Tag Archives: food

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Product Hell.

January 21, 2020 Rivergirl 47 Comments

Have you ever walked through a store and spotted products that make you do a double take?

I do it quite often and always stop to take pictures to rant/blog/post about later.

Here are a few of my latest finds:

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Pickle In A Pouch.

Unrefrigerated and languishing for God knows how long by the cash register?

That’s just wrong.

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But Big Papa anthropomorphized Pickle…

The Portly Pickle who’s arms are open wide and ready to wrap you in his pickley goodness??

So very, very wrong.

Then… there was this:

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A remote control Tom Brady helicopter.

Maybe Bill Belichick will use these to spy on opposing teams from now on, who knows.

But I have to admit…

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I think they got Tom’s shade of lipstick just right.

And finally, there was this wireless keyboard and mouse I ordered from Amazon for the husband.

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Which looked great until we opened it and found it didn’t include a dongle. I went back to the Amazon listing and it said “Just plug and play”, so where the hell was it?

Let’s check the instructions.

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“Keybord”?

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Yeah.

Shame my Japanese is a little rusty.

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P.S. The dongle?

Hidden in a compartment on the back of the mouse.

It’s always the last place you look.

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Cape Cod Day 8…. turkeys, traffic and booze. The way most of our vacations end.

January 20, 2020 Rivergirl 16 Comments

Day 8 dawned bright and sunny and it was time to pack up and head for home. Of course packing means different things to men and women. It takes me considerable time…. seeing that I actually unpack my suitcases and put things away.

Remember? Me unpacked…

Husband’s idea of unpacked…

Men.

You really are a separate species.

The local turkey brigade came to wish us farewell.

And soon we were crossing the famous Sagamore Bridge and leaving Cape Cod.

It was a wonderful trip, and we enjoyed every minute of it. So much to see and do…. I’m sure we’ll go back someday.

Next step?

Boston.

And it’s horrible, absolutely inescapable, bumper to bumper traffic. If you can avoid it?

By all means, do so.

Cruising into New Hampshire on I-95 means one thing. The New Hampshire State Liquor store…. no tax!

If we drive to our vacation? We stop here on the way back…. you almost have to. It’s like a rite of passage for New Englanders.

Snow.

Lobster.

And tax free booze.

What’s not to love?

My haul this time included a few Game of Thrones inspired Johnnie Walker Christmas presents.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

And here’s a bone I’ll throw to all my food lovers.

Lunch.

At a riverside restaurant.

With an amazing beer selection.

And a list that went on and on and on…

To heck with the food…

I could just happily sit there and drink all day.

But yes, food.

Homemade chicken tenders and side salad for the husband.

And a massive portion of Truffle fries to accompany my chicken Caesar salad wrap.

So there you have it, the November Cape Cod trip.

The end.

Finito.

Done!

While I realize it took me until January 20th to finish this series, as I sit here typing this… I still have over 2 weeks worth of Williamsburg, Virginia Christmas vacation photos to sort through and post. So don’t be surprised if you’re seeing Santa and his reindeer right through April….

You’ve been warned.

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Cape Cod Day 7… Highfield Hall, some twigs and the last supper.

January 19, 2020 Rivergirl 23 Comments

Since we were in the area we thought we’d check it out.

The Hall however, had other ideas and was locked up tight.

But there were twigs.

Lots and lots….

Of twigs.

Cleverly wound twigs.

Twigs you could walk through.

Big twigs.

Really big twigs.

Respect the twigs.

Got it.

There was also a sunken garden….

That was mostly dead since it was the middle of November.

But it had whimsical birds on a polka dot tree in the middle, so that more than made up for it.

Photo of the rear of the house we couldn’t get in.

Yes, it was a banner visit.

Good thing there were twigs so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

Blah, blah, blah… I know, you’re getting bored and are silently screaming for food.

Our last meal in Cape Cod ended up being at the Stomping Grounds Grille in Buzzards Bay.

And while buzzards aren’t usually the best dinner companions…

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This place looked promising.

It was basically a lovely old home…

Retro fitted to a restaurant/bar.

And while I was walking around…

I discovered a theme.

A rock and roll theme….

And when I saw Jerry Garcia on the shelf?

I felt right at home.

See? My kind of place…

The cocktail list made me smile and order a few.

As we chatted with the very personable bartender who told me there was a turntable in the back room with an album collection…. and we could play anything we liked.

We were having such a good time I almost forgot to take pictures of the food, but here’s their stellar broccoli cheese soup. Soooo good.

Secret ingredient? Nutmeg.

I’m afraid I don’t even remember what the husband had…. but here’s my crab cake burger with side spinach salad and cole slaw.

Yum.

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Cape Cod Day 6… antiques, cocktails and dinner on the water.

January 15, 2020 Rivergirl 15 Comments

Because you know no road trip with my husband is complete without a visit to an antique store…

I’d managed to make it almost 6 full days without one, but my luck ran out.

He scoured the stalls…

Thoroughly perused the cases…

Chuckled at the creepy mid century Santas.

And then….

Bought a folding freight sled.

And if that wasn’t bad enough? The damned thing was from Maine!

Jesus wept.

And I drank.

It was the only appropriate response.

So we ended the afternoon at a wonderful waterfront restaurant…

Called Fisherman’s View.

Where I worked my way down the cocktail list.

Have you ever had Casoni 1814 in a mixed drink? Ooh la la!

I hadn’t… but will be looking for it soon.

Food?

Yes, they had that too. But since it was late afternoon and I wouldn’t be cooking when we got back, we opted to stay and wait for the dinner menu…

And watched the non stop crabbing…

As well as some tugs escorting a barge through the Cape Cod Canal.

Crab cake appetizer for me….

Butternut squash and apple bisque for the other half.

And as evening rolled around…

Neither one of us managed to get past that night’s specials.

Scallops Spaghettini for me…

Beef tenderloin for the hubs.

Both were superb…. and I cursed the the fact that we hadn’t found this place earlier in our trip.

Replete…

We took a short walk around the harbor.

Enjoyed the sunset.

And the view of that wonderful restaurant lit up in the distance.

Back at the resort condo, the husband was knee deep in the impeachment coverage on MSNBC.

A guaranteed way to kill my buzz…

So I escaped upstairs to my nook overlooking the living room to read….

And (not quite) drunkenly play with my phone.

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Cape Cod Day 5…. P’town in the rain.

January 12, 2020 Rivergirl 23 Comments

Done with our climbing for the day, we explored Provincetown.

In the rain…

From our car.

If I’d had foul weather gear like this fellow…

I might have been more inclined to wander.

P’town is tourist mecca in the summer.

Jam packed with people and bumper to bumper traffic.

On a rainy day in early November?

A veritable ghost town.

Oh well…

At least we didn’t have trouble finding a parking spot for lunch.

At the Squealing Pig.

Good drinks…

Great clams…

What more do you need?

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Cape Cod Day 4. Farewell to Martha’s Vineyard, hello to Bad Martha’s beer. And then some Italian.

January 9, 2020 Rivergirl 36 Comments

While we’d planned on taking the 8:30pm ferry back to Woods Hole…

We arrived early and were put on an earlier freight run.

Yay! Third car on, I figured we’d be the third car off.

I was wrong.

So very wrong…

But it was a gorgeous night for a boat ride.

And for some full moon photography.

Even if some of the shots went a little wonky.

Before we knew it we were pulling into port.

And the doors were opening…

Damn.

Do I take fascinating videos or what?

Naturally, we were almost the last to leave.

But that’s alright, it was a wonderful day and a memorable adventure of a fabulous place.

Next stop?

Beer.

We’d passed this place in Falmouth a few times during our trip and decided that night we’d stop.

Bad Martha’s, a brewery from Edgartown on the Vineyard… from whence we just came, but managed to miss while we were there.

It was a fun space.

Loud and exuberant…. probably like Martha herself.

We did a flight.

And sadly weren’t impressed with the beer, the really uncomfortable metal tractor seats or the small menu. Basically a few pizzas or a cheese plate.

So we moved on to Mashpee and found a great little Italian restaurant.

Cranberry margarita in hand..

We drooled over the menu.

Veal Portofino for me…

(Okay, 2 cranberry margaritas in… I admit the quality of photography tends to decline.)

Chicken Florentine for the husband.

And a classic on the television at the bar.

(I still have my original album, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Hey Bartender!)

Dessert was a shared Limonatta cream cake. Husband said he didn’t want any and ended up eating 2/3rds of it.

Light as air and positively delicious, how could he not?

One more slightly inebriated photo later…

(It was a nice looking place, you’ll just have to take my word for it.)

Day 4… over and out.

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Cape Cod Day 4, Black Dog Tavern, Vineyard Haven.

January 6, 2020 Rivergirl 33 Comments

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If you live in New England, I can guarantee you’ve seen numerous bumper stickers, t shirts and assorted swag with the ubiquitous black dog silhouette.

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But on day 4 of our fabulous Cape Cod adventure, we had lunch at the real thing.

The original Black Dog Tavern on Martha’s Vineyard.

For a sweetly illustrated history, click here.

It’s a rustic little place…

With some fabulous views.

Filled with maritime history as well as the flavor of the sea….

And on the day we had lunch there?

Even an adorable real life black dog on the beach.

(No worries… it was a cool day, he had water and his owners checked on him regularly.)

Cocktail?

Don’t mind if I do….

Since we were at the Black Dog, I tried a Black Dog Orange Crush.

Which might have to become my new favorite way to wake up the day.

Happily sipping, we enjoyed watching the ferry.

The boats..

The harbor…

And local craft beer disappear.

But yes, the food. We came for food…

Quahog chowder. Thick, creamy and delicious with homemade croutons made for a nice start.

What’s a quahog you ask?

It’s a large hard shelled clam.

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Isn’t that just typical human behavior?

Name your pet, then kill him to find out how old he is.

Sorry Ming, you deserved better. And I sincerely hope you weren’t in our soup.

I was in the mood for a good chargrilled burger and this one didn’t disappoint.

The husband? He inhaled two dozen mussels.

Replete, we said goodbye to the real black dog….

The views…

The pier….

And the original Black Dog Tavern.

Fervently wishing they would come to Maine and build one on our coast!

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Cape Cod Day 4….Martha’s Vineyard

January 2, 2020 Rivergirl 15 Comments

The forecast for Veteran’s Day was warm and bright so we decided to book passage on the Steamship Authority’s car ferry over to the Vineyard. This is something I’ve always wanted to do and I was tickled pink. Having no idea where, how much, or when…. we dropped by the ticketing office the night before and were rewarded with these –

Free tickets for the husband.

How sweet was that?

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We reserved a spot on the 9:30am ferry from Woods Hole and were told to arrive half an hour before departure. Ever the type A personality, I made sure we were there 45 minutes prior and as soon as we pulled up, they pointed us towards the 8:15 freight trip and boom!

We were on board.

With a giant load of Christmas trees.

Being used to small Maine island ferries, I was amazed at how large these ships were.

And how clean, and how spacious, and what great views they afforded.

We happily roamed around taking pictures…

And found a snack bar!

Okay…. it wasn’t open off season, but still. If you want a snack on a Maine ferry? You better dig in your purse for that crushed pack of Nabs from 2003.

And then, before we knew it….

We were there.

Approaching Vineyard Haven.

And yes, it was just as beautiful and quintessentially coastal New England as you would imagine.

Here’s another ferry getting ready to depart, so you can see how large they are.

We had booked an 8:30pm trip back, so we arrived ready to spend the whole day exploring.

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Of course none of the tourist information kiosks were open this time of year and we had no utter clue where we were going. ( I didn’t find this map until we were ready to leave.)

So we just drove.

Past weather beaten waterfront homes…

And homes…

That had their own private lighthouses.

How cool is that?

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Home.

December 30, 2019 Rivergirl 27 Comments

We’re back from 2 fabulous weeks in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Safe, sound and buried in dirty laundry.

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It was a wonderful trip…. and yes, you’ll hear about it ad nauseam in the near future.

But while I tried to keep up with comments on my mobile, I’m afraid I didn’t have the time ( Or the inclination, let’s be honest! ) to read all your blogs while we were gone.

Apologies.

I was busy biscuit and gravy-ing my way across the south….

And that requires dedication.

( Not to mention larger pants. )

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So here’s hoping you all ring in the New Year with the ones you love!

(Or the ones you can tolerate with a few drinks under your belt… whatever works. )

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Cape Cod Day 3… Plimoth Plantation. Goats, beer, a cranky llama and the Mooflower

December 29, 2019 Rivergirl 26 Comments

Continuing through the English settlement we saw garden plots…

And goats.

Who liked a good chin scratch.

I mean really liked a good chin scratch. This guy followed me the entire length of the fence.

We met a young man chopping firewood…

Who when asked what was in his flask, replied “Beer, of course. The water will make you sick.”

We discovered beer was quite popular in those days.

And if I had to cook all my meals in that contraption behind the women?

I’d drink beer everyday as well.

Colonists popped out at you everywhere…

Some friendly…

Some not.

This woman was the Governor’s wife and therefor had a slightly better home. With wood floors and a proper chimney.

Although the quality of workmanship seemed about the same.

Finished with the colony, we moved on to the museum with it’s eel pot…

It’s sea suit.

And because I knew you’d ask…

And it’s Mayflower provision list.

250 lbs of bacon and 280 lbs of butter… That will hold me for 8 weeks, but what will the rest of you eat?

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Though I do have to say, that list seems a little suspect. Considering margarine was invented in 1868 and Rice Krispies in 1927…I highly doubt they were aboard the original ship in 1620.

WTH?

But the museum did have the Mooflower….

And an anatomically correct, trouser wearing, sea going cow vessel?

Makes up for a lot of historical inaccuracies.

Last up was the petting barn where we found…

Yes.

One rabbit…

Apparently the pilgrims ate everyone else before we got there.

But then we saw…

So we met Hyacinth.

And may I just say?

She was a bitch.

I tried to pet her and almost lost a finger. She tried to head butt a few children and looked ready to go 12 rounds with a service dog that walked by.