How do you feel about a long distance relationship?

It could work, right? With good communication and some TLC, I can still keep my finger in the pot of that interesting Memphis stew, can’t I?

In the 11th hour, the CA’s online guru threw me a bone: Why don’t I keep writing the blog? It could evolve to include more general food/cooking type chatter. I could encourage some close-to-the-ground feedback from the loyal readers who have been so great about weighing in with opinions. What do you think?

I’m still plugged in, still hearing the scoop. I’ve heard glowing reports about Interim… the place that Viking’s Fred Carl opened when Wally Joe said so long to that venue. (But what an unfortunate name! Let’s serve them up some alternatives, yes?)

I’ve also heard raves about Judd Grisantis’ Spindini… who’s been? What did you eat?

Send me tips or/and photos of the best meal you’ve eaten, and I’ll send out a monthly treat from the great Northwest — can you say world’s greatest smoked salmon? — for the best/hottest/coolest item. Send it all to leslie.dines@gmail.com.

Let’s just see what happens… I’m game!

Back in Memphis for a few days and have been savoring a few of my favorite things… had a wonderful osso bucco at Encore, a bacon and egg biscuit at Bryant’s, BBQ spaghetti at the Bar-B-Q Shop (love that sauce!), the blackened catfish at Soul Fish, some most welcome comfort food prepared by my friend Kate.

Looking forward to one last lunch at Little Tea Shop before I’m headed back to Seattle… to start eating!

A sincere thanks to everyone who popped onto this space, and especially those who participated with thoughtful, delicious comments… So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu…

… stopped at an Italian place in our new neighborhood (after groaning at the pathetic showing at the Elvis Invitational at EMP — where there was a thin line between tribute and mockery)…

The sandwich board outside said the restaurant was open until 11, it wasn’t yet 10, but we were shooed out the door before we could say cappuccino…

I cannot stand it when any business plays fast and loose with stated hours of operation. All I can say: Thank goodness for those double chocolate Milanos at home.

There’s a Whole Foods in my new neighborhood!

Is this the sign of a true food nerd? Getting a thrill about cases of pretty produce (are those chiogga beets??)… and pristine seafood (smoked scallops? oh, yeah…) and MRTE that look as if they belong on an upscale menu.

Fellow shoppers probably thought Claire and I were some kind of bumpkins, taking pics… don’t care.

Course I’ve heard the “Whole Paycheck” yuck-yuck rub, but some things are worth paying for, no? Last night, roasted a “free-range” Rosie chicken (the door’s over there, guys if you care to check out the barnyard… or, that’s right, you’re not smart enough to figure out how to roam range free…), with baby creamer potatoes and glazed carrots… all tasting so fine with a Waterbrook chardonnay, on sale for $9.

… just what I needed on my cross-country adventure, a sucker punch to the gut!

It knocked me flat for 24 hours, couldn’t think of eating anything beyond saltines and ginger ale, yuck! Did catch up on some bad TV while waylaid on the sofa, what’s the deal with Rosie and Don Trump? Never did catch the front-end of that hubbub…

Anyway, getting back in the saddle involved a pretty safe, but savory trip to Jai Thai in the Fremont neighborhood… where there are at least four Thai places in a half-mile radius. Some rice noodles and chicken broth got me back on track. Definitely didn’t need to reach for the salt shaker there, unlike many places on the left coast. (Grandma always said a pinch of salt makes everything taste better, right? The squeaky sodium police must have scared kitchens into letting diners add their own after the food is cooked, but it’s not the same, is it?)

What’s your winter cold/flu strategy? Do you keep a supply of bland foods on hand when germs get the upper hand??

“Cooked” my very first meal in our new place in Seattle… we walked to the Pike Place Market and bought Dungeness crab… even got the guy to knock a buck a pound off the price, to $4.

It was so good, especially with a lovely Chinook sauvignon blanc… I really love Chinook winery, run by one of the pioneer women winemakers in Washington. Kay Simon is one of the few vintners still committed to that underappreciated varietal, semillon. Used to be able to find the absolutely awesome L’Ecole No. 41 semillon in Memphis… ask for it, it’s great.

Another bit of welcome culture shock: yes, you can buy wine in grocery stores here. Why, oh why can you not do that in Memphis??

Arrived in the driving rain… yeah, maybe you’ve heard… it rains in Seattle! And headed straight for the supermarket… fixed my dad-in-law a fish dinner… but guess what? The made-in-America catfish looked better than the wild salmon… a frozen fish defrosted for the seafood case. (I’d rather buy it frozen, thanks very much…)

Also fixed mashed Yukon gold potatoes, peas, made red cabbage slaw, and picked up a tangy reminder of the South, a jar of pickled watermelon rinds… though, they were nothing like the incredible rendition made by Karen Carrier that I once savored at Automatic Slim’s.

I guess my point is that after three years in Memphis, my food point of view will now be informed by all the rich, delicious experiences. I am so grateful for that. To borrow from my friend Bill’s book, I feel I was truly “Seasoned in the South.”

There’s just nothing like sitting down to a great meal after a big day on the hill… we’re at Grand Targhee Resort, in Alta, Wyoming. (Just outside Driggs, Idaho… makes it a lot clearer, huh?)

Last night, had an awesome bone-in Berkshire pork chop with sauteed apples and really good garlic mashed potatoes. Johnny’s wild-caught salmon (the fisherman’s from Jackson, just down the road) and it was baptised with a Memphis-style BBQ sauce. A perfect combo, that was the embodiment of the best of the place we’re coming from and the place we’re going to…

The chef, Tony Gonzales, has a Southern connection… the veteran of 30-plus years had opened Commander’s Palace in Vegas in 2000… I just knew it!

Tonight, it was the weekly all-you-can-eat Alaskan King crab legs, and Johnny had three helpings… just the thing to refuel after skiing more than 45,000 vertical… he does the counting, not I…

This was my view at lunch on New Year’s Eve, on top of Aspen Highlands’ Cloud 9 Bistro… an incredible thrill to sit outside and feast on the gorgeous Maroon Bells.

I’ve skiied at this area a bunch and have always wanted to try this spot, but I do love the old-school lodge so much… today, though, while Johnny hiked up the Highlands Bowl (extreme, extreme, hardcore only), I indulged in an order of free-range coq au vin with a glass of French pinot.

I can’t remember enjoying a more memorable meal on the slopes!

How about you? What did you eat to ring out the old, ring in the new??

You cannot believe the three blizzards we drove through today… crazy! So, so many vehicles off the road, blowing, icy roads… props to Johnny!

We got to Dillon, Colorado, and immediately hit the liquor store for some Kentucky bourbon… then a very good din-din at a retro-funky pub… the Arapahoe… really great New York Sterling Silver strip steak. Thanks for sharing, Johnny… what a guy.

Tomorrow, we plan to conquer Vail… the most expensive ski resort in the world? 85 bucks a pop for a lift ticket! Want to see if it’s worth it, pretty darned high expectations… will report!