Entries from September 2009

September 28, 2009

Splurge-Worthy Dining

Sure. The definition of “splurge” has changed for many of us in recent months. But still there are, typically, two flavors of dining out. One: the casual “let’s go grab a bite” occasions or getting together with friends at a favorite spot. And two, those dinners out for which there’s prior planning, scouring web sites for critiques and [...]

September 25, 2009

In a Pittsburgh State of Mind

No, nothing about the G-20 summit here, though that gathering being in Pittsburgh this week gives me an ideal excuse to jump in the time machine and recount highlights from my trip to the city this time (in fact, this week) last year. It’s been on my to-blog list for, um, about 11 1/2 months now. About [...]

September 23, 2009

Luscious Lamb

I was chatting with the butcher at my neighborhood grocery store about lamb on a recent visit. I wanted to do a simple braise-stew but time was short, didn’t want to fiddle with trimming shoulder (blade) meat from the bone, nor rely on leaner leg steaks that are less unctuous for braising. He told me that some English [...]

September 19, 2009

Vancouver Island Trip: Part One

Which presumes I’ll actually get to the Part Two portion at some point…. I’ll do my best. But with a quiet Saturday morning sitting in my lovely large room at Inn at Laurel Point in Victoria, with the cry of seagulls and hum of float planes outside, I wanted to get at least part of the [...]