Monday, May 27, 2013.
Memorial Day.
This is not a political statement: Memorial Day has never been a holiday for me. I didn't grow up with its being celebrated in a major way, because my parents' generation viewed it as a Yankee holiday. On the other hand, we didn't do anything for Confederate Memorial Day, either. (I couldn't tell you when it is, even.)
So there I was, on the air with a regular radio show, wondering why. I could take the day off if I wanted--it's an official holiday at the radio station. But. . . well, I've always been there.
I got an email this morning from N'Tini's, saying that they'd be open with their regular Monday special: two hamburgers for $10. When I told Mary Ann about this, her eyes widened, as I knew they would. Someday, someone will study what it is about hamburgers that grabs people so much more tightly than, say, fried catfish does.
We sat outside, despite the warm weather. We began with a a blue-cheese-drenched wedge salad for me, and spinach-artichoke dip for MA. (And there's another dish that has some bizarre grip on the American palate, for no apparent reason.)
The hamburgers at N'Tini's are ground on the premises from a mix of chuck, tenderloin trimmings, and ribeye. Good slab of beef, juicy in the center, crusty on the outside. They have the buns made specially for them, but we were less enthusiastic about those. It's supposed to be a jalapeno-pepper roll, but I didn't really taste that. The texture was the usual softness. I keep waiting for the day when someone will make the obvious leap forward into a hamburger roll with more body, an actual crust, and some flavor.
Mary Ann is getting ready for the return of our daughter after two weeks up in Maryland with her cousins and The Boy. I noticed again that MA doesn't clean the house nearly as well as she does for Jude's homecomings. But neither son nor daughter really care about such things.
