Ok, back from the final baseball trip of the season and no rain!
I started out on friday morning after a breakfast of Jonnycakes and Canadian Bacon right here at Jiggers Diner in East Greenwich RI. The Jonnycakes are South County style. Thick and substantial with that "cornmeally" bite. Then I continued on to Edison NJ and decided on Jack Cooper's Celebrity Deli only because the directions seemed easier. As it turns out Jack Cooper just retired and sold his deli to a Korean American however they are keeping the Jack Cooper name and leaving the deli as is. I ordered the Pastrami & Corned Beef on Rye. I thought the meat was a little too lean but the sandwich overall wasn't bad, but not as good as the Carnegie or 2nd Avenue Deli. Of course I had a Dr Browns Cel-Ray soda to wash it all down. I arrived in Wilmington DE in the afternoon and passed the Charcoal Pit and Capasulla's on the way to my hotel. I noticed the "steaks" sign underneath the Charcoal Pit sign, so curiousity got the best of me. I decided on a mid afternoon cheesesteak snack at the Charcoal Pit. It was surprisingly good, and came with hot pepper relish on the side, although the bread could have been a little chewier. Before heading to the ballpark, I stopped at Capasulla's and got the "baby" cheesesteak. The bread was great, a good chewy philly style roll, however I prefer cheesesteaks where the onions sit on the grill for a while and are more limp, at Capasulla's the sandwich is made to order and the fried onions are relatively "fresh" and have a "snap" to them. Anyway I headed to the ballpark and saw the Wilmington Blue Rocks beat the Potomac cannons 1-0. On Saturday I headed to the Post House in Wilmington for breakfast, of course I had scrapple, that was the most notable item on the breakfast menu. Everything else was ok. I then headed down to Peanut Country in Wakefield Virginia and went to the Virginia Diner for Lunch. Had the Fried Chicken and BBQ pork platter along with spoon bread, mac n cheese, collards and stewed tomatos over black eyed peas. Unfortunately they did not have peanut soup available on the menu that day
The piece de restistance was the Peanut Butter Silk pie. Absolutely decadent!
I drove to Norfolk and headed to Lockharts for dinner. I had the crab norfolk, but was somewhat dissappointed. Not that it wasn't good, but I guess I was expecting to hear gregorian chants and see angels dancing around my head, oh well, the corn bread was delicious though as well as the steamed cabbage. I then went to see the Norfolk tides lose to the Richmond Braves. The next day I drove to Richmond for an artery clogging breakfast at McLeans. Had their big breakfast which consists of 3 Eggs, Cheese, Fried Apples, Grits, Biscuits, Juice and Choice of meat, in my case, fried bologna. I've been there 1/2 dozen times and have never been dissappointed. I continued on to Bowie MD and noticed that Rips Country Inn was practically right across the street from the Ballpark. I parked my car at the ball park and walked to the restaurant and had a good (not great) Crabcake Sandwich. Fries were served on the side, which I decided to transform into Chesapeake Style fries by adding vinegar and old bay seasoning. After the ball game between the Baysox and the Reading Phillies, I drove down to St Mary's Landing in Charlotte Hall and had the Stuffed Ham which I understand is traditionally served cold. It was delicious, had a tangy bite to it, almost like pastrami. On Labor day, I decided to skip Baltimore altogether, in attemtp to avoid traffic, I found a place in Jessup MD called Frank's Diner, an old fashioned diner out of the 50's and had their chipped beef on a biscuit. I was surprised to see that biscuits are still served as far north as Baltimore. My final stop was at Swanky Franks in Norwalk CT for lunch. The place was packed! Their hot dogs do snap when you bite into them, so do their onion rings. A great way to end a good culinary and baseball trip!
