Greetings
In a way, I’ve been writing a restaurant blog for my whole career as the Sun’s restaurant critic, only without the Web part. My reviews have been a personal journal of my adventures, and there have been quite a few. But I’m looking forward to having a little more room with this daily blog to talk about restaurant news and issues I don’t have room for in my Sunday review or my Table Talk column.
I also get a lot of reader feedback that I can now share. Feel free to send me your restaurant news and reviews and questions of general interest. Hey, I may even address the Dreaded Crab Cake Question.
Here are a couple of e-mails I got about the now-closed Szechuan Best...
We have a dinner group who regularly ate at this restaurant. We were there the last night it was open. The staff was very sad since they had been there for about 30 years. Our favorite waitress said they were closing and everyone was going their separate ways. It is a real shame, because the food was wonderful and the service excellent. Judy Bushong
...Bad news about Best. My family loved to go there for Three Cups Chicken and orders and orders of the steamed vegetable dumplings, which were by far the best dumplings in the area--maybe even the world! .... Wonder if you know of any place locally that makes dumplings that would be almost as good? Will
...I don't remember Szechuan Best's dumplings, so I can't compare, but the steamed vegetable dumplings I had recently at the new P. F. Chang's in the Inner Harbor were pretty darn good. The menu also features Peking dumplings with ground pork and shrimp dumplings. My review of this popular Chinese chain will appear on Sunday, April 29 in the Modern Life section. I know, I know, it's not a small, family-owned restaurant but...
Comments
P.F. Changs? ::::shaking head:::: what is this world coming to?
Posted by: Kathy | April 18, 2007 8:16 AM
Glad you have a blog. I try to eat in Baltimore City once a week; not always easy to do when you are out in Carroll County. Just ate (dined?) at Sammy's Trattoria (Where Limoges used to be) and will be glad to give you my impression should you want it. On a personal note, thank you, for not using the terms 'impeccably fresh' and 'tender crisp' in every single review. randy
Posted by: randy richardson | April 18, 2007 12:05 PM
In my humble opinion, the best crab cakes in Baltimore are at the Greek restaurant Ikaros.
Posted by: Melissa Zaraya | April 18, 2007 5:02 PM
Just read your article of 4/18 and found it of interest despite my being worlds apart (in age) to the subjects. I'm an 80-year old widow, hate to cook, and don't like eating alone: meals are enjoyable when they are shared! As a consequence, I find myself eating out more often with friends. I think I eat a healthy diet, but I would feel so much better about the foods I eat out if the menus contained "Nutritional Facts," as our canned, frozen, and packaged foods do. (I know it is difficult for a chef to break down the ingredients in the same way large processors do, but even an estimate would help.) Do you think such an attempt would be feasible? By the way, I have often wondered whether some forward-thinking restaurant owner would plan a mid-week pre-priced dinner for seniors (smaller, healthy portions); I'm convinced there would be a great market for this type of dining. What do you say?
Posted by: Peg Feldman | April 18, 2007 5:07 PM
I just finished going through some old dining out guides and was shocked to find that my favorite Chinese restaurant, Szechuan Best, had closed. My family started going there after Elizabeth Large reviewed it several years ago. Szechuan Best had the best dumplings, Yu-Shiang Pork, Sesame Chicken and Ma Pu Tofu (sp???). My daughter spent 6 months living in China and frequently conversed with the staff in Chinese and we would order from their "other" menu. How I will miss it......Nancy
Posted by: Nancy Ellenberger | July 15, 2007 10:38 AM
I love P.F. Changs dumplings.
Posted by: Kimmi | March 1, 2009 8:53 AM