More Foodie 101

One day on the Prince William County press trip, we had the option to take the train into D.C. to tour museums. Normally, I'd jump at that but, I reasoned, I wouldn't be spending enough time in D.C. to do the kind of story I like to do. So I, along with writer Shirley Moskow from Boston, opted to stay behind. Kathy Martin with the PWC/Manassas CVB offered to be our chauffeur for the day. We both wanted to return to Occoquan -- neither of us had had time to see the town on the first day of the trip.

After some other stops, we arrived in Occoquan in time for lunch at Madigan's. The day was gorgeous and eating outside was an appealing prospect. The menu offered a lot of temptations but this is prime crab country so my choices narrowed a bit. I asked for a taste of the crab chowder and our waiter brought me a small sample. I all but stuck my tongue in the cup! It was rich and creamy with plenty of crab meat and fresh vegetables. My ultimate choice was the crabcake sandwich with remoulade sauce on the side. Mmmmmm -- good choice. Lots and lots of crabmeat with little, if any, filler.

Great food, good company and the beautiful green river flowing by. It was one of those perfect moments you want to capture and save -- when everything in your immediate world seems perfect. My friend Betty Neal says this is a "Kingdom of God" moment. I love the idea that the Kingdom of God includes crabcakes!

Foodie 101

I feel a couple of food blogs coming on. On our recent press trip to Virginia, I started early one morning with a visit to the Manassas farmers' market. Are you old enough to remember the Alan Alda movie "The Four Seasons"? In it, Sandy Dennis plays a photographer obsessed with vegetables. That was me at the market. What gorgeous fruits and vegetables! And look at the size of this berry!

The array was amazing -- corn, eggplant, cantelope -- a rainbow of vitamins! And the tomatoes -- every shape and color.

And they had lots of heirloom tomatoes -- not as photogenic -- my favorites are Cherokee purple. I couldn't help myself; I bought three, not knowing what I was going to do with them. Patty Tracy of Historic Manassas stepped in and offered to take them to Robert Barolin, chef/owner of City Square Cafe where I intended to have lunch.

What a great idea! When we got to the restaurant, the waitress brought out this lovely bowl of tomatoes and we shared them around the table.


For my lunch, I ordered the Southern Shrimp Salad -- grilled shrimp over mixed greens with tomatoes, red onions, corn and a blend of Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese. This was tossed with a chipotle ranch dressing and served with a crispy tortilla shell. And it was as good as it looks!