Got up this morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed and just raring to fire up the Maine Foodie Test Kitchen so that we could try this boiled omelette (see below). It really was quite fun, but no faster than making a regular omelette. I guess it really only would work for a crowd of people who all wanted their own ingredients. I also suppose that if you are inclined to make an omelette in a bag for your guests, you are also inclined to buy precooked sausage and already grated cheese. If you live in Florida where they have packs of pre-diced vegetables and onions, it would make it even more FUN and easy!
We think the whole idea of boiled omelettes in a bag is stupid and figured the eggs would taste like melted plastic, but they were suprisingly good and healthy since you don't cook the eggs in butter (sigh) The omelettes do roll right out of the ziploc bag and onto your plate in a perfect roll. I told a friend about this experiment today and her eyes lit up as she told me its the perfect idea for all these people she is putting up for a wedding next weekend! NOTE *** It is essential that you write your name on the outside of the bag***

Keep sending your outrageous recipes to me and I'll think about trying them in the Maine Foodie Test Kitchen.

Enjoy,
Seth

Apparently, I'm being punished for violating the Google Ad click program. As you will notice, there is an empty white stripe at the top of MY blog where google key words used to be. I had an email a while back from the Internet Violations Department deep in the bowels of Google Central saying that since I had pointed out to my readers that the ad bar existed and that they should click to make me money, I was in serious breach of googlism. I had to edit out the offending sentances in my posts from eight months ago or suffer the consequences. I choose to suffer the loss of income (a whopping average of .98 cents a month)...after all, its a freedom of speech issue.

enjoy,
Seth

A relative who shall remain nameless sent us the following breakfast recipe. Though I prefer my eggs the old fashioned way, thought this might work for the the guests who overstay the three day rule. I am truly impressed that our relative sent pictures as well!

BREAKFAST, ANYONE?
ZIPLOC OMELETTE

(This works great !!! Good for when all your family is together. The best part is that no one has to wait for their special omelet !!!) Have guests write their name on a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag with permanent marker. Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them. Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc. Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water. Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed. Everyone gets involved in the process and a great conversation piece. Imagine having these ready the night before, and putting the bag in boiling water while you get ready. And in 13 minutes, you got a nice omlette for a quick breakfast!!!Try tomatoes, ham, green onions, cheddar cheese and mushrooms. It really works!!!

Enjoy?
Seth

We were in Waterville over the weekend prowling Marden's for small windows for our impending new shed in the backyard. We've been increasingly disappointed at the offerings at the "new and improved" Marden's in Waterville....I kind of liked racing around to the four different locations whenever we went there. We also visited Home-a-Depot to take a look at their sheds and get ideas for building ours. I must say, Waterville has changed a lot in the 17 years since I attended Colby. There are a lot of chain places that weren't there before. Waterville has really become a chore-type destination for central Maine. I digress...we were weak with hunger from shopping and not buying a thing and so decided to cruise into the first place we saw, which happened to be a Quisnos Sub place. I've never been to a Quisnos before and was delighted by the offerings. I can imagine that they do a bang up business when school is in session. I noticed a young man with a Colby class of '09 shirt on and thought of telling him that I graduated in '89, but I noticed what he ordered and figured he must be stoned and would freak out at this intrusion into his personal space, so I held my tongue.
Greg and I split a beef tenderloin sandwich on a whole wheat sub roll with chedder cheese and a peppercorn mayo that was really good. At Quisnos, they broil the sandwiches, so the bread is nice and toasty and the cheese is melted, a very nice touch.
I couldn't believe it when we saw another Quisnos in Waterville on the way out of town. What is this world coming to?

Enjoy,
Seth

I woke up this morning to the sound of raindrops on the roof, normally quite a soothing, safe feeling. Today it struck me with dread, "another day inside doing inside stuff...ugghh" Its been raining for at least 40 days, now I know how Noah felt..good thing he had boat building skills! I at least have a car in which to escape, and escape we did..out of the house, away from the dogs and away from working on the kitchen some more. I walked into Greg's studio and pronounced plans to go to the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland. He had his shoes on before I finished my pronouncement...and away we go!
After perusing the excellent permanent collection and getting some more exposure to Andrew Wyeth's work for a potential client, we exited and followed our noses to the Atlantic Baking Company on Main Street, right across from the Farnsworth. We thought about getting a loaf of fresh bread for dinner and ended up staying and having a sammie with a cheese danish. The danish was outstanding and Greg told me that I needed to learn how to make them....."yeah I thought, spending all day making croissant dough, my favorite pasttime!" The sandwich was also stellar, mostly due to the tasty multigrain bread that was perfectly moist and had a wonderful texture and taste. The place is a bit pricy, but a nice choice on main street for a cuppa coffee and a pastry in the mornings. Lots to read and semi-comfortable seats. This place is a must for the strolling pedestrian.
When we got back, Greg headed for bed and I got called to help walk some friends' llamas which was really cool. They rescued five male llamas and sometimes need help excersing them. A nice chance of pace on an icky poopie rainy Sunday.

enjoy,
Seth

Speaking of Greg and his simple dishes that amaze and delight our guests much to my chagrin, he made the most beautiful mussels for our party last weekend. He has several tricks to making perfect mussels: One is to buy the rope grown variety in 2 lb bags. These are a bit more expensive, but they are grit and beard free and taste delicious, or so I've heard. He then takes the cheapest white wine that doesn't come in a box and pours it into the bottom of a large pot to about the depth of 1-2" and adds fresh crushed garlic. Bring that to a boil and then add the mussels, cooking for about 3 minutes or until they just start to open.
He brings them to the table in huge bowls and of course, everyone stops talking and stops feasting on whatever I made, and hovers over the bowls, shoving hot mussels into their mouths with abandon. We have a pretty diverse group of friends and party guests, which make out parties pretty great, and I've noticed how mussel eating levels the playing field. I watch with amusement as doctors and entrepreneurs gleefully suck down mussels with homesteaders and lobstermen, everyone dribbling white wine juice down their fronts, licking their fingers and smacking their lips. Its pretty great to watch, almost as much fun as playing cranium.

Enjoy,
Seth

I've learned a great many things from Greg over the years we've been together. He is a wiz at quick and easy things to make in the kitchen, mostly because he doesn't have the patience to wait for flavors to meld, or recipes with too many steps because that means there are that many more pans to clean. So, when we were recently invited to dine at the home of swanky friends / clients two or three hours before dinner time, I stupidly called back and said that that I would make some sort of dessert. What was I, touched in the head? It would take me at least two or three hours just to pick out the right shirt, much less whip up a dessert for a couple who make me nervous all the time. But, after all, it was a very passive invitation: There was a phone message saying that the hostess had gotten a cooking bug and since we were coming over for a fitting, and if we were hungry, there would be lasagne on the counter in the kitchen. What do you make for that? Greg had the answer..."stop worrying and dip some strawberries in milk chocolate and call it done." Here I was wondering if I had enough time to go to the store and get eggs, run to Reny's and get a souffle pan, make a chocolate souffle, AND pick out the right shirt in two or three hours...do souffles travel well anyway and will I have to iron the shirt?
A brilliant idea, that chocolate and strawberry thing. Everyone is impressed when Greg brings out this, one of his signature dishes. Its so easy, and yet most people cringe at the thought and go out to the store and buy one of those bakery cakes that taste like vanilla flavored lard for $20.00. What could be easier than melting chocolate chips in the microwave at 20 second burts between stirrings and then dipping whole strawberrys in? I even had time left over to walk the dogs and make sure my socks matched my shirt. And in case anyone told you that all gay men should be floral arrangers, check out the center of the plate where we dumped a whole bunch of purple lilac blossoms after spending 20 minutes trying to figure out how to make the darn plate "pretty" In a fit of peak, I grabbed the branch of lilacs from Greg and one of the blooms bent, so I got a bit bitchy and just ripped the flowers off the bloom and voila, instant centerpiece!

Enjoy,
Seth

We've been under construction here at the Foodie House. The covered porch that holds up the second floor bedrooms finally got straightened out, literally...What with new beams and jacking the house up and the tree guys cutting a view to the water through the woods, I've not had time for the ole blog here. Mea culpa once again.

We got most of the porch done in time for our "porch party" last Friday. Too bad that it was foggy and rainy and so gross out that everyone wanted to be inside by the fire! For Greg and me it was a seat of the pants party. Neither of us was in the mood since we'd spent most of that morning hauling 4 foot logs from the woods to the house and were tired and cranky. I'd gone to the store with somewhat of an idea that we would grill, but without know what we would grill...big mistake and 200 bucks later, I came home with squash and pork and lots of licquor. The grocery store had beautiful fresh bunches of sage, so I decided on a sage theme: sage pesto marinated and skewered squash and onions and a sage aioli for the pork, which I skewered with rosemary sticks and rolled around in garlic and sea salt. I put everything out with small rolls for sandwiches and had the sage aioli on the side. Who knew that 20 people could pick a table with six pork tenderloins clean! There was narry a piece of meat in sight after about 10 minutes. Greg and I nearly came to blows for the last scrap of meat after everyone (or so we thought) had been served. Right after that six people showed up (thought not the ones who offered to bring side dishes..the rat bastards!)

Everything we made was pretty easy. The sage pesto was simply fresh sage blendered with olive oil and garlic, sea salt and pepper to taste. It makes a lovely spicy pesto that zings. I made extra and added it to a bowl of mayo to make the aioli. You can easily sfind rosemary skewers in the produce section, they seem to spear very nicely (backwards) into tenderloins. Make sure not to overgrill the tenderlions as you want them juicy if possible!

Enjoy,
Seth

We were taken out to dinner last night at the Edge in Lincolnville, its the restaurant attached to the Inn at Ocean's Edge on Route 1. What a treat to have good, homemade food here on the midcoast. It was my first time there, Greg's second. What struck me first was the attention to detail. Since one has to park in a lot up the hill, a valet was on hand to direct us down a woodland pathway or into a golf cart which would take us down to the restaurant. We preferred to walk, and the path is quite a serene way to start off the evening. We had dinner in the wine room downstairs at a table with a window looking right onto their slate terrace and to the Bay beyond. Drinks arrived in perfect sized glasses, heavy glass..really nice. We were left alone to have cocktails and chat a bit. The wine room is just off a downstairs bar that had a crackling fire going in the stone fireplace.
We all decided that we wanted to try the spagetti and veal meatballs appetizer, so we shared this. It was good, though I'm not sure I'd order it again. The pasta was a bit on the crispy side, like it was quick fried or something. But the meatballs were nice, just a hint of spice and there were fresh cherry tomatos sprinkled overtop that were wonderful. For dinner I had the sirloin steak with potato butter and fresh sauteed carrots, fiddleheads, and green beans. It was a totally upscale version of what I had at Foxy's the other night..the difference?? The meat was a better cut, the potatoes were fresh, the sauce homemade, and the vegetables were also fresh. I've heard that the old chef from the Edge was hired away to work at Foxy's..she obviously doesn't have the budget she did at the Edge! Greg had a fresh cut pasta and goat cheese dish that he didn't like (one "done with that" from Greg) and our hostess had a crabcake and a salad. She was a member of the clean plate club, so I assumed she liked her meal. We ended with their chocolate dessert which was five small slices of chocolate decadence on a plate, each one different. My favorites were the chocolate fudge topped with which chocoate mousse and the brownie topped with a deep fried truffle. Damn that was good. I was really looking forward to the ginger dessert of the same type (three ginger tastes on one plate), but they were not offering that last night!!!! They get an A on napkins and since Greg instructed me to eat their bread and figure out how to make it for him, I guess they get an A for that. (there was a choice of breads, and though they get an A on presentation of their cornbread in tiny little skillets- my recipe which you can find on here complete with photos-is better). Upon walking out of the place, we were greeted with a cloud of cigarette smoke from two smokers standing by the front door to which Greg said "that goes on your blog...move the smokers") to which I replied..."get your own blog".... The bill was about $150 for the three of us

Enjoy,
Seth

Greetings from Maine foodie on the road. Afraid I'm not going to get to New Orleans tomorrow, so we'll just have to do it another time. Wanted to share the following email I had from Erik Desjarlais, the chef / owner at ladle and Bandol. From his description of the fare, I can't wait to check out ladle. He read a post I made on Chowhound about the price of soup and now I don't think its so bad judging from his response. I might try and sample ladle on my way back from points south.

"greetings, seth. I'm Erik, one of the other partners in Ladle...the resident cook, and owner of Bandol....saw your posts. Sorry we were closed when you tried to stop in. It's really tough to judge when people want soup. We've been open Mon thru fri from 11 to 4. After Memorial day we'll be open on saturdays as well. I have a feeling that come autumn, more folks will want soup, so we'll be open during the dinner. When I say soup, I mean anything that can be scooped with a ladle. I'm thinking about Cassoulet, Coq au Vin, braised duck legs...even baked macaroni and cheese....the possibilities are endless, and I'm psyched about it. Hope to see you in soon. Tell Zahra who you are when you visit. She's our other partner. Oh, btw....the 7 bucks is for 12 oz of extremely heavy and delicious beef stew......plus a quarter pound of my sourdough bread....and it includes tax as well. I know the ingredients that go into everything, and really, our mark up is almost nothing. Everything is hand made by me, and it all has character. My sourdough starter was built 22 years ago in Arcata California by my friend's mother..I only use spring water from NH for the bread...soon to be from Maine Maple Trees .the meat products come from happy animals, and the produce is grown in strict accordance with nature. You could pay a dollar less for soup from a bag made by some random guy at the corporate headquarters from food service ingredients.....(pre-chopped mirepoix) who doesn't know how to use salt."

Enjoy,
Seth

Decided to try Foxy's in East Belfast last night for dinner. Its a new restaurant that opened in the old Chelsea's building. We were full of high hopes for a good meal and were really disappointed. Foxy's joins the ranks of the restaurants in East Belfast who go by the book with food service food. The same meal that we had can be had at the Ocean's Edge restaurant in the Comfort Inn and at Pappa J's. After looking at the menu, we almost left to go to Seng Thai, but decided to stay and work it out.
The decor is spare and chilly. The walls of the place are painted an ice blue that gives off no warmth. The tables and chairs and carpeting are all pretty institutional. There is a big metal folding curtain that separates the dining room from the kareoke part of the bar. The view is pretty great though, its just too bad that they built a bar right in front of the windows overlooking the water.
Our server was cute and attentive which was the only saving grace of the place. She brought our drinks over and we were impressed with the size of Greg's wine glass and unimpressed with the tiny measured glass of vodka that came to me in a glass with "JIM BEAM" written across the front...now that's class I tell you.

Not much on the menu for non seafood lovers but a pub steak (ribeye cut) NY Strip steak, Chicken, and pork medallions. I ordered the strip steak (says on the menu that it is sliced) and Greg ordered the scallops on a bed of rice. We had spinach salads to start which were excellent, baby spinach leaves, with pear slices, and feta cheese with a raspberry vinegrette. When the meal came, I groaned inwardly. I enjoy a great NY strip steak, it is one of my all time favorite cuts of meat. Its perfect just plain with salt and pepper. My sliced strip steak came smothered in a gelatinous brown goo so thick that I couldn't even see the meat. My sides were mashed potato flakes and microwaved baby carrots both doused with parsley flakes. MMMMMMMM! Why can't places around here make the extra effort and sautee the carrots in butter and ginger or something like that..it doesn't take too much extra time.
Greg's large scallops had been dethawed and shaken up in a bag of Cysco premixed herbs and spices and unceremoniously dumped onto a bed of yellow rice accompanied by microwaved carrots around the side. The plates were those big thick white china plates that really add that extra touch of specialness to a meal. Greg did say that his scallops were hot and not too chewy. He gave an A to the napkins but a D- to the underdone rolls with honey margarine that we had to ask for twice.
The bill was $70.00 which really chapped me. My gelatinous goo with meat came in a whopping $21.00 for probably $7.00 worth of food service food.
My take on the place was that it was opened not by a restauranteur or someone who even loves food, but by someone who is looking to make a fast buck off the tourist trade. Its too bad...I keep waiting for someplace really special to open up in town...this ain't it.
Friends of ours have taught their 1 year old to sign and she does the back and forth hand movement to signalk that she is done with something. Greg and I give this place two "done with thats"

Enjoy (elsewhere),
Seth

Not much to report. Willy World opened back up again for the season. This Northport fine dining establishment has added a new bar, has the largest flat screen TV that I've ever seen, and one of the loudest, gramatically incorrect waitresses by whom Mainefoodie has ever had the displeasure to be served. Greg and I decided to split a sizzlin' combo fajita, with chicken and "steak" (I use the term loosely) While it is always fun to assemble your own food at table, there was no sizzlin' going on when the food arrived, and our server (with a tatoo of a smokin' skeleton on her forearm no less) decided she needed to supply running commentary during the beginning of our meal. We WERE the only table of customers in the place! Anyway, the sweet potato fries are always a hit and I'm sure that if I'd had a burger or the ole standby chicken fingers, my meal would've been great...at least we got the salad bar and a hot bread and ice cream as part of the meal!

Off to Florida on Saturday, and stopping through New Orleans on Monday for lunch..Hope to have a great review for you about that!

Ta Ta
Enjoy,
Seth

I was pleasantly suprised to find out that my chocolate / caramel frosting freezes really well. We found out yesterday afternoon that it was a friend's birthday. She invited us to dinner last night without mentioning it and another friend called to tell us it was her birthday! I had two hours to make a cake before the appointed dinner time. Went down to the local gas station and picked out a dusty box of Duncan Hines devils food cake and some chocolate chips and made two layers (in my spiffy new steel cake pans from Reny's...I love these things!!) I made too much frosting a few weeks ago and decided to try and freeze it, and so I had all this frosting that I popped into the microwave for 20 seconds and then whisked back up into spreadable shape. Spread on the cake while it was still warm (a real no-no) and then added a few flowers from one of the hanging baskets we just got from Evergreen Nursery in Searsmont.
Voila!

Enjoy,
Seth

I was reading an article this morning that focused attention on a Mennonite woman and her cookbook empire based on dishes like meatloaf and sweet peach pie. What the article touted was her good ole fashioned American cooking and how popular her books are with readers. She doesn't use organic produce, colorful sauces or unpronouncible purple vegetables to make her dishes for the chic crowds. I want to meet this woman, she sounds like someone I want over to dinner! Coincidentally, I just happen to have my own meatloaf recipe all ready, complete with photograph! I made this meal a few weeks ago and thought it was very colorful. The meatloaf is easy, 1 lb of 90% lean ground beef, 1 lb of ground pork and 1/2 pound ground sausage combined in a large bowl with a can of diced tomatos, 1 egg, a few dashes of soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste, a few shakes of oregano, a few cloves of garlic, and about 1/2 to 3/4 cup quick cooking oats. Mush around in a bowl with your hands (like making chunky mud pies) and turn out onto a broiling pan. form into a loaf and into a 350 degree oven for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. For this meal, I also peeled and cut up two sweet potatoes into fries, drizzled them with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and some cayanne pepper and shoved into the same oven to bake...they turn out to be a bit soft, but the taste is good (guess who wants a tabletop deep fat frier for Christmas???) Also a quick sautee of asparagus in butter and salt and pepper completes the meal. A colorful table, no?

Enjoy,
Seth

We were really disappointed last night when we were walking to find Ladle, the new soup restaurant on Exchange Street inPortland, to find that it was closed! Perhaps there was a run on soup in the afternoon and they were left with empty pots, so they closed...who knows. We decided therefore to go to Federal Spice, a small walk up service Asian(??) wrap restaurant on Federal and Temple Streets. We were five people and on a Friday night at six pm were able to find a table on the first floor. My sister and my friend Doug had been there a number of times and really liked the place. The food was good and inexpensive and I lamented the fact that we have no place like this in Belfast except for the Baywrap. My sister had a black bean quesadilla with pineapple chutney which was beautiful, but smooshy. The taste was really good though. I had a burrito filled with lemongrass rice with coconut curry chicken. I had to add some hot hot asian sauce to give my wrap some flava. Greg had a black bean and jerk chicken wrap and Doug had his filled with catfish. What we didn't order were the famous Yam fries, which looked great and probably were incredible. Apparently the restaurant uses as much local produce as they can get in any given day and so one has to like this place simply for that fact. The food was a nice change from what we get here on the coast. They have a small (3 seat) bar with two beers on tap and a great outdoor table section.
We'd certainly come back here again and try some of the other fare. I was jonesin' for the Yam fries on the way home.

Enjoy,
Seth

Greg and I are hopping in the car on Friday for the 10 x 10 painting show in Portland. We hope to get to Ladle, a new soup restaurant on Exchange and Congress that is partially owned by our friend Regan. I've heard good things about the joint and it got great reviews in the local papers. If you are around the area, stop in and let me know what you think.

Enjoy,
Seth

I had cake issues yesterday. Actually, it was more like cake tragedies, one after the other. There are days when one should just put away the pots and pans and go order out, and yesterday was one of those days, but I had a job to do. I offered to make two cakes for birthdays yesterday. One cake for a 1 year old and one cake for a 29 year old, both celebrating at the same party. The one year old got yellow cake with chocolate frosting, easy. The "grown-up" cake was mocha chocolate cake with kalhua mousse between the layers and chocolate caramel frosting. I overbaked the first chocolate cake and decided to start again. The second ones came out perfectly, until I cooled them and tried to work with them, then they fell apart, literally. Luckily, I saved the first two overdone cake layers and tried to salvage one of the fallen apart cakes to use as a layer but that just dissolved into the mousse...what an ungodly mess. I thought to myself...WWJD? (what would Julia do?) So I quickly got out a springform pan and picked up the pile of cake/mousse from the counter (I wish I shot a picture of that) and tamped it down into the springform pan and poured a nice layer of chocolate caramel frosting on top and shoved the whole thing in the freezer...it looked very elegant at that point.
Then I salvaged what mousse I could and assembled the original chocolate cake and shoved the lopsided mess into the fridge to set at 4pm (we were due at the party at 5pm).
MEANWHILE, my frosting was not setting because I made a double batch and there was too much of it to get thick in the fridge. Its essentially water and sugar boiled til amber and then infused with heavy cream which is then poured over chocholate , stirred til smooth and then put in the fridge to get thick...that didn't happen, so I was left at 4:45 with unspreadable frosting and both cakes waiting. WWJD? I pulled out the mix master and whipped that frosting into shape. I came out like heath bar frosting, light chocoate with bits of caramel in it....saved the day and its amazing what frosting can hide!!
We were a bit late to the party and I smelled like frosting, but a good time was had by all. The evil cake disappeared very fast much to my suprise. The 1 year old got frosting everywhere, including her hair, her face, her mother's hair and everywhere else...a job well done in my book!

Not sure how the springform cake came out as it still in the freezer, I'll let you know.

Enjoy,
Seth

During Spring cleaning, I found about six frozen bananas on the upper shelf of the freezer yesterday morning. I wanted the skins to make a good wake up food for my roses, so I hauled out my ole banana bread recipe and went to work on the frozen nanas.
We've been eating everything on banana bread since yesterday...its the best when its toasted and spread with Teddies natural peanut butter...mm mmm mmm.
I don't like crunchy stuff baked in my bread, but feel free to use pecans or walnuts, or whatever...just fold them in at the end. Pregrease a 9 x 5 x 3 pan and preheat oven for 350.

1 stick butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour (1 can be whole wheat)
1 tspn baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 large ripe, peeled, mashed bananas
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar and then add eggs one at a time, stirring til mixed with each. Sift in dry ingredients and mix in, add bananas and vanilla and if you want, nuts and mix slightly. Pour into loaf pan..Can easily be doubled.

Cook in center of heated oven for about an hour, or until the top is crispy. Insert toothpick or fork in center to test for doneness.

Take the peels and chop them up with water and add the day's coffee grounds. Spread around base of roses and rhodies, and azaleas for an great organic feed.

Enjoy,
Seth

Easter Sunday was a very long day with nothing going on. The weather was bad and nobody invited us to an Easter celebration...no brunch, no nuthin'! Feeling sorry for ourselves, we tried to do everything from going to the gym..closed to going to Hannaford to find something fun for dinner...closed! We were SOOL. So we got in the car around dinner time and drove around and around looking for someplace to land...even Pizza Hut was closed. We ended up going to the Irving Station in Searsport to eat. How sad and pathetic were we! The sign outside said "Join us for Easter!" We were one of probably 5 tables, all of which had lovely plastic Easter centerpieces complete with sparkly plastic and velvetine easter egg.

We used to love coming up here, because the food was relatively good. I think they have changed food merchants though because their chicken fingers were not as good as they used to be. Greg liked the fish and chips, but said that he could get better ones at Willy World in Northport (There is a for sale sign in front of Willy World in case anyone is interested)

We had a bunch of laughs and toasted the Easter Bunny. All in all a pathetic, yet strangely satisfying Easter. We came home and watched movies, had popsicles and popcorn and went to bed fat and happy.

Enjoy,
Seth

I got it in my craw this morning that I NEEDED to dye some easter eggs. Greg thought I was nuts and yelled so from bed where he was still "sleeping." We only had a half dozen eggs, so it was going to be a short dyeing session. Unfortunately, one cracked in the pot, so I only had five.
We also only had some red wine vinegar, but that apparently didn't affect the dyes. We learned about the power of adding oil to the dyes when we were young, so I added some oil and voila! It took me all of 10 minutes to dye these and now I can go on with my Easter day knowing that I participated. We are not cooking dinner for anyone nor have we been invited anywhere, so we will spend a quiet day going about our daily chores.

Happy Easter Readers, I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Enjoy,
Seth

We haven't been to potluck in several months, mostly because we are usually never here that weekend (I think we plan it that way subconsciously). Anyway, Greg had to go down to Brunswick to help a friend move into her house and I stayed here to do chores and figure out what to make. I always try to make something fun and new (except for the time we arrived with cream cheese and jelly with crackers!) because cooking for me is a sport. I thought about making Chocolate cheesecake, and I should have with what I ended up making, but I wanted something Eastery. I found a recipe for Sweet Ricotta Cheese Tart, essentially cheescake in a crust. Apparently it is a traditional Italian dessert to serve at Easter. It sounded good and turned out to be a fairly elegant presentation, but I think I would serve it with a raspberry sauce next time. What is nice about it is that it is very light, not too sweet and really tasted like one of those Italian pasteries that you find in shops in New York. My recommendation would also be to make it a day ahead of when you want it so that it can sit in the fridge to meld the flavors. Below is the recipe. I doctored the one I found by folding in sour cream and substituting Orange Licquor for vanilla.

Preheat oven to 350

Crust:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Combine ingredients and then add

1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and diced

you can either mix above in a food processor or combine by hand until a coarse meal forms.

Then add two eggs

combine mixture to form moist lumps. Scoop together in a ball and knead on a floured work surface. Divide into two balls, one slightly bigger than the other . Wrap smaller and chill in freezer.
Roll out larger into a round large enough to cover a 9" tart pan bottom and sides. ( I used a higher sided 7" tart pan) make sure it has a removable bottom.

For filling:
16 oz whole milk ricotta
3 oz cream cheese Softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or orange licquor
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
4- 5 oz sour cream

Using electric mixer, beat ricotta and cream cheese cornstarch and vanilla. Beat in 1/2 cup sugar, orange peel, and eggs and vanilla. Take out beaters and fold in sour cream. Transfer filling to tart pan.

Roll out smaller ball of dogh into 10" round to cover top of tart. Crimp sides and trim excess. Cut four slits in top of tart and bake in the oven for approximately 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool completely and serve.

Enjoy,
Seth

I can't figure out the placement of these pictures, so bear with me. As some of you know, homemade pizza is our lifeblood here in Northport. Whenever we make it, friends invariably come running over clutching a bottle of wine with that hungry saussage look in their eyes. Since a lot of our friends are still out of town for the winter, we had pizza alone with our movie, Scotland, PA...hysterical movie with a great sound track. I wanted to document my pizza making skills for you all, so here is the fruits of my labor. The crust is a cornbread crust made with 1.5 cups of wheat flour, 1 cup of cornmeal, 1 packet yeast dissolved in 1 cup of warm water, sea salt and some olive oil. I put the yeast in a bowl and add the warm water and let that bubble for about 10 minutes. I put the dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the yeast, mixing with a fork until it comes together in a ball. Then I add aobut 1/8 cup of olive oil and knead in the bowl with my hands until moist and elastic. Let it rise in the bowl covered with plastic and a towel for about 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Then take it out of the bowl and place it on a greased cookie sheet. Now I have tried a pizza stone and those air cushioned cookie sheets, but I find that the crispiest crust is achieved by just using a cookie sheet.
If the dough will not cooperate with you and spread to the edges, let it rest for a minute and try again. A tip I have is to wet your fingers with oil so they don't stick to the dough.

I drain a can of organic diced tomatoes and then spread that out across the dough, add cooked sausage or hamburger (please add topping of your choice here) and then cover with shreaded cheese (I use what we have available in the house, last night was munster, its usually chedder) and add oregano and perhaps some fresh garlic and you are good to go. Its way too good. Place pizza in the lower third of a 390 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese is gold brown and bubbly.

Enjoy,
Seth

On my first night in Philadelphia, I attended a lecture on architecture in the age of Benjamin Franklin which was really incredible. Of the three houses in which Franklin resided during his career as a diplomat, only the London one survives. His Philadelphia house, Franklin Court, was torn down just 20 years after his death by his own descendants to make room for 6 rental properties in order to provide and income for the family.

After the lecture a colleague with an expense account took me to Bookbinder's for dinner. Apparently its famous as the place to be seen in old Philadelphia and has been for 150 years I think.

I attach this photo of the bar at Bookbinders so that I can say that our table was the table right in the middle of the room there. I can say that I was shocked by the prices in this boisterous watering hole. Its mostly seafood and my mouth dropped open when the waiter told us that they were really famous for their lobster which were $29.00 a lb with a two lb minimum! Sixty bucks for the smallest lobster in the joint. That would feed a family of four a beautful lobster here in Maine.... with real butter even! The New York Strip steak was $45.00...this wasn't the Philadelphia I was used to.
So I ordered the famous snapper soup and chicken ceasar. My dining companion had fried oysters and the seafood cob salad with a double espresso for dessert (I'd be up all night).
The soup was great, and the turtle meat wasn't very big, so I didn't have to think about it...It arrived as a thick rich brown broth with a carafe of sherry on the side that you poured over the top and mixed in....wow, super delicious with the homemade breads they had.
The ceasar was fine after I removed the anchovie. M.L. appeared to love her fried clams, but wasn't that interested in the cobb salad, which doesn't sound great to me anyway.
This place is right on Walnut and second street and, I think, is filled with more tourists than glam queens. The service was perfect, every time I put my water glass down, there was a waiter to fill it. More bread was magically placed on the table and our plates were cleared immediately, something that I personally love.
Gotta try making that soup, or at least find a recipe to see what's in it.

Enjoy,
Seth

We made dinner the other night for a friend and so I decided to document it with photos. The first thing I did was trim a pork roast of most of the fat and then salted and peppered it, drizzled olive oil on it and tossed it with shallots and rosemary. Around the outside of the roast, I added new potatoes that were tossed with oil and garlic and sea salt. Boom, into the oven to cook for about 1.5 hours. The next thing I made was corn bread. 1 cup flour, 1 cup corn meal, 1/3 cup sugar, dash of baking powder and salt all in a bowl. Add 1 stick melted butter, 1 cup milk, 1 egg and about 1/2 cup olive oil and blend. Pour into cast iron pan and pop into the oven...done. Greg got in the act with the dessert, crispy apples, and so I documented his attitude towards apples and sugar :-) This dish is so easy to make and serves as a great "morning after " breakfast.
cube up your favorite apples and pears and toss with ginger, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, fresh nutmeg, and brown sugar (about 1/4 cup) and a small handful of flour. add raisins if you want.
Top with a mixture of 1. 5 cups quick cooking oats, 1.4 cup brown sugar, about 1/2 a stick of butter, and cinnamon. Blend topping in bowl until mixture looks like coarse meal and sprinkle on top of apple / pear mixture. Cook until top is golden and crispy.

haven't really been doing anything exciting in the kitchen. I did make butterscotch pudding for Sarah from 3Tides, cause it seems to be her favorite...ugghhh. (I used a jello mix)

Didn't get any feedback about the photos, so I'll cease those.

Back at you next week when I return from being on the road.

Seth

We drove down to Cape Cod to preview an auction. Took the dogs and drove there and back in one day...Greg is never coming on a business drive with me again, I can tell. We went to an auction preview and then went out for lunch...a difficult feat during the winter months on the cape. Found a place right near the auction house called the Lost Dog Pub in East Dennis. Lemme say that it was perfect in a pinch. Greg had fish and chips that he wolfed down because we hadn't eaten since 6am and it was about 3pm. I think he mumbled that the fish was great and the skinny fries he had were excellent. The rest of us had pesto pizza. I need to remember that pesto and pizza don't nessesarily go together. My pizza was excellent, but sooooo oily!
The interior of the place was very pub-like. I wonder if its that dark in the summer months too.

It was pretty great driving around Cape Cod.

Enjoy,
Seth

Voila the carrot cake. I think I need a class in cake decorating, I am so bad at the whole piping frosting, etc. I can't even make those orange and green carrots that usually decorate carrot cakes! To compensate for this, I sprinkled leftover grated carrots over the top for a festive look.

Enjoy,
Seth

Tomorrow is my sister's birthday. Usually when someone tells me of their impending day, or if I happen to know, I ask what kind of cake they would have if they could have any cake. My hopes are that someone will come up with some big challenging cake that I can try, the reality is I usually end of making carrot cake. What is it with the popularity of carrot cake? No one eats my carrots at dinner time, why ask for them in the dessert instead? Do carrots taste better

with lots of sugar and frosting??? Well, of course they do, doesn't everything? I have a feeling that its my frosting that brings people back for the carrot cake. Come to think of it, my sister didn't seem to want the cake as much as she wanted the frosting. So here it is.. use it with your favorite carrot cake recipe or try it on something else. It really is good.

12 oz. of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened

one stick butter, softened

3 teaspoons orange licquor

zest of one orange

juice of one orange

2 cups of confectioners sugar + more if nessesary, added gradually.

Place all ingredients except sugar in a large bowl. Add about a cup of the confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Taste. If the mixture tastes mostly of cream cheese, add another 1/2 cup of sugar and repeat taste. Use the remaining sugar to get the frosting to be tangy, tasty, but not overly sweet. (I hate that in a frosting) Beat until smooth, really smooth and creamy. Place frosting in a smaller metal bowl, cover and refrigerate until cold. Its like frosting with attitude, it sticks well on cake or cookies and should have the consistancy you see in the photo above.

This frosting spreads perfectly when done correctly. It has the added festiveness of white frosting with orange zest bits in it like confetti. Your dessert guests will rave.

Enjoy,

Seth

well, can you all guess what Greg and I had for dinner tonight, hmmmm? I'll give you a hint, goes down great with a big glass of cold milk! So much for giving the tart to friends...it was 1/2 gone in about 10 mintues

Sigh,
Seth

We saw friends of ours the other day and invited them to dinner tonight at 6pm. Around 3pm I get a call asking to reschedule. I'm a bit bummed, I thawed this big pork roast and was going to marinate it in shallot, sea salt, and rosemary infused olive oil (good thing I didn't) I guess that we'll just carve off a few pork chops per the next few days. I did, however, make the dessert and since I have my camera ready, I thought I would try something new and add pics of some of the things I am cooking here...though you'll only get the pretty things. Voila, a carmelized upsidedown pear tart. What the heck am I gonna do with this? The recipe for this is somewhere in the archives, this time I added a bit of port to the caramel to infuse some strong flavor. I'll probably give this away tomorrow to some friends who just got into town and will only be here a month before they return to Saudi Arabia. If you can't find the recipe for this tart and you are dying to try it out, let me know and I'll post the recipe...its super easy, but has a big bang appeal for guests....they think I worked for hours making it. Once you get the recipe down, it can take as little as a 1/2 hour prep time.

Enjoy,

Seth

An astute reader I'll call "Topher" suggested the Kennebec Tavern in Bath as an alternative hot lunch and dinner spot in that fair city. Topher writes "It's right on the water with an outdoor deck (weather permitting). "Pub" style food at lunch and dinner plus seafood and a few "upscale" entrees. Indoors, you can choose the bar area w/ booths or a separate dining room."

Disclaimer "Maine Foodie" has not and probably will not for quite some time visit, eat, imbibe, or otherwise make merry at the above establishment. "Maine Foodie" is simply passing on the sage wisdom of a reader who does not want his name used. The inclusion of this piece of eating knowledge does, in no way, constitute a review by "Maine Foodie."

We took off yesterday and met my sister at Reid State Park in Georgetown Maine for a romp with our two dogs and her yellow lab. The dogs had never met before and I was very impressed with how well they got on, especially Libby (the prey driven giant schnauzer) who was very polite the whole day.
After about 4.5 miles and 2 plus hours we all started fantasizing about having warm grilled cheese sammies with crispy fries..mmmmmm :-) I think we stepped up the pace a bit and put on our thinking caps as to where we could get such fare. We ended up deciding that we could live without the grilled cheese, but the fries were a definite must. Bath is the closest city and so we wheeled on over to the Beale Street Bar-b-que an Grille. We had a huge booth with very high backs for privacy that made me feel very hemmed in after 3 hours in the open. The special board touted a cheeseburger wrap with fries that sounded great! Ann and I both had that and Greg had a chesseburger with peppers and mushrooms. I ordered a small ceasar salad for the table too. The interior of the grille is just as expected, very bare bones with a definite grille/ bar feel to the place....there were lots of kids there though.
The food arrived and I must say, I got exactly what I ordered. A cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato in a tomato tortilla with great skinny fries. After a few bites though, I wished I had ordered a big heaping bowl of mac and cheese (I had order envy after I saw it delivered to another table) I think on another day my meal would have been satisfying, but after all that hiking, all I wanted was carbs and calories...and lots of creamy cheese! What I ended up with was pretty much shreaded lettuce with some meat and cheese in a wrap...nice, but not my brain wanted. The ceasar was excellent, nice strong cheese and dressing flavor..top notch. Greg loved his burger and his fries and Ann agreed with me that her wrap wasn't what her brain wanted. She also craved the mac and cheese. The menu also included lots of ribs and smoked stuff, so I can only imagine how the place is for bar-b-que fans. The bill came to about 13$ a person for lunch.

We skipped dessert in favor of chocolate bars from Reny's next door.

Enjoy!
Seth

Last night after going to the fridge about 6 times to see if something good to eat magically appeared while I was away, I decided to start with rice for dinner. I took a japonica mix that I got from the Coop in Belfast and sauteed it in olive oil, cayanne, salt and pepper, added water and let it cook for a while, added a can of black beans with the juice and let that cook for awhile, then added frozen squash and lima beans and came out with goop for dinner! It was really good rolled up in a tortilla. MMMM, just goes to show that you can make something good from nothing in the cupboard.

Has anyone noticed that Hannaford in Belfast has a sushi bar now? Kewl, if you're a sushi-type person.

Enjoy,
Seth

Thank you Cheryl for reminding me to blog about the reopened 3Tides. Since I did tell David that the newly stripped and waxed bar was blogworthy, I should mention it. We went down to 3Tides on Friday to celebrate signing and registering as Domestic Partners in Maine. I kept filling out the forms and signing them without a notary present, so we kept putting the actual Registering part off.
We wanted to get to the bar early to hang and chat with David and Sara, but alas, we didn't get there until 7 or so, by which time the bar was packed!!

All the tables had been reserved, so we stood and chatted with friends and hovered over our neighbors Deb and Laura at the bar until they left so we could have their seats. The bar top looked great. David had spent the previous week stripping it down and getting all the history out of it before smoothing it down and waxing it. I was really impressed by how clean it looked and how silky smooth the bartop was. David said that he will have to clean and wax it now about once a month, a small price to pay for the fantastic new look and feel of it. Of course he also cleans it every night as well, I know what a stickler David and Sarah are for cleanliness.

Dinner was great, the quesadilla was perfectly packed with goodies and Greg's new regular of tomato, basil and mozzerella topped with chicken and bacon on bread (his own creation) was great too.

Enjoy,
Seth

I made suprisingly good pork chops last night. Didn't think they would taste good at all since I was SOOOOO not into cooking. All I wanted to do was defrost and microwave something (I forgot that we almost never buy stuff that cooks this easily) So, I trimmed the chops, and pan-seared them in olive oil that I seasoned with sea salt, fresh pepper and cayanne. then added soy sauce and port, and a bit of powdered garlic. I kept adding a bit of water to the pan when the juices started running low and I think this helped keep the pork really moist. they were done cooking in around 10 minutes, and I kept turning the chops in the pan after they were seared because I think this also keeps them moist.
Served with buttered peas for lack of any imagination on my part.

Enjoy,
Seth

Went down to Portland for a weekend get-a-way and had a great time with my sister at the boat show there. We decided that we really loved the Hinkley picnic boat and will order one as soon as we can scrape together $750,000 from the loose change in our pockets! Ann took us out for lunch at the Flatbread Co., a wood-fired brick oven pizza joint on the waterfront. We walked from the boat show and came upon the block long St. Pat's day parade with the Governor leading along....kind of cool! Greg and I would have a chance to see the Governor later at a dinner we attended for Equality Maine.

The interior of the Flatbread Co. is largely built and decorated with recycled and reclaimed materials and the seating booths were beautiful and large and roomy :-) Lots of kid art on the walls and lots of yuppie granolas with their kids in attendance. The only things on the menu were pizza and salad, which really reinforce my thoughts on restaurants....make it simple! Have 4-6 things on the menu and do them right...too many places have pages and pages of things to eat and I think the quality goes down the more entrees there are from which to choose...but I digress, again!

One can order a whole or a 1/2 pizza and most if not all of the ingredients are organic (I'm sure a Portland reader will set me straight on this) I had a mozzerella and Asiago cheese pizza, Greg had mushroom and onion and Ann had the maple and fennel sausage pizza. I thought mine was outstanding, the cheese was a perfect mixture of strong asiago and melty mozzerella. Ann's pizza was too sweet, I would have liked an organic spicy sausage instead, and Greg's was nice, though not as strong as mine. Thin whole wheat crust was excellent too.

Greg and I had desserts which were alright..he the chocolate brownie sundae and I the apple crisp a-la-mode. Mine was very homemade tasting with excellent crust, though a kind of dry interior. Very cinnamon-y and warm...perfect for the 30 degree day. Greg's was warm too, but not as fudgy as you'd like that dessert to be.

Our service was a bit poor and our server kind of spacy. Ann's coffee was cold on the first cup and the server offered to make a fresh pot for her...nice save on her part..then she forgot to bring it out! She also forgot to bring back Ann's unfinished pizza in a doggie bag, so Chowder, Ann's new yellow lab, missed out on lunch. Our desserts took forever and after waiting for our server to come do the credit card thing, Ann whipped out her wad of cash and paid by greenbacks (so much for saving for the boat!)

So, we loved the place, the location, the food, but not the service. The bathrooms were kinda dingy too.

Enjoy,
Seth

missin' 3Tides...jonesin' for some extra crispy quesadillas. Opening day is Friday

:-P

Seth

Oh my God, Jack's totally rocks for sammies! In what seems to have become our informal tasting of sammie stops in Belfast, the all out winner so far is Jack's. We stopped for a roast beef and cheese with tomatos on fresh bread with mayo, and came out with a sandwich piled with about 3/4 lb of fresh red meat (sounds great huh?) cheese and fresh tomatos on squishy wheat bread....all for $3.50!!! Yea Jacks! Way to go......love it.

Enjoy,
Seth

I've been on this lunch kick thing lately...or it just might be that we are in Belfast usually around lunchtime and we might as well eat something. I guess we were going up to Bangor to test sit some more cars (not a lot up there suprisingly). So we decided on Belfast Bay Wrap on Beaver Street (say that ten times fast). Their website http://www.baywrap.com/gourmetWraps_w.cfm
to my suprise showed that they have two locations, one in Belfast and one in Augusta of all places. Charlie Laurel is the owner of both places and he came to Maine from Colorado to provide a better life for his kids. We met him at a wedding last year...a point about which he reminded us the other day. What we had a taste for was a "To Thai For" which is grilled chicken with a spicy red peanut sauce, jasmine rice, asian slaw ( green onion, carrot , cucumber) all “thaid” up in a cilantro tortilla. There was certainly enough in one wrap to feed the both of us. It was delicious, very healthy and juicy, but certainly a once a month treat as the wraps are pretty expensive at about $8.00 a pop. Charlie likes to think of these as a healthy fast food, and we certainly got out of there in about 7 minutes. I always forget that Bay Wrap is there, because I don't always walk down Beaver street, which is that diagonal street that runs from Post Office Square to the Co-op. Its a cute shop with two or three tables and several newspapers to peruse while you are waiting or when you eat there. Bay Wraps is a great alternative to a "normal sit-down lunch"

Enjoy,
Seth

We happened to be down in Rockland the other night and so decided to cruise the strip for dinner options. What I like about Rockland at night is that there are dinner options available for almost any taste buds. We looked into Amalfi, but the menu wasn't what we had in mind that night, so we bee-lined it to the Black Bull Tavern and sidled up to the copper bar where we proceeded to have an excellent dinner. The bar side of the tavern reminds me of places we frequented as youngsters straight out of college....one place in particular comes to mind: John Barleycorn's in Chicago where we used to go for all you can eat Lasagna on Wednesday nights.

I digress again. We ordered and I had pork potstickers and an excellent ceasar salad..perfect mixture of cheese and tangy lemon dressing. Greg had the fresh dipped and deep fried haddock with crispy fries and thank god the fries were perfectly done! He loved the haddock, but said it was a bit dry (I pointed out that he asked for it extra crispy, which tends to dry things out a bit) The place was just what we were looking for, that is until the drunk came in for dinner at the bar and kept making no sense. We left soon after his arrival. The black bull is a tavern experience. Its a better interior than, say Rollies in Belfast...more of a Boston or other big city pub with big windows out to the street.

Enjoy,
Seth

Got called for Jury duty today in Belfast. The way it works here is that you are required to serve for no longer than 15 days at a stretch every 5 years. They call in 150 potential jurors and we sat there all day while they picked six juries to handle the six cases they were hearing this month. I have not getting picked down to a science. I got dressed in casual chic (something that I NEVER do) goldtone cufflinks, buttondown shirt, nice pants and nice shoes (no tie) and a blazer. I also bring a big book to read and sit in the front row. I was called to potentially sit on four of the juries and never got picked for any of them....I've served my sentence for the next five years.
During our lunch break, I decided to try the Belfast Soup and Sandwich Shop in Post Office Square. Now it was 12:30 and the guy who runs the place was sitting at a table reading the paper....not a good sign. I hope for his sake that he isn't the owner of the shop, cause I recognized him from working behind the deli counter at Hannaford and I would want him to do really well if it was his place of business.
That said, I ordered a stuffed turkey sandwich which came with cranberry sauce, stuffing, turkey and cheese on chewy middle eastern bread. I have to say, the concept is great, but put some mayo on the sandwich and add more stuffing. There are a lot of restaurants that serve this sandwich and they are reallllllllly good when done right. I loved the bread on this one, but that and dry turkey were the only ingredients I tasted. Too bad. At $8.95 for a sandwich and an ice tea, I can go back to Bell the Cat and get a similar sandwich melted, with better cheese and pesto along with chips or pretzels..for 50 cents less. The guy has a great location downtown, he just needs to bump up his quality a notch or two.
The interior tries to be quaint with old repro photos of Belfast from the 19th century that you can't quite see when you are sitting at your booth. Booths are really small and hard to get in and out of if you happen to be 6'6" I didn't try the soups, and I might go back if only to give this struggling place another try.

Enjoy, Seth

Turkey Sammiches

On our way to Augusta yesterday to test sit cars (being 6'6" makes car shopping quite a different experience, I test sat in about 40 cars and actually drove just one, the Saab 9-3 sport-combi wagon which gets 32mpg on the highway!) we stopped for take out lunches in Belfast....Greg to McDonalds of course and me to Bell the Cat where I had a roasted turkey and munster melt with pesto mayo and lettuce and tomato on rye. It was delicious, but cost me almost $9.00 with a bottle of water. Great place for complicated sandwiches and nearby shopping at Reny's, our favorite. Greg says that he got a kick ass fresh made turkey sandwich at Jack's on High Street for about $3.50 the day before...Jeez with the savings, I'll be able to afford that Saab in just about 10 years, or at least be able to afford to fill up my hugh honking SUV !

Enjoy,

Seth

I've been asked to provide the recipe for my sausage puffs. I know the recipe is on here somewhere, but who knows where that might be! They are always a crowd pleaser and are super easy to make, if you like folding hundreds of little pieces of puff pastry over mounds of ground sausage....

1 sheet puff pastry (available in frozen food section)
1 roll of Jimmy Dean Sausage (50% less fat version so the puffs won't be so greasy)
1/2 cup yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspn cayanne pepper
couple of pinches of dried thyme
perhaps some rosemary or oregano

Thaw 1 sheet puff pastry. Preheat oven to 350

Saute onion and garlic together until transluscent (about 7 minutes)
add sausage and brown and then add spices. Cook sausage until done
allow mixture to cool completely.

Roll out puff pastry until thin and pliable. cut into squares. Take square and add heaping teaspoon of the sausage mixture into the middle and then fold corner over top, completely sealing mixture, place seam side down on baking sheet.

Bake in the middle of the preheated oven until pastry is golden brown. Serve with a mustard sauce or on their own. Makes about 3 dozen

Enjoy,
Seth

We had a fabulous Mardi Gras party last night and Greg made seafood jambalaya and a sausage chicken jambalya that were fantastic. Everyone raved and I was a little jealous that he made everything.

I was given the task of the appetizers, so I found a recipe on Epicurious that really seemed the say New Orleans. Apparently it is from Emeril's kitchen. I couldn't eat it because of the crabmeat, but I got my own raves last night for it. A friend who is originally from New Orleans said that it tasted just like aligator pie she used to get in her favorite restaurant. Another friend said we should open our own restaurant. I toyed with the recipe and added more of the goodies like mushrooms and crabmeat and sprinkled in some cayanne for a bit of a bite. It makes an enormous amount of food, so have extra bread around. Here is what I came up with.

Crabmeat and wild mushroom cheesecake

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion1 cup chopped red bell pepper
4-5 coarsely chopped assorted fresh wild mushrooms (such as crimini, oyster and stemmed shiitake)
32 oz of cream cheese softened
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayanne
4 large eggs
1/2 cup whipping cream
12-14 ounces crabmeat (about 2 cups), drained well, picked over
1 cup (about 4 ounces) grated smoked Gouda cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2-3 French bread baguette, sliced, toasted

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and bell pepper and sauté 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until liquid evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Cool.
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, salt and pepper in large bowl until mixture is fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then whipping cream. Mix in vegetable mixture, crabmeat, smoked Gouda and chopped parsley.
Pour filling into 9" springform pan. Bake until cake puffs and browns on top but center moves slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and cool. (Cheesecake can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cheesecake. Release pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter. Serve cold or at room temperature with baguette slices.
Serves 16 to 20 as an appetizer.

I also made my special sausage in puff pastry nibbles and those were gone on the first round.

Enjoy,
Seth

Greg brought home take out from Hellen's kitchen in Northport (its attached to the Mobil Station on Rte 1) Take my advice and stay away from here! He brought home philly cheese steak sandwich and chicken tenders and I must say that I can buy better low end frozen food and cook it myself. What a horror this place is.

Be afraid, be very afraid

Seth

Greg was "rich for a day" a few days ago...thats what we call it when we're flush with cash , cause thats about how long it lasts. I was having a bad day with pot hell (ever have a cupboard in your kitchen where all the junk goes? Its where we keep the baking and springform pans as well as the storage jars and lids...always like socks, you can never find the right lid for the container) and so was yelling up one side and down the other...his solution was to bring me a dozen long stemmed roses...good boy, Greg, gooood boy! and take me to lunch on our way to town for errands.
We decided on the Summer House Cafe on rte 1 just south of Belfast. Its been reviewed here, but not in a long time and not by both of us. First, what irked me about the place the first time we went in happened again right off the bat. The first time we went in, we must have been told 9 times by passing servers and other employees "someone will be with you in a minute." We finally left and went to Dudley's for breakfast that day. A year later, two people ran past us spewing out "someone will be with you in a minute" as they flew by...what I want to know is "who is this mythical someone???" Strike 1 Anyway, the place was pretty empty for lunch and our server came to ask if we wanted to try the black angus burger with steak fries, which Greg ordered, along with extra, extra, extra, extra, extra crispy fries, his usual. I had a chai and a chicken salad sandwich on marble rye. The server ran off to put Greg's fry order in pronto so that they would be done in time for lunch...which puzzled us at first...until the burger and fries arrived. {inserting a Greg says:} "Never offer fries on the menu unless you actually have a frier. Putting potato wedges or even "steak fries" from Sysco on a baking sheet and putting them in the oven is not fries, its roasted potatoes." Strike 2 The potatoes came out seasoned, somwhat brown on one side and raw on the other...it was just too sad to see happen to a good steak fry. My chai was good, but arrived luke warm and I could tell that the water hadn't boiled before it was added to the chai (tea drinkers are constantly disappointed in restaurants where we feel we get shafted..no one pays attention to the proper way to make tea...though the restaurant may have 12 different varieties of coffee) But I digress. My chicken sandwich was perfectly fine and tasty as was Greg's burger. We weren't blown away and probably will not make this place a destination. I will say that the place is at least bright and cheery, but for the same price, there are much better places for lunch in town.

Enjoy,
Seth

Last night we went out with two friends to the Penobscot Inn and Restaurant on Rte 1 just south of Belfast. This inn has changed hands three times in the 4 years we've been here. The previous owner teamed up with Belfast celeb chef Oliver Outerbridge and opened Oliver's inside the inn. When she lost interest in the whole enterprise, she closed the restaurant, subdivided the property and sold off the ocean lot with a huge house she built on it. Now the Inn is owned by a very nice couple who are running the restaurant themselves. The have three rooms full of tables which I belive can fit up to 40 people for dinner. A bonus is their sunday brunch, which we'll have to try sometime later.

We ate on the early side and when we got the menus, what suprised us most were the prices. Every entry came with soup, salad, dessert and coffee and also included choice of vegetable and either roasted or mashed potatoes. Thats a heck of a lot of food, even for yours truly. The wine list had mostly $20ish range wines and there is a full bar...a bonus for me. With two bottles of red wine, two mixed drinks and two glasses of white, the total bill for four of us was $150.00, not too shabby.

Anyway onto the review....The first thing we all agreed upon was the lighting which was perfect; medium level, not too dim or too bright with small lamps on the tables, white christmas lights hidden behind the curtains and some over heads. We sat in the old covered porch which will be very crowded for diners come summer if all the tables are filled, but since there were only three tables open while we were there, it wasn't bad. The atmosphere was really nice and cozy. Leather couches and reading material in the hall outside, and nice prints and painted woodwork on the porch.
Three of us ordered the NY strip steak based on the recommendation of a friend who had eaten there previously and raved about the steak. Greg had the chicken schnitzle, which was a breaded and fried chicken with vegetables. We all had the lentil soup and ceasar salads and the comments after we left were that it was a good concept, all the food for one price, but because it was food service food, the quality was lacking. The lentil soup had too much onion and lacked any outstanding flavor. the ceasar salads were really weak looking but did include nicely shaved parmesan cheese on top. I would suggest salad in a bag from Hannaford with the extra cheese on top, it looks and tastes much better than what we got. The steaks were really nice cut, but probably also food service. They seemed to be fairly well brined. Greg says his chicken was thin and dry. When I had a taste I was pretty amazed that there was NO flavor to the chicken at all. It is fairly simple to add a bit of cayanne and some garlic powder to add a fantastic flavor to otherwise bland food. There were two thumbs up for the asaparagus, but I have to say how disappointed I was with the mashed potatoes, which tasted as if they were right from the box. Mashed potatoes should be lumpy, have the skins on, be mixed with chicken broth and liberally salted. ITS NOT THAT HARD!!!!
For dessert we all chose different things. Greg had cheesecake from a box with sad blueberry sauce over the top. I had the warm double fudge brownie sundae which was excellent and our friends had the rhubarb trifle which was passable and icecream which was creamy and nice. I had a very well appointed pot of tea too.
The overall thought on the place was a 6 to 7 out of 10. and the comment that if the place just concentrated on making the main courses better and more hand made while leaving out the soup and salad, and charging for better desserts, the place would be a real winner. It has potential here, but just stop with the food service food!!!!!

Enjoy,
Seth

Just a short note to say that I made a cool discovery last night when I cooked acorn squash in the oven. I filled the cavities with chicken broth, salt, pepper, and celery seed and the squash imparted a great flavor to the broth and vise versa. So much healthier than filling with butter and brown sugar!
Were going out to a new restaurant tomorrow night, so stay tuned for a rip roarin' review.

Enjoy,
Seth

I was in Portsmouth a few weeks ago with my friend Christine and her friend Ted. We were driving up from Boston to attend an auction preview and in the 45 minutes it took us to drive there, Chris received about 6 phone calls from what I like to refer to now as her entourage. Everyone wanted to know if Chris was going to the preview (this was at about 8 am on a Saturday morning). I don't get that many phone calls in a week, much less on a saturday morning! Chris is my popular friend...I feel like so cool when she lets me hang out with her.
After we got to the preview, Chris collected her entourage and they planned a lunch outing. I had over 100 lots to examine at this auction, so I thought I might not go, but then I thought...hmmmm...I need SOMETHING to write about on this site. We took off in no less than five cars bound for the Rusty Hammer in downtown Portsmouth. The Rusty Hammer is pretty much a sports bar restaurant. They have a HUGE menu and their hamburgers, known as wimpys, are famous. I think I was the only one at the table of 13 people who didn't have a wimpy. Take my advice when eating at the Rusty Hammer, have the waffle fries. I think fries taste better when they are cut in the shape of waffles. My chicken tenders were actually homemade and very good and juicy. Everyone drank, except me since I had to go back to work, and the cocktails looked bountiful.
The RH seems like a great place to meet friends, drink at the bar, or sit at the table and watch "the game" Its a very friendly place, and has a TGI FRIDAY'S type of decor and feel, yet you know its not a chain restaurant.

Enjoy,
Seth

We had a great mini vacation visiting my parents in Florida...I say mini because who can actually feel that they are on vacation when visiting their parents? We were there for four days which was just enough time. One night we wanted to explore on our own, much to my mother's chagrin since she had a pork roast all set for that night. Greg and I left in the afternoon and went shopping. When we were hungry, we both decided not to try any of the restaurants on US41, which were either huge Italian eateries in pastel stucco buildings, or big chain places like Applebees and Ruth Chris. Its hard in Sarasota to find a restaurant with some charm, but we did it. We drove through the historic Burns Arts District where there are cute bungalows with overgrown front yards and huge trees arching overhead and found a bungalow with tikki torches lit outside, white christmas lights around the windows and a warm cozy look to it, so we stopped. Keep in mind that this was Tuesday, so the place was empty...and I mean, out of 30 tables, we were the only ones in the place. It was a bit steamy outside, but otherwise a beautiful night, so we sat outside and soaked in the chaaaam. The restaurant, called Le Cafe, is on 238 South Links Ave. We were fawned over by the server who gave us all the service we wanted, but also left us alone outside for good long stretches. Greg had the tomato, basil, and mozzarella stuffed meatloaf with a red wine reduction sauce and it was fantastic. Apparently it is a favorite of regular diners. I had an osso bucco risotto that was nice, but a bit soupy, so the texture was a bit off. What was great was having a nice meal in Florida where the food is made by hand rather than by Sysco. The wine, a merlot / shiraz blend, was very smooth and quite nice.

We then walked down main street in Sarasota and popped into a gelateria and had tasty servings of gelato. We took a late night drive to Saint Armands Circle on Longboat Key to window shop. What a very nice night indeed.

Back to cold Maine

Enjoy,
Seth

I just returned from auction viewing down in Boston. My friend Christine and I went to Skinner kind of late in the day and decided to stay downtown and have dinner. I picked her up at the airport and waited over an hour for her to land because of all those winds we had on Saturday. Chris was so happy to see me that she invited me to dinner and I accepted. We bumped into some collegues at Skinner and one suggested a great restaurant on Charles Street, close by and inexpensive by neighborhood standards. So we called for to say that we were just 5 minutes by foot and would they hold a table for us (no reservations) Ted, who recommended the place, was really familiar with the menu, which worked out great. We arrived at a non descript door to what we would term in Chicago, a garden restaurant, meaning one that was in the basement. And voila, we were at Artu at # 89 Charles Street. (Beacon Hill Location) This restaurant is not kind to tall people. I had to slump my shoulders a bit so my head wouldn't hit the ceiling. It is warm and inviting and extremely friendly.

We ordered a good bottle of Chianti (the most expensive wine on the menu is $58.00) and the vegetable antipasto which came heaping with gorgeous fresh squash, zucchini, carrots, green beans, and fried eggplant, drizzled in oil and perfectly grilled.
For dinner, I had the tortolini with sage butter and cheese sauce which was heavenly, though I do regret not going with my gut choice with was veal and gnocci. My two dinner companions both had the breaded chicken stuffed with prosciutto and spinach.

The meal was fantastic, the company scintillating, and the staff, so friendly and warm....all with no entree costing over $16.00. This is my kind of place. Sign me up again, I'm a regular now.

Enjoy,
Seth

Eureka, I've discovered a cool trick for my pizza dough. 1/2 cup corn meal in the dough makes it super crispy on the outside and still moist and chewy on the inside. Two packs of dry yeast into a cup of 120 degree warm water and let steep for 10 minutes. pour into bowl having 1 3/4 cups flour, salt to taste, rosemary to taste and 1/2 cup corn meal. Stir around with a fork until combined and then add about 1/4 cup olive oil and mix the rest by hand, kneading right in the bowl until elastic. If dough becomes sticky add more olive oil. When done, seal bowl with plastic wrap and set in warm place to rise for at least 1 hr.

When at least doubled in bulk turn out onto oiled cookie sheet with sides and work into corners. Add a drained can of delmonte organic diced tomatos, your favorite toppings and grated chedder cheese on top. (I used left over cheese from our last cocktail party, it was a particularly dry Irish Chedder from Dublin that tasted really good melted). Cook until dough is golden brown.

I'm off on the road today for work...don't panic food fans, I'll be back. Also giving you advanced warning that I'm leaving Monday for a week...might try and post while I'm gone, but the sun might lure to the beach instead. :-)

Enjoy,
Seth

Greg and I had one of the best lunches we've had in a long time on Valentine's Day. We decided to do something different to celebrate and be together with the dogs, cause going out to dinner on the biggest amature dining night of the year just doesn't appeal to me. Its another hallmark holiday as far as I'm concerned (though I did go out and find the biggest box of candy in the shape of a heart I could find at Reny's). We decided to take a hike up Mt. Megunticook in Camden and have a picnic at the top. Crazy you might say, but true. It was about 35 degrees and beautifully sunny, so we made sammiches from the pot roast I had cooked a few days before, added lots of mayo and jalapeno cheese, brought water and oranges and turkey hot dogs for the pooches and off we went. We haven't really been hiking that hard since the summer, and the snow made it more difficult, but is was truly amazing. I only wish I had brought my camera! We were the only ones up there which was suprising but fantastic, since we could unleash the hounds and really move on. It took us about an hour to reach the top, about 1/2 mile above the cross at Maiden Cliff and there on top we found the best spot, a natural bench out of the wind with a back support. I could have stayed there for hours and stared out at the view which spanned about 200 degrees from the ocean to Appleton Ridge and beyond. We pulled out our smooshed sammies and had the most glorious meal while the dogs ran around and did face plants in the snow (their favorite) and came over occasionally for hot dog treats.

The way down was treacherous and slippery and my knees still haven't recovered. 7 miles on the bike at the gym helped a bit yesterday, but I am still sore in the knees and groan and ache coming up the stairs.

Enjoy,
Seth

never put bacon in mac and cheese...its a sin!

never order your Thai food at spicy #5, you can't taste anything

never put mashed potatoes on your pizza

always make sure your turkey is thawed COMPLETELY before cooking it

always check to make sure you remove those packs of innards from your turkey before you put it in the oven

try and replace your spices at least every few years

throw away those bottles of red hots and sprinkles used for Christmas cookies after 3 years

never wait more than 20 minutes for a table at a restaurant...go somewhere else.

always sautee in 1/2 butter and half olive oil...it tastes so much better

nobody ever cooks better than you in your own kitchen

everyone likes soup

never cook when you don't feel like it...order out instead!

Enjoy,
Seth

While Greg and I were in New York we went to see Brokeback Mountain, which, by the time we got popcorn and sodas, cost us like $35.00. anyway, I liked the movie, loved the short story so much more...am a HUGE fan of Annie Proulx's work partially because she went to Colby. Anyway, I had been warned by many of my straight friends that this was such a powerfully moving film and that it made them think about it for a long time. I went in prepared to be awestruck and came out thinking it was a beautiful love story between two people...a bit Romeo and Romeo...textbook forbidden love case with nice scenery. I spoke with a lesbian friend and she had the same reaction...no big deal straight friends, its the way life is with us too....
We were starving after the movie and walked up to the Empire Diner on 61st and 1st ave for patty melts and fries. Nothing better than patty melts on rye bread with fries. The diner was almost empty and the food was not memorable, so I would recommend trying some other place i the hood instead.
I urge all of you to see brokeback if you haven't yet. If nothing else, it really reveals that love transends all else. We can all feel it and it shouldn't be a sin in the eyes of anyone.

Feeling a bit philosophical tonight. Certainly don't feel like cooking, but I must see what there is in the fridge for Valentine's dinner.

Enjoy and happy Valentiny's day
Seth

So I stole 3Tides asiago dip idea and served it last night and I've never seen 6 people devour a bowl of something so fast. I messed with the recipe a bit and here is what I came up with: 3/4 cup mayo, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup plus of asiago cheese, 1 or 2 jalapenos choppped, 3 cloves fresh garlic and fresh ground black pepper. Whip all these up in a bowl and let sit in fridge for the day to meld and get cold. Pop in oven and bake at 350 until top is brown. Serve with slices of toasted french bread brushed with garlic olive oil and fresh pepper. mmmmm

Got raves for the rest of the dinner too, which consisted of old standbys like beef wellington, roasted potatoes, sauteed butternut squash. People are amazed when they get any sort of home cooking because no one cooks anymore!

Enjoy,
Seth

Saturday night was the last night open for 3Tides until St. Partrick's Day, so we went down to say so long for the next five weeks. It was quiet when we got there and both David and Sarah found a rare moment to sit at our table with us. It was David's step-father's birthday, and so that was a festive treat to rib Phil and sing him happy birthday.
We tried the Spicy Asiago dip which was Sarah's contribution for the specials board. It was awesome and she gave me the recipe which I'll make tonight for our dinner party. I would change the proportions a bit so there is less mayo, hopefully making it less oily. Essentially its mayo, cheese, sundried tomatos, mushrooms, jalapenos and sour cream. The thinly sliced garlic french bread that came along with it was a perfect accompanyment.
Other than that, I had a spicy sausage quesadilla, which was more smoky and strong than spicy, not bad, but not was I was looking for.
Good travels to David who braved the snow storm yesterday by getting himself to Boston and on a plane to Ireland for a week. He called me from the airport to say that his flight would be leaving...a miracle. Have fun David!


Its about 6am and I'm about the start preparing dinner for tonight. I opened my big mouth a few weeks ago and told a friend who is moving that I would just love to make beef wellington for her since she has never had it. Well that morphed into a full blown dinner party complete with two celebration cakes, a flourless chocolate cake for her (which Greg will make) and a carrot cake for her husband. The celebration is of their time together. She is leaving town and he is staying here. How wierd is that?

Enjoy,
Seth

Its 6:30 am and Greg and I have both been up since about 3am with insomnia. Of course now I am getting tired and so will probably go back to bed or go to the gym...but its like 2 below out and, well, BRRRRRRRRRR! No wonder the dogs are still buried under the covers.

Thinking this morning about the restaurants in NY I visited with friends or as business dinners. An auctioneer in NH threw a big party at a rustic French restaurant on 56th and 2nd called Sans Coullotes, which I of course translate to "Without Pants" which was pretty apropos considering the group of folks there. Lots of drinking and waving of chicken legs from the peanut gallery. I walked in and an old boss of mine from 15 years ago was there. She is a big time Chicago auctioneer, but she wasn't invited to the party...wierd to see her there after so many years and wierd to see her slink out when the host kind of made a scene about her being there. Anyway.....1/2 way through dinner I realized that I had left the iron on in the apartment, so I dashed up, fled in a cab, turned the iron off in the apartment and dashed back to the party...my roast chicken was still warm too. The place was good but the whole scene was so surreal that I can't really review the food since it was a preset menu..but I had to share the iron story.

A few nights later some old friends took me to Patsys Pizza on 69th and 2nd. Its a very convenient place for the neighborhood, very hipster place to take your family and babies if you are a young upper east sider. Personally, I would rather have real New York Pizza from Rays or someplace else. Trendy pizza has its place, but not in the pizza capital of the world. I can't believe that by the time we left, there was a waiting line of about 40 minutes....I just can't imagine that anymore. I have a tough time standing around waiting for a table for an hour in an overpriced, crowded restaurant. Gimme the diner down the street and a patty melt with fries and I'll be so much more content.

Enjoy,
Seth

Made pot roast the other day for Greg so he can have pot roast sammiches for lunch during the week. I took the broth, strained it, separated out the fat and had a beautiful beef broth to which I added lentils and carrots. It didn't make much more than two bowls full, but it was a perfect treat for me. Tres hearty, but healthy too.

For a soup today, I thawed some frozen chicken stock and added it to two Yukon Gold potatoes, a bunch of cut up baby carrots and a diced leek with garlic. Then added some yellow curry, salt and pepper and let it simmer down and cook. When tender, I added a bunch of fresh baby spinach, and a broccoli head and cooked for a bit longer then ran the whole thing through a blender to puree. It was a healthy alternative to cream of spinach soup and hugely tasty.

Enjoy,
Seth

I was reading our local online paper www.villagesoup.com and found that they have a new auction site where lots of restaurants I never knew exitsted seem to be offering gift certificates for food. The White House, a B&B in Belfast, has a dinner menu on the weekends. The Mermaid Restaurant at the Homeport Inn in Searsport is another place I've never heard of....jeez, I think ole' Maine Foodie has to get out more. Anyway I am tempted to bid. Dinner for two with a value of $50.00? hmmmm sounds like a bargain, I wonder what the fine print says!

Enjoy,
Seth

Amidst my rambles about our trip through NY, I wanted to stop and add a review of the Cedar Crest Motel Restaurant in Camden. We stopped there the other day after hiking the hounds on some coastal mountain land trust trails. Hungry and tired, we walked in and immediately noticed the changes from the "diner" it used to be. The kitchen has been closed in, save for a window to the pizza oven. The new walls have been painted a great deep yellow color. The owners put in a pizza and bread oven and hired a pizza chef. I have to tell you that the pizzas are fantastic. The crusts are hand thrown and have a great texture I had a sausage pesto pizza and Greg had fish and chips which he said was soggy and not as good as it used to be. That aside, the place was packed, almost every table was taken up. The establishment was also giving out samples of crusty artisan bread that they were baking on the premises. $3.00 a loaf and it was really very good.

Nicely done Cedar Crest.

Enjoy
Seth

Ok, ok, here I am. Did you all email each other and decide to inundate me with emails about my not posting for weeks and weeks? It was very touching to get so many emails in the last few days asking where I was and if I was alright. Thanks, I'm fine...its just winter here and there are projects to get done. Greg and I were in New York for a week and made dinner at home just one night...meaning that there is a lot to discuss...now if I could just remember the names of the restaurants!

The first night we were in New York, our friend Joan, of Joan and David, which is how she introduces herself, took us to this marvelous Greek restaurant called Pilos. It is down in alphabet city on 7th between 1st and A, an area where I used to live when I was just out of college and interning at a museum in NYC. Well let me tell you, that neighborhood has changed a bit. Its very swank now, the chic hip urban place to live...yuck.
The restaurant's entrance is very unassuming. When you walk in, you are enveloped by the warmth of the place. The owners comissioned a local potter to make hundred and hundreds of terra cotta vessels which they hung from the ceiling all tight together. Some have light fixtures installed inside the jugs and vases. The tables are close together and I was struck by the fact that there were two greek couples eating at the table next to us. The food was incredible. We ordered a bunch of appetizers, including stewed fava beans, broiled cheese, marinated, grilled prawns, hearty meatballs in savory sauce and a grilled vegetable platter. It was enough food to feed an army. We were completely sated and rolled ourselves into a cab after dropping Joan off at her place.
For any reader who might remember wearing Joan and David shoes or clothes, know that Joan is well and is now a professor at Columbia School of International Business. As she likes to tell it, she picked me up at Sotheby's one afternoon several years ago when I had my head under a chest of drawers. She came over to inquire why the chest had such a bold auction estimate. We ended up having lunch and have been great friends ever since.

Enjoy,
Seth