Text 4436, 87 rader
Skriven 2013-09-08 04:56:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: trip 125
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A few lazy days, with me and various people making motions
of cleaning stuff up and preparing for the big party Sunday,
which mostly meant securing valuables, cleaning up cat signs,
and separating private from public booze.

Meals.

Leftover lobster - Annie made two lobster rolls for herself, and
there was enough knuckle and tail meat left over for me to make
a lunch-size Norfolk, which was very good. I would say Norfolk
is pretty much my favorite way to use leftover boneless seafood.

--

I bought three Wegmans' sirloin strip steaks in Cry-o-Vac, a
18-oz one, organic Certified Angus, at $5.69/lb and two 12-14s,
uncertified, at $5.49, the latter two more marbled than the more
expensive one. They were quite good, almost as good as the one at
the Gansett, all better than the fancy Bobby Van's dry aged
masterpiece. I'd say that marbling is more relevant than Angusness
or certification.

--

We were going to the Crippled Bear, which would have make sense as
the CVS where I send my prescriptions when in town here and the
gas station where Annie has a discount card are nearby, but she
got a reminder that she had an appointment to do her nails; but
as she had it in her head that we were going out to lunch, she
invited Robbie to join me at Joey's Place, which shares a parking
lot with her nails place. I was to get her a to-go order of a
half regular in the garden with oil, peppers on the side.

Joey's is what a dive bar would be like if it were patronized by
the solid middle class and staffed by the 4-H Club. When Robbie
and I came in, I pointed out its relative respectability compared
to the racy picture Annie had painted. He smiled enigmatically
and said that if I wanted a dive, he could show me many.

The place is moderately well lit and standardly appointed, with a
bar area with a sort of eating area next to it, and separated by
a half-height wall, a dining area with tables and booths. Also
over yonder on this side a subsidiary bar (for weekend nights,
no doubt) and over yonder on that side a beer store whose prices,
as I discovered, were comparable to regular beer store ones.

The waitress, Stephani, was cute, perhaps underage, and personable.
She was the only one working the dining area, so service though
willing was of uncertain rhythm.

I got a Papa Joey's hamburger, which was billed as 8 oz of ground
beef, mixed with sausage meat and served with bacon strips, in the
garden (a local term for with tomato, shredded lettuce, and mayo,
perhaps added to simulate guano). What came: an 8-oz patty, all
right, and of beef mixed with sausage meat, all right, but 8 oz +
x = 8 oz, what is x? They made up for this by butterflying a link
and putting it on top ... but glued it on with Provolone, not my
favorite food in the world, as it reminds me mightily of baby
puke. I asked them to refrain from dragging this sandwich through
the garden; if they'd left it out of the creamery it might have
been a decent sandwich. Robbie, the diabetic watching his carbs,
asked if I would share French fries with him; I said I preferred
onion rings, which came with, so that's what he got. They were
greasy but good and made of real onions.

Robbie's small cheeseburger sub in the garden was impressively
gardenized with a large quantity of shredded lettuce that totally
obscured the substance of the sandwich. I'm glad that I didn't
order anything silly like that but rather had gone for the protein.

Pints of Yuengling were $2.50; 6 oz cups of coffee (albeit with
free refills if requested) were $1.40. We had two each.

At the end of an hour we went out into the parking lot and found
Annie just leaving the salon.

When she opened it up at home, I discovered that Annie's half
regular was a small Italian but with cheaper cuts substituted for
the Italian ones - baloney for mortadella, American for provolone,
and cetera. If I'd been she I would have asked for the Italian
rather than the regular, as the difference was only 20c, and I was
paying for it anyhow.

A 12-oz Yuengling at home costs about a buck.
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