Having It My Way

I felt an unstoppable craving for burgers tonight, and I had to indulge. Not the first time I've explored this subject, but it is the first time in a while that I've made a burger of my own, and I think the results are worth attention:

Isn't she a beaut? I took a style cue from John Yobo and mixed some garlic into the meat, along with some chopped mushrooms. I'm having it on whole wheat toast with pepper jack cheese, stone-ground mustard, and fresh spinach. Watch your broiler times; mine came out a bit underdone at first. I'm sure the fine people at Burger King might have some tips for that. In the end, it was succulent and delicious.

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout

Since moving to Sonoma County, I've developed a wonderful new relationship with the Lagunitas brewing company. Put simply, what they brew, I drink. I'm experiencing a lot of their seasonals for the first time this year, and when I saw this the other day I couldn't resist:


Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout. How thoughtful of them to combine two things I love into one. Like chocolate and peanut butter, they go together so well. I enjoy stouts, and at first pour I was lost in the oppressive blackness that threatened to jettison my glass from the universe.

The brew is beyond rich. The pale-brown head and bittersweet aroma truly invoke a fresh cappuccino. The beer goes down full-bodied, creamy, and just slightly sweet. I know that coffee beers are nothing new, but this Cappuccino Stout is so finely crafted that it can't be overlooked. Before you have one, I recommend you clear your calendar; it's worth lingering over.

That's a pastrami sandwich on focaccia next to the stout. I don't know why, but lately I've been craving only things like sandwiches and burritos. What does this obsession with lunch mean?

Moylan's Celts Golden Ale

New beer night! My first Monday back to work after a week-long Thanksgiving break felt like it called for a tasty brew. Not that work today was very hard, just a special project I've been wanting to do for a while; I'd even invite you to watch the Under My Thumb gaming blog around Thursday or Friday to see the fruit of my labors. Anyway, let's crack a cold one...


Moylan's Celts Golden Ale. This honey-hued brew is fruit-sweet and buttery, with a lightly hoppy finish. Clean and crisp. I'm having it with shrimp tacos: shrimp, onions, and garlic sauteed in olive oil, lime juice, and Caribbean rum, wrapped in tortillas with roma tomatoes and spring mix greens. I could've gone a little easier on the cayenne pepper.

Tomato-Brie Sandwiches

My neighbor hooked up some more food yesterday: he happened to buy a baguette that he had no idea what to do with (I know, right?) and unloaded it on me. He just couldn't leave the free sample girl hanging. I knew exactly what this situation needed, and today I followed through:



















Tomato & brie sandwiches:

• French baguette, split lengthwise, brushed with olive oil
  
• Thick-sliced brie cheese
• Tomato, sliced
• Basil

I used roma tomatoes because they fit better on the bread. Also, don't feel pressured to use fancy-schmancy brie; a cheap everyday brie for five or six bucks works fine. I kept a couple sections for my dinner and gave the rest to my neighbor for appetizers. The salad is mixed greens, more tomato, balsamic vinaigrette, and crumbled gorgonzola.

I first had this sandwich before a flight out of Paris to Algeria. I think it's funny that even their fast food centers around satisfying the French craving for gobs of rich, soft cheese.

De Loach Cabernet Sauvignon

My good neighbor brought over home-made pot roast (is there any other kind?) Good thing I just picked up a bottle of this:



















De Loach 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. It's lovely. From nose, to tongue, to gullet it is bold and smooth. The local market had it cheap and it's an excellent pair for the rich beef and gravy. This stuff could keep me warm through Winter.

Office Mayhem

I cruised into San Francisco today to visit Molly Mayhem. I brought along some Chai High honey from Bee Kind in Sebastopol, and the nectar that is Larrupin sauce. The chai-infused honey is a new treat I found at the Santa Rosa harvest fest a few weeks ago, and the sweet-and-tart Larrupin is a staple in my fridge. Both are loaded with awesome.
Molly and I usually get something to eat whenever we hang out, so she brought me to the Chow near her place. The prosciutto and arugula pizza, with Lunatic Lager was a great afternoon refresher, but I want to bring up something very important:



















Banana Butterscotch creme pie. Molly would also like to interject with her superb pumpkin pie. The butterscotch and big chunks of banana are a nice twist against the usual banana creme, giving extra dimensions of sweetness. This was a daily special, but that's no reason for you to stay away; Chow's menu is full of hand-crafted comfort food to enjoy. You should go...right now.

I left with Molly's old writing desk in the back seat of my car. It's a bit of a trek, hauling office furniture in a small convertible, out of San Francisco and about 50 miles up the road, at night, in November, but now my laptop has a nice place to sleep. Thanks, Molly!

Lemon, Dropped

Tonight I tried to recreate a delicious dessert. I failed miserably, but let's not focus on that. I first had it in Lisbon, not that it's particularly Portuguese, that's just where I was at the time. It's not complicated, but it has to be done just so:

• Lemon gelato
• Vodka
• Lemon slice and cinnamon stick garnish
  

When done properly, it comes out tasting like a vodka tonic. When ice cream is foolishly substituted for sorbet, as I did, it's a wreck, as the alcohol curdles the cream. You just can't fool chemistry. The real deal is a treat: the sorbet is cool and refreshing after a meal, and it lets you keep the cocktail hour going a bit longer.

Chocolate Chili/Spicy and Sweet...Why Can't We All Be That Way?

Last week there was a lunchtime chili party in my office. Eight of my coworkers labored over their specialties, and while I wasn't an official judge, I still enjoyed the benefits. I'd been in a dietary slump for a few weeks, so it was easy to be tempted by the musical fruit of another. All the chilies were good, but here's my favorite:















Charissa Ramp's chocolate chili. Its entry card proudly declares 48 ingredients, which come together symphonically. The rich dark chocolate is present both aroma and taste; the heat slowly builds and enhances the bittersweetness without overpowering the flavor; finally, it glides away with a buttery finish. It reminded me of one of my favorite dishes, mole poblano, a specialty of a precious family friend, and each bite recalled dear memories to go with the broad-spectrum flavor.

Meat Me At The Crossroads

Consider the metaphor of the crossroads. Often it's seen as an area of uncertainty, where one must make a choice that can lead to an unforeseeable future. But while you may not know where you're going, where you are is perfectly clear: you're at the crossroads.

This certainty of the situation is embodied in the form of beef and beer as soon as you find Mike's At The Crossroads in Cotati, California. The mural behind the bar conveys the business proposition in no uncertain terms:

One Mean Burger. Don't say nobody warned you. The food is honest and to-the-point: burgers, for which all the ingredients were grown and raised in the area. Far a while the guy in charge of the place wouldn't serve fries, because they make things too much like McDonald's; even now they're only available Friday thru Sunday. All of the burgers include cheese by default. The philosophy is that they're not going to charge you extra for something they know you want; in fact they charge an extra five cents to take the cheese off.

Main Course:

The Krush Burger, side of potato salad, paired with a Lagunitas IPA. This 1/2-pound burger is topped with grilled mushrooms and onions in a Zinfandel glaze; tender, flavorful, and juicy, and well-met by the hoppy and lightly-sweet IPA. Excellent.

To let things settle, I strolled through the adjacent CD shop. That's one place where I can enjoy myself while having no idea where I'm going...

Any Port In The Storm/A Very Merry Unbirthday

A trip up to Humboldt this weekend gave me another opportunity to attend a liquor-tasting dinner arranged by Myrtlewood Liquors. They floored me with the last bourbon tasting, and I wasn't about to miss this night's big attraction: port wine. Port has always been a treat since I was first introduced to it by my stepmother-to-be, and during a month-long stay in Lisbon in 2008 I got to indulge in a few different varieties.

The opener, however, was something I'd never seen before:

White port, served as a spritzer with an equal measure of tonic water and a twist of lime. Apparently the stuff is very tart on its own. It's a bit less common than red ports, but if you find it you might give it a try. It smells faintly like tequila and lime, but it's very light and refreshing. It was a nice preamble to the menu.

First course:

Pasteis de bacalhau (codfish cakes) with red pepper coulis and basil chive oil. Scrumptious. The port here is the Fonseca Bin No.27, very smooth and fruity. Both of them a good way to whet the appitite for more.

Second Course:

Poached pear & herbed chevre tart with peach-jalapeno chutney. As you can see, my fork dove for the tart before I could get out my camera for the picture. The pears and soft quiche-like topping were perfect, and the crust was firm with just the right hint of char on the edges. Topped with the chutney, this was amazing! Seriously, you should consider a topping like this on your next pie; the added spice really opens up the taste buds and blooms the sweetness of the pear. It's met with Taylor's late-bottled vintage 2003, which is much less syrupy-sweet than port's reputation suggests; I'd feel confident to serve this port at dinner.

Third Course:


Grilled boar and rabbit sausages with cranberries, gorgonzola, baby lettuce, and sherry balsamic glaze. This was accompanied quite nicely with the Fonseca 10-year tawny. The tawny gave a full sweet & sour flavor that I wnated to linger on, and I loved the rusty color. It balanced well with the boar sausage: rich, rustic, peppery aroma - firm, full-bodied meat that slammed me onto the table when met with the crisp lettuce, tangy balsamic, and pungent gorgonzola. I took a moment to Tweet something vulgar about the experience, but this dish made me want to do bad things. I would have licked the plate until it begged me to stop.

Fourth Course:


Duck Foie Gras with local greens and black muscat vinaigrette. Tasty stuff, but exceedingly rich. The chef, bless him, was chastised from many of the diners for not offering any bread or crackers to bring the foie gras down a notch. He and everyone else recognized it was a foolish blunder, but that it did not reflect the dinner on the whole. No matter - it gave me the time I needed to reflect on the Taylor's 20-year tawny: a rich, raisiny dessert port with a bronzed color and, to me, a hint of orange and herb tea.

Dessert:


Espresso creme brulee with Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas 1998 vintage. This port epitomized what I expect from the style: full-bodied sweetness and a deep velvety tint. It blankets the tongue, and was the best pairing of the night with the espresso creme brulee. This dessert recognizes the need for coffee to counter a normally rich, sweet, eggy creme brulee, and just cuts out the extra steps. Delicious.

That same family friend was treating me to this dinner, as an early celebration of my 28th birthday. Thanks to getting a lucky draw in the raffle, I even got a present:


A very merry Unbirthday indeed...

Petaluma Farmers Market/Eats on the street

Every Wednesday, the city of Petaluma hosts a Farmer's Market. Tonight was the first time I dropped by, and I was quickly overwhelmed by all of the available food. Fresh, organic produce notwithstanding, there were at least a dozen food and drink stands, more than I could handle in one visit. These sorts of unexpected treats are the essence of low-hanging fruit. Picking a main course was an obvious choice, but since it wouldn't be ready for 30 minutes I got to pass the time with other selections. Caught in the carefree atmosphere, I started with dessert and coffee:

Peanut butter sandwich cookie from Baker Girl. Two mouth-melting peanut butter cookies are held in concert with a sweet peanut butter creme filling; the elements of this cookie collide in a way that opens a tiny portal to a peanut butter dimension, both beautiful and frightening in its deliciousness. Now, I love and respect chocolate-dipping as a natural evolution of the peanut butter cookie medium, but this sandwich is a hardcore option for PB enthusiasts.

First Course:
Crepe with tomato, brie, and pesto from Brittany Crepes and Galettes. Their savory selections are served in a sturdy buckwheat crepe, free of dairy and gluten. The hot tomatoes and gooey brie took me back to Paris. I had a tough choice between this and a salmon crepe (but there's always next week.) The simplicity and unpretentious construction is really the best thing about a dish like this, and I put it in a category similar to sub sandwiches, pizza, or ramen: it's everything that you love to eat, wrapped in a pancake. I should have them cater my shooting-fish-in-a-barrel party next week.

Main Course:

Paella from Bro's Bar-B-Que. The gargantuan pan drew a crowd hungry for aromatic spices and saffron-infused rice. The shrimp and chicken each came out flavorful and juicy. Barbeque is a street market staple, but this was an especially welcome offering.

Had I the stomach, I would have happily stacked my plate higher with polish sausage, carnitas, brisket, and a pizza. There's always next week...

Pranqster beer isn't fooling around

Can I drop a bad line to start? Pranqster is no joke. While I wait for more permanent housing in California, I am currently shacked up in a low-rent hotel attached to a bar and pizza restaurant. As an occasional Dungeons & Dragons player, it's actually quite entertaining to tell people that I'm "staying at the inn." The advantage is that I'm mere yards away from an excellent selection of beer and liquor. Tonight's experiment is the aforementioned Belgian-style ale from the North Coast Brewing Company (bless their souls!)
I'll admit, I didn't exactly balance this beer well with my meal, as it completely outclassed the cold sausage-and-veggie pizza I had (which, to be fair, was pretty good hot.) I knew by the Pranqster's golden-brown color I was in for something good. It starts with a sweet, citrusy aroma. The beer is very smooth, with a mild bubble. It tastes like honey, and I pick up an aftertaste like wild blackberries. It's a beer to be enjoyed on the porch on a Summer afternoon, a refreshment before dinner with some fruits and cheese. Lovely.

Bourbon in Eureka's Old Town

A week ago, at the beginning of this visit to Humboldt, my stepmother notified me of a bourbon-tasting dinner in Eureka's Old Town district. Tonight was the big night, and I'm still reeling from it all. Considering the food and the booze served, this would have made for a damn good Saturday, if it weren't Monday. These two gentlemen were running the show and pouring the shots:


They made sure to mention at the beginning of the night that bourbon is officially classified as being made from at least fifty per cent corn (besides other grains such as rye or barley.) It was good info for the uninitiated such as myself. But the real education came in the eight-bottle taste test that followed. It's a good thing they served dinner:

Onion soup with a Parmesan crouton

Barbecued chicken and beans

Beef fajita with tomato, onion, and guacamole (well-seasoned with salt and lime, but the tortilla could use a little grilling)

Finishing with a flavorful peach pie and vanilla ice cream. You might have noticed that at each course there is a shot of rich, golden bourbon. Despite the photos, I don't want to under emphasize that as the main attraction at this dinner. We were allowed to sample each of the eight bottles in turn, giving due time and attention to their unique attributes. I'd especially like to point out a few outstanding examples:

• The Eagle Rare single barrel - spicy and aggressive, heavy on the rye and barley
• The Four Roses Small Batch - seventy per cent corn with a delightful sweetness, it had a rich and lasting fruity flavor, one of the night's best - I could have it on pancakes
• The Elmer T Lee - nice and smooth, creamy, it's gentle but not weak, sweet but not syrupy
• Blanton's -The first single-barrel made in the US, it starts with a mellow sweetness, and slowly builds into a surprisingly spicy finishing punch. They rye comes out well, and it lingers nicely on the tongue.

My father and I enjoyed it all quite well...

Bruises on The Fruit

I have a few treats that I like to stock up on whenever I'm in Humboldt County, and among them is the vinaigrette dressing from Roy's Club in Eureka. The balance of savory and tart is just perfect for salad or crusty bread, and I feel better just knowing that I have some in the fridge. I scooped up four bottles while out on a quick shopping run, and came back quite satisfied with my loot. While taking the bag out of the car, I must have over-twisted the bag...and...see for yourself. I must warn you that the following image may not be appropriate for young foodies:

Four bottles of Roy's vinaigrette, a bottle of Mazzotti's house Italian, and a nice-looking organic peanut butter all smashed to bits, their delicious herbs and oils oozing over the pavement. In times like this I remember advice from Mark Twain: When angry, count four; when very angry, swear.

Not like this...

Wrapping Up

I've just moved back to Northern California from...well...the outside world. After traveling for seven years it's comforting to get wrapped up again in the Redwood Curtain. I grew up in Arcata, and even as a teenager I can remember being surrounded by excellent food. The Arcata Plaza has never been lacking for restaurants, but today I encountered Renata's Creperie for the first time.

Not since my last trip to Albania have I been to a restaurant where crepes took a dominant position on the menu, and Renata's is getting everything right: a clear distinction between sweet and savory dishes, with necessary fillings like cheese, prosciutto, Nutella, bananas, and berries available, and all the espresso you need to finish it off. Of course the restaurant displays an Arcatan style with unique art and a menu that proudly declares a commitment to the best ingredients.

Lunch:

Swiss Delight (daily special):

• Swiss
• Jack
• Prosciutto
• Spinach
• Onion
• Garlic
• Tomato
• Creme Fraiche
• Green salad garnish

Swiss delight indeed. This was a rich, smooth, satisfying meal, wrapped in a hearty (whole wheat?) crepe. It should have been enough, but I had a free afternoon and another page on the menu to explore, so when I was asked if I wanted dessert, I felt it would be negligent of me to decline.

Dessert:

Sweet Sister:

• Nutella
• Banana
• Crushed almond and powdered sugar topping
• Rum flambe'

The flambe' is optional on the menu, but not in my heart's desires. It's a wonder they don't list decadence as one of the ingredients. This is a full-sized crepe, filled to the corners with rich, creamy Nutella. If you have any doubts about your capacity to finish dessert, bring a friend with you; there's a corner in Hell set aside for people who waste food this good.

I Bet You Gonna Ambush Me, Barracuda

Among the several tasty dinners I had in Curacao, the fish grill at the Mambo Beach restaurant was particularly good. My respected associates and I feasted on fishes, and no course was spared. Rather than say too much, I invite you to linger over the photos. Enjoy.


The menu, caught that day and served by the 100-gram chunk.



The barracuda, of course, was at the top of my list. What else?


Potatoes, cole slaw, mackerel, snapper, and a big hunk of meaty barracuda. Your services won't be needed today, tartar sauce.

Who likes fish? These guys!

Dessert: Vanilla ice cream dressed with caramel and toasted nuts.

Drink: coffee with Bailey's. I gently escorted the whipped cream to my ice cream, where it belonged.

The dinner wrapped up very nicely my first week on the island. I thought the restaurant was very accommodating, letting our group eat in board shorts and t-shirts. Being on the beach, they're willing to put up with some sandy toes...

Speedy Delivery: One of My Favorite Pizzas

Honestly, if I were to open a restaurant, I'd like to have a specialty pizza joint. Brick ovens, indoor and outdoor seating, good for lunch or a low-key romantic dinner. Mostly I'd like to play around with different experimental ingredients. But here's a combination I can stand behind:

Greek-style chicken pizza. Yeah, I might be stretching the authenticity, but when working with oil, olives, and feta, I feel like I can take artistic license. This is what I use, layered in the order given:

• Crust, well oiled and seasoned to taste
• Sliced or finely-chopped garlic
• Julienne sun-dried tomatoes
• Fresh baby spinach leaves (eat your greens, kids!)
• Mozzarella. Don't go too crazy, we're not done with cheese yet
• Diced feta
• Sliced kalamata olives
• Diced grilled chicken
• 425 degree oven for about 12 minutes
• Slice and serve with a sprinkle of basil

The tomatoes get chewy and tart under the spinach, the spinach stays moist under the cheese, and the feta toasts ever so slightly around the edges. Don't hold back on the wine.

Hamburgers! The Cornerstone of any International Diplomacy

In my current job, I spend a lot of time traveling. I get to see places where I never imagined I would visit, and interact directly with people with highly varied lifestyles and histories. I think I never shared a stronger bond with these people than when we were able to come together around food. No matter the background, the dining room is one area where we all connect.

I returned this weekend from a fortnight in Curacao. There, my compatriots and I were having a conference with members of the Coast Guard of the Netherlands Antilles & Aruba. As the station at Hato employs native Curacaoans, Dutch navy, and civilian Canadian pilots, this group was even more international than I'm used to. The conference was very productive, but everyone was looking forward to Friday, when Mr John Yoblonski (of Crawdad Boil fame) had promised to give everyone a hamburger cookout.

The tradition started when he and I went to Colombia, and when the facilities and ingredients are available, he's kept it going as a gesture of goodwill between nations. I won't divulge his special recipe, but it did involve me chopping up an obscene mound of garlic.

Mr Andrew Schmitt took care of the accompanying veggies, setup, and running raw and done burgers to their appropriate stations. The NA&A CG took care of beer. The burgers were succulent, with a rich garlic flavor that was not overpowering. The Dutch had them with a curry-infused ketchup that's a speciality on the island, but I prefer only onions. A properly-cooked meat needs no sauce.

As a special treat, one of the Curacaoans from the air station crew brought in homemade iguana soup. He made the soup from a dozen wild iguanas that had been shot and butchered that day. The iguanas were left in pieces on the bone and their juices created the broth, added to which were potatoes and other fresh veggies.


Since Summer 2007 I had been aching to try iguana meat, and finally this was my first chance! The flesh is tender and pink, tasting like a blend of fish and pork. The black, scaly skin is technically edible, but tough in most areas, so no one objects if you discard it. I loved it, and I see no reason that it shouldn't be on everyone's barbecue this Summer.

Greece: the cradle of civilization, and salad!

As a bachelor foodie, one of my life's difficulties is that when I cook it's usually for one, and I'd better like the leftovers. So it's a good thing when I have a dish I don't mind devouring on a daily basis. This one is a perfect example.


Greek salad. It's Spring, and I've been jonesing for fresh, crisp veg, hence the generous portion. Romaine lettuce (don't be shy, chop it into big pieces), tomato, red onion, kalamata olives, feta cheese, dressed with olive oil and vinegar to taste. I've also opted for sliced grilled chicken. For some crunch, throw on a mild crouton or crushed pita chips.

Of course, this salad is brain-dead easy. But I must emphasize just how perfectly balanced it is in flavor, texture, and beauty. The colors dance on the plate. The ingredients are crisp, supple, succulent, rich, mild, sweet, salty, and tart; every bite is a unique combination of these elements but it always works.

I wish I could remember the first time I ordered this salad, but I do remember that when I've eaten it in Albania it was excellent. If you're a restaurant in the Durres beachfront you can't miss. But don't fall for one of the misguided attempts they serve in Turkmenistan. To be safe, just don't go to Turkmenistan. I'd also like to thank an old friend for introducing me to feta cheese: Nathaniel, you're a good man.

Many bubbles make tickling: a new sake, get!

Today I had the urge to drink sake. Nothing special, but I had shoyu chicken in mind and sake would be the right wine to accompany the meal. Look what I found at the store:

Kawaii, ne? This carbonated, imported sake is intended to be served chilled, like a beer. I'm always up for new things, so I picked one up (along with a bottle of the regular stuff, just in case.)

The sake is smooth, with a fruity, pear-like tone. The fizz is present, but not overbearing; just enough to feel like you're washing something down. But it quickly becomes evident that this is basically a cheap sake with not much of a kick. It is a sake wine cooler: a low-gravity alternative to beer. This is a sake that should be enjoyed outside; try serving it at your next sakura-viewing party and teriyaki grill. However, at six dollars a bottle it seems almost too gimmicky for its own good, and I can't help but feel that I didn't get quite what I paid for. But what is booze but folly in a glass?

The Bachelor Gourmet/Cranberry goat-cheese pork chops

If I have one goal as a food fan, it's to raise the bar for bachelor food. You know: take-out and delivery stuff, frozen dinners, ramen, leftovers you bring back from the visit with Mom... It's all tasty, but I think we single guys can do better. I love fresh food, and I don't think it has to be complicated or hard.
To that end, I present tonight's dinner:


Pork chop stuffed with goat cheese and cranberries, with lime-pepper asparagus and garlic-mozzarella focaccia. Here's a closer look:


Here are my dude-friendly instructions:

• Get some goat cheese (it's a soft white cheese that comes in little packages) and dried cranberries
• Mix them together in a bowl. Use as many cranberries as you want to eat. Just mash it all together with your hands.
  
• Cut a pocket into the side of the pork. Not a flap, not in half, but a pocket.
• Stuff the pork with the cheese and cranberries
• Close them up with a toothpick. Notice the spillage in the photo? You wanna avoid that.
• Rub the chops on both sides with olive oil and black pepper. Don't go nuts with the pepper.
• Broil the chops for 5 or 6 minutes on each side.
• Eat the chops.

Like I said, not hard. I think the meal might have taken 30 minutes from fridge to plate, tops. It's not fancy, but it's delicious. I happened to feel like eating pork, and I wanted to jazz it up some. Really, "this might taste good in that" was the whole concept. Enjoy, bachelors.

Popping the Cork/Crawdad Boil and Cauldron Bubble

Welcome to my new blog, Low-Hanging Fruit! In this blog, I'll do my best to express my personal interest in food and drink. Last February I took a two-week trip to the San Francisco/Sonoma area and I felt inspired by the area and some visits with friends to write about food. I'm moving back to Northern California this Summer, and I hope I can keep this blog updated with regular posts of any new things that I eat, or especially, wine that I drink (hence the title.) Maybe I'll even throw in something I've made, now and then. I'm not a food professional, just a devoted fan.

Though I had planned to launch this blog in Summer, I'd be ignoring the opportunity to write about a few things I'm eating now in Virginia. Specifically, I can thank Mr John Yoblonski for some of the best food I've had while I've lived on the right coast. This man is a food professional. Last Friday night he treated a group to a crawdad boil. It's a recurring event, this being the first of the Spring season, and they never disappoint. The meal is remarkable because it doesn't seem to be possible on the small scale; it always feeds a crowd.

The apparatus required, coupled with live ingredients makes the cooking a spectacular feat. But the service is pure brutality: crawdads, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, lemons, sausage, and corn-on-the-cob are piled onto a paper-lined table, having macerated for hours in their mutual juices, generously enhanced with Cajun spices. The diners serve themselves hand-to-mouth from the mound. Everything is whole, and the flavors burst. The crawdads themselves surrender their tails without resistance, and their heads yield rich juices and a few morsels of tender meat. I manage the spice with bites of potato and swigs of a sturdy ale. It's a feast. I urge you not to overlook the mushrooms; they are a secret Ambrosia.