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Today's Tasty Treats

We started the morning in Portland, where we again visited the Standard Baking Company for both gifts for our Boston hosts and breakfast treats for ourselves. I tried the seasonal fruit buckle for the first time, and like the brownies, scones, and molasses cookies, it's outstanding.

We stopped at a rest area for coffee, where I was obliged to take advantage of Starbucks' "Your beverage should be right every time. If it isn't, we'll make it again" policy. The first decaf tall latte was undrinkable; the second, near-perfect. Glad the barista took the policy to heart and then put that heart into the second attempt.

Upon arriving here in Belmont, Mass, we placed an order for pickup at the local diner. I was surprised but thrilled to see that they offered not only breakfast all day—which meant that I could finally have the egg sandwich I'd been craving since we'd visited the bakery—but also veggie sausage among the meat options and goat among the cheese options. The egg-over-hard sandwich with veggie sausage and goat cheese on an english muffin could only have been made better by the addition of arugula. In the arugula's absence, it was still delicious.

Finally, we had for dinner what Al calls the best meal he's had all week: dinner at New Ginza in Watertown. I think Al had a shrimp tempura roll (it had a name, but I can't remember what it was), and I had another can't-remember-the-name roll that involved ebi, mango, spicy mayonnaise sauce, and tempura crumbles. I also got a spicy tuna roll with avocado instead of cucumber ("no problem," said the friendly waitress to several of our special requests) and an order of hotategai (scallop)—the latter so fresh and sweet that I immediately ordered a second set. It tasted great with the spicy mayo sauce from the mango roll.

There will likely be tales of more culinary indulgences through Saturday, and then the twelve days leading up to my trip to San Francisco (and BlogHer) will be filled with weigh-ins, remorse, calorie-counting, and tricks to get the most fill and flavor in the fewest number of Points (remembered from my Weight Watchers days in the late 90s and still used periodically today). Once in San Francisco, the talk will probably be all about cocktails and Mexican food. Stay tuned.