HAMILTON'S GRILL ROOM (AND THE BOAT HOUSE)

Going out to dinner can be so many things. For One and Two there are times when it is simply a matter of not wanting to cook - rare for two people who love to create in the kitchen - but feed 6 kids for a week and it looks pretty good to have someone put a plate of anything in front of you and then ask nicely to take it away when you are done. 

However, there are those times when going out can be an event. Not necessarily a grand one but an event in the sense that it inspires and comforts and surprises and  entertains. Time stands still and the outside world melts away. 

When One and Two go to the Boat House in Lambertville the margarita is foremost on their minds. Fresh lime juice...great tequila...a splash of Grand Marnier...rocks & salt - what could be more perfect? The standard of margarita has become "is it a boathouse margarita?" The taste is the thing but the soft hammer between the eyes is no small reward. And while pre margarita there is always a promise to go home and cook something, seldom post margarita do One and Two make it past the door to Hamilton's Grill Room.

Last night One and Two found themselves seated at the grill - really the only place they ever sit. Executive chef Mark Miller presided over the charcoal grill and wood fired oven.  

Two started with the potato pancakes with caviar and creme fraiche. This combination always brings Two back to Max Hansen's homemade potato chips with creme fraiche and caviar. Oh my good God. This is the combination fit for the Gods. The food Gods. No joke. The poached egg with caviar at Jean Georges was in the God food club too. Last night's appetizer did not disappoint - tequila notwithstanding. One had the oysters. Paired with 1995 Meursault these oysters sang a salty sea song. 

The tuna - perfect. Two doesn't always order tuna because it can be so firm and dry and frankly bland. She ordered it rare and it came off Mark's grill - rare. Rare and tender and perfect. The mashed potatoes and snow peas were really nice buttery additions. One had the skate - breaded and fried in butter butter and more butter. It was tender and sweet and really fresh. Dessert was raspberry sorbet and a basil panna cotta. Perfect. 

So the thing is - when we are eating out and find ourselves talking about food, cooking, other memorable meals, the meals we are planning for the week  - the ingredients in the sauces we are eating and the combinations of flavors - it is like an artist

going to a museum. We were inspired - by the food - by the atmosphere - by the really nice guy behind the grill sharing anecdotes about his young son's first haircut. 

Hamilton's Grill room remains a really special place. Treat yourself...start with the margarita at the Boat House. 

ANAPURNA

Two grew up in New Hope. Two grew up buying her high school wardrobe in the various India import shops in the Four Seasons Mall in New Hope. Where New Hope was once a collection of eclectic shops and curious cuisines, it is now an ever rotating crop of shops struggling to survive amidst the dwindling dollars of the tourists who flock to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. There are some old timers...Farley's is still hosting a very large cat amidst the tumbling stacks of books & Cryer's Hardware has been reopened by Tania Leibgold and Brad Finch as an fun collection of vintage ephemera and textiles. But one thing has not changed. The Four Seasons Mall was then and is now an aesthetic disaster. 

To reach Anapurna you will have to walk its entire length to the very rear of the Mall. But it's worth it. Honestly. The food was really good. The vegetable Samosas were good. The Lamb Korma was excellent. The Chicken Vindaloo was excellent. The Okra was more than excellent. Each dish was distinctive in color, flavor, and texture...which is sometimes a problem with Indian food that arrives in a flurry of all brown sauces with indistinct chunks of meat and vegetable floating around in the steaming bowls. 

It seems that Indian is one of those foods that we crave...as in "I have a craving for Indian food...when's the last time we had really good Indian?" And Anapurna will not disappoint your craving. Two's only complaint was that the condiments came in little plastic lidded containers of 2 tablespoons or less. Two loves Raita and loves it most in a bowl with chunks floating about. Two ate that Raita with one chunk of lamb. The other strange moment was the waitress having difficulty finding room for everything on the table and actually using the floor for one of the baskets. Odd. So were the two ladies who were sure we had their samosas. They didn't want them once we had a quick bite though...

CARVERSVILLE INN VS BELLS TAVERN

The bread pudding...easily Two's favorite dessert. Comfort food for a cold winter's night? Yes absolutely. But Two could eat bread pudding in the desert. Carversville Inn serves their warm, oozing, gooey, raisin studded bread pudding with homemade cinnamon ice cream. Bell's serves theirs with a warm caramel sauce. They are neck in neck. There is never a single sweet crumb left once One and Two finish eating. You judge for yourselves. 

CARVERSVILLE INN

Two grew up in Carversville, so the first time One and Two went to the Inn it felt like going home. Back in the very distant, dim past - the 70's - Two's mom had a small store in the Inn. She sold her handmade lighting fixtures along with a sampling of work from local artisans. There was a restaurant there at the time, but it's owner and chef are a hazy memory for the little girl Two was at the time. 

Now, the Inn is comprised of a lovely sit down dining room and a cozy bar. We always head for the bar. The stools are invariably taken by local folks who all know each other and who are now starting to know us...regulars I think they call us. Tuesday is burger night and well worth coming out so early in the week for dinner. But most of the time we are looking for really wonderful food in a very homey environment among wonderful local patrons. Two has had the diver scallop wrapped in prosciutto twice and loved it both times. It was perfectly cooked, nicely seasoned, and set atop a bed of fragrant red cabbage with bacon and shitake mushrooms and a sweet-sour whole grain mustard glaze. The onion soup is consistently wonderful. One had homemade fettuccine with spicy sausage, smoked pork loin, sun dried tomatoes, spinach , and Two's fork which kept dipping into One's meal. 

The bread pudding is really hard to resist. Ask for it with Cinnamon ice cream. 

XOCO

Two has a student who is an aspiring chef, so between discussing artwork and which assignment should be done, they discuss restaurants. Prior to One and Two leaving for Chicago, Evan suggested XOCO, Rick Bayless' new restaurant. The name Xoco is Mexican slang for little sister which we assume refers to the big brother Frontera Grill around the corner. 

Prepare to stand in line on the street for awhile waiting for Bayless' interpretation of Mexican street food... Tortas, Caldos, and Empanadas. But the line moves quickly and it smells so good and the hostess is so efficient that it really doesn't seem so bad. Actually, the rather sour hostess at Frontera Grill who informed us our wait would be over an hour made the wait at Xoco seem like a party. 

When we finally reached a stool, we tucked into a steaming caldos, the wood-roasted Chicken Pozole with Gunthorp chicken, pozole corn, rich broth, crunchy garnishes, ground red chile, and lime. We dipped our griddle fired tortas in the broth and left nothing for the dishwasher in the bowl. All in all worth the wait for wonderful Mexican comfort food. We ordered the churros and ate them as we walked in the cold Chicago air to our next destination. We highly recommend Xoco.

TAKASHI...again

When One goes to the Chicago Dental Society Annual Meeting Two tags along for two reasons. One is the Chicago Art Institute and the other is Takashi. If you are going to be in Chicago for just one meal, grab a cab to Bucktown and savor Takashi. Every dish that touches down on the table hovers for a moment in mystery, because even if you read the description of the dish, it is always more than it promises. First of all, the presentation is captivating. It invites what must seem to other diners like strange scrutiny when One and Two lower their heads to the plate to examine the visual impact of the dish.

"What is this? How did they do that?"

Some of the dishes bare their visual souls easily. Those who hearken to their austere Japanese heritage are easier to decipher. It is within the pairings of the flavors, textures, and temperatures that the dishes gain their complexity. The first dish One and Two had the pleasure to sample was the ceviche of shrimp, squid, hokkaido scallops & octopus cherry tomato, cucumber, fennel, red onion, with yuzu-ceviche sauce. Oh wow. That list of ingredients says it all. Next to warmly arrive was soy ginger caramel pork belly, pickled daikon salad, and steamed buns. Two could eat these little puffs of pork and bun every day. We could call her BIG Two under such a circumstance. But wait...there's more. The dish that stores the most delightful mystery is the sautéed maine scallops and soba gnocchi, trumpet royale, and celery root-parmesan foam. Those little gnocchi float beneath a hot, light, rich foam complimented by soft scallops.

At this point we should have stopped. The Cava, the Reisling, and the Pinot aside, we were getting full. Did I mention we slipped in the country pate somewhere near the beginning of the fun? Try to resist the roasted wisconsin young pheasant, chestnut risotto, golden chantrelle mushrooms, jerusalem artichokes, and pearl onions. I defy you. If you order it you will eat it. And then you will use bread to get whatever is sticking to the dish. My only regret...no room for dessert.

A THOUGHT ON THE WINTER SOLSTICE

Two was in One's office today having a lovely conversation with one of his staff. He popped his head into the room and made some wise comment and then grinned and left. "He is in love. It's written all over his face," she said. One year, nine months, eighteen days, and three hours ago Two met One at La Morena in Hatboro for pork skin tacos. And every meal since then has been memorable in one regard. Set aside the service, the menu, the presentation, the wine...and what is left is the dinner companion.

As we leave behind the old and bring forward the new, as the days get longer once again, remember what really makes a meal wonderful...the person or persons that sit with you while the flavors cross your palette. One is not the only one with the look of love on his face. Two finds herself deeply in love as well on this cold Winter Solstice evening, waiting for One to meet her at an as yet to be determined restaurant...and who really cares which one as long as he is there to meet her.