Category: Food & Liquor

A Table for One

I spent about an hour trying to figure out what to do for dinner. I had settled on a burger. And then thought I would splurge and go to the Gastropub for a ridiculously good burger. Then I remembered that they had a fried chicken special, and that sounded just perfect.

So I took a shower, got dressed up, and walked to the Gastropub. I was happy to see there was plenty of outdoor seating. It was also Happy Hour all night, so I had a few beers. And I ordered that fried chicken.

Wow. The potatoes were good, the cole slaw was good, the chicken was amazing. It was tender, succulent. The breading was firm, with hints of maple syrup, and just a bit of spice. A fantastic meal.

Rum

Rum and I go way back.

It began with a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Private Stock that a friend, Alan, bought for me, while we were visiting friends in Rhode Island. Appropriate, though I didn’t know it at the time, because back in the day RI was a huge producer of rum.

I used to order a “rum and coke, heavy on the rum.” I was once asked “heavy on the tip” and I believe I was. Lord knows what I was getting for rum, but when it’s late and you can’t actually see your drink anyway, what difference does it make?

When we visited the Rogue brewery in Portland OR, our server blessed me with a shot of their own kind of rum. I remember it being harsh and wicked and as soon as I was home I began looking for it. Years later I found it in the little liquor store next to Hannaford (on Central) and I didn’t even look at the price, I just bought it.

For a while I was big on mojitos and white rums. 10 Cane was my poison of choice. Even the bottle was pretty.

I lost my interest in flavored rums after Bacardi Dragonberry. It was “really good” if you liked candy, and that summer I really did. Then they did something called Torched Cherry and I tried it once and haven’t had any interest in anything flavored since.

For the last year or so I’ve been looking at more “sophisticated” rums. These are more expensive and I don’t usually mix them with anything, sometimes not even ice. I’ve had a lot of success with Vizcaya, and was very happy to find Rhum Barbancourt, from Haiti. They are dark, and smell alchemical, and taste like oak and tobacco.

I still have a soft spot for stupid “pirate” rums, like Pyrat (which, if I remember correctly, is actually pretty good) and Kraken (which, if I remember correctly, is just bad enough to be interesting). I need to try that Sailor Jerry stuff, and Captain Morgan has a new “black” rum I’m either going to love or hate. For that matter, the entirety of black strap rums is unknown to me.

But I’m okay with having room to grow.

A Busy Sunday

I was happy to sleep in this morning. It seems a rare treat. I made bacon, and then whole wheat buttermilk pancakes. With maple syrup from Vermont, bananas, strawberries, and juice. The four of us sat at the table and ate. My parents left shortly after that.

A few hours later I had two pieces of leftover “cheese on bottom” pizza and then took off for the Radix Center.

75° with the doors open. Things big and green. Good turn out, some from HVCC. Baby tilapia shipped overnight, won’t make it through the winter. Scotty says sifting compost is meditative. Worms are sparse and drowsy. Avocado, parsnip, roots, peach pit, egg shells. 77°. 2 grubs, taken by the children to feed to the chickens.

Wind on the ride home was brutal. Decided that since it was warmish and windy, I should get out the pocket parafoil and fly. There’s a middle school on Whitehall with a big field and it gets a lot of wind. The kite is small and light and easy to deal with, but likes to dive.

Home, showered, shaved, we put together a grocery list and went to the supermarket. Where they were out of bananas. And it’s also tough to find whole wheat rolls, but maybe I’m asking too much. We unloaded the groceries and walked to get ice cream.

We are working out how to pay our rent for the last few weeks here, since our absentee landlady will not get back to us. We’re minimizing contact, minimizing the mess. Hopefully. We’re both craving a cheeseburger, but settling for PBS.

Mingling With Royalty: Kimchi and Ice Cream

Tonight I went to Mingle, where All Over Albany had some tables set aside for “Dining Out For Life.” I went all by myself, like a big boy, not knowing what to expect. I walked in, talked to Mary, met Peter and a few other people, and sat down. Then Greg and his wife came in, and I was please to meet the both of them. And then Sébastien came to our table. Yeah, The Sébastien. I felt hopelessly out of my element. But they are all good people and I quickly forgot that I’m a socially awkward fellow and even cracked a few jokes. And maybe didn’t embarrass myself too badly.

I had the soup du jour, which was a creamy roasted red pepper with onions and scallions. It was surprisingly good. For an entree I had the kimchi. I’ve never had kimchi before. People are always going on about how great kimchi is so I thought I’d try it. It was really really spicy. That red pepper oil is a killer. There was very little flavor, it was just different textures soaking in hot burning death. And yet, I ate a lot of it.

We settled up our bill, Sébastien left, and the three of us went to Emack & Bolio’s for dessert. I had grasshopper pie. Something cool and creamy and sweet was just the thing.

A very good night.

Update: The morning after, I am not feeling very good. Sorry, kimchi, you were a wild night of fun, but I’m swearing off Korean food.