Block Party

 The neighborhood had a block party Saturday night. We had a food truck, West Coast Wanderer (facebook.com/westcoastwandererllc), and we gathered in the cul de sac in the center of our condo development. Good food. She can cook! 

Tanger Center

 After a year's COVID delay, Tanger Center is open. Have attended several events as paying patron as well as unpaid volunteer usher. This is a great facility!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Cooking at home: grilled pork tenderloin with red wine reduction sauce and vegetables from Greensboro Farmers Market- collards and crowder peas from Smith Farms in Gibsonville. Cornbread muffin on the side.

The Prescott

 Dinner at The Prescott in Kernersville. Chef/owner Trey Prescott is a real talent.

Cauliflower Caesar Salad places tempura cauliflower in romaine lettuce, with homemade croutons and Caesar dressing.

Pamlico Walnut Shrimp is one of the most flavorful starters I have had, anywhere!

Lemon-Caper Grouper is served over rotini pasta with blistered grape tomatoes, spinach, and artichokes with fresh basil.

Blackened Salmon is joined by spicy shrimp plus asparagus over fettucine in a Cajun cream sauce.

Taco Mama

 Went back to Taco Mama recently. These folks have figured out a way to provide quality, fresh ingredients in a very casual, inexpensive setting. Their margaritas are interesting- some seasonal, such as Blood Orange. We had a shrimp burrito and a taco. Cheap and good!

Taco

Shrimp Burrito

Watermelon Margarita

Mercedes Margarita

Prosecco Fizz

NC Food Truck Championship

 Again this year, I was a judge for the North Carolina Food Truck Championship. This event is held every June in downtown Randleman. You might keep the date in mind for next year- it's an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. Trucks come in from all over the state. They sell to the public while delivering to the judges. Keep up at this link: https://www.facebook.com/northcarolinafoodtruckchampionship/.

I had several favorites: Drunken Noodle (Thai), Taste of Jamaica (Caribbean), Ghassan's (Mediterranean influenced sandwiches), and Oink and Moo (smoked brisket). Watch for them wherever food trucks gather! 

The judges ranked Drunken Noodle first- the winner for 2021.

Here are the rest of the rankings:

1st Place-Drunken Noodle

2nd Place- Taste of Jamaica

3rd Place - Ghassan’s

People’s Choice- Rockaway (loaded plates styled after the owners' background in upstate New York)

Wine Tasting

 My wife and I recently tasted four wines from Etruscan Imports in Greensboro. This local distributor brings in wines from Italy and Romania. Needless to say, Romanian wines have not been part of my repertoire in the past! These wines are available in a few Italian restaurants- Osteria (1310 Westover Terrace, Greensboro 27408, 336-275-2550) for example- and in wine shops. Zeto (335 Battleground Ave, Greensboro, (336) 574-2850) usually has them in stock.

When shopping Italian wines, look for the abbreviations IGT, DOC, or DOCG. These certify that the winery has voluntarily adopted strict production standards. 

We started with a white blend, De Stefani Olmera (IGT), vintage 2017, made from sauvignon blanc (37%) and tai (67%). The term “tai” is an Italian variation on Tokaj, the famous Hungarian white varietal. This wine comes from Veneto, the northeastern corner of Italy, a region that is famous for the city of Venice, on the coast. It has just a touch of sweetness from the tai. 

 

A Brunello di Montalcino, Beatesca Azienda Agricola from Tuscany (DOCG) was next. This is aged in French oak barrels for two years, then in the bottle for an additional two years before release. It bears classic cherry and tobacco notes from pure Sangiovese grapes. The vintage we tasted was 2013.

Bolgheri Ville Rustiche Bolgheri (DOCG), also from Tuscany, is a Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (20%), and Petit Verdot (10%), vintage 2016. We tend to find blends easy to enjoy. It shows dark color, with a complex nose of black berries, spices and cedar. Rich and dense, it’s a big wine that would match well with red meats.

The Romanian entry was Melgis Petro Vaselo Recas (DOC). Intense ruby red in color, the nose opens on notes of dark spices enriched by ripe raspberries and blackberries, followed by important hints of cocoa and licorice. This is an easy-drinking, fruit forward wine, which, although fairly inexpensive, has become one of our favorites.

These wines are good, but more than that, they are distinctive. Fine for tasting by themselves, but especially food friendly. 

Tornado!

 Last week, when the weather was so dangerous, forecasters were warning about tornado possiblities in the area. My wife and I were prepared!

First Time Out in a Year!

 My wife and I had our second shots on February 12. Two weeks later, we went out for a full service, sit down dinner in Greensboro for the first time in a year! Will be following up in a Yes! Weekly column the first Wednesday in April. We returned to an old favorite with friends Dave and Maggie. It's not just the food and dining experience we have missed, it's the conversation with companions. One sequence, for example: 

Maggie: "We would have never gone out with these guys in high school."

Me: "But you married us."

Dale (my wife): "Our standards change."

I'm still trying to figure that out.

Tipping

Thoughts on tipping waitstaff during phased reopening period:

With takeout, a lower tipping rate than usual is normal, because actual service is minimal. But these days, I have been making it a point to tip my usual 20% of the total bill. Waitstaff are, at best, seeing half the customers they saw before COVID. That means half the income, even if tipping follows usual rates. Consider this- you reduce your tip by $5 because it's takeout, not full service. But for a waitress, that's $5 x maybe 20 transactions, so she's getting $100 less per night, times 5 nights per week. Your $5 means she can't pay her rent or make her car payment or pay her tuition. So- please tip full rates, or even better, add something extra for the personnel you have known for some time. I've done time as a waiter, back when I was a teacher. Waitstaff depend on us! This is an overdue  message, but better late then never!