Saturday, April 29, 2017.
No Argument. Less Hair.
MA and I have breakfast at Mattina Bella. I had sworn off this lately, because we would wind up with two sourpusses semi-arguing about nothing much, and leave one another's company under a dark cloud--even though it's a beautiful day so far. But she and I have been mellower lately, and we hold onto the good mood we arrived with.
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Mattina Bella.[/caption]
On the way home I stop at the Lion's Den, where I had my shrinking hair mass evened out most often over the last several years. I was greeted by an abrupt "can I help you?" from a lady who props open the when I enter the shop. Any slots this morning? I ask. Have you ever been in this shop before? She says. I tell her of my approximate ten trims at Lion's Den, adding that I have never had the same haircutter twice. This gets an approval from the greeter, who tells me that she will save a spot at eleven. Perfect!
I run the usual errands in the meantime, and MA goes home, from there to go to the Jazz Festival. I will let her be the NOMenu reporter on the event. I have a lot of work to do on the new edition of my cookbook. I have no radio show today, and I take full advantage of that freedom.
Hunger returns around seven in the evening. For unknown reasons I am in the mood for a hamburger. The place I wind up is Steak and Shake. I feel the urge to go there once in awhile. In the late 1970s my girlfriend of the year was a native of the Midwest, which Steak & Shake calls home. She loved the steakburgers, cooked as they were to order.
It was many years before Steak & Shake opened in the New Orleans area, with the one in the Pinnacles mall in Covington being the closest. This is my fifth or sixth trial of the place, but the trcalled magic has never been there for me. They still grill the steakburgers to order, but the buns have the worst texture of any bread I've ever encountered, and the patties are a bit fatty. The menu offers a number of variations from which I order the Wisconsin type. That has cheese (of course) and buttery chopped onions.
Mary Ann noted in our earlier conversation that I don't know how to turn the television on. I think I can, and I give it a successful shot. I watched the first half of Saturday Night Live, which I used to watch religiously. But it's something like ten years now. I recognize nobody on the show. I fall asleep in the reclining chair the Marys bought for me for Christmas.
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Sunday, April 30, 2017.
Steak, Shake, And Television.
April lives up to its reputation (sez T.S. Eliot) as the cruelest month. More death-dealing storms move in from the west. The Jazz Festival begins its tunes late in the afternoon, but they do go ahead with it. The Zurich Golf Classic is postponed.
But the power at home stays on. I can and do keep working on the revisions to the cookbook. That job is interrupted by three hours on WWL radio. Usual busy flow of callers. That surely has a lot to do with my bringing up the subject of Steak & Shake and hamburgers in general. It moves to steaks, but as far as I know they don't serve steak at Steak & Shake.
Mary Leigh comes from across the lake with her dog Bauer, who enjoys what little parts of the Cool Water Ranch he can get to. But our longtime dogs Susie and Barry, who are twice Bauer's size, will not allow intruders. It all seems more trouble than it can possibly be worth.
At dinner time the only place Bauer can get on a leash is for us to take him to The Chimes, my least favorite of Mary Ann's favorite eateries. They allow customers to tie up their dogs on the outdoor deck. Bauer loves the scraps he gets from the sympathetic Marys.
We get some grilled oysters. They are enormous, as they have been everywhere else lately. These might be a little too big for grilling, but I eat my share.
The entree for me is something I think is new here: grilled catfish, steamed spinach and fried sweet potatoes, all of which have a delicacy I don't often encounter at Chimes.
Then we are back home, and I am back to work on the cookbook. I will not finish it tonight, but I make much more headway than I expected. I now have no doubt that the job that will be done well before deadline.
The Chimes. Covington: 19130 W Front St. 985-892-5396.
