Mark and Lynn Are Famished

Mark and Lynn think Hell's Kitchen's 44 & X eatery takes its Hell's Kitchen address a bit too literally...

2012-01-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I had had a hard time going into NY one recent weekend past; a mixed experience at the Ace Hotel followed by a horrible one at the John Dory. We still had not eaten and our will and spirit was low to say the least. As a "Hail Mary" we decided to take a cab to 44& 10 Hells Kitchen, a restaraunt that Lynn had identified as being worth a look with a creative menu, an interesting web site and interesting architectural elements featured in images on the site.

We took a short cab ride from the John Dory and felt a sense of comfort and relief when we entered the elegant and comforing space. The hostess was smooth and put us at ease in the then empty space. Little did we know that it would all be downhill from there. The reason for this; our waiter who looked like a fey version of the actor Robert Pattison and acted obnoxious from pilar to post. An example; Lynn asked about a house wine and the waiter asked her if she meant a "cheap wine."

The food was actually great, particularly the appetizers; Lynn had a Maine lobster taco appetizer with hints of lime cilantro which she was very happy with; I had a great iceberg lettuce wedge with a memorable blue cheese dressing. Along with that we split a memorable spicy salmon tartar, daikon radish, wakame seaweed salad, with soy serrano dressing.

But, as any follower of this site knows, nothing ruins Mark and Lynn's experience faster than poor service and so it is here; would we go again? Probably, that Robert Pattison guy has to give his notice at some point eh?

Mark and Lynn's unfortunate John Dory story....

2012-01-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

Lynn, about to be disappointed,,,

Lynn and I had willed ourselves to be optimistic about the John Dory Oyster Bar since we figured that after our iffy experience at the Breslin at the Ace Hotel we were due for a good experience. How wrong we were...

We entered the space which was striking, sat at the bar at which point the female bartender promptly handed us menus. We were then ignored for the next 10 minutes at which point we fled into the NY night too tired and whupped to joust with the bartender or manager. Needless to say we will not be going back...

Mark and Lynn are sad to see the once great Ace Hotel lose its cool...

2012-01-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I had eaten at the Breslin in the Ace Hotel about a year and a half ago; it was a very pleasurable experience for us as the decor was amazing, the food unusual and the staff very friendly and accomadating. We had visited Manhattan over the weekend and were to be in the general vicinity of the Ace Hotel so we thought it might be good to stop there for a drink/something to eat late in the afternoon.

When we arrived, the hotel lobby was quite busy with the couches/library tables and the floor area in general packed with (I cringe to use this overused term) "hipsters." Many were hunched over their I-Pads and/or laptops without any evidence of their being customers (no drinks/no food) of the establishment. There was a bar in the back of the hotel lobby where we had hoped to land, but, alas it was full. We then made our way to the Breslin which was full, but not packed. We managed to find a perch at the bar. It was about 4:30 and we were waiting to go to the Ace's John Dorry Oyster Bar which adjoins the hotel. Problem was the John Dorry didn't open until 5 and we were quite hungry.

We started by ordering drinks; the young male bartender with his skinny arms, skinny jeans, tatoos and artful bed head was attentive but acted odd on the whole. For instance, I ordered a simple Manhattan and thought they might have Old Grand dad bourbon. He said they did, and waited a beat, and said they had just ran out. Lynn ordered a glass of wine and asked if there were any bar snacks, the bartender said they had just put the snacks away (not sure what that meant as there were plenty of bar patrons and they were still drinking). In any event, we ordered our drinks and the young bartender mixed a nice drink (with bourbon soaked cherries) that helped us relax for the moment.

About 15 minutes later the bartender mentioned that there were some bar snacks available. At that point, we had written off eating until at least 5 so we were glad to have anything at that moment as 5 o'clock still seemed cruelly far into the future. We were then presented with a bag of 6 almonds and a bag of chips that cost us $15.00. Now, I have never paid for bar snacks and since they weren't on the menu imagine our surprise that we had to pay not just a little, but a lot. In retrospect, we should have just begged off, but we were too hungry to let a few dollars thwart us and not in the mood to take the bartender to task about not warning us that the Breslin is the only place in the universe to charge for bar snacks.

In our tired and annoyed state our feeling was that the Ace Hotel had evolved from a kind of charming place pioneering interesting food and design into a den of phony poseurs whose casual attitude disguised a general loathing for their clientelle (well parodied in the Portlandia sketch about the "Deuce Hotel"). Unfortunately, this feeling persisted for us days after...

Sunday in Manhattan...

2012-01-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

Mark and Dave love sexy, family friendly Salem Beer Works...

2012-01-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

My son in law, Dave and I went to Salem a couple of different times during my and Lynn's recent visit to the Boston area. We had the opportunity to go to the Salem Beer Works which figures prominently in the community with a striking and impressive facade. Inside, we found an out mix of genres (for lack of a better way to put it) with elements of both a sports bar (large screen television, bar food on the menu) along with the sleek, architectural quality that one might find in an urbane restaraunt in a hotel like the "W." The result of this is that it is a nice hybrid of a place where you can be comfortable watching the Pats as well as a place where you can take your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend on a sexy date.

The day Dave and I went (with Jackson and Sloane in tow) he sampled some of the SBW's signature brews and ended up taking home a six pack of the Salem American Pale Ale. The food was better than expected as well; I chose a nice calamari with a caper mayo. Dave has All-American tastes and he enjoyed his hamburger and sweet potato fries.

Todd English's Figs is great but about the music....

2012-01-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

Our experience at Todd English's Figs in Charlestown, Massachusetts was one of the most schizophenic we have had of late. First off, it was slightly more casual than we thought it might be and the menu more relaxed than we might have thought (beer and wine for instance but no cocktails). Pizza is the star here and my daughter Kristina got a great pie with proscutto, fig and goat cheese. It was huge, but with a thin crust and an interesting smoky flavor due to the figs. My son in law had pasta bolognase which, to everyone's surprise, was the favorite of the many dishes we sampled that night. I had a nice calamari with lemon aoli which was good but not really memorable.

Now for the schizophrenic part; the wait staff was wonderful with a graceful manner in close quarters; however, the music that was playing the night we were there was the most common type of top 40 music and it was blasting! It was enough to ruin our whole experience as it was both too loud and seemed particularly ill-suited to the atmosphere otherwise. If the music was just ok it would have been a completely pleasant experience, as it was it was merely ok. We will likely give it another go, but in the meantime I hope that they re-think the music...

Figs
67 Main Street
Charlestowne, MA
P: 617-242-2229

Mark and Lynn think Lucky's Lounge has the best Manhattan in Boston...

2012-01-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

My daughter and son in law took Lynn and I to a great place near South Boston on our recent trip there called Lucky's Lounge. Lucky's sports a self concious but sincere and genuine speakeasy/rat pack vibe with it's non descript entrance (no signage) black and whites of Old Blue Eyes, Sammy, Dino, etc. on the wall. There are two sides to the bar, one resembling more of a well lit diner (calling to mind the Nighthawks painting by Edward Hopper), the other side was more of a traditional bar/lounge with minimal lighting, cocktail waitresses and the like. I had a full bodied Manhattan, while Lynn had a vodka martini. The feel there was great and our waitress was charming and resembled a youthful Madonna with her platinum blonde hair and charming gap in her front teeth. We hope to return to try some of the brunch, lunch, dinner offerings and maybe experience another great Manhattan in Boston.

My son in law Dave seemed to enjoy the subtleties of a fine bourbon at Lucky's

Lucky's Lounge
355 Congress St.
Boston MA.02110
617-357-LUCK

Shots from Salem. Massachusetts...

2012-01-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

Mark and Lynn take a sip of Redbreast Irish Whiskey

2012-01-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

We happened to run into our good friend and Painter's bartender Kevin Moot who recommended Redbreast Irish Whiskey which he has apparently discovered in his explorations of the nightlife of Gotham. We love Powers, Jameson's and Paddy's and had visited some distilleries when we visited Ireland in '09 but this seems to be another level of Irish Whiskey as it is produced through the "pure pot still method" which basically means that the spirit is produced purely from a pot still and is not blended with other whiskeys or neutral grain spirits. It is also the only Irish Whiskey with an age designation (most typically 12 year blends which we got).

In any event, it had a more sophisticated feel than some of our old faves and seemed, for some reason, closer to a scotch than a typical Irish Whiskey (the flavors seemed more pronounced and intense than the leisurely Paddy's, Jameson's and so on). Seemingly, a great sipping whiskey to be enjoyed on special occasions and on occasions when one want to impress...

M& L

Mark and Lynn take back the holidays for the adults with Barefoot Bubbly...

2011-12-23T16:14:00.000-08:00

Barefoot Wine has consistently been our favorite day in day out wine throughout the year and the holiday season is no exception with the 2011 Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee release a great offering for the holidays with an unbelievable price point (10.00) and great, festive flavors including jasmine and apple as well as a crisp finish. This can be enjoyed throughout the entire season au naturel but for a great crowd pleasing cocktail try the Jingle Bellini-directions below

Jingle Bellini
Ingredients:
4 oz. Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee 1 oz. raspberry liqueur 1 oz. raspberry puree (muddled berries) Thyme sprig
Directions:
Muddle fresh raspberries to create berry puree
Combine puree with Barefoot Bubbly and raspberry liqueur in a cocktail shaker with ice
Roll contents, then strain into chilled champagne flute
Garnish with fresh raspberry and thyme sprig

(Who says the holidays are for kids?)

The Paintings at Painters in Brookhaven, NY

2011-12-10T04:24:00.000-08:00

Besides being one of our favorite restaurants week in and week out, Painters in Brookhaven, NY has one of the most eclectic collections of art on Long Island. The variety is astounding and to the place's credit they are as willing to exhibit something of questionable taste as they are something sublime (sometimes there is some overlap with regard to this). In any event, it gives the restaurant one of the most distinctive "looks" of any place in Suffolk.

http://www.paintersrestaurant.com

Mark and Lynn love Mike's Hot Honey...

2011-11-25T15:54:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I something on a local station about Miie's Hot Honey which is chili infused honey. The taste is influenced by Mike's travels where he was exposed to the versatility of chili resulting in this concoction. It is really hot and we love it over pears, almost any cheese and are looking forward to figuring how to use it in cocktails. A great stocking stuffer...

Mark and Lynn discover three great Thanksgiving whites...

2011-11-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

In recent years, Thanksgiving has become more and more a great holiday for wine lovers. Picking a great wine can really transform the traditional holiday meal into something special and memorable. Mark and Lynn have come across a couple of great last minute Thanksgiving wine selections that should help add variety to a pleasant though often predictable holiday.

One, the Naked Grape Pinot Grigio has great fruit flavor and is an idiosyncratice, though very appropriate choice with the traditional turkey of Thanksgiving.

Another great choice is the Argentinian Alamos Torrontés whose floral and jasmine hints pair well with typically savory offerings like spicy cornbread.

Finally, the Spanish Martín Códax Albariño has nice notes of pear, passion fruit and apple which pairs well with seafood and shellfish offerings like Oysters and Oyster Dressing. Very sophisticated stuff for turkey, cranberry and stuffing...

Bellport Liquors bring the fine wines of Raphael Vineyards to Mark and Lynn's backyard...

2011-11-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

When Lynn and I moved to Long Island the local liquor store Bellport Liquors was a reliable and nearby place to get basic, Waspy spirits like Gordon's Gin, Smirnoff and so on; good stuff to be sure but nothing to get too excited about. Flash forward 10 year later and Bellport Liquors has slowly become a favorite of ours due to their increasingly interesting and thoughtful selections of wine and spirits, cordial, familiar service (with great and friendly proprietors Maura and Mike Kuehl); but most of all for the fact that they have consistently interesting wine tastings. Most recently, we were able to attend a tasting of wines from the Raphael Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island in Peconic, NY. We had visited the vineyard years ago and quite frankly had no particular remembrance of the place or the wines. However, the wines we sampled last Saturday at Bellport Liquors were quite impressive. The reds in particular were solid (impressive since our experience with LI reds is a mixed bag) with the Cabarnet Franc (great finish, confident feeling and juicy) being a particularly impressive offering. We feel lucky to have such an interesting liquor store in our midst where we can sample interesting spirits and wine just around the corner...

Bellport Liquors

P: 631.286.3106

129 Main St
Bellport, NY 11713

Mark and Lynn turn to Snap liqueur to ward of the creep of old man winter...

2011-11-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

Of late, Lynn and I have been working on transitioning into fall cocktail/wine mode. This typically means circling back to bourbons, heavier reds, some port and maybe some experimentation with scotch. As always, we remain on the lookout for something new to add some snap to our concoctions. Ironically, what we found was Snap liqueur. Snap is the result of the distillation of a traditional lebkuchen (a homemade ginger snap made with black strap molasses and fresh ginger-far superior to the grocery store variety). The result of this is that not only does Snap reject some of the over processing of it's core ingredients it actually contains elements that are essential to good health like iron, potassium and calcium (mainly found in the traditional black strap molasses) as well as a good, earthy flavor. Snap is surely not the first ginger infused spirit on the market; however, it sets the bar quite high as it is both organic and made with pure ingredients.

What about the cocktails then? Well, with some online guidance and our own interest in experimentation we have managed to come up with some interesting ways to pair Snap with spirits that we find both palpable and difficult to like. Most of all, we find that Snap helps smooth out some of the rougher, some would say backwoods type spirits like the corn whiskey offerings that have popped up in New York state in the last few years. We look forward to pairing it with some of the scotches that taste rugged to our palette as well as some of the bourbons that are smooth but could use some tweaking. Mainly, it will help keep our spirits up during the onset of the frosty Northeast winter that is back yet again...

Mark and Lynn wish you a sexy Halloween (or Hallo-wine) with Apothic Red...

2011-10-27T17:18:00.000-07:00

Lynn and I are always on the lookout for great wine bargains and there are quite a few out there if you have the patience and good fortune that we have tried to cultivate. Still, few of these wines qualify as truly great wines; one of the great few is Apothic Red which has a great price point (we have bought it for under 10.00), a great label, a great, full bodied flavor (we detected silk and smoke among others; a by product of the long April frost, mild summer and dry fall of '09). Most of all, however, we feel we have found a great, sexy wine to crack open and pair with a great, underrated Halloween film like the early talkie Island of Lost Souls with Charles Laughton or a more recent, but in it's own way vintage offering like the '79 Dracula with Frank Langella and Laurence Olivier. If you are more intellectually ambitious maybe try revisiting some of the Poe stories with this mesmerizing red....

Mark and Lynn take in NY on October 24...

2011-10-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn love crowded Isabella's on the Upper West Side...

2011-10-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

Lynn and I had brunch at Isabella's over the weekend in part to celebrate my birthday (Oct. 24), in part to get out of the country and into the big city. The restaraunt was packed and the energy up due to the perfect fall weather. Despite the crush, we managed to get a table in less than 10 minutes; and, not just any table, a perfect ringside seat of Columbus Avenue where we experienced Grade A people watching.

The food, as it should be, was the main event. Lynn had Smoked Salmon Benedict which was a magnificent brunch choice with the detail of a light buttermilk biscuit over a heavy piece of bread. I had a seafood cobb salad which was flavorful and decadent seeming while being healthy despite it all. The bill was minimal for all that was eaten (with a complimentary splash of Campari to boot!)

If there was any drawback it might be that the place seemed to have too many tables which placed a huge burden on the staff (wait and otherwise). Our waitress was pleasant and competent but there were some long spells between our seeing her which we chalked up to being overloaded with customers which we were sympathetic to for the most part. Despite our awareness of this staff stress it obviously did not enhance our experience for the most part.

Small potatoes for the most part; we have rarely found a combination of value, food quality and sophisticated atmosphere in New York as we did at Isabella's. We will be back...

Mark and Lynn check out the Ballston Spa, NY hot spot for tea; The Whistling Kettle

2011-10-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Lynn and I had done so much in upstate NY late last month we have had a hard time processing it completely. One of the real surprises of our trip was the discovery of The Whistling Kettle in Ballston Spa, NY (not far from Saratoga Springs). The Whistling Kettle is no demure tea room but a bustling energetic, high ceiling space with the energy of a great bar or steak house.

Obviously the tea is the big draw here; but Lynn and I had a wonderful lunch with me having a hefty, old fashioned Cobb Salad and Lynn having a tasty panini. There are also some gluten free offerings that point to a forward thinking mentality with regard to food that is not an automatic thing in traditional minded upstate NY (at least in our experience).

Again, however, the tea here is the show stopper. I am not much of a tea drinker but Lynn has become something of an aficionado since she gave up coffee. Suffice to say she was blown away by the fragrant offerings one after the other. As always, Lynn got a kick out of the stylish names of the Whistling Kettle's offerings; 9 Bend Black Dragon, 100 Monkeys, Samurai Matcha and son on. Suffice to say Lynn is easily hooked on this kind of exotica and with a return trip to upstate it is a certainty that we will swing by the Whistling Kettle to see what new delicacies are to be found at the Ballston Spa hot spot...

M & L

Mark and Lynn talk to author Gayle Trent about Killer Sweet Tooth...

2011-10-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

It is always interesting when an author takes a well established genre and adds a genuine twist. So it is with Gayle Trent's series of mysteries which have at its center a charming amateur sleuth/cake decorator Daphne Martin. Ms. Trent's latest, Killer Sweet Tooth: A Daphne Martin Cake Mystery, finds her resourceful character knee deep in a murder investigation relating to the unusual death of a dentist. Ms. Trent was nice enough to correspond with Mark and Lynn about her work, her characters and how she balances her character's skills as a cake decorator and detective.

M & L: There are food oriented novels and mystery novels; how do you manage to connect the two so that they make narrative sense?

GT: "I basically have Daphne baking and using her cakes to either figure out or get her into murderous situations. When she's baking, she's usually trying to sort out her thoughts. Of course, delivering the cake or making a cake for someone or some event is usually what gets her involved in the mystery."

M & L: What kind of feedback do you get from fans? Do you think you have more mystery fans or food fans reading your stuff?

GT: "I think more mystery fans are readers of the book, although many of them enjoy the cake decorating tips and the recipes as well."

M & L: Why did you make Daphne a cake decorator? Why not a chef? A vineyard owner?

GT: "I'd taken a cake decorating class with my daughter, and during that process we became engrossed in the world of cake decorating. We began watching the shows on Food Network, and we saw how much really went into the craft as well as the business."

M & L: What are your work habits like? Do you always write?

GT: "I do my best. Today, however, my work day has been truncated because I'm having to pull up living room carpet. Ugh! I'll bet Patterson and Evanovich (New York Times Bestselling authors) don't have to replace THEIR own carpet. Seriously, though, I'm typically at my computer from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. every day."

M & L: Who do you see playing Daphne if the series is optioned for tv or film?

GT: "I'd love to see Sandra Bullock in the role. And the pet shop owner in MURDER TAKES THE CAKE would definitely need to be Sam Elliot. Jonathan Rhys Meyers could play Elvis impersonator Scottie Philips. Olympia Dukakis would rock as Myra. And my children would want Johnny Depp to play every other role. Not that we've given this much thought.... ;)"

Mark Love the Rose and Kettle in Cherry Valley, NY

2011-10-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

Lynn and Mark went upstate recently and are still trying to process the richness of our experience. We had the only proper supper at the Rose and Kettle in Cherry Valley, NY which was a beauty of a restaurant with regard to food and service. The grilled pork loin and the crab cakes were favorites of ours. There were great flavored cocktails with interesting garnishes like Basil. The servers were attractive and uncomplicated upstate New York types that might have served James Fenimore Cooper as he bent over writing one early American masterpiece or another...

Mark and Lynn Take a wistful look at Daniel Storto's Storefront in Gloversville, NY

2011-10-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

The Storefront of Daniel Storto's exquisite glove making practice

Mark and Lynn Dig hip Putnam Wine in Saratoga Springs....

2011-10-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

During our recent upstate NY swing we managed to stumble upon Putnam wine in Saratoga Springs, NY bill itself as "The Best Food and Wine Store between Manhattan and Montreal" which is no doubt the truth; however, truth be told it might give either place a run for it's money with regard to this. Incredibly hip in atmosphere the store has a turntable and was playing a selection of works by the great Italian spaghetti western composer Sergio Leone and had expertly drawn chalk renderings of a Japanese manga series about wine called "Drops of the Gods." A couple of nice guys were working and were handling a couple of difficult customers with good humor and finesse. I bought a nice South American white for well under 10.00. On future trips upstate this place will likely be a destination spot for us...

Mark and Lynn are blown away by the Cooperstown Cheese Company...

2011-10-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

As part of our recent trip to Sharon Spring's Harvest fest we happened upon the Mildred's Meadows booth where we bought some of the best and most interesting cheese we have tasted in a while; the Toma Flora offering from the Cooperstown Cheese Company which was embedded with lavender giving it an amazing flavor that we won't soon forget. Luckily, we only bought a modest amount of the stuff else we would have overdosed on this food of the gods...

Scenes from the 2011 Sharon Springs, NY Harvest Fest...

2011-09-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn dig the Jones Family Farm in Herkimer, NY...

2011-09-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

Lynn and I were fortunate enough to have the chance to visit Sharon Springs, NY on a mini-upstate swing over the weekend. The cause for our visit was to attend the Sharon Springs Fall Harvest Festival. We had attended a similar festival for the Christmas holiday in November of last year where we met Josh and Brent AKA "The Beekman Boys" who had chucked high flying lives to become farmers in uber-rural upstate New York. The Beekman 1802 mercantile store looms large on Main Street but the prescence of Josh and Brent seemed muted this year and since there show was not renewed there was no sign of roaming TV crews this year as in years past.

In any event, Lynn and I happened upon a couple of "finds" at the fest one of which was the cheeses of the Jones Family Farm in nearby Herkimer, NY. Lynn and I sampled a couple of their offerings and bought a couple of goat cheese varieties including a very unique and frangrant goat cheese flavored with fig. Needless to say the cheese didn't last the weekend and we are already trying to figure out how we can get a regular supply...

Mark and Lynn experience Katleen Flinn's Kitchen Counter Cooking School

2011-09-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

We have enjoyed Kathleen Flinn's first memoir The Sharper you Knife the Less You Cry ( which was an account of her experiences studying at the venerable Le Cordon Bleu) and, as a result, we were thrilled to get hold of a review copy of her follow up work The Kitchen Counter Cooking School (Viking) is a sequel of sorts to "Sharper" Ms. Flinn takes her newly developed Cordon Bleu expertise and attempts to influence and school a group of nine students in some basic, but elegant methods of shopping, preparing and cooking food. Ms. Flinn's book has somethings in common with such popular television programming as "What Not To Wear" in that there is a sense of transformation that she takes her students through with kitchen makeovers and a recalibration of taste and food choices. One of the key differences here is that Ms. Flinn is a much warmer and re-assuring prescence in this book than some of the brittle hosts of reality programming.

One of the central themes in the book is the disconnect between eating and cooking. The celebrity chef culture that has helped make formerly niche networks like Food TV mainstream fare and has made household names out of the likes of Bobby Flay, Anthony Bordain, Giada DeLaurentis, Nigella Lawson and so on. The suspicion raised in Ms. Flinn's book is that Food oriented television is watched as pure entertainment rather than as aspirational televison. Indeed, a key moment in the book is when one of Ms. Flinn's students admits she eats Tuna Helper while watching Gordon Ramsey! Simply put, a major notion in Ms. Flinn's book is if people can't cook or aren't motivated to cook then they are at the mercy of convenience and fast food options. Indeed, considering the broad appeal of Ms. Flinn's notions and taking into consideration her warm YouTube prescence it seems she would be a natural to host a televsions series; (Kathleen Flinn's Kitchen Counter Cooking School?).

Mark and Lynn stop by the Grey Goose tent at the US Open and discover the "Honey Deuce"

2011-09-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

The food and drink at the US Open has a reputation for being notoriously overpriced; having said that, we were pleasantly surprised at the Grey Goose set up at the tournament where drinks were priced at about $10.00 which is even a bit under what we have paid on Long Island for a cocktail. In any event, we both got drinks there to start our afternoon off as it was blistering hot and the sleek bottles of Grey Goose looked frigid. At that point we would have been happy just to have poured a bottle of freezing vodka over our head as to ingest it in a civilized manner.

Lucky for us we went the civilized route and opted for a classic martini (me) and a concoction inspired by the event called "the Grey Goose Honey Deuce" the recipe of which is:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 parts Grey Goose Vodka
fresh squeezed lemonade
1/2 part Chambord or premium raspberry liqueur
crushed ice
honeydew melon balls for garnish

Preparation:

Fill chilled highball glass with crushed ice and add GREY GOOSE Vodka.
Top with lemonade to just below the rim and then add Chambord.
Garnish with honeydew melon balls.

For a more about the drink and it's preparation see the YouTube video below...

Mark and Lynn take in the US Open

2011-09-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

A few last shots of summer in the Hamptons...

2011-09-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Kevin Moot era ends at Painter's in Brookhaven, NY

2011-09-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

Painter's is our beloved neighborhood restaurant and for years we have been lucky enough to have the great Kevin Moot as a bartender. Painter's has a great, competent and friendly staff who are uniformly great to us, however, we had formed a particularly strong bond with Kevin whose unflappable nature and good humor made the bar a particularly comforting place for us to eat and drink to end a good day or to try to shake off a bad one. He is going to the bright lights and big city of Manhattan whose gain is definitely our loss...

Mark and Lynn take note of the apparent M. Wells backlash...

2011-08-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

Lynn and I ate at the much reviewed, much written about M. Wells in Long Island City in May. This restaurant has gotten some of the best reviews of any recently opened American restaurant and more attention than nearly any restaurant in memory. Partly as a result of this I found the recent article by GQ food critic Alan Richman interesting as he had a really catastrophic experience with not only the restaurant but the operators and staff as well. Lynn and I had a mixed experience being there but the food made up for much of the fractiousness of the hostess and some of the staff. This seems to be potentially a kind of corrective to the fawning reviews the place has gotten in the last year or so. We will see if this affects the restaurant in the long run or if it is merely a blip on the radar soon to be forgotten.

Mark and Lynn Soak up the sights in rain soaked Manhattan...

2011-08-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn check in with Food Network stalwart Brian O'Reilly about his new novel Angelina's Bachelors...

2011-08-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Angelina's Bacheolors is the story of Angelina D'Angelo a young widow who channels her grief through the healing process of cooking which leads her to an older retiree named Basil Cupertino who is beyond seduced by her prowess in the kitchen and offers her much needed employment as his day to day cook. This opportunity leads her to cook for a series of Bachelors who fall under her spell one by one. Angelina's Bachelors is the first novel from prolific TV producer Brian O'Reilly who has created one of the Food Network's most popular offerings in Dinner: Impossible and co-authored two popular cookbooks Mission: Cook! and Impossible to Easy. Mr. O'Reilly was nice enough to correspond with Mark and Lynn about his work, his tastes and the process of creating Angelina's Bachelors.

M & L :Did working in TV help in the writing of this book?

BOR: "Yes, largely in terms of the culinary aspects of writing Angelina’s Bachelors, seeing top chefs under pressure, seeing how they think, how they construct dishes, then seeing how people react when the food arrives on the plate in front of them, was a real eye opener on every level. The show also led to the writing of two cookbooks: Mission: Cook! and Impossible to Easy; the work we did on those books comprise a big part of our culinary baptism by fire (actually, probably more for Virginia than me; she did the recipes and tested every single one, made adjustments, to make them accessible to the home cook). One of the important themes of our show was relating food back to dramatic situations (home-style cooking for soldiers heading for Iraq, Elvis’ favorite dishes for fans at Graceland, an authentic Colonial banquet for the old ways food experts at Williamsburg…). That really informed the idea of relating Angelina’s cooking to the story arc of the book and back to her relationships with the various characters. The first breakfast dish Angelina made for Basil would not have been the right choice for, say, Don Eddie; and she would only teach the secrets of her red gravy to Tina, I think."

M & L: Do you have a particular favorite book/film that has food as a central theme or motif?

BOR: "Lots of them. A current favorite film is Bottle Shock. It’s primarily about wine, but take a look at Alan Rickman’s character, Steven Spurrier, as he takes his first ever scoopful of guacamole: priceless. The same sentiment goes for Clemenza teaching Michael Corleone the secrets of his red gravy in The Godfather. Like Water for Chocolate, Big Night, Chocolat are excellent; Julie and Julia was great fun. Ratatouille is the reigning champ in our house (and honorable mention goes to the eggs Olympia Dukakis cooks near the beginning of Moonstruck). "

M & L: What was it like collaborating with your wife on this?

BOR: "Angelina’s Bachelors was labor of love for both of us. Virginia’s not only brilliant in the kitchen (ME: “Um… I need a recipe for the most spectacular layer cake ever made… and it needs to have Frangelico in it?” HER- two days later: “Here you go.” ), but is the most incisive reader I know; she also has a keen eye and ear for pulling the important points out of a given scene. The name Angelina was her suggestion (as was the original idea that inspired the book). One of my favorites: her suggested title for Chapter Four: “In the Wee Hours of the Mourning.” No chapter’s ever finished until she’s taken a look-! "

M & L: Were there any recipes you had to leave out of the book?

BOR: "There were quite a few, mainly for space, pacing and dramatic considerations. We’re toying with the idea (if things go according to plan) of, hopefully, writing an Angelina cookbook-- time will tell."

M & L: What was it like writing from a woman's perspective?

BOR: "I have to admit, it was a bit more difficult than I expected, especially through the first draft. Again, Virginia was an indispensable resource (she likes to say that she can show me pages from the other team’s playbook). My agent and editor are both women, so I had a lot of advice. And, male or female, as things come together, the characters start speaking for themselves in a very real sense, no matter their gender."

M &L : Who do you imagine playing Angelina in a film/television? Basil?

BOR: "In casual conversation, we’ve thought Marisa Tomei for Angelina- maybe Alan Arkin for Basil!"

(For more on Angelina's Bachelors go to Facebook.com/Angelinasbachelorsbook)

Mark and Lynn check out the Southold Fish Market on Long Island's North Fork

2011-08-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

The Southold Fish Market was a great thing for us to stumble upon when we were pondering what to eat one recent Sunday. The place has great, beautiful seafood (some take out offerings as well). Lynn and I got Sushi grade tuna for grilling as well as some crabs that we ended up frying. The place is probably too far away for us to utilize it on a regular basis but we are more than thrilled to know it is there if we happen to be out on the North Fork...

Southold Fish Market is at 61850 Main Rd., Southold, 631-765-3200. Hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 'til 7:30 p.m.

Mark and Lynn visit Boston's Colorful North End...

2011-08-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Random YouTube Tommy Hillfinger video that Mark and Lynn like...

2011-07-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

Lynn and I love this-feels like the messy glamour of a night that has endless possibilities and twists...

Mark and Lynn take note of the peak of summer at Deer Run Farms in Brookhaven, NY

2011-07-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn stop off at Latham Farm Stand in Orient, NY

2011-07-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn enjoy the summer of Flip Flop...

2011-07-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

Our interest in wines in the summer typically lightens up considerably and we tend to enjoy mostly whites and the occassional rose (although these are typically less consistent). We tend to gravitate toward simple wines with a lot of flavor and recently we have found our "go to" wine with the flip flop winery and their inexpensive, crisp and flavorful releases. We particularly like the Chardonnay offering that has a light touch as well as the Cabernet which also is a nice, light red for the summer (a tough thing to find we have found). The company works hard to be socially responsible and they work closely with the Soles 4 Souls program which helps distribute shoes for adults and children in need. Now, if they will only produce a rose...

Moonshine from King's County Distillery hits Long Island

2011-06-30T04:13:00.000-07:00

A great offbeat choice for summer cocktails and mixing; King's County distillery's moonshine adds a nice bite to lemonade and is an interesting choice to add to tonic (although it is nice to sip when it is icy cold). We found this stuff at Bottles and Cases in Northport, Long Island...

Behind the Green Door Cafe in Hampton Bays...

2011-06-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Kyra in raspberry bliss....

Mark and Lynn spend Sunday morning at the Green Door General Store in Hampton Bays

2011-06-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Lynn and I got to Westhampton beach on Sunday but we were a little burned out on the fried calamari at the Beach Huts so we took a slight detour to Hampton Bays' venerable Green Door General Store and Cafe. The place is several different things (farm stand, PX) but Lynn and I go there for the food and the unbelievable warm, family oriented service. Justine, the lovely daughter of the owner greeted us warmly, remembered what we ordered over a year ago and was patient with us as we debated whether we should go or stay. Lynn basically got a lobster roll as a salad and I got great, meaty crab cakes on a salad. The flavor of both was perfect and it subdued our considerable hunger after a late night party I had with my fellow Martial Arts practitioners. The food is great, but the charming, mostly very young staff are what give the place it's aura of effortless competence.Naturally, we will be back...

Mark and Lynn celebrate the beginning of summer at Flo's in Bayport

2011-06-19T16:19:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn dig Barefoot White at Bayport's Flo's....

2011-06-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn have been taking advantage of the nice weather by going to Flo's. This venerable Bayport institution sells freshly prepared delicious food. The seafood is the draw for me but Lynn has become partial to the Bacon Cheeseburger. Better still is the recent development of having beer and some simple wines available at a new bar space. Lynn and I have enjoyed the red which is a Bolla selection as well as the white; a very nice, crisp Barefoot white. The bartenders are all nice and personable as well (in keeping with the overall attitude of the young, attracitive staff there).

Bartender Connor serving up a crisp Barefoot white to Lynn

Lynn loves Amanda Oakleaf's cupcakes in Winthrop, Massachusetts

2011-06-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

Jackson enjoying the Happy Birthday cupcake...

Like ancient Diogenes in perpetual search of a decent human being, Lynn is in perpetual search of a great cupcake. On our recent trip to Winthrop, Massachusetts (again with Winthrop!) she may have found it at Amanda Oakleaf Cakes. The storefront has a light hearted elegance that reminded me of some of the fanicful sets on the film Funny Face which seems appropriate considering the creative pedigree of many of the staff at AOC. Ms. Oakleaf herself is a formally trained painter having studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The business has grown considerably in a short amount of town having started out in Ms. Oakleaf's. Boston apartment. Indeed, Ms. Oakleaf has gained considerable media attention most notably having recently been a competitor on the Food Network Cake Challenge.

In any event, Lynn felt the rasberry almond cupcake was a swirl of creamy, slightly sweatend pale pink frosting on top of a crumbly almond cake. Our grandson Jackson went for the "Happy Birthday" cupcake which was a classic vanilla swirled frosting with colorful sprinkles scattered on top.

The cupcake salon also had a refrigerator full of chilled delights like the cupcake sized creamsicle cheesecake which had the great summer taste of a classic popsicle.

Mainly though, Lynn was impressed by how AOC didn't oversweeten the cupcakes. And, again, the space is really elegant with displays of wedding and specialty cakes which had us on our tiptoes pointing in delight to this one and that one....

Is Winthrop turning into the Brooklyn of Boston?-If so, is Blackstrap BBQ leading the way?...

2011-06-07T06:07:00.000-07:00

One of the more noticeable trends in food in the past decade or so has been the elevation of food to the level of gourmet attention that previously had not gotten this kind of attention. That might account for why you might turn to the pages of Bon Appetit and find recipes for high end tacos, grilled cheese and so on. Noteworthy on this list is the inclusion of BBQ as a dish worthy of gourmet attention and the attention of great chefs and restaurants. This has been particularly true in Manhattan and the northeast which seems to view this dish as a kind of romantically rustic relic of the south and southwest. Being from not only the south, but North Carolina I have a kind of reverse snob outlook on this movement which goes something like this "There is no way some 3 Star Michelin chef in Manhattan, Long Island or Boston can make BBQ as good as they did at Skinner and Daniels." (an old school BBQ place where I grew up in Wilmington) For the most part I have been correct about this, however, a recent trip to see our family in Winthrop, Massachusetts has challenged my thinking on this.

It is there that the very fine Blackstrap BBQ has managed to replicate the tough to match vinegar based Carolina style of pork in some of their offerings like a BBQ sandwich and as part of a dinner. Other side dishes include collard greens, green beans, cornbread (another bulls eye) and watermelon. We merely got take out on one of the last nights we were there so there was much we didn't get to sample that seemed tempting like Buttermilk Fried Onion Rings, Sweet potato fries and Corn and Andouille Fritters; not to mention Blackened Catfish on a Po'Boy and Buttermilk Fried Catfish.

Again, did I mention this is Winthrop, Massachusetts? Is there a small renaissance in Winthrop where hip, forward thinking eateries hover just under the radar of Boston (as Brooklyn is to Manhattan for example)? If so, Blackstrap is definitely part of this movement.

47 A Woodside Ave.
Winthrop, MA 02152
http://www.blackstrapbbq.com/
617-207-1783

M & L

Mark and Lynn (and familia) take in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston...

2011-06-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn visit world famous Bell Isle Seafood near Winthrop, Massachusetts

2011-05-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

As with other excursions on our recent trip to Boston/Winthrop Massachusetts we focused on places we had always wanted to go as well as places we had seen on a recent Boston themed episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show. Lynn and I had passed Bell Isle Seafood many times but had balked about stopping there because we were on route somewhere else, didn't have the time, the place wasn't open when we were in the vicinity and so on. We were always intrigued by it's rustic exterior and dramatic positioning in East Boston just outside of the Winthrop, Massachusetts community where planes fly just a few hundred feet over the place right before touchdown at Logan Airport.

This last time we made a point of eating there for lunch. Our first surprise was how tiny the place was. There is seating but the popularity of the place and our timing (getting there around 12:40) ruled out a reasonable chance for us to grab a seat (our son in law and grand children accompanied us as well). We wisely opted for take out. Unlike a lot of seafood shack type places BIS had some healthy alternatives to the usual great but calorie rich fried seafood; for instance, I ordered seared tuna and most dishes could be prepared broiled as well as fried so you don't have to fall off the wagon with your diet.

Lynn got what was easily the best lobster roll she ever had; it had huge chunks of buttery lobster and the roll was minimal (as it should be but rarely is; even here on Long Island). Despite the greatness of the food, uniqueness of the location and so on going to Bell Isle can be a bit of an ordeal. First off, it is a tough location in that there is not much in the way of legal parking (however, people park on the bridge-despite it being technically illegal). Also, the small space can generate some stress in people who are impatient (especially around the peak of lunchtime) and/or confused about who has been helped and so on (I imagine calling in an order is not a bad idea). Such are the pitfalls of visiting a "cult" eatery.

Small complaints on the whole; the great food and selection at Bell Isle make this truly worth the trouble.

Mark and Dave test Murphy's Law in South Boston...

2011-05-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Inspired greatly by Anthony Bourdain's recent "No Reservations" special about Boston and outlying areas my son in law David and I went deep into South Boston to check out a couple of legendary neighborhood bars on a recent sunny Friday afternoon. One was the justifiably famous Murphy's Law on Summer Street. Interestingly enough, we were the only people in the bar even though it was well into the afternoon on a Friday in Boston. This kind of thing makes it hard to take the tempature of a place but we were glad to have a couple of shots of Irish whiskey and we walked around the surprisingly stylish South Boston neighborhoods to clear our heads and soak in some of the rare sunny weather during May in the northeast. A nice bit of trivia is that key parts of the film Gone Baby Gone were shot here and a framed poster is prominent as you enter the space.

Mark and Lynn visit Boston's North End...

2011-05-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn interview Jael McHenry about her debut novel The Kitchen Daughter

2011-05-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Ginny Selvaggio, the heroine of Jael McHenry's debut novel The Kitchen Daughter (Gallery Books) has Asperger's Syndrome a "high funtioning" form of autism that usually has a strong component of difficulty with even the most fundamental social interactions. After a tragic accident, Ginny finds herself in a state of confusion and stress which is only remedied when she cooks. The ritual of cooking particularly cooking recipes from her own familial experiences not only assuages her anxieties it creates a kind of supernatural aura in her life that is both mesmerizing and comforting to her bruised psyche.

Ms. McHenry was nice enough to correspond about her work with Mark and Lynn where she mused about Ginny, her own likes with regard to food and drink and who might play Ginny if and when The Kitchen Daughter makes it to the big or small screen.

M & L: How did the striking cover design come about?

JM: "It’s amazing, isn’t it? I can’t take any credit for it whatsoever. Early on in the process my editor had asked me for ideas, and I sent her some very spare, minimalist photos of kitchen things – and then the art department came back with this beautiful, warm, evocative design that was so much better than anything I’d imagined. All I had to do was say yes. I love that it makes you look twice. "

M &L It seems that cooking and eating are two wholly different experiences for Ginny; why do you think that is?

JM: "I think it’s pretty unusual to separate the two so clearly – I, for one, really love both – but for her, it makes perfect sense. The act of cooking is very reassuring for her, going through the steps, following the instructions. She’s not all that interested in the result, other than it turning out “right.” It’s about the process and how it makes her feel."

M & L: The book would have certainly been a moving and interesting work without the element of the character's Aspergers-Did you contemplate leaving this out at any point?

JM: "I did, midway through the process. I was lucky enough to have several agents interested in representing the manuscript, and more than one spoke up and said they thought it’d be an easier sell without it. So I took some time to think about it, and in the end, I decided I just wasn’t okay with letting go of that aspect of the story. It was important to me to keep it, and I’m really glad I did."

M & L: Have you heard from individuals with Aspergers (or their families?) What has their reaction been?

JM: "That’s one of my favorite parts of having the book out there in the world – hearing from readers. And I’ve been blown away by the positive response from people who have friends or family members with Asperger’s, and Aspies themselves. Everyone’s experience of Asperger’s is different – there are an infinite number of places on the spectrum where people can land, and if you’ve met one person with Asperger’s, you’ve met one person with Asperger’s – but so many people have written to say that Ginny reminded them of the Aspie in their life, or that they felt I captured some of that perspective in a way they’d never seen before. It’s really wonderful. "

M & L: Do you ever think about Ginny?

JM: "Oh gosh, all the time. A lot of readers have been asking whether I’ll write a sequel to The Kitchen Daughter, and I don’t have any plans to do it right away, but I have definitely been thinking about where Ginny’s story would go next. I’m very attached to her!"

M & L: Between the Aspergers element of the novel and the supernatural elements of the book did you ever worry that you were juggling too many elements for one book?

JM: "You name it, I’ve worried about it! So that was definitely a concern. I felt like the ghosts, the Asperger’s, and the cooking were all essential elements of the story, and I tried to keep them all in balance. That took a lot of writing and rewriting, but in the finished product I think they all fit in where they should. "

M& L: If KD is turned into a television or feature film do you have an idea of who might play Ginny?

JM: "As I was writing, I was picturing the actress Zoe Kazan, who I’d seen on Broadway shortly before I started working on the book. And she’d be a great choice. But I’d love it even more if the producers would explore the idea of having a young woman with Asperger’s play the role. Heather Kuzmich, who was a contestant on “America’s Next Top Model” a few years back, would actually be just about the right age. Of course it’s highly unlikely that I’ll have much input if the book is optioned for film or TV, but it’s also impossible not to speculate and wonder at least a little!"

Zoe Kazan

M&L: Your bio makes mention of the fact that you made it to the semi finals in the Jeopardy College tournament-What was that like?

JM: "Crazy! I was a senior in college, and the chances of making it were so incredibly slim, it was absolutely unbelievable when I made the cut to appear on the show. (I don’t know which is less statistically likely, getting a novel published or getting on College Jeopardy!, but they’re both nearly impossible, so I’ve been very very lucky twice now.) And it was just a complete whirlwind. Flying to L.A., taping two weeks of shows in two days, meeting Alex, all that craziness. And I didn’t win, but I made a killing in consolation prizes. Klondike bars, electric toothbrushes, Hooked on Phonics, you name it. "

M &L: Do you have a favorite food? Cocktail?

JM: "My favorite food is probably potato puffs – you mix cream puff dough with mashed potatoes, then drop spoonfuls into hot oil to fry them. Cocktailwise, I think it’s hard to beat a good Manhattan."

(For more about Ms. McHenry's life and work check out Simmerblog)

Mark and Lynn check out the secret Prohibition bar at the Planting Fields in Oyster Bay (not a flatscreen in sight!)

2011-05-23T18:27:00.000-07:00

We have only seen a few of these: A for real, secret panel Prohibition bar at the Planting Fields in Oyster Bay. The space is quite small ( a "man cave" if you will ) that could fit only about a half dozen people at once. Nothing fancy, but a piece of history and very cool...

Mark and Lynn take in the Buffalo Bill exhibit at The Planting Fields....

2011-05-23T16:12:00.001-07:00

A few images from the Buffalo Bill exhibit (those are Annie Oakley's gloves) at The Planting Fields in Oyster Bay that Lynn and I saw this weekend...

Lynn likes this New Yorker piece...

2011-05-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

Just a quick line about an article from the New Yorker Lynn found particularly interesting about the marketing of snacks by major corporations like Pepsi. To read it click here.

Scenes from a 30 minute wait outside of M. Wells in Long Island City...

2011-05-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn visit M. Wells in Long Island City...

2011-05-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

We had read about the Long Island City eatery M. Wells from a piece in Time Out NY and were instantly intrigued. One recent, foggy Sunday morning we made the 60 mile trip to the diner at which point we parked nearby and waited outside with a cadre of apparent hipsters for our name to be called. Once we got in, we quickly realized that the wait was most definitely worth it. Lynn had a great and delicate fish and chips entree which was wrapped in the pink newspaper of the Financial Times. I had tartar which managed to have just the right amount of heft and flavor. Most unusual of all were the oysters we had which were topped with a white wine/espresso foam which gave them a sweet and briny kick.

Our brunch cocktails were decadent treats on a crummy day. I don't remember them all that well but mine was entitled a "Slap Shot" and had Canadian Club in it; a tribute no doubt to the national sport of Canadian Chef Hugue Dufor. It was fascinating to watch Chef Dufour work with a kind of relaxed intensity; it reminded me a little bit of the energy Miles Davis had when he performed; confident but wound up tight at the same time. It was not a complete great experience, we had several servers some of which were more engaged than others and the hostess seemed distracted and demonstrated annoyance if we checked with her about where we were with regard to our wait (mainly because we saw parties seated ahead of us who arrived after we did). If this place can raise it's level of service to the food then MW may attain legendary status (at least for now).

M & L

Is the Cook Room in Middle Island, NY the first "Gastro Diner" on Long Island?

2011-05-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Middle Island community is a rather non-descript, fairly unfashionable part of Long Island well known for its busy Wal-Mart. Imagine Mark and Lynn's surprise when an eclectic, dare we say hip diner sprung up recently smack in the middle of this community. The Cook Room has quickly become our favorite place to have a late breakfast on the weekends due to its eclectic menu which features the usual breakfast/brunch favorites like Omelets, Pancakes, Hash Browns, Turkey Buger and so on. We have been twice and the artichoke omelet with roasted red peppers and provolone is my current favorite There is nothing fancy about the food here, no pretense but there is a sense of hip modesty in the details here that is quite becoming (my Diet Coke was served up in a mason jar and John Lennon and Pink Floyd provided the soundtrack for our brunch). Much of this spirit is surely the result of Lauren and Jim a young couple who are running this restarunt We have also just dined at M. Wells in equally unhip Long Island City and it has taken a rather pedestrian old diner space and transformed it into one of the cool places of the moment in the 5 burroughs. Perhaps a kind of "gastro diner" trend is truly starting to take hold in the area. Thanks to the Cook Room, Mark and Lynn don't have to hoof it to Long Island City every time to get outstanding, creative diner food.

25 Middle Country Road

Middle Island, NY 11953
(631) 696-4260

Happy Mother's Day Lynn!

2011-05-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

Lynn enjoying a "momosa" with Barefoot Cellars Bubbly...

Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee is a perfect, somewhat decadent treat for Mother's Day

2011-05-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

Barefoot winemaker Jennifer Wall just continues to impress with their line of excellent, reasonably priced wines. This time out, however, they have released a lovely and celebratory sparkling wine called Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee. The timing of this is highly appropriate as Mother's Day is just around the corner and it is a perfect complement to making brunch for mom, or, on a more decadent note, having breakfast in bed for mom.

The Barefoot Bubbly is a Chardonnay Champagne which has at its base a great palate of fruit flavors, mainly kiwi and peach. This fruit flavor lends itself to a nice cocktail called a "momosa" which is a combination of fruit, orange juice and of course the Barefoot Bubbly.

This versatile sparkling wine should be great for summer as well as it's comfortable price point and accessibility should make Barefoot Bubbly a great daily drink.

Mark and Lynn like Lunch in Paris...

2011-05-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn recently got a paperback copy of Elizabeth Bard's Lunch in Paris; A Love Story with Recipes which was one of our favorite books from last year. It was fun to be reminded of the book and recieving it seemed to be a positive omen for the end of a tough winter and the hope that a new spring is imminent. Ms. Bard's work is much in the vein of the once fresh romance/recipe genre that has fallen into cliche and sourness of late (Julia Powell's Cleaving being exhibit A). Fortunately, Ms. Bard's work here avoids these cliches and her sense of humor and lusty world view (she sleeps with her future husband half way through their first date) manage to keep the reader interested without feeling manipulated. There is some darkness here (Ms. Bard writes of some of her family's struggles with depression) but again Ms. Bard manages to maintain a light touch here and this particular edition gives a brief update from the time when the hardback version of LIP hit the shelves. This is a nice book to begin beach reading season and even a nice pickup for a cool mom on Mother's Day...
M & L

Mark and Lynn run into Anne and Lousa...

2011-04-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Anne and Louisa Hargrave

Lynn and I had the opportunity to attend an event at Southampton's Parrish Art Museum with the great writer James Salter as well as the very fine Portuguese artist Juliao Sarmento entitled Artists and Writers/House and Home. While there, we ran into Louisa Hargrave and her lovely daughter Anne. Ms. Hargrave, an old acquaintance with whom we had met and worked with at a couple of film festivals and food & wine event. Ms. Hargrave is well known as an author (most notably her memoir The Vineyard) and advocate for Long Island wine. While in her presence she made some recommendations of wines from local LI vineyards which we are sure to check out as the weather gets more agreeable and wine drinking moves to the great outdoors.

Sweetie Pies in Cold Spring Harbor helps Lynn get ready for her astrology reading...

2011-04-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Lynn had a reading with an astrologer early last Sunday in Cold Spring Harbor. Finding ourselves in the unusual position of being slightly ahead of time we stopped in the charming town to get some coffee and a bite to eat so that Lynn would have her stregnth to get through the hour reading she was about to experience. Lucky us; we found Sweetie Pies on Main an achingly charming coffee, tea and edibles establishement. Lynn had a very robust, healthy cookie full of sunflower seeds, cranberry and oatmeal which raised her blood sugar level without the eventual crash that a sugary cookie might. Safet to say it also gave Lynn the boost she needed to get through her long, detailed reading early on Sunday morning...

M

Barrique brings at touch of Brooklyn to Babylon, NY

2011-04-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

Babylon New York is a nice, attracitive little town on Long Island's It is the kind of town that one of the characters on Mad Men might have commuted from in the 60's; very charming and loaded with Americana imagery. It is not necessarily known as a food mecca but it does have the well regarded Argyle Grill and across the street from Argyle Babylon now boasts Barrique a small European style bistro with charming rustic touches like rugged, re-claimed wood (a la Fatty Cue in Brooklyn). Barrique apparently means small, oak barrel (typically used in wine making) and the restaurant does have a "vine forward" point of view with a great variety of wines and a clever offering of wine pairings (such as a "dessert wine" pairing that we hope to try in the future). Impressively enough, the amount of available wines is extensive but not overwhelming (a lazy habit of big restaurants trying to impress clientele).

Lynn had a refreshing cocktail of St. Germaine, Aperol and Champagne and I had a nice glass of Layer Cake Shiraz. Lest we forget about the food Lynn and I split a Delicious dish of sauteed calamari with a robust sweet plum sauce and possibly the best mussels we have ever had; they were cooked in white wine and garlic (nothing unusual about that) but they also seemed to have some kind of coconut milk as part of the flavoring which added an extra layer of sensuality to the texture of the mussels.

Lastly, the wait staff was attractive and first rate and made us comfortable on every level. Barrique is a great addition to Babylon and a place we are already making plans to revisit...

M & L

Mark and Lynn eat well in Brooklyn (again)

2011-03-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Lynn had gotten it in her head that she wanted cupcakes from Brooklyn. We also wanted to have something to eat from Bark. So, we drove into Brooklyn ate at Bark and made our way over to Cupcakeland on Metropolitan in the Williamsburg area of the burough. The space was minmal but the cupcakes were amazing. Lynn particularly loved the Red Velvet cupcake which had a standout whipped cream cheese frosting that had a great, lush texture. It was also a bargain at a mere 2.50.
M & L

8 hours in Brooklyn...

2011-03-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Mark and Lynn make it through the nasty Northeast winter; thanks Death's Door!

2011-03-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

A quick tribute to a great whisky (with a catchy name) that seems fairly close to moonshine due to it's clarity and sweet taste, Death's Door White Whisky has helped Mark and Lynn get through the tough Northeast winter with a certain amount of aplomb and elan intact...

Let's Bring Back celebrates the way things used to be...

2011-03-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

We just got an amusing book called Let's Bring Back: An encyclopedia of fogotten-yet-delightful, chic, useful, curious and otherwise commendable things from times gone by (Chronicle). The author and bon vivant Lesley M.M. Blume has compiled an alphabetical list of mini essays on a plethora of subjects which have faded from cultural view (model airplanes, hobby horses, family bibles, latin, attention spans and so on). Among this list are several items related to culinary and imbibing pleasurs including gimlets (here a concoction of gin and lime juice), neopolitan ice cream, new year's day parties, the old, venerable soda fountain chain Schrafft's, Automats, as well as a belly busting breakfast treat from the turn of the century called "Fat Rascals" made popular by being one of Teddy Roosevelt's favorite treats. Mark and Lynn tend to be digital reactionaries so you can imagine what a great tonic Ms. Blume's book was for us...

Randy Clemens brings the Vietnamese-American heat to everyday dining with The Sriracha Cookbook

2011-03-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

The breakout ingredient for the new decade is without a doubt Sriracha. The so-called "Rooster Sauce" (so-called due to the distinctive graphic rooster on the bottle) was Bon Appetit magazine's ingredient of the year in 2010 and to begin 2011 we have The Sriracha Cookbook: 50 Rooster Sauce Recipes that Pack a Punch. This work is author Randy Clemens' attempt to broaden the horizons and uses of this litterally and figurartively "hot" sauce.

Randy Clemens

Author Clemens' fills in some of the origin of the particullarly popular brand of hot sauce turned out by Huy Fong Foods; for instance, the rooster on the side of the bottle is in commemoration of Huy Fong Foods founder David Tran's birth year as determined by the Chinese Zodiac ("roosters" are often thought to be good in the kitchen); the sauce is not the only brand of Sriracha either as there are several Thai inspired versions including popular brands Golden Mountain and Shark Brand (these tend to be milder on the whole). Another footnote of particular interest is that Sriracha is not a traditional staple of Vietnam but is more related to the Vietnamese-American tradition since Tran actually developed the concotion in California in the early 80's where it gathered a kind of following due to it's heat, flavor and memorable packaging.

Mr. Clemens does an impressive job of rolling out a number of creative recipes that revolve around this shall we say charasmatic sauce. Some of the recipes seem like a natural fit for the stregnths and tasts of Sriracha such as a Gazpacho recipe made with Sriracha; others seem like a hip utilization of the Vietnamese staple like Sriracha and Spam Fried rice; others seem like a kind of great novelty such as a number of Sriracha inspired cocktails most memorably a twist on the Bloody Mary called a "Bleeding Mary."

There is much more here, even a nod to the DIY foodie movements where there is instruction to make your own Sriracha; perhaps Lynn and I will make some for friends in between making Bleeding Marys...

Author and Farmer Kristin Kimball explains the ins and outs of the Dirty Life to Mark and Lynn...

2011-02-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

Harvard educated Kristin Kimball's life as a Manhattan journalist was glamorously bohemian but somehow oddly lacking. Fate stepped in when she interviewed a charismatic young farmer in upstate New York (who immediately put her to work slaughtering pigs and hoeing) and it quickly dawned on her that her life was about to change and soon enough she swapped her sophisticated but stressful lifestyle for a physically challenging but emotionally rich existence running a co-operative farm in upstate New York with her interview subject (who ultimately became her husband).

The Dirty Life (Scribner) is Ms. Kimball's version of these events. Her writing is very warm, sweet natured and refreshingly unironic. At times, her narrative has a kind of early American quality (it reminded me of the film Drums Along the Mohawk which begins with an urbane society woman leaving Albany to settle into the Revolutionary hornets nest in Central New York).

At present, she and her husband Mark run Essex Farm near Lake Champlain where they provide members of the farm a "whole diet" approach to organic farming where not only vegetables are provided (over 50 kinds) but meat, milk, poultry, honey, grains, lard and so on (again, all organic). In between her "dirty life," Ms. Kimball was gracious enough to speak with us about her life, her work and what she misses about Manhattan.

M & L: When you decided to raise the bar on the CSA model by providing a "whole diet" approach to producing for the community was there a precedent that your farm was following? What made you think this approach would work?

KK: "As far as we know, we were the first. It's been fun to watch some of the farmers who have worked here go on to start their own farms, using a similar model. A lot of them are draft horse powered, too. We really didn't know if it would work or not, especially in our area, which is not exactly the most progressive place in the world. We chose this model because we both wanted to produce the food we liked to eat. So it was hedonism, really. And once you eat as well as a farmer eats, you can never go back."

M & L: How did you come up with the idea for the title?

KK: "As a farmer, you become intimate with all the things regular civilians avoid touching: shit, dirt, blood, sweat, guts, grease. But farming is also a sensual, romantic, physical, sexy life. So with the title, I tried to gesture at both those ideas. "

M & L: Your book cover is very striking; how did you decide to use this image?

KK: "Scribner sent a fabulous photographer, Deborah Feingold, to take the cover picture. I think she got it just right: a beautiful image, but unpolished. It says this is absolutely not a gentleman's farm, and that's the truth."

M & L: Is there something that your farm wants to grow or cultivate that you haven't had the time or chance to attempt?

KK: "Sheep! Also, a real orchard, with apples, pears, sour cherries. It'd be nice to have a cider house. We would like a cheese cave, and maybe a bread oven. I'd also like to get better at the things we do already."

M & L: Do you ever miss anything about life in Manhattan?

KK: "Fast-talking people. The way Manhattanites curse: eloquently, and without guilt. The sound of many different languages. Yelling TAXI. Bars, movie theaters, ethnic food. Most of all, my sister and my friends."

M & L: If you hadn't met your husband what do you think you would be doing now?

"KK: "Sheesh. Who knows. Probably still in the city, writing content for cash...."

A sexy restaraunt in the South End of Boston? Mark and Lynn experience TORO

2011-02-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

In our not completely limited experience of eating and drinking in Boston we have had pretty good eating and drinking experiences. Never, however, before have we found a really sexy restaurant in the area; until now, that is. Toro is a tapas restaurant owned and operated by Chef Ken Oringer in the South End of Boston that has a great, diverse menu of small plate offerings after the Spanish fashion.

The space, as mentioned earlier, is quite sensual with great lighting, nice looking distressed seating and furnishings and warm, attractive servers and staff. We have always thought Boston to be considerably more stressed than New York, but here, we found that customers seemed more relaxed and willing to unwind than usual.

As for the food; the beauty of Toro is that there are so many affordable dishes; there are several appetizer style dishes under $5.00 (we had Tuna Salad with anchovy, a sweet tasting Grass Fed Beef Heart with Romensco, and Toasted bread with tomato, garlic and sea salt-all less than $5.00). Other offerings we enjoyed were the griddled garlic shrimp; a hefty and spicy paella made for two and corn on the cob with a kind of spicy creme sauce adorning it that was as sweet and filling as any dessert.

Boston is a progressive city when it comes to being green (sometimes annoyingly so). Toro is justifiably proud of not only its use of local fare and Toro's website makes mention of a myriad of green practices such as the fact that they are partners in attempts to recycle wine corks to make footwear as well as the fact that soy based inks are used in the printing of their t shirts. This kind of thing seems less self-conscious in the context of Toro's chicness and allure. In any event, Toro is well on it's way to becoming our favorite dining spot in Boston.

Mark and Lynn eat up Sweet in Harvard Square

2011-02-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of our weekend, Lynn and I found Sweet; a cupcake and cake boutique in Harvard Square called Sweet. The elegant and attractive place had what Lynn thought were the best cupcakes she had ever had (particularly good was a red velvet cupcake). The interior was particularly striking and seemed more like a jewelry store than a bakery; no real surprise then that the big screen TV was playing Breakfast at Tiffany's.

48 snowy hours in Boston...

2011-02-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

Mark and Lynn smuggle Breuckelen Gin out of Brooklyn...

2011-01-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

On one of our recent trips to Brooklyn's Red Hook area we visited a great Spirits store Dry Dock Wine & Spirits. we picked up a bottle of Breuckelen Gin. This particular spirit is the creation of Brooklyn's Brad Estabrooke who was inspired to create this spirit after having read an article about how distilling laws were being modified to allow for more distilleries to open and flourish. He was laid off from his finance job in '08 and has been working as a distiller ever since. The spelling of the gin is apparently one of the older forms of the spelling of Brooklyn which seems appropriate as the spirit has a great kind of early American bite to it that makes me think of a film like Drums Along the Mowhawk with it's colonial politics and dark, cozy taverns with men sitting around in tri corner hats smoking a clay pipe. It was fun for us to bring a bottle back as it is widely available in Brooklyn, Manhattan and even upstate but thus far not on Long Island...

Mark, Lynn, Kristina, Dave, Jackson and Sloane check out Brooklyn Brewery

2011-01-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

We visited the Brooklyn Brewery last weekend and found quite a raucous but friendly scene while there. No doubt the raucous was due in part to the impending Jets-Patriots game as well as the long, MLK weekend. We went with our daughter Kristina, son-in-law David and their charming children lovely Sloane and rock star Jackson. I am not much of a beer drinker but my son in law David appreciates the art of brewing and anyway we are always up for that kind of thing,

The Brewery has a roguish back story; co-founded in 1987 by former AP correspondent Steve Hindy learned to brew his own beer while working in the Middle East where many states forbid alcohol consumption. When returning to the US Mr. Hindy continued to work on his own concoctions with the assistance of Tom Potter, a former Chemical Bank lending officer and Mr. Hindy's neighbor. Initially, the beer was brewed in Utica, NY and marketed, transported and so on by Mr. Hindy and Mr. Potter. In 1996 the two acquired a former Matzo factory and converted it into a functional brewery (much of this story can be found in Mr. Hindy's and Mr. Potter's book Beer School).

We were familiar with Brooklyn Brewery beer having seen it's rather iconic "B" in the beer case of places like Whole Foods and in local beverage stores but, alas, we had never tried it. Saturday, however, seemed like a nice moment to try the place and we were very impressed with the results. First off, as mentioned previous, the place had an raucous vibe that we have rarely seen in uber cool Brooklyn. Second, everyone was very friendly to us and despite the amount of people everyone was very cool about letting us maneuver through the crowd with children and samples of beer.

By far our favorite brew was the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout which reminded us favorably of traditional Guinness but with a savory bite that differs from Guinesses' pleasant bitterness. Upon our return to Brookhaven we immediately got a pack which is the perfect beer for the kind of bitter winter evenings we are having here in the northeast.

Mark, Lynn, Kristina, Dave, Jackson and Sloane check out Fatty Cue in Brooklyn...

2011-01-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

Mark and Lynn took the Perkins branch of our family (Dave, Kristina, Jackson and Sloane) to Brooklyn as part of Kristina's birthday weekend. First up was Fatty Cue a restaurant that specializes in mash ups of US barbecue and Asian cuisine. First off, the place was predictably attractive with a dark, rugged bar area and a cozy but naturally lit back dining room that felt cloistered and brought to my mind a tavern where early American politics might be debated.

The staff were the most friendly we have ever seen anywhere. To appreciate how jarring this kind of thing is to me remember I am from North Carolina where everyone is supposed to be friendly and everyone North of say Virginia are supposed to be unrepentant jackasses. Our experiences in New York and particularly in Brooklyn have seen us get great service and nice attention, the result of which is that we have seen these stereotypes smashed to bits (ironic, in a way that we have had consistent trouble with restaurant service in my native Tar Heel state). Most impressive from this experience was the ease at which the staff handled our grandchildren. Jackson and Sloane are well behaved and are actually very sophisticated in this kind of environment but they are spirited and get excited in a stimulating environment. Jackson and Sloane typically get a lot of attention (click this link to see an example of this) and the staff here were great in accommodating our stroller, getting a high chair for Sloane and so on. One of the waiters was predictably charmed by Jackson and took the trouble to download "Thomas the Train" pages that he (Jackson) could color.

As is the pattern in Brooklyn we loved the cocktails; Lynn had something called a Big Ben which combined Scotch, Elderflower, Lillet Blanc, Orange and Campari. I rarely like cocktails which feature Scotch but this one really helped sweeten up the masculine smokiness of the Scotch making for a great cold weather cocktail that packed just the right amount of punch. I had a great rye Manhattan but I mildly regret not having stepped out of my comfort zone to try a "Dark and Stormy" a rum based drink with ginger beer that I will be sure to try next time.

The food was definitely stick to your ribs fare; I had a grilled cheese with chili butter that was really huge and my son in law David (a fellow Southerner) had Pork Ribs that were flavorful and hefty. We went out into the Brooklyn cold pleasantly stuffed and proceeded to walk off some of the hefty carbs and protein vowing to return to experience dinner and more of the savory cocktails.

Mark, Lynn, Kristina, Dave, Jackson and Sloane take Brooklyn by storm...

2011-01-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

Mark and Lynn visit Dry Dock in Red Hook...

2011-01-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

Whilst in Red Hook Lynn and I happened upon a liquor store called Dry Dock Spirits. A compact and cozy establishment, Dry Dock Liquors has a hip array of spirits and wine. It was there that I found hard to find bourbons like Ancient Age (a favorite from the south but hard to find in NY) as well as local spirits like Breuckelen Gin from Breuckelen Distilling Company.

The representatives from this establishment let us have a nice shot of this particular hometown spirit. Breuckelen Gin struck us as bracing, old fashioned and a pleasant punch to our pallate....

Mark and Lynn in and around Red Hook in Brooklyn...

2010-12-29T17:40:00.000-08:00

The statue of liberty is in the background...

Mark and Lynn at Fort Defiance in Brooklyn

2010-12-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I went into Brooklyn (yet again) this time to visit the Red Hook area. We mainly concentrated on visiting locations on Van Brunt street. One of the locations was Fort Defiance where we had a late afternoon Manhattan made with the old school Old Overhoot brand. We were the only people in the restaraunt/bar but with the drink and the general coziness of the place we felt very comfortable. We had just eaten at the Hope and Anchor a block or so away so were were not terribly hungry.

However, some of the invnetive tasty offerings on the FD menu like Grilled baby octopus with black olive butter & shaved fennel as well as Buttermilk fried chicken sandwich with lettuce, pickles, & lemon aioli will bring us back as will some of the great cocktail offerings such as the Bourbon Milk Punch...

Two Macho Argentian reds fill Mark and Lynn with the spirit of Brando and Eastwood...

2010-12-20T16:19:00.000-08:00

This is the year that we came to be really exposed to and appreciative of Argentian wines. Truth be told, they are easy to appreciate and we have come to enjoy Malbec which we had initially had a hard time warming up to properly. Our latest discoveries are wines from the Bodega Elena De Mendoza line which are among the most appealing wines we have tasted this year.

As with many of our wine experiences we tend to think of them in cinematic terms rather than the typical, and in our mind, rather tired venacular of wine critique (fruity, bold, chocolate, manure, grass,etc).

The Malbec we had was straightforward and sensual with a raw quality that made it almost confrontational in it's unfolding. It reminded us of the great and controversial (at the time) Last Tango in Paris...

The other red, a blend of Malbec, Syrah and Bonarda seemed to have the macho, cowboy quality that Argentina has become associated with. This red would pair well with any of the Sergio Leone spaghetti western particularly A Fistful of Dollars...

Need a Holiday gift for the Don Draper (Roger Sterling) in your life? How about the Four Seasons Book of Cocktails?

2010-12-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

A warm, elegant book The Four Seasons Book of Cocktails (Sterling) has a two fold mission one to enable the home mixologist to replicate some of the sophisticated cocktails found at the venerable Four Seasons and second, and more interesting, to apparently act as a kind of primer to building a first rate home bar and gathering techniques to make a great drink. There is talk about some of the fundamentals of making a great cocktail like what kind of ice to use (cubed-crushed ice can dilute the drink's potency), but there are also fascinating tips about how to "float" and "layer" drinks such as a pousse-cafes style drinks.

The Four Seasons Book here has a crisp, easy to access layout in the interior and a sharp looking exterior that makes it look as handsome as the picture of the Four Seasons inside. Very cool and easy to imagine on the bookshelf of Don Draper's office (or more likely Roger Sterling)...

Need a Christmas Present for the Mixology Geek? May we suggest Punch?

2010-12-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

A great and timely Christmas present is Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl (Perigree) written by spirits historian and archivist David Wondrich. Punch chronicles the history and development of, well, Punch, particularly the alcoholic variety which was particularly popular in Europe from the 1600's well into the 1800's. Mr. Wondrich mentions that in nearly every significant account of day to day life in the 18th and 19th century there are mentions of Punch at some point. Many of the great English language authors (Defoe, Byron, Coleridge, Dickens) made reference to it in their work.

Mr. Wondrich's book also traces the eventual downfall in Punch's popularity mainly having to do with the lack of large amounts of free time that could be devoted to enjoying punch at a leisurely pace. If Punch makes a comeback there is no doubt that Mr. Wondrich's book will have a lot to do with it; perhaps this is the next frontier for mixology geeks since the antiquarian cocktail revival might be moving into a new phase. There are plenteous punch recipes in this work and most are complicated and fussy enough recipe wise to be gratifyingly challenging to a cocktail geek.

Mark and Lynn find the Dressler in Brooklyn to our liking...

2010-12-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

We finally got around to going to the Dressler in Brooklyn (the quote at the top of our masthead is from Dalia Jurgensen who besides being an author is also the pastry Chef at this restaurant). and were blown away in a small way. Why in a small way? Well, the pleasures of the place were subtle so as good as the food was it was a series of small pleasures that made the experience so sublime. First off, there was the waitress who was attentive and tuned into us and who had an interesting looking leather apron draped around her torso.

Second, we were seated at a very attractive and singular booth where the two diners faced each other almost like Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint did in North By Northwest. This seemed to be a one of a kind booth in the restaurant which made us feel particularly appreciated.

Things just continued to be great with a nice Pimm's Sicilian Cocktail (Pimm's, Blood Orange Liqueur, Fresh Lime and Fresh ginger) which proved to be a nice, warm (but not overpowering) drink for a cold winter's night. Lynn had the venison special which was as buttery and flavorful as any great piece of Fillet Mignon (for instance); my grilled octopus was succulent as was my warm artichoke salad which had the perfect amount of lightness and heft. Lynn ordered an otherworldly pumpkin cheesecake whipped up by our favorite pastry chef Dalia which finished off an impressive evening of memorable, but not over the top, dining.

James in Brooklyn is Mark and Lynn's latest favorite place...

2010-12-13T06:54:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I went into Brooklyn yet again this Sunday to see the Mark Morris re-imagining of the Nutcracker Suite which was entitled The Hard Nut. Prior to this, we were fortunate to have some time for a casual brunch at the Brooklyn restaurant James. This experience rates as one of our most memorable dining experiences of the year. For one, the place had the best and most creative drinks we have ever sampled and, by extension, the best bartender we have ever had the good luck to cross paths with; a tall gentlemen named Brendan with a Civil War General's beard and a sure touch with a cocktail shaker.

The food was also out of this world; particularly the Duck Sausage (that Lynn had as part of her meal) which had the great flavor of pork sausage without the heaviness associated with more traditional types of sausage. I had two heaping platters of Malpeque Oysters (with Bloody Mary Hot Sauce) which had a great combination of sweetness and brine; but I was also tempted by other items on the menu like the Steak and Eggs with Choron sauce as well as the Lemon Ricotta pancakes.

Our waitress with an odd tattoo of a circle with a slash through it was charming and warm which helped us feel particularly great as the weather was horrid outside. Lynn and I eat at a lot of places that are great but would not necessarily seek out again; this is not one of those places...

James

605 Carlton Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11238

718.942.4255

Holiday sing along at the American Hotel in Sharon Springs, NY

2010-12-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

Mark and Lynn visit the Beekman Boys in Sharon Springs...

2010-12-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

~~One half of "The Beakman Boys, Dr. Brent Ridge poses with Lynn~~

The other half of "The Beakman Boys" Josh Kilmer-Purcell poses with Mark

Lynn and I went up to Sharon Springs, NY last weekend to see the Victorian Christmas Celebration spearheaded by Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell AKA "The Beakman Boys" whose experiment in promoting forward thinking with regard to agricultural arts and emphasis on local craftsmanship has yielded a book, The Bucolic Plague, an account of their transition from slick Manhattanites to upstate NY resourcful types as well as a TV show on the Planet Green channel.

We had a great time, the guys were very nice and cordial to all participants. The cold tempatures helped everyone get in the mood and the generous pouring at the nearby American Hotel took care of the cold and helped everyone get into the spirit.

Mark and Lynn read a mystery and find a great recipe...

2010-12-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

Lynn got a copy of a wonderful new book by a young author who seems destined for an interesting career. The book, The Black Squirrel Ball: A Samantha Cummings Mystery reminds us, for some reason, of the great old Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys series (if for no other reason than the catchy title). In any event, embedded within the mystery is a nice recipe which is as follows:

Blueberry Pudding Cake

Ingredients

2 cups of blueberries

Juice of ½ lemon

¾ cup of sugar

3 TBSP butter (room temp works best)

½ cup milk

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup sugar

1 TBSP cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

Step 1

Put blueberries and lemon juice in the bottom of a well greased 1 quart baking dish.

Step 2

Blend butter sugar, milk, flour, and baking powder. Spread over blueberries.

Step 3

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt; sprinkle over batter.

Step 4

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the top of the mixture.

Set baker on aluminum foil or on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serve warm plain or with vanilla ice cream!

Mark and Lynn check out Todd English's Ozone at Logan Airport...

2010-11-30T16:19:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I had gone to meet our daughter Kristina and her magnificent children Jackson and Sloane at Logan's Airport. Located just before Terminal E in Logan's Airport; Ozone was a kind of oasis for us as we were hungry and tired and more troubling, bored having gotten to the airport almost an hour too early. We ducked into Ozone, an eatery from the stable of celeb-chef Todd English (it apparently replaced the "Cheers" themed restaraunt around 2004).

Let us say the experience was better than the food; my arugala salad was filling and fresh tasting (I had a nice glass of red wine but can't remember more than that-we were anxious to see our family). Lynn's calamari plate was enormous but somewhat undistinguished.

The place itself was memorable; the lighting a kind of homage to sixties Euro-comic films like Danger Diabolik, Barbarella and Modesty Blaise. The homage seemed fairly obvious as there were striking comic panels on the walls of the restaraunt (Herge? Jean Claude Forest?) seemingly European in Origin? Our petite, brunnette female bartender had a memorable accent and a charming way about her which helped sustain us while we waited for our loved ones to fly in to the next chapter of their lives...

Cafe Sol Azteca in Newton delivers good Mexican comfort food and drink...

2010-11-29T18:00:00.000-08:00

Part of the problem with having a food site is that we start to think about everything we eat and drink as how it might fit into a post (Lynn less so than me). I try to turn this tendency off as much as possible as I want to experience the world through my senses and not through this site (Hemingway, a big influence on me would have understood). In any event, on our recent trip to Boston we ate at a nice Mexican restaurant called Cafe Sol Azteca. There are two of these eateries in and around Boston (we ate at the one in Newton) and they serve the Mexican equivalent of comfort food; very basic, very familiar, no pretense, no re-boot or re-invention, no "new" Mexican. We are not great Mexican food eaters but we enjoy the hospitality of the place and the portions of the food are generous as are the drinks (I had a great Cuba Libre there). Mainly, it was a great place to spend time with family and enjoy the simple pleasures of simple food.

Flour in Boston leaves a nice taste ....

2010-11-28T06:59:00.000-08:00

After our rather unfortunate experience at the Full Moon Cafe we were glad to have had a great experience at Flour. Flour is a bakery cafe with three locations in and around Boston (we went to the one on Washington Street). We stopped there fairly late in the day last weekend and had a very late lunch. To our surprise the place was abuzz but thanks to an efficient staff behind the counter the line moved along quite quickly. The menu was huge for a place that was relatively compact and for a place that makes pretty much everything fresh. Lynn had a hummus, cucumber salad with radish and red onion that was served in a stainless steel bowl which helped make the presentation attractive as well as helped the salad remain icy cold. I had a salad with grilled roast chicken, brie, arugula and peppers which had a good combination of crisp and creaminess (they also had my favorite condiment the Vietnamese hot sauce Hoy Fung Sriracha sauce).

The interior was also very attractive with a cool wall sized blackboard with the menu scratched upon it; the space has some communal seating which we were lucky enough to snag despite the crush of customers. The two young women sitting with us were quite nice and were predictably charmed by our two attractive grandchildren. The population in Boston seem more at home about this kind of thing than people in New York so the effect is actually quite pleasant and relaxed.

Mark and Lynn have a sour experience at the Full Moon Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts

2010-11-23T18:43:00.000-08:00

Hopefully we won't get in trouble for taking this picture...

Lynn and I spent the weekend in and around Boston as our daughter and son in law were moving into a new apartment near Boston. We were lucky enough to have our grandchildren for 48 fun and eventful hours. Lynn is always interested in checking out new places to eat and drink (obviously) and one of the places that popped up when she googled "family friendly restaurants" or something like that was The Full Moon Cafe in nearby Cambridge. On Sunday, a short window of time popped up and we had the chance to go there for a late breakfast.

The menu was what was of real interest to Lynn as there were many vegetable and even vegan choices (trying to be a good influence on our grand children's culinary habits). Despite this, there were also plenty of traditional breakfast/brunch/lunch choices like huevos rancheros, and a grilled chicken BLT. I had the well prepared and hefty grilled salmon which was nice and kind of interesting to have as a breakfast dish. Lynn had a concoction called "The Norway" which was scrambled eggs and smoked salmon which gave her a much needed shot of protein after a fun, but eventful weekend. My grandson had blueberry pancakes which he seemed to enjoy a great deal and which we were glad to see him eat since the food at FM is so conscientiously prepared.

Now for the bad; When Lynn phoned ahead to see if there would be a wait the male on the other end of the line (possibly the manager/owner we guessed) was quite discouraging and said they were "slammed." We decided to give it a shot and when we got there about 5 minutes later the place was only half full and we were quickly seated. Despite this, it took at least 10 minutes for us to be waited on. The final awkward moment of the meal nearly ruined our experience; I had taken some pictures of Lynn feeding our granddaughter Sloane in the restaurant and about 15 minutes later on my way to the restroom the waitress mentioned some nonsense about the owner being uncomfortable with us taking pictures in the restaurant as there were kids there. She stopped short of saying he didn't want us to take pictures, however. There were no signs indicating that picture taking was not allowed that I saw (and believe me I really looked). This was about midway through our time there and as you might imagine it put a damper on the rest of our meal. Lynn and I are proud of how conscious and sensitive we are of people's privacy and we usually end up simply taking pictures of food, wine glasses and cocktails at the various places we eat and drink. We know the restaurant had kids there but so does every restaurant we eat in all and every time and we have never been scolded like that before. Believe me, we have no interest in taking pictures of anybody else's unattractive obnoxious kids; only our clearly superior perfect grand kids. Plus, if this is a concern why not put up a sign or something; and, finally, why did the owner not check with me about this? Why did he send the waitress over?

We ended up chalking it up to a certain Yankee fussiness and a whiff of over protective parenting run amok. Of course we won't worry about it again as there are many great restaurants in the Boston area who would love us to take pictures in their restaurant...

M & L

Jackson and Sloane at the Hotel Indigo Boston-Newton Riverside...

2010-11-23T06:52:00.000-08:00

The Dumbo General store impresses Mark and Lynn by not trying to hard...

2010-11-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

While in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn we grabbed a quick late morning bite at the DUMBO General Store a well lit and friendly place in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. The food we had was very good and unpretentious (Lynn's Breakfast Sandwich was particularly well prepared). I had a fairly nondescript but nice glass of white wine. Our server was particularly sweet and well mannered. As with many places in the area the interiors are something to write home about and the General Store had interesting lighting and communal tables made of worn, rugged and (I am guessing) reclaimed wood. Not a place we would go out of our way to visit again, but a nice little oasis to recharge with solid food and a generous staff.

111 FRONT STREET, BROOKLYN, NY, 11201

PH: 718.855.5288

MON-WED 8AM-6PM

THUR-SUN 8AM-12AM

Mark and Lynn under the Brooklyn Bridge...

2010-11-16T18:13:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I hit the DUMBO section of Brooklyn (Down under mahattan bridge overpass) mostly to satisfy some of our curiosity about this unique and diverse borough of NY. Lynn went shopping and I went to the great boxing mecca Gleason's gym (recently featured in my favorite show Bored to Death) and worked out alongside some of the professionals which was a great and unique learning experience for an enthusiast of the sport such as myself.

Turning Leaf sponsors 24 hour hotline for the holiday stressed...

2010-11-13T17:45:00.000-08:00

Turning Leaf Wine is sponsoring a 24 hour automated tip line (1-877-TLWINE-3) to help educate and inform about food and wine pairings, recipe suggestions and other relevant food and wine menu to help make the holidays satisfying and festive. The hotline will run from now until the end of the year with live help from November 20-22 (2pm-8pm). Among those manning the phones will be Turning Leaf winemaker Nicole Hitchcok; entertaining guru Robyn Moreno and wine expert Marueen Petrosky. Have fun and learn something!

Mark and Lynn face temptation at The Chocolate Room in Brooklyn...

2010-11-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I were sort of waning at the end of a long day in Brooklyn when we ducked into The Chocolate Room on 5th Avenue in Park Slope. We were immediately comforted as the creeping early evening darkness, tired feet and a chill in the air had dampened our resolve; the place was warm, cozy, elegant and unpretentious. A sweet young employee steered Lynn to two great small bite of chocolate ( white chocolate with raspberry mousse, dark chocolate with pumpkin mousse) that bolstered Lynn's spirits immeasurably. The interior was so elegant we were tempted to stay and get our second wind, fortunately, our self awareness kicked in and we got out knowing if we stopped there our chances of leaving in the short run were not great...

M& L

The Chocolate Room

86 Fifth Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11217

Our phone number: (718) 783-2900

Our fax number: (718) 783-3939

Mark and Lynn think Brooklyn's Bark is as good as it's ...

2010-11-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

Lynn and I were in Brooklyn for a comic book convention this past Sunday and we got the chance to check out a great, high end hot dog restaraunt in Brooklyn called Bark. By high end we mean that the place has wonderful hot dogs with familiar toppings with unusual backstories; oak barrel aged sauerkraut, braised bacon from Wisconsin; meat from Hartmann's Old World Sausage; cheese from Grafton, Vermont and so on.

The interior uses reclaimed pine on the walls as well as on the communal dining tables; diners are encouraged to recycle and compost as part of the experience (seperate bins near the exit make this easy). Bark also uses green power from Con Ed; environmentally friendly cleaning products from Ecologic Solutions from Brooklyn and so on. This kind of thing doesn't impress us so much (we are in Brooklyn after all). The hot dogs, however were the best we have ever had; Lynn's in particular was heavenly (actually, a veggie dog) with toasted pumpkin seeds, butternut squash and kale vinagrette. As with a lot of things in the area there are a couple of nods to adults; mainly in the form of a nice beer and wine menu.

Mark and Lynn around Park Slope Brooklyn on Marathon Day...

2010-11-08T17:24:00.000-08:00

Lynn comparing notes with Burlesque Performer and Artist Paige Pumphrey at "King Con" in Brooklyn

Some of the thousands of NYC Marathon participants

The boys and girls at Painter's in Brookhaven play dress up...

2010-11-07T18:28:00.000-08:00