My favorite meals

I got a couple of comments today asking for recommendations on local restaurants and favorite dishes. Well, there are few things I enjoy more than food, so I thought a whole blog on the topic would be fun!

I like and frequent nearly all of the restaurants on the island. Here are some thoughts about each, including my personal favorite menu items.

Cafe Atlantic - anything they put on a plate is terrific! I love everything they do, including the bread (warm and crusty but not overly hard) and salads (with delicious dressings like cucumber dill and sweet poppyseed). The appetizer I order on almost every trip to the Cafe is the herbed chevre cheese with fig preserves; I know it sounds like an odd combination, but trust me and give it a try - it's delicious. It is difficult to select the "best" entree, because they are all superb, but two I enjoy frequently are the lemon pasta and pesto scallops. Mmmm...if I hadn't just eaten dinner, I would be hungry now. Finally, definitely save room for dessert (or, if you didn't save room, get one anyway and take it home or to your hotel/B&B/rental cottage with you to eat later)...their desserts are homemade and decadent. In fact, the dessert course is so popular at the Cafe that if you see one you like in the case near the front door on your way in, it's not a bad idea to request your server save a portion for you...they sometimes run out of the really good ones. The dessert menu varies, with different choices every day, but my favorite is Toll House Pie. I've also heard wonderful things about their banana cream pie - a friend of mine likes it so well that she is on a "call list" to be notified when they are serving it!

(Yikes - if I write that much about every place, this is going to be a LOOOONG blog...)

Flying Melon - the menu here has a somewhat Cajun inspiration (the chef, Michael, used to have a restaurant in New Orleans), but the dishes are not overwhelmingly spicy (unless you like your food with authentic Cajun heat, in which case just ask...) Another thing I appreciate about the Melon is the fact that their fried seafood items are not overly breaded - I can't stand it when places serve items which are more-batter-than-fish/shrimp/oyster/whatever. Favorite items - crabcakes (the remoulade sauce is lick your plate good), crab and corn chowder, and any of the special omelettes at brunch. The Melon also serves a great burger, includes vegetarian and vegan choices, and offers delectable homemade desserts, including a fantastic tiramisu.

The Back Porch - I love the quiet ambiance here, with candles on the tables making for a romantic meal setting. The best appetizer in my opinion is the crab beignets, and a favorite entree is the filet of fish with Vietnamese lime sauce (another plate-licking-good one). And yes, these guys also have lovely desserts. Are you beginning to notice a theme here? :)

Jason's - excellent food in a casual atmosphere. To start, I like the spinach and artichoke dip, although the chicken wings are good too. Or sushi (served Tuesday nights only) is always a great starter if you want something different. The Sayrah Safari sandwich (on a wrap rather than a roll) is what I order almost every time I eat at Jason's, and I like to finish up with one of their (you guessed it) yummy desserts, which change daily.

Those are my four personal favorites, but here are some other places I enjoy:
- Thai Moon - be aware that this is a takeout only, cash only place, and there's sometimes a bit of a wait to get your food, but it's well worth it! I love the Tom Yum Goong soup and Moon's Special crabmeat fried rice (which is served with either 2 spring rolls, or 2 skewers of satay...I usually have trouble deciding between them!)

- Ocracoke Coffee Company - I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but they have terrific smoothies (I adore the Strawberries and Cream with Chocolate, but the Skinny Monkey is also good if you want or need to be less decadent), and if I'm in the mood for a snack when I'm there, the bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon is marvelous.

- Howard's Pub - not my favorite for atmosphere (a bit "pubby" for my taste), but it's fun and open late. If you like beer (which I don't particularly), it's not to be missed, as they have around 200 kinds to choose from, including microbrews and imports. I like the grilled teriyaki tuna sandwich, which comes with a unique key lime mustard sauce, and pub fries are excellent.

- Pony Island - great for down to earth, good food, simply prepared and presented. The fish is fresh caught, or they will prepare and cook your own catch if you would like. Their hush puppies are sweet and wonderful, and I would eat "pony potatoes" (hash browns with cheese, salsa and sour cream) at any time of day if they would let me (unfortunately, they only serve them at breakfast).

- Jolly Roger - super for outside dining on warm days, and offers the best sunset view of all the eateries, as it is right on the harbor. I love their french fries, and the Mexican options are tasty, too. If you go on the right nights, you can enjoy live music by talented local musicians along with your meal.

This is not an exhaustive list of all the restaurants on the island, but it does cover my most frequently visited locations. Hope you find something you like. Here's to good eatin'!

Portsmouth Homecoming

The semi-annual Portsmouth Island Homecoming is scheduled for April 19th this year. Here's a list of the planned activities:

Boats to Portsmouth leave Ocracoke: 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 AM

Post Office open: 8:00 AM - 10:15 AM

Storytelling on the Visitor Center Porch: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Hymn Singing in the Methodist Church: 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Homecoming Program at Lifesaving Station: 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM

Dinner on the Grounds: 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM (immediately following program). Bring food and beverage to share; ice, paper products, and tables will be provided.

Coast Guard Drill at Lifesaving Station: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Boats begin going back to Ocracoke at 2:00 PM

Visit the Friends of Portsmouth website for more info.

A host of angels and other moving experiences

I collect angels. I display them on high (above the windows) shelves, which is great for many practical reasons (the cats can't get to them, they never need dusting, etc.). But my favorite thing about the angels being "up there" is that I always feel like there are angels watching over me.

John and I took the angels down on Friday night, so I could pack them carefully to move them to the house. I enjoyed the image of a host of angels, when they were all clustered together on the coffee table. Unfortunately, I didn't think to snap a picture until I had already packed most of them, so this shot is of only a portion of my collection.


Yes, they are standing on a puzzle which includes angels in it. :)

We moved several items over to the house today, including a loveseat. It was a really windy day so I decided to ride on the furniture in the back of the truck, to hold down the cushions so they wouldn't blow out and down the street. It was definitely the most comfortable I'll ever be while riding in the back of a truck (although it was a little chilly!)



Here's to a life filled with moving experiences, wherever you are...

It's the least wonderful time of the year...

...with the tax man cha-chinging
and everyone wringing
their hands in great fear
It's the least wonderful time of the year...

I'm talkin' about tax time. I hate it. (Yes, I know that puts me in plenty of company.) I have been staring at Turbo Tax all evening, and I'm about ready to throw up now. But hey, all I have to do to get my tax rebate (aka "economic stimulus payment") is to get the darn forms filed, so I guess I have some more motivation than usual.

Okay, 'nuff whining. Hope doing your taxes wasn't (or isn't, or won't be, depending on how much of a procrastinator you are) too terrible, wherever you are...

Catalogs

I swear, catalog companies have a red flag for addresses of people who live on islands, or at the top of mountains, or out in the middle of the country, or anywhere else which is just generally far away from large stores. I get at least one catalog per day in the mail. It's insane! (Of course, for all I know, everyone gets this many catalogs in the mail...I haven't done a scientific study on the subject.)

There are three tall trash cans at the Post Office, and they are filled up on an almost daily basis with catalogs, credit card offers, and other "junk mail". Of course, one person's junk is another person's treasure, and I have seen some people take catalogs out of a trash can after someone else threw them away.

I am somewhat of a catalog and internet shopper. I enjoy researching online to see where I can get the best price for an item, factoring in shipping and handling charges and tax (if applicable) to make sure I truly do get a good deal. Come to think of it, maybe that's why I get so many dang catalogs. My name is probably on a list entitled "this is a live one" which the catalog companies sell to one another. Sheesh. Guess I'll keep doing my part to fill the Post Office trash cans (at least with the catalogs I don't want to take home to order that "I-had-never-even-thought-of-before-but-now-am-fully-convinced-I-need" item I just saw on page 12). As long as I'm bringing the onslaught of catalogs on myself, I might as well make something out of at least some of them!

Happy shopping, wherever you are...

High tech

Continuing on my musings from yesterday about how the internet has changed information access, I have been thinking this evening about slick high tech gadgets. I have a wireless LAN, so I can blog (and surf and shop and look up information) without cables. But that's nothing compared to the cool high tech toys I see on TV. My personal favorites are wall-sized screens, especially ones that have dynamically changing information which responds to voice commands, or can be moved around with just the touch of a fingertip. Then there are the entire computer systems which can be controlled to do highly complex processing with only an arrow key, escape button, or six seconds of typing on a keyboard.

The only thing wrong with these slick high tech gadgets is...they only exist on TV.

Okay, so I have officially been spending WAY too much time indoors, staring at computer screens. I need to go out to the beach and reconnect with the world. I won't take any of my gadgets with me, I promise.

Spring? ...and access to information

It is Spring, right? It felt like Spring on Saturday. It was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures in the high 60s. On Saturday night, a cold wind started blowing. All day yesterday and into this morning, it felt like Winter again. Brrr.

The TV ad with the weather guy just said that he would be telling us about "a warm up" during his forecast on the 11 o'clock news. I'm not sure I'll be awake at 11, though, so I guess I'll check online for the info.

Having immediate access to online resources for shopping and all sorts of information (weather and otherwise) has become an important part of my daily life. I often sit and watch TV with my laptop in my lap. That's usually because I'm blogging, or engaging in some other form of multitasking, but I also frequently find myself looking things up online.
- Wonder what other movie that actress was in recently? Try the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com). Incidentally, even if you're curious about movies that haven't yet been released - like Nights in Rodanthe, which was filmed partially on the Outer Banks and may include some of my friends in it - you can get that kind of info. there too ("Nights" was originally slated for release in June this year, but has now been delayed until October).
- Want to check out the website for that show or get more info. about that commercial you just saw? You can find the show online by searching the official site for the channel it's on, and usually the ads include the URL at the end, although you do have to read quickly to catch them.
- Wonder what else is on TV, because you don't like that show you're watching? That's easy to find on any search engine.
- Want to know just about anything else? Look it up on Wikipedia, my personal favorite, or of course you could always just google it.

It's pretty amazing to me how quickly information is available now, no matter where you are. Even here on a small island 25 miles off the coast, where people used to wait weeks or months for information, the world is at my fingertips.

Hope you have all the info you need, wherever you are...