birder53

I just want to clarify on my statement about DD being the "official" coffee of Boston. My nephew was just making an observation based on what he has seen in the 2 1/2 years he has been living there. I 'm sorry if it came across as Boston having a deal with DD to make it an official coffee for the town.

My nephew is currently attending Northeastern in Boston. He grew up in Valley Stream, NY and spent much of his highschool days gadding about NYC. On a recent visit and walking tour with him, he stated that DD was the official coffee of Boston and the natives do not like Starbucks. He is a Starbucks fan, as am I. However, the three Starbucks we passed during our walk were filled to the gills! I haven't encountered lines like that at any other Starbucks. Either the good folks of Boston are changing their tune or all the out-of-towners were filling up on Starbucks. Since DD started in Rhode Island, is this some kind of a New England thing to prefer DD to Starbucks? Personally, I've never had a decent cup of coffee from DD. I guess it's a good thing that both places have opened up all around to give more of us a choice. I did notice on my trip to Maine this year that you cannot find Starbucks north of Freeport. We did manage to find good coffee at the Northport Landing Gallery on Rt. 1 between Camden and Belfast. If I had wanted to, I could have gotten DD north of Freeport.

My husband's family likes Opici family style wine. I really can't stand it so I just drink water when they are hosting the meals. Once in a while they will bring out a bottle of Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio, which is fine by me. I used to try bringing over wine but even when they opened it up, I was the only one drinking it. The exception being a particularly nice red which my nephews promptly topped off with coke in their glasses. Since these are family dinners, it's really about just getting together instead of the food and wine. I've given up bringing wine to these dinners and they are probably glad that I did. I serve what I want when the dinner is at my house and at least I'm happy. They do drink the wine I serve, but keep saying how much better the Opici is.

JeffL - Where did you finally end up this weekend?

It's amazing to me that finding consistently good food in Chincoteague is so difficult. Here I was in crab and oyster land with mostly trepidation about ordering anywhere. I was just down there last week with some friends who were not interested in trying Vietnamese food. This was in spite of the fact that they agree the food situation can be dissapointing but they stick to their guns about only ordering local seafood when they make their annual trek down there. They are really great friends, and that more than makes up for the dining issues. Anyway, we first dined at AJ's. I went with the fried oysters and crabcake. Big mistake. Way too much breading on the oysters and plenty of bread in the crabcake. The best choice appeared to be Smothered Flounder, which looked and tasted great according to my friend who was smart enough to order it. He asked our server it they still served seafood lasagna. She remembered it from the menu about seven years ago. A lot of people really liked it. It seems they used Stouffer's frozen vegetarian lasagna and added the seafood. I asked if anything else was from Stouffers and she said no - new chef since those days. Breakfast both days was at The Cafe at The Island Motor Inn Resort. The food is great, but be prepared to wait. Service is extremely slow, but they bring a pot of coffee to each table and the kitchen turns out some very tasty food. There is one server/busser working the dining room (maybe 10 tables) and I saw only two people in the kitchen. The same server also provides delivery of room service to the motor inn. She's the sweetest, skinniest thing I've ever met and she's constantly in motion. My four egg omelet with portobello mushrooms and chives in a champagne butter sauce was so good I had it both days. The eggs benedict looked awesome, and was reported to be delicious. They also make a pretty good french toast. Lunch was at Bill's. I tried a cup of New England style clam chowder which didn't have much taste. I ordered a cheeseburger hoping that would be a safe bet, and it looked great but didn't have much flavor. A special of fried flounder sandwich was sent back because it didn't taste right, but the oyster stew and fried oyster sandwich received good reviews. What's really funny about this place is they already have two Christmas trees set up and decorations all over the place! The waitresses there must be in their late 60s and are as sweet and efficient as can be. The last dinner was at Etta's on the Channel. We had tried to go for lunch, but they have limited hours this time of year and wouldn't be open until dinner. Our first choice for dinner was really The Villager, which my friends insist has never disappointed them. There was a 30 minute wait there so we headed to Etta's. There were lots of empty tables here. Not sure if that was going to be an indicator of things to come of just because they are off the beaten track there and aren't open all the time right now. We were seated quickly at a table in the center of the room. As soon as a table by the window opened up, the hostess insisted on moving us so we wouldn't be bothered by all the activity around us. Nice! Only one appetizer was ordered - crab balls with a honey mustard dipping sauce. Pretty tasty. Three of us ordered flounder stuffed with crab imperial. It was just fine. (I don't remember the other entree). At the end of the meal, our server asks if anyone wants dessert. I asked what they had and she starts to list pumpkin cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake - when I ask if desserts are made in-house. She looked around the room and then whispered to us that they were all from Sysco. She was so young that she couldn't bring the drink order to the table. I'd go back here because it was safe. I can't say the same for some of the other spots in town. We actually decided to get lunch at the McDonald's in town before heading home. It was pretty good! Chains do serve a useful purpose sometimes.

Could the noise level be deliberate? Just as the lighting and colors used in a fast food establishment are meant to get diners out quickly? Since most of the place noted here seem to have bars, are they hoping you drink yourself to a point where you no longer care about the noise level? I remember a place in NYC - Caramba - that was very noisy. That was until I was well into my "Ridiculous" 20 oz frozen margarita By the end of the meal we were all yelling to hear each other but having a great time. Maybe I'm just a lot older now.

I don't have many cookbooks. There are four shelves of a narrow cabinet which have all our cookbooks and bartender guides. I do have six years of Fine Cooking issues sitting in a basket on the kitchen floor, which I try to organize by season. The basket no longer resembles its former self and my husband wonders how I ever find anything in there (with great difficulty!)

Great start! I'm looking forward to lots of pictures - especially some great cocktail porn from Pegu!

We had a great trip to Seattle last October and enjoyed meals at Matt's in the market, Cafe Campagna, Flying Fish and Dahlia Lounge. If you like oysters, we had an outstanding time at the oyster bar at Elliott's on the waterfront. Also, we're still talking about the wonderful cocktails we had at the Zig Zag Cafe. Have a great trip!

I love to talk about food! I've only been interested in cooking for a few years now, but finding good food has always been a passion. My husband enjoys good food, but really doesn't want to talk about it. I have lots of friends and relatives who love to talk about food, and they are the ones I enjoy entertaining the most. It's so much fun to talk about food with those who share your joy. I haven't gone so far as to start a food conversation in my doctor's waiting room, but the seed has now been planted. My mother would always ask her co-workers about what they planned to cook for dinner and that was a great way to try new foods, stores and recipes. She would also ask people shopping at the butcher or grocer for ideas. You have to realize that back then making meatballs and sauce was considered exotic in our house, but she eventually went on to wonderful dishes like paella.

Lighting is very important for me. A combination of lights can make it romantic while still letting me read the menu and see my food. (Okay - I'm old!) A few places that have accomplished that had strategically used track lighting to illuminate artwork on the walls as well as the center of the table top without putting a harsh glare on the diners. This also seemed to create a separate space for each table making it even more private from the rest of the room. I like table linens that absorb the sounds of the tableware. The music should just blend into the background - no singing please! Unobtrusive service, good food, great desserts (there is something romantic about sharing a truly decadent dessert together) and good drink - cocktails and/or wine. And, of course, the most important part of any romantic dinner - the right dining companion.

Miracle-Gro

DeLaurentis at the Pike Place Market has a good selection of bitters. They had all the Fee Brothers as well as Peychauds. Maybe they carry Gary Regan's too.

I'll second the recommendation for Gary Regan's orange bitters. We gave our Fees bitters away to some unsuspecting cocktail newbies after getting ahold of Gary's. They seem to have a lot more zing than the Fees.

We had quite a gin education with Murray at Zig Zag Cafe last year. Millers is now a staple in our home.

DuckFat is a tiny little storefront about a block beyond Hugo's. The building was covered with scaffolding and we almost didn't go in! The inside is bright and cheery in contrast to the construction work outside. Inside you place you order at the counter and then either grab a seat at one of the two tables or at a long counter against a wall. Most of the business appeared to be take out. We spoke with the chef, Andrew as we were leaving. He was talking about the seasonal changes he was getting ready to make to the menu, specifically the soup. It was a dismal rainy evening in late September and he was thinking about warmer and heartier fare. DuckFat Check out their menu here. It's small and casual but the sandwiches were great and those fries. The beignets and dessert panini sound good, but we we're just to full. Next time we go, I'm getting my own order of fries. No sharing!

Aren't they wonderful!!!

Tough decision to make! I have lots of favorites. I'll cheat and pick three - Aviations, Bourbon Crustas and Sidecars. Love 'em all!

I'm surprised, and sorry, that we ate there too! I do recall having decent food there, but that was over 15 years ago. We were just looking for a place we could get seated at without a long wait. Blame it on being too tired and hungry to think straight. We were surprised at how crowded some of the restaurants were given the time of year it was. Just where do the "year-roundahs" eat in town? I know we'll be back.

Woodman's lobster roll a very light coating of something - maybe butter? It just tasted of fresh lobster. It was so light it was barely there. I don't think it was mayo. Whatever it was, it didn't get in the way! I used HollyEats in addition to your prolific logs! I also printed out someone's (can't remember who!) list of places to eat in CT to ME and used that in addition to all the other reports from New England. I've been to Maine many times, but this trip had a different focus than all the others.

I studied the New England forum to get my vacation dining plans in place. Daniel's travels and dining were truly inspirational and daunting. How does he manage to eat like that?? We spent four nights in Portland and four nights in Bar Harbor, with a few stops along the way. We started off from central NJ the morning of Saturday, 9/24. The plan was to have great lobster, lobster rolls, fried clams and chowdah over the next 10 days. We got to Joe & Lenny's Fish Tale in Madison, CT prior to opening. No problem, we meandered along Rt. 1 to their Westbrook location in time for their opening. We ordered 1 lobster roll and one order of fried whole clams. Great stuff! Next stop was Johnny Ad's in Old Saybrook. We ordered the fried clams here and thought they were better than Joe & Lenny's. They were actually our favorite clams of the whole trip! At this point we realize we cannot eat the fries that come with the clams if we are to survive! Our destination for that day was Boston to meet up with a nephew who attends school there. After taking us on a walking tour of the city we ended up by Quincy Market around dinner time. Nephew suggested the oldest oyster house in Boston since we like oysters, but it didn't look very appealing. We headed off to the north end without a clue other than nephew saying you cannot get a bad meal here. At this point we were tired and hungry. Stopped to look at the menu at one place when a young woman came out to show us the new fall menu they had just put in place that day. They menu looked wonderful, but I had to wonder about a place where they ambush potential customers in the street. Anyway, we went in and had a truly wonderful meal at Bacco on Salem Street. An appetizer of roasted pears with paper thin prosciutto, gorgonzola and balsamic vinegar was wonderful. Entrees uncluded a perfectly cooked veal chop and an excellent sea bass. Good Negroni before dinner and good espresso after. On Sunday we headed from Salem, MA to Portland, ME. Lunch on the way at Woodman's of Essex of fried clam strips (hubby decided he didn't care the for clam bellies!) and a lobster roll. That lobster roll was one of the best of the trip! The clams were good, but not as good as Johnny Ad's. Dinner in Portland at Cinque Terre. Good Negroni and Manhattan from the bar. The oyster appetizer was outstanding! Damariscotta oysters with a mignonette of diced granny smith apples and white balsamic vinegar. Entrees of grilled tuna and branzino were good, but not as inspired as the oysters. Good espressos. We spent a rainy Monday at the Portland Art Museum, which is a wonderful place. They have a very good cafe with some interesting salads, wraps and soups. The Rockwell Kent exhibit was pretty amazing. Next stop was the Portland Public Market. I don't know if it was just the hour (@2:30) but there wasn't very much to be had there. I was expecting something similar to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia or the Pike Place Market in Seattle. It is teeny tiny compared to these. Dinner at DuckFat. Casual but amazing. We had pulled pork and duck confit panini along with those incredible fries. Two dipping sauces - garlic aioli and horseradish mayo. We split on the favorite sauce but those fries were the best we have ever had. Tried the homemade gingerbrew - nice! Tried Becky's for breakfast on Tuesday. Lots of atmosphere, decent coffee but my mushroom omelet was loaded with slimy canned mushrooms. Lunch at Two Lights Lobster Shack. I know this place has lots of fans, but these were the worst lobster rolls of the trip. The lobster meat was bland, not sweet. Oh well... Our luck continued at dinner at Mims Brasserie. Two of the worst cocktails we have ever had. (And the cocktail list looked so promising!) My $11 Sidecar made with Remy Martin tasted of nothing but juice. Hubby had something called a Foghorn ($8) which was also mostly juice. Well, we came here for oysters as we were told they had a good selection here. A half dozen of gay islands, winterpoints and island creeks were fresh didn't seem cold enough. The accompanying cocktail sauce and horseradish were pedestrian after the wonderful mignonette at Cinque Terre. Another appetizer of warm goat cheese was tiny and boring. Entrees of Halibut, Scallops and a side of scalloped potatoes did not make up for the poor beginning. Service was lacking here as well. We skipped coffee and dessert and looked forward to the next day and better luck. Wednesday we headed to Freeport, ME for a little shopping and another loster roll. We did very well at Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster. The wait for our food seemed too long, but we were well rewarded with excellent crab and lobster rolls. We started to forget last night at Mim's! Dinner at the Old Port Sea Grill. (We did consider Hugo's, but hubby didn't care for the menu. It was a bit too ecletic as far as he was concerned.) We ate in the bar area (no waiting!) and enjoyed icy cold oysters and good entrees of shrimp and halibut. It wasn't memorable, but it continued our recovery from Mim's. Thursday we headed toward Port Clyde. Dinner that evening was at Primo in Rockland. Outstanding - everything from the beautiful grounds and building to the excellent service and food! The cocktail service lived up to the drink list here. A negroni and manhattan were well made. Appetizers of roast beet and duck confit salad with apples, toasted hazelnuts and gorgonzola (this for the man who found Hugo's menu intimidating!) as well as the oysters three ways(roasted, fried and raw) were amazing. Entrees of wolffish and pork saltimbocca were as good as the appetizers. Desserts were amazing! Hubby sat with a bowl filled with cinnamon sugar coated zeppoles which he refused to share. My pecan pie with a side shooter of bourbon was truly decadent. Somewhere in here we stopped at Red's for a lobster roll. Only two people ahead of me in line! Great lobster roll. Not my favorite, which might actually be the one I had at Woodman's, but the lobster meat was sweet as could be. Saturday - Trenton Bridge Lobster for our first lobster of the trip. Two 1 1/4 pounders - no butter or lemon for us! They tasted like the ocean - wonderful and sweet. I was sorry we hadn't ordered larger ones. Dinner in Bar Harbor at Rupununi, which was recommended by one of the women working at DuckFat. They had Damariscotta oysters, so we had a dozen. Wonderful. Entrees were a great flank steak with chimchurri and grilled salmon. Sunday - Long road trip to Pemberton to eat at Crossroads by the dam. The lobster roll was amazing! It had a little mayo, but was just loaded with lobster meat. The lobster stew was rich and buttery. There was more lobster than stew in my cup! It was good, but I think I prefer lobster bisque over stew. Just my personal preference - I'm not a big butter fan. They still had blueberry pie, which hubby loved, but it was cold, which doesn't appeal to me. The fried clams were good, but Johnny Ad's is still tops in my book! Dinner at Jack Russell's Brew Pub, which almost across the street from where we were staying. Good steaks, cold drinks and entertaining diners. We ended up in a dining room with a group of 20 folks from Indiana who were on their annual get-away trip. They had been drinking longer than we had, so it took awhile before we joined in with the singing. Monday - hiking in Acadia National Park followed by Jordon Pond House ice cream cones for lunch. After taking in a beautiful sunset atop Cadilac Mountain, we went looking for a lobster dinner back in Bar Harbor. There were 30 - 40 minute waits each place we went and we were too hungry to wait. Went to Miguel's Restaurant on Roddick Street, where we had enjoyed good Mexican food years ago. We were seated right away and eventually received chips and salsa. The chips were way too salty and the salsa was bland. A side of guacamole seemed to be very fresh with large chunks of avocado but no great flavor. My entree of Cochinita Pibil (pork) was falling apart tender but covered with a sauce that was over salted. Hubby had pork taquitos that were just okay. The pitcher of frozen margaritas did help distract us a bit from the food. Tuesday - breakfast at Cafe This Way in Bar Harbor. Good omelets and coffee. They serve Carpe Diem's Thunderbolt brew. Good way to start the day. Lobster rolls at Cafe Drydock in Southwest Harbor. Tried a cup of chowder - mostly potato. Decent lobster rolls. Tried a local pumpkin ale - nice flavor but very filling. I'm not a beer drinker, but just wanted to try something else that was local besides the lobsters. We went for an early dinner at Stewman's in Bar Harbor for a final lobster dinner. Two 2 1/2 pounders. Good but not as sweet as the lobster at Trenton. Maybe the larger lobsters aren't as sweet?? Wednesday - heading home in the fog! Stopped for lunch in Wiscasset again but this time we ate at Sarah's. It just wasn't the kind of day to eat outside and the line at Red's was at least 15 long. The roll at Sarah's is huge! They bake all their own breads here and while the roll was delicious, it was a bit more bread than was needed. The lobster was sweet and wonderful. Very different from Red's but another winner. We ordered two cookies to go - pumpkin oatmeal raisin (awesome!) and chocolate chip. Thanks for all the folks who have posted here, especially Daniel! This forum was filled was tons of information and great suggestions for making sure you eat well on vacation. We did well on the lobster rolls. We had trouble with the fried clams - so very filling - and we didn't try all the recommended spots. We only had clam chowder at one stop. So much food and so little time. Reasons for another trip!

We found an unopened bottle of creme de menthe from 1978 in our collection and it was still okay. On the other hand, making drinks at my parent's house has become an adventure. They have lots of open liquers and many are probably over 30 years old. I can't vouch for how well they were kept away from light and heat, but we did end up discarding an open bottle of Grand Marnier and Creme de Cassis. Both had turned into something undrinkable. We've started bringing our own booze down there to make cocktails since we can't count on their supply to be usable. Dad doesn't drink and Mom drinks mostly wine (which is also kept in a nice warm spot ) so it doesn't pay to replace what they already have. If you keep it closed and cool it should be okay to keep around for awhile - or more!

It certainly sounds like you're having a good time out there.

I just started using a "garbage bowl" after reading about it on a thread here. (Sorry, I can't remember who mentioned it in order to give them credit!) It made a big difference. Whenever my husband and I are both working in the kitchen, we jockey for position at the sink, and when anyone is at the sink you can't open the cabinet door to get to the trash can below the counter. With the bowl, I didn't have to wait for my turn to get to the trash can. The bowl also saved me from bending each time I had trash to discard. It does take up valuable counter space, but I found a way to work around it.

Those are both wonderful drinks. I really like how that touch of Pernod brings the corpse reviver II to life!