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A few street scenes.







There are clothing boutiques like this one called Carly's. Courtney was directing Boo to the cute alleyway around the corner.





Here's the cute alleyway:









We peeked inside one of the restaurants. Cute, huh?



We stumbled on this book store that had lots of antique maps.













Boo said she could stay in there the rest of her life.



Boo bought a present for her friends Dixie and Pedro — whom you may remember from such posts as Florence is a City in ... Arizona? They were recently married and have houses in both Arizona and New Mexico, so she got them an antique map that had both.

Gifts in hand, we walked back to our hotel.



It's the Portland Harbor Hotel.



Boo in the foyer.



The lobby. The concierge wasn't really that friendly. (That's not him. He's at the desk.)



The room was very comfortable. We got a nice little "hello and how do you do" in the form of cheese and wine.





Best part? The nice courtyard.

Second best party? Lyle Lovett's band was staying there the same night we were.

Alas, Lyle did not.


]]> General http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=932 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:47:58 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=931
We crossed the river into Maine about 1:30 and the raine was coming down fierce.





By the time we checked into our hotel in Portland it was just schmutzing a bit so we set out in search of our first lobster roll of the weekend.

Porrtland is arranged a lot like New Orleans or Oswego — or any smaller port city. There are docks and a main street running parallel to the water, and then the grade rises up from there and the streets sort of make concentric circles. This here is Commercial Street, an apropros name.



Portland Lobster Company looks to be the draw for many people. It's sort of neatly packaged and cute right by the water.



Le menu:



But Rory — whose family has a farm in Maine — told us that once we were at Portland Lobster Company, to look over by the other docks for J's. So we did that.



It was established in 1977 by Janice "J" Noyes. Hence the J's.

It's 31 years old. It looked perfect.



We walked around the horseshoe shaped bar and took two seats.



Boo is happy.



This is the kind of place that really is a bar by the docks instead of a bar that happens to be near the water pretending to be a bar by the docks.





We ordered a local wheat beer, Allagash.



Cool and crisp with the oysters.



We also tried a clam chowder:



It was nice with some dried oregano and whole clams and big chunks of potato.



But it wasn't quite creamy enough for Boo.



Now the Maine event:



We got one lobster roll —



— and one crab roll:



Neither version comes with mayonnaise. You control the mayonnaise.

We loved both, but Boo liked the lobster better. I found the crab to be pretty good, too — sweeter and milder than the lobster. But c'mon... shellfish inside buttered, toasted hot dog rolls with chips and a pickle? How bad can it be?

A great start to our Maine trip.







]]> General http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=931 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:17:39 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=930

Just discovered a great new regional dish here. Hot and Dry Hubei Mian (Mian is mandarin for noodles). Max's cousin introduced us to this place Wednesday night. He'd heard about it on a message board and says it is the first Hubei Mian restaurant in Beijing.

These are super spicy - I asked for mine zhong la - medium spicy - and they still set my lips on fire. The noodles are coated with sesame sauce (which tastes very close to peanut butter) crushed garlic, chili oil and I think maybe a drop or two of vinegar, and chopped scallions.

They are "hot" because of the spices and "dry" because the sauce all sticks to the noodles - it doesn't puddle in the bottom of your bowl like a more soupy sauce would do. As the Chinese say about a dish like this "They're very special."

The restaurant is located in Dong Si Si Tiao Hutong. I had an interesting experience today trying to find it myself... Wednesday nite as our taxi was taking us home, I made note of a subway station nearby. Today I took the subway there but went in the opposite direction and found myself at Dong Si Shi Si Tiao Hutong. Which looked remarkably similar to Dong Si Si Tiao Hutong - and c'mon the names sound very similar, right?

But there was no Hubei Mian to be found at Dong Si Shi Si Tiao. But since I was there, I decided to explore and went for a long and fascinating stroll through the Hutong. If I were a braver soul, I would have taken a photo for you of some of the old Cultural Revolution signs I saw painted on some walls - but they were inside more private alleyways and it felt like I'd be walking into someone's house to go in and take a photo. So you'll just have to visit Beijing and see them for yourself.

After the long walk I was hungry and determined - sometimes mama's gotta get some Hubei Mian! So I texted Max's cousin to get the correct Hutong name - and hopped in a taxi. By the way, the geography lesson I learned today: "shi si" means 14 - I should have been at Si - which means 4...Anyway, I found found the restaurant and managed to get the owners to understand my bad chinese and bring me a bowl of hot and dry noodles.

Walking back to the subway, I caught sight of a very traditional daily Chinese ritual:



Sorry I was too tired from all the Hutong walking I did to cross the street for a closer shot. But what you are seeing is all the chefs and waitresses from this big restaurant getting their daily opening lecture/pep talk from the manager as the restaurant prepares to open for dinner service. (the waitresses are lined up to the right of the chefs)

As you can kind of see, the staff line up and stand at attention like an army formation. When the talk is over together they all shout a few slogans and clap their hands and then file back into the restaurant in a very army-like fashion and get to work.

And now its time for me to get to work on my Chinese homework. Zai Jian!]]> J in Beijng http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=930 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:48:35 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=929
We had to wait at the bar for our table:



Grandmom couldn’t resist coconut srimps.



We also shared a Caesar:



And two pizzas. The first: bacon, mushrooms and basil:



The second: Pepperoni, olive and onion:



Let’s play a mini Iron Pizza Chef. Can you guess who chose which toppings?

We had a fun evening around the table with a carafe of Chianti and engaging conversation:



]]> Restaurants http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=929 Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:22:00 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=927
Here's the plant before the harvest:



And the take-home:





It's just a measly half a pint, but hey! It's only the first year! I think about the only thing I can do with them is to make a garnish for something. Any other thoughts?]]> Garden http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=927 Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:00:00 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=928
The church:























We had some time to kill between the church and the reception, so we headed to Ikea.





Greg says Michael wants to do all his pots in galvanized, so we took this photo for him:





Now we’re at the Apple Ridge Country Club, having cocktail hour:









Glenn was with us:



The bride:



The party was in the solarium:





Our table:



Many baseball writers.



The herbs were beautiful:





Random party pictures:







Ring around the rosie:



Our table:





Salad:



Seabass:



Filet:



Drinks on the terrace:



The view:



And after dinner, Pete performed a few numbers:





Audience:



Important audience:



Congratulations Pete and Jeannine!



]]> General http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=928 Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:14:00 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=926
Here’s the sour cherry cocktail we tried at Peniche before heading upstairs.



Here are the cocktails Laurel and CynDee ordered upstairs at 42:



Snacks:













And the view:



Girls in the lounge:



Other girls in the lounge:





More atmosphere:







More view:



]]> Restaurants http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=926 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:55:00 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=922
Squash Blossom recipe here.



It’s quick and easy... even if it does make a little bit of a mess.



We had a simple supper of hot dogs, the first Doris’ Cucumber Salad of the season and a lovely SCF salad of lettuce, radishes and asparagus.



Yes, yes, hot dogs. But these are no ordinary hot dogs. They are the brilliant concoction of one Dines Farm, and named the best tasting organic hot dog by the New York Times.



I agree.



We also had cake batter ice cream, doctored by Tasha, who added Violet Crumble chunks. Wow! Who knew?



Here are the rest of the scenes from Sundee Night Suppa:











]]> Cooking http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=922 Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:21:00 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=921
We rode down on the river road, which SCF fans may remember from such posts as Biking to the Farmers Market.

We arrived in beautiful downtown Piermont in about 20 minutes.

Oh look! The Freelance!



Community Market:



I would like to own a Vespa.



Shoppers:





I stopped in the Piermont wine shoppe for some rosé for our picque-nique.



Everyone else went to the Community Market to pick up their goods for the picnic.

Joe, Tasha and Alex:



Me, Joe and Alex. Alex is wearing my bright pink bike helmet:



Greg and Shannon move their bikes:



I carried the baguette:



I thought this table outside the wine shop was very cute:



We move to the grassy knoll by the water.



Joe and Alex:



Greg unpacks his food items:



Food items:





Drink items:



Shannon:



Tasha gets her camel pack ready:



On the way back we rode on the bike trail.



There were some gorgeous views:





The trail:











And... almost home.



A lovely afternoon.
]]> General http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=921 Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:02:00 -0400 http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=919
We started with a lovely tart Marissa made using puff pastry, tallegio and caramelized onions.



It was served on Charlie’s happy birthday plates. Because not only was it flag day, it was also Charlie’s birthday. Now that’s reason for celebration.



Random porch shots:





Gene grills in the rain.



Pooky’s orzo salad:



Mimi had been missing for several hours so people were happy when she returned:



Delishy ribs:



Sparrow grass:



Marissa and her spread:



My plate:



Sue and Gene:



Graham gets a beer:



Dinner on the porch’t:



Greg tells a story:



And for dessert, frozen yogurt with strawberries, strawberry sauce and toasted almonds.



Grand fun. I especially remember cracking up hysterically about how funny it would be if people wrote what actually happened to them during the year in their Christmas letters. Marissa’s funniest line: “Oh, Greg put on a ten-er, I’ve got five.”
]]> General http://sourcherryfarm.com/index.php?itemid=919 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:46:00 -0400