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I saw this on a passing vehicle the other day and I have to admit on first glance my mind went to a bad place…
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And while I’ve never even considered moving to New Mexico?
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A want ad like that could change my mind.
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For all the clueless seafood consumers out there. Always choose the pink scallops.
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And finally… is it me? Or is this hat mannequin I saw at a vintage clothing shop a little too happy?
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The husband and I were on our way home from a sad visit with his elderly uncle the other day when he surprised me with the offer to stop at one of my favorite watering holes.
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I say it was a surprise because while I love The Blind Pig and their creative pours, hubby isn’t a fan of their food and never wants to visit.
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Empty.. since it was the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week, I dove right in.
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First up? A blackberry vanilla martini.
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The speed at which it disappeared literally raised my husband’s eyebrows.
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And while we weren’t there for a meal we did order a few nibbles. Barbecue wings for the husband, which he enjoyed despite his misgivings about the kitchen.
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And a massive plate of what turned out to be fabulously fresh and juicy chicken fingers for moi. I could only get halfway through the plate but they were so good they even made my other half agree he may have to reverse his ban on eating here.
Oh, cocktail #2?
A crisp and delightful pear mojito.
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Corn star.
Lawyers, guns and money.
Even the drink list will make you smile.
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While I could have happily sat there and drank all day, my final libation was a strawberry rhubarb margarita. Tasty, but honestly a bit too sweet for me.
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Pardon their typo at the end. With the quality of cocktails, I’m surprised the typist made it that far without errors.
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If you’re ever in Gardiner, Maine drop by.
You won’t be disappointed.
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I love a good festival.
In Maine we have the Lobster festival, the Clam Festival, and the Oyster festival. We have a Blueberry Festival, a Whoopie Pie festival and a Chowder festival. Folk, Reggae and Blues Festivals? Yup. We’ve got those too. Hell… we even have the White Nose Pete Fly Fishing Festival.
For my fishing obsessed readers, the legend of White Nose Pete –
https://midcurrent.com/stories-essays/the-legend-of-white-nose-pete/
Yes, festivals are grand.
Except this one… which makes me glad I don’t live in Dorchester County Maryland.
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Weird, not to mention disturbing.
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I can honestly say I’ve never seen anyone so excited about skinning a muskrat.
And to be honest, I hope I never do.
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Damn.
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Sorry, but that is not my idea of festive.
Oily goat with fish sauce?
Nope. Not for me.
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Good grief.
Whatever happened to baton twirling?
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If you read part one, you’ll know I was thoroughly enjoying this thoughtfully designed new restaurant.
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The fact that it was happy hour and if you sat at the bar their speciality cocktails were half price may have had something to do with that.
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Good thing it was a beautiful slab of granite.. because my bar bills are legendary.
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These were my three choices for the afternoon starting with the Winter Lux.
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A lovely combination of tart and sweet with a seriously booze soaked cherry at the finish.
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Next up was the Sicilian Sour which I expected to be smooth and spicy but was really just a serious bolt of brightly colored bourbon. Not complaining mind you, just surprised.
Since appetizers were half price as well, I had some delightful arincini with herbed mustard sauce and pecorino crema.
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Husband went with the mussels which were served with grilled lemon, heirloom tomatoes, shallots and fennel with a garlic white wine Pernod butter sauce.
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And chickpea fritters to mop up the sauce.
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My final drinkie poo was the Cold Night Collins, a delightfully cool and crisp citrus concoction with an herbal undertone.
And because we were actually there to try the food, I chose the bucatini carbonara.
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Which unfortunately was sub par. While the pasta was homemade, the dish was dry, uninteresting and lacking in flavor. And sadly, the husband didn’t fare any better.
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Half full from all the mussels, he went light with a salad and Sicilian pizza combo. Which had to be sent back because it was stone cold and hard as a rock. And while we assumed they would make him a new one, it seems they just threw it back in the oven to reheat because on return he flipped it over to find it was black as charcoal. Our server immediately took it off the bill and offered a substitute but by that time the husband decided to skip the entree and go straight to dessert.
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Which I have to say more than made up for the lousy pizza. Tiramisu cheesecake with Kahlua. Fabulous!
And because it would be rude to let him eat sweets alone…
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Key lime crème brûlée for moi. Ooh la la! This made up for my mediocre pasta as well.
I talked to a friend the other day whose granddaughter works there and she told me they’re still experiencing the growing pains most new restaurants suffer. Help is hard to find these days and good kitchen staff can be even harder. But we enjoyed it and there was enough on the plus side for us to return.
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If nothing else, I’ll just sit at the bar and stare at the giant fish.
👍
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Because my husband always says I’m full of it.
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I’ve never worn an apron in my life so I’m well on my way.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten has lived with us for 2 years but never slept on the spare bed… until now. Having made friends with the stuffed platypus it is currently his favorite spot for naps.
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Holy crap on a cracker! This makes me very glad I don’t live in Brazil.
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I love quick and easy crock pot recipes… and while this sounded like the perfect winter comfort food, I have been unable to find the frozen noodles it requires. Does such a thing even exist? Have you ever seen them…
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten is not thrilled with snow and shoveled pathways.
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Winter walkies are lasting approximately 2 minutes these days.
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Spotted this in the crap cave cellar the other day but was unable to peruse the contents as the husband had it sealed in plastic. From the look of the cover, my idea of hippies and their idea of hippies are two different things.
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While I don’t usually share recipes… I tried this one the other day and thought it was quite tasty, as well as easy to make, so here we are.
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Saw this grill set in a store the other day and thought they must have been made with Shaquille O’Neal in mind. That’s my foot for size reference.
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Talk about a big burger. Damn.
And lastly, here’s Lord Dudley having his morning coffee.
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Don’t worry, he doesn’t really drink any… just tries to lick the residue of cream.
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As a rule I’m not a breakfast person. A glass of tea and a berry banana protein smoothie works for me most days. But after an early morning appointment the other day my othet half was craving eggs Benedict so we searched for a restaurant.
When a little family run place in the middle of nowhere called the Countryside Diner presents itself, you can’t say no.
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I have to say I was surprised at the burgundy and gold whore house color scheme. It totally clashed with their logo.
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But I’d read good reviews so we plunged into the breakfast menu – where all the combos came with beans. You know you’re in Maine when.
Not being a baked bean lover, especially at 9:00 am I chose two small sides… biscuit and sausage gravy with home fries.
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The husband’s Benny was rich and tasty but correct me if I’m wrong, breakfast shouldn’t be grey… right? My meal tasted as good as it looked, which is to say horrible.
When we lived down south I acquired a mild biscuits and gravy addiction. When made properly? It’s the nectar of the gods. Sadly up here in bean country they can’t make it to save their lives… but hope springs eternal and I order it when I see it, usually to my disappointment.
And before you say why don’t you make your own at home… the husband hates it. Ever tried to make biscuits and gravy for one? Not possible.
The search continues.
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You can’t use it, but it might make you smile.
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Men. You really are all the same..
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Since the average age of pickleballers is 55 and up? I’m guessing this is not something to be celebrated.
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I have to admit those are two body parts I never thought had anything in common.
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How utterly bizarre.
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Disappointing, I know.
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Sometimes the perfect wildlife shot presents itself and all you have to do is snap.
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Our backyard deer really like their snow paths.
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Sometimes you order a blueberry vodka lemonade and it’s literally blue.
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Sometimes your husband drags things up from the crap cave cellar, and while they’re technically not crap? You still stub your toe on one of them when you round the corner because you didn’t know they were there and yell at him to move them forthwith.
😠
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Sometimes you want a little heat, but not anal angst level heat.
Ouch!
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My husband is a late night snacker. No matter how large and satisfying a dinner I serve him, he always has room for popcorn.
And since we’ve established he hasn’t worked out the proper bowl to kernel ratio of his new air popper…
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It won’t surprise you to learn that every morning when I walk into the kitchen I begin to search for strays.
Stray unpopped kernels on the floor that I find with my bare feet…
Stray unpopped kernels that land in my cutlery caddy…
Stray popped kernels that fly into the sink and behind the microwave…
But this morning?
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It seems the bird caught one.
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🤣
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River's world..... 