Just more affirmation that we all had a great time today. Our tight knit little group seems to be expanding into a tight knit
big group, and that's okay. Notable additions today were irisarbor's husband who proved himself worthy of losing the "
husbad" designation, and nocarolina, a fine and friendly gent with a good disposition and great enthusiasm for Roadfood in general, and socializing with our group in particular. It's reached a point where it's hard to tell if we put more importance on the food or the pleasure of each other's company at these meet-ups, and that's okay with me.
Today's highlights included for me, from left to right as we went down the buffet, the dill pickle soup; julienned shreds of root veggies and dill pickle in a nicely balanced, slightly sweet/tart broth with a delightfuly dominant dill flavor.
The soup was followed up by some of the finest smoked salmon I have ever tasted. This was rich, oily (not in a bad way) fish with a silky, velvety texture, enhanced by just the right amount of smoke and saltiness. The accompanying bagels were just barely defrosted Lender's minis, but that was good enough. If the bagels had been any better, they might have distracted from that phenomenal fish!
Next up was a brilliant roast stuffed pork loin. As I noted to my fellow diners, this particular cut has a bad habit of being overcooked, dry and grainy. Not so with Polonez's version. This was moist and succulent; perfectly seasoned to bring out the rich pork flavor that frequently gets lost with a loin. The "stuffing" was really a plum compote-like filling, the subtle sweetness of which was an excellent compliment to the pork. The tang from a dab of Polish horseradish completed the combination of flavors.
Bite sized chunks of Polish sausage, silver dollar style potato pancakes, and mini cheese pierogis rounded out the ethnic standouts at the buffet. There were other, more "American" standards also available, hash browns, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, and bacon. All nicely prepared, but, for me virtually irrelevant in this palace of Polish delights. There were also a handful of dessert items, the mini, melt in your mouth cream puffs being the star of that show.
Once again, it was a real pleasure to see everyone again after so many months in weather induced isolation. Spending the afternoon with my Roadfood friends warmed up a bitter cold January day.
Buddy
P.S. X1,
here is the link to the Spring Fling thread. I'll post some links to the various restaurants listed so we can make some informed decisions on where we finally end up. I'm hoping to generate some serious, good natured discussion on our picks. Also, the date and time is still up in the air, so that will be another topic for us to talk about. The only date that is abvsolutely off the table (as I'm sure you'll all agree) is May 23rd, the date of JRPfeff's annual Barbecue. Nobody wants to miss that, do they???
B.
