Gulu-Gulu Cafe: Salem, Massachusetts

While in Salem, we asked a local where the good lunch food was, and she directed us to Gulu-Gulu Cafe.  The place had a cozy, hip feel to it, and the staff was friendly while not being afraid to joke around a bit.

Fancy and I each ordered the Cheese and Meat Coalition which allows you to choose a combination of three items from their extensive meat and cheese list for $11.  I had the capicola, salami, and Grafton Cheddar.  It was fantastic!  It came served on a bed of leafy greens with a bowl of bread.

Both Fancy and I were served up our own bowl of bread, which we used to make tiny sandwiches.  I goddamn love tiny sandwiches.  

Fancy went the two cheese, one meat route, because she loves cheese more than anything in the whole world.  Seriously.  So, she had the Red Dragon Ale & Mustard Cheddar, Smoked Grafton Cheddar, and prosciutto.  

Spider Lady had one of the turkey paninis, which she thoroughly enjoyed.  There was a nice balance of meat, cheese, and toppings.  These run between $8-$8.50, so the price is pretty damn good.

Mr. Fix-It went for the Tuscany Panini, which came with a generous serving of capicola as you can tell from the picture.  Both came with a salad and chips.  

This handsome puppy is the mascot, and as you know this okapi goddamn loves dogs.  The pint glass is purchasable with for $3 if you buy a beer, so of course we got one.  This place has a huge beer selection, so if you likes draft beer, this is the place for you.  The actual beverage pictured above is Mr. Fix-It's fruit smoothie.  It's dairy free, and he loved it so much he ordered two.

I had the hot chocolate, because it was a bit rainy outside, and I was feeling damp.  It was delicious, and coupled extremely well with my Meat and Cheese Coalition.  If you're ever in New England and decide to check out Salem, make sure to stop at this place.  This okapi gives it a full 5 stars for fantastic food, great ambiance, and an awesome waitstaff.  

Mackworth Island, Maine: Fairy Village

The village is the second major point of interest on the island (after the pet cemetery, of course).  I have to admit prior to this I never really saw a fairy house, but it seems like most other people know about them.  If you want to know a little more or figure out how to make one, check out this link.

One of the people I work with said if she saw this particular fairy house in the woods somewhere she would think there was cult activity afoot.  Dang, can't a fairy have a little stonehenge ambiance??

Since fairy houses are made out of natural materials it was interesting to see the creative uses of island materials.  Here, a bit of seaweed was incorporated.

Some folks stuck to strictly forest materials to create small cabins for the woodland loving fairies.

Others went for an ocean cottage feel.  This even has a sand dollar, which we saw very few of in our New England travels.

Still others blended both and went for a tepee-like architecture.  

A note was posted by the island park department to remind folks not to build giant, dangerous fairy homes.  Makes me wonder what kind of structure brought on this note...

Mackworth Island, Maine: Pet Cemetery

One of the things you should definitely see if you ever go to the Portland area of Maine is Mackworth Island.  This place contains roughly 1 mile of hiking trail around the island with great water views, Baxter School for the Deaf, and a delightful fairy village (which will be covered in the next post!!).

However, what people really go to Mackworth Island for is the pet cemetery that inspired Stephen King's book.  The cemetery itself is not super creepy unless you consider the following: 1) it has been manicured neatly by the parks department as to avoid people wandering through the forest aimlessly, 2) you are on an island with a decent walk to civilization, and 3) the island's dark history.  

When we crossed the causeway onto the island we came upon a small gate house with an old New England gentleman sitting inside.  He told us (in a voice that sounded EXACTLY like the old man from the movie Pet Cemetery) that we would have each need to pay 3 dollahs into a green slot furthah up.  He also gave us a guide book we had to return before leaving the island.  The payment was on the honor system.

First, I'd like to note it is awesomely cool that this guy, Baxter, gave away his island with the stipulation that his pets' graves not be disturbed.

The place is surrounded by a round rock wall and has a wooden gate.  This is the only horse buried there.

It was kind of the state to keep up this cemetery so well.  There was a large storm at some point, but the cemetery was restored.  

Lobster Shack Ogunquit, Me.

This week Fancy, Mr. Fix-it, Spider Lady, and I are in Maine.  Therefore, we will have several restaurant reviews from New England.  Woohoo clams!  This place, The Lobster Shack, is in Perkin's Cove, Maine near Ogunquit.  It's on the beach and very pretty.

However, being in such a picturesque area, the prices are a bit high.  Those clams up there are big, long neck clams.  We enjoyed them, but we prefer the littleneck variety.  The bellies in large neck clams have an odd texture like that of a coughed up phlegm ball.  This may be difficult to overcome for some...

Next up we had the clam chowder.  It was like milk with clams in it.  There was little to no flavor, but a lot of clams, so a lot of you may dig this type of thing.

Then we got the "Maine thing," lobster rolls!  The top one up there has a quarter pound of lobster with mayo for $15.  Again, it just didn't have much taste at all.  Yeah, it was lobster and lobster alone is good.  But, the lobster roll was nothing to write home about.  Mr. Fix-it and Spider Lady had the double roll with double the lobster for $10 more, but  had the same complaint. This place has great reviews just about everywhere online, so maybe it's just us.  Maybe we just expect more flavor from our food, because food back home tends to be flavor rich.

Duff's...the StarTAC of wings

So, Duff's is one of the places known for wings in good 'ol Buffalo.  I've had them twice, and have been less than impressed both times.  There, I said it.  Thing is, I thought the first time was a bit of a fluke, but no.  They're a little bland, and not nearly as hot as their sign lets on.  (However, if you're not from the area, you might think the hot is hot.  People not from 'round these parts don't know what hot wing sauce is.)

Now, before you Duff lovers leave home to stalk/kill me, let me just give my little disclaimer:  I often prefer the Roc version of things, so I'm not going to rate this place.  People in Buffalo like to say "Anchor Bar invented the wing, but Duff's perfected it!!"  I prefer to believe any number of small, hole in the walls places perfected the wing.  That's not to say Anchor Bar and Duff's aren't important, because wings  wouldn't be where they are today if it weren't for those places.  So, like the VHS tape of wings...

Since this is Buffalo, you know they're serving some shoestring fries.  This is the generous portion I was served as part of the lunch special, which included 10 wings and 2 sides for $11-$12.  No complaints there.

My buddy GeeGee got the burger, and to be perfectly honest I should have got that too.  She reports it was good.  Again, the price was decent.

This is the chicken wing soup.  It was BY FAR the best part of my meal.  It was goddamn delightful.  Also, the serving size was HUGE for a side dish.  Okay, so here's what I think:  people are expected to love this place, and if you're not from Western NY, I can even see how you might.  People from the region should try different places, and see what they like.  A lot of places have a sweeter or more flavorful sauce in any number of ways.