FOOD RECOLLECTIONS

Something I came across in our recent purging spell was a little notebook in which I  noted memorable foods. Yes, of course it should be thrown away. Anyone in his right mind would toss it without a second thought.  If I share my jottings with you, that will help me release the pages to the round file.

In Amsterdam I discovered
        ≈French fries served with mayonnaise
          (much better than ketchup, methinks)
In France I still remember       
        ≈a seedless raspberry tart. How, I                        
            wonder, was that produced?
         ≈Icky cheese.....I'm not fond of smelly
            cheeses. When I was asked if I 
            would like some Stilton, I politely
            said, "No, thank you" and the lady
            misunderstood and put a sizable
            slice of it on my plate. 
          ≈Rising before dawn to get to a 
            famous antique sale, we ate at an 
            obscure cafe. A basket of fresh
            croissants on the table made even the
            scrambled eggs memorable.

In England
          ≈Fish and chips lived up to their
            reputation.
          ≈Breakfasts in the B&Bs....always
            including tomatoes and limp bacon
          ≈In one pub after dinner, dessert was
            served.......cheesecake under a 
            mound of real whipped cream.

Ruth's Chris
          ≈The prices will prohibit another
             visit, but I'll always remember the
             sizzling ribeye steak, served with
             a pat of butter on top.

Louisville, KY
          ≈In a little cafe on the river road, we
            were served hot pulled pork sand-
            witches long before they became
            popular here.

Honolulu, Hawaii
          ≈Seeking out real Hawaiian food, we
            ate at an unpretentious cafe that
            served pork, swimming in its own fat,
            greens and poi. I don't remember it
            for the food, but for the huge male
            customers that ate there.

Los Angeles, CA, Philippe's
          ≈The double dipped pork sandwiches
             drew us across town. We added

             hot, hot mustard and a scoop of
             cole slaw and moaned with pleasure.
             One time when I suggested having
             supper there, we hopped in the car, 
             drove to Philippe's and on returning
             home found that in our haste we'd
             neglected to close the front door. 

Claremont, CA, Walter's
           ≈I could never order anything other
             than the lamb burrito.

             Fabulous! Lamb cooked 
             with sauce, baked beans and cheese
             inside a flour tortilla topped with
             sour cream and alfalfa sprouts,
             served with Afghan potatoes.

           ≈In my experience, no waffle can
             compare to the one served by Ole's
             in Alameda, California. Crisp, 
             tender, good!

Oakland, CA, The Lighthouse

           ≈Garlicky chicken wings...bleu
             cheese is the traditional thing to
             serve with them, but I prefer the
             ranch dressing.

Culinary Institute of New Orleans
             ≈With an Elderhostel group we
                went here for a cooking demon-
                stration and discovered how much
                I liked gumbo. It was there that
                the chef said, "If you are cooking
                with electricity, there's only one
                thing to do. Move."

Arcadia, CA, Moffats
                ≈THE place to go for chicken pies
                   if you like them filled with 
                   gravy and chicken, no peas.           
                   my opinion, the healthy stuff
                   should be served on the side.

Glendale, CA, Café du Monde
               ≈Alas, this restaurant closed years
                 ago, but I remember so well
                 their garlic soup and steak au
                 poivre vert (a dish I learned to 
                 make at home.)

Glendale, CA,  Jax
                ≈Baby back ribs are always our 

                  choice here.......when am I going
                  to learn that it's no longer "we", 
                  but "my"......?

Montrose, CA, Town Deli
                ≈Another restaurant of the past.
                  Love their version of Chinese
                  Chicken Salad, even if the owner
                  was Mexican.

Bar Harbor, ME
                ≈It was in a restaurant
                  here that I ate the only
                  lobster roll I've ever had.
                  It was utterly delicious.

Nova Scotia
                ≈On the same trip, it was
                  here that I ate a lemon
                  ice box dessert that was so
                  good that I ordered a
                  second one (and I was
                  much smaller then)

Eagle Rock, CA,  Casa Bianca
                ≈If you time it just right
                  and arrive at opening time
                  you can be seated at
                  once......otherwise prepare
                  to wait. I'm sure all the
                  dishes are good here, but
                  we always ordered pizza.

I think this needs to be done in two parts, so we'll finish it tomorrow. Okay?
                 
 Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?  
                                      ~Author Unknown