Eastern Wood-Pewee

 

Eastern Wood-Pewee on the CVRT (Sept 2024)

Salt Point Brewery

 

Located not far from Cayuga Lake and Ithaca, this popular brewery utilizes the outdoor setting as well as local farmers and producers for its craft food and beer. The snack board, a modified charcuterie, is a mixture of local cheeses, olives, seeds, dried fruit, and cured meats. Even though we chose the Margherita, the wood-fired sourdough pizzas are interesting and unique. (For example, the pizza special on the night we were there was a peach and pork belly pizza.) For dessert, we had the excellent Nutella burdino, which immediately demanded a recipe search.

Uncle Hazy IPA

My beer of choice was Uncle Hazy IPA (6.5% ABV), definitely hazy with a slight bitter edge. I liked it enough to take a 4-pack home.

Nutella budino

The atmosphere is lively and convivial, making it difficult, especially on a Friday evening, to find a seat to have dinner.

Address: Salt Point Brewery, 6 Louise Bement Ln, Lansing, NY 14882

 

The Lochside Hotel (Islay)

 

The Lochside Hotel in Bowmore, Isle of Islay

Established in 1884, the Lochside Hotel is a quaint and comfortable place to stay on Islay. Although the rooms are small, and the hallways narrow, this is certainly by the standards of a 21st-century traveler. The dining room and bar are cozy and convivial, with a whisky menu that contains virtually all the products of local distilleries, including those with eye-watering prices.

Room 6

BRLO (Berlin)

 

Nursing a Blurred Vision IPA for a few extra minutes of enjoying pleasant, if not threatening, weather. A sparrow is trying to manage and protect a huge chunk of bread, but rivals make that job increasingly difficult. Many people are sneezing because of the high pollen levels.

Pulled kikok chicken sandwich with red cabbage-tomato salsa, beetroot yogurt, and roasted onions. BRLO Blurry Vision Hazy IPA.

Tapeo Gràcia

Sometimes, among friends, restaurants achieve a mythic status based upon the experience rather than the food. Of course, excellent food can help bolster one’s impression of a restaurant as well. Located on a nondescript street, behind the doors of an inauspicious building, Tapeo Gràcia is a warm and invitingly small dining area. Without a reservation, or eating by myself, I am frequently relegated to the bar, which is great as well. I can watch both the bartenders and cooks prepare meals for cheerful and expectant guests.  

I have fond memories of finding the restaurant after Sally, Niel, and I wandered the narrow streets of the Gràcia neighborhood of Barcelona for seemingly an hour. There are so many choices about where to eat, and it is difficult to decipher which ones are merely interesting from those that might have good food as well. The first time we stumbled into Tapeo, we thought we hit the jackpot. The following year, we attempted to retrace our steps, all of us forgetting the restaurant’s name. Just as we were about to give up, and Sally said, “the next decent restaurant,” as if by magic, we turned the corner and there was Tapeo.

I have had many good meals in Barcelona, but Tapeo remains my favorite. Without a doubt, it has interesting food and good drinks. But the ambiance and vitality of the restaurant makes it a fun place to visit.

 

May 2024 dinner:

Espárragos tempura con romesco ligero (Tempura Asparagus with Romesco sauce) 

Pan de coca con tomate (Coca bread with Tomato) 

Huevos estrellados con jamón ibérico de bellota (Broken Eggs with Iberian Ham, Bellota refers to free-range, acorn-fed ham, aged for over two years)  

 

An Incident at Barcelona Aeropuerto

As we approached security, a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair and silver-rimmed glasses was stopped and told that he was not allowed to take a luggage cart through. It was crowded and he was trying to hurry. When he took one bag off, another fell to the ground. His wife screamed, walked over, and kicked him so hard that the security guards instinctively moved to intervene. The man turned and took the luggage cart away. But everyone who saw it was stunned into an awkward silence.

Taquerio (Mystic, Connecticut)

 Located in a former gas station, it is perhaps our favorite taco place on the planet(?). Last visited: April 2024.

Al Pastor, Salmon Taco, and Pollo Verde

Address: 30 Broadway Ave, Mystic, CT