So Long "Facebook"

As I mentioned in a prior post, I do not use Facebook for various reasons. I have deactivated my Facebook account. If you want to contact me, please do so via my personal email. 

Thank you

... and the answer is...

I did not make the photograph identification easy;  and no one guessed the correct answer. The photograph was taken at

Portofino Bay Hotel

Universal Studio 

Orlando, FL

May 4, 2013

Here is one more shot. More will follow later.

Where am I

We went away last weekend. Can you tell were we went.?

Play it again Sam

We watched Casablanca over the weekend and both enjoyed it very much.We watch closely waiting for the "famous" misquoted line "Play it Again Sam". Not there I say!. The closest and almost right-on phrase is "Play it, Sam". I am very happy to have watched it and doing a minimal amount of research on the Web. If you haven't seen Casablanca, i recommend you do -- it is one of the great old classics.


ATTENTION to my faithful readers:

My last post was a month ago tomorrow, March 17th. I have decided to take a sabbatical from the blog for a while. No reason other than the lack of inspiration.

Who knows, i may change my mind is a few days if something catches my interest or my pallet finds a meal or a restaurant worthy of a post.

Don't go too far - I will be back at some point.

Also, just to let everyone know - if you ask me to be your friend on Facebook, you probably will not get a response from me. While i joined Facebook a couple of years ago, I never got wrapped up in the social networking scene and seldom look at it.

I am always happy to here from you via email or a phone call (unique idea).

Keep smiling and stay positive.

A Week of Dining Out

Frank and I dine out probably far too often, but this past week found us in restaurants everyday from Tuesday March 12th to today, March 17. We also already have plans for dinner tomorrow to round out the week. It just worked out that way from celebrating my niece's birthday to dining with friends, to wishing our Philadelphia friend good bye after her 2 month visit in Sarasota. 

So, let me tell you where we ate this past week starting with last Tuesday, March 12 in Sarasota at Trader Vic's best known for their Mai Tai, which was ok. There were about 15 of us and I can only speak for Frank and myself, but wec were not thrilled with the food. We shared the Ahi Tuna appetizer with was probably the best dish we had there. I ordered the Fish and Chips which was lacking adequate seasoning and Frank ordered the Hickory Roasted Beef Brisket which he proclaimed way to sweet. I hate to pan any restaurant but this one, with it's nationally known name, didn't live up to our expectation.

Next up was Wednesday lunch at Oxford Exchange in Tampa across Kennedy Blvd from the University of Tampa. it is partially housed in a 120 year old brick building near downtown Tampa. The building included the Restaurant, a book store, a retail store of home goods items and The Commerce Club a private club, among other areas of interest in the building. Check our the link earlier in this paragraph to find out more about The Oxford Exchange and it's history. We had a lovely lunch with Denise and her husband, Thomas. The space is very cute and the food was very good. We shared an appetizer of Crispy Chick Peas (more please). I opted for the Lobster BLT which was loaded with chunks of fresh lobster meat (I've been on a lobster kick for the last couple of weeks, if it is on the menu  as a sandwich or bisque if will find a way to the plate.) Frank raved about the Chicken Burger served on a bun with avocado,  jalapeno, tomato and queso blanco. Frank said the burger was very light as it was composed of minced chicken mixed the the other ingredients before it was grilled. We would highly recommend Oxford Exchange.

Thursday we met a group of friends for dinner at Simply Delicious in Kenneth City between Clearwater and St. Petersburg. It is billed as a New York diner/deli. There were six of us in our group and I think everyone enjoyed their meal. I refer to the decor as Kitschy New York. It was a fun evening with good reasonable priced food in a different style atmosphere than the frequently used Florida Beach. Check the link above to see some photographs of the interior. We shared a appetizer with the table, Pastrami Reuben Egg Rolls. Crispy and tasty. In New York style, I had a 1/2 Corned Beef Sandwich (very tasty and tender) and a cup of Chicken Noodle Soup. Frank enjoyed the Chopped Chicken Liver Sandwich - tov meod (very good). Thanks to Bob G for a good suggestion. Oy Vey! 

Whew, I am getting full again just typing this post... but it is time to hit the road again for dinner in Bradenton to wish our dear friend Deirdre a safe journey hope after a two month stay in Sarasota. Six of us dined at Edelweiss near downtown Bradenton, Frank, my nephew Biff, his friend Butch, Deirdre and her friend Geri. Oh, I was there too. After some wine at Biff's we headed a short distance down the street to Edelweiss selected by Deirdre for two reasons; The chef's name is Frank and Deirdre knows all the lyrics to Edelweiss, makes sense to me; although we never did got to hear her sing it in its entirety. Next time Deirdre.
We had a very nice meal; Frank and I each ordered the Schnitzel a la Vienna prepared with the optional chicken instead of veal. It was very lightly breaded, tender and tasty. The service was very good (always part of a positive experience in our book). I'm sure we would all return to Edelweiss. 

Next up, a home cooked meal by our friend Carol F. served at her home. She  prepared a wonderful Shrimp Scampi in a very light sauce served with a nice caprese salad. We all dipped into the pasta bowl for seconds. Dessert was an ultra light Angel Food Cake with fresh strawberries. Yummy. And Carol's sister, Lois made Chocolate Chip Cookies for Frank and I to take home. I have to lock them away so I don't finish them today. Thank you Carol and Lois for a nice evening.

Tomorrow, Monday, evening we have tickets to see Leonard Cohen in concert at the Straz Performing Arts Center in Tampa. We will be dining at Maestro's Restaurant at the Center before the show. If you want more information on Leonard Cohen check his web site (link here) or read his biography, "I'm Your Man" by Sylvie Simmons.  Needless to say, I like Leonard Cohen.


That's all I'm saying

One Day at EPCOT

On Friday March 1st (2013) Frank and I made the trek to Orlando to spend the day at EPCOT and a night at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel in Downtown Disney. We arrived late in the morning and went immediately to EPCOT. It was a beautiful day, clear skies and sunny. After getting me situated in my transport chair, Frank pushed me to the ticket windows and then around the park. I could not have made it all through the park without the chair and Frank's efforts.(Thank you my friend) As we "cruised" around the World Showcase we stopped at the Canada Pavilion to watch the movie, which has been updated and improved.

Pushing on, we decided to stop in Italy for lunch. Since my last visit they (Disney folks) have closed the old Alfredo's Restaurant and replaced it with Tutto Italia Ristorante (high-end) and Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria. We decided to dine at Via Napoli where we shared a Mixed Salad (very good) and a large Mushroom Pizza. The first thing we noticed was the traditional thin Napoletana crust and a thin layer of very fresh-tasting tomato sauce. The sauce was to die for - the best I have ever had outside of Italy. We passed on the wine and enjoyed a refreshing Blood Orange Aqua Fresca. I would highly recommend Via Napoli. 

We continued our loop around the World Lagoon with a stop at the Mexico Pavilion for the interior boat ride - very relaxing. Then on to the France Pavilion to watch the movie - Impressions de France, one of my favorites in the park although slightly outdated as noted by the bicycle scene. Still we stop to see it every visit.

On our way out of the park we rode Spaceship Earth, which has also been updated and improved since I was there last and is one of our Must-Do rides in the park. There are many other great rides and pavilions to see while at EPCOT but we had decided to limit our time in the park so we could return to the hotel to relax and refresh in the lobby bar.

We returned to the France Pavilion for our 7:40 PM reservations at "Chefs de France", which we have enjoyed frequently in the past. We were not disappointed by the service or the food this time either - always top notch. We started with a St. Germain cocktail, and switched to a bottle of red wine with our entrees. I then enjoyed a lovely cup of Lobster Bisque while Frank had the Maison Salade which he enjoyed. For our entrees, Frank opted for a very nice and tasty Broiled Salmon, with smashed potatoes with butter and chives. served with tomato and red pepper sauce. while I enjoyed my Cote de Bouef, Beef short ribs braised in Cabernet wine with pasta, pearl onions and mushrooms). We were able to watch many of the fireworks from our dining room table while we enjoyed our meals.

Dining done, and fireworks done, it was time to head out into the cool night air for some night photography to end our visit to EPCOT. We both enjoy this time in the park, when everyone else is rushing to the exit, the monorail, and the parking lot. You almost have the park to yourself - just wonderful.

But the trip isn't over yet. After a light breakfast in the hotel cafe, we headed to Downtown Disney to take a look around and extend our day as much as possible. We walked (I rolled with Frank still pushing my transport chair) the entire Downtown Disney complex before deciding on Raglan Road Restaurant and Pub for our lunch stop. Not to be denied a good meal to conclude our visit,  I enjoyed a wonderful Lobster Club sandwich (Lobster and avocado salad, crispy prosciutto, watercress and citrus herb mayonnaise) and Frank had a nice Cashel Castle Salad (Crumbled Cashel blue cheese, caramelized pecans, grape tomatoes, raspberries, prosciutto crisps, crostinis and; a raspberry vinaigrette. )

Next up, a link to a small Picasa photo album: Click on Spaceship Earth to see the entire album (only 13 photographs)

EPCOT March 2013

Friends

Lucia and me relaxing on the couch, a daily occurrence. Although she is normally passed out on my lap taking a nap.

Valentine's Day Dinner

Frank and I dined at my apartment for Valentine's Day dinner so we could spend the evening cooking and eating a mighty fine dinner without the usual restaurant crowds. As this picture shows we began the meal with a traditional Shrimp Cocktail with a glass of Chandon Brut Sparkling Wine - a nice combination. 

The appetizer was followed by a Frank-created modified Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, a large block of Feta Cheese, all topped with Frank's version of Tzatziki dressing. This was a tasty salad which Frank will have to add to his Salad repertoire.

Next up was our entree - Filet Mignon with a blue cheese cream sauce. The filet was prepared perfectly - a seared exterior and a red rare center. OMG was that delish. Can you say 'YUMMY'. I prepared the steaks while Frank roasted some thin Asparagus spears. It was the perfect accompaniment.

We finished the dinner with 'purchased' eclairs for dessert. It was a nice, relaxing evening as we would prepare one course, serve and eat it before moving on to the next course. It gave us time to enjoy the food and the wine. We selected a St. Supery "Elevation" to serve with the entree, a very good match.

That's all I'm saying.

News Flash - 2/15/2013

METEOR STRIKE IN CENTRAL RUSSIA drove Lucia into hiding when she heard the TV news announcement about the meteor today. It took us a while to convince her we do not live in Russia and she did not need to be protected from objects falling from the sky.  

Lucia in hiding

Clyde Nabe's Photographs and Blog

I have added another blog to my list of "Blogs I Follow". My good friend and an accomplished photographer, Clyde Nabe, has added a blog section to his existing photograph website. I highly recommend you check out "Galleries" and NabesBlog, both accessible from the banner on his home page.(Click the link). Clyde has been a big help to me in learning some of the neat intricacies of Photoshop Elements, but I have a way to go to catch up with him. Thank you, My Friend

Sunset from my Balcony

Living on the 5 floor of my apartment building and facing to the west, I have the opportunity to watch some beautiful Florida Sunsets. Last Friday, February 1, 2013 I happened to see a beautiful and colorful sunset while Frank and I were preparing dinner. I rushed to get the camera, stepped onto my balcony, and snapped a few shots. Of the bunch, I liked this one the best. Enjoy !

From Skyline 5th
February 1, 2013

Bon Appetit

Wow I am way behind on some posts and I don't plan on catching up tonight. But a recently visited restaurant has been on my mind since we had lunch there a few weeks ago. I don't want to miss this opportunity to tell you about it, although in an abbreviated version. 

Our weather has been beautiful the last few weeks and it seemed like an appropriate time to head to downtown Dunedin and get a table on the water (OK, overlooking the water) at one of this restaurant's outside tables. 

Bon Appétit sits at the end of Main Street in downtown Dunedin directly on the waterfront. It was a beautiful day with temps in the mid to high 70s, lovely blue skies and a light breeze coming off the bay. It couldn't have been a more perfect day, especially in January, and it doesn't get much better that this.

The food was an all star supporting player is the already great day. Frank started his meal with a light, flavor-intense Crab Bisque, which he let me taste. Great I say! He followed that with an equally tasty dish of Truffle Mac & Cheese which I tried to steal from him. (jk)

I dove head first into their version of a lobster roll. Actually it was a open faced lobster roll which is on their daily menu. The "roll' was a slice of toast piled with the chunky, lightly-dressed lobster salad. The salad was very tasty and you could concentrate on enjoying the lobster meat instead of the usual large toasted hot dog bun. If I didn't know better, this could have been a creation of Jacque Pepin.

The small town of Dunedin is loaded with good restaurants and deserves a visit to see the town and try some of the restaurants. 

That is all I'm saying.

Merry Chrismas to Everyone

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone

Philadelphia Visit

Another trip, it is. On December 4 we boarded a U S Airways flight from Tampa to Philadelphia to visit our good friend Deirdre who lives in Newtown Square outside of Philadelphia. She had arranged a visit to Longwood Gardens situated in the Brandywine Valley in Kennett Square, PA, for the evening of Dec 5th. Susan, another friend from my working days at CIGNA joined us for the Gardens and dinner. It was a perfect evening, with clear cool weather. The Christmas displays outside and inside in the Conservatory were as beautiful as you will see in the photographs which I will leave to speak for themselves. We were very fortunate as this was the best weather of the trip, a large portion of displays of decorated trees is outside. 

After the visit to the Gardens we enjoyed a lovely and tasty dinner at Half Moon Restaurant in the old Downtown of Kennett Square. The menu included standard fare such as, say, Bison, Kangaroo, Caribou Hot Dog, Gator Gumbo and other wild game options. They also served a mean Smokey Exotic Mushroom Bisque which was to die for, OMG. I'll take more please. But none of us ordered any of the exotic items from the menu but opted for the more traditional items. Frank and I had perfectly cooked and marinated Flat Iron Steak, Susan enjoyed a brie stuffed wood smoked chicken, avocado salsa sandwich, with avocado, while Deirdre, being the adventurous sort had, a basic hamburger (passing on the buffalo burger).

[Historic Aside: "Kennett  is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over a million pounds of mushrooms a week." from Wikipedia.]

The next evening Deirdre, Frank, I and a friend from Prague, Vaclav, met in the University City district of Philadelphia for a great dinner at White Dog Cafe. I met Vaclav on my first trip to Praha and the Czech Republic when another friend suggested I consider using Vaclav as my tour guide for my three day stay. He is currently studying for a Masters Degree and attending the University of Pennsylvania. The White Dog Cafe focuses on locally source products. Frank and I both enjoyed "the Spicy Lamb Bolognese Sweet Stem Farms Ground Lamb, Severino Rigatoni, ‘Jersey Fresh’ Preserved Tomatoes, Organic Baby Spinach, Shaved Grana Padano, Whipped Basil Ricotta" *extracted from the menu. It was very tasty however just a tad spicier than I like. But I did lick my plate clean. Vaclav ordered a Hamburger with sliced pork tenderloin stacked on top. (I frequently use the menu on the restaurant site to aid my memory, but I was not able to find this on the currently posted menu. So just imaging a very nicely prepared tasty sandwich). Deirdre opted for the same sandwich but with only the sliced pork, omitting the burger. Maybe Deirdre, Vaclav or Frank can fill in the comments section for me due to my lapse of memory.

One night Frank prepared his "always good" and tasty Tilapia Meuniere. Yummy. 

The next day we visited the National Constitution Center across from Independence Hall. It was interesting multi-media presentation of the founding of our country. While interesting and educational it would not be in my "A" list of sites to visit when in Philadelphia considering the other places to see.

Finally, after forcing you to read through all of our activity and eating, here is a link to the photographs - primarily of the Longwood Gardens. The only regret was that Deirdre's adorable dog, Barney, didn't get to go with us to the gardens - he would have had hundreds of acres to play in.

Click on the photo to view the album in Picasa.

Philadelphia, PA Dec 2012

Thanksgiving Wrap-up

I don't want to let Thanksgiving end without a few final thoughts. 

First I am extremely lucky and thankful to have a cadre of friends and family supporting me through my health related issues. I am also thankful that I am still able to travel, and enjoy life. While there are an amazing number of family and friends who I thank, it is too many to list everyone, but you are all in my thoughts and best wishes for a great holiday season. One person who will not go unmentioned is my best friend, Frank. He is always there to give me support and encouragement and he is a great person and a fun traveler. THANK YOU, FRANK!

So it was appropriate that we started the Thanksgiving season with our annual Thanksgiving Eve dinner. We nailed another fine meal at my place. If anyone wants recipes let me know. The only one I will post is the Lemon Panna Cotta, at the end of this post which is my favorite dessert for any occasion. Try it, you can't go wrong.

Frank refers to this as our Italian American Thanksgiving and it was really good. Our main bird was a Roasted Rosemary Turkey Breast coated with a seasoned butter mixture of rosemary, sage, garlic and orange zest. For our sides we prepared an uncooked Cranberry and Blood Orange Relish (unfortunately, no blood oranges were available, so our back up was regular oranges but excellent just the same. Next up was a Butternut Squash Risotto (yummy) and Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta - both were great. We ended the meal with the Lemon Panna Cotta. We served a bottle of St. Supery Elu with dinner and a glass of Limoncello with the dessert. It was a great meal with a great friend.

On Thanksgiving Day we each went to our respective families - Frank to his sister's and I to my nephew's. Everyone, (except me) pitched in to prepare a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving spread. They had turkey two ways - one traditionally roasted in the oven and the other deep fried. Both were very flavorful and moist - good job everyone. For sides we had mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, my Mother's Creamed Corn Casserole. This is a tradition in the Simpson family since the 1950's and is a must serve at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The dinner was finished off with 3 different home baked pies - oink oink.

On Friday evening Frank and I attended "This is The 60's" at the Mahaffey Theatre in St. Petersburg. The show was a multi-media presentation with a live cast of singers, musicians and dancers - only 7 in all. They presented a fun-filled evening of 60's songs, film clips and TV shows from the decade. We both enjoyed the show but feel they slighted the folk movement and the Mo-Town sound. However with so much music coming out of the decade I am sure they had a tough time selecting the tunes. 

Next up, to round out the weekend, we enjoyed a wonderful meal at our favorite French Restaurant  - St. Petersburg Brasserie downtown on Central Ave. Frank loved his Steak Frites and I was gushing over the Roasted Duck Breast served with Celeriac Rosti, Spicy Cherry Gastrique. OMG, have I mentioned how good it was. Both Frank's steak and my duck were perfectly cooked to a rare degree of doneness. We paired the meal with a very nice bottle of 2010 Shooting Star Pinot Noir from Stelle Vineyards in California.

That's it for Thanksgiving 2012 - Thanks one more time to my family and friends - I am truly a lucky guy.

As promised - the LEMON PANNA COTTA recipe follows. I skip the sauce and serve it with fresh raspberries.

Lemon Panna Cotta with Blackberry Sauce

For convenience, chill these individual eggless custards overnight before serving. The sauce can also be made a day ahead.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Panna cotta

Vegetable oil

1 cup whole milk

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 vanilla bean

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup crème fraîche*

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

Sauce

3 cups frozen blackberries (about 12 ounces), thawed, drained, juices reserved

3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

3 tablespoons crème de cassis (black-currant-flavored liqueur; optional)

  

For panna cotta:

Lightly oil six 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups. Mix milk and cream in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat. Cover; let steep 30 minutes. Remove vanilla bean.

           

Pour lemon juice into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes. Stir sugar and gelatin mixture into milk mixture. Stir over low heat just until sugar and gelatin dissolve, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in crème fraîche and lemon peel. Divide among ramekins. Cover; chill until set, at least 6 hours or overnight.

For sauce:

Puree 2/3 of blackberries and all reserved juices, brown sugar, and crème de cassis, if desired, in blender. Strain mixture into medium bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer. Stir remaining blackberries into sauce. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Run small knife around each panna cotta. Place bottoms of ramekins, 1 at a time, in bowl of hot water 45 seconds. Place plate atop ramekin. Hold plate and ramekin together; invert, shaking gently, to turn out panna cotta. Serve with sauce.

That's all I'm Saying !

Dick & Frank's Fantastic Fall Foliage Adventure

So it is that time again, our photographic followup to our last cruise. Hopefully you have read the blog, especially the hits and misses. I have set up two albums on Picasa with a lot of frustration - no thanks to Google and Picasa. Grrrrrrr   :-(

The first is a short version with 30 photographs culled from the original 200 +.

Dick & Frank's Fantastic Fall Foliage Tour - Short Version

The second is an extended version, consisting of 94 photographs. 

Dick & Frank's Fantastic Fall Foliage Tour - Extended Version

If you get bored easily with other people's vacation photos, I would opt for the short version.

The majority of photographs were taken by Frank. I owe him a big THANK YOU, for frequently taking the time to search out the sights when I was getting fatigued and I didn't feel like walking any more. So, he was the primary photographer and I was the editor. Good work Frank!

Your comments would be appreciated and please report any problems with the links

We hope you enjoy the photographs

Dick and Frank

Miguel's is French

Tucked away in a corner of a non-descript strip mercantile building on Siesta Key, FL you will find an excellent French restaurant. This was our first visit to Miguel's (link) based on a recommendation our dining companions from New Jersey had received from someone in their condo complex. Eileen and Michael were visiting for a week and met up with Frank and me at this 25 year-old restaurant for a fine evening of dining and reminiscing The decor is traditional and rustic - a charming space that was packed with locals when we arrived for 7 PM reservations. (Note - I would always make reservations here especially in the season. They offer Early Bird specials which attracts a large crowd earlier in the evening. It is Sarasota of course.)

Naturally, the menu leans heavily to the French side, while they do have a few Italian items for the early birds. 

Some of us started the meal with La Soupe du Jour a wonderfully rich and flavorful Sweet Potato Bisque. From the Entree menu I opted for the Lamb Shank, the special for the day. I want more :-). It was cooked to perfection with a lovely dark sauce - tender and moist, I cleaned my plate. It was served with potatoes that had been roasted with the lamb which added a great flavor to the potatoes. 

Frank order Le Canard Roti Maison - roasted young duckling served with a l'orange sauce. I had a taste and would agree with Frank that it was top notch - again tender, moist, and tasty.

Eileen enjoyed her Le Boeuf Diane - beef tenderloin tips nicely sauteed with mushrooms, garlic, brandy and demi-glace served with puff pastry. 

Michael selected Le Petit Filet Mignon, a nice 6 oz steak, with a béarnaise sauce.  He proclaimed to meal to be great.

We expected the meal to be pricey, but with drinks, soup, entrees, house salad, dessert, and coffee/espresso the bill came to $50 per person. Not bad in my opinion for this quality of dining.

We were all very pleased with the entire dining experience at Miguel's and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Sarasota area. 

My Political Statement on my Non-Political Blog

I am trying this one last time. I keep having problems only posting the audio portion so I found the You tube link.  I was just trying to find a song that expresses my joy at yesterday's election results. Skip the lead-in ad and move on to the song.


Click Here

or here ---: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M

Fall Foliage Cruise - Hits and Misses

It's that time folks!  Our post vacation wrap-up with trip hits and misses!

So let's get started:

Food:
Hits
Dick (onboard) - Le Bistro, the up-charge French restaurant.  I had a lovely duck two ways (roast duck breast cooked perfectly and a moist confit of duck leg with crispy skin).  Nicely seasoned and presented.

Frank (onboard) - Bamboo, the up-charge Asian restaurant.  I had a Cantonese style chicken dish.  MUCH better than something you would get at PF Changs or the usual Sino-American establishment.  I'm not talking authentic here, but an admirable attempt just the same.

Dick (off ship) - TOAST! (Quebec City) - Had an amazing selection of appetizer sized plates.  My deer tartare was unusual, ultra-local, and surprisingly light in addition to being tasty.  The restaurant is connected to the Hotel Le Priori, which is also a very nice establishment, for those who may be looking for room and board in QC.

Frank (off ship) - I have to give it up to TOAST! as well.  I have never had sweetbreads (and, although I loved them, probably will never again), but the idea of pairing them with seared scallops as an ersatz surf and turf was genius.  The whole place is genius, really.  A bit of a splurge, but fun, cutting edge and definitely stylish!

Misses
Dick (onboard) - La Cucina, the up-charge Italian restaurant.  The osso buco I had was fall off the bone tender, and flavorful.  Alora, it was over-salted.  So close, and yet so far!  That's amore...

Frank (onboard) - Aqua, the main dining room.  If you EVER see holiday turkey with all the trimmings on a cruise ship menu, waddle to another dining spot cause it's not gonna be the type of meal momma would server on turkey day.  This was a big disappointment.  I have had better turkey dinners from a microwave.  In all fairness, I shouldn't have expected a real roast turkey from what is basically a catering environment.  But still, a little more thought than warming up a Jenny-O turkey roll would have been appreciated.

Dick - However, in defense of Aqua, I had a VERY nice whole lobster on the first night, which Frank did not order.  So BOO-YA!

Dick (off ship) - No misses off the ship, other than $10 bucks for a lox and bagel in Peggy's Cove seemed a bit excessive (it was good lox, though).

Frank (off ship) - The food poisoning I got at the Carrabba's at the Tampa Airport when we got back from our trip.  Not a great way to cap a wonderful trip.

Sights:
Hits
Dick - Much of what we saw was very dramatic, and I enjoyed it very much.  There was still some color in the trees, which made for pleasant drives on the tour buses at each port.  But, I guess my overall favorite sight was Peggy's Cove.  I had visited years before, but enjoyed it as much this time as the last.

Frank - Well, my favorite sight is always seeing Simpson at the ship buffet beaming over a full bowl of ice cream (such a happy face!).  But, other than that, I really loved PEI and Quebec City.  Of all we had seen, those two spots would be the ones I would return to.

Misses
Dick - La Baie - This was my least favorite port of call.  It was a nice city, but really had nothing to offer in terms of significant sights.

Frank - Have to agree.  If you weren't into high-impact sports (zodiac rafting, etc.) or a narcolepsy inducing faux-folk extravaganza, you were kind of out of luck.  In all fairness, there were excursions to a National Park, which I am sure was lovely.  But not for us on this go round.

Ship Board entertainment:
Hits
Dick - While we did not attend any of the "Vegas" (quotation marks intentional) style productions in the main theater, we had the pleasure of realizing that our favorite performer from a prior cruise was on board, Nathaniel Reed.  He sings standards and modern pop and soul.  If you ever get a chance to see his Motown Revue, don't miss it!

Frank - I will give special mention to the folk strains of the three piece Celtic Umbrella.  One of the members was from PEI!  Listening to Scotch, Irish and Canadian music on piano and fiddle with vocals was lovely.  But my favorite entertainment was watching the rowdy drunks come to happy hour from 4-6 every night at the pub.  Two for one beers and wine and even some cocktails.  Nothing comes between an octogenarian and their scooter and two bloody marys.  Look twice or you are road kill!

BTW, I went there for observational purposes only, you nasty people!

General Comments:
Dick - Not surprisingly, we had only a couple of chilly and windy days, with temps in the low 30's and feels likes in the low 20's.  Mostly though, in the 50's and 60's with PLENTY of sunshine in Quebec City.

Also, back to the food.  One of the reasons I have always been reluctant in the past about cruises is my low expectations about the level of food quality at the main dining rooms, let alone the prospect of having to dine with complete strangers at a big table at a fixed time every night.  NCL has the up-charge restaurants, which I have always found to be good.  I ate much more often at the main dining rooms this time, and I was surprised at the quality of the food, and the ability to be seated at two tops with no problems or lengthy waits.

Frank - I really loved being able to see Canada, for the very first time.  I enjoyed all the ports.  Really thought the people were great (ok, so I got into a scuffle with the Canadian Customs guys, but I wasn't on my meds and had a bad day.  Details in my forthcoming memoir).  All in all though, it was a GREAT trip, good memories, and of course, good company.

Dick - I must agree with Frank, it was a great cruise, with colorful scenery, and delicious food.

Until the next trip, that's all folks...

Lost But Now He is Found

I don't know where he was, but this guy missed the photo op last night. I found him hiding with other photographs - now it is his turn. But again, what is he? Any suggestions?