Glacier National Park: Ptarmigan Dining Room

The Ptarmigan Dining Room is the spectacular main restaurant of Many Glacier Lodge. The lodge was built by the Great Northern Railway early in the 20th century in a grand style that modern hotels simply can't match. The dining room has a hugely high ceiling and a beautiful view of the lake. The gracious service recalls an earlier era.

Check out that item in the middle of the menu: Maid-Rite Loose Meat Elk Sandwich. The moment I saw that, I knew what I would have for lunch. I have tried the original Maid-Rite loose meat sandwich, the Midwestern classic dating back to the 1920s. I wanted to see just what the chef would do with this idea.

Here is my sandwich with a glimpse of the view from my table. The sandwich was outstanding. A light Sloppy Joe-style sauce had just a bit of sweetness. The slight gaminess of the elk meat complemented the sauce perfectly. The result was a wonderful marriage of savory, sweet, and hearty.

For dessert, I had this wonderful blueberry cobbler with ice cream. Berries are the crowning fruit of the north and I tried to enjoy them every chance I had during my visit.

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Eating Around Georgia Tech: Ecco

Our Texas Instruments colleague Cathy Wicks was gracious enough to host several of us at Ecco tonight. This is one of those restaurants that has been on my list for a long time. Even though it is within easy walking distance of Georgia Tech, I hadn't made it there until tonight. The menu is a combination of Italian, Spanish, and French that make use of some local Georgia ingredients. The combination of those three countries is sometimes a little forced, although the georgia ingredients (fruit, cheese) were all great and perfectly appropriate. We started out with a meat and cheese board. This actually reverses the French tradition, where cheese usually follows the main course. Everything was excellent. The Georgia cheese was a big hit, as was the French cow/goat cheese. I thought the sauscisson was very subtle and very good. The waitress said that the roast pork pasta was their signature dish, so I had to try it. It had traditional broad pasta (fresh, of course)

Pressure Cooker Candied Ginger

I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b

DCA: Cava Mezze Grill

Cava is a DC area chain with light Mediterranean food. Saibal encouraged me to try lunch at their airport location and I was very happy with the experience. I ordered falafel on SuperSalad with assorted other toppings. The falafel was tasty. The SuperSalad was light, flavorful, and very easy to eat. Overall, a healthy and enjoyable lunch, something you can't always say about airport eating.

Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

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