Isaac's cool blog
I didn’t know what all the tanks on the rooftops were when I took the photo. As usual, Wikipedia knew the answer: they’re water tanks that were mandated in the 1800s in order to maintain water pressure in buildings over 6 stories. Presumably they’re still there because they work, but they’re a little precarious looking. Makes me wonder how New Yorkers can possibly claim their city water tastes good – maybe it’s like fine wine aged in oak barrels?
Grilling pork ribs is so easy I wonder why I don’t do it more often. Get either baby back or spare ribs – country style are much better braised. Baby back are meatier and more tender I think. While getting the charcoal hot cut the rib racks into manageable sections and rub them down with a mixture of herbs, spices, and salt. I like cumin, oregano, pepper, coriander, allspice, cayenne, and so on. Pile the charcoal to one side of the grill and let it get good and hot, then sear the ribs right over the coals for a couple minutes. Once they’re a little browned I move them to the side opposite the coals and put the lid on with the vents wide open. If I have fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary I throw some of that on the ribs too. Turn them every 15 minutes or so, and I think they’re done after about 45 minutes.
I went fishing twice and saw whales both times – the orca with Augustine happened on the second trip, when I’d figured out that you just have to take a LOT of shots and hope you get lucky. Even though it was very calm for the middle of Cook Inlet, with the boat moving and the whales moving it’s hard to get them in the frame and in focus, so getting one lined up with the mountain was crazy lucky.
I ate a bunch of these at Jazz Fest. I’m not a huge fan of the crowds and dirt at Jazz Fest, so the crawfish make the thing tolerable. We ate some awesome food outside of Jazz Fest too, including some crawfish at Restaurant August that were loaded with cream and cognac – even better than the usual Old Bay-ish stuff.
Back in DC, Acadiana’s news page says they do crawfish boils every Friday 3:30 to 6:30p on their patio “weather permitting.” So, I guess not today – maybe next week if the weather cooperates. On the phone they said they also do the boils Sundays 2-5p.
Update: Even though the weather looked bad to me they were still boiling crawfish outside and serving them in the bar. We’ve been a few times now – they’re pretty expensive but worth it if you’ve gotta have some crawfish.
This has been a pretty nice cherry blossom season in DC – a little windy but warm enough that they haven’t fallen to the ground early like last year. These were down around the tidal basin, across from the Jefferson Memorial. There are some less crowded spots out around Hains Point, but there’s something about the trees around the tidal basin – the light off the water illuminates the blossoms from below I think. There’s a bus from the parking at Hains Point to the tidal basin this year, so it’s easy enough to see all the trees.