eG Foodblog: Flocko - Dining in the Desert

[Flocko]

A favorite writer of mine, Ed Abbey!, lived in/around Moab. Thanks, dear Flocko/Bill, for bringing good memories of good words to my heart with this blog!

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Hi Rebecca:

Ed was a close friend and client of mine from 1972 until he died. I sorely miss him!

Best,

Bill

[Flocko]

Very interesting, you live in a really cool place, Flocko!

I have a cookbook from the nineteen eightes with a recipe for fry bread, which, after cooking, is dipped in a mixture of bacon grease and syrup. Is that common in your area? I mean, in addition to using it for tacos.

Sounds very good to me, how can you go wrong with bacon grease.

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I have heard of that. Some of the old cowboys would do that with fry bread.

We had an old sheriff here, now long dead' who had another novel use for bacon grease, however. When I would prosecute some "young buck" and he would get jail time or probation or whatever, the sheriff, Heck, would say, "Well, what we should a did is bend that morphadite bastard over a stump and pour hot grease down his britches!!. That'd taught him better"

[Flocko]

Today has been extremely busy. I had court all day so no time to eat

I started out with my usual Starbuck$ Double Shot. Nothing to eat until about 2;00 when I grabbed these from a dispenser next to the courtroom:

No, they aren't drugs!! They are Good and Plentys..............and last years crop to boot.........very hard, not chewy, not actually good, but PLENTY

At 4 I finally got out of court and ran over to Moonflower Market, our natural foods store and got a focaccia from the same baker who made the sourdough bread I have been noshing on this week. Tomato, garlic, and basil........This will tide me over.......

I have to head down (geographically) or up (elevation wise) to Monticello for a meeting this evening........about an hour away. I'll try to take some photos along the way, and maybe have time for a bite somewhere there.

[Daddy-A]

There are many private clubs, some of which are restaurants as well, that allow drinking without ordering food.  Memberships are cheap and there are very cheap temporary memberships for tourists and visitors.

This brings back memories of a trip I took to SLC in the late 90's. There were indeed memberships, but you could get a local "member" to sponsor you (i.e. you got in free) if you bought him/her a beer. Great way to meet the locals.

I also remember buying a round for our table, and wondering why it was taking so long to show up. The waitress told me it was because I hadn't finished my beer, and until the entire table had finished, she couldn't serve the next round.

Odd.

Still, a beautiful state. thanks for sharing with us this week Bill!

A.

[purplewiz]

Polygamy Porter......."Take some home to the wives!".  I have two of their t-shirts.  I've never tried the beer however.  Even in my drinking days I was never a beer drinker.  I've heard it is pretty good, though I hear that the Oatmeal Stout from Moab Brewery is better.

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My husband tried some during our trip to Zion a couple years back and still has the tshirt. He said it was pretty good.

I'm enjoying the blog - it's a beautiful area and apparently has some pretty decent food!

Marcia.

[Susan in FL]

Ok, I needed a little snack to tide me over for making gaspacho   So, I put some fig and olive tapenade on some good sourdough I got at the Farmers Market yesterday, and put some feta in oil on top...................Yummmm

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That sounds heavenly. It's a new taste combination that I will try.

Bill, you know more than any other eG-ers how much I love your area, and how moved I am by your blog. I would respond to specific posts, but then my post would take up way too much time and space.

For now, I will ask (and wonder if you wondered how long it would take me to ask you this... ) if you are going to get to Moab Brewery this week, even though you don't drink that delicious beer.

Everyone: Bill was one of the very helpful eG-ers who helped me plan the roadtrip I took with my Danish son and his then-girlfriend in 2005. I loved the Polygamy Porter, too, and wow, the Scorpion Pale Ale... What I would give for one of those now. Here is a report-back I posted afterwards. Bill, is the Zion Pizza and Noodle Co. still there? I still plan to get back out there someday and take you up on your offer to buy me a beer at the brewery.

Also, I hope you will talk about you house, your dream home, in more detail...

P.S. Thanks for the gazpacho recipe, you and guajolote! It looks like a good twist on a favorite of mine. Yum is right!

[MarketStEl]

Overall Moab has been a wondenful place to live..............paradise in fact .  The whole Utah experience is a bit different, but Moab is a little cultural oasis, or at least it has been for me.  I still need yearly trips to the coasts and to Europe to get my "city fix" but I wouldn't live anywhere else.

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Denver won't cut the mustard?

[Flocko]

Well, I'm back from my meeting in Monticello...............I didn't have time to get anything to eat up there but did get a couple of shots from the car on the drive up. These are at about 10 mile intervals from Moab. First is the La Sal Mountains just outside of Moab....taken from about 5,000 feet, the peaks are about 13,000 feet:

This is Wison Arch:

Church Rock:

And a view of the tops of the Blue or Abajo Mountains that rise above Monticello:

Since I struck out foodwise in Monticello, I had a very late (10:30) supper of the gaspacho. It was great

[MarketStEl]

Posting separately to say that this is a welcome change of pace from the recent run of foodblogs. I hope to see some spectacular scenery aside from what's in your avatar.

What led you to decide to pursue your career as a prosecutor in Moab?

As for "Polygamy Porter," one of the slogans posted above is reminiscent of a well-known ad slogan from the 1960s and 1970s that should resonate with many in the land of the Metroliners^WAcelas:

"The one to have when you're having more than one."

This slogan sold many a case of Schaefer beer before the brewery went out of business sometime around 1980.

[Flocko]

Overall Moab has been a wondenful place to live..............paradise in fact .  The whole Utah experience is a bit different, but Moab is a little cultural oasis, or at least it has been for me.  I still need yearly trips to the coasts and to Europe to get my "city fix" but I wouldn't live anywhere else.

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Denver won't cut the mustard?

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Nothing against Denver; I get there a couple of times a year, but it is a 6 hour drive versus a 4 hour drive to Salt Lake City, and I frankly prefer SLC for a quickly accessable city. Neither is San Francisco, though

[Flocko]

Ok, I needed a little snack to tide me over for making gaspacho   So, I put some fig and olive tapenade on some good sourdough I got at the Farmers Market yesterday, and put some feta in oil on  top...................Yummmm

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That sounds heavenly. It's a new taste combination that I will try.

Bill, you know more than any other eG-ers how much I love your area, and how moved I am by your blog. I would respond to specific posts, but then my post would take up way too much time and space.

For now, I will ask (and wonder if you wondered how long it would take me to ask you this... ) if you are going to get to Moab Brewery this week, even though you don't drink that delicious beer.

Everyone: Bill was one of the very helpful eG-ers who helped me plan the roadtrip I took with my Danish son and his then-girlfriend in 2005. I loved the Polygamy Porter, too, and wow, the Scorpion Pale Ale... What I would give for one of those now. Here is a report-back I posted afterwards. Bill, is the Zion Pizza and Noodle Co. still there? I still plan to get back out there someday and take you up on your offer to buy me a beer at the brewery.

Also, I hope you will talk about you house, your dream home, in more detail...

P.S. Thanks for the gazpacho recipe, you and guajolote! It looks like a good twist on a favorite of mine. Yum is right!

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Hi Susan:

I will be going to the Brewery in the next couple of days.........and I will have the Beer Cheese Soup I'll try to get a photo of some of the beers.

I don't know about the Zion Pizza and Noodle Co. I haven't been over toward Zion in almost a year, myself.

I will discuss and post a few photos of my dream home tomorrow or thereafter (The maid comes tomorrow ). I also will post the requisite fridge shot, and the semi compulsory kitty photo

Tomorrow should be a little more laid back than today................just office work, no court. I'm still busy...............I'm trying to get ready to take off for San Francisco nest Tuesday for a 10 day "city fix" and R&R, so I have a lot of files to get through. Hopefully though, there will be more time for food

Bill

[Rebecca263]

quote=Flocko

"Ed was a close friend..."

eGullet is one of the places where I am constantly reminded of how small the world can really be...

Wow, you are a lucky person, and I admit, have risen in my esteem a great deal, just with this one simple bit of your ken!

[Flocko]

Howdy cowboys and cowgirls:

It's a beautiful morning in the canyons!

First I thought I'd give you a shot of myself

My buddy Stiles did this for his paper, The Zephyr

I thought I would take my morning Double Shot back of the house this morning:

It is gorgeous out there today, overlooking the creek:

And here is the semi-compulsory "kitty photo". This is Fred. His real name is Pesto, but I call him Fred. He belongs to my only neighbors on the creek, Mary and Michael. Fred and I have kinda adopted each other though.

Edited September 13, 2006 by Flocko (log)

[hathor]

A man who grills....that Fred is no fool!

[Rebecca263]

The drawing is sweet, the land is gorgeous, and Fred is quite adorable with that tilt of his head as he looks at you.

[Flocko]

The "Double Shot" got me into town and to Arches Books so I could get my first "real coffee" of the day

The manager or the coffee department and barista par excellance, the lovey Penelope set me up just right.

In addition to making a great crema, P-Lo, as we call her, is an accomplished caterer in Moab, and makes the best canapes and amuses this side of The French Laundry

[Flocko]

I had lunch today at the Moab Brewery:

The decor is a little kitschy

But the food is great. I had the beer cheese soup and a chicken almond salad:

Others had the caesar salad and the gaspacho spinach chicken salad:

No one ordered beer but here is what they have:

It is all brewed on site and supposed to be very good.

[ronnie_suburban]

Hey Bill,

Great blog! Thanks for the visit to your world. It's simply beautiful.

I know you mentioned a few local food items upthread but which are your faves? Are there items that, if you lived elsewhere, you'd be jonesing for?

=R=

[mizducky]

To judge from photos so far, not only is the landscape gorgeous, but the town is cute as a button. As is Fred (reminding me strongly of my roommate's yellow tabby, who is draped over the top of my monitor as I type this).

[saturnbar]

I can vouch for the Scorpion Pale Ale. Very good. The food at the brewery was also good. We liked it so much we went two nights in a row. At Bill's suggestion, I tried the cheese soup, and had it again the next night. Bill, I am hoping you are headed to the Desert Bistro for dinner one night. We didn't get to go, really, with three kids in tow, that wasn't an option, so I am looking forward to a visit by you. Also, when are we going to get a peak at the dry stacked adobe you call home. ch

[racheld]

Creek! Fred Three kindsa chicken salad

[Flocko]

Hey Bill,

Great blog!  Thanks for the visit to your world.  It's simply beautiful.

I know you mentioned a few local food items upthread but which are your faves?  Are there items that, if you lived elsewhere, you'd be jonesing for?

=R=

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Hiya Ronnie:

I'd be jonesin' for chiles and pinon nuts; fry bread and tamerisk honey; mutton; game; good spring water.........not the type out of a bottle, but right out of the side of a 1,000 foot red sandstone cliff; local peaches and local watermelons; Takashi's Sushi Bar in SLC; fresh roasted coffee from Frest Moab Coffee; Navajo Tacos; sweetbreads and liver from freshly slaughtered baby bulls; ...............more may come to mind..................

Good question, Ronnie. Got me thinking.

Bill

[Flocko]

I can vouch for the Scorpion Pale Ale.  Very good.  The food at the brewery was also good.  We liked it so much we went two nights in a row.  At Bill's suggestion, I tried the cheese soup, and had it again the next night.  Bill, I am hoping you are headed to the Desert Bistro for dinner one night.  We didn't get to go, really, with three kids in tow, that wasn't an option, so I am looking forward to a visit by you.  Also, when are we going to get a peak at the dry stacked adobe you call home.  ch

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Hi Charlie:

The Desert Bistro is on the schedule for Thurs, Fri, or Sat. nite; depending upon when my "escort" gets back to town For a teaser, however......clickety

My little adobe abode will be featured as well in the coming day or days. It's tiny, but oh so wonderful

Bill

[Susan in FL]

Awww, this photo shows the table where we sat when we were there. ...The one in the bottom left of the picture.

You are making me homesick for a part of the world I visited only once.

No one ordered beer but here is what they have:

It is all brewed on site and supposed to be very good.

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I too can attest, especially to how good the Scorpion Pale Ale is -- and the soup (Bill got me the recipe for the soup, after my trip out there). Thank you for the brewery photos!

[maggiethecat]

Creek!     Fred       Three kindsa chicken salad

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What she said -- racheld is Occam's Razor. Five wubs for Fred, and the scenery is astounding. I really feel like a stranger in a strange land here, and I'm grateful for the tour. (A LDS friend from Salt Lake had a great t-shirt: "If you think our liquor laws are weird, you should see our underwear!")

Three kinds of chicken salad -- oh my!

(I loved the sketch and it reminded my of someone I've met: You're a more hirsute brother of Dave the Cook.)