Text 17154, 139 rader
Skriven 2011-10-27 23:41:02 av Dale Shipp (1:261/1466.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Michael Loo
Ärende: Re: WV Trains, day 109
==============================
 -=> On 10-27-11  12:15,  Michael Loo <=-
 -=> spoke to Dale Shipp about WV Trains, day 109 <=-

 ML> Thank you for the reports. Sounds like you had a pretty good
 ML> time, and one doesn't really do these things for the food.

Yes and Yes.
 
 ML> I've seen the pancake machines various places. They are
 ML> amusing to watch and produce decent product (I've had bites
 ML> of other people's, mostly, because pancake batter of course
 ML> has lots of dairy in it).

This was our first exposure to it.  From the appearance it might have
been better than the waffle machine -- especially if that waffle machine
had not been kept up to snuff and produced waffles that were not crisp
and that stuck to the machine.

One thing that we learned on a previous trip out to western Maryland was
not to order the flapjacks from that Hancock Park-N-Dine we like.  They
are thick and undercooked in the center.  I guess there is a difference
between flapjacks and pancakes in their mind :-}}
 
 ML> Given that you'd been having rain, that's to be expected, with
 ML> all the topsoil and crud being washed down into the river. But
 ML> after a spell of clear weather, it's likely that the water would
 ML> run clear for a while.

It probably does run clear during times when the run off is less.
I know what the Potomac looks like when it crosses under the American
Legion Bridge, and would rarely call that clear.  Much further up river,
it has a chance to not be as muddy.
 
 DS> eagle nest was, we really could not make it out.  Nor did we see any
 DS> eagles in flight.  So much for their claim of a 90% chance of spotting
 DS> them.   

 ML> As I recall, not a big deal. The American bald eagle fetish
 ML> is something I don't get. Of course, one would prefer
 ML> delivery on promises.

I did see what I was told were a lot of vultures circling on the wind
currents.
 DS> We opted for the Baltimore Grill because of the Cajun menu offerings. 
 DS> BIG mistake. 

 ML> Amusing. I hope your review (which I looked up) drags their
 ML> Trip Advisor rating down a notch, but I bet it won't make any
 ML> difference.

Last time I looked, it did not change the rating from 3rd place.

 DS> We are frequent visitors to New Orleans and really like Cajun food.
 DS> Gail had a "spicy chicken sandwich" which was essentially a fried
 DS> breast meat with Buffalo wing type spices on it.  She judged it fairly
 DS> good, and as expected.

 ML> Not particularly Cajun, unless it had remoulade on it or
 ML> something. What about the bread? Cajuns are serious about
 ML> their bread.

It was not in their Cajun section.  The bread was a Kaiser role and
lived up to her expectations.
 
 DS> I was not so lucky.  My first order was their seafood gumbo.  What I
 DS> got looked like they forgot the first step in making gumbo -- first you
 DS> make a roux.  Instead, what was there looked and tasted like a pale
 DS> powdered gravy mix.  The amount and quality of the seafood was good,
 DS> but this was not a gumbo.  

 ML> I'd guess it might have been a homemade pale powdered gravy mix,
 ML> using bouillon for the flavor.

What flavor?
 
 DS> For drinks, I tried to order the draft Yingling that their pamphlet
 DS> had touted.  Sorry -- No draft tonight.

 ML> Strange how places can shoot themselves in the foot this way.
 ML> Beer in kegs is hugely cheaper for them, and they can charge
 ML> almost as much as for bottled - if they get fancy brands,
 ML> much more.

I don't recall the excuse -- some sort of pump failure.
 
 DS> Breakfast was a buffet in a private dining room at the Holiday Inn.
 DS> This was one of the worst breakfast buffets that we have been

 ML> Be thankful for small favors. I've had breakfast buffets where
 ML> the best thing is the sausage in the generic fake Jimmy Dean
 ML> breakfast sandwich, once I've scraped the cheese off. Or sometimes
 ML> a banana is the only available edible thing.

No sausage, no bananas.

 DS> leave.  Many tables had not been cleared of the dirty dishes.  They had
 DS> one attendant on duty, who seemed to be slowed down by a bad foot and
 DS> considerable limp.

 ML> Speculation: he's paid extra to be slow! That way, they
 ML> save money on unprovided dry cereal, orange juice, and so on.

I don't think so -- she was obviously suffering.  But they certainly
could have gotten some extra help.  What was so upside down is that the
previous night's motel which was a Holiday Inn Express had a pretty
decent, albeit ordinary, spread although they had no restaurant.  This
Holiday Inn had a restaurant, but put on such a bad spread.


MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: Ham Salad
 Categories: Sandwich, Spread, Foodgrinder
      Yield: 2 Cups
 
      2 c  Ham, cooked
      2    Sweet or Dill pickles
    1/4 md Onion
    1/3 c  Mayonnaise
      1 ts Prepared mustard
 
  Put ham, pickles, and onion through Grinder using Fine Disc.  Mix well
  with remaining ingredients.
  
  Yield:  2 1/2 cups (675 ml)
  
  SOURCE:  Oster Electric Meat/Food Grinder 1995
  From: Sandy May                       Date: 01-21-96
  Cooking
 
MMMMM



... Shipwrecked on Hesperus in Columbia, Maryland. 23:55:12, 27 Oct 2011
___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30

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