.
A twist with a twist.
For the second time in 136 events, an Almost
DP8 selected our destination. So, when Ross turned
left and uphill from the driveway, we guessed Windham.
But we sped past Bistro Brie, then lumbered past Chicken
Run, and before we could make headway to Brandywine (the
last guess), we pulled into the parking lot of
Messinas, a restaurant that crossed DP8s path
in April 2009.
(Many past comments still apply so I will not linger as
usual; for a look back, go to: http://www.dteator.com/restaurants/zMessina.htm)The menu
is a full one, and for some reason, for me, a tad tough
to easily decipher despite its organization. In the end,
we chose:
==> orrechiette alla
barese: little ear pasta (Deb K has a different name for
them! And one that prevents men from eating them!) with
chopped broccoli, sweet Italian sausage, garlic, virgin
olive oil, crushed red pepper (Deb K: excellent, matched
what she wanted for the evening) (pronunciation? aw-rehk-KYET-tay)
==> filet Marsala: sliced
filet mignon sautéed with mushrooms in a Marsala wine
demi-glaze (Mark: excellent, ordered medium-rare,
although he ordered cooked which our waiter
initially interpreted as well-done)
==> rainbow trout
almondine: 12 oz. trout filet pan seared & served
with toasted almonds on top in a lemon, butter &
white wine sauce (Lynda: very good)
==> seafood fra diavlo:
shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels & chopped clams,
sautéed in a spicy plum tomato sauce served over
linguini (Chay: excellent, with a few minor details - the
sauce a bit thin, the heat not as hot as he
hoped, the calamari he asked to not include were
definitely present)
==> veal alla classico:
dipped in egg batter, sautéed; served with a light
brandy cream sauce, mushrooms, artichokes, sundried
tomato & spinach (Ross: excellent)
==> chicken patron, a
special: white and dark chicken parts, sausage, peppers
in a red sauce over ziti (Don: excellent, nice variety of
flavor and texture, both Teators enjoyed it the following
night)
==> baked salmon, a
special: a length of fish topped with a Portobello
mushroom (Joyce: very good)
Entrées
came with the house vegetable, and roasted red potatoes
although rice, or a baked potato, or pasta was available.
Two
wrapped baskets of thinly slice bread, accompanied by two
ramekins of individual servings of lift-top butter,
arrived within ten minutes.
In
a nice touch, compliments of the house (Deb Ks
connection?), two plates were set, both with the Cheese
Bruschettaa four cheese & herb mixture spread
on toasted Italian bread, melted, served, heaped with
artichokes, waiting for a spread of pesto sauce.
Meanwhile, soup and salad came with most dinners. The
soup, a cup of shrimp bisque (deemed excellent), was a
comfortable second course. (Some confusion about which
dinners included soup meant a couple of us did not enjoy
a cup of soup; minor, but clumsy when a soup was offered
to me a half-hour after the fact and when entrées were
half-consumed.
All were eligible for the house salad a mix of
several green, with slice carrots, red onion, pepper,
grape tomatoes, olives, a crouton or two, and a choice of
dressing. Ground pepper from the mill was available;
anyone tasting commented on how fresh and how
sneeze-inducing it was.
A
scoop of ice cream as dessert
came with five of the dinners, and two availed themselves
(Chay and Lynda). (Kriss, we were thinking of your eight
dollar dollop; you could have had twice as much for eight
dollars less!)
Don succumbed to the chocolate mousse snowflake cake
(average-good but it was fun bantering with the waiter
about her birthday week cake and how many days there are
in a week); Ross enjoyed the cannoli with the crisp
crust, while Ross and Chay enjoyed a snifter of Sambuca.
Seven (of seven) were red wine drinkers this evening,
consuming two bottles of the Castello de Gabbiano 2012
Chianti a sufficient enough red, especially with
Italian food.
Service from Collette and
fellow waiters was good to very good attentive and
prompt. Collette seemed to take the orders, another
delivered, another filled water, and an older gentleman
ambled by once to verify all was well. Water was filled,
requests filled with alacrity, with a pleasantness that
fit the ambiance and mood.
The final tab, $90 per couple, included a slight math
contest between Chay (in his head) and Deb (calculator).
(Both came up with the same figure but I am not allowed
to tell you who won!).
Off we headed home, in a full moon hanging over the town
in front of us.
Of course, the treat of the night
was Lynda and Ross hosting the
pre-session. Four of us had not been in this
neck of the woods in a looong time, and certainly not to
the house, so it was an enjoyable novelty.
Spread out on the coffee table in front of the flickering
fireplace fire were dishes of cheese chunks, salsa,
cashews and salsa corn-chip cups. A trip to the kitchen,
with the view of the side rooms and deck area, effected
the filling of wine glasses merlot, chardonnay, or
rose.
The other highlight of the pre-session was Henry, the
houses Jack Russell, who entertained, encouraging
anyone who would listen to play tug-of-war and go-fetch.
The climax came when Lynda unveiled a childs toy
(found at the thrift shop, she claims).... Nice
addition to DP8, Lynda and Ross. (And Henrys
helping himself to hors doeuvres while all of us
were filling wine glasses in the kitchen added more
character! The cheese chunks with canine indentations
were set aside.)
The Monteverds are still enjoying Florida weather, while
the Adamses are RVing Americas far Southwest
(looking forward to seeing you all again soon). And then
Deb T was hustling back from her Amish quilting bus trip;
but she was late enough, a tad tired, a little too far
away to attend so it was DP7 this evening.
Discussion topics: Henry, of course. Then, the house,
history of the house, Pisano kids, the
Notarnicola kitchen re-do and waiting for the island
butcher-block top, Debs bus trip, below-average
March temperatures, our narrow recent escape from a major
snowstorm, golf and golf courses and golf business,
Catskill golf, Greene County golf, the high school
baseball season, Chay advising the C-D Life Smarts NYS
champions and upcoming national competition to Florida,
retirement (barely three months left for two of the three
workers at the table), a student trip to France, skiing,
the table full of children next to us who were quiet and
well-behaved, and more topics that have eluded this pen.
And the ride up Cunningham Road is a classic country
viewscape. As we rounded the junction with CR 10, a view
of Ski Windham emerged with its snowy fingers of ski
trails.
The way back was a bit trickier, with a squall that laid
down a major dusting on the road. The snow melt of a 50
degree day was turning slushy in the flash freeze under
the full moon, the same moon that hung over Chicken Run
and its overcrowded parking lot as we left. And a thin
layer of thawed muck that tracked everywhere had us
tiptoeing to the cars.
Thanks, Lynda and Ross and Joyce and
Mark, for sharing good food amongst friends, and
especially to Lynda and Ross for such congenial hosting.
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