Not on the Fourth of July
So for Fourth of July we went to Cowan's Gap, basically a small lake surrounded by lush pine forest, with a little sandy beach at one side, picnic tables, grills, a stand renting kayaks and paddle boats.
O it's not the Fourth you say? Got me there--we went last June 25. But I haven't properly celebrated any holiday secular or religious in years, usually settled for the weekend before or weekend after (helps explain in part my antipathy towards Christmas); either Luz or I or both work that night. Comes with a job that demands 24/7 staffing, 365 days a year--you don't live a normal calendar.
Devilishly good
First heard of Tom Cunanan, Genevieve Villamora, and Nick Pimentel's Bad Saint from Bon Appetit Magazine's rave piece back in August of last year, declaring the little cubbyhole the second best new restaurant in America.
Filipino? Second best in the country? Aside from a chauvinistic kneejerk reaction (Only second best?) I was skeptical. Then almost three months later the Washington Post's Tom Sietsema harumphed about the Michelin Guide's inclusion of the eatery as one of D.C.'s nineteen Bib Gourmand restaurants of 2016--places of good value for 'dining off the clock,' or cheap eats. The food critic opined that the Guide's definition of what's cheap isn't the same as ours (basically two courses and dessert or a glass of wine for $40, minus tax and tip). "The place deserves better," he declared, describing the twenty-four seat no-reservations establishment as a "gem, as gracious as it is luscious," and adding "Outside of a home, I doubt if there's better Filipino cooking anywhere in the country." In November the New York Times' Pete Wells wrote "I have now spent roughly twice as many hours standing on the sidewalk outside Bad Saint as I have spent inside eating its Filipino food" which sounded like the prelude to a complaint so I braced myself: turns out he considered the waiting part of the experience.
The place I belong
Spent the last weekend on a brief swing through West Virginia--why? Why not? Never been there, heard a lot bout the state, wanted to see for ourselves.
My pot runneth over
Was looking at Scott Conant's recipe for Stewed Rabbit with Tarragon Biscuits reminding myself of all the reasons not to try making it: 1) It's not going to be easy. 2) I've never really baked before. 3) I don't have all the ingredients (Morels? Spring garlic?).
But wow it looked good and I had bought three frozen rabbits from Giant the month before so so so
ReINKArnated
Inka Kitchen on 1228 Lincoln Way East isn't exactly easy to spot. If you check the photo below, they have an unpretentious storefront with a small emblem above the door, a roadside sign you see when getting off I-81 to turn towards Gettysburg, and that's about it. Easiest way to remember their location? They're the place beside Kentucky Fried with chicken that tastes much much better.
Penn eats
Managed to go to this year's Pennsylvania Farm Show and other than the horrific traffic ('well-attended' doesn't quite describe it) it was an easy drive.
Not another Christmas dinner
As with Thanksgiving I'm working Christmas Eve into Day and as with that other occasion the one silver lining in this dreary grey raincloud of a sitch is that I get to post my holiday meal before anyone else, so there!
