Best quotes ever . . . 0
“The market is oversaturated now.”
On the difficulties of becoming a porn star these days.
For the love of Jughead . . . . 0
Archie Comics responds to protests by religious groups.
“We stand by Life with Archie #16. As I’ve said before, Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone. It’s an idealized version of America that will hopefully become reality someday. We’re sorry the American Family Association/One Million Moms feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhate and narrow-minded people.”
- Jon Goldwater, CEO of Archie Comics
Dining on the half shell at Milford Oyster House (Milford, NJ) 0
By Mark McNease
They call New Jersey ‘the garden state’ for a reason: it’s beautiful and lush, and the Delaware River Valley is one of the most scenic and lovely river valleys in the country. The jokes about Jersey are only made by people who’ve never spent any time there and who rely on easy – and false – stereotypes.
Not only will you find some of the most gorgeous landscapes on the east coast, but you’ll find some of the best dining as well. This past weekend we went with our friends Kathi and Kaye to Milford Oyster House, easily one of the best restaurants for twenty miles around. The Oyster House boasts the outstanding food of Chef Ed Coss, who has been in the restaurant business since he was 16 years old. It shows: every dish is prepared to perfection and delivered by a crew of the most professional, and friendliest, wait staff you’ll likely ever meet. This includes the chef’s sister Amy, who co-owns the restaurant with him and whose signature cheesecake is a staple of the dessert menu, and Amy’s husband, who seats customers and welcomes them into this rustic setting.
It’s not called the oyster house for nothing: our meal started with a selection from their fresh, daily offerings of oysters. There were six different kinds on the menu Saturday night and I selected two of them. Frank tried four for a total of eight – he’s big on oysters. I had their spinach salad, tossed with sesame dressing, diced tomatoes, & enoki mushrooms (unlike, and better than, most spinach salads I’ve had). The others had their ‘Great Garlic Salad,’ which is their version of a Caesar salad only better. For entrees Kaye had the Oyster House Shellfish Stew, Kathi had the succulent fried clams, and Frank and I both had the Crab Norfolk. Everything was superb, cooked exactly as it should be, and served in an atmosphere of relaxation and comfort.
The place was packed when we got there at 6:30 pm so don’t risk arriving without a reservation. The house itself has the feel of, well, a house! There’s a bar, and beyond it a bar-food area, but the main dining room is where the action is. A full staff circulates at warp speed, gliding skillfully through the tables to deliver just what you ordered, just when you expect it. Amy herself works the crowd like a very amiable pro and stopped by our table for a lengthy chat before dessert. Meeting her would be reason enough to eat here. But trust me, this is an exquisite dining experiences and easily gets five not-easy-to-get yums. (That’s two in a row now, I expect something not quite so fantastic soon.)
92 Water Street Milford, NJ 08848
(908) 995-9411
Directions
Ratings are based on a 5 yum system, with 1 being don’t waste your time and 5 being this as good as you’ll likely find in this life.
A brief catch up . . . 0
It continually bothers me that this blog has fallen so close to silent, but there’s really nothing I can do about that, short of quitting my job and creating much more time for myself, which isn’t going to happen quite yet. Most of my energy for web maintenance is going to lgbtSr.com, and everything else is going to Murder at Pride Lodge, the first of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, and the accompanying website and photoblog I’m creating. It really leaves no mental space for keeping up MadeMark. Oh well. I want to keep the blog going because the day may come when I do have the time to really maintain it the way I once did, or maybe the other site will run its course for me and I’ll have my first blog love to return to. Who knows, but that’s the way it is for now.
We had friends Kathi and Kaye at the house this weekend. We visited New Hope for a few hours, then went to the Milford Oyster House – as close to a five yum establishment as you’ll find. Very delicious, and, I’d thought, very expensive . . . except Kathi secretly picked up the bill.
Freedom to Marry event at XL NIghtclub 0
Biggest lesson from the night: if you use a camera that has a rechargeable battery (mine is the Nikon D3100), be sure to charge it. The battery went dead just after we’d gotten into the event, forcing me to take crappy, dark cell-phone photos.
Our LGBT affinity group at work got an invitation to last night’s Freedom to Marry fundraiser at New York’s XL Nightlub. One of the guests listed was Audra MacDonald. So . . . . for the chance to get a photograph with Audra, I shelled out $250 for a pair of VIP tickets. We did get the pitas and guacamole, but never a sight of MacDonald. I’m sure she was there, somewhere.
The timing of the event was appropriate: Washington State has passed a marriage bill with the governor signing, while New Jersey has done the same to a veto promise from Chris Christie. What. A. Mess.
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