True Story but funny, too

My family has been in the restaurant business on all sides, front men, waiters, waitresses, bartenders, chefs, restaurateurs, you name it. One day, my mother was waiting on a business man who was telling her how wonderful it was to eat off of plates with real silverware.

Curious, my mother asked him, "How do you normally eat at home?" And he replied,

"At home, it's just me. So, I eat everything off of a napkin that I put on top of the table. If I make a quick egg, I put it on some bread for an egg sandwich. If I have a steak, or veggies, I just double up on the napkin, use a placemat, and don't bother with plates. For breakfast, lunch and dinner, if I'm eating at home, I just use my napkin method. It saves on washing up."

He looked at my mother and then said with a straight face, "It's kind of tough when I have soup, but I manage."

True story. The Lobster Place Mat blog reminded me of this story because Rose eats everything off of placemats. Hey, it saves on dishes but it's hell when she serves soup. ;-)

Azure Cafe, Freeport Maine

Kim and I have eaten at some pretty good restaurants in Maine, specifically in Bar Harbor. On this trip, the best place I ate was the Azure Cafe in Freeport. It was delightful.

Azure Cafe
123 Main Street
Freeport, Maine
Phone: (207) 865-1237

They have their own bubbly water. How cute is that?


These were some great fish cakes. On a fish cake you can either go with the barely held together cake crammed with crab or fish or you can go with the fried to golden crisp cake crammed with cake and fish. These were like round, flat croquettes and very pleasing.


When they say house salad, they really mean house. This was a very beautiful and small salad but I was glad it wasn't that large because after the fish cakes and my first sidecar, I was full. The lounge waitress and bartender was very good at listening to direction. My first sidecar was good but my second was great.


For the main(e) course, I had risotto. Now, as you know, I like my risotto creamy. I don't know why but this risotto was extremely al dente. I do like my risotto al dente and make it that way but I do not like it dry. The top part of this risotto verged on dry. I do like my risotto all'onda and it has to be made with arborio rice. The flavor was good though and this looks fine.


Finally, I had a good cannoli with pistachio sprinkled on top. As you can see, the ricotta cheese is homemade and it is very loose. However, loose or no, this tasted very good. It didn't taste like the traditional ricotta I grew up with or made but it was still good.

Love in a Mist

While I was in Kittery, Maine, I visited a store and met the woman who makes Love in a Mist. It's a very nice spray. What's interesting about this spray is that it has shells and gems in it. Now that's unique. The one that I have is Emerge-n-see with king helmet conch and pink calcite in it, besides other ingredients. Very nice. I sprayed some in the office, basically on Kim, and it has added a lovely smell to the office.

LOVE IN A MIST
PO BOX 4222
PORTSMOUTH NH 03802
Phone: 603-431-1355

It has a rosewater base. I love rosewater and this has inspired me to get food grade rosewater and make not only ice cream but confections with it. I may even make a bar.

I'll be getting to the reviews and techniques in a few minutes.