I didn't want to embarrass my friend in Annapolis who had us for Thanksgiving dinner by posting the details of the meal on my blog. That's how you make sure you don't get invited next year. But I did want to post a photo of the table setting because I thought it was beautiful and unusual for Thanksgiving. Instead of gourds or dried corn or whatever, for her centerpiece she used four mismatched containers placed in a row filled with flowers and -- I love this -- ornamental kale. It's an idea worth stealing.

(Photo by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Judging from the total crash-and-burn of my Let's All Be Thankful posts this week and last, I think some readers need a bigger forum than I can provide to vent their rage at bad servers, bad customers, bad food, critics on the take and arrogant restaurant owners.

Have I got a site for you: ... 

DinnersFromHell.com is just the ticket. Not only can you read about others' horrible experiences and post your own, you can even get advice from the Dining Devil about how to handle difficult situations.

And when you feel better, please come back to me.  

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

 
Because of all the interest generated by my post on the chocolate and bacon bar, a story in the Chicago Tribune about a new restaurant trend, savory desserts, caught my eye. Specifically this quote:

Some Chicago pastry chefs are turning away from sugary favorites in favor of meal-ending treats that are more on the savory side. Tim Dahl, the pastry chef at Blackbird, has helped develop a dessert menu that includes mission fig beignet with raspberries, and butterscotch and bacon ice cream. His first attempts at bacon and mustard ice creams weren't as successful.

Then I came upon the cookbook pictured, Savory Sweets by Amy Felder, which was published this year, pointing out that with fusion cuisine more and more chefs are experimenting with ingredients that aren't traditionally associated with dessert. ... 

I don't think incorporating ingredients like black pepper and curry powder in desserts is particularly new, and I'm not sure it's a trend. It feels a little too gimmicky to me.

I've seen savory ingredients used by cutting-edge Baltimore restaurants in their sweets in the past, but not recently. Am I wrong?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 light cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook the first three ingredients over hot water in the top of a double boiler until clear as honey. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Serve hot over warm ginger pudding with cold, unsweetened whipped cream.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

 
At Thanksgiving dinner, in the midst of all that turkey, the conversation somehow turned to steak. One of my friends said that he had recently heard the term "Pittsburghed" for the first time, so when he went to Lewnes steak house in Annapolis he asked the waiter if he could have his steak that way and the waiter knew exactly what he meant: cooked over such high heat that the outside chars but the inside is very rare.

I thought the slang for that around here was "black and blue," but... 

...I could be wrong. Is it a term Baltimoreans use? I've heard that asking for your steak "Pittsburghed" comes from steelworkers cooking theirs on a furnace or using a welding torch, but how likely is that?

It's funny that the only two food slang expressions I can think of at the moment (apart from dinerspeak like "sunny side up") have to do with steak.

The photo is of a Pittsburgh restaurant called Pittsburgh Rare.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Recently I got an e-mail from someone saying he had read about wine bars, and wondered if we had any of those here in this area.

And Darlene asked under my last next Top Ten post if we even had ten wine bars in Charm City.

I'm not sure I can come up with ten within the city limits, but I don't think we'll have to go very far. So next Tuesday look for my list, with a little help from my friends, of Top Ten Wine Bars. Suggestions welcome.

How well do you know your wine bars? Anyone care to take a guess about the one pictured?

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

To explain the fallacy of inductive reasoning, or generalizing from past events, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of The Black Swan, uses the example of the Thanksgiving turkey, who thinks humans have its best interests at heart because every day they feed him and take care of him. And the more days pass, the more evidence accumulates that they do -- until, of course, Wednesday afternoon.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

My dinner is virtual because I'm not making my traditional southern Thanksgiving dinner this year, but going to a friend's house. All I have to do is make a couple of chiffon pumpkin pies, which I did already this morning.

Last night at dinner (vegetable stew with black-eyed peas, cornbread and an exquisite little 2006 Pillar Box Red that my husband picked up from somewhere) the conversation devolved into a heated discussion of what the perfect last meal on death row dessert would be. (Do other people have these sorts of conversations on Thanksgiving Eve?)

My daughter was heatedly defending the chiffon pumpkin pie, while my husband sneered and insisted on black bottom pie or my traditional Christmas dessert, ginger pudding with Susan sauce and whipped cream. It got ugly, folks. 

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is having as much fun as I am today. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Thanksgiving
        

Here's a restaurant I've never even heard of, and it's closed. I can't be any help to Kathryn, who sent me this e-mail, but if anyone knows anything, please post below:

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

If you read my Table Talk column this morning, you know about my phone interview with the former chef of Cinghiale, Stefano Frigerio, who arrived with such fanfare from Maestro in Virginia and now has left, ostensibly for family reasons.

The new restaurant is the most sought-for keyword on this blog, so I gather there are plenty of readers who want whatever news I have about the place -- in spite of the readers who are fed up with the Foreman-Wolf empire. (See yesterday's comments.) Believe me, I sympathize with your side of it, too.

Anyway, I also talked to the restaurant's owner, Tony Foreman over the phone about the change, but his comments didn't make it into the Table Talk column. I promised I would include them here. ...

...I asked why Frigerio had left, and Foreman mentioned the chef's needing to spend more time with his family first. But he also said that "there were some differences in execution — some things I felt needed adjusting."

Frigerio, for instance, had been used to doing tasting portions, something some customers had been grumbling about. Portions, according to Foreman, are now bigger.

"He's a talented guy," Foreman said. "But I have a very particular idea I'm trying to pursue, and I'm single-minded about it."

New since Frigerio left, a prezzo frisso of three courses has been added consisting of anything on the main menu for $48, $70 paired with the appropriate wines. It's to encourage people to eat in the traditional Italian manner.

(Amy Davis/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Speaking of dinner companions (see previous post), a friend told me last night he went to Brasserie Tatin about a year ago for lunch with a woman he was doing business with, and there were salt cellars on the table instead of shakers.

Salt cellars, for those who don't know, are little dishes with tiny glass or silver spoons that look like small sugar bowls. They went out of vogue around 1950, Wikipedia says, to be replaced by salt shakers, but you occasionally see them at restaurants. And my mother used to bring them out for holiday dinners. ...

I actually don't remember them at Brasserie Tatin, but that's not the point of the story.

I, of course, thought he was going to say the woman at this business lunch put a spoonful of salt in her coffee because she thought it was the sugar bowl, but no. She picked it up, dumped the salt on a dirty plate and stuck the salt cellar in her purse.

"They won't miss it," she told my friend airily.

He was in such a state of shock he didn't say anything, but needless to say he stopped doing business with her. 

Someone else at our table last night chimed in with a story about a McDonald's in a Florida retirement community that closed because the salt and pepper shakers kept disappearing from the tables, but that sounds more like urban legend to me. 

The cut glass salt cellar in the photo, by the way, is from Look in the Attic & Company's Web site.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

I know I promised I wouldn't bring them out when I first announced today's Top Ten Tuesday. But we weren't quite as cheerful as I had hoped today, were we? Not to mention two accusations of my taking kickbacks and, even worse, one comment that I didn't know how to cook a crab cake.

You have only yourself to blame for the following: ...

Crisp apple strudel

 Cream-colored pony

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Often when I tell people what I do, they say they want my job. And, in fact, occasionally people who want to be The Sun's restaurant critic send me their resumes. I'm not sure I see the logic in that, but just a tip: Your resume doesn't get very far from my desk.

However, the job you should really be angling for is restaurant critic companion. Then you get to eat for free, but you don't have to be thinking about your meal while you eat it --or write about it afterwards. (Sorry, there are no openings for that position right now either.)

There's an interesting post about being a companion on the Amateur Gourmet's blog. He went out to dinner with Frank Bruni, critic of the New York Times, and reports on the experience.

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

What's with all these Hollywood celebrities living it up at Ale Mary's in Fells Point? I expect tourists to stay in their appointed area (mostly Harborplace) and not venture out to where the locals go. How did they even find out about Ale Mary's? It's not in the latest Zagat, and I can't see a hotel concierge recommending it.

It must be that word of the Krispy Kreme bread pudding (pictured) has gotten out.

I haven't eaten there, but just out of curiosity I looked back to see what grade LIVE reviewer Karen Nitkin gave it: three stars for food and two-and-a-half for atmosphere and service.

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

After our orgy of kvetching last week, the time has come for some thankfulness. Here in no particular order is my somewhat random list of things I'm thankful for about the Baltimore restaurant scene.

Of course I could just list my ten favorite restaurants, but that would be cheating. Plus I'm not sure I could limit it to ten.

Here's my list of things I'm thankful for, and please post your additions to it. ...

* That I no longer need 6,000 ways to say "mediocre." In general, the food in our restaurants is simply better than it used to be. I don't know if it's because of the competition, or the fact that Baltimoreans' palates have gotten more sophisticated, but it seems to me to be true.

* Reviewing restaurants is actually exciting again because, unlike even a decade ago, new places are opening at what seems to be an unprecedented pace. I'm amazed at how I no longer have to review the same restaurants over and over again.

* That nouvelle cuisine went away. It was interesting, but just so precious -- and overhandled food is a little creepy. I wasn't sorry to see tall food disappear either.

* Baltimore restaurants now, for the most part, serve wonderful bread. Of course, the popularity of the Atkins diet nearly killed this trend, and you sometimes have to ask for it these days. But when you get it, restaurant bread is often good baguette or a rustic artisan loaf. 

* There are so many drinkable wines available by the glass -- and often better than drinkable. I remember when about all that was available was a small glass of chablis -- probably Carlo Rossi.

* The Charleston Group for putting Baltimore cuisine on the map as being more than crab cakes. There were excellent fine-dining options before the Foreman-Wolfs came on the scene, but their pr is what got us national attention.

* We have so many great ethnic restaurants. Not so long ago you had to trek to DC if you wanted to try, say, Ethiopian or Persian food. 

* We have places to pick hardshell crabs. No, I'm not going to say crab cakes. I can buy excellent crab cakes at Faidley's (or Eddie's if I want to saute them myself). I don't have to go to a restaurant for them. But picking crabs -- you've got to have atmosphere.

* Being the kind of town where, as a chain restaurant owner once told me, even the national chains have to have a crab cake on the menu. The one exception to this I've found is Fogo de Chao.

* Donna's for introducing lattes to Baltimore 15 years ago, two years before we got our first Starbucks.

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

I think I've come up with a Deep Thought Thursday appropriate for Thanksgiving. I've been slogging through a book called The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, one of those best sellers whose premise can be summed up in three words -- in this case, "Life is unpredictable" -- but because the author has come up with a great catch phrase or image -- in this case, the black swan -- he makes a million dollars.

This is judgmental of me, considering how few pages I've gotten through so far (bad Elizabeth), but the book is definitely trending that way.

Anyway, there's a fine Thanksgiving Deep Thought in it, but you'll have to wait till Thursday.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

 During Thanksgiving week you may be tempted not to read the food section or even -- gasp -- visit the blog several times a day. So here's a little preview of what I'm working on for my upcoming Table Talk columns and future entries. I hope it will whet your appetite. ...

* Bedrock, the billiards place, opens its new dining room. That good-looking pizza in the photo is one of their specialties.

* I talked to both owner Tony Foreman and former chef Stefano Frigerio over the phone about why they parted ways at Cinghiale. I didn't have much room in Table Talk this week, so I'll expand on the item here on Wednesday. My daughter, by the way, gave me my quote of the week when she was trying to get a reservation for Cinghiale (pronounced ching-GYAL-lay) over the internet. She said, "They put the H in the wrong place for Baltimore, hon."

* Word has it that Lemongrass and/or Tsunami have opened up on Central Avenue. This has been a busy week for me, and I haven't had a chance to give them a call yet. Any news would be welcome if you've been there or even driven by.

* I talked to one of the owners of the former Vespa space, soon to be opened. I can at least report that the name has been settled on: Junior's Wine Bar. But don't hold me to it.

*Miss Irene's is still floating in limbo. I keep checking back. Nice looking home page for a Fells Point bar, though.

* Jasmine Asian Bistro has opened in the Shops at Quarry Lake.

*I'm going to post my virtual Thanksgiving menu Thursday. I won't be actually cooking it because we're eating at friends' in Annapolis. However, I have been requested to bring my famous chiffon pumpkin pie.

* The Brasserie in Pikesville has turned into Amanda's, still a white-tablecloth kosher restaurant, but with new owners.

* Goldberg's New York Bagel's has moved and expanded, and a kosher Subway is coming soon.

 (Jed Kirschbaum/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

I got several e-mails this morning from Faithful Readers pointing out that The Sun blogs were down and they were suffering blog withdrawal symptoms.

I feel your pain. You know how much I hate being out of touch: Since April 18 I've posted 621 entries and approved 2,066 comments, through weekends, stomach flus and long-distance travels.

That's because I consider this my blog, even though that fact will come as a surprise to my editors at The Sun. I may graciously post something for them, see Celebrity Sightings, but of course it's still my blog. ...

...Unfortunately the blog still seem flaky, which makes me anxious with Top Ten Tuesday (Things I'm Thankful for on the Baltimore Restaurant Scene) coming up. Not to mention the 8,000 other things I thought about telling you while I wasn't able to get onto our crack blog software.

Just calling up Dining@Large today reminds me of when I had dial up. Be patient. Read a few pages of a book. Eventually it surfaces.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Whenever I get too bent out of shape over some food or restaurant thing (naturally this also applies to Life), I've got to remember that in a couple of years it will seem perfectly normal.

What got me thinking about this was this lemon. Last night I was happily peeling the PLU code label off before slicing the lemon when I suddenly remembered that when they first appeared, I wrote a piece for The Sun about how irritating the nasty little labels on fruits and vegetables were. How pointless. The added cost to the consumer, etc. etc. Of course now, with self-checkout at the supermarkets, I can't imagine doing without them. But even if I didn't do self-checkout, I simply wouldn't care.

Or how about servers telling you their names. I hated that when it started and complained about it in reviews. Now it seems perfectly normal, even friendly, except at high-end restaurants.

Or how about... 

...the terms starter, server and wait staff. They seemed so silly when I first heard them. Now I can't imagine writing about restaurants without using them.

Or how about people talking on cell phones in restaurants?

Nah. I'm never going to get used to that one. 

By the way, PLU code stands for "price look up" code, and producers are considering using something like lasers or ink from berry juices instead of the little labels. As of this August, I learned when I Googled, there were 1380 codes assigned of 4 or 5 digits each.

The PLU of organic produce starts with a "9." If it's genetically engineered, it starts with an "8."

I wasn't able to find out how much the little guy who licks them and sticks them on gets paid by the hour. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

When Mia Carolina opened, it was a nice neighborhood place in Glyndon, with booths and moderate prices for its traditional Italian food.

Owner/chef Jay Cohen (pictured) decided to upgrade, renovating the space and turning it into a more ambitious restaurant in every way. Is the new Mia Carolina worth making the trek to Glyndon? Find out what I think next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section.

(Kim Hairston/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Review Preview
        

I decided to brave the Waverly Farmers Market this morning because I had run out of my beloved Honeycrisp apples. I say "brave" because regular market goers know that the Saturday before Thanksgiving is a sort of Black Saturday for the market, the busiest shopping day of the year.

I've never been on this day so I didn't quite believe it. (Busier than when corn is in season?) But it's true. At 7:30 a.m. the parking lot was so packed it had gridlocked. If you decide to go down to the market under the viaduct tomorrow, I urge you to go early.

Anyway, I had a long talk with... 

...Dave Reid at Reid Orchard about what apples I should be buying at this point. I noticed the Honeycrisps had gotten quite small.

Dave has never been anything but honest with me, and he explained that the last of the Honeycrisps had been picked in September, and they don't age as well as some varieties. He recommended instead Pink Ladies and Fujis, both of which I know but have been overlooking in favor of the Honeycrisps as my official eating apple this fall. I bought a few of each to compare.

Honeycrisps only made their way on my radar a couple of years ago. The sign under the boxes says they are a cross between Keepsakes and an "unknown parent," but just now when I Googled them, I found they have their own Web site. 

It says Honeycrisp is a cross between Macoun and Honeygold, developed in 1960 as part of the University of Minnesota apple breeding program.

Thank you, University of Minnesota.

(Photo by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

I might have a post, for instance, that tells you I've found a dark chocolate sauce as good as my mother made, and it's the store brand at Whole Foods.

Or I would post my lost Brownberry Bread. To answer Rachel's post,

Which type of bread is it specifically? Are you sure its not sold under one of their other brands? Arnold?

Arnold took it over, and now only sells it in certain parts of the country. They used to have a service where they would mail loaves out, but they discontinued that. Now I have to bring it from Florida, and since I've vowed never again to check luggage until I'm dead, that's hard to do. But I digress, as usual.

Anyway, if I had a virtual bulletin board, there would be one place where all of us could post our lost or misplaced food items, and maybe someone else would be able to help us find them.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
        

Which would you rather see?

I have a feeling the readers of this blog are more interested in sighting a delicious steak than an A-list movie star, but I've been asked to post a request here for any news you can give us. Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Connelly are in town, as you probably know if you read our Movie Today story this morning. Ginnifer Goodwin of Big Love and Kevin Connolly of Entourage are also around.

They must be eating at some restaurants over the weekend. If you see any of them, please post below, preferably with a description of their meals.

Although it's not necessary to include your e-mail when you post, if you do have a sighting, please give it to us so a reporter can get in touch with you.

(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun Photographer: delicious steak)

(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian: Scarlett)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

National Restaurant Association research shows that one in 10 Americans ate in a restaurant last Thanksgiving. And more than half of us will be using some kind of ready-to-eat takeout item this year in our at-home feast. That's more than I would have guessed, on both accounts.

So for that one in 10, I'm still plugging away, letting you know places that will be open and serving next Thursday. Tabrizi's, I've just found out, will be offering a four-course Thanksgiving dinner with a choice of white or red wine for $50, not including tax or tip.

And meanwhile, can anyone help out Wendy, who's looking for a place to buy a fresh turkey in Easton?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Thanksgiving
        

We crack Sun reporters never, of course, use our blogs for personal benefit; but I did get this sad little e-mail from Midnight Sun Sam: ...

(Nanine Hartzenbusch/Sun Photographer)

Trinacria, my favorite Italian deli, has now stopped carrying their famous calabrese hot peppered ham. They said the company that made it is discontinuing the red peppered meat. Calabrese was the main reason I went to Trinacria -- as far as I know, nowhere else in town has it. (Reason No. 2 is for pumpkin spice coffee). Can you put out a blog and see if anybody knows another calabrese spot? Or am I out of luck?

And while we're at it, the closest place I've found to buy the Brownberry Bread I'm addicted to is the Publix in St. Petersburg, Fla.; and airport security was not amused last time when I took three loaves through and claimed it was my lunch. The company has also stopped shipping it. Suggestions?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

First I got an e-mail about a book by Dr. Steve Witherly called Why Humans Like Junk Food, published this summer. It's 310 pages long. I don't need to read it because I have one word for you that says it all: ...

Cheetos.

What's not to like? When you finish eating them, you have your orange fingers to lick.

Ha, ha. Just kidding. I'm sure Dr. Witherly has insightful things to say about junk food. His publicist said in the e-mail he was available for a post-Halloween interview about how to eat Halloween candy the smart way. "He can discuss why your Baltimore Sun readers are attracted to particular types of candy based on texture, color, shape, additives, etc."

I didn't end up talking to him, but it still seemed more legitimate than the book I got in the mail the other day, Sleep Away the Pounds: Optimize Your Sleep and Reset Your Metabolism for Maximum Weight Loss.

Is that a great concept or what? I bet you thought you had to diet and exercise to lose weight.

Just because I'm not going to read it doesn't mean I can't admire the sheer audacity of the authors. Sleep Away the Pounds, by the way, costs $13.99.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Iggies is looking for volunteers for its first annual Thanksgiving dinner for the hungry and homeless. No, being hungry for Iggies pizza doesn't count.

The dinner will be held from noon till 3 p.m. next Thursday. If you're interested in helping prepare the traditional turkey dinner or serving, e-mail Lisa at laheckman@iggiespizza.com.

And in other Iggies news, the pizzeria is now baking its own pignolia cookies.

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Yesterday I got a copy of Where the Locals Eat: The 100 Best Restaurants in the Top 50 Cities, a glossy paperback that by the looks of it is trying to compete with the Zagat Survey. This book annoys me, and it's more than just November grumpiness.

I immediately turned to the Baltimore section, of course. It, like the other cities, has a list of 100 restaurants, 10 of which get mini-reviews and "best" labels, as in Best Seafood: Blue Sea Grill. Now nothing against the Blue Sea Grill (pictured), but what locals think this is Baltimore's best seafood restaurant?

And then there's the Oregon Grille...

(Algerina Perna/Sun Photographer)

...or Oregon Grill, as the book calls it. (Not only is the name wrong in the heading, but it's right in the body of the copy, which is kind of odd.) The Oregon Grille is there for Best Brunch, Black Olive is Best Greek, and the Brass Elephant is Best Contemporary! Notice I'm not telling you about the Best Crab Cake award. I'm not turning that rock over again.

Taking a look at Washington, I think our nation's capital deserves better than having one of its 10 best restaurants be the Inn at Little Washington, which, no matter how good it is, is in Washington, Va. Not only that, Five Guys is one of the 10 best.

I won't even get started on Los Angeles. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Good Eater and Commenter Extraordinaire Hal Laurent sent me the link to The Devil's Food Dictionary, well worth taking a look at, particularly if you haven't been wasting enough time at work today.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

OK, everybody take a deep breath and think of a few of our favorite things. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.

I know you're feeling grumpy because it's November, and dark and cold and rainy. (Well, not today, but starting again tomorrow.) Reading the comments on this blog lately you would think all customers believe there isn't a decent waiter left in Baltimore, and if you can't clear the dirty dishes off with a smile, get out of the service industry. As for waiters and waitresses, their attitude seems to be if you don't like the service, you can always go elsewhere.

Any restaurant I've mentioned this week is either mediocre at best or used to be good but has now gone downhill.

I can see I'm going to have to rethink my next Top Ten, which was going to be... 

(Photo by me) 

...wine bars, or maybe places to have breakfast. (Wait. Did I already do that one? They're beginning to run together.)

Instead, in honor of the holiday and to make everyone feel more cheerful, it's going to be Top Ten Things (or People) About the Baltimore Restaurant Scene to Be Thankful for.

And I promise there won't be one cream-colored pony or crisp apple strudel among them. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Last week when I posted an entry about David Chu's China Bistro (pictured when it was last reviewed in 2002) being named Best Kosher Restaurant, I said I was surprised. My surprise stemmed from the fact that a Chinese restaurant in the Baltimore area got any Best, except maybe Best Chinese, not that it got Best Kosher.

I haven't eaten at David Chu's (it was reviewed by the LIVE reviewer at the time) so I'm not speaking specifically about it; but of all Asian cuisines, Chinese... 

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun Photographer)

...seems most Americanized to me, with overthickened sauces, meat-heavy, and often too sweet -- maybe because it was first on the restaurant scene.

I remember former Washington Post critic Phyllis Richman telling me that of the various types of restaurants, Chinese were the ones she dreaded having to write about most, so I'm not alone in this. 

I've had Cantonese restaurant food that was beautifully done (see one of my early posts, on the Shanghai Grill in Los Angeles), but it's the exception, not the rule. There are Chinese restaurants around here I enjoy eating at, but more for comfort food reasons than anything else. 

Maybe things have changed, and I just haven't been to Baltimore's best Chinese restaurants recently enough. I should make up a Top Ten list of what I think are the best, and post it on Tuesday, Dec. 25, for those who are looking for places that are open on Christmas day.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

I recently got the following e-mail from Beverly. It's not something I can answer because I eat out enough with other people that when I'm alone, I'm happy staying in and just making myself a plate of pasta or something. If I am out alone I like eating at a restaurant's bar. That way you can always chat with the bartender if you're feeling lonely.

I also found this article with tips on eating out alone on the AAA Web site. ...

(Photo courtesy of the AAA Web site) 

One subject I've never seen you cover, probably because you never eat out alone, is which restaurants offer especially good service to single diners. ...While I feel comfortable eating at Olive Garden and similar places, as well as Harryman House Sunday brunch, after reading your review recently on Tersiguels, I've been yearning for a fine dining experience. But I don't want to feel like (or be treated like) an oddball.

Any suggestions?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

I didn't want today's Top Ten to be just a list of pet peeves, but somehow more positive than that. In other words, a list of ten things that if a server avoided, I would be so grateful I would fork over a big tip.

Thanks to all the people who posted suggestions, too many to acknowledge individually. And I do feel for the restaurant managers, hosts, hostesses, waiters, waitresses and busboys out there who are taking a beating on this blog. Feel free to strike back under the entry You Asked for It.

The photo is for illustrative purposes only. The waitress pictured is clearly working her backside off. 

Anyway, here's my list of things that matter most to me: 

(Karl Merton Ferron/Sun Photographer) 

* Being told I have to sit at the table by the bathroom door because my server doesn't have enough tables, or conversely being jammed in with other diners when half the dining room is empty. (At the Milton Inn once, the hostess said, "I can seat you by the window if you want, but I should warn you that the waitress in that section has a lot of tables so the service may be slow." I appreciated the fact that she put it in terms of the guests' convenience, not the staff's, no matter what the reality.)

* Being ignored when I sit down. I know you have other customers. It's nice if you take a moment to say, "I'll be right with you."

* Being told long lists of specials without any prices, particularly if those prices are higher than the ones on the menu. I always ask for the prices, but in certain situations asking can be awkward.

* Recommending the most expensive entree on the menu or a very expensive bottle on the wine list when asked. Or saying "everything's good," even if it is. My husband hates it when a waiter says "excellent choice" no matter what you order, but I've got bigger concerns than that.

* Not writing down the order and then getting something wrong.

* Not stopping by to keep me posted if the kitchen is slow. At least then I know the food isn't just sitting under a warming light while you're having a smoke out back. A corollary of that is chatting with other servers in plain view while I'm waiting for my food. On the other hand, nothing will ever be as bad as the last time I ate at Peerce's Plantation. The busboy brought out the tray of our entrees, but the waiter had disappeared. We waited so long looking at our cooling entrees that I finally got up and served our table myself.

* Telling me to save my fork or knife for the next course rather than bringing fresh flatware. 

* Not keeping the water or wine glasses filled. Ditto not offering a second round of coffee.

* The one that bothers me most: Not clearing the table completely before bringing the next course.  

* Not asking if we're ready for our check, and not being anywhere around so we can signal that we're ready. 

* Forgetting to bring the leftovers out after the meal, or even worse, forgetting to pack them, so they're lost for good. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (42)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Mdlrvrmuncher just posed this intriguing question under the Change of Chef at Cinghiale post and asked me to comment, although it seems somewhat rhetorical to me:

Elizabeth: I don't call myself a foodie as I am to old for that. (I remember running home from school to watch Julie Child on WNET). Exactly when did the chef's name become more important than the food? (Please comment.) As this change shows most chef's are excellent technicians. WIth the exception of the first caveman who used fire, Escoffier and that weird stuff going on in Spain, I am not sure who has had an original idea toward food. 

First of all, I'm not going to be able to say anything in the case of Cinghiale, because I haven't eaten there yet. Someone else will have to comment on before and after Chef Frigerio. (Please post below.)

I also can't say exactly when restaurant chefs (as opposed to Julia) became stars in their own right; but if I had to take a guess, I would say in the United States... 

(Photo courtesy of the Chez Panisse Web site) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Awhile back a commenter called Sascha's 527 a hidden gem, and suggested I wasn't giving it any love on this blog because the Mount Vernon restaurant wasn't paying the required kickback.

She got one thing right; I've known owner Sascha Wolhandler since the '70s, and the idea of her paying kickbacks is pretty ludicrous. (The first Sascha's in Baltimore was an outdoor creperie, on a terrace above where Thairish and the Helmand are now. A bit of restaurant history for you.)

Actually, she was also right that...

(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

J. H. suggested this morning that people post their own Thanksgiving disasters, which would certainly be more entertaining than my previous entry on how to fix them.

I know I've had my own disasters -- I've cooked the holiday meal too many times not to -- but none of them come to mind at the moment. Of course, I'm happy to tell you about my family's disasters.

My younger brother, for instance, called me from LA one Thanksgiving morning when he was cooking his first dinner and said, "My guests will be here in a couple of hours. How do you defrost a turkey?"

And there was the time...  

...my older brother's wife decided to cook a Thanksgiving dinner out of Gourmet magazine that started with curried turkey breast with cranberry chutney and got less traditional from there. The look on her family's faces when she brought the meal out was quite amusing.

Finally, my mother always swore she knew someone whose cook dropped the turkey as she was bringing it to the table, and her friend was quick-witted enough to say, "That's all right, Mathilda, just bring out the other one."

(The apocryphal part of the story was that the cook was smart enough not to say, "What other one?") 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Thanksgiving
        

While Spike Gjerde has been in the process of opening the high-profile Woodberry Kitchen in the Hampden area, brother Charlie has quietly opened Alexander's Tavern in Fells Point, a bar and dining room that's a far cry from the fine dining "empire" that started with Spike & Charlie's.

Next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section, I take a look at how Charlie Gjerde does bar food, upscale and not so upscale.  

(Kim Hairston/Sun Photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Review Preview
        

I was struck by the fact that under my Top Ten Places for Thanksgiving Dinner, everybody really wanted to talk about cooking at home. I'm with you on that one, so when a press release came in from Sunset magazine on how to deal with Thanksgiving disasters, I thought I would pass some of it along. (Experienced cooks will probably know this stuff.)

Remember when your gravy lumps up, I'm always here for you.

(Photo courtesy of Sunset Web site) 

From the November Sunset:

HOW TO FIX A LUMPY GRAVY
There isn't a gravy that can't be fixed. Lumps may need a lot of elbow grease and a good whisk, but they can be banished. For particularly stubborn ones, try adding a bit more hot liquid to ease them out while you whisk. Thin gravy can be boiled to desired thickness; thick gravy can be thinned with hot broth or even water in a pinch.

SOMETHING'S HOT THAT SHOULD BE COLD
Here is where a professional kitchen trick comes in handy: make an ice water bath. Fill a large bowl with ice and water, now submerge the offending item (in a metal bowl for fastest results) and stir contents until cool.
               
EVERYONE IS AT THE TABLE AND THE TURKEY ISN'T DONE
You've called everyone to come and eat. Everything is on the table. You start to carve the turkey and realize it is not fully cooked. This is many a first-timers greatest fear. But fear need not enter the picture. Carve off any parts that are cooked (the breast meat probably is), serve those, and put remaining carved pieces back in a pan, cover with foil, and cook until done while everyone enjoys a bit of turkey and gets to work on the sides.

DRY STUFFING/WET STUFFING
If a stuffing is dry, mix in a bit of stock or drizzle with pan drippings. For wet stuffing: remove from vessel and spread out on a sheet pan. Bake until it reaches the desired consistency.

SOMETHING'S NOT BROWN
Whether it be turkey, potatoes, or stuffing, if something is fully cooked but hasn't acquired that appetizing brown surface, put it under a hot broiler (at least 4 inches away from the heating elements), turning as needed, until it browns. Watch very carefully (you don't want to go from pallid to burnt!), always erring on placing the item too far from the element rather than too close.

OVER-WHIPPED CREAM
Cream can usually be saved, at least sort of — as long as you have a bit of unbeaten cream to re-start with. Set over-beaten cream aside and in a clean bowl whip some fresh cream just until it starts to thicken, then gently fold in the overbeaten cream. It won't be perfect, but it will be a lot better.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Thanksgiving
        

Donna's at Cross Keys has a new brunch menu and a new waffle iron. On Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the restaurant will be serving such specialties as waffles with whipped cream, clementines and burnt orange sauterne syrup, spiced pumpkin pancakes with maple walnuts and mascarpone cheese, and a crab omelet with avocado, hearts of palm and hollandaise. The menu is a la carte, and prices run from  $5.50 to $16.95.

Other area Donna's also serve brunch, but the menus are different at each one.

(Photo courtesy of Donna's)      

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Brunch
        

All it seems to take for something exciting to happen at Cinghiale is for me to go on vacation. (Faithful Readers will remember that the Tony Foreman-Cindy Wolf enoteca and osteria opened while I was in Italy.)

My editor forwarded a press release to me this afternoon that never mentions Stefano Frigerio's name, but basically says he's out as Cinghiale's chef and Julian Marucci is in.

I haven't talked to either of the owners yet, but my guess is that the reason is "creative differences."

I doubt that the change will make a huge difference. Hasn't this restaurant always been Foreman's baby? And Marucci has been with Cinghiale since its opening, according to the press release.

Here's part of the e-mail I got from Foreman about the new chef: ...

(Amy Davis/Sun Photographer) 

Julian Marucci is better prepared for the position as Chef and is more capable of executing my vision for Cinghiale's kitchen. His preparation has been at Charleston, where better?  His heart is in Italian food - his father and family are from Puglia. I've spent the last two years researching the food and wine of the north, everything about the table. The cuisine will be informed and superb. Our clients already feel the surge in talent, quality, portions and service-orientation from the kitchen. tf

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

I got this enthusiastic e-mail from Faithful Reader Dawn. It sounded legit to me and not like she's the Pazza Luna sous chef, so I thought I would pass it along. Also I liked the way she got a three-course meal out of it.

People have told me about specials and deals on this blog before, but not usually in this detail. Thanks, Dawn:

(Kim Hairston/Sun Photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Bottled water in restaurants is a hot topic in California, which means it will probably be a hot topic here eventually. Various celebrity chefs like Alice Waters no longer serve it -- especially the still and sparkling waters imported from Europe -- on the grounds that it's environmentally irresponsible.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) estimates that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the transportation of imported bottled water to California restaurants is equivalent to the emissions of 1,700 cars in a year. I have no idea how reliable this estimate is, but it's something to think about. When I was last in San Diego, whether to serve bottled water was a big issue with restaurants there.

Bottled water in general is coming under attack. There's the whole issue of...

...whether kids who drink it are getting enough fluoride, for instance. The American Dental Association has a position paper on it.

I don't know enough to speak with any authority, but that never stops me from weighing in on an issue. I know drinking bottled water kept my kid from ever getting started on soda pop, and that had to be good for her teeth. Anyway, think of the water children get besides what they drink: The water food is cooked with, the water they drink when they brush their teeth, water at school and so on.

Not to mention fluoridated toothpaste.

This entry is turning into everything I ever thought about bottled water, which admittedly isn't much. I just got sent some review bottles of Hint water, which was selected as "Best Flavored Water" by Health magazine. I actually like water-flavored water, but this was a lot better than the Dasani grape-flavored water that came out of the vending machine by mistake the other day. It tasted like what's left in the glass when all the grape soda is gone and the ice cubes are melting.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Faithful Reader Andy sent me this intriguing link to a post on Grub Street, the New York magazine's food blog.

You have to work your way down through the insider stuff until you get to the restaurant concept: The guy is looking for investors for Pony Trading Co., a restaurant and lounge that will have what the poster calls "an odd dual mission." That's putting it mildly. ... 

(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun Photographer)

The restaurant will serve the food of Baltimore (crab cakes, what else) because that's where Kevin Petricio, the cooking consultant, is from; and the drinks "will draw on the early history of American distilling, 'especially the rye whiskeys of Maryland and Pennsylvania.'"

The foods of Baltimore. I can see the New York version now: Maryland crab soup followed by crab cakes followed by a dessert of Berger cookies. With a shot of rye whiskey on the side.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I was interested in Darlene's observation (actually her husband's) about wine pricing, that he thought Baltimore restaurants marked up bottles more than other places. He travels a lot, she said, so he has a chance to observe.

The whole topic of wine pricing interests me, especially after spending time in Italy where it was cheaper than water (sigh). I expect...

(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)

...the markup to be about 100 percent in a restaurant -- not that I'm happy about it -- although I notice plenty of places offer half-price bottles one day of the week, or otherwise make drinking wine when you eat out more affordable. Sometimes new restaurant owners who wanted to stress wine have had deals like $5 over retail price, but those tend to disappear over time.

The markup that most outrages me is wine by the glass.

I asked my wine guru, Michael Dresser, what he thought of Darlene's husband's observation, and here's what he had to say:

That's hard to verify. There is a natural tendency to think that oneself is being charged too much and that everybody else is getting a break. However, it would not surprise me if certain markets where wine is part of the culture -- say California -- may have lower markups. I would say that a restaurateur who has previously worked in several other U.S. cities might have  more  of an insight.

If there are any of those restaurateurs out there reading this blog, I hope you'll post a comment below. (Or frequent travelers who love wine, for that matter.)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

Thank goodness someone has come up with the rules for the New Revised Cell Phone Usage Etiquette in Restaurants.

And here I've been following the Emily Post Institute advice:

If your cell phone rings and you’re…in a restaurant...excuse yourself from the table and take the call in another room, such as an anteroom, restroom or lobby. Never disturb your own table and other diners by making or taking a call while sitting at the table. (Some ‘cell-phone free’ restaurants now actually require diners to check their phones at the door.)

How old fashioned of me. I do love the thought of a party of four being seated at Charleston and everyone pulling out his or her cell and putting it on the table so people won't have to fumble in their purses and pockets when their phones ring.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Why should restaurants get all the press for being locally sourced? (See Woodberry Kitchen, Restaurant Local, Dogwood, etc. etc.) Here's a comment Bmore Buckeye just posted under More on Thanksgiving that might go unnoticed, and is certainly worthy of discussion:

Hal - I'm in the market for a good, road-tested oyster stuffing recipe - care to share? 

We're trying to make this year's Christmas dinner a true celebration of local bounty - from the turkey to the oysters (hopefully) to the veggies.  Anyone else have any other thoughts?

Go Bucks!

(Glenn Fawcett/sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Just what a new restaurant needs -- publicity in the local newspaper giving the wrong address.

The Darker Than Blue Cafe isn't on Waverly Street as I reported in my Table Talk column in today's Taste section -- as far as I know there is no Waverly Street -- but instead at 3034 Greenmount Ave. in Waverly. Which I knew.

Owner Casey Jenkins was very gracious about it when I called to apologize and to tell him a correction would appear in tomorrow's paper. He hadn't seen the column, and had wondered why several people had phoned today asking where he was located.

At least I got the phone number right.

(Glenn Fawcett/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

For next Tuesday's Top Ten, I'm looking for a topic that a) won't be controversal (see Italian Restaurants and Crab Cakes) and b), because I have a story to write, won't be...

(Algerina Perna/Sun Photographer)

so time consuming as the last one (see Thanksgiving, which involved calling not only restaurants that were open for Thanksgiving, but also ones that turned out not to be). One possibility, unless someone can come up with a better one, is Top Ten Service Mistakes.

What I'm thinking of here aren't isolated incidents that have happened to me, but important service issues that happen to everyone all the time now that there are so few career waiters and waitresses.

So here are three things I'd like to see posted below:

1) If you have a better topic, please suggest it. Even if I don't use it next week, there are more Tuesdays coming down the pike.

2) If there are service mistakes you think should be on the list, I'd like to hear about them. I'm not sure I can come up with ten legitimate ones, and if I can't I'll just make a post about it and find another Top Ten.

3) If you're a waiter or waitress and want to let us know what annoys you about customers, go for it.

Official disclaimer: The waiter and waitress in the photo above have never, as far as I know, delivered anything but perfect service. The restaurant, Lista's, is now out of business but not, as far as I know, because its servers did anything wrong.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (48)
        

Earlier today Desiree posted this under a previous entry, Merry Christmas, so you may have missed it:

Now I know I'm a few days behind and this is slightly off topic. I'm trying to find a nice place to have a holiday time dinner with friends--@ 10 of us and we want a place that really decorates for the holidays. Any suggestions?

The only place I can think of that decorates extravagantly is the Ambassador Dining Room, which covers its sunporch in fairy lights, red ribbons and wreaths. Other than that, I have no suggestions, and if you or your friends don't like Indian food this wouldn't work. Maybe someone else has a better idea.

By the way, I came across the photo in The Sun archives. It even looks somewhat appropriate to my post, but not if you read the bizarre caption:

Goldie, a 16-year-old lesser sulfur crested cockatoo, puts the final decoration on a Christmas tree Monday, Dec. 12, 2005, at SeaWorld San Diego. (AP Photo/SeaWorld, Bob Couey)

That bird is alive.

There seems to be a bird theme in my posts today. Total coincidence, I assure you.

While I'm at it and talking about our archives, I should answer MB's question under Crab Cake Lessons I Have Learned. The photo of Sip & Bite was taken in 1980.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

There's something very pleasing to me that the first six comments under today's Top Ten (and maybe more by the time you read this) aren't about eating Thanksgiving at a restaurant -- which seems sort of sad, although it almost happened to me this year, more about that in a moment -- but about where to buy a fresh-killed turkey locally.

The first Thanksgiving dinner I ever cooked started with a turkey, wings flapping, I bought at an outdoor market in Philadelphia. (Not that I enjoyed it much, although it was delicious. I was a little more squeamish in those days.) But I'm getting off topic here. ...

(Christopher T. Assaf/Sun Photographer)

The point is, eating out on Thanksgiving Day should always be a last resort. Luckily this weekend my family was saved from Thanksgiving dinner in a Washington restaurant -- because that's where my mother-in-law lives -- by a last-minute invitation. (The family we've traditionally invited over now has a newly extended family to go to.)

Still, if you have to eat out, here are a couple more choices in the Baltimore area I just heard about:

Corks in Federal Hill will have a four-course fixed price Thanksgiving dinner for $59, or $95 paired with wine. The regular menu will also be offered. The Thanksgiving menu is supposed to be posted on its Web site, but I don't see it yet. Reservations will be taken from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

I've heard that the Ambassador Dining Room in Homewood and Riverwatch in Essex are also going to be open, but neither has anything on its Web site and I haven't been able to talk to anyone yet. When I do, I'll post the details.

It occurs to me, judging from the Top Ten comments, that even though this is a restaurant blog, you'd rather be talking about other subjects when it comes to Thanksgiving, such as why my chestnut stuffing is better than your pecan stuffing. If so, please post below.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

If someone hasn't invited you for Thanksgiving dinner by now, it probably isn't going to happen. At least have a back up plan and make a reservation sooner rather than later at a restaurant.

Here are ten possibilities if you aren't interested in the all-you-can-eat buffets offered at many area hotels.

I tried to come up with a range of styles and prices and geographical diversity. After all, on Thanksgiving Day, it's no big deal to drive down to the Eastern Shore for dinner.

I checked back yesterday, but some places still haven't nailed down all the details. In other words, not everything here is set in stone. But this should give you a pretty good idea of what they're serving.

If you're ordering salmon for Thanksgiving dinner, I don't want to know about it, so I'm only giving the particulars of the turkey portion of the offerings. If no children-under-12's price is mentioned, it just means it hadn't been decided yet.

*Antrim 1844 in Taneytown. $68.50 for a six-course dinner with choice of appetizer and entree. Seatings at 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Gobble gobble: Sliced turkey breast, oyster dressing, white wine giblet gravy, cranberry Grand Marnier relish.

*Charleston in Harbor East. $67 for a three-course dinner with several choices. Served from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Gobble gobble: Springfield Farm turkey leg confit and roasted turkey breast with pecan stuffing, cranberry relish, collard greens, succotash, hoppin' John.

*Della Notte in Little Italy. Thanksgiving menu plus regular menu served noon to 8 p.m. Gobble gobble: Traditional Thanksgiving dinner has choice of three entrees for $34.95, $18 for children, including herb-wrapped turkey, cranberry-orange chutney, stuffing, seasonal vegetables, plus soup or salad, pie and sparkling wine. 

*Harry Browne's in Annapolis. $35 for a four-course dinner including choice of three soups, four salads and five entrees and a dessert plate. Open noon to 5:30 p.m. Gobble gobble: Roast turkey, savory bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, sauteed green beans.

*Josef's Country Inn in Fallston. Open noon to 7 p.m. with a limited a la carte menu. Gobble gobble: The traditional turkey dinner with soup, stuffing, mashed and sweet potatoes, cranberries, vegetables and pie will be $24.95 for adults, $12.50 for kids.

*Kings Contrivance in Columbia. Seatings from 12 noon to 7 p.m. A la carte menu ($26-$36). Gobble gobble: The turkey dinner with stuffing, cranberry relish, sweet potatoes and vegetable will be $24.

*Milton Inn in Sparks. Fixed-price, three-course dinner for $40 for adults, $20 for children 12 and under, plus the regular dinner menu. First seating: 12:30 p.m. Gobble gobble: Hand-carved white and dark meat turkey with all the trimmings.

*Oregon Grille in Cockeysville. Full dinner menu plus a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for $44 a person from 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Gobble gobble: Beef barley or butternut squash bisque, turkey, dressing, pearl onions, whipped potatoes, broccoli, yams, turnips, cranberry, pumpkin cheesecake or pecan pie.

*Restaurant Local in the Tidewater Inn in Easton. Specializes in New American cuisine using local ingredients. Thanksgiving dinner served from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., $39 for adults, $19 for children. Gobble gobble: Soup or salad, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, choice of pie (sounds Old American to me).

*Tersiguel's in Ellicott City. Limited a la carte menu served from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. No tableside cooking. Gobble gobble: Turkey and ham together, probably $27.95. Each table will get a Thanksgiving vegetable platter whatever the main course.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Thanksgiving, Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Midnight Sun Sam tells me he and a friend have a theory that everything tastes better with bacon. Examples: waffles, cheeseburgers, salad.

While I like bacon, bacon is good, I never thought about it in those terms. And then someone recently posted a comment under The One-Item Niche expressing the same rapturous feelings about bacon. One more example and we'll have a trend, folks. ...

However, chocolate is one thing that doesn't taste better with bacon, and I say that unequivocally even though I've never tasted the pictured bacon chocolate bar. Here's a description of it from the Vosges Web site:

Deep milk chocolate coats your mouth and leads to the crunch of smoked bacon pieces. Surprise your mouth with the smoked salt and sweet milk chocolate combination.
 

Nope, it's just not happening for me.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Here's when I know I've got to get a life. I found myself calling Lillies Tapas Bar and Grille at 7:30 Sunday morning. Now as Faithful Readers know, Lillies closed this summer and Tabrizi's took over the location at 500 Harborview Drive. But in the November issue of Urbanite, there's an ad for Lillies saying, "You haven't been to Lillies yet?"...

(Lillies is pictured; Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer)

Well, no. Not since it closed in July.

It even gives the hours. Very strange. I called the phone number, expecting it to be disconnected, but it's not. The message says the restaurant will be closing for good in July (imagine if you knew nothing about all this; you would assume it meant next July) and gives the Web site.

I went to the site, and found out one thing that I didn't know before. Lillies was part of a DC-Baltimore chain.

Like I said, I've got to get a life. 

But here's some not-so-useless information: David Dudley, the executive editor, is now reviewing restaurants for the Urbanite. (It's a very low-key feature that seems to have started in last month's issue, although I didn't notice it then.) This month he looks at  Brasserie Tatin and Joe Squared Pizza and Bar. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

the list of food establishment closures because of unsanitary conditions. I think I'll check it every month and report back to you on some of the more surprising ones. For instance, in September, the last month on the list, Germano's in Little Italy was closed for "heavy mouse and fly infestation; unsanitary conditions"; Arcos in Upper Fells Point for "fly and mouse infestation; improper hand washing procedure; unsanitary conditions"; and J. Paul's in the Inner Harbor and Alissa's in Hampden for repeat violations of various unsanitary conditions.

Those were just the highlights. Be sure to check out the other places. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Kosher Community Surveys LLC  has released the results of its second annual Baltimore area kosher survey, and the overall winners are:

Best Kosher Restaurant: David Chu's China Bistro
Best Kosher Bakery: Goldman's Kosher Bakery
Best Kosher Store: Wasserman & Lemberger

As you can probably guess from the name, the company conducts surveys about kosher food establishments and then publishes them. It's kind of interesting that a Chinese restaurant would be the most popular. The full report on Baltimore area places can be found on its Web site.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

One of the most surprising restaurant openings this year -- in a year filled with restaurant openings -- has been the Darker Than Blue Cafe in Waverly, something of a culinary wasteland except for the farmers market and Pete's Grille for breakfast. 

Casey Jenkins, the owner/chef of Darker Than Blue, is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America; and his new place, although decorated on a shoestring, is cute as a button.

Read my review in next Sunday's  Arts & Life Today section to find out more.

(Glenn Fawcett/Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Review Preview
        

I don't get Style magazine delivered to my door like some people, so I hunted the November issue down online because I knew there was a story on local food blogs. OK, yes, I knew mine was in there. It turned out to be Style's Food & Entertaining issue.

Besides getting pointed to several blogs I didn't know existed, which was worth the price of admission in itself, I found a story I wish I had thought to write. ...

Joe Sugarman and Laura Wexler did a round up of the Latin restaurants in Fells Point, called Fells Point Fiesta. I've heard of all of them and eaten in some, but never thought to look at them as a group. This is a useful overall guide that's well worth keeping.

And here's the link to Internet Cafe, the guide to local food blogs. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Sun, always ahead of the curve, wrote about the dining in the dark trend about four years ago. The idea is that the rest of your senses are heightened when you're totally in the dark so that you can experience food in a new way.

Here's a link to a California restaurant -- where else? -- called Opaque if you want to know more about the phenomenon.

Or you can give Taste in Belvedere Square a call. ...

(Carl Merton Ferron/Sun Photographer)

The restaurant is holding a Dinner in the Dark on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.

As the press release puts it, "Diners are blindfolded, immersing themselves in darkness, and led through multiple courses of fabulous fare created by Chef Ann Nault and designed to heighten the awareness of taste, texture and scent."

More important, it gets down to specific details:

1) $40 for four courses, $50 for four courses with wine.

2) If you have to go to the bathroom, you raise your hand and are led to the top of the stairs where you can take your blindfold off.

Whew. 

The photo above is an illustration of a waiter wearing night vision goggles that went with the Sun story.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

I was at my dentist this Halloween eve, and his office always does things right. Example: Everyone dresses in full costume when Oct. 31 falls on a work day, and he was planning on being the tooth fairy. I missed it by a day.

But I digress.

There is a restaurant angle to this story. ...

They get a little rowdy, they told me, so a private dining room would be nice. But there are only a dozen of them, and how rowdy can a dozen dentists and dental hygienists get? Wait, don't answer that.

Anyway, I wasn't any help because I never get into the private room thing when I review, but I said I would post it on my blog and see if anyone had any suggestions in the north Baltimore/Towson area.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

I notice that Alexander's Tavern, Charlie Gjerde's new bar-restaurant in Fells Point, has not one but five different kinds of sliders on its menu. (I still remember the chopped sirloin one topped with foie gras at Salt.)

That reminded me that Bon Appetit's September issue featured meatball sliders on its cover.

Trend alert!

Sure enough, along comes this story in Newsday about these mini-burger descendants of White Castle.

Isn't it great that if you wait long enough, the foods of your childhood that you are embarrassed to admit you still love will eventually morph into something chic?

(Photo by Noel Barnhurst, courtesy of Bon Appetit)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

I think we all agree that the best thing is to be cooking yourself at Thanksgiving (or have a good cook who's also a family member or friend cooking for you). But if for one reason or other you're planning to eat out, next Tuesday I'm going to post a list of the Top Ten Restaurants for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Food and atmosphere are equally important here, and I'm going to assume you're willing to splurge, so these will be fairly upscale. I've called around, but some restaurants haven't decided yet what their menus or prices will be. I'll call back last minute.

If you have suggestions, please post below. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Dottie posted this comment under Woodberry Kitchen just now:

Um, Elizabeth, just curious...what happened to "Deep Thought Thursday"s?

An excellent question. ...
 

My original plan was to do one serious Deep Thought and one funny one on alternate Thursdays, but I quickly found that the only ones that made me think were the Zen ones, and that seemed a little limited.

Otherwise I found quotes like this:

Great eaters and great sleepers are incapable of anything else that is great.  ~Henry IV of France

and

There is no love sincerer than the love of food.  ~George Bernard Shaw, "The Revolutionist's Handbook," Man and Superman

These just aren't very interesting to me. Try to think about them longer than one minute. Impossible.

On the other hand, there are a lot of funny quotes about food out there:

If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry?  ~Author Unknown

(Sure sounds like comedian Steven Wright to me.) 

Of course, if you have some great thought-provoking quotes about food, feel free to post below. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I got this e-mail from Good Eater Diane, whose taste I trust, and who attended a private event at Woodberry Kitchen on its opening day Monday. If anyone else wants to contribute a supporting or dissenting view, please post below.

After the event, we strolled into the restaurant and an unexpectedly wonderful dinner!  I had a light meal of the Roasted Buchanan Valley Pears and Indian Summer Flatbread – both simply prepared with fabulous ingredients.  My husband had the Cast Iron Ribeye that melted in my mouth (since I had to taste it). The sauce was unexpected as it was reminiscent of a sour beef sauce – so delicious and complemented the beef beautifully.  ...

...We accompanied dinner with some lovely cabernet franc.  Our waitress, Melissa, was delightful and added some pleasant conversation to our experience.  It was also entertaining sitting on the second floor and watching Bill Streuver on one side of the restaurant and Cobber Eccles on the other.  J  Altogether a delightful evening!

She goes on to say:

The décor was a bit stark. However, the charm of the old building with the hand made blown glass lights (we visited the glass blowing studio there they were made) compensated for that. Based on what I’ve seen recently in loft homes and other retail spaces, this seems to be the new “in” style for the new urban spaces. Not necessarily my taste but the “kids” seem to like it!

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Of course, the obvious one is don't mess with somebody else's favorite crab cake; but less obvious is that there are many more places that have excellent crab cakes around here than I thought. Out of well over 100 comments on my two crab cake entries, I thought this one from Mike was the most insightful:

Kudos for taking on a topic that I suspect has as much to do with personal history and loyalty than culinary reason.

I also hadn't thought much about the role of the media in all this, and how much a crab cake's reputation becomes self-perpetuating. I mean, who would think to order a grilled crab cake at Sip & Bite, even though it's only $6.50? Richard tells us it's better than G & M's and Timbuktu's. ...

 (Sun archives)

One crab cake aficionado pointed out that the Washington Post ran a "Crummy But Good" column a long time ago anointing the G & M's cake as its "road trip fantasy crab cake"; and he believes that's where its reputation started. Then things snowballed, and now you can't have a crab cake contest without trying G & M's. Not that it isn't worthy, but is it worthier than Sip & Bite's, given the price difference? I have no idea.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Crab Cakes
        

Ever think about the fact that there are no clocks in serious restaurants?

Well, I didn't, until I came across this video on the food blog Serious Eats, where New York restaurateur Mario Batali explains why.

I'm trying to visualize every upscale restaurant's dining room in Maryland I've been in, which is quite a few. Come to think of it, I don't remember any clocks. I'm not sure this is a conscious decision on the part of local restaurateurs, though.

Clock or no, I know when I've been waiting half an hour for a table when I had a reservation, and when ordering my entree is now just a distant memory.

(AP Photo/Tina Fineberg, File)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)