40 Pound Block of Cheese

Now that the temperature has dropped, I find myself wanting more comfort food.  Yes, that means more cheese will be added to my diet.  At Devin's Garage and Deli in Jay,  they advertise on their sign: Subs, Deli Meats, Ice Cream, Beer and of course, New York State Cheddar Cheese. At Devin's Deli you can find at the counter a 40 pound brick of Sharp Cheddar Cheese. Apparently, they order ten 40 lb bricks at a time!  The cheese never sees a cooler and tastes better as it ages.  They told me that during the holidays and other busy times they sometimes go through a brick a week!  Anytime I get a sandwich from Devin's I get it with their cheddar cheese.  People love this cheese!  You can buy the cheese by the pound at $5.79.  

Before any of you leave any gross comments, I'll do it for you: Devin's Garage and Deli is very convenient, Get gas, then cut the Cheese!

Muffin Lady

I was having a bit of a bummer day at work yesterday until I walked into the Finance office and saw the spread of baked goods on the desk top.  The Muffin Lady was making her rounds.  I wasn't familiar with the Muffin Lady and her business.  Apparently she goes around Lake Placid and Wilmington to different offices with her baskets full of homemade baked goods and sells them.  Her next stop was going to be at the Luge offices where one of her friends was going to be selling them at the Farmers Market in Keene this weekend.  She sells homemade muffins, breads, cookies, and pies.  

My coworker, Kathy has faithfully been following my blog and she knew the wheels were turning in my head for the next blog entry.  She kindly loaned me 75 cents to try out a peanut butter m&m cookie.  It took all of my will power to not eat it at work, I was going to bring it home for Drew and I to split.  I know my rodent of a cat, Monty, enjoyed the cookie because he managed to nibble a bit when I wasn't looking!  Well, I have to say we really liked the cookie.  Right away when I broke the cookie in half, I knew it would be good because it was not a hard snap, gentle break.  Drew thought it was "Good quality, not too raw and chewy, but not too hard or dry."  I mentioned to him that one of my coworkers, who shall remain nameless, thought the cookie was a little salty.  Drew said, "Salty yes, but it is a peanut butter cookie, what do you expect?"  This was no rinky dink cookie, it was nice and thick.  

I look forward to trying out other baked goods that she makes.  The pies she was describing sound incredible.  Well, her name is Amy and she has a Muffin Hotline where you can reach her to order items or to track her down: 518-524-2811.  

Riverside Antiques

I received an email the other day letting me know about a new antique store on 9N in Upper Jay, Riverside Antiques.  I was really excited to check it out, but thought it might be an issue since I work every weekend and was figuring it would only be open then.  I lucked out though, I was driving by on a Tuesday afternoon and it was open!Julie Robinson from Upper Jay has moved her antiques out of storage into the small green used bookstore.  I never had the chance to check out the space until Tuesday.  She had a few things I liked, an old drying rack, vintage wooden coca cola crates, mushroom prints.  But, unfortunately for Julie, I was only window shopping.  I hope for her sake someone rich drives by.  Julie said until the weather turns cold, she will try to be open Tuesdays - Sundays 1 - 5 pm.  She admits it might be a hit or miss thing though.  Keeping that in mind, I wouldn't make a trip specifically for the antique store, combine it with something.  You could check out the Gargoyles around the corner or even head over to Jay and have a picnic at the Covered Bridge.

Elfenwood Alpacas

This Saturday, the Alpaca Farms in Jay will be part of National Alpaca Farm Day. There are four alpaca farms in the Jay area.  Unfortunately I will not be able to attend since I have to work.  I really wanted to visit one of the alpaca farms in the area, so I called Trudy at Elfenwood Alpacas to make an appointment to come for a visit.  

Yesterday morning I went to visit the new cria (baby alpaca) at Elfenwood Alpacas.  I got to meet "Terrawee" it means "Little Earth Gift"and she was only 10 days old.  She is so cute and so soft. 

Trudy and Seth, the owners, had a very busy morning.  They had nail trimming to do, medicine to give, and behavior watching to do.  They wanted to see if Terrawee's mom was ready to breed yet. She must have had a headache because she spit at Lucian.  Maybe this weekend. 

Elfenwood Alpaca Farm has 11 alpacas.  I was only able to see 10 of them, one is away on a romantic vacation.  I got to see 6 girls and 4 boys.  They are all so beautiful.  Thank you Trudy and Seth for letting me visit!

Hungry Trout

Last night was my 1 year anniversary with Drew and we thought we'd splurge on a nice dinner at the Hungry Trout in Wilmington on the West Branch of the Ausable River. I had never been to the Hungry Trout before even though it was one of my recommendations back when I was a Concierge.  They do a nice job with the decor with a theme of fishing and hunting.  The Hungry Trout doesn't go overboard as many other Adirondack restaurants can. Very tasteful.  We were lucky to be placed in the main dining room.  There is a great view of Whiteface mountain and the Ausable River.

Once seated, our server gave us some warm, rustic, homemade bread.  I ordered the Hungry Trout salad which was excellent and Drew helped me eat it.  The salad had mixed greens, cran raisins, roasted pine nuts and a nice vinaigrette.  After we gobbled that up, our meals came in large fish dishes.  I had the baked cod with olives, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  

Drew ordered the Trout special, almond encrusted trout with an amaretto butter sauce.  Both dishes came with lemon risotto and green beans.  I thought my dish was going to be more Mediterranean-ish, it was a little more spicy than I would have liked.  Not bad, just didn't realize it was going to be spicy cod.  Drew said his was, "Most delectable."  I tried his and I thought it was really good.  Personally I think anything encrusted means goodness.

There are non-fish items on the menu, but that's just what we happened to order last night.  One of their chicken dishes looked good as well as the filet mignon.  Overall we had a great meal.  When we were seated I noticed a light switch on the wall about a foot up from the floor. I had wondered what it was.  Right before sunset, the server flipped the switch and I asked her what it was for.  She said the river lights would turn on in about five minutes.  Sure thing.  The lights turned on and pointed down to the river.  At first it looked like they were shining on bushes, but as it got darker they lit up the river below.  Very romantic.  

Oh, I should mention that if you don't want to pay the price at the Hungry Trout you can eat below at their pub, R. F. McDougall's for lighter fare.  I hear they make a great burger there and I can't wait to try their cheese fries at the pub some day.  If I'm ever a Concierge again, I can be behind my recommendation at the Hungry Trout.

Day After

Well, after training all summer along the Ausable River, I finally completed my first marathon. 

I don't think I'm going to be moving much today.  I think these feet are going to be found .2 miles up from the East Branch of the Ausable.

Beef Jerky

For those of you who have not been to the Little Super Market in Wilmington, you've got to go! First of all they have a great deli there and the sandwich and sub prices are amazing!  I'll have to tell you about that some other day, but this morning I was taken by the Beef Jerky display.  They have a wide variety of Beef Jerky that would impress any Jerky fan.

They carry over 30 different kinds of beef jerky ranging from Slim Jim products to my personal favorite, Wild Bill's.   Beef jerky that comes with cheese sticks, and jerky flavors like jalapeno, teriyaki, peppercorn, bbq, etc.  Salivating over the beef jerky shelves, I noticed on the left hand side, second shelf up a box full of Butterfingers.  Yes, the candy bar.

I know that Slim Jim makes a flavor, Sweet and Spicy.  For some reason I don't think the Butterfinger has anything to do with that though.  Maybe the person that stocks the shelves likes the new Butterfinger Crisp so much that they have put it in a location away from all the other candy bars.  That way no one would notice the new candy bar and it would be like their own private stash.