Two Cranes Bistro and Brew – Albuquerque, New Mexico
As we wended our way along meandering Rio Grande Boulevard, I commented to my Kim, “I sure miss Ichabod and Katrina.” “Colleagues of yours at UNM?,” she asked. “No, not colleagues,” I replied pointing to a large, verdant field, “Ichabod and Katrina were the two sandhill cranes who used to feed in those fields.” “Oh, I get it,” she responded, “you’re talking about Ichabod and Katrina Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” She then asked why I’ve always had such a great admiration for Ichabod Crane, a fictional character who basically embodied all the seven deadly sins: greed, glutton, sloth, indolence, wrath, lust and envy. “Yeah, I understand all of that,” I explained, “but Ichabod Crane was a man ahead of his time, an 18th century equivalent of a foodie.” Washington Irving, described him as “a huge feeder, and though lank, had the dilating powers of an anaconda.” Isn’t that the kind of super power we’d all like to have? He had a voracious appetite but somehow managed to remain thin. When he saw animals lounging in the fields, his mouth watered, described masterfully by Irving: “In his devouring mind’s eye, he pictured to himself every roasting-pig running about…