No Reason At All

I'm no pigeon lover, but look at what this penguin is doing!

Sidetrack to Penn Alps

When I was a kid, my mother and I would drive from our home outside of D.C. to my grandparents' house outside of Columbus. Well, I wouldn't drive; I was a kid. Often we would stop for lunch at Penn Alps. I remember enjoying their mashed potatoes and gravy, and how pretty the area was. There was something magic about it. It's not like I have any crystal clear, completely re-livable memory of the place or experience. And I have no idea if we only went twice or if we stopped there with more frequency over the years. But I've long been wanting to make a trip out there, to see if I could recapture whatever sensation or pleasure I associate with the place. Things in the current land of cc are decidedly less than ideal. Last week my parents let me know that my mother was back in the hospital, so I got myself together to drive on down to Nashville to be with my parents. I figured I would break my trip in Ohio, and that a slight detour to Penn Alps wouldn't kill me. So. That's what I did. The place is pretty much the same, though the entrance/lobby area is decidedly more corporate/gift shoppy than I remember it. They had a buffet, and while I really just wanted their mashed potatoes, I figured I might as well opt for it. I made myself one plate of mashed potatoes, turkey and green beans (with liberal amounts of gravy).
It was all quite good. I felt like I was having my own mini Thanksgiving, minus giving any thanks or pumpkin pie for dessert. I also tried their sausage and sauerkraut (eh, not for me) and their fried chicken (eh, grease is good).
I took a look in their craft store but didn't see anything much that appealed to me...except these really beautiful quilts. And I bought a ridiculously oversized bottle of sarsparilla. Because that is how I roll.

This little collection of old log cabins and houses, which are mainly used by local artisans, was another clear memory. I feel like Mom would go inside and actually look at the stuff, I probably wandered around.
I went into one potter's building in search of a potential tea cup replacement, but nothing caught my eye as much as the beautiful sun, trees, foliage and overall day. It was a really beautiful day to be in the country.



I'm also not entirely sure that I remembered this huge stone bridge. I mean, we must have walked across it or gone over to see it, and it wasn't like I was surprised by it but it wasn't like I wandered in its direction knowing that it was going to be there either.


I also noted that there's a nearby campground/cabin business right along the river. They declare that there's great fly fishing to be had. I'm not sure I have the patience or coordination for fly fishing, but I kind of wish I did.

This spider had a red dot on its back and came out of nowhere while I was trying to take a photograph of the wall and sky. Freaked me out.



So that's that. I think visiting places that you found magical as a kid can be a bit of a let down, because whatever else has happened in your life makes it difficult to have that same exact sensation again. Especially if you're not even sure what that sensation was in the first place. That said, it was still a beautiful little place to stop and stretch my legs after the first four or so hours of my drive.

Jalapeno Poppers and Wings c/o Pub n' Grub

Ak moved to Utah a few months back, but she was in town last week. She asked me if I'd like to watch a Phillies game at McKenna's, as we had done the previous two years, but I was about to embark on a drive southward, and felt that McKenna's would probably lead to a rough start to that morning drive. So we met up at Pub n' Grub instead. L. joined us and we split jalepeno poppers and wings, all of which were good enough. This was the night of the Phillies almost not winning against the Reds...but then winning. We sat outside on their nice deck, with views of the television screens and the jubilant Phillies fans, but with a bit more peace and quiet, and breathing room, than we would have found on the inside. It was a good evening. It was nice to see Ak and speak unnecessary truths, as often happens with the two of us. I stayed out a little later than I wanted, and had one more beer than I really meant to, but still, in all, I got to bed at a respectable time and was able to get up and out at a decent hour the next morning.

Sushi Lunch c/o Sakura

A while back my apartment building's mail slot was inundated with menus from a new sushi place in the neighborhood. Once the free lunches started, I thought it'd be fun to order from said new place; my roommate had ordered from it a couple of times and hadn't said bad things about it. But when I went to find one of the menus in the house, they were not around. This was my roommate's fault and I was grumpy in his general direction for a good three hours. He did not, probably, realize this...but maybe he did. Eventually we got our hands on a menu and the entire office tried the place out. This is not high falutin' fancy sushi. I wouldn't order the chirashi or anything too adventurous, but in terms of workaday, not going to make you sick, but still generally pleasing (and at least not high in cheese/cream/cumin). I went with the yellowtail, salmon skin and spicy white tuna rolls. Their lunch deal was three rolls for $10.95. Reasonable. Next time I might try their bento box lunch special. Or their udon. I could really go for some udon.

Taco c/o Coup de Taco and Night Market Philly

Last month E. emailed me and asked if I had any interest in joining her for the Night Market on Passyunk later that month. I said yes, work permitting. In the end, the event was rescheduled due to torrential amounts of rain, which you didn't really need to know. It was rescheduled, and E. and I decided to meet there on the early side. Unfortunately she was running a little late, so I decided to walk around the neighborhood a little instead of checking in on the actual market...my logic being that I would be bored/less interested if I had already seen everything while E. had not. I am a genius, in idiot's clothing. The weather was great and the sun's light was quite pretty. I took this photograph because of the light.
So, I kind of lied. After taking my walk and figuring E. would shortly arrive, I did put myself in the Coup de Taco truck line to get me a taco. I went with the Oskar, which had pork and cheese and beans.
E. arrived while I waited. Then we met up with another of her friends who was standing in yet another taco stand line...There were about 15 or so businesses representing, three of which were taco-focused. Whoa.
There were a lot of little babies, men in plaid and pregnant women (E. included), none of which you can see in this photograph.
This was a pretty interesting idea, but I didn't get quite as into it as maybe I thought I might. The lines did get long and I hate crowds where, inevitably, it is decided that the thoroughfare of people will be going directly in front of me, jostling and otherwise bumping my body and fragile sanity. That sentence is a mess. I suggest someone fix it. It's interesting to hang out with E., as we haven't really known each other in a good number of years. Our shared kiddy experiences, from playing softball to the occasional slumber party, are so far in the past that it's sort of hard to connect them to the people we are today...and yet it's not like hanging out with a total stranger either. Hm.

Dumplings and Szheuzuan Tofu

Another work meal consisted of a split order of meat dumplings, which turned out pretty good.

And Szechuan tofu. I didn't know exactly what to expect with this dish, but I thought it might be interesting to try something new. At first I was disappointed that the tofu wasn't fried all crispy. At first I was surprised that there were peas and carrots thrown into the dish. After a while I was satisfied with the relative heat (though still not altogether spicy) of the dish and the feeling of being a better person because the tofu wasn't fried.

Cheese Wave Pizza

Some other day I went over to C.'s. We did as we always do, and with non-sweet wine. Our pizza seemed to have experienced severe turbulence during its delivery, which resulted in a good portion of its cheese congregating predominantly on one side of the pizza. After eating one slice, I felt like I had eaten two. It was kind of neat. And disgusting. And awesome.

Lamb Achari c/o King of Tandoor

Another day we ordered from King of Tandoor. I went with lamb achari, a mango lassi and garlic naan. It was satisfying.

Food From Mugshots

Another day we ordered from Mugshots. I should have gone my own way, as I'm really unimpressed by pretty much everything this place does. I decided on the Scapegoat, mainly because I remembered liking the crispiness of the bread in tandem with the goat cheese. Unfortunately, the establishment seems to have run out of bread, and instead of informing any of us of this fact, they figured they could make it up to us by stuffing a massive quantity of goat cheese into a cold, unyielding wrap. Whatever. I heated it up in the microwave and it wasn't bad. But it certainly wasn't anything to lose a wing over.

Stuffed Shells

Luigi's offers its customers a number of different methods of delivery for three main things: pasta, cheese and sauce. I decided to try a new approach at some point last week: stuffed shells. The dragon dove right in, with the hopes that the cheesy greasy redness would render him invisible. It did not. Though I challenge you to find his feet.

Mug Crack

Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed that my favorite mug in all the world, which has done right by me since 2005, has sprung a crack. When I pour my morning's hot water into the waiting mug, a small torrent of water escapes via this imperfection. Now, on a scale of one to ten of things that I should worry or care about in my life these days, this is a three. But, that said, it still makes me sad. It's the perfect height and volume for my tea consuming ways, and aesthetically pleasing as well, and yet I know this mug's days are numbered. L. suggests glue, but I worry that if water can come out from the inside, then the heat of the water could loosen the glue and invite it in to the tea, and I just can't have that. So every day, I fill my mug with a shiver of fear that that day will be the day that the heat expands the crack and my Earl Grey tea bag and heaping teaspoons of sugar in the raw will explode all over the place. I do not look forward to it, but I know it's coming.

Salmon and Catan

Last Sunday I went over to C. and R.'s house without laundry. Instead I carried with me a Costco-sized portion of wild caught salmon, two shallots, a fair amount of lemon balm, a lemon and Catan. Soon after arriving at their place, the salmon was properly laid out on the bed of balm, liberally sprinkled with sliced shallots and lovingly covered with white wine, olive oil and a little sea salt and then sealed up tight and put into the oven. While the salmon did its thing, we ate spinach dip and mini crab cakes, which somehow I didn't get good photographic evidence of...and I taught C. and R. how to play Catan.
The salmon turned out pretty good. I could have taken it out of the oven a little sooner, but it wasn't too dry.

In the end, I won. But I saw potential in both C. and R. I hope to play with them again.

Morning Glory Indeed

Pizza c/o Stella

On Saturday I walked to Stella for dinner with A. and her friend J. It was a nice walk that took me through the majority of Center City to 2nd and Lombard. I saw a bride and groom getting their photograph taken in beautiful light with a plethora of homeless men in the background just by Logan Square. I quickly jumped through the Midtown block party thing, which seemed to teem with a strange mix of gay men, young couples and drunk frat boys. I even saw the last gasps of a flea market. Once I arrived and we sat down, we each ordered a pizza. I ordered the sausage pizza, which had long hot pesto that I found incredible in concept and in reality.
Though the crust was a little soggy.
A.S. and I exchanged slices so I could taste the tartufo pizza, featuring truffle oil and a lovely, freshly cracked egg yolk, from a cooked egg, that is.
Just the smell of the tartufo pizza was very, very pleasing. The taste was good too. Very good.
I even had an espresso for dessert.

What I Doodle With My Time