I already blogged about our gastronomic extravaganza at the extraordinary Richard Phillips restaurant at Chapel Down Winery just outside of Tenterden, in Kent. Unfortunately, in checking my links, I found that the restaurant just closed. So, so sad. I hope you enjoy the photo anyway. It makes my mouth water for a taste of that perfectly cooked beef.
Does your blog need a restaurant bucket list? The idea’s not mine; I really appreciate the link-up at Hamburgers and Hotness!
Whilst staying at the sublime Sissinghurst Castle Farmhouse, we dined three nights at a local pub just a mile down the road (or a good hike across the fields) from the bed and breakfast. I’ve talked about our Sissinghurst experience here and here and here, but I couldn’t resist showcasing this beautiful piece of food art again.
The bottom layer is a vegetable melange with eggplant, zucchini, and onions in a tomato sauce. Next is the couscous mixed with avocado. Then there’s a slice of potato that’s not overdone, so it can hold up the next layer. It’s topped with goat cheese and it looks like it was torched because the cheese would likely melt in the broiler.
The Three Chimneys Freehouse is a very special place, hidden away in the heart of Kent, and is frequented by locals and the guests at the Sissinghurst Castle B&B. Although we ate there three nights, enough to be recognized and seated at “our table” by the hosts, we barely scratched the surface of the delectable menu. We highly recommend The Three Chimneys if you are near Sissinghurst Castle.
You’ll need reservations — a fine restaurant in the country fills up — so call ahead if you find yourself in the neighborhood of The Three Chimneys at suppertime. It’s worth the trip.
Another hint — I keep Pinterest boards for all the areas I want to visit on vacation. You might want to start one for Kent in southeast England!
It was a nasty rainy night in March, and the restaurant was close to our hotel and close to the Opera house. Unfortunately, I can’t remember its name, but this is probably the restaurant. Whether it’s the right one or not, there’s nothing like a spicy satay and some Thai egg rolls to warm the cockles of my heart.
I’ve never actually been to Thailand, but in my somewhat limited experience, Thai food is pretty much Thai food, no matter where you go. If you’d like to try to make these luscious little morsels, here’s a recipe from Temple of Thai where you can also buy the makings if you can’t get the Thai ingredients where you live. Actually, I imagine you could probably live without the dried tree ear mushrooms and sub them out with some other kind of fungi. 🙂
I could barely type up this post without ordering out — we have a favorite Thai restaurant nearby and thankfully I don’t have to go to Vienna or Thailand to satisfy my egg rolls and satay cravings. Do you have a favorite Thai restaurant to share?
For this week’s photo story, we’ll travel around Europe to visit some fabulous restaurants and revisit some extraordinary food.
Our first stop is in Vienna, where we spent a romantic dinner overlooking the rooftops from the restaurant-cafe Huth in the Haus der Musik. The Sound Museum is an often overlooked but wonderful museum that is centrally located near St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Vienna Opera.
If you are traveling with me, don’t be surprised if I order the cheese plate at every meal. This one was extraordinary.
These photos were taken in 2003 with our brand new Olympus digital camera. It has since gone to digital camera heaven.
HAUS DER MUSIK is an interactive discovery museum located in the heart of Vienna’s first district nestled between St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Vienna State Opera. A host of interactive installations playfully communicate openness to new things, understanding and enthusiasm in approaching music HAUS DER MUSIK was awarded the Austrian Museum Prize for its innovative design and is located in the formerPalais of Archduke Charles. You will find all 67 of its new inventions here. A total of 5,000 square meters has been set aside exclusively for areas dedicated to a wide array of approaches to music, and most of all, to the experience of music.
At one time the former Palais of Archduke Charles, today’s HAUS DER MUSIK was also the residence ofOtto Nicolai (1810 – 1849), who composed the opera “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and founded the Vienna Philharmonic concerts here. This connection provided the impetus for the Vienna Philharmonic, with itsHistorical Archive, to make HAUS DER MUSIK its new home. Here, the scientific documentation of this world-famous orchestra continues and is made available to the public. On the “Beletage” first floor, the only historically preserved rooms in the house, the Vienna Philharmonic present original documents from their history. Source
For my Friday Photo, I leave you with this fun juxtaposition of spring container gardening and my nursery’s mural. Are you smiling?
I started out with this photo — at first it seemed that the camera just couldn’t handle the contrast in the automatic setting and I lost definition in the daffodil trumpets.
Then I applied the HDR-ish setting and pulled out all the details in the petals and leaves, but I lost the intensity of the colors.
Now I’m not so sure that I don’t like the original photo better. What do you think?
Just when you either loved or hated the yellow poles in yesterday’s photo, here’s another option. I didn’t do anything to this photo; what do you think?
Dicentra (bleeding-heart; Greek dís “twice”, kéntron “spur”) has attractive mounded foliage with arching stems of delicate, heart-shaped flowers in spring. It’s a woodland perennial that is happiest in moist soil along with ferns and other shade-lovers.
When I took this photo at the nursery, I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of this branch of bleeding heart that I didn’t see the ugly yellow poles in the background. I started by using the vignette effect to draw attention away from the poles.
Then I tried to draw more attention to the pink flowers by using the sharpen effect along with the vignette effect.
Finally, I decided to try it in black and white with some sharpening. It gets rid of the pesky yellow poles. It also gets rid of my favorite hot pink… insert sad face here.
So what do you think? What advice do you have for a novice photographer? I welcome your critique, but please be nice. 🙂
The genus name for columbine (Aquilegia) is derived from the Latin word aquila, because of the columbine flower’s resemblance to an eagle’s claw. The common name, columbine, comes from the flower’s resemblance to a cluster of five doves; columba means dove in Latin. It is a woodland plant that prefers moist roots and some shade, but is hardy even in poor soil and sun. The columbine thrives in northern climates in the United States.
I don’t see either a dove or an eagle’s claw, but I love to see the columbine in the spring. This photo was taken at a local nursery and enhanced with the Lomo-ish effect on Picasa.
I loved how the focus feature in Instagram allowed me to accentuate the fiery colors and interesting textures of this scarf while de-emphasizing the subject’s shoulders.
That being said about Instagram, I’m off with a borrowed Canon 75-300 to play with my new Rebel DSLR. The neighbors across the street are having a garage sale. I’ll bet there will be someone or something interesting to catch with a telephoto!
