Lasagne

Sorensen's Resort, Alpine County, August 14, 2012—

DINING IN REMOTE PLACES like this, in this country, can be an exercise in forbearance. We had only ourselves to blame tonight: we could have dined here at the resort. But we'd never been to the town of Markleeville before, only fifteen minutes away, and we thought we'd give its restaurant a shot. Even though it's Tuesday, fasting's not an option: tomorrow promises to be a strenuous day.

And so I thought I'd carbo-load, and ordered the lasagne. It arrived in a good-sized soup bowl, drowned in long-simmered tomato sauce and shrouded in gloppy "mozzarella." but in truth it could have been worse. Chopped green salad.

For dessert, cheesecake, at my request stripped of strawberries and strawberry syrup. I'm a sucker for this dessert, no better than it should be, but rarely available to me.

Zinfandel, Lake County, nvg

•Wolf Creek Restaurant, 14830 Highway 89, Markleeville, California