Pat Hammond's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
Just Barb's - Stockton Springs, Maine
After more than a decade of planning to stop in at Just Barb's in Stockton Springs, Maine, I finally made it for lunch the day after Thanksgiving. So forgive me if I run on about it!
It's a tiny place on Route 1, clean as a whistle, with bar seating and tables. We settled in and pretty much knew what we wanted. My sister (who'd been once before) got a cup of clam chowder, the crab roll, with fries and cole slaw (exactly what she ordered the first time). I ordered a cup of haddock chowder, a clam roll with fries and cole slaw. Two yeasty warm rolls were placed on the table, followed in short order by the cups of chowder. One spoonful of my chowder and I knew the ingredients had been assembled in a sequence that kept each at its perfect consistency. The cubes of potatoes were well cooked, but held their shape, onions were done, but still had some "chew" to them, the haddock was firm, but flakey. And then, and THEN, I tasted my sister's clam chowder! I know clam chowder and build a good facsimile myself, but this chowder was the best I've ever tasted, anywhere. No chopped or minced clams here, but whole, tender, sweet clams. (I thought they were small steamers, but my sister thought they were hard-shelled little necks. No matter, though. ) The creamy broth had an intense clam broth flavor. We both wished we gotten more "to go".
The crab roll was just sweet crab meat with enough mayo to bind it a little, piled into a buttered grilled hot dog style bun. When my clam roll arrived, I thought they'd made a mistake and brought the clam platter instead. By the time I'd eaten my way down to the roll, I knew I didn't want the bread. LOTS of fried, whole clams in a crispy batter, very much like tempura. The batter was just that light, and the oil impeccably clean. Just Barb's can fry up a storm! The fries were amazing, as well, perfectly crispy on the outside, creamy inside. We loved the cole slaw too, with its subtle bite of horseradish. Iced tea sure tasted freshly brewed to us.
We didn't have room for dessert, and I don't know if it's made in house, but here's what was listed on the dessert board:
Pies: coconut cream, apple crumb, chocolate, lemon meringue, blueberry, and raspberry. Oh, and something called grapenut custard.
If I hadn't been sort of stunned by the whole experience, I might have looked at the rest of the menu! I did see a sign that said Friday night is prime rib night!
Chowhound Post
Fairway coming to Pelham in late 2009!
Oh, I agree with that! What's been surprising to me is that those I've talked to (not a large number of folks, but still...) have never heard of Fairway. Yes, it'll be very interesting indeed!
Chowhound Post
Fairway coming to Pelham in late 2009!
Did you notice the mention of the store's first in-house wine store? Oh boy! I was poking around over there a few days ago and it's looking good!
Chowhound Post
Cuban sandwich, Pelham Manor!
Just came back to report, and you all are way ahead of me. It's called Wrap's Club Deli. (The apostrophe is theirs, not mine!) 1287 North Ave. Pelham was much closer to me, but I'll trek out there sometime soon to check it out for myself.
Chowhound Post
Stocking Up on H1N1 Provisions
Bendy straws for all that juice. My juice of choice when sick is 100% Concord grape juice. You can cut it with water. Also a bag of ice in the freezer would be helpful, if you don't have an ice maker.
Chowhound Post
Cuban sandwich, Pelham Manor!
Brief update, or downdate. There's been a change in management and no longer worth a visit for the Cubano. The whole sandwich now, is half the size of the former. They also have two Cubanos from which to choose and one of them has pineapple on it. That about says it, I think.
Chowhound Post
Mad Men
I recall a small glass of creme de menthe as a "refined" after dinner drink to aid digestion. It's very green. You can find the colorless variety, but it's not nearly as much fun.
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Yvonne's Southern Cuisine has closed [Pelham]
Do you know what's going into that space? Their first step should be taking down the old signage!
Chowhound Post
Dinner TONIGHT in the La Malbaie area. Help!
It ended up being four of them, and they went to Chez Nous. The casual atmosphere was perfect since the conference was for rugged, outdoorsy folks! It turned out that their party was alone in the dining room from 7:30 to 9:30. Another group (of 10) from the conference turned up but were told the place was closed. I suspect the kitchen wasn't up for cooking for 10 at that hour! Anyway, my son said the food wasn't "exceptional" but certainly good and everybody enjoyed what they had and had a great time. I hope to get details once he gets home.
I sure do thank you for your help! Pat
Chowhound Post
Dinner TONIGHT in the La Malbaie area. Help!
Thanks very much, Carswell. I found Vices Versa this morning, and thought it sounded wonderful, but unfortunately they're closed on Wed. this time of year. I'll let him know about the rest. Cafe Chez Nous is fairly close by for them, I think, and it looks nice. What a gorgeous area!
Chowhound Post
Dinner TONIGHT in the La Malbaie area. Help!
Apologies for the short notice! My son is in that area at a conference for the week and it sounds like he's being let out for the evening. Does any nice spot come to mind? He and a colleague are both good eaters from Boston. Fine dining isn't necessary, I'm sure, but good food would be most welcome.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions that come mind!
Chowhound Post
Yvonne's Southern Cuisine has closed [Pelham]
Update (already!) I took the opportunity to email to let them know I wished them well. Back came a reply that they're relocating to Mt. Vernon and will be open "SOON" around Thanksgiving. Good for them!
Chowhound Post
Yvonne's Southern Cuisine has closed [Pelham]
I just found out today, when I was craving a take-out of their pigs' feet dinner. Their phone didn't ring properly, so I went to the website on the off-chance they were on vacation or something. This is all that's left of Yvonne's: http://yvonnesoutherncuisine.com/defa...
Pelham will be much poorer without it.
Chowhound Post
Spaetzle [moved from Boston board]
I'll try that with my next foil pan. Excellent idea.
Chowhound Post
Spaetzle [moved from Boston board]
It does work well and I've used my pie pan several times, and it was free! To the embarrassment of my kids, I almost always tuck wooden chopsticks in my purse after eating out. The size is just the tiniest bit graduated, so the deeper you push it through, the larger the hole. However, I'm refusing to believe it's spaetzel weather just yet!
Chowhound Post
Spaetzle [moved from Boston board]
I saw a technique on some cooking show that works pretty well. Get one of those foil pie plates and poke holes in it with a chopstick, from the inside of the pan to the underside. (The ragged edges won't interfere because they'll be underneath). Put the pan over a pot with boiling salted water. Pour the batter in, and press it through the holes, in a back and forth fashion, with a pastry scraper. You haven't lost much, if you don't like the results, and it worked to my satisfaction.
Chowhound Post
It's plum torte season already!
I've bought my little Italian plums and will make two this year. Also in season are seedless Concord grapes. I plan to toss a handful of those on one of the plum tortes and see how it goes.
Here's last years thread http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/554222 with Karl S' instructions. This is a lovely recipe!
Chowhound Post
Perry Long's Lobster Shack, Surry, Me.
Ooops! Sorry. And yes, we were grateful for the recommendation.
Chowhound Post
Perry Long's Lobster Shack, Surry, Me.
Just back from a glorious week in the Ellsworth area. We had lobster almost every night. Twice we picked up lobsters from Perry Long's that they'd cooked for us. They were the first lobsters of the trip. To my palate, the one I had was the tiniest bit overcooked, but I attribute that to the hold-over cooking while transporting them back to the house. Plus, I'm a pill about boiled lobsters. One day we went back for lobster rolls for lunch. They were excellent and I could eat only half of mine. Interesting that they were served on a Kaiser roll. VERY good, with plenty of lobster chunks. The kids wanted an ice cream sandwich for dessert; they're homemade there. This was a real winner. It looks like a Whoopie Pie, almost a meal in itself, and the ice cream is made from the milk of cows at a farm up the road. (I wanted a quart of that milk, and the Longs offered to have it delivered to the "Shack" for us. Next time!) The ice cream was so rich, it was yellow. The lobster shack is pretty much just that and it sits on the side of Newbury Neck Road, with stairs that lead to the town beach. We ate sitting on rocks on that beach, though I think I remember other seating nearby.The Long's are lovely people, who seem to delight in visiting with customers.
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Is it me or this site is slow?
Mac and Firefox here too. I'm not experiencing anything even close to what you are. What a drag!
Chowhound Post
Leff chronicles site sale
Yes, it really was terrific. The interviewer was also very good. Good questions, and she listened to the answers. I really enjoyed it.
Chowhound Post
Julie and Julia Review-NYT
I did get to see it yesterday. I expected to like it and I certainly did. I laughed and even got a little teary, in a few spots. Streep, of course, was astonishing. In the scene where she was portraying Julia on her TV show, I had to blink a couple of times, because I wasn't sure whether I was seeing Julia as Julia or Streep as Julia. Amy Adams held her own beautifully, I thought. Loved the husbands, Messina and Tucci.
As I left the theater, it was like a sorority of gal's from the 60s, as we buzzed among ourselves and reminisced about cooking with Julia. Just plain good fun!
Chowhound Post
Fairway coming to Pelham in late 2009!
The most recent Pelham Weekly announced the opening for February 2010.
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Best and Worst Cooking Shows
It's on here in NY at 4:00 a.m. on Fridays. Just looked it up.
Chowhound Post
Julie and Julia Review-NYT
Yes, I'm over 65 and "Mastering the Art..." was my first serious cookbook as a newly wed, back in the very early 60's. I used to rearrange my life to watch her show on PBS. I very much enjoyed Julie Powell's book, My Life in France, too. I'm planning to see it this weekend, IF it rains!
Chowhound Post
Bummer clams at Tony's, Wollaston
I paid my first visit to the Clam Box last weekend. We got there about 3:30 and there was a long line. We discovered that they'd changed the cooking oil at 2:30 and I'm sure it takes a while to get it back up to temp. We had the native fried clam plate, clam roll, fried haddock, lobster roll, fried "chicken fingers", fried shrimp. That's not all, so a big assortment. There's wasn't a bit of "grease" on anything and the portions were huge, flavors were clean and fresh. My son declared the shrimp to be the best he'd ever had and I'm pretty sure he said the shrimp were from Maine. Our bill was hefty, but worth it.
Chowhound Post
Tamales lost. Even better tamales found!
Yes, it's a real Mexican bakery. It's a mom and pop operation. I'm sure the weekend tamales provide a little extra "pin money" for the mama.
Chowhound Post
A REALLY good salad- Westchester????
I enjoy the salads at M.A.D. too. I often get them for take-out, with the dressing on the side. Nice big container, that travels well. Good Cesar dressing, too.
Chowhound Post
Tamales lost. Even better tamales found!
My New Rochelle source for tamales slowly dried up as the summer progressed. I'd drop by Mercado Hernandez (on Union) about once a week, usually on Tuesdays, and buy an assortment of 4 or 6, depending. In the late spring, they wouldn't have them when they told me, so I'd come back the next day, and usually would score. The last three weeks, they didn't have any, nor did they know when, if ever, they would. I figured I'd try again in the fall.
I did stop in the Paleteria at 215 Union, for a sweet treat, before drooping toward home. With little hope, I asked the nice woman at the counter if she knew of another tamale source. She pointed at the bakery RIGHT ACROSS the street. (I don't know the name yet, but will update later.) The owner told me they had them all day Saturday and Sunday, home made. I returned today. There's a big aluminum pot filled with tamales. You pick out your own with the tongs provided. I bought two mole, and two jalapenos. Have only tried the chicken jalapeno, but couldn't wait to report! It was lovely and plump, very flavorful, wrapped in corn husks. I steamed it. I paid $6 something for the four.
The Palateria woman said her mother made fabulous tamales and she hoped to be selling them there by late fall. Time will tell about that. If you stand in front of the Palateria and look across the street, you can't miss the bakery. They make good muffins too.
Chowhound Post
TKettle Drinks, St. Marks Place
Thanks for updating this thread! Good dumplings are always good news and another reason to try this sweet little shop.
