Happy Anniversary to us!

In the “Grow old with me! The best is yet to be” post, I mentioned our recent wedding anniversary, I might as well put some photos here.  It is very nice that one of the most hospitable couples in Taiwanese/Chinese community, our good friends, were able to join us for the anniversary dinner; good food, good ‘spirit’ and good company.  They also introduced us to a nice restaurant (Capstone Grill) that we’ll for sure patronize again; it is just a stone throw away from our friends’ house.  The clam chowder rivals that we indulged in the Oyster House at Boston or the sea shore restaurant where the New England clam chowder was born and where Janice took us some years ago.

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.

“My prettiest loaves of bread yet”

Janice just sent me two photos of her “prettiest loaves of bread” she ever made; one is a basic boule—just a plain loaf of white bread, the other is cranberry pecan bread—looks like the walnut bread—my favorite—that I normally got at the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. (in the strip district of Pittsburgh).

I told her “Do you really have to show these photos to me?” 可望不可及, 看了只不過讓老爸流口水而已. (can look but can not touch; only to make her old dad drool).

Lobster feast continued

After returning from a trip to New England, the lobster feast was done at least for a while, or so we thought. Then our good friends in Pittsburgh invited us for a dinner and one of the dishes was again lobster. The hostess even let us bring some home and gave Katy a recipe: lobster miso (soybean paste) soup, and we added tofu to it.

I forgot to take a picture of the soup and specially cooked rice that required nearly 24 hours. You have to eat it to know that was an exotic dish of rice.

Katy provided her specialty for dessert: apple pie, cherry pie, and baklava.

Dining in the 204 year old house: the Back Porch Restaurant

有朋自遠方來, 不亦樂乎 (Isn’t it a pleasure when friend visits from distant place?) Katy had a friend visiting from Hong Kong; we took her to the Back Porch for a different dining experience on May 27.

Back Porch Restaurant is located at Belle Vernon about 20 miles to the east of Washington, PA. The 204 year-old charming antique-filled house is registered as a landmark. This reminds us of the good old days when Waynesburg still had a Willow Inn, which is also a house of more than 200 years old. There is no hours, nor menu, nor price (if you have to ask, you cannot afford it) for the restaurant, all you have to do was to call and tell him how many people coming; he cooked, we ate; and that is all there is to it. It closed after the owner/chef passed away about 5 years ago. I would be lying if I said I miss him when in the bottom of my heart I am missing his exotic dishes—until this day I still do not know whether he had names for his dishes or not.

I had Bay of Fundy salmon prepared pecan crusted (you may have noticed I sea [see] food I eat it); plated with steamed asparagus (the chef did that in less time than it takes to cook asparagus—a Roman proverb) and mixed salad greens dressed with Sallot-White balsamic vinaigrette.

Katy is a jumbo lump cake lover; Katy let our guest try a bit and she commented “外脆內嫩” and that was exactly what described in the menu, “crispy on the outside and flakey inside”; it is served with Chipotle dipping sauce. We shared Katy's four tiny potatoes, that was the best potato we ever had.

Our guest enjoyed Steak Bruschetta: grilled filet medallions (a chef with meat seeks fire—the chef must be aware of this Nigerian proverb—“The man with meat seeks fire”), served on garlic-toast and plated with the same thing as my pecan crusted salmon.

My only regret is that no bread served with an otherwise gratifying meal. One can also eat at the patio or ‘back porch’ bistro, but I wouldn’t go that far to say, as it was once voted one of the most romantic restaurants in Pittsburgh. May be because we went for lunch.

Bread is the king of the table

Someone said “Bread is the king of the table and all else is merely the court that surrounds the king.” Many years ago on one of our trips to Taiwan we were treated with sumptuous banquet with exotic and scrumptious dishes (山珍海味), and one of our girls (I believe Josephine was the guilty one) asked the waitress a bowel of plain rice; she felt so offended or even insulted saying in a condescending air “in our restaurant, we do not serve rice.”

The opposite is true for American restaurants; they take pride in the bread they serve and breads are even the main attraction for some. Maggiano’s Little Italy (the one Joy and we used to frequent in Chicago and Skokie, IL) served at least 5 or 6 different kinds of breads, if you cannot find even one that suits your taste; the problem is yours. We usually have two loaves of wonderful dark brown bread that loaded with fiber, thanks to rye flour at Outback restaurant (this comes from a doctor who preaches low-carbohydrate diet).

Janice is fascinated in making bread from scratch; she once boasted her ciabatta was much much better than the average bread one can buy in the store. I am hoping one day I can say, as Henry James did “And the best bread was of my mother’s [Janice’s—in my case] own making—the best in all the land.”

Yesterday we went to Carnegie Library (at Pittsburgh) and then to the Italian market and Lotus Food (Chinese grocery) at the Strip District—food for the mind and the body in one trip—and got my beloved Walnut Rasin bread (see the picture)

My Photos - Hearty meal at Bob Evans—we ate like a family

We went back to Lowe’s to get more fences (actually another fancy kennel) so that Katy’s new garden will be triple in size (20 x 30 feet) when the new fences can be delivered this weekend. Katy knew how to get a good bargain from Lowe’s. She told the manager that ordering online will enjoy free delivery, so the manager made an exception to match the online offer of free delivery.

It was almost 9 o’clock when the business was done; we stopped by at Bob Evans for a family-style hearty meal. My Potato-Crusted Flounder is a mild whitish fillet grilled to perfection in a delicious potato crust that has an inviting appeal.

There is a story of Katy’s Slow-Roasting Turkey; there was a time when no one minded if a roast took all day and all night as long as it came out just right, and that was the one Katy had tonight.

We almost forgot to mention the tasty banana bread. We’re the last guest leaving the restaurant and the manager came out twice to have a friendly chat like a family; it is a family-style restaurant after all, and the manager promised that he will convey our appreciation to Ashley who was our chef.

Delightful dinner at Kiku

The summer flower show (“Gargoyles in the Garden”) at Phipps is coming up May 1; we couldn’t wait and went for a preview this afternoon; it is dubbed as “Gothe meets Gorgeous”.

After seeing the gorgeous & gothic revival at Phipps, we had dinner at Kiku—the authentic Japanese Sushi Restaurant in the Station Square, the tourist attraction site at Pittsburgh.

It is fitting to eat at a restaurant with a flower name after seeing the flower show. Kiku is the Japanese name for chrysanthemum flower. We always call my 3rd sister Kiku.

We had Sushi Platter that includes toro, tuna, whitefish, salmon, shrimp, tamago, salmon roe, eel, salmon/cucumber roll that served with Miso Soup, Rice, and Green Tea. As always, enjoy it.

Thursday dinner at Friday’s

T.G.I. Friday’s Restaurant (Thank God, It’s Friday—Have you ever wonder what T.G.I. means? The company asserts it stands for “Thank Goodness It’s Friday”) We cannot wait until Friday, so we patronized Friday’s on Thursday (today).

We took advantage of the “3 Courses” special that includes appetizer, main entrée, and dessert, all for $12.99, quite a bargain to indulge. There is a more luxurious version for $16.99 if you have a bigger appetite and deeper pocket.

I had Fried Mozzarella, Sizzling Parmesan Crusted Chicken, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. And Katy had Southwest Wedge Salad, Dragon Fire Chicken, and also Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie.

Knowing I like reading Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink, Janice asked me to pick up Ruth Reich’s Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise and I was not disappointed. Being a food writer and a restaurant critic (Reichl used to be The New York Times) must be a wonderful job.

Janice is a foodie and a good food writer; trying to appreciate her “language” is my excuse of frequenting restaurants.

Dinner at Angelo’s

When you visit my Facebook account you can share the scrumptious dinner with us at Angelo’s Restaurant tonight.  Angelo’s (at Washington, PA) has fast become our favorite to indulge.

I had Linguini with Black Mussels and red clam sauce and Katy has Chicken Marsala—chicken breast sautéed in butter, garlic and Italian herbs in a Marsala wine sauce with fresh mushrooms.

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Howdy! Dinner at Texas Roadhouse is noisy & pleasantly ‘rowdy’

While being led to our seats, I was hoping the food would be as ‘crunchy’ as the peanut shells covering the floor. The cowboy music filled the room; it was a blast! it was noisy and almost ‘rowdy’. No sooner did we sit down, than my cell phone rang; I could hardly hear the ED doctor; no emergency; we could eat our hearty meals with enthusiasm and having fun while eating like each and everyone in the Texas Roadhouse. When you are in Texas, eat like Texans.

After hearing this was our first visit to the restaurant, the server suggested their signature steak; I should have said “bring them on”, as did the one from Texas (I am hoping you know to whom I referred). Katy settled with Grilled BBQ Chicken. My House Salad with one thousand island dressing was a good sign that good food was to come. The bread disappointed me, but Katy liked its sweet flavor.

Being a peanut lover I felt at home seeing a basket of roast shelled peanuts on the table; I cannot say the meal was complete as I didn’t wash the steak down with the beer to get into the mood to blend into the atmosphere that “Texas” takes pride in.