Otis and I had a fabulous and relaxing trip to Wellfleet, which of course included lots of good food and enjoyable visits with friends and family.

We drove up late Wednesday and had a terrible time with the weather-- we arrived, starving, around 9 p.m. Happily the Wicked Oyster was still serving so we popped over there for some burgers and drinks. Our burgers were perfectly cooked, and everything was lovely except the weird drink I had, which as Otis points out, was kind of predictable, given that it had vodka, coconut, and ginger.

The next day we slept super late, and then ran down to the Bookstore Restaurant for brunch. Otis is still talking about the enormous amount of lobster that he had on his Lobster Benedict, which was a reasonable $14.95 and had at least half a pound of meat, including three claws (my favorite part). My regular benedict was creamy and tasty, and the bloody mary's were truly delicious, especially accented as they were with pepperoncini. Nice touch!

After breakfast we drove down to Eastham to visit Gramma, and then came home for a rest. When it stopped raining we set out on the short walk to town, with Zeke in tow, in an effort to get some fish for dinner. As always, Hatch's fish market didn't disappoint, with some super-fresh swordfish and, of course, my favorite crab dip. That evening Otis prepared a lovely dinner and we had a nice quiet night.

Not so much Friday night-- Otis's parents came home Friday, and took us out to dinner at the new hip spot in Wellfleet, Sol. Sol is a Hawaiian-influenced restaurant which specializes in poke, a simple raw or lightly cooked fish dish. And wow, was the food at Sol delicious! We had two types of poke, both of which were incredibly fresh and perfectly seasoned. For my entree I chose fish tacos, which were simple and delicious with an avocado crema and cilantro, served with cabbage salad and white rice on the side. Also noteworthy was Walter's entree, a pulled Kahlua pork that was tender and richly flavored. Sol is BYOB, so we had a couple of bottles of wine, and Walter brought a 1/2 pint of Jack Daniels, which he enjoyed toasting to the wonderful staff. It was quite a lovely meal, with delicious food and great company. (Besides Walter and Jane, Otis's Aunt Joan and Uncle Jim came along.)

After dinner we stopped by Mac's Shack for a drink at the bar, where Otis's old friend Ethan is a bartender. Mac's has a great outdoor seating area, in addition to an expansive menu including a raw bar and sushi.

And of course no visit to Wellfleet is complete without a visit to the Bomb Shelter. Enough said there, we had a lovely evening, and I was reminded anew about how amazing the stars can be in a sky with minimal light pollution.

The next day we enjoyed more lovely walking with the doggie, and then a nice visit from the other side of Otis's family.

All in all it was a wonderful vacation, except much too short. Driving back on Sunday we both agreed that five days is simply inadequate to become fully relaxed!

Life as a student has its perks, especially if you're friends with the guy who bids on cool items at the law student auction, such as 'Dinner with the Profs." Last weekend I receive the undeniable benefit of a fabulous dinner at a gorgeous location in Topsham provided by three law professors in an undeniably gracious manner-- and I didn't even have to attend the auction, let alone do any pesky bidding or layout of funds.

Thanks Joe, for the invitation. And thanks Professors 1, 2, and 3, whose names I am withholding under the theory that they may prefer to remain anonymous.

The theme of the evening was 'Greek Grill,' inspired by one of the professors whose mother, a native Greek woman, trained him in the mysterious and wonderful ways of feta cheese and lamb. And boy, was everything delicious-- although I do have to admit I didn't eat the lamb, since it doesn't agree with me. The other 4 students Joe invited seemed to adore it (Joe himself is a chicken-a-tarian).

The rest of the meal included:

- a unique and delicious salad made with sheep's milk feta. The whole point of this salad was to 'overdress' the greens so that they became somewhat limp. It sounds odd but it was truly wonderful.

- mixed grilled vegetables. very tasty. (OK, there's a point after which it's impossible to wax rhapsodic about grilled vegetables. Seriously, they were very good. But what more can I say about them?)

- a truly glorious pan of spanakopita. [beware of Greek music.] This is one of my favorite foods. When I worked at The Last Egyptian in Grinnell I ate the variation on it, which was prepare in phyllo triangles, every night I worked. Yum. The particular version we had last week was seriously one of the best I have ever had, including in Greece. The balance of spinach and cheese and phyllo was, quite literally, perfect.

- ice cream with an assortment of toppings, including hot fudge. Hot fudge is so delicious, I could eat it with a spoon. Instead, so as not to embarrass myself, I opted for a 1:1 ratio of coffee ice cream to hot fudge.

So, thanks to the professors for delicious food and wonderful company, and to Joe for the invite, and to the other students for being fabulous as well, just on general principles. Opa.

Happy New Year everyone. I am hoping that the economy improves, and everyone in the world stays safe and warm, and that lots of good (and cheap) restaurants open here in Portland.

Last night Otis and I went out with our friends Jenn and Matt to Miyake. As with our previous visit, everything was phenomenal. As Matt said, it's such a great restaurant that it spoils you for other sushi places. Our service was great, our waiter knowledgeable and thoughtful (and a new dad-- congrats!), and the bill almost ridiculously low given the amount of food and its quality. (It was about $85 per couple, including tip, and we got some of the most expensive stuff on the menu, given that it was a holiday. The BYOB helps-- we brought our own champagne. Or, pardon me, sparkling wine.)

We had miso sake soup with Maine shrimp; broiled toro; lobster roll; braised pork belly; broiled duck; tai ceviche roll; anago (salwater eel); and spicy scallop roll.

Below is a photo (yes! Otis gave me a tiny adorable purple Nikon coolpix for my birthday! thanks Otis!) of the ceviche roll and the duck. I don't usually like duck, with the exception of the smoked duck breast from the Ridgewood Pork Store (which we also have in our fridge right now, thanks to Katy-- what a thoughtful gift!). BUT the duck breast at Miyake is continuing my conversion. It was so yummy I almost couldn't stop eating it. The ceviche roll is light and fresh, and amazing. Just go eat there, I am telling you! Yum!

Miyake is located at 129 Spring Street in Portland. (207) 871-9170. They take reservations if you commit to spending at least $25 a person.

Happy New Year everyone!

The holiday weekend has come and gone; the leftovers are eaten; and it's now time for me to start studying for finals.

Overall we had a fabulous (and delicious!) Passover and Easter. Saturday night we dined with the Melnick family, and enjoyed a seriously abridged seder. My favorite part was singing "Dayenu" and clapping, which completely freaked out their adorable Newfoundland so that he started barking along. Very cute.

Otis and I brought a faux chopped liver, which is essentially a veggie pate that visually mimics chopped liver, but (thankfully, to me at least) doesn't taste like it.

On Sunday we enjoyed another wonderful meal hosted by Leslie. The group was amazing, and the food was fabulous. The babies are all grown up-- welll, at least walking around and not really interested in being held-- but happily there are now smaller babies to hold, although the minute I got hold of Bea she started crying. Sorry I forgot to take photos!

There was also a lovely family with the most adorably hip pre-teen boys-- one of them modestly told us that he met David Bowie! So cool.

I made a very complicated but insanely delicious potato kugel recipe-- except I used non-dairy spread instead of schmaltz for kosher-related reasons. I really cannot say enough about the recipe-- everyone loved it. A++++ I would make again!

Here's the veggie chopped liver. It's a little different from the one my friend Jamie makes.

Faux Chopped Liver

Olive oil
3 large onions, chopped medium
3 cloves garlic
1 cup green beans
1 large can lentils, drained
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1 matzah
2-3 t salt (depending on saltiness of can of lentils)
1-2 t black pepepr
2 hard boiled eggs
Splash balsamic vinegar (I swear!)

1. heat the oil in a pan; fry the onions and garlic until soft and light brown.
2. In the meantime, steam the green beans until soft but not too soft. (You'll know it when you see it.)
3. Place the matzah in the food processor with chopping blade and pulse to break up.
4. Add the green beans, onion & garlic mixture, lentils, walnuts, salt & pepper.
5. Pulse until well chopped. How chopped will be your preference.
6. Turn into large bowl. Add splash balsamic to taste to bring up acidity. (Seriously, just a little. You won't taste the balsamic, it will just heighten the dimension of the flavors.)
7. Chop the hard-boiled egg and fold in.

Enjoy!