Oktoberfest?

St. Benedict hosted Oktoberfest this weekend and we attended for the first time.

The Omm-pah band was in fine form.

Of course, there was the obligatory "Chicken Dance" which is aways fun to watch/ogle...

I liked the beer steins which were a combination of the traditional and the psychadelic.

We thoroughly enjoyed the potato pancakes.

However, the rest of the food/beer was disappointing. The food menu consisted of bratwurst, knockwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad, potato pancakes, pretzels, and Barvarian sandwiches (corned beef and Swiss with kraut).

That's it! I thought I was at Busch Gardens. We went with the brat, but really would have liked schnitzel or sauerbraten or something native to Germany that we had not tried in the past...

And while the festival did offer numerous microbrews (good from a locavore stance), they only had one German beer and it had sold out on Friday!

I could let the lack of German beer go. I'm not a beer fan, although I have occasionally been able to tolerate a hefeweizen. But the lack of a better offering of German food really depressed us. We will probably not be back. The "Chicken Dance" is not that big of an enticement.

We did drown our sorrows at Secco with a delicious glass of Schleret Pinot Blanc from Alsace. It's not German either, but closer to Germany than the Oktoberfest.

And Why Weren't You at the SOJ Market?

Mornings are now bearable again. The South of the James Market continues to offer a great variety of goods. Tomatoes are still available, but autumn veggies abound, too. And don't forget lettuce. As always, we picked up our fresh chicken from Ault's. It's on the grill as I type with a beer can shoved up it's butt. Yumminess to follow.

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Good food. Good times. Good Tastebuds!

Ah Tastebuds! You always treat us right. We get seated in a cosy little corner. Our waitress (she's waited on us several times, yet we don't know her name - shame on us) knows to let us settle in and peruse the cocktail list first - Ginger Pear Cooler and Sazerac this time. As we sip our cocktails (or throw them back depending on how good or bad the day has been) we review the menu - specials change up daily and the seasonal menu is starting to change. We also look at the wine list (short, but packed full of great, inexpensive offerings). We go for the 2008 Wildekrans Pinotage from South Africa.

And why did we choose this smokey, heavy, oh-so-good bottle? Especially since I am usually not a pinotage fan? Because our oh-so-good, but nameless waitress had raved about it on our last visit and let us sample it. Yummy!

We share a fried mozzarella ball stuffed with pancetta and nestled in a salad bed. Great crunch on the outside, melted cheese and pork inside.

The main course found me ordering the always good duck-leek spring roll served with a pear dipping sauce and cabbage-carrot slaw. Hubby had the salmon surrounded by succotash. Great, as always.

And then we splurged and had dessert. For me a blueberry cheesecake with lemon marmalade. Delightful. A square serving of cheesecake with blueberries at the bottom. This would have been delicious enough, but the lemon marmalade added both tartness and texture with just a hint of bitterness from the lemon peel. A wonderfully concocted dish. Hubby had peach and poppy seed ice cream scoops with chocolate slabs and chocolate fudge. The peach tasted like tradional homemade. The poppy seed scoop added texture (he thought if this was combined with lemon, it would be a great new ice cream). Tastebuds could have served just the chocolate slabs and he would have been happy because the chocolate was just that good!

Good food. Good times. Good Tastebuds!

Japanese Turnips at SOJ

Fertile Crescent Farm brought Japanese turnips yesterday at the South of the James Market and sold out of them (we bought the last bunch). Saunders Orchards had sweet and tasty Asian pears.

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Lunch at O'Tooles

We went to O'Tooles yesterday for lunch.

Hubby had Bass Ale while I had tea.

We both enjoyed Corned Beef and Swiss on Rye, Grilled and onion rings.

Simple, satisfying, good.

Remember the Alamo BBQ

Order window. Mis-matched outdoor seating. A wood pile. A smoker in the back intoxicating the neighborhood. Trophies in the window. A long line to request food.

Alamo BBQ - Why didn't we visit you sooner?

Goodness walks out of this door.

Look at the pulled pork BBQ with slaw.

Sauce - not too sweet with the right touch of heat. Meat smoked to perfection.

Texas caviar.

Tacos - one with pulled pork and one with beef brisket topped with slaw and Texas caviar.

Wash it down with a limeade.

YOU MUST GO!

I'd Like To Be A Restaurant

Any takers?

Happened upon in Church Hill.

The Reason My Hubby Took Me Out To Eat

Last week my husband emailed me an hour before quittin' time about taking me out to eat. My paycheck usually goes to the eating and dining aspects of this marriage, so I pounced on the opportunity. We decided to check out Stronghill Dining Co.

Back in the Spring we had enjoyed brunch at the place, but had never gone for dinner. And I had just read that the dinner menu had changed up to feature small plates and more sandwiches.

While the food part of the menu had scaled back in the financial department, the wine list had yet to catch up. Very few offerings under $35 with plenty hitting the $50 or higher range. We did come across a 2006 Truchard Cabernet Franc that pleased us, however.

As for food, we wanted to order all of the small plates.  Since this was definitely not an option and the wine was hearty, we both opted for the Magnus Burger - ground beef and pork topped with Manchego cheese and accompanied by a side. I had the garlic-rosemary fries and he had the white cheddar tater tots. The burger was dense and had the texture of a hamburger steak. The pork also gave off the tiniest essence of bacon (yummy!). The bun was a bit dry, though. The fries were hand cut and hinted at garlic and rosemary. And while good for fries, I expected more flavor based on the description. The tater tots began with a brief taste of cheddar which increased as the fried morsels cooled. Soft and mashed potatoey on the inside; fried and crunchy on the outside. Definitely, not your run-of-the-mill tot.

We had a good time. The bar sported all women on this evening and I admired the range of tatoos. One lady wore a black strapless top. Her neck displayed a rose and vine tatooed necklace that was divine. This art work makes me proud to live in the 3rd most tatooed city.

And the reason why? So, I would agree to make a dish at home that I had refused to make in the past: Chipped Beef on Toast.

Don't get me wrong. I love gravy and order open-faced roast beef or turkey sandwiches at various diners. But, my hubby wanted me to make the army-type SOS stuff using this:

He even bought me a jar and brought it home. So, I caved. I used a recipe from Saveur as my base. I had not made a milk/cream gravy/sauce before. And, indeed, it turned out to be exactly what my hubby expected.

We ate it. He enjoyed it. But, of course, the beef was way too processed and way too salty. I kept thinking that this sauce would be excellent with leftover roasted turkey (Thanksgiving is coming up).

While the dish was a success, somewhat; I made damn sure the wine would be kick-ass. I had dropped by Vino Market for the B.R. Cohn tasting. While browsing, I asked Dave to pick me out a really good wine. He did not disappoint.

The 2006 Copain Thompson Syrah from Santa Barbara was divine. Dark purple inkiness and berriness and very hearty. While not inexpensive, definitely a great experience. Almost great enough to make me forget that I made SOS.

9/4 SOJ Photos

The promise of Fall is in the air. The South of the James Market was beautiful yesterday.

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