All kinds of food & drink for thought

So, he finally returned with our grub. Hallelujah! All I can say is that I stuffed my face. Sufficiently. THEN I had some candy corn!

That pizza is so delicious. California pizza for the most part sucks. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Especially if you're from Chicago or the east coast. But, I will swear on my life that Lefty's is better than any pizza I've ever had, including pizza in Chicago.

Tonight's feast got me thinking of all the fabulous food and drink we had while out east. Seafood is definitely done different in New England. It is fabulous. I love salmon out here, but not the seafood so much. But, salmon out east tastes nasty to me. Again, sorry, don't mean to offend anyone. Just my opinion.

Well, I thought I'd post some eating, drinking and merrymaking photos from our trip. But first, I thought I'd introduce you to Lefty's stuffed pizza....or what remains of it after I attacked it tonight.

On my way to merrymaking at the Rhino Bar & Grille in Newport...oops! More on that later actually...

This is a picture of our dinner tonight. I dare you to tell me it doesn't look FABULOUS! Trust me, it tastes so much better than it actually looks.

I made Ed take a picture of me slicing the pizza. He took the opportunity to poke fun of my "nubby little fingers" holding the pizza. I didn't care though, because one of my nubby little fingers now bears the powerful ONE ring, and the rest of my nubs were about to shove oodles of real mozzarella, elephant garlic slices, fresh basil leaves and thick layers of spinach into my gullet. Mmmm.

As you can tell, Ed made sure we had a nutritious appetizer: loaded Chi-town fries with real shredded cheddar, bacon, green onions and sour cream.

Ok, on to the grub from our trip...at Mudville's in Newport we enjoyed stuffed quahogs and clam chowder along with one of our many, many Blue Moon drafts. I'd never had stuffed quahogs before. I didn't even know what they were until our trip. Succulent giant clams native to that area of the Atlantic, mixed with garlic, breading, herbs, spices and diced vegetables, all baked ino the mussel shell. Melt garlic butter over the top, squeeze on some fresh lemon and enjoy. Delicious. The clam chowder at Mudville's was my favorite.

Ed and I after dinner at Sardella's Italian Restaurant in Newport. I forgot to get a picture of our delicious clams in garlic and lemon broth appetizer because I was too busy yapping and feeding the hungry monster in my tummy. It was a beautiful night, cool with an easy, misty drizzle. We sat on the covered patio.

The ONLY bar where we did NOT enjoy a cocktail! This is Barrister's Wharf in Newport.

Clam chowder and clam cakes at Sala's in Newport. Ok, I just loved clam cakes. Never had them before and sure am looking forward to eating them again soon. Rolled, seasoned dough with succulent clams baked into them. Dip in tartar sauce and enjoy. Clam chowder was good, but not as good as Mudville's.

Ok, no one does cod like the New Englanders. I had a fresh cod sandwich at Sala's with SWEET POTATO fries that were to die for!!! I don't know what it is, but the texture and taste of cod out east is a true pleasure. Such a simple fish, often taken for granted, yet it tastes like gourmet fare back there. Ed had calamari Newport style, deep fried, then thrown into a hot skillet with extra virgin olive oil, olives and sweet italian peppers. Very, very good.

Cookie Jar on Barrister's Wharf. Bought three warm, chewy cookies which we devoured on the plane home while watching the Red Sox baseball game and the Boston College football game. I love that Jet Blue gives you your own TV with satellite channels!!!
I have no idea what the hell happened to this photo, but I couldn't enlarge it. It's actually from our July trip to Annapolis. We went to Pusser's Landing for breakfast and I got a kick out of the name, so I took a picture! I couldn't help but giggle every now and then....hee hee...."Pusser's" Landing!!!! Back in July, Ed had Pusser's for breakfast. (I can't help myself!!!) He was so eager to dive into the Annapolitan Omelet which had delicious,lump Maryland crab folded in with aged swiss cheese. Can you see the anticipation on his face? :-)
Flash forward to this trip and guess what?! We're back at Pusser's for breakfast!! :-) Again, do you not see the anticipation and glee on his cute little face? He was proud of this Go Mids t-shirt. Looked adorable in it.

Can't see us at our Pusser's breakfast table, but you can see the breathtaking view of the dock and harbor behind us.

Another view from our Pusser's table. Hee hee. I had didn't have the omelet. I always go for the gargantuan all inclusive buffet. Ed had to roll me out Pusser's to get the Navy game. I'll post pics of the game in another blog post.

This is at Mangia's in Annapolis. I have always loved cannolis (sp?). I grew up a few blocks from Little Italy in Chicago, so I can't help but enjoy a rich cannoli when I get the chance.

Still at Mangia's. We'd moved on to Ultras after a few too many Blue Moons, which is our favorite beer but it gets a bit heavy after a while. It's a wheat beer, so it figures. We watched the Red Sox game. Being a Yankees fan, Ed hates the Red Sox and it sucked that they kept winning, especially on the day his Navy Midshipmen lost their homecoming game. :-(

Ok, creamy, sweet drinks don't mix well with my innards. Well, like I said with the first photo, here is Rhino Bar & Grille in Newport. It was not pretty. BELIEVE ME.

Aaaaah, such fun was the Rhino. I made many friends there that night. One of them was NOT Mr. Chocolate Peppermint Martini. I vowed never to return to this wondrous establishment for the memories were too raw and painful (as was my throat after I barfed).....
...and yet, here we were again, one last time! We chatted it up with the hot bartendress. I asked her to serve me a cup of coffee, but to please "Irish it up" a little for me. Smart lass that she was, she knew exactly what I meant! :-)

On our way out of the Rhino, I couldn't help but snap this shot. GREAT art piece! Just one simple ocean wave. That's all. I loved it. The Newport locals put socks on the diver's feet when temperatures begin to cool. How crazy funny does that look?

Have I mentioned what a truly amazing, fabulous and FUN time I had on our vacation!?!? I had a blast!