Planatee Adventure

Last Saturday LW and I went on a bit of an adventure. We had three destinations, all in new places for me in Philadelphia. And the route, once determined on Google maps, resembled a manatee's body with a platypus' beak (beak?). It started with driving up Route 1 to Pho Hoa. This was a new pho place to try for us both. And unlike my still-favorite Pho Ha, this is a chain. They have locations in Philly, California, Florida, even Missouri. It was a big space, a little run down in the corners, but not to such an extent that I felt uncomfortable eating there. We sat in a booth with sprung springs and decided on what we were going to eat. I decided to try their summer roll to start, and then pho with steak, flank and fatty flank.
This was an ok roll, the the grilled pork version at Pho Ha had a lot more character and punch in terms of flavor. Decent, but forgettable.
The pho itself was pretty good. By the time my bowl got to me, however, the meat was all entirely cooked, which was a bit of a bummer. I don't need bloody steak or anything, but I like to at least start with something a little more pink. I think what I may have to do, no matter where I go, is to really make it clear that I want my meat rare.
Then we both had the hot condensed milk coffee treat that opens your eyes and wonders your mind. Yes. It wonders your mind. Deal with it.
This was sort of on the back of the manatee.

Burger c/o Village Whiskey

While I was in Maryland, A.S. texted me and wished me a happy birthday. She suggested, also, that we get together upon my return for celebratory burgers at Village Whiskey. That's the kind of plan you agree to with absolutely no reservations; which is fitting since Village Whiskey doesn't take reservations. We both started with our preferred jar of pickled wonder. For me, that is their pickled cherry tomatoes, which are still so sweet but with a little kick of vinegar and spices they become something entirely new. And they go great with the toasted slices of crusty bread, olive tapenade and whipped ricotta (?) that accompany them. A.S. went with the pickled green beans and shallots, which were also so totally a cut above. I had a very long internal debate about what to eat for my main meal. Part of me was tempted to branch out, to try the chicken sandwich or pulled pork. Perhaps order the fries with cheese and a salad. But eventually I came to terms with the fact that I wanted the burger and then had another round of deep introspection to determine exactly what the toppings for said burger would be. Cheddar and bacon? Caramelized onions and blue cheese? Truffled mushrooms and chevre? Oh yes, it was the mushrooms and chevre that did it.
I asked for my burger medium rare and it came out just as I liked. Oh me. Oh my. A tasty treat indeed. A.S. and I both cut our burgers in half, as they are incredibly unwieldy things. The bread generally is up to the task of soaking up the juices of the burger, the shrooms and the special sauce...but they can only do so much before everything's sliding around a little bit. This is a hands-on burger. Or, alternatively, this is a burger that could in some ways benefit from being consumed with a knife and fork. I ended up doing both - eating the first half all handsy, then being a little deconstructionist with my approach to the second half. At some point during our meal two dudes sat down at the table next to us and they seemed like they were somehow famous or something. Not famous. If they were famous I would have known who they were. Semi-famous. Philly hip hop promoters or some such thing. A.S. had the angle to really look at their faces, but she didn't recognize them. A mystery.
We each had two cocktails. My first was the Ginger Rogers (not pictured) and to round out the meal I had the Ward 8 - or I thought that was what it was - rye, orange and lemon with a touch of grenadine. I liked it very much.
It was good to catch up with A.S. and to enjoy a fine burger meal on a weekday. We went early enough that we had a good table and no wait, which really is the key to making the most of VW and is harder to do past 5:30 pretty much any day of the week. Huzzah!

Turkey Etc Chili

I think it was a Monday that I developed a hankering for chili. To meet that hankering I went shopping and bought the ingredients necessary to make such a meal. In my version there was predominantly ground turkey - spicy and not - as well as a little ground pork and ground lamb. Added into the mix were peppers, diced tomatoes and a few other things. Turned out pretty well, had a little spice but not too much. Great with melted cheese or sour cream.

Darts c/o McCrossen's IV

Two weeks ago we had a home game at McCrossen's. I had a particularly long day at work and wasn't overly inspired to take photographs, but took a few nonetheless. Wings.
We were playing the Shamrock team. I think we won in the end? Not sure. Unlike most dart nights, I went home on the early side due to the load of work I knew I had to get done the next day.

Foie Gras Mushroom Tasty Treat

After returning back to Philadelphia I tried to organize my house a little bit (never really sticks) and lie down after all the great meals and late nights. At some point, however, LW and I decided to meet up for a drink and snack at McCrossen's. I was drawn to the foie gras mushroom tasty treat on toast. That is what was written up on the specials board (not really). It was delicious. The bread kind of had the consistency of French toast, having soaked up the balsamicky sauce and mushroomy juices.
Ugh. Tasty stuff.

Dim Sum c/o Good Fortune

Our last adventure in Maryland brought us to Good Fortune for dim sum. We were there quite early, but that only meant that the fried food was hot and crispy as opposed to slightly tepid after hours on a cart. We tried most of the standard things and a few newbies.
Meat and things.
Taro! Such a strangely pleasing mass of starch.
Good eating.
Dad left from Wheaton while I returned to the house with the T.s because I hadn't wanted to leave many of my new gifts in a car. As we pulled in we all had the collective moment of 'oh, well there's Milo the dog on the front porch ... wait a second, why is Milo the dog on the front porch!' It's a good thing he's straight up geriatric these days, as he was free of leash and could have done any number of dangerous unattended things. Luckily it seems like he probably just lay in the sun wondering what had happened to his collective owners' minds.
A great and deeply felt thank you goes to the whole T. clan. To B. for her great attitude and hosting abilities, to D. for his cooking prowess (not that B. isn't a good cook), and to R. for his affable nature. It was a great weekend and I'm so glad Dad and I were a part of it. Also thanks goes to all who gifted me presents for my b-day!

Sunday Morning Baby and Flowers

The last day of our Thanksgiving weekend in Maryland featured a visit from R. with new little one R. The men just sat and didn't ask for a turn holding the baby. I held her briefly but she was a little hungry and while I do quite well with babies once they're about 6 months, when they're under that age they're so small and attached to their mothers that I generally don't give it a good college try. 'It' being continuing to hold them if they're at all uncomfortable.
B. took this photo after little R. had herself a meal.
Cheeeks!
It was great to see both R.s! Oh and look at the pretty flowers.

Luncheon on the Capital

My birthday has a habit of falling on, or around, Thanksgiving. When I was born it was actually Thanksgiving, and my parents had plans to watch a movie in D.C. and then I think they were going to go have dinner at J.'s. It turned out that my mother went into labor before they could watch the movie, though her experience of having her water break was so underwhelming to her she wondered if they couldn't go watch the movie and then do the whole hospital thing. The story goes that my father had at least two Thanksgiving dinners that night. Maybe three. In the years that followed we almost always went to J.'s for Thanksgiving, and that remained true until around my 19th year when my parents moved away from Maryland. I have many a memory of J.'s house on Capitol Hill and the long table chock full of turkey, gravy, leeks, etc etc. But it had been at least 10 years since I'd visited the house. We went down that way on the afternoon of my birthday to catch up with J., her kids S. and J., as well as J.'s wife, their two kids and his mother in law. I had seen M. the eldest of the kids, when he was no bigger than a bread box, but I had never met S. J. put together a lovely spread of pork loin, brussels sprouts and salad.
I had a sense of deja vu when I saw the bowl that the salad was served in, as it was the same bowl that my mother also used for salads. I commented on this to J. and it turned out that a hundred years ago they both went shopping together and bought the same bowl. This was similarly true of the flatware used for the food, the same winter pattern that my mother also had.
J.'s back yard looked strangely larger than I thought of it as a kid.
M. had a way with climbing.

There was even a cake in celebration of my big 3-0. Coconut. Mmm.
People singing happy birthday while I pretend it's no big deal and take photographs.


It was great to catch up with these folks who were such a constant in my early years. While we didn't see each other so often, the regularity of Thanksgiving - and some Christmases at our place - did result in my having a sense of belonging, even after such a long break. Thanks to our hostess and her family for a wonderful afternoon.

Black Friday Party

After our oysters, R. and I drove on over to his sister and her husband's house for their annual 'no grown ups or kids' party. I just made up that name. Basically if you're under 21 or over 45 you're not invited. They throw a good party and boy do they know how to feed their guests. I wish I had taken a little more care in taking these photographs, but if you didn't act quickly the food would be gone. Because it was so good. This is some sort of tomato shrimp creamy thing. I liked it.
This was Korean marinated beef that was then topped with banana peppers and a sauce.
There were also pulled pork tortilla treats. And then this happened. I couldn't tell you why.
Perhaps the greatest anticipation was reserved for the beef tenderloin and its accompanying horseradish or red sauce. Seriously, as soon as it was cut people were lunging for it. So. Damn. Good.
Everyone circling the beef.
Snapshots.
The red sauce finds its bowl. Seems the red sauce was a mix of the drippings, red wine, and something else. Like crack if crack was something you wanted to dip beef into.
G. the host and my besties. This couple and I seemed to be on similar schedules as far as going out to enjoy the firepit, going back in for drinks and food etc. I asked them how they met and now I know.
At around midnight it suddenly was my birthday. C.'s boyfriend was kind enough to take a birthday shot of Maker's with me.
A pretty good pic taken right soon before we departed for the evening.

Oysters Chez T.

Earlier in the day Dad, R. an D. drove down to some water-like place in D.C. and picked up a fair number of oysters. At some point after I returned from my adventure with G., D. and R. got down to the business of cleaning and shucking many of them.



Meanwhile thekids were eating french fries and popcorn shrimp. Oysters were not their thing.

I forget where these came from, but they were a very mild and sweet oyster, not heavy on the salt/brine.
My mind was totally blown when R. found quite a number of these little crabs inside the oysters. Some had expired, but a few were still wriggling and rockling. Nature!
D. also fried oysters, but I didn't take any photographs of that and I don't know why.