Text 27013, 84 rader
Skriven 2009-08-04 16:01:42 av BURTON FORD (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: Picnic  Thursday
========================
Hi All        8/4/2009 I

We were the only Echoers to arrive on Thursday.   We anticipated a day of
driving and asking our GPS to locate Restaurants that we could check out on
the laptop.   A call from Michael, Wednesday nite, changed that to a day of
driving and anticipating a Dinner with Michael.   Scads better!

We blessed the GPS [despite M's constant crank about it] that took us
directly to Michael's thru alleys and streets one car wide..  Minor: It
knew of a Daniels Street court that I asked M about earlier, and he said
there was no 35 Daniels Street Court.  I forgot to change the GPS setting,
so just short of the house it turned me up an alley into the Court.  I
turned around and went back the short block to the front of M's place. 
You'll never guess who stood in front, with malevolent gloat running out of
every pore.  Oh, you guessed!  I'll give him credit, he only rubbed it in a
little.   Well, sort of.

I didn't quite manage to silence the GPS before M. in the front seat now,
screamed at the GPS to "SHUT UP."  I turned it off and we progressed from
then on with M's quiet directions, with gentle 'please' addendum until I
assured him just commands was fine. 

I won't go into the driving around trying to find parking near the unnamed
restaurant since M already mentioned it, other than to note that the
constant rotation around the area allowed me to handle, on my own, the very
tricky navigation problem in the area when Butch and I went sight seeing in
Marblehead the next day.  I even found a parking place in the little public
parking area.     
 
When M gave up on parking we changed location and went to a Thai
restaurant, a ways away.  S and I loved the longish drive as a sight seeing
trip.  The restaurant was a delight.  Outstanding service, with M obviously
well known.  But I see from M's post that sadly S and I had an obvious
Outlander look that deprived M of his normal table.  If only I had known I
would have sparingly used my 'Bert and I' voice, and perhaps have saved us
from discovery.   M's lost face or not because of his tempered ordering, S
and I had a marvelous meal.  We have had no experience with Thai food, and
so we had no comparison to normalness or quality, only whether or not it
tasted good.

Oh my was it ever.  I mourn that you all missed it.  3 appies, one was pork
satay, M said it was tough, I figured it was supposed to be... it was so
good.    Fried tofu looked a bit like corn bread but was much tastier. 
Never had it before [I'm used to tofu only as part of a dish] and did not
know tofu with little added flavor was so good.  In my alien way I 
abstained from any of the dips as it was so good as is.   The third and
best to me was big veggie rolls wrapped in what I found out later was rice
wrap.  The wrap entertained me in its taste, its very  nice flavor
contribution, and its uncanny ability to effortlessly hold the quite large
roll together.   High marks.

The two main dishes were King Shrimp, and a Duck dish that reminded me of
Peking Duck that S and I had in Toronto.  Except the duck skin shards were
deep inside the pastry [?] covered dish.  It tasted quite different tho',
and I graciously [I think] avoided sucking up a lot more than my share.  S
is a great boon as she is normally a light eater and I get some of hers
guilt free.  The big shrimp were in a sweet/sour sauce [I think] and were
so good I was tickled S didn't want her share of the fourth one, which M
accepted when I split it.  [the rat]

Sometime during the evening I started using a shaker of red stuff they
slipped to M, and it added a nice touch.  I think we mislead [and at the
same time punished M] about our heat tolerance... or they all fell into the
oriental disdain for any such ability in round eyes, because I detected no
heat in any of the dishes.   Next time [please let it happen God] we will
work harder at defining medium tolerance.   Remember Michael, I don't get
blisters on my lips any more.  [g]

Oh, somewhere along the way there was a little dish of cucumber salad that
was top shelf.  I showed remarkable restraint.  There was also Asian beer
whose name I can't recall.  It was a nice go-with for the meal.  A bit like
my attitude on wine, I don't consider the booze much by itself, but as part
and parcel of the meal in general.  A quite different attitude from when
I'm plain old wine drinking.

Thank you Sir, you were a faultless Host.   Thank you for  a *very* nice
evening.  We consider ourselves very lucky outlanders indeed.  [g]

I talk too long, but can't stop the flow.   [sigh] 


 Burt 'N Shirley  
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