TheRealTimShadyzBlog!

Welcome to the 21st Century

The storms that spread across Metro Atlanta last night have provided us with some perspective about this modern world in which we live.

Despite all our futuristic advancements, we are still at the mercy of Mother Nature!

Last night, we tried to make our annual trip to the Miss Cobb County Pageant (one of the best local pageants in the Miss Georgia system), but the storm that had been brewing as we traveled to the pageant was unleashed.  Just as we entered the auditorium, lightning struck and the power went out.  We waited it out for just over two hours and finally headed home just after 9pm.  The pageant has been rescheduled for today at 3pm (assuming the power is back up and running -- Channel 2 reports this morning that some folks won't have power restored until at least 5pm!).

Just now, we tried to make our weekly Sunday morning trip to Publix.  Things looked odd as we entered -- not all the lights were on, there were very few buggies to be had, lots of folks were cleaning things -- so Max asked our regular check-out lady, Edy, who confirmed that the power went out at Publix last night about 7pm and had only just come back on!  She told us that we could buy all the dry goods that we wanted, but anything frozen or refrigerated had been thrown out!  As we were leaving Publix, another customer who was entering relayed the information that the Kroger around the corner was also closed.

We feel very fortunate that we have not lost power at all, even though we live less than a mile from Publix!  The power grid is apparently a weird, complex thing.

UPDATE:  Miss Cobb was indeed held this afternoon and the new Miss Cobb is Emily Cook, a student at the University of Miami.  She played "Carmen Fantasy" on the oboe for her talent.  Congratulations, Emily!

Summer TV!

Aside from a really great trip, a totally wonderful new Miss Georgia, and a less-than-motivated attempt to complete my Summer Reading, Max and I have also watched some really entertaining and completely mindless television during our break.

By far our #1 hit of the summer is the ridiculousness known as Wipeout on ABC.  In the first round, contestants (fools, really) attempt to complete a water-bound obstacle course, complete with a Punching Wall and the inexplicably hilarious Big Balls.  The Top 12 then move on to our favorite portion of the show, The Sweeper.  The competitors stand on pedestals and are forced to leap over a giant, sweeping arm that rotates at increasing speeds and heights.  The last person standing gets $1,000!  The finale always features the Top 4 contestants attempting to complete an even more ridiculous obstacle course in order to win the big prize of $50,000.

Wipeout is accompanied by another of our summer favorites, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, a reality show in which $250,000 will be presented to the contestant who can survive the insane physical challenges of a real-life Japanese game show called Majide (rough translation:  "You Must Be Crazy!").  The challenges always involve ridiculous costumes and usually begin with spinning so that everyone is crazy dizzy before they even begin to complete the required task.  For the record, we would like for Bilenda to win, but we also like Justin from Alabama (who reminds us of Kenneth from 30 Rock).

We are also totally invested in The Mole and are really confounded by the fact that no one else is watching one of the greatest reality shows ever created (it ranks right up there with The Amazing Race, in my opinion).  The twist to this show is that one of the players is actually a mole, charged with the task of sabotaging the game.  The Mole is down to the final three and I want Nicole to win (because I think that Craig is The Mole).

My final summer treat has been Nashville Star on NBC.  (Max listens from another room while I watch this and provide commentary.)  I've always preferred this show to American Idol because the contestants (who typically seem to be real musicians) are required to perform original material (though this summer they only did original material one time).  My favorite from the first episode has been Gabe Garcia, who has a throwback sound similar to George Strait's.  As the series has played out, though, Melissa Lawson has emerged as the front-runner.  Her original song, "Ready to Stand," sounds like a #1 hit already.  (I'm perplexed by the fact that Shawn Meyer has made it to the Top 3; I would have sent her home many weeks ago.)

Each of these shows has an episode or two remaining.  Watch one if you haven't already

Journey's End

We're sitting in the airport in Burlington, Vermont, watching the rain pour down and resigned to the news that our departure home to Atlanta has been delayed 90 minutes -- and with rain here AND at home, we're settling in for what could be a long night.  Given this gift of time, I thought I would post about our Saturday in Montreal and our superb B&B.

We had been told that Montreal was a great "walking city" and that proved to be true.  We crossed Centre-Ville and headed to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for their exhibit of fashions by Yves Saint Laurent.  It was incredible -- an entire floor dedicated to the history of YSL's iconic, trend-setting designs.  We then passed through the heart of Montreal -- a city abuzz with street festivals on a warm Saturday -- before strolling through the narrow streets of Old Montreal.

Our B&B -- Absolument Montreal -- is the finest bed and breakfast experience that we have had.  While they advertise a "movie theme," that theme is subtle and not a bit cheesy.  We stayed in "Tennessee," a room that pays homage to Tennessee Williams -- and it does so with beautiful antiques, mission-style lamps, and gorgeous brown silks.  In addition to our private bath with soothing rain shower, we also had a patio that allowed us to enjoy the cool Montreal mornings.  The breakfasts were probably the best part of the entire experience -- they went on for several courses (juice and coffee followed by a selection of pastries followed by a hot entree followed by fresh fruit and yogurt) and they were served in the privacy of our room.  Saturday morning we were able to dine on the patio, but this morning's rain kept us inside (though the food was equally delicious and satisfying).  If you're thinking about going to Montreal, this should be your home-away-from-home while there!  

Our trip has been absolutely terrific -- wonderful restaurants, beautiful scenery, long drives, meaningful conversations, and plenty of memories.  It will be nice to get home and see the cats and watch some HD television, but, truth be told, we're already planning our next trip!

Of Montreal

We left Portland yesterday morning around 10am, followed a mostly rural path (a combination of suggestions by Judy Garmin and GoogleMaps), and arrived in Montreal about 5pm.

Here are a few observations about yesterday's drive:  rural Western Maine isn't very picturesque, mountainous Northern New Hampshire is quite picturesque, and extreme Northern Vermont is isolated from just about everything.

I had this Romantic notion that it would be fun to cross the border on a small, rural road rather than at one of the major highway crossing points.  We followed Vermont 114 through the tiny town of Norton (which apparently only exists as a spot for a border crossing) and, within three minutes, we had been greeted (in French!) by the Canadian border patrol who asked us a few simple questions and then set us free into the countryside of Quebec.  We passed through Coaticook and the outskirts of Magog before taking the major highway (Autopiste 10) for our approach to the city.

We haven't seen much of Montreal yet -- that's the plan for today.  After we got settled in to our wonderful B&B (more about that in another post), we went to Carte-Blanche, a local restaurant only a few steps away from where we are staying, to celebrate Max's birthday with wine and duck and strawberries and, most importantly, foie gras!  It was a delicious meal in a completely charming little restaurant where we were the only English speakers!  Near the end of the meal, the chef himself, Andre Loiseau, visited our table, apologized for his poor English (!), thanked us for visiting, and reminisced about driving through Atlanta each year when he and his wife take their annual car trip from Montreal to Florida! 

Happy Birthday, Max!

Keep loving life! Here's to many, many more!

State o' Maine

We started the day at the Portland Museum of Art which, for a city of this size (about 230,000 in the metro area), is a pretty impressive place.  The main exhibit featured works by as well as photographs taken of Georgia O'Keeffe.  We also saw a Picasso, a Warhol or two, a few things by Winslow Homer, and a Magritte.  Attached to the museum is the McClellan House, a classic Portland home from the 19th century with a really nifty central staircase.

After a walk through The Old Port (where hipsters of all stripes converge) and down to the wharf, we stopped for a bite of lunch at Duckfat -- where the Belgian-style fries are indeed cooked in duck fat!  Our fries were tasty, but it was fairly rich fare for midday!

Every guide book we read suggested that one of the things that we must do while in the Portland area was drive out to Cape Elizabeth and eat a lobster roll at The Lobster Shack on Two Lights Road.  We did.  We wish we hadn't (except of course that now we can say we did and so we never have to do it again).  First of all, lobster rolls are expensive (and you don't necessarily get your money's worth in return).  Secondly, the place was kind of nasty and needed a good sweeping.  And there were flies.  And crying babies.  I made Max stop at CVS as we were leaving so that we could buy floss and gum to get the entire experience out of our mouths.

Then we did the second really touristy thing of the day:  we drove to Freeport to go to the LL Bean flagship store.  What I thought we were going to get was a classic old country store -- creaking wooden floors, old fixtures, helpful locals.  You know what Freeport is?  An LL Bean Theme Park!  There are several LL Bean stores -- the Retail Store, the Hunting and Fishing Store, and the OUTLET Store -- right across the street from the not-outlet store!  The rest of Freeport is full of other outlets -- The Gap, Banana Republic, etc.  Blocks and blocks of outlets and parking lots.  It was actually our country at its worst -- a capitalist hyperbole of manufactured Americana.

And with that...we're planning to leave the country and head to Canada!

Don't forget to go to Flickr to see all the pictures!

Fore Street

Max:  "When you blog about this, the first thing you have to say is that I ate rabbit kidneys!"

Well, friends, there you go:  Max ate rabbit kidneys!  (And while the rest of the rabbit was delicious -- especially when paired with the fennel-cinnamon-tomato stew that it was served with -- the kidneys themselves were somewhat bland.)

Our trip to Fore Street ended up being yet another experience of gustatorial splendor.  We decided that since we were so near the sea (we could see water and boats from our table) that we would focus on seafood.  For starters, we opted for an incredible smooth, buttery, and satisfying crab bake (bits of fennel made a nice contrast with the melting crab meat) along with a decadent bowl of mussels that had been steamed with butter and garlic and bits of nuts.  My, oh my, were those mussels delicious!  (And we sopped up the garlicky sauce with hearty pieces of rustic bread.)

I stayed with seafood for my entree and had a tasty piece of salmon that had been fire-roasted and was served with flavorful chard.  Max was more adventurous -- he ordered the aforementioned rabbit, which was skewered and roasted right behind us over the open flames of the wood oven.  I tasted it and it was tender and succulent.  (We also shared a dish of roasted morels which were heavenly!)

We ended the evening by sharing a crazily scrumptious dessert -- a dark chocolate and lavender torte, topped with caramel and sea salt.  (It was served alongside a dark chocolate sorbet, but the warm chocolaty, salty torte was the star of the show.)

All in all, it was another great night of fine dining here on the Atlantic coast.

One last thing -- here's what we've learned about diners in Maine:  they love to strike up a conversation.  First, we chatted with a couple from Boston while we waited in the bar for our table to be ready.  (They were regulars who drive up to Portland just to eat in the great restaurants.)  Next, we were asked by the couple next to us about the mussels.  Finally, we became fast friends with the Canadian couple to our left.  They ordered many of the same things that we had ordered and they reassured us that we were going to love the Montreal portion of our trip.

Au revoir!

Driving Day -- Stowe to Portland

Today has been almost completely spent in the car.  The drive through Northern Vermont and New Hampshire was scenic and enjoyable and we are now safely checked in to the Inn at ParkSpring in Portland, Maine.  Max is already napping and I am planning to follow him as soon as I'm done posting this!

We stopped along the way at the Cabot Creamery in Cabot, Vermont -- a major cheese production facility IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!  Later, we stopped to take pictures and enjoy the unbelievable scenery as we crossed through Crawford Notch in New Hampshire.

Quick, literary buffs -- which character from which work dies on a "camping trip to Crawford's Notch"?

Tonight we're planning to explore downtown Portland on our way to dinner at Fore Street.

Hen of the Wood!

Should you find yourself anywhere within, say, 2 hours of Waterbury, Vermont, you should most definitely find the time to get yourself to Chef Eric Warnstedt's Hen of the Wood, the superb restaurant that Max and I had the pleasure of visiting this evening.

The setting itself is worth the visit -- the basement of an old grist mill, next to the bubbling rapids of the Winooski River!  It was pleasantly warm in the restaurant tonight (Vermont is experiencing a bit of a heat wave), but decidedly comfortable (and even more so after Max ordered a bottle of red wine -- bottles of wine are 20% off on Tuesday nights!). 

From my seat, I could see lush greenery and the rocky river.  Across from me, Max had full view of the rest of the dining room and the kitchen.  Since we decided at the start of this trip that our meals would be our "splurges," we went full out -- starters, entrees, cheeses, and desserts.

For starters, I went with a tried-and-true favorite -- beets!  They were served with endive, blue cheese, and pecans that had all been tossed in a deliciously creamy buttermilk vinaigrette.  Max was more adventurous with his starter -- pork cheeks (served with pickled rhubarb and creme fraiche)!  Listen -- my salad was incredible, but those pork cheeks were smoky, tasty, and, most importantly, so tender that they melted in your mouth!  If you ever see "cheeks" on a menu -- go for it!  We've now had beef cheeks and pork cheeks and both were scrumptious.

Speaking of scrumptious ... on to the entrees!  I went with one of my standard choices -- a thick and juicy pork loin served with roasted potatoes, chard, and cherries.  So good.  You simply cannot beat pork loin when it is prepared correctly.  Max also went with one of his stand-bys -- a decadent, rustic roasted duck breast with turnips, beet greens, and rhubarb.

Next came the cheese plate and, truth be told, I love me some cheese!  We shared a luscious "triple cream" soft cheese from Champlain Creamery in Vergennes, Vermont, and a salty and nutty "Tarentaise" from Thistle Hill Farm in North Pomfrey, Vermont.  The cheese were presented with some tasty toasted bread, a dollop of strawberry jam, and few roasted macadamia nuts.  Yum!

The desserts were, by far, the best that we have had in our many fine dining excursions.  (Actually, Max and I have often discussed the fact that, at many fine dining establishments, the desserts are the least "fine" things on the menu.  That is not true at Hen of the Wood!)  Our compliments go out to the Pastry Chef, Laura Nedich.  My Buttermilk-Lime Panna Cotta with Basil Strawberries was silky and decadent.  Max had, perhaps, the perfect dessert -- a Rhubarb Upside Down Vanilla Pound Cake with Buttermilk-Thyme Ice Cream and Strawberry Coulis.  Heavens!  It was everything a dessert should be -- sweet, tart, and creamy.

Tonight is our last night in Vermont and we will sleep with visions of pork cheeks and rhubarb dancing in our heads!  Tomorrow, bright and early, it is on to Maine.

Day #2 -- Stowe and Environs

Here are a few things we've observed about Vermont:  there aren't very many people; the people who are here are nice (and white -- this is pretty much Caucasianville); lots of folks drive Subarus; and every town seems to be only 30 minutes or so apart.

This morning we had ice cream for breakfast!  We started the day with the quick tour through the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury.  At the Waterbury factory they only manufacture 4 flavors a week (today they were making Karamel Sutra and Cinnamon Buns).  There is a larger factory in St. Albans that Max is convinced is an ice cream sweat shop, churning out gallons and gallons of ice cream 24-7 in order to supply scoop shops and supermarkets around the world.  Here's something else we learned:  every employee gets to take home 3 pints of ice cream for every day worked!  At the end of the tour you get a free sample -- today's free sample was Mint Chocolate Chunk (which was creamy and delicious).  After visiting the "Flavors Graveyard" and sampling some more ice cream, we loaded up the Santa Fe, fired up the Judy Garmin, and headed off to Montpelier.

Montpelier is Vermont's state capital and it has the distinction of being the smallest state capital in the US.  Montpelier is a town really - a cute little downtown with independent bookstores and coffee shops and clothing stores selling hippie skirts.  The State Capitol is a beautiful building with a gold dome set against the picturesque backdrop of a mountain of trees. We had lunch at La Brioche, a sandwich shop run by the students of the New England Culinary Institute.  Max had a tasty roast beef sandwich with horseradish mayo while I opted for The Mayflower -- a turkey and cheddar sandwich with a cranberry relish dressing.  Yummy!

This afternoon we've mostly been relaxing here at our hotel and wandering a bit more around Stowe.  (We pretty much covered the whole town last night, so there wasn't that much more to see!)

Tonight we're headed down to Waterbury for dinner at Hen of the Wood and then tomorrow we'll take the trek across New Hampshire to Portland, Maine.

Don't forget to check Flickr for all the great pics!