May 12, 2016 Quebec City, Dinner – L’ Echuate'

May 12, 2016 Quebec City, Dinner – L’ Echuate'

Our hosts’ water as off this morning.  We wanted a baguette for lunch, so they took us to the new small food store down the street that sells  specialty foods and sandwiches, where we bought eggs, a baguette, and a round maple and nut Breakfast roll of puff pastry.  We fixed tea and split the breakfast roll.

Then we caught a bus and road up the hill to the main place and stopped on the way to the tobacco shop that sold bus tickets for a coffee with steamed milk for Suzette.  After we bought bus tickets we jumped on a bus and the bus driver mistakenly took us to the stop for the Hotel Fontenac instead of the Citadele, which sits on the top of the hill overlooking the town, so after walking’ through the Hotel Fontenac a bit, we had to march back up the hill.  Unfortunately I mistook the entrance to the Citadele and we walked beyond the walls of the city to the top of the Plains of Abraham.  It took about an hour to go through all these gyrations, when we finally found ourselves at the Promenade at the highest point on the Plains of Abraham with an incomparable view of the river and the city, next to the Citadele.  This location reminded me of lots of elevated river front fortifications, such as Budapest, Bergamo, and Vicksburg, just to name a few, that are a strategic high ground overlooking a narrow area of the river.  Quebec sits where the St. Lawrence River narrows between two hills near the opening to the Bay of St. Lawrence about 1000 miles upstream from the Atlantic Ocean.

We could see for miles up and  downstream and all of the surrounding city and land areas.  Unfortunately, Quebec had the same defensive problem that most of the other river front positions have, a relatively flat open area to its rear.  That was the reason for the Citadele, a star shaped fortress built beginning around 1820 by the British using the same design as that developed by the French to guard in all directions from the high point above the town and linking to a wall surrounding the town.  

Unfortunately, good design and superior location could not overcome superior numbers, just like the 1944 Normandy invasion proved.  In 1759 the British invaded with an army of 25,000.  The French withdrew behind the city walls.  The British lay siege to the town and  bombarded from across the river for three months, decimating much of the lower town.  Then the British forces, under the command of Wolfe scaled the cliffs above the river,  where we sat and ate our lunch, on or about September 17, 1759 and engaged the smaller French forces on the Plains of Abraham in an all day battle that decided the fate of Canada.

The French tried to retake Quebec from the British in 1760, but failed and the Seven Years War (1756-1763) finally ended by the French ceding Canada to Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763.  All of this elaborate history is explained and illustrated in the Museum of Batailes, also located on the Plains of Abraham, which we walked to after lunch.  It even explained that the area was named for a herder named Abraham Martin, who grazed his cattle in the area because people gave the area his name, just like the Juan Tabo area in Albuquerque. 

After the Museum we tried to take a bus to the Museum of Fine Arts, but the buses were not running because of a big demonstration at the Provincial capital area one block away from the bus route.  So we walked back down the hill to the Citadele,which contained the original French magazine from 1759 as well as the rest of the fortress built by the British between 1820 and 1850.  The Citadele is still an active military base so we were required to be accompanied by a guide.  The view from the front of the point facing downstream high above the city was impressive as was the big 7 inch cannon that could shoot a couple of miles.

After seeing the Citadele we returned to our BNB around 5:00 and rested until 7:00, when we showered and got dressed and left the BNB around 8:15.  Our hosts had given us the name of their favorite restaurant, L’Echaude at 23 Sault- au- Matelot that tuned out to be a short ten minute walk through the old lower town where we were staying and nothing much after marching across the Plains of Abraham.

We arrived around wanted to garner the after 9:00 21% discount, so we made a reservation for 9:00 and walked to the end of the street where it met St. Paul street and shared a pint of Mystique cider for ½ hour.  When we returned the restaurant was still crowded but we were seated in about 15 minutes.

We wanted to lighten the food load, especially since I had eaten a ham sandwich at 4:00.  Suzette ordered the Fish special, which was a filet of fresh swordfish and a red lentil croquette that was seasoned with turmeric and a bit of chili plus some green and white asparagus that were quite lovely.

I ordered a sweetbread appetizer that was grilled and served on a pile of baby arugula and garnished with a handful of micro greens and nasturtiums with a veal stock reduction, very lovely and very edible.  I also ordered a French green bean salad with a candied tomato that was very small again made with lots of micro greens, but lettuces this time.  Suzette and I did not think the tomato was candied, but alas we are from New Mexico.  I nibbled the salad and enjoyed it and also really enjoyed the elegant sweetbreads.

We felt good that we had not over eaten, when our waiter cane over and asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu.  We agreed and when he handed it to us, he said, “Perhaps the dessert disgustation for two?”  We chuckled and then looked at the dessert menu and immediately saw three great desserts and decided to consider the dessert for two for $18.00, thinking it was essentially the amount of the discount we would otherwise have not received had we arrived earlier, so our bonus for waiting until 9:00 to eat.  

We settled on a pear cake, a nougat with candied fruits and a crème brûlée with fresh vanilla.  When the waiter brought the tray, it contained not only the three desserts, but also several apricots poached in anise, lots of small chocolate pellets with small pieces of baked sugar crisp in the middle, chocolate coated raisins, and currants and cranberries.  The pear cake was a warm poached pear in a gateau that was fabulous.  The Crème brûlée was also fabulous with its fresh vanilla flavor infused throughout.  Finally, the nougat was just okay because I did not discern many candied fruits, although it was soft and not too chewy and nicely dusted or rolled in cacao. 

We loved dessert and were glad we ordered it.  We walked home happy and were in bed by around 11:30.

Bon Appetit

May 10, 2016 Lunch – Musee Beaux Arts Cafeteria, Dinner – Raviolis with Nordic Shrimp, Rapini, onions, mushrooms, and grape tomatoes

May 10, 2016 Lunch – Musee Beaux Arts Cafeteria, Dinner – Raviolis with Nordic Shrimp, Rapini, onions, mushrooms, and grape tomatoes

We had a big breakfast of Maple Syrup flavored yogurt and fresh Blueberries, toast with orange Marmelade and Earl Grey tea.

We went by bus to the Musee Beaux Arts at around 10:45.  The Museum is a combination of four buildings linked by underground passageways.  The collection is actually quite small by American standards or space is limited and only a small percentage of the collections shown at one time. We enjoyed the Canadian art, which included the Group of Seven.  I was particularly fond of an artist named Fontin; and of course Emily Carr.  One interesting exhibit chronicled the relationship between Alfred Barr, the first director of MOMA, and Phillip Johnson, the great American architect.  The exhibit included items from Barr’s apartment that was decorated by Johnson.

By 12:30 we were tired and hungry, so we went to the Museum’s cafeteria which was open and spacious although smaller than the cattle barns in New York.   I ordered the lunch special, which was Moussaka, with a salad and a small cupcake for can. $10.50.  There were four wonderful salads, a Greek with feta and olives, a kale, a garden and a fascinating seaweed and Edamame and carrot salad.  I could not decide, so the service assistant helped by saying, “The Kale and seaweed salads are a good combination.”  Those were the two that most appealed to me, so I said, “Thank you, yes, those two.” The service lady was pleased and put large scoops of each on the plate with the Moussaka. I grabbed a 1642 soda made in Montreal that was a cola  sweetened with maple syrup.  This was the best food value of the trip; the lunch plate with cupcake was $10.50 and the cola was $3.00 and the portion was large enough to split.  

After lunch Suzette wanted to look for antique picture frames.  Since the antique area was near Atwater Market, we bussed back there.  We walked one direction without success and then walked back to the Market, but did not decide on any fish, so we walked across the street to the supermarket beside Atwater Market and bought Nordic shrimp in brine, which is a favorite of mine.  Nordic shrimp are small and are usually cooked in the ocean water as the ship brings in the catch.  The shrimp has a decidedly briny flavor.  

We also bought more bread, butter, a lemon, and grape tomatoes

We then went to the big liquor store and bought two bottles of Apple cider.  We drank one cider as we walked to regain our strength as Suzette shopped in Antique stores.  At 3:45 we returned to the condo by way of the Supermarket to buy a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine.

After we put the new ingredients into the fridge Suzette poured a glass of wine and I grabbed the other apple cider and we went to the roof area at the condo to sit and get some sun.  It was a warm and windless afternoon for a change.  The roof area contains an enclosed area with a gas fireplace and a open area with two decks, one with a swimming pool and hot tub and the other with gas grills, picnic tables and seats and tables for sitting.  We sat in the open seating area.

After about an hour off relaxing we went back to the condo to fix dinner.  We had cooked all the chippolini onions, raviolis, and fiddlehead ferns last night, so tonight Suzette boiled the Rapinini in salt water to relieve some of its noxious flavor and drained it.  In a separate skillet she sautéed ½ onion, two sliced cloves of garlic, four sliced mushrooms, and the PPI sautéed fiddlehead ferns and chippolini onions in butter and a little  white wine and cream to make a sauce.  She then heated the PPI ravioli and added some Raviolis and the Rapini to the sauce and finally added the shrimp to heat and mix everything.

This was another successful meal, sort of shrimp scampi with Nordic shrimp.  The wine was not crisp, which made it overly lemony, but it still worked with the salty shrimp in the buttery vegetables.

After dinner we poured the last of the cognac we bought in Niagara Falls and took the six chocolates we had bought yesterday at Atwater Market and went back up to the roof patio at around 8:00 and had our dessert while we watched the sunset and the city lights come on.  It was a pleasant end to a pleasant day.

Bon Appetit 

May 11, 2016 Train to Quebec City, Dinner at Lapin Sauté

May 11, 2016 Train to Quebec City, Dinner at Lapin Sauté

We got up and had a quick breakfast and went to the train station by 8:00 for our 9:10 train to Quebec City.  We ate ham sandwiches on the train and arrived in Quebec at 1:30.  We went through the chaos of finding transportation, but bought a one day bus pass and found the No. 21 bus, which took us to within steps of our BNB located at the end of the 21 bus route in the oldest part of Quebec.  We met our hostess, Joanna, who got us settled in.

We put down our grips and walked to Place Royal at the center of the old town and stopped for a sangria for Suzette and an apple cider for me.  We then rode the funicular up to the upper part of town and went to tourist information to find out the names of best restaurants and where the best antique shops were.  We went to St. Paul street to the antique shops, where Suzette found curtain holders and a bag of imitation tourist she'll hair barrettes and the proprietor of the store where Suzette found those items recommended Restaurant St. Malo.

We decided to look for more antique shops in our area of town, which is also where several of the recommended restaurants were located, so we took the No. 21 bus to the end of the line and walked west along the street to Rue Champlain where the Restaurant D’Ingue was located.  I did not like it's menu, so we walked up to the next street which also connected to the street that connected to our BNB at the funicular.  It turned out to be a high end shopping street with lovely shops.  Soon we came to a small square and Restaurant Lapin Sauté.  Suzette loves rabbit and the restaurant featured many rabbit dishes, so it was 5:00 and Lapin Sauté was open.  We had not eaten a proper meal all day, so we decided to eat dinner at Lapin Sauté.  It was warming and there were heaters on the roof of a small patio, so we ate outside.

We both decided upon a three course meal, because two additional courses were only $15.00 if taken with an entrée and all the items were appealing. One side of the menu had Classic dishes where the rabbit dishes and the Roasted Pork Shoulder I ordered were located and the other side was a Discovery menu with more exotic choices.  

Suzette ordered a spicy trout as her appetizer, which turned out to be the best Gravad trout she had ever tasted garnished with sour cream and a maple syrup sauce.  There are lots of maple syrup and apple cider sauces in Canadian cuisine.  I ordered a smoked duck breast appetizer that was served with toast points and cornichons.  It was the most tender duck I have ever tasted.  We loved both of our appetizers.  We had trouble choosing a wine and took the waitress’ suggestion of av2014 Les Volcaniques Gamay from France that was good, but not as full bodied or fruity as the Douro we had two nights ago and it was $51.00 which pushed the total price of dinner past Can. 150.  Our host stood me the next morning that they often have a few glasses of wine at home before and after the go out to eat because so many restaurants Mark up wind so much.  Our entrees were also delicious.  I ordered Roasted Pork Shoulder in an apple cider mustard sauce and Suzette Sautéed Rabbit in two different sauces, a mustard sauce and a red wine mushroom sauce.  Lapin Sauté is a legitimately wonderful restaurant because it used first quality ingredients in creative way to make interesting dishes with unique sauces for each dish.  For example, my Pork Shoulder was slow roasted so that it was almost as tender as the Pork Belly at A G in Montreal and it had a delicious sauce of reduced apple cider flavored with mustard; a sauce I will try next time I get a chance.  Both entrees were served with potato wedges fried in duck fat.  This was the real deal, real duck fat fries cooked to dark brown to seal in the duck flavor, the best I have ever eaten.  It was like getting the duck fat revelation.  I saw it.  I also had a salad with a Dijon vinaigrette that I liked very much.  Suzette had steamed and Sautéed vegetables as her vegetable with her sautéed rabbit.  We tasted eac others dish.  Suzette’s rabbit was the most tender I had ever tasted and she said, “Yes, it is good.”  A pretty big complement.  

We stopped eating our entrée, so we would have room for dessert.  The waitress was kind enough to bring us a plastic box and we put the remaining potatoes and meat of our entrees in it.  Suzette said she ate a piece of the roasted fat that I had removed from my pork shoulder and found it delicious.

Suzette ordered a honey pie that turned out to be a chess pie that we both enjoyed.  I ordered a discovery dessert of chocolate fondant with a small glass of dark beer.  The flavors of the moist chocolate cake and the dark beer were amazingly similar, which tells you someone in the kitchen has some creativity.  We both loved both desserts and agreed this was the second best meal at a restaurant we had on the trip.

Our waitress recommended a microbrewery across the St. Lawrence River, which is an 11 or 12 minute ferry ride.  Since the Frey terminal was at the last stop of the no. 21 bus, which put it about a five minute walk from Lapin sauté, when we finished dinner at 7:00, we decided to take the ferry across the river to the Coursaire Microbrewery to watch the sunset and have a view of Quebec.  We caught the 7:30 ferry and found a table at Le Coursaire on the deck with a view of Quebec.

We ordered pints of apple cider to help digest al the food and sat and watched the sun set and then the moon rise over Quebec as the light came on.  We sat until almost 8:30 when the return ferry was scheduled to leave and the temperature dropped precipitously and the wind rose as darkness fell.  The walls of Quebec and the towered of the. 

Hotel Fontenac were bathed in light at darkness, which made a pretty picture.  We took the return ferry at 8:30 and were in bed by 9:00.

Bon Appetit   

May 8, 2016 Travel to Montreal, Dinner – Raviolis, Rapini, onion, Mushrooms, and Sockeye Salmon

May 8, 2016 Travel to Montreal, Dinner – Raviolis, Rapini, onion, Mushrooms, and Sockeye Salmon

We got up at 6:00 and made it to the bus station by 7:00 for our 7:30 departure to Montreal.  We went to the top of the double decker bus and took the front left hand seats on the top level because an older gentleman was sitting in the right hand seat.  We began talking to him and found him to be fascinating.  He said he was from Saskachewan and had attended UBC from the age of 15.  He had a consulting business that advised businesses if proposed projects had merit and his main client was Exxon Mobil among other things.  We hit of, to say the least and he helped show us how to board the train to Montreal at the intermediate station where the bus met the lake side train and again in Toronto’ immense station.  He was 87 and as sharp as a tack mentally.

After boarding the train in Toronto we nibbled bread and goat cheese and prosciutto and grapes.  We also bought a 200 ml. bottle of East Dell Vineyards white and red from the cart passing through the train that were not very good for $7.00 each and drank the red and finished the wonderful bottle of Trius rose we had bought in Niagara on the Lake.

We arrived in Montreal around 5:00 and taxied to the Air BNB condo in a new building.  We decided to cook dinner, so we got directions to the nearest supermarket and walked the 8 or nine blocks.  We bought sliced ham, a baguette, coffee, about 1 lb. of sockeye salmon, a large container of ricotta and spinach filled fresh ravioli, mustard, blue berries, maple syrup flavored yogurt, butter, cream, an onion, white mushrooms, a beautiful bunch of Rapini, and croissants for breakfast for a total of $60 Canadian.

 

We returned to the condo and made a hardy dinner of ravioli and rapini with a mushroom, cream, onion, and wine sauce.  We drank the Wagner Winery Rose of Cabernet Franc we had bought in New York’s Finger Lakes.  We drank cognac and ate chocolates for dessert. After a great meal of fresh ingredients, we went to bed.

Bon Appetit

May 7, 2016 Trip to Niagara on the Lake and dinner at AG Cuisine

May 7, 2016  Trip to Niagara on the Lake and dinner at AG Cuisine

We decided to travel the ten miles down river to Niagara on the Lake today after Suzette had three mini so treatments from 9:00 until 10:30.

We caught the 11:00 shuttle and made it to Niagara on the Lake by 1:00.  We immediately went into a cheese shop and purchased 100 grams of an award winning creamy cow’s milk cheese something like Gouda and 8 slices of prosciutto.  We decided to have a picnic, so we went across the street to Peller’s winery shop and tasted two sparkling wines and then a 2015 new release still rose made with Pinot Noir and syrah that we liked, so we bought a bottle of it.  The town is dominated b

The only thing we lacked was a baguette, so we walked to the supermarket and bought a baguette, some grapes, and an apple.  We then walked four blocks to Queen’s Park at the lake and sat on a bench overlooking the point where the Niagara River enters Lake Ontario across the river from Fort Niagara on the American side of the river, which sits on a promontory located at the point where the river enters Lake Ontario.

 

The town is dominated by a Main Street filled with shops.  We tasted South African olive oils and then went for our picnic.

  Here is the color of Trius

  The back label

We  ate our picnic until we became chilled at around 2:45 and decided to return to Niagara Falls, as the weather was changing for the worse.  We shuttled back to the Floral clock by 4:00 and to downtown by 5:00.  We decided to go to our dinner early, since bus connections were so poor and arrived at AG Cuisine at 5:30.  Luckily we were not the first to arrive.  We were seated at a large table in a dining room that was uncrowded and much more quiet than the Weinkeller last night.  This restaurant exuded the feel of fine dining. Instead of a loud restaurant on the main tourist street, AG is located in the Sterling Hotel 1 block behind the street on which the Weinkeller is located.  What a difference a block makes.  The street where the Sterling Hotel is located was virtually deserted of tourists and traffic.  

We had our best dinner of the trip at AG this evening.  The waiter was knowledgeable about the food and AG featured local ingredients and a farm to table menu combining creative combinations and presentations of a wide variety of ingredients.

  Rhubarb Strawberry Lemonade

We started with a cocktail called rhubarb lemonade made with a rhubarb consommé and strawberry infused vodka with a wedge of fresh lemon.  

The only fresh ingredients available this evening were ramps that the chef had foraged and rhubarb grown in the restaurant’s garden. Suzette loves rhubarb, so she chose the three course prix fixe menu with an appetizer of sea scallops, a slice of watermelon radish on a pile micro greens garnished with a slice of pork and pistachio terrine, and salmon caviar.  Pretty impressive.

My appetizer was two chunks of the most tender pork belly that were I have ever tasted cooked in five spice and served with a dollop of rhubarb red wine reduction and a dollop of a white bee pollen vinaigrette with steamed rhubarb julienne strips and roasted crushed peanut on a bed of micro greens.  

I did not notice Suzette’s entrée either because I was consumed by the immenseness of my entrée, but it contained two or three beautifully grilled quail that had been cut in halves, sautéed mushrooms, a potato and cheese Napolean, several edible flowers, and a rhubarb reduction sauce.

I ordered a side of ramps, which the kitchen was kind enough to accommodate.  Ramps are in the onion family and look similar to green onions but taste woody and have a meaty texture.  

Allium tricoccum (commonly known as ramp, ramps, spring onion, ramson, wild leek, wood leek, and wild garlic)^[2] is a North American species of wild onionwidespread across eastern Canada and the eastern United States.^[1] Many of these English names are used for other Alliumspecies, particularly Allium ursinum.

Wild Ramps

Ramps

My dish contained crumbed house made chorizo with a little pigeon pepper, several chunks of re sweetbread th a dthat had been floured and sautéed, a slab of haddock that had also been flouredoth and pan re sautéed served on a bed of fried ramps and fresh kale and fried fingerling potatouvignon  wedges all surrounded by a puddle of sauce made with thickened carrot juice and cream.  The carrot sauce was liked leaf  the ring master in a three ring circus with the combination of ramps and kale with fish and saucetel in one ring, the chorizo and potatoes with sauce in another, and, in the third, the sweetbreads and carrot sauce.  Instead of one combination like Suzette’s dishes, my dish had three important meat ingredients that could be eaten in varying combinations of two or three ingredients at a time, especially with the addition of the extra ramps, which I shared with Suzette and probably went well with her quail.

Whitefish is a local lake fish with a tight white flesh.

Suzette ordered a flight of three wines paired to her menu selections, a Pinot Grigio was served with the scallops, a full bodied pinot noir with the quail, and a Cabernet franc ice wine was served with her dessert, which was a rhubarb cake in a puddle of caramel sauce garnished with a dollop of mocha ice cream.

I drank my lemonade with my pork belly appetizer and ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc for my fish entrée and ordered a glass of local Sauvignon Blanc for my fish entree that was dry with an elegant finish.

For dessert we shared Suzette's rhubarb cake served with a dollop of whipped cream and a scoop of mocha ice cream with a fresh mint leaf sticking out of the top.

After dinner we took the bus back to the hotel and had a sip of cognac.

Bon Appetit

May 3, 2016 a day in the Finger Lake vineyards, Breakfast at Juniper Hill Inn, Corning Glass Museum and Studio, Dinner at Graft Wine and Cider Bar in Watkins Glen

I 

May 3, 2016 a day in the Finger Lake vineyards, Breakfast at Juniper Hill Inn, Corning Glass Museum and Studio, Dinner at Graft Wine and Cider Bar in Watkins Glen

Our day started with a three course breakfast at Juniper Hill Inn, a pecan bread, then a stack of a potato pancake, then a sausage patty, then an egg and garnished with fresh spinach and served with a chipotle tomato red chili sauce.  We both enjoyed our breakfasts and the conversations with David and Jett.  

We then drove to Lake Seneca to drink some wine.  We first stopped a Lammoreaux winery and tried five Rieslings and an ice wine that was very good.  Because Riesling is a dominant grape raised in the region, it is manipulated in many different ways from 0% sugar  to ice wine with 17% sugar.  It is also made into sparkling wine.  So there is almost an infinite variety of Riesling wines to choose from.  We drank five a Lammoreaux.  Gewurtztraminer and pinot Gris and pinot Blanc and chardonnay are also raised.  The two reds we found in abundance were Cabernet  franc and Pinot Noir.  Wagner had an estate bottled Pinot Noir and Meritage (Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and merlot) that would stand up to any in California offerings.  We were impressed with Wagner’s wines and bought a Cabernet Franc rose and a Riesling.

       View of Lake Seneca from Wagner Winery

   Wagner's Cabernet Franc Rose and 2014 Semi-dry Riesling

One of the reasons the area is so productive is because the glacial action that carved the Finger Lakes exposed shake and limestone.  At Standing  Stone Vineyard, which was the original state experimental vineyard planted in the early 70’s, we drank an amazing Riesling ice wine and a Saperavi red from Georgia plus several Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers.  One of the employees said that there was so much shale that in the early years the custom was to blow holes in the shale with dynamite to make holes for the wine vines.  He also said that growing in the limestone and shale naturally stresses the vines s well as flavoring and mineralizing the grape juice. 

We were running out of time because we had booked a glass making time at Corning Studio, so we decided to stop for a free tasting at Red Newt Winery.  We were assisted by a very knowledgeable lady who has been working at Finger Lake wineries for 25 years.  She knew everything.  There was also a greater variety of wines at Red Newt because they bought grapes from a large area and number of growers.  They offered three single vineyard selections for most grapes and most years plus an array of wines we had seen nowhere else, like essences, which were eau d vie mixed with their sweet extractions of grapes.  We bought Essences of Cabernet Franc, Gewurtztraminer, and Merlot plus a Bullhorn Riesling,and one other bottle. 

  Gewürztraminer, Cabernrt Franc, and Merlot Essences at Red Newt

Then it was on to Corning, N.Y. to Corning Glass,  we arrived at 3:00, just in time to tour ½ of the contemporary glass and go to the Studio for our 3:40 glassmaking activity.  We watched some students making glass objects and then went to our activity area and met Kalli, our instructor.  Suzette andI had signed up to make a flower.  First, Kalli showed us how to make one and then Suzette sat a2014t a bench with a paddle and tweezers.  After we selected the colors for our flower’ stem and pedals,  Kalli put blobs of glass on the blowing stick and we used the paddle to flatten the glass against the end of the stick.  Then Kalli rolled the glass in the decorative colored glass we had selected and heated the glass mixture again and then we each pulled the edges of the flattened glass out into pedals. After a second heating by Kalli, we pulled again to lengthen the pedals and lengthen an twist the glass to make the blob into a stem.  We both loved the experience and paid to have our flowers shipped to our home.  Then we went through the rest of the museum, which included an interesting box of segmented vapor coated glass made by Larry Bell.  

  

We decided to drive back to Watkins Glen to Graft Wine and Cider Bar for dinner.  We were very pleased with its selection of ciders and wines and fresh ingredients.

We each started with a lovely bowl of pea soup.  Suzette drank a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and I drank a glass of hard cider.  We then had the best dish of the   trip, Steamed Asparagus, ramps, and fiddlehead ferns with a caper, Dijonnaise dressing.  The asparagus were large and ultra fresh.  With the asparagus we ordered a thick layer of chicken liver pate on a thick slice of toasted bread garnished with pickled red onions.

Finally, we ordered a slice of buttermilk maple syrup pie.  

After a full day of wonderful food, wine and activity, we went back to Juniper Hill Inn in Trumansburg.

Bon Appetit 

May 2, 2016 Breakfast at Washington Park Inn, lunch at Glenwood Pines Tavern, Dinner at Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg

' May 2, 2016 Breakfast at Washington Park Inn, lunch at Glenwood Pines Tavern, Dinner at Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg

Suzette made us a lovely breakfast at the bed and breakfast in Albany of a toasted English muffin with a fried egg, a sauteed slice of ham and cheese slices with orange Marmelade, orange juice, tea, and yogurt.

We then drove to Ithaca and got on U.S.89 to drive up Lake Cayuga.  We stopped at Glenwood Pines Tavern at 1:30 and ordered a fresh fried Haddock filet with fried potatoes and 1 Dozen steamed little neck clams. We each drank a glass of local Riesling wine, which was quite good.

  Looking at Lake Cayuga

After lunch we drove up Hwy. 89 that clung to the cliff between Lake Cayuga and the higher ground that spread out in a plateau to Tauhhanaugh Falls, which are the highest East of the Mississippi River. 

We then drove to Bellwhether Winery and Cider maker where we tasted five ciders and five Rieslings, several of which were quite good.  I liked the Liberty and Skye cider and seven sisters Riesling. 

I asked the cider maker if he ever distilled any of the apple cider into calvados.  He said “Yes.” And brought two bottles of what he called eau d vie, but which was actually two distilled ciders.  The one I liked best was made with a cider of the golden russet Apple.  The other Brandy was infected with a spoilage bacteria and had a musty flavor but a higher octane taste.

It was great to see the next phase of cider in the U.S..

We then drove south to Trumansburg to the Juniper Hill Inn, which was a huge mansion on a pretty large property jus south of the Main Street center of Trumansburg.  It has a large collection of American Impressionist art hung two and three high on every wall.

Our room is large in which we have a high four poster and a triangular jacuzzi tub that fits two comfortably.  We settled in around 5:15 and i knapped until 6:30, when we dressed and drove the one block to the restaurant, hazelnut kitchen.  

We decided to share one four course Chef’s Tasting Menu for $40.00 with the three 1/2 glass wine supplement for $10.00 and a Hake with ramps and frIed potatoes. 

The first course was a very interesting squash soup made from a new hybrid squash that had a creamy texture garnished with fried Pepitas, a ramp pesto and a generous drizzle of brown drawn butter.  I loved the combination of flavors, a real success. 

The second course in the chef’s menu turned out to be even more interesting, a house made casarecce pasta tossed with shaved cabbage and lemon horseradish and a thick cream sauce. I ordered a local dry cider that went well with everything.

It was served with the hake so we could have our Primo and fish course together.  The hake was served with fried potatoes, caramelized onions and a heavy cream sauce and supposed to be garnished with ramps, but they were almost non-existent, which was very disturbing.

Our third course on the chef’s menu was a combination of several dishes a roulade of chicken served on a pile of carrot grits with chili roasted peanuts.

Finally, the dessert, a wedge of dark chocolate flourless torte with chantilly cream on a puddle of raspberry juice, was served with a local merlot.

We enjoyed our first meal in the Finger Lakes.

Bon Appetit