, maybe her battery ran down.  And there was another person who held up one of those cameras with a screen on a stalk and did the same thing.  I am pretty sure they didn’t ask permission from the Lords (copyright issues?).  If you are there to enjoy the music (like the food) just enjoy it for God’s sake.   It’s not about you; it’s about the whole experience.  And there are others in the room.

Phase II - The Laptop

Last evening I again journeyed south, this time to the college and a Brian Ganz/Beverly Babcock presentation of a Debussy composition (Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra).  It was held in the usual venue of St. Mary’s Hall.  It started at eight, and hence there were a fair number of what I took to be students in the audience.  For reasons I won’t go into here, I always try to sit in the same seat, right side, last row, two in, and I was able to secure that seat last night.  I watched the students (as well as people from my generation) file in.  I would say that somewhere around 90% of the students had backpacks about the size of a microwave with them.  What the heck is in there?   Anyway, a group of three came and sat immediately in front of me.  This was maybe ten minutes before the start of the performance.  They reached into the cavern of the packs and withdrew full size laptops, and proceeded to start them.  Of course the screens nowadays are bright enough to do surgery by, so having them right in front of me was very distracting.  I was all prepared to either say something or move, but mercifully they shut them down when Brian and Beverly appeared on stage.  Okay, I’ll accept that as a way of life of the younger generation.

However, comma, that courtesy did not extend to a couple of males that were seated in the same row as I was (last) in about the middle.  When I arrived they both were absorbed in their laptop screens, typing and whatever.  When the house lights were dimmed, they were not.

Now as some of you may remember Brian often discusses the music before he performs it.  The particular piece they were to perform had sort of an interesting history.  Apparently (a young) Debussy refused to perform the piece just before a concert was to begin. Since then, the piece has seldom been performed, and there is much speculation as to why Claude yanked it.  So in his usual quiet, entertaining way, Brian explained the history, and then proceeded to present his thoughts on why.  It is a very complicated piece, and apparently difficult to play, but he went on to explain about the “blurring” or “melding” of musical forms (musical friends, usual apologies here).   He talked about interlaced major and minor scales, key changes, different modalities.   I have borrowed a definition of “modes” from the internet to kind of give you a feel for what he talked about:

A mode is a series of intervals used to construct a scale. Therefore, TTSTTTS is called the major mode. Modes have no specific tones, notes, or pcs; they are simply a series of intervals or distances. Scales, on the other hand, contain specific notes or pcs. A scale is a group of pcs or notes arranged in ascending or descending order. ABCDEFGA is a simple scale. Its mode is TSTTSTT. Modes and scales may or may not have a tonic. The chromatic scale has no tonic. However, a C major scale has the tonic C. Modes can only have relative tonics; e.g., the major mode has no specific tonic, but some tonic is implied at the beginning of the mode. Major and minor modes are regarded today as the most important modes, since most music around the world now conforms to these two modes. Minimally, key consists of tonic plus the mode, e.g., "C major" or "E Mixolydian".

While is not a quote, Brian used a lot of these words, interspersed with demonstrations on the keyboard.  Fascinating stuff.  He talked for almost a half hour about things like this.  With several illustrations from the piece itself: "lets play a few bars after J in the second movement".

So, what were my friends in the same row doing during his talk?  Same thing: watching their damn screens, and although they may have been dimmed some, their eyes remained riveted there.  The screens still emitted a glow, and was distracting. After a couple of haughty glares from me (regrettably allowing myself to get sucked in) they did tilt the screens down and sort of hunched in the seats so they could still see them.  When the music started, they did close the lids, but they couldn’t stand it for long and would peek fairly often.  Awful.   And then, about half way through the first movement (during the music), they grabbed their back stones and left.  I just don’t get it.  Did they get credits just for showing up?  I doubt they could have appreciated the music.

By the way, the music was very enjoyable.  You should try to hear the piece sometime.  It went on for about 25 minutes and I was sorry when it ended.  I grasped dimly (like their screens) some of what Brian talked about, but it is just so much easier to enjoy the music without analysis.

After the concert, I did have a food experience, but you are probably fatigued so we’ll save it for another day.  It wasn’t good.  And there was no issue with

DFD