Nancy's Inner Space

Happy Fourth of July! We celebrated by barbecuing in the backyard on my new grill (it's great), talking to our daughter by phone as she was on the Esplanade in Boston waiting for the fireworks to begin, taking a nice walk outside at the edge of dusk. Oh yeah,  and watching endless versions of Independence Day, complete with trailers, documentaries on the "Making Of"and other behind the scenes goodies for the 1996 movie. (Okay, I'll admit to watching most of The Guardian again tonight, too. And I have to say that between that and Deadliest Catch, I have come to a position of great respect for the men and women of the US Coast Guard. Hi, Paul -- no insults for you this time, only respect!)

 

All in all, a pleasant, low-key non event of a day appropriate for reflection that we live in a country stuffed with awesome men and women. Once we've cleaned up the mess in Washington, perhaps we can remind the rest of the world just how great all of us in the species Homo sapiens are truly capable of being.

Every once in a while there comes along a taste, a smell, a fleeting glimpse that stimulates the memory center of the brain. Sometimes the memories are terrible. Just ask someone with PTSD. But sometimes, the memories unlock something wonderful.

 

I have the latter experience at Jasper White's Summer Shack. Recently I had the opportunity to go to the Cambridge restaurant for my birthday. Everything we ordered was unbelieveably delicious. Mr. White's slogan is "Food is Love" and with every bite, the love poured out. The cornbread brought to the table is moist and not too heavy. The oysters were fresh and delicious, each variety tasting subtly different but overall with that briny cold goodness of the ocean. The Shack Bouillabaisse is crammed with mussels, lobster, clams, squid and fin fish in a broth that is so well-seasoned that each mouthful is pleasure in a spoon. The meatloaf is homey and flavorful. The clam chowder is a thinner New England version (no, tomatoes do NOT belong in clam chowder) that showcases the goodness of the tender clams and potatoes that are not allowed to be mushy. A Bermuda fish and crab chowder is the antithesis of the New England variety with a little spice and a pleasant earthiness. I could go on and on reciting what's great at the Summer Shack.

 

The happiest part of the Summer Shack for me are the memories evoked by the seemingly simple dishes. I had a steamed lobster with an ear of corn on the cob. This was the sweetest, tastiest lobster I'd had maybe since I was a kid. And the corn was tender and flavorful, like it had been picked moments before cooking. It should be easy to get lobster and corn right, but it's not. But wait, there's more. One of the special desserts that evening was strawberry shortcake. Nope, no cheesy spongecake with defrosted presweetened watery strawberries and a squirt of some canned "wip" on top. For my birthday I had strawberry shortcake made with the real home-made style biscuit, not too sweet, split and filled with generous slices of fresh strawberries, a sprinkling of sugar and a big spoonful of whipped cream. One mouthful, and I was transported back in time to perhaps the age of 8, to the annual Fourth of July "event" my in hometown that featured barbecued chicken, lobster, baseball and fireworks at dusk. The shortcake was spot-on to one that my grandmother would have made.

 

Tears rolled down my cheeks and I have to admit, that meal made this one of the best birthdays ever.

 

Since then, I have been back and was not disappointed. The food is so great, the restaurant is so relaxing and everyone, from the greeter at the front of the house to the runners to the wait staff and beyond is happy to see you, and eager to make your meal the best dining experience you could possibly have. The Summer Shack in Cambridge is located in the repurposed former Aku-Aku Polynesian restaurant on Alewife Brook Parkway. There are also locations in Boston's Back Bay, Logan Airport, and at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Visit their website http://www.summershackrestaurant.com/index.asp then visit the restaurants. Be prepared for the realization that indeed, "Food is Love."

Just got back from a midnight showing of Pixar's newest feature-length film "WALL•E" and I've gotta say it may just have catapulted itself into the position of my favorite Pixar flick yet. The animation is fantastic (of course) and the appeal of the little industrial robot who is the star of the film is undeniable.

 

Once again, Pixar has managed to show us our humanity by way of a non-human protagonist. I won't spoil it for any of you who are going to see it but I will say that when the lights go down in the theater, be prepared to make contact with a number of our once cutting-edge technological toys as well as to reestablish a warm acceptance and affection for our own human heart.

 

Thank you, Pixar. And thank you, WALL•E.

Last night the family watched the conclusion of Discovery's "When We Left Earth." It left all of us wishing that the series had been longer, that it had been aired earlier in the day so that youngsters would be able to watch it, and that it had been indeed available in high definition as Discovery promised. It was only aired in digital here, not on the HD channels for which we pay extra. The end of the series left us feeling that so much history was omitted from this retelling. The newly unarchived footage was fantastic but I'm sure there was miles and miles and miles more of it.

 

Perhaps this was merely a six-hour commercial for the DVD boxed set? I don't like to think so but I never know what to make of marketing schemes.

 

And by the way, since, through no fault of my own, I missed my chance to chat with Gene Cernan, if you're out there, Captain Cernan, give me a shout. I'd love to listen to your perspectives for a few hours and ask you a couple dozen questions of my own.

Friday night saw the Red Sox organization pay tribute to the NBA Champion Boston Celtics (oh yeah, I love seeing that in print again) by wearing green uniform shirts and mowing a shamrock into the center field grass.  Awesome!

 

An added attraction was the rain delay during which duck boats carrying the Celtics and several trophies drove around Fenway. And a further entertainment for the Fenway Faithful came in the persons of Jonathan Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen, in the guise of Milli Vanilli, appropriately lip syncing "Blame it on the Rain." Gotta love Boston sports!!!