goods and heroes

i scream . . .

Today I had a lunch date with two fabulous ladies, Catherine and Heather. It was a very special lunch because I would be dining with a rather pregnant person and an almost 2 year-old and we would be meeting at the legendary Margie's. Margie's is an old school ice cream parlor that serves food as an afterthought or a service the owner thinks he ought to provide. By this I mean that practically nobody goes to Margie's for the food. They go for the ice cream, fudge, chocolates and toffee, all of which are homemade. And so we met to eat grilled cheese sandwiches which were merely the amuse-bouche before we got what we really came for--enormously decadent (and super cheap!) ice cream sundaes. You know you're in the right place when there's a crazy giant double decker cherry-topped ice cream cone greeting you out front.

And Margie's is a trip--it's got this weird fake Tiffany lamp stuffed animal neon sign thing going but it gets balanced out nicely by leatherette booths which still have the 50's tableside "juke boxes" on them. I think they still function. Oh wait, it's not a juke box it's a "consolette."

We had homemade chicken noodle soup (which was shockingly good) and grilled cheese sandwiches and then we got what we came for: the Turtle Sundaes. This here Turtle Sundae comes in a very large shell-shaped um, bowl (I think the word tureen would be more appropriate) with 4-5 scoops of ice cream, caramel topping, nuts, whipped cream and a cherry. On the side you get a gravy boat of Margie's homemade hot fudge. Enough hot fudge for a small village of 2 year-olds and pregnant women and myself but we weren't particularly interested in sharing. By the way, this will set you back $3.95.

If you haven't been to an ice cream parlor with a pregnant lady or a toddler lately, you should. Because it is a joy to behold--the sparkle in Catherine's eye! The beautiful round belly hiding under the table!

And no one else can make you feel totally justified in getting crazy happy with a big-ass serving of ice cream and gooey toppings like a toddler and someone who is expecting.

For the record, Heather and Catherine shared one sundae (this was Catherine's first-ever sundae!) and I had one all to myself. My mother (a serious ice cream eater) would be so proud. And then I returned back to work--for which I believe I deserve some sort of medal. Well, maybe not.

This was the last thing we saw as we happily waddled away. Looks like Margie's is getting ready for Valentine's Day.

 

And the feasting continues!

My best friend Suzanna called us on New Year's Eve day and informed us of a last minute plan she had. "Come on over on Monday night, we're having lobster." Just like that. As if we just pop on over every Monday night for costly crustaceans. As if we live in Maine and we just duck into the 7-11 and there are the lobsters swimming around in the tank next to the rotating, sweating hot dogs. As if um, any of us have ever cooked live lobsters before. So I called Dirk's, the same wonderful place we got our crab and shrimp for New Year's and happily placed an order.

We could take on the noble feat of adopting half a dozen clawed creatures.

The last time I enjoyed lobsters with anyone, was in fact New Year's Eve 2000 at Syl and Lyle's farm, with Suzie and Ted and my friend Jef drove in from California with his dog Louie. We all were sort of giddy with the idea of cooking live lobsters (and the New Millennium--remember all the hoopla about hoarding fresh water and the rush on generators?) but then right before the lobsters went into the water, we all got a little quiet and felt tinges of sadness. It's funny, most of us are so removed from really processing our own food (that's me trying to get around saying "hunting, killing and butchering") that when we do, it can be a little freaky.

But who am I to say no to a supper with Suzie and especially one that involves decadent seafood? We've certainly been on a roll, having consumed mucho crab a mere 48 hours prior. We arrived to find Dude protecting the main course.

And teeny little people warming up the mantle.

Our first course was a sublime, silky, sexy soup that Suzanna made seemingly effortlessly. It was a light cream soup with leeks, potatoes, watercress, tilapia and mussels. Oh, mussels. I think I could eat my own weight in mussels. I was sort of swooning when I snapped a photo of my bowl of fruits of the sea, so the photo's a little wonky, but I couldn't not include it here.

Turns out at least one of our motley crew did actually have some lobster cooking experience--that would be Gad, beau of Suzie and a veteran of plunging langostinos into boiling water. 

We cooked them exactly 12 minutes. Exactly. And then they magically turned the color of the pot!

Actually, Gad, a science-y guy, explained the chemical reaction that causes the change in color but I don't remember and at that point I was more interested in getting below the brilliant red shell.

Is there anything more elegant than one plump tail in the middle of a clean white plate and nothing else to get in the way?  And how lucky I am to have good friends to share in the pleasure of eating very special food.

We ended with a Tart Tatin that Gad had made and ice cream. We were all full and relaxed and happy. I can't imagine (nor could any of us afford) lobster every Monday night but it was a perfect way to spend the very first Monday night of 2006.