60 replies to this topic

[jhlurie]

Of particular interest to Ellen, for when you arrive in Seattle....Seattle has one of the few (if not the only) real Sherpa restaurant in the USA.  

well... they seem to have Momos at least.

If Momo eats Momos is that cannibalism?

[Fat Guy]

No more so than if Woody Allen eats the Woody Allen sandwich at the Stage Deli. Unless they're dog momo, it's kosher in Momo's universe.

[Rail Paul]

Don't forget the Alberta beef if you pass thru Calgary. I've been pleased with Hy's (next to the Westin). It has been on the same site since 1947, or thereabouts.

[Fat Guy]

I'll certainly be checking to see if Alberta beef is really all it's cracked up to be.

[stellabella]

ironically, most people with mullets, smoke.

unfortunately, ellen and steven won't be cutting through east tennessee, where the "mullet" is more appropriately referred to as the "dump" :p

[Beachfan]

I found a website for booking hotels in San Francisco that is local to the Bay area and seems to have better than average prices.  I got the Grand Hyatt for $139 for an upcoming stay, and I'm going to keep checking because I noticed it for $99 this Thursday.  Park Hyatt as low as $109.

[URL=http://www.hotelres.com]

PS anyone know why this link didn't get hot?

[anil]

Are you folks (Steve & Ellen) all set to go ? Packed,inoculated ? Through your
palates, we'll vicariously enjoy. :D

[Fat Guy]

We are decidedly not ready. Ellen will probably submit her North Carolina book manuscript to Crown tomorrow, after I give it a read-through overnight tonight. Then we'll both sleep most of tomorrow, do all our trip preparation on Tuesday (as well as stop by to see my favorite artist's gallery show in pre-opening because we'll be away for the entire duration of the show, and get a haircut) and depart at 5:00am on Wednesday no doubt forgetting something big.

[Peter B Wolf]

Not MOMO, please!!

[Fat Guy]

We haven't forgotten him yet, but we have forgotten his food. And that's a huge hassle because he eats this commie holistic stuff that you can't just wander into any Petco and buy, and if you just switch him over to IAMS or a popular brand cold turkey he displays some bad gastrointestinal indignation. We've wasted some serious time turning around and driving home for his food!

[robert brown]

Steven, for this trip you should change the pooch's name to Mo' Mo'.

Have a great one. How long are you going for?

[Fat Guy]

Approximately two months, maybe a little more. Depends when we run out of money, etc.

[mamster]

My planning acumen has been overstated.  What kind of experience are you looking for in Seattle, Shaw?  We can take you to a shmancy place;  we can do some home cooking;  or we can go to an unusual ethnic dive like the Malay Satay Hut.  Up to you.

[Fat Guy]

Home cooking or a picnic-type event is the easiest thing in terms of managing the dog, and it's the most economical thing for most people, but we can make pretty much anything work. Of course, I've never been able to get from point A to point B in Seattle without getting lost on one hill or another, but I'll try my best.

[researchgal]

okay, since someone already brought up Maine in an earlier post, I feel it's fine now for me to remind you to stop at Flo's Hot Dog stand on route 1 in York--it's great!  You have to have the hot dog the way they make it with this special sauce and, believe it or not, a little bit of mayo (I know if sounds gross, but it really isn't)...anyhow, they'll yell at you if you try to ask for a hot dog some other way.

And, I've also heard Fore Street in Portland is one of the best restaurants in the city.  Also, especially if it's on someone else's dime, try Arrows in Ogunquit.

Have a great trip, and if you need Boston area recommendations, let me know as you get closer, am happy to oblige.

[jaybee]

Steve, I hope you, your best friend and your other best friend have a wonderful, exciting, safe, good tasting, revealing, memorable, fun, and fulfilling trip. Maybe I missed this, but what are you driving?

[Fat Guy]

1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE minivan, the stretched and widened model, V6, "Wild Berry" (a/k/a maroon), with the back two rows of seats removed and replaced with a plywood platform that fits a mattress and a dog-crate on top and our gear underneath.

[jaybee]

1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE minivan, the stretched and widened model, V6, "Wild Berry" (a/k/a maroon), with the back two rows of seats removed and replaced with a plywood platform that fits a mattress and a dog-crate on top and our gear underneath.

And is called The .....MOMOBILE?

[Rail Paul]

If you encounter the academic precincts of Brunswick Maine, I'd suggest Fat Willie's, a chicken / burgers / lobster roll shack located on highway 123 about 2 miles east of Bowdoin college. It's directly across from the Naval Air station. Dinner for 2 (in your vehicle) and a plate o' ribs for the pooch will run about $10.

Not directly food related, but there's a great lobster hatching laboratory just over the bridge to Mount Desert island (Bar Harbor). Life cycle all the way from eggs, to spawning, to the repatriation of fingerlings to the ocean. Open to the public.

[robert brown]

Steven, I hope you get as much mileage from the van as the thread got from your dog's name.

[col klink]

Steven, mamster mentioned that you were stopping in Seattle and that you would be interested in a picknic of sorts. I'd be happy to fire up the smoker for you.  My backyard's decently large and fenced so Momo shouldn't have a  problem. Although one of the cats may get snippy but they'll shy away for the most part.

I can smoke up one of my specialties and I can take a couple of requests too.  I've smoked most cuts of pork (three cheers for back ribs!), beef roasts and brisket, seafood, cheese, chicken, turkey, duck, goat, venison, and even rabbit.  

Although I have yet to try smoking a mullet.  I suppose I should go watch Fried Green Tomatoes again, as I recall, they smoked up a proponent of domestic violence with positive results.  Maybe he had a mullet?

[SteveW]

No mention in the discussion so far, before the cross-continent road trip starts early this morning, is if Ellen has pre-sell any articles by this time, about any parts of this upcoming trip. It would be fun, to also read her perpective(concerning food or relating to travel).

------------
Steve

[Fat Guy]

Col Klink: That sounds fabulous. Why don't you coordinate with the learned Mamster and we'll all get together and party in a few weeks. Have you ever smoked beef short ribs? Yum.

SteveW: The last time we did this, Ellen kept a Weblog that focused mostly on the personal aspects of the trip, but she made it available only to friends and family, whereas I wrote the for-public-consumption version. We haven't decided how we're going to handle it this time around, but two hours from now we'll have a 13-hour drive to sort it all out. It has been insane around the Shaw/Shapiro household these past few days, with Ellen finishing her latest book just yesterday. So, we'll figure it all out once we get moving.

In terms of pre-selling, the answer at this time is no for both of us. Ellen is doing less and less freelance journalism as she focuses more on books -- she's just finished her fourth and she's going to be doing second-editions of two of her earlier books when we get back this summer. There are two book projects under discussion with two different publishers that might arise out of this trip, but then again it's possible that nothing will come of it. As for me, it's the usual situation: I've got a number of irons in the fire (four of which are almost certain to ignite) but no actual paying assignments yet. But I haven't been in heavy selling mode thus far -- a situation I hope to remedy in the coming weeks.

[Peter B Wolf]

You said you leave at  5AM, so you are gone, have you got MoMo's food?.....and MoMo? :)

[mamster]

I've got a number of irons in the fire (four of which are almost certain to ignite)

That explains why your pants are on fire.

[col klink]

Have you ever smoked beef short ribs? Yum.

Great!  I haven't done short ribs before and am glad to try them out.  I'll even do a trial run before you arrive.  They'll certainly be on the menu.

I'm sure I speak for everyone in the PacNW forum that we can't wait to meet the three of you.

To help the trip get started:

99 bottles of beer on the wall,
99 bottles of beer!
take one down,
pass it around
98 bottles of beer on the wall!

[edit disclosure:  I didn't answer the question.]

[macrosan]

Now that the World Tour '02 is under way, Momo's thoughts turn to the World Tour '03, and I have great news for the itinerant canine. Cast your peepers on THIS young Momo, and start to dream of the land of your forefathers ....

[yvonne johnson]

My consort recently told me Fat Guy and Mrs Fat Guy liked Sticky Fingers. What? Where did he read that? Silly me has been waiting here on this thread to learn more about the trip, and it's all going on upstairs
http://209.197.224.1...ulle....5;st=30

[grahamtigg]

I've just come across this topic, but can't find the plans beyond North America for this World Tour?

[macrosan]

Whaddya talking about, Graham ???? There's a world beyond North America ???????

:wow: