Oysters - A Personal Introduction

Dan's View

I don't recall the first time that I was introduced to the oyster.  Most likely it was sometime during my late teens when all sorts of passions were being awakened in me.  What I do remember is that when the meat of that first bivalve mollusk met my tongue, and it began interpreting the tastes it was sensing...well, it was love at first slurp.  My early experiences sampling oysters were rather limited and infrequent, since I was from midwest stock; born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago.  It also was generally not the standard fare for a young guy in the 1980's (pizza was the dominant attraction in those days).

A half dozen Pleasant Bay oysters

It was only after moving to Northern Virginia that I became an oyster connoisseur-in-training. The favorite watering hole for Cathy and me was Hank's Oyster Bar, located in historic Old Town Alexandria.  The primary attraction to Hank's -- besides the excellent seafood fare -- was their oyster happy hour, during which you can order three varieties of oysters at a buck apiece (the normal price is $2 per oyster).  There are large blackboards in the front and back of the restaurant, which have the night's six oyster selections scribbled on them.  Generally there are 3 from the east coast and 3 from the west coast (more on this east coast/west coast distinction later).  And 3 of the 6 options are happy hour oysters (indicated with an asterisk). When the server describes the different oysters to patrons, it is much akin to describing the characteristics of wines.  But instead of body, complexity, and fruitiness they are described in terms of brininess, creaminess, and mineral qualities.  Interestingly though both have a 'finish' attribute.

I loved living in the DC area.  I am a history buff -- especially American Revolution and Civil War history --  and enjoyed the many museums, memorials, and battlefields that were readily available to us. It should be no surprise then that I was more than a little apprehensive at the thought of relocating to Ann Arbor.  On top of that, we would be relocating to the Midwest where alas, we would be far from either coast and therefore likely to be living in an oyster-free zone -- or best case, much less opportunity and selection available.  Happily I was proven wrong.  Ann Arbor happens to be a cultural and culinary gem, and the availability and variety of oysters is plentiful -- both at area restaurants and local (and most excellent) fish markets.  I miss Hank's, but we can always go back to visit.  Oysters are a passion of mine, so I will have more to say on this subject later.

The end...of the beginning. 

Pegasus -- Greek food on the fly

Cathy and I had a very busy weekend in the Chicago area, but it was time to head back to Ann Arbor.  Only one problem: we hadn't eaten since 9:00am and it was after 1:30pm.  We were in the northern suburbs and flirted with the idea of stopping at one of a couple sushi restaurants we had patronized in the past.  Sushi Kushi is in Lake Forest, and Fujiyama is in Northbrook.  Both are on our way south, but neither one was open at that hour as it turned out.  With it getting later and later, and almost 5 hours of driving ahead of us, I started driving on I94 towards Chicago, while -- Cathy iPhone in hand -- started searching for restaurants along the way that were close to the highway.  She suggested somewhere in Greektown.  It sounded good to me, so when we got down to the Chicago Loop, I pulled off at Adams St., parked around Monroe and Green  ($3.50 for two hours on the street), and we walked down Halsted to find a place to eat.  We chose Pegasus.  By the time we got there, it was around 2:30pm so the place was pretty empty.

Spanakopita

Dan's View
After being seated, we were brought a loaf of wheat bread (olive oil was on the table), the slices way too thick; bread too dense.  I was feeling achy, and tired (mostly from not eating) and didn't take time to peruse the menu, so I missed reading about their meat and seafood dishes.  Instead, I got the Spanakopita -- classified under Greek Specialties on the menu.  It was good, with thin and crisp layers of filo dough, and fresh spinach and feta cheese interior.  There was also a visible presence of egg which I never noticed before when ordering 'spinach pie'.

Avgolemono

I also ordered the Avgolemono, a lemon chicken and rice soup with a rich and creamy broth that turned out to be a very good choice to ward away my achiness.  It came with a slice of lemon, which if used would have been overkill.  Had I known my entree came with rice, I probably would have ordered something else as a main dish.

Our server was friendly, interested in where we were headed on our trip.  No alcohol for me, as I was driving. I wouldn't mind returning again, if for no other reason than to take my time reading the menu offerings and trying something a little more 'exotic'.

Cathy's view
Starved and desperate, we went to the first near the highway and first near parking. It was FINE. We had minimal time and at least I had low expectations. I love the Athenian Room for lunch Greek Food, but it was out of the way. I had gyros for things expeditious and they were fine, but not good.

Wings, Beer and Conversation

I drove to Chicago last Thursday night for a day of meetings on Friday at my office and to go to a couple of parties on Saturday with Cathy (she took the train in Saturday morning -- not a pleasant experience for her that she may describe in a future post).  While in town, I contacted my friend Jeff, who I've known for over 20 years.  Jeff and I have worked at three different companies together and have shared some tough times with each other.  In the distant past, we use to meet for drinks and appetizers at a local microbrewery, but that ended up closing a few years back.  We found a new place for libations that seemed to be equidistant to his office and mine -- Hooters.  We have continued to meet there a couple times a year, despite a near-death experience I had there once.  While Jeff was 'freshening up', a ceiling fan above our table came crashing down, clipping our table, and missing my head by inches -- seriously.

Hooters.  What can I say? They are known for their wings, but they are also known for their breasts, legs, and thighs -- but those are not on the menu.  I don't know exactly how to classify this restaurant.  Not quite a bar and grill, not really a sports bar, and not very family-oriented.  And yet, Hooters is trying to be all three.  The demographics on this particular night were mostly male 30-somethings, some young couples, a few 40-something groups of women, and two or three families with young children (I found this a little bizarre).

In general I have not been impressed with the servers there -- it seems policy to grow your hair long, dye and straighten it, and wear a ton of unnecessary make-up.  That is in addition to wearing the required 'uniform'.  When being waited on, my experience has been that the women feign friendliness, but in actuality are standoffish and a bit resentful.  This time, however, our server was very pleasant and accommodating.

As for the food and drink, I've only had their beer and wings so I'll focus on those.  You can order the wings in 5, 10, 20, and 50 piece batches -- bone in or boneless.  And you can order the wings hot, 3-mile island, or 9-1-1 each in increasing hotness.  I've tried all three.  Hot is not hot at all, in my opinion; only slightly spicy.  There doesn't seem to be much difference between the hotter and hottest versions.  They are good, but not great, containing too much breading and not enough variation in flavor of the Tabasco-based hot sauce.  What really irks me is that sides of celery, ranch, and blue cheese dressing are happily served to you at an additional charge.  The draft beers appear to be restricted to boring choices such as Miller Lite.  I prefer full bodied beers with complex flavors, so I was sadly disappointed.

With such a mediocre review, why do I go there?  Well, let's just say I am more interested in catching up with a dear friend.

Salt of the Earth -- or is it heaven?

Our experience with Kingsley House was what prompted this blog. We realized that had we plowed through a bunch of reviews we might not have actually gone there. Or we might have gone with the predominate review that it was lovely. What we really needed to know is more about the reviewers and what they valued, not just a one-time post. What we've learned through review sites such as Yelp, is that a review really only means something when you know the reviewER. I think a lot about sushi reviews: "we love the California roll." It might really be a great California roll, but that pretty much tells me they aren't really into FISH. We saw a lot of good reviews for Kingsley House, but realized a lot of the reviews might not have ever stayed at another B&B or knew what to expect for the relative price.

Our big find out of choosing Kingsley was Salt of the Earth. And both the not quite so great experience of Kingsley coupled with the AWESOME experience at Salt of the Earth prompted us to start blogging. Well, and because I stumbled on this great blog that made me thing we had something to add to the conversation that could ultimately help other people make the best choices for themselves and their own tastes.

So on to the discussion of "Salt."

Cathy's View
Wow.  And it's hard to get that out of me for a restaurant.

We arrived at our B&B a bit early for check-in at 4. (Seriously only 5 minutes, but we couldn't. Seriously? Well, see our comments on Kingsley House.) We went into "town" to get some cheese and crackers as we chilled before dinner. It isn't much of a town and we were a little worried that we might have made some not-great choices in where to stay near Saugatuck because this town was at least 20 minutes away. With a bit of Kraft cheddar and crackers (;-() we went back to check in and settle in. We reviewed the suggested places for dinner looking for something appealing. Nothing appeared worth a longish drive after a Really Long Drive. Dan went to the main living area and saw a bunch of menus, including "Salt." We looked it up and thought FINE, it's a four-block walk and doesn't look bad; let's try it if only to minimize the travel time when we were tired.

Wow.

The ambiance is a weird combination of former warehouse and warmly artsy. We were seated promptly and had a wonderfully nice wait person. The menu was wonderfully inventive and we had a hard time choosing. Dan loves pizza (me not-so-much) and I thought the appetizers looked fantastic. Dan also wanted their special apple-beet soup so we ended up getting a kind of smorgasbord of their offerings.

While waiting, they offered their home-baked breads. They were fantastic: a white sourdough that clearly had a long-lived starter because of the depth of flavor and a wonderful wheat that made the bread baker I am envious of the talent. As you can see, they are served with ground salt and pepper and a wonderful butter. Beyond good. Next up was the apple-beet soup with a garnish of nuts and cheese. It was a delightful borscht-ish soup lightened by the apple flavor.

I also had a portion of the roasted sweet onion gratin, which was like the best of a artichoke dip but with roasted onions. I will say this is best eaten in moderation.

The biggest WOW were the Brussels Sprouts. I'll let Dan take over from here. Suffice it from me, it's worth traveling here JUST for the Brussels Sprouts. No we don't have a picture, they were gone too fast.

Dan's View

We had driven for 3+ hours, checked in to Kingsley House (see the Kingsley House post for THAT experience) after a hectic morning of packing and getting the dogs situated while we were gone, so neither Cathy nor I were in the mood to drive far for dinner (Saugatuck was actually about 15-20 minutes away).  The 'places to eat' binder in the room didn't help -- especially since we had use the binder in concert with web searches to confirm hours, distance, and reviews.  Nothing looked good.  I went to the parlour in the Kingsley house for some ice and water, and noticed a menu on the dining room table for a few other places...one of which was S.O.T.E.  It looked promising, and was walking distance from our lodging -- a real plus, since I felt like having more than one beer.  Also, we had to go to the local grocery store for a few things, so we had seen the exterior of the restaurant and it looked inviting.

Cathy has already described the interior so I won't repeat it.  We ordered a few things from the menu -- roasted sweet onion gratin, beet soup, whole hog pizza (this was mine alone), and the fried  Brussels.  Way too much food!  I enjoyed the first three items listed, but the last item -- the sprouts -- were unique.  I've prepared Brussels sprouts in many different ways, but I've never seen them prepared like this.  They were a mix of soft and crisp, and seemed to lose good deal of their weight.  The balsamic vinaigrette that they were tossed in eliminate most of the bitterness.  I found myself wanting for more after they had been devoured by us.  This dish alone made me want to return the next night for another go.

And we did return the next night.  While Friday was more serene and less crowded, Saturday was noisy and  packed.  We had to wait at the bar, but soon struck up conversation with fellow barsitters.  Dinner was excellent again, although we seemed to rush through it for some reason.  Cathy had the hanger steak (really tasty, served on the rare side) while I had the chicken bolognese.

I have to mention the bread that Cathy already discussed.  It was a phenomenal sourdough that had a firm crust, but soft, moist interior with large air pockets.  The butter (locally churned) was a great addition.  I remember our server telling us the bread is made nightly by a mother/daughter team.  I found out later that you can buy the bread in loaves at some area stores.

Postscript: walking back from S.O.T.E. on the Saturday night, the sky was magnificently free from city glow.  I don't think I've seen stars with such brilliance and in such abundance since the mid 90's when I was in northern Wisconsin.  What a treat that was.

Shalimar -- not just your mother's formerly favorite perfume

Cathy's view
We really like Indian food and eat here pretty frequently. We love that they make sure with every order it's made to your specific heat tolerance. Mine's pretty high, but at Shalimar it's a medium Dan's is fierce -- "hot."

The lunch special is really great. (It doesn't come with raita, but we always add it.) Specials include a choice of appetizers. I usually get the veggie samosa even though I'm not really that big into samosas. Dan usually gets the lentil soup, which is really nice. I'm a big fan of the Navrattan Korma and Dan likes the Palak Paneer.

They offer a choice of 6-8 entrees from meaty and spicy ground lamb patties to veggie stews. Really good food that's diverse in flavor and plenty.

The service is fast at first, then typically dramatically drops off. We're not fast eaters, but we're normally done for 10-15 minutes before we can flag someone down for a check. Really, we want to pay! Please! Pretty please!

Kingsley House, or how I learned not to trust awards

Background
Since moving to Ann Arbor, our life has been running fast, fast, fast.  In fact, we've been in the fast lane ever since Cathy accepted the job of University of Michigan Law School.  We had about 2 weeks to find a place to live, pack all of our stuff, arrange transportation, move, and unpack -- all the while working at our current jobs.   We had time to spend with our families during the holidays which we really enjoyed, but that was equally frenetic.

Cathy's birthday was coming up in early February, so I wanted to plan a romantic night where we could relax -- actually decompress.  Since Valentine's Day was on the other side of her birthday, I decided on a full weekend at a bed & breakfast for the two of us somewhere between 3 and 5 hours driving distance from us.  We had previously enjoyed a bed and breakfast in Snow Hill Maryland (on our way to the Chincoteague Oysterfest), and in Lexington, Virginia for our honeymoon.  Great places, romantic rooms, large bath tubs, and delicious food.  What a great way to be pampered, right?

To find a suitable place, I turned to my good friend, Mr. Google, and spent some time researching bed & breakfasts in central and western Michigan.  I also looked on BedAndBreakfast.Com, which we had used to find the other places we've stayed at. Saugutuck sounded like a good location -- near the water, arts and craft stores, and restaurants.  Of the B&B's that I saw, Kingsley House looked like the perfect place!  A large, beautiful house with a large porch, nice rooms, and optional activities.  Most importantly, this B&B has one a bunch of awards -- Top 12 Bed and Breakfast Inn Worldwide, most prominently.

So I booked us a room -- the Cider Nook -- for two nights.


Cathy's View
Oh such a profoundly wonderful gift: time together, peace, food, romance. I'm going to write a lot more about the place specifics, but I want to start with this: it was SUCH a great weekend of relaxation and connection with my wonderful husband. We so needed the time off the gerbil wheel. I ADORE my job, which might be why I've been so immersed. So a weekend away in a wonderful location was awesome.

Kingsley House wasn't what they said it would be, nor were the proprietors up to the task. We LOVE B&Bs; we wanted to love you. But we kind of think it would be easy to live up to your room rates and make people want to return -- or even send your post cards to others offering them a (small) discount. More on this later.

Part of the charm of a B&B for us is the luxurious things we don't have in our daily lives. Like great bathtubs. Or fireplaces. Or charming locations. Kingsley advertises being in Saugatuk, but it's really 20 minutes away. That's not so bad that they couldn't just say so, especially because there are lots of good things where it is located, like the wonderful Salt of the Earth restaurant. (You will hear more about Salt from us soon!) Kingsley is great at marketing, not so great at delivering. We made a list. It's long:

• Really, regrout. We're paying a lot for the big tub; keep it clean, up to date and completely functional. Those cracks in the base? ugh.
• If you MUST put up signs in the bathroom about how to run the functions and when, please make them either freshly printed/laminated or framed.
• Really, you couldn't have more than one mini soap? Or a fresh one the second day?
• The room cost more than $250 a night and caters to those looking for a romantic weekend. It's nice that you provide wine glasses. Couldn't you offer us fresh ones the second night?
• We were in the basement room, once a wine cellar. So I can understand why you don't have plush carpeting, rather a stock basementy thing. But really, why not a rug so it didn't FEEL like a basement?
• It's a romantic place, remember? But we're expected to leave between 9:30 and noon for room cleaning. Oh Kay.
• We've stayed in a lot of B&Bs and were excited by the marketing of a "full, hot breakfast." In our experience, this has meant we're in for some goodies. Notsomuch. I would have rather eaten almost anywhere else. 
• The host was very cold. I hated being invited into the house only to PAY FIRST. Really? Coffee? Or Idunno, maybe at the end of the stay like every other place I've ever stayed? We never even saw the host spouse.
• That said, the assistant hostess was AWESOME. So friendly, helpful and kind. You made our stay for us!
• So much more, feeling too negative.

Bottom line, we relaxed, we enjoyed. We would have thought this was a wonderful place at a fraction of the price. It just was not at all what they are charging for it. If you want to buy a great room even when you want to splurge, it's not here. BTW, when we saw the post card to send to someone offering a discount, we thought of a few people. In the end, we would have been embarrassed to recommend the place, so the postcard was left in the room. I'm sure we weren't the first to leave it there.

But the area, awesome! GO!

Cafe Zola -- our first A2

Cathy's view
After a wonderful breakfast, some relaxation and a few chores, it was time for lunch. We try to mix it up on weekends. Our first meal in A2 was at Cafe Zola when we drove in to home hunt in September. It was a wonderful dinner. It happened to be parent's weekend (OMG) so restaurants were packed. PACKED! The next day (lacking imagination) we went back to Cafe Zola for breakfast before doing a bit more sightseeing on campus (newbies that we were) before leaving to go back to Virginia. Brunch was fantastic and because we were early (in A2 time) it was quiet and wonderful. The food is high quality and inventive without being avant garde. We had gone back after we moved here for a brunch and the food was wonderful, but the service was awful and the noise was basically hell.

So this past Sunday, we went back for lunch. It was crowded, but not like in the past -- it is winter break. We had to still wait a bit in a crowd, but were soon offered a bar seat. We thought it was just a compromise, but ended up a great choice for service and comfortable seating. I ordered the lobster salad in an avocado. Oh my.

Good.
Seriously.

First, you must know that I dislike mayonnaise. OK everyone, I can see it's place, but I only care for it in great moderation. The binder was a wonderful mayo/terragon yumminess with capers both within and without. The avocado was sliced on the round half not only so that it sat unrolling on the plate, but also so that MORE lobster salad was there. In the end, it was a perfect balance between avocado, salad, capers and bibb lettuce. 

Coming back!

Dan's View
First off, they make a wicked Bloody Mary.  I had one on Sunday, and while it isn't the best one I've had (that honor assuredly goes to Two Nineteen Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, Va), but it runs a close second.  We were sitting at the bar, and the ingredients for this marvel were clearly posted on the wall...but I forgot to note them down (not happy). I can tell you that it had the usual (bloody mary mix, vodka, horseradish, hot sauce of some kind), but there was at least one other ingredient I can't recall.  It was garnished with celery, lemon and lime slices, and 2 olives (not keen on olives in a this brunch drink).  I had the Roasted Vegetable Salad -- perhaps not the best entree when accompanied with a Bloody Mary -- but it was very good, nevertheless.  Large pieces of roasted eggplant and roasted pepper with salad greens, tossed in a house-made Turkish vinaigrette. These flavors were complemented with the sweetness of beets and the sharpness of fresh goat cheese that literally melted in my mouth.  The bread is freshly baked and the butter (sweet herb) is local.  Yummy.

I like the atmosphere of Zola's -- decidedly Mediterranean -- the tall ceiling, and brick walls.  There is a unique chandelier near the hostess stand, comprised of a cluster of perhaps 30 or more incandescent light bulbs.  I didn't mind the noise level of the conversation as Cathy did on one occasion (although I should say that in general I find it difficult to talk with people when the noise level is excessive).

This was our fourth visit to Zola's, three of which were for breakfast/brunch.  While I don't recall the dinner experience very well (other than it was immensely crowded due to parent's weekend at UMich), I do know that we had the Turkish eggs one time -- oven baked, sunny side up, spinach, fresh feta cheese, etc.  I will definitely be ordering that again.  Did I mention the Turkish coffee?  Superb.  And refilled happily by your server.