Once Upon A Plate...: new york

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Diners and Waterfalls

CO Trip Day 1 May 6, 2010

Miles traveled: 617

Well, today officially marked the starting point of my 2010 trip out west. Yup, I am heading back to Paonia, Colorado – where I was WWOOFing last fall – and am now returning to Excelsior Orchard as a then WWOOFer and now employee, for the summer harvest season.

I decided this time I wanted to drive, for many reasons really:

1) I have never made a long car trip east to west in this country yet

2) I’d love to have a car out in Colorado this summer to explore the natural playground that will be at my disposal

3) I’d love for Ruthie (my 2004 silver Ford Focus) to get some exercise on the interstates. Owner-Car bonding is important.

The ultimate bonus though? My mom has not done any of the above either, and decided to accompany me for the trek out as my co-pilot. We took off this morning with a trunk full of ‘stuff’, a satchel of homemade snacks, a slew of maps, and a hunger for road.

Which brings me to the first highlight of the day. After properly fueling through the early morning hours with coffees and Morning Glory Muffins (yes, the same ones from ‘The 16^th Batch’ post) our stomachs were grumbling as we approached Buffalo, NY.

Upon my own ideas for goals of the trip, as well as a suggestion from a fellow food-loving friend, I thought it would be neat to see if any of Guy Fieri’s featured spots on his show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives would show up our selected route. It turned out there were indeed a few of them, the first being Sophia’s Diner in Buffalo, NY. Our first trip destination was Niagara Falls, so Sophia’s would fit perfectly in our schedule. I obviously watched the video clip from the show that featured Sophia’s before leaving today, and you can imagine my anticipation and excitement for what awaited us…

…when I pulled on the door only to be resisted by the bolt lock. “Nooooo,” my mom and I both said, turning to each other slowly and wide-eyed from hunger pains and disbelief. The sign said they closed at 3PM everyday. It was 2:50PM. We were confused, lost; like stray puppies looking for a scrap at a usually reliable restaurant dumpster.

Once we got the attention of one of the waitresses, she came around outside to explain they had to close early today for some certain reason. We said we were bummed, but asked more importantly about where another place would be good for us to go grab a bite. And just as she started to explain the directions to another restaurant, the owner, Sam, popped his head out the door and said, “Nah, Stephanie, we can take ‘em. Come on in ladies.”

From that point on I didn’t need to even taste the food to know why it was so good. Good people were behind the menu items at this diner, and that is one of the main reasons why it is such a delicious experience to eat there.

From trucker Mike’s recommendation from the booth behind us (he's a regula), we went for the chicken souvlaki and the roasted pork sandwich (the daily special), with homefries of course. The pictures really speak for themselves with this one. Yes, the deliciously house-roasted pork was sandwiched between their freshly made bread (shown being made on the show clip). Yes, it was covered in their house gravy. Yes, the marinade for the chicken was deliciously Greek with its hint of oregano. And yes, it was moist, and went perfectly with the quality romaine lettuce, feta, tomatoes, olives, and housemade vinaigrette. All enjoyed as the only customers in the whole joint, invited in after the doors were closed a bit too early.

Hated it.

Sam (Owner), Stephanie and Angela (the nicest waitresses you could ask for)

Nerds.

And just to polish it all off, we drove up to Niagara Falls for dessert. What an impressive natural spectacle…we couldn’t stop taking deep breaths of that fresh, misty air! The perfect afternoon sun showed off the thundering falls magnificently, and we slowly pulled away to drive to our final resting point of the day right outside Cleveland, OH. Over and out for Day 1~

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Love, Loss, and What I Ate

A few weekends ago, seven McCarron women (3 aunties and 2 cousins by car, 1 cousin by train, and 1 surprise cousin by plane!) took a road trip to the Big Apple, where another cousin - the sole male - awaited us in the heart of Queens. Once in the car with the trip officially underway, the already coined phrase surfaced describing whenever a group of McCarron women were all gathered in once place: "Hold on to your hats!" But, as Gigi was informing (warning?) Johnny of our ETA, a newly coined, next generation version of the phrase manifested: "Hold on to your hats! ...And maybe pop some valium..."

Needless to say we were excited and enthusiastic about our weekend ahead, full of fun, laughs, sightseeing, and...of course...eating.

On the first night there we all went to see a show called "Love, Loss, and What I Wore". It was a unique portrayal of a woman's life narrated by 5 actresses seated in chairs at the front of the stage. Very simple, yet very effective. The storyline revolved around the protagonist's life trials and tribulations of being a woman. Each story was associated with some article of clothing she had owned, and the memories and feelings that surfaced when she thought about such clothes.

As I was sitting there hearing these narratives, I thought about how I would write my own story if I was up there at center stage. Hmm...uhh... My mind strained to crank through my memory files. Being one of the more lackluster 'fashionistas' I know, I could only recall a handful of memories that were sparked by references to clothes. My ballet costume when I hit my head on the bar during the recital? The green corduroys that split right down the seam between the butt pockets during a classroom play in kindergarten? (I was dressed as a bottle of ginger ale). Although classics, clothes memories like these were few and far between.

Then I thought of the pages in my journal. If someone were to ever come upon it wanting to uncover juicy details about my life, relationships, deep dark secrets...theyd be in no such luck. All of the juiciness they would really get would be about moist roasted pork. The relationships would be about attachment with vats of peach jam, and the deep dark secrets would reveal ingredients and methods of recipes I would only share with a piece of paper.

The same theory could be applied to my camera. You can scroll through a series of photos of a trip to Italy expecting to see monuments and art pieces from thousands of years ago, only to be presented with photos of carts of fruits and vegetables and plates of antipasti. That's when I realized, sitting there in my chair in the audience of a broadway theater, that my life story wouldnt be told through what hung in my closet, but what was served on my plate.

So here are a few of the many photos taken during our three wonderful days in NYC. Perfect weather, great walks, and delicious bites. ( And no valium necessary :c) )