Udon Date

 Friday. Woke up early today for an appointment at 10 in the morning. Actually it was the mister's, but I was free to tag along. It was a short one, and it was done in half an hour. 

We stopped on our way home at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and donuts. Too bad! They didn't have the Old-Fashioned Donut in that branch. However, they had the mister's favorite, glazed donut. 

This afternoon, it was scorching hot. It reached 111°F (43.889°C).

After a quick run to the grocery store at 4, it poured so hard.

In the evening, we weren't planning on going somewhere, but the mister was craving Udon noodles. Unfortunately, almost all restaurants serving it were about to close, except one.

On a whim, we drove to downtown for Udon at Lazy Fish. It's not really that far, just a 10-minute drive.

Although the mister tempting me to have sushi, I decided not to have it this time. I just didn't want to get full with sushi plus a bowl of noodles.

 I hate feeling satiated in the evening.

We didn't order any drinks but water. We didn't want to drink our calories for dinner. 

The goal was to finish our bowl, broth included. 

...and we did it! 

All gone.

Magic! :D

Early on Saturday Morning

 I meant, not early but mid-morning. I just consider it early because I normally sleep in on Saturdays and Sundays. 

The mister dragged me out of bed to go downtown because it's record store day. He wanted to buy a couple of vinyl records at one of his favorite record stores. By Friday, he already told me what he wanted to get, and it's a limited edition clear vinyl by Penrose. (This one!)

We went on our separate ways when we arrived there--- him to the record store, and I went to the thrift store. It's about a 4-minute walk on the opposite end from the mister's destination.

At the thrift store, I didn't see any vintage clothing for my price range to resell. However, I found a 1959 French flashcard set for $0.50. I also found a new but not in a box Küchenprofi black oven-safe mini pot for a dollar. 

We didn't have breakfast before leaving the house, and decided to stop at Cafe Bueno, a locally owned Mexican restaurant also located in downtown, for their all-day breakfast. 

I had the one with 2-over medium eggs, and he had the one with scrambled eggs and avocado.

We also had Horchata. (photo above)

By the way, between the two orders, I wished I also got the same as the mister's. Loved the smoky taste of the scrambled eggs. 

We went home after our blunch. That's how my daughter calls brunch but closer to lunch. 

I visited my garden when we got home because I wasn't able to since yesterday morning. It rained all day on Friday.

I needed to stake my leaning carrots. The plants couldn't carry the weight of their white lace-looking blooms.

Because we left the house without having our morning coffee yet, we opted to have a cup for our afternoon snacks with egg crackers and our last three Uraro cookies. 

By the way, back to record store day, I heard that the first person in line arrived at 2 AM. When the mister arrived at the store at 10ish this morning, the line was still long. 

Honestly, I don't know what the fuss record store day is all about. I just go with the mister on ordinary days for the free bin. Read: FREE! Free vinyl records, cassette tapes, music magazines, and CD. But, there is no guarantee that this bin is always outside the store daily, and the condition of these items are perfect.

McClintock

On Saturday at 11ish a.m., the mister and I left the house going to downtown. He told me about McClintock Distillery's first release of their Bootjack Rye Whiskey.



Hehehehe. Honestly, I have no idea what this was all about, but you know, I always tag along with him on weekends, and he is also with me when I go thrifting or to yard sales.

We arrived there 30 minutes early. There were about 5 people in line and a dog , but we stayed by the railing in the park overlooking the distillery. I told Jay that I think we should go in line. He said it was too early.

Then a guy with tropical printed shirt came. He also went in line.



"JAY, LET'S GO!" That was my nth attempt to convince him for us to go down.

We were given tickets There was a number written at the back, and Jay got the no.7 and I got the no. 8. It was maybe because the bottle was limited for 300 only. That was what I thought.



At exactly 12 noon, we were told to go in. The guy at the door said that all ticket holders from 1 to 10 go in the middle of the distillery. There was an older guy manning a table with 10 pre-packaged brown bags. The rest were told to go to the bar.

There was also free tasting for those that had tickets, and some pork barbecue sample hosted by P.I.G.S. BBQ.



There were huge Ralph Steadman's works hanging in one wall.




It was packed yesterday. The line reached to the street. Thankfully I had convincing powers and that it worked with Jay to fall in line about 20 minutes early. Yay!

I wanted to stop by the Free Poem table, and at the hand rolled tobacco table yesterday but totally forgot when the place became crowded.



I just wanted to smell the tobacco. Hehehe. My grandmother used to grow tobacco in ceramic pots in her balcony for personal use back in the Philippines. The smell of freshly rolled tobacco reminds me of her.



Wow! This was what's inside the bag, and we bought two.

We're going to give away the second bag to a special couple. *wink




McClintock Distilling Co.
35 South Carroll Street
Frederick MD 21701
240-815-5259
 info@mcclintockdistilling.com

FREE is the magic word

The mister and I took the boy to downtown for a haircut. When we arrived at Wastler's Barber Shop at 5:30 p.m., it was closed. Patrice, the boy's favorite barber, is usually there until 7.

Because we were already in downtown, we went to The Record Exchange instead. Every time I am there, I'd always check the International section hoping I'd find a Filipino record.

There was this one time that the mister found one, but it was not in Frederick. It was in Easton, Pennsylvania back in 2014. Bayanihan! The mister got it for $10. It's kind of pricey but you can't find this just anywhere. Everytime we play it, the boy would tell us that the music (tempo and stringed instruments) reminds him of old mafia movies.



Back to yesterday, I didn't find any Filipino records. Again! So, I just looked around the store hoping to find something that will interest me. There were old music magazines in one wall. I was interested with one, a copy of Rolling Stones 1995 with Drew Barrymore on the cover (Like this one.), but the condition was not excellent. The spine of the magazine was damaged. Some pages near the spine were also torn. It was priced for $1.50.

While the boy was looking for old games, and the mister was looking for vinyl records to add to his "enviable" record collection (as one blogger called it), my eyes caught a ((( FREE ))) sign in one corner of the store near the entry door.



I was only interested on the sign, and not on what was inside the pink bin. On the other side of the door was the Mario question block box with more free stuff.



The boy bought a pack of old PS2 games, the mister didn't find any, and I took home 7 freebies! Yey!

The Pointer Sisters -Their Greatest Recordings (This is compiled exclusively for military purposes), 1978; Donna Summer - A Love Trilogy (1976)


Andy Williams - Reflections (1977); Perry Como - Hello Young Lovers (1967)


Barbra Streisand's Love Songs (1986); Superman (1977); and Wet (1979).


There were a lot but I only picked those that I liked and were familiar to me. There was also this record Stay With Me by Kiki Dee (1980). I never heard of her, and I only took a photo of it because of her name, Kiki! Hehehe



Kiki is one of the countless Filipino slangs for vagina or its American equivalent, pussy.

Oh. By the way, last night I checked the songs of this record, and they were nice. I should have picked the Kiki one too.

Eats: Sabor de Cuba

The Cuban restaurant in downtown has been opened since early 2012, and we have not tried it until late September of this year. Previously an Ethiopian restaurant, it is across two of our favorite Asian places, Sumittra and Lazy Fish.

There was also another Cuban restaurant in Frederick before until it closed down when one of the owners died in February of 2015, That Cuban Place.

From a Saturday photoshoot by the mister at Gravel & Grind, we planned on going to the last day of the Frederick Fair. We were outside the gates of the Frederick Fairgrounds when I asked the mister if he had enough cash. He had a $5 and I had a dollar which was not even enough for one fair ticket. The mister wanted to eat just a funnel cake, but I said it'll be a bit costly if we pay $8.00 per ticket just to eat one funnel cake. 'di ba?

When we decided to try this Cuban resto for the first time, it was around 5ish already, and just in time for an early dinner.

From the outside, it looked so small with probably about four tables only inside. I didn't know that the interior is big.



The server suggested for us to try their appetizer, shrimp ceviche.

The fried green plantain was surprisingly delicious with it. But the ceviche? It was just too sour for us. I still think the Filipino ceviche (kinilaw) is the best among the many versions of this dish.

I had Beef Enchilado, $17 (Marinated top sirloin, sautted with fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and jalapeno. Served with white rice and green plantains.)

This was spicy, but it had enough kick for me to enjoy the dish.

The mister had Pernil (Roasted pork leg), $15. (citurs marinated pork shank thinly sliced with garlic and onion. Served with white rice, black beans and fried sweet plantains.)


On the first Saturday of October, the young lady was home for the day. The mister needed to have his haircut done so we went to downtown. The boy was kind of unenthusiastic of trying Cuban, but he had no choice. It was three of us versus him. The children didn't come with us on that previous week we were here.


We were seated by the window. Thank God! I wished for it before we came in.


The first time the mister and I dined in, we were seated in the middle (check photo below, that table against a wall with a server standing up) and it was kind of dark. Taking photos of food in a not well-lit space does not produce a better photo especially that I used my phone camera only.


Milanesa de Pollo. $16 (Lightly breaded chicken breast topped homemade marinara sauce, served with white rice, black beans and sweet plantain)


Masitas de Puerco. $15 (Marinated porsels of pork deep fried until golden brown, served with white rice, black beans and sweet plantain)

This tasted like Filipino fried pork adobo.

The young lady decided to try their Pernil. $15.


Ropa Vieja (pulled flank steak), $16 (pulled and slowly cooked in tomato based sauce with olives and capers, served with white rice, black beans and sweet plantains)


Sabor de Cuba's dishes were good. However, I wasn't impress with my last dish, the Ropa Vieja. It would be better if the sauce was thicker. The best we've tried was the Pernil. It tasted closely to the Filipino lechon or roasted pig.

On a summer trip to Miami, Florida in 2012, our friends treated us to lunch at a Cuban resto near their place, and that was the first time we've tried Cuban oxtail stew. It was sooooo good. I don't know if they do serve it in downtown. It wasn't in their menu.

What I also noticed was that they served their food without fresh garnishes, just like how traditional Filipino food is served too. I really thought only Filipinos do that. I preferably want my plate with the fresh greens, some carrot or beet strings, or a few slices of cucumber. But even without it, I still love their plate because there were sweet plaintains in it. Love bananas!


Sabor de Cuba Restaurant
9 E Patrick St.
Frederick, Maryland
Tel. No. (301) 663-1036

More than 20K

The mister said that we'd go for a walk at Baker Park on Saturday before it would rain in the late afternoon. Then he said he want to watch Voltron first, and before I knew it, it rained. Sunday morning, he woke me up early so we could push our plan from yesterday.

Before I was even finished cooking breakfast of eggs and toasts, he suggested to walk from our house to downtown, instead of driving to Baker Park and start our walk from there. I was worried about the distance if we start from our home. After breakfast, ready with my phone camera and my emergency enhaler, I decided to go for it.



We passed by parks, baseball field, tennis courts, community pools, creeks, brooks, a train station, a barn, independent shops, bridges, playgrounds, new bike paths, gardens, fountains, special trout fishing spot for youth and the blind, a tiny free library, two tunnels, the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum, and more.



Our final destination was at our friends' coffee and bike shop--- Gravel and Grind. We bought cold coffee drinks, and a pack of coffee beans. We had a quick rest, filled our water bottle with their lemon infused water,  and the mister got to chat and catch up with one of his best buddies, James. He's the co-owner of the shop.



On our way home, which was on a different route, I saw the most beautiful and the cutest Little Free Library. This is Chapter 25739, which I learned that this family along Carroll Parkway made this tiny library out of materials from the original drawers of their 1930s home.



youth and blind special trout fishing spot in Carroll Creek


Schifferstadt, a colonial German stone house built in 1758


It was 8.9 miles in over three hours of walking, and took about 24,000 steps. This was a first since I am used to to walking about 3 miles daily only.