Hannibal's Table

Last night, we headed into Philadelphia for the Wilds of New England dinner hosted at the Elwood Restaurant.  As huge fans of the strange spirits of Tamworth Distilling, we couldn't resist a menu that boasted oddities like venison scrapple, smoked trout brandy, beaver stew, and green crab whiskey.

The presentation was phenomenal.  The spirits were brilliant and paired perfectly with each of the five courses.  The atmosphere was fun and light, as we all knew we were partaking in some kind of bizarre and peculiar taste-testing.  It felt like the sophisticated Halloween dinner outing I've been craving my entire life (that's a sad sentence).

The neatest part of the evening was talking to the chief distiller from Tamworth.  Hearing about the complex process involved with creating each spirit made each sip something really special.  We also talked with him about his new and yet-to-be-released The Devil's Footprints.  Can't wait to try that one.

The menu:

Venison Scrapple (on antlers), served with The Deerslayer Venison Whiskey.

Green Crab Soup (with a small potato crab cage in each bowl) made with invasive green crabs, served with Crab Trapper Whiskey (also made with the invasive jerk crab).

Trout with brown butter and pumpkin - served with the brand-new smoked trout brandy (with tiny briny roe in the bottom of each bottle).

Beaver Stew, served with Eau De Musc castoreum-flavored whiskey.

Apple tart with caramel ice cream, served with Tamworth Garden VSOP Apple Brandy.

It was a perfect menu and an amazing evening out.

The Great Blue Heron

So I'm sitting on the couch this morning, computer to my left, big ol' Miss Mabel the cat on my lap, and I notice she's looking at something outside.  I turn to look at the window closest our driveway, and there's a giant whooping crane/pterodactyl sitting on the Honda's roof.  It spreads its massive wings and floats off.  I say "HOLY CRAP, MABEL! YOU SEE THAT?!" and she's looking back at me silently saying "YOU SEE THAT THING!" and we both turn to look out the window again.  She jumps down and starts nervously licking.

Then I wonder why something so huge was so close to the house.  And then I think about our fish pond (came with the house and was stocked when we bought the house four years ago).  I run outside and not one of our 15-20 fish is out there.  The pond is empty.

I had no idea this sort of thing could happen.

About this size.

Beneath

I'm a fan of Larry Fessenden's films so I'm looking very forward to this tale of a giant hungry lake fish.  And I hear it uses practical effects for the fish.  Excellent.

Click below for the trailer:

Lunch

A coworker insists on cooking some vile fish meal at least three times a week in the company microwave. The smell starts out like broccoli or cooked cabbage. Then, just as people start to ask "Is that cabbage?....cauliflower?" it changes and becomes something earthier. Something so offensive and so unnatural that people start leaving their desks until it clears.

How can anyone other than a bottom-feeding fish or a filth-eating shrimp even consume something that smells so spoiled? Like low tide on a hot August afternoon.

Detestable putridity.

I'm currently offering coworkers cash to throw a bucket of soapy water on it.

No takers at the moment.

Angler Fangs

Image by charminbayurr.

River Monsters

Oh, why not?

The Blob[fish]

Image source.

Fishy

Took this photo of the scarecrow in my category of Traditional/Whirligig which I believe will clean The Hollowman's clock in the two weeks of voting. What decent kid is going to vote for a rancid piece of meat on a stick over a happy blue fish with giant soft lips?