Proctor in Admiralty

ABA resolution regarding Rotterdam Rules

The American Bar AssociationHouse of Delegates passed a resolution on Feb. 8, 2010 at their Midyear meeting in Orlando urging the US Senate to ratify the Convention commonly referred to as the Rotterdam Rules.  Thank you to Warren Warwedel, President of the Maritime Law Association of the United States for pointing this out.  The ABA noted in its report that  The Rotterdam Rules . . . set forth, with greater clarity, the rights and responsibilities of the interested parties. The Rotterdam Rules will provide greater harmony, efficiency, uniformity, and predictability for those involved in marine shipping.

Okay Senate, can we stop debating health care for just 5 minutes and let Toyota cool their heels while we get this done?

Download ABA Rottedam Rules - resolution 2-8-2010

Changes are afoot

I am trying out a new, more streamlined look to the blog as Proctor in Admiralty transforms itself once again. I will continue to post about maritime law, the transportation and logistics industry as well as the occasional restaurant review.  However, I will start to add in a variety of topics based on things I find interesting that I want to share with you, my loyal readers.  Please let me know what you find interesting, add your own comments and feedback and let's see where and how this blog evolves.

I am also excited to announce that I will start posting on maritime legal issues at a new blog devoted to transportation and logistics issues to be launched in the coming weeks by my law firm.  Stay tuned for specifics on the new blog.

Its not that I haven't been eating out

It's not that I have not been eating out or travelling - its just that I have been too busy to post.  Of course, one of my new year's resolutions is to post more - we shall see if I can keep to that resolution.  

In the meanwhile, I just read a post that I wanted to link to here.  Michael Ruhlman writes with tongue in cheek that Americans are too stupid to cook - or at least that is what the manufacturers of microwavable and other overly processed meals want us to believe.  (Note the use of "manufacturers" rather than "cooks" or "chefs").  Read this post and go out and roast a chicken and even better, make it a chicken from a local sustainable farm (find one here).

Outback Steakhouse and Pappasito's Cantina - Chain Restaurants Oh My.

Meal: Dinner – 7 oz filet, vegetable medley, mashed potatoes

Restaurant: Outback Steakhouse, Houston Texas.

Meal 2: Lunch – Fish Taco and Beef Enchilada

Restaurant: Pappasito's Cantina, Houston Texas

Ok, so I am a bit of a food snob and the thought of a chain restaurant usually sends me running in the other direction.  In addition, I am big into supporting local businesses and also eating locally sourced foods.  However, while in Houston, I ate at two chain restaurants, so I figured to combine both meals into one post.

Outback Steakhouse – When I think steak in the Lonestar State, the last thing I imagine is Outback Steakhouse.  Not that it is terrible but when you are in a place known for beef, the last think you want is what you can get pretty much anywhere – and that is truly why people tend to like chains; the predictability of it.  Well, I had dinner at Outback because I wasn’t choosing the restaurant and it was my first time in an Outback in at least 5 years.  Upon entering the restaurant I noted a sign proclaiming that Outback was voted the #1 Rated Zagat Best Steak 2009.  Wow, thought I…then the fine print…within the full-service category National Restaurant Chain survey..ok, I can live with that one but I never like seeing superscript in advertising.  It seems a bit disingenuous to me.

In truth, the steak was decent though overcooked.  I ordered medium rare (described as a slightly warm red center) but it came out on the far side of medium (warm, pink center).  The mashed potatoes and vegetables were not worth eating.   Service was generally fine. The waitress failed to enter the order for one in our party and apologized profusely, bringing over the manager and free desert for the aggrieved party.

 

Pappasito's Cantina – Pappasitos is part of the Pappas chain of restaurants scattered throughout Texas and the Southwest and includes the Paddadeaux seafood restaurants, barbeque and burgers joints along with the Tex-Mex version, Pappasitos.  Privately owned by the Pappas family, the chain is based in Houston but is expanding its reach as far as Atlanta and Chicago.  Lunch on my last day in Houston brought us bowl after bowl of freshly cooked tortilla chips, and salsa and a very nice combo plate of a grilled fish taco and  beef enchilada with rice & refried black beans. This one was a winner though I am sure I don’t want to know the number of calories and fat intake of that meal!

Oysters, butter, garlic and cheese...what's not to love?

Meal: Dinner - Grilled Oysters and Seafood Gumbo, Magnolia Seafood Salad (mixed greens tossed with spicy creole mustard, topped with shrimp, crab meat), bread pudding

Restaurant: Jimmy G’s, Houston, Texas

Funny thing, almost every time I go to Houston, I wind up having a meal at Jimmy G’s, a Cajun restaurant near George Bush / Intercontinental Airport.  It may be that much of my business tends to be in that part of the sprawling metropolis but for one reason or another, someone always suggests Jimmy G’s and I always readily agree.

I was first turned on to Jimmy G’s and especially their grilled oysters by a former colleague, MJ, where one night we proceeded to eat several dozen of those artery blockers – take a oyster on the half shell, baste it with butter and garlic and throw it on the grill until the edges of the oyster begin to curl, sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and serve away with lots of crusty bread to sop up the butter/garlic /oyster juices that puddle on the serving dish. YUM!

On this particular visit, we had a dozen or so oysters and then I had a cup of their great seafood gumbo and the magnolia seafood salad plus because in a moment of weakness, I ordered and thoroughly enjoyed their bread pudding.

Grilled oysters are certainly not unique to Jimmy G’s in Houston as I have enjoyed them at Uncle Bubba’s on Wilmington Island in Savannah, Georgia and at Drago’s in New Orleans.  In fact, it was at Drago’s that the Long Range Planning Committee of SEALI (the South Eastern Admiralty Law Institute) and friends (all officially dubbed The Long Rangers) consumed dozens upon dozens of grilled oysters with a lot of crusty bread to boot, and that was only as an appetizer!

Writing all of this has me salivating and now that we are officially in the “r” months, I am thinking this weekend might be a good time to buy some oysters and try to replicate the Jimmy G’s/Drago’s experience.  I wonder if I can get some Turbo Dog around here?

Breakfast, Lunch and 50 Random Songs

Meal: Breakfast and Lunch Buffets

Restaurant: Oakley’s Restaurant, DoubleTree Hotel Houston Intercontinental Airport

Last week brought a trip down to Houston and with it, a decision on how to post about breakfast options within the confines of a hotel.  I have decided that each meal on the same trip does not require a separate post and so I have consolidated the experience here.

I stayed at the DoubleTree years ago when it was a Hyatt and not much has changed.  The restaurant is adequate but certainly nothing exciting.  I ate breakfast there every day of my trip and had lunch there on two occasions.  Both are presented in a buffet style and I will say that the cream of broccoli soup was very good but the rest was uninspired.

Flying Continental Airlines to Houston, I was pleasantly surprised to be provided with a small snack box containing a package of crackers, some boursin cheese, beef jerky and a Kit Kat.  I have gotten so used to receiving nothing on small commuter jets that it was a big surprise (nothing but pretzels on the way back – so not sure how/when the snack box comes out).

Working during the flight, I flipped on the iPod and decided to carry out an experiment I saw on Facebook.  The premise is to set your iPod to shuffle and then record the first 50 songs played in order to showcase the truth about what you listen to rather than what you want people to believe you listen to.  Of course, the size of your music library will greatly influence the results.  In my case the 50 random items came from a library of 7029 tracks.   As I worked away, I took a moment to jot down each song and artist – not the album or other data.  The following are my results and although I found myself listening to several new songs, there were some oldies too and it is fairly representative of my music tastes.  I hope you don’t laugh too much!

1. I’m Scared                                         Duffy
2. Townes’ Blues                                   Cowboy Junkies  
3. Goode’s Field Road                            Drive-By Truckers
4. Motherless Child                                Eric Clapton
5. What’s Your Favorite Color?                Living Colour
6. The Grind                                           Aerosmith
7. Say Hello 2 Heaven                            Temple of the Dog
8. Mountain Dew                                    The Pogues
9. The One That Got Away                      Pink
10. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)               Stevie Ray Vaughn
11. Spiderwebs                                        No Doubt
12. Do Do Do, Da Da Da                          The Police
13. Martha My Dear                                 The Beatles
14. So Cruel                                            U2
15. Columbia                                           Oasis
16. Tenth Avenue Freezeout                      Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
17. Dream On                                          Depeche Mode
18. Detours                                             Sheryl Crow
19. I’m Not Over                                       Carolina Liar
20. Having a Party                                   Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
21. One Particular Harbor                         Jimmy Buffett
22. Evangeline                                         Mathew Sweet
23. Hey Baby                                          No Doubt
24. Oh Atlanta                                         Little Feat
25. Strawberry Wine                                The Band
26. Get Real Paid                                    Beck
27. Bent                                                 Matchbox 20
28. The Kids Are Alright                           Mathew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
29. The Purgatory Line                             Drive-By Truckers
30. A Blessing And A Curse                     Drive-By Truckers
31. In Limbo                                            Radiohead
32. Sporting Life Blues                             J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton
33. Always Touched By Your Presence     Blondie
34. You Really Got Me                             The Kinks
35. Many Waters                                     Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers
36. Thrill Of It                                           Robert Randolph & The Family Band
37. If I Should Die Tonight                         Marvin Gaye
38. Summer’s End                                   Foo Fighters
39. Borrowed Time                                   John Lennon
40. Lifetimes                                            Sheryl Crow
41. Weary Blues                                      Madeleine Peyroux
42. A New Flame                                     Simply Red
43. Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine     The White Stripes
44. Jesus Online                                      Bush
45. Silvergun Superman                            Stone Temple Pilots
46. Up And Away                                     Dave Matthews
47. Time To Kill (Alternate Mix)                 The Band
48. Can I Get A Witness?                         Edwin McCain
49. The Golden Age                                  Beck
50. When I Dream of Michelangelo            Counting Crows

OBX Bound for Beach and Beer

Meal: Lunch – Shrimp burger, chips and homemade salsa

Restaurant: Full Moon Café & Grille, Manteo, NC

Last weekend we ventured down to the Outer Banks to spend the day at the beach and getting some nice photos of the kids.  Even though it is a bit further, we decided to go over to Manteo, on Roanoke Island for lunch and to show my sister-in-law the quaint village as she had never been. 

Full Moon Café and Grille stands on the corner of Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth Streets, has both inside and outdoor seating and features an extensive wine and beer list featuring a list of locally produced beers.  There is also an attached and related art gallery and the framed items for sale extend into the dining room.

The menu featured several vegetarian items and everything sounded very nice.  I chose the Shrimp Burger, a half pound burger of Angus beef topped by a chopped shrimp salad made of local shrimp and your choice of cheese (mine was provolone).  Served on the side were tortilla chips and homemade salsa.  The meal was very good.  However, I do need to comment that neither my wife nor sister-in-law were overly impressed with their meals and the kids’ mac & cheese looked like it was out of a box.

Next time in Manteo, we will likely try another restaurant.

One note if you are heading down to the Outer Banks.  As you drive down 168/158 otherwise known as the Carotoke Highway, you pass the Weeping Radish in Jarvisburg, North Carolina.  The Weeping Radish is a brewery, a butchery and an eco-farm. I first learned about the Weeping Radish when I met the owners at the Five Points Market in Norfolk, where they were selling their delicious homemade sausages and beer.  Now, we cannot pass by their establishment without picking up some of the German lager and weizen style beers along with nitrate free bratwurst made with grass fed beef and free range pork from sustainable local family farmers.

I have a strong interest in supporting local sustainable farming since reading The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and try to purchase all of our meat from local family farmers who practice such methods.  We even get our milk delivered in glass bottles from a local dairy farm every week.  Check out the Weeping Radish - you will be very impressed.

 

"Hey George, the ocean called; they're running out of shrimp."

Meal: Lunch - Spicy Dynamite Roll Box

Restaurant: Sakura Sushi Bar, Norfolk

I enjoyed the company of two friends and former colleagues Ms. C. and Ms. A for lunch the other day at a Sushi restaurant near their office.  Lunch included Miso Soup, and a bento box containing 6 pieces their spicy tuna roll, 4 of the dynamite roll, 3 pieces of California roll, salad with ginger dressing, rice and orange slices.  The sushi was fresh and the conversation lively.  The meal started with the sushi chef sending over a few pieces of a roll containing tuna, shrimp and avocado that was dipped in tempura batter and fried – yum!  Ms. A. enjoyed it so much, she ordered it for her lunch.

Ms. C lives in the country and along with her husband, they grow and supply many with an almost endless supply of fresh fruit and vegetables all summer.  This time, she had a special treat for me – a jar of honey from their first season of tending honey bees along with a jar of fresh salsa from their abundance of tomatoes.  I am very excited to give them both a try.

Ms. C is an avid reader of my blog and she has encouraged me to write about our eating adventures in Marseilles and Paris with her when we traveled together on business.  I explained that in order to make it into a full fledged post, she will need to escort me back to her homeland and accompany me to some wonderful meal.  That being said, I will comment that I think I ate France out of most of their seafood on more than one occasion.  C’est la vie!

Indian Buffet and the Legendary Thor's Hammer Vodka Drinking Club

Meal: Lunch – Indian Buffet

Restaurant: Nawab, Norfolk VA

I had lunch the other day with one of my favorite lawyers in the world, Draughn.  She is always up for Indian so we indulged in chicken saagwala,  tandoori chicken, paneer makhni,  chana masala, vegetable pakora and of course naan.  I really didn’t need to eat the rice pudding and orange slices for dessert, but I did anyway.

Nawab has several locations around Hampton Roads and I have eaten at the ones in Virginia Beach and Newport News in addition to the Norfolk location.  All are wonderful and I always enjoy the visit.

Sitting down with Draughn is always fun because we catch up on people, discuss maritime law issues (I swear we do and we don’t even fall asleep in our plates), and inevitably turn to discussions about Savannah, Georgia.  Like me, Draughn used to live in that beautiful city until some jerk (I write from the heart and that’s why it hurts) pulled her out to come work with him in Hampton Roads. There are truly wonderful restaurants, bars and people in Savannah and I look forward to visiting them all (not necessarily in that order) again soon and writing about everything from oyster stew to crab-cakes; pork barbecue to low country boils, travelers to vodka drinking clubs and everything else I miss about Savannah.

I probably could just keep going and finish this post up but I think I should stop and explain vodka drinking clubs.  A long time ago, a delightful and somewhat eccentric Carolina Panthers fan named Larry decided to start hosting drinking parties at his home.   These parties were mainly attended by professionals in the hotel and tourism business in Savannah but others were welcome.  The rules were simple - all alcohol consumed must contain vodka.  Very quickly these parties outgrow Larry's house and he started convincing bars and restaurants to host the parties in private rooms in their facilities.  The drink of choice was vodka and the brand of choice was Thor Hammer.  Thus began the Thor's Hammer Club of Savannah.

It is hard to understand but please believe that these parties took on a life of their own - a young entrepreneurial owner of a coffee bar, found a viking helmet on Ebay, and the tradition of having every new Thor Hammer drinker wear the helmet was born.  Then there was the claw hammer which served as the symbolic Thor's Hammer, awarded at every party to an individual who went above and beyond to helping the Club grow.  There were annual Christmas parties where the buskers on River Street were invited up to perform for the party, and there were theme parties including Leif Garrett Day (held on Leif Ericsson's Day - ask your Scandinavian friends...) and the blow out Thor Hammer Down by the River, which was held at the Police Camp on Wilmington Island and featured live music by the Effing Hammers.  The local liquor distributor even got the importer of Thor Hammer vodka to attend one of the parties and presented us with logo schwag - (I am still known to wear my Thor's Hammer golf shirt).  Unfortunately Thor's Hammer departed on a Karve and was never heard from again so the "Club" went looking for replacement vodka and for a while there was competition including Tito's Handmade (a personal favorite) and even Grey Goose but the ultimate winner was Firefly. Now there is a Firefly Vodka Club of Savannah and if you make it down to Savannah - look for the annual Christmas Party or the toast at 2 or one of their other excuses to drink and make sure you find Larry and say hello but don't look for a beer.

Breakfast with DMB and Grits a la Vincent Gambini

Meal: Mediterranean Omelet with fresh spinach, tomatoes, garlic, feta and provolone cheeses

Restaurant: The Broken Egg Bistro, Chesapeake Virginia

My daughter LOVES breakfast, so much that often her favorite dinner is breakfast.  Around here, we call that Brinner (breakfast for dinner) and her favorite breakfast is French toast with bacon.  Usually she consumes her order of bacon, followed by her sister's, and any other bacon left on anyone else’s plate and then she starts on her French toast.   It only made sense therefore that we would go out to breakfast during her birthday weekend (she had school on her birthday so it had to keep until the weekend).

One of the best places for breakfast in Hampton Roads is The Broken Egg Bistro.  Owned by Dave Mathews Band fans, (their  license plates even proclaim “DMB FAN” and “DMB STAY”) the menu includes items such as 2E's Two Step – two portions of peppered bacon wrapped asparagus, charbroiled and topped with homemade hollandaise sauce, served with two eggs any style;  Cinnamon Swirl French Toast and the Kitchen Sink Omelet - a twelve egg omelet with your choice of four items.  If you can eat this omelet and sides, the restaurant waives the bill.

This visit I had the Mediterranean Omelet which contains fresh spinach, tomatoes, garlic, feta and provolone cheeses along with real grits (not the instant kind of mush), wheat toast and a great cup of coffee. 

A note here about grits . . .I am a Yankee and a Jersey one at that .  As such I am supposed to love home fries instead of grits (don’t even get me started about Taylor Ham.)  My wife apparently has the right Northeast DNA and wouldn’t eat grits if they paid her.  As for me - I love ‘em., if they are real grits, where you can almost taste the texture of the individual “grit”.  The instant pablum they serve at many restaurants as grits are not worth even a spoonful.  As Maury Chaykin told Joe Pesce, “No self respecting southerner uses instant grits. I take pride in my grits”.  I just wish Chaykin’s character, Sam Tipton would convey that to more restaurateurs as the preparation of real, not instant, grits seems to be a dying art form!  However, at the Broken Egg, real grits are in evidence.  Get over to the Broken Egg Bistro, try one of their wonderful omelets and get the grits as your side!