Text 6395, 76 rader
Skriven 2013-11-02 20:21:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: two meals 408
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Before our leaf-viewing trip Gail put a pot roast into the
Crock-Pot: chuck roast, onions, celery, bay leaves, carrots,
potatoes, onion soup mix, maybe thyme and sage, and then we
went off to Catoctin Mountain Park out in the far north part
of the state. Turns out the foliage up there was past peak,
but on the way there were some gorgeous vistas.

We wended our way through what Dale describes as the yellow
tunnels, past Camp David, and back down into the rather more
colorful valleys for a while.

After touring around up there and deciding we'd seen enough,
it was suggested that we go for a beer and snacks at
Johansson's in Westminster, which served as a fan meeting
place when the Ravens had their training camp near here some
years ago and where Bryan and Nancy had had their rehearsal
dinner years ago. I am heartily in favor of beer and snacks.

Gail had been shorted her Buffalo wings at a recent visit to
the Cheesecake Factory, so she ordered them here - they were
medium-to-large with a classic sauce (margarine and Frank's,
I know the former, think the latter), not the crispest in the
world but tasty and meaty. Came with ranch dressing and stacks
of carrot and celery sticks. A decent deal.

There's a "for smaller appetites" menu, and from it I chose
crab imperial for $13 - for a buck less I could have had a
crab cake sandwich or an 8-oz sirloin strip; chicken dishes were
yet another less. I was glad I got this - almost half a pound of
mostly lump crabmeat, if not fresh then from an excellent can,
bound with a bit of mayo and flecked with the occasional fine
dice of onion and various colors of bell pepper. A fine deal.
These items are offered with mashed or baked and vegetable of
the day, no subs allowed. I asked for no potato at all, to
which the gruffly attentive bartendress suggested double veg,
which offer I refused, a good thing as the veg were 90% summer
squash with a sprinkling of broccoli and red pepper strips. I
gave almost all the squash away but was not wholly cruel as
some of the crab stuff went with it.

The in-house beers, under $4 a pint, included

a red rye, fairly light, a little acid, pleasant but with a
pronounced rye taste; "Honest Ale," sort of Budweiserish but
less carbonated; a pretty hoppy darkish "Whistle Stop Amber";
and an IPA that seemed out of balance to me. We had pints of
the first three, after which I, nostalgic for Germany, had an
Erdinger Festbier, which was almost as light as the Honest Ale
(Dale said it was almost a Gail beer) but with a bit more alcohol;
it was $5.95, a decent buy but not in comparison with the other
offerings - I should have had a Yuengling.

Back to the house via the appropriately named Bullock's butcher
shop, which was closed early as it was Saturday. We had been in
search of the elusive pork shank, but another day.

When we returned home, the aroma of bay leaf and onions and beef
was almost enough to make us hungry, but we waited an hour or
two until our stomachs were settled before tearing into Gail's
pot roast, which was tender and good, the carrots and potatoes
being just this side of falling apart. I thought Dale had put some
sage into the gravy, as it reminded me powerfully of Thanksgiving;
he denied this. Abita Turbo Dog, the famous malty Louisiana dark
beer, went nicely with the meat.

For afters before bedtime, strawberry cream chocolate cake. The
other day, Gail's friend Caroline had taken the Shipps to the
Double T for her birthday, and they'd brought home slices of
birthday cakes back. I forgot to mention that the other day had
included German chocolate cake for dessert: rich and sweet but at
least there was some fiber from the coconut. Today's treat was
this other cake, which I turned down, having eaten more than
plenty through the day.
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