HUNGRY GERALD

HG/BSK are lucky to have a warm friendship with the remarkable Anthony and Claudia C. As HG has noted before, Anthony is the brilliant manager of a mutual fund that has provided happy returns for investors. Claudia is a journalist, author and incisive radio interviewer. Though American citizens, they remain indomitably English (though Claudia comes from 100% Irish stock). Anthony scoffs, but he is an ornament of the nobility with a patrician education and connections (Oxford graduate and member of Boodles, a very selective gentlemen’s club). Claudia embodies her family’s theatrical traditions and is ebullient, eccentric, stimulating and an enemy of boredom and complacency. A. and C. are fun, generous and progressive. And, kind. For example: They are taking care of Toby, The Wonder Dog, while HG/BSK enjoy family Christmas in Rhode Island. Toby is frolicking with Boodles and Genghis, their endearing dogs. Joyous Toby. The C. log home, high on a mountain slope in Evergreen, Co., is a dream vision of a Colorado home. Huge windows in rooms of lofty ceilings provide panoramic views of mountain ranges, snow covered peaks. Sunsets are an explosion of color. Though constructed of logs, the home is not rustic. There are ancestral portraits. Many artifacts from the C.’s many years in Japan, China and Singapore. Bedrooms of regal luxury. A pool and hot tub regulated by an electronically controlled cover and heating system. Extraordinary. For their evening stay in C. paradise, Claudia prepared a sumptuous dinner. HG overindulged in after dinner sipping of a rare, flavorful single malt Scotch whisky, Laphroaig “Triple Wood.” Blissful sleep on a superb mattress. Thank you, dear friends.

And, so it goes on. Another slaughter by a deranged Caucasian American male. Armed with an army assault rifle Guess what? Der Trumperer offers prayers. We’ve had a slaughter of children in Connecticut. A slaughter at a church in Charleston. A slaughter at a Las Vegas concert. And, today, a slaughter at a little church in Texas. The number of dead continues to grow. The Republican response: Prayers. Hey, why not? Doesn’t cost a dime. Prayers, Mother, apple pie are good things. But, in the land of The Free, Brave and Armed nothing is more worshipped than guns and their apologist, the NRA, is a generous dispenser of campaign funds and possibly more important, a voter bloc that will follow anyone they endorse. So, let the murder continue. Be lucky, my friends.

Catalonia (Catalunya) is in the news. HG hopes the issue of Catalonian independence can be settled peacefully. HG/BSK have had joyous times in Barcelona, the wondrous Catalan city. Renowned architecture (Gaudi, etc.). Colorful walks (Las Ramblas). The best public food market. Beaches. Tapas and every type of good food. BSK paid an homage to Barcelona last night with a rousing cod dish. BSK stewed cod with last of season tomatoes, potatoes, onions, garlic (lots), oregano, parsley, blazing pimenton, tomato paste, olive oil, white wine. HG/BSK raised glasses of red wine and toasted Picasso, Miro and other Catalans. May peace prevail.

Yes, it’a nice Willie Nelson song. But, long distance auto travel is not a delight. Toby, The Wonder Dog, is a pleasant traveler, only demanding many cuddles. BSK does all of the driving. Does not trust HG behind the wheel. Silly BSK. First leg of journey from PEI to New Mexico was to Augusta, Maine and the Senator Hotel. Mediocre seafood meal. Not a credit to Maine. Then, a few days with family Riva in Riverside, RI. Daughter Lesley R. welcomed HG/BSK with chicken shawarma and muhammara, an extraordinary Armenian condiment (pepper and walnut), that lifted the dish to the skies. Midday meal was at Hemenway’s, the very good, Providence seafood restaurant. Oysters, clams, shrimp, lobster, Rhode Island clam chowder and sub-par fried calamari with hot peppers (What happened?). Dessert was a creme brûlée that rivaled anything in Paris. Once HG/BSK hit the midwest, horrors began: Nasty pizza in western Pennsylvania. Ludicrous parody of Chinese food in Illinois. Japanese (are you kidding me?) takeout in Oklahoma. HG did not follow Saul Sternberg’s advice: “If you want to eat well in the midwest, eat breakfast three times a day,” Next time, HG/BSK will concentrate their dining on reliable Waffle House.

SJ has long had thousands of Facebook followers for his brilliant “SadChairs” instagram account and blog. In various forums he has written penetrating political and cultural insights plus, SJ is noted expert in everything about reggae music, reggae events, vintage records, Jamaica, etc. The consummate New Yorker/Brooklynite has moved (with family) to Tokyo. SJ has an affinity for big cities so it is no surprise that SJ is falling in love with Tokyo. SJ is reporting on Tokyo’s food, culture, regional distinctiveness in SJ’s just launched blog, OishiGevalt.com. If you ever plan on visiting Tokyo, Oishi Gevalt is essential reading. The blog will also bring pleasure to all who are interested in food and brilliant, evocative writing. OG surpasses HG. Makes HG proud. HG is also pleased that SJ continues to edit and illustrate hungrygerald.com. And, happily, SJ is discovering many gloomy chairs in Tokyo.

Examining HG’s archives, HG notes that HG’s followers respond, with passionate nostalgia, to HG’s memories of long closed New York restaurants. Number one in the nostalgia parade is Christ Cella, the great steak house on E. 44th street. Scores of readers have sent in comments recalling romantic dinners there, happy meals with fathers and family members who worked there. Yes, CC didn’t do fancy frills. Superb products treated simply and with respect. Number two: Luchow’s, the outstanding German restaurant on E. 14th Street. Gorgeous antique decor. Oompah music. Succulent food. Wonderful beer. Number three: Gage & Tollner, the venerable seafood (and mutton chop restaurant) on Fulton Avenue, downtown Brooklyn. Sautéed clam bellies. Shad and shad roe with bacon. Dignified African-American waiters. Surprisingly, few HG fans recall two Upper West Side restaurants frequented by HG: Famous Dairy on W/. 72nd Street and Gitlitz delicatessen on Broadway and W. 79th. Nobody seems to remember the splendid Chinese restaurants clustered around Broadway and W. 96th Street. Most were on the west side of Broadway, but on the east side an eatery introduced fiery Szechauan fare to New York.

HG loves pho (pronounced “fuh”), the hearty and heartening Vietnamese noodle soup. One of the few happy memories the American troops brought back from the costly (in dollars and lives) Vietnam war was the pho they happily ate at sidewalk stalls in Saigon. In Santa Fe, HG devours very good pho at Saigon Cafe. There’s good pho at Pho Hung Restaurant in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. However, this is a 40 minute drive from HG’s oceanfront paradise. Thus, HG improvises a non traditional pho — in fact it is more of a “pho inspired” dish — for HG’s mid day meal. HG creates a broth of clam juice and water. When boiling, HG throws in some frozen “fish tofu.” These are fish shaped fried tofu. Interesting. Then, at the appropriate time, HG adds rice noodles and firm tofu (which turns silky as it cooks). When poured into a big bowl, HG adds sesame oil and fiery chile oil. Finishes it with chopped scallions. It might not be Saigon (or Santa Fe), but it’s mighty good.

HOORAY !!! The only thing lacking on Prince Edward Island has been a first rate Chinese restaurant. (There’s a good Indian restaurant and fine Vietnamese dining. Charlottetown has a joyous pizza joint and, of course, eateries that make the most of PEI’s natural bounty of farm fresh produce, oysters, lobster, fish and clams). And now there’s Summer Kitchen. (Name does not refer to a season but the restaurant’s location on Charlottetown’s Summer Street). Only open for two weeks, Summer Kitchen is a bright, meticulously clean place. The service is warm and helpful. Run by an endearing Asian couple, the food is extraordinary. HG/BSK dined there a few days ago. Starters surpassed anything found in New York’s dim sum palaces. Filipino Lumpia (spring rolls) had greaseless super crisp exteriors and juicy interiors of chopped vegetables. Lumpia are a favorite street vendor snack throughout the Philippines and Indonesia. Pan fried dumplings had thin skins and browned surfaces. Wood ear mushroom gave the pork fillings an extra flavor boost. Mains (served with a bowl of fluffy rice) were a braise of sliced Japanese eggplant and mapo tofu. Both were fresh and flavorful. HGBSK will be back to try the other good things on the menu.

“Shandeh” is a Yiddish word defining a shameful or despicable act. At the trial of “The Chicago Seven” for inciting to riot at the 1968 Democratic Convention, defendant Abbie Hoffman (anti-Vietnam activist and provocateur), shouted at presiding Judge Julius Hoffman who was Jewish, but no relation to Abbie: “You are a shandeh fur de goyim.” A disgrace in front of the gentiles. Today, this applies to Mnuchin, Kushner and every other Jewish Trump administration official and campaign financier in view of Der Trumperer’s remarks about Nazis/White Supremacists.

Americans will not acknowledge their history. The United States is guilty of two great crimes against humanity: The virtual genocide of Native Americans. And the centuries of abominable chattel slavery. (On a much lesser scale are the destructive, useless Vietnam and Iraq wars). Thousands of Africans died battling slavers. More died as they were branded and kept in African captivity as they awaited “the middle journey.” Thousands more died as they were locked below decks in unspeakable conditions. And, then there was slavery. Lee and the other “heroes” of the Confederacy fought to preserve slavery. The confederate flag is as much a symbol of murderous inhumanity as the swastika. Any African-American seeing Confederate flags and Confederate statues would have the same feelings as a Jew gazing at a swastika or a Hitler statue. Yes, Germany is not perfect. But, it has acknowledged its modern history. Statues of Hitler cannot be found in that land. Back here, in the temporarily land of the brave and free, Der Trumperer is concerned that tearing down racist statues will mar the beauty of cities.