Our weekend so far

A quiet weekend again. We are sort of falling down on the exploration/adventure front at the moment, but we did get out of the house a couple of times. On Friday we went in search of Mexican food in Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester, about 30 to 40 minutes away. It wasn't bad - not necessarily up to Austin standards (but those are pretty high) - but good enough to satisfy an enchilada craving. As Benjamin pointed out, the only problem with it was that the decor was too bright and cheery. All the good Tex-Mex places in Austin tend to be a bit darker and tackier (velvet Elvis at Chuy's anyone?) with more beer sign ads. Saturday we drove to Pittsford, another Rochester suburb, to go to the large, fancy Wegman's grocery store and compare it to the Brockport Wegman's. Again, a 30 minute drive. It was impressive looking, and had a lot of good looking prepared food, but in the end, not worth the drive. Too many people, not enough special food. Heck, they didn't even have frozen, unshelled edamame, which doesn't seem that exotic to me anymore. I miss the bulk bins at Whole Foods and Central Market. I am going to have to visit the natural food stores in Rochester to find quinoa and other bulk foods.

That disappointment aside, I do like all the fresh foods we can get here right now. We bought local grapes yesterday. They actually smell like the grape flavor used in candy, and are completely different from the grapes you usually get at the grocery store. At the farmer's market this morning, I had my pick from 4 or 5 types of apples. I bought two kinds of squash, tomatoes, onions, a cucumber, red bell peppers, lettuce, carrots, and some of those apples.

Next weekend Benjamin will be in Austin, defending his dissertation. I might go pick apples, but otherwise the adventures are on hold for a couple of weeks. We might try to go visit friends in Albany in early October, and another friend in Ithaca once the foliage is in full color. So, we will do better, I promise.