Cornering the Crab Market

ELV normally avoids restaurants with video poker like:

> Donald Trump avoids humility,

> Adam Sandler dodges humor,

> Republicans ignore climate science, and

> Chuck Norris does Buddhism.

He does this because any restaurant with video poker machines is more interested in taking ready cash from slot junkies than it is about the preparation of its food. (Or, as his dear departed dad once said: “Owning any sort of gambling operation is perfect capitalism: it’s a business without a product. They give you money; you give them hope.”)

But there it was, Crab Corner, staring us in the face, and we knew from experience (at this and the sister restaurant across town), that a well-fried hunk o’ lump, Maryland blue crab meat might be just the thing to keep us from getting too crabby. We also remembered Old Bay chips and decent tartar sauce, so we grabbed a table outside (away from the smokey drunks and stupidity around the bar) and dove in. What showed up was as good as you can hope for, 2, 143 miles from the Chesapeake Bay: Continue reading “Cornering the Crab Market”

The Last Time I Saw Alsace – Part 2

A few days in Strasbourg is the perfect introduction to the glories of Alsatian food and culture. But to properly immerse yourself in the wonders of this Franco-Germanic region, you need to head to the wine country, where, within an hour’s drive of the big city, a steady succession of postcard-perfect villages await you with open arms, hearty cuisine, and more delicious white wines than you can shake a stick at.

Continue reading “The Last Time I Saw Alsace – Part 2”

The Last Time I Saw Alsace – Part 1

http://www.fac-paris.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/img-strasbourg-1.jpg

It is impossible not to fall in love with Alsace. Once you see it for the first time, resistance is futile. Once you taste and drink its many delights, stroll its cobblestone streets and walk amongst the candy-colored, half-timbered houses, you might as well resign yourself to a life-long love affair with Franco-German France. Alsace is a region, but it is also a culture; a battle-born civilization of freedoms hard won, peoples cross-pollinated and gastronomic traditions firmly entrenched. It also happens to be one of the most delicious places to eat and drink on the planet.

Continue reading “The Last Time I Saw Alsace – Part 1”