Restaurant Raconteur

Source

Sarge gave me some inspiration with his post the other day about going out to eat, so I thought I would document the resulting thoughts.  However, I might be a little overly confident with that title. I will tell a little story here, but I can't be sure it will be with any skill or wit per Webster's definition.  Raconteur is a word I've heard before, but doubt I've ever used it here.  I saw it twice very recently and liked how it sounds.  It was in a book called Calico Joe by John Grisham.  Known mostly for his legal thrillers, this one is about a baseball player in the '70s. Another sports related story that I absolutely love of his, one of my favorite books, is Playing for Pizza.  It's about a disgraced quarterback who runs away to Italy to play in the Italian League.  While there and dining in the owners restaurant, he discovers that while he has a paid contract, most of the players on his team are paid in food, hence playing for pizza.  Highly recommended, mostly due to his descriptions of the food that will either get you salivating, or looking for flights to Italy, but probably both.  I read years before our trip to Rome, and it cemented my interest in going.

As for Sarge's post, Marchetti's does sound delicious. I've had my recent fill of Italian as my command Christmas party was at a Italian restaurant in the Little Italy neighborhood of San Diego, Nonna's.  I hadn't seen that word before seeing it on a Netflix movie title about the cooking from a bunch of Italian grandmothers. I had the chicken pesto gnocchi which was excellent.  Last night we attended a benefit catered by a gentleman we know who owns The French Gourmet restaurant here in San Diego. 

I saw an article that said the restaurant was closing on January 4th.  I'm saddened by news of restaurants or businesses shutting down, sometimes because they lose their lease as the owner wants to sell to a developer to build more apartments.  You know the saying, "you can't stop progress," and that's definitely true here in San Diego.  However, it's the way this progress is progressing that I really dislike.  In an attempt to accelerate new housing growth, the city has changed all sorts of zoning laws and fast-tracked development.  The builders can now put up apartment buildings in single family zoned neighborhoods, buying up lots for far more money than buyers can afford (driving up housing costs), using money they don't have to spend on lots in more costly multi-family zoned areas.  But even worse is that these dwellings are without parking.  They let developers build without any space for vehicles if they are within a half mile of a bus route which is pretty much anywhere.  But few in California take public transit.  Those apartment dwellers will just take up all the local area city street parking that is already congested.  That leads to angry residents, cars being keyed, no room for resident trash cans, or cans being moved to driveways and thereby ignored by the trash trucks, etc.  I don't think the city actually cares about it residents, or even about the need for more housing.  I think they're just after all the developer fees to help close a $3.3B pension deficit, but that's different pithy political post for another day.

Anyhoo, after reading a few lines of the article, I quickly got online and made a reservation to support him in his final days of culinary amazement.  His restaurant is a quaint and stylish little place, looking like some cottage in the French countryside.  It has a French bakery in the front and a small seating area off to the side.  We've been many times for special occasions, and even Easter and regular brunch.  And he's catered many of the benefits we've attended over the years.  However, after I finished making the reservation I finished the article.  It turns out he is not getting pushed out by a landlord, he is the landlord.  He himself has decided to retire at 71 years old and he has accepted an offer from a developer, one that has been after him for 10 years.  He stated that it wasn't yet time and the offers were never serious enough to make him consider it.  However, they significantly increased it recently as well as buying an adjacent lot, offering him $7 million for the loss of the business, the sale of the building, and the lot it sits on.  While I don't necessarily want to see another congested apartment complex without parking, you can't stop progress and I cannot blame him for accepting that figure.  

Either way, we will enjoy our dinner, it just won't be with sadness for him.  At the benefit last night there was a silent auction and I noticed his name on many of the items.  Seeing how he's flush with cash he was feeling generous.  Not sure how many items he took away, but he has plenty of time and money to continue that type of philanthropy and I wish him well.

I hope your Advent season is going well.  Besides the Christmas party and the benefit on Friday night, our weekend social calendar wasn't finished.  I put on a nice red suit as part of the local VFW's "Santa at the Ship" event which gives out toys to junior military families whose father or mother are either on deployment or recently returned.  My Mustang Club purchases the toys and donates funds for the bikes.  I wasn't supposed to be Santa this year as a 92yo VFW member asked to play the role,  and they wanted to indulge him, seeing how you never know if he'll be able to do it in the future.  However, he got quite fatigued lifting children onto his lap so he had to leave about halfway through the day.  I was in the Alert-5 position though and quickly transformed into St. Nick.  

Mrs. Claus always makes Santa happy.

Other than that, we plan to have some neighbors over next weekend for a Christmas Open House, but that will be the end of us being socialites for the season.  The rest of the year should be rather quiet and low-key.  I plan taking just a few days of leave, bracketing Jesus's birthday and New Years.  Work is already quiet as the active-duty folks are allowed to phone muster for much of the Holiday stand down.  I roll my eyes at that, but it keeps the gate traffic down!  I'm not sure I'll write again this year, so I'll wish you all a Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year.

This and That ...

야끼만두 (Yaki Mandu)
Source

As I'm not in the mood to write any fiction and as The Missus Herself fed me one of my favorite comfort foods (the opening photo), you get a short bit of who knows what? (And yes, there is a recipe for those at the source of the photo.)

First I want to thank Dakota Viking for giving me the day off yesterday, I got to relax and we all got a taste of writing talent that I hope we can get more of. In your own good time, DV.  No rush. After all, quality is worth waiting for.

Being retired is still kinda cool, i.e., the novelty hasn't worn off yet. Yes, there are days when I'd like to get back in the saddle and go back to the work I enjoyed over the past decade, but things, they are a changing. My sense was "not for the better," which is why I reached for the ejection handle and punched out.

At breakfast the other day Liz said it would be nice to have me back in the lab for at least one day a week. I think that's mostly so I can listen to her rant about the direction things seem to be going in. Honestly, I could handle one day a week, they wouldn't even have to pay me!

But that's all theoretical anyway.

My buddy Tom introduced me to this really good band Plush a while back (might even be, probably is, going on two years now, maybe three) and they're going to be in town (well New Bedford, but that's just a hop skip and a jump from here) and that I should accompany him and Brian (another buddy from work).

The Missus Herself assured me that nothing was on the schedule for that week, so I received clearance. It's off to another concert I go. Looking forward to it.

Tom was going to get me a t-shirt last time he went (he's seen them four times) but thought better of it.

Why? (You might ask.)

Well, it's an all female band, all very talented, all very lovely. Tom figured that The Missus Herself wouldn't be pleased with me parading around with this picture on my chest -

Plush

"Really, Tom? Do you really think my gorgeous wife is worried about her ancient, grizzled, old husband running off with a young lady?"

"No, not really. But the shirt was fifty bucks, I'm not springing for that!"

Smart man, my buddy Tom.

Hopefully he talks me out of buying a t-shirt at the concert!

That is all, carry on.

Be seeing you.

You Did What, Otto?

Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa
The inventor of sliced bread, well, the first bread slicer ...
(Source - Go read it!)

I blew away a comment from Uncle Skip yesterday with the help of Blogger, who was apparently being a bit snippy as I haven't been paying much attention to the blog as of late.

Anyhoo, Skip's comment presented that chap above to my cerebral cortex, it was good to find this out.

I mean, c'mon, who among us has never said, "The greatest thing since sliced bread!"

Well, we can all thank Otto for that.

Dude, set the bar for the measure of greatness!

Speaking of bread, I found this video très amusant ...

And with that, I lamely begin my New Year (yesterday didn't count).

Be back with something, I'll think of something!

Ooh, almost forget, Oppenheimer, watch it. I thought it was damned good. Four stars I give it.

Music and a meal

Beans's Christmas music post inspired me to write a little bit the other day, to provide a little commentary on the subject, and also as a little create outlet for me since I'm taking some time off over the holidays.

Now in my house, Christmas just started a few days ago, and will go through epiphany of course.  The Christmas music will continue just as the decorations remain up.  As Beans shared, Josh Groban did a fine job with O Holy Night.

Source

There are some wonderful Christmas songs out there, ones I never grow tired of listening to, and yet there are some that are just awful.  It's almost as if these artists are phoning it in, writing or performing a song just to rake in some bucks around the holidays.  These are songs that are purely pop drivel, as the artist may add a couple topical lyrics and a jingle bell or two to an uninspiring pop song in a weak attempt to capture the theme of the season.

Speaking of which, Taylor Swift is getting all sorts of pop-culture press this year, partially because her Eras Tour has raked in nearly a billion dollars, but also since she's dating some football player on an overrated team.  But the other day I heard her version of a Christmas standard and it was lousy.  I'm no Taylor Swift fan, but nor am I a hater.  Some people love her and that's fine, but her music does nothing for me.  And it does even less so when she attempts to sing Eartha Kitt's Santa Baby, with a version that is weak and vapid at best.  

That led me to thinking about some of those Christmas songs that are iconic by one particular artist. Sure, there are plenty of Christmas albums out there and plenty of artists put their mark on various songs, but some just can't recreate the magic that is made when certain artists practically own the song.

Dean Martin's Let It Snow is one of those perfect tracks for me, and nobody does that one better. I would put Bing Crosby's White Christmas against any one else's version. It may not be the absolute best, since I can't say I've heard them all, but it also brings back fond memories of me as the kid and my dad playing the album. I've already expressed my love of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song." It's my favorite song of the season and also evokes the same strong memories.

I would also put Vince Guaraldi's Christmas Time is Here in that memorable song category. No idea if anybody else has a version, but that one is iconic if a bit melancholy. The whole Charlie Brown Christmas album is wonderful and I listen to it on repeat. There are versions on YouTube that play it over and over, with several hours of his jazzy take on the standards.

Judy Garland did it well but I have to say I really like Michael Buble's version of "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas."  His "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" is also excellent and gives Bing Crosby a run for his money. They're both great crooners though so I suppose that's understandable.  

This one gets me in the feels:

I don't necessarily have a favorite but I do enjoy Stevie Nicks's version of Silent Night. Apparently it is the most covered Christmas song, with 3,700 interpretations out there.  From that same album as the dusty Fleetwood Mac singer, the Eurythmics cover of Winter Wonderland is pretty good. And Brenda Lee with her rocking around the Christmas tree is pretty much unmatched. Here are more:

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives

Christmas Baby (Please come home) by Darlene Love

Andy Williams - It's the most wonderful time of the year.

And not necessarily iconic but I really like:

Amy Grant- (a two-fer) Grown up Christmas List and Breath of Heaven

Coldplay's Christmas Lights

Faith Hill's A Baby Changes Everything

And finally my new favorite of the season:

Stella Cole, who croons like a cross between Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand

Anyway, lots of music above, most of which you've heard before, so if you need to pick a couple, I recommend Charlie Brown and Stella Cole.  Enjoy!

And for my second act:

No, that's not chocolate cake, but a piece of beef.  Ok, it wasn't that bad, but close to it.  Source

Christmas dinner was good enough, but I almost ruined a $70 chunk of prime rib. I did plenty of research on different ways to make it last year:  Super high temp, then you turn it off and let it rest, or slow roast at a low temperature for a few hours.  I used the high/rest option last year, so I opted to change it up this year and went for the slow roast.  Somehow I put it in to slow cook at 350 instead of 250, and so by the time I got home from a movie (somewhat a tradition of ours), the internal temperature was already 165, when it should have never gotten above 118. So instead of nice pinkish-red rare roast beef we had medium well to well.  It wasn't a big hit for the family so we had leftovers and my wife made it all better in a delicious beef stew.  I won't make that mistake again, but I feel like I need to go to confession.  Last year's turned out excellent so I'm not sure why I tried to fix what wasn't broken.  Fortunately, we also had some lobster tails I found at the commissary, and lava cake for dessert which took the sting off a little bit.

It was an easy post-Christmas week around the Tuna household. I worked Wednesday and Thursday, but was home early as there was little to no work to be done since the Sailors and Officers were only showing up to muster*, then back out on liberty.  However, I'm all square on the annual training requirements.  I'm well educated on how to not sexually harass anyone, and avoid sex traffickers, so I've got that going for me.  Drove the San Diego Port Commissioner in the Holiday Bowl Parade on Wednesday morning for a quick 30 minute route, which was nice.  I had no interest whatsoever in the bowl game (USC vs Louisville) so I declined the free tickets.  That night we went out to dinner with my wife's cousin who was in town to visit her new granddaughter whose daddy is a Navy Seal.  Someone to add to my prayers.

Hope you all had a great Christmas, and that it continues for you too.

*Commanders can give a max of 96 hours special liberty so Weds/Fri morning musters keep them within regs.  We have no junior sailors that need more supervision.

Fish Friday, (on a Tuesday)

No, I'm not all messed up from the time change, nor is this an advertisement.  It's just a recap, so don't try showing up to my parish hall this Friday.  I ran my church's Lenten fish fry this past Friday, which was a little mixed in the pros and cons department.  Before I get to that I'll give you a little background.  Catholics tend to skip meat on Fridays during lent.  Why?  Well, Friday was the day Jesus was crucified, and the abstention from meat is in memory of him giving up his body (his flesh).  Hence, Fish Fridays.  It's not a sin to forget, or even skip it intentionally, but it is a sacrifice that we try to make to focus us as a form of penance.  It also can help us get a little more into the spirit of the Lenten season which is one about prayer, fasting, and penitential sacrifice ahead of our Lord and savior dying on the cross, and the best part- rising again!

To be perfectly honest, not eating meat on a Friday during Lent is not much of a sacrifice for me.  Yes, I know fish is a meat, but historically, we consider fish more of a plebeian entrée than the flesh from livestock, which was more expensive, eaten only occasionally, and was associated with feasting and rejoicing (Scallops, Lobster, and Chilean Seabass are notable exceptions!) Still doesn't make sense to you?  Dig deeper if you want more.  But as I was saying, me skipping meat is no big deal.  Not that I don't enjoy having something meaty at pretty much every meal, but I really enjoy fish and we are often having seafood or pasta as an entrée.  Fish tacos are close to the top of that "meatless" list, and San Diego definitely does that well.

If you didn't figure it out from that lead photo and missed me mentioning it in past posts, I'm a member of that fine organization, the KofC, and I pretty much head up the group of us at my church.  So when things need to be scheduled, planned, and coordinated, that duty falls to me. It might be "Keeping Christ in Christmas" by selling religious Christmas cards, running the beer garden at our parish school carnival, or during Lent, running the Lenten fish fry.  Some parishes run one every single weekend, but we are a small parish and have an even smaller handful of men who are willing to step up and help, so we just run a single dinner during the season.

I've been doing it for going on 16 years now- going back to when I PCS'd back to SanDog from duty in Tampa Florida.  I took it over from the previous Knight in 2008 who decided he didn't want to be a member anymore.  Always willing to step up, I was asked to help run it and I have been doing it ever since, never able to take a step back.

On the positive side, it was our most successful one to date, at least when it comes to the food.  Everyone that attended thought it was our best effort at making fish, tilapia in this case, and everything was prepared just in time for us to open and everything was still warm when the guests started showing up. We've often struggled with the timing and having people need to wait as we wait for the first or next batch to finish up.  We've baked the fish, grilled it, fried it, and usually gotten mixed reviews in the past.  But this year, we used some Old Bay, then quick fried it in a pan with butter, then finished it off in the oven which made it cook much faster and helped keep the supply going.  Most of our patrons thought it was better than any other attempt.  

Yelp

It's always a challenge with our ancient kitchen to get the oven right and get the fish cooked through properly on all sides of the pan, in all corners of the oven, or keeping the fryer at the right temperature, and to make sure we have enough ingredients and servings for everyone that shows.  It's also a balancing act to charge enough to make a little money for the church and the council, but not too much to scare anyone away.  Or have too many leftovers which means I overbought and wasted money that could have been profit for us.  We usually do it to benefit one cause or another, sometimes the school, sometimes the maintenance of the church, pro-life efforts or what have you.  This year it was for the repairs to our church bell tower which was discovered recently to be separating from the main structure of the church. Not sure what that maintenance bill is going to run, but my little parish has not recovered after covid and we have a very small collection plate and an even smaller maintenance fund through a second collection which is only once a month.

There are quite a few well-off parishes in the diocese that probably do well with their collections.  The diocesan tax on them probably helps some smaller parishes get by (barely), like mine, as we rarely bring in what it costs to sustain our parish needs.  We are cut to the bare bones though, trying to make ends meet, going down to just one part-time office staff member, more CCD costs shifted to the parents, and plenty of deferred maintenance.  I only explain that to show how much need there is for successful fundraising from any effort.

But anyhoo, I said it was a mix of pros and cons. While the food was delicious and no waiting was required, it rained quite heavily last Friday evening.  That severely dampened the turnout, despite the weeks-long announcements from the pulpit, church bulletin notices, and a couple emails to the parishioners from the church office.  I planned for 80 people which is actually very small compared to a lot of parishes but it's about 10% more than I usually serve, thinking the heavy advertisement would help.  That rain though.  We only served 20 total meals.  I had a small group of men to help, so each of us took home rolls, potatoes, and fish- enough to make us tired of fish for the rest of the season.  Assuming we eat it all of course before the already thawed-out fish needs to be tossed.  Yes, I considered donating to a local foodbank, but most of it was already cooked, and the fish that wasn't, had been sitting out waiting to be cooked.  I couldn't risk donating it to the general public.  

Fortunately we covered our costs.  We charged $15 this year ($10 in years past since the pastor wanted to make it affordable) as we need some funds for that tower.  I spent $268 on supplies so there are a few small bills I can throw towards the tower maintenance.  If only the rain had come some other day, we could have brought in over a grand, especially with beer and wine sales, of which the product was donated at no cost to us.  

Oh well, there's always next year.  However, I announced that someone else has to take the lead next year.  It's pretty stressful for me, buying all the supplies, shopping around to get the lowest prices, coordinated the volunteers, running the kitchen, etc.  I don't sleep well the week of the event, and the preps invade my dreams.  16 years in a row is some dedicated service to the parish if I do say so myself.  We'll see if any other Knight steps up next year, or if another group at the church wants to take it on.   

My last post alluded to me growing tired of my job.  This one has me tired of running a fish dinner.  

Maybe I'm just tired.

Post-Thanksgiving After Action Report

 Well...Campers, a pretty darn good week this past.  The trip to College Station was mostly successful.  Avoided Austin (also known as Moscow on the Colorado) traffic, although my great plan to take State Highways and County Roads to avoid holiday traffic elsewhere in the State came to a screeching halt (quite literally) in Georgetown.  Seriously TXDOT, three cycles of a traffic light to get through a 100 yard long block?  Does the acronym YGBSM mean anything to you?

Stay on Target, juvat!

On Target, Aye, Sarge!

Arrival at MBD, SIL and MG's* house was otherwise quite pleasant.  Mrs. J reported the sotto voce comments to my fellow wayfarers was significantly less voluminous than usual.  The turkey (and the ham) did not give their lives in vain.  My Butternut Squash with Gorgonzola and my Baked Brussel Sprouts w/Bacon were well received and quickly devoured.  Although, adding Bacon to any recipe pretty much guarantees that result.  Even SIL's 87 yo Grandmother liked the Brussel Sprouts.

This is only one side of the serving line.

 

That evening I got a special "Welcome to College Station, juvat"  Brought tears to my eyes, yes it did!  Seems that A&M was playing LSU for one of the Thanksgiving Weekend "fight off the tryptophan" football games at home++.  The Flyby was conducted by a 4 ship of Aggie piloted Eagles!  Wednesday was their practice flight to get all the timing points figured out.  

Believe it or not, while it looks easy, arriving at the 50 yard line at the exact specified time is fairly difficult. Yet it is viewed by several million people, critiqued by most (who've never done it), explained (while standing at attention) to the CO and deeply appreciated by one Ancient fighter pilot. Unfortunately, the game was Friday, Mrs. J and I had other duties and RTB'd that morning, so all we got to see was the practice.

But...

Taken from the back yard of MBD/SIL's home.

 Yes, the Jet Noise was quite cathartic!

On a separate note, LJD**  is continuing to improve.  Thanksgiving in the NICU on a holiday apparently has similar characteristics to sitting Air Defense Alert.  You make the best of it, praying for the best, prepared for the worst.  Providing your own entertainment is the task of the day, and your heart stops just as fast there when the alarms go off as it does when the scramble klaxon sounds.

Fortunately, this year's Thanksgiving was uneventful.  Which was conducive to an impromptu fashion show organized by the staff.

You want me to do...WHAT?

MG has Trade Marked those facial expressions and apparently has several comedians paying large licensing fees to use them.  Who knew?

All good things must end and this day ended with the usual event.  A long walk.

I'm not ready yet, Mom, help me put your shoes on me, please!

And, of course, a juvat family Thanksgiving tradition.

The Thanksgiving Nap! Yep, MG is a fully trained juvat family member.

Finally, we got a bit of a gully washer Friday night.  Can't remember if I emptied the rain gauge after last week's contribution, but waking up Saturday, this was its level.

A little over 4"?  That would be wonderful, but going to have to wait on my Good Friend Cletus for confirmation.  If I didn't empty it, we would have received only an additional 2" (Only?, YGBSM juvat! You're right about that, Sarge, at this point we'll take all we can get.) There was a bit more supportive data for 4" however.

We don't usually get that much puddling unless it's rained quite a bit.  

 So, based on this, I went and looked at our "up stream" stock pond.  Lo and behold...

Haven't had water in either stock pond in well over a year! The point where I'm standing is the downstream side and is about 12' above the bottom. That puddling is probably 3 to 4' deep.

So, who knows?

Cletus?

As mentioned last week, the "Gathering of the Clan" will start this Thursday, the same gang as Thanksgiving will gather here at Rancho Juvat.  Highlight will be the Annual Parade of Lights Christmas Parade.  Chili, Corn Bread and Tortillas (and, almost certainly, Adult Recreational Beverages) will be served from my Pickup's bed.  Wx forecast is currently showing a low of 60 for the parade, so fingers are definitely crossed.

We'll see.

Peace out, y'all!

Per request from Suz.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

Serves 4 as written. 

1 bag whole raw Brussel Sprouts

4-6 strips of nicely smoked Bacon

Salt and pepper to taste.

Wash Brussel Sprouts in bag and let dry.

Trim the stalk end as close to the leaves as you can.  (The stalk gets kinda growdy where it was cut from the plant, however, you want the leaves to remain attached.

Slice the bulb vertically 2-4 times (you'd like the slice to be about 1/4" -1/2" thick)

Spread in a pyrex baking dish and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Preheat oven to 425^o

^{While oven is heating, cook bacon in separate pan until starting to brown but most of the fat is rendered. (You don't want it crispy at this point)} 

^{Cut into square pieces and add to Brussel Sprouts.  Spoon a couple of spoonfuls of Bacon Drippings (doesn't that sound better than the "G" word?) over the Sprouts and stir in a bit.  Try not to separate leaves in the slices.}

^{Cook until Bacon is cooked and Sprouts are browned (15-20) minutes. Season with Salt and Pepper.  It doesn't usually take much, the Bacon handles most of the saltiness.  But tastes differ...}

^{Dish is easily up-scaled to fit larger groups.  Plan on 1 bag per 4 people and a similar multiplicative increase on the Bacon...Minimum.  More Bacon is better.  But you knew that.}

*My Beautiful Daughter, Son-in-Law and My Granddaughter respectively.  (Need a better Nom d'Plume for SIL though. Suggestions encouraged.).

**Little Juvat's Daughter.

++For those that don't know. Aggies won 38-23!  Whoop!

Thoughts... wandering aimlessly... through the brain!

 So...If there ever was a sign from the Almighty....

God intervened in Fetterman “Speech”!

Right after has says “President that is sedition free”. Watch what happens. pic.twitter.com/RAAAnxEzKY

— RedpillsTV | Josh Reid (@redpilltheworld) November 5, 2022

 

Thank You, Lord!  I think tomorrow is going to be a good day!

If not, well...It's gonna be bad for quite a while to come.

Yes, Sarge, I'm not feeling well.  Not sure what the issue is, but tummy has not been being kind to me for about a week.  Since I'm not running a fever or any other symptoms, pretty sure it's not You Know What.  However, it is bad enough that Mrs. J and I have held off visiting our youngest granddaughter in the NICU.  Just in case it's something which would be VERY bad for a Preemie to encounter.  

She's spent enough time in the Hospital to qualify for Doctor's Scrubs.

She's doing quite well, however.  5.9+ lbs and appetite is growing.  The last time we visited late week before last, the formula in the tube was going down faster than a chug-a-lug beer contest on initiation night at Sarge's college Frat.

So...She's got that going for her.

All that having been said, we did get a bit of bad news from Little J's US government embassy staff.  He had to send a hospital report of MG's medical condition to them about a month ago.  It described the issues she was having with her birth at 27 weeks, 8" and 1.2 Lbs.  Bureaucracies being bureaucracies, the committee in Hong Kong that makes the decision on authorizing her arrival, disapproved it.

Granted, there were several concerns with her state at the time of the report (about a 6-8 weeks after her birth).  However, her actual (current as well as condition at the time the report was sent) situation has improved since then and is still rapidly improving, to the tune of expectations of release sometime in the next few weeks.  But...Gummint being Gummint, they won't allow her entry with out a "Review" board.  Which will have to be scheduled sometime in the future, blah, blah, F'ing blah!

Depending on their "final" decision, Little J's decision matrix becomes quite complex vis a vis, a State Dept career.  Suffice it to say, this conundrum is #1 on our Prayer List, with #'s 2-20 blank, before resumption of other life changing requests. A pox on all Gummint Bureau-rats.

To change subjects (Yes...Please juvat!), we went to a local BBQ joint recently, here in town.  I'd heard lots of good reports about it, mostly that it wasn't like every other BBQ joint in Texas.  Seems the Pit Mistress is from Korea, married a USAF Master Sergeant (no...it wasn't our Sarge) and retired in the 'Burg.  Started a BBQ pit and put just a bit of "homeland" into Texas BBQ.  My Goodness it was tasty!

Had the Ribs with Gochujang flavored BBQ sauce.  They were fabulous!  Gonna add them to my "BBQ currency" list.  Not Money, Beans! Time between visits!

On the Rancho Juvat side of things, Christmas Present projects have resumed after a rather prolonged supply chain issue.  Seems one of the key ingredients needed for the projects was having transportation issues.  Ordered it from the supplier twice over the space of about 6 weeks.  Both times the status on the order was "Awaiting Transportation" then later "Cancelled".  

HMMMM!!!

Looks like the party in power is doing a fine job keeping the economy going.  "Diesel Fuel?  We ain't got no steenkin Diesel Fuel.  We do have wind power however, just attach a windmill to the top of the truck.  That'll work!"

Finally, went to Lowe's to see if they had this product, found a very helpful person in the area I needed (projects are still TS, can't provide any hints) and found exactly what I needed.  Just lost about 6 weeks of construction time.  Gonna be close!

Yeah...I'm in a very pissy mood.  Hope tomorrow's election goes well, that will do an awful lot towards improvement of a lot of contributing factors to my mood.

If you haven't voted yet, VOTE!  or we can't be friends.

If you need another good reason.  

 

Saw this recently on the bumper of the vehicle owned by one of the employees of the cleaning service for our guest houses.  The Flag was presented to her at her husband's funeral.  As they say "Freedom isn't Free!" and it ain't money that is the usual cost.

Peace y'all. God Bless America!

On the Waterfront

Schooners, Panama City Beach FL

A couple months ago Sarge or Juvat wrote something about nice views while dining on the water.   At least that's what I seem to remember. I looked in the archives for that post, but couldn't find the exact one (one of the few drawbacks to Sarge's daily postings).  It could have been something else that served as my muse, but that's how my brain works some days.  Today's post, somewhat of a fill in as a favor to Sarge, but also because I was inspired by that post, was written because I too enjoy a meal with a view of the water.  

Hotel Mafolie, St. Thomas USVI (Source)

Wherever I travel or wherever I live, I seek out nice restaurants that have a good view.  Sometimes the cuisine matches the view, and sometimes it doesn't (probably running a little better than 50/50 on that), but a good view can sometimes make up for it.  I've lived in quite a few places due to my military service, and so those views can very greatly.  They may be oceanfront, on a bay, a river or a lake.  It doesn't matter to me what kind of water it is; I enjoy them all, especially if they have a nice sunset.  So I will use this space to talk a little bit about those places and a little bit about how I feel while there.  Plenty of good memories from them.  

Hula Bay Club (source)

When I lived in Tampa there was a place on Tampa Bay called the Rattle Fish Grill.  It had a great outdoor deck with a decent view of the western side of the bay looking towards St Petersburg.  It had a definite Florida vibe, maybe with a Key West feel, although I've never been.  Outside of the fall and winter months, Tampa can be quite inhospitable for outdoor dining, somewhat due to the bugs, but mainly due to the heat and humidity.  Despite living in P'Cola for 2 years, Tampa for 3, and many visits for work in Panama City, I could never get used to the humidity.  However the grill had quite a few overhead fans and even those misters that made it bearable, if not rather comfortable.  There was an indoor seating area, but not for me when there's a view to be had.  When I was stationed there from '04 to '07 it was the go-to place for Hail and Farewells for people I worked with at CENTCOM.  Just as my PCS* was being scheduled, I heard they were planning on closing it and making it a private restaurant for the yacht club next door.  Apparently that plan failed after 6 months or so, and they opened it back up to the public with the new name.  I was able to go back for a trip some years later and it was just as good as I had remembered. 

Hula Bay view courtesy of Google

Another Florida locale is Uncle Ernie's in Panama City on the intercoastal waterway.  This one brings up fond memories of me barhopping by boat with friends on the same waterway in Pensacola back during flight school.  It was also the first time we used our timeshare points, which has led to two dozen memorable trips since then.

Your humble scribe and his family at Ernie's during a Spring Break trip a decade ago.

Uncle Ernie's after it was rebuilt following Hurricane Michael in 2018. (Google)

Living in the Pacific Northwest, on the Puget Sound, one would think that there were plenty of places that could provide me with a nice meal and a nice view, but this was not the case. Maybe if I lived on the Seattle side of the sound I might have found a few more, but over on the Kitsap Peninsula there was a dearth of them.  The Boat Shed was the lone exception.  On the approaches to Sinclair Inlet which the USS Carl Vinson took to get into Naval Station Bremerton, it had a view of the shipyard across the way, although those apartment buildings in the photos weren't there from what I remember.  

Bremerton Sunset (source for both)

A trip my wife and I took to St Thomas USVI earlier this year was excellent, our first time in  the Caribbean.  Being an island territory, there were many places to eat on the water.  And the water there is beautiful, with spectacular sugar-white sand beaches.  The food wasn't all that good, sub-par for the most part at a couple places we visited, probably because it doesn't need to be with such gorgeous views.

View from the pool bar and grill at our hotel

Maegen's Bay snack bar St. Thomas

There were a couple exceptions.  Prime at Paradise Point, at one of the highest points on the island, was excellent.  The views were panoramic, overlooking the bay in front of the Capital City, Charlotte Amalie, and as far as the western-most point on the island.  It had a great sunset too of course, but it was a bit hazy that evening so my photos of it weren't worthy of sharing here.

Prime view at Paradise Point

I have no idea how I did it, but I only scheduled our hotel, timeshare actually, for 6 nights vice 7.  So we were without a reservation for the last night before our flight out the next day.  Before we vacated the premises, I called a few places to see if they had any vacancies.  There actually weren't many available places as it was Spring Break, and COVID revenge travel after 2 years was in full effect.  Fortunately I found the Hotel Mafolie.  This was the view from our room where we ordered room service.  The restaurant, where we had breakfast the next morning was included in the cost of the room, and was the second photo in this post.  It was a great vacation so the water/food view combination in St. Thomas actually ranks very high on my list. 

   

Our room with a view at Hotel Mafolie

Another great food with a view experience was on a cruise to Mexico.  Always up for an adventure and not needing to take the well-worn and more expensive path that the other cruisers take, we got off the ship in Puerta Vallarta, followed some locals to a local bus, and hopped on.  Not really knowing where we were going, we took it into town further down the coast, a mile or so from the port.  We got off, walked a block or so, and found the best little restaurant right on the beach.  Tacos and margaritas just taste better on the beach in Mexico.

Living in San Diego, which is on the coast of course, as well as having a picturesque bay, we're lucky to have at least a dozen places that fit the bill.  One of my favorites on the bay was within walking distance of work, Mitch's Seafood.  They serve lunch from the fish that fishermen caught and unloaded right there at the marina earlier that day.  The eatery is still there, but I no longer work next door, having been "reorganized" to our HQ on Naval Station San Diego, which is not at all as picturesque as my old office in Pt. Loma

Mitch's Seafood where you can see the sea whilst having food.  (Source)

Besides Mitch's, you've got Tom Ham's Lighthouse, Coasterra, and a favorite of my family, Busters Beachhouse and Longboard Grill.  On the marina in SeaPort Village near the Midway Museum, my kids loved this place as it had a beachy vibe, surfboards as decorations, and pizza served on mini surfboards.  Unfortunately, the place closed a few months back as they are planning to redevelop the land, adding yet another hotel or two.

Google

Google

Chip VonBurg - Google

We also enjoyed Jake's Del Mar.  Went there for an anniversary dinner a few years back.  A slightly upscale eatery, Jake's has beachside dining with sand that tracks in from the doors to the beach.  

Jake's Del Mar - 

Mister A's is a upscale restaurant at the top of a building near downtown San Diego that not only offers the views, but the restaurant is level to the approach envelope for the San Diego airport, so you can look straight out and see airplanes coming in for a landing. I don't think we see it anymore, but both JAL and British Airways used to land 747s right around happy hour which was kind of a treat, even if you weren't into plane spotting.

Finally, we have my most favorite restaurant in all of San Diego- the Bali Hai. I definitely like my Hawaiian shirts and Asian / Polynesian inspired food, so this place, along with the great panoramic views of the bay, meets all my expectations.  And their Mai Tais are killer, almost literally- the menu even says they will only serve you two of them.  I also like seeing the boats go by or watching helicopters and MV-22 Ospreys take off from North Island, which is just across the bay.

You know from my old Jets and Sunsets posts that I really enjoy a lovely orange and red-hued sunset.  It has some sort of a tranquil calming effect on me as I admire the beauty that is in God's majesty here on earth.  So I enjoy a well timed dinner that coincides with his craftsmanship.

There's a great line at the end of Forrest Gump when Forrest is describing the sunset to Jenny that he saw while running.  "I couldn't tell you where the heavens stopped, and the earth began."

Those restaurants all make me feel a little like I'm on vacation.  Give me a rum or coconut drink during dinner and I'm instantly transported to the beach, wearing my flipflops, soaking in the sun.  I've had a lot of meals on the water- sort of an occupational hazard having been in the Navy, but I prefer it when I'm on land, and have a view.  I'll obviously keep eating, and I'll also keep looking for great places for food with that view, preferably at sunset.  Any favorite places for waterfront dining from the readership?  I will add them to some list I need to start writing down.

 *Permanent Change of Station- aka, orders to somewhere else.