Fourth of July

[morela]

I'll tell you if you tell me

Can't.wait.to.get.out.of.here.today.

Which restaurants are closed Monday, by the way?

[John W.]

The 4th is on a Sunday. I'll be doing Sunday things.

[pastramionrye]

pork bbq. friends.

in that order.

[EllenH]

Getting my fix of latin & haitian food at the Smithsonian Fest tomorrow, avoiding the Mall at ALL COSTS on Sunday!

[hjshorter]

Fri: Going to a friend's party and roasting marshmallows and making s'mores.

Sat: Cookout with old friends and assorted kids. Watermelon and popsicles.

Sun: Grilling burgers, drinking margaritas and watching the Rockville fireworks from my front lawn.

4th of July is my favorite food holiday - peaches, grilled meat, watermelon, ice cream, corn on the cob...

Edit: I forgot to mention the blueberry cobbler with homemade ice cream on Sunday.

Edited July 2, 2004 by hjshorter (log)

[VenerableBede]

provided the rain doesn't stop me. . .biscuits and gravy for brekkie, bratwursts, burgers, and peach cobbler for the rest of the day. . for drinks, mimosas and margaritas. . all on the the rooftop deck of my apartment building on the hill, which is sure to be packed with other people, and other people's friends, and friends of those friends.

[Chef Shogun]

Tough call. There's the traditional fraternity 'have a day long picnic on the Mall then watch fireworks' event. It's fun for the first and last 90 minutes. The intervening couple hours kind of drags. We'll be the ones with the big folding tent under that one big tree on the little hill. Since I no longer live in the city, I get the feeling that if I venture there, I'll be stuck for a while.

Other than that, I might stay in and cook. For some reason, stuff turns out especially well on the Fourth of July, food-wise. You may not know this, but on July 4, 2002, the best stuffed burger known to the Western culinary tradition was created in an efficiency apartment on 23rd Street. Made on a George Foreman even! I shudder to imagine what would have happened if it had actual fire behind it!

Anyway, this year I'm thinking fish. Have a few things in mind, and Sunday would be as good a night as any to make one.

[hillvalley]

I love the 4th in DC. I've missed one in the last seven years, but I was in Paris so who could complain. This year I am traveling, but not that far.

On the 4th I will be on an organic farm in the middle of New Jersey eating whatever organic farmers eat.

On the 5th I hope to eat my way through the Lower East Side.

[morela]

I love the Fourth of July too. For much of my late teens I spent my summers working for a farmer's market, selling local produce on the side of the road. It was the greatest job I'll ever have; I was as brown as a berry and totally buff from throwing watermelons and lifting crates. I got to hang around eating peaches and cherries all day ...and Einstein bagels (we had a deal with them, bagels for produce) with Heirloom tomatoes and the sweetest Vidalia onion man will ever find (those onions weren't local or organic).

Mmm, that Silver Queen corn, the homemade gazpachos I would make, 'loupes like the olden days (that's what old regulars always said; Strom Thurman came a few times), and the juiciest tomatoes in the world. Hey - - the Rupert's people used to come by my stand and buy everything. They were reaaallly nice.

But what I remember the most was how much we SOLD on the Forth of July...and the romantic evenings of barely-underage drinking that inevitably followed. The guys who owned the business would throw big parties for us and we'd just eat and drink...

and everyone had a trade, and everyone knew how to cook.

My boyfriend at the time thought he was his dad, he talked about red wine and jazz. We knew we were cool

(but now, I just don't know).

Sometimes I sit at my desk, like today, and dream of being outside...and I think about how good that first beer is when your all hot and sweaty and dirty. And after a while how rotting produce smells so much better than the nasty coffee at work.

Oh, and another cool thing about that job, I got to drive a box truck was was paid under the table cash.

Edited July 2, 2004 by morela (log)

[Tweaked]

Buying some New York Strips at Eastern Market and then going to a friends house to grill and sip down a 1976 Barolo...

[JPW]

Off to Lynchburg to see the in-laws, do some work on the house, play some golf, maybe go to the best small town restaurant I've ever found (the name is "Grace"), and eat the best fried chicken in the world.

THe fried chicken is courtesy of an 80-something Baptist preacher who is all of 5 feet tall, but who cooks all day before she sermonizes and who will still pretty easily knock you out if necessary.

Have fun and be safe everyone.

[mojito]

Joining my 7 brothers and sisters (and husbands/wives/nephews/nieces/dogs) at my sister's place for ribs, pork, chicken, etc. Games for the kiddies, swimming and fireworks after dark!

[morela]

My plan involves fellow e-gulleteers and a backyard, I think. I'm sure pork will squeeze its way into the equation, vino doesn't even need to be said, high fashion (linen suits and hats), cigars, I bet.

I hope there's none of this...

And lot of this and this

and the guys can do this...

And when it's all over, some of us will do this, and others of us will stumble sort of like this, and fall into bed.

John W. makes the best gazpacho ever, by the way. Better than Spanish people, I swear...

[babka]

discovering, again, that salty lips makes cold beer taste better than a prime rib when drunk on hot sand in front of crashing waves...and that not even warm beer can ease the sting of the iridescent blue, green and pink baby portugese man-o-war. (vinegar, however, had potential.)

eating baby back bbq ribs that forgot the meat's supposed to stick to the bones, washed back with lemonade and hushpuppies on the side...

drowning the sorrows of inept attempts to waterski with sweet tea and hamburgers with deviled eggs and four-day-sourcream-coconut cake with homemade strawberry ice cream...

and sipping a seven-seven while watching the boys make big, beautiful, and highly illegal explosions off the boat dock.

i wanna go back.

Edited July 6, 2004 by babka (log)

[DonRocks]

Strawberry Shortcake, mmmmbetter.

[mnebergall]

Put the pork butt on to smoke at 8:00, had a nice sail in the Narragansett Bay, then had pulled pork, potato salad and corn on the cob.

[sara]

Enjoyed a fabulous 4th of July lunch on the docks in Hyannis (Cape Cod)--fried scallops, steamers, fries, and lemonade. Delish!

[JennyUptown]

Rehoboth Beach.

On the 4th, we had dinner at LaLaLand (not very patriotic, per se, but the food and company were very good). Afterward, we walked back to the house and saw the fireworks.

Further afterward, PLM, my friend Joanne and I went to karaoke night at a local dive bar, Arena's. Hilarity and shots of vodka and jack...that led to me insisting that Joanne kill a "bug" on the wall back at the house. It was a picture hook and definitely not alive.

Up until I was about 13 or so, my parents and I spent the 4th every year at the same little Nags Head, NC motel (The Cabana East, if you're curious). The owners of the motel put on nice cookouts annually, sometimes roasting a whole pig. All of the guests were friendly, some of whom had vacationed there annually for as many years as we had. My summer friends' parents would hang out while we kids ran around and in the later years, shared first kisses (and first beers) on the beach.

[morela]

The 4th is on a Sunday. I'll be doing Sunday things.

Do'h. What the pho?

You did a very different Sunday thing, and I missed it!

I heard "Ray" of RTS came over to Minister's and Mr. W cooked. Ray brought stuff from his store?

Do again, do again. Pray, pray.

Oh you ballers, you. Tell me about this menu.