weinoo

Upping that DC pizza game didn't really take much!

Two Amy’s was our favorite pizza in the district, and that goes back a decade or so, @Kim Shook. But I have to ask: Who the hell starts with zeppole?

Those fire seasons appear to start earlier and earlier.

What causes the power outages in Southern Cal? Too much perfect weather?

The second rug , on the floor of the hall closet and storage pantry, not really worth it.

Oh, we're going back, @johnnyd. But their oysters ain't bad either!

Some more than others.

Sorta Fuchsia's Gong Bao Chicken With Peanuts (gong bao ji ding). Fuchsia's recipe calls for the chicken to be in much smaller pieces, and doesn't include celery...I'd already cut up some celery, so in it went. Sorta my own stir-fried Shanghai Bok Choy With Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce.

From a certain height (high) in a closet, I dropped a bottle of Tabasco sauce. Now, this was no regular 2 oz. bottle we're all used to seeing; it was a LARGE (like 8 oz.) bottle. The top popped off, the Tabasco spilled all over TWO rugs. One I was able to wash in a large commercial machine downstairs. The other, I wasn't. And Tabasco has a nice, pungent aroma, which I suspect will be around for at least a few more days. Oh, I'll do something like this again, for sure.

Here's another classic, delcious NY slice (in the Joe's, Luigi's realm), for those trying to emulate using Modernist Pizza. We took a ride out to Jersey yesterday, early, and drove back home via the Bronx, where we stopped for lunch... at Louie & Ernie's. And they now sell frozen par-baked pies, of which I am now the proud owner of two - barely squeezing them into my freezer! https://louieanderniespizza.com/

I don’t understand the need for extra protein…don’t many of us already have plenty of protein in our diets?

That was such a blistering pace…and pretty nice payouts on the exotics. I watched my exacta coming into the stretch and said to myself - we’re screwed. Great ride on the 21…talk about weaving through traffic.

When you get a chance, I'd like to see the Row 34 Cookbook's recipe for crab cakes.

Fried egg, jamón serrano, cheddar, avocado on toasted Dave's thin-sliced something or other.

Let's call it shrimp piccata; shrimp first partly sautéed in Beurre de Baratte au Piment d'Espelette and olive oil, removed, and pan sauce made with shallots, scallions, garlic, white wine, lemon, capers. Shrimp added back, more butter. Done. Greek salad. Focaccia - purchased.

Green chili (Hatch frozen), pork and potato stew. With Carolina Gold rice.

This should've been your first clue that things would go wrong.

I don't know if these were on our lunch menu...what's their recipe call for?

Good question. I suppose that's up to user ability, milk used, etc. And I may have used it half a dozen times since I bought it over a year ago...since then, I've traded down on my Silvia by giving it to a nephew and replacing it with a Breville Infuser machine, which can certainly make nice steamed milk.

I have one of these - works very nicely... https://www.frothlabsofficial.com/ My guess is that it may not last a lifetime.

We added it to that list of New England cities/towns we really like...each different, yet with a bit of a common thread: Gloucester/Cape Ann Burlington Provincetown/Cape Cod Portland even Providence though a lot bigger than the others

Let me relate a quick story before continuing...so when we arrived at our AirBnB, we were greeted by our lovely host, who showed us around. There's a white noise machine, and supplied ear plugs, because, as he suggested, the area of Portland we were staying in can get quite noisy at times. Even the seagulls can be very noisy, evidently. Earplugs?! White noise machines?!! We possibly live in the noisiest neighborhood (there's a fire station, a police precinct, a hospital, ambulance parking, and who knows what else within like 5 minutes of our apartment), in one of the noisiest cities in the country. However, there are very few seagulls, though crows can be loud at times...so we got a good chuckle from that! On Tuesday, friends from Worcester, MA came up to spend a few days in Portland with us - they stayed at a hotel located less than a 10-minute walk away, which, other than the walk back uphill to our apartment, was great. But we started out the day with a drive up the coast, to Yarmouth, Maine, an old mill town established in the late 1600's. We visited this place... and I snapped a picture of the old train trestle... using a silly app on my phone; it automatically puts date, time, and location right on the picture. Dinner with our friends on their first night in Portland was fun. Yes, we started off with oysters (but without a picture), once again deliciously fresh and crisp and briny. We all shared a few appetizers to start, including these great squid: There was also a less photogenic, yet no less fantastic, smoked mackerel paté, and a few salt-cod fritters. But on to the mains, where my buddy had... this most wonderful grilled fresh bluefish - with a couple of fried baby artichokes thrown in for good measure. I got what I'd wanted... A gigundo (like close to 2 lbs.) expertly steamed lobster. With a shell so hard, I could barely crack parts of it, even though they start it in the kitchen before it's sent out. Shit, even the coleslaw was good! (I don't recall getting around to the corn muffin). There was other food, but who cares after the squid, lobster, mackerel and bluefish? Scales - part of the same restaurant group as Fore Street, so unsurprisingly great service and food. Would return in a nanosecond. Wednesday was cold, windy, rainy; in other words, perfect coastal New England weather, and great for some lighthouse viewing. No less than 6 lighthouses are located within a short drive of the city of Portland (Maine has close to 60 lighthouses!). I mentioned it was cold, windy and rainy... Which looked like this... And one more (with raindrops on my lens)... And a few more from around town... Lunch this fine, rainy day was at another diner, this one more hipster-based, called Dutch's. Bake their own sourdough, nice sandwiches, etc. etc. I can recommend it, and dinner as well, which was at Central Provisions - a place we'd visited on a previous Portland trip. And a place where I failed to take any noteworthy pix. The drive home on Thursday went well; that is, until I reached the NYC limits. From the Triboro Bridge, it took me an hour to go about 8 miles, as if the return home trip isn't annoying enough.

We might need to help your wife with an intervention!

Last week, Significant Eater and I took a nice, long drive. We spent two nights in Beacon, NY, and then on to Portland, ME for another 4 nights. With thanks to the estimable @johnnyd for his input, as well as research conducted independently, we ate very well. As a matter of fact, at one point I mentioned to SE that if we had restaurants in NYC, like a few of the places we dined at in Portland, they'd become part of a regular rotation. Not just for the quality of the seafood, but practically all of the service was stellar, the places were comfortable and not crazy loud as they can be here, and the price/value was very good. The drive from Beacon (as it would be from our location on the lower east side) is long. Like 6 - 7 hours long, and we arrived at our airbnb right at check-in time, which worked out well. A beautiful little apartment, located in a mid-1800's house, in the lovely west end (with a private hot tub!). Now, when your first meal in Portland is at a Portland classic, and you're in Portland, you really need to start with: First of all, these literally were some of the best oysters I've ever eaten. (And yes, Tomales Bay, Hog Island, The Marshall Store are all good too, but I'd put these up against them any day). Something to do with the freshness, I'm sure. Something to do with how well they are shucked, I'm sure. 3 varieties, all local...I could eat these daily. Apps followed...the roasted potatoes and squid knocked it out of the park. In the background, house-made gnocchi with a lamb ragu was also lovely...they had obviously gotten a lamb or two, as there were other lamb dishes as specials; they sounded great, but when in Rome Portland, it becomes necessary to eat fish... And this whole roasted black sea bass, with assorted mushrooms in a lovely, buttery sauce was my choice. Do not pass up Fore Street and its gorgeous open kitchen with lots of fire, if you're ever in Portland and have the chance; I believe it's one of, if not the restaurant, which put Portland onto everyone's dining radar. Look at how beautiful this is! The next day, we started with breakfast at what is evidently a Portland institution, and judging by the crowd, mighty popular... Now Becky's was only a short walk from our Airbnb, but no one really told me about how hilly Portland is. It's not San Francisco hills, by any stretch of the imagination - but it's freakin' hilly, and we walked a lot - 4 to 5 miles daily, which is a lot for an old(er) person. Good way to burn off the calories, I suppose. So lunch was a no-brainer, at least to see what was up with their selection... 2 of each of 6 varieties; once again, all from Maine. All delicious. I didn't love the lobster roll here, though Sig Eater's fried oyster bun was good, so I'd say by sticking with oysters, you won't go wrong. (Those Basket Islands - whoa - big, meaty and briny for days!) Dinner Monday night was a bit of a challenge, since many places are closed, especially during the slow season. We walked, and we walked... This is an old F.W. Woolworth's on Congress Street. And this is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 300+ years-old home, located nearby. One of the issues when traveling, at least if you're me, is the whole where the hell is a bathroom. In Portland, they make it especially difficult... As they evidently enjoying hanging their bathrooms off of cranes... And since I don't do well with heights...(to be cont'd.).

And this way, @Duvel can prove his wife right!