Colonial Williamsburg, VA

When I moved out to DC a couple of years ago I promised Shelley that I would accompany her Colonial Williamsburg. I am not quite sure why I made this promise as I HATE Colonial Williamsburg. I loathe Colonial Williamsburg because I can’t stand historical re-enactors. I don’t hate people that dress in period clothing; I just hate people that pretend that they are from that time period, “Pray tell, what is this thing that you call a car fine lady?” I can’t stand that kind of stuff. I think Shelley must have caught me at a weak moment. Of course, who can say no to Shelley with that adorable face and sweet demeanor? It would be like kicking a puppy.

Well, last October Shelley called in the promise. She planned an overnight trip to Colonial Williamsburg and there was no way I could get out of it (not that I tried, face it, any trip to CW requires a cynic). Williamsburg is about 3 hours south of Reston, so we (Shelley, Ben Bennett. and I) drove down on Friday to party colonial style on Saturday. Because Ben works for Marriott, he got us some sweet rooms for a great price – you rock Ben! The Courtyard by Marriott in Newport News, VA has recently been remodeled and it was a very pleasant hotel experience. Two things that I really liked about this Courtyard: the internet was free in the lobby and every table had a TV for those business travelers dining alone.

On Saturday before heading to Colonial Williamsburg we stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast. I have been avoiding Waffle Houses for years for two important reasons. There was a Waffle House in Alexandria, VA whose outside sign was “Wafle House” and I can’t eat at a place that doesn’t spell its own name correctly. The next reason is because Kid Rock got in a fight at a Waffle House. What is it about the Waffle House that could inspire Kid Rock to duke it out and get arrested? I don’t think I want to know. It’s like Tiger Woods picking up that woman at the Pancake House. Can’t we all do better?

Ben is one smooth talker, however, so off we headed to the Waffle House. I have to say that I as long I didn’t look to closely to the dirty surroundings and had low expectations of the food I survived. The hash browns were tasty if that means anything.

It turned out to be a cold and blustery day. We walked all over that blasted town in light rain and wind like the troopers that we are. One cool experience was when Shelley and I served as jury members in the county court and we were, if I dare say, fantastic. Shelley loved all the legal aspects of Colonial law; I liked having places to sit down.

Ben and I also decided that we needed to create a super sweet air fife and drum band. Ben and I are very good, but don’t have a name yet for our band. Any suggestions?

At CW they do a reenactment (I think the British are invading something and taking something but I didn’t care to remember) that is full of drama, romance, and pathos. It was so lame. They had re-enactors wandering amongst the crowd, trying to get us all riled up. “Did you hear what the General said?” “Why would the British do this to its loyal citizens?” I kept moving around the crowd trying to avoid them because they honestly annoy me and give me the creeps.

I would say the highlight of the day for me, naturally, revolved around food. I loved watching the re-enactors prepare food. After looking at how hard it is just to prepare one meal, I kept thinking, “My kingdom for a Kitchen-Aid mixer.” Some of the food looked really delicious, especially the chicken and potato dishes. I even got to talk about Alton Brown with the chef (putting him the “Cool Re-enactor’ category).

Shelley (and me, although I will never admit this in public) loves to eat colonial food. We were able to get a reservation at Shields Tavern right in the heart of bustling Downtown Colonial Williamsburg. I have to say that the food was very, very good. The highlight for me is was the Welsh Rarebit. Welsh Rarebit is a savory sauce, usually made from cheddar cheese, ale, ground mustard, paprika, and Worcestershire Sauce, and is served over toasted bread. It is so tasty, although how can you go wrong with melted cheese and bread? See Alton Brown’s recipe for Welsh Rarebit here.

I think the trip was best summed up in the following conversation between Shelley and me:

Shelley: I could see how you could spend a few days at Colonial
Williamsburg.

Jen: Really?

Yellowstone

In early October I headed up to my parent’s cabin in Island Park, ID. I was excited to make the yearly trek up to family summer home. I had high hopes of riding ATV’s, sitting in hammocks, and enjoying the fall color. Little did I know that winter was coming early to Island Park.

It was freezing cold the entire time, and I am talking 3 degrees cold. I only rode an ATV for a few minutes because I got so cold that my hands couldn’t take it any longer. And then there was the snow – oh the snow!

When I was there last year it wasn’t that cold. So when I packed for this trip, I packed similarly. That was a big mistake as nothing that I brought was adequate for the weather. It was a great excuse to sit around in front of a roaring fire place while reading books and watching TV.

We did make it into Yellowstone National Park one day. I find Yellowstone so therapeutic. I don't know if I love Yellowstone so much because I have grown up going to Yellowstone or because it is really just that awesome. There weren’t a ton of animals out that day, but we did have some nice encounters with buffalo and elk.

I also got to see my super sweet friend Stephanie Archibald and her son Carter. There were many hugs and Carter was absolutely precious. He is a kid that passes my likability test.

Mom and Dad at Firehole Falls

Dad and I at Old Faithful Inn

Stephanie and Carter

Next Trip: Colonial Williamsburg

Lee's Summit, Missouri

At the end of September I headed back out to Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Lee’s Summit is a suburb of Kansas City (which I love). There isn’t a lot in Lee’s Summit but I had a nice hotel and a five minute commute so I can’t complain.

As for the food, I had to go into Kansas City to really eat well. Most of the restaurants in Lee’s Summit are chain restaurants and fast food. They even had a Jimmy John’s Sandwiches where I used to eat at while at BYU. It was a nice taste of nostalgia.

I try to eat where my students recommend as they tend to know the best local places. I was told to go to the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. It is a lovely outdoor shopping area that has some great shops and fancy restaurants. There are fountains and the whole plaza is done in Spanish/Mediterranean architecture. I ended up walking around for a while because the weather was so nice and lusting after the entire inventory of Williams-Sonoma. I got very hungry and ended up eating at the Cheesecake Factory. I even ate outside because the weather was lovely. I know that Cheesecake Factory isn’t a local place, but I love eating there when work pays.

After dinner I went to Half Price Books. I have been to that particular store before and it is one of the better Half Price Books. I am like a junkie at those stores; I see so many books that I can’t help myself and I start buying. Of course, I never get to read all the books that I buy because I am slow reader there is always so much good TV to watch.

The next day I headed back to the Savoy Grill at the Hotel Savoy. I ate there the last time I was in Kansas City and it was so good that I went back for more. I ended up getting steak (again!) and it was fantastic. The side salad had so much blue cheese on it I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I also think I spilled on myself with every bite that I took. I have problems.

Another student recommendation turned out to be a great dining experience. I headed to Lidia’s in Kansas City. Lidia’s is located in a former railroad station and it is very cool and well decorated. If you go, make sure that you look at the chandeliers – they are gorgeous. Rumor has it that Lidia hosts a cooking show on PBS.

The food was amazing. The bread that they bring, foccacia and tuscan style, was light, warm and fresh out of the oven. They provide an olive tapenade and a pesto spread that I thought was kind of bland. The Caesar salad I had was the best I have ever had. The dressing was light, tangy and had more vinegar than most. I liked that the dressing wasn’t so heavy and that you could even taste the lemon in the dressing. The salad also had homemade croutons which were fantastic. I had no idea that homemade croutons could make such a difference.

As for dinner, I ended up ordering the Pasta Trio. The Pasta Trio lets you have unlimited samples of three pasta dishes (which change daily). The three pastas I had were: fettuccini with braised beef sauce, ravioli with ricotta and Swiss chard in a sage-infused sauce, and penne with arabitatta sauce and garlic slivers. The ravioli had a fantastic flavor combination and I think all sauces should be sage-infused.

Dessert came with the Pasta Trio and I was not one to turn it away. I am not a fan of most Italian desserts as they never contain enough chocolate. I had the ice cream trio: blueberry, cherry plum sorbet and caramel ice cream. I have never had caramel ice cream before and I devoured it before the others. The flavor was complex. The cherry plum sorbet was more on the tart side, and I couldn’t help but thinking of how much my mom would like it because she loves anything tart. I would highly recommend Lidia’s to anyone visiting Kansas City.

I asked around for a good BBQ place (I loved Arthur Bryant’s but I wanted to try something different). I was told that Oklahoma Joe’s was voted the best of Kansas City. I drove to Olathe, KS and had a pulled pork sandwich which was very, very good. They also had really good fries.

I know this wasn’t the most exciting trip to report on, but I did eat well. And isn’t that what this blog is really all about?

Next Trip: Yellowstone