Why is that alarm going off at eight on a Saturday morning? Because we had to be somewhere by nine.

The Butlers and the Boroses are always talking about this small meat market in Austell called Patak's. It's open during the week, but also one Saturday a month, the first weekend. We decided to finally go check it out this morning after a quick breakfast and a dog walk.

Next time we'll be there by 8:30...there was a line outside the small building and parking was at a premium; James almost had to park in the street then noticed a handicapped space was available. It took us about 45 minutes just to get inside; people were coming out with big, big bags full of all sorts of meat, and it's said people drive two and three hours to shop here once a month.

Inside, two walls are lined with meat cases, and there's a big freezer on the right as you walk in with pierogies, liver sausage, and other items. To the left are shelves with different ethnic foods. They even had flavored vinegars which I want to try next time, and lemon butter; lots of interesting things, plus big loaves of bread (ones I couldn't finish before they went stale). Once you get to the counter, one attendant serves you through the whole process. We bought a pound each of ground pork, mild Italian sausage, pork schnitzel, and thin-cut round steak; also a half pound of gypsy ham and a half pound of mortadella. The freezer is full, so we passed on the huge chicken drumsticks. They also had lots of different types of sausages and salamis and some of the fattest hot dogs I've ever seen. Made it out at less than $30.

Then we shoved it all into the insulated shopping bag and headed to Titan Comics for Free Comic Book Day. I couldn't look around much because of the lines through the store—graphic novels were 25 percent off and something else was half off, and unless there's more Elfquest out or they've done another adaptation of Bryant & May, I'm not much into graphic novels anyway and I don't game. I did get what I wanted: the Doctor Who comic, the comic book in which there was a new Owly story, and the Serenity comic.

We took the meat home and each had a sandwich of our respective cold cuts (nice mortadella). Tucker's eyes got really big when I brought the bags in the house; I couldn't blame him as I could smell the mortadella outside the bag. It made a nice sandwich in the baguette I got from Publix.

We went out to the Forum this afternoon, intending to stop at the Barnes & Noble (James still has a coupon left) and then go to Trader Joe's. The weather was 51°F and beautifully cool this morning, but by the time we left Patak's it was already hot and had crept up to 80 by the end of the afternoon. Some people are energized by the sun; for me it's like the sun takes a great big straw, sticks it in my neck, and sucks all my energy away through my spine. By the time we'd gone through the clearance items and I'd picked up A Front Page Affair (pre WWI mystery), "Just Cross Stitch" and a coloring magazine, and James had picked up a bunch of modeling magazines and "Cook's Illustrated," I was wiped out. We headed for Trader Joe's, but I couldn't bear the thought of standing out in the sun cranking the power chair down again and then back up again when we came out.

So, since it was 3:30, we just went on to supper at Williamson Barbecue. I'd been jonesing for riblets. They were good (lots of cartilage, which I love to crunch), but they always recall better than they taste. These were a bit overdone, too. James just had the appetizer sampler platter and took 2/3 of it home (it's a big "appetizer"). He went to the doctor on Wednesday and then Thursday, and it turns out he has two infections, including a nasty sinus infection that is making it hard for him to taste anything. What he does taste tastes mostly "off." Hopefully the antibiotic will kick in soon.

We got home way in time before the Kentucky Derby to see them run a turf race on an inner track at Churchill Downs. I didn't even know we did turf races here; I thought that was solely a British thing. Two horses fell in the turf race, but neither they nor the jockeys seemed to be seriously injured. The Derby favorite, Nyquist—people keep making cold medicine jokes—won by a length, the jockey keeping him up front for most of the race, but reined in, and then putting on the "gas" after the final turn.

Spent the evening with Father Brown and Rosemary & Thyme (I confess I napped through most of the latter) and Britcoms, did two other dog walks, and finally put TuneIn radio on. I've been itching all night, probably from being in the sun. Stupid thing.

Labels: comics, food, shopping, sports, television

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 11:53:00 PM

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