Wednesday, January 13, 2021

A Side of Murder with Amy Pershing

 LUCY BURDETTE: Doesn't everybody love a strong debut mystery? I do! I was asked by my former editor at NAL if I would read and blurb a forthcoming foodie mystery and I agreed. To my relief and excitement, I loved the book. The new writer is Amy Pershing and A SIDE OF MURDER will be out on February 23. I welcome her to the blog today!

You’ve Been Served or How to Eat Really Fancy Food on Zero Dollars a Day 




(Photo by Lefteris kallergis on Unsplash)




LB: In A SIDE OF MURDER, your heroine, Samantha Barnes, is a disgraced New York City chef turned restaurant reviewer for the Cape Cod Clarion.  In the very funny opening scene, you describe Sam on her first assignment trying to get her friends to understand how it’s all going to work:



“Okay, so here’s how it’s gonna go down.”

I looked sternly at my dining companions, who were eyeing me warily over the rims of their wine glasses.  They were not used to me looking at them sternly.  

“We order one meat, one vegetarian, one seafood and one pasta entree. Appetizers can be anything you like…”

 “Well, hallelujah,” Miles said.  I ignored him.

“Anything you like,” I repeated, “but it needs to make sense with your entrée.”

“I’m lost,” said Helene, running a ring-bejeweled hand through her mane of silver curls.  “I’ve been eating out for 40 years and I never once worried if my appetizer made sense with my entrée.  I don’t even know what that means.” 

I sighed.  Well, no one had ever said writing restaurant reviews for the Cape Cod Clarion was going to be easy. Actually, I reflected, that wasn’t true.  I was the one who had said it would be easy.

I tried to clarify. “It means that if you’re having the hanger steak for your entrée...”

“That’s mine!” Jenny said, suddenly all in.  “I call I claim the hanger steak.” 

I call I claim? What is she, six? 

“And a half dozen Wellfleet oysters to start,” she added.

 “That’s fine,” I said.  “A classic pairing.” 

I turned back to Helene.  “If, like Jenny, you’re having the hanger steak,” I explained, “you don’t want to order the barbeque sliders as a starter.” 

She nodded thoughtfully.  At least Helene was taking this seriously.  But then she ruined it by saying, “Actually, barbeque followed by steak sounds yummy.”

I gave up. 

“I’ll order for all of you,” I announced.  “And once we get our food and you’ve had a chance to taste and consider your choices, I will discretely exchange plates with each of you, one by one, and sample each dish.  Then we’ll discretely switch back again. We’ll go clockwise around the table, starting with Helene.”  

“I’m lost again,” Helene fake-whispered to Miles.


LB: Those instructions sound like someone who has actually reviewed restaurants for a living…



AP
: Well, not exactly for a living but I guess you could say I did it professionally.  My two-year stint as a reviewer was in New York City back in the late ‘80s when restaurants were theater and chefs were celebrities. So what do you do when you’re young and broke in New York City and love great food?  I mean, obviously, you can’t actually pay to eat in these restaurants.   But what if you got to eat for free in these restaurants?  And all you had to do was write about it?  Eating great food and writing about eating great food? That’s not a job.  That’s a dream come true. 


So how did you land this dream job?


I had just moved back to the city after two years living  -- and eating, oh, lord, how I ate! -- in Italy.  A friend invited me out to dinner with a lovely fellow named Andy Birsh, who would later go on to write the New York restaurant reviews for Gourmet magazine. At the time, Andy was the editor of the Restaurant Reporter, a subscription-only newsletter for corporate clients who needed reliable recommendations for where to take their VIP clients for lunch and dinner.  That night Andy needed a few tasting buddies for his visit to a very cool, very exclusive, very expensive new Italian restaurant in mid-town. The kind of place where you’d spot Robert DeNiro or Diane Keaton.  In fact, we actually spotted Robert DeNiro and Diane Keaton. That was very exciting. 


And the food? 


Not so much. My risotto was gummy and my saltimbocca (traditionally a thinly sliced veal cutlet sautéed in a buttery lemon sauce topped with a slice of prosciutto and one perfect sage leaf) was tough and didn’t even have a sage leaf.   I never would have had the nerve to say anything (after all, Andy had already very discreetly tasted all the offerings at the table), but when he asked me what I thought, I was honest.  He nodded and the next thing I knew he was asking me if I wanted to write the review.  


So your first review was a negative one?


Yup.  But it was the only negative review I ever wrote for the Reporter.  Our usual approach was, if you don’t like the restaurant, don’t review it.  We didn’t want any part of knocking someone’s dream.  But when a place is charging exorbitant prices for the privilege of being ignored by a snooty wait staff, being served awful food and being rushed out so they can turn the table, it’s time to call a rip-off a rip-off.  


So after that, it was all good?


It was great!  For almost two years I ate amazing food. At Arizona 206, the brilliant chef/owner Brendan Walsh introduced New Yorkers (including me) to “Southwestern” food like cactus pear salad and grilled salmon with corn pudding.  At Tavern on the Green, I had a rack of lamb so tender I could have cut it with a spoon.  


So it was all glitz and glamor?


Not at all.  A lot of the more adventurous chefs and restaurateurs were bringing a new informality and dedication to farm fresh food and fusion menus downtown.  I, like every other foodie in New York, fell in love with Danny Meyer’s unpretentious but perfect Union Square Café. David Bouley’s original Montrachet offered a $16 dollar prix fixe dinner!  And I loved a divey Cajun restaurant called Acme in Noho.  But my absolute fav was the tiny, funky French bistro/all night diner Restaurant Florent, plopped smack in the middle of the city’s meatpacking district, where ladies-of-the-evening in drag waved hello from the street corner as you walked in and you sat so close to the other diners that you always had a new best friend by the end of the night. 


Do you remember your favorite meal from those golden years?


I honestly remember every good meal I’ve ever eaten, whether at a friend’s house, my own table or at a restaurant.  Don’t get me started. But I have to say, Florent’s duck paté was a revelation.  And the mussels, oh my god, those mussels!  


Assuming that at some point we’ll be able to eat in restaurants again, what’s your best advice for having a great dinner out?


AP: I can’t wait until we are able to eat in our favorite restaurants again!  (And until that happens, please keep them going with take out service if they offer it.)  When that happy day arrives, be nice to your server.  Not just because you’ll get better service and maybe even a good tip on what to order, but because it’s the right thing to do. I’ve been a waitress (as we used to be called in the Dark Ages) and I’ve been a corporate executive, and, believe me, being a waitress was much more stressful.  


Thanks so much for being with us today, Amy!  And Red readers, tell us about your favorite restaurant meal below to be entered in a drawing for A Side of Murder, coming out on February 23.    


About Amy: Amy Pershing is a lifelong mystery lover and wordsmith. She was an editor, a restaurant reviewer and a journalist before leading employee communications at a global bank. A few years ago (with the final college tuition bill paid), she waved goodbye to Wall Street to write full time (and spend more time sailing on the Cape!). A Side of Murder, the first of the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries, is her debut novel.


About A Side of Murder: Beautiful Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is known for seafood, sand, surf and now … murder.


Samantha Barnes was always a foodie.  And when the CIA (that’s the Culinary Institute of America) came calling, she happily traded in Cape Cod for the Big Apple.  But then the rising young chef’s clash with another chef (her ex!) boils over and goes viral. So when Sam inherits a house on the Cape and lands a job writing restaurant reviews, it seems like the perfect pairing. What could go wrong? Well, as it turns out, a lot.


The dilapidated house comes with an enormous puppy. Her new boss is, well, bossy.  And the town’s harbor master is none other than her first love.  Nonetheless, Sam’s looking forward to reviewing the Bayview Grill—and indeed the seafood chowder is divine. But the body in the pond outside the eatery was not on the menu. Sam is certain this is murder. But as she begins to stir the pot, is she creating a recipe for her own untimely demise?


“Cape Cod provides a stunning background for a debut that offers the ideal combination of mystery, romance, and recipes.” Kirkus Reviews

121 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your debut book, Amy . . . I’m looking forward to finding out how Samantha handles the body in the pond [and to reading many more Samantha stories as well] . . . .

    Favorite restaurant meal? Wow . . . it’s tough to pick just one.
    We adored a restaurant in California where they made it a point to treat the children as if they were the most important people at the table. [The girls loved it!] We always had prime rib there . . . and the children’s menu wasn’t “kids food;” they had a children’s prime rib meal, too. Wonderful restaurant, wonderful food, wonderful service . . . .

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    1. Thanks, Joan! I love the idea of a kids food menu with prime rib! When our boys were young, we had a neighborhood restaurant where they were always greeted as "valued patrons" and they responded by being perfect little gentlemen (instead of the rascals they really were!).

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    2. Joan was this a specialty steak restaurant? In the late sixties my family frequented a restaurant with a similar menu and attitude towards children diners. We lived in the Bay Area to the north but went to the restaurant several times a year when visiting an Uncle who lived in Lakewood. I believe the restaurant was in Santa Monica. I was a very small child but remember these meals vividly. My cousins and I always felt very special and the food was amazing.

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    3. Susan . . .
      Hungry Hunter Steakhouse . . . there are several locations in California . . . .

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  2. This book was already on my radar, and now I can't wait to read it.

    Favorite restaurant meal? Not sure I can think of one. Unlike Amy, I don't remember every good meal I've ever had, I guess.

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    1. Thanks, Mark! Glad you're looking forward to A Side of Murder!

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    2. But Mark, you do remember all the books you've read, and we appreciate that!

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  3. AMY: Welcome to the Reds and congratulations on your debut book, A Side of Murder!

    Many of you know I am a bit food-obsessed, lol, and I definitely remember many memorable restaurant meals.

    One of my favourite solo dinners that I had while travelling for work was at a small bistro in Quebec City, Canada in 1993. It was a brutally snowy February night and I found this elegant stone building in old Quebec. Everything was a new dish for me, from the duck pate to the main course of jugged rabbit and the dessert of pot du creme au chocolat. And the wine was pretty good too.

    Sadly, this restaurant is long gone. I have eaten many other rabbit dishes but nothing comes close to this first one.

    DO NOT include me in the giveaway since I was lucky to win a copy of A SIDE OF MURDER at Mystery Lovers Kitchen last year. Looking forward to reading it when it is mailed to me.

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    1. Hi Grace! How nice to hear from you! What a wonderful, dreamy description of your Quebec meal. It's hard eating alone on a work trip, so what a treat that you found not only a lovely restaurant to take you in but one that introduced you to so many new dishes.

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    2. Thanks, Amy. The old part of Quebec City is walled with historical buildings and you do feel like you are dining in France.

      I now live in Ottawa (Ontario) but can walk across the river to Quebec. We are currently in a stay-at-home lockdown for another month but when the restaurants open again, I hope to have some great meals.

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    3. Yes Grace, the walled Old Quebec is effectively perfect for history and gastronomy. Happy you had a good taste of it

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    4. DANIELLE: I agree with you about Quebec City. I have visited several times since that February 1993 dinner and have other wonderful memories of those trips.

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    5. GRACE: when the pandemic is over, I would love to visit Quebec. My grandmother was born there. My great grandfather still has relatives living in Quebec. I just learned that I have 4th cousins living in Quebec.

      Do they serve French onion soup in Quebec?

      Diana

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    6. DIANA: As Danielle said above, many Quebec cities (Montreal, Quebec City) are wonderful
      places for gastronomic adventures. I guess they would serve good French onion soup in Quebec but I have enjoyed eating it elsewhere, including here in Ottawa and at home.

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    7. Diana, you can find French onion soup in many places in Quebec

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  5. Given that I'm not even in the vicinity of being called a foodie, I can't say that any of my favorite restaurant meals are all that interesting. Give me a good bacon cheeseburger and I'm good. On the rare occasion that I'm in a place that serves swordfish and I can afford the crazy price they charge for it, I might have that as well.

    For breakfast, I usually just order the big breakfast plate that is on every diner's menu. Blueberry pancakes, ham, bacon, scrambled eggs, wheat toast and home fries. I buy my own Vermont made maple syrup because I'm a syrup snob.

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    1. In my opinion, anybody who is a syrup snob (not to mention a fan of bacon cheeseburgers, swordfish and diner breakfasts!) absolutely qualifies as a foodie. Welcome to the club, Jay!

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    2. Syrup snobs unite, Jay! Although I think you're top of the heap, as it never occurred to me to take my own!

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  6. Congratulations on your delicious debut! Definitely on my must read list.

    My favorite restaurant meal - wow, hard to say, there were so many that were favorites for so many different reasons. My favorite restaurant - now that's easy. It's long gone, but it was the Biscayne Wine Merchant in North Miami, FL. I still dream about their escargot and spinach and rack of lamb, and then there was their wine list.

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    1. Thanks, Kait! So happy to find another escargot fan out there!

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    2. KAIT/AMY: Another escargot fan here(!), but I must admit I have not found many places in the US or Canada that serves this app.

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    3. Generally only French bistros, I've found. Which is why I'm always on the lookout for French bistros ;)

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    4. And they took the escargot out of the shells if you asked -- so much safer for nearby diners :) This particular restaurant had a Vietnamese chef. He had been trained in the French manner before he emigrated to the US. His frogs legs, to die for!

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    5. KAIT: Escargots and frog legs (cuisses de grenouille) was the exact meal I had in Montreal when I was 14 for the first time. My parents thought I was so weird to order it in my junior high school French, but I thought it was great!

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  7. Amy, your book sounds delicious! Can't wait to read it. How can I possibly narrow down to one my favorite restaurant meal? One I recall, more than 50 years ago was an Italian restaurant in Schenectady. It's been gone for a long time but I still remember how wonderful everything was, especially the homemade pasta which I had never had before.

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    1. Hi Judi! I agree, there's nothing like homemade pasta. I make homemade lasagna noodles once a year for a dish called rosellini (little pasta roses) and believe me, yummy as they are, once a year is enough! So much work ;)

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    2. Judi you are reminding me of a lobster fra diavolo that we once had in New Jersey. A friend treated the whole table and it was a very memorable night...

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  8. Congratulations on your upcoming release! Guess which book I just started this morning?

    I love eating at restaurants in NYC and the ones I like are the ones I tell my friends to check out. Carmmine's, Sardi's, Bond 45, and I especially love going to those geared towards tourists.

    My favorite meal at a restaurant is breakfast...like seeing how they prepare my eggs.

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    1. That's fun that you like the tourist restaurants Dru, you're not a snob!

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    2. Hi Dru Ann! So glad you got your review copy, and I do hope you enjoy the book.

      I know what you mean about the classic tourist restaurants -- my favorite is (was, I guess I should say for the time being) the Grand Central Oyster Bar. That oyster stew!

      (And don't tell anyone -- oops, too late -- but I am super fussy about my eggs. I actually like my scrambled eggs whirled in the blender first so there are no little white thingies in the final product.)

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    3. Sardi's wow! I'm glad it's still there. So many have gone. The burger at 21 (lunch menu only in my day) was the best in NY, I thought.

      I am with you on breakfast out anytime, any place, Dru. It is the one meal I hate to cook. I can never get everything done at the same time.

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    4. Dru, two of my favorite meals happened in NYC on the same day, on an Easter weekend when I took my three daughters and my mom to the city. We had lunch in the 80's, and I got to talking to our waiter. I asked him if he knew anywhere we could get egg creams, which I had loved when I used to travel to New York in the '70s, and I wanted my girls to experience. He couldn't find anywhere in the Zagat, so the chef made us one to share. Then he asked us what we were doing for dinner, and when he found out we didn't have plans he arranged for the five of us to have dinner at Carmine's that night. It was such a great day.

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    5. Karen, I love Carmines. Oh if I would have known you then, I would have pointed you in the right place for egg cream.

      Amy, I like my eggs fried both side, brown on the edges with a little bounce in the yolk. Oh my scrambled eggs must be dry and I hear you on the white thingies. Oh and the Oyster Bar, loved it.

      Kait, most of the theater restaurants are closed now. I will be glad when they open back up.

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    6. Amy, my daughter and I absolutely adored the Grand Central Oyster Bar! The martinis! The oysters! The French fries! And I don't think I've ever raved about French fries from any other place. We were in New York in January last year, right before the lockdown, and the oyster bar was our favorite place on the trip. I hope it survives the pandemic...

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    7. I hope so, too. So far, they're just saying it is "temporarily closed." I can't imagine Grand Central (or New York for that matter) without it. I tell you what, assuming it survives, the next time you're in New York, I'll meet you there! I need to try those French fries...

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    8. It's a date Amy! That would be so much fun. We went to the Red Rooster in Harlem one night--now that was an experience! We would do that again, too.

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    9. I'm in for that trip as well ladies! It's so awful to be thinking about the wonderful restaurants that may go under...

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  9. How fun to learn the history of where you learned to do restaurant reviews, Amy! I can't wait to read the new book. We seriously should collaborate on a short story where our Cape protags meet up one day.

    I'm not sure of all the fabulous restaurant meals Ive had if this is my favorite, but it's up there. Ithaki is a classy Greek restaurant in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where I used to live. We would walk downtown for a special meal. Their flower arrangements were always fresh and gorgeous, the waitstaff friendly and respectful, the wine excellent. MY favorite entree was the scallops, perfectly fresh and perfectly sauteed (or braised?) in a light lemony sauce, that came with a sauteed spinach and something (orzo, maybe?). We always got the grilled octopus (sorry, I know that makes some people cringe) to start and their molten chocolate cake to finish. A delight.

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    1. Grilled octopus! I love, love, love grilled octopus! Maybe we could have our Cape protags meet up for a meal in a Greek restaurant one day ;)

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    2. Yum, I love grilled octopus! Luckily, we have some great Greek restaurants in Ottawa that serve this as part of a massive shared seafood platter.

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    3. Here is a photo of the EVOO seafood platter
      https://www.tripadvisor.ca/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g155004-d5774303-i326928839-EVOO_Greek_Kitchen-Ottawa_Ontario.html

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    4. Its because of the octopus' intelligence, I think, that some (including some Jungle Reds, I seem to remember) shy away from eating it. I'd love to have our protags meet up at a Greek restaurant. Also, if Sam ever wants to rent a bike, Mac's Bikes is the place!

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    5. Yeah, that's me Edith. I never would comment on someone else's choice at the table, but I cringe when cetain items are ordered. My father and grandfather were butchers, or I'd probably have been a vegetarian.

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    6. Oh no, now I feel guilty about eating octopus...

      Sam riding a bike is a very funny image. She is not known for her gracefulness. We could do a bit where she falls off her rental and Mac has to take her to a Greek restaurant to regain her composure.

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  11. What a great interview - and yes, please be kind to your wait staff!

    Favorite meal? Oh gosh. I had a paella in San Juan, Puerto Rico at a divey local place with shrimp, caught that morning, the size of my fist. Divine. But some of the meals I had in New Orleans when I was there for Bouchercon in 2016 were pretty great, too.

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    1. Hi Liz!

      I was born in San Juan and lived there until I was six, so I know what you mean about that paella! I really think those first six years in Puerto Rico started me off as a foodie: tostones (fried plantains), arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), pernil (roast pork) are still some of my fav foods.

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    2. My son has lived in the mountains above the west coast for nearly a decade, Amy! But it's at an eco farm and they're all vegetarians now, alas...

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    3. That's so interesting about your son, Edith. So no pernil but still plenty of tostones ;)

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  12. Goodie, goodie, goodie!! How many times do I get to read the first book when it comes out? Never. I am always reading catch-up. I am really excited to begin your series at the beginning. Whoo-hoo.

    Congratualtions on your new book, Amy. It sounds wonderful and if Lucy loves it, well, that is all the recommendation necessary. I do love books set in the Northeast and although I do not know Cape Cod very well, it's just a short hop away. It's fun to imagine yourself in a book's setting.

    Now about the meal, so hard to choose. Okay, not memorable for the food, but...Irwin had just asked me to marry him and my dad and step-mother invited us to dinner at an Italian restaurant near their home (It's long gone.) They were very happy that he'd popped the question since it looked like my last chance. (Seriously.) My step-mother had gone to the bank vault and she handed me my mother's engagement ring which my dad had put away for me. Irwin was going, "No-no-no, I'll buy her a ring." My dad said, "Why?" and it was settled. Among the best memories of dinners.

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    1. that's a great story Judy!! I hope you liked that ring...

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    2. Judy, Your story made me laugh out loud! And I know what you mean about playing catch up. Hopefully with the Cape Cod Foodie series, you'll be reading in "real time" ;)

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  13. Congratulations on the debut -- looking forward to reading it!

    I don't have a favorite restaurant meal, really. I guess for me they are usually something I enjoy very much in the moment, but then I move on. There are a few things that stand out for me in favorite restaurants, though. For one thing, I have a shellfish allergy, so I appreciate places where I can tell the server takes that seriously and is helpful in pointing me to things I can enjoy. I also appreciate variety on the menu, and at least some of the options being vegetarian and/or heavily weighted toward vegetables. I'm just generally less carnivorous than I used to be.

    I absolutely appreciate what a stressful, difficult job it is to be waitstaff. My husband and I always made it a practice to tip well, even before covid. Currently, we tip as generously as we feel we can afford, even if the percentage seems sort of crazy high.(Especially considering there's little "service" involved in carryout. But I digress. Anything to keep them in business!) The one thing I absolutely cannot stand is snooty servers. Nothing will ruin a meal for me quicker than a server who talks down to me or seems to sneer at my questions. Fortunately, I don't run into that often. (Or I suppose I should say, I didn't run into it often. In the before days.)

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    1. Oh now Amy is going to need to put a snooty server into book two...

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    2. Susan, I have an allergy to honey. I cannot tell you how often that is not properly communicated to the kitchen. Fortunately, it is not life threatening. They put honey in everything these days.

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    3. Oh, I am definitely putting in a snooty server! I also have a thing about servers who want to snatch my plate away as soon as I put down my fork, especially when they say, "Are you still working on that?" I do not "work" on my food ...

      And I hear you, Susan, about more vegetarian options on menus. I'm an omnivore, but sometimes a beautiful plate of roasted veggies with garlic yogurt is exactly what I'm looking for!

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  14. Congratulations on your debut mystery, Amy ! What's not to love with Cape Cod and food and an interesting protagonist ?
    I'm looking forward to read this.
    I can hardly pinpoint one good meal while travelling, so many discoveries. Your post reminded me of a very little Italian restaurant that opened only for two years in the town near home. Before eating there, I didn't know that homemade ravioli pasta could taste heavenly. Every visit to this place was a real gift.

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    1. Hi Danielle! I know what you mean about every visit to certain restaurants being a real gift. We had a little place like that just around the corner from us, and the whole neighborhood mourned when it closed. Hopefully, you'll find a new treasure close by when we can all eat out again.

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  15. Congratulations, Amy, on your debut mystery! My TBR list is growing longer than Rip Vn Winkle's beard. Just the way I like it.

    Best meals? First, any one I've ever eaten in New Orleans, hands' down. Second, a mom-n-pop diner in the wilds of West Virginia--chicken-fried everything except on Thursday nights, when a full-on authentic Greek menu magically appeared. When you're working in the boonies for weeks on end, it was like a miracle!

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    1. I have to agree with that New Orleans comment, Flora! So many wonderful meals!!!

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    2. Now I'm jealous. I have always wanted to go to New Orleans (the food, the music, the food!!!) and yet somehow it never happened. Maybe in 2021!

      And I hope A Side of Murder makes it to your TBR list!

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    3. YES, I wholeheartedly agree with Flora and Susan that NOLA has so many great places to eat.
      I went there for the first timeto attend the 2016 Bouchercon and stayed there for another 10 days, and ate and ate so many wonderful meals.

      AMY: 2021 Bouchercon is scheduled to take place in NOLA in late August. I am registered to attend and hope that the pandemic situation will have improved enough so that we can enjoy the food (and music) there in close quarters.

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    4. I've been considering what to do about Bouchercon. It would be lovely to finally get to New Orleans and to meet all the lovely authors who have been so kind to me...

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  16. I can tell that these are going to be books I will love.
    I don't know if I can give you one meal or one restaurant. I remember the ginger crème brulée at Susannah Foo's (now sadly gone) in Philadelphia, the sea food tower in a small restaurant at the top of St. Malo, a fabulous lamb (first I had ever heard the term "pré salé) in a tiny bistro halfway up Mont St. Michel. A lot of my best food memories are tied to the atmosphere. I will never forget eating at the Connaught in London with my parents because the room was so elegant. My father, an architect, told me to look at the walls because I wouldn't see the like again. They were plaster of course and had layers of paint lovingly applied. Mother had sole meunière and my father and I had coulibiac en croûte. All delicious but everything conspired to contribute to the meal: the room, the service, and the food. I do agree that anywhere in New Orleans and even the touristy bistros near the theatre district in NYC. I love Orso and there was one called Vice Versa down below the first floor but with an interior atrium which was cool and lovely and the food was sublime (also sadly gone).When we used to travel we would plan our dinners carefully as part of the experience. We ate once in Prague right after it opened back up in a restaurant that was in an old chess club but had closed during the Russian occupation. We had wonderful food but the best was the wine. They had locked up the wine cellar and offered the wine that evening for a pittance because all of the labels had fallen off. It was an old French Bordeaux that was from the 40's probably.

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    1. My goodness, what a lovely post. I am overcome by your memories of great food, great restaurants, great travels. Susannah Foo's! The Connaught! Vice Versa! France! London! Prague!

      And then I went off to look up lamb pré salé... lamb raised on salt meadows! Who knew?!

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  17. Congratulations on your debut! I worked in a Cape Cod seafood restaurant kitchen during my college summers. Best meal ever: the chef/owner went sword-fishing off Nantucket and gave the help fresh swordfish for dinner. Add an imaginative salad with some fruit and dark chocolate something for dessert.

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    1. Oh, Margaret, I agree. There is nothing like fresh swordfish! How good of the chef/owner to share it with you! I'd love to know where it was that you worked...

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  18. Oh, that sounds like so much fun, Amy! Congratulations on your first mystery.

    Favorite restaurant meal? I seriously don't remember what I ate, but I remember the experience of it. My sister was in town and I took her to a little family-owned Italian restaurant I liked. When the server came to take our order we realized he was the owner. He was explaining all the specials and my sister said to him, "Feed us. You know what's best on the menu tonight. Feed us as you would feed your own sisters, and recommend a good wine to go with it." Oh, my! What a feast! From appetizer to dessert, everything was perfect, and the bill did not bankrupt me. We had marvelous conversations with the owner as he explained every dish, and we went home happy, sated, just a little tipsy, but completely delighted.

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    1. Hi Gigi! What a wonderful story! And that is exactly the best way to order! I have a friend who loves Thai food and always asks for whatever the chef would make for his parents -- nine times out of ten, it's not on the menu and it is to die for!

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    2. Gig, I don't know why, but your story reminded me of not a favorite restaurant meal, exactly, but a favorite restaurant memory. There was a small, family-owned Italian restaurant we frequented, and the owner was ALWAYS there, running the place. A time came when he had to go in for surgery, and with some trepidation, left his very-good staff to run the place. We ate there that week as a show of support. After my meal came (and it wasn't a dish I regularly ate) my server came up and said, sheepishly. "Ma'am, did you notice anything unusual about your chicken (name of dish) tonight....like that there's no chicken in it?" It turned out I had ordered something where the cooked chicken breast was put on top of the pasta as the last step. The server, unfamiliar with the dish, saw the plate and thought it was ready to go, and brought it to me. And to be honest, in the few bites I had taken so far, I had not noticed at all! He brought out the chicken breast, we all laughed, and it is a memory I treasure.

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    3. Gigi, my best friend from grade school has a similar approach when she dines at a new restaurant. She asks the waiter what she would order if she were dining there, then says "just bring that to me".

      She did this when we took her out to dinner here (she lives in California), and ended up with a table full of food, but she says that ordinarily the choices made on her behalf are stellar.

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    4. Susan, Loved your response (to laugh)! That's exactly what I mean by being nice to your server!

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  20. Hi, Amy! Nice to "meet" you. I've always been fascinated with restaurant reviewing and those who write them. Our local Cincinnati Enquirer food writer just retired and finally came out from under her elegantly large hat of her profile photo. Apparently, her identity was a loosely held secret, anyway. I can't imagine that a truly attentive waitstaff couldn't figure it out, do you?

    My favorite meal has to be my annual birthday meal when I was a kid: my mother's fried chicken, mashed potatoes and (canned) peas. Or her chicken and dumplings. I didn't really eat in restaurants until I was grown, and then not for a long time after that. But travel made the difference, and I've had memorable meals that have changed my whole perspective on food and cooking.

    The Oysters Rockefeller I had in Orange County, the escargot in Dallas, the celeriac remoulade in Paris, the bistek Florentine and truffle ravioli in Tuscany, the fresh-that-minute octopus ceviche in Peru, the calamari in Tiburon, clam chowder in Boston, weinerschnitzle in Innsbruck, a perfectly cooked Brie appetizer with walnuts in Prague, cacio de pepe in Italy, kangaroo with plum sauce in Sydney, many fruits in Ecuador, and the most perfect, and gluten-free, bread baked just for me in the middle of the Masai Maru in Tanzania.

    Every single dish was memorable because it was an eye-opener of some kind, either a new-to-me food, or preparation so sublime that it changed the way I cook forever somehow.

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    1. Hi, Karen! And it's a pleasure to (virtually) meet you, too! And that list of sublime food -- I am in awe! What an adventurous foodie you are. And I know what you mean about how a new dish or cuisine changes the way you cook forever. My son lives in Singapore, and after every trip to visit him, I come back with a new appreciation for the cooking of southeast Asia. My efforts are probably pretty amateurish but they make me (and my husband) very happy!

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  21. I love the beginning of a new series, and this one sounds like fun! My favorite meal was at a hole-in-the wall shack along the road to the jungle in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. I would never have stopped there on my own but I was with a group of people and a tour guide. We had the best seafood platter straight from the waters around Puerto Vallarta — grilled shrimp, scallops, fish, and octopus. I’ve never been able to eat fried shrimp again! cking78503(at)aol(dot)com

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    1. Hi Chris! Soooo jealous! I love a hole in the wall that turns out to be the best place ever. In Chiang Mai, Thailand, some friends once took us to a little tumbledown place (we called it The Restaurant Without a Floor because in truth there wasn't much of one) that served us one of the best meals I've ever had. Not that I could name the dishes..

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  22. My favorite meal was actually dessert - an amazing chocolate soufflé from a restaurant in Washington D.C. named Dominiques. You had to order the soufflé when you ordered your your dinner to give it enough prep and cooking time, and I would order the lightest dinner possible to save room for it. It was not a small portion, and most people couldn't finish it, but I thought it was tragic to waste even the tiniest bite, so I would not only finish mine but also finish up my friends'!

    I enjoyed the scene you shared with us from A Side of Murder and look forward to reading this book. Thanks for stopping by JRW ~

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    1. Celia, we had dinner at Dominique's in 1988, but I don't remember if we had the souffle.

      I do remember that my husband sat in Tom Brokaw's seat!

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    2. Hi Celia! What's not to like about a meal that literally starts with your dessert order? That's a restaurant that has its priorities straight!

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  23. Hi Amy ~

    I cannot wait to read this book and put it into my Amazon reading list just now. Your career is fascinating, loved learning about it. My favorite meal was in Stillwater, MN at a restaurant now called Water Street Inn. When we ate there 21 years ago it was called the Lumber Barron's Inn. It is a restaurant in a hotel that was originally built for the lumber baron's on the St. Croix River. It is a fascinating building which was converted into a beautiful Inn. The employees will tell you it is definitely haunted! The meal we had was almond crusted walleye. Even 20 years later I can still remember that walleye! We later went back to that same Inn for our honeymoon and have been married 19 years now! I love that restaurant and the food and memories.

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    1. Sorry, forgot; tami.norman@gmail.com

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    2. I'm so glad you enjoyed the piece, Tami. I really enjoyed writing it and reliving all those great memories. And I love that what makes the Lumber Baron's Inn so special to you (aside from that almond crusted walleye!) is the wonderful memories you have of your special times there.

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  24. Amy, all I can say is I'm really, really sorry I read this before having breakfast. Because now my stomach is growling! Food-writing mission accomplished. I look forward to reading A SIDE OF MURDER (and btw, you have a great cover!)

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    1. I know, Julia, isn't that cover the best!!! Now go have yourself something to eat ;)

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  25. I honestly don't know what my most memorable restaurant meal is. It was probably souvlaki at the Greek restaurant I worked in for years. My boss was a wonderful cook and I loved waitressing there,I got to try so many dishes that were new to me. This book is definitely on my to read list.

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    1. Hi Kathy! Isn't it interesting how many of the comments here talk about Greek food? I think I'm going to have to have Samantha Barnes do a Cape Cod Foodie video on the subject!

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  26. A Side of Murder -- sign me up! This sounds like such fun, and I love anything set on the Cape. I remember when AZ (Southwestern food) was all the rage, too. I had just moved to AZ when the trend was starting. What a great background you bring to your mysteries! Love it.

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    1. Hi Jenn! My husband and I spent some time in Tucson in the Before Times and we loved it. The best part was the happy hour small plates (well, not the absolute best part -- the absolute best part was the hiking!). I remember at a little place called San Agustin, we sat outside in the courtyard and I had a small plate of seared sirloin with horseradish crema and chimichurri that literally changed my life -- now there is nothing I won't put chimichurri on ;)

      (FYI, I'm going to be doing an online book discussion with the Fans of Jenn McKinlay about A Side of Murder. Really looking forward to it!)

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  27. Amy, I am so happy to meet you here, and so hooked by the premise of your book! I've just pre-ordered A Side to Murder and am sorry that I have to wait a couple of weeks to read it! I love reading about restaurants and am fascinated by restaurant reviewing. There have been many, many memorable meals, but the one that came immediately to mind was when I was researching my novel A Bitter Feast, set in Lower Slaughter in the Cotswolds. The chef at The Slaughters Manor House prepared a seven course dinner just for me. It was all divine, but the highlight was the Merryfield salt-crusted duck. I hope one day when things are normal I can go there again.

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    1. Thanks so much for the welcome, Deborah! And as for A Bitter Feast, I LOVED A Bitter Feast. Actually I don't think there's been a Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novel I haven't loved, but as you can imagine, this one was particularly close to my heart. I was so happy when Viv ("I'm not doing foams or molecular gastronomy") got her chance to do what she really loved at the end. I can only imagine how incredible your seven course dinner must have been. This is the kind of "research" I could really get behind ;)

      And I do hope you get to visit The Slaughters Manor House again soon.

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    2. I'm going with you there next time Debs, don't forget!

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  28. Amy, welcome to Jungle Reds!

    The name Samantha conjures up images of Samantha from Bewitched. I think of Samantha Barnes as looking like a young Elizabeth Montgomery.

    LOVE the cover art. The cute puppy at the table reminds me of the family dog walking around the dining table during Thanksgiving looking for food dropped on the floor. LOL

    The title is so fitting with the cover.

    Trying to remember a wonderful restaurant experience. My first memory was going to an Italian ? French ? restaurant with my parents and grandfather when I was very little (maybe 23 months old). I remember the kind waiter who used the International sign for "delicious" after he brought dishes to our table.

    There have been so many wonderful experiences at restaurants that I went with my first memory.

    There was a Lebanese restaurant in Washington DC that served lamb. I never liked the taste of lamb, though I loved how they cooked the lamb there.

    In New York City, we went to Stage Deli where the sandwiches were named after famous actresses and famous actors. I thought it was cool. I remember liking the food there.

    Looking forward to reading your debut novel and Congratulations!

    Diana

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    1. Hi, Diana! I had to laugh at the image of Samantha Barnes as a young Elizabeth Montgomery! I can only imagine Sam saying, "I wish." Here's how she describes herself in A Side of Murder: "I stand six feet one and a half inches in my stocking feet, six two and a half in my chef’s clogs. I’m not exactly beautiful, especially when I’m sweating over a hot stove, but, as my grandfather used to say, I clean up nice. I’m blessed with my Italian-American mother’s clear olive skin and my Yankee father’s high cheekbones, but my brown hair and eyes can be fairly described as unmemorable." (Sam has a tendency to be a little tough on herself...)

      I'm very impressed that you have a dining memory from when you were not even two years old! Is the international sign for delicious that kissing the tips of your fingers thing?

      And the Stage Deli (sadly no longer with us) was cool! What's not to like about a place that serves a Mamma Mia! sandwich ;)

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    2. Hi, Amy! Yes, kissing the tips of your fingers thing is the International sign for Delicious as I recall. I am amazed that I remember too since it was just after I recovered from meningitis.

      A more recent memory is the wonderful salmon souffle that I had at a French restaurant at Disney World many years ago.

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    3. Another reason to go to Disney World!

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  29. In NYC anything Danny Meyer does is worth checking out.
    His Tabla was a great spin on Indian foods.

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    1. Hi Libby, I agree, Tabla's Indian-fusion approach was terrific!

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  30. I love the directions for the dinner samplings and the friends' reactions. Too funny! I don't think I can pin down one meal as the most sublime in my life. Fresh seafood anywhere is hard to beat. Spain, Mexico, Ireland, Scotland, our Gulf coast all have wonderful seafood. Costa Rica had the best non-alcoholic drinks: guanabana frescas. Loved those! And the best pizza I ever had was in Costa Rica. An Italian emigrant had an outdoor oven to produce those pies. An interesting meal was one our tour guide produced in India as we were on the way to an evening religious festival on the Ganges: vegetarian McDonald's sandwiches. Tasty! Here in Texas some of the best barbeque comes from divey-looking shacks.

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    1. Hi Pat, I'm glad you liked the excerpt. I kept laughing as I wrote it, so it's nice to know that somebody else gets my humor!

      And you're right about fresh seafood. The freshest I ever had was in Peschici, Italy, at a restaurant called Al Trabucco di Mimi. A trabucco is is a large wooden construction that looks like an enormous tree fort except that it’s built out over the water and has antenna-like cranes that support big fishing nets. At Mimi's the fish almost literally flopped out of the nets onto the table (after a quick stop in the kitchen of course!).

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    2. YES to fresh seafood. I crave good seafood living in landlocked Ottawa (Ontario).
      I ate so many different types of poke bowls (ahi, salmon, scallop) during my two week vacations in 2017 and 2019 to O'ahu, as well as the freshest fish caught near the Reykjavik harbour in both 2015 and 2017 (sigh).

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  31. If the rest of the book is this funny, I'm in! The best restaurant meal I ever had? Perfect Buddha's Delight with ginger dipping sauce in a wee Chinese restaurant in NYC. It was just exquisite!

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    1. Yay! Somebody else who gets my humor! I'm afraid there's quite a bit of it in A Side of Murder ;)

      And, yes, New York's wee Chinese restaurants are the best!

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  33. Amy, what a fun post and congrats on the debut! I think my favorite restaurant meal ever was lunch at Bistro Paul Bert in Paris. I'd read about the place, then we got lost and found ourselves there. The waiter rushed us to choose -- telling us later the kitchen had been about to close -- and absolutely fell in love with their Beouf Bourgignon, and just about everything else! But the surprise, and the sweet waiter, and the Parisians and their dogs -- marveilleux!

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    1. Hi Leslie! Thanks for the congrats!

      Isn't it amazing the difference a sweet waiter can make? Of course being lost in Paris (what better city to be lost in?), then finding the bistro by accident and then eating a fantastic Beouf Bourgignon probably helped, too ;)

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  34. I can't remember the last time I had a restaurant meal. Can't wait to go "out" to eat again! My favorite meal would be rib-eye steak, potato and asparagus.

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    1. Rib-eye, potatoes and asparagus. Swoon. All my favs!

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  35. I never thought of having "rules" for doing restaurant reviews. That must be a very interesting job, getting to try so many different foods.
    We have two amazing restaurants nearby- Steve's Pizza, for amazing pizza, lasagna, ravioli, spaghetti, etc. Named the best pizza place in the area for I don't even know how many years now. It changed hands a couple years ago but kept up the quality. The original owners were a couple and the wife was originally from Italy. If you're craving barbecue, you'll go a block down from Steve's to Piggy Blues. Melt in your mouth pulled pork, turkey, brisket, and they make their own sauces in different varieties. Both places are more than worth the half hour drive for me.

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    1. Hi Alicia!

      My favorite pizza place ever was in Trenton, NJ, and it was called DiLorenzo's Tomato Pies. Same kind of thing as Steve's -- original owners from Italy, got very popular (I think the kids run it now) but never lost its quality, just the full name. It's simply DiLorenzo's now!

      And love the sound of Piggy Blues (especially the name!).

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  36. When I was a kid, we only ate out on my parents' birthdays and anniversary always at the Hill Cafe (long gone) My parents got the huge seafood platter. Bob and I may have started with chicken or shrimp in a basket but Dad did the "try it, you'll like it", and soon we were all eating the seafood platter. Since then I've had wonderful meals all over the world and in Harrisburg. I still miss the Canton Inn, Zorba's and some many great places that closed. Impossible to pick one meal or restaurant because there were so many great ones. Stay safe and well.

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    1. Hi Sally! Good for your Dad! I think it's so important for parents to encourage their children to be adventurous eaters.

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  37. My favorite restaurant meal is always salmon, grilled or baked. I have had glorious salmon meals at many restaurants, from high end, to national chains, to our local diner. Keep it simple and wild Alaskan, and I am happy!

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    1. Hi Lisa! Salmon is indeed a glorious fish, particularly wild Alaskan salmon! And I agree with you that simple is best.

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  38. This book looks like a fun one for me. I love cozy reads involving food. Since I don't cook fish at home, I usually like ordering a fish dish when eating out. My husband and I really like having fish n chips. I sometimes am in the mood for a fish stew or a pasta dish with a mix of seafood. bluedawn95864 at gmail dot com

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  39. Congratulations! I love Cape Cod--looking forward to reading this on February 23!

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