Conch Salad on Harbour Island c/o Conch Queen

Monday was a sunnier and warmer day all around so I decided to check 'visit Harbour Island' off my to-do list (because when you have six unstructured days all your own, it's best to have at least some small goals even if they are mainly to lie down or swim). To get to Harbour Island you have to drive north on Queen's Highway, a two-lane highway with no shoulder or dotted line that runs the length of the island. You drive past the N. Eleuthera airport and go a couple more miles to a dock that is the launch point for ferries to Harbour Island. The construction work they had been doing has moved forward since my last visit. What was a gravel parking lot is now paved and lined. The little bench area where we sat before getting on the ferry was gone. I remember getting a lot of bug bites by that bench. There's a definite unpredictability to just when the ferries are going to go across. These are really just what seems to be maybe two to four boats that can fit about 10-12 folks at a time, so I think they don't want to waste the gas unless the majority of the spots are filled. The folks using the ferry are a mix of tourists like me who are taking a day trip to the far more expensive and fancy island, and Eleuthera locals who are commuting to the island for work.  On my way over I probably sat on the boat for 10 or 20 minutes until more people showed up. On the way back there was already a critical mass so I felt like I 'just made it,' though really another ferry probably would have come along in 20 or 30 minutes. Probably. The ride itself is probably 5-10 minutes. Nothing epic. The wind will whip your hair, and there aren't a lot of things to hold on to to keep your balance when things get a little bumpy, which resulted in my putting my camera away soon after leaving the dock...I would have been pretty bummed if I or my camera went overboard.

I did have a pretty set idea of what I wanted to do with my afternoon on the island and it began with getting conch salad at Queen Conch, which was on the bay-side of the island just maybe a quarter plus of a mile walk along Bay Street. I got there at 11:45 and while the kitchen was open, the conch salad was made by a different set of folks who hadn't yet come in. The lady at the counter said they'd probably arrive around noon, so I took a beer that I had bought at the beer store across the way and sat down on their deck to pass the time. It was windy and a bit brisk, but the sun was staying put and I didn't mind...not with a beer in hand and mystery novel to read.

There was some rigamarole when it came to the salad. Just in terms of more and more folks started showing up also asking for the salad. Noon came and went and the conch salad preparers still hadn't arrived but more and more people were appearing. I began to get a little territorial and edgy since I had been the first to arrive. The system - it turned out - is you write your name down and what level of spiciness you want your salad and they go down the list, making the salad in front of you. Once they arrived I did have to get a little aggressive about making sure it was determined that I would get served earlier since I had been there before any of the others had arrived. Perhaps this pushiness led to my not getting the salad made in front of me, but that was fine since I had a fine view nonetheless. I ordered the exotic conch salad, which included mango and green apple and perhaps one other fruit. I liked it very much. I asked for it medium but it definitely had a kick that I enjoyed. Made the Kalik beer taste faintly of bananas but good other than that.At $12 it was a pretty good deal, especially for the islands where everything is just crazy expensive. Everything was so fresh. The conch were tender and not too chewy. The fruit tempered some of the spiciness of the jalepeno and whatever special sauce they use. Just so good. In retrospect I should have made a point of having more salad throughout my trip.

So one funny thing that happened was that I noticed this couple at Queen Conch also ordering the conch salad, and my main thought was simply that I wanted to make sure I got mine before they did because they came after me. Selfish, I know. And that is what happened. We were sitting on opposite sides of the counter so we didn't really interact. Then I paid my bill and began walking toward the Atlantic side of the island in order to enjoy the view, get some sun and have a fancy cocktail or two. The main area of Harbour Island is Dunmore Town, and it doesn't seem very big, yet its streets aren't entirely intuitive so while I thought I knew how to get to the Pink Sands Resort, I found myself slightly turned around at one point. This was generally fine by me, it was a sunny day and there are plenty of very cute houses to covet. But at that same point this couple came around a corner and since I think they recognized me from the Queen Conch experience/just took pity on the poor girl walking around a little lost, they offered me a ride. Harbour Island's main mode of transportation is golf carts, so this was a ride in a golf cart. I was happy to take them up on it and so we sped off, the husband mentioning he just needed to make one stop before dropping me off, which was of course totally a-ok with me. As we put put putted down a small lane, passing multiple roosters as well as a school with plenty of kids outside playing, we had the usual conversation folks have on vacation. You know, exchanging home locations, asking how their trip has been thus far etc. Well, in our case it took about three steps in this standard conversational gambit to realize that their sons went to George School...the same high school that I also attended! It's not a big school and most of us who went there generally recall it fondly, so it was quite a funny coincidence. Their kids were younger than me, so we hadn't overlapped but it was still fun to exchange impressions of the school and how it has changed over the years. I was so tickled I asked if I could take a photograph of them in front of my destination, which they didn't find too odd thankfully.

Pink Sands is where L. and I ended up going to lunch last year during our Harbour Island day. My plan was to just have a cocktail or two and then spend a little time on the beach before going on to Sip Sip for an additional snack. Pink Sands' grounds are extensive and slightly maze-like. I should have snooped more, but I felt like it would be better simply to make my way to their Blue Bar.

I so enjoyed the lemon daquiri from the previous year that I didn't even consult a menu when I went up to the bar to place my order. Very quickly, this beauty was in front of me and I was sitting and just looking out on the Atlantic. Shabby it was not.

After a bit of cocktail time (drinks cost more than my conch salad), I took to the beach.

And after a bit of beach time, I walked my way to Sip Sip. I had heard about it when L. and I were planning our trip last year, but we decided not to check it out though I don't recall why exactly. I ended up sitting at the bar and ordering their gazpacho and a pineapple chili margarita.

This was definitely a hip and happening spot. The woman next to me and I started a conversation and she had a few recommendations about the food, one of which was the lobster quesadillas. They sounded amazing but at $48 a plate, a little too rich for my blood. The gazpacho was solid, I especially liked the more roughly chopped bits of cucumber and tomato that at first settled to the bottom of the cup before I stirred it up a bit. The drink was also quite good, the pineapple and spice elements in a good balance.

After lunch I strolled back towards the docks, enjoying the sunny ambiance and cacophonous sound of roosters crowing.

Roosters in these parts were very very protective of their lady chickens. I envied them the attentions. Ha.

Once back on Eleuthera I had a very simple plan: buy a beer and go drink it before snorkeling at Gaulding's Key. Don't worry while it seems like I'm a total lush, I was in fact pacing myself. Gaulding's Key is, compared to some of the beaches on the island, a breeze to get to. There's a sandy not-too-terribly-bumpy road you go down that doesn't have as many twists and turns as others, but you still end up on a beautiful strip of beach with very few others. This first visit found two young Polish couples and one slightly older couple from Maine. I decided to wait on the beer and first go into the water to see some fishes. One of the Polish dudes suggested I go to the far back side because that's where the hippest and most happening of fish could be found.

So that little island is where I was headed. The majority of the way out there was made up of sandy bottomed walking; it stays shallow for quite some time before dropping off. I stayed on the left side/closest to the beach of the island because I suddenly realized that while there were other folks on the beach, they weren't paying attention to me/wouldn't notice if I went around the back-end and never came back. Maybe they would have noticed eventually, but not for a while. And this is a strange fear. Sensible, but limiting. I'm a good swimmer, the waters were extremely peaceful and while yes, there is always the possibility of a shark or some such beast to be in the waters, the statistical chances of actually being attacked are pretty low. So if I wasn't prone to drowning, and I wasn't actively afraid of sharks, why would it bother me if no one was there to notice me disappear...when I wasn't going to disappear? It's a circular line of thought I went through multiple times throughout the trip when I'd want to do something and I'd start to do it but then I'd start to worry about myself. Self-preservation without real threat. It was kind of weird. All to say that because I didn't go to the far side of the island I didn't see that large a selection of fish. It was still a good swim, and I definitely saw a bunch of very small little fish, but I knew that with a little more gusto I could have seen more. No matter. It was all still very delightful on the whole. I took some photographs with an underwater camera at multiple spots...all of which turned out pretty poorly at least in their printed forms, but I'm wondering if I can perk them up with photoshop.

When I first arrived at Tamarind Cottage Kimy, the Proprietress, asked me if I wanted any of the foodstuffs that her sister had left behind during her visit. This was a mix of stuff, including preseasoned and frozen ground beef. I figured that couldn't hurt, especially since I had also bought a small jar of tomato sauce. Additionally, Terry had pointed out all the 'volunteer' cherry tomato plants that grew all over the property thanks to wild chickens eating tomatoes in one spot and depositing their digested seeds elsewhere. And there were also some impressive potted basil plants at the back of the cottage, so I decided my dinner on this particular evening would be spaghetti with the beef from Kimy's sister mixed with a bit of tomato sauce and made even more special with the addition of freshly chopped cherry tomatoes and basil.

A very nice way to end the first of my sunnier days on Eleuthera.

Restaurant Week Dinner c/o Bistro St. Tropez

For my second outing for restaurant week, I met up with BC for dinner at Bistro St. Tropez. I arrived a bit early and was seated at the bar to wait for BC and our table. It was a good view of 30th Street Station and the river, which was funny because it was sort of like the zoom version of the view LW and I had at our restaurant week meal the week before. When I sat down - and during the entirety of the ten or so minutes I sat there - I was the only actual patron at the bar. It was brightly lit, with the residue of the neon lights up against the western window further messing with the bright lights of the bar that seemed to come from everywhere. It was, shall we say, difficult for me to get decent photos, especially once we were seated by the window. Anyways. When I sat down I asked the bartender if they had any signature cocktail that had champagne or sparkling wine in it. He didn't know off the top of his head, but another server/FOH dude quickly said yes and pointed me in the right direction. I can't tell you the name of the cocktail because I can't find that menu on their website. But it involved champagne, aperol and a cherry. How could I not like it? The other bartender be

As with other restaurant weeks, we had a few different choices for three courses. So basically it was a menu prix fixe.  The restaurant also started all meals with a watermelon gazpacho, which was quite good and compelling. BC and I both reached and struggled to find the exact words/spices we were picking up. But had an enjoyable back and forth in the process. My main pick up was cumin...but there were a few others. It was interesting, but also just plain good.

This was BC's tart-type starter, which involved goat cheese, cornichons, a poached eggs and about a million other ingredients I can't recall.

I tried the sausage etc. stuffed calamari. I need to find a description of it in order to tell you how it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. While I did eat it and happily, I can't say this was really a dish I'd rave about or recommend.

BC's duck with lentils and other things, was much more of a hit. I took a bite and the meat itself was nicely prepared, delicate, and tender.

My main course was scallops. I'm not overly useful about the details.

I ended my meal with the creme brulee.

And a decaf capucinno.

It was good to catch up with BC, and the view we had - having been seated right by the window - was quite nice. There was a problem with the temperature of the room itself. When we were first there, it was quite warm, and then at some point we both wanted to take out wraps or jackets. Definitely drafty by the window. Nothing so impressed me that this would be a destination for a second venture at full menu prices, but it was quite busy and yet the food came out in a timely fashion and our server was anything but surly; she kept telling us how much she'd be enjoying herself if she wasn't working.

Cocktail and Gazpacho c/o McCrossens

About two weeks ago a new roommate entered into the apartment. It was an arduous task, finding a new roommate, but I think A. is going to work out just fine. In an effort to establish a basic understanding of one another I thought it might be nice to grab a drink the first Friday he was in town, which is what we did. I decided to try a new cocktail, the name of which I forget. I know this, it had aperol in it, and something fizzy. I liked it. My mom was a fan of aperol and so I do think of her a little when I drink it.

I also couldn't resist the gazpacho, which was nice and creamy, cool and rich.

Good times.

Gazpacho and Cocktail c/o Twenty Manning Grill

A few Fridays back I wanted to finally check out Nom Nom Ramen, one of two new ramen joints in Philly, which after a few months of being open, had triumphed as far as positive reviews. Alas, at a little after six they had run out of noodles for the day and were closed. This left me in a bit of a quandary. I was in Center City. I was hungry. I imagined that I might meet up with LW in a few more hours for some darts and didn't want to go all the way back home just to venture back out again. So I began what ended up being a moderately epic amount of walking around trying to find some place to eat. My first idea was Oyster House, but when I went in it was so packed that I just turned right around a left. Then I tried Tria, which had a table open outside, except in order to claim it I had to jump around a construction area and by the time that happened, someone coming from a better direction had nabbed it. Sigh. Then I tried one other place, and it was a no-go. So somehow I ended up at the bar of Twenty Manning Grill. I ordered the gazpacho, which upon its arrival, I realized I had tried before when LB and I went there on one of the hottest nights of my life. This remained a good gazpacho, and the sweet/tartness of the sorbet was a nice counter point.
I also tried the Fancypants cocktail, a homemade earl grey infused Aviation Gin with lemon juice, rose water, and simple syrup. If you're a fan of earl grey, you'd probably be a fan of this drink. I felt my fancypants quotient rise significantly after my first few sips.
After I had eaten and enjoyed my cocktail, I met up with LW at the Black Sheep. Where we played darts against a dandily dressed man (full suit, with stripes) and his rather beautiful blonde girlfriend (also dressed quite well). Then the bar closed for a private party and we went on to O'Neals - with a fruitless pitstop at both the Bards and Buffalo Billiards - to play even more darts. I was wearing a new dress.
A lovely, if ultimately late, evening with so many different venues. Our night actually concluded, if you can believe it, at McCrossen's.

Lunch c/o Filles de Roy

For lunch our plan was to go to Les Filles du Roy. And what a good choice that was. When we first entered the old stone restaurant/hotel we were greeted quickly and were asked to decide between eating in the dining room or on the terrace. We went with the terrace, and what a good call that was. Though the skies threatened to unleash all sorts of awful on us, not a drop marred our meal. This photo is slightly out of order. Soon after sitting down a cat came down an back outdoor stairwell and proceeded to say hello to all the diners and lounge. Looked like a skinnier, perhaps slightly scrappier and yet refined, Zul.

We were on vacation, so we had wine .

I started with their gazpacho, which was a pretty classic take on the dish, but not in any way lacking. The addition of a lettuce leaf garnish was a little strange to me, but it didn't really impact the overall presentation or taste of the dish.
M. and I both gravitated toward the wild boar pancetta and duck confit club. Not only did we gravitate to it, we actually ordered it and then respectively ate it. While we meant to order salad instead of fries, fries were what ended up on our plates and we didn't fuss about it. This was definitely not your average club. The duck was nice and succulent, the pancetta a little richer or darker than some pancetta I've had the pleasure of tasting. The fries were good though after the night before's poutine, I tried not to fill up on the crispy bites.

So, in the sort of lobby/reception area, past the front desk heading towards the back and terrace, there were a whole series of bird cages. There was a blue parrot hanging out outside the cage and at least six other birds in nearby homes. At one point our waiter began serving us and those around us with a bird perched on his shoulder. It enjoyed climbing around his neck and tugging on his collar with its beak. Its name was Coquette. A nice touch, I thought.
We concluded our meal with coffee. This was really a nice dining experience. The ambiance was relatively unique; the terrace perfectly hidden and magic in its vibe while the food was expertly prepared and worth the slightly higher than average price for a sandwich ($16).
Birds.

Dinner c/o Twenty Manning Grill

Months ago I purchased a Rue La La deal for Twenty Manning Grill and after months of not using it, L. and I finally made use of it. We met on perhaps one of the hottest of days back in July. The restaurant has this system of misters for outdoor seating, and they were on, but not a soul decided to brave the heat even with that system in place. No matter. I started with a Gold Headed Ben, which was described as "a warm weather take on our fall Rye Street cocktail, Rye Whiskey, St. Germaine, fresh lemon juice, orange bitters topped with Cava Brut. It was refreshing.
L. and I had serious discussions about what our choice of meal would be. In the end I opted for their heirloom tomato gazpacho with pineapple sorbet. And I'll tell you what, it may have been one of the best of the season, fresh as could be, not too bready, and the basil pineapple sorbet was a really interesting twist. The sorbet was quite sweet, not all that savory, and yet managed not to overwhelm the tomato goodness of the main event. Good work.
For my main course I decided to try their pan seared butternut wild mushroom ravioli, which came was described as "wild mushrooms, fresh ricotta, parmigiano-reggiano, caramelized onions and crispy sage-brown butter. The presentation was a little surprising, as the ravioli seemed to have been sauteed a bit. They actually reminded me a little of potstickers, which somehow made a little more sense once I learned that the chef was Asian. Does that make me a racist? Maybe. They were good, but not all that mind blowing and perhaps a little steep for $16.
L. had the tuna burger and wasn't overly in love with it. Too fishy somehow. She also learned that she doesn't like cornichons...her loss, my gain. I had two glasses of a really nice red wine. Let me see if I can remember what it was. Maybe the Pinot Noir? Or the Malbec? Either way, I liked it a lot. I wish I could track down our receipt. Alas.
Afterwards L. and I made momentary friends with a man outside the restaurant who then bought us both glasses of wine, which we enjoyed while sitting on the bench outside the restaurant. We met a whole cast of neighborhood characters, and I think we both had a moment of 'huh, maybe living in Center City would be fun...if we had millions of dollars.' While not every element of the meal was a raging success, it was a great night and the establishment definitely has charm and verve. We asked the guy to take a photograph of us, but with L.'s camera and I haven't gotten a copy. Photo proof fail.

Gazpacho and Burgers c/o Rembrandt's

While I haven't gotten a raise or any new title, I have gained a bit more responsibility in the office this year. This responsibility came in the form of being part of our recruiting process for new hires. After a number of campus visits, a slightly wider cast net and so very many editing test conversations, we finally sent out offers to our faves, one of whom isn't from the area. In an effort to sway her into joining us in our work, we took her out to lunch. We went to Rembrandt's, which I haven't been to since they switched ownership. Or, if I have, not since they changed the menu quite a bit. C. and I were equally interested in the lamb and 21 day aged burgers and decided that we would each order one, cut it in half and switch. Which, in case you couldn't figure that out, meant that we got to try both. And let me just tell you something. These burgers? Really good. Way juicy. Way cooked to order. Way flavorful. Way, way, way too great.
And so filling. C. later said that she felt like she had a food baby inside her. This grossed me out, but is accurate.
I started with the green gazpacho, which I could only say good things about if you were to ask me, which you really don't have to since you're already reading this. Seriously, I'm giving this place mad props. I basically wrote off the place on the basis of food after meh crab cakes a few years back, but believe you me, they're back on my radar with these freakin' crazy burgers.

Soup, Squid and Scallops c/o D'Mitri's

After our dinner at Pub and Kitchen, T. and I planned on getting together again and trying a new place. This ended up taking months of planning, mainly because I lead a very interesting and full life. Ha. After some discussion, we decided that it was time to give Dmitri's a shot. I first heard of the establishment from excellent champagne popper V. at L.'s bachelorette weekend. V. basically said it was the best seafood restaurant in Philly, and that I should really go. Nearly a year later I finally made good on my assurance that I would do so. It's BYO, so we brought a bottle of Italian wine, which makes perfect sense for a Greek restaurant. Pysche. I started with a bowl of the gazpacho, which was a special that night. I liked it. I think I like my gazpacho with a little more of a kick somehow. Basically I like gazpacho that borders on salsa. Still, it was refreshing.
We shared the grilled octopus appetizer. And folks, this dish is no joke. I have never had such tender tentacles. With just a little lemon, oh man, a nice grilled taste, no heavy chewing. Very special.
I chose the scallops as my main course, pan fried. In some fancy seafood places you pay $18 for, like, one scallop. That was not the case here, as the plate placed in front of me was brimming with eight nicely crispy on the outside but tremulously tender on the inside scallops. Tremulously tender? I just like the way it sounds, let's move on.
The rice and greens that came with the dish didn't blow me away, but they were above average in terms of having been seasoned nicely.
T. ordered the chicken skewer special. The meat chunks were charred in a good way and had a nice flavor to them. We both commented that perhaps they were a little, eetsy beetsy bit dry, but that didn't stop T. from enjoying them, nor me from sampling.
We went way early, like senior citizen-style, because all the reviews say that it's quite busy/difficult later in the evening. While I enjoyed the meal and thought everything was good, I didn't fall in love with the place. If I were forced to recommend only one BYO restaurant in the city, it would still, hands down, be Modo Mio. But if asked for a recommendation for good Greek, I would definitely say that this is the place. Sorry Zorba's.