Scargo

I grew up in Dallas and was born not far from Austin... If you haven't been to the Hill Country then I think you need to go to Cooper's. My SO still talks about her first time there (she's from LA). It's an experience like no other; the pits, the smoke, the way they serve the meat, the low ceiling and the "free" fixin's! My impression is that more than a few Q places have mimicked the style, decor and atmosphere of places in the Hill Country, like Cooper's Barbeque.

Thai is one of my favorite ethnic foods; perhaps because it can be spicy. As a transplanted Texan, I need my spicy food. And, it can be so "fresh" with many uncoooked components. I like that. I love to cook it at home. Thai was the first meal I prepared for my "Honey". Like Tex-Mex or "Mexican", when I hear of a new restaurant I just have to try it. I think Ayuthai has been open only a short while; I think it opened around November, '07. When I Googled it I came up with only two entries (now three). This is a smallish restaurant with two dining areas. There is no real lobby or waiting area. In a small house, I would guess the whole place can seat about 60 people at around fifteen tables. We were there at about 7:30 on a rainy Friday night and they were still fairly full. We ate in the entry/small bar area where they have four, two-tops. This is a busy area. "The bar" is also where customers come for take-out. After a while it was not so bad and became almost quiet and intimate. We were able to have a pleasant after-dinner conversation with the couple next to us, who frequent the place. The two-top tables are too small to handle a number of dishes, wine glasses, etc., at one time. I would suggest opting for a four-top, if you can. There was a decent selection of wine. This impressed me for a Thai restaurant. We had the Folie A Deux Menage a Trois 2006, a dark Zin blend. This was a great red and, for the quality, was priced conservately at $24! We ordered fresh "Spring Rolls" and received fried rolls. We said "what the heck" and ate them. Then the "real" uncooked spring rolls arrived. We said, "what the heck--we can take them home if we are too full", so we kept them. They were good but the dark brown, thick, peanut-based dipping sauce was too strong, thick and overpowering. I preferred the light, sweet and sour dipping sauce. My partner ordered Larb (the ground pork salad) for her main course and I ordered the deep-fried red snapper with chili sauce over it (basically Pad Prik Pla) but it included large slivers of onion and green bell pepper. It was not terribly spicy, slightly overcooked, but very satisfying. We both agreed that the Larb was good, but WAY TOO SALTY! I'm sure this occurred from a combination of fish sauce (yet it didn't seem overpoweringly fishy) and salt; when combined was overkill. We are both old enough to want an extra boost of flavors for our less-than sensitive palates, but this was too much. We took it home, put a lot of lime juice over it and ate it with rice. It was acceptable at that point. We shared a coconut ice cream dessert, which I can highly recommend, especially if you have eaten a lot of spicy food! Though the experience had some hiccups, I can recommend that you try it. I have had some incredibly good Thai food, in many cities, and this did not quite measure up, on this occasion, but it is as good as any I have had in the New Haven-Guilford area. The service was quite good. It is a neat and clean restaurant. Ayuthai is easy to get to; taking exit 57, it is one mile back towards Branford on Boston Post Road. It sits by itself, right on the north side of the road, at the top of a hill and has very adequate parking. Enjoy! BTW, I discovered Ayuthai while looking for a restaurant, while in Guilford. Guilford, among other things, is known for the Shoreline Arts Alliance which has a number of galleries, arts programs and concerts. It hosts the prestigious "Images" photography competition, for Connecticut residents. The chosen entries will be displayed from February 11 through March 1. I just heard that I have a piece that was accepted into the competition! I had to brag....

Sounds like I need an excuse to go up I-91. All these look interesting. I think I remember that the Carmen Anthony "chain" has a good reputation. If the Berlin Turnpike is close enough for a restaurant detour then Middletown is not much different. The Tuscany Grill would be an option. What about others on the east side of I-91?

Mickey's is new to me. http://www.mickeysgroup.com/ Looks very posh inside and the Mediterranean influenced dishes have me salivating! Used to be a very frumpy, so-so seafood place. Can't even remember the name. Thanks for the tip!

If they could only come to Seymour and teach the Hot Tamale restaurant how to cook..... perhaps they could!!

This was our fourth, and final time at Hot Tamale. I do think you can do better in the frozen food and canned goods aisles of your local grocery. The salsa was again cold and tasteless with a distinct canned tomato flavor. They do continue to put bottles of hot sauces on the table so that you can heat it up and the waitress volunteered to bring choppped, fresh jalapenos for it. They do have a hotter, cayenne-based, sauce (you have to ask for) but it is not "salsa". I decided not to order the "top shelf" magarita this time since it was watery/tasteless the last time and this "ordinary" version fared no better. I think they puree the pinto beans and they are not "refried". They were very bland. Bland everything! My partner's (to quote the menu) "Tostada Salad--A grande taco shell filled with grilled steak or chicken, on a bed of mixed greens. Served with pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. $11.99", had totally tasteless chicken. (BTW, my dog liked it.) My chile rellenos were terrible. Un-authentic, flavorless cheese filling. Our friends did not comment on their food and I was afraid to ask. The appetizer, (again quoting) "Hot Tamale--Two corn masa tamales filled with beef and steamed in corn husks. Served over a bed of mesculin greens. $7.99", was quite good, but I doubt they make it in-house. The "Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake $6.00" was good but ditto on the made elsewhere. I really wanted to enjoy a decent meal here but this last meal was the deal-breaker. The four of us dropped over $125 for pathetic ??-Mex! The mariachi band was a joke and just made it difficult for us to talk. This place had a waiting list the last three times we visited, and yet, this Saturday night prime-time visit found the place about 1/3 empty. My friend said, "The restaurant was OK for the Valley". That's a terrible indictment.

I'd like to know the same thing (and have a few more to choose from) since we often travel that stretch between New Haven and Bradley International Airport. I have eaten several time at the Kohinoor Express Indian Cuisine, 2103 North Broad Street (Highway 5/Berlin Turnpike), Meriden, CT 06450, (203) 440-4196. This place is excellent and just a couple of miles off I-91 and easy to access via the Meriden (south, and closest) end or the Eest Berlin (north) end of the "Berlin Turnpike". Another that we love is Luce, an Italian restaurant in Hamden. http://www.ristoranteluce.net/location.html This is a classy place with great food, atmosphere and service. I can highly recommend it. It's really easy to get to from I-91, via the Mt Carmel connector (40). It's 2-1/2 miles from I-91, almost right where 40 ends and connects with Whitney Avenue. Just go up to the next light and it is in the N-E corner tucked back, past the wine store (prominent on the corner). This old wine store is Mt. Carmel Wine and Spirits, http://www.mtcarmelwine.com/. They have the best French wine selection, of any in New England. Those are the only good places I know of that are in-between New Haven and Hartford.

About Crave: The owner responded with this: "dear scargo we are open tuesday thru saturday. i highly reccommend reservations on friday and saturday because we get packed! let yourself be known after your meal so you may let me know what you think of crave. two of these comments (leo the grape and buck naked jr) are from regular paying customers. they are my friends now because of the regularity of their visits. i pride myself in getting to know all my customers and sharing with them in a friendly manner. todd lyon reviewed crave in dec21st nh register. check it out....hope to meet you soon" A good friend emailed me the day after my post and told me about having eaten at Crave. I said, thinking it was too much of a coincidence, "Are you reading my posts? The reviews make it sound phenomenal" He said,"Yes it almost is!" He can't wait to return. I may have to retract everything I've said, and eat Crow. I'll have to go there soon to see for myself. You can count on it.

Crave, Restaurant and Wine Bar has had an unusual amount of attention in the past few months on Yahoo "Local" for the New Haven, CT area. Most of the glowing (and sometimes over the top) reviews are from first-time posters. It sure has me curious... They seem to have opened in the fall of 2007. Several times referred to as a "New York style" place. I guess that's really saying something for Ansonia. The other is Studio 275, in Derby. To quote their site: "Chef Leo P. Moscato, Jr. is a 1990 graduate of the well renown Culinary Institute of America located in Hyde Park, New York. Prior to attending the CIA, Leo was the head chef in his family owned restaurant the Olde Birmingham located in Derby, Connecticut." The Olde Birmingham became Tartaglia's before becoming The Twisted Vine. This seemed to be a sleeper to me, but I called him and his restaurant is only available for private dinners/parties. Has anyone used him? I hope I don't wake up anyone in Connecticut!

A follow-up: My partner (who was with me on the first outing) and her adult son went back to Leon's recently and they recognized her. The manager came over and asked what he could do to make up for our unfortunate experience. She said it was me that needed to be made up to, not her. She said she was more interested in relationship building than being comped some food. Still, he gave her a free glass of wine and a loaf of their wonderful bread, which comes from Bread and Chocolate, in Hamden. They had a flawless meal and were doted on. I finished off her "Baby Field Green & Scallop Salad" when she got home and it was delicious, with a nicely balanced dressing, that in no way overpowered the lemon-pepper seasoned, pan seared scallops. Understandably, opening day can be tough, and they were obviously not totally ready to open since there was an electrical contractor's truck parked prominately at the front entrance. On my next visit I will be curious to see if they can make decent crab cakes... I do have a slight correction to my previous post: On the menu for the trio of crabcakes appetizer it says, "Tortini di Mare A trio of "crabcakes"," after which the description continues, with the caveat that it is not all crab cakes. I did not read that part.... my eyes shot to "crab cakes" at the beginning, and I read no further.

I didn't realize it when we headed off for lunch, that we were going to lunch on the very first day of the re-opening of Leon's in New Haven, CT. They occupy the building that was once the home of the Rusty Scupper at 501 Long Wharf Dr., at exit 46, on I-95. The decor is more elegant and sophisticated than before and they have devoted more interior space to a bar/eating area which is partitioned off from the main dining area. I like what they have done with the interior as it retains and adds to the warm woods that were present before. It might be a little quieter than before because of the partition but it seems that they have done nothing more with the interior re-design to keep the noise down, which can be significant during lunch or a private event. BTW, This was where I had my first date with my true-love, over five years ago. I remember fondly eating outside and sipping on a pinot grigio as the seabirds flew around. I love that atmosphere. Let's hope Leon's fixes a few things so we will want to go back.... There were three in our party and we were seated quickly and our reservations were not really necessary. Better than the Rusty Scupper, we received drinks and bread fairly promptly. The bread is very good, Italian, of course. The wine list is decent. Two of us ordered the seafod chowder which was fabulous. We both raved over it. Dense flavors in a thick, dark brown base with plenty of seafood bits and a scallop plopped in the middle. I ordered the crabcake appetizer, to share and six raw oysters for myself. When the oysters arrived I was supprised to see that there were no condiments accompanying them, as described on the menu; just one lemon wedge. I noticed a dark speck on one oyster and thinking it was a small piece of shell, I tried to remove it. It did not budge. That should have been my first clue but I juiced them up and dug in. After the first chew I quickly spit it out! Yuck! It has been so long snce I had a bad oyster, I can't even remember when.... Then I remembered that they looked dull and dry when they were served and the speck that didn't move.... so I suspect they were shucked many hours earlier. When I mentioned that the oyster I ate was really bad the waitress took it as a joke and I had to say, "No, they are really bad and I almost threw up!" I think there might have been a weak apology and they were removed from our presence (and did not appear on our bill). On to the crabcakes: The crabcakes were some of the worst I have ever eaten. I did not read the fine print to see that there was one crab, one salmon and one lobster cake that constituted the appetizer. The menu starts off in bold print saying, "Crab Cakes". The salmon cake was almost passable and the least dense, while they all were like a rubber ball; very gooey and dense with lots of breading. The exteriors were perfectly smooth! Is this an Italian style I am not familiar with? At this point my stomach was churning and I had no appetite. My partner and our guest fared better with their entrees: chicken and hot sausage with pasta and another pasta dish which was similar. Sorry, I didn't get what it was. I still had a jumpy stomach at that point. They both enjoyed their entrees and the food looked good. My partner pronounced it "better than the Scupper". We were disappointed that there was no further mention of the oysters nor any attempt to console us. As we left we mentioned the bad oysters and the hostess asked if we spoke to the manager. We said"no". She did not offer to get him or do anything for us, either. This is not how we are used to being treated if there is bad food. I'm not talking food you don't care for, or food poorly prepared; but food that makes you sick. They didn't seem to care or want to comp us anything. My partner is different from me. As soon as she settled at her office she called and spoke to the manager. He said he would "take care of us" and make up for it on our next visit. I hope so.

Was in Austin 12-2 to 12-9 and was able to eat at only two Q joints, thanks to my son's hangover when I wanted to go to Iron Works or Stubb's and my partner's squeamishness about Sam's fine interior decor. We ate at Salt Lick 360 and had a fine meal. The brisket was a little dry. I was impressed with my partner's chicken, though and loved the habanera sauce they supplied with it. I used it rather than the sweet stuff that came with my meat. It was OK, but hard to get used to. I also felt the same way about the potato salad; wierd but good. After a while I kinda got to liking it. The other Q meal was at Ruby's. It was better, IMHO. More flavorful and jucier brisket. The ribs were good, too. I'd definately go back there. I drank a few beers, on three occasions, at County Line (because it was near where I had to pick up my Partner when she finished her class each weekday and because of the outdoor atmosphere) but I didn't eat the Q. I ate there about ten years ago and I've read that it doesn't quite measure up to some of the others in the area. I was also usually too stuffed from having Q or Tex-Mex for lunch when I got there; usually around four PM. As I said, I was foiled on several occasions from eating more Q. One day we went to Stubb's for lunch and they were closed. My partner really could not stand eating in Sam's and we didn't want a meal "to go". BTW, we stayed at The Driskill and had a great meal there. I did Chuey's twice, Fonda San Miguel, Gumbos, La Traviata, Thai Passion, The Clay Pit, Manuel's and Hoover's twice for breakfast! Yum. I like Austin. I was born in Elgin... but I'm enjoying Connecticut, except for the lack of real Q and real Tex-Mex.

This was our third time at Hot Tamale and they may have got the message about the chile rellenos. There was no skin on them and one of the two were fully cooked. The other one was close to being fully cooked and soft. The flautas were good and crispy this time. I like the rice and beans. They are the normal. plain variety that you would expect from Tex-Mex. The salsa was (literally) cold and had no "heat", either. They do put bottles of hot sauces on the table so that you can heat it up. Drinks we ordered were slow to arrive and we received chips and the cold salsa but went without water; had to ask and then water took a long time. So, service was kinda slow. The food arrived just as we received our drinks. The food was pretty good this time, but service was slower than before and they were not super busy. Oh yea, and my "top shelf" margarita sucked! Perhaps they will get it (all) together one day.

Me too! I want to know. I'm going to be back in Dallas next month and I'm willing to give it another try.... as long as the owner is not out of town.

Now for the second installment: On our second visit (again on a Friday night, at 7:30PM) I can report that we thought the food was OK, again. They do not skin their chile rellenos, which is a major fauxpas. The salsa was again, very wimpy. The flautas were decent, but too thick, so they did not get cooked enough in the middle. The "spiced" filling was very under-seasoned. My Pollo Mole (Chicken with Mole Sauce) was disappointng from the standpoint that many (if not most) recipes call for the chicken to be baked in, cooked in or heated in the Mole sauce. I got bland, boiled chicked breast chunks with a thin Mole poured over them. The mole was too thin; and then, like everything else, was not flavorful enough. To be fair, it had a decent flavor, but it was not concentrated enough; and for $14.00, it was way overpriced for what I received. We made reservations, though I don't think we would have had to wait very long. Our service was lacking because there was a major disconnect between who was supposed to take our table. We waited for our waitress and then requested the hostess to find her for us. There were many waitresses and assistants buzzing around us but we were completely ignored. This all took at least fifteen minutes before we were greeted by our waitress. Getting drinks took quite a while too. Still, all in all (if you are not too picky about the authenticity of the food) the quality of the food is very good and I would recommend trying it. I think it is one of the better restaurants in the area. They have other dishes on their menu that are not Mexican at all, but look very interesting, like "Seafood al Pesto Rosso", which they mispell on their menu to read "all Pesto Rosso"! I grew up on Tex-Mex, New Mexico and Mexican food. I wish they would "kick it up" a notch with the seasonings and get a little more authentic. Guadalupe la Poblanita (in New Haven) it is NOT!

Man! I can't believe there are no eGulleteers or adventurous foodie people in the vicinity of Derby who do not have a story to tell about this place.

I had read about this place and was curious. In an old bank building, it has a curious mix of old Derby wealth and wierd French. Out front, they have a spectacular awning over sidewalk and the impressive, old bank's front entry, but the lighting was almost non-existant except for one glaring bulb and surrounding the front door were many pots of dead chrysanthemums. Lovely! On this dark, rainy night, the restaurant's main entrance was not very obvious and it was fairly dark. Inside, there is an odd shingled roof outcropping over the cashier's area where you also access the "Birmingham Cellars". In the main diningroom there is the old, dark and beautiful wood of the old bank mixed with a couple of cheap French posters. The posters are mixed on a wall with old, sconce-like extendable lighting fixtures; probably originals from the banking days--but not French looking..... Other wall hangings were a mix of pictures of flowers or dark unintelligible images in crooked hanging frames. There are intimate seating areas upstairs but all the lights were off on the second floor. With so much dark wood, this vaulted ceiling room had an eerie, almost gloomy feeling. I could imagine being held prisoner in the (bank vault) room (with the bars) and starved while others ate well. That, and the room being so empty gave it a very subdued, dark feeling, except for the fact that they played upbeat "oldies " tunes from the fifties! Then, to break up the strangeness of this type of music, in this setting, the owner/manager would talk loudly on the phone from across the room. They cover over the nice tablecloths with butcher's paper and then, inexplicably, give you nice cloth napkins! To the food..... There were good, garlicky smells coming out of the kitchen and overall, we had good food. We had a nice bottle of Italian wine, once we convinced the young Italian waitress that we "really, really" wanted to see the seperate wine list for bottles of wine. Small, cheap wine glasses were offered and she filled them to the brim... A decent, buttery, garlic bread was brought to the table for us to munch on. We had a fried clam strip appetizer, which was pretty good with a Remoulade-like dipping sauce. My partner had a chicken cesear salad where the chicken had a bland and odd, gravy-like coating which also made the salad too wet. There was no pepper or additional parmesan to be had. It was a pretty bland and uninspired salad, even though it was only $9. I had the stuffed veal chop, which turned out ot be spectacular! It was stuffed with a combination of domestic and shitake mushrooms and (at least) spinach. It was served over a bed of delicious, garlicky, mashed potatoes swimming in a wonderful, rich brown gravy. The stuffed chop was so large I could not finish it. This alone was $26. We skipped dessert, which we usually do. We were not aware of the Birmingham Cellars aspect of the restaurant, which is a "cellar" bar/dining/dancing area where you can supposedly drink, eat and be entertained. We heard no sounds from that area and saw no activity from the entry area. There was supposed to be live entertainment on Thursday, Friday and Saturday but this did not seem to be happening and the website calender for entertainment ( http://www.twistedvinerestaurant.com/calendar.htm# ) is not current. There were three young women working on the sparsely occupied first floor; two as waitresses. It was never more than half occupied and most people were dressed very casually. The service was also very casual for such a high-end, high-priced menu. The waitstaff would have been better suited for a nice pizzaria. It all seems so incongruous that nothing about the restaurant seems to match the capability of the chef..... or the potential of the building. The website portrays the restaurant as exotic and full of light. I hardly got that feeling. We may go back and try it again and see if the food is consistent and to see if there really is life in "the cellar". What are these owners thinking? This place has really wierd vibes. There is such a clash of interior styles and decoration. The Twisted Vine is supposedly portraying themselves as an up-scale American/Continental restaurant but there are so many anomalies that I wondered if it was a halloween prank!

Recently we got out and sampled a new restaurant which just opened in Seymour, CT. http://hottamalect.com/ "Hot Tamale" is what I would best describe as "Tex-Mex, New England style". (Remember, my roots are in Texas and I used to eat, drink and sleep Mexican food.) They are in the first little strip center on 67 (or New Haven Road) just off Highway 8, if you head east. This is a very classy, well decorated restaurant. Not some worked over, tired interior of an old building, like The Twisted Vine, which I will mention in my next post. They spent some bucks on this interiorand it has a nice bar, too. I'm ashamed to say this but you just don't expect a place like this in Seymour or hardly in New Haven! We went on opening night (10-11) and I was impressed by how smothly most things went. The row of tables where we sat were a little crowded. There were heavier-than-average weight people on both sides of us and I felt like I was in the pushed-forward front seat of a small car with a big person behind me; my knees at my chin; but in this case it was the table in my gut. They could do with removing one of the tables in that row. But as to the food... They served up a good margarita at the nice bar with four, large, widescreen TVs. They seemed to know what they were doing behind the bar. We barely had time to drink it before our table was ready. It took a few minutes of waiting for me to wrap up the bill at the bar. It would be convenient if they could have transferred the tab to our table... Do they not do that in Connecticut? Once seated, we started with guacamole made fresh, at the table. The preparer added olive oil and vinegar, along with a lesser dash of lime juice which made the mix rather soupy and odd tasting. They should leave traditional guacamole alone and not be trying to do wierd stuff with it! It was OK, but I would not allow any funny stuff on the next go-round. The salsa was tasty but had no heat. They have a hotter chile sauce, you have to ask for, but it is very plain. Mixing this into the wimpy salsa helped. It could use some lime juice and jalapenos. My partner had Chile Rellenos, which I consider a true test of a Mexican-oriented kitchen and I had a combination plate which included a twice-wrapped beef tamale (paper around a corn husk!) soft beef taco "ranchero" and chicken enchilada with tomatillo sauce. My "Combination Quatro" was good and flavorful, except for the taco. It was just ground beef and it was flavorless. The rice and beans were OK. The rice was a little bland. The chile rellenos were prepared properly, in the classic, thin batter style, but they were undercooked. The outside was beautiful, while the chile was hardly edible, it was so raw. This was not a bad experience for a brand-new restaurant, on opening night. We went back last night (Friday) and they asked if we had reservations! They were absolutely packed and had a two hour wait, so we went elsewhere. We will return, eventually. I want to try the Chicken in Mole. Can you imagine; having to make reservations at a restaurant in Seymour?

From Ft. Worth it is about 160 miles west to Abilene. Brownwood is 75 miles from Abilene and is equidistant from Ft. Worth and Austin. It's 90-something miles from Brownwood, west to San Angelo. Yes, you've probably been in OK-land too long. (But) Going to the areas in question is not necessarily a step up! You might want to fortify yourself in Ft. Worth on the way out. I hear tell they've a couple of decent Q places. It's been years since I tried any of them.

I completely agree with Jaymes. I was thinking about this very idea. We are not here, in this forum, to preach to and convert the misguided, unwashed masses. I think (perhaps) we're here to preach to the choir.

I used Woodie's BBQ sauce till I moved from TX to CT; Woodies is not to be found here. Now I use spicy Stubbs. Very similar. My two top favorites. Stubb's put some of "him" in every bottle, so I guess that killed him.

My SO was just commenting yesterday about trying to not use absolutes when discussung food; so the caveat of "that I've had so far" seems like an acceptable way of couching their comments to me. She mentioned using "relative to the restaurants I've been to", "compared to the other ones I remember", etc. While taking physics, my older brother printed posters saying "In Relation To What?" I like relationships. Give me something I can compare your superlative to-- so I can relate..... If someone is comparing The McRibs sandwich to a Sam's sandwich then it should make you wonder. If the've never left Kansas then their judgement or loyalties would be suspect, too. I remember one of my first trips to a distant state from my home in Dallas, Texas. I was about 31. I was in Baltimore and had a hot, grilled sandwich; a cheese-steak sandwich. I went back the next day and had a crab (crabcake?) sandwich. I was in heaven. I did not know this kind of food existed! Was it great? At the time I thought so. Now, I can't remember how good it really was (compared to the many I've had since) but it sparked a desire to explore food like it.

Yes, it's a performance of sorts for me, too. This is a series of hot buttons I forgot. I can cook something wonderful, just for myself (and occasionaly have) but why, when you can entertain and wow people. I am thrilled when my SO uses the term "restaurant quality" or "better than I've had in a restaurant".... or a guest says this is the best "X" I've ever tasted! This is my highest compliment from her or others since we have had some really excellent meals out; here in New Haven, NYC, Dallas, Boston, Seattle, etc. I usually bone-up on Egullet before we go. I may sound self–aggrandizing but I enjoy cooking and as a person who is an artist and has always worked with my hands, and as a man who has always cooked, I consider cooking art. Performance art is certainly an occasional factor. I may work hard for half a day or more preparing a meal, if only for two. When someone wolfs down my food, I am annoyed. When they season it without tasting, I am aggrivated. When they arrive late, I am dismayed. It is also an art to bring everything together at the same moment in time and have it all cooked properly. I usually put out my best effort, so it is a challenge for me to calmly accept the consequences, regardless of whether my effort is appreciated or acknowleged. The yogurt doesn't burn because there is only a thin coating of it when it goes on the grill and I keep the heat down on the grill in the area where the chicken is laying. A new thing for me is to garnish with (large seed) "pearls" from large, over-ripe okra.

At some point, you've got to do Tex-Mex in Austin or San Antonio. One does not live on "Q" alone.

Wow! Almost all I can say is wow... I never imagined that this might provoke such a response. Some of you are so incredibly intuitive about what is going on that either you are a psychologist or should be one. I appreciate all the thoughtful responses. So here's the deal: I have carte blanche in the kitchen (and most of the house) and I get pretty much whatever I want. I do the food and wine shopping. I cook about six nice meals a week and about five lunches, usually improvising from leftovers. We eat well. The mom is hot. We've been together over five years. The last thing I want to do is get on her bad side. We understand that the "spoiling" is detrimental to both kids (and us) but mom has been trying to make up for some earlier parenting miss-steps. She is now trying to not cave and gratify their every whim and be an enabler. She is improving. I have to learn not to make such a big deal of these somewhat minor things, when they occur. I grew up poor, with three brothers and a sister. My mom raised all five of us, by herself, after my dad died at 45 YO. I was eight. I was cooking and pretty self-sufficient at nine. When Chris said there seems to be more afoot; he was right. One of my hot buttons: I have a tough time with spoiled brats. How did it go? My SO picked up some Bell and Evans chicken breasts. I grilled the chicken breasts after marinating them in yogurt, chipotle pepper, cumin and coriander. I made plenty so people could try both main dishes. I have a vegetable and a herb garden so we had carrots, fennel, onion and my freshly made tomato sauce (with red wine and herbs) in the braised sirloin dish. Plain, baked beets with butter and sauteed yellow squash with chicken stock, lemon thyme and curly parsley on top. Steamed potatoes with green beans and lastly-sliced tomatoes. Everything from the garden. We topped that off with apple pie (using my own apples) and vanilla ice cream. We had a great time and I think everyone thought it was a great meal. Both kids were 40-45 minutes late, as usual, so I didn't grill or finish many of the dishes till I saw the whites of their eyes. The daughter was the sweetest she has ever been. It was truly amazing. She and BF brought a great cheesecake and two bottles of wine. I even got a hug! She was even very loving to my dog (which she is usally cool to). She explained that her girlfriend had lost weight by eliminating fatty red meats from her diet. This is something new she is trying, though she is not overweight. Perhaps this is serendipitous; could it be that she is a nicer person since she has stopped eating red meat?!? What did set me off was when the 27 YO son wanted the chicken cooked more. Mom explained later that he has a "once I got sick on raw chicken" thing and wants all meat well cooked. I said to him, "don't eat it", but it wasn't going back on the grill. Everyone loved it! It was a great party and I ended up winning $30 off the son, who wanted to wager, and had to prove he was a better pool player than me. I think I have gained a lot of insight from the comments here and will handle things a little differently from now on, especially the planning and preparation, so I have less risk of getting into this kind of bind in the future. Thanks again.