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| The Coast Guard House, the Newport Bridge in the distance. |
If you're ever in Narragansett (the town, not the bay), stop by the Coast Guard House Restaurant. Rather than slave over my keyboard bringing you more, hopefully, entertaining fiction, I was out with The Missus Herself and two other couples enjoying a fine meal overlooking Narragansett Bay to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.
Yes, yes, it was a bit pricey but in truth it was well worth it. Atmosphere was good (why do Americans feel the need to talk loudly at dinner is beyond me), the food was excellent, and the company was superb. Oh yes, the service was excellent as well.
The meal began with a calamari appetizer prepared in a way I've never had it before which was superb. (I'd give you the details but it was some sort of creamy, coconut-based?, sauce with a rather spicy red dip, garnished with basil, okay those were details weren't they, very tasty it was!) Followed by a main course of filet mignon paired with a lobster tail with asparagus with half a twice-baked potato. All very delicious.
There may have been a couple of Founders Breakfast Stouts in there, with an Irish coffee for after. Portions were just the right size, the food was prepared to perfection.
Heck, if you're going to spend a lot of money on food, then that was the way to go.
So rather than write something for you, I was out there, boosting the economy and playing the gourmand. Hey, someone has to do it, am I right?
More fiction to come, let your imaginations run wild, you know I'll throw you a curve ball at some point, right?
Bis morgen, as they say in Deutschland...
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| Listening to the surf is good for my morale... |
Congratulations! You are one of my few neighbors who have actually driven to the West side of the bay for dinner. We are going to Providence (about 17.5 miles) for a five course meal to celebrate Daughter's 58th birthday, and no, we did not make hotel reservations. Old Guns
ReplyDeleteI know folks who live on Aquidneck who won't the island for any reason. Even free food.
DeleteVisiting a swanky establishment.....it's a tough assignment but someone has to do it, ya? Have to keep the morale up after these past twenty months. As to libations... well.......sure! :)
ReplyDeleteSomeone's gotta do it.
DeleteThe soft sound of the surf is simply soothing. (Too much alliteration?)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Lovecraft I tend to avoid the New England coastline at night. :)
I will file away the restaurant name for a future trip.
Too much sibilance in the phirst phrase. Unless you are Terry-Thomas. I always liked his voice.
DeleteJohn - And that right there is why I avoid his writing.
DeleteSTxAR - I haven't heard that name in a very long time.
DeleteHe was everywhere when I was a kid, movies, tv... And he hissed when he spoke. I guess it was the missing third front tooth. But I really liked his voice. SSSSssssssoooothing......
DeleteSame here.
DeleteSTxAR. Good ones.
DeleteOAF. Yes.
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DeleteLooks and sounds delicious Sarge. We appreciated the sacrifices you are making for the greater cause...
ReplyDelete😁
DeleteI'll be here waiting for the next episode: whether it took place in a past I was too young to take part in or a (near) future in which I doubt I'll live long/be strong enough to take part; nonetheless I'll look forward to and pray for a "happy" ending.
ReplyDeleteOne can hope, last time I checked, God was still in charge.
Delete"half a twice-baked potato".... That is just a plain baked potato right? That they can charge extra for because of the long name? I mean (Baked x 2)/2= Baked ....
ReplyDeleteI'm with John, I stay away from water after dark. It's like a huge commode, just flushing and flushing... No telling what might jump out, or where I'll wind up if I fall in.... gives me shivers.
But I do like the pictures. I saw that every night up in Lubbock county. Only it wasn't water, but cotton fields between me and the lights on the horizon...
Argh, math.
DeleteOh great! Now when I'm trying to go to sleep, the nearby Atlantic will be flushing and flushing on our part of paradise here in Ormond-by-the-Sea. Not the picture I had in mind.
DeleteHeh, it's not how I hear it.
DeletePricey, but you're paying extra for a great view I'd expect. I gladly pay it for eating by the water, assuming the food is equally good.
ReplyDeleteThe food was really, really good.
DeleteWhy do Americans talk so loud in restaurants? A better question should be why do restaurants in America all have to sound like the booming hall of an abandoned industrial building, with no sound baffling.
ReplyDeleteI remember restaurants where you could hear other people at your table, but pretty much not hear people at the next table, and definitely (unless they were being rowdy and really noisy) not hear people 2-4 tables away.
But with the 'modern' 'clean' 'open' 'uncluttered' design, the standard restaurant/store/vet office is so noisy and sound-reflecting, that to hear someone next to you requires raising your voice to get above the sound level, which, of course, is a self-defeating feedback loop.
I miss restaurants like Steak & Ale, where the whole restaurant was divided into smaller partitions, so you didn't have to see and hear everyone eat, talk, fart, whatever. I also miss S&A because, for a chain restaurant, they could do some seriously tasty steaks. Unlike Outback or Texas Roadkill or other 'western' themed steak joints.
And that seems to be only a hallmark of an expensive place these days, sound baffling features, a divided-up floor plan (well, except those places where the glitterati go to 'be seen' but I have never been interested in going to those places.)
Seriously, it's not that Americans are rude in restaurants, it's more that most American interior design is set on maximizing bodies and thus maximizing cash. No sound baffling, crappy uncomfortable chairs, tables too close together, the main course dropped off 15 seconds after the salad or appetizers are dropped off, the wait staff constantly asking "Can I get you anything else?" over and over and over again. (Yes, I understand, money and all, but I drop off and spend far more money when I go out when or if the staff is attentive but not pushy and the group I am with can actually sit and enjoy a leisurely meal with lots of talking.) I mean, a salad, appetizer, main meal all crammed in quickly and who has time for a leisurely dessert or coffee?
Other than that, glad you had a chance to splurge on The Missus and yourself. It's a needful thing to step out and have a comfort time.
Trust me, it ain't the restaurant design. I've been in dining establishments all over the world, we, as a people, are loud. Especially in restaurants.
DeleteI can remember getting seated in the same small space with a meeting of the Women's Realtors of Volusia County. It was not good.
DeleteOuch!
DeleteI trust you gave the Muse the night off, too? Sounds like a very nice evening. Good food, good friends, good service, and who cares about the cost when it's a special occasion.
ReplyDeleteMy son and I are dining out tonight at the "Hu Hot Mongolian BBQ" tonight. Great place, but parking in Old Town FoCo is a pain.
I remember the parking, or lack thereof, down there.
DeleteWell, they started something new in the last few weeks. Most of the cross-streets on College Ave through Old Town no longer allow left turns across oncoming traffic. It makes getting through Old Town much easier now, but the parking still lacks. We wound up parking down one of the cross streets, and we're a half-block away from the Hu Hot.
DeleteThat's not too bad.
DeleteHey Old AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteDang, I miss Germany, but until everyone relaxes the travel restrictions, I can't travel even though I work at an airline and can fly for *free*, although it is space available. But with the craziness, its gonna be a while. Your meal sounded really good and you want to notice something else about Americans, We switch cutlery to our dominant hand, whereas the Europeans don't. what I mean is that we are using the fork to either spear or gather the food, but if we have to cut something, we put down or switch the fork to our other hand and pick up the knife and proceed to cutting. It is a uniquely American thing.
I tend to eat European style, as regards switching the knife over. Seems very inefficient.
DeleteMr. G. You mean you can actually get a seat someplace inside the airplane? We haven't been able to for years now.
DeleteSeat being defined rather loosely, more like a padded cubbyhole.
DeleteI'm with you all the way on the "European style" bit OAFS.
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