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?

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? 

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'.   

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.

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.

The Cattle Done Gone

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?

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.

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?

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

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......

Jersey Girl

Soni one so true, we love you.