Boston's 1st Annual Food Truck Festival

Flip Happy. Torchy's. The late, lamented Shuggie's.

I never thought I'd see the likes of them in Boston. These funky, tiny operations (usually housed in revamped trailers) channeled the soul of Austin. Laid back. Outdoorsy (there's nowhere to eat but outdoors when you're cooking out of a trailer). Serving up surprisingly sophisticated and delicious food. With its wintry chill and more buttoned-up rep, Boston wouldn't have anything similar, would it?

Then I found out about Boston's 1st Annual Food Truck Festival, this coming Sunday, August 8, from 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Located at 500 Harrison Ave. Boston, MA, the festival promises to bring together an extensive and eclectic gathering of Boston food trucks.

Confirmed participants (per the event's Facebook page):
speed's hot dogs
m&m ribs
lincoln street coffee
dragon mobile disco
taza chococycle
south end pita
boston frosty
fillbelly's
cupcakory
herrara's mexican grill
food truck nation
equal exchange coffee trike
grillo's pickles
the sausage guy
roxy's grilled cheese
b. good
trolley dogs

From my initial glance at this list, it looks like the food is more fair fare than the Austin Airstream contingent's menus. But if the gods (and my kidlings) cooperate, I plan to be there getting my calories on.

Idyll at Castle Hill

Castle Hill. Just the name brings back memories of an old Austin favorite, now sadly closed. Castle Hill Cafe off Lamar Blvd. You are missed.



But this Castle Hill. This inn and resort in Newport, Rhode Island. Our place to create new memories. From the minute you drive past the little gatehouse and are greeted by name at the front desk, you feel coccooned by comfort and privilege.

The 1874 main mansion built as a summer cottage for Harvard marine biologist, Alexander Agassiz, sits on a 40-acre peninsula. We chose to stay in a beach cottage, a bright, airy space with its own deck and a stunning ocean view.



The cottage with its interior white-painted planks and beams was perfectly beachy. The view unparalleled. But the bath. Oh my word. The bath. Easily four times the size of our tiny master bath at home. With an enormous jetted tub and separate shower. The delight of showering without banged elbows or concussions. Frabjous joy, that bath!



Every detail from the L'Occitane toiletries to the Frette bedlinens to the Perrin and Rowe and Grohe fixtures bespeaks luxury. Every afternoon, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and icy bottles of water are placed in your cottage. The evening's turndown service leaves a tiny gilt box of chocolate from a local chocolatier.



The complimentary breakfast is no sad buffet of cold cereal, oily pastries, and congealed scrambled eggs. Not at all. Served in a room with panoramic views of the water, this week's menu items included lobster hash, eggs Benedict, and a couture french toast. With a miniature fruit smoothie and slice of banana bread. The complimentary afternoon tea was a lavish spread of savories and sweets with crustless sandwiches, scones, biscotti, fresh fruit, and clotted cream.



We enjoyed one dinner at Castle Hill's restaurant. This was the only meal for which jackets for gentlemen were gently encouraged. Otherwise, attire was quite casual. Not flip flops and shabby tees casual, but polo shirts and chino capris. During this meal, the kitchen didn't put a foot wrong. Every flavor. Every texture was perfection. Their interplay delightful.

In the evenings, we sipped cocktails, on crisp white Adirondack chairs dotting the manicured green lawns. We watched the sun set, casting rose-gold glimmers across the rippling water. Sailboats glided past, noiseless in the breeze. We sat on the private beach steps from our door, watching the surf tickle our toes. Or we walked on sun-dappled, wooded paths to the historic lighthouse on site.





All our stresses. Work, renovations, last year's cross-country move, children. These simply melted away. Bliss.

(Very important note: This bliss would be impossible without Grammy and Pop. Who flew from Texas to feed, wash, chauffeur, and love the littles while their parents went to play. For this and much more, many, many thanks.)


A very relaxed blogger

A Bluebonnet in the Big Apple

Springtime in Central Park. Other than April in Paris, could anything be more romantic?



We spent most of the day at the American Museum of Natural History. If you can catch their special exhibition, "Lizards and Snakes: Alive!," do so. I've seen reptiles in zoos throughout the country. They seem to aspire to absolute immobility. However, the lizards and snakes in this exhibit darted, climbed, leaped, and slithered. One rattlesnake seemed particularly enthralled by a baby held aloft in front of it. Perhaps it was thinking, "Lunch?"


Particularly effective camouflage


I'd heard that their "Silk Road" exhibit was worth seeking out. Unfortunately, despite being primed with stories from Barefoot Books, none of my children showed any interest in attending the exhibit.

After gorging ourselves on artifacts, we explored Central Park which was bursting with blooms. A ride on Central Park's carousel. A friendly and delicious meal served family-style at Trattoria Sambuca, blocks from the AMNH. A perfect NYC spring day.

And for the observant, yes, I'm blogging out of chronological order.

Fort Revere in Hull, MA

I recently spent a couple of days solo at Hull, MA. Ocean waves and solitude. A very effective cure for Exploding Head Syndrome and cases of chronic Stressitis.

If you're ever in the area, I suggest a quick trip to Fort Revere Park, an 8-acre historic site on the top of Telegraph Hill. On your way, stop at Weinberg's Bakery for a coffee, sandwich (I recommend the turkey with pesto), and a lobster tail to go. A very tasty pastry, their lobster tail features a crisp shell, light creamy filling with just the right amount of sweetness, and a fluff of powdered sugar. Yum.

Once at Fort Revere Park, enjoy your picnic and a spectacular panoramic view of Boston Harbor, Hingham Bay, and Hull Village. The park offers a water tower with observation deck and military history museum. Both were still closed for the season during my visit. The grounds also include remains of two seacoast fortifications (unfortunately much graffitied). Rooms with fireplaces and barred windows and tunnels offer a glimpse into a lost past.







The crumbling forts seem like the ideal setting for children's imaginary adventures. However, I'd keep a close eye on young ones.

Off in the distance, the Boston Light lighthouse flashed its urgent beam from a small rocky outcrop of land. Boston Light is the "first light station established on the North American continent, and the last in the United States to be automated. It's also our only light station that still retains an official keeper" (from New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide). I had no zoom lens with me that day so the lighthouse remains far off in the distance.




To one side, I could see a town rising gently out of the ocean. Waves crashed against rocky fortifications. Large, gracious houses, sunbleached to shades of pale, were gracefully arrayed on the slopes. Toy cars flashed metallic as they swept along winding roads. A few anchored boats bobbed delicately in the swells.



My marshmallow-hearted romantic side recalled the idyllic seaside towns in Miyasaki movies like Kiki's Delivery Service. And I watched this sight for a long, long time before driving back to town.

Field trip: Trikeenan Tileworks

One afternoon during our recent ski weekend, we drove to the charming town of Keene, New Hampshire, to visit the showroom of Trikeenan Tileworks. We'd seen their work in a local tile store, and wanted to see more of their colorful, beautifully glazed tiles. An added incentive for the visit: we'd read that their showroom offered seconds (tiles that were overages or very slightly flawed) at a substantial discount.

The store was bustling on this particular spring-like afternoon. It's a welcoming place with several comfortable chairs where the non-shoppers (children, spouse, or other tile-weary fellow traveller) can relax. The folks at Trikeenan were friendly and very helpful, answering questions and suggesting tiles to suit one's ideas.





I knew I loved their Basics line (especially combined into blends), but I was surprised by their new Reclamation Collection. This collection of 12 colors uses 100% reclaimed glaze to reduce waste in their factories. The colors are subtle and much more beautiful than Trikeenan's online images suggest.

As for the seconds, I was happy (and overwhelmed) to see that they had a number of tiles available. The selection was good, especially if you were tiling a small area like an accent over a range. There were also a few tiles available in larger quantities.



We needed a fairly large amount of tile for our kitchen backsplash. We were also hoping to find tile for our master bathroom floor and shower. We were lucky enough to find this for our kitchen backsplash. The combination of white, cream, pale gray, and mossy greens works perfectly in our space. (The green reads more neutral in the photo than in reality.)



They didn't have quite enough square footage. However, we were able to buy enough tiles that comprise this blend that we'll be able to build what we need. In buying seconds, you may be saving money, but you need to be flexible and/or creative.

I highly recommend visiting the Trikeenan showroom. Call ahead to make sure that Trikeenan will be open and to hear what quantities of seconds are available. And while you're in Keene, enjoy a brewed-on-the-premises beer at Elm City Brewing Company. A very satisfying day trip.

Potato latka

Today, I'm an official northeasterner. I ate my very first potato latka. It was large and dry, a bit crumbly. After the first bite, I felt it needed something. Gravy? Everything's better with gravy. Instead, I ate it with ketchup. Better...but probably not authentic.

Along with the latka, I had the very best Reuben sandwich ever. Ever. It will haunt me in my dreams. I'll be sending my poor husband out to Barry's Village Deli at all hours of the day and night. Okay. They're not open very late. More accurately...all hours of the day and evening. The bread. The corned beef. And the best part. Where the swiss melted on the griddle and became a slightly chewy/crunchy shell on rye with the perfect soupçon of Russian. Mmmm...