Guest blog by Izac

 

The feast at Two Rivers Country Club

 

Nestled at the intersection of the James and Chickahominy rivers, lies the Two Rivers Country Club, a stunning club with panoramic views stretching across a vast 8 mile swathe of water, draped in evening sun it was the scene of our final holiday meal.

 

We arrived and sat outside on the great white veranda, as the sun began to set the days final strands of light crept back across the water. We drank a few pre-dinner aperitifs while Jim educated us on the various Generals and Admirals that lived at Governors Land. I had never met a General before but in the space of ten minutes we had met one and were learning about two more.

 

As we drank and listened a young boy teed off from the 18th hole that spans the waterfront next to the clubhouse, I watched in envy as his drive found the fairway, much straighter than the one I sliced on the same whole the previous day. I then smiled with great pleasure as he shanked his next and went on to record a double bogey.

 

After polishing off our final drink we were seated in the clubhouse where we all decided on the buffet. To call the meal a buffet is a disservice to all of the real honest buffets out there, the kind where teeming plates nurtured by heat lamps begin to grow and morph into something unintended.

 

This was more akin to an ancient Roman feast but of infinitely higher class, and I as began to plan out the path of my meal (crab, rib eye, maybe a little more crab, definitely crme brulee), I felt like a Roman emperor, minus the women of questionable employment and without the vomitorium which after 5 minutes of Wiki education I have been led to believe is a common misconception of ancient times http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomitorium.

 

The centerpiece was undoubtedly the crab, two large bain-maries stacked with what must have been ¼ or ½ crab torsos, that if reassembled would have certainly been large enough to scare small children and polish off the na•ve domestic pet that wandered too close to the water.

 

While size doesnÕt always matterÉ it does when it comes to crab, too much work for too little meat can ruin the experience. Fortunately these claws were not only bountiful but also delicate and very sweet, dipped in melted butter the meat dissolved like sea candy on the tongue. I opted on the side of caution and took one portion but felt a little outdone as Akiko took two huge portions, that were easily twice the size of her head.

 

There were various plates of vegetables and pastas at the salad bar, the pick of which was a rare tuna and seaweed salad, but why use precious space when you have unlimited crab, rib eye and desert to accommodate.

 

The rib eye was roasted in huge 10-12 LB pieces, sliced to order and served with Jus and horseradish cream.  By the time I had polished off my crab the remaining piece of rib eye at the carving station was a little well done, so Phyl and I wisely waited and in around 15 minutes we were presented with our 10-12 LB piece that was perfectly rare. The others at our table proclaimed that it was too rare but this was a perfect example of why America really is the steak country, deep pink and juicy.

 

At this point its fair to say I was a little stuffed, the desert bar seemed to be have been well raided and the crme brulees gone for the night, I consoled myself with some coconut cake and ice cream, which completed my burgeoning belly nicely. High on crab, meat and sugar I was about to take a post dinner nap, when a waiter arrived and announced there were actually more crme brulees. It would have been rude not to right?

 

A truly memorable feast.