Capital Gains

July 31-Aug. 2

Our next stop wasn’t far away, so we took U.S. 5 to Schenectady. Even without using the Interstate, we got there in little more than an hour. Too early to check in, I stopped at the Quality Inn & Suites anyway. At least, I confirmed that it was the right place. 

Then we drove to the Stockade Historic District to take a stroll.

An area of town full of 18th and 19th century homes, it is roughly where the original stockaded town was. Union College, founded in the late 1700s, is also there.

We parked on a side street by the college. Many of the old homes along that stretch had been converted to college offices of various kinds.  

We stopped at some kind of artisanal trading company where Joanna bought a local craft ginger ale and a mug.

We probably walked for a couple of miles. We saw a strange-looking round building that turned out to be the rotunda of city hall. We passed several places that looked promising for dinner.

One of those places, Johnny’s, turned out to be highly rated by TripAdvisor reviewers. So we went there later.

Much to our surprise, a table for two for an early dinner was almost a problem. But it’s a popular place, and besides, it was Saturday night, a detail that I had forgotten.

They were able to set us at a high-top near the bar, which was fine with us. It’s our usual choice when we go to Calandra’s Taverna, one of our favorite places back home.

Our waiter was JoJo, who treats his job like a hobby. There is one dish on the menu, a mix of various seafood that is named for him.

He said he was waiting on the boss one night and made it up on the spot, He said it was a special of the night. He called it the JoJo special, a fra diavolo dish made with shrimp, scallops, a few other things, and finally lobster tail, to jack up the price.

It caught the boss off guard. He certainly hadn’t heard about it, so he decided to order it.

It must have been one hell of a leg pull. There’s a sign on the wall now that says “the Johnny’s family proudly recommends the JoJo Special.”

Specials this night included oysters on the half shell. I had a half dozen with Matua sauvignon blanc. It was a little sharper but not as flavorful as the Rhone white the other night. 

I misidentified that one when I wrote about it. It was listed on Hutch’s menu as Chateau Turcaud sauvignon blanc—not “cabernet sauvignon.” I often blunder with my sauvignons. I apologize for the error.

The oysters were exquisite. I drank them and felt like Henry the Eighth.

The veal marsala tagliatelle was also superb. I had that with an old favorite, a glass of Gabbiano Chianti. I didn’t see the bottle, but know it has a knight on the label.

Joanna had spaghetti with sausages and meatballs. It was bigger than her head, so she couldn’t eat it all in one sitting. She ate one of the sausages with her breakfast waffle next morning.

We are tired of moving out every morning, so we pushed to Montpelier on Sunday for a two-night stay. 

The trip took four hours, but it put us in a state capital (which ups the chances for things to see)  and close to our next stop, in Coventry, Vermont. 

We’re in another Comfort Inn, among the best I’ve enjoyed. It’s outside of town, about four miles from the statehouse.

We settled in and went to dinner at Positive Pie. Joanna found it in a local-business directory that she found in the room. Craft beer. Pizza. 

I think it was an act of altruism. Joanna may take a sip or two of my beer and rarely eats pizza.

She had linguine with shrimp and dried tomatoes, and says she enjoyed it.

Positive Pie serves a terrific pizza Margherita, made with San Marzano tomatoes. I had that with an ale out of Burlington, Switchback Amber, not too strong, at 5 percent alcohol. The flavor seemed almost too watery at first, but then it grew on me.

We stopped at the Shaw’s supermarket across the Paine Turnpike from our hotel to pick up some ale. I found another Switchback, an extra pale ale, which is heavier on hops than the amber. 

Monday morning we did laundry. Unless you’re remembering how to iron a shirt, laundry is the same every time.

There’s an art collection in town, the T.W. Wood Gallery, named for a 19th century American painter, Thomas Waterman Wood, whom I hadn’t heard of before. I have since learned that Wood was born in Montpelier in 1823.

The gallery is only open a few days a week, and Monday isn’t one of them.

So we went to the statehouse. Built in 1859, it sits up on a hill and is crowned by a large golden dome. It reminded me of the capitol in Montgomery, except the one in Alabama is white only, including the dome.

The figure on top of the Vermont dome, I read somewhere, is Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, of grain in particular, as well as of fertility in general.

Paintings in the lobby celebrate several outstanding native sons of Vermont, including Calvin Coolidge, Chester Arthur, and Admiral George Dewey.

We got to wander halls and peek through open doors into various chambers. Some visitors went upstairs, but we guessed that once you’ve seen one floor of a statehouse, you’ve seen them all.

We had been looking for a place to have dinner. Our top choice, J. Morgan’s Steakhouse, is closed on Mondays.

We tried a bar named Bear Naked Growler, which has dozens of craft brews on tap. It only sells small-plate bar food. Joanna and I shared a Switchbrat. 

According to the bartender, who may also be the proprietor, it’s a bratwurst made by a company called McKenzie. It is sold precooked in Switchback ale and then you take it home and brown it in the kitchen.

It was superb. The ale gave it a distinctive edge, maybe from the hops. I never had anything quite like it before.

We had to have the brat because our insides were growling. And I wanted a beer, but not on a completely empty stomach.

I chose a Lunch IPA, brewed by the Maine Beer Company in Freeport. According to the company’s website, it runs 7 percent alcohol by volume. I don’t know that I actually tasted the orange, papaya and whatever undertones that the company promised, but it was a satisfying, mouth-filling flavor, and bitter, not sweet. 

According to Maine Beer, the Lunch that the ale is named for is a whale seen sometimes off the coast of Maine. The website says, “She has what looks like a bite taken out of her fin, which adds to her unique character.”

The best option left for dinner was Sarducci’s, not far from Bear Naked. 

We’ve been eating a lot of Italian dishes in the past few days, but we’re used to that. We’re from New Jersey.

Joanna went for Penne Pugliese, which had a sauce with a variety of vegetables, including spinach, eggplant, and both dried and fresh tomatoes.

I had a seafood pasta with cod, shrimp, and mussels in a marinara sauce over linguine.

Instead of wine, I had a Fiddlehead IPA. I have had it before and liked it well enough. But this time it seemed less satisfying. It may have sat in Sarducci’s keg too long, or maybe it doesn’t hold up against the Maine Lunch. Or I just wasn’t paying attention.

Right now, I’m polishing off a quart growler I bought at Bear Naked. It’s a single-hopped ale called Mosaic from Lost Nation Brewing in Morrisville, Vermont. It’s not weak, but I think brewers get more surprising results when they play with a mix of hops.

We’re off to Coventry tomorrow morning.

I don’t know about an Internet connection there, so I may go dark for a few days.

Good night, all, and may the higher power of your choice bless.

Harry