So I guess what I actually meant was that, as it turned out, I wouldn't open my laptop again until we arrived back home in Wisconsin. Sorry about that, folks!
After Emmy arrived home from work at 9:30pm on Saturday night we bundled ourselves and our gear into Baby (my '96 Toyota) and hit the road by midnight. As a night-shifter, I drove the 7.5 hours down to Cleveland, OH by myself, in the dark. For the ride we had what was left over from our apples, clementines, and sandwhich fixings to tide us over. We switched drivers on the East-bound side of Cleveland (I'm better in high-traffic situations) and I proceeded to get some shut-eye.
Not much shut-eye, as it happened. Turns out, I can't sleep in the car, at least in Baby, who rattles a bit in the wind and as a 1996 model, wasn't exactly designed with sleeping comfort in mind. A pillow and a blanket did nothing to help. I woke up about 1.5 hours later to discover that I had missed PA entirely, and we were now entering south-western NY. I just couldn't sleep any more. The weather was getting flurried and we were approaching Buffalo, so I took over driving once again.
Hungry and past caring about the travel budget I suggested simply plugging in the city and selecting what ever restaurant appeared first that sounded interesting. Well, after driving through sudden deep (lake-effect) snow, a harbor, an industrial complex, a sleek business center, and past an enormous rolling graveyard, we failed to find the restaurant Annie (my rather stupid and three-years-out-of-date GPS interface) had attempted to direct us to. I turned Annie off and we just cruised around until I spotted a place that looked likely to serve a decently priced lunch that wouldn't be made of burger or fries.
What ended up catching my eye was Tokyo II. I wanted Indian food, but Emmy protested on the grounds that we still had 9 hours or so more to drive and she didn't want to have a stomach emergency half-way to Albany. Japanese, and the thought of stopping along the highway with naught but the roll of emergency toilet paper tucked away somewhere in the region of the backseat for comfort quickly won me over.
Emmy's meal:
Green tea. I had my doubts, but it was really good. Loose-leaf, perfectly brewed. Rich yellow-green color, full-bodied, slightly nutty flavor which was reminicent of sunflower seeds. I'd guess a Chinese green from the nuttiness, but don't quote me on that. I could drink a whole pot of this.
Harumaki. Tip-of-the-tongue spicy. Slightly eggy outside, tender chicken & greens inside. Nice w/ the sweet sauce as a side, but I prefered it by itself. Parsley & M.Cherry garnish. (Needless to say E ate both of the garnishes, she's adorable like that.)
Kim's meal:
Chicken teriyaki. Unlike my last chicken teriyaki in almost every respect (that was the Traveler's Hearth, as you recall). This one was juicy (not dry), decently flavored, with most of the sauce available on the side for dipping at my leisure. Sticky white rice was also in evidence, a fact I quite happily enjoyed. My side was miso soup, of a rather thick broth and very tiny tofu chunks. When I was young I usually ate the broth and avoided everything else. But my hunger and adult palette pushed me to eat everything in the bowl, which I did. It was also delicious, and nothing was over-salted. A miracle today. Warm and hearty with the affore-mentioned green tea, we had an excellent, quiet lunch. (They do chef-prepared meals at the table, too, in case you ever want to check it out for yourself.)
Onward we went. I had made a phone call to some family by Albany and so our drive across New York in the blinding snow was made better by knowing that comfortable beds were 4 hours closer than they had previously been. My Aunt & Uncle served us food and we compensated for the short notice by sharing our special WI products I mentioned in the previous post.
Dinner in Delmar, NY.
White-bean chili with ground chicken. Clementine pieces. Holiday nuts to crack at the kitchen table. Cracker Barrel cheese and a supermarket's cheddar. Cranberry juice. Their new dog, Rusty, nosing around in search of scraps. Warm, safe, and happy on a snowy evening, one could hardly ask for anything more. But the drive wasn't over yet. Chili returned at breakfast at my request, though exhausted from a 20-hour day, I'm sad to say I slept till noon Monday.
Baby stalled in the driveway but we got her going again pretty quick (one more repair on my ever-elastic list. Won't this car ever just run?) and headed out. We opted to go over the mountains and forgo the rest of the toll road that would lead us down to Springfield, MA and from there up I-93. As we marched up and down and up and down steep hills that I hadn't seen in a very long time, I began to notice all the empty farmstands by the road as soon as we left Troy, NY. These farmstands, I knew, would be occupied all during the warmer months of the year and many small farmsteads had signs by the road saying that not only were they open, but still selling local meats, eggs, and some produce and cheeses. I felt happy and proud to understand the landscape in this way, to see the patchwork family farms of eastern NY and all of VT as less than a quaint novelty (as I had seen it in childhood) and more as a diverse and counter culture to the big agri-businesses of the Midwest. This was a significant shift in thinking.
The drive took us at a steady 55mph around some frightening hairpin turns with zero shoulder and even less room for error. We crested a rise with a Scenic Lookout somewhere east of the Appalachian Trail (I had promised myself I'd pickup any hikers if I saw them, and drop them off at the nearest town, and so had made an effort to know when we'd be crossing paths with the Trail) and I cried to Emmy, "Be my eyes, darling! See for me!" (Something I'd begun to say in Cleveland and repeated several times over the course of the trip, usually as I was white-knuckled and staring down the road ahead like a professional race-car driver, so at least one of us would get to see the view.)
Keene, NH. My college town. I knew the place by heart, since I'd walked most of it.
Prime Roast, coffee.
E: It's A Bloody White-Out. White chocolate, expresso, raspberry flavoring. Reminded Emmy of specialty chocolate and me of care-free days strolling down Main St and looking into the shop windows at trinkets I couldn't afford.
K: Fast White Banana. I substituted white chocolate for dark here, mostly because I figure that if bananas taste good dipped in chocolate fountains, why not covered in chocolate and whizzed with expresso? Again, a college favorite. The place has always featured local arts and crafts and has an excellent atmosphere.
By now it was dark, so we hiked all the way back to place we'd left the car and our dinner order, Athens Pizza. There is no better pizza joint in the world and I'm prepared to hike Monadnock in an Athens t-shirt to prove it. I already knew what to order so everything was waiting by the time we got back.
The familiar smells and sounds of college wafted back over me. Workers chatting over their stations, the hostess greeting everyone with a big smile, and the owner coming out in his apron to talk to a couple of older patrons seated not far from us about some goings-on in town. Bathrooms clean and immaculate, food swiftly and deliciously prepared, and TV's on, but thankfully muted, carried the news.
Athens Pizza, ie, the best food ever.
Steak and cheese 12-inch sub. Just cheese and meat, no mayo or onions. I must resign myself that every other steak&cheese I ever eat will simply be inferior to this one. I can't tell you what it is, time, love, or spices, but Holy Cow, does it ever work.
Garlic bread, with cheese. Between the two of us, Emmy and I ate all but one square of the garlic bread, including each and every stray bit of steak that escaped the sub bun. It was all so good I think I might recomend a visit from the "Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives" TV show. This place is certainly worthy of mention.
Athens, I don't know what your secret ingredient is, but don't ever change. This restaurant currently sits in my place of highest and most esteemed praise.
That being said, the rest of the drive was a cinche and we arrived in time to sample the rest of Dad's home-made mac&cheese w/ bread-crumb topping. Yum.
Food book-ends our travels together; snacks to help us on the road, and dinner waiting on a kitchen table, the lights of which stream out from the windows, all yellow and golden, and beckon us ever onward. Ever home.
Kim & Emmy
After Emmy arrived home from work at 9:30pm on Saturday night we bundled ourselves and our gear into Baby (my '96 Toyota) and hit the road by midnight. As a night-shifter, I drove the 7.5 hours down to Cleveland, OH by myself, in the dark. For the ride we had what was left over from our apples, clementines, and sandwhich fixings to tide us over. We switched drivers on the East-bound side of Cleveland (I'm better in high-traffic situations) and I proceeded to get some shut-eye.
Not much shut-eye, as it happened. Turns out, I can't sleep in the car, at least in Baby, who rattles a bit in the wind and as a 1996 model, wasn't exactly designed with sleeping comfort in mind. A pillow and a blanket did nothing to help. I woke up about 1.5 hours later to discover that I had missed PA entirely, and we were now entering south-western NY. I just couldn't sleep any more. The weather was getting flurried and we were approaching Buffalo, so I took over driving once again.
Hungry and past caring about the travel budget I suggested simply plugging in the city and selecting what ever restaurant appeared first that sounded interesting. Well, after driving through sudden deep (lake-effect) snow, a harbor, an industrial complex, a sleek business center, and past an enormous rolling graveyard, we failed to find the restaurant Annie (my rather stupid and three-years-out-of-date GPS interface) had attempted to direct us to. I turned Annie off and we just cruised around until I spotted a place that looked likely to serve a decently priced lunch that wouldn't be made of burger or fries.
What ended up catching my eye was Tokyo II. I wanted Indian food, but Emmy protested on the grounds that we still had 9 hours or so more to drive and she didn't want to have a stomach emergency half-way to Albany. Japanese, and the thought of stopping along the highway with naught but the roll of emergency toilet paper tucked away somewhere in the region of the backseat for comfort quickly won me over.
Emmy's meal:
Green tea. I had my doubts, but it was really good. Loose-leaf, perfectly brewed. Rich yellow-green color, full-bodied, slightly nutty flavor which was reminicent of sunflower seeds. I'd guess a Chinese green from the nuttiness, but don't quote me on that. I could drink a whole pot of this.
Harumaki. Tip-of-the-tongue spicy. Slightly eggy outside, tender chicken & greens inside. Nice w/ the sweet sauce as a side, but I prefered it by itself. Parsley & M.Cherry garnish. (Needless to say E ate both of the garnishes, she's adorable like that.)
Kim's meal:
Chicken teriyaki. Unlike my last chicken teriyaki in almost every respect (that was the Traveler's Hearth, as you recall). This one was juicy (not dry), decently flavored, with most of the sauce available on the side for dipping at my leisure. Sticky white rice was also in evidence, a fact I quite happily enjoyed. My side was miso soup, of a rather thick broth and very tiny tofu chunks. When I was young I usually ate the broth and avoided everything else. But my hunger and adult palette pushed me to eat everything in the bowl, which I did. It was also delicious, and nothing was over-salted. A miracle today. Warm and hearty with the affore-mentioned green tea, we had an excellent, quiet lunch. (They do chef-prepared meals at the table, too, in case you ever want to check it out for yourself.)
Onward we went. I had made a phone call to some family by Albany and so our drive across New York in the blinding snow was made better by knowing that comfortable beds were 4 hours closer than they had previously been. My Aunt & Uncle served us food and we compensated for the short notice by sharing our special WI products I mentioned in the previous post.
Dinner in Delmar, NY.
White-bean chili with ground chicken. Clementine pieces. Holiday nuts to crack at the kitchen table. Cracker Barrel cheese and a supermarket's cheddar. Cranberry juice. Their new dog, Rusty, nosing around in search of scraps. Warm, safe, and happy on a snowy evening, one could hardly ask for anything more. But the drive wasn't over yet. Chili returned at breakfast at my request, though exhausted from a 20-hour day, I'm sad to say I slept till noon Monday.
Baby stalled in the driveway but we got her going again pretty quick (one more repair on my ever-elastic list. Won't this car ever just run?) and headed out. We opted to go over the mountains and forgo the rest of the toll road that would lead us down to Springfield, MA and from there up I-93. As we marched up and down and up and down steep hills that I hadn't seen in a very long time, I began to notice all the empty farmstands by the road as soon as we left Troy, NY. These farmstands, I knew, would be occupied all during the warmer months of the year and many small farmsteads had signs by the road saying that not only were they open, but still selling local meats, eggs, and some produce and cheeses. I felt happy and proud to understand the landscape in this way, to see the patchwork family farms of eastern NY and all of VT as less than a quaint novelty (as I had seen it in childhood) and more as a diverse and counter culture to the big agri-businesses of the Midwest. This was a significant shift in thinking.
The drive took us at a steady 55mph around some frightening hairpin turns with zero shoulder and even less room for error. We crested a rise with a Scenic Lookout somewhere east of the Appalachian Trail (I had promised myself I'd pickup any hikers if I saw them, and drop them off at the nearest town, and so had made an effort to know when we'd be crossing paths with the Trail) and I cried to Emmy, "Be my eyes, darling! See for me!" (Something I'd begun to say in Cleveland and repeated several times over the course of the trip, usually as I was white-knuckled and staring down the road ahead like a professional race-car driver, so at least one of us would get to see the view.)
Keene, NH. My college town. I knew the place by heart, since I'd walked most of it.
Prime Roast, coffee.
E: It's A Bloody White-Out. White chocolate, expresso, raspberry flavoring. Reminded Emmy of specialty chocolate and me of care-free days strolling down Main St and looking into the shop windows at trinkets I couldn't afford.
K: Fast White Banana. I substituted white chocolate for dark here, mostly because I figure that if bananas taste good dipped in chocolate fountains, why not covered in chocolate and whizzed with expresso? Again, a college favorite. The place has always featured local arts and crafts and has an excellent atmosphere.
By now it was dark, so we hiked all the way back to place we'd left the car and our dinner order, Athens Pizza. There is no better pizza joint in the world and I'm prepared to hike Monadnock in an Athens t-shirt to prove it. I already knew what to order so everything was waiting by the time we got back.
The familiar smells and sounds of college wafted back over me. Workers chatting over their stations, the hostess greeting everyone with a big smile, and the owner coming out in his apron to talk to a couple of older patrons seated not far from us about some goings-on in town. Bathrooms clean and immaculate, food swiftly and deliciously prepared, and TV's on, but thankfully muted, carried the news.
Athens Pizza, ie, the best food ever.
Steak and cheese 12-inch sub. Just cheese and meat, no mayo or onions. I must resign myself that every other steak&cheese I ever eat will simply be inferior to this one. I can't tell you what it is, time, love, or spices, but Holy Cow, does it ever work.
Garlic bread, with cheese. Between the two of us, Emmy and I ate all but one square of the garlic bread, including each and every stray bit of steak that escaped the sub bun. It was all so good I think I might recomend a visit from the "Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives" TV show. This place is certainly worthy of mention.
Athens, I don't know what your secret ingredient is, but don't ever change. This restaurant currently sits in my place of highest and most esteemed praise.
That being said, the rest of the drive was a cinche and we arrived in time to sample the rest of Dad's home-made mac&cheese w/ bread-crumb topping. Yum.
Food book-ends our travels together; snacks to help us on the road, and dinner waiting on a kitchen table, the lights of which stream out from the windows, all yellow and golden, and beckon us ever onward. Ever home.
Kim & Emmy
I remember Athens pizza! It was damn good. However if you have an open mind I'd love to point you to Elvio's pizza in Lincoln. I think both their regular NY style pizza and their Sicilian pizza is heaven on a plate. I prefer the Sicilian. :D
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