Down South...Day Seventy-One...Monday, February 8, 2010

By the time that I woke up this morning, Kathy was long gone for work. So...I had a few cups of coffee, watched the news, did a little Internet work, and packed up to leave.
By 10:30 AM, I was on the road to visit Dave and Marschia Valentovich in Wilmington, Delaware. Ah...but first...there's that stop that I have to make in my hometown, Philadelphia. I checked the Internet this morning, and I got a list of the 10 Best Places for Hoagies in Philadelphia. A place called Pastificios is both open on Mondays and on my way.
If you've never had a Philadelphia "Hoagie", you've missed out on one of the great sandwiches of the world. Premium Italian coldcuts, lettuce, onion and tomato...dressed wit a little olive oil and oregano...and the BUN. A hoagie bun here is unique...some say it's the water in Philly...in any case, it's crusty without being hard and has some special property that keeps it from getting soggy.
The folks at Pastificios are friendly (this is, after all, the "City of Brotherly Love"), particularly when I mention that am from Philly and enjoying my fist hoagie in several years. I also pick up some TastyCakes (yum!)...Butterscotch Crimpets and Peanut Butter CandyCakes are my favorits!).
Then, it's back on the road to Dave and Marschia's. Marschia is home from school as a result of the aftermath of "Snowmageddon", so we are all able to sit down and enjoy our hoagies together. They are, by the way, outstanding!
Then, as close friends do, we sit around and talk about all of the great times that we have had together. They've stocked a bottle of Bushmills, so I have a few of those while Marscia prepares dinner.
And...it's not just "any" dinner. Tonight, it's homemade beef stew, homemade dinner rolls, and homemade Tiramisu...and, let me tell you, it's all GREAT! Marscia is one of the best cooks that I know.
I bring in my iPod and boombox so that we can listen to a little Frank"...that's Frank as in Sinatra. It's a relaxing evening...all the more so with Dave and Marscia's five cats...just like home...maybe even better.
There is, however, one "dark cloud" on the horizon. I managed to survive "Snowmageddon" by hightailing it out of Washington and up to Princeton, but now a new horror is on the way. "Snowpocalypse" is on it's way tomorrow...and they're predicting 18" to 24" inches here tomorrow night and Wednesday morning. Wilmington hasn't even dug out of the 24" from the last storm...so...this is going to be interesting.
I'll post photos for this post later...the WiFi at Borders leaves MUCH to be desired.

Down South...Day Seventy...Sunday, February 7, 2010

Spent a relaxing day today touring around Princeton with Bill and Kathy. Stopped for lunch (French Onion Soup) and a glass of wine before visiting the Hun School of Princeton University. The Hun school has many famous alumni...including Attila (the) and Catherine Margoles (most of you know her as Spike!).
We took Bill to the train station around 4:30PM, so he could catch a train to Newark Airport and the flight back to Detroit.
Kathy and I watched the Super Bowl (Go Saints!) and enjoyed a "Brooklyn Style" Pizza and several glasses of wine.
Another great day!

"Bonus" Photos..."Snowmageddon" Hits the East Coast!

Down South...Day Sixty-Nine...Saturday, February 6, 2010...Momofuku Noodle Bar!!

This is going to be a great day! Things get off to a great start when I wake up to the smell of freshly-brewed coffee.
Bill and Kathy are hard at work whipping up a wonderful breakfast...Bill's famous "Migas" (scrambled eggs with onions, peppers, hot sauce, cheese and crumbled Doritos) and Kathy's French Toast with apples and cranberries. Soon, Roger and Gretchen arrive, and we are enjoying a Bloody Mary (or two). This breakfast is the best...all the more so enjoyed in the company of four of my closest friends.
We have been spared the worst of "Snowmageddon" here in Plainsboro, NJ...only about 4"...but it's still cold and blustery outside. The light snowfall bodes well for Roger and Gretchen as they are heading back to Strongsville, Ohio today. By 10:00AM or so, they are out the door and on their way.
Ah...but the day is just getting started. By 10:45AM or so, bill, Kathy and I are bundled up and head out the door to the Princeton Junction Train Station. And, around 11:30, we're on a train for the one hour and fifteen minute trip to New York City. So much snow flies around the outside of the train as we speed toward the city that I expect to see "Strelnikov" at any minute.
Before you know it, we're at Penn Station and hopping in a cab for the thirty block or so ride to...Momofuku Noodle Bar! Last year's Summer Picnic ("Casual Asian") was base, in large part, on recipes from this restaurant. It's the hottest, hippest and coolest place in New York. As soon as we walk in the door, we can tell that this is a great place...it's packed and all of the customers look happy as they eat away. We've got both a waiter as well as a waitress, and they are very nice and friendly. I'm a big fan of this restaurant, and the staff enjoys talking about different recipes. Bill and split a large Okinawan beer and a carafe of cold sake as we all go over the menu...it all looks good! Then...we're ready to order...an order of the famous pork buns and and a duck confit salad for appetizers...cold spicy noodles for Kathy and I...and a braised pork (head meat) salad for Bill. Everything is superb...an intriguing combination of flavors, textures and colors.
For dessert, our waitress suggests a short walk to another place in the Momofuku chain of restaurants...Momofuku Milk Bar. Another great place with loads of cool desserts! Kathy gets a "compost" cookie (pretzels, cereal and other cool stuff baked into a large cookie)...Bill opts for the "Crack Pie" (almost pure sugar, it looks a lot like what they call "Chess Pie")...and I order a huge slice of Malted Chocolate Layer Cake (outstanding!!).
Now thoroughly stuffed, we head back out into the cold in search of a friendly tavern. After a few "misses", we finally hit on a small local place called the "International Bar" for a glass of wine/beer/etc.
Then, we're back in a cab on our way to Penn Station for a train home. We're in luck as we walk through the station, out to the tracks and right on to a Princeton-bound train. An hour and fifteen minutes later, we're back at Bill and Kathy's.
Now...if you were to think that this day has finally come to an end...you would be WRONG. There's still one last adventure left ahead. At 7:30PM, we're back on the road to Trenton, NJ for dinner at the Spanish restaurant, Malaga. Empanadas and Mussels in Green Sauce for appetizers...Bacon-wrapped Scallops and Grilled Filet for Kathy...A Seafood Casserole for Bill...and Grilled Baby Lamb Chops for me. Throw in two pitchers of Red Sangria and a couple of glasses of Spanish Rioja...and it's an excellent meal. I barely have room for a piece of Banana Coconut Cake.
Then, it's back to Bill and Kathy's. We watch a little TV, but we are all pretty whipped after a full day...a GREAT day! Off to bed!

Down South...Day Sixty-Eight...Friday, February 5, 2010..."Snowmageddon"

I wake up at 8:30AM to the smell of freshly-brewed coffee downstairs...and there's a kitty cat next to my bed! Roxy is hard at work preparing a fabulous breakfast...bacon scrambled eggs, french toast, sausage...it's all good...no, great!
I sneak a peek outside, and all is well...no snow yet. But, by the time that I'm finishing that last bite of breakfast, the first few tiny flakes of snow are already falling. Time to get on the road!
Around 11:30AM, I'm bidding Roxy farewell...I wish that I had longer to visit. The snow is still light as I swing out of Sterling and onto the Capital Beltway. It's only 200 miles or so to Princeton, but more snow (a LOT more) is on the way. Almost immediately, traffic on the Beltway comes to a complete stop...traffic is heavy with a mix of late morning commuters and panicked residents racing to flee the impending blizzard. Forty-five minutes or so later, traffic begins to move again, and soon I'm heading up out of Virginia, through Maryland and into Delaware. The snow stops somewhere in Maryland, so I'm OK...for now. Then, onto the New Jersey Turnpike after a scary bridge crossing over the Delaware Memorial Bridge...one of the bridges from my childhood that contributed in no small part to my now well-known bridge "phobia".
Around 3:30PM, I'm at the Princeton Holiday Inn to meet up with Roger and Gretchen. I also have the great pleasure to meet Roger's Administrative Assistant, Beth (very cute, as well as professional), who put together the bound copy of all my blog entries from the trip to Alaska. Soon, we're sharing a few glasses of red wine.
Then...off to the Lampings. Ever the perfect hosts, Bill and Kathy have a nice selection of great "snacks" (prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, stuffed tortillas, etc.) accompanied by a few bottles of great Spanish red wine. Then, it's off to Princeton for dinner at Mediterra...excellent Italian. A great evening of close friends, interesting conversation, great food and excellent wine ensues. After dinner, we spend an hour or two "bar-hopping" in historic Princeton, home of Princeton University.
Then, back to Bill and Kathy's for a nightcap. Roger and Gretchen head back to the Holiday Inn, but they'll be back tomorrow morning for breakfast. Stepping out onto the balcony of Bill and Kathy's condo for a quick smoke before bed, I notice that snow has begun falling...should be interesting tomorrow.

Down South...Day Sixty-Seven...Thursday, February 4, 2010

Sometime during the night I got up, got dressed and left the hotel because now I am running down this dimly-lit alley. And, right behind me is a giant oyster...chasing me! And, right behind the oyster, there's a giant slice of coconut cake...how did inanimate objects grow arms and legs?!?! And they're carrying these bells (dinner bells?), and they keep ringing them...why won't the ringing stop?!
Wait...it's the telephone ringing...my 4:30AM wake up call. I'm not in an alley, I'm still in bed. Whew!...that was close!
So, I stagger out of bed...make coffee and pack up. By 5:30AM, I'm on the road for the 544 mile trip to visit my friend, Roxy, in Virginia. By the time that the sun comes up, I'm already in North Carolina when I see something...something horrible. It's...It's...snow! Yuck! I'm already missing Florida...cold spell or not.
It's a long drive today...all the longer when I hit heavy traffic coming into the Washington, D.C. area. By the time that I get to Roxy's in Sterling, Virginia, it's after 3:00PM...I've been driving for almost ten hours.
Roxy moved back to Virginia a few months ago from the Grand Rapids area, and she's sharing a house with her ex-mother-in-law and one of her daughters. It's a homey, comfortable place...with five friendly cats and one friendly dog. I'm tired after all of that driving, so a short nap is a real treat.
Then...it's time for dinner. Roxy suggests a local place called Sweetwater Tavern. There's a wait for a table, so we slide up to the bar for a cocktail while we wait.
Soon, we're sitting in a booth looking over the menu...steaks look good. Roxy orders the "drunken ribeye", and I order a Filet...well seared on the outside, rare on the inside. The waiter has a problem with my order...there is no "searing" at Sweetwater, as he explains it, just "rare, medium rare, medium and well done". Fine, I order mine "rare". Then, there's a problem with my salad order...I want blue cheese dressing, they only have "Caesar, raspberry or balsamic vinaigrette". Fine, I order the "Caesar". Another problem arises regarding potatoes...I order French fries, they only serve "mashed". "Obviously", observes our waiter, "you have not dined at Sweetwater Tavern before". No...obviously not.
Still...the food is pretty good, limited selection notwithstanding. And...I'm having a nice time visiting with Roxy.
After dinner, it's back home for a little TV and more conversation. I'm still tired from my trip, so I opt for bed early where I watch a little TV...joined by a few cats...just like home! The big story on TV is a huge storm predicted to hit the Eastern Seaboard sometime tomorrow morning. They're predicting up to 30" in the D.C. area...with a good chance to beat the prior record snowfall.
I'm heading up to Princeton tomorrow to rendezvous with my friends Bill and Kathy Lamping, who live near Princeton, New Jersey...where we'll be meeting up with Gretchen and Roger who are visiting Princeton on business...this is going to be great fun!
Still...as I'm drifting off to sleep...I'm thinking about how to get the jump on all that snow.

Down South...Day Sixty-Six...Wednesday, February 3, 2010

My bed at the Days Inn is particularly comfortable, and I have "slept like a rock" until after 9:00AM. Now...how to spend the day? I could bar-hop...always my first choice. Or, I could do something "interesting and productive". Hmm...let's do "interesting and productive".
But first, there's lunch! Years ago, a place called A.W. Shucks was my favorite lunch stop. Then, during one of my many stops in Charleston, I was chatting up some cute gal at a bar...she was a chef at A.W. Sucks, and she had some highly uncomplimentary things to say about the kitchen there. So, A.W. Shucks went off of my preferred lunch list. Then, several years later, I stopped back in for a cocktail and related my story to the bartender. Soon, the manager was taking me on a tour of the kitchen and it was, well, pretty clean and neat. So now, A.W. Shucks is back on the list.
Settling in at the bar, I have an excellent Stoli Bloody Mary (or two). A.W. Shuck's signature dish is their "crab meat stuffed, bacon-wrapped fried shrimp...so I gotta order those. And they are pretty darn good...washed down with a couple of "Low-Country Lagers" (the large size, please).
OK...now for the "interesting and productive" stuff. Out in Charleston Harbor is Fort Sumter and it was there that the fist shots of the Civil War were fired. Coincidentally enough, on my birthday...April 12, 1861. Hey!...that's the birth DATE, not the YEAR, smart guy! Soon, I'm taking a relaxing ferry ride across the harbor and out to the Fort. Fort Sumter is a National Monument, so there's a Park Ranger providing historical commentary along the way. There's not much to see...a lot of the Fort was destroyed, not by the Confederate Army capturing it, but by the Union Army trying to take it back. Still, they've done a lot of excavation and restoration, so you get a good feel for what it was like over a century ago. Then, back on the Ferry and across the harbor again to the city.
A nice walk later, I'm back at T-Bonz for a few more local lagers before heading back to my hotel to freshen up for dinner.
I can never get enough oysters, and Hyman's is right near my hotel...so I'm back there for another platter of fried oysters. Then, 'm thinking that it will be a whole year before I'm back her...a whole year before I can again have "the Cake". So...it's back to the Peninsula for "the cake, Part II"...this time accompanied by a large glass of milk...pretty close to the perfect dessert. T-Bonz is right down the street...so in for a nightcap (or four) before bed.
A long drive tomorrow...544 miles to Northern Virginia, just outside of D.C.