Off to Peter's wedding part 1.
Been wandering around the Virginia countryside before heading to
Peter Nosko's party tomorrow evening. Notes. The mulberries (both
black and white) are remarkably prolific this year, lots of big
berries; unfortunately, they aren't very tasty this year. In
drier years they're intoxicatingly sweet and fragrant; this year
they just seem to be big water bags. Walked down to one of only
two post offices that sell print-your-own stamps; since I have
stamp crazy friends I figured I'd get a couple and mail them
notes with these ugly rarities for postage. They are pre-printed
eagle-and-shields, and when you put (say) 32c in, it types 32c
into the middle of the shield - kind of silly, if you ask me,
but it keeps the post office from having to stock all sorts of
denominations. You can get stamps denominated 20c and up. The
station is Arlington VA 22205, on Washington near the Westover
Market (my real destination, but there wasn't anything there
worth buying, especially the sale stuff, which as usual looked
tired). Passed an Indian vegetarian restaurant called Health Is
Wealth; didn't know whether that was reason to go in or to avoid,
so I avoided it. Next destination, the Safeway, which has a
decent wine store. Got a pound of flunken (flanken), some
strawberries the size of my fist (2.49 a pound; the sign said
1.99 a pound, but the fine print said "with card" - whoops, I got
caught), a bottle of Williamsburg Winery Two Shilling red ($8),
a "premium blend" made of course in Williamsburg VA. Also two
kinds of scrapple.
Rapa scrapple. Mild, sagey. Pronounced pork liver taste, not
enough pepper. Crumbled in the pan - annoying. Rapa beef scrapple.
Mild, less sagey; sweet. Flavor slightly beefy, fairly corny. Not
enough pepper. Held its shape nicely; made a nice even crust on
the outsides, in contrast to the regular, which made a deep crust
on parts and no crust at all on other parts, hence the tendency
to fall apart.
The Two Shilling wine opened with an intense burst of fruit -
really remarkable: apples, pineapples, apricots. Slightly sweet,
but low acid and highish tannin meant that some bitterness shone
through. Decent legs, medium finish that was somewhat gamy -
reminded me of venison in currant sauce. I would guess a blend
of Rhone varieties and a little Pinot with a bit of some flowery
white grape tossed in. Went lousy with turkey cutlets. Went lousy
with leftover beef. Went lousy with strawberries. Went lousy with
scrapple. Went really well with beef scrapple; I'd try it again
with game meats, yes indeed. Tried it with flunken cooked in it,
and that was pretty good. Flunken is a pretty flavory cut of beef.
Flunken (flanken)
1     lb flunken (cross rib in strips)
1        garlic
6     oz red wine
         water
  1/4 t  thyme leaves
         s&p
1     t  ketchup
Brown meat in its own fat. Add garlic and cook briefly.
Add half the wine and water to almost cover. Bring to a
boil; reduce to low, add thyme. Cook 1/2 hr. Season to
taste and add ketchup and remaining wine. Cook 1/2 hr.
Mash garlic into sauce. Cook 1/2 hr. Sauce should be
pretty rich. If it's too thin, cook uncovered until
it's okay. Should probably be served with garlic mashed
or perhaps just bread. I ate it with rice, which is all
that's available here.
- - -
Christian Constant plain chocolate. Probably 70%, according
to my taste buds. He's famous for his flavored chocolates
and truffles and stuff. Even his plain has crushed gold foil
in it. Very deep flavor, almost unsweetened. A trifle acid
for my taste, but exceedingly smooth and with admirable
length - almost rivalling the Kona chocolates. Good melt.
- - -
I think that my appearance on the echoes coincided with my
loss of perfect-pitch memory, so writing this sort of stuff
fixes the events in my head, part of why I do it.
- - -
So, this evening I went to a new restaurant called Bangkok St.
Grille and Noodles, run by Duangrat's (my traditional favorite
place) and two doors down from it. I was pleased all told; not
blown away, but quite satisfied with the quality and value.
My guests were the famous Smilius, my bro-in-law's-bro and his
wife, and my friends the Fishers (he of the amazing puns, she
of the quintessential yuppie beauty and great legs). We spent
120 bucks, counting a bunch of drinks and split desserts.
The dried-fried beef was exactly as it is everywhere: dried,
fried, brown, salty, sweet, garlicky. Here the dipping sauce
was straight Sriracha, which was fine with me. It was served on
a bed of shredded carrots, which everyone else avoided, either
because of an antipathy against shredded carrots, or because
they were unable to pick them up with chopsticks. I used a fork.
We got two orders of this.
Shanghai dumplings were sticky rice flour skins filled with
chopped chives, steamed, and then fried, served with a soy,
garlic, and ginger sauce. I found them excellent. The Post
reviewer had added a warning that many people wouldn't like
the texture; as far as I can see, you have to be a real gringo
to be that way.
Fried soft-shelled crabs with vegetable pad thai were downright
addicting: I could have downed the whole $13 platter myself
without breathing hard. The pad thai was a little gooey, as
my taste buds tell me it should be, and not too sweet.
Clay pot isn't really a clay pot dish: merely regular steamed
short-grain rice with a topping of chicken, Chinese sausage,
various mushrooms and vegetables, and a nice sauce. I'd order
this one again too.
Thin egg noodles tossed with fried garlic and topped with
Chinese-style roast pork was about as garlicky a thing as
I'd ever had. Really nice, though. The menu calls it something
like Tuk Tuk Lunch Box.
Drunkard's noodles are wide chow foon noodles in a soy-scallion
sauce with bean sprouts and chicken and similar things. Very
ordinary, but comforting.
We split an order of coconut custard (not really a custard, more
like a rice pudding) and two orders of mango and sticky rice.
Both were fine, and we waddled out having scarfed down as much
as we could hold.
I rode home in Smilius's Karmann Ghia, which she had to stop
and repair once on the way.
                                                                              
                              
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