Text 27524, 91 rader
Skriven 2015-05-28 16:58:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: Carolyn Dan lunch 735
=============================
Lunch with Annie's friend Carolyn, onetime state dentist
for Pennsylvania, and her husband Dan.

We met at Pier 87 on Rte. 87 north of Montoursville, right
by Loyalsock Creek, a lovely setting but one that giveth and
taketh away - the century-old building was swept away during
the floods of '11 (a storied event in these parts) and not
rebuilt until last year, there having been some discussion
about whether it was worth it to build there again. Eventually
it went up much grander than before, marked by a normal sign
at the road and for boaters by a peculiar sculpture made from
a dead tree out by the water.

The place gets mixed reviews, which may be attributable to the
instability of a staffing situation in essentially a new
restaurant. I'm not sure if we lucked out or if there is a
real talent at the fryolater.

Dan, who spent years in the Gulf oil business, said that
his turkey and sausage gumbo was better than anything he ever
got in Louisiana; he followed that up with a grilled chicken
sandwich that he reported as juicy and tasty.

Carolyn enjoyed her New England clam chowder (looked to be
foodservice) and broiled haddock, a giant portion, done just
flaky.

Annie's haddock and chips was also overgenerous, and she gave
me a good third of her fish, probably a quarter pound) - the
coating was about the best I've ever had, reminding me of the
outside of a taro cake, with filaments of pure crunch around
a perfectly cooked fresh tasting (though almost undoubtedly
previously frozen) pure white fish. This was billed as beer
battered, but it was totally unlike the puffy doughy stuff
that I remember.

I got a cup of chili, which came with an unasked-for topping
of grated cheese and chopped onion. A few beans and advertised
steak tips and ground beef, which came as one chunk of steak
tip from yesterday's dinner, some random ground meat, and a
couple large pieces of leftover hamburger, all in a tomatoey
sauce that was much improved by the side of cayenne that I
asked for. Then an order of bacon-wrapped potato pierogi,
which were weird but good (other than the rather cloying
barbecue sauce from a bottle that had been sprinkled over).
After a few bites I determined that the potato filling had
been cut by perhaps 50% cream cheese; whoops. Tasted good,
anyhow, though I had to leave a couple for Carolyn and Dan's
dog - they left with a considerable-size doggy bag for an
actual pooch.

We said our goodbyes, and then Annie decided to take me to
Eagles Mere, a late 19th-century playground of the rich and
famous. This is still a sleepy town, perhaps not so prestigious
as before, but perhaps more pleasant because of that, next to a
small lake. It's quite nice, but I don't see why the movers and
shakers of olde Philly loved it so much or how they'd found it. 

On the way I spotted (thanks to my new glasses, which make
distance vision relatively peachy) a sign World's End State
Park; asked Annie about this, and despite her having lived in
the area off and on since the 1940s, she had no idea. So that
was another destination. Turns out it is where Loyalsock Creek
traverses the Loyalsock State Forest and has hiking, camping,
whitewater rafting and kayaking, fishing, a swimming hole, and,
oddly, hunting (but the taking of woodchucks is prohibited,
rather odd as they are considered vermin throughout the state).
We looked around the creek a bit and toured the nature center,
where Annie picked up a fridge magnet for five bucks, proceeds
going to the upkeep of the park.

Eder's Ice Cream has been around since 1927 and has been a
regular stop for the Dans and the Mikes, but apparently not for
Annie, who had been there only once before, but today was a day
for the second visit. Not a problem as it is right on the way
back home. I think Annie got a peanut butter cup cone; I tasted
it and found it creamy but unremarkable. I tasted the teaberry,
which tasted just as if you drank some milk while chewing a
stick of the gum of that name. As I was particularly missing my
sister at the moment, I opted for a dual poison - a strawberry
Coke float, which had been her favorite back in the 1970s. The
ice cream by itself was mild and just a bit icy (this problem
is not as apparent in the float setting); the Coke was Mexican,
made with sugar. The combo, well, it's interesting, not my
favorite by a long shot.

This was the most pill-heavy day I'd had since splitting a 16"
pizza with Annie a couple years ago.
___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Check Out Doc's QWK Mail  Via Web BBS > DocsPlace.org  (1:123/140)