Miller Place - Rocky Point St. Patrick's Day Parade 2011

I have lived on Long Island for 16 years and have to admit that I have never attended this epic parade.  Andrew and I had planned to get to the Waldbaum's parking lot at 12:45 to check out this spectacle.  We miscalculated and could not get past the outskirts of Rocky Point.  We parked at McCarricks - bought a beverage and walked to downtown Rocky Point.  This was the place to be!  The party had started at the Oxygen Bar and many, many wonderful people had set up their seats and private party-tents along the route.

The first quote I heard from parade goers was "I smell Leprechans!" from a 6 year old visiting with his parents! I love it!

This is my favorite picture! The girl with the chicken - she was so good with the children! I love Long Island!

I had a moment (actually 2 hours - we were at the parade's end) to wait so I stopped into Tilda's Bake Shop for a bagel and a Diet Coke.  They have wonderful pastries and breads.  They have an incredible reputation for their baked goods.  No one I know has ever been disappointed at Tilda's.

Back out to the parade site and I was entertained by the dogs and their owners!  This parade is a dog paradise!

We walked down to Saint Anthony of Padua's to check out the review stand.  These are the McCarrick Brothers - MCs of the Parade!

We were getting excited for the parade!  The Oxygen Bar and the grand stand were providing us with great music - dance music and old school Irish music!

Senator Chuck Schumer.

I love a Man In Uniform! :)  This parade had both awesome men and women in uniform!!

Go Ladies! I am so in awe!

And then there were my favorite spectators!

Do you notice the guy above with the tutu?!

And an interesting banner that means alot!

I love Suffolk County, NY!

Virginia's Long Island: Remembering A Fine Day - 2010 Long Island Wine & F...

Virginia's Long Island: Remembering A Fine Day - 2010 Long Island Wine & F...: "I am writing this on a dreary day in March. I am dreaming of sunny Summer days, planning my 2011 backyard Oasis. For some reason..."

Remembering A Fine Day - 2010 Long Island Wine & Food Festival

I am writing this on a dreary day in March.  I am dreaming of sunny Summer days, planning my 2011 backyard Oasis.  For some reason, I starting thinking of a highlight of last summer - the First Annual Long Island Wine and Food Festival in Greenport, NY.  When I heard about this event I was jazzed! Local wines from virtually all of the Vineyards and Wineries of Long Island and food from some stellar local chefs sounded right up my alley!

When we arrived at Mitchell Park, tickets in hand, we were each given a commemorative glass and a bright yellow bag from the retailer Scoop!  I picked the right color dress to match the bag!  There were two tents where we could get our tasting on!  We started in the smaller tent and had many samples of wine.  The lines for the food were packed so we kept to drinks at first.  It was a unique opportunity to sample quality wines and to decide who we would become fans of and who we would pass by on our future wine tastings!

There was fab wine and food in this tent.  We met the chef from Comtesse Therese Bistro.  I am really looking forward to visiting them this Spring!  We had a huge beer from Blue Point (Hoptical Illusion = Yummy).  We tasted lovely Lieb Cellars wine.  We had wonderful soft shell crab sandwiches from Bistro M (Glen Head, NY)!  I was frustrated that we missed out on Noah's food offering.



We took a short break to catch some lovely Greenport views.  Greenport is one of our favorite towns and we are actually considering retiring there.

Above is Claudios Clam Bar - happening all summer!

On to the big tent!  We met John Ross - author of 'The Food and Wine of the North Fork'.  (Of which, we have a signed copy - given to Andrew for a Christmas Present by his wonderful Mom).

We were lucky enough to get to the Love Lane Kitchen's table (twice! - I got my greedy little hands on the last plate - Score!) to completely enjoy their duck leg with Israeli couscous.  We ate these on the park benches while chatting with the fifteen year old skateboarders from town.  By the way, this was the best food offering of the day!  Delicious!

We were fortunate to try great wines in the big tent from Macari - we were blown away by their wine!  I'll admit I went back for more.  I was particularly impressed by their Early Wine.  I was reluctant to try this before - early, to me, meant green.  But this was anything but the case.  Loved it!

We also met a wonderful woman from Wolffer.  (I am sorry to have forgotten her name - I think it might be Melissa)  I am partial to this Vineyard - its a long story about my Honeymoon.... Wolffer has the world's greatest Rose!

We tried champagne from Sparkling Point.  It is now a favorite.  I can't wait to visit their tasting room to try more of this ambrosia. 

We had a bunch of Cabot Cheeses.  Andrew is partial to the Habanero Cheddar and I am a huge fan of their White Sharp Cheddar (another long story about family holidays in Vermont).  The ladies working the table were friendly and fun.

This picture, above, is an example of the fun.

There was a great fondue made by Bruce's of Greenport and across the aisle there was the pasta pefection from Il Mulino (Yes - that Il Mulino!- another place that I should eventually post about - good times).  While waiting, we had a wonderful conversation with a few wonderful ladies from Brooklyn, NY!  They were fabulous and they complemented my dress!  Happy Day!

This is my wonderful designated driver Andrew!

Not my ride!

But we did get a prime parking space.  I love Greenport!

P.S. I have to add these comments - just in case anyone organizing 2011s event reads this post. It will be more successful if you add at least another tent and an option to purchase food (Food trucks) - there was too much wine and not enough food at the 2010 event.  We ended up eating at Claudios afterwards.

Virginia's Long Island: Wine Blog Wednesday #70

Virginia's Long Island: Wine Blog Wednesday #70: "One of my favorite people on social media, Lenn Thompson, Editor of the New York Cork Report, announced that Wine Blog Wednesday has returne..."

Virginia's Long Island: I'm No Snookie - Virginia's Jersey Shore

Virginia's Long Island: I'm No Snookie - Virginia's Jersey Shore: "Sometimes a girl just has to get away! I have another vice to talk about - I love Atlantic City, NJ! About eight years ago, Andr..."

I'm No Snookie - Virginia's Jersey Shore

Sometimes a girl just has to get away!  I have another vice to talk about - I love Atlantic City, NJ!  About eight years ago, Andrew and I learned to be proficient at playing Video Poker.  We practiced at home and are actually pretty successful when we hit the casinos.  I have won, lost and broken even - but have always had fun!  In fact, between us, we have hit 9 Royal Flushes over the years.  Being relatively low rollers (budget = $300 per day for both of us), we have been very lucky, many times winning enough to pay for a nice gourmet meal at places like Bobby Flay Steak, Mia or Izakaya.

There is so much fun to be had that I will not be able to cover it all!  I will highlight my favorite moments from our latest trip.  Our first stop, because we were starting our stay at Ballys, was at The Trinity Pub in The Pier Shops at Caesars.  It is a great place to unwind after a long trip.

I had the Chicken Reuben with peas.  Very nice!  They have lovely Swirled Rye Bread at The Trinity Pub.

Andrew had the Roast Beef with Cheddar and Whiskey Gravy....great with a nicely poured Guinness!

I am a fan of Outlet Malls!  There is a great Outlet Center in Riverhead, NY, near my home.  There is also a nice Outlet Center in Atlantic City - a two block walk from Ballys.  They have great stores like Banana Rebublic, Van Heusen (I forgot to pack a dress shirt for Andrew) and UnderArmor (we needed a bunch of hunting gear).

One of my favorite things about Atlantic City is the Pier Shops at Caesars.  A non-gambler can spend all day in this gorgeous mall - even if they have a small budget.  There are lovely Adirondack Chairs facing the ocean to sit and enjoy the view, the piped in music or a good book.  There are many high end stores to browse through, such as Prada, Tiffany, Tommy Bahama, Louis Vuiton and Tourneau.  They have lower end stores to have more fun such as Brookstone, Apple, Sugar (candy) and even a Ten Dollar store.  There are many great restaurants, food stalls and even a cafeteria style place where you can get soup, salads, sandwiches and smoothies.  The Pier Shops is clean, safe and comfortable with a wonderful attraction - a water show.  This is a must see and Andrew and I try to check it out at least once a visit.

After a fun day of shopping and gambling we were pleased to go back to Mia in Caesars for dinner - this restaurant had served us one of the best meals we've ever had. This time around, we started with Beet and Blue Cheese Salad and Asparagus Soup.  Andrew had Short Ribs with Polenta and I had Brined Chicken with Panchetta and Polenta.  For dessert, we enjoyed unique dishes of Butterscotch/Rosemary Pudding with Rosemary Biscotti (so different but perfect) and Tahitian Creme Brullee (yes, we cheated on our sugar ban)!  This was a fine meal.  (I was hesitant to use my flash - it has such a intimate feel inside this room).

After a night of sin and debauchery - which for us means Tipsy Video Poker and Penny Slots until 4 AM - we had a nice snack at The Continental in The Pier Shops.  We split a BLT, Salad and Buffalo Chicken Meatballs.  Now I have a new favorite - those meatballs will be eaten every time I return to AC!

After a few nights at Ballys we checked into the Borgata Casino - my Happy Place !

We had a nice lunch at The Metropolitan - the coffee shop at the Borgata.  This is a great place for any meal or snack.  The bartenders are fabulous!  I ordered my favorite sandwich - the Angus Roast Beef Sandwich with Horseradish Sauce and Andrew had  the wonderful Pastrami Sandwich.  We decided to eat half of each others' orders.  What a great way to do lunch!  Two great flavors!

After a nice afternoon of Video Poker we took a cab over to Harrahs Casino for dinner at The Steakhouse.  We have been happy each time that we ate here.  Even though the waitress was snarky and annoying we enjoyed the food.  The back-up staff was professional and pleasant, as usual.  Andrew had a wonderful Angus Beef and Potato Soup and the Flat Iron Steak with Sweet Potato Gratin and I enjoyed an Heirloom Tomato and Maytag Blue Cheese Salad and a super Colossal Shrimp Cocktail.  They also have a bread basket that includes an addictive cheese spread.  It alone will keep us coming back.

Back to The Borgata for some more sin and debauchery!