Happy Hour Drinks and Eats c/o Lemon Hill

Glimpses of CPM in my life have become a rare thing as a result of her educational commute and overall busy-ness of life. I believe the last time we met up it was at the Tria Wine Room (which has since closed), and that was months ago indeed. True as that is, there is still a friendship and a fondness between us and we managed to identify a day and time for a nice get-together that would work for both of our schedules. Unsurprisingly, a good visit with her on a Thursday not so long ago was the result. When bandying about possible meet up spots, it was decided that it was finally time for her to enjoy the Lemon Hill happy hour experience. As far as happy hours go, Lemon Hill's may not be for the cheapskates. They do have a discount on a chosen cocktail as well as draft beers and house wines, but this isn't the place to go if you're looking for a couple of drinks and food to come under the $20 mark. It's likely that McCrossen's may remain my primary 'neighborhood bar' due to the dart history and familiarity I have with the spot...but Lemon Hill is coming in a very close second as far as overall pleasure in its atmosphere, clientele, draft list, food and staff. I stuck with white wine for the evening, but CPM tried the happy hour cocktail and we split a few different tasty treats. I was very keen on her trying the fried cheese curds, which didn't disappoint though they weren't quite as melty-on-the-inside as past visits. The long hot vinaigrette remained a delightful accoutrement.

I also recommended the patty melt, which I think lived up to the hype.

We also tried the gruyere pierogies with tempura fried sauerkraut and pastrami bites. Definitely an upscale version of what can be a very utilitarian dish and even more satisfying for the added class.

It's always lovely to see CPM and this evening was no exception. It was also nice to see familiar faces behind the bar and even in the clientele (one older couple wouldn't remember me but we once had wonderful conversation at Rembrandt's during a Kentucky Derby years and years ago and it was good to see that they're still out and about...and that the lady still brings her knitting to bars).

Asparagus Pesto Pasta and Grilled Parsley Oyster and Portobello Mushrooms

I had a whole meal planned for EF, B. and Mr. Ass, which I shopped for ahead of time. So when the weather wasn't reliable enough to follow through with that initial outdoor eating plan, I had a nice amount of things that still needed to be made. On another day I finally got down to it, making an asparagus pesto for some pasta and grilled mushrooms with parsley to boot.

Good stuff.

Dinner With Old Friends c/o Vedge

A few weeks back I called EF just to say hello. It had been a while since we had last communicated verbally, but I knew through Mr. Ass that she and her husband B. were officially moving from Michigan back to the east coast and Philadelphia in particular. During our phone call it was established that they'd actually be in town the following week to figure out some of the details of their move...like where they might live. So I actually ended up spending part of a Saturday with E. walking around my greater neighborhood looking at houses with for sale signs and, in one instance, taking a tour by the owner of one such house (it was a cute house and I would buy it if I had the resources). We also had plans to have dinner one night later in the week. Initially the plan was that EF and B. and Mr. Ass would come by my place and I would make them dinner, which we would eat on the deck. But the weather for the night in question insisted that it was going to be rainy, and that wouldn't really do for an al fresco dining experience. As a plan B we all met at Vedge. EF and B. are vegetarians, so Vedge seemed like a pretty good choice, given its entirely vegetarian and vegan menu. EF and B. arrived first and said that they were given a bit of guff and attitude about getting a table without a reservation, but a table they did secure. The meal started with olive oil with fennel seeds and fresh bread.

I was drawn to the fancy radishes, roasted, raw & pickled, smoked tamari, avocado, shishito dish. I wish I could have taken a better photo to truly demonstrate the presentation and range of radish preparations, but alas the light was low and I was trying to take pictures quickly. So this is the best I could do. I'll say this. I love radishes pretty much however you give them to me. Straight up. Pickled. Sauteed. With salt. With butter. With nothing. So this more careful and involved presentation just upped the ante and made something I already love even more pleasant.

We all shared an order of potato wedges with a creamy worcestshire sauce, which I don't know exactly how they made given the lack of dairy in all their fare. The potatoes were lovely and creamy in their own right.

I also tried their funky kimchee stew with charred broccoli, pickled tofu, and togarashi. Our server warned me that it was spicy, but after the tofu stews that I've been making lately, this wasn't anything to worry about. Its broth was rich the kim chi funky. The pickled tofu was probably the weirdest part, as it had an almost mango/fruit taste to it. The others had a nice range of dishes as well, but I did not photograph them because the lighting was low and it would just take too much time. Pretty much everything was full-stop delicious. While I love me my cheese and red meat, Vedge is a reminder that with care and creativity one doesn't need either to have a meal that feels like it truly is complete while also being special.

Afterwards we wandered around the narrower streets in the neighborhood. I insisted on a photograph or two.

It will be exciting to have EF and B. in the city.

Spatchcocked Chicken on the Grill

So really, I am a lover of sitting outside and grilling things, and I have definitely been making the most of our decided change in season over the past couple of weeks.Between the improvements I've made to the deck through replacing very past-due deck chairs and planting a nice range of additional flowers, it's getting to be an even more awesome space than it already was.

I think it was a Friday evening that I went to my local whole foods with the intention of buying some combination of things to grill that night and over the weekend. I debated purchasing another steak or perhaps a tuna steak or nice piece of salmon, but in the end they had a deal on organic free-range chicken that especially caught my eye. It felt like a good day to spatchcock a chicken and roast/grill it outside. I didn't do anything very fancy with this particular chicken, other than cutting its backbone out. While I tend to brine my chickens, I didn't feel like waiting around for the brine solution to cool or for the chicken to actually soak. Nor did I desire the mess that accompanies making any of the herb butters I've tried throughout the years. All I did was rub a little olive oil on the outside and sprinkle salt and pepper over the whole of the chicken. Then put it on the grill and let it do the rest.

I accompanied my finished chicken with an ear of corn, some green beans with garlic and a grilled/baked potato. All was delicious. The chicken had that nice grilled aspect and crispier skin that I usually am I able to finagle in the oven. The corn wasn't local, but it did get me excited for the corn of the true summer. Potato and beans also didn't disappoint. A very good meal.

Shishito Peppers and Fish Tacos c/o McCrossen's

LW went on a little European journey a few weeks back and when she returned we met at McCrossen's to catch up. I was excited about the shishito pepper special appetizer and secured the last one of the evening. Nice and good peppers. I need to buy myself some and do my own grilling while they're still around. I also ordered the fish tacos with extra kimchi. They were very generous in their overall portions, challenging me to pick them up without dropping any of the tender morsels of fish or bright and peppy slaw/cabbage that also went into the overall dish.

It was good to see LW and to hear about her adventures. And it had been a fair amount of time since I'd been at McCrossen's, so that was nice too.

Dim Sum c/o Joy Tsin Lau

The Sunday morning after my grill fest found me once again on the deck. I may have even been blogging. I know I filled out a job application. At some point my phone rang and it was Mr. Ass asking if I'd like to join him and LBM for dim sum. I was skeptical about LBM, as I have been trying to get her to go to dim sum with me for five years and she never does, but Mr. Ass insisted that the chances were very much in our favor for seeing LBM in a dim sum context. I would have been happy to dim sum one way or the other, so I did not delay in accepting the invitation. Of course between that initial call and my actual arrival at Joy Tsin Lau, LBM had bowed out, which left just Mr. Ass and me to dive deep into dumplings. We were seated in a not-too-terrible spot, which pleases me given the number of times I've been put at a table that makes it impossible for carts to get to, or happens to be by a leaking fish tank. And all my favorites were in attendance. I'm always a bit fan of this shrimp and rice noodle dish, which is topped with a sweeter kind of soy sauce. I think some might be put off by the texture of the noodles, but I really dig it. Mr. Ass had a bowl of wonton soup. I don't think that in all my years of dim summing, which go back to my childhood, I have ever actually ordered a soup or congee on a dim sum day. Perhaps next time I'll try to branch out.

Mr. Ass is a bigger fan of these pork buns than I am. Perhaps it's the consistency of the bread/dough that surrounds them...not quite for me. I think when I was younger, however, they may have been one of my favorites...behind shrimp dumplings of course.

Here you'll see the bean curd wrapped mystery, shrimp dumplings, spinach dumplings and shumai coated with brown rice.

The brown rice element added to the shumai was something I'd never seen, but I must say it was actually a pretty good twist. The earthiness of the rice, which had a definite tooth to its texture, really complemented the salty meaty goodness of the hidden dumpling within.

While LBM was a no show, I was still glad to have a dim sum experience to counteract the shit show that was Ocean Harbor on Chinese New Year. I also walked to Chinatown and was glad for the exercise.

Grilled Steak, Corn and Asparagus on the Deck

Two weekends back the weather was getting consistently lovely, which always marks a happy turn of events for me: deck and grill times. I decided that I would spend my Saturday enjoying the sunny weather and the many new plants I purchased and planted the weekend before. So I made my way to my local Whole Foods and bought corn, asparagus and a steak. I hardly ever make myself steak mainly because I usually miss the mark as far as cooking it to medium rare, going more often than not to well done. As someone who likes some pink in her steak, it always feels like a waste when I mess it up. But on this particular afternoon I was far more conscious of the temperature of the grill, the amount of time I let each side of the steak cook and the importance of letting it "rest." The result was 100% successful. I didn't fancy the steak up much, just pre-salted and peppered it and let its own juicy goodness and the gas grill do the rest. The asparagus I tossed with a little butter, garlic, lemon and truffle oil and wrapped in tin foil, throwing that packet onto the grill when I knew the steak was nearly ready. I also finally broke out the portable wine chiller that NC Catherine gave me for Christmas. It did a good job of keeping the Vinho Verde I was enjoying nice and cold.

I topped the steak with a dollop of a decent Gorgonzola. It was big enough, the steak, that I only ate half of it. It was perfect, pink but not bloody/'blue' and it was a great addition to salad on a subsequent day. A delightful day and evening on the deck.

Sushi Gluttony c/o Doma

I think it was last week that I found myself again unable to fight the desire for sushi. As fortitude, strength or self-discipline are none of my particular strengths, it was quickly agreed upon (in my brain) that I would go to Doma on the way to an event in Center City. And that, my friends, is just what I did. It was a little before six on a Wednesday or Thursday, and the place was still quite quiet. I think I was the first customer and then maybe 5-10 minutes later a few additional tables came in. I decided to try at least one small thing from their hot menu, and went with the Ssam Trio, which may have been a special. It was a combiination of small scoops of Korean-style cooked chicken, beef bulgogi and white fish. For ten dollars the portions were about right. The chicken was perhaps my favorite of the three. I found it interesting that the fish  was rolled, and in the center they'd squirted a fair amount of sriracha. I liked it, but hadn't ever seen it done before.

Then on to the sushi. This plate had two pieces of salmon, one fluke, one o-toro, mackerel two ways and ikura. Each fish cut was, to me and my still novice sushi self, generous and buttery.

I then ordered a second round. I'd always known that there were two kinds of eels, but usually stuck with the fresh water eel, which is the more typically consumed of the two - at least as far as I can tell. So knowing was one thing, but I decided to taste them side bye side. When the waiter came out with an extra piece I hadn't ordered I was momentarily confused, but he explained that the two eel pieces were really just one eel piece the chef cut in half for more ease in eating. I must say that compared to the more bite sized and toasted/browned look of the fresh water eel, I was a little afraid of this new version. But once I got over its slightly different look, I found that it was just as tender as its salt-free neighbor and almost as sweet.

And that concludes my early bird sushi gluttony.

Pho c/o Pho Ha Saigon

It had been a while since LW and I had gone to get pho together at Pho Ha Saigon. We remedied this a few weekends back. I went with the steak/brisket pho combo and also ordered the grilled pork rolls, which remain extremely tasty. Service as always was fast. Pho as always was rich and beefy. Coffee was just as crazily eye opening and thick with condensed milk as always.

Bisque and Boquerones c/o McCrossen's

LW and I got together at McCrossen's soon after my return to Philly to discuss our respective lives. I tried the roasted red pepper bisque and happily ordered the boquerones, which I always enjoy. The bisque was almost frothy in its textural composition. Delicious and delicate.

And the the boquerones were as citrusy/herby tender as they ever are. And I do so love these mellow olives.

Dinner c/o Two Boots

I left Ohio early Monday morning with a destination other than Philly. I had a job interview possibility in Massachusetts so I was headed towards Martha's Vineyard, which was a pretty long haul. So long that I needed to find a place to break up my trip. I turned to my Facebook network for suggestions of a stopping point that might be economical as well as interesting, and M. the Baker suggested I stop in the Red Hook/Bard area and stay with him and my former photo history professor, L. After deducing that it wasn't totally out of my way, and thinking that it would be nice to see the both of them, I took M. and L. up on their offer. I arrived around 6 or so and, as I always do, felt waves of nostalgia and memory as I drove familiar roads and saw familiar landmarks from my college days. L. had an academic dinner commitment, so M. and I did dinner on our own at a place that hadn't existed when I was a student at Bard: Two Boots. In my day the building where Two Boots now resides, which is just across the road from one of Bard College's campus entrances, was a seafood/Italian type joint that I don't think many students ever checked out. I only went once with my mother and former roommate S. I think we at least considered eating lobster, though my memory fails me a bit when it comes to our exact meals. The thing I do remember about that evening was that I was in my full 'life is performance art, we are never real' stage of my life, which I tried to explain during that dinner. Meh. Anyways. We ordered the meatball sliders on garlic knots. The knots were tender and the meatballs decent. I think they were really three slices of the same meatball, as opposed to three mini ones. I think I may have commented to M. that a pretzel type breading would be an even more interesting choice for the dish. 

 We also shared the Cleopatra Jones pizza, which was a thin crust pizza with sweet Italian sausage, roasted peppers and onions and garlic, with a good smattering of mozzarella thrown in. Pretty good. I saw a few familiar faces and a few faces that seemed familiar but were, in fact, people whom I did not know.

After we finished up our meal, we returned to L. and M.'s house and talked about this and that. L. returned and we conversed for a bit as well. While I would have wanted to hang out a bit more, the plan for the next day involved my having to wake up and get out of the house by 6. Closer to 5 really. So to bed I went. It was lovely to have even such a brief visit in the area and with L. and M. They're good people. It's a beautiful and special place. I wish I could tell you that the treacherous drive through blinding snow in the Berkshires and the ferry ride to Martha's Vineyard resulted in a new direction for me, but alas it wasn't quite to be. If, however, you're reading this and you know of people in the cheesemaking game looking for motivated and passionate apprentices, please holler at me because that was basically what the gig would have been and I was very sad to miss out on it. After the ferry and interview and then another ferry back to the mainland, and then a shuttle to the parking lot, I got back on the road and headed south. It was a long drive, mostly taking place after the sun set. I conquered my fear of driving on the George Washington Bridge and tried a crappy chipotle chicken sandwich from Burger King and was home around midnight. 

Easter Sunday in Ohio

Easter Sunday for me started with prepping the macaroni and cheese I'd be contributing to my family's Sunday dinner. For most of the rest of the family, it began with church. Different strokes, different folks. Once K. and A. returned from church, we got ourselves together (they took off their fancy church clothes while I put on something other than my pajamas) and headed over to my aunt and uncle's house. A. went and picked up his kids, W. and K. and thus this photograph was possible.

And this one.

And this one, where it almost looks like W. doesn't have a head and is only a body carrying K. around.

M. and A. took control over the marinating and grilling of a number of veggies, which included asparagus, carrots and peppers.

A salad and a lot of fresh fruit were also available.

Not to mention a crock pot roasted turkey breast.

And a ham. And lactose-free potatoes and lactose-full macaroni and cheese (in this version there's a mix of cheddar, fontina, mozzarella, gouda, colby jack and that may be it).

As the family expands so do the tables L. and E. have to pull out so that we can all fit. But we do all fit!

Baby R. with some treat in her mouth I think.

This year was definitely chillier than last year. Fewer flowers had bloomed and jackets were definitely needed to fight off a chill in the air. While that's all true, it wasn't so cold or gloomy that kids couldn't make quick work finding the 64 plastic eggs I hid around the backyard.

And of course there were about a million different tasty sweet treats to choose from for dessert.

Brownies. Sweet potato cookies. Etc.

Another good Easter. We then watched more March madness, including that sad moment for the player with the leg from Louisville.

Baby R. and Pizza Times in Grove City

After a diverting few hours, we packed up the van and headed back to Grove City. I insisted on one photograph with K. though next time she and I are going to have to do more than just one. I take so many pictures of the kids, but I need to be a bit more diligent about photographs of the adults. And of angles that make me look less overweight than I tend to be on any given day.

Baby R. stayed home and we found her and her Dad and my uncle all out in the court, hanging out and playing with bikes and such. She's a cute one. Doesn't say much so far, but definitely is looking around and taking it all in.

For dinner we split three pizzas a myriad of ways. This one was sausage/pepperoni/green pepper. There was a plain for the kids, and maybe a half pineapple half olive in the mix as well.

The kids' table.

The main activity of the evening was watching some of the March madness basketball games. I think this might have been the evening that officially took the Buckeyes out of the running, which was a little sad. I kept referring to myself as a 'fairweather die-hard Buckeyes fan,' and I believe this is actually a good way to describe my ability to get cheer and get excited about the players in one particular game while generally having ignored the entire team for the season that led up to it. Still, it's fun to be in a room of people who care and it makes you care too. Though I think they may have been more disappointed by the loss than I was. R. was rather indifferent.

Until her mother took away her lager, then all hell broke loose.

And she became slightly eery.

And that wraps up that Saturday.