punkerdoo

 This is Halloween! This year I’ll admit I didn’t do as much preparation as I would have liked. We only returned home from DC on Sunday and I spent that time getting the dog’s costumes ready. Rikka is such a sport. We gave her the most annoying costume, which I think she handled very well.
After work we went to Sister’s house to greet trick-or-treaters. We received a total of maybe 10! What is with kids these days? When I was ten we spent every moment from after school till bedtime gathering as much candy as humanly possible. One year Mother made me throw out my leftover bounty because Easter was coming and I needed the room for more candy. Also, this year the average age of our mendicants was 47. What is 5 too young? Maybe your 5 year-old might see a Sponge Bob costume and turn to a life of drugs. Better play it safe. No sugar. No outside influences.
In the end it was all about my fortitude at the sewing machine, so that the four of us could appreciate the dog’s costumes.

 This past week our friends flew husband and I out to Washingtin DC for a visit. The impetus for this trip was attending the 14th Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza held by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America. This tasting was held at the JW Marriot Hotel in downtown DC. (which was concurrently hosting a US-China Reletion Conference, providing our good friend John the oppurtunity to urinate and later shake hands with George Bush Sr) I have had the occaisional scotch, but never have been a scotch drinker. I learned many things about scotch this night. I drank many an expensive scotch and had an absolutly wonderful time.
While the weather was not in our favor, we did manage to squeeze in a few hot tub sessions. On Friday night, a babysitter was called in and all the tall people went to eat tapas. We went to Las Tapas in the “Old Town” area of Alexandria. The restaurant as well as the area was seeping with atmosphere and the food was delicious. After which husband and I were right trounced at Rock-n-Roll Trivialogies.
As if all of this was not enough Georgia beat Florida on Saturday. Fun was had by all. Click the picture and see for yourself.

Sent from my iPhone

  Today husband and I went to the Taste of Atlanta. It is an exposition of Atlanta restaurants held at http://www.atlanticstation.com/home.php. The cost of ticket includes 10 taste coupons which you can use to sample offerings from various restaurants. We used our 20 as follows:

• New England Clam Chowder(3) – The Oceanaire Seafood Room – One of the best chowders I’ve eaten (they put ham in it)
• Citris & Tamarind Baby Back Ribs(3) – Roy’s – The meat was cooked perfectly and I enjoyed the sauce very much. This is the one place we vowed to search out.
• Pulled Pork Sandwich(3)- Lowcountry Barbeque – If we were giving our usual bbq review we would be a lot more harsh. Since the Q was in steam tables all day we will give them a nod for keeping the pig moist. They also get a nod for roastin’ (or givin’ the appearance of roastin’ a whole hog)
• Collard Greens(1) – OK Cafe – If all collards are this good I need to be eating them a lot more often.
• Pulled Pork Sandwich(3) – Jim ‘N Nick’s – There was a huge line. The smoke wafting was fantastic. The Q was dry & wanting of smokiness
• Tiger Shrimp Tempura(3) – Geisha House – Another long line. These were the worst thing we tried all day. They were fried popcorn shrimp. They had no resemblance to tempura and they were cold. We took a couple of bites threw the rest away.
• Gnocchi in Oxtail Ragu(2) – Dolce – Since Dolce is owned by the some group as Geisha House it is ironic that this was the best thing we tasted. Perhaps more suited to buffet-style serving than the shrimp, the gnocchi had wonderful texture and flavor.
• Banana & Nutella Crepe(1) – Cafe Intermezzo – Yummy! Crepes are gooood!
• Rosemary Popcorn(1) – dish – A perfect ending. We think this was made by rosemary infused oil and are going to try to make it at home.

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