Canterbury and Teddy

When we travel, at our destination we love finding out of the way places that locals love and frequent.

While we try to do a little on-line research before the trip to find locations to visit or eat, we have always found the best places through recommendations from residents - mostly from people who work in the local shops. Do you find that to be true, too?

Canterbury's Historic Oyster Bar and Grill in Nassau County, Long Island New York, was one of those places recommended by three locals we chatted with. With three referrals, it sounded like a good bet that it'd be just what we were looking for!

We arrived at lunch, just as the place opened. What personality (there was a Teddy Roosevelt thing going on :)! But while we do love great ambiance, we love good food more. Was the food going to be as good?! We hoped so!

The menu had a ton of delectable looking selections. We didn't order huge meals since we were planning to meet up with family later that evening for a grand, home cooked dinner (and I like to leave a lot of stomach real estate open for good, home cooked food).

We split the fried calamari, rustic field and grain vegetable platter, and Canterbury pastrami sandwich. Really delicious! Calamari was meaty and crunchy, and served with a yummy red sauce. The veggie's were cooked just right - still crunchy, and the hummus was garlicky and creamy. The pastrami is a Canterbury specialty, and it was piled high with meat and loaded with sauerkraut, spicy Dijon, and sharp melted Swiss. YUM.

So, so good! We might have to go back with friends on our next NY visit.

Talking with Food in My Mouth

We usually arrive around lunch time or late afternoon on our one-day, yearly visit to NY to see my sis-in-law and her family. It's always a scorching hot, but breezy if we're lucky, mid-summer day.

Much to our delight, my adorable SIL makes sure the planned visit centers around important things like spending time with nieces and nephews, getting reacquainted with active kiddos who have grown a foot since last year, close cousins, oftentimes excited pets, and delicious Italian food.

On this visit as we arrived, a substantial Italian lunch fare was being laid out before us on the kitchen table.

There were classic Italian freshly sliced deli hams, rare roast beef, sharp cheeses, roasted peppers, artichokes, good Italian olives, and various condiments. Crusty rolls were stacked waiting to be cut in half or torn apart for sandwiches or dabbing in richly flavored olive oil. Salads waited in vintage Pyrex bowls with big spoons shoved deep in their middles.

We will usually eat for hours, on and off, and happily debate about everything from house cleaning to politics. 

There are stories told about dear family members who have gone before us and of those sitting at the table with us. Hands wave enthusiastically during the conversations to emphasize points or to finalize a crescendo of ideas. Beverages are passed around and poured into ice filled, frosty glasses. We talk and laugh as we eat - there's no shame at this table of seeing a little partially eaten food in the mouth of a great story teller. 

I love the feel and smell of the air of nearby Long Island waterways and the ocean as we sit around the kitchen table with screened doors and windows open. It's salty and misty. Or maybe it's just my romantic interpretation of normal humidity, who knows.

Towards the evening, great java and Italian cookies and other sweets from the local bakery round out the casual meal.

After we arrive back home and start our busy routines - for weeks after the trip I tell anyone who happens to be near me - there's always a soulful comfort in the visit. Always has been. Always will be. 

Summer Friend

I made a feathered friend last summer.

Such a showoff.

Bye Bye 2012. Hello 2013.

Live life to the fullest in 2013...lick a window if it makes you happy!

Judith Ann

About a month ago we headed to Norfolk's Ocean View Fishing Pier to take in a chartered boat ride on the "Judith Ann" to a concert nearby in Portsmouth. It was a stunning day. Exceptionally hot and windy. It was so windy that the crazy boat bobbed up and down uncontrollably like a spastic buoy. And I got sea sick. Nice. Not physically ill, but sick enough that I had to get off the boat and hitch a ride with a few friends (who were also sea sick) to the concert. I was bummed because the trip was also catered and all kinds of food was going to be served! While I'm prone to motion sickness, I haven't had it bother me that much since I was a kid.

Found a new photography site, Mastering Photo, and enjoyed this short article on using Photoshop Curves to dodge and burn (ILO using the dedicated dodge and burn tools). Will have to dig around in it a little more.

Bucket List

While in PA we went to a local place for lunch. The food was so good! We indulged in not one, but TWO buckets of mini Corona. It was so cold and refreshing, and I always love the taste of lime in this beer.