We had underestimated how tired we were the night before until getting back to the hotel. Exhausted. So we slept hard, but woke up at a reasonable hour, got ready, and headed back to Libby’s apartment. We made sure to call her before we got there so they could meet us at the front door, because we were accosted by the manager the previous day when we slid in behind someone else.

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Salmon Bialy does not mean having salmon twice every day although that sounds some kind of awesome

We loaded the car, baby in tow, and headed to a local bakery Macrina. All baking done in house, this place is amazing and I went to a different location on my previous visit. I ordered a salmon egg bialy – the bread was softer and lighter than a bagel, and it was shaped more like a Susan Komen ribbon compared to a bagel, fresh salmon, scrambled eggs, and a thick white cream. Wiki says a Bialy is like a bagel except only baked (bagels are boiled) and have only a depression in the center which is usually filled with onions, sesame seeds, etc. Consistency was an improvement over a standard bagel which are often too chewy for delicate salmon – these were matched quite well. The cream was somewhere between mayonnaise and sour cream. Drip coffee was Umbria.

 

Libby told us as soon as we sat down that she’s been afraid of having coffee – anyone having coffee – around the baby. Sounded like typical new-mother afraid about everything to me.

As the waitress was delivering the last plate, Adrienne’s waffle, the plate pitched ever-so-slightly and poured – literally poured – maple syrup on the table, on the top of the car seat, the diaper bag, my sister’s pants. The baby, rest assured, was okay, the syrup was only slightly warmed and the sunshade on the car seat was pulled up. We mused that it’ll be the most tasty accident that car seat will ever see! Regardless, her concerns were justified and then cleaned up with a few warm wet hand-cloths. 

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Maple Syrup can neither be created nor destroyed, it can, however, be refilled

This brings me to my Dilutional Theory of Maple Syrup which is summarized as follows: you can attempt to wash and dilute maple syrup, ever decreasing the stickiness but never completely getting rid of it. For that reason, I use it rarely and sparingly. And now I don’t use it around babies.

 

Afterwards, we loaded the car and went to visit their house, which is currently undergoing a major renovation project. Most of the inside of the house has been gutted and is being redone to make better use of the limited space they have. Driving past the homes and seeing their prices on Zillow gave me a newfound appreciation for the Fort Wayne housing market.

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Vera having survived the menacing Maple Syrup

They drove us then to University Village, an outdoor shopping center whose name eludes me – I was able to detect signs of neither university nor village. The closest to an academic institution we could find was an Amazon Books store. We shopped and found a number of clothes for our upcoming honeymoon, caught another Uber to another shopping district where we met up with them again. Libby and Adrienne went into Title 9, a women’s athletic store, while Steven, Vera, and I walked around Green Lake.

We stopped in a coffee shop called Fix and I had the special Fix Salted Carmel Latte. I’ll summarize it in two ways: first, one of my goals is to recreate it at home, second there’s a reason it’s one of their signature drinks. The caramel had a deep, almost smoky flavor that was smooth and steady. Artfully executed. Strongly recommended. 

At this point, they drove us back to the hotel for a few quick quiet hours before dinner, which will have to wait for the next post.

Overall ratings:

Macrina:

  • Food – Excellent.
  • Coffee – Solid.
  • Maple Syrup – Best when applied to the food.