Eddie, Our Novice Innkeeper

We were visiting family in Sharon, Connecticut, and learned that the former run-down, inhospitable motel and been completely renovated and was newly open for guests.   “Let’s try it,” Robin said rather than go North for a few miles to our favorite local B&B.

As we checked in before our family visit, the young woman at the desk assured us that all would be ready when we returned, and the heat would be on to counter the evening chill.  Jessica said that she was leaving her post shortly but gave us her phone number in case we needed  anything.  When we returned and entered our freshly painted room, the heat was not on nor did the beds have sheets or the pillows have pillow cases.  As I dialed Jessica, Robin went searching the property for someone in authority.

She returned with Eddie, the new owner of the Sharon Inn, which had just opened for business the day before.  He was very apologetic of course and took us to a neighboring room, where the beds were made; and he turned on the heat.  Robin asked if there was a place we could buy some wine, and Eddie said, “Not to worry.  I own a pizza restaurant six miles away; I will send for wine - no charge.”  As we struggled to turn on the TV,  Jessica arrived and the four of us took turns with the remote, finally accessing the cable system for which Eddie pays an exorbitant monthly amount.

Our hosts left, and all was well until Robin went into the bathroom and found that there was no toilet paper.  Back came Eddie, apologizing profusely with two rolls.  We settled in again, but when Robin went to take a shower, she discovered there were no bath towels.  This time Eddie returned with  two bath towels, a bottle of California cabernet, two wine glasses and more “I’m so sorries.”  Since it seemed that he didn’t want to leave at this point, Robin took the opportunity to point out that the table lamp was not plugged in because there was no nearby socket. There ensued a discussion about the failings of contractors and Eddie’s lack of knowledge of renovations.

As he was departing, he pointed out the new red Keurig coffee maker and left us with five additional mini-cups of different coffees, telling us to enjoy our morning wake-up beverage.  Sleep at last.  Nightly visits to the bathroom were challenging because the floor was freezing and we had not brought slippers.  Nevertheless, we awoke with anticipation of our coffee from the new Keurig machine.  Of course, it took the two of us 45 minutes to figure out how to make  coffee, but much to our delight the Sharon Inn coffee mugs were the most perfect mugs we had used in years.

As we left, I told this to Eddie, and he said with a broad smile, “Keep them; on me.”

And “we will be sure to return soon,” - now that we have been schooled in the eccentricities of our novice innkeeper and his new venture.

Restaurant Eve

         I  thought it would be fun to celebrate Robin’s birthday by going to Restaurant Eve in Old Town Alexandria, VA.  I have read so many wonderful things about this restaurant, but have never been there.  It seemed the perfect place for a celebration, and indeed it was.   A sign on a Colonial-era row house on South Pitt Street directed us to walk on a path at the side of the building to the entrance.

We were warmly greeted by two hostesses, one of whom led us to our table in the Tasting Room.  As we walked down the hallway, we passed the wine cellar, the kitchen, and the Bistro restaurant, before being shown to an intimate table in the corner of the Tasting Room.  It is a warm room filled with familiar decorative items and very comfortable seating.  The tables surround a center service island where the staff pours flights of wine and unobtrusively observes the guests as they dine.  There is also a second Tasting Room space, more like a sun room with light colors and banquettes for seating, but we were happy to be in the main room.

Our waiter/host for the evening introduced himself and described the experience.  We could choose from tastings of five, seven, or nine courses; and we could combine them with wines chosen to complement each dish.  Since Robin and I rarely have more than two courses at one meal we elected to stay with five.  I asked our host to recommend a celebratory cocktail, and Robin chose the the Big 'O' with pineapple,

Hendricks Gin, orange bitters, angostora bitters, orange syrup and lime juice, which was a blend of tart  and sweet citrus balanced by the other ingredients.  My cocktail was Spring in Jalisco with winter spices, Grand Marnier, Herradura Repasado Tequila, Evan's smoked ice and strawberry bitters.  All these ingredients combined to give the drink a savory flavor balanced with the tequila, visually enhanced by ice shaped  like a floating iceberg.

The chef then presented us with our first three of his many gifts:  a tiny deviled quail egg, a egg white sea salt crisp and  also a bite of salmon mousse on a lavash cracker.  As each course arrived, our server described the dish as it was placed in front of us. Robin chose “000” as her first course.  This was an oyster in the center of a vol au vent pastry shell with pearl onion and a dash of caviar.  I had the foie gras mousse with three small pieces of peanut caramel and a tiny bit of curry sauce.  This was a great start to the evening as both dishes matched our expectations. 

Another gift from the chef: this time a tiny lobster beignet with a “micro” cilantro (apparently that just meant that the leaves were small).  New utensils came with each course; our water glasses were constantly refreshed.  

For our second course, I had the poached Maine lobster with a smoked bacon broth and pickled crosnes (an unusual root vegetable, pronounced like “crones”).  Robin chose the vegetarian option of tortelloni filled with creamed Jerusalem artichokes accompanied with a fava shoot pesto and pine-nut parmesan cream.  We were both extremely pleased with our (and each other’s) selections.  A palate cleanser of grapefruit sorbet arrived and with it our wine selections.  

Robin had asked for a glass of the Argyle pinot noir 2008 (Newberg Oregon) while I picked the Pike shiraz 2008 from Australia at our host’s suggestion.  Robin’s wine was very much a solid Oregon pinot with wonderful bouquet and fruit, while my shiraz had unusual complexity to it with a surprising amount of tannin at the finish.  On to the third course.

Robin’s selection was lamb with grabanzo falafel, lemon yogurt, and cumin- scented marmalade. Cooked medium rare, the lamb flavor was exceptional.  The falafel 

was a delicious surprise.  I had the squab with brown butter radish and a fennel kentucky soy sauce with a dollop of pecan butter.  The flavors were intense, slightly gamey, salty, and sweet with a concluding radish crunch.

The cheese course was next, and unfortunately didn’t measure up to what we had earlier.  Robin was enticed by the Point Reyes Toma and Port City Optima veloute, which turned out to be a soupy mixture with a ciabatta crouton on top. Eating cheese with a spoon is not our preferred method.  Perhaps we should have asked for more information on this dish.  My choice was a local artisanal triple cream called “Moses Sleeper,” a clever twist on traditional bagels & lox.  But the cheese was not creamy and lacked much flavor.  

Finally dessert, where Restaurant Eve returned to its place of high regard. Robin’s choice was highly recommended by our host - a polenta and olive oil cake with lemon curd and lemon-thyme ice cream.  The flavors and textures were extraordinary.  We could have ordered several.  My chocolate choice may have seemed more prosaic - a chocolate and hazelnut gateaux with dark chocolate sorbet sand toasted cocoa marshmallow.  Here again different chocolate flavors and temperatures along with varying textures made for a great dessert.  And last came the after dinner miniardises:  birthday macarons, strawberry and rhubarb tartlets, and a chocolate crisp.

It was a wonderful evening with many new tastes; we must return.

All We Have Are Weeds

Last year, after four years on the waiting list, Robin and I were awarded a garden plot in Rock Creek Park off Oregon Avenue.  It is a beautiful area, five minutes from our home, near the park police stables with a lovely grassy field behind the 90 or so garden plots and surrounded by tall trees. 

In anticipation of clean-up day, which is next week, I decided to make my first visit of the spring to check things out.  Much to my surprise, at least half of the garden plots were groomed and planted with spinach. lettuce and kale emerging from the soil. Not that I am into competitive gardening, but  we haven’t even had “clean-up day” yet - wow.

Quickly, I grabbed a wheelbarrow and a shovel and began stockpiling wood chips in the corner of our plot.  Paul, with whom we share our plot,  had already weeded and turned his soil; bags of organic soil enhancer were piled on his side near the fence.   I began to panic.  How could we have missed that warm two week period in March when our fellow gardeners were busy weeding, tilling and planting. What were we doing lunching in Greenwich Village and walking the High Line?  Why did we take naps after going to the gym instead of being urgent and responsible gardeners?

At least we do have a plan - tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and pole beans - BUT FIRST, we have to weed.

Foodie Field Trip

Robin said we were going on a field trip, but would not tell me our destination.  Soon we found ourselves in unfamiliar territory, Route 123 in Vienna, Virginia (or Maple  Avenue, as it is known locally).  Our first stop was the Maple Avenue Market (128 Maple Avenue East), a smallish shop filled with locally grown and locally produced foodstuffs.

Experienced foragers, we soon found a theme for dinner - grilled open faced portobello mushroom sandwiches - and almost all the ingredients were in front of us.  The mushrooms were of medium size, dark and plump.  Boxes of tender, baby spinach leaves had just arrived.  There was one package of nitrate free bacon remaining, and lots of different goat cheeses to choose from.  Sadly we did have to resort to Whole Foods (across the street) for Maine vine ripened tomatoes; a new basil plant was sitting in our kitchen. 

When I asked about dessert, Robin said that she had it covered. Pie Gourmet, Ltd. is a small  bakery located at 507 Maple Avenue West.  As we entered we were confronted with a cabinet of fruit pies - cherry, strawberry, blackberry/peach, and another one with cream pies - chocolate, banana, coconut and key lime. It was overwhelming.  How would we choose? We  left with one cherry pie and one chocolate cream pie.

Assembling the open faced sandwich was easy.  Drizzle the mushrooms with olive oil and put them in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes.  Assemble by adding goat cheese, bacon, a slice of tomato and put under the broiler for a minute and a half.  Meanwhile steam the spinach leaves for three minutes.  First, put the spinach on a plate, add the assembled portobello from the broiler and top with fresh basil.  We chose an elegant pinot noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and enjoyed the results of our field trip immensely.

Did I Record That?

Looking at the list of television programs that someone has recorded is a bit like looking into a person’s medicine cabinet - very personal and not intended for publication. There is the feeling of being a voyeur.  Should I look away while my friend scrolls through recorded programs looking for what he wants to show me?  Or should I be bold and ask  him “Why  did you record Tosh.0 on March 14th and not the Jon Stewart show that came after that.”  “Why haven’t you watched Patrick Stewart’s ‘Hamlet,’ which you recorded three years ago?”

This all came to mind one evening as we had friends over to watch “Witness for the Prosecution” which I had recorded some months ago for no particular reason other than I had lots of recording space left and thought it would be a good idea to have an inventory of “good” films.  We are not Netflix subscribers like many of our friends, and I was jealous at not having a “queue to discuss” at dinner parties.

It was Saturday evening, and as I clutched my remote I remembered that I had not watched  either David Gregory or Fareed Zakaria from the prior Sunday.  What would my friends think?  I knew that I could quickly divert them to  “Return of the Clouded Leopards” or “The Great Cats”, which I always have available for a stray 10 year-old who gets bored with adult conversation.  “Rashomon” of course needs no justification as it should be watched every three years or so to remember the nuances of “truth.”  

But why did I record “Fox and Friends” last week?  What was Gretchen Carlson wearing that day?  And “Good Morning America?”  Was there an important segment on barbecue that required further study?  “The Good Wife” needs no explanation, but will my friends  have any understanding as to why I continue to record CSI after twelve years?

Quickly I move to the film; Tyrone Power appears; and all is good - until I realize that I forgot to check if I had allowed enough time to record the entire movie.

Did I Take My Pills Today?

Not too long ago when my doctor prescribed a new medication, I discovered that the pharmaceutical manufacturer had learned all about me and sent me a “Welcome to Our Universe” package, which included among other things - a seven day pill box!!

“What in the world is this?  Who do these people think I am?“ I railed at Robin.  “Do these people sitting around fancy boardrooms in Switzerland think that I don’t know what time it is?”  I promptly threw my gift in the trash, and swallowed my pills.

One week later - bedtime.  “Robin, did I take my pills today?”

Project Creep: Home Maintenance and the Retirement Budget

Now that we are both in the post-remunerative phase of our lives, Robin and I have re-allocated our home responsibilities to match our respective skills and interests.  I have been designated the “Paul Ryan” of our Home Budget Committee and, as my first act in this newly created position, I was to determine whether there was a significant deficit in our annual budget.  In our prior lives, budgets were forever on the “to-do” list, but our income flow never necessitated a hard look. 

Coincidentally with my taking over the chairmanship of this committee, Verizon announced that FiOS was finally available in our neighborhood and the “triple play” was something to be considered.  By way of background, as great believers in both competition and inertia, my wife and I have maintained several providers for all of our Internet/telecom services (Comcast for cable and Internet, Verizon for local telephone, and Sprint for long distance).  But now, with my green eyeshades on, I began to analyze the costs we incurred to support our principled beliefs.

By converting to the triple play, we would eliminate the cost of local and long distance telephone service and save $60 each month, or $720 per year.  When put to a vote of the committee, a kinetic action to obtain digital telephone service was unanimously approved.  As Chair, I quickly obtained an estimate of the cost FiOS would bring and compared it with that of our current provider, Comcast.  I carefully compared the visual aspects of the two services by watching two high-def TVs side by side.

In the final analysis, a decision was made to stay with Comcast because the Chairman was unable to grasp the nuances of the FiOS remote, whereas he was able to manipulate the Comcast remote without looking at it and keep his eyes on the screen while changing channels, searching the program list, or checking his list of DVR’d programs.

Our installer came promptly.  His first question, naturally, was “Where are your phones?”  When I showed him our kitchen wall phone, he queried sternly, “Are you going to use THAT phone with our service?”  “Why not?”, I asked, and he explained that my old copper wire phone had a nano-bandwidth whereas a new digital phone would give us a bandwidth as wide as the interstates.  Not wanting to disappoint our youthful technician, we agreed we should go for the bandwidth (not knowing if we would ever think of enough reasons to use it), and quickly went to our local electronics store to purchase a set of the newest digital phones for $150 - ka-ching.  OK, we still were reducing our deficit by $570, AND we were gaining bandwidth.

About a week later our security alarm system people called, saying they had not received a signal from our house for more than a week.  Had we done something?  Like change our phone system?  When I said we had moved to the triple play, they explained that our current security system was analog and we needed to update our system to be able to communicate with them.  The cost? only $500 - ka-ching.  But we still had reduced the deficit by $70, not bad considering the new digital highway we installed.

When the alarm system installer arrived to bring us into the new digital security age, he checked each window sensor and we glowed with satisfaction -- that is, until we got to our bedroom where seven years ago we had hung beautiful draperies over the two bedroom windows behind our bed.  Looking behind the fabric, we discovered to our horror that we had never closed the storm windows; the moisture and dust that had entered created enough mold, mushrooms, and other bacteria to make Marie Curie proud, and the windows were disintegrating.  

My other committee member then remarked that two other windows on the second floor probably should also be replaced “while we were at it”, and so it was that a Window Replacement Subcommittee sprang into being.  The Subcommittee’s diligence and research produced the recommendation that four new double-hung windows be procured.  Cost:  $6,000 - ka-ching.

Yes, we had increased the deficit, but these windows would last a lifetime, and we were already on our digital superhighway.  When our window installer came to measure and check, we not only did an “inside view” but we toured the outside of our house to be sure the look of the new windows was right.  As we looked up, we could see the paint peeling from our siding and worn spots on the trim of our house, which had not been painted for many years.  Had it not been for FiOS coming to our neighborhood, we never would have realized that we needed this further improvement - $7,000 - ka-ching.

The responsibility of the “Paul Ryan Chair” in our house weighs heavy.  Our 1998  single processor personal computer needs replacement.  I am thinking about shifting to an Apple product.  Hmmmm . . . if we purchase an iMac, we can then get an iPhone and iPod, and then link them all together with an iPad2.  I will have to check with our Technology Committee.