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It's official. Next week's Top Ten Tuesday will be romantic restaurants. I, too, was struck by Mary's nomination of the Melting Pot (pictured). It occurs to me that when you're looking for a romantic restaurant, it's one time when great food takes a back seat to other considerations. Please keep posting ideas below.
(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun Photographer)
A reader e-mailed me asking if he had to tip more for a very expensive bottle of wine when the waiter was basically doing the same work as he would be if he were opening a bottle of two-buck Chuck. (He didn't phrase it exactly that way.)
The short answer is yes. If you're going to be extravagant about your wine choice, you might as well be extravagant with your tipping. And I hate to tell you this, but if the sommelier has spent some time with you and been helpful, you should tip him or her separately. I've heard both 15 to 20 percent of the wine bill and $10 as suggested tips; but in any case, give it to him or her in cash (the better choice) or as a separate credit card charge.
(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)
I like the idea of more videos on my blog, so when I saw Amanda at my daughter's birthday (see previous posts about Sugar Week), I asked her if she would be willing to do another one. She said yes.
If there's a recipe you'd love to have from a local restaurant, I'll try to get it. (Some places just don't want to share.) Then we'll let Amanda test it out for us first -- on camera.
Please post recipe suggestions below.
When Brasserie Tatin, the French restaurant in Homewood, reopens for lunch after a summer break, it'll be serving a new express menu for those who don't have much time. There will also be the regular, more leisurely lunch menu for those who do have the time to sit around and enjoy good French food.
Tatin opens again for lunch on Tuesday, Sept. 11. Hours will be Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. And, yes, free parking is available.
(Photo courtesy of David Walton)
I'm thinking of doing Top Ten Italian Restaurants That Aren't in Little Italy for next Tuesday, but I can see that there are pitfalls. For one thing, I don't want to keep mentioning restaurants I've listed before -- even if they deserve it.
One alternative was inspired by this e-mail from Lauren:
My husband and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary in October and we wanted to celebrate with a nice meal out. I've only lived here for two years, so I don't really know the best "romantic" places to go.
Would you be interested in doing a top 10 list for romantic nights out?
I like the idea of doing this list in September rather than February when everybody is doing lists of romantic restaurants, so if I don't do it next week, I'll definitely do it in time for the anniversary.
Votes on which you prefer and/or suggestions for either welcome.
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun Photographer)
I got a press release yesterday on the market research firm Technomic’s 2007 Top 100 Casual Dining Report. Speaking of cheeseburgers (see previous post), I thought this was a telling two paragraphs from the report. I'm not sure whether the juxtaposition was deliberate or not, but it certainly seems relevant when I read the comments on the bacon cheeseburger entry:
Last year, concern over trans-fats took center stage, with several casual dining chains, including major players such as Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Chili’s, racing to remove trans-fats from menu items.
Even as the largest casual dining chains turned in solid performances last year, it is interesting to note the exceptional growth of several smaller up-and-coming chains. Cheeseburger in Paradise topped this list, with a whopping 62 percent estimated growth in sales over 2005.
If the business side of restaurants interests you, here's the link to another article on top ten growth chains this year on the Restaurant Hospitality Web site.
I just received an update on an item that ran in today's Table Talk column. The new Morton's in the Westin Hotel in Annapolis is scheduled to open in October.
"What sets this restaurant apart from other Morton's is the windows in the dining room and open-air feel," the pr person wrote in her e-mail. Nice to know there's an alternative if the usual Morton's makes you feel claustrophobic.
I also wanted to include this photo of Tabrizi's because it had to be cropped for space reasons in the print edition. This way you get a better idea of what the new dining room looks like.
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun Photographer)
I got this nice e-mail from Melissa recently. (I love tips):
Just wanted to pass along that Jordan's Steakhouse in Ellicott City has a new chef. He's Japanese. I believe his last name is Miro and, as a result, the specials are becoming more inventive. Last night, I had Miro's "beef strogonoff" (sp?) ... The "beef" was "fillet." It was delicious.
I called to confirm just now, and had a kind of strange conversation with the general manager, David Lynch. ...
(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun Photographer)
He said Jordan's does have a new chef, and they are working on a press release, but he doesn't want anything in print yet. He told me to call back in a couple of weeks.
I tried to explain the news concept -- after awhile it isn't news anymore -- but I didn't manage to convince him to say anything else.
Yesterday the 900th comment was posted to my blog. That might not seem significant to you, but the thing I like best about blogging as opposed to writing for the print edition is that there's continual feedback. There's something very satisfying about having concrete proof that someone is reading what you're writing. For years, I would only hear from readers if I made some mistake, and then -- as former restaurant critic John Dorsey once said -- they fall on you like ravening wolves.
This is a lot more fun.
My only regret is that you can't see all the comments as they're posted the way I do, so you probably miss some when people go back and post on earlier entries, sometimes weeks later. That's too bad because the comments can be more entertaining than my original post, although I shouldn't admit it. For instance, Kathy's comment on my post "Next Sunday's Review" or TS's on my daughter's fridge.
I want to be like the used car dealership that awards the 1,000th customer a trip to Bermuda, but somehow I don't think The Powers That Be are going to spring for a trip to Bermuda.
I'll have to think of another prize for the 1,000th commenter. Maybe an advance copy of the Dining Guide. I'll do my best, but now that I've announced my intention, probably they won't let me have an advance copy of the Dining Guide.
I'll think of something.
For dinner last night, my daughter wanted to go to Pizzeria Mozza, LA's hottest ticket, and home of the best pizza in the universe. The fried squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta aren't bad either. When we went after it first opened, she called a month in advance and could only get a reservation at 5 p.m. on a Monday. This time she called a few days ago, and, of course, they were booked.
But she was still craving Mozza pizza, and it was her birthday weekend, so she decided to pull out all the stops to get us a last-minute table.
When she first moved here, she worked as an assistant to an agent, and she knows all the tricks. Without actually saying it, her voice implied she was making a reservation for a Very Important Person.
She made it in the name of "Gailor," and when the woman asked her what the first name was, she said, "It is the first name but," her voice lowered dramatically, "let's just leave it at that."
We got a table for 6:15 p.m.
(Photo courtesy of Gailor Large)
A lot of the restaurants on this list are on the Eastern Shore because, as I found out when I did a story on the phenomenon awhile back, it's become a destination for serious diners from Annapolis as well as visitors to the area, and there are a lot of folks with a lot of money who live on the Eastern Shore.
There are more worthwhile places than I can list here, so I hope if you have a favorite that isn't on my list or posted under Next Week's Top Ten, you'll mention it below. Here are my ten:...
(Glenn Fawcett/Sun Photographer)
*208 Talbot (208 Talbot St., 410-745-3838) in St. Michaels. Modern American cuisine, southern influenced. Signature dish: cornflake-encrusted mahi mahi with basil potato salad, corn cream and a grape tomato relish. Entrees: $26-$31.
*Antrim 1844 (30 Trevanion Road, 410-756-6812) in Taneytown. Chef Michael Gettier is still there, producing a six-course meal plus hors d'oeuvres for $68.50. The cuisine is New American, specializing in seafood and game. Signature dish: pan-seared foie gras with blackberry demiglace.
*Danielle's (6 N. East St., Everedy Square, 301-663-6600) in Frederick. Italian and American cuisine. It's located where Tauraso's was. The original chef, who had left for the Tasting Room, is back. Signature dish: pork tenderloin with parmesan polenta and roasted fig puree. Entrees: $13-$26.
*Imperial Hotel (208 High St., 410-778-5000) in Chestertown. The stately, turn-of-the-century mansion houses a handsome dining room. Eclectic contemporary cuisine using regional ingredients. Signature dish: lollipop lamb chop trio with hummus, tzatziki, sauteed dandelion greens. Entrees: $26-$32.
*Inn at Easton (28 S. Harrison St., 410-822-4910) in Easton. Chef-owner Andrew Evans' modern Australian cuisine has received national attention. Signature dish: crab cake with tartar sauce, chive oil and tomato confit. Prix fixe menus: $60, $75, $110.
*Jules (11805 Coastal Highway, 410-524-3396) in Ocean City. Buy locally, cook globally. Signature dish: Smith Island softshells with an adobe beurre blanc. Just introduced a lighter fare menu. Entrees: $27-$35.
*Julia's (122 North Commerce St., 410-758-0471) in Centreville. Contemporary American with Asian accents. Signature dish: lobster in orange or other unusual sauce. One of two restaurants I gave four stars to in '04. Entrees: $25-$32
*Kennedyville Inn (11986 August Herman Highway.410-348-2400) in Kennedyville. Don't let the signature dish fool you, there are plenty of upscale dishes on the menu. Signature dish: traditional smoked pork barbecue. Entrees: $16.50-$26
*Michael Rork's Town Dock in St. Michaels. One of Baltimore's early celebrity chefs left town for the slower life on the shore. Local Chesapeake cuisine with a few more elegant entrees. Signature dish: bouillabaise. Entrees: $22.50-$29.50.
*Solstice (2 N. Main St. in the Atlantic Hotel, 410-641-3589 or 800-814-7672) in Berlin. New this season. Spanish-influenced French bistro. Signature dish: cowboy steak for two, a 2 1/2 pound ribeye. Entrees: $19-$32.
If I could pick only one restaurant to transport back to Baltimore from LA, it would be Urth Caffe, an organic coffee company and cafe. It balances the whole organic, natural, healthful thing beautifully with "everybody needs great sourdough bread and fabulous chocolate-covered biscotti sometime."
One of my favorites, the fruit plate, is hand cut when you order it, and I've never had the same fruits twice. It could be fresh pineapple, mango, papaya, grapes, white peaches, slices of plum, or more exotic fruits like starfruit -- and sometimes some I don't even recognize.
The Urth salad is one I always mean to try to duplicate at home, with greens, hearts of palm, plum tomatoes, kalamata olives, chickpeas, pinenuts, feta and balsamic vinaigrette. Maybe I'll get one for my flight tomorrow.
(Photo courtesy of Gailor Large)
This is a photo of a restaurant called Pho in a seedy strip mall in Silverlake. It's the kind of place you might be hesitant to go into if it were in Baltimore and you didn't know anything about it.
There's no sign with its name on it outside, or any indication that it might be any good except that it's crowded.
But one thing you do know, because this is California, is that the health department has given it an A grade. All grades have to be posted in a prominent place on the front of the restaurant.
It's a system I wish Maryland had.
While I'm on vacation, I'm mulling over this e-mail I got from Good Eater and Web Editor Extraordinaire John, who surprisingly has a job as food editor on his resume.
On the one hand, probably 99 percent of the human race would rather read about bacon cheeseburgers than, say, escargots. On the other hand, I'm very possessive about my blog.
Still, as Max on Veronica Mars said, "Information wants to be free." I suppose that applies to where you can get great bacon cheeseburgers. And, frankly, I'm not as wedded to them as a culinary ideal as John is, so you may not be hearing as much about them from me as you want to.
Here's his e-mail: ...
Elizabeth,
People often ask me to recommend a restaurant where they can take out-of-town visitors that has a great view of the harbor and good food. That second part is trickier than the first.
Now the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in the Inner Harbor has spent $3 million to renovate its dining room and brought in a trend-setting chef to oversee the kitchen.Will the just-opened Watertable be the restaurant I now recommend? Find out in next Sunday’s review in the Arts & Life Today section. One of my favorite appetizers, by the way, was those tempura green beans with aioli and tarragon mignonette sauce (pictured).
(Mauricio Rubio/Sun Photographer)
It had to end with a birthday cake, of course. My brother took us to a little Thai restaurant on Sunset Boulevard with fabulous food called Rambutan. Because it was in Silverlake, it was authentically ethnic, not chic funky ethnic like many restaurants in LA.
After dinner, the waitress brought out a cake my brother had dropped by earlier. This actually turned out to be an answer to Scott's question (see previous post): Where to get healthy and/or thrifty desserts.
My brother bought a frozen Charlotte Berry Torte from Trader Joe's, made with lady fingers and layers of berry mousse and sponge cake, with blueberries, red currants and raspberries on top. He decorated it with fresh blueberries and strawberries. It was beautiful, tasted good and made a very satisfying ending to a Thai meal and to Sugar Week.
I'm kind of proud of my photo, which I took without a flash.
K Chocolatier operates out of the tiniest Beverly Hills space imaginable. But don't let that fool you. She has some very famous customers, including Barbra Streisand, Hugh Hefner and Whoopi Goldberg. The owner, Diane Kron, is said to have invented chocolate-dipped strawberries. She also made her chocolate truffles with vodka for Jackie Kennedy.
Her latest thing is sensual chocolates made with Chinese herbs that are supposed to have an aphrodisiac effect. I had to cover my daughter's ears when the sales person started describing it in detail.
They are, of course, expensive.
As Sugar Week draws to a close, my daughter took me on a sugar tour of Beverly Hills. First stop, Sprinkles Cupcakes. These are the ones Paris Hilton loves so much they sent her some when she got out of jail.
The pint-sized cupcakes are made with exquisite ingredients in more than 20 different flavors; they cost $3.25 each or $36 a dozen. At 2-ish on a Friday afternoon, the line to get into the little shop was literally a block long.
Angelinos have too much money.
I'm giving you the link to the Sprinkles Web site, but they only ship locally -- by courier. However, you can order the cupcake mix.
When I cut in line to take a picture of the cupcakes themselves, they shooed me out. No photographs allowed inside.
But they did look cute.
(Photo courtesy of Gailor Large)
Here I am, back in L.A. I flew in last night for my daughter's birthday (remember, that was what Sugar Week was in honor of), and the first thing I did was check out her fridge. As you can see from the photo, we're going to be eating at a lot of restaurants this weekend.
As Sugar Week draws to a close (the last day is tomorrow), there's some unfinished business to take care of.
First, Maria wanted a list of takeout desserts for a party. Regina seconded the suggestion, saying she was getting tired of Vaccaro's rum cake, although it's a good takeout selection. Janet offered Atwater's lemon buttermilk pie followed closely by the pecan pie. I myself am partial, as I said earlier, to Whole Food's key lime pie. Other suggestions welcome.
Maria also suggested kid desserts that adults inhale. I'd really be interested to hear what other folks would answer because I can't think of any that quite work. ...
Dairy Queen? Sweet Tarts?
Finally, Scott was interested in a list of healthy sweets or at least thrifty ones. I'm not good at suggesting healthy sweets because it's not a quality I look for in dessert. I sort of feel like moderation is the key here. But when something made with oatmeal, applesauce, raisins, fruit and the like tastes good, I'm all for it.
As for thrifty, when I did a story on store brands awhile back, I was struck by the fact that many of them taste just as good as the original, and in some cases, better. Compare Trader Joe's JoJo sandwich cookies and Oreos, for instance. And they are probably "healthier," come to think of it.
The photo, by the way, is Brasserie Tatin's tarte tatin. I just liked it and never got another chance to use it this week.
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun Photographer)
I just got this e-mail from Edward Kim, formerly the chef of Saffron, Soigne (where he was also an owner) and Ixia. Too bad he couldn't find another kitchen around here; his food is always intriguing. But if history is any indication, he should be back.
i have decided to return to d.c to become the executive chef of the beacon hotel in dupont circle. unfortunately, my 1 year employment contract w/ saffron has not yielded the results i was seeking and opportunities have not become available to me in this market. i would like to take this time to thank you and your readers for the continued support.
(Sun Archives Photo)
(Photo courtesy of Jimmy Westlake, Colorado Mountain College)
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. --Carl Sagan
Something funny has happened to me on the way to becoming the person I am now. I actually prefer the ice creams that don't have 150 percent butterfat.
I know that's hard to believe, but I love the housemade ice creams in fine restaurants that are so ephemeral. They disappear in the blink of an eye because they have no preservatives, and come in flavors like cardamom and Grand Marnier.
My passion used to be Baskin-Robbins pralines 'n' cream, so that's a pretty major change.
On the other hand, I want to give a thumbs up to Edy's Slow Churned ice creams, which must have a ton of preservatives and so on (I'm afraid to look) but also have half the fat and yet taste amazing rich, every bit as good as the regular.
I'd like to start a list of favorite places to get ice cream and/or gelato. I'll get the ball rolling with Moxley's, Sylvan Beach and Pitango Gelato. Please post below, or are you sugared out from yesterday's doughnut fest?
(Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)
I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Meat Week and it's only Wednesday.
No, no. Forget I said that. Just a momentary weakness. I'm gearing up to do a post on ice cream; suggestions welcome.
I bet you thought I had forgotten it's Doughnut Wednesday. Not so. I've simply been too busy dealing with the gadzillion comments about doughnuts under yesterday's entry "Tomorrow is Doughnut Wednesday."
Really, all that's left for me to do is to assemble the list of suggestions below and to tell you how you can actually make a doughnut taste even better and be even worse for your arteries. ...
When I was a little girl, my mother used to split cake doughnuts (the kind with lots of powdered sugar outside), butter them, and stick them under the broiler until the butter was bubbly hot, the edges crisp, and, of course, you still had the cold sensation of the powdered sugar. The healthy version of this -- ha ha, just kidding -- is to use Giant's honey wheat doughnuts. Actually, I haven't done this in years, so I don't know whether Giant still makes them. But you get the principle. Not for the faint of heart, and I mean that in a literal way.
Anyway, the votes are in for places beyond Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts, and the winner is Fractured Prune by a wide margin. I've gathered together a list of the others from yesterday's comments. If there are other suggestions, please post below:
1) Fractured Prune. Note that there are new locations in Annapolis, Columbia and Ellicott City. The doughnuts are hot (made while you wait) and hand-dipped.
2) New System Bakery in Hampden for honey dipped.
3) Donut Shack on Ritchie Highway. It's open 24 hours.
4) Donut Delight at Lexington Market for sugared doughnuts.
5) Fenwick Bakery for a perfect classic chocolate iced doughnut.
6) Woodlea. Overstuffed, homemade marshmallow doughnuts.
7) Keller's on Camp Meade Road in Linthicum for marshmallow doughnuts.
8) Kumpy's in Hagerstown, open only at night for a few hours. People stand in line for the doughnuts.
9) The bakery in Galena on the Eastern Shore. She doesn't know the name but "you can't miss it."
10) Simon's Bakery in Cockeysville.
11) Migue's Magnificent Mini Donuts under the viaduct at the Sunday farmers market.
To take a break from Sugar Week for a moment, I had dinner at Gertrude's in the BMA last night, and the restaurant was promoting its Lobsterama! special, held every Wednesday in August. I guess I was there on the wrong night.
The deal is you can get a 1 1/4 pound lobster either simply steamed ($27.95) or gussied up with crab imperial ($32.95) with all the fixings: mussels, clams, baked potato, coleslaw and corn on the cob.
Call ahead and reserve your lobster, though. They have only so many each night.
The menu also raised an interesting tipping question: how much to tip on deal meals. (I was there for the $10 Tuesday dinners.) The menu suggested 25 to 30 percent. I think you'll be more amenable to that idea if you read the comments from servers under my previous post on tipping creep. On the other hand, if people ignored the suggestion, at least the dining room was full. I guess 15 to 20 percent of a little check is better than 25 to 30 percent of nothing. And Gertrude's has ways of upping the total, like the $11 glass of house merlot.
(Algerina Perna/Sun Photographer)
With the publication of The Book of Great Desserts, Maida Heatter did for desserts what Julia Child did for French cooking. Her recipes are so meticulous, and the results so delicious, that I've never had a failure or a disappointed recipient of anything I've made from it or any of her other cookbooks. (The one pictured to the right was published a couple of years later.)
The greatest accolade I had was for her Queen Mother Cake, a fabulous flourless chocolate creation. (This was before every restaurant had a death-by-chocolate cake on its menu.) I served it to a guest who had never had it before; and while she was eating it, to make polite conversation I asked, "And what's your favorite dessert?"
"This," she said, without missing a beat.
As promised, we celebrate Sugar Week tomorrow with Doughnut Wednesday, in which I share my guiltiest pleasure (even worse than bakery birthday cake) and hope that readers can give us suggestions of little known places (beyond Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts) to go for our deep-fried sugary dough treats.
(AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)
Of course I don't mean that fruit can't be a wonderful ending to a good meal. What could be better than serving crisp apples and passing around a bowl of walnuts in their shell (warm them in the oven) to have with the apples. But is that dessert?
Bananas Foster, peach cobbler and cherries jubilee are definitely dessert, but are they fruit?
I think not.
The closest I can think of would be something like peche melba or poire helene, where the poached peach or pear is accompanied by -- but not overwhelmed by -- ice cream and raspberry or chocolate sauce.
I leave you with this quote from Jason Love:
"Fruit only angers my need for chocolate."
(Photo by Mario Villafuerte/Bloomberg News)
I hope you enjoyed the video yesterday of Amanda making a black bottom pie. I've got to get one of those skull-and-crossbones T-shirts. She tells me she wore it in honor of the rum and also "as a warning to the dangers of Sugar Week: participate at your own risk!"
Anyway, I felt the video's editor and cameraman, Graham Phillips, didn't get enough credit. He's Amanda's brother, and his credentials are impressive. Check out this link to the Internet Movie Database.
And note his birthdate.
Last week I suggested as a Top Ten Tuesday topic for Sugar Week either places to go for dessert and coffee or bakeries known for their great sweets. As Good Eater John so wisely pointed out, the two lists would probably intersect.
And so they did. I tried to give a range of experiences to try if you're in the dessert-and-coffee mode. Plenty of restaurants with wonderful desserts would probably be happy to serve you if you stopped in just for a sweet treat, but I tried to pick fairly casual places where you know you'll be welcome.
I didn't put this on my list, but I thought it was interesting. When I called the City Dock Cafe in Annapolis to see if they did the dessert thing, the woman I spoke to told me a lot of people she knows go to the Melting Pot for dessert (chocolate fondue with fruit and pound cake for dipping).
Here's my list: ...
(Jerry Jackson/Sun Photographer)
*Bonaparte in Fells Point (903 S. Ann St., Fells Point, 410-342-4000) doesn't have late hours, but the beautiful French pastries and fruit tarts with a cup of good coffee make an excellent afternoon "tea."
*Bonjour in Mount Washington (6070 Falls Road, 410-372-0238) is another fine French patisserie that has decadent desserts, a few tables and coffee -- but, alas, isn't open late enough to qualify as an after-dinner place.
*Cafe de Paris in Columbia offers two possibilities for dessert and coffee. You can stop in the main dining room for housemade desserts like creme brulee and profiteroles, or you can visit the relatively new crepe cafe.
*Cafe Hon in Hampden has homemade pies, homemade hot fudge sauce, homemade bread pudding -- all the comfort desserts you'd expect at this Hampden eatery. And as of right now, you can get eats in the Hon Bar until 1 a.m.
*City Cafe in Mount Vernon has a coffee bar as well as a dining room where they serve coffees from around the world and desserts like strawberry shortcake and cookies that are made in house. (Others are from good bakeries.) A useful post-theater or post-symphony place to know about.
*Desert Cafe in Mount Washington was, in a previous incarnation, called the Dessert Cafe. The name still fits. Sweets like berry tarts, baklava and cheesecake are homemade by the owner/chef, Blake Wollman; and specialty coffee drinks are available.
*Donna's, area locations, has the best of about three worlds: Its own baker for specialties like bread pudding, a large, warm brownie, and chocolate mousse cake; good coffee; and late hours at some locations on the weekends. (Hours vary, so check the Web site.)
*Stone Mill Bakery in Lutherville is busy and pricey, but it's worth it for desserts like Valrhona brownies, mini key lime pies, and almond linzer torte. If the weather is nice, make sure you get a seat on its charming patio.
*Vaccaro's has many locations, but I recommend the one in Little Italy for atmosphere. The Italian pastries -- cannoli, tiramisu and rum cake -- are so well known (and served at so many local restaurants) I don't have to tell you about them.
*XS in Mount Vernon has everything for dessert from warm pecan pie to banana tempura. The edgy breakfast-sushi-dessert restaurant is good to know about after a Meyerhoff or Lyric event. It's open later than most places. (Hours vary.)
Faithful Reader Mark sent me this e-mail yesterday (he really is faithful; he reads my blog as well as my print review on the weekend):
Mdlrvrmuncher brought up a subject of intense interest to two thirds of Baltimore natives: ...
Berger cookies. As he says, the best sugar fix in Baltimore.
That got me to thinking about other homegrown sugary treats, which we love even if there are more high-falutin' ones out there.
*Baugher's ice cream
*Wockenfuss chocolates
*Rheb's homemade candies
*Vaccaro's cannoli
The must be more, but I just can't think of them. And no, places like Moxley's don't count. They have to have been around since the dawn of time.
I have a feeling there's an iconic kettle corn company, but I don't know which one it is.
Suggestions of other uniquely Maryland sugar fixes welcome.
I love this pie. It has a spicy gingersnap crust, a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate custard and a layer of light, fluffy rum-flavored custard. It's topped with swirls of freshly whipped cream and shavings of chocolate.
The recipe that follows is a version of one that was published in Majorie Kinnan Rawlings' Cross Creek Cookery.
In it she describes it as "a pie so delicate, so luscious, that I hope to be propped up on my dying bed and fed a generous portion. Then I think that I should refuse outright to die, for life would be too good to relinquish."
Louie's Bookstore Cafe, where Ixia now is, is the only restaurant I've known that served black bottom pie. It was good, but I hope Jimmy Rouse won't be offended if I say mine is even better. ...
Check back later today and we should have the video up and running of Amanda demonstrating how to make it.
(Photo courtesy of Amanda Hastings-Phillips)
Black Bottom Pie
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make a crust of:
1 ½ cups gingersnap crumbs (about 22)
3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon ginger
Bake in a 9-inch pie pan for 10 minutes. Chill.
Filling:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¼ cup water
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
4 extra-large eggs, separated
1 2/3 cup milk
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 tablespoons rum, strong and dark
1 teaspoon real vanilla
Sprinkle the gelatin in the water to soften. In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate over hot water. Set aside.
Separate the eggs and beat the egg yolks in the top of a double boiler until thick and lemon colored.
Scald the milk. (Don’t let it boil.) Mix ½ cup of sugar, the cornstarch, and salt. Add to the milk; stir until dissolved.
In a thin stream, add the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Cook over hot water until the custard heavily coats a spoon. This can take as long as 20 minutes.
When thick, remove 1 cup of the custard, stir in the melted chocolate and the vanilla with a whisk. Spread on the bottom of the chilled gingersnap crust.
Add the gelatin mixture to the rest of the custard while it’s still hot. Set it aside, stirring occasionally.
Beat the 4 room-temperature egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff but not dry, slowly adding the other ½ cup of sugar. Add the rum to the custard, then fold in the whites. Be sure they are blended completely, but don’t deflate the egg whites.
Pour over the chocolate layer in the gingersnap crust. Chill for several hours until the custard sets.
Topping:
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon real vanilla
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
unsweetened chocolate for grating
No more than an hour or two before serving, whip the cream with the vanilla and sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread decoratively on top of the pie, then grate chocolate shavings on top of it.
Makes 6 servings
The chocolate center of the universe is...Timonium? Who knew?
Not really, of course, but it is wonderful that three creative chocolatiers have set up shop in this one 'burb.
I first learned what chocolate should taste like at age 10 when I attended a friend's piano recital in the Swiss embassy in Greece. A maid passed around miniature bars of Lindt chocolate, and it was the best thing I had ever put in my mouth.
But Lindt chocolates don't hold a candle to what European chocolatier Albert Kirchmayr produces out of his Timonium store. Buy them directly from him so they will be very fresh -- they have a shelf life of only two weeks. The best things in life are ephemeral.
Speaking of Swiss chocolates, Jennifer and Ben Hauser of Glarus Chocolatier are producing fine, old-fashioned, all-natural truffles and other chocolates developed from his Swiss father's Old World recipes and techniques. The selection of chocolate barks (black cherry almond bark, mocha cacoa bark, to name two) is to die for.
I love the fact that Larry McGlinchey decided that a career in medical sales and marketing wouldn't be as much fun as making fine French chocolates -- and then did something about it. His shop, Cacao Lorenzo, has traditional European chocolates made with some unusual flavors like lavender and fig, and they are wonderful, but true chocoholics will swoon over his solid chocolate bars (dark, milk, and white).
(Photo courtesy of Cacao Lorenzo)
The time we've all been waiting for with bated breath (and poised forks) has come. Welcome to Sugar Week, a celebration of all things, well, sugary.
I thought I would open Sugar Week by introducing myself -- insofar as sugar is concerned.
Luckily my mom liked to bake, tossing off as an after-school snack not Rice Krispie treats but large cream puffs filled with custard and iced with chocolate. (Wasn't it nice when mothers didn't have to work?)
As an adult, my craving for sweets has lessened, but not my appreciation. I have a fondness for French pastry and fine chocolate, but I also have lowbrow sweets I can't resist. My guilty pleasures are usually sugary treats I loved as a child and never quite grew out of.
Here's a quick rundown:
*Sugar High: When Bonjour, the French bakery, opened in Mount Washington and sometimes had mille-feuilles for sale, made with puff pastry, custard cream, white fondant icing and a chocolate combed glaze. (Unfortunately the last time I went in I was told they are now only special order.)
*Sugar Low: When A. Kirchmayr, the Swiss chocolatier, left the city, moving from N. Charles Street to Timonium.
*Guiltiest Pleasure: Bakery birthday cake made with yellow cake and white icing with colored roses. (It can't come from a supermarket, however.)
*My birthday cake choice now: A cake from Patisserie Poupon -- anything with lemon or strawberries.
*Best proof that there's no such thing as a too sweet dessert: baklava (I spent a year in Greece as a kid, so I have a particular fondness for a good baklava). The best baklava I've had recently was at Micho's in Reisterstown.
*Favorite restaurant dessert: A chocolate souffle that you have to order in advance, and it comes out all puffy and hot from the oven with softly whipped cream.
*Best restaurant dessert I've had so far this year: The tarte tatin from Brasserie Tatin, with exquisite pastry, warm caramelized apples, caramel sauce, creme fraiche and a tart apple sorbet.
*Favorite supermarket dessert: The key lime pie from Whole Foods.
*Most-missed treat from my childhood: A chocolate mint chip ice cream cone from Howard Johnson's, the ones where the scoop was cone-shaped so it had a nice symmetry. Plus the ice cream was good.
*Treat I'm most glad they got rid of from my childhood: Candy cigarettes. I wonder how many people started smoking because they were so much fun.
Feel free to post your nominations in any of these categories below.
(Kim Hairston/Sun Photographer)
(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun Photographer)
Arf, arf. We visit the Yellow Dog Tavern in Canton and eat not Buffalo wings and nachos but Chilean sea bass and grilled calamari with gremolata. This is the new restaurant that opened where Mike’s Happy Hour bar was. And how did our meal rate? Check out my review in next Sunday’s Arts & Life Today section to find out.
A friend told me that the local Ruth's Chris Steakhouses have a $35.95 special going on in honor of their 15th anniversary. (Wouldn't it make more sense to have a $15 special?) I checked the Web site and it's not quite the deal it might seem if you're a steak lover. Of the four entrees, only one is beef, and that's a petite filet mignon. Still, with lobster bisque or a house or Caesar salad to start, it might be something to pacify your inner carnivore. And for once, the sides aren't a la carte.
The "Sizzling Celebration Menu" is only available on Sundays and Mondays. The friend hadn't tried it yet; if anyone has and thinks it's a good deal (or not), please post below.
Jes sent me this photo of Sihin Shiferaw, the owner of the Harrar Cafe, another small, one-woman operation that has good food. (See earlier post of the Bistro.) She's from Harrar, the mountainous region of Ethiopia.
"Most of her customers speak her language, and it's like being in a very friendly foreign country," Jes wrote me. "Her coffee is the best -- a house blend called Harrar Roast. My usual is the Ethiopian Omelet (egg, beef, pepper, garlic and seasoning) served with ijera and a side of greens (usually collards -- yummy)."
The menu, which is on the Web site, has more than just Ethiopian food -- things like minestrone, homemade cookies and bagels and cream cheese. There's free WiFi as well. The cafe is open Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(Photo courtesy of Jes Porro)
Sorry to be so long in answering Angela's question about whether those are mud hen bars pictured in the previous post Sugar Week Top Ten Tuesday. It took me awhile to locate the photo again, which I had stumbled upon in our archives.
It turns out the bars aren't what I thought they were, blondies, and they aren't mud hen bars. They are labeled "Grandma's famous chocolate chip cake," although they don't look like cake to me. The recipe is lost in the mists of time.
Guillaume posted a comment suggesting a Top Ten of bakeries that focus on bread or one on restaurants that have great bread. I love the idea, but that got me thinking how difficult it would be.
In the past decade or so, bread has gotten so much better in this area I put away my KitchenAid dough hook. I simply can't make bread as good as I can buy anymore. Or at least the difference isn't worth the trouble. ...
(Algerina Perna/Sun Photographer)
So many restaurants offer good bread these days I'd be hard pressed to pick just ten. I'll start keeping better track from now on and try to come up with some really spectacular ones. It seems ironic that at the same time, the popularity of the Atkins diet and its ilk has meant that many people are ignoring restaurant bread, and some places don't even bring it to the table unless you ask or they charge for it.
The one complaint I have is that sometimes the type of bread doesn't quite fit the rest of the meal. Call me old-fashioned, but with traditional French food I still like baguette best. I prefer rustic whole grain breads flavored with olives, sun-dried tomatoes and the like with soup or cheese or some other more casual meal.
These days we not only have to contend with entree creep when we eat out, we also have tipping creep. (Entree prices creep, that is -- the fact that they have crept up in the past couple of years so anything under $20 now seems moderate, even inexpensive.)
Anyway, I was struck by tipping creep once again when I ate at a high-end restaurant last night and was figuring out the tip on a large check. ...
I remember when I did a story on tipping awhile back, I discovered that in the '40s and '50s, 10 to 15 percent was standard. These days you would leave that only if the server poured soup in your lap.
It no longer seems appropriate to leave even 15 percent if you get decent service, and certainly not 15 percent figured on the check before tax. These days the server will think he or she did something wrong if you don't leave 18 percent. And in a fine restaurant with several people waiting on you, you should probably leave more.
I interviewed Michael Lynn, an associate professor at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, for the story and asked him why tipping creep was happening. His response was kind of depressing. He's been doing research on tipping for over 20 years, and he believes the main reason people tip is because they want the server to have a good opinion of them. (Assuming they like the server.)
"If people are tipping to get something [such as making the server like them]," he told me. "it depends on standing out, and to stand out they have to go above the norm. Then the norm creeps up."
Between entree creep and tipping creep, what I left for a tip last night seemed like an awful lot of money for decent but not wonderful service.
I've been mulling over what the best Top Ten Tuesday topic for Sugar Week would be, and the obvious one, best restaurant desserts, I did in May.
My husband suggested best sweets for eating while you walk around and top ten restaurant foods you wish didn't contain sugar (for me, that's vinaigrette), but the one seems too specialized and the other too negative for Sugar Week's main list.
Right now I'm leaning toward Top Ten Places to Go for Dessert and Coffee or Top Ten Bakeries for Sweets. Any votes for one or the other? I'll probably touch on all these topics during Sugar Week, which starts Sunday.
Other highlights of Sugar Week:
* Obviously, the video of Amanda making arguably the greatest dessert of all time, Black Bottom Pie, is the big one. I'm hoping to get that up and running Monday. It may be all downhill from there. (Just kidding. Read on.)
* Top Ten Tuesday
* Doughnut Wednesday
* I need to come up with a Deep Thought for Thursday about sugar, but frankly I'm not sure there is one. (Chocolate rules?)
* We also need to talk about the area's great chocolatiers, why Maida Heatter is a goddess, best ice cream and gelato places in town, and anything else you're interested in.
Your wish is my command.
(Photo by Bob Fila/Chicago Tribune)
When Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder traveled to Japan during the Korean War, or so the story goes, the immigration officials wouldn't let him in. They changed their minds when he wrote this poem on one of the forms:
Making a cup of tea,
I stop the war.
The space at 2110 N. Charles St., which was a restaurant called Lisa's Coffe House (that's not a typo) and before that Benny Gordon's French Restaurant 2110, is now the Lahore Kalal Kabab House, serving Pakastani and Indian food.
When I called, the person who answered the phone said they had been open four days.
Thanks to Sam for the heads up and for snapping this picture for me.
(Photo courtesy of Sam Sessa)
Alert Reporter Steve tells me Sascha's 527 has a sign on the door proclaiming that the restaurant is closed this week for its "summer siesta," reopening Aug. 20. As I mentioned before, Samos is closed for vacation next week. The point being, this time of year don't assume the place you're heading for is open. Call first.
(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)
I guess I let the cat out of the bag by mentioning the theme of this year's dining guide in response to a comment under the entry Samos and Ikaros. (It's "Good Deals" for those of you who didn't read it.) Not that it's a huge secret.
The master list of restaurants has already been made up, but I'd be interested to know what your nominations would be. Just post below.
And feel free to take a guess at where the photo was taken.
(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)
When I was talking to Ben Greene (over the phone, of course) about his new Mediterranean bistro, Miss Irene's, I asked him if it was going to be a tapas place when it opens sometime this fall.
He was quite scornful, saying that the whole tapas craze has run its course. (Maybe the fact that Pazo has added entrees to its menu is an indication of that.) Only places that change their menus frequently, he believes -- like Tapas Teatro -- are going to survive.
It's probably too soon to sound the death knell just yet, but I wonder if people are getting tired of sharing little plates instead of having regular dinners. I myself like tapas sitting at a bar with a glass of wine, but at the table I prefer a plate where the chef has decided what goes best with what. To me it's part of his or her artistry.
(Elizabeth Malby/Sun Photographer)
I had dinner last night at Samos in Greektown, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary. It was my first visit, surprisingly enough.
When I first moved to Baltimore, Ikaros was the place everyone went to for Greek food. A friend of mine was reminiscing recently about spending hours and hours there eating dolmades and spanakopita and drinking wine. The lines for a table used to extend down the block.
Somehow the go-to restaurant for Greek food seems to have changed to Samos, or is my impression wrong? And when did that happen? I know Ikaros still does a brisk business.
Samos will be closing Aug. 20 for vacation. When it reopens, our waitress told us, construction will start on the new dining room upstairs.
(Doug Kapustin/Sun Photographer)
Intrepid Reporter Jill e-mailed me yesterday to tell me she had lunch at a Thai restaurant (which I'm not going to name because it didn't happen to me). She ordered the pad thai from the vegetarian side of the menu.
It had tofu in it...and then it also had....wait for it.....little pieces of pork.
This struck me as funny (obviously not if you're a vegetarian), but also puzzling. I mean, what does the restaurant gain putting meat in a dish that the customer doesn't want? And if the cook didn't think he was making vegetarian pad thai, why the tofu?
I'm amazed that no one has leapt to the defense of Matthew's pizza after Curious4Food's comment under my previous entry Matthew's and Iggies. I thought Matthew's had achieved iconic status around here. It was my first visit, and I'm saving my thoughts about its pizza for the dining guide.
This has been a better first half of the year than I thought before I went back and checked out the restaurants I've reviewed so far.There weren't a lot of highs (and no 4 star places) but the lows weren't as low as I remembered. A lot of decent places have opened up, and I revisited a few not-so-new that have improved with age. I've actually ranked this Top Ten, but in some cases there could have been a tie. I didn't do that because I thought going with my gut feeling (no pun intended) would be more helpful.
(Gene Sweeney/Sun Photographer)
1) Pazo in Fells Point. With a new chef and a new direction for the menu (it's not just tapas anymore), I liked this "peasant" Mediterranean place better the second time round. Best dish we tried: Pork confit cannelloni with mushrooms, walnuts, and zucchini, and a luscious cream sauce.
2) b Bistro in Bolton Hill. This urban bistro can be crowded and noisy, but the New American cuisine with Mediterranean, Asian and Middle Eastern accents is excellent. Best dish we tried: House-made ravioli stuffed with ricotta and roasted vegetables, and sauced with tomatoes, brown butter and sage.
3) Lebanese Taverna in Harbor East. The contemporary dining room is a showstopper, but at its heart this is a good, down-to-earth, not-too-expensive ethnic restaurant. Vegetarians will find plenty to love. Best dish we tried: Simple as it sounds, the hummus was most memorable.
4) Brasserie Tatin in Homewood. The prix fixe menu makes this French bistro, with a new Swiss chef, more affordable. Best dish we tried: We enjoyed just about everything we had, but it has to be the signature warm tarte tatin with caramel sauce, creme fraiche and a tart apple sorbet.
5) Dogwood in Hampden. An ex-Hampton's chef opens his own place. Unfortunately it's closed for renovations right now. Best dish we tried: Wild rockfish fillet, thick and fresh. Its citrusy butter sauce had notes of fresh basil, and it even overshadowed the fine lump crab cake at its side.
6) Pazza Luna in Locust Point. Sotto Sopra's new relative, only more rustic and accessible (with bigger portions and somewhat less expensive). Best dish we tried: The fritto misto, with gold-crusted calamari, shrimp, and crescents of fennel. The aioli was a fabulous dipping sauce.
7) Osteria 177 in Annapolis. Italian-Mediterranean in a jazzy contemporary dining room. Best dish we tried: An upscale version of cioppino. The curvy-rimmed white bowl was filled with fish and shellfish in a delicate tomato-based broth and a large, decorative sprig of fresh basil.
8) Della Notte in Little Italy. This traditional Italian restaurant (which also has Chesapeake favorites) has become a bit more formal --and expensive. Best dish we tried: the enormous pork chop stuffed with provolone and ham, with sweet potatoes dauphinoise and brussels sprouts.
9) Minato in Mount Vernon. It's the same good sushi and Japanese food in an edgy new setting. Best dish we tried: the Raven roll, crisp bits of tempura soft shell crab nestled with avocado inside rice. Glistening, fresh raw salmon was draped on top of each piece. Over the top, but delicious.
10) P. F. Chang's in the Inner Harbor. I feel bad including a national chain in my ten best, but it gets here by default. It delivered what it promised: decent Chinese food and good service in an ultra-chic dining room. Best dish we tried: seabass fillet marinated in tea on baby spinach leaves.
As I've gone through The Sun's archives for tomorrow's Top Ten Tuesday -- The Best Places I've Been So Far This Year -- I'm struck by the fact that I gave a few more 3 stars for food than usual. I also gave three restaurants 3 1/2 stars, although one of them was Abacrombie, under a chef who has now left.
Then there were the 11 restaurants that got 2 or 2 1/2 stars -- fair or uneven. Some of the food at those was pedestrian, but some showed promise. Assigning stars is never an exact science.
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun Photographer)
At the right is a photo taken at Miss Irene's bar after it closed, which ran with a story on the gentrification of Fells Point bars in 2004. Here's what reporter Scott Calvert said:
Now Miss Irene's, which closed two months ago, is for sale at $1.5 million.It joins a pub crawl's worth of neighborhood bars scattered near the water that are on the market, including the still-open Whistling Oyster ($850,000) and the Dead End Saloon ($2.1 million). At those prices, real estate agents say, a buyer almost certainly would have to add a new word - upscale - to make the investment worthwhile.
Well, he was right: Take a look at the soon-to-be-opened Miss Irene's Web site. The bar, once named Best Bar for Hard-Core Drinking by the City Paper, will now be a Mediterranean bistro.
I couldn't pin down proprietor Ben Greene to an opening date. All he would say is "sometime in the fall."
(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun Photographer)
This is Amanda Hastings-Phillips, an actress in LA who also happens to be my daughter's bff and her doubles partner in college. More important for our purposes, she's an excellent cook. (She just finished making a friend's wedding cakes for 200 guests.)
Amanda has kindly agreed to do a video demonstration for my blog for Sugar Week, which as you know starts August 19. The working title is How to Make a Black Bottom Pie, Arguably the Greatest Dessert of All Time. This is a recipe I developed from one in Marjorie Kinnan Rawling's great Cross Creek Cookery. I know you won't want to miss it.
I will, of course, also include the recipe on my blog.
I just got back from having pizza at Matthew's, after a visit to Iggies last week. I can't think of a better contrast of old and new Baltimore, at least restaurant-wise. (If you can, feel free to post below.) They are such different experiences I refuse to decide which is better.
I fear for Matthew's, though. In the blink of an eye some developer could buy up that block and build Patterson Park Prospect, luxury townhomes from the mid-$400s.
I got an invitation to Fogo de Chão's media party this Wednesday, which of course I can't attend because I have to stay anonymous. This is the Brazilian steakhouse known as a churrascaria where the cooks (OK, authentic Gaúcho chefs) bring the roast meats to the table to carve as much as you want. The menu is fixed price.
It opens to the public this Thursday, Aug. 16. The address is 600 E. Pratt St., and the phone number is 410-528-9292.
The lure of Greektown may be too much for you, but if you don’t mind not feeling like you’re in the Mediterranean, the new Grapevine Café in Cockeysville is a worthy alternative.
We had a good meal there, as I reported last weekend, but to get the specifics look for my review next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section.
Barbara Haddock Taylor/ Sun Photographer)
Amy e-mailed me and wanted to know what was up with Lemongrass and Tsunami, the popular Annapolis restaurants that are supposed to open in Baltimore on Central Avenue.
Thai in Fells Point/Inner Harbor East/Little Italy is pretty exciting. ...we drove by yesterday and the sign for Lemongrass is up - which makes me think it could be opening soon?
Alas, not very soon. I spoke to Gavin Buckley, one of the business partners in the restaurant group, and he says it's looking more like September or October now. No surprise there.
Tsunami, by the way, is an Asian fusion restaurant, while Lemongrass is Thai.
(Nanine Hartzenbusch/Sun Photographer)
Well, I just had an unnerving experience, something that's never happened in all the years I've been reviewing.
My husband and I were having dinner at a restaurant (under an assumed name, of course), and someone sent a round of drinks to our table. When we looked surprised, the waiter said, "You're Mr. and Mrs. Large, right?" I thought of denying it, but by then it seemed hopeless.
Not only can I never review that restaurant again, I don't think I can eat there again. It was quite unsettling how many staff people bowed and hoped I had had a good meal as we made our way out.
As for the person who sent the drinks over, he knows what I do for a living, but I guess he just didn't think.
Another report from traveling foodies, this time from Good Eaters Patti and Esther:
One last thought about my meal at Iggies the other night. I noticed on the carryout menu they advised taking the "raw" pizza home and baking it. Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of takeout pizza? (Which for me is not to turn on my oven or even one burner.)
Has anyone actually ever done this? Does it work? Isn't the fact that it's not quite hot when you get it home offset by the fact that it's been baked in a real pizza oven?
(Steve Ruark/ Special to the Sun)
Last night a friend asked me what the best couple of restaurants I'd been to this year were, and I was stuck for an answer. My first thought was that I've had an awful lot of middle-of-the-road meals in '07, the kind where I give the restaurant two or two-and-a-half stars for food. My second thought was this would make a good Top Ten. (Considering that I couldn't even come up with two, that was pretty gutsy of me.) So next Tuesday I'm going to do Top Ten Best Restaurants I've Been to This Year.
I know it's August, and not the usual time for a retrospective, but I like this as a Top Ten topic for two reasons:
1) I can give you up-to-date, my-own-experience information. For a lot of these Top Ten Tuesdays I have to rely on other Sun Food Professionals like Happy Eater Rob, Carry Out Sam, and Cheap Eats Karen. I'm going to enjoy going back through the archives and rediscovering places I've forgotten about.
2) I'll feel confident actually ranking these restaurants, or at least these restaurant meals, and I can tell you specific things to order that will probably still be on the menu.
As usual, though, I'm collecting topics for future Top Tens. If you have any you'd like me to do, please post below. Another Tuesday is always right around the bend.
Pictured above is the first restaurant I did this year. Want to take a guess as to what it was?
(Amy Davis/Sun Photographer)
Just when I'm feeling that I'm writing about the same restaurants or different restaurants at the same locations over and over again, I learn that Baltimore Pho (pronounced "fuh," sort of) is going to open where Mencken's Cultured Pearl used to be at 1114 Hollins St., across from the market.
Major renovations are still going on. The food will be traditional Vietnamese with a little fusion thrown in for good measure, and of course pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup.
I'm guessing from talking to the general manager, Kaori Ozawa, that Baltimore Pho will be more than just another ethnic place. She says it will be a restaurant "with a message." When I asked what the message was, she said "hope" and drew a connection between Baltimore and Vietnam as "both going through transitions."
The opening will probably -- I stress probably -- be sometime in October.
I had dinner last week at both the Helmand and Sammy's Trattoria, and, of course, both times parking was an issue.
I had a long discussion with a friend recently about whether parking can make or break a restaurant. The Helmand is a special case -- it would do just fine in the middle of the Sahara (admittedly, there would be plenty of parking there) -- and Sammy's seems to be doing OK. But I think a lot of those places in the Mount Vernon area come and go in large part because of the lack of parking.
And not just there, of course. I got an e-mail from Nancy Longo yesterday pointing out that Pierpoint has its own parking, just like the now-closed Longo's did. The restaurant owners know how important it is.
It's particularly an issue as more restaurants open around Patterson Park/Butchers Hill -- at least in Mount Vernon you know you can find a lot if you're willing to walk a little. I think my friend and I concluded that parking was going to be a huge obstacle for those new ones, but I'm not sure. Personally I don't mind walking a few blocks unless it's a safety issue.
One problem for restaurants is that Baltimoreans don't like to valet park the way, say, Angelinos do. In LA, everybody valets everywhere -- I saw a cleaners that had valet parking. But maybe that's changing. If you want to eat in the hot new places in the Harbor East area, you better be willing to valet and to pay handsomely for the privilege.
That's a dish from Sammy's in the photo, by the way. I thought you'd rather look at it than a row of parked cars with no space for your car.
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun Photographer)
For what it's worth, here's the e-mail I got today from Jimmy & Virna Almuete, the new owners of Red Fish. There have been so many changes at this location I'm not even sure which incarnation the Web site I've linked to applies to. But at least it gives you the address.
I've been disappointed too many times to do anything but adopt a wait-and-see attitude. On the other hand, Brian Martin (formerly of Kali's Court) is a chef with a good reputation. I'm not in any rush to eat at the new Red Fish, but I would be interested in any impressions anyone has if it does reopen.
OK, I admit I'm a pizza purist. (Please, God, why did you invent the barbecued chicken and pineapple pizza?) I used to turn up my nose at pizzas topped with too many non-pizza vegetables.
Vegetables, in case you're wondering, fall into two categories:
1) Pizza vegetables: Tomatoes, fresh basil, onions, mushrooms, peppers.
2) Non-pizza vegetables: Asparagus, arugula, spinach, artichoke hearts, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, squash blossoms, broccoli. If God had meant broccoli to be on pizza, he would have made it flat.
Over the years, of course, I gradually got used to a few of them on a pizza as long as they didn't dominate the other ingredients. But then one day I had a slice of vegetable pizza -- piled high with non-pizza vegetables -- from Bossa Nova, a West Coast chain, and I was sold.
The closest I've found around here is the verdura fresca I had last night at Iggies, with roasted vegetables and a balsamic reduction. (That's what got me thinking about this.)
The vegetable pizza is a version that can go terribly wrong, but when it's done right, it's one of my favorites. There must be other great ones in Baltimore; I just don't know about them.
(AP Photo/Larry Crowe)
Don't forget that Sugar Week is now just 11 days away. So far only Dottie has offered any suggestions: the Edelweiss Bakery (anything from there) and Woodlea Bakery's peach cake.
Are you telling me you don't have a sweet tooth? That you don't secretly yearn to try Ale Mary's Krispy Kreme bread pudding? I know you know where I can get the best baklava in town, and what French bakery makes real napoleons, the ones with fondant on top.
I know you know that the best chocolates only keep two weeks before their taste deteriorates, and you think your recipe for chocolate chip cookies is better than mine. You know where the best chocolate shops and bakeries are, including the ones nobody else knows about.
So why aren't you sharing any of this information with me so I can gorge myself investigate the subject thoroughly before Sugar Week gets here on Aug. 19?
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/ Sun Photographer)
Saffron at 800 N. Charles St. is reopening as Indigma, an Indian restaurant but not a fusion restaurant.
There was a chance that it would be open tomorrow, but I just called the new number, 410-605-1212, and the recording says "opening soon." For more details, look for my Table Talk column in the Taste section tomorrow.
(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)
Mdlrvrmuncher asked for some other late-night places. We live to serve.
Here's what Carry Out Sam suggested:
In Federal Hill, Mother's serves a late night menu, Thirsty Dog has their delicious personal pizzas until 1 or 2 a.m., Trattoria Annamaria (italian deli/shop) is open until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and Maria D's is open until 2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday (best single slice of pizza in the neighborhood).
(Nanine Hartzenbusch/Sun Photographer)
Thirsty Dog, by the way, is now the Dog Pub.
Rewrite Woman Extraordinaire Liz sent me these:
-- never on sunday -- and possibly carlos o' charlies ... i've never been but it seems like a strange addtion to the highlandtown strip.
Design Director Mike reminded me...
...about a story Athima Chansanchai wrote on the subject in 2001. I'll quote from it here, but the information is six years old, so call first. I was going to use them for another late night Top Ten and check the hours then.
Da Mimmo, 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday, 217 S. High St. at Stiles Street, 410-727-6876
Mo's Crab & Pasta Factory, 11a.m.-midnight Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1:30 a.m. Friday-Saturday, 502 Albermarle St. at Eastern Avenue, 410-837-1600
Mr. Beverage's Midtown Yacht Club, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. (kitchen closes at 1 a.m.), 15 E. Centre St., 410-837-1300
Bill Bateman's Bistro, open until 2 a.m. (serves food until 1 a.m.), 7800 York Road, Towson, 410-296-2737
An Poitin Stil Irish Pub & Restaurant, stops serving at midnight weekdays, at 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 2323 York Road, Timonium, 410-560-7900
Burke's Café, open until 2 a.m., 36 Light St. at Lombard St., 410-752-4189
Crackpot Seafood Restaurant, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. (closed to minors once bar doors open), 8102 Loch Raven Blvd., Towson, 410-828-1095
If anyone has updated info or other suggestions, please post below. The photo, by the way, was taken at Mother's.
Once I got into this, I found that there were a lot more places serving food into the wee hours than I thought.
I actually had to eliminate most of the diners -- there were just too many of them. That will have to be another Top Ten.
There were also plenty of places where you could get pizza after midnight. That's a pretty specialized Top Ten, but I bet I could come up with ten of them. And maybe Top Ten places to eat after midnight not downtown.
Anyway, here's my list: ...
(Doug Kapustin/Sun Photographer)
*Blue Moon Cafe (1621 Aliceanna St.) in Fells Point opens at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays for what it calls its "famous graveyard shift." It stays open until 3 p.m. the next day. This quirky New Age cafe and espresso bar whips up trucker-style breakfasts, each involving enough food to feed a family of four.
Captain James Landing in Canton (it's that ocean liner-shaped restaurant) offers its full menu until 1:30 a.m. seven days a week. You can get breakfast anytime, seafood, Greek and Italian specialties, pizza, submarines and sandwiches. It used to be open 24 hours a day.
*Jack's Bistro a casual Canton bar, takes imaginative to a new level (see mac 'n' cheese 'n' chocolate). There is skate wing on the menu but also burgers and crab cakes. It serves appetizers, soups, salads, burgers and sides until 1 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
*Nam Kang (2126 Maryland Ave.) is a Korean restaurant (it also serves Chinese and Japanese dishes) known for being open very, very late on the weekends. I called to make sure it still was, and the woman who answered told me they serve food till 4 a.m. every day.
* Papermoon Diner on the edge of Hampden is open 24/7. The decor is whimsical and funky, to say the least, but the food isn't. You can get breakfast, sandwiches and burgers and entrees like meatloaf and fried chicken.
* Pazo in Fells Point, whose kitchen closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays, serves a limited menu until 11:30 p.m. on Thursdays, and the full menu until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The cuisine is, hmmm, upscale peasant Mediterranean.
*Sabatino's in Little Italy dishes up hearty central and southern Italian favorites, the famous Bookmaker salad and lots of homemade pastas until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
*Sip and Bite (2200 Boston St.) in Canton is the granddaddy of late night -- and early morning --places for breakfast or downhome fare like meatloaf. It's open 24 hours a day, and regularly gets awards for best diner in Baltimore.
* XS in Mount Vernon specializes in lavish breakfasts and sushi, served in a four-story townhouse with a cutting-edge decor. It's a college hangout, but it's also a place to go for dessert and coffee after the symphony. Open till 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. (The kitchen closes half an hour before then.)
*Zorba's (4710 Eastern Ave.) in Highlandtown is known for its grilled-over-charcoal lamb chops and whole fish Greek-style. Hours vary, but the kitchen basically serves food until midnight during the week and 1:30 a.m. or so on the weekends.
Thanks to Liz K, Marty, Sam and others who made suggestions -- more places than I could fit on this list.
Faithful Reader Darlene tells me she just spent a few days in Seattle and that "By far the best meal we had was at the Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, WA (north of Seattle). The chef there is Holly Smith, a rising star, originally from Monkton, MD."
Smith graduated from Baltimore International Culinary College (now Baltimore International College); and the list of her awards since then is impressive, including Bon Appetit's Best New Casual Restaurant in 2001.
More recently, she was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest this year. Her restaurant regularly appears on "best" lists.
Smith opened Cafe Juanita, a northern Italian restaurant, in 2000. Good to know about if you're out that way.
(Photo courtesy of Cafe Juanita)
I'm still in the market for suggestions for tomorrow's Top Ten Tuesday, late night places to get a bite to eat.
While you're at it, any guesses as to what the restaurant is in the photo?
(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun Photographer)
Until recently, I thought Abacrombie Fine Foods near the Meyerhoff was still closed.
I had gotten a somewhat ambiguous e-mail from Mark Schek, the owner of the now-defunct Rooster Cafe, saying he had been running the kitchen there under the new owners (who had never let me know they had reopened) and suggesting he was going to be moving on. Or not.
Then I got these e-mails from a couple of readers. ...
(Doug Kapustin/Sun Photographer)
Two weeks ago, as we were leaving the Meyerhoff, we noticed activity in Abacrombie, which was one of our favorite restaurants. As Chris checked inside, I saw a man in obvious cook togs approach, so I questioned him. It turned out he was the new chef, Mark. Did he quit after that? Thomkeat
Any feedback on their re-opening? Stopped in during Artscape & they were up & running. Everything looked the same. Phyllis Peterson
I called and talked to the restaurant's general manager, who made it sound like everything was back to normal. I also talked to Schek, who didn't sound as optimistic, but I don't know if optimism is a trait of chefs.
Then Saturday I got an e-mail from Schek saying that the owners had decided to close for the month of August. "I'll be cooking some private Wine Spectator events this week and next. September is uncharted."
I called Abacrombie again and this time the innkeeper, Andy Vahora, answered. (The bed and breakfast is now under separate management.) He says he hasn't been able to find out whether the restaurant will be closed for August or not, but he should know by the end of the day.
Probably you should call to confirm your reservations.
When Brasserie Tatin opened a couple of years ago, you couldn’t get in the front door. Who knew Baltimoreans were so desperate for French bistro food? But things have calmed down, other hot new bistros have opened, and it’s now possible to have a quiet meal in its pretty dining room.
But how is the food? Well, the place has a new chef and a new menu. He’s Swiss, so there’s a bit more international variety on the menu. And there’s a $35 prix fixe that’s comparable to anything you can get at Restaurant Week. For more about my latest visit, read my review in next Sunday’s Arts & Life Today section.
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun Photographer)
At the farmers market under the viaduct this morning there was a huge sign that said "Heirloom Sale," and other vendors were laughing about it. No, they weren't selling treasures from their attic. These were heirloom tomatoes, and the price was $2.50 a pound. I love a good price war.
Actually Reid's Orchard was selling heirlooms at the Waverly market for $2.49 a pound yesterday. But what's important is that more and more farmers are realizing people are willing to pay enormous amounts of money for a tomato with real tomato flavor and a thin skin. Many more of the stands are selling the old-fashioned varieties this year, even though they are troublesome to grow, prone to disease and pests, often low-yielding, and produce funny-shaped fruit that isn't perfect looking.
It's just the flavor that's perfect.
The photo on The Sun's home page yesterday was so poignant it inspired me to mention again that restaurants and bars in the area are donating part of their proceeds today to help Zach Sowers. Here's the story.
And here's the Web page that will give you the details.
(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun Photographer, July 20, 2007)
It should be self-evident, but just so everyone understands the ground rules, I'm going to repeat them here.
1) I can't "publish" comments that might get me and/or you sued. If you get a burnt steak at a restaurant and want to talk about it, that's one thing. Saying that a place has rats unless the health department has reported it is another, even if I know you're probably right.
2) I'm assuming that faithful readers have two things in common, no matter what their differences: They love good food, and their Holy Grail is the perfect restaurant experience. That seems to me a good enough basis for a certain degree of civility when you're responding to other posts.
3) Posts that make me queasy are off-limits. To paraphrase Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop, my stomach is my life. And, of course, profanity etc. etc.
4) I'm fair game, but not other reviewers, or really hateful comments about anyone else. See rule #2. And frankly, if I'm having a bad day, really hateful comments about me aren't going to get published either.
Thanks for reading -- and commenting,
Elizabeth
The best corn I've had this season was some bicolor corn I bought last Sunday at the city farmers market.
The taste was great, it was sweet but not too sweet, and the kernels were small and seemed young and very fresh. I'm hoping tomorrow's batch will be just as good.
You'll find it at the Browns Cove stand, a farm I've mentioned before. The problem is they don't have a sign, but I took a photo that may help you identify it.
This is totally cheating, but I feel like my faithful weekend readers, which the Web Masters tell me number only four because nobody reads blogs on the weekend, deserve some sort of reward for sticking with me.
If you live north of the city and crave Greek food, head for the new Grapevine Cafe in Cockeysville. I went this week for a review that won't appear until August 19, but I thought the food was every bit the equal of what you can find in Greektown.
True, the ambience is a bit staid, but it's very comfortable, and the people running it couldn't be nicer.
(Barbara Taylor Haddock/Sun Photographer)
I know I shouldn't prejudge, but I'm not sure I'm ready for a Chesapeake Crab Dawg yet. Think corn dogs, only with crab. This is a treat in the shape of a hot dog invented by a Kent Island man -- a crab cake deep fried inside puff pastry.
You'll find Crab Dawgs this summer at concession stands at fairs and stadiums. Or you can, if you must have one right now, order them online -- although the online store doesn't seem to be up and running at the moment.
Good Eater Marty was telling me about someone he knows who loves Tio Pepe because the restaurant always makes her favorite off-menu items without being asked when she shows up. I remember Tio used to have a wonderful seafood-and-fruit plate at lunch you had to know about. It wasn't on the menu.
My kid, on a somewhat different level, told me about the West Coast Chain's In-n-Out Burger's "secret" menu, also known as its "animal menu." (You can actually find it on its Web site, although not in the franchises, so it's not that secret.)
Anyway, Marty came up with this link to an article on other secret menus -- well worth taking a look at.
Other Baltimore restaurants besides Tio Pepe must have dishes you won't find on the menu, but that regulars know to ask for. I just don't know about them. If you do, please post below.
(Elizabeth Malby/Sun Photographer)
Thanks to Dancing Monkey for suggesting late night places to eat for our next Top Ten Tuesday topic.
I haven't started bugging my knowledgeable co-workers looking into it yet, so I'm a little worried that the ten best and the ten worst might end up being the same list. Are there really more than ten places in Baltimore that serve food, say, past midnight?
I got this e-mail a couple of days ago:
It sounds good except that I've e-mailed him back a couple of times and called the restaurant and never heard anything more. If anyone knows anything about the mysterious Red Fish, please post below or send me an e-mail at elizabeth.large@baltsun.com.
(Amy Davis/Sun Photographer)
Here's what Buddhist monk and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh has to say about mindful eating:
"Some of us, while looking at a piece of carrot, can see the whole cosmos in it, can see the sunshine in it, can see the earth in it. It has come from the whole cosmos for our nourishment.
You may like to smile to it before you put it in your mouth. ...
When you chew it, you are aware that you are chewing a piece of carrot. Don't put anything else into your mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the carrot in.
And when you chew, chew only the carrot, not your projects or your ideas. You are capable of living in the present moment, in the here and the now. It is simple, but you need some training to just enjoy the piece of carrot. This is a miracle."
Deskmate Steve tells me that when he had to cancel his Restaurant Week reservation at the Blue Sea Grill, the person who answered the phone told him that the promotion had been such a success the restaurant was extending it another week. I'll bet it will be even better next week because surely it will be less crowded.
I know in past years other restaurants have extended the special deal for another week, so there are probably others this year. I just don't know what they are.
If I hear of others I'll post them here, and if you know of others, or you're a restaurant owner extending the three courses for $30.07, please do the same.
And if you couldn't get into a place this week, you could always call and ask if it's extending the Restaurant Week menu.
(Algerina Perna/Sun Photographer)
Jes sent me this photo of Sameerah Muhammad -- from her iPhone, no less. Sameerah is the owner/chef/wait staff and, I guess, chief bottle washer of The Bistro (31 S. Arlington, 410-528-1700) near the Hollins Market.
It inspired me to give her a call, and she's quite spellbinding. I asked her how she would describe her cuisine, and she said, "a romantic interlude with herbs." ...
(Photo courtesy of Jes Porro)
I asked for an example of just what that would be, and she came up with grilled salmon, either curried or with jerk seasoning, red beans and rice for $8.95, and as I understand it, two sides as well. She doesn't want to charge too much for the food, she said, because her primary goal is to introduce new tastes into the neighborhood.
Eating at The Bistro is like being invited into her home for a meal, Sameerah added. I think that means don't be in too much of a rush. Just sit back and enjoy the smooth jazz on the sound system while she fixes your food. Also, reservations are important. The Bistro has five tables indoors and two out. You wouldn't want it to have more until Sameerah gets more of a staff.
"Food is not prepared in a hurry," she explained, "when you're putting love and magic together with herbs and other ingredients."
Listen up, boys and girls. I have a treat for you. In honor of my daughter's birthday month, I'm designating the week of August 19 through 25 Sugar Week.
A little history is in order here. I thought I was the perfect mother. I made all her baby food from healthful, natural, unprocessed ingredients. Then one day she toddled up to the dining room table and started eating sugar by the handfuls out of the sugar bowl. I realized then it was hopeless. This is someone who has discovered that chocolate is one of the four major food groups.
Sugar Week is going to be a celebration of sweets: The Baltimore area's best bakeries, chocolatiers you might not know about, the best restaurant desserts, the greatest desserts of all time (such as Maida Heatter's Pie That's Better Than Sex), and, of course, my own favorite desserts and dessert recipes. Except for the restaurant desserts and my own recipes, this isn't really my area of expertise, so between now and then if there are any places you think I should know about, please post below.
Let the festivities begin.
(Photo courtesy of SFMOMA)
I just got an e-mail from a reader suggesting a blog entry dedicated to Baltimore Restaurant Week
allowing posters to write about the different restaurants they've visited and to discuss their experiences.
So here it is. Feel free to comment, and check back to this entry to see what, if anything, people have had to say.
(Gene Sweeney, Jr./Sun Photographer)
Thanks to Good Eater Lars, who e-mailed me to say that My Thai didn't open last week after all, as I reported in my Table Talk column this morning.
I called, and co-owner Brad Wales told me that there were plumbing issues that prevented them from opening as planned last Thursday.
Anyway, the new opening date is set for Aug. 3 for dinner. But call first.
(Mauricio Rubio/Sun Photographer)
I got this sad e-mail last week, and it seems like a worthy cause. Besides, there are some good places to eat and drink on the list:
On June 2nd my coworker Zach Sowers was assaulted and mugged in front of his home near Patterson Park and has been in a coma ever since. His friends have arranged for many downtown bars and restaurants to donate a portion of their proceeds on August 5th from 2 - 8 p.m. to a fund for Zach's medical expenses and "to send the message that we stand together against violence." It would be great if you could mention this event in your blog as the date approaches. The link to the website detailing Zach's situation and promoting the event is http://www.zachsowers.com/neighbors-night-out.php . ...
Sincerely,
Linda
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I got two good suggestions for next week's Top Ten Tuesday. Kathy's was: "Top Ten Restaurants Worth the Gas Money." For example, the best restaurants 60-90 minutes from Baltimore.
Darlene's post read: I like Kathy's idea for a Top Ten category. And how about Top Ten Eastern Shore restaurant destinations to follow at the end of summer?
I was working away on both of them and realized they were almost one and the same. So I decided that next week's Top Ten will be Top Ten Places Worth the Gas Money -- but most of them are on the Eastern Shore.
Suggestions?
(Photo by Kenneth K. Lam / Sun Photographer 2004)