FoOd WoRdS

Nothing to do with sandwiches.

Friday March 16
Here I am in Parkersburg, WVA near to the Ohio border, in a hotel in the town, in an historic hotel in the town, very nice – very very nice compared to the choices, which are the Red Roof Inn, the Knights Inn and the Waffle House cause it is open all night and you can spend the night there if you can keep yourself up. Can’t remember the name of this hotel off hand (oh, the Blennerhassett), but there is a doorman and they were kind enough to give me a corporate discount even though I did not have AAA, or a corporate affiliation or military status. I tried to make something up but couldn’t so the nice young people at the desk did that for me. Plenty of travel size niceties in the bathroom, even a “shoe mitten” whatever that is and a cute sewing kit. I hope a button falls off.

Dropped my stuff in my room and went straight to the bar after a shortstop for lipstick and eyeliner. My idea was to have a glass of wine straight off and shake off a long drive in driving rain. I did and also a couple salted nuts. Then stayed for dinner cause I couldn’t stand the thought of going up and coming down again.

So… I read the menu and asked about the chef cause whoever wrote the menu was most likely not a native Parkersburger. Tip offs – tasso ham, Jack grits, …..

As I found out, tonight was the cusp, the spring menu begins tomorrow. The bartender was kind enough to share his printout of tomorrow’s menu with me. The menu and the chef’s notes for the waitstaff.

My notes on the chef’s notes:
Does Arrabiatta really mean angry?

What is a cowboy ribeye anyway?

Are lambshanks only from the front of the lamb – as he claimed? Don’t they have feet – and shanks – on the back?

Is it possible to lightly grill anything? What would be the point?

How about lightly saute? Is that with less than high heat? Why would you want
to do that?

Meyer lemons. Because of their “acidic tartness” they “work great in cooked sauces”. How come? Not to make fun. I just don’t get it.

How bout these words: microgreens, encrusted, char-grilled. We all use em, but they seem pretentious and dumb.

Primavera. A word associated with spring. Tomatoes, red onions and roasted peppers in the pasta. I don’t associate these things with spring and I don’t want to.

Provimi veal takes me back to cooking school in 1978. Who is Provimi anyway and why is Provimi good?

Don’t get me wrong. My dinner was delicious, delicious, delicious. Nice fancy greens salad tossed, penne, blazing hot in the molten middle, tender veal meatballs. Wish they would’ve made me a half order… And the hotel was a cozy, safe, comfortable oasis in a dead-downtown on a rainy-cold March night in West Virginia. I’d go back anytime for eats and sleeps.