Jan232009
Baltimore Eating
Filed under food,Pens by Kim at 4:25 pm on Jan 23 2009
Last night we ventured into Baltimore to meet some friends and soak up local dining experiences. We failed to get into two restaurants before we finally settled on Sauté (note to them: um, get a website). I was overjoyed because they had scallops galore, and one thing that drives me nuts about Top Chef is that someone always cooks scallops and I am always sad and bereft because how often do you get to eat scallops? So I had their scallop entrée which included some kind of peppery risotto with cherries cooked in it (NOM) and asparagus with some kind of goat cheese (NOM NOM!) and of course, scallops. But not like one scallop in the middle of the plate, oh no. There were four giant scallops!!
Everything was really good. The risotto was a little too peppery, but the cherries made up for it. I never eat asparagus, and I ate almost every morsel of the stuff. The scallop was perfectly done and the perfect texture. And then if all that was not enough, I asked the waitress to suggest a wine. She suggested Banfi Le Rime Pinot Grigio/Chardonnay blend. I often like a wine, but I seldom looove a wine. I loooove this wine.
In other awesome news: my tripod arrived. Expect long exposure shots soon.
Current pen: Lamy Safari lime 2008 special edition. I’m trying desperately to empty it of blue ink so I can clean it out and use a more lively ink color.
Oh! And Hero is totally fine. The rest of his teeth look healthy and pink gums and he’s merrily eating hard food already. That tooth was clearly just waiting to drop out. He is still getting pilled but I haven’t heard him sneezing for a bit. All in all, phew.
1 Angela @ Lost In Splendoron 24 Jan 2009 at 10:44 am
Mmmm…I love scallops.
That pen looks awesome. I think purple ink would be so fun in it.
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Kim Reply:
January 25th, 2009 at 10:08 am
That’s definitely why I’m using it – I need fun colors. Boo on blue.
Except for in your new blog theme, it looks lovely!
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2 TAOon 24 Jan 2009 at 10:52 am
Glad to hear Hero is fine! We have two pug dogs that are getting up in years (as the snoring behind me attests to). One day I saw the oldest with a funny while spot on his lip. It wasn’t a spot but his tooth loosely hanging out! Well, it just went “plop” on the floor when I fiddled with it. I was quite worried this was the beginning of a trend and soon I’d have to feed him bowls of soft gruel like food. Luckilly it wasn’t but I think I should rename him “White Fangless” now.
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Kim Reply:
January 25th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Aw, pups! I love pug dogs. But don’t they always sound like they are breathing funny? Or is that just my breed ignorance?
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3 TAOon 25 Jan 2009 at 5:57 pm
Pug dogs certainly make a wide variety of strange noises. It’s hard to even describe them but I’ll mention a few. Purr: our pugs sound a lot like cats when we rub them. Snort: happens all the time. Usually when the are sticking their pug mugs in front of your face. Gooo: our youngest pug makes a weird “gooo!” noise when excited, hungry, or just whenever. Cry: A long inhale/exhale whine that means they are unhappy and you’d better notice it.
As for breathing problems it’s something that all flat faced dog (know as brachycephalic) breeds struggle with. Our pugs can breath heavier than normal in the heat or when they exert themselves but normally at home they are fine. The breed standard is a very flat face but if the pug has a bit more nose than normal you’ll see less breathing problems. It’s the same with French Bulldogs, Bostons, Boxers etc.
Pugs have more personality than most people I know so it’s certainly both a joy and struggle to live with them. Small dogs are easier to deal with at least. Ack! I’ve gone one long enough about them. 😀
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Kim Reply:
January 25th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I once worked in an office that allowed dogs, and while that had its down sides sometimes my boss would bring in his French Bulldog. I absolutely fell in love with that dog. He had no nonsense about him, even as a puppy. So someday when my life allows me to be at home more, I hope to get myself a little compact dog. Right now our two cats would never put up with that – everyone would be unhappy!
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4 TAOon 26 Jan 2009 at 11:17 am
I always thought working in a dog-friendly office would be great. Stress reduction would be a benefit (unless your dog was prone to…um…accidents.) I work at home 4 days a week so it’s like I have a dog friendly workplace. Right now there are snores coming from the floor behind me.
Frenchies are really great dogs. We used to joke they were the upgrade dog from pugs (apologies to my pugs Mr. Puggy and Mr. Snufflepugolous.) When I was out in LA working for the summer a year or so ago there was a nice dog boutique in Venice and the owners had two Frenchies who would turn up their bellies to be rubbed at the drop of a hat.
Anyway, I recommend little dogs. For one thing you can pick them up and put them somewhere they can’t get into trouble. Also, as we found out with our friend’s German Shepard, they can’t eat your door and door frame when upset. That dog wants to be a lap dog as well, but you’d have to have an industrial strength lap to handle it.
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Kim Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
The only problem I had with the dog-friendly office was that the woman I was sharing an office with at the time had a poorly socialized dog, and had no idea what to do about it. That got really old, really fast.
I wouldn’t be so sure about little dogs not eating doors and doorframes! One of my close friends had an Italian Greyhound and that little girl did a serious number on one of her bathroom doors! It was a separation anxiety thing. Poor pup.
I always had little dogs when I was a kid, we had a Yorkie and a total mutt, and they were both great dogs. Someday…
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