The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[Keith1010]

1 hour ago, Leo_On_Geo said:

Hi,

I recently moved from Bethesda (late 2019- so I don't know what has happened since then).  Hamburger Hamlet was still around on Old Georgetown Rd and Democracy. There were two Boeymongers, one in Chevy Chase on Wisconsin Ave in Friendship Heights, and the one on East West highway in Bethesda.  I know the one in Bethesda was still open.

The Peter Pan Inn was in Urbana Maryland was around and reinvented as off-track betting and food when I visited in 2005, but I think that has since closed.  Its sister property was "The Kapock Inn" in Tampa area which my family always visited on our  vacations.  That property closed years ago, but the building and grounds were still around in late 2010's.  I remember the elaborate bird cages over one of the many dining rooms and how an occassional feather fell onto the table as we dined!!!

 

Lisa

Lisa, thank you so much for the update.

 

I have lots of fond memories of each restaurant; not as much the food but for their uniqueness and sentimentality.

 

With that said, Booeymongers was quite good in terms of the quality of sandwiches and desserts.  The ones we went to were in Chevy Chase for sure and I think in Bethesda too as you mentioned but for sure the one in Friendship Heights.

 

Oh yes that is the name of the sister restaurant.  I went there while in High School with my family visiting a neighbor who had moved to a place which I think is called New Port Richie.

 

Thank you so much for filling in the blanks for me.

 

Keith

 

 

[KenzSailing]

 

3 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

OK for you Maryland and other local WDC folks.

 

Does Hamburger Hamlet still exist?  I remember that from College as sit-down place we'd go to once in awhile.

 

How about Chesapeake Seafood House?  I think that was the name.  Back then I think for $2.99 we could get fish and all the coleslaw, hushpuppies and french fries we wanted?   

 

And not sure but think this was in Chevy Chase or Bethesda but also in a few other places Boeymonger or Boeymongers or something like that.  We'd go there for late night food such as sandwiches and dessert.

 

Then one more and I think this was heading to Baltimore.  I think it was called Peter Pan or something like that and there was a sister one near Busch Gardens in Florida.  A very large and I think ornate restaurant with more choices on the entrees but I believe all you can eat french fries, cole slaw and hush puppies.  

 

This is why I don't have french fries now. I ate a lifetime during my younger years.  LOL.

 

Keith

 

HamHam has gone the way of the more famous Hamlet.  I think the last one was the one on Old Georgetown Road at Democracy, but it went out years ago.  Probably a Capital One branch bank now (can't spit without hitting one of those here.)

 

Booeymonger is alive and well off Wisconsin by Mazza Gallery (which is being redeveloped, I believe into residential.)  The original in Georgetown is still there, and there's one somewhere in the soulless mass that is NoVa.

 

Not familiar with the others.

 

Also, there is no such thing as a lifetime's worth of french fries.😁

Edited October 27, 2021 by KenzSailing
Typos

[BWIVince]

3 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

 

 

HamHam has gone the way of the more famous Hamlet.  I think the last one was the one on Old Georgetown Road at Democracy, but it went out years ago.  Probably a Capital One branch bank now (can't spit without hitting one of those here.)

 

Booeymonger is alive and well off Wisconsin by Mazza Gallery (which is being redeveloped, I believe into residential.)  The original in Georgetown is still there, and there's one somewhere in the soulless mass that is NoVa.

 

Not familiar with the others.

 

Also, there is no such thing as a lifetime's worth of french fries.😁

 

The HamHam in Georgetown Square at Democracy is the one that always comes to my mind -- it was a frequent date spot in one of my early relationships.  😇 I think the one in Rio in Gaithersburg was another of the last to close in the area.

 

The Peter Pan Inn was up close to where I live now...  Lisa's description is spot on.  It became the Cracked Claw in 1989, and became infamous as our first outlet offering off-track betting in the early 90's.  It closed in 2011, and then sat awaiting redevelopment.  The restaurant itself was an amalgam of buildings, the oldest of which was the Rine/Dixon House built in the early 1800's.  Unfortunately, the succeeding Dixon House was just a small part of the structure, from the middle of the building, and preservationists fought hard to keep it.  So the rest of the complex was demolished and turned into standalone retail pads (auto parts, drug store, etc.), but what looked like the condemned guts of a larger building sat there for years, rotting.  I haven't driven by there in a while so I'm not sure what's happened more recently, but there's a business on the map showing there now, so it looks like it's either been restored or replaced.  Here's a detailed write-up on the history of the site from the state (including photos):  https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Frederick/F-7-73.pdf

 

I don't think I ever remember actually going to Chesapeake Bay Seafood House, but they were all over the area in the late 80's.  The closest one to where I grew up was in Burtonsville, but I can't honestly remember ever going there.  My parents enjoyed cooking seafood, and it was an expensive restaurant genre overall, so with the exception of sushi we didn't tend to go to many "seafood restaurants" compared with other types since I think they felt they could make those dishes more affordably at home.  OTOH, we ate in just about every ethnic restaurant in Montgomery County.  Affordable, flavorful and interesting were exactly what my parents were looking for with their limited dining dollars.

 

I need to run for a bit, but I'll share one of my MoCo 80's food memories tomorrow.

 

Vince

Edited October 27, 2021 by BWIVince

[Keith1010]

Thank you as well Vince for taking me down memory lane and KenZsailing as well.  

 

I do think I ht the lifetime of French Fries and also Fried Chicken. 

 

Keith

[rafinmd]

I sailed Wind Star transatlantic (Lisbon to Barbados) in November 2014 and my ride to Europe was on QM2.  I stayed pre-cruise at the Harbor House B&B on Staten Island (home of the nyharbor webcam) and my October 28 sunrise is from the B&B:

 

 

Roy

[Keith1010]

I found their menu on-line.  I remember for the all you could eat entrees you could get a much of the one you ordered or any at the same price or below that one as you wanted.

 

And of course coleslaw, hushpuppies, and french fries.

 

Unfortunately they all closed I believe around the time we left WDC for California.

 

Maybe because we took all the business away when we moved.

 

Keith

 

 

 

[May B]

Keith, you were talking about New Port Richey, which is about an hour north of Tampa. That area’s been growing in leaps and bounds.

 

I think the restaurant two of you were talking about was the Kapok Tree, aka Kapok Tree Inn. Alas, I believe the tree, which I think was a banyan tree, got a disease and didn’t survive. The restaurant didn’t, either. Now right near that spot is a very popular performance center called Ruth Eckerd Hall.

 

https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/kapok-tree.html

 

The other restaurant, near Busch Gardens, was the Sea Wolf, and it too was very popular. The owner famously staged his own demise to collect the insurance money.

 

Fun to remember the old days!

[Leo_On_Geo]

The large kapok tree that was at the inn was not a banyan tree, it was a Kapok tree. Kapok trees  produce cotton like fibrous seed pods that were used at one time to stuff life preservers and furniture. 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is the first from my 2019 River Cruise on the Crystal Bach.  On October 29 we visited Cologne.

 

 

Roy

[Keith1010]

Thank you Muriel for the added information.

 

On that trip to New Port Richie we also went to the Busch Gardens.  At least back then it was totally different than the one in Williamsburg which I loved.  The one in Florida I remember had the animals and I believe back then you took an escalator to get to the brewery for the free beer.  I was too young to drink but I do remember that we went to there.  

 

I have such great memories of the one in Williamsburg and we love taking short two to there day trips and visiting Williamsburg and other nearby areas.  I miss the area as we could go for short stays and get to so many places such as Gettysburg and Lancaster PA and Monticello, Charlottesville and Williamsburg, VA.  Love the history.

 

Keith

[May B]

On 10/28/2021 at 7:27 PM, Leo_On_Geo said:

The large kapok tree that was at the inn was not a banyan tree, it was a Kapok tree. Kapok trees  produce cotton like fibrous seed pods that were used at one time to stuff life preservers and furniture. 

That would certainly explain why it was called Kapok Tree!

 

I’m thinking the restaurant itself was kind of like the Patricia Murphy I remember enjoying when I was young.

[rafinmd]

My October 30 sunrise (hung up in Cruise Critic Limbo) is from my 2014 QM2 crossing on the way to a a return transatlantic on the Wind Star.

 

 

Roy

Edited October 31, 2021 by rafinmd

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2015 transatlantic on Allure of the Seas.  Not a very nice day but still  a decent sunrise:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2015 transatlantic on Allure of the Seas.  Not a very nice day but still  a decent sunrise:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

My next two photos will be from my fall 2017 Holland American combination.  On November 1 I disembarked MS Amsterdam in Hong Kong and flew to Rome.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

For today I have a sunset instead of a sunrise.  After leaving one ship in Amsterdam November 1, I boarded another in Rome the very next day.  MS Prinsendam was still docked when the sun went down

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from a 2011 Panama Canal Cruise on the Symphony.  November 3 was the first day after embarking in Charleston, although we should have embarked October 31 in New York except for Superstorm Sandy.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Point to ponder.  If your child gets a first covid vaccine dose at 11 years and 50 weeks, what happens 3 weeks later?

 

Roy

[May B]

10 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Point to ponder.  If your child gets a first covid vaccine dose at 11 years and 50 weeks, what happens 3 weeks later?

 

Roy

I just saw that addressed by a physician! They get the dose for 11 year olds first, and their second one, they get the dose for 12 year olds.

 

Good Q, Roy.

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, May B said:

I just saw that addressed by a physician! They get the dose for 11 year olds first, and their second one, they get the dose for 12 year olds.

 

Good Q, Roy.

That's what I would have thought as well but someone on the HAL forum found an official answer:

4 hours ago, unclerich said:

The CDC has actually given guidance on this question. They get the smaller dose for the second shot (same as their first):

Q: What if a child is 11 years old when she gets the first dose but turns 12 before the second dose?

A: The child should get 10 micrograms for each dose.

(10 micrograms is the pediatric dose; 30 micrograms is the 12 and up dose)

 

I can only guess that CDC has always favored giving the same shot for both doses, but an adult dose after 12 makes more sense to me.

 

Roy

[SusieQft]

I am not very good at photographing sunrises, but I did catch this sunset today (Wednesday) at Great Exuma, Bahamas, on the Serenity.

[BEAV]

Friends of mine arrived Port Everglades on Viking this morning.

 

 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from a 2013 Crystal Symphony Cruise New York to Miami.  November 4 was a but if an oddball since we docked in my home port of Baltimore a little after the sun came up.

 

 

Roy

[Keith1010]

OK you are going to think all I do is eat but I don't. 

 

I am a traditionalist and as I get older many restaurants either don't exist anymore (ugh!!!) or they have changed no longer serving the same food.

 

I know this is touristy and I know there are better restaurants but a traditional one for me is Scoma's in San Francisco.

 

Why Scoma's?

 

Well on my first business tripod for that matter first visit to San Francisco  when I lived in WDC the first night several of us went there.  I can't remember if we stumbled on it (we only had one drink before I promise) or someone knew about it but we ended up there.  It was a long wait about an hour.  Enjoyed it immensely.

 

A few years later I was asked to take an assignment in San Francisco and our company flew us out so the family could consider the move.  After getting over the sticker shock of housing my wife and I drove into the city with the kids and I took them to Scoma's for lunch.  We made the decision that weekend to move to the Bay Area.

 

From then on each time we would visit the city we all went to Scoma's for lunch.  I think I had the same thing each time which was pasta with clams and a clear sauce.  Yummy plus the sourdough bread.  

 

After moving to Texas when we would all go back and stay in the city we would return to Scoma's one time a trip for dinner.  Yes, I had the pasta and clams.  LOL.  I did say I was a traditionalist.

 

I enjoyed the wait staff as many had worked there for years.  Enjoyed seeing photos on the walls of famous people who ate there.  Liked the food.  

Twice we went to the Scoma's in Sausalito too but like the one in San Francisco better.

 

Anyway, I hope the restaurant stays open because each time a restaurant that we used to go to closes it makes this "old" guy feel even older.  Ugh!!

 

Has anyone eaten there?  

 

And do you all have any favorite restaurants around the country which you have enjoyed for many years.

 

Keith

[rxlowry]

We dined at Scoma’s before the cruise I took with my daughter to Hawaii in 2018.  I wanted to try a crab Louis salad.  It did not disappoint.  My husband and daughter both ordered cioppino and loved it.