This will be my last post on P.S. Wish You Were Here. For reasons I’ll soon divulge, I’ve consolidated Mary’d With Children and P.S. Wish You Were Here into one new blog called Salty, But Sweet. There you’ll find all of the previous posts from Mary’d and P.S. along with all of my future ramblings, musings, rants, pictures, and travel stories.

No more trying to decide which blog a post should go on, no more trying to explain to strangers why I have two very similar blogs, and no more guilt–well, at least only half the guilt–when I don’t get something posted in a timely fashion. One blog. Just one. Nice.

Please join me at my new location: www.saltybutsweet.com.

A.J. Jacobs  writes laugh-out-loud, insightful stories about all facets of Everyman from his (A.J.’s) unique perspective and without fear of skewering the sacred cows in his path. He doesn’t even spare himself (particularly doesn’t spare himself) in his quest to learn something new or expose the foibles in our collective thinking. He’s one of my favorite writers, and now he is one of my favorite writers to hear in person.

His presentation last night at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library was as funny and engaging as his writing; and his demeanor, during the book signing afterwards, was far more gracious that one would ever expect from a man who was in Denver the previous day and had to be in Washington D.C. the following day. If the rigors of a book tour are grueling, you’d never know it from talking to A.J. He seemed genuinely glad to be in Kansas City and to meet and spend time visiting with his fans.

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment

On this particular tour, A.J. is promoting his newest book The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment in which he subjects himself to and then writes about nine different social experiments that force him to step outside–sometimes waaay outside–his (or most anyone else’s) comfort zone. For example, for one month, he vows to tell the truth. No white lies. No half truths. No sugar-coating. Yeah. It’s painful. And hilarious. He also poses nude for his art and spends a month doing everything his wife tells him to do…but that’s all you’re getting out me. READ the book!

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World

The first book A.J. wrote was titled The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. For one year, he read–not skimmed, not merely looked at the pictures–but read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z, and then he wrote about the experience, including how he felt about his overwhelming (albeit self-imposed) task, what he learned from his reading, and how he applied–or attempted to apply–what he’d learned. It’s a hoot! Plus you get the added benefit of learning any number of sometimes helpful–often useless–factoids from the revered collection without having to lug one of the huge tomes around yourself.

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

And finally, not content with being the smartest person in the world, A.J. then undertook the task of becoming as holy as humanly possible. The result, his second book: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. Image walking the streets of Manhattan in a wool robe and sandals…with a full beard…carrying a staff. It gets worse. He also has to stone an adulterer.

READ the books!

Here are a few pictures, so you can enjoy the drive, too.

The Historic Hotel Boulderado - Boulder, CO

Q's Restaurant at the Hotel Boulderado

John Platt, the executive chef and co-owner, bought Q’s back in 1993 with his wife, Sabrina, and–based on what I’ve learned from from reading up on them (don’t you just love Google?)–they’ve been doing amazing things there ever since. John’s self-described “chef crafted” cuisine relies heavily on seasonal, locally grown, organic ingredients, many of which come from his own garden. In that regard, what he’s doing isn’t all that unusual, I suppose–especially in Boulder–but what is unusual…or unique…or absolutely taste-bud-blowingly amazing is the way he creatively marries those ingredients together in just the right proportions to make them not only play nicely together in your mouth, but to create flavors you’re not expecting. Most well-prepared dishes make at least one part of your mouth happy; John’s dishes make every square millimeter of your mouth stand up and salute.

Moreover, his fabulous food is served by an extremely friendly, well-trained staff who seem to know what you need before you even know you need it, all in the charming elegance of the historic Hotel Boulderado. Perfect.

And now, our meals. Enjoy!

Lunch: The Appetizer
Colorado Peaches
Mixed Greens, Bleu Cheese, Crisp Pancetta
Citrus Vinaigrette

Lunch: The Entree
Blackened Salmon
Summer Melon Relish, Black Bean Cake
Chipotle BBQ Broth

Lunch: The Dessert
Raspberry Semifreddo
Raspberry Cake, Candied Lemon

Lunch was served with a Robert Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc which complimented all three courses beautifully. If I had to pick a favorite course of the three–not an easy task–I’d have to go with the blackened salmon. I generally don’t like my food spicy hot, but the spiciness of the black bean cake and the Chipotle BBQ broth was balanced perfectly with the cool fruitiness of the summer melon relish. Yum!

For dinner the following evening, we self-selected a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand to accompany our meal. In hindsight, we should have asked the Cellarmaster for his recommendation. Oh well, even a poorly selected wine couldn’t ruin the meal we were about to enjoy, a meal that started with a summer melon and hot chili amuse bouche the chef sent out for us try.

Dinner: Tom’s Starter
Panseared Dungeness Crabcake
Red Pepper Romesco, Fennel Orange Slaw

Dinner: My Starter
“Caprese”
House-made Mozzarella, Sun-dried Tomato Pesto, Prosciutto, Basil, Balsamic, Pumpkinseeds
(I also requested–and received–freshly sliced tomatoes from John’s garden in my Caprese)

Dinner: Tom’s Salad
Organic Mixed Green Salad
Lemon Champagne Vinaigrette, Fennel, Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Lemon Fried Potatoes

Dinner: My Soup
Sweet Corn Soup
Lobster Hushpuppies

Dinner: Tom’s Entree
The Chef’s Special – Monk Fish
(I was so busy slobbering over my entree, I forgot to take adequate notes about Tom’s. Whoops!)

Dinner: My Entree
Smoked Berkshire Pork Tenderloin
Corn and Green Chili Relish, Red Chili Honey, Refried Beans, Grilled Zucchini, Pumpkinseeds

Our Shared Dessert
Colorado Peach Crisp
Home Spun Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Peach Sauce

Like our lunch the previous day, every dish was full of fresh flavors and clever combinations that were not only satisfying, but culinarily engaging. Our mouths were happy, our brains were strained, and our bellies were pleasantly stuffed as we left the Boulderado to do a few laps around the Pearl Street Mall before turning in for the night.

We thank John; Deluxe Chef  de Cuisine, Ian Rubenoff; Sous Chef, Cruz Silva; the friendly and attentive wait staff; and Sabrina, who was a fabulous and welcoming hostess for an amazing experience. We will look forward to dining at Q’s again very soon. Until then, I’ll be following the happenings at Q’s on their Facebook page.

In closing, let me say this to you, my readers, if you go to Boulder and don’t go to Q’s, you should…well, you should…dang…this is where I’m really struggling with hyperbole. “Be shot” sounds a bit drastic.

Oskar’s, which sits in a strip mall that is wedged between westbound Highway 36 (Main Street) and eastbound Highway 36 (Broadway), is hard to miss. At least from what we could tell, it’s always surrounded by cars. From Main Street, you see the packed parking lot. From Broadway, you see the overflowing outdoor seating space and hear the musical performers who entertain diners nearly every night–weekdays or weekends.

Oskar Blues - Lyons, CO

Tom and I got there early one evening and managed to snag a table out on the balcony where we could hear the band playing bluegrass down below in the parking lot and see the sun setting over the mountains to the west. Unfortunately, neither my pictures of the musicians nor of the sunset came out very well, so you’ll have to conjure your own mental images of both. (I need to practice using my camera…sorry.)

Balcony Seating at Oskar Blues

Oskar Blues’ claim to fame, of course, is its beers, and they’ve got plenty to choose from. On the night we stopped in, there were eight choices, including Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Deviant Dave’s, One-Nut Brown Ale, and Ten Fidy Imperial Stout. Clever. Tom chose Dale’s Pale Ale and gave it a thumbs-up. Unfortunately, I’ve had to give up beer because of the whole gluten thing…buuuummer…so you’ll have to settle for Tom’s hearty endorsement.

Dave's Pale Ale

Oskar’s menu, which features the “Cajun, Creole and Southern-style comfort food that reflect [the] founder’s southern upbringing,” includes New Orleans-style gumbo and fried catfish along with the standard fare found on most bar/brewery menus: pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, and Mexican entrees. Whatever you choose, I’m betting you won’t walk away unsatisfied. Tom had the Smoked BBQ Sandwich–a pulled pork sandwich smothered in homemade Bourbon BBQ sauce–with a side of homemade black bean salad (yuuuummmmy), and I had the “bodacious” B.B. King Burger with a side order of sweet potato fries. Brownie points to our waitress, I didn’t get the squonk eye when I asked if they would hold the bacon and add grilled onions to my burger.  Ultimately, the burger was a burger, but the sweet potato fries were gooo…ooood. Sweet, crunchy, and salty all in one bite. Does it get much better?

Smoked BBQ Sandwich with Black Bean Salad

Modified B.B. King Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

After eating at Oskar Blues, Tom and I understood why it’s so popular and why–we assume–it draws diners from beyond Lyons’ city limits…although, I suppose we could be wrong… maybe everyone who lives in Lyons eats at Oskar’s every night…it is lots of fun…but then, who’s eating at the eight other restaurants in Lyons?

I’m telling you, Lyons is a great little town!

We were seated immediately near the front of the restaurant and were handed menus…menus that failed to have the words “Tom’s Tavern” printed anywhere on them. Instead, blazoned across the top at a jaunty angle: “SALT.” Hmmmm. We looked around. Sure enough, the room was different. Dramatically different. Tom’s beat-up bar furnishings had been replaced with sleek contemporary tables, chairs, lighting, and artwork. People were dressed up (by Boulder standards). There weren’t beer signs everywhere, and the silverware was real. Ahhhh…you don’t have to draw us a picture. Clearly, we weren’t in Tom’s. Okay, okay. We got it…finally. Actually, we weren’t in anything remotely like Tom’s. We were, in fact, in a brand new restaurant which we learned later had only been opened a few days before.

Our initial disappointment didn’t last long. 

For starters, SALT serves brews from local microbreweries and drinks they call Pre-Prohibition Spirituals. Tom ordered a Steamworks Kolsch Ale (Steamworks Brewery is in Durango, CO), and I ordered a Pre-Prohibition Spiritual called Saturn Returns, a drink I can only describe as a peach Bellini with a dark soul. Yummy. I wish I’d taken notes about the whole Pre-Prohibition business at the time so I could tell you about it. Really. I did read about it, but I was having too much fun drinking the darn thing to take good notes then, and now I can’t remember what I read. Sorry.

Libations

As for the food, the meat and produce served at SALT come from local farms and ranches. In a blurb about SALT, the Downtown Boulder website uses descriptors like “savory slow food,” “fresh local,” and “loving preparation.” I can’t disagree.  Everything we ate was fresh and flavorful. The chef is clearly doing something right with his ingredients. Tom had the Tavern Burger featuring grass-fed beef, and I had the Summer Vegetable Penne. Delish…although I paid for eating pasta the next day. I’ll spare you the details, but suffice it to say it was worth it. Big grin.

The Tavern Burger

Colorado Peach Cobbler with Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

 

I’ll close this post with a picture showing the restaurant from the view we had of it pre-dinner. You can decide if we’re crazy for thinking it was still Tom’s Tavern (the word “Tavern” is behind the tree). Of course, the picture also clearly shows the name “SALT” above the door. Groan.

 

SALT Craftily Disguised as Tom's Tavern

The Boulder Book Store is one of six independent bookstores on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder, and with its exposed brick walls, creaky wooden floors, well-stocked oak bookshelves, tin ceilings, and tall windows, it’s a beaut! The only thing missing is a big, ol’ yellow tom cat roaming around.

The Boulder Book Store and the BookEnds Cafe

Located at the west end of the mall, the Boulder Book Store boasts three floors filled with more than 150,000 glorious new and used books. Even better, everywhere you turn you find knowledgeable, helpful staff. Right next door, with easy access from the Book Store, a cafe called BookEnds offers tasty pastries, coffees, teas, and lots of outdoor seating on the mall.  A reader’s Shangri-la. I could have spent hours there. Well…actually, I did.

Doesn't it look inviting?

The Boulder Book Store

The "Grand Ballroom" on the Third Level

The Book Store also offers writing workshops and author events. While I wasn’t able to attend a writing workshop, Tom and I did get to attend a very informative presentation by local author, Elana Amsterdam. Amsterdam has written a marvelous, recently published cookbook titled The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook of which I now own a signed copy. Self-satisfied smile. She also has a terrific website called Elana’s Pantry with hundreds of gluten-free recipes. Be nice to me, and I might even let you sample some of the goodies I’ll be making from her cookbook and website—that is, once the almond flour arrives from the supplier. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about my gluten-free baking and cooking adventures soon in my other blog, Mary’d With Children. Amsterdam has some truly inspired ideas. I can’t wait to get started!  

Amsterdam's New Cookbook

The St. Vrain Market - Lyons, CO

Connie Sullivan, co-owner of The St. Vrain Market

Shopping for the items on our list took us less than 15 minutes–the St. Vrain Market would fit into half the produce section of my local grocery store–but we found everything we needed and were amazed to find many things we never expected to see. Moreover, I was reminded that shopping, when I’m given only a few options to choose from, can be a rather pleasant, stress-free experience. Seriously, why do we need 253 different cereal choices?

The St. Vrain Market

Connie and her husband, Neil, recently purchased the St. Vrain Market and have big plans for it in the near future, including expanding the meat and deli counter, adding a bakery, and introducing new products that will help their customers “enjoy a delicious, healthy, and balanced diet” (yes, the two of them are incredibly physically fit and appear to be health nuts like everyone else in Colorado, but we’ll not hold that against them). Fortunately, they truly seem to appreciate the rarity of their wonderful little store and plan to maintain “the nostalgia of [their] hometown market.” I hope so. I wish them great success and can’t wait to go back. Visit their website to learn more.

Yummy Produce!

I’ve changed the tag line of the blog to “Places to Visit. People to Meet” and will—from now on—post only pictures and short blurbs about places I think you’d enjoy visiting and people you might like to meet. The longer stories, I’ll continue to post on Mary’d With Children.

Also, as I was reflecting on the whole business, I realized that—although I didn’t do it consciously at the time—the name I gave the blog infers that I will be telling you about fun places and nice people; otherwise, why would I wish you were here? That is…I suppose…unless you’ve done something to cheese me off…

Anyway, the realization dramatically changed my attitude about this endeavor. As a general rule (not an ironclad rule, I admit, but a general rule), I do not relish writing negatively about people or their businesses. Who needs that kind of karma? Nor do I wish to duplicate the efforts of Mary’d With Children. So, in the future on P.S. Wish You Were Here, you’ll find pictures of and short posts about pleasant, worthwhile places to spend your time and some of the interesting people who make our world a nice place to live. I’ll leave the negative reviews to others.

With that said, please come back to the blog soon. Tom and I are having a great time here in Colorado. I have a lot to write about and numerous pictures to post. Unfortunately, I don’t have an internet connection where we’re staying, so it may take a few days to get it all to you.

Thanks for being a reader!

Last week, I had the privilege of going to the beach on South Padre Island with my sister, Amy, my niece, Elisha, and my two great-nephews, Jesse and Cameron, ages eight and three respectively. For an hour and a half prior to our departure, Elisha filled zip-loc bags with food; loaded and iced a cooler big enough to have its own zip code; gathered beach chairs, towels, and umbrellas; filled water jugs; chased two excited little boys into their swim trunks; and schlepped all the aforementioned stuff (excluding the boys) outside to tie down in the bed of her truck, insisting the entire time she didn’t need any help. I was worn out just watching her.

After driving just over an hour to get there, Elisha parked along a residential street that ran parallel to the beach. We clamored out, doors open wide as the truck was unloaded into the hot, muggy Texas afternoon sunshine. Squirmy little boys were slathered head-to-toe in sunscreen before chairs, umbrellas, beach bags, and inflatable beach toys were hoiked onto every available shoulder, arm, and hip for the quarter-mile-plus hike down the street, over the sand dunes, and across the beach to a spot which was selected solely for its proximity to the walkway back over the dunes and back to the truck. Hey, you try dragging the monster cooler through the sand!

Within minutes, we had umbrella stands screwed into the sand, umbrellas up battling the wind, chairs unfolded and situated–along with the cooler–in the shade of the umbrellas, and towels unfolded and ready for use, all to the tune of, “Can we get in the water now? Can we get in the water now?” My sister can be soooo impatient.

I was personally ready for a beach chair, a fruity drink, and a good book, but it was not to be. Jesse and Cameron had other ideas, and none of them had to do with sitting in the shade.

Here, it must be said, that I had never been that far south on the Texas coast, and it was much nicer than I had expected. Granted, I wouldn’t want to be in South Padre during Spring Break, but I will certainly look forward to going back with Elisha and her family at other times of the year. The sand was clean and beautiful, the water was clear, warm, and free of seaweed, and the beach was busy, but not crowded. On that particular day, the current had created what Elisha called–for lack of a better term–a wading pool. Between the shore and a sand bar approximately 50 feet out, the water was no deeper than 18 inches. Also, because of the sand bar, and another approximately 50-75 feet beyond the first, the waves were tamer than they would have been otherwise, perfect for cautious eight-year-olds and fearless three-year-olds.

South Padre Island

For what seemed like minutes, but turned out to be hours, we bobbed in the waves, tried our luck floating in the inner tubes, watched for the tiny fish we occasionally saw swimming around our feet, tried to hold our breath the longest, practiced backward underwater somersaults, and looked for seashells along the edge of the water. Occasionally, when thirst or hunger could no longer be ignored, we would head to the shade for a bit of rest and to raid the cooler for goodies. During one such raid, Cameron grabbed the bag of trail mix and, with a conspiratorial look in my direction, began plucking the M&Ms from the mix, healthy peanuts and raisins be damned. I smiled and said nothing. The prerogative of a great-aunt, right?

Jesse (They don't come any kinder or sweeter!)

Cameron (Yes, he’s a pistol!)

When someone finally did think to ask about the time, we were shocked to learn that it was well past 7 p.m. Time to gather up our belongings, drag ourselves and our plunder back to the truck, and get as cleaned up as possible (thanks to the jugs of water that Elisha had thought to bring) before meeting Elisha’s husband, Jesse, at one of the local restaurants for dinner.

By the time we collapsed into the chairs at the restaurant, I was exhausted, slightly sun-burned, sticky from the salt water, and had sand hidden where sand should never be hidden. As I sipped iced tea and snuggled a sleeping Cameron on my lap, I marveled that at no time during the entire afternoon had I been near a lounge chair, a book, a fruity drink, or a cabana boy, but I had undoubtedly just experienced one of the best days I’d ever spent at a beach. All because two of the sweetest, most energetic little boys on the planet had reminded me how much fun a beach can really be.