More Kids 'n Lobsters

As I glance through some old photos, I'm noticing a theme developing with my brother's family and lobsters. In last year's post "Attack of the Lobster!" I showed you what happened when my brother introduced his grandson Zach to a lobster. Well, apparently he just loves getting children and lobsters together....Zach's Aunt Meredith met these critters back in 1981.

Hey, Aunt Meredith, isn't it about time for your kids to meet some crustaceans?

We shall see. . .

More Diner Dilemnas

OK. I really, REALLY give up on diners!
We needed to get off Long Island on a Thursday morning. Anyone remotely familiar with Long Island traffic will appreciate that the best time to drive through the city and out of the metro area is roughly 3am-6am. After that, it's grit your teeth and deal with tons of traffic. To achieve this, we usually forgo breakfast at home, and stop somewhere well beyond the city limits. Since we were heading down the Jersey Turnpike and we aren't familiar with the surrounding community, we pulled in at one of the rest stops featuring "Dick Clark's American Bandstand Diner". At least it wasn't one of those ubiquitous over-sized under-flavored cinnamon rolls, or a foil wrapped breakfast sandwich sitting under a heat lamp. Perusing the menu, I found a fruit smoothie that sounded good - I'd start with one of those. Or not, as the waitress looked highly confused and said that they didn't have them. Right....so I take a look at their other juice offerings and decide that a nice tart glass of grapefruit juice would have to do. Except they didn't seem to have that, either, although it was on the menu. I was spared having to ask just what menu items they DID have, because she proceeded to list my only options. Orange juice, it seemed, would have to suffice. I hardly dared order my entree, but it seems they actually did have french toast available.
The point of this ranting is not a review of the diner (they actually have very good hash browns) but my fascination with not being able to order what I wanted no fewer than three times in a row. What happened to "third time's a charm"?

I'll Stick with Drive-Ins and Dives

Occasionally we chefs do like to eat out - and sometimes we just can't make up our mind what we want. On Long Island, the ready solution to that dilemna is a diner. When I'm roaming around the North Fork of Long Island, I love to stop by the Cutchogue Diner on Main Road. A very small eatery, sandwiched between more modern main street buildings, it bears a strong resemblance to a railroad dining car. It provides the classic diner experience - bygone-era surroundings, good food from a small menu, and a family-run feeling. Note that I mention a small menu. I have a problem with diners that offer multi-page menus featuring dozens upon dozens of selections. I know, I know, I just got finished telling you that when I don't know what I want, a diner is a great solution. However, rather than offering a hundred selections done fairly well, I much prefer a place offering a dozen items, well done.
So what's all this about small diners? No, I'm not opening one (at least not yet!). No, I wanted to explain why I'm boycotting larger diners. Last week after dropping my father off at JFK airport, my wife inquired if I was going to treat her to breakfast. She suggested a diner in Babylon where in the past we've enjoyed Belgian waffles and a unique brand of breakfast sausage. We sat down, ordered our orange juice and hot chocolate, then both decided on the Belgian waffle/sausage combination. The waitress was dismayed when we placed our order; the diner's waffle iron was broken. I'm sure you know the disappointment when you have your chops set for an item and can't have it. We re-grouped and settled for an omelet and French toast, with sausage.
Breakfast arrived with my second let-down of the morning. Gone were the slender, golden sausages I had often enjoyed here, replaced by short, fat sausages that taste like every other breakfast sausage out there. I've never been able to find those slender sausages anywhere else, and believe me, I've tried to find that breakfast sausage in just about every store on Long Island.
Fine, so I couldn't have what I wanted; stop being a spoiled brat, right?
Well, last night we picked up Dad from the airport. After enduring a five-hour cross country flight with no meal service, we thought we'd better get some food into him, toot suite. I bailed off the Southern State Parkway at Baldwin, and made my way down to Sunrise Highway. We quickly found a diner and pulled in. I'd already eaten dinner, so I thought I'd enjoy dessert or a thickshake while he had his dinner (or breakfast, as he chose a Spanish omelet). On the menu I spied a malted milk shake - I'm a sucker for anything "malted". The waitress' eyes grew large when I ordered, and she apologetically explained that they no longer had any malted milk powder, and that it really should be removed from the menu, as this happened at least once a night.
As Charlie Brown would say, "Auuuggghhhh!"
So I firmly believe the diner gods are against me; rather than tempt fate (and risk disappointment yet again) and with apologies to Guy Fieri, I have resolved to boycott diners. I'll stick with drive-ins and dives.

Chef Glenn Named President of USPCA's NY Metro Chapter

Yesterday's press release announced that Chef Glenn has been named President of the USPCA's NY Metro Chapter. The Chapter, one of the largest in the country, is made up of member chefs covering the entire metro New York region - Long Island, New York City's five boroughs, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Fairfield Connecticut, and much of central/northern New Jersey.
"Our chefs provide the most unique service on the dining out scene - we allow you the ability to dine in."
A member of the chapter since 2005, Chef Glenn sees his term as President as a way to give back.
"I've met so many great chefs, and we've become great friends. Though many people would see us as competitors for clients, we don't see it that way at all. Each of us has our own distinctive style, and bring a wealth of knowledge to the table. I'm happy to give my time to lead this group."

Chef Glenn Burgess published in Personal Chef Magazine

Long Island personal chef Glenn Burgess had two articles published in the January-March issue of Personal Chef Magazine. In “I.C.E. Cubes and the New York Metro Chapter” Chef Glenn, our Chapter’s Vice President, described his vision for an “Initiative on Culinary Education” and his hope to inspire everyone to learn more about their food.

The same issue of Personal Chef features the three-page spread “Everything you need to know about Paprika”, which Chef Glenn wrote as a companion piece to a taste testing he presented to our Chapter members (we liked Penzey’s Hungarian Half-Sharp).