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Tröegs Brewery in Hershey PA

November 10th, 2014 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out | My Traveling Life - (0 Comments)

One of the reasons my son was most excited about our recent visit to Pennsylvania was to show us around one of his favorite places to eat and drink – Tröegs Brewery in Hershey PA. As we pulled into the parking lot on a Friday evening, the place looked packed, but he assured us that the tasting room was large and it would be worth the wait, should there be one. He also advised checking out the merchandise in the gift shop, since it closes early. All sorts of tee shirts and beer related souvenirs arranged in a spacious store with a window into the production facility.

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Upon entering the tasting room, we were greeted by a host who explained how to get beer and food and described a number of specials. The room is full of booths and long tables to share. We were in luck when we spotted a table of folks getting ready to leave, so we sat down and studied the beer menu to make our sampler selections. Sampler trays are offered two ways – six samples from their Year-Round Beer list for $8 or Pick Three from the whole list which includes limited draft beer and Hop Cycle Seasonals for $5.50. The detailed beer menu included information about ABV and IBUs as well as clever descriptions, such as “colossal, palate-numbing” for the Impending Descent Stout, which was my favorite.

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Beer orders are placed at the bar – food orders are placed at a counter where you also pick up your trays of food after your buzzer goes off. We decided to share a couple of appetizers from the “Shared” section of the Snack Bar menu – Poutine hand-cut fries with turkey neck gravy, celery salt, sage, cheese curds and cranberry ketchup and a charcuterie tray which came on a round wooden board and included house made pickles, radishes and horseradish mustard.

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Entree selection was even trickier! So many interesting choices from a menu that changes seasonally and includes a list of farms and friends which source their ingredients. I had the crispy chicken leg with mole spices, black bean tacos, pumpkin guacamole and pickled chayote squash. David ordered a troegswurst sandwich, and Ben got the beef short rib pot roast with root vegetables, and duck fat mashed potatoes which came in a canning jar. It was accompanied by a wheat roll and a little paper cup of the most delicious smoky butter I have ever tasted. Candice got duck confit with almond stuffing, pear relish and cardamom syrup.

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Since I am a sucker for holiday brews, I had to order one Mad Elf Ale – brewed with sweet and sour cherries, local PA honey and chocolate malt!

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We piled back into the car, stuffed and happy, yet doubting whether we had made the best menu choices in light of all the other tempting selections we had not been able to sample.

Lucky for us, our Sunday drive brought us back to Hershey for a little time at the outlet mall and a chance to see the Hershey kiss streetlights in the daylight – and it just so happened to be dinner time. Visit #2! No complaints.

This time we all knew what beer we liked, and the menu took less time to sort through. We started with a basket of popcorn with brown butter and rosemary salt to share. David got the deconstructed lamb burger which is served on curried naan, Ben chose the venison and aged cheddar bologna which was served with a tiny cast iron skillet of braised red cabbage and I decided to try the wood smoked trout salad. No traditional salad here! It was served in a small canning jar and tasted like tuna salad’s worldly sophisticated sister. Another round wooden serving tray with bread crisps, crème fraiche, lemon rosemary jam, pickles and radishes and a tiny trio of creamy potato pancake like hash browns.

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I love eating out and trying new dishes, but I describe the food at Tröegs in such detail because it is an awesome brewery that could get by with serving their Oktoberfest pretzels and other simple bar fare. Instead the menu might trump the beers!

What did we do when we left? Go back to Ben and Candice’s apartment and continue the food coma by watching Chef.

Dining in the Finger Lakes

August 5th, 2014 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out - (0 Comments)

Lunchtime on a day of winery visits found us at the highly recommended FLX (Finger Lakes – of course) Weinery.
Get it ? A weinery on the road to the wineries! Any kind of hot dog, sausage, burger you want and lots of original toppings served up in a brand new building.

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This funky, fun eating establishment has just opened this spring, but their emphasis on fresh and local ingredients should mean a good business for them in the coming years.

We were lucky enough to eat dinner twice during our trip at The Stonecat Cafe where local cuisine takes center stage. Both nights we had an amazing meal out on their covered patio. Both nights the wait staff was attentive, chatty and interested in our total satisfaction.

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The first night I chose the Cornmeal Crusted Catfish which was finished with a smoked tomato coulis and served with fresh dill cole slaw. It was delicious paired with a glass of a Keuka Lake a Vineyards Vignoles 2013.
When we decided to return for dinner on Saturday night, we were able to get a late reservation and purposely arrived early to sit at the bar for a drink from their amazing specialty cocktail menu. I wish I could remember exactly what my seasonal feature was called but it was made with Finger Lakes Distilling Vintner’s Vodka and local cherry juice! Although it threatened rain, we were seated on the patio and assured we could be moved back inside, but the storm stayed away and we had an amazing dinner. Three of us ordered the special, which was shrimp and chorizo in a rich tomato sauce over seasoned polenta with fresh green and yellow beans on the side.

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David splurged on the Grilled Grass-fed Ribeye which was finished with a cognac cream demi-glacé and served with rosemary mashed potatoes and seasonal sautéed veggies. We also took the wine steward’s recommendation and ordered a bottle of Barbera Del Monferrato Superiore – so yummy!

We have our waitress at Stonecat to thank for a restaurant recommendation for our day trip to Ithaca. When she told us she would eat lunch at a The Moosewood Restaurant, my eyes lit up!!! I have been enjoying Moosewood cookbooks that my husband gave me as gifts for years. And my award winning culinary teacher best friend had never heard of it.

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Moosewood is a worker owned restaurant that has been acclaimed as a driving force in the world of creative vegetarian cooking for 40 years. Moosewood was named one of the “thirteen most influential restaurants of the 20th Century” by Bon Appétìt magazine. The menu changes daily, and our friendly waitress helped us make excellent choices. I had the vegetable stew which was served over farro and topped with crumbled feta and David and Danette chose the polenta pizza with mushrooms and roasted sliced tomatoes. Every bite was fresh and flavorful.

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Finding the Moosewood was an added bonus on this perfect little get away to the Finger Lakes. If we ever return, I would revisit each of these amazing eateries!

Northstar Cafe and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream in Columbus, Ohio

May 19th, 2013 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out - (0 Comments)

Needing to stop for lunch in Columbus on the road to Southern Ohio, we took a friend’s suggestion and visited Northstar Cafe for the first time! Wow! How soon can we come back?


We didn’t know the protocol, but quickly in line and figured it out. You place your order from the small but promising menu
at the counter and everything is made fresh and brought to you at your table. As their website states, “The Café features an imaginative menu of New American cuisine with a healthful emphasis on organic ingredients”. I ordered a Buddha Bowl with chicken – it was also available with tofu – because the description on the menu promised bright vegetables. And bright they were! Along with perfectly cooked brown rice and a slightly spicy and delicious peanut sauce.


David’s turkey and avocado sandwich came with sweet potato fries and a yummy cayenne aioli.


We were stuffed and satisfied! But when we ventured out front for a photo we discovered Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream right next door!


We have had Jeni’s at restaurants in Cleveland before, but never been inside this treasure that anchors Columbus on the ice cream culinary map. We would have to overlook the fact that we were already full and indulge.


Jeni Britton Bauer opened Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002 in Columbus, Ohio’s North Market, and her company now operates nine shops in Ohio and one in Tennessee. At Jeni’s the kitchen team makes every ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt from the ground up with grass-grazed Ohio cream, local produce, and carefully sourced ingredients including rare, fair-trade vanilla and bean-to-bar chocolate.


Making a selection was tough, but since we were in Columbus to deliver a stack of my Ohio chalk cloth mats to Wholly Craft down North High Street, I decided on the Buckeye State with a scoop of Salted Caramel! I almost never eat ice cream – so this surely was a decadent treat.

Rising Star Coffee Roasters – Cleveland, Ohio

May 16th, 2013 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out - (0 Comments)

Cleveland just keeps getting cooler and on a sunny May day, there’s a perfect place at a picnic table outside of Rising Star Coffee Roaster waiting for you to sit and sip. We stopped by Rising Star a few weeks ago because I was on a mission for a local source of burlap coffee bags to repurpose for my Ohio state chalk cloth table mats . On that visit, I met owner Kim Jenkins, whose story is super interesting and best told through this video from a Channel 5 News story about Rising Star.


I returned yesterday with a pile of Ohio chalk cloth and burlap “cafe” mats made mostly from a Rising Star bags. Since Jenkins visits the locations where his beans are grown, he seems attached to he stories of each bag. I already have my eye on one that he promised he will save for me when it is empty – see the orange flowers in the background?


This time we got coffee! David ordered a perfect cup of pour over Rawandan coffee and I had a strong cup of iced coffee. The tiny vestibule of the shop was full of people in business casual attire, talking fast and looking far busier than we did. As we were approaching the building, Jenkins was helping to fill a trunk of a car parked out front with pounds and pounds of coffee.


Rising Star is located on the outer edge of Ohio City in an old firehouse. This visit, I left with a few more bags – one that is so cool I don’t want to spoil the surprise! Time to get back to the sewing machine.

The Brew Kettle – Strongsville, Ohio

February 16th, 2013 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out - (0 Comments)

This review is so long overdue I am embarrassed! When you have a favorite restaurant in your home town – a place you go every Friday night – a local bar where everybody knows your name (well, almost), you should be shouting its praises to the world. But then again, it would become even more popular and the wait for a table would be even longer. Chris and Pam McKim are friends and owners of The Brew Kettle, a local business that has figured out how to create the perfect neighborhood bar with great beer and even greater food.

I look forward to Lent every year, because I can count on Friday night seafood specials to die for.


Tonight I had the salmon special – marinated in ginger and orange, cooked on an applewood plank served with a tangy Asian slaw, a side of saffron aioli and coconut pilaf. I would have paid twice the price for this perfectly prepared and fully flavorful meal.


Today offered double pleasure for diner! Lenten seafood specials and Ogrefest specials. Ogrefest is an annual celebration of crazy, hoppy, over-the-top beers.


The menu of specials is equally aggressive.


So, of course, David went for the Buffalo ribs, which he said were smoked to perfection and topped with a tasty plum BBQ sauce. Look at that meat!


Served up with a side of sweet potato fries and Brew Kettle coleslaw, that is crunchy and full of horseradish. We never leave hungry and we always see friends who return as regularly as we do because it is THE best restaurant in town.


AND you can brew your own beer at The Brew Kettle, which is an experience worthy of another article. See you next Friday night.

The Blue Benn – Bennington, Vermont

September 29th, 2012 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out | My Dining/Wining Life - (0 Comments)

We routed our entire return trip from Maine so that we could  have breakfast at The Blue Benn Diner.   The Blue Benn is no recreated, retro-styled silver bullet diner.  It dates back to the 1940s and has been on its current site along Route 7 since 1949.

We arrived on a Thursday morning about 9:00 am and were shown to a booth and given coffee and menus.  Luckily I remembered to check out all of the additional offerings not mentioned in the menu but hanging in plastic sleeves all along the counter.

Blue Benn Additional Menu Offerings

I ordered the Veggie Omelet which was served with home fries – I decided to let them hold the toast.  We left so satisfied we needed no other meal until we made it home the same day!

The Lobster Shacks

September 10th, 2012 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out - (0 Comments)

Part of my unspoken objective for this vacation was to eat as much lobster, in as many different forms, as I could. Part of my pre-vacation preparation was an 18th birthday celebratory pedicure with my daughter where I chose the OPI polish color I Eat Mainely Lobster. I achieved my goal and forever put to rest the notion that The Red Lobster is a lobster restaurant. Locals in Massachusetts and Maine take their lobster seriously and have clear opinions about where to spend your money on this treat. Even though I read that lobster prices are lower than they have been for decades, and we did see it for sale wholesale along the road for as low as $3.95 a pound, it is still a delicacy when it is prepared for you. I had read extensively before we left about the specific locations of the best lobster shacks, and was extremely disappointed when we blew right past Red’s Eats in Wicasset – presumably home of the best lobster roll and evidenced by the long line of waiting patrons. We did, however, manage to visit three classic shacks that deserve description.

Mac’s On the Pier – Wellfleet, Massachusetts

Mac’s website proudly claims that they have been buying fresh seafood from Cape Cod fishing families since before buying local was in style. The three restaurants they run in Eastham, Wellfleet and Truro have a mission of quality, traceability and sustainability. We visited the Wellfleet Pier location for lunch on my birthday. Even though it was cloudy and drizzling a bit, there were diners sitting out under umbrellas at several of the picnic tables near the water.

At Mac’s, you place your order at the window after selecting from a crazily extensive menu that even includes sushi. I wanted my first Cape Cod Lobster Roll and David ordered an Oyster Po’ Boy.

Wellfleet is known for its oysters and his sandwich roll came stuffed with lightly battered deep fried oysters and Mac’s homemade Poor Man’s sauce, which he described as a spicy aioli. My lobster meat was in a light mayonnaise dressing with chopped red onion and a bit of celery on a roll with lettuce. Yum!


Our second visit was on our way out of Cape Cod. This time the sun was shining and we were going for fried food Nirvana. After asking on many occasions for fried oysters in Provincetown, we knew we could get them at Mac’s. One order of Fried Oysters, one order of Clam Strips (I swear I haven’t ordered them since Howard Johnson’s in my childhood) and – what the heck! – Onion Rings! A vegetable! With ketchup! Another vegetable! Three piles of crunchy brown food behind us, we headed to Maine and Boston rush hour traffic knowing we wouldn’t be hungry on the way.

Waterman’s Beach Lobster – South Thomaston, Maine
Waterman’s is a Lobster Shack which the James Beard Foundation proclaimed “the quintessential Maine experience”. After settling into our Owl’s Head cabin, we put on sweatshirts ready to brave the breeze, brought a bottle of Truro Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay and headed to the waterfront. The parking lot was packed and the front seating area of the shack spilling with 50th anniversary party guests, but a covered seating area behind the restaurant was out of the wind and away from the partiers.

We ordered two 1 1/4 pound lobster dinners with steamers. We poured our wine into the provided plastic cups and admired the array of wine bottles left behind by previous diners on the railing surrounding us. Our waitress brought out two trays with 1 1/2 pound lobsters – extras from the party group at no extra charge – clams, clam broth, corn on the cob, a fresh roll, a plastic cup of melted butter and a bag of Lays potato chips.

Although the clams were a bit sandy, the lobster was succulent and the dining experience “the real thing”. Plastic bib and all. Obviously locals eat here. There was a couple that sat down next to us and never spoke to each other once as they devoured their lobsters and washed them down with a six-pack of Pabst. We stayed until it was dark, eavesdropping on the drunken conversation of the anniversary party family as they divided up the leftover bottles of wine. James Beard may have had other clientele in mind, but these Mainers were as true blue as the blueberry pie they also served at Waterman’s!

Perry’s Lobster, Newbury Neck
Over breakfast at The Wave Walker Bed and Breakfast, our innkeeper, Donna, said she didn’t understand why anyone would drive to Bar Harbor to pay too-much money for lobster when they had the real deal three miles up the road.

Perry buys directly from the boats of the lobstermen who catch in the waters directly beyond the seating dock.

We were surprised to be shown to our picnic table with the direction that the seating on the end of the pier was reserved. From where I sat, I watched the live lobsters being lowered into the steaming – not boiling – pots of local sea water where the ears of corn and steamers were cooked as well. We decided to do a soft shell vs hard shell comparison. Though the lobster seemed to taste the same, the hard shell was more meaty. We were the only diners who did not bring a cooler, and one couple with a small child had brought a salad in plastic bowl as well. It was obvious no one had driven out of their way to get there, and we probably wouldn’t have stopped without a recommendation, but once again, we felt grateful for being welcome at unadorned local landmark.

Footnote – I didn’t exactly heed Donna’s advice. After touring Acadia National Park we drove into Bar Harbor and parked the car to wander the town amongst the tourists who had spilled off of the eye-sore of a cruise ship parked in the middle of the harbor. Since it was lunchtime and the sun was shining, we decided to order one more (over-priced) lobster roll at the take out window of a restaurant on the pier. Perhaps because we ate them overlooking the shining water – or perhaps because they were served with Cape Cod Chips – these were the tastiest rolls of the trip. The rolls were warm and buttery and the lobster meat lightly mayonaissed and peppered to perfection.

Dining Out – Owls’s Head, Rockland, and Camden, Maine

September 9th, 2012 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out - (0 Comments)

Our town night stay in a tiny waterfront cottage in Owl’s Head gave us a few unique dining opportunities. We depended upon the recommendations of friends and happened upon a few gems on our own.

Rockland Home Kitchen Cafe

Somehow we drove through lunch time, so we opted to drive past our Owl’s Head destination in favor of lunch at Home Kitchen Cafe in Rockland. Once again Tripadvisor helped us find the perfect place just out of town where more locals than tourists can be found on a Saturday afternoon. They are only open until 3:00 and they serve breakfast and lunch all day. We had to wait for a table – the place is pretty small, but in addition to a full menu, they have a side board of lobster specials. We opted for the lobster tacos on homemade tortillas. They were served with a small side of flavorful black beans. In my quest to try lobster every way – I can now say it is a delicious taco filling as well.

Owl’s Head General Store
Nothing is more nostalgic than dining at the Owl’s Head General Store. The “town” of Owl’s Head is limited to a store and the post office and evokes the simplicity of a time period I never experienced. Somehow, Food Network’s Magazine discovered this spot and popularized it in a 2009 spread of 50 Burgers from 50 States. Consequently, the Seven Napkin Burger advertisement calls in patrons who order breakfast or lunch from a chalk board in the kitchen.

We were there at 8:00 on a Sunday morning and were clearly the only tourists in the joint. Eggs Benedict was an unlisted breakfast special, and when David ordered it, the cook who over heard him called out that the Hollandaise would be done in a minute. While we were eating, we had a table side visit from the cook, who came out explain this was real Hollandaise – the kind that is likely to kill you. We left with full bellies as more locals arrived and greeted their neighbors. I asked as we were paying our check what we should do for the day and was told that the Patriots were on at 1:00.

Our second morning in Owl’s Head, we returned to the General Store for the Blueberry Pancakes. Maine is a blueberry loving state and at the store you and order one or two – if you dare. Announcing to the same cook that the Hollandaise hadn’t killed him, David went for the double. These pancakes were thick as a grilled cheese sandwich and covered the entire plate. They were the quarter-pounders of the pancake world. Once again the cook visited our table to make sure they were cooked all the way through. I was a little surprised they were not served with the blueberry syrup I had seen for sale in the local gift stores, but the maple syrup was real and I didn’t begin to finish my single and have no idea how David ate them both.

Camden – Fresh
After a rigorous morning of hiking in Camden Hills State Park. we had earned a good lunch, and perhaps a libation as well. All I had to see was a Bloody Mary on the table in front of a patio diner and I knew what I needed to help my legs stop shaking. Fresh Bakery and Market, features locally inspired quinine and fresh ingredients. I thoroughly enjoyed a Pan Seared Maine Peekytoe crab cake salad with homemade chutney.

Rockland – Cafe Miranda

Friends who visit Camden regularly put Cafe Miranda at the top of the restaurant recommendation list and rightly so. It is small and intimate inside and although we may not have needed a reservation, having one promised us a table at the front window. The menu requires some reading – they offer local ingredients in unique combinations on a menu that is eclectic and creative. Case in point – our appetizer was the Specials yellow tomato variation of one listed as 50 M. P. H. Tomatoes – Maine grown tomatoes, corn-meal dredged and pan fried with a spicy house dressing. I ended up ordering one of my favorite dishes of the whole vacation – a pasts dish from the specials menu simply called Summer – which turned out to be homemade fettuccini pasta with a generous amount of lobster meat, fresh tomatoes, corn and loads of parsley.

Dining Out in Provincetown, Massachusetts

September 6th, 2012 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out - (0 Comments)

Any and every dining experience is available to visitors to Provincetown, Massachusetts. There is a Portugese cultural influence which pays tribute to the influx of foreign fisherman who settled in the area. A frequent menu offering at all sorts of establishments is Portugese Kale Soup.

I will remember dining in Ptown for the memorable lobster dishes, Wellfleet oysters, and yummy Bloody Mary’s I enjoyed at the restaurants detailed below.

The Lobster Pot

We actually visited The Lobster Pot on two different occasions during our four day visit. When we first strolled Commercial Street upon arriving in town, I honestly passed it off as a tourist trap, with its retro-neon lobster over the often crowed doorway. However, we were assured by our friend Johnny, our Ptown host, that consistently good food has been served there for decades. Our first visit was for lunch on a rainy day when we arrived right around noon and were shown to an upstairs table by a window with a view of the harbor. David ordered the Portugese Kale Soup which was full of linguica, chourizo, kale and bean and a flavorful antidote to the weather. I chose Chef Tim McNulty’s prize winning clam chowder and my first Lobster Roll of the trip. I initially asked for water when David ordered his requisite local IPA. Then I read the description of Shawn’s Famous Bloody Mary – Black peppercorn, lemon peel and pepperoncini infused Vodka with their own homemade Boody Mary mix – served in a tall glass rimmed with seasoned salt which tasted of Old Bay. Most impressive was the presentation. They proudly serve their dishes on vanity plates reminiscent of a life-saver on the side of a boat.

We made our second visit after returning from our sunset dune tour of the area. It was already dark but the place was hopping and still we were quickly seated at a two person high top near the bar. Since we had snacked on some cheese and crackers with wine on the beach during sunset, neither of us was particularly starving. I asked the waiter for help with an appetizer order and he steered me in the right direction with the Lobster and Avocado Appetizer which arrived looking like a corsage. The menu describes it as meat from a whole lobster layered with diced avocado and papaya served with a sweet pepper vinaigrette and tarragon mayonnaise.

We later saw The Lobster Pot Cookbook in a bookstore and I seriously contemplated buying it as a souvenir. The Lobster Pot might be the culinary Pilgrim Monument of Provincetown.

The Red Inn


At the less commercial end of Commercial Street, down toward the breakwater, the historic Red Inn sits right on the water. Built in 1915, it still functions as an inn, but we had come to eat in the restaurant, which is white table cloth fine dining after 5:30 with a more affordable Happy Hour from 2:30-5:30. It was my birthday and we were there for the Happy in Happy Birthday. I ordered a dirty martini and David got his first Whale Tail Pale Ale. Since we were splurging on appetizers for dinner, we ordered the first four listed on the menu and asked our server – who had already told us her best friend’s birthday was also that day – whether that would be enough to hold us. She promised to take good care of us! She brought out a half-dozen Wellfleet oysters from the raw bar, an order of Crispy Panko Crusted Shrimp with sweet hot chili sauce, an order of Oysters en Brochette which were wrapped in bacon and served with a remoulade dipping sauce and a one-half lobster tail grilled and served in a shell.

We devoured those as clouds rolled in and waves beat the rocks in front of us. The waitress suggested we try the Creole Chicken Liver Mousse Pâté with Accoutrements. It was served with sliced baguette, chopped egg, pickles, onions and grainy mustard.

As the 5:30 fine dining hour approached, she moved us and our drinks out to the quintessential white wooden Adirondack chairs on the patio and we faced the ocean in complete satisfaction even though it was beginning to drizzle. We didn’t need a reservation and didn’t have to get dressed up, but it was as special a birthday dinner as I have had for a long time.

The Mews
Reservations are required, even after Labor Day, at The Mews, which sits on the water at the opposite end of Commercial Street from The Red Inn. And forget trying to find a convenient place to park, even after Labor Day. Our former student, author Salvatore Scibona, who lives in Provincetown and was, sadly, out of town for our visit, had told us The Mews was a “reliably good and reliably high end place with a hundred different kinds of vodka. “. After reading restaurant reviews on Tripadvisor at a window table at The Squealing Pig Pub that afternoon, we made a reservation based almost completely on the reviewer who called the Lobster Risotto “what elegant decadence tastes like”. After locating a $10 parking spot three blocks away, we were shown to a cozy beach view booth and greeted by a friendly waiter who almost sounded Portugese. I ordered a glass of Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel and David was disappointed to find only a few beers offered in the shadow of all those imposing vodkas – although he compensated by ordering a shot of Makers Mark with his dessert. We agreed to share a poached pear and goat cheese salad with candied nuts.

David’s filet was served with a stack of beautifully layered Chipotle flavored sweet potato au gratin.
The Lobster Risotto was divine – chunks of butter poached lobster with wild mushrooms and asparagus in creamy risotto drizzled with truffle oil and sprinkled with fresh mint. I savored every bite and would have licked the plate! No room for dessert! David, on the other hand, has a personal rule of thumb regarding dessert – if Key Lime Pie is an option, don’t pass it up. It was served with whipped cream, a sliver of incongruous lemon -not lime- plated with a flourish of mango coulis. He described the pie as “tarter than a gay man in shorts”!! Sorry! When in Provincetown – let your Midwest faux pas fly! Seems like Provincetown brings out his the red state rudeness. I was glad we got out of the grocery store without incident when, after the man in line behind us dropped his jar of Planters, my husband announced

Nuts Down!

The Aqua Bar
We had also been told about the beachfront Aqua Bar and decided to celebrate the fact that the sun finally came out with another fine Bloody Mary. Some folks consider them breakfast drinks! Strong and spicy and certainly splashed with clam juice.

Alice’s Restaurant

September 1st, 2012 | Posted by Lackey in Dining Out - (0 Comments)

Any trip that takes us anywhere near Stockbridge, Massachusetts begs a detour to Alice’s Restaurant. The Alice’s Restaurant made famous in the 18-minute Arlo Guthrie ballad of the same name longer still exists. Standing in its place is Theresa’s Stockbridge Cafe – est. 1995 and clearly marked formerly Alice’s Restaurant.

It is a small cafe -about seven tables inside and a few on a side patio. The decor includes Guthrie memorabilia – album covers, the song lyrics, a waitress’s apron framed in a shadow box and an Arlo autographed Gibson. On this visit, we enjoyed a delicious veggie pizza with red peppers, broccoli, red onions and artichokes. You can get almost any sandwich or salad you may have a taste for. FYI – What you CAN’T get at Alice’s Restaurant is cell phone service!