B at the B&B

Welcome to Ray's Bucktown B&B, Chicago!

As far as I'm concerned, this "B&B" can stand for "Breakfast and Breakfast."



The chef (I believe her name was Maureen) made delicious apricot pancakes for me (and a made-to-order omelette for Dan).  We shared roasted potatoes with rosemary, which were perfectly crispy.





There had also been a pre-breakfast spread of fruit, juices and pastries.

I hope it's clear I recommend this place.

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I am the United Nations of Snacking.

 We watched the World Cup quarter-final match between Brazil and The Netherlands at Piper's Pub, a British Isles-themed sports bar and restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA.  While there, naturally, I had to try my first Scotch Egg.



A Scotch Egg is a hard-boiled egg that is somehow encased in a sort of bread-and-sausage batter and then fried.  Yow!  I was not expecting my eggs (which were cut in half and served to me with hot sauce) to  be so thick and large.  But, however overwhelming, they were quite good -- especially dipped in the hot sauce.  It took four of us to eat my serving, though.  This is a snack to share.  And eat it hot!

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Another Ladies' Night

In general, I'm not in favor of events that are designed to be "women only" or "just the boys," but I do love to hang out with my female friends -- and I don't mind if we just happen to do so without the husbands/fiances/boyfriends/guy friends every so often.

Several weeks ago, Rachel and Steph and I checked out a relatively new wine bar in the neighborhood.  Called The Counting Room, their small plates menu is pretty inspiring.  Rachel and I enjoyed deviled eggs with mustard and lemon, and all three of us shared a lavishly appointed 5-cheese plate.



We also drank a couple of half-carafes of wine (2 varieties), but I didn't bother to note which ones we ordered.  My apologies, etc., but you should know me by now (unless you're just joining the blog).  I'm not as into the alcohol as the savory snacks. My mind strayed to, then stayed on the food.  

I can't wait to go back to try the "warm bag of croutons" that I ordered (but which they forgot to bring me).

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Snacky Easter! (A Photo Essay)

In which I write a letter to eggnog waffles.

Dear waffles,

I love you. Remember when I made you for Brooke and Dan and Vincent and myself that one morning? You know, the waffle iron is really hard to clean, but you're worth it. I mean, batter always gets stuck in the crack by the spring and I can't get it out. It's distressing, but then I think, "Waffles!" and I remember why I bother.

I'm including a photo of you that day. I recall how special you were. You were eggnog waffles, weren't you? What a good idea. You may not know it, but I found the recipe here. That blog's good; you should read it. Put it in your RSS reader.

It's funny -- you smelled more like eggnog than you tasted, but I still enjoyed you. You were so sweet. The nutmeg was a nice touch.

Oh! Another thing that's great about you? You know how if there are leftovers, I can just freeze you and toast you the next morning? That's awesome. I just wanted you to know.

Please be my breakfast forever.

Fondly,
Jennette

In which I ask myself a simple question, but do not have the answer:

(phone photo by Dan)

Why don't I like "breakfast burritos?"

Egg Fairies

I can only assume the egg fairies knew I was almost out of eggs and left me this present outside my apartment door. I mean, logic might suggest that it was actually my neighbor, before he left town, but...I say fairies.

What to do when it's rainy

A Lazy Weekend: Entertainment and Eats

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2009

5:00 pm
2 episodes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Smoked cheddar kettle corn

7:00 pm
NPR Evening Music
Nap
Cranberry juice

8:30 pm
Episode of Intervention
Dan-made buttermilk biscuits and Anna's blueberry jam with eggy dinner

10:15 pm
Jimmy's Pink Cookies
Milk
Season 2 of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! marathon

(SATURDAY, AUGUST 29)
12:15 am
Tidying up
Season 2 of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! bonus features (what, no commentary?!)
H₂O

Eat No Evil.

While in Pennsylvania, we had the pleasure of an afternoon at Zerns.



Zerns is an auction-house-meets-farmers'-market-meets-food-court-meets-junk-shop-meets-craft-fair-meets-strip-mall-meets-99-cent-store-meets-army-navy-surplus-store-meets-profitable-lost-and-found-meets-arcade.

There is a lot of stuff there of varying quality. But I don't want to say anything bad about my Zerns experience. Those monkeys have the right idea. I just want to mention what I ate there.



Mustard eggs (50 cents each) taste sweet, like mustardy potato salad melted into hard boiled eggs. I would definitely eat more of these. Find them at the Weidner's Deli stand.




(photo by Dan)

Mmmmmmustard egg!



Pepper Turkey Jerky had a honey-sweetness and was neither too hard to chew nor too soft to be considered true jerky. This was also sold by the Weidner's Deli people.



Funnel Cake is a family favorite, and we all shared a plateful. There was so much powdered sugar on this that I had to knock some of it off into the trash. If you've never aspirated powdered sugar, you probably haven't had funnel cake.



At Dietz & Watson, I chose a big, spicy dill pickle. Though each bite was only moderately spicy, the sensation built throughout my eating the pickle into a surprisingly strong, heated finish. I do enjoy a good dill pickle. Nothing evil in my mouth today! Thank you, Zerns.




p.s. We had dinner at Funky Lil' Kitchen in Pottstown. The name? Not my favorite. The food? Quite good! I especially liked the buttery, nutty orzo that came with my crab cakes and the dessert of pot de creme.