Natty Glamour Shot

Twilight Zone

I stopped at the McDonalds drive thru on the way down to my cousin’s wedding two weeks ago. The car in front of me pulled up to the menu board. The driver rolled down the window to order.

And that’s when I realized the driver was a mime.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked hard.

The passengers were also mimes.

This blew my mind.

First off, did the mime say his order into the speaker? I couldn’t tell. But how do you act out Chicken McNuggets with a side of honey mustard?

The mime car was a real one. Not a pantomime car. It was white, to match the mimes’ faces. I think it was a Hyundai. (Definitely not a Peugot.) I couldn’t tell if there was a steering wheel, or if the driver was just pretending.

Were they listening to the radio?

Was the engine silent?

What happens if they get stuck in traffic? Do they pretend to be stuck in a box?

If it’s windy, does the car lean forward and drive slower?

When they pulled around to the window, the cashier handed them a real bag. But was there real food in it? Or just an invisible banana?

I haven’t slept since.

FOOD UPDATE:

I've been eating out a ton lately. Time to start cooking again.

Went to The Brass Elephant for the first time. Had this seared, coriander dusted tuna topped with tempura shrimp and mustard cress and served over risotto and ponzu sauce. (Whatever the hell that is.) It was every bit as good as any entrée I’ve ever had in DC or New York or San Francisco or anywhere else. Dessert was a flourless chocolate torte. Really good, and I’m not even a huge chocolate guy.

Tsunami in Annapolis is my new favorite sushi place. They have this tofu appetizer that was tossed with benito flakes, sesame seeds and some kind of sauce that was made (I think) from soy sauce, ginger and crack. (it couldn’t possibly be anything else). I’ve been craving it every day since. Also, the sushi was really fantastic. They did an interesting take on the spicy tuna roll – instead of a sauce, it was topped with some sort of chili pepper spice rub.

Last week, I discovered Chicken Rico. This place is an absolute treasure, and I don’t use that term lightly. Unless you count the David Hasselhoff “Looking for Freedom” CD that I found in the $2 bin at Soundgarden. (It's an absolute treasure.)

Anyway, Chicken Rico is this hole-in-the-wall cafeteria-style Peruvian chicken place in Highlandtown. It’s an experience. Here’s how it works: you go up to the counter, where there’s a guy with a meat cleaver. You order either a whole, a half, or a quarter chicken. Meat cleaver guy takes one swipe with the knife and your chicken is ready. It’s kind of amazing. (It's even more amazing that he still has all 9 fingers.) They serve the chicken with two little cups of dipping sauce - one of them is some sort of jalapeno and vinegar puree, the other is a tangy aioli-ish thing. The chicken is super moist, and the skin is perfectly crisp and peppery from the Peruvian spice rub. You get two sides from a list of about 8 -10 things that include french fries, fried yucca, plantains, cole slaw, rice, fried rice, beans, and a handful of others. You also get a can of soda. (I tried Inca Kola, which is a gold-colored Peruvian coke product that tastes kind of like cream soda, but a little bit fruity. Unless you ask Wilkepedia, who says it tastes like bubblegum.) You get it all for less than five bucks. I’m officially addicted. Went back the same week, got a chicken burrito and ate it at the Canton Waterfront park. It was ok. But not nearly as good as the rotisserie chicken.

Pazo on Tuesday was terrific as usual. Had the tuna involtini, eggplant dip, grilled mushrooms, the pork skewered thingys on the orange-y red sauce (that’s the technical name), the slow cooked lamb with olive oil on whipped potatoes. and a yummy sheep’s cheese that I can’t spell (we passed on the cheese that was from the “sheep/cow.” I usually prefer the restaurant to have sone degree of certainty which animal the cheese is coming from.) Dessert was at Metropolitan in Federal Hill. A chocolate thing with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream that made a smiley face (with a corn bob pipe).

Went to Kawasaki yesterday for some sweatshop sushi. It’s been awhile. But I’m glad to see the loss of illegal immigrants in the kitchen hasn’t affected the quality of the food. Had vegetable tempura, spicy tuna roll, cucumber and avocado roll, Chesepeake #1 roll (crabmeat, cream cheese, tempura flakes and old bay.) and the Lee Roll (yellowtail, avocado, tempura flakes and a dollop of some yummy green cream sauce. Possibly my new favorite.)

Tonight I’m cooking something for the first time in probably 2 weeks. Not sure what yet. Might take a ride to Cross Street Market for a change of pace and pick up whatever looks fresh at the seafood counter.

Rhett Miller Concert and Other Stuff

Went to see Rhett Miller at the Black Cat in Washington DC Thursday night.

It was ok. The sound levels were kind of off, so the instruments were drowning out the vocals. Also, his back-up band wasn’t great. The lead guitarist looked like a creepy Dennis Quaid who didn’t blink. Ever.

More importantly, I discovered a new musician by the name of Nicolai Dunger.



Nicolai Dunger’s music touched me in a way no other music has ever done before.

It punched me in the head.

According to his website, Dunger’s vocals are described as “aching.” Well put. The only thing worse than Dunger's music were his lyrics:

“And your sister she’s in love, she has children there to prove it
And your brother, he’s a beauty, he’s so beautiful it hurts
Yes, your sister she’s in love and she has children,
and those children lick my soul.”

Yes, you read that right. The children lick my soul.

Which, as we know from Department of Homeland Security Deputy Press Secretary, Brian Doyle, can land you in prison for up to 115 years.



In other news, Natty is completely stir crazy. She’s not allowed to run or jump or play while her stitches are healing and she’s bouncing-off-the-walls-bored. On Thursday she resorted to tossing ice cubes in the air and trying to fetch them for herself. It’s gonna be a long 9 days.

Tonight is my cousin’s wedding. I’ll be wearing a tuxedo meant for a very very very fat man. Hot.



FOOD UPDATE: Made an omelet with mushrooms, green pepper, onion and parmesan for lunch. It didn’t look pretty, so I didn’t take a picture.

Very quick post

Somehow the rains held off for Opening Day and the Orioles put up quite a showing. At least until tomorrow, the O's are in first place and all is right in the world. Also, my "Jesus Hates the Yankees" shirt was a big hit at the game.

The guy who tries to get you to sign up for a credit card to get the Orioles Beach Towel actually stopped his sales pitch, paused to read the shirt, and exclaimed, "Fuck YEAH, man. Fuck yeah."

In other news, Natty got spayed today. But not without complication. First off, they had to pull her top canines out because they were supposed to fall out by now. Then they put me on speaker phone with the surgeon in the middle of surgery. He said that Natty has a birth defect and somehow her ovaries are a lot higher than they're supposed to be. (I picture them in her elbows). Anyway, they had to make the incision bigger to get high enough to get out all of Natty's junk. Which means an even more unhappy puppy when I come to pick her up tomorrow.

On the bright side, they put a microchip in her, so if she ever gets lost without her collar, the vet will be able to identify her. Also, I'll be able to download MP3s.

FOOD UPDATE: Laziness prevails. Austin Grill for dinner.

Dog day afternoon. Dog day morning too.

Natty's getting spayed on Tuesday. So, in a last hurrah for her ovaries, she had the awesomest day ever yesterday.

In the morning, she went to the ASPCA March for the Animals at Druid Hill Park.

She met Mayor O'Malley.

She stopped to smell the roses. Er, dandilions.

She panted. A lot.

Then, she went to the Dog Beach at Quiet Water's Park in Annapolis.

She was a bit skeptical about the whole water thing at first, just in case it turned out to be one giant bathtub.

But she got used to it. And Quick.

Turns out Natty is quite the litte beach bum.

After drying off in the sun she went and protested outside of the Maryland State House. (The green sign in the background says "No Dogs Allowed.")



And posed for some glamour shots along City Dock.

And for the perfect ending to the perfect doggy day, she got ice cream at Storm Brothers Home Made Ice Cream

FOOD UPDATE: McGarvey's crab cake sandwich for dinner Sunday. On Saturday I did a mixed grill thing from Jamie Oliver's Italy book.

I skewered some sea scallops and seasoned them with orange rosemary salt (a bit too much salt, but still pretty good). Then flavored the sardines with a bashed up basil olive oil lemon sauce. Turns out fresh sardines are good. I've never used them before. So much better than the stuff in the cans. The only tricky thing is, it's hard to keep them from sticking to the grill. I lost one of them to the charcoals and bits and pieces of the other four are still stuck on the bars. Next time I'll have to go heavier on the oil on the grate. Also, I might try his butterflied sardine recipe instead. They're a little on the bone-y side.