After checking into our hotel, we took advantage of their free Wi-Fi and did a search for restaurants in Singapore, we were very hungry since we didn’t eat the food served on our flight, we really don’t care for airline food, no matter how they say they’ve improved on it. We weren’t too far from the Central Business District, also called CBD, and the site we found on the Internet recommended ‘Table 66′.

When we walked to the CBD, the first thing we noticed was how much of the city is underground! Every building seems to have these big shopping malls underneath them. We wandered through the CBD over to the river and walked past some very delightfully restored shophouses, which now house restaurants, bars and cafes. That’s where we found ‘Table 66′. We were really impressed with the design and the atmosphere, very chic.

I ordered the Duo of Suos Vide Pork Belly, a dish cook in two ways, braised in balsamic and roasted with crackling skin, served with sauteed apple mustard miso. My husband ordered the Duck Breast and Confit of Leg, it’s a smoked seared duck breast and sous vide crispy duck leg served with broccoli and water chestnuts in a butter monte orange jus. We didn’t get any appetizers, because we wanted to savor this dishes. We weren’t disappointed, all we can say is we were in absolute heaven with every bite. We looked at each other not believing the food we were eating, exquisite, delectable, savory and oh so good! We were beginning to really enjoy not having made any plans and we were truly enjoying just being at the restaurant, and not having to worry about making it to our planned tour; it was really nice.

After our wonderful meal, we wandered pretty aimlessly, taking in the sights, smells and sounds. We passed by a row of market stalls, shops and then this beautiful temple or shine that was right in the middle of, well we don’t know where. There was a fat Buddha right outside the temple and we saw people rubbing his belly, we guessed for good luck. So, we went up and rubbed the Buddha’s belly.

Since we had no plans, we found an Internet cafe’ and decided to look up some more great restaurants, because that last restaurant only whetted our appetite.

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The next morning, we enjoyed our complimentary buffet breakfast, where I had one too many bagels with cream cheese. We then took a bus to the Space Needle. We went up the Space Needle and it naturally was a fairly cloudy day, so we didn’t get the spectacular view we were hoping for. We only spent 5 minutes up there, what a bust. But the Experimental Music Project wasn’t a bust! We had a total blast there.

After that, we checked out Pike’s Market, that’s the famous place where you see fishmongers tossing fish over customers heads. We were all ready over-stimulated by the EMP, but this market threw us over the top! We had to find a quiet place to sit and have some lunch. The waitress seemed to see the look on our faces and she said not to worry, the effects of Pike’s Market will wear off once we have something to eat. So, we gorged ourselves on 2 pounds of fresh mussels in a bucket and some creamy crab dip, which was downed with a few locally brewed beers. The waitress was right, we were back to normal and ready for our next adventure.

We walked a bit more and I couldn’t help but stop at this piroshky shop, the smell of something tantalizing was inside. I thought I’d be to full after lunch, but I couldn’t help myself to a cherry and white chocolate bun of pure delight! So, both of us, over-stuffed and happy, decided to not go out to dinner, but stay in our hotel room and chill with some nice baked artisan bread, cheese and wine, which we bought at the store.

Tomorrow, will be, we’re sure, another great day, we plan to take the Seattle underground tour.

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So, while the idea of marriage has been brought up between the two of them, it has really never been seriously discussed because they were already as committed and close to each other as what they imagined two people could be. Of course their married friends assured them that no matter how in love they felt or committed they thought they were there was nothing that could replace the feeling of and knowledge that you were married. They also assured them that they never really knew the other person until they were married. Of course Steve and Carol didn’t believe any of that, but took in the good natured manner in which it was offered.

Like with everything else, they decided to make the best of Steve’s business trip and decided to extend his stay at one of the luxury Columbus hotels and Carol went with him on the trip. On the evening of their anniversary they had dinner at Lindey’s and it was such a beautiful evening that they sat out on one of the beautiful terraces. It was perfect and Carol loved the Salmon Oscar and couldn’t get over the crab meat hollandaise sauce that was served with it. Steve had the New York Strip, which he thought was one of the best he had ever eaten. He also loved the garlic potatoes and onion straws. They shared a plate of Tiramisu for dessert. Afterward they went dancing and ended up having such a great time in Columbus, which they thought was a great city, that they couldn’t imagine a better way to spend their anniversary.

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My friend insisted that the fire had to be hot and, he said, “mature,” and I laughed a bit about that, but when he stopped talking, I decided to let him just go ahead and tell me about the recipe without interruption.  Again, he said, I needed a mature and hot fire and a standard spit.  Then a medium sized chicken, say, three or four pounds, and about 12 sprigs of fresh herbs (he used thyme and lemon thyme, but said rosemary would work, too).   Three garlic cloves, but you need to sliver them.  Ground pepper.  Kosher salt, although if you’re trying to cut down on salt, this ingredient is optional; it’s used mostly for marinating.  Then you have to get white butchers twine.   I’ve never tied up any food I’ve cooked, so that one might be an effort!

If you decide to go ahead and salt-marinate the chicken, you should rinse the fowl thoroughly, with cold water.  Drain it, pat it dry.   Then you sprinkle salt onto it, wrap up the chicken and refrigerate it overnight or for as long as seven days!

If you decided to skip the salt-marinate, then we really start here:  Use the butcher’s twine, and tie the chicken up.  I must have frowned, because he frowned, as if I weren’t taking him seriously.  I said, “Okay, I’ll tie the chicken up.  Go ahead, please!”  Rinse the herbs, then dry the herbs.  Spread them out over the bird, make sure they’re even, and then tuck them under the string.  Repeat this process with the garlic (once you’ve slivered it, of course).  Then, you just let the chicken sit.  One hour or so, until it comes up to room temperature.  During this time, you’re supposed to build a fire, then let it “mature” for at least a half hour, and apparently, this just means, don’t build a fire and stick a bird on it.  Let the fire become the fire it’s going to truly be, I guess!  That made sense to me.

Finally, put the bird on its spit, put it on the stove, roast for about an hour and a half to two hours (depending on heat and chicken size).  Twenty minutes later, you’re carving!

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It was two years ago, and my best friend Steve and I went to Australia for a couple of weeks in August. Most of the time we spent in Sydney, where we witnessed some great performances, particularly at the Sydney Theatre Company. This prestigious company is known for producing some of the greatest works from the theatrical cannon as well as developing new and original plays. While we were there we saw a great production of Edmond by David Mamet. Sydney was amazing, however, the few days we spent in one of the Perth boutique hotels actually accounts for some of our greatest experiences.

We decided to go there as part of our vacation because we had heard it has tremendous opportunities for hikes with incredible views. This is absolutely true and I will definitely return to it someday for its beautiful geography alone. It was actually one day that we had returned early from a hike that I agreed to eat some pizza in a little café along the Swan River. We were in a hurry and just wanted something quick and simple before heading to the museums at the Perth Cultural Centre, so I said okay to a mushroom and onion pizza. Oddly, I was so stunned and impressed with the flavor of the sauce and the freshness of the vegetables that I couldn’t believe it was just pizza that I was eating. And the crust was absolutely incredible. It was a thin crust that had a perfect combination of bread, salt and a slight, almost imperceptible sweetness that I will never forget. And while I was never able to find quite as delicious a pizza as this since then, I do enjoy having a slice every once in a while.

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The idea of the barbecue itself is much, much older of course.  Laura Dove, Southern historian, has compiled some splendid histories of bbq, and looking specifically at the South, the tradition is complex and fiercely protected.  The idea of cooking meat is, of course, as old as the invention of fire, but the word bbq is likely from the Spanish, barbacoa, and origin theories are that it comes from the West Indies, or possibly Haiti.  As these are part of the whole complex of countries in the Americas, it’s safe to say this is an American tradition.  Not every great tradition starts with a pig, but this one certainly does.

In the South, in the early phase of colonization in the U.S., barbecue’s popularity was simultaneous with the growth of the culture.  The culture needed to eat, too, and the answer here was the pig.  Wild pig was one of the easiest animals to take care of, because they would root in the wild but were captured easily.  Southerners fancied the pig above all other animals for cooking, and this lead to what is now a very Southern tradition.  From its beginnings as a means of survival, it turned into a kind of proof of culture, and today is both a means of nutrition as well as harkening back to a myth.  Whether it’s the iconic value or the flavor, bbq is a wonderful, wonderful thing.  The history of bbq can reveal the original traces of all of these threads, and it’s always fascinating to take part in a history of anything.  a

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