By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I eat a lot of chicken.

It is not actually my favorite fowl to chow down on, I prefer turkey, duck and cornish game hen to be honest.

Still, chicken is easy to come by and I do enjoy it way more than any other meat, not counting seafood.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The first time I tried a pomegranate, I was hooked. I was about 8 or 9 years old, living in Houston, Texas and my next door neighbor had a pomegranate tree (they can be a bush too, depending on how you prune them) and when it produced fruit, it was truly bountiful.

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Not all the food I learned to cook came from restaurant exposure. There are a few dishes that have come from friends.

I have this buddy I met in Hawaii when we shared a room at the hostel I had worked at prior.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

In today’s bourbon world, small craft makes up a good percentage of many different brands out there. Not really in sales, although they certainly are taking on more and more market share, but Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and more established distilleries are still dominant.

It is really hard to keep up with all the new distilleries and the products they put out.

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I lived in the Washington D.C. area, one of the best friends I have had in my life loved to go to Denny’s, a restaurant that is famous for being open 24 hours and serving huge breakfast meals that are reasonable.

KC was a fanatic about eating at Denny’s if we were coming back from a bar, nightclub, or a party at some friend’s house.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The other day I got some ripe mangoes and they were really good. I was talking with a friend  and we both said how much we enjoyed a good mango.

Then I told her about how I discovered I enjoyed eating them.

If you read my story about how picky I was with seafood in this paper, it should be no surprise I could be picky about fruit.

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Growing up in Florida, Texas and then the Washington D.C./Baltimore metro area, I was always had seafood around to eat.

The problem was, during my years in Texas and Florida, I only ate fish. Even then, I was very particular on what fish I would eat. Flounder or red snapper was my go to.

Zombies, Scorpions and Coladas, Oh My

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I first learned to bartend, the place I worked for specialized in Coladas and they were not frozen.

We made a mix and then poured the mix into a shader with ice, then added the spirit, shook for a minute and then poured into a goblet of about 10 to 12 ounces.

By Dick Perue

GAAT Correspondent

“Best free meal in the country,” boasts a satisfied patron with a full tummy at the last Gather at the Table supper.

He further promised, “I’ll be back next month.”

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

It is no secret that I really enjoy most Asian food. Especially Southeast Asian Cuisine. 

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I had always heard of a Flip, a type of cocktail that goes back to Shakesperian times and the early Colonial times. I have some very old bartending books, but the recipe I worked with came from newer times.

By Dana Davis    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

As Mother’s Day approaches, I find myself reaching back into the corners of my childhood, remembering the comfort of our family kitchen and the special desserts that marked the most cherished occasions. One treat in particular has stayed with me over the years, not just for its taste, but for what it meant–the Banana Split Torte.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I am not wild about licorice. In truth, I won’t even eat black licorice. The anise flavor just is a little weird to my taste buds.

Anise flavored liqueurs such as Ouzo, which is Greek, and Sambuca, which is Italian, I will drink if I am in the right mood.

In fact, there was a time when I drank Sambuca fairly often.

By Dick Perue

GAAT Correspondent

God willing and the creeping crud doesn’t crash the party again, you all are invited to “Gather at the Table” for barbecue ribs and all the fixin’s Monday evening, May 5th, from 5:00 to 6:30 in the Saratoga Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall at the corner of Third & Bridge.

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Many people may not realize that Hawaii for many years, before condos and resorts, was a place known for its beef. The Parker Ranch back in the day, was the largest in the world.

Grilling steaks is as common as grilling fish or baking a pig underground.

There are sauces that ranchers and locals alike used on their meats back before Hawaii became a state.