A few final thoughts about eating in Berlin. If you're spending some time in Ocean City this summer, take a side trip to Berlin and remember these:

I wish I had discovered the Atlantic Hotel's Solstice Grill before lunch. Maybe the food wouldn't have been any better, but I loved the looks of the dining room.

Second, the Tea by the Sea Tearoom was fabulous. I stopped by just before it closed and had a pot of Asam tea. ...

It was brewed with loose tea, something a lot of tearooms in the Baltimore area don't do. There were no scones left because reservations are a must -- the kitchen only bakes enough for that day's customers. On my next trip to Berlin, I'm calling ahead. 

Finally, I loved the looks of the Pink Box Bakery and Cafe. The little pink building it's in is as ornate as the frosting on a birthday cake. The pastries looked pretty good, too.

(Photos of Solstice and Tea by the Sea by me)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

I just had a very odd lunch at the Globe in Berlin, Md., an old movie theater that's been turned into a restaurant and bar. It's an interesting space, but it would really work better for dinner or late night, not lunch on a lovely spring day. It was very dark, with stairways and mezzanines that were sort of Escher-like.

I want to stop by the Tea by the Sea Tearoom later, so I ate light, a Thai peanut salad. For $9 I got a bowl of greens with grapes, dry-roasted peanuts, a lot of chow mein noodles, and a Thai peanut dressing.

I asked for bread with it, which turned out to be listed under appetizers: three pieces of cornbread for $3 or five for $5. It came with Grand Marnier butter, and when you spread the butter on, the general effect was like cornbread cake with Grand Marnier buttercream icing.

I want a Sofi's crepe. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

I'm off to Berlin, Md. this morning for a Destinations story, the one where they pay me to walk around and shop, explore and eat. Not a bad life if Berlin weren't a three-hour drive away. I'm taking a laptop and camera, and I might do a post or two from there. After all, if you go to Ocean City you need to know about Berlin.

To keep you entertained meanwhile, I'm uploading a couple of photos from an e-mail Andy sent me entitled "Remember when Mom said not to play with your food..."

I asked him who should get credited, but he said it's just one of those e-mail attachments that's making the rounds. I do remember a wonderful book called Play With Your Food by Joost Elffers. They might be from it; if anyone knows, please post below.

I wish I had time to upload more of them for you -- but Berlin beckons.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

OK, boys and girls. I'm sitting here at my desk with my Starbucks tall decaf nonfat latte, extra hot and extra foam, in hand.

It's in a china mug that looks just like a paper Starbucks coffee container, logo and all, only with a handle, which cost me $7.95, and I get 10 cents off every time I use it for my coffee, so in only 75 more visits I'll have it paid for and I keep a running tally in my pocket calendar of how many times I've saved a dime, you know, making four vertical lines and then a diagonal. Is there a name for that? Of course, I've spilled a lot of coffee in the car's cupholder because it doesn't have a lid, but it's well worth it. Saving the planet. One paper Starbucks container at a time.

Anyway, what should I be reading while I sip my tall decaf nonfat latte, extra hot and extra foam, from my special Starbucks special mug ooohhh aren't you jealous but this from Multimedia Editor, Resident Cheeseburger and Wing Expert and Coffee Peasant John Lindner: ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

After I posted the photo of the Woman's Industrial Exchange this morning, I decided to wander up that way at lunchtime and see what was happening to the place. The lunchroom is closed, but the store is still open. More important, Sofi's Crepes is open downstairs for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It's wonderfully cheerful looking, with a royal blue door and bright pansies in the window boxes outside. Inside, though, ...

...it looks like the WEI's luncheonette counter still, updated with a funky vibe, which was fine by me.

Only two other customers were eating at the counter when I was there, both alone, both reading. I joined them and had a mozzarella, chopped tomato and fresh basil crepe. It was doughy, but in a good way. (Maybe I was just hungry.) Anyway, it was better than most of the workday lunches I have, and I was sorry to see the place wasn't busier-- although more people trickled in while I ate.

Let me put in a plug for Sofi's, part deux. It isn't a cheap lunch, and I imagine there could be quite a wait if they got busy; but I feel like it's very brave -- an act of faith in downtown -- for owner Ann Costlow to have opened a second creperie there.

(Photo by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Someone recently suggested we do a Top Ten on best bread in restaurants, and I apologize for not copying that post into a future entry right away so I could credit you. Please raise your hand.

But I would hesitate to make up that list these days because things are changing so rapidly as places try to adjust to the rising price of a good loaf. Some restaurants only give you bread if you ask now, some charge for it, and some are scrambling to find new, cheaper suppliers.

Still, it's worth a discussion. (And I know we've discussed it before.) ... 

It's almost impossible for me to go back and check out what I said in my reviews because I mention bread so often, but off the top of my head I remember with pleasure the bread at Kali's Court, the housemade baguette at Abacrombie, the puri (hot, puffed fried bread) at Indigma and the biscuits at Victoria Gastro Pub. Disclaimer: These are just some fairly recent places I've been to; it's not supposed to be a complete list.

But all these could have changed by now. My guess is that places known for their housemade bread/rolls/biscuits/naan/pita are sucking it up and hoping prices of flour will go down some day. If a restaurant gets its bread from Atwater's or Bonaparte, that could be a different story.

What I'm wondering is if you've noticed any changes in the bread at places you frequent.

What a scary topic.

While I was looking for Bonaparte's Web site (Lissa, where are you when I need you?) I came across a link to The Fresh Loaf, a site for artisan bread enthusiasts. Me! Me! That's me! Waving my hand here!
 

(Bread baking at the Helmand. Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

Before I started this list of best chicken dishes, I looked in The Sun's archives and found that I had used the word "chicken" 834 times in my reviews. No help there.

I don't have chicken often when I'm reviewing, but maybe more often than you might think. It's something many of us eat a lot of at home, so it's not the first thing you (or at least I) think of ordering at a restaurant.

Not that I don't like it, but I've brought home one too many last-minute emergency rotisserie chickens. Chicken at a restaurant just doesn't seem like enough of a treat.

When I'm reviewing, usually my guests, who get to choose first, want the beef or the seafood dishes; my husband goes for the healthful alternative; and sometimes I'm stuck with the poultry to balance things out. But you know what? My chicken dish is often the best thing at the table.

Anyway, here's my list. Obviously I haven't tried all the chicken dishes in Baltimore, so I hope you'll have some other suggestions. ...

* The succulent Caribbean baked chicken with the chef's own dry rub at Luca's Cafe in Locust Point.

* Crisp-skinned Peruvian-style whole chicken roasted over coals at Chicken Rico (3728 Eastern Ave.) in Highlandtown (part of a small regional chain).

* The green curry with white-meat chicken, eggplant and fresh basil leaves at Lemongrass in Annapolis. We have a branch here, but I didn't try its green curry.

* Boneless chicken legs (organic and Amish) grilled over a wood fire so they have a bit of crunch at Pazo in Fells Point.

* The Maryland pan-fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy for $10 at Gertrude's at the BMA (Tuesdays only).

* The Ambassador's aromatic chicken tikka masala, which comes with a side of creamed spinach Indian-style. There are probably others just as good, but I usually don't order this dish when I'm reviewing because every Indian restaurant does it. I sometimes get it from here as take out.

* Tender young half-chicken, juicy and flavored with an edge of smoke at Woodberry Kitchen in Woodberry/Hampden.

* The Eastern Shore-style chicken at Big Bad Wolf's House of Barbeque, the kind sold along the highway by churches and charities to raise money.  It has a touch of Old Bay in the mix.

* Marinated, char-grilled chicken kebabs at the Helmand. 

* The chicken noodle soup at Eddie's of Roland Park, the one on Roland Avenue. Full-flavored, not too salty broth, big pieces of white meat chicken, tender noodles, bits of carrot. If I sound a little too enthusiastic about this particular dish, it's what rescued me from the dead recently when I had the Cold That Wouldn't End.

(The archives are a little short of pictures of particular dishes, so I pulled a photo of my favorite no-longer-available chicken dish, the now-closed Woman's Industrial Exchange's white meat chicken salad platter with tomato aspic. Sadly, this was taken after the kitchen stopped making its own wonderful rolls. Amy Davis/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (58)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Hal Laurent (VofR) brought up the evil corn shuckers in the previous post: those shoppers who pull down the husk to see how the corn looks before they buy it. This doesn't bother me unless they keep rejecting what look like perfectly good ears of corn.

The worst example of this phenomenon, which I haven't quite figured out how to label succinctly, was the shopper I saw in the Giant once pulling off all the edges of the red leaf lettuce because he thought it had gone bad. It wouldn't have mattered so much if the lettuce weren't sold by the pound. 

I mind the people who sample the grapes without being told it's OK. I always want to say, "Gack. All those pesticides," but not because I care about their health. It's because I feel like they're shoplifting.

Some other offenses: ... 

* Going back and back to the samples so they practically make a meal out of them.

* Blocking the lane with their cart while they stare dreamily at the 1,000 cereal choices.

* Leaving perishables they decide last minute they don't want on the magazine rack by the checkout counter.

* Going back for an item when they're in line ahead of you and not returning for hours.

Not that I'm ever guilty of any of these.

Ha ha. Just kidding.

(Photo courtesy of Royalty Free Photos) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
        

My daughter says I should post this photo because I'm always saying good things about the Waverly Market and Whole Foods, even though it's the ugliest photo in the universe. Well, it's of the ugliest corn in the universe.

First of all, if you could refrain from pointing out that I shouldn't be buying corn out of season that would be really awesome. 

Anyway, Saturday I bought two ears of white corn at the farmers market. (From Georgia. It's getting closer, although not really sure you can harvest corn even in Georgia this time of year.)

Two ears because it's really hard to keep track of how many people actually live in our house now.

When I got to Whole Foods later and saw it had bi-color corn (I didn't ask from where, probably New Zealand) ...

...I decided to buy two more ears. It's not that my math isn't good, I can count to three sometimes, I just wanted to try both the white and the bi-color myself.

So when my husband husked the four ears, one white one and one bi-colored came out looking like monster corn. (The photo doesn't do them justice.)

But what this post is about is returning things. Now if you have a $20 roast that smells suspicious when you unwrap it, obviously you're going to take it back. But what about an ear of corn? For the market, that's out. I'd have to wait a week and I won't even remember where I bought it by then, besides feeling pretty foolish. But Whole Foods is tempting, if only to see how the store deals with the crazed woman returning a  50-cent ear of corn.

Nah, too much trouble.

But then the same day one more thing happened: I bought two sugar cookies, not particularly large ones, at GlasZ Cafe near Whole Foods for the staggering price of $1.25 each and took them home for later. When I bit into the first one, it was so stale I nearly broke a tooth on it. I tried microwaving it a bit, which made it softer, but it still tasted stale.

Should I take the second cookie back? So tempting, if only for the principle of the thing. Gourmet shops shouldn't keep old baked goods around. But you know, they got me. I don't live anywhere near either place.

I'll be dead before I have time to return 50-cent ears of corn and $1.25 stale cookies.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

When people first heard that someone connected to the much beloved Matthew's Pizza in Highlandtown was opening a restaurant in Locust Point, they expected a sort of Matthew's West. That's not what Luca's Cafe is at all.

It does have pizza, but a thin-crusted kind with very different sorts of ingredients. And pizza isn't even the star of its bistro menu.

Luca's fills a gap in the Locust Point dining scene. (Imagine saying those words a decade ago.) To find out more, you'll have to wait for my review in next Sunday's Arts & Life Today section. 

(Picture of Shrimp on Fire by Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Review Preview
        

LJ asked for what we're all waiting for: a report on the bloggers brunch yesterday. I was expecting photos and mini-reviews I could publish, but so far nothing, so I'm using the very fine Dining@Large flag that Mr. Old Fart designed as art, and hoping those of you who attended will post some comments below on the food, the company, the surprises and anything else that strikes your fancy.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Marty Katz, the local editor of the Zagat Survey, sent me this photo taken with his iPhone at the Waverly Market yesterday. He entitled the e-mail "Dwindling," as in supply of local asparagus. E-mails like that make me anxious.

I also have severe camera phone envy.

Marty and I between us are the reason there are never any Fourth of July tomatoes left when you go to Cindy's stand to buy them.

By chance I also took a camera phone photo yesterday, because why would you ever actually carry your camera with you when you have a blog that needs photos?

My photo (below) looks like it went through the wash with the other whites I was bleaching, and that's after intensive work in iPhoto using the Brightness, Contrast and Sharpening tools.

It's of my lunch yesterday on Stone Mill Bakery's wonderful patio: chicken salad with lemon vinaigrette. (Shouldn't that be lemonette?) ... 

I liked the accompaniments of tomato slices (which sort of reminded me of summer tomatoes), marinated cucumbers, a dice of granny smith apples,  pimientos and baby greens. They could skip the sprouts as far as I'm concerned. It is sad, though. Bread no longer comes with it automatically, although I know I could have gotten a crusty roll with sweet butter if I had thought to ask.

(Asparagus photo courtesy of Marty Katz)

(Chicken salad photo by Motorola) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Things are looking good at the Waverly Market today. I bought Virginia strawberries at Reid's Orchard and North Carolina strawberries at Black Rock; I imagine it as a great tide of strawberries getting closer and closer to us until we get Maryland ones and then next month, Pennsylvania.

By the way, I tend to mention certain vendors because they're the ones I frequent for no particular reason except that I've gotten to know the people, or for some such reason as: I can buy Atwater bread at Belvedere Square, but I've only found Uptown bread (and I love both) here and in the Sunday market.

When The Sun starts paying for my groceries -- hint, hint -- I'll be more even-handed about shopping at and reporting on other vendors. I'm usually so busy Saturday mornings I won't even wait in line if there is one, let alone linger to talk. Often the produce at other stands looks just as good as what I've bought, and I hope you'll post a comment here about some of the others you like. ...

Anyway, Gardener's Gourmet (pictured) told me that it's almost the end of their kale and broccoli, but next week they'll start having spicy greens like tatsoi and more field herbs, as opposed to what they grow in their greenhouse. The woman promised she'd have a more complete list next week of what will be available once the season really gets going. (Please God, let there be heirloom tomatoes.)

Bread prices are up this week at Uptown. My beloved casareccio loaf (pictured in the center) cost $6 instead of $5.50. The woman in charge of that stand said wholesale prices actually went up in November when wheat prices skyrocketed, but she held off raising the price at the market until all the farmers markets were about to open.

Remember, the market is open until noon today. 

(Photos by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Often posters come up with excellent ideas for Top Tens that aren't really viable because I can't come up with ten examples, best or not. Ten is a lot when you think about it.

Still, these topics can be fun to discuss. Here's an example from Piano Rob:

How about a Top Ten Restaurant Names Damn Near Impossible to Pronounce? I don't claim to know 10, but there's that Irish place at the Harbor.

I'm presuming he means Tir Na Nog, which serves "New American cuisine with a Celtic flair."

When I called the restaurant, the only unexpected thing about the pronunciation turned out to be the long O. I've got better examples than that, PR: ... 

How about Cinghiale (ching-GYAH-lay) in Harbor East? Or Au Poitin Stil (an put-CHEEN stil) in Timonium? Or Baltimore Pho (bawl´tĭ-mor fuh) in the Hollins Market area? Or Kyma (kee-mah) in Annapolis?

It's probably not good when every review of the restaurant includes a pronunciation guide. Or the menu has to tell you how to pronounce it. Or when your customers just give up, and call it something else, which is what's happened with the Still.

Or maybe an odd, hard-to-pronounce name just draws attention to a restaurant in a good way. The owners must think that. Why else would they do it?

(Photo of Cinghiale boar by Amy Davis/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

The other night after he scored 49 points against a trash-talking opponent, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant said, "You better learn not to talk to me. You shake the tree, a leopard's gonna fall out."

I'm going to put that in the drawer with the other great comebacks that I always forget to bring out until much later when I'm going over the dispute in my head lying awake in my bed at 2 in the morning.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

My fridge is trying to morph into my daughter's fridge.

It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? When we had our kitchen redone a couple of years ago, I went for style over substance. My new Jenn-Air refrigerator is so much more useless than our trusty old GE side-by-side that we had for 20 years.

I think of it as my trophy wife fridge.

Just to give you one example, the cold filtered water spout is inside the door so as not to spoil its beautiful lines. Anyone who uses it has to stand there with the door open. Very energy efficient. 

But I digress. ... 

I want to tell you about what's happened to my fridge since my daughter moved home temporarily. Faithful readers know that when the lease on her apartment in LA ran out at the end of March, Gailor decided that since she was heading east in the fall anyway for business school, she might as well pay us an extended visit. She can work from anywhere.

The three of us get along very well, but I am worried about my fridge. It seems to be getting anorexic. Gailor's modus operandi in LA was to work late, then go out to eat or pick up something on the way home. (In LA everyone lives this way, so there are many more wonderful, healthful and inexpensive pick-up places than we have here.)

That is a very tempting lifestyle, and I'm having a hard time resisting it.

The other night I felt like I had achieved a moral victory. I  was the only one eating at home that evening, so I stopped by the store to buy myself a little treat (a lamb chop) to go with some cold asparagus that was miraculously in the beautiful but useless fridge. The moral victory came in forcing myself to buy some ingredients for a meal for three for the next night.

This is so completely different from how I used to be. I used to write out menus for the week on a four-by-six card and put it up on the refrigerator door. My new fridge is stainless steel and won't let me pin anything up on her. It might spoil her lines.

I didn't notice then how hard it is to cook for one semi-vegetarian (prime filet mignon and raw ahi tuna, for instance, are OK) and one sensible eater who believes a low-cholesterol diet is a good thing.

I can no longer get away very often with serving a simple meat and two veggies. Although everyone in my family is very polite about what I put in front of them, I hate to see that flicker of disappointment in their eyes. My daughter's favorite meal I make is a cheese souffle, something I no longer have the energy to whip up after work and yet another stop at the store.

Yes, I know about stir-fries; but even they seem like a lot of trouble when the three of us could just meet at some nice little bistro, have a glass of wine and chat about our day while other people do the cooking. Only we don't have the money or the time to do that every night.

I blame it on my fridge. She's been introduced to another lifestyle -- one where she's not stuffed with fresh vegetables, salad ingredients, eggs, meat, milk, and other good, healthy foods -- and she likes it.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Recently we've seen some acrimonious exchanges on this blog about how your restaurant critic should be doing her job. I thought it might help to explain how I see it so we can talk about other, more entertaining things.

My feelings on this have been determined by decades of reviewing, and I'm afraid they aren't going to change at this point in my career. It may not be the way the New York Times restaurant critic goes about his business, or the Washington Post's, but it's how The Sun's reviewer operates. ...

My job, as I see it, is to help readers decide where to eat. That's all readers of The Sun who are interested in food and restaurants. It's just as important to me to help Joe Smith, who likes chains and wants to know what's good and bad about a new one, as it is to inform Jane Doe, a gourmet cook in her own right, about the delightful locally owned restaurants that are in danger of getting squeezed out by said chains.

My job is not -- let me repeat that, not -- to support those delightful locally owned restaurants (or any restaurants). 

Jane Doe may not want or need to know that P.F. Chang's has good dumplings. But Joe Smith is just as important a reader to me as Jane Doe. I may personally prefer to eat in small, locally owned restaurants; but as much as possible, I don't want that to have anything to do with my job.

Many of you disagree with me about this, and that's fine. What I don't like is that we seem to be dwelling on the right and wrong of this over and over again. It's not going to change anything. It's not only boring, it seems to discourage people who have different ideas.

Too many posts from more timid visitors to the blog these days are starting, "You [referring to other commenters] may yell at me for this, but I like Kentucky Fried Chicken [or whatever]..."

My definition of "too many" is any. I'm not big on elitism.

Let's agree to disagree and move on.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

I was glancing through other Sun blogs, which I try to do as often as possible in case someone is invading my turf (I'm very territorial), and I came upon this on the mommy blog. You'll have to scroll down.

Some of you have had a few things to say about the subject in the past, and you've clearly gotten Kate's attention.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
        

I've heard from Amanda Hastings-Phillips, who you may remember did the fabulous black bottom pie video for us for Sugar Week. She's an actor, gourmet cook, and my daughter's close friend and doubles partner in college. She now lives in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Anyway, Amanda is doing another video for us for Crab Week, which I'm now thinking will start June 1 because Memorial Day is so early this year. This one will be on West Coast crab.

Here's part of her e-mail to me: ...

Went to Pearson's Port today. The fisherman I spoke to has fresh Red Rock Crab from Santa Rosa Island (California Channel Islands) and Yellow Rock crab from right off our shore here. They are both cousins of Dungeness. The lady I spoke to or her husband will show me how to clean the crab right there on their pier/store.

I assume you want me to make a recipe with the crab to tie in to the restaurant thing? Did your readers decide on a recipe? The people at Pearson's Port don't like crab cakes so they probably don't have a recipe to advocate!

Just so you know, the LA Times is doing a big story on Pearson's Port at the end of May/June. They are beloved here and a true family operation.

I told her we definitely wanted a recipe, and this was her reply:

Okay. I'll ask around. Maybe something from the strong Vietnamese community here because they do a lot with crab?! Or maybe not. I'll do some research.

It all sounds good to me.
 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Columnist Susan Reimer, who's my Annapolis correspondent, told me the owner of Kyma told her that he had had two celebs eating (separately) in his restaurant lately. One was Jon Stewart of the Daily Show and his family. The other was Lavar Arrington, the ex-Washington Redskin.

I love celebrity sightings. Oh God, it's embarrassing, but I can't help it. And stop sneering. You know you do, too. You just won't admit it.

I'm having serious withdrawal from not being in LA, where they happened all the time. Here were the best ones: ... 

1) Hayden Panettiere of Heroes brunching at Urth Caffe.

2) Kirk Douglas and Walter Cronkite having Sunday supper together with their wives at Lucques. 

3) Director Robert Rodriguez and his entourage at Pizzeria Mozza. 

The only celebrity sightings I've ever had in a Baltimore area restaurant were:

1) I once saw someone who had to be a Raven (ten feet tall, 400 pounds of muscle, designer suit, diamond earring) walking into the Oregon Grille in Cockeysville with his wife/girlfriend on his arm.

2) I was reviewing Nichi Bei Kai in Lutherville one night and weatherman Marty Bass was eating with his kids at the table next to us.

OK, Baltimore isn't exactly LA.

But my point is, there are celebrities out there, and I want to create a place where you can tell us about your sighting.

From now on, if you see -- say -- Jenna Bush at Matthew's Pizza, go to the Categories on the right of the Dining@Large main page, select "Celebrity Watch," and you'll get this post. 

(Photo of Kyma's Russian salad by Nanine Hartzenbusch/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (57)
        

Well, yesterday's Top Ten was something of a disaster (other than that it generated 15,981 hits). You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink, or at least post on the original entry.

This changes my whole plan to make next week's Top Ten list also interactive. Michelle had a good idea, to have the April 29 list be Best Dishes at Local Mexican Restaurants, as voted on by you. I'm still interested in doing that list on Cinco de Mayo itself, but I think for next Tuesday I better do the work.

For some reason, I feel like listing my 10 favorite chicken dishes at Baltimore restaurants. That I can do without the help I'll need for the Mexican dish list. But I'm still happy to get suggestions for good chicken around town.

(Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

In case you missed hmpstd's excellent review of Bagel-fuls, here it is in its entirety: ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

I'm getting a little worried.

Multimedia Editor and Resident Cheeseburger and Wings Expert John Lindner, who is our Shallow Thought Wednesday guest blogger, is developing literary aspirations.

I knew being a regular contributor/poster on Dining@Large could do wonderful things for you, but I'm not sure about the best-selling author part. I'm thinking maybe he should keep his day job.

Anyway, here's what he's working on: ...

I want to write a short book of what I call "Queenerisms" after a man I knew and admired who was full of Kentucky one-liners, sort of a mixture of one part folksy wisdom and eight parts moonshine.

I offer a few, hoping it will stimulate more from the Elizabethans. If I get enough to complete a book that becomes a bestseller, I'll take the whole sandbox to dinner.
 
"Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you."

"You may be slick, but you can't slide down barbed wire."

"Wish in one hand, spit* in the other, and see which one gets filled first."

And my all-time favorite: "The whale that rises gets the harpoon."
 
* Note: "spit" may not be the word he used.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

I was going to do a round up of helpful or interesting e-mails I had gotten in the past few days, but I've gotten a little behind and now it's time to go home. I do want to mention a few time-sensitive and not so time-sensitive ones. ...

Lissa sent me this link to a story in the Daily Record.

Drew from Greektown e-mailed me to say when he drove past Georgie's of Canton on Boston Street, it was closed. When I call, I just get a busy signal. Anybody know anything? 

I don't quite know what to say about the fact that Steak-umm Burgers are now the official burger of the Orioles. 

Brick Oven Pizza is now serving vegan cheese pizza. 

I think it's time to go home. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

MusicBooty e-mailed me this photo to illustrate just how big a Jumbo Slice really is. I LOVE getting photos. Thanks, MusicBooty.

She made me crop her face out.

Eat your heart out, Midnight Sun Sam.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

I wanted to draw attention to two earlier posts in honor of Earth Day.

Anonymous (I wonder why people don't just make up names so we can keep them straight?) had this to say under Bad Starbucks: ...

Michelle said under Earth Dayware:

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

I thought this tableware from Artful Wares would be kind of interesting to post in honor of Earth Day. It's handcrafted from recycled lobster, mussel and clam shells. And it's dishwasher-safe.

Living green is so complicated it's almost paralyzing, as I learned when I did a story on eco home decor, so I'm not going to defend the usefulness of this recycling. Probably someone will tell me it actually takes more resources than making utensils out of stainless steel or plastic.

I still think it's fun.

You can order online, or there is one retailer in Maryland who sells Artful Wares:

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

When I called this the Top Ten Most Popular Updated, you probably thought I was going to do the updating. Not so. Or at least not today. I'm still a delicate flower, if a delicate flower could still be taking Musinex DM and be hopelessly behind on her reusable market bag story.

That means you need to do the updating, although I promise I will in the future. Topics like Best Seafood Restaurants and Best Outdoor Seating are Top Tens that need to be redone yearly. 

Anyway, please take a look at my list, pick a topic, see what I left out or has opened since I posted the entry, and tell us where we should go instead.

To get you started, I'll mention that since I made up the list of Top Ten Italian Outside Little Italy, the Brass Elephant has changed its format from New American to Italian and hired a new chef. I haven't eaten there since the changes, so I don't know if it would be one of the Top Ten, but it deserves consideration. Maybe you could tell us.

As for barbecue, Night of the Cookers on Howard Street is now a possible contender. 

Also, let us know which one you'd kick off the list if you're adding a new one. Sometimes that's the hardest part of making up these lists. 

In any case, remember to come back here to post your update after you check the lists out. (If you post it on the original list, I'm afraid fewer people will see it.)

Here we go: ... 

* Top Ten Worst Service Mistakes

* Top Ten Best Crab Cakes 

* Top Ten Best Italian Places Outside Little Italy

* Top Ten Places That Put the Charm in Charm City

* Top Ten Thai Restaurants 

* Top Ten Late Night Places 

* Top Ten Cheap Eats 

* Top Ten Restaurants to Eat Outdoors 

* Top Ten Seafood Restaurants 

* Top Ten Barbecue Joints 

(Photo of On the Hill Cafe's stuffed corn tamale cakes with chipotle spiced chicken, monterrey jack, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream by Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

This is why I never get anything done. I go out to dinner, I write a thoughtful review, it gets thoughtfully edited, I post a snappy little entry about its being Next Sunday's Review, and then it all goes out the window.

I just got this e-mail from Night of the Cooker's Executive Chef Joshau Hill: ...

I must inform you, of my decision to leave the company to take over another venture.  The original contract between Phil Myers and I was a term of four months in which was filled with great success. ...I will now be the Corporate and Executive Chef for the Traveling Gourmond Personal Chef Service and A GourmetSin which is a small Boutique Catering Company.

In another era I would crumple up the copy of my review and toss it in the trash can. The paper can't really publish a review of a restaurant that now has a different chef. That review is inoperative, to quote a favorite White House press secretary of mine.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: Review Preview
        

Midnight Sun Sam, always the gourmand, has posted a blog entry on Jumbo Slice, the pizza concept in Adams Morgan in DC. I had never heard of it, but then Sam stays up later and parties harder than I do.

I was hoping I would find a link to a particular Web site, but instead I'm going to link you here because these are some of the finest comments I've ever read on another food blog. Such as: ...

Sure, it's an oversized greasy mess, but when you have had -hell, I'll  just be honest- like 3 too many with some shots to boot, this food is like salvation on Sunday! Lydia M.

and

Bleh!  How can you eat this stuff?  You have grease trickling down your chin, stains on your shirtsleeves. It is 2 am...all of your friends know better--none of them will take a bite...can you finish the whole thing? first, fold it over in two.  Then, tip up the crust end and let the grease flow into your mouth.  You will need plenty of grease to digest that surly dough.  Napkins?  forget about them.  Wipe your hands on the crust, or else on the grass of Kalorama Park. You're going to regret this, tomorrow...John B.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Pizza
        

Piano Rob has sent me the details of the get together next Saturday, so people can RSVP. Here they are:

Place: Kooper's Tavern

Where:  1702 Thames St., Fells Point

When:  Saturday, April 26 at 11:30 a.m.

Phone: 410-563-5423 

I'm guessing that if you don't feel like committing now but at the last minute decide to show up, it would be OK; but I'm not sure. Piano Rob, please let us know.

The photo of Kooper's, by the way, is old; but it was the best I could do. Take your camera and e-mail me an up-to-date one I can run with your description of the festivities.

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (55)
        

Yesterday I reviewed Baltimore Pho, the new Vietnamese restaurant in Southwest Baltimore near the Hollins Market. In the review I told you that "pho" is pronounced "fuh," sort of; but after I wrote it, I read Richard Gorelick's review in the City Paper, and I thought he made a really good point. If you pronounce the first e in "crepes" as a long a (in other words, if you've anglicized the word), you might as well pronounce "pho" the way it looks.

I also had another thought about the restaurant that never made its way into the review. ...

I've heard some complaints on local message boards that the new restaurant's pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup, doesn't have intense enough flavor compared to that of the other Vietnamese places in the area. I've also heard Baltimore Pho's owner defend his restaurant's more delicate version by pointing out the chef is from a different region of Vietnam. But, he said, if they keep getting complaints they may change it.

I enjoyed Baltimore Pho's broth. It's worrisome that our idea of what pho "should" taste like, formed by other restaurants around here (or occasionally by a visit to a particular region in Vietnam), might cause all the pho to end up tasting the same way.

It's kind of like what happened with Chinese and Italian dishes in this country originally, but I thought Americans had gotten more sophisticated about their ethnic food. Maybe not.

 

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

Jwiv's latest comment under Bad Starbucks convinces me it's time for a separate entry for coffee talk. Mark sounded like he needed a list of local roasters who sell retail, so please contribute to that, too.

Here's jwiv's post: ... 

"Ooo! Coffee talk. All opinions are based off of either 1) Drip coffee black (0 calories for those of you counting)
or 2) the occassional macchiato (with none of that crazy flavor syrup crap).

"Places that are good and I like

"1) High Grounds - Roasted on-site by people that are passionate about it, if maybe a bit wary of being compared to Starbucks when it comes to the espressor drinks (I've yet to get a macchiato without being warned that it doesn't come with caramel, to which I always respond that it's the crema I'm looking for).

"2) Daily Grind - not entirely local, but very good - also, the Canton location sells Dangerously Delicious Pies, and there's nothing wrong with that pairing.

"3) Patterson Perk - Cool place, they didn't kick me out for reading the copy of The Watchman sitting on their shelf. Good cup of coffee, my wife adores their hot spice chai tea latte.

"4) Zeke's - It's the brand that everyone seems to know in Baltimore. I think they might trend towards the darker side of roasting than I exactly love, but I'd never turn down receiving a pound of Guatamalean from them. They can easily be found on Sunday mornings at the JFX farmer's market. Just look for the only line longer than one for the Pit Beef."

And here's Dr. Erlenmeyer Cantaloupe's link about the question of whether Starbucks helps or hurts independent coffee houses, something that was also being discussed on the previous thread:

(Monica Lopossay/Sun Photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)
        

 
Robert of Cross Keys hasn't shared his rockfish gefilte fish story with us yet, presumably because it's still so painful. But if he does, it will probably be here. Robert the Single One has suggested a thread about foods that it's best to let the experts handle.

He mentioned prime rib, although I'm not sure you can mess a rib roast up if you give a good butcher your first born (mmm, that didn't come out right) pay the price and then don't overcook it. The foods I would nominate are things like napoleons and croissants. Homemade french fries are more trouble than they're worth, as is anything that leaves me with that much grease. ...

I would have said "bread" just a few months ago with all the great artisan breads around, but I may have to drag out my trusty old KitchenAid bread hook pretty soon if bread prices keep rising.

In any case, this summer I've promised myself I'll make a couple of loaves of salt-risin' bread, incredibly tricky but not something I've been able to find at any bakery or store around here. (I have bought a loaf at the Piggly Wiggly in Tennessee, but it just tastes like white bread.)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Restaurants in this area have had success serving upscale Southern cuisine (most notably Louisiana and Savannah/Charleston), but I can't think of one that has introduced upscale Southern Sunday supper cuisine to Baltimore. Until now.

The menu at Night of the Cookers on Antique Row is an unusual combination of barbecue (and other down home cooking) and high-class dishes like duck breast with risotto and blood orange vinaigrette. It will be interesting to see how this plays in Baltimore.

You know I don't like to say much about a restaurant before the actual review runs, but I will tell you this: I wouldn't mind some more of that etouffee.

Look for the review in next Sunday's Arts & Life Today section. 

(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Review Preview
        

 
I just met a friend at the Mount Washington Starbucks, and we drank a couple of Izze grapefruit sodas because it was too hot for coffee. Not bad, but when we took the glass bottles up to the counter, the barista (I can't believe I'm calling her that) said, "We don't recycle."

IF YOU'RE A STARBUCKS, YOU DON'T NOT RECYCLE. AND IF YOU DON'T RECYCLE, YOU DON'T SAY YOU DON'T RECYCLE. YOU TAKE THE BOTTLES, THANK US AND QUIETLY THROW THEM AWAY LATER. 

 
(Photo by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
        

I got to the Waverly farmers market late this morning (8 a.m.), and it was rocking. This time of year probably the best reason to go is if you need bedding plants. (I think that's what they're called, but by law I'm not allowed to garden, so I'm not sure.)

I actually bought a parsley plant, even though I'm sure it shouldn't be planted until May, at which time it will be dead.

My main reason for the trip was Pink Lady and Fuji apples for my husband. I know they've been in cold storage for months, but they're still better than any apple you can get in the supermarket. 

I did see some asparagus so misshapen they looked as if they could be local and grown by humans, although isn't it early yet for Eastern Shore asparagus?

I ended up... 

...buying corn from Florida, strawberries from North Carolina, a red pepper from God knows where, bananas and green beans. (Vendors are allowed to sell nonlocal produce until June.) It all looked better than store produce, and the prices were better.

As for the local greens and veggies, the lines were too long for them and I didn't feel like waiting.

If 32nd street is too far away for you, the Sunday market under the viaduct opens May 4 this year.
 

(Boring photo by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (33)
        

I really hate to be scooped, particularly by Maryland Public Television, but it looks as if the station is having its Crab Week next week. Of course, its Crab Week will be more general, with lots of Uplifting and Socially Conscious Stories about the Chesapeake Bay and how to save it, while we'll be talking about how to decimate the blue crab population by greedy and voracious overeating. But other than that, the two weeks will be the same.

The program that particularly enrages me is...

Eatin’ Crabs Chesapeake Style, a half-hour documentary that will tell us how to pick, peel, prepare and set the table for a hard shell feast. It airs next Monday, April 21 at 9 p.m.

I'm planning to TiVo it and then steal borrow liberally from it for our Crab Week.

I like the fact that their crab expert, Whitey Schmidt, spent a summer visiting 275 crab houses and eating 3,000 crabs. That's a man dedicated to his craft. And also a man who has probably never picked or eaten a crab since, although he'll never admit it.

I also like his rule for finding a good crab house: “If I get lost more than once on the way there, I know I’m going to a good crab house,” he says.

I'm still not getting feedback on what our Crab Week should cover. And keep those cute photos of pets and small children being chased by live crabs coming.

(David Hobby/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

Once again it's time to decide on next Tuesday's Top Ten topic.

I'm leaning toward Lissa's suggestion of the Top Ten Greatest Threads, or maybe more specifically, Top Ten Lists, of the past year in honor of Dining@Large's anniversary, especially since she compared me to Star Trek: The Next Generation, but also because it would be a quick and dirty and I'm impossibly far behind from lazing around on my couch for two days watching my new high-def TV and having entertaining conversations about my Comcast service with Veronica in India.

But I digress.

I'm also happy to come up with something new and wonderful if you prefer, but why would you? Ha ha, just kidding. 

For instance, we could do places that have outdoor seating that you probably haven't thought about, such as On the Hill Cafe in Bolton Hill (pictured).

(Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

One year ago today, I published my first entry on Dining@Large, entitled "Greetings."

Greetings. Good lord. Could I have thought of a more boring title? Did I want to actively discourage readers from checking me out? Couldn't I have called it "A Shout Out to Baltimore Foodies" or "Read Me! Read Me!" or anything but "Greetings"? I probably would have 100,000 page views a week by now if I had.

OK, highlights of my first year: ... 

* No. 1 has to be getting the City Paper's Best Sun Blog Award.

As the World's Oldest Teenager, I can't tell you how much this meant to me. Also they gave me a great looking framed plaque that I kept on my desk for months to annoy other Sun bloggers.

* Being included in Gutter magazine's Lust issue was pretty cool, too, although I didn't get a plaque. 

* I'm very proud of having sucked so many of you in as co-writers of this blog by getting you to comment so frequently and so amusingly. But I also appreciate the people who simply share their thoughts with us on a variety of subjects; that's what makes a blog worth hosting. As I've said before, one of my favorite comments was "Yay kettle corn."

Two noteworthy milestones: On Sept. 8 Hal Laurent VofR  (although he wasn't the Voice of Reason yet) posted Dining@Large's 1,000th comment and Owl Meat Jerky posted No. 3,000 on Jan. 5.

* When my daughter suggested Dining@Large needed a regular feature, which she dubbed Top Ten Tuesday, I had no idea of the monster I would be creating. Although in general I think a blog works best if it's fluid and organic, those 5,000 to 10,000 page views the Top Ten generates are mighty hard to give up.

* What makes writing a blog fascinating to me is finding a balance between telling you more about my rather ordinary (but happy) life than you may want to know and writing a well-reported newspaper article.  In the end, I think Dining@Large should be a community effort, which shocks the infrequent drop-in visitor, who is usually lured in by the Top Ten promo on The Sun's home page. Once again, I refer him or her to the Official Disclaimer.

* A major highlight of Dining@Large's first year was last August's Sugar Week, a celebration of all things, well, sugary. Check it out if you're a newbie. I hope you're all looking forward to the upcoming Crab Week as much as I am.

* One of the great things about blogging is that you get instant feedback on what you write, both through comments and page view numbers. Yes, each Monday I find out how many page views I had the previous week. My high was Feb. 18-24, when I got 42,225 hits. I have no idea why. The Top Ten was BYOB restaurants, so that wasn't it. I did, however, have a post on burgers; and, of course, I did get 72 vicious comments on Rachael Ray and 74 vicious comments when I suggested we do a Top Ten on chains the following week.

* I've learned that you have to be thick-skinned to be a blogger. I love the way people feel perfectly comfortable telling me how I should be doing my job. Do I tell you how to be a liquor store salesman or an accountant? I have to add that in general readers have been remarkably kind on this blog.

* So here we are, entering our second year. I don't want to you to get bored with Dining@Large, and -- just as important -- I don't want to get bored with it either, so what shall we do that's new and fun and crazy? Suggestions welcome. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (30)
        

I can't entertain you with beautiful photos and clever remarks about restaurants today because I'm home sick. I don't have access to The Sun's photo archives and I'm not feeling very clever. The best I can do is let you talk about the egg in a separate take and tell you about my fridge, which will be the subject of a separate post. I'm sure you can't wait.

As for the egg, which was the subject of many a gack attack, I'm with you on the smell of hard-boiled eggs; and I didn't eat eggs until college. But now I can't imagine life without a lovely soft omelet or meringue or souffles.

And you have to give the egg points for being the most mythic food you can think of, especially this time of year. 

(Photo of symbol of rebirth by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
        

FOOD NETWORK IS LOOKING FOR AMAZING STORIES FOR A GROUNDBREAKING NEW SERIES!!!

Do you or someone you know have an amazing food related story to tell? Do you know someone who has gone from being homeless to the owner of their own restaurant, makes pop art out of pineapples, or eats nothing but peanuts? Do you know someone who is battling food fears or phobias? Has food helped to cure an illness, changed the course of your life, or helped to inspire you in some dramatic way? We are looking for all types of stories even those that are odd or humorous to feature on an upcoming series for the Food Network.

Casting is underway, so email a brief description of your story with your contact information and picture of yourself ASAP to michaelraptis@alroker.com or call 646.723.9848 to be considered for the show.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

To take the taste of the gack foods out of our mouths, may I suggest cheesecake? Here's a shop that combines two things that are definitely not gacks for me: cheesecake and suspense novels. It's called Cheesecake and Crime, and unfortunately it's located in Las Vegas.

The  good news? ...

Cheesecake and Crime has a Web site, and you can order by mail. Here's what the press release says:

Lendall and Pam Mains have melded their passions. Pam loves murder mysteries. Lendall, an architect by day, loves to bake. In fact he put himself through college by selling cheesecakes. That's how they came up with the concept. The cheesecake comes in plain, cookies n' cream, nutella, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, lemon, chocolate, and German chocolate.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Robert (the Single One) has asked for a Dining@Large gack scale, and I'm happy to oblige. Peeps are a 10 on my personal gack scale, along with beef liver, while undercooked shrimp and overcooked steaks are about a 5.

Root beer. Not fond of root beer. Maybe a 1?

The idea of margarine comes close to a 10, although I don't think it tastes 10 on a gack scale.

I'm sure I could come up with lots more and rate them all, but it would be more fun to hear yours. (Boxed wine wouldn't even make my top 100.)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (87)
        

I got this suggestion from Steve Kaiser, PR person for the Wine Market, awhile back and then forgot all about it until just now.

...a story about where, say, the top 25 local chefs go when they eat out, both here and in other cities, and why. I just don't want to make all those calls. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to it.

Also interesting to know, beyond specific restaurants, is whether chefs actively seek out hot new places to see what everyone is talking about, or if they don't feel like doing "research" when they're eating out so they do what most of us do day in and day out: Go to convenient places or back to their favorites, which might not be completely about the food.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

I got this suggestion from Shallow Thought John recently, and I like it. The recent posts about a boxed wine throwdown got me to thinking about it. I'm more interested in figuring out how to make it work for restaurants or food than wine, so if you have any ideas, please post below. Anyway, here's his e-mail: ...

"Can't remember which blogger, but it might have been Lenn Thomson, who started a thing called Wine Blogging Wednesday.

"One Wednesday a month, a different blogger 'hosts' the event. Maybe a week or two ahead of time, the host defines the topic of the upcoming wine blog. For instance: New World Merlots not produced in the U.S. Then all bloggers and commenters who feel inclined, procure a sample of wine in that definition. They then post their taste notes. ...

"The Atlanta blog post reminded me of WBW.

"I wonder if such a thing could be done among restaurant blogs? Or food blogs."

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

I have to say I'm in the wrong line of work. I should be a homemaker with a passion for baking. Then maybe I could win a million dollars like Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg, Md.

She's this year's million-dollar winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off for her Double Delight Peanut Cookies. The recipe is simple, using more brand name ingredients, including Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough, than you can shake a stick at. And a staggering amount of sugar. ...

Can they really be that good? We have someone baking them for us as I type, and we're going to compare them to other peanut butter cookies. Look for the results of our taste test in tomorrow's paper.

Unfortunately no one asked me to bake my peanut butter cookies from my mother's Joy of Cooking, or Maida Heatter's peanut butter cookies. I can't help but think they would blow hers out of the water.

I'm so jealous.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

This comment by Carey Hughes under the Wine in a Box entry got me thinking some more about how I feel about boxed wine:

I'm not a wine snob either, but I am a design snob and ritual snob. These aren't qualities I'm proud of because given a slightly better wine in a box and one slightly less good in a bottle with a beautiful label and a cork, ... 

...I'd enjoy the one in the bottle more. Just as I'd enjoy it more in a beautiful wine glass than a jelly glass. (And believe me, I've drunk my share of wine from jelly glasses.) So the reality is I'm not going to switch any time soon to a box for my sippin' wine, although its longevity would be a real plus for me.

I also wanted to bring up Dahlink's comment, which I noticed nobody got near:

About a wine throw down--I have read that a majority of tasters can't distinguish a red from a white wine if they are blindfolded. Makes me wonder ...

Someone told me that Calvin Trillin wrote about this in one of his books, but I haven't had the time to track it down. As it was told to me third hand, he was referring to a study involving, I think, the Stanford Wine Program, in which blindfolded participants couldn't tell the difference between red and white. If anyone has more details, please post below.

It would be fun to try this out on your wine connoisseur friends. Blindfold them and try, say, three reds and three whites at room temperature. Then report back here. I'm not going to ask you to try it yourself and then report back, because you'd probably lie. Ha ha, just kidding.

("In this photo illustration, a cork is often the culprit when wine goes bad." Bob Fila/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (35)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

For whatever reason, some restaurant locations seem jinxed until the right place comes along. I actually wrote about this in an earlier post, but I didn't think of turning it into a Top Ten until Donny B suggested it.

What's the point of bringing up the former occupants that have failed in a certain location? Jiffy asked in that earlier post. 

Well, for one thing you can have an interesting discussion about why the current restaurant is probably going to flourish, if it is.

The reasons are varied. For instance, the restaurants that failed in Green Spring Station after Harvey's closed all had one owner in common who is not involved with Tark's Grill, the current restaurant in that space.

Tabrizi's has a better chance of succeeding than its predecessors because a community of townhouses and apartments has grown up in Harborview around the restaurant location. 

And so on.

In some cases, I don't know why the current restaurant is doing well where others didn't; if you have any insights -- or even guesses -- please post below.

Also, I did the best I could in listing the former occupants of the space, but it wasn't always easy to track them down and I may have left some out. If so, please correct me. 

In the interest of geographical diversity, I wanted to include an Annapolis location. Features columnist Susan Reimer, who lives there, told me the space at 1803 West St. in Annapolis where Lime opened had had lots of former tenants, but she couldn't remember any of them, so it didn't get included. But anyway, it's not just Baltimore restaurant spaces.

Here's my list. The order is address, current occupant (if there is one; otherwise a question mark) and former restaurants in parentheses: ... 

* 606 S. Broadway, Fells Point. Currently ? (Crabby Dick's, Captain Louie's Seafood Grill, Foster's Restaurant, Foster's Oyster Bar, Something Fishy, Baltimore Jack)

* 885 N. Howard St., Antique Row. Currently Night of the Cookers (Gambrino's Spanish Restaurant, Southern Blues, Britton's, Leilani's). Thanks to kimmer 1850 for coming up with most of these.

* 1200 N. Charles St., Mount Vernon. Currently Sammy's Trattoria (Limoges Gourmet Bistro, Tampico Mexican Grill,  Harry's Bar)

* 500 Harborview Dr., South Baltimore. Currently Tabrizi's (Lillies, South Harbor Tavern, J. Leonard's Waterside, Pier 500) 

* 845 S. Montford Ave., Canton.  Currently Red Fish (Red Fish under at least two other owners, Weber's on Boston, New Orleans Grille, Stars)

* 802 N. Charles St. Currently Indigma  (Saffron, Ruby Lounge under two different owners, Donna's Ruby Lounge, Donna's Restaurant, BOP)

* 106 W. Padonia Road, Timonium. Currently Christopher Daniel (Palermo's, Parlay Cafe, Rothwells, Courtney's). Thanks to Donny B for suggesting this one; I wouldn't have thought of it.

* 2360 Joppa Road, Suite 116, Green Spring Station. Currently Tark's Grill (Longo's, Mick & Tony's Baltimore Prime, City Crab & Seafood Company, Towne Hall, Harvey's)

* 554 E. Fort Ave. Currently ? (Sly Fox Pub, Soigne, Lynn's, Cup of Gold Cafe)

* 3123 Elliott St.,  Currently Jack's Bistro (Elliott St. Bar & Grille, La Vida Loca, Dooby's)

For other suggestions, look at the excellent comment by Jamie under the earlier post. 

My review of Sammy's Trattoria opened with this theory, which still amuses me:

"A friend who eats with me regularly has a conspiracy theory about restaurants that keep opening and closing in one location. He thinks the way to succeed in the business would be to get a long-term lease and every two or three years close down and reopen with a new name, new concept and new staff. That's about the length of time it takes for a hot new restaurant to become yesterday's news. If things aren't going well, you can close down and reopen after six months, like a Broadway show."

(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (42)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Kathleen sent me this link to her blog entry about the Food Network's series "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," which will be shooting at the Blue Moon Cafe in Fells Point on April 18 and 21, according to a waitress there. Odd, because I don't think of Blue Moon as a diner, drive-in or dive.

* Federal Hill Jim praised the story in last week's Washington Post on noise in restaurants (Which Larry S. had earlier brought to my attention; thanks to you both) and suggested I might want to do a Top Ten on Baltimore's noisiest. I thought I might have already (I'm starting not to remember them all), but instead we've just discussed the subject frequently, for instance, here and here. 

*I had heard that the Blue Point Grille in Ellicott City had closed, but Jack sent me this interesting tidbit:

New sign just put up this weekend - new sign is Chun-Churum in English and in Korean. New restaurant obviously geared to Howard County Korean population. Another independent restaurant bites the dust.

* Great Harvest Bread Co., a self-described "whole grain bakery," is hoping to open in the Baltimore area. There are already Columbia and Annapolis locations.

* Chowhound wrote me he saw at Tark's Grill:

...a preppy family come in and the boy was carrying a...lacrosse stick. The manager smilingly put it in the coatroom.

I pass it along because, yes, that's the kind of restaurant it is.

(Jerry Jackson/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

So people won't miss an entertaining discussion going on under another post, I'm going to make the subject of wine in a box a separate entry. Feel free to repeat yourself here.

I have nothing against boxed wine in theory, except the boxes are too big for me to ever try it as a house wine.  Now if it were sold in pint boxes...

Anyway, to get the discussion going, here are five reasons from Sunset magazine to buy boxed wine: ... 

1. You get more bang for your buck. Premium wines come in 3-liter boxes (the equivalent of about four bottles) and sell anywhere from $15 to $25 a pop. Do the math — you’re getting a good deal on a good wine.

2. There’s no pressure to polish it off in one night. Unlike a bottle, which goes bad within a day or two of uncorking, boxed wine lasts about four to six weeks.

3. You can drink it now. Forget about the whole let-it-age thing — boxed wines are meant to be drunk within a year of being made.

4. It’s transportable. Because it won’t shatter, boxed wine is perfect for picnics, the beach, and tailgates. Take the oxygen-tight bag out of the box and bring it back-country camping.

5. You have a reason to use that carafe. A pretty decanter filled with red wine looks so good on your table.

And here are the magazine's tips on buying:

When shopping, look for:

3-liter boxes. These hold the good stuff. Avoid the old-school 5-liter cartons.

The vintage date and the varietal printed on the box. You want more information than simply “delicious red wine.” More recent vintages are generally better — boxed wine is not meant for the cellar.

The region. Check for familiar wine-making regions such as southeastern Australia or the Napa Valley.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

Last night my daughter stopped by and got takeout for us from the Thai Restaurant (3314-16 Greenmount Ave., 410-889-6002). She said the place looked pretty empty. I feel guilty because we certainly forget about it for long stretches of time, and yet we always get a pretty good meal from there. ...

Last  night they created a dish for us (we didn't have a takeout menu). We asked for chicken and mixed vegetables, and they came in a delicate, not-too-spicy but very flavorful sauce. The soups are comforting for those of us who still have The Cold That Wouldn't End, and the place makes the best beef sate in town.

My only complaint is that the big, beautiful shrimp in the pad thai are never cooked enough. I just don't like my shrimp underdone (or overdone, of course).

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of any of this, so I'm using one from the archives of Thai salad from a 2001 review in LIVE.

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

The higher ups were so taken with our discussion on reusable market bags that I've been assigned to do a lifestyle story on the subject, probably for the Arts & Life Today section.

I'd like to quote some of you, so if you're willing to be interviewed, send me an e-mail and let me know how to get in touch with you. Or if you don't wanted to be quoted, but know of any shops that sell good-looking bags, or have any other thoughts about what else should be included in the story, please post below.

My biggest problem with reusable bags is that they sit in my car trunk and I keep forgetting about them until I get in the check-out line.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
        

It's weird but true that I never ate at Mencken's Cultured Pearl, the Mexican cafe in Southwest Baltimore that closed in '98. (It got reviewed, of course -- the last time by a LIVE critic.)

I hope Baltimore Pho gets more support than its predecessor did. I liked it a lot, in spite of a few flaws.

It wasn't what I expected; but to get the details, you'll have to wait for my review next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section.

By the way, I've listed the address as 1116 Hollins St. because that's how the manager asked me to. Although technically the restaurant is at 1114 and 1116, the main entrance is at 1116 (unlike the Pearl).

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Review Preview
        

Get ready for Bagel-fuls, the latest weird convenience food, which is supposedly making its debut this month in supermarket frozen breakfast sections. Thanks to Dancing Monkey for bringing this to my attention.

First we had Cheeseburger in a Can, then Batter Blaster, and now this.

The idea is that sometimes spreading cream cheese on a bagel is just too darn much trouble. In that case, pull out a Kraft Bagel-ful in one of five delicious or perhaps not so delicious flavors, toast or microwave it, and voila! instant bagel with cream cheese Twinkie.

I think you know what this means. ...

One of you is going to have to fall on his or her sword and try it for the rest of us, just as L Cray did so nobly with his Batter Blaster review.

At the very least if you see Bagel-fuls in any stores around here, let us know about it. 

I have to say, as names go this one is terrible. Batter Blaster is a concept you could get behind. Bagel-fuls conveys nothing. I'm thinking something like Stuf-n-Bagel or Bagel-Surpriz or almost anything else would be better. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (54)
        

I'm really loving Locust Point Man's comment under this Thursday's "Next Tuesday's Top Ten" entry:

did this turn into top 10 ways to title the list?

I think it did, so I'm going to give you a bonus Top Ten this week: Top Ten Ways to Title Next Week's Top Ten Tuesday List.

Here we go: ... 

1) Top Ten jinxed locations (Susan)

2) Top Ten try, try again locations (Mitzi)

3) Top Ten "now you see it, now you don't" locations (Susan)

4) Top Ten restaurant turnover locations (Sarah Kelber)

5) Top  Ten revolving restaurant locations (Phyllis) 

6) Top Ten re-restaurants (jl)

7) Top Ten restaurants with former versions (Ed Gunts)

8) Top Ten "success challenged" locations (Susan)

9) Top Ten ghosts of restaurants past (Mr. Old Fart) 

10) Top Ten doomed restaurant locations (me)

(photo of Tabrizi's by Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

I got an e-mail recently about the unusual wine list at LJ’s & the Kat Lounge in Hagerstown. What's really unusual is that it wasn't describing the wines, but how they were presented. The owner wanted to think outside the box so he literally turned the list into a wine card box. Get it?

Here's how the PR person described it: "With creatively indexed cards, categorized from light to dark wines and divided by cork separators, this miniature-sized treasure chest is allowing patrons to flip through wines, pull out their wine selections, pass the card around their table and discuss wine choices; turning a wine choice into a wine conversation." ...

I can't decide what I think. Wine lists are something I'm a bit of a traditionalist about, and this sounds awfully cutesy. On the other hand, what's wrong with having a bit of fun when you go out to eat?

That got me to thinking about other unusual wine lists.

The one at Baltimore Pho in the Hollins Market area, for instance, startled me because it listed all its wines by the glass. You could order any of them by the bottle, but unless you asked you wouldn't know what you were going to be paying.

(Photo courtesy of LJ's) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

Ever alert Midnight Sun Sam sent me this photo, taken at 6308 York Road south of Towson, in the same shopping center as Wells Discount Liquors. Faithful readers will remember Doughnut Wednesday, and just how excited folks got about the Prune. I'm not sure if they feel the same way about Lee's.

A little off topic, but that's our specialty: Over at his blog, Sam has been discussing why bars close. The main reason is a little different than for restaurants.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

I just learned the sad news that John Dorsey, The Sun's main restaurant critic for many years, died this morning. He was a friend as well, and although I didn't keep in touch with him as much as I would have liked once he left the paper, we did play bridge together occasionally and exchanged Christmas cards to the end.

Here's the link to Jacques Kelly's excellent obituary. 

I'll be writing something, along with other columnists and critics who knew him, for the paper Monday.

He was just such a nice guy.

(Photo courtesy of Robert Armacost)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

This week's Shallow Thought Wednesday Thursday entry has evolved into a discussion of open kitchens and what their value is. I love this insight by Robert (the Single One):

Open kitchens are nothing more than the road crew standing around watching the one guy shovel stone. Everyone (well at least of the Y chromosome persuasion) likes to watch other people work. And if the workers use lots of neat toys, oops, I mean tools, so much the better. Ever watch the plumber in your house? New windows, siding and roof are nirvana.

Anyway if you have more to say on the whole open kitchen subject, say it here so people won't miss it. ...

Here's what Joanna Daemmrich wrote in her story on the subject a few years ago in the Taste section:

"Chefs no longer are blue-collar workers who toil in the back; they're now celebrities who perform in front of the dining room. ...And kitchens have become a central attraction, artfully designed, sometimes lined with bar stools to let curious customers sit even closer to the cooking.

"'You get this adrenaline going,' says [Alison Chase of Aqua Terra in Annapolis] whisking tempura batter on a busy night. ... 'If I sense there's not enough energy in the restaurant yet, I'll squirt some oil on the grill to get flames going. I have fun with it, absolutely.'  

"Dining out has always been about entertainment. Sitting next to a crowded and noisy restaurant kitchen, though, used to be considered not stylish but unpleasant.    

"What happened over the past two decades, according to restaurateurs and kitchen designers, is that eating in the kitchen became commonplace, even chic, made popular by televised cooking shows and 'great rooms' in modern homes.

"These days, open kitchens can be found in all kinds of restaurants, from the national chain Romano's Macaroni Grill to Baltimore's elegant Charleston. At some of the hottest restaurants around town, the best seats are by the burners."

(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

In honor of next week's Tax Day, Serious Eats posted an entry yesterday on freebies at restaurants in Washington. I promised in a comment that we would come up with some ideas in the Baltimore/Annapolis area. The one that comes to mind immediately is the deep-fried prawn crackers with fish sauce that we had at Baltimore Pho near Hollins Market a couple of weeks ago.

The best pre-dinner freebies I've ever had were at Lucques in LA. We were given warm almonds in oil with sea salt to dip them in, plus fabulous olives. Yum. ...

I'm not sure if an amuse bouche counts, but one is served at Abacrombie and Charleston. Other places have them as well, of course. We also got a tiny sweet and a pretzel (both homemade) after dessert at Abacrombie. 

I know I've had other interesting freebies locally, but none of them come to mind at the moment. If you can think of any others, please post below.

(Picture of Baltimore Pho by Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

By popular demand, it looks like next week's Top Ten will be locations that have had lots of restaurants at them. (If you missed the discussion, here it is.)

It's a little tricky to get the name right. Top Ten Doomed Restaurant Locations sound a little, well, dramatic, doesn't it? And I bet the current restaurant owner is going to love being included, especially if his or her place is doing OK.

Top Ten Restaurants with Former Versions is a little tame. It isn't going to bring in the big numbers for us.

I'm open to suggestions, plus ideas on what restaurant locations should be included and where I should hide from the owners of the current restaurants in those doomed locations. 

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

I know it's not very nice of me, but I've got serious comment envy. My older brother, who lives in Atlanta, sent me a link to the restaurant critic's blog at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and she got 598 comments on one blog entry.

Of course, it is Atlanta, and the entry is on barbecue. And Meredith Ford's blog is a more general food blog rather than mostly about restaurants.  

Most important, we have Crab Week coming up, and I think we can beat 598, especially if I blog about crab cakes.

I also have a treat for you, assuming it comes about. ...

Amanda, who made a wonderful black bottom pie video for us for Sweets Week last August, has agreed to do one on West Coast crab eating. (She's based in LA.)

Now we have to decide which week to designate as Crab Week. I'm leaning toward the weekend before Memorial Day. I'm afraid Memorial Day week everyone will be out playing and will miss it. The first week in June is another possibility. Care to take a vote?

Also, any suggestions for content? 

(Photo courtesy of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

People often ask me why a particular restaurant closed. That's hard to find out for two reasons. First, it's usually difficult to track down anyone to talk to once the place is gone. It's certainly possible, but awfully time consuming.

Second, owners don't necessarily want to tell their stories. There was one restaurant downtown that closed, so the rumor went, because one partner ran off with the other's wife. Or sometimes it's just as simple as that a good chef isn't necessarily a good businessman. 

They certainly don't want to say, "Business was bad because the food wasn't very good, it was overpriced and the service was terrible." 

Of more interest to me is why restaurants don't reopen. I've heard that nobody has bought Peerce's Plantation (pictured) because it comes with so much land. If that's wrong, please correct me.

I drove up Charles Street for many years past the empty Danny's and Chesapeake Restaurant spaces, two enormously successful restaurants in their day, and wondered why no one ever took a chance on them.

I'd like to find out what's happening with current locations like the spot where Edward Kim's Soigne was. If you've heard anything, please let us know. 

 
(Amy Davis/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (33)
        

Well, it's official. Taste will be closing as of tomorrow, April 10.

"We are selling the restaurant and look forward to seeing the new owner bring his own personality and flare to the restaurant," owner Ann Nault said in an e-mail to customers.

She's moving to Charleston and is thinking of opening a wine and tapas bar there.

It's too bad, because the right restaurant could do very well in this location. Belvedere Square's stores bring in the demographic any restaurateur would kill for; Taste just never seemed to satisfy enough of its customers. I've heard numerous complaints about overpriced food and poor service, although my meals there were never that bad.

(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (27)
        

Thanks to Piano Rob for bringing up the issue of Cracker Barrel's stance on homosexuality in a comment under the post on breakfasts. I mentioned the subject as well in one of my road trip posts. I'm guessing the protests finally had an impact because I found the following statement on the company's Web site. It was also posted prominently at the entrance of the restaurant where we had the sugar-free apple pie.

Of course, I know you can say anything you want and don't necessarily do it, but it's a step in the right direction. And, as I said in my note to Rob's comment, I have no idea if our waiter was gay, but he wasn't trying to be a good ole boy either. The manager that day was African-American.

On the other hand, Piano Rob has dug up some more good information and posted it under the breakfast entry, well worth taking a look at. ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

It's hard to keep up with all the information about restaurants on the 'net, but UrbanSpoon.com should help pull some of it together for you. It's a restaurant search site that recently added Baltimore to the cities it covers. Some bloggers who post here are featured on it, so you'll see some familiar names.

Then I got a press release saying BooRah.com has just added the Baltimore-Washington area to its coverage of local restaurant reviews and ratings. (Boo: bad, Rah: good. Get it?) Baltimoreans probably aren't going to be happy that, as with Zagat (at least in its books), the two cities are lumped together; but if you can overlook that, it could be helpful.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

I think one of the Roberts gave me the first heads up on this, but I can't remember which one. Sorry, guys. The April issue of Health magazine rates the 10 most healthful sit-down chain restaurants, the top 5 good-for-you fast food places, and the best independents. (None of these last is anywhere near us.)  Here's the rundown: ...

The most healthful sit-down chains:

1. UNO Chicago Grill

2. Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes 

3. Mimi's Café

4. P.F. Chang's China Bistro

5. Bob Evans

6. Ruby Tuesday

7. Romano's Macaroni Grill

8. Chevy's Fresh Mex

9. Olive Garden

10. Denny's

The best fast food options: 

1. Noodles & Company

2. Chipotle Mexican Grill 

3. Cosi

4. Panera

5. Au Bon Pain 

If you want to know the reasoning behind each of the choices, here's the article, plus the list of the most healthful independents. Frankly, I don't really see it. Every chain and fast food place has something "healthy" on the menu these days. Is UNO really any better than, say, Applebee's, where you can get a tilapia and broccoli meal that contains only 500 or so calories?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

I can't keep up with all the info and good ideas for blog entries that people have been e-mailing me. Here's one that Baltamour blogger Miss J forwarded. It's the Zork, a "patented, alternative wine closure" -- in other words, an anti-cork. Here's a look at it and a glass stopper in "The International Review of Wine Packaging and Aesthetics, Vol. 15: Stopper edition."

On a distantly related note, there's an interesting discussion going on across the way at Consuming Interests about beer in cans vs. beer in glass bottles. I guess it all falls vaguely under the heading of Technology vs. Tradition.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

Faithful reader and frequent poster Lisa received the following e-mail from Birches in Canton, which she passed along to me. She didn't say what she gets for winning the Birches Comfort Food Contest, but I hope at least a free dinner. Or maybe it's just for the honor of having a suggestion chosen. In any case, if you're eating at Birches in the next few days, demonstrate a little Blog Power and order Lisa's cassoulet. ...

Here's the e-mail:

Greetings from Birches Restaurant!  Chef Brian wanted me to let you know that your Comfort Food Suggestion, Cassoulet, will begin running on our menu this evening!  Because we will be out of town, on Monday and Tuesday, and to give you the full 6 night run, we will be running your idea through Monday, April 14!  Tell everyone you know to come to Birches and order your Cassoulet!  The total number of orders to beat is 38!  Good luck and we look forward to seeing you soon!

No, the diners in the photo of Birches aren't eating cassoulet. It was the best I could do in the way of art. 

(Steve Ruark/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

Sometimes you want a high-falutin' brunch, but sometimes you just want to eat at a place where breakfast is the star. Breakfast isn't as much of an Event as brunch, but it's definitely more essential to our well-being -- just as a strong cup of coffee or tea is more essential than a mimosa or a Bloody Mary. (I hope.)

Anyway, if you're looking for brunch places, we've discussed them in a previous post. These are our favorite places for the first meal of the day.

Here's the list: ... 

* Blue Moon Cafe (1621 Aliceanna St., Fells Point, 410-522-3940). Hearty, trucker-style breakfasts in a New Age setting. Known for its enormous cinnamon buns.

* Golden West Cafe in Hampden. Breakfast with a New Mexican accent, like the chorizo burrito. Not to worry, there are also the standards like oatmeal, omelets and pancakes on the menu.

* First Watch in Pikesville. A pleasant and health-oriented alternative to diner breakfasts, says LIVE reviewer Karen Nitkin, who describes it as having a "sunny vibe." On the other hand, azgal gave it the equivalent of a "gack" the other day.

* Jimmy's (801 S. Broadway, Fells Point, 410-327-3273). Many put it in the greasy spoon category, but every list like this should have one Baltimore icon as a fallback position in case egg white omelets and wheat germ muffins aren't your idea of breakfast.

* Miss Shirley's in Roland Park. It's moved to larger quarters, but is still serving a decadent breakfast menu with dishes like chocolate pancakes and omelets stuffed with lump crab and tomatoes.

* Morning Edition (153 N. Patterson Park Ave., Butcher's Hill, 410-732-5133). Only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Expect classic breakfast foods in a charming shabby chic interior and slow service.

* Pete's Grill  (3130 Greenmount Ave., Waverly, 410-467-7698). The owner of Darker Than Blue down the street told me he decided not to serve breakfast because everyone, including him, eats breakfast at Pete's.

* Sanders' Corner near the Loch Raven Reservoir. It has new owners, but there is still breakfast starting at 8 a.m. on the weekend, which can be eaten on the second-floor porch overlooking the reservoir.

* Stone Mill Bakery in Brooklandville. You can get everything from lusciously caloric waffles to a whole wheat egg white wrap. Anything involving bread will probably be excellent. Try to snag a table on the patio if the weather is warm enough.

* XS in Mount Vernon. OK, the combination of breakfast and sushi is odd, but the hours are great; and the breakfast menu is extensive and served all day until close.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (38)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Multimedia Editor and Resident Cheeseburger and Wings Expert John Lindner, knowing I would be frantic my first day back at work, has come through once again. This time he demonstrates why I call him our Resident Cheeseburger Expert, something you may have wondered after his last review of an upscale restaurant in Frederick. ...

"A few weeks ago on a whim, I tried the Cowboy or Rancher or Cattleman or Something Outdoorish burger at (dreaded chain alert) the Greene Turtle in Columbia. I was feeling decadent, so I broke a rule and ordered a burger that had a cutesy name. (Tip: If your burger’s moniker harkens to the bygone West, it has "BBQ" sauce on it and probably bacon. Thought you should know.)

"Thing is, the Cowpoke or Ranchhand or Muleskinner wasn’t bad. It’s kicker topping was ham – a nod, I assumed, to those for whom bacon and BBQ sauce are insufficiently exotic. And you know what? Icky as it sounds, the Sodbuster (or was it Pig Rustler?) tasted surprisingly good. The ham added a mellowing touch: major comfort food cred. To be on the safe side, I turned a fellow bacon cheeseburger junky onto it. He agreed - deelish. So, there.

"What draws me back to Greene Turtle burgers is this: I order medium rare; they deliver, consistently, medium rare. I guess a few years ago some swooner freaked over "The Dangers" of ground beef. Word of the palpitation leaked to our saviors in Nannypolis and when the twin frissons of doom and deliverance subsided in what passes for their spines, the kibosh was on and blood red juiciness was sucked from our short bitter lives; many restaurants stopped serving anything but brown ground and we bumbling serfs were rescued from the perils of trichinosis or scurvy or … But I digress.

"Imagine my astonishment when, more recently, on a GPS adventure, I found T-Bonz Grille & Pub, whose namesake burger just happens to sport ham, bacon, and "BBQ" sauce. Kismet, or what?

"I can’t justify rating T-Bonz’s ambiance; it was noon Saturday and we were the only ones in the place. The door was open, but otherwise the joint looked abandoned. So it skewed empty and a tad cold, like we were interlopers violating an unwritten law about demanding lunch before the sun was properly over the yardarm. Guessing it’s not always thus deserted, I reserve judgment on the atmosphere, except to say it’s got a pub themey thing going. Not entirely sure what the theme might be: We were seated under a photographic depiction of the Olde West, Olde Mining Town, or Olde bikers dressed in period clothes. Draw your own conclusion.

"On service: Stephanie, our wait staff server person, was attentive and apologized for swearing when she broke something in the kitchen. We heard the crash but not the cuss. In all, comfortably adequate for an abandoned tavern.

"Maybe we were the only ones able to find the place. It’s in back of a small strip mall at the confluence of 103 and 104 in Ellicott City -- 4910 Waterloo Road to be precise. Watch for the big blue ALLSTATE sign – it’s easier to spot than the restaurant’s substantial shingle.

"T-Bonz’s dining room lays out booths along the walls with tables up the middle. A glass door allows you to keep an eye on the action in the barroom. They probably smoked in there at one time. Thank God Mother Maryland, in a never-ending quest to save us from ourselves for the sake of a few prissy …. where was I?

"Oh yeah, bacon cheeseburgers.

"Here’s what I like about the T-Bonz burger: It’s charred. Seriously charred. Would I want every burger done thusly? No. But when a kitchen offers any sort of variation on the burger itself, it’s noteworthy. I enjoyed the burger’s distinct taste and texture. T-Bonz also offers Cajun, southwest and a couple other burger variations you’ve seen elsewhere.

"My photographer and I requested and got medium rare burgers. The bacon was thick. I could not taste the ham. I might have seen a bit of it. But it wasn’t overt. Stealth ham?

"Its cheese-to-meat ratio sat comfortably in the acceptable range. Likewise its bun, while prosaic, allowed its contents to dominate, as it should.

"How refreshing: a burger with character, served to spec. To prove T-Bonz isn’t stuck on medium rare. One of our company ordered the burger well done and (I know, tragic) T-Bonz served it well done. Note: We shouldn’t call it well done. We should call it thoroughly done, or done in, or … sorry).

"Bonz also leaves the beaten path with its wings. Rate them above average and decidedly non-sloppy. These are not seven-napkin wings drowned in Tabasco and palmed off as buffalo. For the record: we ordered mild wings.

"Didn’t pay a lot of attention to the fries, which indicates they were acceptable ketchup delivery devices (sorry, Rachel) with little to distinguish them. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

"T-Bonz’s menu also includes typical pub fare, four pizza varieties and a steakhouse menu with steaks, ribs, chicken, four seafood and two pasta dishes AND a kids section AND a Sunday brunch listing that’s served from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Price range: $10 - $20.

"The next step is to return to check out their steaks, the T-Bonz specialty. And maybe get a bead on the theme.

"I’m giving the place three stars on the Pub Scale (four being the highest rating.)

"BTW: There’s a TBonz – no space between the T and the Bonz – that’s part of a 14-restaurant chain in Georgia and the Carolinas. The Ellicott City location doesn’t appear to be a part of that cohort, so those of us who disdain dining in clones can keep kosher in that regard."

(Photo by Bonnie Lindner, otherwise known as "my photographer") 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

 
I finally had a moment to look at yesterday's paper, and I see the photo with the review of Tark's Grill ran in black-and-white, so here it is in living color.

The neighborhood certainly seems to have embraced the place. If it were located downtown, I think it would need more edge to survive; but maybe not. If you've eaten there, let us know what you think.

Obviously I was most impressed by the service, particularly as the place was packed. The line got cut from the review for space reasons, but I originally pointed out that when the waitress told the manager we hadn't liked one of the entrees, even though we hadn't complained, and he took it off the check, it could have affected her tip. She did it anyway.

(Gene Sweeney Jr./Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

In case you weren't reading the blog over the weekend (and if you weren't, please don't tell me), I mentioned that I was in breakfast hell during the trip. In honor of that I planned to do tomorrow's Top Ten Tuesday on places to have breakfast, not brunch, unless anyone had a better idea.

Nobody seemed to object, and in fact I got a couple of suggestions, so that's what we'll do. Please post more suggestions below (and while you're at it, tell us what you like to have when you eat breakfast there). 

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

The last of my reruns:

Good Eater Ed sent me an e-mail...that brought up an excellent point about out-of-towners who come to Baltimore to eat. He calls it the Obrycki Effect. ...

Our sophisticated New York friends...had occasion to come to an event in Baltimore and they insisted on going to the Helmand. This Baltimore stand-by had been written up in the New York Times a few days before, setting up what I call the Obrycki effect: a New Yorker needs to have his out of town experience validated by his home town newspaper and will bypass truly outstanding local restaurants in favor of ones that have been mentioned in the Times. As it turned out, the Helmand served us a very good meal. I loved the vanilla ice cream with figs. My only complaint was the fast pace of the service. One felt processed rather than coddled.

I've seen plenty of examples of the Obrycki Effect over the years. Nothing against Obrycki's, but for years it seemed as if there were no other crab houses in town, judging from what tourists knew about us.

And much as I like the Helmand, the idea of coming from New York to eat there seems strange. Are there no Afghan restaurants in the Big Apple?

The picture above was obviously (I hope) taken at the Helmand, not Obrycki's.

(George Holsey/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

I know several of you have asked why a reviewer is ever "away on vacation." Why don't I just do another review in advance and publish it while I'm away? (One of the Roberts first brought this up in a comment last July, so for some of you I'm repeating myself.)

I'm sure that works well for people who are restaurant critics and nothing else, and that's what I did many years ago when I was a freelancer. But my situation is different now. ...

Before I started this blog I had a full-time job for The Sun writing one review a week (and a review is not something I knock out in an hour), reporting and writing the Table Talk column, reporting and writing lifestyle and food stories you probably never noticed my byline on, as well as bits and pieces like "Store Openings." Not to mention getting art for all these things. I actually like doing the non-food writing because it keeps me from getting stale.

My workload increased enormously with the blog. Besides writing three or four posts a day, including weekends, and finding and uploading art for it, I have to deal each week with the hundreds of comments and hundreds of e-mails it generates, both from readers and PR people. While I'm writing fewer lifestyle stories these days, that in no way makes up for the extra workload. I'm not complaining. I love doing the blog.

Add to that the extra work I did for the blog to get ready for the week off, and I was wiped out by the time I was ready to go on vacation. If I had tried to fit in another review, I would have lost another evening to work. (Yes, eating out for the paper is work, although usually pleasant work.) I'm not sure when I would have done the writing except the weekend before.

When you do that, the vacation isn't really a vacation. It's just comp time.

Finally, there's the burn-out factor. I need time off from writing descriptions of meals I've eaten. You'll notice that in the blog entries I did on the trip I may have written about food, but I didn't describe the specific meals we ate. That was deliberate. I needed a vacation.

Here is my answer to his suggestion that I use a guest reviewer, by the way. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

 
...over my third cup of Twining's Irish Breakfast Tea, freshly brewed from loose tea leaves. Home at last.

Taking a look at the map to the left, I realize that as much territory as we covered this week, we still have a lot of traveling to do.

Here are some other wrap-up thoughts: ... 

* There aren't enough Japanese internet cafes that sell sushi on the major routes cross country.

* A cross-country car trip is like a backpacking expedition, only you're more tired and sore at the end of the day.

* In St. Louis (actually Troy, a suburb), we went to a restaurant recommended by a local where the food was so inedible we had to go to a Cracker Barrel for dessert. For some reason my daughter ordered the sugar-free apple pie. It was excellent, and I usually don't like anything that's sugar-free except things that are supposed to be sugar-free.

Is Cracker Barrel trying to be more PC? Not only was there a sign to that effect, but the wait staff was more diverse than usual.

* The map is not the territory. Something I had forgotten from my canoe camping days. I shouldn't have panicked when the TripTik told us that the distance between Newberry Springs and Needles, Calif. was 205 miles with no services. It was actually 124 miles with services. Google Maps said our distance on I-44 was 377 miles when it turned out to be 277 miles, and had us taking a B exit instead of an A that would have headed us toward Memphis instead of St. Louis.

* Gailor's Deep Thought During Trip: I wonder if other people are picking up our license plate for their game?

* Signs to ponder:

"Damaged guardrail" (What good does it do us to know? We saw three of these.)

"Do not drive into smoke" (We saw two of these.)

"Oklahoma: The electric guitar was invented in our great state"

"Hit a worker $10,000 fine 14 years in jail" (Shouldn't that be "Don't hit a worker or"?)

* Two more names to add to the bad restaurant names list: Feed Lot Steakhouse and the Steak Out.

* One good reason for raising an athlete: She can drive with her knees going 70 mph on I-70 while french braiding her hair without running off the road.

* Surprisingly, this trip was right up there with the Italy trip, in spite of the psychological stress of the move (supposedly, I've read, as stressful as the death of a spouse, or maybe it was a divorce, although this one was as stressful as the death of a spouse), the strained leg muscle so I couldn't walk for several days, and the mother of all head colds.

(Photos taken by me through the front windshield) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Well, surprise. I've been on vacation so there isn't a review for next week. However, if you've been someplace good lately, feel free to tell us about it below. (Hey, if you've been somewhere bad or even just mediocre, we'll listen.)

To get things started, here's a review of Peter's Inn in Fells Point that ex-deskmate Steve Kiehl sent me. The only art for Peter's I could come up with is to the left. Mmmm, maybe time for a real review. (Sorry, Steve.) : ... 

"I went with a few friends to Peter's in Fells Point the other night -- my first visit to this cozy, casual restaurant, and I can't wait to go back. One of the best items on the menu, some kind of Australian lamb chops, were sold out by the time we arrived, but I had a fantastic duck leg confit risotto with Italian sausage (very reasonably priced around $15, as most of the entrees were) and my friends both had -- and loved -- the New York strip.

"I'm not usually a dessert person, but the chocolate pot de creme looked irresistible, and for good reason. The chocolate was soft and rich, with some whipped cream on top, and of course fresh strawberries to dip. All in all, a fantastic place, with the right atmosphere, the right prices and a real attention to the food."

(Christopher T. Assaf/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Review Preview
        

Waiters sometimes added a few dollars to the tip her boss had written in on the credit card slip.

When you think about it, the system is easy to abuse. The servers are the ones who type in their tip to the credit card company after you've signed off on it. Her boss let the discrepancies slide; the amounts were small enough that he didn't want to bother about them.

Before she told me about this, I didn't always check my statement against the receipts as carefully as I should have. Now I do. I don't know whether servers are more  honest in Baltimore (I like to think so) or they just haven't thought of this particular scam yet; but so far it hasn't happened to me. Still, it doesn't hurt to keep checking.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

The worst thing about this trip is that I'm in breakfast hell. In Bastow, Calif., our first night's stop, we stayed in a Holiday Inn Express, a hotel chain that offers free breakfast. The breakfast was the reason I joined its Priority Club and the reason we've stayed at one ever since, ever less hopeful. ...

The Barstow breakfast offered three kinds of fresh fruit, teeny Yoplait yogurts, skim milk as well as 2 percent, English muffins and bagels, hot cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, link sausages, biscuits and gravy, six varieties of Bigelow tea. I assumed that was the standard.

Since then, breakfast has devolved, to the point where, early one morning at an understaffed HIE near Oklahoma City, I saw the teen-aged night manager putting out the breakfast and realized he probably wasn't making those little omelets individually in the "pantry," or frying up the sausage patties.

The fresh fruit has become little containers of canned fruit cocktail or overripe bananas, the yogurts off-brand, the butter "buttery spread" and at one point ALL the tea bags were decaffeinated. Yes, we could get in the car and eat along the road, but somehow we never do.

There is no other meal that means as much to me. In fact, I'm so ready to be home for breakfast I may have to do a Top Ten this Tuesday on breakfast (not brunch) places, unless you have a better idea.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

I can't remember whether Rosebud posted this as a comment or sent me an e-mail, but I saved it because I thought it would be a good topic for discussion. This is NOT the place to tell us about your favorite pizzeria. Today's topic is pizza delivery, and whether you've found any delivery pizza that's edible.

Final Four weekend, baby. ...

We got a flyer on our door for Mickey's Pizza on Belair Road a few months ago and decided to try the place for delivery.  We've called them again several times since.  

The pizza arrived piping hot (we're about 4 miles west of them along Frankford/Belevedere and it was COLD outside), so we were impressed from the start.  I thought the crust was really good and really held its own with the many toppings my hubby ordered.  I hate a soggy crust and was surprised that this crust was crispy without being hard.  

I also liked their take on one of my most beloved comfort foods - hot roast beef sandwich with french fries all covered in gravy.  On a cold, dreary night, this really hit the spot, especially since it was loaded with beef.

So, our new favorite pizza that also delivers to our house is now Mickey's.

(Photo by Bob Fila/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

Hair today

I just had an odd experience.

I decided to treat myself to a nice ladies luncheon today, so I went to an expensive little cafe, which shall remain nameless (you'll see why in a minute).

I ordered myself a curried chicken salad sandwich on sourdough at the counter and found a seat at the last remaining table on the patio.

When the sandwich finally came, it had a long dark hair on one side. (Not mine.) I got up to take the sandwich back inside -- the waitress had scurried away -- took four steps and realized I was so hungry I didn't want to wait. I would just discard the hair and eat the sandwich.

Of course, when I opened it to put some back of the curried chicken salad that had fallen out, there was another black hair curling among the chicken and grapes. I have a pretty strong stomach, but that did it for me. I took the sandwich inside.

The guy behind the counter couldn't have been nicer. But there was no more sourdough. (I went for the rustic white second time round.)

The waitress brought the new sandwich quickly, and a shortbread cookie as well, which I thought was nice but a little chintzy considering the original sandwich cost me $10.95.

I checked -- no hair -- and I was eating away when the two women at the table next to me started talking about an awful friend of theirs.

When she went to restaurants, one of them said, "She's as picky as Elizabeth Large."

I wanted to stand up and say, "Wait a minute, they pay me to be picky" or "Picky? What do you mean picky? I almost ate the sandwich in spite of the first hair." But I didn't.

I only managed half my sandwich when a young woman came out and asked how the second sandwich was.

"Hairless."

OK, not very gracious of me. But she smiled and presented me with a gift certificate for $15 (no, she didn't know who I was) and a very gracious apology.

I'm always impressed when restaurants try to make up for their mistakes rather than get belligerent or defensive (although I also know some customers take advantage). It's amazing the goodwill it produces. If she hadn't been so nice I'd probably be writing this entry and naming the place.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

What is a typical day like for the two of us, you're probably asking yourself. I know you are.

Here's sort of how it goes:

10:30 a.m.: Discuss where we're going to have dinner. ...

...For instance, my daughter's list is:

1) Anywhere that involves stopping.

2) Chinese food with big dumplings would be awesome.

3) Let's have one meal some place that doesn't have a children's menu.

10:53 a.m.: Compare states. For instance, why is Missouri the only state that has either an "adult store" or an "adult video store" at every exit on I-44? While New Mexico has green chile.

"Who knew New Mexico had value?" Gailor says. "I'm still not sure about Missouri. I'm not into the adult porn scene."

11:01 a.m.: Spot second Alaska !!!!!

11:02 a.m.: Listen to Jeff Buckley's cover of "Hallelujah."

11:08 a.m.: Discuss meaning of religious imagery in lyrics. 

11:15 a.m.: Argue over whether two-reason rule for stopping is unfair. That is, there have to be two valid reasons and you can't make up one just because you need a pit stop. 

11:23 a.m.: Eat Saltines from yesterday's soup.

11:28 a.m.: Practice beginning Spanish with Pimsleur language CD. 

11:58 a.m.: Exit I-44 for a stop at Price Cutter for Cold-eeze, more tissues, more Advil, own personal saline nasal spray in response to incipient sore throat. 

12:30 p.m.: Debate whether it's fair to blame one person for giving another person her cold. 

12:38 p.m.: Discuss which is a more fatal flaw in a traveling companion: One who stays in the fast lane because switching back and forth is time- and gas-consuming or one who can't stop at the next exit because the one after it might have a better place to have lunch so you end up eating lunch at 3 p.m.

12:46 p.m.: Discuss whether you can say you've really had a cross-country America trip without stopping at least once at a DQ, a Waffle House, and a Cracker Barrel. Argue heatedly over whether Waffle House serves butter or margarine, and whether that is a valid deal breaker. 

1:02 p.m.: Discuss the intentional fallacy and why it is no longer in vogue in literary criticism. Ha ha just kidding. Just wanted to see if you're still awake.

 
(Photo of the St. Louis arch rising into the mists on a rainy day -- incredibly more cool than you can imagine from pictures -- taken out of a moving car window and photo of barbecue place by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

I want to dispel the whole notion that you can go to a town and instead of eating at the obvious touristy places, you can ask the locals where they eat -- and they'll tell you. I mean, I like to think that's true, but let's get realistic.

What would happen if you stopped a man in the street in Baltimore and asked him where would be a good place to try local food? I shudder to think. Of course, you could always luck out; but what are the odds?

If you don't believe me, take a look at the restaurants voted "Most Popular" in the 2008 Zagat Survey. The No. 1 choice is Clyde's. A place like Samos doesn't show up until No. 27. 

Disclaimer: Nothing against Clyde's. Because it's my mother-in-law's favorite restaurant in Washington, I eat there more than you might think. 

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

People still ask me how I choose which restaurants to review in which order, so this seems like a good entry to repeat. It's also worthy of note because the one comment posted beneath it (here's the link) must be the longest non sequitor ever posted on this blog, and we've had some doozies. ...

Why do I go where I go?

In his comment yesterday, Robert [this was before the Roberts had differentiated themselves] raised a very good question, about why I would review two Italian places with the Big Kahuna in between. 

Here's how my thinking went.

My first priority is always new restaurants, even if they are all of the same type (that says something about trends in itself) and even if they are in the same area.

If I don't have a new restaurant to do immediately, I try to be diverse: geographically (which for some reason is always difficult when it comes to north of the city), type of cuisine, casual vs. formal.

I wanted to see what was happening to Paolo's after the one in Harborplace closed, and I wanted to get to the Big Kahuna because this time of year people are always interested in Inner Harbor places to eat, and it's the restaurant that replaced Paolo's. I had actually let Pazza Luna wait longer than I wanted to (it opened a few months ago), but  I had had a lot of new places to visit or places that had major changes or new ownership like Brightons.

It's not exactly scientific, but I hope I  get around to the restaurant you're interested in -- and sooner rather than later.

Suggestions welcome.

(Photo of Big Kahuna by Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Your restaurant critic, always on the alert for new places to tell you about, had lunch in the Vega, Tex. (pop.: 936) Dairy Queen yesterday.

We had foolishly passed up two Stuckey's and a Subway, and it was getting onto 3 p.m.

I don't eat in a lot of DQs (I thought they still only sold ice cream) so I wasn't prepared for the Hungr Buster [note to editor: do not insert an e here], which was the smallest burger choice.

 Is it only because we were in Texas that...

...it was the size of a salad plate? Anyway, normally this baby is $2.39; but Wednesday in Vega is 99 cent burger day! The place was packed. Our total check was $3.60.

Yesterday was also a three-state day, and when we hit Oklahoma it started to rain. Unfortunately my daughter, a reluctant meat eater at best, spent the rest of her afternoon seeing her lunch gamboling on the lush green fields. She had a vegetable platter at the Texas Roadhouse (I wonder why they don't call it the Oklahoma Roadhouse) outside of Oklahoma City last night.

The road trip has taken a startling turn. I was wrong about what it was going to be like. This is the first day I'm able to walk, and my daughter still hasn't shaken her cold, so we're happiest just getting the miles under our belts and then falling into bed at night. I think we may cut out a couple of hundred miles today by heading to St. Louis, Mo., rather than continuing on to Tennessee. We're having more fun than I thought we would, but also we want to be home.

I brought all the wrong things, which is saying something considering I brought almost nothing. I haven't opened a book, don't need the headphones, never consider playing the DVD. The black pants that roll up in a ball and ballet slippers for one nice dinner at a good restaurant are untouched: If it involves getting back in the car, even for the most fabulous meal in the universe, we aren't interested after the all-day drive.

However, Hal, we are doing the Spanish tapes every day.

Sign on entering Texas: Drive Friendly -- the Texas Way

Gailor: Drive Slowly and Shoot People -- the California Way

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

 
How are people feeling about dress codes in restaurants these days? I've gotten to the point where I usually don't have the energy to dress up when I go out to dinner, but at the same time I'm always surprised to see customers at places like Ruth's Chris in shorts and baseball caps.

There is something very pleasant about being surrounded by a lot of adults dressed somewhat formally when you're spending a lot of  money on dinner.

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (65)
        

here is a fun game I play with my sister when one or both of us is traveling:

Guess the price.  Person reads (or types) description of food on menu, and you have to guess the price.  Minibar is always fun, but we do it with regular menu food too.  Tests your sense of the economy of a geographic place, factoring into that the kind of place it is within that place, plus one's sense of what things should cost based upon ingredients and preparation.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Bob DoubleU suggested a thread on restaurant bathrooms. I thought it was a great idea -- so great, in fact, that I did it last May and didn't even realize it until I was looking for his comment and came upon Regina's and Eric's comments under the original post.

I know more of you have interesting things to say about great and not-so-great restaurant bathrooms now.

And aren't you proud of me for finding appropriate art? 

Anyway, here's the original post, and here's the link if you want to see Regina's and Eric's comments: ... 

Restaurant rest rooms

Writing about rest rooms at length isn't something I really want to do in a review. It somehow doesn't seem appropriate. But occasionally a well-designed rest room is the most interesting if not the most important part of a restaurant's decor. (Think I'm kidding? Check out the new Lebanese Taverna's unisex bathroom.)

Last night I ate at the oZ. Chophouse in Maple Lawn. The interior is pretty much what you'd expect in a suburban steak house where people are eating $30 steaks in their shorts and flip flops but
the ladies room surprised me. Its contemporary decor is luxurious, handsome and quite soothing. The double sink is formed by a large wave in the middle, with smooth round pebbles laid (loose) in each side, so it looks very Japanese. As you wash your hands and the water runs over the stones you could do a Zen meditation. The paper towels are so high quality they're practically cloth. The toilets have their own little rooms.

Everything is automatic. Not just the toilets and the water, but the soap dispenser and even the trash can, which whirs and then pops open invitingly when you get near it.

More about the food later.

Here's the caption info for the photo: 92Q radio's Sonjay DeCaires (left) and LaToya Dixson aren't letting the televisions in the bathroom at Ray Lewis' new restaurant, Full Moon Bar-B-Que, distract them.

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

This comment from Rosebud struck me as ominous:

Where is OMG, anyway.  There hasn't been a peep from him for a day or two.  And our porky friend has been quiet, too. 

I, too, had been wondering. Then TerrierMom made this comment that really made me feel bad: ... 

I think things took an ugly turn when you let someone take a hateful personal attack on someone recently. I think people might be reluctant to post if someone is going to write hateful slanders against them as if they were in a Battlestar Galactica site populated by tweeners. I personally am reluctant to reveal anything personal and that level of self-censoring is not fun. I will still occasionally view, but posting is not cool for me now. Not gonna happen.

I haven't heard back from her which comment that was. I don't know if it was one that I published right after I had warned someone about another one, and a commenter I respect had said I overreacted. I also have been publishing so many comments lately, I skimmed it and just thought it was someone trying to be funny and not succeeding. It wasn't till I went back and reread it that I realized its viciousness, and I killed it out.

This blog is still a learning process for me. I don't like censorship, and I don't want to be overly sensitive. But I want people to feel free to express themselves without fear of personal attack. If you see any comments that you think are out of line, please let me know immediately. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Commenting
        

It’s bothered me for a long time. Days. On and off. Perhaps publication in an otherwise reputable blog will scrub it from my brain radio playlist forever.

De gustibus non est disputandum.

There is no disputing about taste.

After ponderous sessions of shallow thought, mostly while driving, I have arrived at the following unique and satisfactory conclusion:

My dimpled clavicle!* That’s all we do about taste: Dispute.

I defy any and all to offer a single issue of taste that I cannot dispute, or, if  I am tired, cannot find someone to dispute in my place.

I mean, if you go for that kind of thing. Some people don’t.

*Note: the exclamation point in use in this vignette is perfectly valid!

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

...Or How I Ended Up Eating Dinner at the St. Clair Winery & Bistro in Albuquerque, New Mex. at 9 at Night.

We were headed for Sadie's, a place recommended by a friend, when we had to get off 40 E because of an accident.

At the same time we realized that New Mexico, unlike Arizona (love Arizona), made the early switch to Daylight Savings Time, and it was so late restaurants might start closing.

Have I told you how much I also love...

...green chile? My dinner involved slices draped over chicken, plus cheese and cream sauce.

In New Mexico, I hear, you can get green chile on your Big Mac at McDonald's. I wonder why it's such a local phenomenon and hasn't really spread East yet? And I wonder why New Mexico has developed its own regional cuisine that even has a Wikipedia entry while most of the states around it haven't.

The bistro's wine list reminded me that Gruet, my cooking wine (faithful readers will remember that I sip it while I'm cooking, not that I dump it in the stew), is a local product. But the winery doesn't open until 10 a.m., so it's not practical to visit it this trip.

Anyway, as unlikely as it seems, here we are in Albuquerque. What's more impressive is that my daughter drove all the whole grueling way (about 11 hours driving time) to let my body heal from the move.

Yesterday she called me a human vegetable.

However, 11 hours of Audio Visions on XM Radio has at least lowered my stress levels. Audio Visions is what you turn on when you want to tell your passenger that the gas gauge has been on empty for the past 15 minutes and you're somewhere in the Mojave Desert between Newbury Springs and Needles.

We have sunk so low as to be playing the license plate game.  

Billboard of the Day (in its entirety in the middle of nowhere): FreshJerky.com

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Your job is to fill in the sentence. For instance, I have a bad case of food envy. Everybody else's food at a restaurant always looks better than mine.

My father used to be able to leave the last bite on his plate of something he really loved just because he was full. He was not a foodie.

Do you hide the last piece of pecan pie in the back of the fridge although you love your significant other more than life itself? You're a foodie.

You get the idea.

(Photo of Golden Naroto appetizer at Sushi Hana in Mount Washington by Algerina Perna)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

So, here we are in Barstow.

As my daughter said to me this morning, "There's an important element of this trip we have to remember, Mom. It's cross country. Going 114 miles every day just isn't going to cut it." 

That would be Barstow, Calif.

Thanks to my younger brother for delivering me my best straight line of the trip: 

He called us on the road at around 7 last night and asked where we were.

"I'm not sure," I said. "Let me check. Mmmm. Sunset and Highland."

Oh yeah, food. I told my daughter I asked one thing of our dinner stop: alcohol. I knew only a glass of wine would put me out enough to make it possible to sleep in the car after two days of moving. Imagine the most uncomfortable plane seat you've ever been on, only with your carry on and your seat mate's carry on under your feet instead of under the seat in front of you. I've never slept tailor-fashioned for two hours before.

Amazingly, she found a cute little Japanese restaurant in a strip shopping center in the middle of nowhere. I almost bit the waitress's hand because she took so long putting the glass of wine down on the table, but it turned out that the miso soup was actually more restorative.

Things are looking up. My daughter is outside repacking the car (I refuse to drive until we can see out the rear window) and after 40 minutes of stretching I can walk again.  

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

Michael A. Gray came up with a great list of possible April Food Top Tens, all of which I think we ought to talk about. Maybe we can't come up with 10 in each category, but surely we can do some in each. Here are his suggestions:

Yes indeed, El, make it an April Fool top ten. Will it be foods that look or taste like something else? Ethnic dishes that are toned down to suit western tastes? How about servers who suggest the most expensive special on the menu without mentioning the price? More fool, you. Or even a Fool's Paradise, restaurants that fool you by being better than you'd ever expect? Like most of your growing gustatory gallery, I look forward to the surprise. ...

To get things started I'll suggest:

a) I think he means trompe l'oeil foods like meringue mushrooms, but I'm going to tell you about  something I saw on the 'net when I was looking for food jokes. Make Jell-O with unsweetened gelatin, red food coloring and water and serve it at a party. See how people react. (Apparently even though it doesn't taste like anything, people go nuts.)

b) Hot and sour soup at just about any Chinese restaurant.

c) I haven't had this happen lately, but the waiter at Micho's in Reisterstown did tell us how reasonable the wine list was and then suggested a $115 bottle of wine.

d) This was definitely true of the Chameleon Cafe in Lauraville when it first opened, although I think everyone's on to it  now. 

(Michelle Gienow/Special to the Sun)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Disclaimer: This is for amusement purposes only. Please don't write me that I've been unfair to your favorite restaurant, We're just funning here, folks.

Matt Hudock made it easy for me this week.

The dreadful name [he was talking about Victoria Gastro Pub] gives me an idea.  I notice that April 1 is on a Tuesday.  How about worst restaurant names?

I need easy when I'm on vacation, so I've been collecting names since he suggested it. Nos. 2, 3, and 4 were sent to me by Midnight Sun Sam. (Thank you, Sam.) If any of you has anything to tell us about them as places to eat, which of course is the important thing, go for it. ...

* Blow Fly Inn in Gulfport, Miss. Well, nobody said it had to be local, and this one is too good to pass up. If you weren't a reader of this blog early on, it's well worth going back through the link, not to mention its link to a comment from Stan Modjesky on the Burnt Wood Roadhouse. I wonder what happened to him.

* Burger Go-Go, 253 S Broadway, 410-675-2562

* Chicken Steak & Chocolate Cake, 5716 York Road, Baltimore, don't have a number

* Eat Must Be First, 600 W Lexington St, 410-625-1010

* Kamikazis, a Japanese restaurant that was in the Belvedere, now defunct. As I said in my review: "OK, I agree Kamikazis isn't the greatest name for a new restaurant, given the large proportion of new restaurants that crash and burn. But it does suggest that this is not your typical Japanese steakhouse."

* oZ. Chophouse in Maple Lawn. This is one of those names that you just look at, shake your head, and hope you won't have to pronounce it when you ask someone to meet you there. Try "oh-zee," but don't ask me why the "o" is small and the "Z" is capitalized. In its defense, every steakhouse need something to set it apart, and oZ.'s is that it sells its meat by the ounce. Get it?

* Pei Wei Diner Let me say first that, as chains go, this is a very good one. But it's not even remotely a diner, it's a pan-Asian restaurant and carry out. A cursory search doesn't tell me what "pei wei" means (any of you know?), but it sounds funky. Pay way too much? Or something vaguely urological? They could do better.

* Potbelly. No matter how good your sandwiches are, do you really want people to think about what they might look like if they eat too many of them?

* Three... in Patterson Park. This has nothing to do with the quality of the food. You simply can't have a name people can't Google to find your Web site, and therefore your address and phone number. Not to mention those three dots... Luckily you have me to link for you.

* Victoria Gastro Pub. This poor restaurant has taken enough ribbing from me. In fact, I think it's what inspired Matt's idea. Maybe I'll just link to an earlier post.

(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (58)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays