Marinade on Main is one of the upscale restaurants
in town; it's a plain square room with a bar taking
up about a quarter of the space and maybe a dozen
tables, quite plain, wood and metal, uncomfortable
chairs, sort of what used to be called BPO (brick,
p;ants, oak), though there weren't many plants, this
being the edge of the desert. Our waiter Michael was
alternately friendly in the stereotypical friendly
waiter style and not there at all (mentally, that is).

Lilli, true to form, got Our Signature Burger, "farm
raised chuck Angus, cheddar, onion bacon jam, arugula,
tomato, pickle and garlic aioli," with fries. It was
a quite good half pound plus, Lilli saying it was worth
the 14.50 tab. It can be had with a fried egg, which no
sensible person would do, for a buck or two more,
and/or bacon (somewhat more sensible). As it was,
the onion bacon jam complicated things enough.

There was a sirloin on the menu for too much money and
a special chicken pot pie that I nixed upon hearing
that it was all white meat. Instead, I ordered Herb
Fried Chicken, "roasted veggies, smashed potatoes,
served with a fried chicken skin"; it was the promise
of skin that seduced me. I asked for a second thigh
to replace the breast half, so I got a drumstick and
two thighs, topped with two pieces of battered skin.
I much prefer unbattered skin, but this was pretty ok.
Sad thing - the garnish came from the thighs, which
were fried skinless. A sweet-salt brine ensured that
the roaster pieces were tender (as did what I think
was a precook in a pressure cooker), but everything
ended up being a bit salty for me. Good flavor and
a decent buy, though. On the side smashed taters
and exceedingly greasy roast vegetables, of which
I ate the very salty red peppers, onions, and
broccoli and pushed aside the abundant zucchini and
the one piece of yellow squash.

Turtle Rock Ridge Hello Gorgeous blend 2014 is
probably my favorite wine from this AVA; it's 60
Merlot, 20 Cab, 20 Sangiovese, and the waiter got
somewhat bent out of shape when I referred to it as
a Merlot. It's pretty dark and robust with distinct
Sangiovese presence, a little spicy harking back to
the Italian heritage of the wineries in these parts.

An enjoyable meal, but salty enough to call for
Lasix for afters, plus my bottom hurt from the
substantially uncomfortable furniture.

=

The Flying Pig in Vista is a quintessentially
California BPO place with a trendy menu but
surprisingly fair prices. We were seated immediately
right by the kitchen, which we could have remedied
by getting a table outside, but it was getting chilly
even despite the bonfire out back.

Lilli as usual had ground beef, i.e., the
C.A.B. natural burger, which is described as
having "blue cheese, arugula, whole grain mustard
aioli, caramelized onions, pickle & choice of
fries or salad." She got it rare with fries and
hold the blue cheese. The burger, maybe 10 oz,
was in fact really rare and of excellent meat.
Good "artisanal" bun and excellently cooked
though very salty thin-cut fries.

There's this dish listed on the menu as "Confit pork
belly, oyster stuffing, parsnip puree, shaved fennel,
celery leaf & pink peppercorn," that I wanted to try,
but our pleasant waitress informed me that the
preparation had changed to roasted with dark mustard
glaze and romesco, which I asked for on the side. The
pork was about 5 oz of wonderfulness and about 1 oz
of fibrous dry meat underneath. The glaze did not
detract, a surprise, and the romesco did not enhance,
not a surprise, but was tasty in itself and a good
dip for a handful of Lilli's fries. Why, I asked, was
this romesco different from all other romescos? I
believe that it was made with equal parts of roast
red pepper and paprika powder, resulting in less
sweetness but an intense pepper flavor. I liked it
better than any other romesco I've had. The pork was
served atop cannellini beans, which were nicely
buttery but way underdone; I feared that Lilli would
be able to hear me overnight from across the house,
but surprisingly that didn't happen. A pickled leek
garnish was a tough, sour mistake.

There was a wine bargain on the list, the Paolo
Marcarino Zeroincondotta Barbera Piemontese 2015
at only twice retail. Back when I was growing up,
that was the standard restaurant markup, but
with the advent of "a meal without wine is like a
day without sunshine," coupled with late-20th c.
liability issues, you are going to pay close to
3x retail, or more in the fancier places. This is
an organic vegan sulfite-free wine, which the
waitress wrinkled up her nose at, saying "organic
wine tastes weird." It didn't taste weird and
was quite tasty, cherryish but resolving to darker
fruits soon and a good finish. The problem is at
the end of the meal we found we'd been charged
$14 too much for the wine, which, even though
the bill was promptly corrected, left a bad
taste in our mouths. We resolved not to return.
A pity, as the food and service were both good.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.DOCSPLACE.ORG (1:123/140)

On 04-23-18 03:22, Michael Loo <=-
spoke to All about 634 a tale of another two <=-

Lilli, true to form, got Our Signature Burger, "farm
raised chuck Angus, cheddar, onion bacon jam, arugula,
tomato, pickle and garlic aioli," with fries. It was
a quite good half pound plus, Lilli saying it was worth
the 14.50 tab. It can be had with a fried egg, which no
sensible person would do, for a buck or two more,
and/or bacon (somewhat more sensible). As it was,
the onion bacon jam complicated things enough.

On some of the cooking shows that we watch, it seems to have become
standard to add a egg with runny yolk to the top of just about any
number of dishes. I don't see it. But -- the judges seem to really
like it. Only meat dish we will have with egg on top (poached) is beef
hash (roast or corned).

The directions in this recipe seem to have some problems, the least of
which is "what does one do with the four eggs"?

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

Title: SEAFOOD LOCICERO
Categories: Seafood, Pasta, Sauces
Yield: 4 Servings

-Waldine Van Geffen VGHC42A
12 Mussels
8 Clams
12 Shrimp
8 Scallops
4 Pasta pancakes
8 oz Ginger-pepper sauce
Kiwi puree
GINGER-PEPPER SAUCE
1 oz Ginger root; chopped
4 oz Yellow, green and red
-peppers; chopped
1/2 c Marsala wine
1/4 c Light brown sugar
1 oz Soy sauce
1 Lemon; juice only
2 1/2 c Rich veal demi-glace or beef
-broth
KIWI PUREE
4 Ripe kiwis
1/2 c Sugar
1/4 c White wine
1/4 c Water
PASTA PANCAKES
1/4 c Cappellini
2 oz Fresh basiil
1 oz Green onion; chopped
1/2 oz Pimentos
1/2 oz Dried anise
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Eggs
4 oz Parmesan cheese
4 oz Bread crumbs

In a sauce, reduce demi-glace (or broth) by half. In a separate pan,
saute peppers and ginger with the brown sugar. Unglaze with the
marsala wine and reduce until almost all liquid is gone. Add the
broth. Reduce by half. Add soy sauce and lemon juice.

KIWI PUREE-Peel and chop kiwi. Cook kiwi and sugar over a low flame
until the sugar starts to break down. Deglaze with white wine.
Reduce and add water. Reduce again by half. Puree and strain.

PASTA PANCAKES-Cook cappellini until just a little past done. Drain
pasta. In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly. Mixture
should bind together; if not, add more bread crumbs. Press mixture
into a lightly oiled 9" pie pan. Freeze until firm. Remove and cut
into 4 wedges.

TO SERVE-Saute pancakes until golden brown on one side. Flip pancakes
and bake in a 350~ oven for 5 minutes. One hour before serving,
marinate scallops and shrimp in a marinade of 1/2 C white wine and
1/4 C lemon juice. Poach mussels and clams in white wine until done.
Grill or saute shrimp and scallops until done. Cover 1/2 of each
plate with 2 oz of the ginger-pepper sauce. Garnish 1/2 of each plate
with a pasta pancake

TIME: 05/31 3:23 PM

TO: SCOTT MEHL (CFFM46C) FROM: C MINEAH (HCPM52C) SUBJECT: R-MM
VEGETABLE MEDLE

MMMMM


... Shipwrecked on Hesperus in Columbia, Maryland. 01:02:34, 24 Apr 2018
___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30

--- Maximus/NT 3.01
* Origin: Owl's Anchor (1:261/1466)