Trip Report: Cambridge and Saratoga Springs
April 20-21, 2006
This was really more like a Part II to the Ottawa trip, except that we happened to come home for a few days in between the gigs*. An added bonus to the home layover was that it meant that our trip up to Cambridge would take us past...
FOOD REVIEW: U.S.S. Chowder Pot IV - Hartford, CT
CATEGORY: Seafood
Rating: +1
Another fine meal at the Chowder Pot, a favorite and consistent performer. Prime rib? Tasty as ever. Lobster bisque? Brisk. Garlic-cheese bread? A delight. Salad? Very salad-y. Fried seafood platter?
Ah! The one true flaw of the meal. Storm's platter was supposed to have a variety of seafoods, including whole-belly clams***, but what the waiter brought only had the clams. Not that this was tragic (as Storm was starving, even after the salad and cheese bread, and would have eaten a battered moose if presented to him), but just as he'd finished the clams, the waiter brought out the platter he was supposed to get. This had two distinct and negative consequences:
1. It meant a huge plateful of food went to waste****
2. It meant that the restaurant billed us for the larger platter instead of just the smaller one
Again, this is hardly a dealbreaker for us, and will in no way diminish our glee when we see Hartford on our future routes. And we've been long accustomed to their no-free-refills policy.
Fat and happy, we trucked the rest of the way to Cambridge just in time for soundcheck.
Show was jam-packed with a mix of fans, and we had a great set, even if it was longer than it had any right to be. Between Paul not watching the clock properly and Storm knocking over the Worms' instruments, it's a wonder that they didn't kick our asses. But, no, they're from Canada, so in typical Canadian fashion they offered to let us break their arms*****.
The Worms' performance was no less enthusiastic for the 130 or so at Passim than it was for the thousand-odd in Ottawa. It's fun to watch them dig into new tunes like "The Guy With Computer Know-How", though we were disappointed they didn't perform "Christmas in Ignace". Not that there's any reason they should have.
We had our quick Herrell's fix and spent the night at Neale Eckstein and Laurie Laba's Fox Run house, which is every folkie/singer-songwriter's home away from home. Someone clever and/or insightful once said that if you stood on a corner in Times Square for long enough, you'd eventually see everyone you'd ever met in your life. Well, if you stayed at Fox Run long enough, you'd meet everyone who'd ever played at Passim, Falcon Ridge, Philly Folk, Newport Jazz, and halftime at the Superbowl. You'd also meet us.
The next morning Paul swapped gossip with Laurie while Neale nearly killed Storm by taking him on a little bike ride through the woods******. Slightly bruised*******, we headed out for...
FOOD REVIEW: Thai Avenue Takeout, Sudbury, MA
CATEGORY: Thai
Rating: 0
All of the classic dishes were there, the service was plenty good, and it was nice and spicy. So why not a +1? Two reasons: salt and sugar. Although a pinch of each can be most efficacious, and a dash is still within bounds, there is a limit. But this little restaurant blew right threw the stopsigns. Maybe the chef (and more importantly, his/her taste buds) were hung over that afternoon. Still, it was good enough that if we were in the neighborhood and had a hankerin' for Thai, we'd go back.
Arrived in Saratoga Springs early and had some time to relax at the club, Caffe Lena. Wonderful, storied coffee house with a great bunch of people running it. And we're not just saying that because they gave us double portions of cake and cookies (though it helped). We were pleased at the turnout, considering it was our first time in the neighborhood, and it was a pretty free-wheeling show. One panty was thrown, tossed by the director of a Methodist church youth choir. Indeed, the entire church group that came from Utica was a total hoot, and the rest of the audience joined in on the sassing. Prizes were given to the Minister, who we mistook first for the Mayor and then for the Town Drunk of Utica, and to a man in the front who shared details of his sex life with his wife with the entire crowd. The images are still burned into our brains. Thanks for that.
We felt the love, hung out for a while chatting it up afterwards (with, among others, friend from the a cappella world Seth Golub and his family) , and hope they'll have us back again in the not-too-distant. Cup of coffee in hand, we headed out around 10:45 PM for the overnight drive.
Until we report on the shows with The Bobs,
Paul and Storm
* which really makes it a seperate trip**
** which is why it's a seperate blog entry
*** not AT ALL the same as clam strips
**** not entirely true; we gave the leftovers as a prize at Passim
***** we politely declined
****** Storm has been in better shape
******* ego, that is
April 20-21, 2006
This was really more like a Part II to the Ottawa trip, except that we happened to come home for a few days in between the gigs*. An added bonus to the home layover was that it meant that our trip up to Cambridge would take us past...
FOOD REVIEW: U.S.S. Chowder Pot IV - Hartford, CT
CATEGORY: Seafood
Rating: +1
Another fine meal at the Chowder Pot, a favorite and consistent performer. Prime rib? Tasty as ever. Lobster bisque? Brisk. Garlic-cheese bread? A delight. Salad? Very salad-y. Fried seafood platter?
Ah! The one true flaw of the meal. Storm's platter was supposed to have a variety of seafoods, including whole-belly clams***, but what the waiter brought only had the clams. Not that this was tragic (as Storm was starving, even after the salad and cheese bread, and would have eaten a battered moose if presented to him), but just as he'd finished the clams, the waiter brought out the platter he was supposed to get. This had two distinct and negative consequences:
1. It meant a huge plateful of food went to waste****
2. It meant that the restaurant billed us for the larger platter instead of just the smaller one
Again, this is hardly a dealbreaker for us, and will in no way diminish our glee when we see Hartford on our future routes. And we've been long accustomed to their no-free-refills policy.
Fat and happy, we trucked the rest of the way to Cambridge just in time for soundcheck.
Show was jam-packed with a mix of fans, and we had a great set, even if it was longer than it had any right to be. Between Paul not watching the clock properly and Storm knocking over the Worms' instruments, it's a wonder that they didn't kick our asses. But, no, they're from Canada, so in typical Canadian fashion they offered to let us break their arms*****.The Worms' performance was no less enthusiastic for the 130 or so at Passim than it was for the thousand-odd in Ottawa. It's fun to watch them dig into new tunes like "The Guy With Computer Know-How", though we were disappointed they didn't perform "Christmas in Ignace". Not that there's any reason they should have.
We had our quick Herrell's fix and spent the night at Neale Eckstein and Laurie Laba's Fox Run house, which is every folkie/singer-songwriter's home away from home. Someone clever and/or insightful once said that if you stood on a corner in Times Square for long enough, you'd eventually see everyone you'd ever met in your life. Well, if you stayed at Fox Run long enough, you'd meet everyone who'd ever played at Passim, Falcon Ridge, Philly Folk, Newport Jazz, and halftime at the Superbowl. You'd also meet us.
The next morning Paul swapped gossip with Laurie while Neale nearly killed Storm by taking him on a little bike ride through the woods******. Slightly bruised*******, we headed out for...
FOOD REVIEW: Thai Avenue Takeout, Sudbury, MA
CATEGORY: Thai
Rating: 0
All of the classic dishes were there, the service was plenty good, and it was nice and spicy. So why not a +1? Two reasons: salt and sugar. Although a pinch of each can be most efficacious, and a dash is still within bounds, there is a limit. But this little restaurant blew right threw the stopsigns. Maybe the chef (and more importantly, his/her taste buds) were hung over that afternoon. Still, it was good enough that if we were in the neighborhood and had a hankerin' for Thai, we'd go back.
Arrived in Saratoga Springs early and had some time to relax at the club, Caffe Lena. Wonderful, storied coffee house with a great bunch of people running it. And we're not just saying that because they gave us double portions of cake and cookies (though it helped). We were pleased at the turnout, considering it was our first time in the neighborhood, and it was a pretty free-wheeling show. One panty was thrown, tossed by the director of a Methodist church youth choir. Indeed, the entire church group that came from Utica was a total hoot, and the rest of the audience joined in on the sassing. Prizes were given to the Minister, who we mistook first for the Mayor and then for the Town Drunk of Utica, and to a man in the front who shared details of his sex life with his wife with the entire crowd. The images are still burned into our brains. Thanks for that.
We felt the love, hung out for a while chatting it up afterwards (with, among others, friend from the a cappella world Seth Golub and his family) , and hope they'll have us back again in the not-too-distant. Cup of coffee in hand, we headed out around 10:45 PM for the overnight drive.
Until we report on the shows with The Bobs,
Paul and Storm
* which really makes it a seperate trip**
** which is why it's a seperate blog entry
*** not AT ALL the same as clam strips
**** not entirely true; we gave the leftovers as a prize at Passim
***** we politely declined
****** Storm has been in better shape
******* ego, that is
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