829 Southdrive

829 Southdrive

A New Jersey state of mind



Friday, August 31, 2012

Swamps of Jersey




We own real estate inside that building.  Two small
side-by-side plots, about 18"x36" each.  For at
least 10 days each year, and for about 3 hours on 
each of those days, we are masters of our domain,
landlords, ticket-holders, rabid fanatics, sore losers, 
tailgaters, shit-talkers, food-smugglers, beer-swillers, 
fans 'til the end,................ witnesses to greatness. 






Brothers?





New this year:  Xanadu has connected its indoor ski-slope with
the second mezzanine, greatly improving the flow of exiting fans
at game's end.  





The new tallest building in New York and still growing.




Adewale Ojomo, the Giants' undrafted defensive lineman, had
a good outing last night against the NE Patriots in the last
pre-season game.  I wonder what his blogging nickname would be?


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Jerseyana Defined




Two deep-fried Sabrett, all-beef dogs, stuffed into North-Jersey
pizza bread, and topped with fried potatoes, peppers, and onions.
There's no way to eat this without making a mess.  And who frickin'
cares whether or not you make a mess?  Yo, whatta you lookin at? 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Scrapple Stacks



Stats




I happened to click on my Blogger 'Stats' option a few minutes ago.
After having been blogging since the end of February 2010, my
site has logged almost 103 thousand pageviews.  It boggles my
mind. And what's even more perplexing is the next statistic:  the 
most viewed post to date is the one simply entitled  'Souse'.
Pig snouts and jowls and ears and feet, suspended in a
vinegared gelatin, usually derived from stewing the bones of the
animal from which the scraps originated.  Don't get me wrong;
this mosaic of offal products is the stuff dreams are made of.
But to be the single most-viewed post I've published?  There 
wasn't even one letter of witty, insightful text below the photo.  I've 
got to believe the majority of those viewers were Europeans, 
because Americans typically just don't eat this shit.  Except for me.






Look for an upcoming, textless post on 'Scrapple'.   

Sunday, August 19, 2012

2PR




When I first heard about the format of the upcoming
race, I thought, 'Prosciutt' Race and Pig Roast'?  As
Emeril says, pork fat rules.  You can never get too
much of a good thing.  Does the winner receive a
Parma Ham for top prize?  I can taste it already....
wait, maybe we should sail the race first.  The way it's
run, the 'slower' boats start first and the faster boats 
follow in order of performance ratings.  So far, there are 
seventeen boats registered.  Then, whoever 
gets line honors gets the Parma Ham.  And to top it
all off, they're roasting a pig to have ready for all the
clubmembers after the race.  Bring a side dish and your
 favorite alcoholic beverages.  I call the cheeks and 
trotters!  Hog Heaven. 
Life is definitely good on Barnegat Bay.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Fried Oysters and Cigarettes




Those are the two immediate memories I
have when I see these two women.  It's the
job of any restaurant person to remember 
a particular preference or desire of his or her
regular customers.  Toni almost without fail
wanted fried oysters, and Fran had to be in the 
smoking section (the bar).  They ate together
often, but in 2006, when the smoking ban went
into effect,  Fran was not in as much and, 
according to her, she was crossing the Delaware
so she could smoke at the table.  She tried to 
make me feel guilty for not allowing her to 
smoke, but I knew it was her way of  showing
that she loved me.  I often miss those days.


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Monday, August 13, 2012

Sushiego




Steve from Spartina posted about his sushi experience
in San Diego.  Lately, he's been providing more 
salivary visions than I have, and frankly, I'm somewhat
jealous.  His inside track on raw fish has made me realize 
that a half-mile trip up Federal City Road in the very near 
future is imminent, and my camera is mandatory luggage.

Hello? Yes.......I'd like to make a reservation.  Will you 
have Uni Friday night?  Great.  Seven o'clock, for two?

Friday, August 10, 2012

A Little Too Close to Home




Lightning struck last night.  This summer we've had several 
violent storms come through New Jersey, along with severely
hot temperatures and drought-like conditions.  I woke up this 
morning and wondered why my backyard neighbors were
peeling the bark from their oak tree.  It wasn't their doing. 






Neither Betty nor Bill had ever seen something like this before.
They planted this pin oak as a seedling roughly forty years earlier.
None of us predict this tree surviving after a jolt like it received.






It done blew the feathers off of a blue jay.  Note the condition
of our backyard 'lawn'.






We do have lightning rods on our house, but I'd rather not test
them if we don't have to.  There is a chimney in there somewhere.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012





There's been a noticeable absence in the blogosphere
for months and months on end.  The guy about whom I 
write, originally from Philadelphia, got our attention a few 
years ago and drew us in with his sheer brilliance and natural 
way with words, his uncanny knack for photography, and 
an otherworldly ability to make sense out of the insensible.
I waited daily for his posts, and read them not once, not
twice, but numerous times.  I searched for hidden meanings
and sometimes found them.  Other times I found none, 
for none were meant to be found. As the comments unfolded, 
the reader sometimes was able to decipher the intended
message, if one was intended. More often than not it was just
an intelligent observation of an everyday happening, which 
the average person probably would never have observed.

I'm praying that the blogger has not become extinct.
How frickin long does it take to retire?  It's something 
that unfortunately I will never know. 


Where art thou, Brother?



Monday, August 6, 2012

A Few of My Favorite Things




Oysters with cocktail sauce
Tonic and Gin




Daughter grabs boogie board
goes for a spin

Sailing on Monday with all that it brings
these are a few of my favorite things



Friday, August 3, 2012

Jersey Fresh




Three local products: Two bought, one dug.
What kind of dish or dishes would you make with these gems
from the Garden State?  Be creative.  I know you all love to eat......

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Jersey Girl





Soni one so true, we love you.