The Birth Place of the Hamburger (or Life As We Know It)

So today on the Travel Chanel they had the "Top 100 Tastiest Places to Chow Down" in the USA. I can tell that I wouldn't usually agree with the show's producers, there are defiantly a few restaurants that shouldn't be on there.(We like to stay away from buffets and places that have signage boasting "Home of the original" anything.) I was,however, surprised to see I had been to many of the top 20, and completely agree with their #1 pick.
They mentioned Grimaldis Pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge "NO SLICES, CASH ONLY," and the iconic Katz's Deli, yes the one in "When Harry Meet Sally."They interviewed the owner of Pat's Philly Cheese Steaks and he tells us about the birth of the famous sandwich"My Father never allowed Cheese on the grill because of our Kosher friends, then I discovered the Cheese wiz and we had a home run,"He said.
The #3 choice was Primantis in Pittsburgh, a favorite haunt of mine the summer I studied at Carnegie Mellon U.
Mostly, they glorified all things fried and greasy with gigantic portions...but the number 1 pick on the countdown is possibly my favorite too, partly because its a history lesson, partly because its a little scary but mostly because there is truly nothing else like it in the world.Here's my experience.....

We probably should have gone to Denny's. I mean I was half way through an 8 hour drive from Jersey to Maine TRAVELING WITH A BABY, A 4 YEAR OLD AND A 6 YEAR Old.We needed clean bathrooms, some French Fries and a place mat that needs coloring.But we had to see it for ourselves...
It is Dark inside.I realize quickly that it is an eatery that mainly caters to drunk people.The wooden tables have teeny tiny chairs.But the smell.....
They cook the meat vertically in the same cast iron broilers they have used since 1898 and toast the white bread on another ancient contraption.Your sandwich is then served on a tiny paper plate with an onion or tomato.DO NOT ASK FOR KETCHUP!THEY WILL THROW YOU OUT.It is an amazing sandwich.So Unmani.So good.


It is where the hamburger was created , according to the Library of Congress.Make no mistake it's a dive , and an ancient dive at that with its teeny tiny stools and 100 year old Graffiti.It is near Yale University and has been feeding blue collars and smarty pants since 1895.

As the story goes, a man was running late and asked founder Louis to make him something quick.Louis grabbed a fistful of leftover meat, threw it in the broiler and then served it between to pieces of bread.The burger was born.
Run now by Louis' Great Grandson, you can go and have a burger cooked in the very same broiler that the first one was made in.

Lompoc Wine Ghetto

If The big Santa Ynez Valley corporate machine winery tasting rooms are like fabulous big mega Hiltons and Hyatts, the wine ghetto in Lompoc is like a perfectly cozy little B&B. The person pouring your glass is often the owner, winemaker or close kin of either.Chances are ,if you check into the Four Seasons the guy who takes your bags to your room is not the same guy who owns the building... the bigger and grander the wine operation the more impersonal the experience is. Something to just check off on your Vintners map maybe.Any tasting room in the industrial area behind Home Depot on the South East corner of Lompoc, Ca the is just the opposite. Many times you will be served by the boss. You will meet people passionate about their art form.You will talk with the dreamers themselves, many of whom have left cushy jobs, mortgaged their homes, or moved thousands of miles to roll the dice on a long shot dream.

I love these people.

The summer that my husband and I first dated and fell in love with each other, we also fell in love with wine and the viticulture of Santa Barbara county.The Santa Ynez Valley was a beautiful paradise just over the San Marcos Pass. We spent our weekends driving the Foxen canyon trail, visiting the vineyards and trying the different varieties of grapes that when fermented became the magical nectar known as wine.It was all about God's creation and man's creativity and labor collaborating.In a moment, your palate and your eyes could experience the beauty of the land at the same time. In those days , nobody charged you for tasting their wine!If you liked it , you bought some. The valley has changed, I'm sorry to say.

I blame that movie.
Yes, I'm talking about SIDEWAYS.After that movie came out tasting rooms looked more like State Street bars then the fine art galleries I had come to love.Wine was suddenly cool and suddenly ruined.Everyone and their mother wanted to try the Pinot.Tasting rooms had to accommodate tour buses and bachelorette parties and sold souvenir knickknacks alongside their bottles.And now everyone charges for tastings!
To me, it wasn't about the wine anymore....

But...the Lompoc Wine "Ghetto" is.It is truly about the wine again.Their are no tour buses, but there are people who come from all over the world to try these wines.
My favorites?Palmina for the Italian varietals, refillable jugs of "fresh" wine and the prosciutto and olive oil they serve with tastings.
La Vie for their "Rasta Rita " and late harvest Chardonnay.
New Vineland for the incredible innovative Syrahs, yummy Viognier and Sterling Cooper (mid century modern)style tasting room.
All 3 wineries are run by husband and wife teams.Great people that make great wines.

The Best Place on Earth....

If Virginia is for lovers, then Maine is for foodies.It's where many great chefs go to die or escape the rat race drama of big cities and pursue their passion next to the source.The sea, the woods,the farms here produce the finest ingredients possibly from the entire planet.Steamers , blueberries, venison, trout, rhubarb and the king of the dinner table the Maine lobster.Portland, Maine's biggest city, has more chefs per capita then anywhere else in the country, with most chefs owning their own restaurants.

Mainers are like to other group of folk I have ever met.They work very hard to preserve thier lifestyle.Not like people in Orange County trying to keep up with the Joneses, but quite the opposite.This "quality of life" has nothing to do with money or fame. Things have been done the right way in Maine for hundreds of years.Clam Bakes, bean suppers, old men sitting around a pot belly stove in the general store smoking corn cob pipes and talking trash.The food, the views, the scents in the air are the same things that seduced my Great Grandparents into buying property here. Mainers work hard to keep things from changing.

But I want to talk to you about my Maine

There are things to eat in the woods.When we walk my kids love to pull up and eat Indian cucumber.Sometimes I stumble upon Chantrelle Mushrooms or Fiddleheads.There always seems to be some magic spring in every forest , not just the one in Poland.......

I took a walk down the beach with my children , carrying only a towel and a boogie board.A jolly local man was digging for clams and we quickly joined him.After digging in the moist sand with bare hands for 10 minutes we had a dozen huge steamers.I wrapped them in the towel and dragged them back to the cottage on the boogie board. We had cream for coffee, butter , an onion, celery, and a few potatoes in the fridge.I made the most amazing clam chowder from what was just there.

My favorite restaurant in my life so far is the Robinhood Free Meetinghouse. It is the perfect combo of unique place and food. Hidden in the woods on the remote peninsula of Georgetown , Maine, the restaurant actually a restored post and beam meetinghouse (church)originally constructed in 1855.Chef Michael Gagne is the master of Fusion. I imagine that if God needed a chef, he would ask for him. For Gagne takes the best attributes of many world cuisines and beautifully collaborates them.It just works here magnificently.Little touches like 5 different varieties of bread served warm on the table, sorbet between courses and WINE FROM MY OWN CALIFORNIA NEIGHBORHOOD, makes every visit a lifetime memory. The dishes have Cajun, Italian, Szechuan, Caribbean, Thai and German influences just to name a few.Did I mention it works? It defys any sense of rationale.

Go there, even for just one time in your life....you won't ever be the same.