My View of Life on the Dock
The GoMOOS buoys are not out of whack. The water temperature really is 57 F all the way around Cape Ann and into the Gulf of Maine.
Went for a swim today and it was like bathwater. Just two weeks ago the water was passing 50 F and the dip was, refreshing.
Thursday I was off Woods Hole heading to where large fluke like to be reeled off the bottom. Last night we had panko fried fluke fillet with french fries. Tonight we have a sea bass that liked my fluke bait.
Heading there at dawn this is Nobska point on the left, Martha’s Vineyard on the right and a ferry in between. A cold front was backing in from the east making the clouds stack up at dawn.
Last night from Andrews Point the moon rose just to the left of the Sandy Bay breakwater. The green and red lights are on either end of the breakwater. Maybe 10:10PM tonight but looks a little too cloudy right now.
In real life I could see the lady, not the rabbit, or the old man:
Yeah:
1) Just drove onto the island and four beautiful lanes open over the Andrew Piatt.
2) Lunch at the Cupboard with a small order of onion wings. Small is plenty.
Nay:
1) The gender signs for the Rockport Information booth are not up yet.
2) Lattof Farm stand is not selling fresh Monkey Bread in the morning yet.
I want a four for four yeah!! sometime this weekend.
And just one word of warning as you have fun this three day weekend. The weather is very warm but the water is still a bit nippy. If you are going to go kayaking jump in the water first and then think about how much effort it would take to get back in your kayak and pump it out while being immersed in chilly water. You want to kayak only where you can easily figure out a way to get out of the water faster than fifteen minutes. Wear a life jacket and dress for the water, not the balmy weather. Tell someone where you are going. And have fun.
I went fishing all day off Woods Hole yesterday and I am always learning something new.
New rule: if you cut your hair short and go out on a boat all day make sure you put sunblock on the top of your ears. Ouch!
I caught the Hanneke Cassel performance this past Saturday as the Rockport Performance Center tuned the new hall.
Imagine this nice performance but instead of the muddled acoustics of Passims you have the absolute clarity of a finely tuned musical instrument which is what the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport is today.
Agent 99 over on Cape Anne online said it best:
I’m so in awe of this beautiful new venue. What an incredible treasure to the town. We also had the good fortune to catch Cassel’s performance at 6 and loved every second. She’s got that wonderful blend of raw talent and charisma. We will definitely look for her again. The size of the room just makes it feel all the more intimate. The sound is perfect. A person on stage can whisper with no microphone and someone in the last seat of the mezzanine can hear it perfectly. The design is beyond beautiful. They’ve used slate in an undulating pattern on the walls to create one of the acoustic elements but is visually stunning as well. On stage what looks like an undulating wall of stone actually slides open hiding a glorious grand piano that can glide on and off stage with the touch of a finger. Verklempt!
Shalin Liu: How do you pronounce it? Hanneke asked this question between sets and the answer was that I have been mispronouncing it. The answer is British footwear in a bathroom. That’s right, “Shoe in loo”. Sorry about that but you will now never mispronounce it again but you will never forgot my dumb mnemonic. What really blew me away is how enormous the space is when compared to the lot size they shoe horned this building into. Truly an architectural feat. (Oh wait, shoe horned in, small space, feat, I feel a bad pun attack … )
OK, so this is me being a jackass right before the start of the concert. You can see how the side doors open to get the piano, or chairs. You can also see the weaved shutter which covers the huge window backstage.
Fiddlers on stage window shuttered:
Fiddlers on stage window open:
This window is going to be even more impressive once the scaffolding outside the building is removed.
I can see Andrew’s Point!
Taking a curtain call:
They were so good we bought two CDs and Hanneke autographed them for my daughter. I had to drive my son up to Vermont back to college and fiddle music was a pleasant way to enjoy the drive through the Berkshires.
I had the lab over to the house for a going away party for my best chemist going off to grad school. Teach them some chemistry and they run off …
Picked up a bag of bugs at the dock and they looked so nice I went to get my iPhone since I forgot my real camera. I didn’t notice that someone had slipped a kielbasa into the mix.
You really need to keep an eye on these people. So after they left at sunset I had to go for a walk as maybe I had a few too many cupcakes and got seven cairns going in the failing light. The nice tall round one was still up from two weeks ago. No wind in the forecast so these seven might hang out. Or Halibut2 might add some more.
If I did not get rid of these cupcakes I would have eaten the last four so I went to the harbormaster meeting in Rockport (every Thursday night at 7PM) and tried to bribe Rosemary and Scott into moving me up on the mooring list. Not much luck on that one but they likely succumbed to the creamy frosting right after I left.
Scott did give me ID stickers for my kayaks. I follow the Coast Guard on Twitter and it seems like half their time is spent trying to find out where the empty kayak came from. It may have just blown off a dock but they have to treat it as a lost kayaker. But if every kayak had a name and cell phone number inside the hull on an easily recognizable sticker the problem would vanish.
A double Christmas present to my better half was a twofer I picked up at Bodin Historic Photo Gallery right here on Main Street in the West End of Gloucester:
I can stand at the window on the left and line up the street with the historic map and wonder what the Avenues looked like when Eben Phillips was thinking of developing the whole point. My house was there in 1884 when the map was done so the horse hair insulation is authentic. (Real horse, really blows for insulation.)
And the ceramic Striper can remind me that small stripers are being found right now so the blues are not far behind and with that smoked bluefish pate.
Fun Fact: Visit Fred’s website and click on the events calendar. The most recent addition is a wine tasting on Feb 7, 1998. I missed that! It was catered by the Grange Gourmet. I miss them too. I think in the summer of 1986 I visited Grange Gourmet about every other day.
But back to Fred. Glad to see he has his priorities straight and is not wasting time screwing around updating his website. No need. Everyone knows where to find him.
Gallery, Studio, whatevah. (Kudos to Fred for not rolling his eyes.)
Pastrami on rye is one of my favorite sanwiches. Maybe I was mixed up in the nursery and I am really Jewish but a New York Deli and a hot pastrami sandwich is right up there with a lobster roll, hold the celery. But a bad pastrami is such a bummer I don’t often order it unless I am in lower Manhattan.
But the Red Skiff in Rockport had a grilled Hot Pastrami on the specials board and took a chance.
The rye was grilled and that was what pushed this sandwich over the top into greatness. Since the Red Skiff has the tastiest french fries in Rockport I could only eat half of this since I had to eat all the fries. But the second half cold for dinner was pretty good.
To prove I’m not pulling a fast one:
That was an hour ago. But first I had to grab a Italian Sausage from Sausage King on Lansdowne:
Around the corner first big red umbrella on the right:
Yes, I’ll have that one 8 bucks.
After eating that and a short nap I can now miss my 2 PM post time by just ten minutes. (No I did not have tickets.) Back to the lab for me. My regular scalpers were up to 100 bucks for good seats. Too rich for my blood. Did everyone see Dice K pitch last night? Wicked Ahsome!
Jan Walker told me about this place. How is there a beautiful nursery practically tucked behind the Willow Rest that I didn’t know about? (Take Stanwood or Gee Ave off of Washington before you get to Willow Rest and go up to 24 Gee Avenue.) Probably because I was not in the market for a nursery all these years.
Goose Cove Gardens<< click
Now I am. We picked up a nice rhubarb plant as well as some annuals for Mother's Day.
And although we have tomato sets we are growing from seed we might have to stop by on May 26 “Tomato Release Day” to pick up a few more to fill out the tomato garden.
I have never seen such an assortment of really healthy looking plants. Since it looks as if all are grown right there the sets look to be more than hardy enough to take a Cape Ann summer.
Trifecta: Go to Willow Rest and pick up a Cuban (the sandwich!). Take Gee or Stanwood and go right to Dogtown for a hike built around lunch. Then on the way back go to the other end of Gee Ave and pick up some plants.
Joey posted Halibut2 round rock balancing and a youtube of rock balancer Bill Dan (who looks like he does his work in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge). I noticed a dry mortar technique that Dan was using and had an ah ha moment. I’ve been going for square sturdy construction and height but with a little dry pebble added one might go crazy.
My first try:
Considering I just had my afternoon coffee and had the jitters it was relatively easy to get the balance.
These next three are more my style up until now:
All I have to do now is use Dan’s other technique of putting a piece of bologna on the top so I can film a homie being a house wrecker.
This is Crazy Cairns Part I since I have only just begun. Wait until I try it without coffee. Arches, flying buttresses, and the blind scales of justice are coming.
The list of what has opened is long so I am switching modes to only speak of Cape Ann eateries about to open or changes in hours as spring turns to summer. Speaking of summer, how do you like the summer weather? It only rains on Monday and Tuesday? Last year and 1986 it seemed like it only rained on Saturday and Sunday. No more of that. Hot and humid here on out.
The Cupboard: Latest rumors all point to the Cupboard Opening tomorrow, Thursday, May 6. Today is Cinco de Mayo but tomorrow is “Seis de Mayo por la almejas fritas”. Works for me. Please do not chase me down if they do not open on Thursday. Their Facebook page is requesting job applications. Unfortunately my daughter has another month of eighth grade.
They have to be open by Saturday and I will be there to get some onion rings and a fish sandwich. I just got my camera out of hock so I might even be able to take a photo instead of these blurry iPhone shots. (Sorry about that again Jerry Remy burger.)
The Rudder: I was all excited about reading in the Gloucester Daily Times yesterday that the Rudder was going to be open year round. But reviewing Joey’s interview of Jeanie Boland last fall after the renovation and using my keen reading comprehension on the GDT story I now realize they may be open only to private functions in the winter. We need to change that. Every time you eat there make sure you mention how much you want The Rudder to stay open year round. Duckworths can do it and so can the Rudder.
But for now, The Rudder is Thursday to Saturday open at 5PM then on June 17th they will be open all week through the summer.
Fun Fact: My brother Chris just told me he ran the raw bar at The Rudder in the 80s. So did he kill anyone off? 8)
Jan Walker has an exhibit in the gallery at the Unitarian Church, Rockport until May 31. A reception for the show this Thursday, May 6 from 5-7:30PM
I was walking by on Sunday in T-Shirt and sandals and Sunday service was milling about. They said I was dressed just fine so I stepped in to check it out.
I especially liked this:
Three board sailers in an obvious race in matched gear. The sails, the booms, the bottoms of the boards are identical. Why then is the racer who seems to be winning, actually winning? The bend of his knees seems to drive the port rail deeper? But these three could be heading for a mark that the left most skipper is really in the lead.
But the crazy thought that popped into my brain when I saw this because the resolution of the sails are so liquid, could I see the baby Jesus, or Mary, or Mother Theresa in these sails? Check them out. They are the most high tech material known to man and when wet they make for some translucent weirdness. Better than a piece of cheese sandwich or a cinnamon bun and not matched at all! Me, I can see Yoda and a bunch of other stuff rated PG or up.
The Unitarian church is that steeple that is tucked to the right of the big church in Rockport, 4 Cleaves Street, only about 30 yards up the hill from Toad Hall Bookstore.
Even if we were in Body Gloves it still counts. It was hot enough Sunday that we would dunk then sit on the rocks and get hot before doing it again. My goal is to beat the Rockport Mr and Mrs Bathroom sign each year and this time we did it.
The sign should be up this week. Please e-mail me when they sneak out there and if you can actually get a photo of who does it you would make my day. I think it is Rockport fairies putting out the sign that is the official beginning of summer.
Blackburn Challenge update: Registration for the July 17 race goes live on the Blackburn Challenge web site tomorrow, May 4.
I may come in last but I’ll have a low number.
Anyone want an earlier workout the Essex River Race is on May 15 and the registration is live.
Hedge commented in my “Seasonal Openings Part II” if I could add something about the martini I had at the Top Side Grill last Tuesday during Oyster Night. The comment box was not big enough for my thoughts on martinis.
What is wrong with the world today: bad martinis
The popularity of the Cosmopolitan and all these other Apple, lemon drop, fruity drinks that use a martini cocktail shaker is what is wrong with the world today. Order a martini and it may arrive looking like a gin/vermouth martini with olives but if the bartender used a shaker which they had previously used on a Cosmopolitan I can do a really good imitation of John Stuart (Daily Show) spraying my drink all over the wait staff. Even a few molecules of apple flavor are enough.
What is right with the world today: good martinis
A place that will dedicate a martini shaker to only gin/vermouth martinis. (Vodka contamination also acceptable.) Top Side Grill obviously does that. The fact that the martini glass is big enough so I don’t have to order two more doesn’t hurt. Three olives is one olive overkill but since they came with a red sword I would remove no points. They also followed the correct recipe:
6 parts gin, 1-2 parts vermouth, olive garnish
Jokes about waving a vermouth cap over the shaker, using a perfume atomizer, or saying the word vermouth while shaking is for idiots. It ain’t a martini if it does not have dry vermouth (Noilly Pratt is good) in it. The “dry” has nothing to do with the amount of vermouth.
Shaken or Stirred?
More nonsense. The molecules of gin and vermouth do not have a sense of direction nor do they get dizzy. But there is ceremony to be made around making a martini and I certainly have mine.
Joey posted about the chrome martini shakers at Bananas far enough in advance of Christmas so that both of my children gave me one. Both are like that one in the middle with the red Bakelite handle vintage 1930-40s before plastic was invented. Bakelite uses cellulose.
1) Fill shaker one third full with ice.
2) Add about one jigger of vermouth directly onto ice so it freezes.
3) Add gin until ice almost floats. (about 6 jiggers)
4) This step 4 is optional and completely opposite of my rant about the flavored drinks but a teaspoon of Rose’s Lime Juice for variety can be added here. (This drink is now named after me in a bar across the street from the Sacramento State House. At least that’s what we were told as they kicked us out.)
5) Replace top, screw on little spout cover also, grasp by spout and handle and swirl vigourosly. Do not hold anywhere near the bottom as that will start to get covered by frost. About 3-5 minutes. When the frost forms your martini is ready to be poured. With the frost on the outside you can leisurely have one martini and freshen it up to twenty minutes later and the amount of water added is still perfect. But finish the shaker by 30 minutes or it becomes too dilute. Hurry hurry.
These shakers have a convenient strainer built in.
That’s it. Oh, Richard Leonard, owner of Bananas also told me how to clean the chrome. Soft Scrub only. I’ve used them daily since Christmas Day and they are still gleaming and have not needed the Soft Scrub yet but heavy usage during the summer might change that. A last photo of one of mine along with two martini glasses also Christmas gifts from my children. I even got to open this one a week before Christmas.
More openings:
Popo’s Gourmet Hot Dogs on Rogers Street open.
Nate’s at Front beach open.
What used to be Frank’s Subzone now Surfside Subs on Thacher Road open.
Captain Carlo’s open
And to repeat from part I
Topside Grill open (Tuesday is Oyster night)
Top Dog on Bearskin Neck open
The Rudder open Thursday to Saturday
Lobster Pool open (see video of seafood quesadilla on this blog)
Lobsta Land open (at 5:30AM for breakfast too!)
And last but not least the Cupboard will be opening May 1.
From Fred Bodin’s suggestions I had to go to Topside Grill and Captain Carlo’s and neither disappointed. The only complaint was from my bathroom scale the next day. I may have to walk the Blackburn Challenge on the sea floor.
Topside Grill on Tuesday. Oh I love oysters. I love them so much my iPhone photo is just a pile of shells. But I did snap a photo of my martini. I only needed one of these.
Captain Carlo’s was a treat from the parking lot to the check. We were walking up and a gruff old guy was getting to the door before us. (Not really that gruff or that old but he may have pulled his share of lobster pots.) He held the door and waved us all in with a “Welcome to Captain Carlo’s!” The whole place was like that. Are these people hired as method actors to give the place the salty friendly atmosphere? It works. I can imagine on a warm night the back deck is the place to be.
Fun Fact: Captain Carlo’s is named in honor of Capt. Carlo Ciaramitaro. Now where have I heard that name before?
I really have to cut back on the caloric intake but I want to go back to all of them and hit all these new places. I don’t think I can even be called a tourist if I haven’t had the fried clams at the Cupboard yet.
Keep the names of seasonal opening coming.
Bluefish don’t like cold cold water. They like 50 degrees Fahrenheit or above. The buoy just south of Cape Ann in Massachusetts Bay almost got there this weekend:
04-24 4:00 PM 49.3 , 49.1
04-24 4:30 PM 49.4
04-24 5:00 PM 49.0 , 49.0
First number is the surface, second is two meters down. That means that blues coming up from the south will be arriving soon. Smoked bluefish pate, fresh bluefish on the grill, pan fried bluefish in panko. I love a fresh bluefish. Catching one on a popper off the point makes the bluefish tastier. I’m one of those weird people who prefer fresh bluefish over a striped bass. Although I will not push myself from the table if there was a keeper striper bake stuffed with scallops and clams on a big plate on the table.
Three days after buying the house I walked down to the point and caught a blue on a surface popper. About six the wife comes down for coffee and I told her to look in the fridge. As she opened the door the blue jumped off the plate. A fresh fish is priceless as was her reaction.
That one was grilled with scallions and a little Teriyaki.
ps. It’s official GoMOOS A at 2PM today officially hit 50F
At least once a year one has to drive over the bridge and usually it’s a Red Sox game that will coax you over. That might not be a good time to go to Jerry Remy’s Grill because it will be packed. If you pay 500 dollars you can get right in before a game. Can you believe these annual passes are sold out? Crazy. But if you don’t go to the game it might be the time. Plenty of huge flat screens in the bar. Then there is the Remy Burger.
I forgot to take a picture until I was half way through.
Woah, a little mangled. Two bites and I had to switch to knife and fork as it was falling apart.
This bacon cheeseburger with a cajun kind of sauce is served on fried dough. If the hamburger won’t kill you the dough will. If you order it they also give you a massive amount of tasty fries without telling you. My advice, unless you have won a man versus food contest recently get two if not three people in on it. Or don’t eat the bun but the fried dough is really good.
When the World Cup is on this summer I might be in here at 6AM watching it live from South Africa. At least the weekday games.
First visit of the year and first visit ever but certainly not the last. The short trip today right out of Loblolly Cove. Next week from Rockport then maybe a week or two do it from Pigeon Cove.
No rainbow but it sure was dark there for a bit.
Peeps Part III or is it IV?
Plan ahead for next Easter or create your own art with peeps and a microwave. Eastern Ave Shaws still has them in the 50% off carts in the last aisle.
Good Morning Gloucester 