Ugly Eating

You know that out of control feeling when your face contorts like a wet mop and you just have to go with it?  I think it's called "ugly crying."  Now take that concept and apply it to feeding yourself.  I'm calling it "ugly eating."  

The food was just that good.  

We spent some time at Newport last weekend with friends I've known since college.  They were there with their kids so we came to join them for a weekend and introduced them to clamming.  It was muddy and phenomenal.  Every kid (including the grown up ones) got their fill of mud and digging holes.  

What is it with boys and holes?  We had to implement a rule at our house about digging.  We have lots of acreage where digging might be considered appropriate, but you may not create manmade lakes, craters, caves, or oceans in the immediate yard area.  The boys have lost shovel privilege's several times in consequence of that particular rule.     

But clamming.  We got our limits worth of  mud and clams in a couple of hours, then headed back to the house to cook.  While Ross prepped the steamers, we set out a trout that he had smoked as an appetizer along with some watermelon.  A tomato tart, corn on the cob, and rosemary sourdough rounded out the meal.  

I'm not sure if it was the ocean air, the company, the live music playing outside, or just general hunger, but everything tasted surreal.  We fully dove in, skipping plates or forks.  We just stood around the counter island and table reaching and stuffing our faces, basically caveman style.  Or two-year-old style.  Take your pick.

And then we walked across the street for ice cream.  

Best day ever.    

Everyone needs friends they can ugly cry with, but I want a couple I can ugly eat with.