Tacoma
Et incurventur ante non
- Location
- far enough away
Apparently I've been missed, so here's where I've been:
Charlotte NC, for the AWESOME "Lulu/Grateful Growers Pig Tasting", hosted at Lulu (which is my old friend Marc's restaurant), with heirloom Tamilworth Hogs provided by Grateful Growers, a local farm that specializes in tasty, organic-ish meats.
I haven't seen Marc since I left NY the first time, in '94. At the time, we raced mt. bikes, and he used to run the local skate shop, go to all the local NYHC shows, etc. Having recently found me on Facebook, he invited me to go, and since my wife works for JetBlue (and I count the benefits as income, FOR SURE-- this would have been an $850 flight!!!
), I went.
Here's the menu for his restaurant. Turns out he was trained at his uncle's place in the Adirondacks by Jacques Pepin, who's like the Tony Hawk of American French cuisine. http://www.luludinewine.com/menus.html
and here is the course menu:
first course: hog jowl pane, beet roesti, warm laura chanel goats cheese, arugula puree, bacon-dried cherry vinaigrette This was strange, tasted very much like Lucky Charms... and it was pretty good, given that I generally hate goat cheese.
second course: pork neck ragout, sage crisped gnocchi I could eat this all day, it was like a tasty pork stew, the sauce was some kind of wine deal, and this was served with a chunk of fat/meat that was absolutely delicious... again, given my general dislike of fatty meat, I was surprised how good it was. Perfect blend, melted in my mouth.
third course: hind shank osso buco style, peppadew-horseradish gremolata, red cabbage, smoked risotto "grits" THIS was the best pork I've every had, hands down. Peppadew is apparently a small proprietary S. African hot pepper, and it's super tasty... the smoked risotto was just right, the shank was slightly sweet, braised for hours, and fell off the bone. Marc's sous chef is also an upstate NY'er I used to see at shows, and he said he saved me a good one.
After that, I met "Miss Jenny", a local fixture at The Penguin, this cool rockabilly/punk bar nearby. She is beautiful, and also about 6'7", and perfectly proportioned. High heels made her about 7' tall, and she was delightful.
We left for The Penguin, sans Miss Jenny, where I met the owner, a hyperkinetic Marine with knuckles like an oak tree. PBR's were downed, peoples were met, and off we strolled to Snug Harbor, another local hotspot around the corner. Dave and one of the prep cooks showed up, more good times were had, and back to the Penguin to meet up with the waitresses and their husbands. More drinks, and it was time to bail.
Marc and I talked for awhile, then I rested up for my next day flight. On the layover in NYC, a friend from Jersey met for drinks in the lobby, and donuts, and other than some turbulence, it was all good.
Oh yeah, Tuesday Marc's wife and I went mt. biking at the Whitewater Training Center, which looks awesome. I met one of the guys in charge and talked myself into a return visit to sample the climbing wall and hitch a ride in a kayak down the course. Two huge pools and a bunch of high-horsepower engines to pump it all. Pretty nice ride, she rode into a ditch, which was damn funny.
anyway that's why I've been neglecting RME.
Charlotte NC, for the AWESOME "Lulu/Grateful Growers Pig Tasting", hosted at Lulu (which is my old friend Marc's restaurant), with heirloom Tamilworth Hogs provided by Grateful Growers, a local farm that specializes in tasty, organic-ish meats.
I haven't seen Marc since I left NY the first time, in '94. At the time, we raced mt. bikes, and he used to run the local skate shop, go to all the local NYHC shows, etc. Having recently found me on Facebook, he invited me to go, and since my wife works for JetBlue (and I count the benefits as income, FOR SURE-- this would have been an $850 flight!!!
), I went. Here's the menu for his restaurant. Turns out he was trained at his uncle's place in the Adirondacks by Jacques Pepin, who's like the Tony Hawk of American French cuisine. http://www.luludinewine.com/menus.html
and here is the course menu:
first course: hog jowl pane, beet roesti, warm laura chanel goats cheese, arugula puree, bacon-dried cherry vinaigrette This was strange, tasted very much like Lucky Charms... and it was pretty good, given that I generally hate goat cheese.
second course: pork neck ragout, sage crisped gnocchi I could eat this all day, it was like a tasty pork stew, the sauce was some kind of wine deal, and this was served with a chunk of fat/meat that was absolutely delicious... again, given my general dislike of fatty meat, I was surprised how good it was. Perfect blend, melted in my mouth.
third course: hind shank osso buco style, peppadew-horseradish gremolata, red cabbage, smoked risotto "grits" THIS was the best pork I've every had, hands down. Peppadew is apparently a small proprietary S. African hot pepper, and it's super tasty... the smoked risotto was just right, the shank was slightly sweet, braised for hours, and fell off the bone. Marc's sous chef is also an upstate NY'er I used to see at shows, and he said he saved me a good one.
After that, I met "Miss Jenny", a local fixture at The Penguin, this cool rockabilly/punk bar nearby. She is beautiful, and also about 6'7", and perfectly proportioned. High heels made her about 7' tall, and she was delightful.
We left for The Penguin, sans Miss Jenny, where I met the owner, a hyperkinetic Marine with knuckles like an oak tree. PBR's were downed, peoples were met, and off we strolled to Snug Harbor, another local hotspot around the corner. Dave and one of the prep cooks showed up, more good times were had, and back to the Penguin to meet up with the waitresses and their husbands. More drinks, and it was time to bail.
Marc and I talked for awhile, then I rested up for my next day flight. On the layover in NYC, a friend from Jersey met for drinks in the lobby, and donuts, and other than some turbulence, it was all good.
Oh yeah, Tuesday Marc's wife and I went mt. biking at the Whitewater Training Center, which looks awesome. I met one of the guys in charge and talked myself into a return visit to sample the climbing wall and hitch a ride in a kayak down the course. Two huge pools and a bunch of high-horsepower engines to pump it all. Pretty nice ride, she rode into a ditch, which was damn funny.
anyway that's why I've been neglecting RME.
