Gail had ordered an 8-oz crabcake sandwich, hold the bun; what
came was a 4-oz, but this was quickly changed out.

Knowing I'd probably sneak a few bites, Dale ordered twin 8-oz
cakes. All of these were probably 10 oz, maybe because it was
the end of the dinenr service, and there was a whole one and
a few shreds of Gail's left after dinner.

My appetizer sampler cost as much as most of the main courses
but offered generous portions, probably more protein than the
usual main course, without the annoying and carb-laden sides.

The menu promised 4 crab balls, and I mused that they would
probably be an ounce each, but when they came, they were double
that size, very similar in formula to the full-size cakes but
possibly a little more heavily seasoned; anyhow, I found them a
bit on the mustardy side.

Also 4 broiled shrimp and 4 broiled scallops, both medium in
size and of good quality, so maybe another 6 or 7 oz of meat,
the shrimp excellent, the scallops pretty good, both sweeter
than today's degraded standard, done properly (one notch more
than my preference), lightly seasoned.

An incongruity was half a pound of beef tips, mushrooms, and
gravy, rather salty and heavily seasoned with garlic extract but
decent, the meat tender if not the tastiest in the world, of
which I had a bite and took the rest back to play with for later.

A Greek salad was promised, which I asked them not to bring,
so they didn't.

They don't serve pitchers of beer, so we had pints of Yuengling.
Gail had a bottle of cider.

No room for dessert, which was probably fine with the staff, as
it was pushing closing time.

--
Next morning, or rather afternoon, we noshed on various things.

Cabot Vintage Choice is 2 years old, still pretty mild, with a
bit of that milky flavor that I don't care for. The 3-year-old
is beginning to get acceptably sharp and acceptably crumbly;
it's also going to crystals, which is something that it is said
connoisseurs appreciate, but I doubt it, unless connoisseurship
has changed in recent years. As far as I can tell, crystals are
always a shortcoming.

Dale had smoked a brisket, so there was that to nosh on. I prefer
his brisket to his pastrami, as it's not salty.

They'd bought a bunch of red seedless grapes that were of nice
crispness and exceedingly sweet but not very grapey, so they
were more like sugar bombs than anything else.

Nancy arrived in her rental van mid-afternoon. Her own car needs
a clutch, so she figured it would make sense not to rely on it for
this trip.

Supper was the leftover crabcake, some brisket, and this weirdness:
I made stroganoffoid out of the beef tips and served it over noodles.
Dale politely said that it was better in its second incarnation.
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