weinoo

Oh, how the mighty have fallen - even though it has taken a long time (about 25 years, actually). Once, one of our favorite restaurants, with fine service, cooking Roman/Italian food just about right, then falling out of favor for reasons maybe not totally related to food. So, before a show at The Bitter End (!!), we decided to pop in for a few bites, as it's just around the corner. The apps we started with were pretty good; baccala croquettes and marinated artichokes. No complaints there. I ordered a special pasta (linguini with Jonah Crab) and here's where things started to go awry: Now, I have no problem paying $38 for this pasta (I think they may feel a little guilty about charging so much, but then they've basically doubled the portion size), but enough with the bread crumbs! And so much Jonah crab - which was basically tasteless. Kind of a hot mess, as was Significant Eater's ricotta gnocchi, which lacked both sausage and fennel in the sauce, at least to our taste. We didn't order secondi, as how can one eat another full plate of food after so much pasta? So maybe the play here is to order apps and secondi? Oh, lest I forget - don't order the broccoli rabe...this is how it is served: And this is how it ended up: Impossible to eat, as it wasn't cut into any sort of pieces, which if you are going to not cook broccoli rabe as they do in Rome, is a necessity. I could not cut this broccoli rabe into pieces with the knife I had on the table. Oy. Note how I cook and serve it at home, if I want it to remain bright green: Either that way, or cook the hell out of it!

While I had trouble finding Stormalong when we were in the Berkshires this past weekend, we were quite close to another apple orchard/cidery. So, for the sake of science, I took a drive to: Hilltop Orchards, where they make JMash Ciders. Bought a 4-pack of each (except the coconut thing) and will report once I have a couple.

Or a good Martini.

Usually? (Or all the time?)

Unpaywalled here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/dining/best-nyc-sandwiches.html?unlocked_article_code=1.000.zW5P.e6uzrPF9bIrI&smid=url-share Speaking of Liebman's...https://tastytravails.blogspot.com/2016/02/kosher-ish.html I've had any number of the sandwiches listed; I'd also avoid most of them.

This is only a guess, but maybe something to do with "cannabis" on the label. Cannabis is still not legal federally. And it may be too much of a pain in the ass for the Dutch company to deal with the regs, for this product. On another, still boozy subject, y'all know that Beefeater sneakily lowered its ABV to 40% (fromm 44% and previously, 47%)? https://vinepair.com/articles/beefeater-lowers-proof-again/

I would put it out for the rats.

Oh, that’s awesome. love all the varietals. You must be pleasantly buzzed at this point, huh @rotuts

I, too, enjoy a very mustardy vinaigrette...finding nice, strong mustard sometimes becomes the problem, and once it's opened, it loses potency over time. Wild gulf shrimp. Anson Mills' grits.

"My" TJ's did not have those Stormalongs the other day. I'll look again next week.

Does one really need more spices than this? (OK, I have a Cambro each for Thai food, Indian food, and Japanese food. They may hold some cuisine specific spices). That pic is from a couple of years ago; I now have at least a dozen Burlap & Barrel things too. Oy.

Yesterday... ' No purchase of these lovelies was made due to an out-of-town event we're going to this weekend.

Nice day at the greenmarket yesterday. Peas (fresh shelling), pancetta, Parmigiano, pasta. Endive salad with an anchovy dressing alongside.

Gen Z - born into a world with full access to the internet, right from their very start. First iPhones were around 2007.

Or maybe not often enough?!

If this isn't, I don't know what is... MIA: The Ultimate Smart Spice Rack Well, at leaSt it comes with an app! (What doesn't)?

I'm much happier with (some of) the fruit, and its value, that I've been buying at TJ's, vs. the other stuff I take a chance on every now and then. I got a bag (7 units) of white nectarines for $3.50 that turned out to be fragrant, sweet and juicy. The Tuscan (or other) melons I buy are usually just fine, as are the blueberries. During citrus season, their US grown oranges are good. I rarely buy citrus from the southern hemisphere, once the US/Mexico market dries up. I bought a couple of jars of that salsa (Hatch) yesterday, and I found the jar I opened to be a little bland when using it for chips, to be honest. So I emptied it into a small pork chili stew I was making, and used it that way.

10 pieces(30g) CALORIES PER SERVING 150 0% Sodium 140 mg https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/norwegian-sourdough-rye-chips-077301

Yes, do it - you'll note our travels are mostly in what we call the off-season for wherever we may go. SoPo Seafood would be my go-to if I lived anywhere close. For both stuff to cook at home, and for a nice, casual meal - they seemed so nice and knowledgeable about the "product!" Thanks...it's a fine, small-ish city, with lots of great food. As a matter of fact, the Beard awards just took place, and Portland had a few winners (neither of which we got to)... Outstanding Bakery ZU Bakery, Portland, Maine Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery, Portland, Maine https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/dining/james-beard-award-winners.html?unlocked_article_code=1.y00.SOlZ.IAbm7ruTnotU&smid=url-share

My question was actually for @Tropicalsenior

1. Because it's richer. 2. Try it and find out. 3. It appears as if this yogurt is started with 2% milk. My question: do you use the yogurt you've made a starter, or do you consistently buy fresh yogurt to use as a starter? It looks as if that yogurt you're using is an unopened container; has that been factored into your cost per liter?

Oh, I just looked at the menu and we had the ice cream sandwich, and it was very good - and demolished!

Final day in Portland, I'd been alerted to a seafood market/ quite casual restaurant located in South Portland, and called SoPo. So off we went for lunch. Greeted by a nice display... Sat at the counter, drank an iced tea... Had to have some scallops on the half shell... While Significant Eater had to have a lobster roll... And I, a crab cake... I'd be surprised if @johnnyd doesn't know about this place. Recommended! For dinner, we finally got to Twelve...sat at the bar for a cocktail, then moved over to a great table. Twelve is located at the new-ish waterfront development known as Foreside. It's not in this building... But it's close enough... Twelve has a distinguished team, led by... They offer both an a la carte and a prix fixe dinner... Everything on the menu is available a la carte: The app portions are not skimpy...actually, they're large: This is the quite wonderful asparagus with a morel vol-au-vent. And the equally delicious fluke crudo with rhubarb and cucumber: Had to have the house-made bread and fermented butter as well, so: This is the tautog, in a carrot bisque. Tautog, if you've never had, is a pretty delicious fish: But enough of the fish already; I had the duck: Nicely cooked, the confit is the fried baton on the plate. Beets and beet jus - I put up with. I'm sure we had dessert - and I'm sure it was very good, but I didn't take a pic! We had a really nice time, with a wonderful bartender and a great waiter. Would I choose this place over, say Scales, if I had to make that choice? Hmmmmmmm...

This was kind of a special trip to Portland, because for the first time we were able to visit a place that had not been accessible on past visits. It started at the Portland Museum of Art, where a number of Winslow Homer works are on display. This is Weatherbeaten; I don't believe it made it to the grand show that the Metropolitan put on in 2022; that was called Crosscurrents. But the fun was just starting; after a quick tour of a few of Homers' works in the museum, we headed out to Prouts Neck... And Winslow's studio. The only way to visit the studio is via the Portland Museum. His studio was originally a carriage house next to the family home, but the carriage house was moved a number of yards away from the home, and it was expanded to eventually include the 2nd floor, a gift from his brother (who was a chemist for Valspar, and a co-inventor of clear varnish!). When you visit Prouts Neck, not only can one look out this window, which is the exact same size as the painting Weatherbeaten... (That's Sig Eater!) But one can also stand at the approximate spot where Homer worked on that piece of art... On a much nicer, less stormy day. One can really work up an appetite after all that schlepping around. What can I say - we like this place...Scales. I'd even reserved bar seats; to me, it's the best place to sit, our bartender was great, and they make proper cocktails. \ 3 local oysters on offer tonight; I like the way they are served... In a trough on the bar. Maine oysters are my favorites. This wasn't bad, either... Littlenecks, with chunks of house-cured belly. And the star... A 1 1/2 pounder, perfectly cooked, and possibly the best whole lobster I've partaken in. We each had one - and also some vegetables... Three peas. A good Portland day and night.

As duly noted above!