Roia


Tried Roia the other day in New Haven. It moved into the old bank at the Taft Hotel/Apartments, a space previously occupied by Hot Tomatoes, etc.



The food was scrumptious, and the atmosphere in there is really stellar (if dark for taking photos).



Amy and I would like a few more "interesting" or unique dishes on the menu, but the ones they have are delicious.


Apples and Bacon


In our Native American cookbook, one of the best dishes I've come across is apples and bacon. First, fry the bacon, take it out, and drain it. Then fry the apples in the bacon fat. Then, combine them for a delicious breakfast.

The irony is, of course, that both ingredients were brought by Europeans.

Splitting Wood with a Wedge


Used a maul and my grandfather's wedge yesterday for the first time. We had a bunch of beech tree sections that are just a little too big for the wood stove, and I finally got around to trying out the splitter. It worked great.


Of course, it took me a while to get used to the motion, swinging down from the top only to save energy, while sliding my right hand down the shaft and bending my legs down to prevent backswing and hit the wedge from a nearly horizontal position. (I'm too tall to get it to work as well as some could.)


But I got used to it, and began hitting the wedge correctly more often (not every time!) and hearing that wonderful bell-like sound when the maul and the wedge connect perfectly. Many times the wedge ended up driven into the ground, as in the photo above.


I even tried it with some non-round pieces of wood and it worked fairly well there, too. It was a good day. The transformation of knowledge into practice is always satisfying.

Funny Cake


My wife made me for the first time, the Pennsylvania Dutch treat of "funny cake." It is something I had often throughout my childhood and loved dearly, as one loves an old friend long gone. Now it is back in my life again, and my grandmother Jeanette's recipe has stood the test of time.


Creamed Baby Leeks

 
My wife planted leeks in a pot on our porch (if we put it in the yard the deer will get it). The other day we harvested them and, using stock and milk, softened them, and ate them.
 


A little pepper and salt is all it needs. So yummy.


 

Review of The Great Gatsby and On the Road

This will be a short review, but it is something I have not read elsewhere. And as a writer myself, I think I can make this statement with the proper ethos.

There is nothing more boring than a film about someone becoming a writer.

That's right. I can think of exceptions of course - Henry and June, Out of Africa. But the worst part of the past year's two "literary" films was the fact that the narrator is "writing" the book, and we have scenes where the narrator "becomes" an author. Just awful. Unnecessary. And worst of all, not accurate.

I am no purist - I love a film adaptation. The Lord of the Rings was for many years my favorite book, and I had no problems with the many changes made there. In fact, I understand completely the need to change the plots and details of books for the film medium. This is not an argument about purity, because neither of these films is too far from the book. In fact, the only part that is really inaccurate is that both filmmakers decided to make the main character a "writer." Worse than inaccuracy though, is the way it changes the story for the reader, demeans it, lessens it, makes it a reflexive story about writing, the most boring kind of story of all.

In the case of On the Road, this is somewhat accurate. Sal Paradise is, in fact, a writer, obviously based on or embodying Kerouac himself. But his "writing" is ancillary, and not important to the book's story. The key moment comes in the book and the film, at the end, when Sal rejects Dean Moriarty on a cold New York street. That is wonderfully included in the film and superbly acted by the two leads. But its emotional power is sapped by the fact that Sal is shown "writing" this scene, destroying the dramatic intensity. The director gets the film right in many respects - this is a story about men, a whole country in fact, without fathers. But the film is also, mostly, about becoming a writer. It lessens the impact, and was not the point of Kerouac's work. It is the point of far too many directors who adapt books who, because they are books, think they need to make the films about books.

In the case of The Great Gatsby, the director, or perhaps the script writer, clearly wants to show off how well he understands the book. Every theme is explained ad infinitum. This making explicit of the symbolic and metaphoric is only irritating for those who do know the book, and worse for those who are discovering it through the film. There is nothing for them to discover - there is only the surface - the implied dumbed down to the obvious. And worse, bizarrely, though there is no mention of Nick Carraway becoming a writer in the book, the director has chosen to make him become a writer, to "write" the story of the film. Thus, the film is doubly "literary" and doubly boring because of it.

It is the story that matters, not the fact that it is a written story originally in a novel form. Most book adaptations are terrible not because the books cannot be adapted, but because some directors cannot forget that they are books.

Monhegan Brewing Company


Perhaps inevitably, even the remote island of Monhegan has acquired its own brewery. This can only be a good thing. A coffee roaster, a brewing company, a local cheesemaker. These are improvements to American society - both a look backward and forward, and a welcome change from the uniform suburban wasteland of my youth in the 20th century.


And of course, the beer is always good - certainly better than the homogenized swill that I drank at frat parties in college. That is also good. A society which improves its taste in food will improve its taste in other things.


Monhegan House


 The Monhegan House on Monhegan Island has always been a place to find cheap lodging and get a really nice breakfast. However, after they revamped their restaurant a bit, it is now a great place, maybe the best place, to get dinner while on the island.


These little appetizer delights (above and below) were absolutely delicious. Corn patties with crab, sardines wrapped around tomatoes...yum.


The main dishes were also reasonably sized, with three large scallops (topped with pineapple!)


and this lobster gnocchi, which was one of the better things I've ever tasted ever.



The desserts were also small, and I left the Monhegan House feeling exactly as full as I should be, and full of delicious memories.


Maine vs. Connecticut Lobster Rolls


I spent time in Maine this summer and got to sample Maine lobster rolls, which were my first love in the lobster roll world. I used to love the mayonnaise freshness of these. When researching A History of Connecticut Food and the Insiders' Guide to Connecticut I came to love the hot lobster roll, invented here in Connecticut. On this trip to Maine I wanted to give the cold roll another chance. I tried four different ones, at both fancy restaurants and roadside trucks. And there is no question - the hot Connecticut lobster roll is superior.

Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with a cold lobster roll, and I still liked it. I mean, it's lobster. It's rich and delicious. But the use of hot butter is more natural, reminding us of the way we eat steamed or boiled lobsters. With mayo on it, why not eat crab or shrimp? It also dulls or at least changes the taste. Worst of all, it tempts restaurants to use frozen or refrigerated lobster rather than fresh. With a hot lobster roll freshly steamed or boiled or poached lobster is necessary. If someone uses preserved lobster for a hot roll, you can taste/feel it immediately.

I was willing to put aside my CT partisan hat for this contest (as I occasionally have for other dishes) but in this case I have to come down firmly on the side of the hot lobster roll as the superior dish. What do you think?