No, the azaleas were not on the tables Monday night. I took this photo some weeks back and hadn't gotten around to using it. On Monday night the flowers were feijoa blossoms. Chef Seaborn's father has a large stand of feijoa bushes, and since they produced several hundred pounds of fruit last year, I guess he figured he could spare a few blossoms for this occasion. http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feijoa
Incidentally, I've become quite fond of feijoas in my old age. Scooping out the fruit, as described in the link, works for me, and it tastes great with oatmeal or Fiber 1. But the preserves and chutneys made from it are wonderful, and just recently I had my first feijoa mincemeat pie (managing to eat the whole thing myself).
I would love to take photos of the meals themselves, but one does hate to take out a camera at such a time.
Incidentally, I've become quite fond of feijoas in my old age. Scooping out the fruit, as described in the link, works for me, and it tastes great with oatmeal or Fiber 1. But the preserves and chutneys made from it are wonderful, and just recently I had my first feijoa mincemeat pie (managing to eat the whole thing myself).
I would love to take photos of the meals themselves, but one does hate to take out a camera at such a time.
But let's move on to Memorial Day evening's Cuban meal.
We started with white gazpacho. No tomato, lots of cucumber. The slivered almonds added a nice bit of crunch. Cool, refreshing, light. A good thing that, for the rest of the meal, while delicious, could not be accused of that.
Then Seaborn sent out small plates with a round thing and a flat thing on it. The round thing was papa rellanas. Mashed potatoes formed into balls with a ground beef center and then deep-fried. The flat thing was described as "garlic toast," but that doesn't take into account the other ingredients of the topping, which, if memory serves, involved, among other things, black olives and artichokes.
And as we were finishing this round, someone at my table glanced over to where Seaborn was working and exclaimed, "My God, there's more!" Yep. On each plate there were two costillitas, Cuban ribs, and a generous serving of black beans and rice (Arroz Moro, if you want to get fancy). The ribs may have been the best I have ever eaten. I've had Seaborn's black beans and rice before, so the fact that they were delicious was no surprise.
Then came the tres leches cake. That, of course, goes beyond sinful. Seemingly light, the sponge cake moistened with a mixture of various milks and creams (including sweetened condensed milk) and covered with whipped cream probably is anything but! But delicious!
We started with white gazpacho. No tomato, lots of cucumber. The slivered almonds added a nice bit of crunch. Cool, refreshing, light. A good thing that, for the rest of the meal, while delicious, could not be accused of that.
Then Seaborn sent out small plates with a round thing and a flat thing on it. The round thing was papa rellanas. Mashed potatoes formed into balls with a ground beef center and then deep-fried. The flat thing was described as "garlic toast," but that doesn't take into account the other ingredients of the topping, which, if memory serves, involved, among other things, black olives and artichokes.
And as we were finishing this round, someone at my table glanced over to where Seaborn was working and exclaimed, "My God, there's more!" Yep. On each plate there were two costillitas, Cuban ribs, and a generous serving of black beans and rice (Arroz Moro, if you want to get fancy). The ribs may have been the best I have ever eaten. I've had Seaborn's black beans and rice before, so the fact that they were delicious was no surprise.
Then came the tres leches cake. That, of course, goes beyond sinful. Seemingly light, the sponge cake moistened with a mixture of various milks and creams (including sweetened condensed milk) and covered with whipped cream probably is anything but! But delicious!
In addition to his feijoa crop, the chef's father also raises bamboo, and if you wish you can purchase one of his crooked-neck bamboo walking canes that are available among the souvenirs on display.
Or you might be interested in one of his bamboo vases. Yes, that is square bamboo. No, it does not grow that way naturally. You have to keep it squeezed just so at the right period of its growth. I understand that next year we may be seeing some triangular bamboo as well!
There are bamboo lanterns as well.
There are bamboo lanterns as well.
Here's another shot of the Pie Lab from across the street. That building on the right of the restaurant was the Strand Theatre when I was growing up. I guess you can say I got my love of movies from the many hours I spent there. It later became a Spiller Furniture Store (the name still recognizable on the front) and presently a charity store.
So what next for the Pie Lab?
Well, I'll have lunch there today with my sister and 4 cousins. Chances are I will get the chicken wrap, unless the featured hot special of the day is unusually tempting (like the meat loaf, or the chicken and dumplings). Pie? Well, maybe. If they have the coconut cream or one of the many pecan pies (especially if its the butterscotch pecan), I will probably find temptation impossible to resist.
The end of June the featured meal will be Greek. Mid-July we will have the Spanish meal that had to be rescheduled from the end of April because of the tornado threat that Monday. The end of July, Indian. Late August, Ante-bellum Alabama. End of October, I think, we look forward to Peru. Pretty good array for a small town of under 3,000!
In closing, let me share this word of wisdom:
So what next for the Pie Lab?
Well, I'll have lunch there today with my sister and 4 cousins. Chances are I will get the chicken wrap, unless the featured hot special of the day is unusually tempting (like the meat loaf, or the chicken and dumplings). Pie? Well, maybe. If they have the coconut cream or one of the many pecan pies (especially if its the butterscotch pecan), I will probably find temptation impossible to resist.
The end of June the featured meal will be Greek. Mid-July we will have the Spanish meal that had to be rescheduled from the end of April because of the tornado threat that Monday. The end of July, Indian. Late August, Ante-bellum Alabama. End of October, I think, we look forward to Peru. Pretty good array for a small town of under 3,000!
In closing, let me share this word of wisdom:
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