I have to admit that when it comes to cooking I am an opportunist. Last week when I was grocery shopping, I found a large package of country ribs at the IGA that was on sale and had been reduced $3. For less than $6 I could have about 10 country ribs, I just couldn't resist.
I debated doing them in the slow cooker but opted for the oven since I didn't want to do them with barbecue sauce but rather with bread crumbs and Teriyaki sauce.
I set the oven at 375 and pre-heated it. I use a cookie sheet to cook my ribs. I lightly coat the pan with olive oil. I poured about a cup of breadcrumbs onto a plate and then coated the ribs on both sides and lined them up on the pan. I then sprinkled them with Chicago steak seasoning.
The ribs need to cook for about an hour. At the 45 minute point take your teriyaki sauce and use a pastry brush to apply it to the ribs. I turn them over to coat both sides. Do this several times over the next 15 minutes.
The country ribs that I used this time were so thick that I decided to cook them for a full hour before starting to put the teriyaki sauce.
I love country ribs this way, that little bit of sweetness is such a good addition to the breadcrumbs. Serve with applesauce and potatoes and veg of your choice. We like mashed potatoes and corn but during the summer I was using local tomatoes with a little balsamic vinegar.
Alfred said that these ribs are the best thing since sliced bread which from a man whose usual response is that the food is edible is very high praise.
After our day touring the Adams sites we were ready to get some grub. We walked down the street past the United First Parish Church looking for something to interest us. It was warm, we were tired, and frankly, nothing looked that great. (sorry restaurant owners in that area). Fine, we thought, we will just find something on the way to the hotel. Now I have to admit when I get hungry I am not a pretty sight and I was getting peckish in the extreme. Luckily for us, we spotted the Fowler House Café about a mile after we left the parking lot.
We found a parking spot across the street and ran over. There is seating in both the bar area and the dining room. It’s hard to tell what to expect from the outside, we almost expected a neighborhood bar. We were half right, this is definitely a neighborhood place but it is a family restaurant to be sure.
The menu has lots of choices from appetizers, the "drunken mussels" sounded great to me, to soups and chili. They have individual pizza from as simple a plain cheese to as exotic as eggplant and roasted red pepper. Lots of salad choices, burgers, and sandwiches. I, however, was warm and tired and I wanted something frosty cold. Nope, not a beer, a Pina Colada, and a beauty it was. Just what I needed to perk me up.
I was ready for some serious eating. I ordered the Seafood baked trio, a combination of scrod, scallops, and stuffed shrimp cooked in a casserole, lightly buttered, and seasoned. Al chose the shrooms and tips. Both of our orders came with a basic green salad to start. It was a very basic green salad with iceberg lettuce, onion, tomato, croutons, and one piece of cucumber. It was however huge.
My fish dish was delicious, I had it served with butternut squash as my side. Al’s plate was loaded with perfectly cooked tips and shrooms and butternut squash. So much food, unfortunately, we had no room for dessert.
We were seated in a very comfortable and private booth. Around us, there were families, children, and seniors. A little bit of everything. There was a lot of bang for your buck here and most people were taking away doggy bags.
Service was friendly and efficient. I would eat at the Fowler House Cafe again if I was in the neighborhood.
By the time we got to the Hill of Tara, it was after 2 p.m. and to say we were getting peckish is an understatement. I wanted to grab a bite at the Battle of the Boyne visitor center but Gerry recommended waiting and going to McGuires. It didn't occur to me that maybe he has an arrangement with them to bring his passengers there to eat, but I suspect it is so. When we saw it we understood why. It is very attractive and our greeting was warm.
We got menus and our drinks quite quickly but we were allowed to wait too long to place our orders. Gerry ended up going to the counter and telling them to come over. I ordered the vegetable soup of the day which was sweet potato and parsnip, a tuna and sweetcorn wrap, and tea. We invited Gerry to join us for lunch and he also ordered tea so they served us tea for two.
Irene also ordered the soup and a ham and cheese panini to share with Pete and Janet ordered the ham and cheese panini. Jerry ordered the BLT on a bagel. I wonder if he knew something?
The soup was delicious, really, really good and it came with nice grainy bread. The wrap was just okay as was the ham and cheese panini. Pete ordered an Irish coffee with Jameson and it came as a cup of coffee and a shot of Jameson on the side. He was quite surprised.
I ordered the rhubarb crumble to go and also took my half wrap which I had not finished with me. I figured it would make a nice dinner later. I was wrong. The wrap didn't travel very well and it desperately needed more mayo and the rhubarb crumble was terrible. The crumble and crust were disgusting and I ended up eating the rhubarb out of it as best as possible. I love rhubarb crumble and I was so disappointed, I should have ordered the Pavlova.
Maybe it was just what I ordered, the soup was so good and it was all downhill from there. The staff at McGuires Cafe was lovely and friendly so it is hard to give them a bad review but I recommend steering clear of the tuna and the crumble and maybe going with the BLT bagel lol. I am thinking they cater to bus tours and are what you would expect of such an establishment.
