Woo Hoo! It's FOOTBALL season! My favorite time of year/place... autumn in the North Country, upstate New York... And football, of course. I have been a fan of (American) football since I was a kid. I remember my Dad teaching me the concepts and rules of the game while watching on TV Sunday afternoon, sitting in his lap in the easy chair. I used to be the only girl playing in local, neighborhood, pick-up games as a tweener. And the guys liked me on their team. I was agile, fast and understood the strategy.
Now back in Potsdam, my daughter Julie (of this project) is doing cheerleading as a 5th grader in Middle School. She cheers in an all ages club for the pre-High School football squad. I, Mom (of this project) am taking her to the games to cheer and realize that neither she, nor most of the younger cheerleaders know ANYTHING about the game!
We don't get cable TV right now (as part of our family budget cuts), so I can't watch the games (insert sad-face smiley emoticon), nor can I sit my kid in my lap and explain the game to her, as my Dad once did for me. Enter Ton's Sports Bar! What a great excuse to bring your kid to a bar! I was wondering how I was going to tackle the bars in our North Country This Week's Restaurant Guide.
Off we headed on our bicycles to 159 Market St from our home just down the street a few blocks away. I told Julie we would stay and watch the first half of a game and I would explain what was going on while we ordered and ate some food for our blog. I knew she would not be interested enough to last an entire 3 hour game. It was a beautiful fall day, warm and sunny. So we were in t-shirts as we rode our bikes along the lane, tree line leaves just starting to change color for the season.
We arrived in time for the kick-off of the Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills. We sat in the main table area in front of the big screen we had all to ourselves. There were only six other patrons sitting at the bar itself (where I would rather be), able to also watch the Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints on the smaller TVs. I noted that Ton's has a pool table, foosball and electronic dart board games. There is a small stage where bands play on Friday and Saturday nights. There is also a free popcorn machine. There looks to be a juke box, but it probably only gets turned on week nights.
Its a good, typical bar menu, better than just the basics, with a real kitchen. It offers chicken tenders, popcorn chix or shrimp, burgers, hot dogs, fish sandwich, poppers, mozerella stix, onion rings, and cold sandwich basics-ham, beef, turkey, tuna or egg salad with potato or mac salad sides and a soup du jour. I am going to add here that I scoped this place out this summer. They make excellent Bloody Marys as I learned while using them to check out some Grand Slam Tennis finals action earlier this year. It is a friendly and even "family" atmosphere, at least in the pre-evening hours, of which is all I can speak to.
I ordered the chicken parmesan sandwich and large fries to split with Julie. Though normally I would have gotten a tasty beer to go with my meal (they have Saranac Pale Ale on tap), I was on a restricted diet for a medical procedure in two days so just went with a 7-Up. Julie got a Shirley Temple (her favorite bar beverage) along with her, fittingly enough, Buffalo chicken wings... mild w/bleu cheese, celery a given. Julie praised them, I tried them and they were excellent. They were deep fried then drenched in a lovely, tasty hot-tangy sauce, dripping and pooling with grease.
This is why I have to say, as I did in our blog for The Bagelry, here is a type of cuisine that seems only to be properly accompished in a regional setting. First thing is that Julie's order of "mild" above, would be considered scalding "hot" in other areas. There may be some rare place, far-flung from the northeast U.S. that pulls off "Buffalo" style chicken wings, but I have never experienced it, despite my extensive living and travels. Most places at least try to cover for their shortcomings by labeling them as just "wings" on their menu. But, you can still tell they are trying to do this... Buffalo style hot wings as popularized in western, upstate NY. Said "wings" or "hot wings" are just wrong on so many levels... the worst ones being done in this odd kind of reddish-colored batter, like quasi-southern fried chicken. They aren't even spicy hot, at least not to my seasoned palate. Bleu cheese dressing is usually not even a choice and you are lucky to get celery on the side. Maybe they give you some other mayonnaise-based dressing to cut the bite (?) of the so-called hot sauce, like ranch. Puhleeez, what a joke.
We watched the game. I tred to explain every play and down. I brought a real football and demonstrated the position of the center hiking it for special plays like the quarterback sneak. Julie and I have thrown the ol' pigskin around in the yard before, so I figure this is like a visual aid to teaching the game. It was 21-3 Raiders at halftime when I asked her if she wanted to go. Of course, she said yes. In my own heart, I knew it could be a blow-out or a fantastic comeback. Alas, it was the latter as I found out later. It seems a little unfair that the only live football I get to see these days are her Middle School cheering games with these sad rules that take away the kicking aspect for lack of skills. But, when I'm there, I empathize with these young kids even if only as a young kid myself at the neighborhood playground field. And I still get into it!
Oh, btw, we have transitioned into the Fall Restaurant Guide now. As this "no rules" blog goes, we will piddle our way through as we see fit or the moment strikes us.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Larry's Fish Truck
OK, so its not a restaurant. But it IS in the North Country This Week every week, as a little advertisement for "Fresh Seafood Thursdays". Larry's Fish Truck is "at the park" from 9:30am-1pm in Canton and parked at the corner of the Market Street bypass in Potsdam, NY from 2-5:15pm every Thursday. The bypass is a road bridge that parallels the railroad bridge over the Racquette River for traffic to go around the downtown area of the tiny village of Potsdam. Going through the historic downtown or going over the river is a quaint experience, but either way, you can get to Larry's on Thursday afternoon. Well, you have to go over the river even if you go through the historic downtown, just a different bridge (two actually, but not through the woods to grandmother's house).
The Julie/Mom Project was inspired by the Julie & Julia movie, a favorite scene of which is the cooking of the live lobsters. We also watched many episodes of the original French Chef With Julia Child and a favorite is "The Lobster Show". My daughter Julie (of this blog) and her sister MJ have both been wanting to try lobster ever since. There is the "Lobster House" just three miles away from us that is in our Spring Restaurant Guide, but I have hesitated to go there any time soon, knowing how particualry expensive lobster is in a restaurant and also knowing how particularly finicky miss Maryjane is about all sorts of foods. We may get there some day.
But in the meantime, I got a better idea while noting that "live lobsters", with a cute painting of a lobster, are advertised on the side of Larry's truck along with "fresh seafood". Its still expensive, of course, but this is a very special thing to do for our blog. Larry's Fish Truck business is up for sale, too. Don't know if it will be around much longer if nobody buys it and it is very cool to be able to get our own lobsters, support a small business and do a Julia Child thing all at the same time. I hope to go down to Larry's again before I believe he stops for the season because there are all kinds of yummy things there and Julie and Mom do loooove fish! The smoked trout pate looked especially appealing, but we are partial to salmon as well. He also has oysters and just lots of stuff. I love cod which is available, though it is ironically rare in modern times as these fisheries have collapsed.
In the past, it was believed to be impossible to over-fish cod, a staple food resource for many societies and a basic for feeding slaves in the Caribbean. The science of the day did not predict the exponential effect of human population rise and technology advancements in fishing that ultimately led to exactly that outcome. Now, even with moratoriums in the Atlantic, it appears that cod may never come back to meaningful levels. The entire ecosystem has been altered too greatly by the overkill. And I've heard that lobsters used to regularly grow quite large... like up to five feet long. I've also heard that the original pilgrims that first came to America would not have come so close to starving in the winter if their cultural food avoidance prejudices did not cause them to shun lobster! But I digress...
We watched "The Lobster Show" again on Youtube and accordingly for the simple "recipe" she did, Julie and I went down and got two 1 1/2 pound lobsters. The recipe that the Julie Powell character did in the movie appeared to be Lobster Thermidor, though, after reading the recipe, it was depicted incorrectly as the lobsters for that have to be cut in half while still alive, then baked. It is a very complex recipe and, after all, this is a restaurant blog, not a cooking blog! Its also a "no rules" blog, which allows us to take this little divergence.
We boiled a big pot of water. That took a looong time. I chased the girls around the house with the live lobsters. I felt a bit guilty for that, but considering their ultimate bondage (uh, the lobsters'), it seemed pretty harmless. They really are insects of the sea... like huge cockroaches that happen to live in the ocean. But there they are... their beady little eyes looking at you. How is this different from seeing a pig in the face before you eat your bacon or seeing a cow in the eye before your tasty burger? Hmmmm? As per Julia Child's lesson, we checked to see if they were male or female. They were both males and disturbingly enough, my girls decided that this was justification enough to kill them as individuals! Shit you not. And, yes, I DID question this concept with them!
We plunged them in head first, or as Julia Child said, where all their thoughts and feelings are, so they die immediately, which we all know they do not. Their cold bodies immediately cool the rolling boiling water to less than boiling and they stay alive just a bit until the water comes back to full boil, which Julia never mentions how long will take, which is actually some time. They kick a bit... or is that just the boiling water (oh, its not boiling though)... or "nerves"? Yeah. I'd have some "nerves" if I was being boiled alive.
We took one of the lobsters to eat immediately and cooled and put the other in the refrigerator. Following "The Lobster Show" we cut the thing in half with scisssors. We had cooled it a bit anyway, so we scooped out the greenish guts for the "sauce" and the removed the leg and thoracic cavity meat. The guts get mixed with mayonnaise, dijon mustard and green onions (fresh from grandma's garden) as sauce to the rest of the meat. I find that sauce goes best with the thoracic cavity meat, that still has some guts clinging to it. I dip the tail and pitiful but delicisous leg meat into melted butter and also the huge bounty of big claw meat... possibly more delicious than the tail meat.
It was all delicious... MJ hated it. Julie and I savored it over the course of that night and a few evenings later when we did the same to the other chilled, cooked cockroach... I mean lobster. Yum.
Post Script: Julia Child's Lobster Show included a segment where you remove the "sand sack"... the stomach... of the lobster after you cut it in half. This is one of the things you doooo when you follow a Julia Child show. The firsrt (male) lobster we executed on his death row had a piece of rubber in his sac we could see before we cut the transparent stomach open. I speculate this is something that happens in lobster tankes where the only thing you might eat is a bit of rubber band off your fellow mate's claws as you starve yourself (?) cleaning out your intestinal tract much like a human awaiting their colonoscopy... don't want folks seeing the filled GIT... or culinary gods forbid... EATING a filled GI tube?!?! Anyway... after you cut open the stomach, you can see an image of a "madonna".. a woman's dressed figure with the transparent/translucent stomach lining as a gown... awe-inspiring.
The Julie/Mom Project was inspired by the Julie & Julia movie, a favorite scene of which is the cooking of the live lobsters. We also watched many episodes of the original French Chef With Julia Child and a favorite is "The Lobster Show". My daughter Julie (of this blog) and her sister MJ have both been wanting to try lobster ever since. There is the "Lobster House" just three miles away from us that is in our Spring Restaurant Guide, but I have hesitated to go there any time soon, knowing how particualry expensive lobster is in a restaurant and also knowing how particularly finicky miss Maryjane is about all sorts of foods. We may get there some day.
But in the meantime, I got a better idea while noting that "live lobsters", with a cute painting of a lobster, are advertised on the side of Larry's truck along with "fresh seafood". Its still expensive, of course, but this is a very special thing to do for our blog. Larry's Fish Truck business is up for sale, too. Don't know if it will be around much longer if nobody buys it and it is very cool to be able to get our own lobsters, support a small business and do a Julia Child thing all at the same time. I hope to go down to Larry's again before I believe he stops for the season because there are all kinds of yummy things there and Julie and Mom do loooove fish! The smoked trout pate looked especially appealing, but we are partial to salmon as well. He also has oysters and just lots of stuff. I love cod which is available, though it is ironically rare in modern times as these fisheries have collapsed.
In the past, it was believed to be impossible to over-fish cod, a staple food resource for many societies and a basic for feeding slaves in the Caribbean. The science of the day did not predict the exponential effect of human population rise and technology advancements in fishing that ultimately led to exactly that outcome. Now, even with moratoriums in the Atlantic, it appears that cod may never come back to meaningful levels. The entire ecosystem has been altered too greatly by the overkill. And I've heard that lobsters used to regularly grow quite large... like up to five feet long. I've also heard that the original pilgrims that first came to America would not have come so close to starving in the winter if their cultural food avoidance prejudices did not cause them to shun lobster! But I digress...
We watched "The Lobster Show" again on Youtube and accordingly for the simple "recipe" she did, Julie and I went down and got two 1 1/2 pound lobsters. The recipe that the Julie Powell character did in the movie appeared to be Lobster Thermidor, though, after reading the recipe, it was depicted incorrectly as the lobsters for that have to be cut in half while still alive, then baked. It is a very complex recipe and, after all, this is a restaurant blog, not a cooking blog! Its also a "no rules" blog, which allows us to take this little divergence.
We boiled a big pot of water. That took a looong time. I chased the girls around the house with the live lobsters. I felt a bit guilty for that, but considering their ultimate bondage (uh, the lobsters'), it seemed pretty harmless. They really are insects of the sea... like huge cockroaches that happen to live in the ocean. But there they are... their beady little eyes looking at you. How is this different from seeing a pig in the face before you eat your bacon or seeing a cow in the eye before your tasty burger? Hmmmm? As per Julia Child's lesson, we checked to see if they were male or female. They were both males and disturbingly enough, my girls decided that this was justification enough to kill them as individuals! Shit you not. And, yes, I DID question this concept with them!
We plunged them in head first, or as Julia Child said, where all their thoughts and feelings are, so they die immediately, which we all know they do not. Their cold bodies immediately cool the rolling boiling water to less than boiling and they stay alive just a bit until the water comes back to full boil, which Julia never mentions how long will take, which is actually some time. They kick a bit... or is that just the boiling water (oh, its not boiling though)... or "nerves"? Yeah. I'd have some "nerves" if I was being boiled alive.
We took one of the lobsters to eat immediately and cooled and put the other in the refrigerator. Following "The Lobster Show" we cut the thing in half with scisssors. We had cooled it a bit anyway, so we scooped out the greenish guts for the "sauce" and the removed the leg and thoracic cavity meat. The guts get mixed with mayonnaise, dijon mustard and green onions (fresh from grandma's garden) as sauce to the rest of the meat. I find that sauce goes best with the thoracic cavity meat, that still has some guts clinging to it. I dip the tail and pitiful but delicisous leg meat into melted butter and also the huge bounty of big claw meat... possibly more delicious than the tail meat.
It was all delicious... MJ hated it. Julie and I savored it over the course of that night and a few evenings later when we did the same to the other chilled, cooked cockroach... I mean lobster. Yum.
Post Script: Julia Child's Lobster Show included a segment where you remove the "sand sack"... the stomach... of the lobster after you cut it in half. This is one of the things you doooo when you follow a Julia Child show. The firsrt (male) lobster we executed on his death row had a piece of rubber in his sac we could see before we cut the transparent stomach open. I speculate this is something that happens in lobster tankes where the only thing you might eat is a bit of rubber band off your fellow mate's claws as you starve yourself (?) cleaning out your intestinal tract much like a human awaiting their colonoscopy... don't want folks seeing the filled GIT... or culinary gods forbid... EATING a filled GI tube?!?! Anyway... after you cut open the stomach, you can see an image of a "madonna".. a woman's dressed figure with the transparent/translucent stomach lining as a gown... awe-inspiring.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Subway
Though the Spring Restaurant Guide in the North Country This Week only lists two locations for Subway (180 Market Street in Potsdam and University Shopping Center in Canton), we're counting our stop at the Walmart in-store location for the Project.
It was late August and time to get some new sneakers for the girls for the start of the school year. So, it was off to our only real option locally... Walmart... as it would not really be worth the gasoline money to head to a store in Massena or Ogdensburg for similar cheap shoes made in China.
As we checked out with our booty from the Walmart in Potsdam, NY, the smell of pepperoni pizza wafted into our hungry nostrils from the deli counter in the front of the store. Our stomachs grumbled and our mouths salivated as we walked past the Subway nook looking for the source of the tantalizing odor. We could not find any pizza counter though I was certain I'd seen it right there on previous trips. By this time, I was too hungry to wait the five minute drive back home to get something to eat and the girls are always ready to suggest dining at the first place they see. Subway, it was! Well, it's a good follow-up to our last Julie/Mom Project blog of another famous submarine sandwich chain.
Julie and MJ ordered half subs this time and both decided to get ham and cheese. I didn't have my blog notebook with me and I forgot which kind of cheese they got. I forgot to make them get it on wheat, so white rolls again. This is plain Maryjane's standby order for a sandwich, but I was surprised Julie got it, too. Julie does like everything, though. It was still late summer hot outside and a cold ham and cheese seemed seasonal. MJ got chopped pickles and lettuce on hers and Julie got black olives and lettuce... hold any dressing on both. The "meal deal" came with either chips or cookies on the side and a drink. They both got cookies, chocolate chip for MJ, M&M for Julie. Root beer and fruit punch filled out their late lunch meals.
We have already covered in this blog how I like to really go for it when it comes to sandwiches... no plain maryjane for me! I still had the pepperoni smell enticement going in my head, so I ordered a whole italian sub (pepperoni and genoa salami) on wheat. After choosing provolone for my cheese duh... its an italian sub), I was asked if I wanted it toasted. Why YES! Perfect choice to satisfy the craving brought on by the heated pepperoni smell that brought us to this place after all. I think this is the main difference I can think of between Subway and Jrecks as toasting is not an option at the latter. Well that and black olives as a topping, which I got as well as lettuce, tomato, onion, hot pepper relish, italian oil, herb sprinkles and parmesan. Side bag of potato chips and a lemonade made up my meal, both of which I took home after being quite satisfied consuming my whole sub.
Yum. The whole trend of submarine sandwiches as an alternative fast food to hamburgers is a great trend in our popular culture I think. I like chain restaurant burgers well enough, but its nice to have these options.
It was late August and time to get some new sneakers for the girls for the start of the school year. So, it was off to our only real option locally... Walmart... as it would not really be worth the gasoline money to head to a store in Massena or Ogdensburg for similar cheap shoes made in China.
As we checked out with our booty from the Walmart in Potsdam, NY, the smell of pepperoni pizza wafted into our hungry nostrils from the deli counter in the front of the store. Our stomachs grumbled and our mouths salivated as we walked past the Subway nook looking for the source of the tantalizing odor. We could not find any pizza counter though I was certain I'd seen it right there on previous trips. By this time, I was too hungry to wait the five minute drive back home to get something to eat and the girls are always ready to suggest dining at the first place they see. Subway, it was! Well, it's a good follow-up to our last Julie/Mom Project blog of another famous submarine sandwich chain.
Julie and MJ ordered half subs this time and both decided to get ham and cheese. I didn't have my blog notebook with me and I forgot which kind of cheese they got. I forgot to make them get it on wheat, so white rolls again. This is plain Maryjane's standby order for a sandwich, but I was surprised Julie got it, too. Julie does like everything, though. It was still late summer hot outside and a cold ham and cheese seemed seasonal. MJ got chopped pickles and lettuce on hers and Julie got black olives and lettuce... hold any dressing on both. The "meal deal" came with either chips or cookies on the side and a drink. They both got cookies, chocolate chip for MJ, M&M for Julie. Root beer and fruit punch filled out their late lunch meals.
We have already covered in this blog how I like to really go for it when it comes to sandwiches... no plain maryjane for me! I still had the pepperoni smell enticement going in my head, so I ordered a whole italian sub (pepperoni and genoa salami) on wheat. After choosing provolone for my cheese duh... its an italian sub), I was asked if I wanted it toasted. Why YES! Perfect choice to satisfy the craving brought on by the heated pepperoni smell that brought us to this place after all. I think this is the main difference I can think of between Subway and Jrecks as toasting is not an option at the latter. Well that and black olives as a topping, which I got as well as lettuce, tomato, onion, hot pepper relish, italian oil, herb sprinkles and parmesan. Side bag of potato chips and a lemonade made up my meal, both of which I took home after being quite satisfied consuming my whole sub.
Yum. The whole trend of submarine sandwiches as an alternative fast food to hamburgers is a great trend in our popular culture I think. I like chain restaurant burgers well enough, but its nice to have these options.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Jreck Subs
Jreck Subs is an old standby, especially for me at the location we are writing up for the Julie/MomProject at 61 Market St., Potsdam NY. It was here over twenty years ago when I was attending college and its still here, though most other business offices adjacent to it have switched hands or are unoccupied now.
This popular chain has locations listed in the North Country This Week's Spring Restaurant Guide for Canton, Massena, Ogdensburg, Gouverneur and Malone. As I see these other towns listed, I note that the Guide's listings are all in St Lawrence County (New York State's largest) but certainly is not inclusive of all restaurants in the county. This is a good thing for the Project, because we really can't go tooling off to Gouverneur all the time to eat out. Thankfully, most of the places are in reasonable distance to, or in Potsdam, where we live.
It was early in August and I had taken my girls out shopping for dresses for them to wear for the upsoming season of weddings and bridal showers. We walked the two blocks to downtown from our house to the used clothing stores, Kidz Closet and the CORC, then hit the Isle of You's summer sale. Though we passed Jreck Subs along the way, we still had to drive to Walmart as we had only found one dress, no shoes and there are no other options for clothes in town. After successfully completing our shopping, we were hungry and Jreck's was calling. It was about 7:30 PM and the long summer daylight was still with us for the pleasant stroll back downtown.
Its a pretty good place for fast food. The rolls, cold cuts, cheeses and toppings are fresh while there is still the selection for greasy fried hot food as well. MJ and Julie both got the "meal deal" that gets you a drink and side with your submarine sandwhich. Both got the curly fries side, a personal favorite of mine which they shared with me, thus reducing the overall fat and salt content of their meals.
And Julie could use some reducing... she ordered the fried chicken on a white roll with nothing else on it, no lettuce or tomato or cheese, nothing. I guess it could've been worse since she didn't have mayo either, but wow. White bread around batter fried chicken just seems like a bland, fiber-free, carbohydrate/fat calories, bludgeon of doom. She got a lemonade. MJ always gets the same thing here, ham and swiss on a white roll with lettuce and diced pickle. She got a root beer, always her beverage of choice when allowed to have a soda pop eating out. I usually force the girls to at least get their subs on a wheat roll, but I didn't think in time before they ordered.
I went with the sandwich du jour - Turkey Bacon Ranch. Oh yes. All ya gotta say is BACON to me! I had it put on the roll du mois, garlic and dill... WITH some extra Thousand Island dressing to go with the Ranch dressing. It turns out they will actually put on ALL of the dressings if you really want and I was tempted to just slap some mayo on there too, but thought better of it. My waistline has paid the worst price of a year away from the physical work I am accustomed to doing, though at this point the extra mayo could hardly make that much of a difference. Especially since I was helping to reduce Julie's fat calorie load by eating most of her curly fries. I chose provolone cheese to go with the usual suspects, lettuce, onion, tomato, and hot pepper.
I was thinking there should be more toppings, like bell pepper and black olives, but I guess it is one of the those smaller versions of Jreck's. They still have the grill for all the hot sub variteies. I usually get the "Philly" steak and cheese with grilled onions and peppers... dripping greasy goodness! Julie has done the hot meatball sub, too. (MJ always gets the plain ham and cheese.) But, it was a hot August night and cold subs were the way to go. The hot bacon I got on mine quickly cooled off in the bath of cold fat dressings.
We all ordered whole subs and I wondered "what the heck was I thinking?" as we went to sit down with this massive tray of food. As it turns out, MJ and Julie ate their whole subs and I took most of one half of mine home. It was delicious the next day, Homer Simpson's voice in my head saying, "mmmmmm... saaandwiiich".
This popular chain has locations listed in the North Country This Week's Spring Restaurant Guide for Canton, Massena, Ogdensburg, Gouverneur and Malone. As I see these other towns listed, I note that the Guide's listings are all in St Lawrence County (New York State's largest) but certainly is not inclusive of all restaurants in the county. This is a good thing for the Project, because we really can't go tooling off to Gouverneur all the time to eat out. Thankfully, most of the places are in reasonable distance to, or in Potsdam, where we live.
It was early in August and I had taken my girls out shopping for dresses for them to wear for the upsoming season of weddings and bridal showers. We walked the two blocks to downtown from our house to the used clothing stores, Kidz Closet and the CORC, then hit the Isle of You's summer sale. Though we passed Jreck Subs along the way, we still had to drive to Walmart as we had only found one dress, no shoes and there are no other options for clothes in town. After successfully completing our shopping, we were hungry and Jreck's was calling. It was about 7:30 PM and the long summer daylight was still with us for the pleasant stroll back downtown.
Its a pretty good place for fast food. The rolls, cold cuts, cheeses and toppings are fresh while there is still the selection for greasy fried hot food as well. MJ and Julie both got the "meal deal" that gets you a drink and side with your submarine sandwhich. Both got the curly fries side, a personal favorite of mine which they shared with me, thus reducing the overall fat and salt content of their meals.
And Julie could use some reducing... she ordered the fried chicken on a white roll with nothing else on it, no lettuce or tomato or cheese, nothing. I guess it could've been worse since she didn't have mayo either, but wow. White bread around batter fried chicken just seems like a bland, fiber-free, carbohydrate/fat calories, bludgeon of doom. She got a lemonade. MJ always gets the same thing here, ham and swiss on a white roll with lettuce and diced pickle. She got a root beer, always her beverage of choice when allowed to have a soda pop eating out. I usually force the girls to at least get their subs on a wheat roll, but I didn't think in time before they ordered.
I went with the sandwich du jour - Turkey Bacon Ranch. Oh yes. All ya gotta say is BACON to me! I had it put on the roll du mois, garlic and dill... WITH some extra Thousand Island dressing to go with the Ranch dressing. It turns out they will actually put on ALL of the dressings if you really want and I was tempted to just slap some mayo on there too, but thought better of it. My waistline has paid the worst price of a year away from the physical work I am accustomed to doing, though at this point the extra mayo could hardly make that much of a difference. Especially since I was helping to reduce Julie's fat calorie load by eating most of her curly fries. I chose provolone cheese to go with the usual suspects, lettuce, onion, tomato, and hot pepper.
I was thinking there should be more toppings, like bell pepper and black olives, but I guess it is one of the those smaller versions of Jreck's. They still have the grill for all the hot sub variteies. I usually get the "Philly" steak and cheese with grilled onions and peppers... dripping greasy goodness! Julie has done the hot meatball sub, too. (MJ always gets the plain ham and cheese.) But, it was a hot August night and cold subs were the way to go. The hot bacon I got on mine quickly cooled off in the bath of cold fat dressings.
We all ordered whole subs and I wondered "what the heck was I thinking?" as we went to sit down with this massive tray of food. As it turns out, MJ and Julie ate their whole subs and I took most of one half of mine home. It was delicious the next day, Homer Simpson's voice in my head saying, "mmmmmm... saaandwiiich".
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Bagelry
When I lived in Wyoming for years, I once had my visiting mother-in-law from the Potsdam area bring me garlic bagels from The Bagelry on the airplane. Though quadruple bagged, the garlic fumes of her carry-on baggage turned heads on the plane. I was sooo grateful for her sacrifice. Even three day old bagels from the Bagelry are a Godsend in the wasteland of Wyoming, where we bought bready "bagels"at the grocery store to serve as hamburger buns.
A perfect, delicate crispness to the exterior coupled with a softly dense interior is just pure culinary artistic mastery. Though I now miss many types of regional cuisine from my travels, there was nothing I missed more than being away from a proper bagel for the last twenty plus years. And now, I am back! And The Bagelry is more than just dear to my heart, it is NEAR again.
As readers of this blog know, I lost my camera. I had planned to take a picture of the lovely bins of seasoned and other variety bagels to post with this. (Edit: my friend took a picture recently and I have now added it, YAY!) There are plain, wheat, sesame, onion, garlic, cinnamon raisin, italian, salt, poppy seed, everything, oh... Then, of course, you have the toppings or sandwich selections to be made. All sorts of tuna melt, breakfast egg, Gobble (deli turkey), Nova Lox (with cream cheese, onion and capers), Fresser (piles of different deli meats with cheese), Reuben, ham-n-cheese, etc. That list is huge and I can't possibly remember them all.
Back in town, we come here often now, almost always just to get a half or baker's dozen to bring home to make up ourselves. This day in early June, Julie and I decided to have breakfast here before school as a treat. Julie had never tried the lox spread (lox mixed with cream cheese) and I had a feeling she would like it, fond as she is of cream cheese and also has a taste for fishy stuff, as do I. We were picking up a half dozen to go (wheat, cin-raisin, garlic) and then got a prepared toasted garlic bagel with lox spread to eat in, split between us. I got onion and tomato on my half and we each got a pickle slice. Nice breakfast... I sent her to school with garlic, salmon and pickle on her breath!
We sat at the outdoor tables on the sidewalk of old downtown. It was a beautiful morning, still cool at the street corner by the Raquette River. There was a light breeze and long shadows of the morning to escape into, but you could tell it was going to get hot this day. When we were finished, I sent Julie to school on her bicycle from there. It is nice to be back in Potsdam!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Foxy Roxy
Foxy Roxy is a little diner open for breakfast and lunch at 124 Market St, Potsdam, NY. It was early June, school was still in session winding down Julie's last year in elementary (4th grade) and she had a science exam to take. Her teacher had told the students to eat a good, high protein breakfast to prepare their brains best for the test. So, we decided to knock this place off the list and make test preparation a little more fun at the same time.
Its a cozy, clean, little place with small booths in addition to the tables. The decor is hunting and fishing theme with outdoor scene pictures on the walls. The menu is typical breakfast and lunch diner fare. I noted something called "stuffed french toast" that didn't describe what it was, and also blueberry bagels that sounded good. I'm very particular about my bagels and we have a bagel restaurant in town (coming up next blog), so I am wary of the quality of this particular item since The Bagelry doesn't make blueberry bagels. I would be sadly disappointed if it was of the "Lender's" style mass produced drudgery. I will ask first before I decide to try this in the future. Should ask about the stuffed french toast, too. I also noted grilled cheese and bacon as well as the Foxy Roxy Sandwich: a grilled swiss, bacon and turkey. Mmmmmm... bacon.
We both got the special, 3 eggs, home fries, choice of meat, toast and coffee. I ordered my meal with bacon, eggs poached hard, and hold the toast. I always order my eggs cooked hard to be sure that the white is thoroughly cooked and not because I don't like soft yolks. I just hate it when the white is still runny. These eggs had a slightly soft yolk, which was just fine. The home fries are large size potato chunks. Julie ordered hers with sausage patties, scrambled, and hold the coffee! She got a glass of orange juice to go with her meal and I got a glass of water for thirst quenching purposes.
It was a big breakfast and Julie couldn't finish hers, so we put the remains in a box and I brought it back home to her Dad, who doesn't eat meat (I finished her sausage) but has an insatiable desire for fried potatoes.
We did our ongoing lessons of percentages to figure out the tip. I make Julie do it, having showed her how easy it is to calculate ten percent then add another half of that to get fifteen or double it to get twenty. We usually always leave twenty and never leave only ten percent. Part of the tip lesson is the reality of waiting tables as a very low-paying job premised on the expectation of tips. Food is life and so is making a living serving it. The gratuity is all about the gratitude we have for our blessings.
Its a cozy, clean, little place with small booths in addition to the tables. The decor is hunting and fishing theme with outdoor scene pictures on the walls. The menu is typical breakfast and lunch diner fare. I noted something called "stuffed french toast" that didn't describe what it was, and also blueberry bagels that sounded good. I'm very particular about my bagels and we have a bagel restaurant in town (coming up next blog), so I am wary of the quality of this particular item since The Bagelry doesn't make blueberry bagels. I would be sadly disappointed if it was of the "Lender's" style mass produced drudgery. I will ask first before I decide to try this in the future. Should ask about the stuffed french toast, too. I also noted grilled cheese and bacon as well as the Foxy Roxy Sandwich: a grilled swiss, bacon and turkey. Mmmmmm... bacon.
We both got the special, 3 eggs, home fries, choice of meat, toast and coffee. I ordered my meal with bacon, eggs poached hard, and hold the toast. I always order my eggs cooked hard to be sure that the white is thoroughly cooked and not because I don't like soft yolks. I just hate it when the white is still runny. These eggs had a slightly soft yolk, which was just fine. The home fries are large size potato chunks. Julie ordered hers with sausage patties, scrambled, and hold the coffee! She got a glass of orange juice to go with her meal and I got a glass of water for thirst quenching purposes.
It was a big breakfast and Julie couldn't finish hers, so we put the remains in a box and I brought it back home to her Dad, who doesn't eat meat (I finished her sausage) but has an insatiable desire for fried potatoes.
We did our ongoing lessons of percentages to figure out the tip. I make Julie do it, having showed her how easy it is to calculate ten percent then add another half of that to get fifteen or double it to get twenty. We usually always leave twenty and never leave only ten percent. Part of the tip lesson is the reality of waiting tables as a very low-paying job premised on the expectation of tips. Food is life and so is making a living serving it. The gratuity is all about the gratitude we have for our blessings.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Billy's Deli
Billy's Deli isn't actually in the North Country This Week Spring Restaurant Guide that is the basis for this blog. It just opened after the guide was published, but this is a "no rules" blog, so we decided to include it in our little adventure anyway. I had planned on us going to the grand opening on May 1st, but I completely spaced it. These things happen. We lose cameras and forget dates of events we wanted to attend. But we can't give up. We just have to keep moving on through life.
It was May 28th when I dropped off MJ and Julie at the Roxy Theater in downtown Potsdam, NY to see "Kung Fu Panda II" while I went to Ton's Sports Bar (a future destination for this blog) to catch some Wimbledon tennis action instead of seeing the movie. MJ and I texted each other at the end of the movie so I would know exactly when to pick them up. They had a small ice cream at the little stand next to the theater that bought me some time to see the end of a match.
When I parked in the lot across the street to pick them up, however, they declared they were hungry and wanted to go to Billy's Deli, which was just a couple doors down from the theater at 2 Main Street. Oh well, wanted to check it out some time and I was hungry for a cold sandwich. I love deli sandwiches.
Boar's Head meats and quality breads from a local bakery are billed for this deli and so it was. We all ordered 8" subs. MJ got cooked salami with pickles and swiss cheese. Julie got the "Pastrami-rama" with swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato, hold the mayo. Actually there is some confusion as to whether she said to hold the tomato as well as the mayo because when it came out with diced tomato on it, she picked it all off. I couldn't remember if she had said that or not so I'll withhold judgement on who's error it was. I ate her tomato along with my sub, cajun turkey (which was very well-spiced and yummy) with horseradish cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, cherry pepper rings and mayo. You can tell who is the most adventurous of our little trio here! I used to work in a deli many moons ago and have a great appreciation for specialty meats and lots of additions and dressing.
We shared a small bag of Block and Barrel brand BBQ potato chips and MJ and Julie got raspberry ice teas while I drank water. I ended up spilling my water all over the table, but managed to miss anything that might've been damaged, including my notebook we were taking notes in. I actually got Julie to write down some of the notes for "our" blog this time. I was busy with my laptop on the window sill, getting my e-mail because I could get an internet hit there. We were still in transition between houses at this time. Julie couldn't finish all of her sandwich so I took it home and ate the rest the next day. I knew the ice cream before the meal was a bad idea. Oh well, no harm done. The sandwich saved well with no mayo or tomato on it.
It was May 28th when I dropped off MJ and Julie at the Roxy Theater in downtown Potsdam, NY to see "Kung Fu Panda II" while I went to Ton's Sports Bar (a future destination for this blog) to catch some Wimbledon tennis action instead of seeing the movie. MJ and I texted each other at the end of the movie so I would know exactly when to pick them up. They had a small ice cream at the little stand next to the theater that bought me some time to see the end of a match.
When I parked in the lot across the street to pick them up, however, they declared they were hungry and wanted to go to Billy's Deli, which was just a couple doors down from the theater at 2 Main Street. Oh well, wanted to check it out some time and I was hungry for a cold sandwich. I love deli sandwiches.
Boar's Head meats and quality breads from a local bakery are billed for this deli and so it was. We all ordered 8" subs. MJ got cooked salami with pickles and swiss cheese. Julie got the "Pastrami-rama" with swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato, hold the mayo. Actually there is some confusion as to whether she said to hold the tomato as well as the mayo because when it came out with diced tomato on it, she picked it all off. I couldn't remember if she had said that or not so I'll withhold judgement on who's error it was. I ate her tomato along with my sub, cajun turkey (which was very well-spiced and yummy) with horseradish cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, cherry pepper rings and mayo. You can tell who is the most adventurous of our little trio here! I used to work in a deli many moons ago and have a great appreciation for specialty meats and lots of additions and dressing.
We shared a small bag of Block and Barrel brand BBQ potato chips and MJ and Julie got raspberry ice teas while I drank water. I ended up spilling my water all over the table, but managed to miss anything that might've been damaged, including my notebook we were taking notes in. I actually got Julie to write down some of the notes for "our" blog this time. I was busy with my laptop on the window sill, getting my e-mail because I could get an internet hit there. We were still in transition between houses at this time. Julie couldn't finish all of her sandwich so I took it home and ate the rest the next day. I knew the ice cream before the meal was a bad idea. Oh well, no harm done. The sandwich saved well with no mayo or tomato on it.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Mom's Schoolhouse Diner
Happy birthday to me! Well, back in May it was my birthday and that is when I visited "Mom's" with my kids for the Julie/Mom Project because I had never been there and, well, it was my birthday! We were in transition from one house to another and temporarily staying in West Potsdam, where Mom's Schoolhouse Diner is located at a rural crossroads next to the volunteer fire fighter's station... "The Minutemen".
It was a Saturday and "Mom" has a constant ad in the North Country This Week that says "sing-along-with-Mom" on Saturdays. I figured we could catch some old time style fun and might get a favorite north country treat I always loved and had been telling my kids about... french fries with gravy.
As we walked into the the quaint little diner, I spied the old piano in the corner... just what I had imagined "sing-along-with-Mom" would involve. It's a pretty small place with 1950's theme decor, old 45 records, old pictures, old advertisements and some Norman Rockwells.
Unfortunately we were immediately informed that "Mom's" daughter was getting married tomorrow and she was too busy with preparations to play the piano tonight. Also, the usual Saturday special of Shepherd's Pie was not available due to wedding prep. The soup du jour was sold out (we went in late to catch the hour of sing-along). Also, the frier was broken, so no french fries! On the bright side, I told them it was my birthday and I got 15% off my dinner, or a free small Sundae. I went with the 15% as I am not a big dessert fan.
Julie ordered the basil and lemon chicken breast platter with her two sides being applesauce and cottage cheese (because no soup). I got the breaded cod fillet with red potato salad and cole slaw. Actually, it may have been a sole fillet... its hard to tell and fish is routinely served under false species ID. Cod is fairly rare these days thanks to the overfishing in the Atlantic, but the reason I speculate isn't because I'm a great expert, its because the waitress wasn't sure what it was. Well, it was fish and I liked it, so that's all that matters. MJ enjoyed a healthy meal of a vanilla frappe (thick local style milkshake) and plain cheeseburger. "Plain Maryjane" is what she is with her cheeseburgers... nothing else but pickle is allowed. Apparently sesame seed buns are now acceptable, though that was an annoying issue for years. Once again, that's why this is the Julie/Mom Project and not the MJ/Mom Project.
The main portions are not huge, sort of bare looking on the large oval platter with the side orders in little, fancy, clear plastic cups. Simple fare as is to be expected from such a remote little corner place. Julie ordered a chocolate frappe for dessert while I finished the last 1/8 of MJ's burger.
I noted the place seemed to serve as a tiny grocery store, as well. There is a four door cooler with milk, OJ and whipped cream (which the diner probably uses) and a shelf area with a few cans of SPAM, Campbell's soup, chips, ketchup, bread, loose candy jars, and stuffed animals(?).
We need to come back when Mom is singin'.
It was a Saturday and "Mom" has a constant ad in the North Country This Week that says "sing-along-with-Mom" on Saturdays. I figured we could catch some old time style fun and might get a favorite north country treat I always loved and had been telling my kids about... french fries with gravy.
As we walked into the the quaint little diner, I spied the old piano in the corner... just what I had imagined "sing-along-with-Mom" would involve. It's a pretty small place with 1950's theme decor, old 45 records, old pictures, old advertisements and some Norman Rockwells.
Unfortunately we were immediately informed that "Mom's" daughter was getting married tomorrow and she was too busy with preparations to play the piano tonight. Also, the usual Saturday special of Shepherd's Pie was not available due to wedding prep. The soup du jour was sold out (we went in late to catch the hour of sing-along). Also, the frier was broken, so no french fries! On the bright side, I told them it was my birthday and I got 15% off my dinner, or a free small Sundae. I went with the 15% as I am not a big dessert fan.
Julie ordered the basil and lemon chicken breast platter with her two sides being applesauce and cottage cheese (because no soup). I got the breaded cod fillet with red potato salad and cole slaw. Actually, it may have been a sole fillet... its hard to tell and fish is routinely served under false species ID. Cod is fairly rare these days thanks to the overfishing in the Atlantic, but the reason I speculate isn't because I'm a great expert, its because the waitress wasn't sure what it was. Well, it was fish and I liked it, so that's all that matters. MJ enjoyed a healthy meal of a vanilla frappe (thick local style milkshake) and plain cheeseburger. "Plain Maryjane" is what she is with her cheeseburgers... nothing else but pickle is allowed. Apparently sesame seed buns are now acceptable, though that was an annoying issue for years. Once again, that's why this is the Julie/Mom Project and not the MJ/Mom Project.
The main portions are not huge, sort of bare looking on the large oval platter with the side orders in little, fancy, clear plastic cups. Simple fare as is to be expected from such a remote little corner place. Julie ordered a chocolate frappe for dessert while I finished the last 1/8 of MJ's burger.
I noted the place seemed to serve as a tiny grocery store, as well. There is a four door cooler with milk, OJ and whipped cream (which the diner probably uses) and a shelf area with a few cans of SPAM, Campbell's soup, chips, ketchup, bread, loose candy jars, and stuffed animals(?).
We need to come back when Mom is singin'.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Dunkin' Donuts
"Time to make the donuts..." OK. Thank God that's not me, but time to EAT the donuts is just about any time for most people. I can only do morning time with my black coffee, but my husband is well known for stopping by for a dozen... Yes, he brings them back for the rest of us and the kids don't get theirs until after school.
I had to drop off Julie's sister at school this morning and had an hour wait before Julie needed to go, so we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts. Their coffee is actually quite good as most coffee drinkers know, and Julie loves hot chocolate. The server added a bit of milk and cream to her hot chocolate to help cool it down as it was very hot. She usually eats the whipped cream off the top, but the lid on the travel cup didn't allow for this and she commented how good it tasted when you get a bit of the whipped cream with the sip you are taking. Genius kid figures it out. Like, this is why the whipped cream isn't served as a side, right? I usually take my coffee black, but when I get it out I like half and half, so I got that. Julie and I both got a Boston Kreme filled "donut" with chocolate frosting, she with sprinkles, mine without. Mmmmmmmmm!
The modern Dunkin Donuts is diversified from the old days. Not an extensive menu beyond the great selection of donuts, but now you can get breakfast egg sandwiches and wraps, hashbrowns, muffins, bagel twists and individual apple pie pastries. A poster advertised a limited time blueberry waffle sandwich with maple sausage that wasn't on the menu. They serve latte and cappuccino and flavored coffee, iced coffee, iced tea, "Coolata" frozen blended drinks in strawberry, coffee or "Tropicana" orange flavors. They even do lunch items in the form of pepperoni or cheese stuffed breadsticks or ham and swiss, turkey cheddar and bacon flat bread sandwiches.
I stick with the main theme... it all sounds good, but coffee/hot chocolate and donuts is why we go there and what I know they do well. Bags of their now famous quality coffee beans are sold from a shelf in the front along with plastic "to go" mugs. "Congrats GRADS" covers were on some bags as it was still around the time of Clarkson College and SUNY Potsdam's graduation weekend.
I had to drop off Julie's sister at school this morning and had an hour wait before Julie needed to go, so we stopped at Dunkin' Donuts. Their coffee is actually quite good as most coffee drinkers know, and Julie loves hot chocolate. The server added a bit of milk and cream to her hot chocolate to help cool it down as it was very hot. She usually eats the whipped cream off the top, but the lid on the travel cup didn't allow for this and she commented how good it tasted when you get a bit of the whipped cream with the sip you are taking. Genius kid figures it out. Like, this is why the whipped cream isn't served as a side, right? I usually take my coffee black, but when I get it out I like half and half, so I got that. Julie and I both got a Boston Kreme filled "donut" with chocolate frosting, she with sprinkles, mine without. Mmmmmmmmm!
The modern Dunkin Donuts is diversified from the old days. Not an extensive menu beyond the great selection of donuts, but now you can get breakfast egg sandwiches and wraps, hashbrowns, muffins, bagel twists and individual apple pie pastries. A poster advertised a limited time blueberry waffle sandwich with maple sausage that wasn't on the menu. They serve latte and cappuccino and flavored coffee, iced coffee, iced tea, "Coolata" frozen blended drinks in strawberry, coffee or "Tropicana" orange flavors. They even do lunch items in the form of pepperoni or cheese stuffed breadsticks or ham and swiss, turkey cheddar and bacon flat bread sandwiches.
I stick with the main theme... it all sounds good, but coffee/hot chocolate and donuts is why we go there and what I know they do well. Bags of their now famous quality coffee beans are sold from a shelf in the front along with plastic "to go" mugs. "Congrats GRADS" covers were on some bags as it was still around the time of Clarkson College and SUNY Potsdam's graduation weekend.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Eben's Hearth
Mother's Day! Julie's sister and father went to grandma's house for the afternoon and evening and I had already been waiting the opportunity to go to Eben's Hearth for the Julie/Mom Project. I spied their Mother's Day Special advertisement in the North Country This Week that offered half off mom's dinner with a family member. I also planned that Julie and I should ride our bikes, as the restaurant at 115 Maple Street, is only about a mile away from our home in Potsdam, NY. I figured this would be our way of "paying off" the caloric price of what was certian to be a great meal. Since it is uphill to the restaurant and downhill back, we paid most off in advance.
Eben's Hearth used to be my favorite place to order chicken wings back in the old college days when they delivered and I have revisited several times over the past couple decades since then when I was visiting. My kid Julie doesn't remember, but I have brought her here at least once before when she was a little younger. They have a couple of fish tanks and one of them has just two BIG fish in them. I took a picture, but regular readers of this blog will know why there is none to post with this. The fish are Pacu, related to Piranha and they are older than my daughter!
Julie likes chicken wings and so we ordered an appetizer of 6 to split between us. Though she can handle a certain amount of spice, we got them mild. I generally order wings as hot as possible, but I do draw the line at certain sauces that require use of capsaicin extract. The heat is certainly unbearable but the worst part of such sauces is the taste is terrible. A whole pepper flavor from a super spicy habanero is wonderful, but the extract stuff is just yucky medicinal. Bleu cheese and celery with the wings were perfect traditional yumminess and we enjoyed them very much.
Julie got the half rack of BBQ pork ribs with her choice side of rice pilaf and salad. I got the locally raised, black angus filet mignon, medium well with burgundy mushrooms and my choice of thick french fries and salad. Vegetable side with our entrees was cooked baby carrots and yellow and green string beans. The salad was unexceptional with too much head lettuce, but we picked around and ate most of it, consuming all the darker greens as well as the cucumber, bell pepper, and red onion chunks. Julie drank ice tea and I drank Yeungling lager on tap. Julie and I traded a few bites of our entrees. Both were excellently done. Happy Mom's Day to me!
As a footnote to this since I wrote it so late after the fact, I want to mention how cool Eben's Hearth has been as a place for me to catch certain sporting events when I am without a television at home. I have used it to watch football games while visiting years ago. So, this past weekend when I realized the French Open women's tennis final was on at 9 am before any bars were open, I called them to ask if they would put it on for me. Even though the bar area wasn't officially "open" with a bartender on duty, they let me sit there and watch the match on their nice tv. Breakfast muffin egg sandwich with very crispy home fries of small potato chunks were quite good. The bloody mary needed more worcestershire sauce. And no, Julie was not with me. This part was just a Mom Project :)
Eben's Hearth used to be my favorite place to order chicken wings back in the old college days when they delivered and I have revisited several times over the past couple decades since then when I was visiting. My kid Julie doesn't remember, but I have brought her here at least once before when she was a little younger. They have a couple of fish tanks and one of them has just two BIG fish in them. I took a picture, but regular readers of this blog will know why there is none to post with this. The fish are Pacu, related to Piranha and they are older than my daughter!
Julie likes chicken wings and so we ordered an appetizer of 6 to split between us. Though she can handle a certain amount of spice, we got them mild. I generally order wings as hot as possible, but I do draw the line at certain sauces that require use of capsaicin extract. The heat is certainly unbearable but the worst part of such sauces is the taste is terrible. A whole pepper flavor from a super spicy habanero is wonderful, but the extract stuff is just yucky medicinal. Bleu cheese and celery with the wings were perfect traditional yumminess and we enjoyed them very much.
Julie got the half rack of BBQ pork ribs with her choice side of rice pilaf and salad. I got the locally raised, black angus filet mignon, medium well with burgundy mushrooms and my choice of thick french fries and salad. Vegetable side with our entrees was cooked baby carrots and yellow and green string beans. The salad was unexceptional with too much head lettuce, but we picked around and ate most of it, consuming all the darker greens as well as the cucumber, bell pepper, and red onion chunks. Julie drank ice tea and I drank Yeungling lager on tap. Julie and I traded a few bites of our entrees. Both were excellently done. Happy Mom's Day to me!
As a footnote to this since I wrote it so late after the fact, I want to mention how cool Eben's Hearth has been as a place for me to catch certain sporting events when I am without a television at home. I have used it to watch football games while visiting years ago. So, this past weekend when I realized the French Open women's tennis final was on at 9 am before any bars were open, I called them to ask if they would put it on for me. Even though the bar area wasn't officially "open" with a bartender on duty, they let me sit there and watch the match on their nice tv. Breakfast muffin egg sandwich with very crispy home fries of small potato chunks were quite good. The bloody mary needed more worcestershire sauce. And no, Julie was not with me. This part was just a Mom Project :)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Village Diner
Ah, yummy family breakfast Saturday late morning at an all American style diner. Perfect. Another place in the North Country This Week's Spring Restaurant Guide that I had never been to gets knocked off the blog list.
The whole family went to look at a house we are now going to buy and we decided to celebrate by walking the short distance to downtown Potsdam's Market Square Mall for breakfast. This is a true mall with an indoor common space through which the entrances of the businesses are accessed. At 22 Depot Street it is quite small with only a few businesses including our dentist... and the Village Diner. The diner is only open for breakfast and lunch until 2 pm.
It is very pleasant and homey with a friendly and efficient wait staff. It was quite busy with a capacity crowd, but our orders were taken and served very timely. The girls (MJ and Julie) ordered the same meal from the kid's menu: 3 pancakes with a side of bacon and a side of mandarin oranges. My husband ordered the veggie omelette, so I balanced that by ordering the carnivore omelette! Sides of roasted potatoes with the omelettes were as delicious as the classic three egg concoctions. Very satisfying.
And, of course, I took pictures of our food and a shot of Julie with her scooter outside the door to the diner and never downloaded them before I lost my camera a couple of weeks ago. Life and eating goes on, hold the photodocumentation.
The whole family went to look at a house we are now going to buy and we decided to celebrate by walking the short distance to downtown Potsdam's Market Square Mall for breakfast. This is a true mall with an indoor common space through which the entrances of the businesses are accessed. At 22 Depot Street it is quite small with only a few businesses including our dentist... and the Village Diner. The diner is only open for breakfast and lunch until 2 pm.
It is very pleasant and homey with a friendly and efficient wait staff. It was quite busy with a capacity crowd, but our orders were taken and served very timely. The girls (MJ and Julie) ordered the same meal from the kid's menu: 3 pancakes with a side of bacon and a side of mandarin oranges. My husband ordered the veggie omelette, so I balanced that by ordering the carnivore omelette! Sides of roasted potatoes with the omelettes were as delicious as the classic three egg concoctions. Very satisfying.
And, of course, I took pictures of our food and a shot of Julie with her scooter outside the door to the diner and never downloaded them before I lost my camera a couple of weeks ago. Life and eating goes on, hold the photodocumentation.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Cactus Grill & Cantina
Cinco de Mayo! Woo Hoo! I always like to have a margarita and celebrate in some small way this holiday of Mexican culture. So, I took both Julie (of the blog title) and her big sister MJ to a local favorite of ours, the Cactus Grill at 11 Raymond Street, Potsdam, NY. It was Clarkson College's graduation weekend and all the restaurants downtown were a buzz so it was no surprise that there were no particular Cinco de Mayo specials. Fair enough... we decided to go for drinks and desserts.
I only very rarely order a dessert at any restaurant, so I was pleased to finally have the opportunity to order a cultural specialty in honor of the day: Flan. I once read a novel by that title (written by the seriously twisted artist known as Dogbowl, aka Stephen Tunney), but had never actually eaten the culinary concoction. It was a wonderful vanilla flavored pudding and I am too much of a dork to know what the difference between Flan and standard vanilla pudding is. It was obviously freshly cooked and still slightly warm, but I have had pudding in that form before. MJ ordered the fried ice cream which I have personally seen before in various forms. Here it was vanilla ice cream served in a fried tortilla "dish" with a syrup granola topping. Julie got a giant brownie... which is pretty much self-explanatory except that it was topped with a huge amount of ice cream. She ate the ice cream and was too full to eat the brownie which I brought home in a box, put in the refrigerator and it disappeared by the next evening.
I got my margarita (ok, two, we were walking) on the rocks PLEASE and definitely with salted rim. The girls got raspberry ice tea. We ate our complimentary chips (warmed) and the very good salsa fresca with an added order of guacamole to augment the sizable amount of chips.
It was a successful venture and I took several pictures of our food and the neat mural paintings of cactus and such on the walls of the interior of the converted old industrial building. You see none of these here because I somehow managed to lose my camera a couple of weeks later before I downloaded the pictures.
In fact, the only goal of this Julie/Mom Project blog is to write regularly and I/We have been remiss in that duty. We have a fair excuse in that we are in a state of transition of residences and do not have consistent internet access among other confounders. We have not been remiss in knocking off places in the North Country This Week Spring Restaurant Guide, however, and have a backlog of notes to catch up on with blog entries. Five more coming up, all unfortunately without pictures. Oh well. It's an exercise in writing, not photography. A picture may say a thousand words, but one picture does not say the same words I put down here.
I only very rarely order a dessert at any restaurant, so I was pleased to finally have the opportunity to order a cultural specialty in honor of the day: Flan. I once read a novel by that title (written by the seriously twisted artist known as Dogbowl, aka Stephen Tunney), but had never actually eaten the culinary concoction. It was a wonderful vanilla flavored pudding and I am too much of a dork to know what the difference between Flan and standard vanilla pudding is. It was obviously freshly cooked and still slightly warm, but I have had pudding in that form before. MJ ordered the fried ice cream which I have personally seen before in various forms. Here it was vanilla ice cream served in a fried tortilla "dish" with a syrup granola topping. Julie got a giant brownie... which is pretty much self-explanatory except that it was topped with a huge amount of ice cream. She ate the ice cream and was too full to eat the brownie which I brought home in a box, put in the refrigerator and it disappeared by the next evening.
I got my margarita (ok, two, we were walking) on the rocks PLEASE and definitely with salted rim. The girls got raspberry ice tea. We ate our complimentary chips (warmed) and the very good salsa fresca with an added order of guacamole to augment the sizable amount of chips.
It was a successful venture and I took several pictures of our food and the neat mural paintings of cactus and such on the walls of the interior of the converted old industrial building. You see none of these here because I somehow managed to lose my camera a couple of weeks later before I downloaded the pictures.
In fact, the only goal of this Julie/Mom Project blog is to write regularly and I/We have been remiss in that duty. We have a fair excuse in that we are in a state of transition of residences and do not have consistent internet access among other confounders. We have not been remiss in knocking off places in the North Country This Week Spring Restaurant Guide, however, and have a backlog of notes to catch up on with blog entries. Five more coming up, all unfortunately without pictures. Oh well. It's an exercise in writing, not photography. A picture may say a thousand words, but one picture does not say the same words I put down here.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Julian's
On 
Easter Sunday we had no special plans after the Easter-basket-loaded, chocolate, candy, gum, smorgasbord of the all-too-early morning. Julie and I (Mom) blobbed around uselessly all day and then decided late afternoon to go out and take pictures for our Thai Cuisine blog entry.
Easter Sunday we had no special plans after the Easter-basket-loaded, chocolate, candy, gum, smorgasbord of the all-too-early morning. Julie and I (Mom) blobbed around uselessly all day and then decided late afternoon to go out and take pictures for our Thai Cuisine blog entry.We rode scooters this time instead of bikes (I can't recall why, might've been my idea). Julie took hers, I took MJ's. We put on our bike helmets, which I was quite glad for later as I went head over heels on an uneven gap in the sidewalk and landed right on my head. Low speed, but still would've been a ridiculous injury for such a flimsy small vehicle. I have to say now what an absurd piece of transport a scooter is. Skates make more sense, but unless your riding surface is nice and smooth the whole trip, a bicylce make the most sense. WALKING is a better option than a scooter, as was the way I played out most of our little excursion this day.
Sun was fading and I was hungry and suggested to Julie that we knock off one of our restaurants for our blog. Julie suggested any of the downtown pizza places, but I wanted to save those for times when the whole family might go there. It was evening Easter Sunday so many places were closed anyway. We spied Julian's at 38 Market Street, Potsdam, NY. Julie had eaten here before with her grandmother, but I had never been. They had advertised an Easter buffet and were known for their Sunday breakfast buffet. We were going in late, like 7:30 pm, a half hour before "closing". Boldly and brazenly, we went in anyway. I figured it looked pretty empty and it wasn't the type of place we would likely take MJ or my husband to.
The waitress was kind and friendly explaining that the buffet was over, they were closing soon, but they still had a limited Easter Dinner menu. I can't recall the other options, though there were only a few. We ordered the Roast Duck and Shrimp Cocktail appetizer to split (budget-minded us). Julie got a lemonade. She was very thirsty from scootering around town, as was I who downed several glasses of ice water.
The appetizer consisted of three large shrimp arranged around the edge of a martini glass filled with more cocktail sauce than needed even for all three large shrimp. Also provided was a rather large portion of herbed oil (again too much for the three shrimp, despite their large size) and a tiny cup of solid whipped butter, which I found most peculiar. It was perfectly adequate. Julie and I (Mom) split the three shrimp this way: I ate all the tails (I loooove shrimp tails) and the body of one and a third of the shrimp. We dipped each bite generously into the sauces, fingers and all.
The duck was delicious. I have to say, mostly the only time I have ever eaten duck (with one rare exception) is the kind you get at the Chinese restaurant in a heavily fried and/or battered condition. We have occasionally done Cornish Game Hens for Thanksgiving, but other than so-called "turkey", so-called "chicken" is the extent of Julie's poultry experience.
This was actually a half-duck, properly "billed" as such on the menu description. Julie and I split it between us by me using a fork and butter knife to remove the largest pices of meat and put them on Julie's plate along with a fair share of the yummy roasted potato wedges and sauteed zucchini that were soaking in the brown, sweetish sauce of the basted duck.
And here we draw a flashback to our blog inspiration, the movie "Julie & Julia". "Do you know how to de-bone a duck?" We now understand why a duck is so much more delicious if someone goes through the process of removing the freaking bones and stuffing it. I ended up sucking the meat off the remaining carcass. Oh well, it's Easter. It's Ironic.
Disclaimer: This blog is not a restaurant review or a food critique. It is a personal experience, molded by the parameters of its subjectivity.
Thai Cuisine Restaurant
We are sort of cheating on this one. Though, since we have no rules and no goals to this blog, we can't really cheat. What I mean is that we had actually visited this place the week before we came up with the idea to do this blog, but it was still fresh in our minds. It was a special trip for me (Mom) and my two girls (Julie and her older sister), since I and my husband had been here several times, but the girls had never been.Lunch is the best deal, so I promised the kids, on a day off from school during spring break, that I would take them. For lunch, the price is lower than dinner entrees as is typical because of a smaller portion, but comes with a small bowl of soup and a fried eggroll. At 29 Maple Street in Potsdam, NY, this is a pleasant stroll through downtown and across the bridges of the Racquette River.
My oldest girl is a finicky eater extraordinaire. She makes Morris the cat seem like an uncritical gourmand. It is with great trepidation that we dare to take her anywhere to eat that is not the most tried and true, bland fare imaginable. Even then, she can decide that there is something wrong with her order. And that is why there could never be an "MJ/Mom Project" in the spirit of this current blog.
MJ ordered the Vegetable Lo Mein, a fairly safe bet since that is what she usually gets from Chinese restaurants (any sort of meat creates a 90% chance of observing her face scrinch up to look like a chicken's behind, as my husband puts it). Julie has a great variety of tastes and even a fair edge to the degree of spiciness she can handle, but I was still looking over the menu trying to figure a good choice for her. The waitress/manager suggested a basic shrimp and broccoli stir fry. Upon hearing that, I asked if it could be spiced up (yes) and ordered it myself while Julie chose the "Crazy Noodle" with beef off the menu, no doubt due to the funny name. Crazy Noodle is a spicy dish and we ordered it mild for Julie, while I asked for as spicy as possible with my own shrimp and broccoli. MJ, needless to say, thinks salt is "hot" and cannot even have the slightest amount of anything as basic as black pepper added to her food.
Our soup came out and surprisingly, Morris, I mean, MJ actually liked it! Maybe she is more like Mikey from the Life cereal commercials... doesn't like anything so we'll test it out on her... she likes it! Anyway, it is a typical southeast asian style clear soup with a few shreds of blanched cabbage and carrot in it, seasoned lightly and with rice vinegar for a subtle tanginess. The vegetable eggroll came with the entree, a small sample with a thin crispy fried wrapper. MJ questioned me later why we did not order the spring rolls, which I had praised before. These are lovely, unfried, larger rolls of cabbage, sprout, carrot, cilantro and other miscellaneous goodness and served with a tangy dipping sauce. I explained that I wasn't going to order something that she would certainly not eat no matter what her sincere earnestness in wanting to try. I suspect Julie might like them, but this was a small experiment for them, not a grand one. Frugality is a lead motto in eating out these days, so maybe some other time.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Hot Tamale!
Our first destination in the North Country This Week's Spring Restaurant Guide, as mentioned in our first post, was the "Hot Tamale". We hatched our little idea to blog about all the restaurants in the guide after already stopping here for lunch while out for a bike ride in downtown Potsdam, NY. There is also a "Hot Tamale" in the village of Canton 10 miles to the east. The one in Potsdam is in the heart of downtown at 34 Market Street.Julie had eaten here a few times before with her father, but I had never been. It is a fast-food, assembly line style place where you order at the counter and watch as your meal is prepared. It is very clean, the ingredients are fresh and the prices kept reasonably low due to the informal dining setting.
Though I was tempted to try the namesake, the tamales are an appetizer and I was quite hungry. I went for the "Sizzling 'Stoners" Fajita Burrito", which was billed as a much more suitable option for my appetite at the time. I chose the steak as my meat, which was "sizzled" ahead of time and not put on a fajita pan in front of me as is the traditional and more expensive way to do it. The meat was seasoned with my choice of a barbecue sauce and put into a flour tortilla with rice, my choice of pepper jack cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, grilled onions and peppers and sour cream. It was very large and hit the spot deliciously.
Julie went with her old standby, the Kid's Meal. She chose the chicken and cheese quesadilla, and sort of changed it up a bit as she has always gotten just cheese quesadilla in the past. It comes with a small drink (diet Coke) and a choice of brownie or small pre-packaged ice cream treat. Julie chose the Chocolate Sundae Bar.
Though I was tempted to try the namesake, the tamales are an appetizer and I was quite hungry. I went for the "Sizzling 'Stoners" Fajita Burrito", which was billed as a much more suitable option for my appetite at the time. I chose the steak as my meat, which was "sizzled" ahead of time and not put on a fajita pan in front of me as is the traditional and more expensive way to do it. The meat was seasoned with my choice of a barbecue sauce and put into a flour tortilla with rice, my choice of pepper jack cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, grilled onions and peppers and sour cream. It was very large and hit the spot deliciously.
Julie went with her old standby, the Kid's Meal. She chose the chicken and cheese quesadilla, and sort of changed it up a bit as she has always gotten just cheese quesadilla in the past. It comes with a small drink (diet Coke) and a choice of brownie or small pre-packaged ice cream treat. Julie chose the Chocolate Sundae Bar.
We like this place as a fast, good and inexpensive option. It is open very late on Friday and Saturday nights to accomodate the late night college crowd.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Beginning
So, after watching the movie "Julie and Julia" obsessively for the past two weeks, my 9 year old daughter and I took a break. It's been over 36 hours since our last viewing. We had to make a conscious effort to not watch. Its a Netflix DVD, so we will have to return it at some point, but I've been waiting for the inspiration to hit me before I can give it up.
Today, Julie (my 9 year old daughter) and I took a bicycle ride downtown to check out the used clothing stores, which I knew would be closed, but we had to get out of the house. We have been sitting around during her spring break from school, watching "Julie and Julia" on almost continuous loop all week. It makes you hungry, so we have been eating along with it. We had to get out of the house.
Downtown for us is the small village of Potsdam in the North Country upstate New York. It was a chilly wind, but we bundled up to stay warm. While we were stopped, looking at the rushing water of the Racquette River going over the hydroelectric power dams, I decided I was hungry. Julie is a big fan of eating out, as am I. Well, we are big fans of eating in general and also share a laziness for preparing our own food. Being the tough economic times that they are, however, we have been trying to be very frugal. My husband, Julie's father, is the cook of the house and does a remarkable job feeding us and fixing a proper dinner nearly every night.
So we ate at "Hot Tamale" because I had never been there, and I decided to treat Julie since her sister had been to a concert the night before and was still away at a fun sleepover at her friend's house. Then it hit me. We could eat our way through the North Country THIS WEEK's Spring Restaurant Guide I had been looking through the night before... and blog about it!
Oh sure, it's not really like "The Julie/Julia Project". It's not going to make us better people. It's not going to teach us any real discipline. But it is something to do and it will be fun. Maybe it will allow us to eventually return the movie DVD to Netflix... now having our own culinary obsession to occupy us. Maybe it will force us to write something regularly, which is an accomplishment in itself.
Anyway, no rules and no goals. No time frames. It is what it is. There are 66 restaurants listed in the Guide, including places such as McDonald's and an asian food market I've never been into to know if there are even prepared foods for take-out. There are also places we have been to several times. Maybe we will go to them, maybe we won't, but we will write about every place and at least why we did not or could not go.
Some are a bit of a drive so we will try to hit those as they are along the way in other travels around the county. We must try to budget the adventure as best we can. The main goal is to write regularly, so we will write up our visits every few days... Hot Tamale and Thai Cuisine Restaurant already down and coming up soon. But now, another viewing of "Julie and Julia" is in order. Bon appetit!
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