The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2015 Prinsendam Back to Back.  It was taken June 11 when we visited Killybegs, Ireland:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

4 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Ok more on restaurants.  You would think I am a big eater.  🐷

 

Do those of you in Maryland and the WDC region remember Hamburger Hamlet.  I believe there were a few of them.  It was a sit-down restaurant specializing in all sorts of Hamburgers.  For us in school pricey so only went there once in awhile.  I think one of the places was in Bethesda.

 

OK.  Another one.  Do you all remember this very large dining venue.  Maybe between WDC and Baltimore. It had a sister location near Busch Gardens in Florida but that had a different name.  I want to say Peter Pan.  I remember if you got a large drink like a strawberry daiquiri you kept the glass.  I think you selected the entree and it was accompanied by all you can eat hush puppies, french fries and cole slaw.

 

And speaking of all you can eat there was Chesapeake's Seafood House.  I think that was the name.  Fried/Breaded fish. Very thin filets but the bread made it seem larger.  Flounder?  Trout?  A few other entrees?  Prices ranged but again all you can eat hush puppies, french fries and cole slaw.  We'd go there on occasion and in early years of marriage with not much money to do anything maybe a couple of times a year.  

 

Those were the days.

Keith

Sadly, Keith, I don't remember any of these from the Baltimore area.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

14 hours ago, Roland4 said:

Roy, I think I can safely say, on behalf of all the Canucks on this board, that after this story, you now qualify as a "Honourary" Canadian!!🙂

Thanks.  Sometimes I feel like an Honourary Canadian.  Both my parents were born in Quebec South of Montreal.

 

Dad's family moved away many years ago but a cousin still lives in the homestead established by our original immigrant ancestors in the mid 19th Century (the brick part).

 

 

Roy

 

[ctjon]

What prize do we give to the first picture posted of a sunset on Serenity from a 2021 cruise.   We'll all have big smiles but a prize would be appropriate

 

[Ladys Mom]

Keith, I remember Peter Pan from my youth in the Boston area.  They were all over New England.  The shakes were the things to have, along with the burgers.  By the time we got to the DC area in 2000 McLean) most of those restaurants were gone, I remember going by Hamburger Hamlet.  Our all you could eat place was an Asian restaurant in Falls Church.

[Keith1010]

I think this was the one that we went to:

 

https://www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/stirring-peter-pan-memories/article_e925c8f8-9353-5ff8-948d-7274afa5c10e.html

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

3 hours ago, Ladys Mom said:

Keith, I remember Peter Pan from my youth in the Boston area.  They were all over New England.  The shakes were the things to have, along with the burgers.  By the time we got to the DC area in 2000 McLean) most of those restaurants were gone, I remember going by Hamburger Hamlet.  Our all you could eat place was an Asian restaurant in Falls Church.

I think I realized the one I was thinking of was Peter Pan Inn.

 

We left WDC in 1987 and towards the end I worked in McClean off Rte 7.  

 

At the time living in Reston so this was a shorter commute for me versus the many years I commuted first to the district, then Pentagon City (we had two large buildings there when the rest was just open fields) and then it was McLean.  Loved it there.  Miss it.

 

Keith

[Spudd]

4 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Thanks.  Sometimes I feel like an Honourary Canadian.  Both my parents were born in Quebec South of Montreal.

 

I think you are not just an honourary Canadian but an actual Canadian! According to this, if your parents were born in Canada, you are a Canadian citizen. 

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/acquisition-loss/acquisition.html

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, Spudd said:

 

I think you are not just an honourary Canadian but an actual Canadian! According to this, if your parents were born in Canada, you are a Canadian citizen. 

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/acquisition-loss/acquisition.html

I'm not an expert but I think to be a Canadian my parents would need to have been Canadian Citizens and not just born in Canada.  They became US Citizens well before I was born.

 

Roy

[Ladys Mom]

4 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I think I realized the one I was thinking of was Peter Pan Inn.

 

We left WDC in 1987 and towards the end I worked in McClean off Rte 7.  

 

At the time living in Reston so this was a shorter commute for me versus the many years I commuted first to the district, then Pentagon City (we had two large buildings there when the rest was just open fields) and then it was McLean.  Loved it there.  Miss it.

 

Keith

We lived a McLean because my husband was a consultant and had to go in and out of Dulles.  When our daughter, who lived in Loudon, moved to Alabama, with our only grandchild at the time, we had to move too !!!  Although we love being near our two of our grandchildren (we now have five) we still are not sure about Alabama....

[oakridger]

12 hours ago, ctjon said:

What prize do we give to the first picture posted of a sunset on Serenity from a 2021 cruise.   We'll all have big smiles but a prize would be appropriate

 

@ctjon I think this is an excellent idea!  There are some here on CC who will be on the July 3rd cruise out of Nassau.....I post the challenge to them to post the first 2021 Serenity sunset photo!!  Prize???  Any ideas?

 

~Nancy

[jwh]

19 minutes ago, oakridger said:

@ctjon I think this is an excellent idea!  There are some here on CC who will be on the July 3rd cruise out of Nassau.....I post the challenge to them to post the first 2021 Serenity sunset photo!!  Prize???  Any ideas?

 

~Nancy

They've already won their prize as those lucky little people are  already on board a Crystal cruise!  Spare a thought for those of us 'downunder' who have no chance at all of even thinking of such a thing until at least end of next year! And that is probably optimistic as it may very well be  2023 before we can freely travel again.  When that time comes, I'll happily post sunset, and even sunrise, photos every day 🙂

[rafinmd]

Serenity arriving in Nassau:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

3 of the last 5 sunrises will be from scout camps but 2 of  the 3 will be sunsets.  Today's photo is the sun setting June 26, 2013 at a camp in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains:

 

 

Roy

[May B]

On 6/23/2021 at 4:44 PM, rafinmd said:

My memory was getting fuzzy but that's pretty much the way I remember it.  Many years ago there was a Roy's within a mile of me.  Now most of the Roys are in Western Maryland (That's pretty much anything west of Baltimore).  It just happens that today I had lunch in one of the outliers, this in Burtonsville in the northern suberbs of Washington:

 

 

Unlike Keith I don't swear off anything I enjoy but I do splurge in moderation and I did today since it was my birthday.

 

Roy

Happy birthday! I’m a few days late, but so glad to hear you did splurge. Many happy returns of the occasion, Roy.

[KenzSailing]

So, had dinner at the new Dauphine's in DC last night.  It was all good, but the Pommes Souffle is a life-altering experience.

[rafinmd]

I'm stealing a sunrise today.  This is from the Crystal Serenity Panamax camera this morning, taken as the ship was about to dock in Miami:

 

 

 

Roy

[BWIVince]

On 6/25/2021 at 5:54 AM, Keith1010 said:

Ok more on restaurants.  You would think I am a big eater.  🐷

 

Do those of you in Maryland and the WDC region remember Hamburger Hamlet.  I believe there were a few of them.  It was a sit-down restaurant specializing in all sorts of Hamburgers.  For us in school pricey so only went there once in awhile.  I think one of the places was in Bethesda.

 

OK.  Another one.  Do you all remember this very large dining venue.  Maybe between WDC and Baltimore. It had a sister location near Busch Gardens in Florida but that had a different name.  I want to say Peter Pan.  I remember if you got a large drink like a strawberry daiquiri you kept the glass.  I think you selected the entree and it was accompanied by all you can eat hush puppies, french fries and cole slaw.

 

And speaking of all you can eat there was Chesapeake's Seafood House.  I think that was the name.  Fried/Breaded fish. Very thin filets but the bread made it seem larger.  Flounder?  Trout?  A few other entrees?  Prices ranged but again all you can eat hush puppies, french fries and cole slaw.  We'd go there on occasion and in early years of marriage with not much money to do anything maybe a couple of times a year.  

 

Those were the days.

Keith

 

I definitely remember Hamburger Hamlet -- they were actually around until recently...  It wasn't my parents thing, but I think I went to three locations as a teenager -- Georgetown, Gaithersburg (Rio) and Bethesda (Georgetown Square -- often).

 

Speaking of memories of Georgetown Square in Bethesda -- anyone remember Sutton Place Gourmet, across Old Georgetown Rd from there (-ish)?  One of our first gourmet groceries...

 

We never went to Chesapeake Bay Seafood House, but our closest one was in Burtonsville when I was a young'n...  The same town (ok, census-designated place). that Roy got his fry fix.

 

21 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

So, had dinner at the new Dauphine's in DC last night.  It was all good, but the Pommes Souffle is a life-altering experience.

 

I'm so jealous!  Everything I've heard so far has been amazing.  Nostalgically, I miss the old Wash. Post building, but of course architecturally -- not so much.  The new complex definitely adds to the neighborhood.

 

Vince

[Ladys Mom]

24 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

I definitely remember Hamburger Hamlet -- they were actually around until recently...  It wasn't my parents thing, but I think I went to three locations as a teenager -- Georgetown, Gaithersburg (Rio) and Bethesda (Georgetown Square -- often).

 

Speaking of memories of Georgetown Square in Bethesda -- anyone remember Sutton Place Gourmet, across Old Georgetown Rd from there (-ish)?  One of our first gourmet groceries...

 

We never went to Chesapeake Bay Seafood House, but our closest one was in Burtonsville when I was a young'n...  The same town (ok, census-designated place). that Roy got his fry fix.

 

 

I'm so jealous!  Everything I've heard so far has been amazing.  Nostalgically, I miss the old Wash. Post building, but of course architecturally -- not so much.  The new complex definitely adds to the neighborhood.

 

Vince

Oh how I remember Sutton Place Gourmet.  I first was introduced to them when I was in Bethesda to do some work for NIH.  Then when we moved to McLean there was one in downtown McLean where we could alway get protein, produce, or wines that we could  not get at other stores in the area.  The closest thing we have in Alabama is Whole Foods.

[KenzSailing]

41 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

I definitely remember Hamburger Hamlet -- they were actually around until recently...  It wasn't my parents thing, but I think I went to three locations as a teenager -- Georgetown, Gaithersburg (Rio) and Bethesda (Georgetown Square -- often).

 

 

Well, I didn't remember that the shopping center was called Georgetown Square but, to the best of my knowledge, that Bethesda location was the last Ham Hamlet (gone for years now of course.)

 

44 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

Speaking of memories of Georgetown Square in Bethesda -- anyone remember Sutton Place Gourmet, across Old Georgetown Rd from there (-ish)?  One of our first gourmet groceries...

 

   

Remember it?  I still shop there!  It's now called Balducci's.  Years ago the SPG folks acquired a small chain in NYC called Balducci's.  They felt that name had stronger brand recognition than SPG, so they migrated the DC locations to the new identity (including the location on New Mexico Av, which is still there.)  You probably remember the original incarnation was so ornate they had signs posted forbidding photography. Then, during one attempt at defining their Balducci's identity, they ripped all

that out and went with a warehouse/industrial look, featuring bare metal shelving deliberately laid out in a zig-zag pattern designed to make you traverse the entire store to find the five things you were looking for. It was soon known as the "rats maze" and was universally loathed.  I don't think that layout lasted a year. 

 

58 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 Nostalgically, I miss the old Wash. Post building, but of course architecturally -- not so much.  The new complex definitely adds to the neighborhood.

 

Vince

 

Yeah, lots of history around the old building, but not an aesthetic delight.  So queue up "All the President's Men" again.  You can revisit the old Post and Roy Roger's, all in one viewing.

 

And saddle up and get yourself down to Dauphine's.  The place is as gorgeous to the eye as the food is heaven on the tongue.  I started with a Sazerac, some oysters, and the evening got even better from there.  If you haven't already, check out the "References" section of their website.  They are dead serious about not coming off as a Disney version of the Big Easy. 

[BWIVince]

32 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Well, I didn't remember that the shopping center was called Georgetown Square but, to the best of my knowledge, that Bethesda location was the last Ham Hamlet (gone for years now of course.)

 

   

Remember it?  I still shop there!  It's now called Balducci's.  Years ago the SPG folks acquired a small chain in NYC called Balducci's.  They felt that name had stronger brand recognition than SPG, so they migrated the DC locations to the new identity (including the location on New Mexico Av, which is still there.)  You probably remember the original incarnation was so ornate they had signs posted forbidding photography. Then, during one attempt at defining their Balducci's identity, they ripped all

that out and went with a warehouse/industrial look, featuring bare metal shelving deliberately laid out in a zig-zag pattern designed to make you traverse the entire store to find the five things you were looking for. It was soon known as the "rats maze" and was universally loathed.  I don't think that layout lasted a year. 

 

 

Yeah, lots of history around the old building, but not an aesthetic delight.  So queue up "All the President's Men" again.  You can revisit the old Post and Roy Roger's, all in one viewing.

 

And saddle up and get yourself down to Dauphine's.  The place is as gorgeous to the eye as the food is heaven on the tongue.  I started with a Sazerac, some oysters, and the evening got even better from there.  If you haven't already, check out the "References" section of their website.  They are dead serious about not coming off as a Disney version of the Big Easy. 

 

I can't remember when the Bethesda HamHam closed...  My last visit to the one in Rio was in 2010.  I think I've only been back in the whole Washingtonian Center complex twice since then too.  There's not much in there I need.

 

Funny you mentioned the New Mexico Ave. location -- for decades my mother's neurosurgeon's office was next door in Foxhall Square...  My mother only shopped at SPG/Balducci's for very special things (it was right in line with her taste but way out of her budget), but I think after the visits to the neurosurgeon it was easier to justify a small bag of treasures from SPG -- or at least my dad had a harder time complaining about it.  🙂  

 

The Post building was SO fugly...  The other thing I'm going to conditionally miss in that neighborhood is the Post Pub.  Not for the culinary memories, but for the atmosphere.  I don't know what it says about my job, but I think I had more work lunches and even business meetings in there than most of the respectable restaurants in the neighborhood.

 

 

From a food perspective, Dauphine's food reminds me a bit of Donald Link's for some reason...  Maybe a little more refined presentation than some of Link's restaurants, but much of the same style of prep and cooking.

 

Now I'm starving, just in time for dinner...

 

Vince

 

[Keith1010]

Did any of you go to Magic Pan.  There was one in Maryland; I believe Chevy Chase and Bethesda. We loved it and on the night I proposed at the Jefferson Memorial we drove over there for dinner.  I can't tell you what I at the other day for dinner but I know what I would often have there.  Start with Spinach Salad which had tomatoes and blue cheese dressing. Two crepes; mushroom and a spinach crepe.  Dessert was a Crepe with whipped cream and strawberries.  We also had one in Virginia at Seven Corners which we went to after moving to Northern Virginia After College.  Back in those days Crepes were popular.  There was a crepe place in Georgetown I called Maison de Crepes and there we would get onion soup topped with cheese and what else but crepes. 

 

Keith

[rafinmd]

I have another sunset from a scout today.  This was taken June 27, 2017 at a camp in Western Pennsylvania.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Another surprise sunrise this morning.  This is from the Port Nassau webcam as the Crystal Serenity was getting close:

 

 

Roy

[mskatiemae]

This is mostly for Mr. Chez, so he can scope out the competition.

 

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-lifestyle/gallery-26-new-foods-4-new-vendors-announced-for-minnesota-state-fair-2021