Category: Eric

Last Time YOU had a Hot Weiner?

Naturally, the challenge for any foodie upon arrival in a (relatively) new city is to ‘get real.’ I’m happy to report that my first foray away from the convention hotel in downtown Raleigh, NC yielded a bullseye.

Apparently The Roast Grill, on S. West Street between W. Morgan and Hillsborough Streets, has been there since the 1930s serving hot dogs and Coke. That’s it. Your choice of toppings are mustard, chili, onions, and/or slaw. Their motto is ‘We burn them for you.’

The interior is tiny, with three two-seaters on one side and a tight bar along the grille that seats maybe 10 people, and has been decorated by the accumulation of Coca-Cola memorabilia. This is a local spot with the folks behind the counter holding conversations with almost every customer, lots of greetings when the door opens from both sides of the counters. What a find!

First Crop Garlic

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Harvested last week, our Red Russian hardneck garlic is ready for action…

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Spent Red Russian garlic cloves, mashed with THE BEST garlic press in the world, the Zyliss Susi, which is big enough to handle the large hardneck cloves (most commercial garlic is softneck), and built to press garlic WITHOUT peeling the cloves!

Knot Hard

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I’ve been practicing my maritime knots this week. Here’s a Monkey Fist that comes in handy when you need to throw a rope end.

Interesting Urban Geography

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From The Weather Channel…

…and I had assumed that the Degree Symbol was being used to indicate the location of each city listed, which is way off the mark. Instead, the graphic artist appears to have plopped the huge (relative to the map scale) temp label in the general vicinity of the city. I would assert that this, obviously, fails because it draws my attention away from the message: it’s HOT out there.

The Great Scape

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When you grow garlic, you can harvest more than bulbs and cloves. In late June the garlic plants begin to flower, sending up delicate curly ‘scapes’ that will eventually burst into a frilly white flower ball. Most gardeners clip these scapes when they first appear to avoid having the plant divert energy away from the bulb building, resulting in bigger bulbs at harvest (in late July). When clipped early these flower stems are tender and can be put into almost any dish to add a delicate garlic note with the texture of a green bean. They are also delicious on their own, braised in a little wine or stock, or stir fried.

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Democracy in Action

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Monroe, Maine annual town meeting 2012. The sign outside the town hall, announcing the meeting, says “It’s Your Money…Town Meeting June 18th 6:30pm”

The hottest discussion was about how many times the snowplow contractor was allowed to wipe out the SAME mailbox on a road before the contractor would be asked to pay for the next replacement…three seemed to be the answer, though last winter one mailbox was hit FIVE times…

Wood Season

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One might think of the autumn as the time one’s thoughts turn to wood…but if you don’t have your pile stacked and drying before July Fourth, then you are behind the game.