Warrens Lobster House, Kittery, 9/26/07

In attendance, Mycroft, Moxie, Zeus, The Count, and Wasabi, and Solids.

We did it. We had to. It is required if you live on the seacoast to go to Warrens Lobster House. First of all we showed up on a Wed night at 7pm in the end of September and had to wait for over a hour for a table. It was really odd, it was not all old people as you would think. We were able to sit in the bar area and have a couple of drinks while we waited. Bonus, the mixed drinks came in pint glasses.

When were were seated at the table I think I should mention that on September 29th, there was a Christmas tree in the corner. It did not necessarily look like they were early for the decorations this year, just kinda, why take it down if we just have to put it back up in 11 months attitude.

So the giant lit sign says "Seacoast's Finest Salad Bar". We all got it with our meals. Someone has told Wabasi beforehand that the Salad bar was safe. It was safe. Everyone enjoyed it. Is it the "Seacoast's Finest Salad Bar"? I hope not. It is mainly generic salad bar stuff with Sysco type food on it, but since we have not been to any other salad bars in the seacoast, or know of any, i guess it is true (for now).

The meals were all fine. The count had Jambalaya that he liked. Zeus had the one entree under the "meatless" category, which was Ziti, and she said it was good. Solids had ribs. Wasabi said the mussels were good. Moxie enjoyed the chowder. Would we go back? I don't think we are in a rush to.

Thai Paradise, Portsmouth, 9/19/07

In attendance, Myroft, Moxie, Zeus, Solids, The Count, and Wasabi.

When asking around about Thai Paradise everyone seemed to say the same thing, the Pad Thai is awesome. That was the only information we had going into the restaurant. So in true movers fashion no one ordered the Pad Thai. It had some good points and some bad points and the general feeling is Meah. The first downer was that there was no bar. When eating this type of food I like to have a drink that has pink umbrella in it.

When I ordered my meal I asked for it spicy and the waiter asked how spicy, 1-5. I said 4 but quickly changed to 5 after a comment from Solids. It was good and spicy but I don't think it was a 5.

The food had fairly good flavor all around but no one expressed an super desire to return right away. Solids rated it a Meah-, Wasabi gave it four Monkeys and Zeus gave it 17/34.

catch up -

Working backward -

This past week we visited the newly renovated Los Cocos Tacos in Kittery - the food was flippin' awesome, as usual. In attendance: Mycroft, Moxie, and Wasabi. Wasabi had enchiladas verdes, Mycroft had chicken quesadilla (his comment: best thing on the menu) and enchilades moles (yes, two dinners) and Moxie ate four tacos! (she had been um, consuming on a previously empty stomache)(and she says the fish tacos are the best thing on the menu, so there.)

The previous week we enjoyed Tiki! in Rochester! Tiki in Rochester! This was also called China Palace. We ate in the fabulous booths in the restaurant area, which has a more generic glossy Asian theme than the Tiki bar part, although the Tiki drinks and Tiki food are available in both areas.

In attendance: Mycroft, Moxie, Zeus, & Solids. The evening began with the ordering of drinks, of course. On the left is pictured Solid's drink, a Headhunter. This was quickly voted "Best Tiki Drink of the evening" and was quickly ordered by Moxie as her second drink, after she sucked down her terrible Pink Flamingo.

The crab rangoons were the food highlight of the evening for Moxie and Mycroft, who voted them "Best Crab Rangoos in the Greater Seacoast Area". Seriously, they are very very good. A fresh mixture of crab and cream cheese in giant wontons. Solids began the evening with boneless spareribs and these were also very good - lighter and a bit less sticky than normal. Zeus began with spring rolls.

Pictured at right are all of our drinks, plus the totally awesome little fried things that you used to get in Chinese restaurants all the time but for some reason I haven't seen them lately (or maybe its a New York State v. New England thing).

Moxie and Mycroft both ordered badly. Basically, the got meat and vegetable and sauce dishes. Mycroft's had awesome wontons on top, which probably made it worth it. Moxie just ordered something she didn't recognize the name of. It was fine, it was decent, it was just home cooking with bland flavors. After several drinks and the good start of fried Chinese-ish food, it just didn't work. No fault of China Palace.

This blurry photo illustrated what was, entertainment-wise, the highlight of the evening. Solids ordered what was in theory his dream Chinese food - sweet and sour chicken served in a pineapple, set on fire. The waitress brought the dish to a serving tray near the table to set on fire. The fire spread - it went outside the pineapple and set the chicken on fire. The waitress tried to move some things, and when the fire grew bigger, she ran away! She was trying to go get something, I'm sure, but at the moment she simply left us with a dish that was very much on fire.

Here is the dish no longer on fire - it was the best presentation. Unfortunately, Solids felt it did not live up to its entrance or looks. Zeus attempted to eat a giant bowl of Lo Mein - I did not hear how it was because we were busy commiserating about the bad Pink Flamingo drink choice we had both made.


The week before that was Solid's Movers' Birthday (is there supposed to be an apostrophe there?). In attendance: Mycroft, The Count, Moxie, Birthday Mover "Jean", Wasabi, Zeus, and Solids. We re-enacted Solid's previous Movers Birthday (I think no apostrophe - ) and went to Habachi, the tepanyaki place on Rte 1 in Portsmouth. It was very fun, the fried rice is awesome. Then we went candle pin bowling, which was also awesome.

the week before - Gilly's in Portsmouth. In attendance: Mycroft, Zeus, and Solids.
Zeus had fries with a side of cheese fries, Solids had a bacon double cheeseburger and a hotdog, and Mycroft had a double cheeseburger, a chili dog, and a regular hotdog. All not in attendance were jealous and realized they were stupid to ever do anything else on Movers night.

the week before was the first Monthly Wii night in Rochester, with potluck grilling. What a feast! Solids provided grilled chicken and asparagus, Zeus provided a delicious bean salad and cutie-pie cheese cake desserts, Wasabi and the Count brought bread and amazing mushrooms, and Mycroft and Moxie brought the increasingly popular salty bread (aka Fougasse from The Beach Pea). Wii Mii's were made and much hilarity ensued. We suck at Cookie Mama Cooking Show, or the game sucks. Super Mario Party is awesome.

the week before - The Bread Box, on Islington in Portsmouth. This was pretty much a mistake except for one thing - Mycroft found his favorite sandwich in the world, the Taco Treat. The Taco Treat is basically your old-school super-americanized like your mom made taco in a wrap. Even I found it surprisingly good. Otherwise, this place was a disaster.

In other Movers news: 4 squares/3 horseman/3 corners (formerly Spud's) has gone out of business. If not for our own peanut butter and grilled cheese adventures, we never would have known the truth. Let us all pray for a good place to move in.

Sakurabana for Wasabi's Birthday, Portsmouth, NH

In attendance: Lady A, Solids, Birthday Movers "Jean" and "Josh", Zeus, The Count, Wasabi, Mycroft, and Moxie

It's sushi! What's not to love?

I continued my love affair with crab and ordered the spicy crab cakes to start. There were some Wasabi shumai in honor of the birthday Mover, and a couple orders of edamame.

Then, sushi all around with one notable exception. Solids ordered a dinner bento box with teriyaki and bbq. Everyone was pretty pleased, because, of course, it's sushi!

So good pick, Wasabi!

The Ice House, Newcastle, NH

In attendance: Hot Sauce!, Lady Aubergine, Zeus, Solids, Wasabi, Mycroft, & Moxie

I've been on a Maine crab kick and lobbied heavily for The Ice House after spotting Maine crab rolls on their menu. Lady A and I both enjoyed the crab rolls and we were both very pleased. I will be returning for more crab rolls before the end of summer. In fact, there is a heavy lobby to return to the Ice House before the end of September because it was so beloved by all.

Mycroft and Solids had burgers, which they loved. Solids had fried haddock, and Wasabi had a chicken and vegetable pita pocket sandwich thing, which she proclaimed excellent. While not at Wheelies onion ring standards, the onion rings were more than decent, being made on the premise and having the thin crunchy batter that I like (vs. the thick shellacked on kind where there is more batter than onion). The fries were good, too.

And, of course, there was ice cream! Lots of giant kiddie cones and a sundae - pleasing.

And wicked cheap.

rating: 4 golden monkeys (in our new, voted upon and unanimously agreed upon rating/voting system)

Townlyne Grill, Exeter, NH

in attendance: Lady A, Zeus, Solids, Mycroft, & Moxie
(just a snapshot - I want to get better at simply recording where we've gone so we have a written record, although I'm hoping Zeus has still been keeping her journal)

The highlights of the evening for me were the orange-scented beer and the house-fried flour tortilla nachos.

Overall, the food was fine, but not great.

Dos Amigos, Portsmouth style

In mid-January, we braved the first cold day of winter to visit Dos Amigos, in Portsmouth NH.

I enjoyed a fish taco - but was completely taken aback that the fish taco is really just a mini-burrito, in that it is served on half a flour tortilla, not a corn tortilla - this is true of all the tacos.



These roasted jalepeños with cream cheese were awesome. All popper like foods should be as good. (Although what is with Dos Amigos and their crunchy rice?? Cook it already! I know that while this view is common, the opposing fans of crunchy rice are just as vocal in their support.)



Wasabi and The Count opened with chips and guacamole, which we all agreed was not in league at all with Wasabi's guacamole.



And burritos! Of course there were burritos. They are enjoyable, they are good, they do an excellent job with the pulled pork and carne asada. (I wish the rice weren't crunchy and then I'd get them all the time.)



Mycroft ordered the quesadillas and they were good - came with rice and beans, making them a very legitimate meal.

All in all, a good visit.

Rochester dining

The past two weeks have been spent in Rochester, NH. Two weeks ago was Wild Willy's, the burger joint. Last week was the fairly new Fat Tony's, two doors down and by the same owner as Slim Tex's.

Wild Willy's was a mixed bag. Mycroft loved his burger, and recommends skipping the sides and going straight for two burgers. This assessment is pretty fair - the sides, although filled with great promise, were terrifyingly greasy.



See? don't those onion rings look great? Hand breaded, very thin, cornmeal . . . they remind me of Wheelies, when it was Wheelies, in Newmarket. But these beautiful looking onion rings were soaked in oil. No good. Ditto the hand cut Maine potato french fries.



Solid's bbq, bacon, and pickle burger:



Zeus had grilled cheese, which I believe was also greasy. Mycroft had the chili burger. Here is my green chile cheese burger - I was soooooo happy to see this on the menu, and it was pretty good. The green chiles needed to be roasted longer.



On to Fat Tony's. I'm only going to provide this single picture of fried ravioli, a. because it was dark in there and the pictures didn't turn out well, but also b. because we did not like the food and there is no need to reproduce bad and bad looking food.



The menu was painfully stereotypical, the bread was crap, the lasagna on my plate was filled with a horrible quantity of green bell peppers cooked to death, the alfredo tasted like broccoli - and on and on with similar complaints. It wasn't a complete disaster, but it wasn't good. As Solids said as we were leaving, "I don't think we'll be coming back here anytime soon."

100 years from now all the children will say,

"It's Monkeys' Night!"

The inaugural Monkeys' Night occured at the home of Wasabi and The Count, with Zeus, Solids, Mycroft and Moxie also present.

Featured consumables included Monkey Nog, turn-children-into-alcoholics-beer-banned-in-Maine, cheeeese, Monkey Brains casserole, salad, meatloaf, and Brownies By Zeus.

The list of featured high-jinks is quite extensive. In summary, there were prizes, competitions involving monkeys in a barrel to see who would go first in competitive games, more competitions to see who would go first in other high-jinks, a Monkeys' Night Swap (in which each item had to be found AND had to be able to be used by a Monkey in the coming Robot Uprising), Scene It, and the Monkeys' Night Wish.

I'm not sure how much I should let the general public know about the Monkeys' Night Wish, especially considering recent happenings, so I'll just post this picture:

Notably missing was a re-enactment of the story of Monkeys' Night. Again, not sure how much should be shared so I will just say that it involves 1 lone Monkey and the Robot Uprising. And kung fu. Or maybe muay thai.

Arrrrrrr

Tuesday, September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day.

And yes, this is an appropriate Movers post.

Playing catch-up:

September 13th, sushi at Sakura in Portsmouth. Zeus doesn't really like gourd.
September 6th, used up a gift certificate at KNR in Portsmouth. Moxie got drunk, but still doesn't like the place.
August 30th, Solid's Movers (and real) Birthday! We had an awesome experience at Habachi, with the best habachi chef *ever*. It was really really fun. Followed by bowling at Bowl-a-rama and pineapple upside-down cake. Special guests Al & Stephanie were a good addition.

I'm missing Augusts 23, 16 and 9 - one of those was the Jamaican Jerk Center fiasco, and the other two?

summary

we're really missing like a month of Movers events here - so I thought I would do a summary for posterity, though my memory is really very terrible and I doubt I will be successful. Chiming in and corrections highly encouraged:

July 12: Jazz @ the Academy Library, followed by a ho-hum dinner at 11 Water Street, Exeter

July 19: Slim Tex's in Rochester (thank you Wasabi!) this place probably deserves its own post. When we first went there in April (we think, we remember it was a bit before Cinco de Mayo), most of us were basically expecting it to be not very good at all. It was actually awesome! We had a great time, loved our drinks, loved the food (which is most definitely Tex-Mex and *not* Mexican - but that's what they are going for, so there's no false advertising). There were also ample bottles of hot sauce everywhere, so we wanted to take our beloved Hot Sauce! there upon his return.

This visit, Slim's was like we had anticipated it was going to be before our first visit, except now we thought we liked it, so the dissapointment was double. It wasn't tragic, and it most definitely could've been an off night, but . . . we hated our drinks, the food was meh . . .

July 26: La Famiglia, Greenland

August 2: Wasabi's Birthday!!!! @ Radici, Portsmouth

tricky tricky -

We fooled you all! and went to El Mexicano Jr.

The food was of course, totally amazing and wonderful. The trip there and back was overly-adventurous, involving excitement and danger in many forms (including out-of-control vehicles, and Mycroft and Ace being abandoned in the ghetto of Manchester and being forced to fend off would be boyfriends!)

You'll just have to come this week (Jamaican?) for the details . . .

5th of July -

in attendance: Mycroft, Moxie, Solids, The Count, Zeus, and Wasabi.

There were mountains of food on the 4th. So many mountains, that before the feasting even began we made plans for Movers to be leftovers on the 5th. Except there was so much food we didn't even cook on the 4th that it was hard to actually call it leftovers, really, it was just more new food.

We had burgers with delicious toppings and seasonings by The Count, experimental (and I thought pretty good) mushroom tofu burgers, shrimp, assorted actual leftovers like sweet potato and cherries and home-made ice cream and cheesecakes and cauliflower and cheese, and these little beauties, envisioned by Solids and executed by Solids, Moxie, and Mycroft:

Pineapple wrapped in bacon, cooked on the grill.



Mycroft is attempting to turn the bacon-wrapped pineapple, although he kept catching on fire.



close-up: bacon grease + charcoal = lots and lots o' fire. yummy scary fire.

Following the feasting we played our new favorite game (besides croquet, bocce ball, wiffle ball, miniature golf, etc.) SceneIt?. It is great fun.

Zeus's Movers Birthday

* draft - I need more pictures - anybody?*


For her birthday, Zeus requested an Alice in Wonderland Croquet Tea Party Extravaganza. With such a good idea to build off of, we were off and running.

Tea Party hors d' oeuvres: little toasts, some with goat cheese and artichoke, some with blue cheese and quince jelly; strawberries, haricot verts with a vinaigrette, cucumbers, and potato chips

Tower of sweets - cookies galore.

Other foods featured: iced teas, tea sandwiches (green pea, mint, and creme fraiche; watercress and cream cheese; peanut butter and jelly), oyster-mussles and bread and butter, and cupcakes.

An outrageously good time was had by all.

Aroma's Italian Cafe

The Movers heartedly welcomed the latest addition to Commercial Alley, in the home of what used to be the Bear's Den and is now Aroma's Italian Cafe, complete with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, very very charming outdoor seating, pastries galore and the best (non-Mexican) hot chocolate ON THE PLANET.

In attendance: Solids, Zeus, The Count, Wasabi, Mycroft & Moxie

The Count's Insalata Di Spinaci
(spinach, mushrooms, red onions, tomatoes, strawberry vinaigrette)

Zeus's Caprese
(mozz, tomatoes, basil, olive oil on ciabatta)

Mycroft's Salmone & Caprino
(smoked salmon, red onions, capers, lemon juice, olive oil, goat cheese on focaccia)

Moxie's Focaccia Imbottita
(foccacia with mozz, tomatoes, and prosciutto)

Solid's Italiano
(italian deli meats served on sfilatino)

Wasabi's intriguing frittata con spinaci & fontina (I call dibs on this next time)
(omlette with spinach and fontina served on sfilatino)

Zeus's Pineapple Ripieno
(yes! that really is a pineapple half filled with pineapple sorbetto)

Mycroft's Hazelnut Mousse
("A layer of hazelnut crunch nestled between layers
of chocolate sponge cake, topped with hazelnut mousse")

Moxie's hot chocolate
(When I ordered this drink as dessert, the waiter got really excited. He said something like, "Our hot chocolate is the best. You'll see." It really is amazing. I always want to say its like drinking chocolate, which sounds kind of 'duh' but is really quite rare in hot chocolate. It is also very light, not heavy or sticky or creamy, but at the same time is rich. Very good.)

The Movers 1st Anniversary! at Lindbergh's Crossing, an interactive quiz!

On June 7th, we celebrated our first anniversary on the day and location of our birth. Appropriately, it was again a ridiculously dark and stormy night. We were again 5: Solids, Zeus, Wasabi, Mycroft, & Moxie.

The quiz part: this contest is open to all Movers not present at the anniversary event. Spouses are eligible as long as they promise not to cheat. Here's how to play: match the picture to the Mover and figure out who had what. Use of background clues highly encouraged. The prize: fame, glory, and a really great surprise prize payable upon sight (it will not be mailed).

Picture 1: "Sautéed Escargots in a mushroom, sherry butter sauce finished with raclette"
(all descriptions from the Lindbergh's Crossing early summer menu).

[i have no idea what happened to these picture but i think it's
wicked funny - adds to the mystery and secretiveness]

Picture 2: "Shellfish Chowder: quahogs, mussels & shrimp in a smoky bacon cream broth"

Picture 3: "Radicchio with spiced pecans, gorgonzola, dried cherries and a balsamic vinaigrette"

Picture 4: "Quail Adobo over grape almond red rice with bok choy"

Picture 5: "Seafood Paella: fish, mussels, shrimp & spicy chorizo sausage stewed in saffron rice"

Picture 6: " Lightly Smoked Sockeye Salmon with artichoke-potato latke, braised greens & herbed crème fraiche"

Picture 7: "Housemade Canneloni of swiss chard, pinenuts & goat’s cheese in a vegetable macédoine"

Picture 8: " Seared Duck Breast over warm romaine & lentils with a grape-rhubarb chutney"

Picture 9: "Canadian Beef Tenderloin au Poivre with mashed yukon gold potatoes and brandy cream reduction"

Picture 10: (they've changed their dessert menu so you're stuck with my memory) berry cannoli cheese yum.

Picture 11: lemon blueberry tarty thing

Picture 12: medium rare chocolate cake

Good Luck!

Bella Rosa, rte 1 North Hampton, April 12th

In attendance: Mycroft, Solids, Zeus, and myself: Moxie

meh.

that't about all I can muster for this most recent incarnation of the place across from the purple bicycle store. It's subtitle is "Brick Oven Pizza" The pizza's were pretty good, not great, not bad.

We started off with onion rings which was a big mistake. We had just had the best onion rings on the seacoast - Wheelies (potentially tragic aside: on a recent trip to Newmarket Mycroft discovered that Wheelies is no longer - they are now part of Mama Lena's of Stratham - we don't know what this means for the future of onion rings on the seacoast) the week before, so it really wasn't a fair fight.

We also tried the cheezy garlic bread, of which I have no memory whatsoever.

The pizzas had good crusts - they weren't bad. I remember that we were dissapointed in the spinach one for some reason. If I had to guess the reason, based on this picture, we were overwhelmed by sundried tomatoes, which should be used sparingly.

The margherita was good - fairly hard to mess up, anyway.

The pineapple and ham and barbecue chicken was genius.

The meat-a-palooza was a little too meaty. Go figure.

Puerco Pibil Night, April 26

Location: Beach Palace
In attendance: Solids, The Count, Wasabi, Mycroft, and myself: Moxie

Ever since I saw the special feature "10-minute cooking school" by Robert Rodriguez on the Once Upon a Time in Mexico dvd I have wanted to make this dish. Not only are the ingredients fascinating, the preparation, the sum total irresistable, but the creation of this 10 minute video is the best example of cinematic foodography (I just made that word up - do you like it?) I have ever seen. It was simply a matter of gathering the ingredients (which took months) and waiting for the right opportunity (school vacation for me), but the stars were aligned in late April, and the results lived up to the long anticipation.

Since the dish itself reminds me of real barbecued pork, we played off the southern food thing with mexican flavors.

best guacamole ever, made by Wasabi

ta da! the puerco pibil.

garlic cornbread

collards

Mycroft's most excellent rice and beans

Brewery Lane Tavern, from a long time ago

I can't remember exactly when we went there. I know it was around the end of February or the beginning of March, because part of the reason we went there was to celebrate The Count and Wasabi's new condo ownership a stone's throw away.

In attendance: The Count, Wasabi, Solids, Zeus, Mycroft, and myself - Moxie.

Overall, there were fairly strong feelings in both directions about this place. Initially, there was enormous apprehension, because of BLT's website. It looks like hos and trash love this place. I'm outing Zeus here - she totally tried to back out of going. Seriously, check this website.

But it def isn't as scary as the website. Actually, its kinda nice in there. All big booths and wood and a fireplace. And lots of men. Not so many hos.

On the way there we ran into Al, ex-brother-in-law of Hot Sauce! who recommended the Gumbles, which as far as I can tell are chicken tenders pretty much. I am documenting this poor recommendation in the event that evidence of Al's lack of foodie-skills be called for. Although our lackluster reponse to said Gumbles may be our own bad ordering skilz, because we got the sauce on the side in our excitement to get 2 sauces.

Things turned around with the entrees. There were many burgers ordered, all of which were enjoyed. Wasabi got fajitas, which were awesome, and The Count got fish, which was also awesome. Zeus got fries. We also shared some nachos for an additional appetizer (we ordered sooo much food!), which were very good.

Wasabi's sideways and stretched fajitas. Too tired to figure out what happened there.



The Count's washed out fish.

One of several burgers. The tell-tale mayo says its mine.

I'm going to take this opportunity to once again say how lame it is that the Brewery Lane Tavern, also known as the BLT, does not have a BLT sandwich on its menu. They should also, easily, have a BLT burger. And so on. LAME-O!

Then, the tragedy. They had fried dough on the menu for dessert. We were soo excited! But it was mad gross. Greasy and thick and heavy. Fortunately, our waitress was very cool about it and noticed were weren't eating it and took it off our bills, agreeing that it just wasn't right.

Highlights reel: burgers - wicked good. nachos - very good. fajitas - tres good. fish - muy good. other stuff - not very good at all.

Flatbread, with special guests, The Spaniards!

In attendance: Mycroft, Solids, Zeus, The Count, Wasabi, Nacho, Anna, and myself, Moxie.

Many bets were placed in the week leading up to meeting Nacho, The Count's younger brother. Was Nacho his real name? If so, does that automatically make him a Mover since he already has a Mover name? Would he be just like The Count, a wild and crazy guy devoted to beer and good at debating? Or would he be the polar opposite, short and stubby (this was Mycroft's bet), very mellow and laid back.

The Count and Wasabi wisely chose Flatbread in Portsmouth for this infamous meeting. We ordered the specials - they were awesome. Something about chicken and barbeque sauce on one and artichokes and . . . . I can't remember. There was too much else going on.

FIRST, The Count showed up with a moustache. This was not just any moustache, it was an intense moustache he had grown basically overnight. When we commented on it, The Count suggested the adjectives we were all looking for: he now resembles an 80's California porn star. Apparently, I was the only one unfamiliar with the various decades and regions of porn genre. Wasabi, Mycroft, and Solids kindly explained in amazing techno-color detail what these all were.

SECOND, The Count's brother Nacho is *exactly* like The Count in the following respects: he loves beer, he loves to argue and debate. In particular, The Count and Nacho were arguing over a bet they had made, something to do with a particular style or brand of guitar used by a particular musician. Wasabi thought the issue had been settled that morning, but no, they were still arguing.

Since we *heart* The Count, we also *hearted* his brother, Nacho. Plus, his name is Nacho. Anna was cool, too. I especially liked her haircut. And the food and beer were good.

The Well Dressed Hog

In attendance: Mycroft, Moxie, Solids, Wasabi, and The Count

Apologies: Zeus and Movers outside of county.



Since Zeus was not with us we decided on meat-fest. Given the choices of Goody Coles, which some of us had only a couple of weeks ago, and The Well Dressed Hog, which only Moxie and myself had been to, we chose poorly.

We started the night with an order of Buffalo chicken wings. Here they are smoked before they are deep-fried. When they came, they just looked scary. The flavor was primarily smoke and there was no real spice to them. There was a sauce on them that looked like “a melted cheese-like product”. They were not spicy.

terrifying wings

What we all ordered. I believe that Wasabi ordered the Pulled Pork Bar-B-Que Sandwich. The Count ordered a Cup of the Chili. Solids ordered a Build your own combo plate with Brisket, Ribs, Pulled Pork, corn on the cob, and corn bread. I ordered the Plate O’Hog Bar-B-Que Combo plate, consisting of: Pork spare ribs, Smoked Sausage, Pulled Pork, mashed potatoes, and corn bread. Moxie had a little trouble ordering. First she ordered the chicken fried steak. They did not have any. Next she was going to go for the all you can eat pasta, but it was only valid for the spaghetti with marinara sauce and not the penne with garlic sauce. Apparently penne is not pasta in the eyes of the Well Dressed Hog. They said they would add broccoli to the spaghetti for a dollar more. Moxie finally ended up ordering the smoked sausage and chilly sub. Wasabi ordered a side of fries and Moxie ordered a side of onion rings.

Solid's combo plate

Mycroft's combo plate

The Count's Chili

I was originally saying that compared to Goody Coles the food was not as good, but that may not be it. I am beginning to think it just was not very good at all. I can say my food, was not very exciting. The smoked sausage was the best. It was very flavorful and well cooked. My mashed potatoes were good and garlicky. The ribs I thought were very tough, and stuck to the bone. I did not enjoy them. The pulled pork was nothing special, I thought it could use more vinegar. I tried Solids brisket and it seemed way to tough. When Moxie’s sub came out, the cheese on the top was melted Kraft squares, and it was a little let down. Solids was unable to finish his combo plate due to the large amount of grease that was flooding the bottom of his platter. It may not have been so bad if his platter was not the cardboard type, because as time passed his plate was becoming more and more transparent. The corn bread made me angry.

Wasabi's pulled pork sandwich

Moxie's sausage and Kraft

Some things were good. Moxie and I discovered a new beer that we like, Rouges Dead Guy ale. Wasabi’s fries were good. Moxie’s onion rings, were definitely out of a box, but not bad. I may be coming off a little harsh. The food was not terrible, a lot of the flavors were spot on just the production was not up to par. It was a quiet night, and we were the only ones there, which may have had something to do with it. I think we all enjoyed ourselves but I think next meat-fest we’ll try someplace different. The odd part is that at the end of the meal I packed up all the unfinished food and brought it home. No one else wanted it, and it seemed wasteful at the time. Now we have a bunch of greasy meat at home that I have no idea what I am going to do with.


Just Moved,
Mycroft

unofficial 43

Check it out, a blog post.


This is not an official movers post. No other movers were present. But it has to do with food and restaurants so I am posting it anyway.



I should start from the beginning. The accountant from our company came up to the office this afternoon and offered to take us all out for drinks. Unable to pass on company-sponsored debauchery, I accepted. Only two others from the office joined the accountant and myself at the fine establishment of the Rusty Hammer. After about 3 jack and cranberry’s one of my coworkers excused themselves. Three left. Two more Jack and cran’s and I had to slow down so I switched to Guinness. After that my other coworker said she had to leave and the visiting accountant asked if I would like to get a bite to eat. He said he would like to get a good steak. So, running through the possible places to get a good steak in Portsmouth,(muddy river, molly Malone’s, random bar) I asked if he had ever been to 43 Degrees North. He asked if they had good steak and I said they have good everything. True, I am a little biased toward 43, but I have always liked it there. Moxie has gone and not enjoyed it as much as myself. The accountant said it sounded good and suddenly my coworker no longer had to leave.

This suggestion may seem out of the blue but I have suggested it to different suits from the corporate headquarters before, and they really enjoyed it so when they come back they like to go back. Works for me. On a side note I was recently sent to the Chicago office where we went out to dinner at the “best Italian food in Chicago.” It was crap. I was with the CEO and he ordered the wine. He asked what I would like and I asked for Chianti. Being at an Italian restaurant I thought it might be a safe bet. Unfortunately he ordered a bottle of Da Vinci Chianti. Not that the wine was particularly bad, it was not complex, but I have such an aversion to Dan Brown at this point that even the name Da Vinci makes me dislike it. The next day they ordered authentic deep-dish pizza for lunch. Crap again. I’ll take Savarios any day.

Any way, back to 43. The three of us made the long journey from the rusty hammer to 43 without incident. The manager who I have talked to on multiple occasions seated us. While the accountant and my coworker were hanging up their coats the manager said that he had a new cordial that he had just made. He said it was not on the menu yet but he would go and get me one. I was joined by my compatriots and the waitress came over and asked us if we would like to order drinks or if the manager had already taken our orders. They said they were fine and I said that the manager was getting me a drink. They waitress replied with what I can only describe as a “well La-Ti-Da.” The attitude is so out of place it is great. About this time my coworker asked if the music playing was what she thought it was. Yes it was. We are sitting at one of the fanciest restaurants in Portsmouth, about to order some great food, surrounded by yuppies and suits, and we are listening to Johnny Cash sing Cocaine Blues. This restaurant seems to be designed around what my subconscious thinks the ideal restaurant should be.

The Food. Since with the company accountant we decided to pass on the apps and salads and go strait for the main course. A bottle of wine was ordered and it was good. It was a Cab from CA, nothing overly special, but decent. I was more interested in the drink I was brought. The manager had made an Earl Grey tea cordial and mixed it with chia spice, sweetened condensed milk, and vodka. It was delicious. It was like a weird cross between a chai latte and Thai iced tea. It was really delicious.

My coworker ordered the salmon and the accountant ordered the steak, so not wanting to duplicate I ordered the pork. What I got was amazing. It was almost what I would describe as chicken-fried pork but fancy. It was served with wild boar sausage gravy on top. One side dish was an apple cored, sliced across multiple times, stuffed with what I can only describe as a cheesy and starchy filling, and baked. It was incredible. Under the pork was what seemed to be homemade sauerkraut, with a little fruit mixed in. I have eaten a lot, but this is defiantly one of the best, even for 43 this food was above par. I can say that this entrée will be one that I will use as a comparison for a while.


Just moved,
Mycroft

Movers Cat Blogging

I think these pics are from Superbowl leftovers night - the wednesday following the superbowl, where we thought we would try to eat all the leftover chips but didn't. We did eat delicious flatbread, and very very delicious macaroni and cheese made by Wasabi.

you can see the bags of chips in the background

Waroeng Redux

Present: The Count, Wasabi, Prag 4, Hot Sauce!, Ace, Mycroft, Solids, Zeus, and myself (Moxie).

Our second trip to Waroeng was not as successful as the first. I really can't put my finger on it - maybe it was the larger crowd, maybe it was it not being so new and different and crazy. Certainly the fact that the dish we were counting on for one of the foodtards was not available that night was problematic.

The poofy cracker things were a big hit for all. Ace totally messed with Solids, telling him Indonesian curry was similar to Indian curry - not sure where he thought that was going to go once the food arrived. I liked Solids food better than mine, so I ate his. I think Mycroft might have eaten mine. There was a lot of meal swapping.

I think this was mine - a sort of cold salad with a peanut sauce and a shrimp cracker. I think I thought the cold salad would be noodles - but it was iceberg lettuce.

meaty spicy goodness - with hardboiled eggs

We got two orders of the chicken satay - the first was the bomb. The second, they rushed for us, but rushing chicken is . . .um . . . a bad idea.

Overall, although we were all kinda meh about this visit, I think it was more our bad for not ordering well. We got careless and crazy. But we'll definitely be going back.

Pirates v. Ninjas

Or, a tale of the best birthday ever. By Moxie the Pirate.

*** Before you continue, you need to get pumped. I mean really pumped. ***

First, I was attacked by ninjas. Then I was kidnapped by Pirates. Then we arrived at The Blue Mermaid, in Portsmouth NH. Our waitress took our drink orders, which were all totally ridiculous girl-drink-drunk-drinks, then left for a long time while we were regalled by readings of scripts from Real Ultimate Power. (click on no, just once. Just for fun . . . Ha! You're a baby!)

Then I received the best presents ever. Then we ordered some food.

Lady A's meal: Island Rubbed Grilled Pork Loin (I'm cheating and using the online menu. I don't remember at all - so feel free to correct me.)

The Count's Shrimp

Wasabi's meal.

From the Puffy sleaves I surmise this is Solids' meal. Note the emphatic hand gestures. I guess it is some sort of barbecue.

Zeus' meal of three vegetarian sides. I think she liked her green beans, but that is her favorite vegetable anyway. I vaguely recall her being 'meh' about both forms of sweet potato, but I'm not sure. Honestly, I don't know what I was paying attention to that night but it wasn't the food for once - I was much more interested in the conversation and the entertainment.

Mycroft's meal. I *loved* this barbecue not as barbecue but just the sweetness of it in general. Mycroft was mad because he ordered it hot and it wasn't hot in the slightest. I think it was supposed to be Jamaican Jerk but it wasn't at all, so in that regard it was very dissapointing.

I forget what these were. Prag4 ordered them and I sat next to him so I got to eat one. They were pretty good. Apparently I wanted you to see a ginormous photo of them.

My sort of fish tacos.

My garlic mashed potatoes. Ok.

The wonderful chocolate cake.

Prag 4 and Hot Sauce! also ordered bowls of chowder, which they liked but judged as soupier than chowdier.

And then the Pirates busted out and kicked all the Ninjas asses. The ninjas exploded because of all the blood pressure in their boners and then the sharks came because of all the blood and ate their carcasses.

The end.

Christmas with the Movers

DRAFT - please edit - remember - you all have privledges to edit these posts.











More to come - off to Waroeng now!

The Rosa, Portsmouth

The Rosa - November 16th

Members in attendance: The Count, Moxie, Mycroft, Hot Sauce, Lady Aubergine, Prag 4. Zeus and Solids went with a tag- team presence for the event.

Prag 4 ate a tasty pizza with tomato, spinach, and cheese. The Count had beer battered Haddock. Hot Sauce ate one of the specials with an undercooked Gouda risotto. Zeus ate a pasta primavera. Lady Aubergine chose to eat eggplant parmesan that was more fry than eggplant. Moxie sat across from me, and even though I tasted her meal and know it was served with linguine, I can't remember what it was!

Overall, Movers agreed the food was not memorable. One merit to The Rosa came in the form of a rare steak. Mycroft was pleased with his steak, as it is a feat for many restaurants to achieve rare even when asked for it. Also, the atmosphere was far better than any Olive Garden or chain Italian place you might find. Lovely black and white photos (presumably) of the family and of Portsmouth hang in antique frames. You can find newspaper clippings from the early 1900's in the hallways. Also, I appreciated the traditional carafes of wine (the house red was better than the first bottle we chose, even if that's not saying much).

Though the food was mundane, the conversation was spicy! The Movers covered the issues that came up during the previous week's meeting and had very good discussion about our voting policies. Let it therefore be known that The Movers - after many wonderful side journeys- have agreed to a form of voting which is not yet named, but which we are sure will take off quickly in secret dining groups all over the globe. I will not try to explain the reasons behind the methods, as they are too complex for even I to understand, yet they are as follows: All Movers present must vote, even if the outcome seems obvious. A re-vote can be taken on any topic at any time. When voting, all Members of The Movers must vote in the affirmative, save for one; one member must vote No for the item to pass and be accepted as Mover's Rule. I like to think of this as Near Consensus with expectation, nay requirement! of an ornery individual to make the voting interesting. Others may see it as more spiritual or philosophical, but I'll let them speak to it themselves, should that be the case.

An enjoyable and high spirited evening!

- Lady Aubergine

Movers in LA! - Nov. 12th - El Fortin

Alright, boys and girls, I admit I had been losing faith.

I thought the Movable Feast had abandoned me.

Here I was in the Los Angeles area for the first time, cold (yes... strangely it has been quite chilly a lot of the time), alone (...well will 6 other people from my company...but I feel about these people how Mycroft feels about the general population of a saturday night movie theater), and surrounded by Jack-in-the-Box's and Denny's.

But then I was humbled once again as I accidently stumbled upon a place called El Fortin.

El Fortin looks like its just another room of the laundray mat that it shares a building with. It is tiny, drab, and from what I could tell - no one spoke very good english, although the menu had some english on it.

First thing: Cheap. Three of us ate, had appetizers, and drinks for $28.

Second thing: AMAZINGLY authentic. I went with a woman who is from Mexico and she was practically in tears. Apparently even up here in LA, most of the places are americanized. This was hard-core Oaxacan at its best. I have a tortilla with mole and Oaxacan cheese and chorizo and lard. Yes, lard wasn't just something they cooked with, it was listed as one of the spreads on the tortilla along with the mole.

Third thing: RIDICULOUSLY good! Moles. Moles. Moles. Spicey moles. Yellows. Reds. Browns. Tamales wrapped in banana leaves, with mole. Enchiladas with mole. Apparently the Oaxacans eat a lot of mole! Thank the Movable Feast!

So yes, brothers and sisters, I had been reminded that we may find the Movable Feast at anytime, anywhere.

And then... Chapulines.

El Fortín preps chapulines for consumption by soaking them overnight in chile powder and lime juice, then sun-drying them until they are nice and crunchy.

What are Chapulines?

Sometimes when you are most in need, lost in the wilderness, cold, alone - You don't find the Movable Feast. The Movable Feast finds you.

Chapulines are grasshoppers.

I ate grasshoppers, and to be honest, they aren't bad at all when you dip them in mole!

Ace, Ready to Move

P.S. I am going back there for breakfast right now.

El Mexicano Jr.

This is going to be a really short post - because I figure it will work better if everybody writes about what they ate in the comments because there were so many differerent things going on.

In attendance:
Ace, Hot Sauce!, The Lady Aubergine, Zeus, Solids, The Count, Wasabi, Mycroft, Prag 4 and myself, Moxie.

The food was divine. I ate or participated in the eating of: chorizo tacos, deshebrada tacos, milanesa con papas (breaded steak with fries that was misleadingly decribed as steak covered in bread and fries) which came with deliciously divine beans and rice, tamales, and a gordita.

I loved the gordita which was like a mexican pita pocket - the pita being made of masa dough.

And my all time favorite still remains the chorizo taco. Fuckin' yum

We also held the induction of Prag 4 into The Movers, this being his 3rd meeting and all. On a sad note, this was a low point for The Movers as an organization. Not our best. Disorganization ruled the day, with everybody shouting at the same time while we stood outside El Mexicano Jr in the rain. Rules were called into question, and there was much debate about what the rules really were/are. We may have to hold a special and dedicated meeting in order to avoid such debacles in the future.

What should have been a happy occasion, inducting a new member after the finest meal in recent memory, was instead a travesty.

--------
From: Ace

I have to say I completely disagree about how the night ended, I didn't see travesty at all. It was a fun experience all around and a little bit of political maneuvering and conflict just added to the spice of the night. So in this Mover's opinion, not a travesty at all.

And the food... since Moxie already broke the cursing barrier... fucking wow!

Chorizo tacos, Deshebrada tacos. I can't decide. I would travel the two hours back and forth for these every day if I could afford the gas. Just too good for words. Everything was wonderful. I ate pretty much everything that Moxie ate plus some Tostadas. Which were also quite awesome.

Ace, Ready to Move

Wings Your Way

Durham, NH

In attendance: Mycroft, Moxie, Ace, Solids, Hot Sauce!, The Lady Aubergine, The Count, Wasabi and special guests Prag 4, Thor, and Monique

First, a disclaimer for those reading who do not know me personally: I am a wing snob. I am a New Yorker, an upstate New Yorker to boot, and so it is in my blood. My parents schooled me in the ways of wing eating from a very early age. I am very very fussy about what I consider good wings, because I've eaten bucketloads of good wings. Good wings are as common as beer in NY.

Second, a rant: wings in NH suck. They truly do, in general. NH people frequently call tenders wings if they happen to be splashed with a little Frank's RedHot. They are in general rubbery (50% of wing quality is crispy-ness) and weak (50% is flavor of the sauce)(note: chicken quality is not super important, neither is atmosphere of dining establishment).

Despite many obstacles to pleasant wing eating experiences, I am willing to order buffalo wings anytime, anywhere, any day of the week in the off chance an acceptable experience is to be had. I am a desperate, fussy, snobby, hungry person.

Cutting to the chase: Wings Your Way is acceptable. Given no other acceptable alternatives on the seacoast of NH, I will revisit Wings Your Way early and often. If Wings Your Way were re-located to Buffalo, NY it would be stoned to death. I will not bring my father, wing eating titan that he is and current resident of upstate NY, to Wings Your Way. I will bring ex-New Yorkers and others desperate for decent wing experiences there.


Some notes:

• the first 20 wings we ordered, in order to get the lay of the land, were the 'regular' (out of mild, regular, and way hot). These were crispy enough that we didn't flee, but had no flavor. When Lady Aubergine ordered 50 way hot, and told them not to pussy around, they offered us their 'special reserve' which kicked most of our asses.
  
• Hot Sauce and Prag 4 did not get their asses kicked. Indeed, they should be awarded special medals of commendation
• only 1 little tub of blue cheese (and crappy blue cheese at that) is free, the others are $.25 each. That is utter crap. I will badmouth these bitches over the point until the day I die.
  
• All of the special guests proved their mettle in the hot food and wing loving department. I was going to suggest it should be a Mover requirement, but then I realized a. some people are vegetarians, and b. The Count.
• Choices of beer are slim. Hot Sauce! argues that the choices were entirely appropriate, the choices being: Bud, Bud Light, and Redhook. Cheap beer only met to get you buzzed and cool down your mouth. It was cheap enough. The wings were not cheap enough - the largest order being 50 for $25. I believe this was Ace's biggest complaint about the place.
  

Movers:PRI - Sept 24th - Lemi's Chinese BBQ

In attendance: Ace, Prag 3

Decided to trust Chowhound again after reading multiple Hounders talking about an authentic Chinese place in Providence. These were not the same people making this recommendation as the Mr. Taco bastards, so it seemed worth a try.

Definitely was.



Lemi's Chinese BBQ has the classic/morbid happy pig logo, as if the pig is REALLY happy that you are about to have him butchered and cooked for your eating enjoyment.

In the window hung all sorts of BBQed animals. Ducks, chickens, cuttlefish, a pig. Apparently this style of cooking is Hong Kong or Cantonese style BBQ. Peking Duck being the classic example you find in most chinese restaurants. The meat, mostly pork and fowl, is cooked standing up, with all the juices dripping down. The juices and sauce continue to drip down as they hang in the window.



We ordered half of a Scallion and Ginger Chicken, and a half of a Roast Duck. Chinese Broccoli in Garlic Sauce and String Beans in Oyster Sauce (we ordered both in garlic sauce, but the oyster sauce was great anyway). Along with some white rice.

By the time we got back to Prag 3's place, the meats were cool so they had to be reheated. The fat, skin, and bones sketched Prag 3 out a bit, but in the end she was alright.

The meat was succulent and very flavorful. I was concerned that the very small containers of Hoison and Ginger/Scallion sauce would not be enough, but we barely touched them.

The Chinese Broccoli was awesome. Good snap to the stalks and great fresh flavor. The string beans were nice and soft and flavorful, and both of us poured some of the oyster sauce over our rice.

Overall a good meal, but I think if we went back again we might get pork or something else from the menu that wasn't BBQed. The presentation of the fowl with bones and such is a bit difficult to handle but in the end was really good.

Sept 21st - Mountain Pies Bonanza

In attendance: Wasabi, Zeus, Moxie, Mycroft, Solids, The Count, Ace

The Mountain Pies Bonanza was hosted at the home of the Parents of Ace. They have a good firepit/fireplace out in their backyard nestled up against the woods, so it was the perfect location. Also they owned the Mountain Pie Makers, so it only made sense we did it there.

Unfortunately I was very late because I locked the food in the fridge at my work and could no