For some reason this seems to be the "best of" season. At least I've just gotten three examples, which as you know, makes it a trend. First, the new Zagat survey came out. Then Baltimore magazine's August issue features  "The Best of Baltimore," which always includes a lot of food. Finally, AOL CityGuide sent me notice of its Best of Everywhere, which includes Best of Baltimore.

The funny thing is how much the three diverged. ... 

We all know that Best ofs are meaningless but fun (excepting, of course, Top Ten Tuesday, which is meticulously researched by my crack staff of experts, all of us using the scientific method). But this is ridiculous.

I went immediately to the fine dining category, and these were City Guide's top 10, supposedly voted on by just regular folks, as are the Zagat picks:

1) Brass Elephant, 2) Pisces, 3) Kali's Court, 4) Bicycle, 5) Aldo's, 6) Ixia, 7) Abacrombie, 8) Cinghiale, 9) Brasserie Tatin, and 10) Brighton's Orangerie.

Nothing against these restaurants, but wouldn't you think Charleston would at least make the top 10? Note that it was No. 1 for the Zagat voters in several categories.

Here were the No. 1's in various categories, some of which make sense, some of which don't: 

Best Restaurant
Tio Pepe Restaurante 

Best Bar
Mothers Federal Hill Grille 

Best Barbecue
Corner Stable  

Best Beer
Max's On Broadway  

Best Breakfast
Shea's Pancake & Waffle House 

Best Brunch
Hull Street Blues Café  

Best Burgers
Five Guys Famous Burgers  

Best Cheap Eats
Papermoon Diner  

Best Chinese Restaurant
Bamboo House  

Best Cocktails
Cosmopolitan Bar & Grill 

Best Crab Cakes
Koco's Pub 

Best Date Spot
Pazo

Best Dessert
Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop  

Best Dive Bar
Pickles Pub  

Best Family Friendly Restaurant
Rainforest Café

Best Fine Dining
Brass Elephant

Best Happy Hour
Crazy Lil's  

Best Inner Harbor Restaurant
Mo's Crab & Pasta  

Best Irish Bar
An Poitin Stil  

Best Italian Restaurant
Sabatino's  

Best Late Night Dining
Sip & Bite  

Best Mexican Restaurant
El Salto 

Best Pizza
Matthew's Pizzeria 

Best Romantic Restaurant
Melting Pot  

Best Seafood
Gunning's  

Best Singles Scene
Bay Café  

Best Sports Bar
Padonia Station 

Best Steak House
Ruth's Chris  

Best Sushi
Chiu's Sushi 

Best Vegetarian
Flying Avocado Cafe

Your restaurant critic tried to find out more for you about how the poll worked. Here's the best I could do, from the CityGuide editor in chief, James Fletcher:

Each year we look at thousands of potential nominees for City's Best and whittle the list down based on the insights of our team of editors and writers around the country. Consumer feedback and opinions are another important factor that we take into consideration when selecting our final list of nominees. Ultimately, it was the real experts -- local consumers who frequent these establishments -- who selected the winners.

But best seafood restaurant...Gunning's?



 

 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

Whether you believe in tipping 15 percent for normal service or 20 percent is, I believe, up to you. And most of us agree that bad servers should get less and good servers more. But sometimes the situation is more ambiguous.

I was reminded of this the other night when Gailor and I stopped in at a neighborhood spot to get a quick bite. It was early and not crowded, and we got pretty good service from a nice waitress throughout the actual meal. ... 

We weren't exactly big spenders: I had a glass of sangria, and we each had a cup of gazpacho and split an individual vegetarian pizza. On the other hand, we were absolutely no trouble. I don't think we made any special requests.

All was well until we wanted the check. It was a long time coming, and when it did come, it was someone else's, someone who had spent about $20 more than we had. By the time we realized it, our waitress was no longer in sight. When she didn't reappear, we started to get antsy. Eventually Gailor got up and took the check inside. (We were on the patio.)

Our check arrived, only instead of a $5 charge for a glass of sangria, there was a $7.50 charge for a "specialty cocktail." The waitress thought that was also the charge for the sangria, but she went back to check and must have gotten caught up in something else.

Eventually we got the right bill, but by that time Gailor and I had been there longer than we wanted to and were feeling frustrated about the avoidable mistakes that had held us up.

I ended up tipping just 15 percent, but I felt sort of guilty because she had been nice and dinner had been good. On the other hand, Gailor and I were both a little grumpy about the whole thing and tipping more didn't seem right either. Sometimes what to tip just isn't clearcut.

Would you have shrugged it off and given her more, especially as it wasn't a very big check, or felt she needed to remember to be more careful next time and therefore given her less?

The photo of white sangria has absolutely nothing to do with this story except it's pretty -- and I was drinking white sangria. I don't want to identify the restaurant but I felt like having some art.

Also I wouldn't mind having a glass with lunch. 

(Mike Ransdell/Kansas City Star/MCT)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (79)
Categories: Tipping
        

Owl Meat still seems to be off in his aerie (do owls have aeries?), brooding over philosophical questions and the faltering economy, and not in the mood to play games. Of course, I never give up on Funtastic Thursday until the stroke of, well, I don't think I'll admit publicly just what time I crawl into bed. But there is still time, in other words.

However, Susan WNAJ, has stepped into the breach with some quizzes for us in case he doesn't make an appearance.

Here are the links. ...
 

Company mascots

Company logos 

Spot the fake product

 
Please report your scores and any comments you want to make here. And remember, no one likes a cheater.
 

(Karl Merton Ferron/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

So far I haven't come up with a topic for next Tuesday's Top Ten that seems to appeal. I haven't even gotten much in the way of suggestions. Last week's post about next Tuesday's Top Ten had five comments.

I get more comments than that if I say, "Cauliflower. Discuss." However, one of them was LJ's referencing someone's "recent happy hour food idea."  I just can't find the comment she was referring to.

So, what about best happy hour food for next Tuesday's Top Ten? Or happy hour food deals? Any suggestions for the list? 

(Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

I've shared my relief with you that The Sun didn't lose Midnight Sun Sam, and I'm secretly delighted that my grammar guru John McIntyre will still be around to harass me about using the word "upcoming," which is outlawed here. This outrages me so much I always try to slip it into my copy. (A former editor thought it sounded too much like "upchuck.")

But what I haven't told you is that Multimedia Editor Extraordinaire and Resident Cheeseburger, Wings, Crab Balls and Soon-to-Be-Cheese Expert John Lindner has decided to take the buyout and has to vacate the premises by this Friday. Besides writing Shallow Thought Wednesday, he is also the man with the tiny initials, jl, who comments frequently and insightfully.

I'm extremely unhappy about his leaving. I tried to talk him out of it, saying that he could write blog entries for me twice a week if he stayed; but for some reason that didn't convince him.

I knew it was bad when he came into work in a Hawaiian shirt one day, before he even told me he was going. 

John promised me he will continue to contribute Shallow Thought Wednesdays, but that was before he got a nice new job last week. (Tell me again why I didn't go into information technology instead of journalism?) And he's even talking about starting a blog of his own. More about that later.

Will he still have time for us?

Anyway, here's his perhaps last Shallow Thought Wednesday. Or not. ... 

Disenchanting meal and lackluster service aside, however, some good presented itself: rocks in the men's room sink.

Planning to scribble a brief review on the inside of a stall, I walked through the door marked "M" – just opposite the one marked "W" – assuming the "M" stood for Men or Male or Masculine and not Mothers, Madams, or Matrons.

Now, I like a clean restroom as much as anyone, especially in restaurants. But this guy was so nice it stopped me. I stood there stunned as the door closed silently behind me. I thought I'd misread the letter and mistakenly sauntered into the women's loo. The place was warm, inviting, relaxing, soothing, well appointed, alluringly lighted. It was so nice I held my breath waiting for the scream. I didn't exhale till I spied the vertical mint receptacle.

They'd carefully placed rocks in the sink. Rocks! In the sink! And I'll tell you, they looked a lot more real than the obviously phony and clownishly gargantuan tree planted in the dining room. But I was afraid to touch them. What if some budding artist had spent weeks arranging them to make it look like they hadn't been arranged and I clumsily knocked one out of place?

In any case, I don't get it. Was I supposed to think I was washing my hands in a secluded brook, an estuary, stream, race, rill, rivulet or some other potamic flow?

In the end, the impression I was left with was that I had visited an upscale restroom with an afterthought eatery attached. I should have carved my review into the freakishly bucolic fence rails (don't believe me! check it out for yourself!), but I was traumatized by a geologic gestalt assault and hadn't the presence of mind to whip out my pen knife save in self defense.

Have I missed a trend?"

(Photo by John)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

I got an e-mail from someone who had a terrible experience during Restaurant Week. I won't go into the details, but the upshot was that the staff seemed unhappy to have her and her friend there because they were ordering the prix fixe meal, and ended up adding a 19 percent tip to the bill. If she feels like telling you more about her experience, she can do so below.

It mystifies me, though, why any place would participate in Restaurant Week and then not make it as pleasant an experience as possible for the customers who take them up on the deal. Are these places being shamed into taking part? It certainly seems pointless if diners walk out saying, "Well, I'll certainly never eat there again." ...

I thought it might be interesting to hear from folks who are eating out for Restaurant Week, not just about the food but also about the attitude of the wait staff. Have you been made to feel like a second-class citizen? If so, was it worth it because you got a great deal on the meal? (With all these horror stories -- and, of course, conversely with a post from a restaurateur like the one about split checks -- I hope everyone remembers we're only hearing one side of the story.)

Or have you found that some of the most important restaurants in the city seem to be glad to see you and treat you just as well as if you were a big spender? 

I'm using a photo of the Wine Market because Jim reported that the service was "terrific" when he ate there for Restaurant Week this week.

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (63)
        

Regular poster Kristin B. asks your help (better you than me; I'm looking forward to what people suggest):

I have a question for the sandboxers!

A good friend from grad school, who I haven't seen in about 3-4 years, is in DC on business, and she and her partner (who I've never met) are going to come to Baltimore for dinner Friday night.  I need to pick a restaurant.  The guidelines:

• They're both "vegetarians" who eat seafood (would that be "fishetarians"?) and have pretty adventurous palates.  
• I would guess that about $40-$50 a head might be our max. (so, alas, no Black Olive, unless Restaurant Week works in our favor, see below)
• Restaurant Week (pros and cons - it complicates the question, especially on a Friday night)
• Neither of them have spent any time in Baltimore, and I'd love to show off the city
  

I've reviewed the Top 10 Places with a Water View, Top 10 Places to Take Tourists, etc., but I'm not coming up with the one answer I need.  I have one shot at making Baltimore shine.  Where do I take them?

Thanks!
 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Federal Hill Jim just alerted me to the fact that the parent company of Bennigan's and Steak & Ale filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy today, which means the chains will liquidate and not reopen. Some 300 locations closed and thousands of employees were laid off.

(Photo by Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

Here's another possibility for next Tuesday's Top Ten: soul food restaurants. Consumer blogger Liz Kay suggested it. Here's what she said:

Here's one that may span the city-county divide well. I think it's hard to find good soul food within the city. The few places that open do not stay open long --- Shamdanai's chicken and waffles closed in a minute. The chef has already left Night of the Cookers. For a while there was Heaven's Gate, a cafeteria on North Ave. run by a church, but that's closed now. And I'm not sure Timothy Dean is soul food ... I always thought it was upscale American.

There are some new possibilities in the city, such as Darker than Blue and that place on 25th St. and Calvert, but I've heard that the best options are in the county, on the west side. I'd be eager to hear what the Sandbox recommends ...

First of all, we'd have to define soul food. Anybody want to take a crack at it?

I think Casey Jenkins of Darker Than Blue wouldn't be happy to have his place described as a soul food restaurant. "Southern cooking" seems to be the preferred term -- the current way of saying, "I have the comfort food you know and love like fried chicken, corn bread and greens, but I'm less ethnic-centric and more upscale than just that." 

(Janelle "Big Mamma" Robinson, the soul food chef at M & J's. Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

When I said if I got enough suggestions under my post on elite grilled cheese sandwiches I would make a Top Ten list out of them, I never thought it would actually happen. But here it is, with some help also from Midnight Sun Sam Sessa.

I figure it's a good counterbalance to the effete snobbery of last week's Top Ten on great restaurant cheese plates. Take heart, Jonathan Gilbert and Donny B. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you can find their comments under the previous Top Ten post.) Oh yes, and Trouble's under the breakfast sandwich post.

Also, special thanks to Retired in Elkridge for making the suggestion in the first place, even though he had to drag me kicking and screaming because I didn't think any places around here were making elite grilled cheese sandwiches. 

PS: If anyone knows the name of the "hole in the wall" at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Haven Street with a great grilled cheese sandwich that Eve mentioned, please post below. 

Here's the list: ... 

* Atwater's in Belvedere Square. This is only on the menu regularly in the fall but they will make it for you if you ask. Carr Valley Baby Cheddar on homemade country white ($4.50)

* Cocoaccinio's in Pikesville. Cheddar, feta and avocado on 12-grain bread ($5.95)

* Copra downtown. "Jason's Double Decker Griddled Cheese" with Wisconsin cheddar and Provolone ($6.95). You can add more cheese for $1, Applewood bacon for $2 and a mug of soup for $3.

* Donna's, Village of Cross Keys. grilled cheese, bacon, Granny Smith apples and a cup of tomato bisque ($12.95) Usual disclaimer: Donna is a friend of mine; however, joe suggested it.

* Grill Art Cafe (1011 W. 36th St.) in Hampden. The Spiced-Up Grilled Cheese with cheddar jack, tomato, red onion, banana peppers and fresh cilantro on cheddar jalapeno bread ($5.95).

* Main Ingredient Cafe in Annapolis. Grilled provolone, cheddar, tomato slices and honey mustard on your choice of wheat or white ($7.50)

* Oregon Grille in Cockeysville: Portobella mushroom, provolone and Boursin on rustic white bread ($9)

* Rocket to Venus in Hampden. Smoked gouda, American and Swiss on baguette with Bloody Mary sauce ($7)

* Tark's Grill in Lutherville. The Great American Grilled Cheese with bacon and tomato, side of fresh fruit ($7.95)

* Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia. Lobster grilled cheese with Brie and Maine lobster ($15). 

(Photo of Oregon Grille's sandwich by Amy Davis/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (47)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

I thought after the ...er...lively discussion about customer/server interaction over the weekend, this might be a good time to mention the publication of Waiter Rant, a new book by the anonymous blogger at WaiterRant.net.  

The book jacket says, "The Waiter reveals the secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and how to keep him from spitting in your food."

I'M NEVER EATING OUT AGAIN.

I get it that if I sit quietly and maybe help clear nobody will spit in my food. I just don't like having the possibility raised. I wonder how often this actually happens. ... 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

Just a quick postscript to my post this morning about my review of Fin Steak & Seafood.

I did NOT get e-mails saying people had had a bad meal at the restaurant. That was clearly too poetic a way of saying don't overwhelm a new restaurant that gets a good review by everyone going at once.

I posted it because I've had restaurant owners call to wring their hands and beg me not to publish news of their opening in my Table Talk column (not even a review!) until they've been open for some time. Hence restaurant Grand Openings that take place six months after they actually open. ...

Sherry Cohen, Fin's manager, called to say that people were canceling their reservations after reading my post. I hope at least they rescheduled.

She also said some people took my description of the restaurant as a "one-man show" literally. I told her I would assure readers that Fin does have a kitchen staff and also people working in the front of the house. 

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Kenneth Petty, a managing partner of Meli, suggested an interesting topic for next week's Top Ten: the best menus for Restaurant Week 2008. Here's what he said:

Restaurant week is meant to promote dining out in our wonderful city, not be an inconvenience, and definitely not to be participated in half-heartily and begrudgingly. ...

He makes a very good point, although to be fair, I have to say that as a new restaurant, Meli benefits more than some of the more established places if it goes all out for this kind of promotion.  

Anyway, I thought it would make a good Top Ten. I'm introducing the subject even before tomorrow's Top Ten on elite grilled cheese sandwiches to give you time to put your two cents in. Which prix fixe menus during Restaurant Week, in other words, give you the most bang for your buck? Conversely, which don't seem worth the trip?

Also, Midnight Sun Sam tells me he and his fiancee went to Petit Louis Bistro last night for Restaurant Week, and the prix fixe menu there gives the prices of the individual items so you can see what you're saving. 

(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

 
When I go into work today, I'm expecting three or four e-mails saying, "I used to trust you, but I went to Fin Steak & Seafood based on your recommendation and we had to wait an hour and they were out of half the things on the menu and it wasn't that good anyway."

It almost makes me want to not give places that seem pretty much like a one-man show a positive review. Too many readers think, "Wow. Let's try it tonight." ...
 

I'd be interested to know if that's your first reaction, or whether you say to yourself, "Mmmm, better give it awhile till people forget about it again."

Of course, you would hope a new restaurant would politely but firmly say, "I'm sorry, we're booked tonight. Is there another night you'd like to come?" But that doesn't seem to happen. 

I firmly believe no positive review has a long-term effect, nor does a negative review. In the end, it's word of mouth that sustains a restaurant (or kills it). Whether a positive review helps or hurts more short term depends on how the restaurant handles it.

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

Bliss Coffee & Wine Bar in Riverside is something of an oddity because it's a coffee house that opens at 6 a.m. and serves a continental breakfast, a wine bar and a full-fledged restaurant. That's a lot of directions for one place to go.

How successfully does Bliss manage it? Please read my review in next Sunday's Arts & Life Today section to find out.

I wonder, though, if this is something of a model for suburban coffee houses/wine bars. I say that on the basis of one other, in nearby Bel Air, which is basically a breakfast and lunch place that turns into a wine bar on Thursday and Friday nights. Nah, it must just be coincidence.
 

(Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Review Preview
        

The most usual way, I'm guessing, has been that two people say, "Let's just split it down the middle" rather than figuring out who had what. But is that changing as diners out are feeling the pinch of rising prices?

Do you more often now try to pay for just what you and your date/wife/significant other or whoever ordered? Or if not, do you notice more now that the other party had two more margaritas than yours but didn't offer to put more money in the pot?

If you're splitting the check, do you usually ask the server to put it on two credit cards or do you more often put it on one and have the other diner give the person paying cash? Why?

I love putting it on my card and getting the cash because it saves me a trip to the ATM. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (58)
        

 
Retired in Elkridge sent me this link to a story in USA Today yesterday (that sounds stupid, doesn't it?) about elite grilled cheese sandwiches, some of them going for as much as $50.

Wow. Let them eat cake.

He suggested a Top Ten on the best grilled cheeses around here, but I could only come up with two off the top of my head.

One was Cafe Hon's, which my daughter used to love with a chocolate milkshake when she was little. 

The other one was at Alexander's Tavern, and it came with cream of tomato soup. Talk about comfort food.

If we can just think of eight more, my Top Ten for Tuesday will be done.

(Photo of Tuscan-style grilled cheese sandwich, credit: Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

The weekend seems like a good time to post this because it's very long.

When I e-mailed the owner of Birches asking if he wanted me to post something about this exchange on my blog, I got this measured response, which doesn't convey the passion of the original e-mails:

I would be flattered if you were to initiate a conversation regarding restaurant patron etiquette in and around Baltimore City. Please feel free to use any of my e-mails for your means. I look forward to a lively discussion on split check policies.  Thank you very much, Brian W. Bruso Chef/Proprietor Birches Restaurant ...

Here's the e-mail I got from Mr. Bruso first, with names appropriately changed:

In my 20 some years in the restaurant industry I have had to deal with a large number of idiots that should not be allowed out in public at all.  This past Friday we had 27 of them here at Birches Restaurant for a party, and believe it or not, 5 of them had just graduated from [University U].  We had one contact person, [Jane Doe], with whom we had confirmed price, menu and reservation time. For starters, the party arrived almost an hour after their scheduled time of 6:30 p.m. Then when they did arrive they were appalled that we would not do separate checks for them. It did not stop there, every five minutes someone else in the party harassed my servers about the separate check issue. I had one of our servers ask [Jane Doe], our contact person, to come downstairs to discuss the situation with me. She never did.  Things escalated so badly that I was forced to confront the party, in person. With the threat of being thrown out, they quieted down and continued their meal. 

Then, 24 hours later I received an e-mail from [Jane Doe], who apparently is completely clueless on public etiquette.  Not only should it be a patrons responsibility to figure out, beforehand, any and all financial policies of each individual restaurant, but when told of such policies they should control their guests’ behavior regarding such policies.  Do you agree with us?  The party still received stellar service and incredible food.  Although, everyone here hopes to never see those people again.

Here was the e-mail Mr. Bruso got from Ms. Doe:

Dear Brian,

I've been going over in my head several times the events of last night, and feel I need to tell you how truly disappointed I was at how we were treated. I had been looking forward to our event at your restaurant for some time, and never expected things to evolve as they did.  Clearly, there were miscommunications taking place last night, and hopefully we can both learn from this experience. 

Being that I was the one to advocate for your restaurant and promote it on your behalf, I felt utterly humiliated when you stormed up the stairs and treated my dearest friends and family with such disrespect and accusations of treating your staff poorly.  It is a shame that you were not able to meet us before our party, because I think you would find that we really are quite an accommodating and good-hearted group and that none of us would want to be difficult.  I apologize if there was any miscommunication on my behalf or on the behalf of my guests towards your servers, but the issue of money should have been dealt with between you and me, and should not have been the main topic of conversation among the guests as we were trying to celebrate our graduation. 

It seems as though it should have been your responsibility as the restaurant owner to see that any issues regarding finances be discussed prior to the event.  I have never been to a restaurant that only accepted 4 credit cards, and therefore it would never have occurred to me to ask you whether each family would be allowed to pay their individual bills.  

My suggestion for the future is that you have a contract completed with a potential party of our size prior to the event to avoid miscommunication.  I regret that you have lost 27 potential customers in the future, as we truly enjoyed the food and atmosphere, but would prefer to dine where customer service is still a priority.  I would love to be able to bring friends back to your restaurant, but I don't think that I ever could after how you treated us.

Thank you for providing a wonderful meal, I'm sorry things ended as they did.

Sincerely,

Jane Doe

So this was Mr. Bruso's reply:

Dear Jane,

After lengthy discussions with our staff and various advocates of ours, we find the need to tell you just how wrong and naive you are.  Birches has been operating successfully since the day we opened, eight years ago, and we have never had such a disgraceful display of immaturity and blatant disregard for our business as you and your party showed us last Friday.

How dare someone with your incompetence give us advice.  You booked one single party, just one party, for 27 people, not 5 separate parties. Our pricing and seating would have been significantly different, if you had ever bothered to inquire properly.  Not one party in eight years has ever expected us to split the bill on to more than 2 credit cards.

Here at Birches, everyone prides themselves on exemplary customer service, however this does not include allowing the public to dictate how we operate.  Your party was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., yet an hour later only a few people had shown up.  Normally, any party that is more than a half hour late is automatically canceled if no one has called by then. Your “dearest friends and family” had the utmost disrespect for our staff and establishment from the moment they arrived.  As the party planner and main contact, you are the sole person responsible for ensuring that your party’s finances were in order before arriving at the restaurant.  Even then, you refused to meet me outside to discuss the mounting problem your guests were becoming.

Even though you had not handled things properly to start, everyone in your party was made well aware of our policy concerning “no split checks” long before going upstairs. That was their’s and your acceptance of this policy.  The whole issue should have been over at that point. Your party should have either kept their mouths closed or left instead of further harassing our staff.

It is a real shame that your “dearest friends and family” behaved so childish that it caused me to have to take action.  Then again, maybe that was all they were begging for in the first place.  Rest assured, you and your friends are not welcome here at Birches.  On top of that, this matter is no longer open for discussion between us.

However, your email along with our response is being forwarded to the Baltimore Sun’s restaurant reporter, Elizabeth Large, along with a large number of Baltimore’s restaurant owners.  We feel it is very important that his whole matter and subsequent fall out becomes public knowledge, if for no other reason than to help educate people, such as those in your party, who patronize restaurants.

Sincerely, etc.

 
Wow. Several issues are raised here: Is the customer always right? How do private parties differ from regular guests? How could a party think being an hour late would be OK? But how do you feel about Birches after reading this? What about splitting checks anyway?





 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (120)
        

Here's another problem with calling Cincinnati chili the world's greatest fast food.

It's not fast food.

I mean, look at that recipe. And even if you aren't making it yourself, can you imagine ordering it at the drive-thru and then eating it in the car, preferably while talking on your cell phone?

I think what John meant to say was "world's most disgusting food." 

Which reminds me of a joke. ... 

Woman to her psychiatrist: "Oh, I made a terrible Freudian slip the other night at dinner. I meant to say to my mother, 'Please pass the butter,' and instead I said, 'You b----, you've ruined my life.'"

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

I like to introduce this subject before the end of the work week, which is when most of us do our Internet reading, because I always get some good ideas from you, either a topic that's better than the one I thought of, or good examples of whatever list I've settled on.

For next week I'm almost tempted to do Top Ten Locally Owned Bagel Shops because when I told Wing we had done bagels ad nauseam and then went back and checked with the search function, we actually hadn't done bagels ad nauseam. It just felt that way. The problem is that I don't think we can come up with 10. ... 

To counteract last week's elitist list on cheese plates, perhaps we should do the Top Ten Greatest Fast Foods. Ha ha. Just kidding.

Or maybe because of the strong feelings stirred up by my post "What Recession?" maybe this is a good time to rework the "deals" list: Top Ten Deals at Nice Restaurants, but try to find ones that weren't mentioned last time we made up such a list. Of course, it being Restaurant Week and all, that might seem beside the point, but maybe it's worth doing anyway.

Or is there some better topic?

(John Makely/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

There's a reason my esteemed colleague and grammar guru John McIntyre is paid to run the copy desk and not write about food.

BECAUSE HE THINKS CINCINNATI CHILI IS THE WORLD'S GREATEST FAST FOOD.

Gak.

John, John. Let me remind you of the hamburger. And while I'm at it, the slice of pizza. The taco. Fried chicken.

Instant noodles, for heaven's sake. Speaking of which, did you know there's a World Instant Noodle Association? But that's a subject for another post.

(Photo of a three way by Michael E. Keating/Cincinnati Enquirer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

 
Whoever came up with those days of the week on the Baltimore Summer Restaurant Week Web site ought to get a raise. OK, it doesn't take much to amuse me on a Friday.

This post is basically just a reminder that Restaurant Week starts tomorrow. There are some new features at  many of the 90-plus restaurants participating this year, such as wine pairings, cooking classes, and tasting menus. Also look for specials at city parking lots. ...

I'll post something after the weekend so you can share your experience(s) with us, like we did last year. Or you can tell us  now where you're planning to go and why (i.e., what your Restaurant Week strategy is). And remember that we're also in the middle of Howard County's Restaurant Weeks. If you've eaten at any of the places participating, please let us know how your meal was.

(Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Along with the other losses of friends and colleagues in the next couple of weeks, which I'm trying not to burden you with, we're losing the current food service, Sodexo, at The Sun cafeteria. Today is its last day. This wouldn't have bothered me so much a few years ago, when I was always going out to lunch. But since  Dining@Large started, I'm so much busier I find it cheaper and easier to eat downstairs most days. Quality of food has almost nothing to do with it.

A new food service will be in place Monday, but I consider this to be The Sun cafeteria, and it's like losing an old friend. An old friend you wouldn't want to introduce to your newer, hipper friends; but you are secretly fond of. ...

Yes, I know I would have a better lunch if I brownbagged it, but some mornings it's just too much trouble. I do bring local tomatoes, red pepper and carrots to put on my salads; but the lettuce mix is pretty good. Like all regulars, I know which things are edible and which things to avoid (the steam table entrees).

There's a picture of James hanging on the cash register that won't be there Monday. He was the guy behind the counter who died recently of lung cancer but had to quit working some time ago.

We had a long talk about his illness once when he was making me a Swiss cheese on rye, which sounds gruesome (the talk, not the sandwich) but wasn't.

The new guy -- we were just getting to know him -- is really likable if maybe a bit upbeat to be around Sun reporters, who by their nature are a morose bunch, but he's just a temp. He'd love to continue working here, he told me, but hasn't heard that the new service is keeping him.

And then there's Liz, who runs the whole show and is a goddess. They'll all be gone on Monday.

(Photos of the cafeteria and Liz by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Tim the Classic Music Critic, my deskmate and sometime dining companion, walked in just now and said, "What recession?"

A friend had a gift certificate to Christopher Daniel in Timonium, and they went last night. The place was packed, Tim told me. Every table was taken on a Wednesday night.

He, and I, find that pretty amazing given that a) Christopher Daniel isn't a cheap restaurant, b) in mid-July a lot of folks are away and c) there's supposed to be an economic downturn. ...

The only explanations we could come up with were a) people aren't traveling this summer so by Alice's Law of Compensatory Cash Flow, they feel they can afford a nice evening out, or b) the whole recession thing is just a government conspiracy or caused by the media feeding frenzy.

By the way, someone asked under an earlier post about what's happening with the Taste space. In spite of what Christopher Daniel's Web site says, Daniel Chaustit has left and is planning to open his own restaurant in that Belvedere Square location this fall. Unless, of course, the faltering economy has caused a change of plans. 

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

I haven't heard from Owl Meat today with his usual Funtastic Thursday game. He hasn't been commenting as much as usual either. Perhaps he's actually involved in something important in the real world. I hate that.

I was thinking about him and his mystery ingredients yesterday when I was reading the pint carton of skim milk from Giant I was having for lunch. It was very mysterious. ...

Not the ingredients, although they weren't, as you might expect, just skim milk. But on the front of the carton was this statement with an asterisk after it:

Our farmers' pledge: No artificial growth hormones

That sounded good to me (although it started me wondering if the milk maybe had some natural growth hormones in it), but I couldn't find anything on the front of the carton that the asterisk was referring to.

On the back was this with an asterisk after it in the section that was giving the Recommended Daily Allowances:

% Daily Value

And finally there was this that referred to one of the two phrases with an asterisk after them:

*No significant difference in milk from cows treated with artificial growth hormones.

Cryptic. (Although I'm sure one of you can explain it to me.) If it refers to the statement in front, what does the asterisk by daily values refer to?

More important, I remember when I used to eat lunch and think about how good the food was and maybe talk to the friends I was eating lunch with, not read milk cartons.

By the way, pictured is Sultana the brown Swiss cow.

(Monica Eng/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

Well, maybe not really. But it does seem like Frederick has more than its share of excellent restaurants for a sleepy little Maryland town. Which, of course, it isn't anymore. Frederick's notable restaurants include but are not limited to Acacia Fusion (Asian fusion), Cacique (Mexican and Spanish), Cafe Nola (American), Isabella's (Spanish), Monocacy Crossing (American), Orchard (emphasis on healthy),  the Tasting Room (American) and more, but I'm getting bored with linking to them.

Now Volt is opening this Friday. Talk about cutting edge; just take a look at the Web site. And I'm about to call Michael Tauraso to find out about his new barbecue place and grill, Black Hog, which is supposed to open in mid-August.

This could be worth a story like the one I did on all the excellent upscale Eastern Shore restaurants. 

Why Frederick? Probably because it's become a bedroom community for DC, at least that's my best guess. If you have any other ideas, please post below. 

(Photo courtesy of Volt) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

My favorite part of John's post today was the bachelor salad. It opened up whole vistas for me that I never suspected existed.

We all, of course, know about normal examples of singles cuisine: eating directly out of the ice cream carton, eating directly out of the peanut butter jar, drinking directly out of the milk carton.

Also weird definitions of meals, like calling a bowl of cereal dinner. (I never did this because I'm not fond enough of cold cereal even to have it for breakfast, but that's the only reason.) 

I'm amazed no one yet has posted his or her really awful example of singles cuisine. Well, this is your opportunity. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

Clearly we haven't exhausted the sandwich theme yet. I should have had a Sandwich Week this summer instead of Crab Week. Who knew?

Anyway, Multimedia Editor Etc. John Lindner has taken this opportunity to weigh in on the subject by sending me a few Shallow Thoughts about his favorite places to eat...yes...sandwiches. (He was, by the way, the first person I ever heard refer to them as "sammies.") ...

"My favorite places to eat sandwiches

(brought to mind by EL’s recent sandwich post)

It was our 25th anniversary celebration:  a 3,000 mile motorcycle ride. After a week of touring various mountain ranges, we shot down to Savannah then up the coast. The morning we left for the Outer Banks, it was raining lightly. We hoped to make it to the ferry in a half hour but my inner GPS miscalculated how far we were from the landing. Once we were on the road, the rain cut loose in earnest. It took about an hour and a half to reach the landing. Once we were inside the shelter of the ferry, the rain stopped.

We disembarked just as the rain returned, rode to the next ferry landing, and it stopped raining. It was maybe 2 or 3 p.m.when we got off the last ferry. We were soaked, cold, hungry -- hadn’t eaten all day. We passed a few restaurants that looked touristy and maybe too nice and family-ish for two weathered bikers. So we pushed on until we couldn’t stand it anymore.

We stopped at a strip mall where our choices were a pizza joint and a Food Lion. We decided we didn’t want to chance a long wait (more than five minutes) at the pizza place, so we popped into the Food Lion and grabbed the best-looking sandwiches we could find and a bag of jerky.

Bad as the sandwich was, it worked. I remember it well to this day. So that Food Lion in the Outer Banks is one of my favorite places to eat a sandwich. Here are some others:

1. At my desk (I eat at my desk so often, I must like it, right?)

2. In my truck (I know, I know, if you eat and and talk on your cell while you’re driving, you risk spilling your wine. I like to live on the edge. Sue me.)

3. Alone in a park while squirrels look on in envy.

4. Standing over the sink in my kitchen. (It’s a carry-over from my bachelor salad days. A bachelor salad ensues when you stand over the sink and alternately take bites from a head of lettuce and then slurp from a bottle of salad dressing. Oh man, those were the days.)"

(Photo courtesy of Bonnie Lindner) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

OK, so not everyone was enthralled at the idea of a Top Ten about cheese plates, although some posters were more polite about it than others. (I'm not counting Donny B, who had me laughing so hard I fell off my chair.)

Wing was ready to move on to a new subject:

I looked through the archives and didn't see any mention of this before in your posts, but have you ever considered a "Top Ten Bagel shops" or breakfast sandwiches? I struggle to find a decent place every time i want one.....

Bagel shops that aren't chains are, as regulars know, problematic; we've discussed them ad nauseam before. But "breakfast sandwiches" is a category I hadn't thought of. ... 

Does anywhere but McDonald's (and the like) do a breakfast sandwich?

I've never had a breakfast sandwich, unless a Monte Cristo counts. By their nature they rush you through breakfast, and breakfast is a meal I don't want to rush through. I like all the ingredients of breakfast separate and arranged on a warm plate.

But I see their appeal if you're always in a hurry in the morning but still want something to kick start your day. So if you have any suggestions for Wing about breakfast sandwiches, please post below. Also about bagel shops, particularly if you think they produce good breakfast sandwiches with their bagels.

(Karl Merton Ferron/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (51)
        

You know how I'm always asking for mini-reviews of restaurants I haven't been to and I never get any? Well, this morning there were two in my mailbox.

This one was from Meg, about Lucy's Irish Pub near the Hippodrome, which used to be Maggie Moore's:

...visited the old MM's on Sunday (now Lucy's) - found the menu largely the same and still good food...love the atmosphere! We had a rehearsal dinner there in December and it was spectacular!!! Found out that John and Maggie are still here (live in Silver Spring) but her mom is ill in Ireland and she's going back...Owen promised us an update when we return. They hosted a cast party for Rene Zellweger on Saturday night and had fun! We live in Gaithersburg and we had NO Irish places here at all, which is why we schlepp over to Charm CIty all the time!!

And then Claire sent me the following about Fins in Canton, where the Granite Bar used to be, not to be confused with Fin in Fells Point. (Fins may very well have a Web site, but just try Googling for it.) ...
 

I'm sure you're aware of Fins Restaurant on the square in Canton. My husband and I don't understand why more people don't go there because the food is really delicious. The chef has a really nice touch with vegetables as they are always fresh, unlike the perfunctory sloppy slaw or frozen fries one gets at most places. The specials are really well thought out and give good quality and portion for the price. For example, last week my husband had a NY strip salad. It was a sizeable piece of steak that accompanied a wonderfully fresh salad of mesclun greens mixed with romaine with a homemade feta garlic dressing for only $10.99. I had a grilled eggplant parmesan salad with the eggplant served in a tower with whole milk mozzarella and what appeared to be local tomatoes over a bed of greens and veggies topped with frizzled basil, toasted breadcrumbs and dressing of choice. It was delicious. The Maryland crab soup is excellent and the crab toast is out of this world. I particularly like the grilled calamari that is served with a fresh tomato "fresca" mixture. We have never had a bad  meal there and consider it to be the best food in Canton. We hope it won't close because no one is aware of how good it is.

(Photo of Maggie Moore's by Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

I love cheese. The problem is that when I'm reviewing, cheese plates aren't something I order much because they usually aren't the restaurant's specialty and they are often meant to be shared, which means one fewer thing I can try.

So I turned to someone who's a cheese expert, LIVE reviewer Richard Gorelick, and asked him. I had actually thought of the ones he mentioned, but it was nice to have them confirmed. Yes, they are for the most part the usual suspects, but as Richard put it so well:

...[They are] more or less obvious choices, and I know you like to mix it up, but isn't it funny how good restaurants are good because they do so many things well...

Here's the list.  A couple of these restaurants have siblings; I decided to choose one. If you don't agree with all the choices, blame me, not Richard: ...   

* Chameleon Cafe in Lauraville has a three-cheese plate with fresh fruit and compote for $11.

* Cinghiale in Harbor East offers a selection of 10 cheeses. You do the choosing ($5 for one, $13 for three).

* Dogwood in Hampden will have its artisan cheese plate on the seasonal menu again in the fall. Right now it's by special request only.

* Iron Bridge Wine Company in Columbia describes its offerings as "a bodacious selection of world class cheeses." A little over the top, but this wine bar can back it up. The plate is $13.

* Kyma in Annapolis offers a "Cheese Tasting" of four Spanish cheeses with toasted baguette and fig paste, $8.75 each.

* Meli in Fells Point has a chef's selection of three cheeses with baguette and quince paste for $12.

* Savona (2 N. Main St., 410-803-0000) in Bel Air is as much gourmet market as restaurant, so you'll find a wide selection of imported cheeses from which to create your own cheese plate.

* Tersiguel's in Ellicott City offers the "chef's daily selection of boutique cheeses" for $7.95.

* Wine Market in Locust Point has a three-cheese plate with quince paste and cardamom spiced almonds for $9.

* Woodberry Kitchen in Woodberry/Hampden is offering three local cheeses on its cheese plate at the moment, a gouda, a cheddar and a chevre; but the menu changes seasonally ($5 each or $12 for a plate of three).

(Photo of Savona's cheese by Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (50)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Jon Parker raised an interesting question under an earlier post that's worth an entry on its own.

It's a bit more cosmic than I'm willing to tackle in your typical 15-inch review, but eminently blog-worthy, since here we discuss life, the universe and everything, including whether Baltimore needs another mostly American steak and seafood place like the new Fin in Fells Point.

I guess the marketplace will answer that even if we don't. Certainly Baltimoreans didn't flock to Nasu Blanca, the first example that comes to mind of a (dare I say unique?) restaurant that failed recently. Its specialty was Japanese and Spanish food.

I'm sure there were many reasons Nasu Blanca didn't make it, but one of them was that it didn't have a wide enough audience to stay in business because it was too off beat.

(Karl Merton Ferron/sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

There are many things in my inbox that don't amuse me when I sign on Monday mornings, but this e-mail from Julie did:

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

For some reason my review of Riptide by the Bay in Fells Point yesterday got people so excited they started talking about it under the Next Sunday's Review post. I think it was the crab cake sandwich with bacon that did it for them. Currently the question under discussion is whether it would be better without the remoulade sauce.

Anyway, now it's Monday morning and we can continue talking about the restaurant or the review under this post, or about anything else that occurred to you over the weekend. (I don't know why I bother throwing in that last option. Like any of you would be shy about veering off topic.)

(Amy Davis/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

I just got back from my weekly trip to the supermarket (OK, semi-daily), and I think there has to be a law passed about what constitutes 10 items in the express lane. With police intervention and possibly a jail sentence for violators.

Now, I'm not an unreasonable person. I myself have more than once said, "Well, 11 is almost 10." And that's true. I just pretend I miscounted, or can't count. I would never get angry at someone having 11 items, or even 12.

Is the definition of 10 twelve items or fewer? ... 

You can also get into murky waters with multiple items of the same thing. Say, for instance, yogurt is for sale: 6 for $5. I have been known to consider that one $5 item. Or potatoes are perhaps a clearer cut example. If you have a half-gallon of milk and 10 potatoes (as if any shopping trip of mine would involve so few things), wouldn't that count as two items? So you might as well buy eight more.

Also, what is the proper response when someone has more than 10? If at all possible, do you try to shame the offender by staring at his/her order? Or as he/she walks away, do you say something to the cashier like "Some people can't read" in a tone just a little louder than you usually speak?

If the express lane is free and the cashier motions you over even though you have many more items than 10 and then someone comes up behind you as you're almost finished unloading them, do you find yourself compelled to explain it's not your fault? 

Does someone who has only five items but remembers something as the cashier is ringing him up and runs away to get it, leaving everyone standing for five minutes while he hunts for the medium hot salsa to go with the chips, deserve a special place in hell?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (68)
        

The dining room in the basement of the Admiral Fell Inn is most famous for being the place where Cindy Wolf of Charleston first made a name for herself in Baltimore. The series of restaurants that occupied the space after her Savannah closed were all pretty good as I remember, but none seemed to strike the public's fancy in the same way.

The latest is Fin Steak & Seafood, a not-so-memorable name for a restaurant whose kitchen can produce some memorable food. For more on Fells Point's newest fine-dining spot, please read my review next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section. 

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Review Preview
        

I'm finally catching up with what my other favorite colleague-bloggers are doing, and I want to point out two food-related posts in case you missed them.

One is John McIntyre's. He's always been remarkably friendly to me even though I'm a troublemaker. But anyone who indulges in both shameless self-promotion and nepotism in one post has my undying respect. Besides, his son has a great name for his new food blog: Eat, Drink, Man, Weblog.

The other is my friend Midnight Sun Sam, who I'm grateful isn't leaving after all with the recent staff reductions. If he left not only would I be the world's oldest teenager, I'd be The Sun's only teenager.

Sam just did a post on the Little Morocco Cafe, which I had never heard of. Anybody know anything about the food? (Not interested in the tobacco.) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Here's the link to my Artscape story on the Green Food Court. If you read it in the print edition, you'll notice that the Fig Leaf Farm is called the "Big Leaf Farm" in the photo caption, although it's OK in the story.

I think we can all agree that "Fig Leaf" is a much better name, and a correction will be forthcoming.

Yesterday was a very difficult day for a lot of people with the staff reductions being announced, so I'm not surprised a mistake slipped in. 

And, no, I'm not going anywhere. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

I forgot to mention in my Artscape post yesterday that the local do-good ice cream shop formerly known as Sylvan Beach has a presence at the festival, only remember the name has changed: It's now called Taharka Bros. (I can't see why that's an improvement, but maybe that's just me.)

Anyway, the cones are a bit pricey at $4, but since a small bottle of water will set you back $2 at Artscape, they are actually something of a bargain.

I asked Kathy Hornig of the Office of Promotion and the Arts, who seems to be in charge of everything, why there aren't more local vendors. She basically said Artscape has gotten so big it's a matter of being able to handle the volume. ... 

Last year I sampled a lot more of the carny food. I dragged my friend and desk mate classical music critic Tim Smith around with me to help out. This year I couldn't lure him out in the heat. I instead concentrated on the Organic Food Court (not), and I'll link to my story as soon as it's posted on baltimoresun.com.

But I feel like we do have to acknowledge what's great and greasy at the festival. So if you have any recommendations after you go (and why do I think you ate something), please post below.

Also, does anyone remember if those curly, freshly fried potato chips were called "butterfly potato" in past years? I don't remember the name, which is even better than the chips, but several vendors are using it. 

(Photos by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

I was sent to Artscape today to come back, quickly, with a good food story for tomorrow's paper. And not to be too long writing it because my editors wanted to go home at a reasonable hour. So what was the first thing I headed for when I finally found a place to leave the car?

THE GIANT FERRIS WHEEL.

Last year McDonald's sponsored it, so rides were free; but this year they cost $1. I haven't been on a ferris wheel in a million years, but I'm not afraid of heights. However, I find I am afraid of being in a moving vehicle, if you can call it that, without a seat belt. I began to be very uncomfortable that I wasn't strapped in. By the time I got down, I really didn't feel like eating some yummy Italian sausage and a gyro in the 100-degree heat. ...

I had a crab cake and a Coke from the Brass Elephant's booth (support your local festival food vendor) and headed for the Organic Food Court, which is what's new as far as food is concerned this year at Artscape.

It's in the parking lot across from the Charles Theatre, and not all of its offerings are organic. Minor detail. You can read more about it in my story tomorrow in The Sun.

But along the way there were some great exhibits. Not to be missed: the fantastically decorated art cars and the Heartbreak Cafe. I love the Heartbreak Cafe.

The blackboard menu says, "You may be unceremoniously dumped at the following times," and gives them.

You sit at the table, the waitress brings you a glass of water, and the performance artist comes and, well, breaks up with you.

(Photos by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

I get a lot of e-mails from regulars with great ideas for posts -- so many it's hard to get to them all in a timely fashion. First of all, thank you. I'm sorry if I've missed some. (This has been a hectic week.) Anyway, I'm going to throw out a few before I have to head to Artscape (please, God, don't let it be as hot as Bel Air) to report a story for tomorrow on the new food courts.

First, Chez G sent me this link to an intriguing story in the Washington Post. As usual, please don't linger on another newspaper's site. You know how the Powers That Be hate that. Return here to comment on it.

Is the customer always right? If I want an iced latte, I always get a regular latte and a cup of ice, not so much because I get more but because I like the taste of steamed milk in a latte, hot or iced, and a lot of places make iced lattes with cold milk. ...

Federal Hill Jim sent me this info:

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

A friend stopped by my desk at work for a consult yesterday.

She and a group of women friends had had a hard time finding a place to have their regular get-together recently because the only time they could all do it turned out to be a Monday night. ...

It's a variation on the Girls Night Out theme. They wanted to go to Junior's, but it isn't open Monday night.

She said they ended up at the Wine Market and had a good meal; but because Monday was the only evening they were going to be able to meet next time, they needed a Top Ten on Best Restaurants Open Mondays for a Girls Night Out.

Specialized.

Anyway, I told her that was pretty labor intensive for a Top Ten, as well as somewhat narrow as subjects go, but I would post something here and see if anyone had any suggestions.

(The Wine Market by Christopher Assaf/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (36)
        

Joe Squared Pizza is the next restaurant to take Slow Food Baltimore’s Eat in Season Challenge. The event runs tomorrow through July 24.

Chef and owner Joe Edwardsen is presenting a selection of local and seasonal foods rather than the three-course, fixed-price menu the first two restaurants in the Challenge series came up with.

The photo to the left, by the way, illustrates that Joe Squared can do other things besides pizza; but oysters aren't on Edwardsen's Eat in Season menu, mainly because oysters aren't in season. Sorry about that. ... 

Here's the Joe Squared Eat in Season Challenge menu:

Edwardsen’s produce will be purchased locally by Federal Hill's Lanassa Produce. Seafood will be entirely from the Chesapeake and arranged through Martin Seafood. The kielbasa will be supplied by Krakus in Fells Point, and the eggs, wings, ham, and lamb brains will come from Springfield Farms. Joe Squared Pizza uses herbs from its own rooftop garden.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Matt Hudock would like a Top Ten on lunch buffets, which would be a great idea if I could name 10 or even 3. There are all the Indian ones, of course, but I  prefer ordering Indian food a la carte so I don't know which are better than others.

There is -- or used to be -- a great lunch buffet place in Hopkins Plaza, but I can't remember its name. It had hot and cold buffets. The hot was mostly Asian. But I loved the salad bar, which was basically what the cold buffet was, because it had so many different items and great fresh fruit, including fresh pineapple and mango.

Not that I can give you a name or address or anything.

Anyway, feel free to post below any lunch buffets you like and tell us why you like them. I defy you to come up with 10, though.
 

(Photo of Kathmandu Kitchen's buffet by Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

When Owl Meat isn't roaming around Little Italy snapping photos of restaurants, he sends us games to entertain us on Thursdays. Unlike the mystery menus or the mystery ingredients, it's not readily obvious that this one has a food theme, but he promises me it does.

Here we go: ...

What is their purpose?"

I'm in favor of liberalizing immigration because of the effect it would have on restaurants. I'd let just about everybody in except the English.

--Calvin Trillin

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Please take a look at Midnight Sun Sam's post on the Chipotle Four Meat Challenge. Just don't do it on an empty stomach.

My favorite quote: "It's like licking the inside of a cow." 

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (43)
        

Our Little Italy correspondent has sent us this very fine photo of Velleggia's, with this subject line in his e-mail: "Maybe if we had a few more signs."

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

Multimedia Editor Etc. John Lindner, who is our resident expert in so many things now I've gotten tired of listing them, turns out to be knowledgeable about one more:

Lunch.

However, photography, not so much. Along with his wise words he sent me the photo to the left. (Sorry, John. But you're supposed to hold the camera still when you take a picture. I thought you multimedia types would know that.) And this is the after version -- after I've worked on it at picnik.com.

1) Breaks up the work day/a most readily excusable reason for leaving in the middle of the work day

2) Lunch embraces sandwiches, which can include all known nutrients, and most great sandwiches include bacon.

3) Your metabolism is highest during lunch so you are unlikely to gain weight as a result of this meal (item submitted by my Greek friend who swears by this Mediterranean diet secret. Please don't blab it to everyone you know.)

4) It can be carried around in a brown bag without attracting derision (mostly).

5) It rhymes with 'munch.'

6) When they go bad, lunch dates can be cut short ('gotta get back to work') more easily than dinner dates.

7) Prime time for buffets"

Photo: Award-winning Sun photographer’s lunch of cafeteria-style pizza and guilt-induced salad. (photo by jl)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (41)
        

On Tuesdays all of us participate in a little fantasy that's fun and often informative for both me and readers. It's the weekly Top Ten, which I've been struggling with a bit lately. It feels like we've done the big, broad topics -- Best Seafood Restaurants, Best Pizza -- and the smaller ones -- best creme brulee -- are harder to come up with and aren't as of much interest to folks.

But just when I'm feeling sorry for myself, Retired in Elkridge directed me to Bon Appetit's Hot 10 list. I thought I had it bad, but the guy who puts together its lists...

The geographical area he was covering for his best sandwich shops was all of the U.S. The ones he picked included places in Indianapolis; Carrboro, N.C.; and Des Moines. Gee, I guess New York doesn't have any good sandwich shops. Talk about fantasy lists. And yet I totally understand where he's coming from with this. Who wants to read an endless list of New York restaurants?

The brilliant part may be calling it the Hot 10, an essentially meaningless phrase, particularly when it comes to sandwich shops. (I mean, is that what you want in a sandwich shop? Cutting edginess?)

What do you think? Shall I steal it and start having a Hot 10 list on Tuesdays? The advantage would be no one could say, "How can these be the Top Ten if you haven't tried all the sandwich shops in Maryland?"

Meanwhile, next Tuesday looms. I have a couple of good suggestions for a Hot 10: ...

Sarah B. sent me this e-mail:

...am always looking for fun restaurants to take girlfriends out when they come to visit…so I would suggest a column on Top 10 Restaurants for A Girls Night Out.

I'm not even sure what would make a restaurant appropriate for this Top Ten (private room?) so we should start with listing those qualities.

And then Multimedia Editor Mary likes the idea of a Top Ten Places to Get Good Cheese. As she puts it, mmmmm...cheese.

(Photo courtesy of Bon Appetit) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Have you noticed how certain words are so appropriate (as opposed to something like "confit") that the blog embraces them? The most obvious example is "gack."

But now we are all using "mmmmm," as in "mmmmm...bacon," and I got to wondering where it came from. Googling gets me lots of info, including the fact that you can tag things "mmmmm" on Amazon. Only eight products, however, have been tagged, including Hapi Hot Wasabi Peas, McCann's Steel Cut Oatmeal, and Madhavi Raw Pure Organic Agave Nectar. 

Did it originate with the Homer Simpson? This Web page suggests so. But maybe one of you remembers an earlier usage.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

For everything you want to know about sandwiches in Baltimore and more, please read the comments under my previous post, Sandwich Musings. There are over 100 of them, packed with information and recommendations.

The following is my list. Plenty of places are known for one or two great sandwiches, but these have excellent sandwiches almost no matter what you order.

It's my list, but even more so than usual I'm not pretending it's a definitive list. Please post your favorite places, and include specifics on the best sandwich(es) to order. 

The list could use more sandwich shops in the burbs if you have some recommendations. 

Here we go: ... 

* Attman's Deli on Corned Beef Row. Most folks would agree that this is as close to a New York deli as Baltimore has. I recommend the hot pastrami, coleslaw and russian dressing on rye.

* Atwater's in Belvedere Square. If you believe great sandwiches start with good bread, try Atwater's, even though the sandwich menu is limited.

* Café Mocha (859 N. Howard St.) was voted Best Sandwich Shop in Baltimore by the City Paper for two years running...

* ...until Carma's knocked it off its perch. Carma's Cafe (3120 St. Paul St.) in Charles Village

* Dogwood Deli in Hampden. Retired in Elkridge pointed out that Dogwood Deli has been named one of the Hot 10 Sandwich Shops in August's Bon Appetit. It's the sandwich shop for locavores.

* Eddie's of Roland Park. Call ahead and order your sandwich at lunchtime. Otherwise the wait is long. The special sandwich of the week is usually a good deal.

* Flying Avocado Cafe in Owings Mills, gourmet sandwiches but vegan-friendly. Mmmm avocado.

* Isabella's in Little Italy. Sure there's pizza, but there are also lots of hot and cold Italian-inspired sandwiches.

* On the Hill Cafe (1431 John St.) in Bolton Hill. Try the McMechen (pictured), a spinach tortilla stuffed with curried chicken salad, red grapes, mango chutney, pecans and lettuce.

* Rosina Gourmet in Canton. This little sandwich shop has traditional Italian sandwiches, but there are also barbecued chicken and a couple of vegetarian options.

 (Photo of On the Hill Cafe by Algerina Perna/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (65)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Our Little Italy correspondent, Mr. Owl Meat, has been keeping me up to date on Velleggia's fate. Apparently the auction of the Little Italy restaurant, which was supposed to happen today, has been postponed without notice.

In Velleggia's current incarnation, we seem to have Baltimore's first -- perhaps the world's first -- wine bar and gelateria. At least that's what the sign says now.

Owl meat also sent me this link to a story about Velleggia's in the Daily Record that's worth reading. 

In the same vein of what the heck is going on? ...

Baltimore Foodie Lars Rusins pointed out that Vin's sister restaurant in Houston closed  in mid-January. I didn't even know it had a sister restaurant in Houston.

In the link Rusins sent me to a story in the Houston Chronicle, the Cordish Company's David Cordish said Vin closed "as part of our national strategy."

The Houston-based restaurant was in business for less than a year. According to Rusins, ex-Baltimore Vin chef Chris Paternotte consulted on that one, too, and it looked almost identical to the one in Towson.

(Photo of Velleggia's bar by Kim Hairston/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

My review yesterday was of Clementine, the new casual-upscale (if there is such a category) restaurant in Hamilton.

Obviously I liked it a lot, but in fairness I have heard people complaining that the place is often out of things on the menu. I guess we lucked out. Nothing like that happened to us.

If your experience differed from ours, or you have something you want to say about my review, or if you just want to complain about the weather, please post below. 

And by the way, please forgive me for not quite making this Monday morning quarterbacking. It's been a busy morning.
 

(Andre F. Chung/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

I don't understand why nice restaurants can't do better for those tea drinkers among us. I mean, brewing coffee takes some skill, but a decent cup of tea just takes a tea bag and hot water. The water doesn't even need to be boiling if it's hot enough. We tea drinkers aren't unreasonable.

But most restaurants can't pull it off. ...

The server brings you a pot of hot water, and it sits there cooling while he goes to find the giant wooden chest of tea bags.

Or he thinks to bring the tea bag first, but you have to sit through the foolishness of sifting through the giant wooden box that contains eight different herbal and decaffeinated teas but no black tea.

You ask for milk, not cream, and you get milk but also a lemon wedge on your saucer. (I'm not sure why this annoys me, but it just seems so wasteful.) And invariably your husband, who was hoping to get cream for his coffee, now has to share the tiny pitcher of 2 percent milk because the waiter doesn't know that cream goes in coffee and milk or lemon goes in tea. Or you ask for cream for your husband because you don't want to share the tiny pitcher of milk, and his coffee cools while the put-upon waiter goes to get cream. Now you're a troublemaker as well as having to drink a lukewarm cup of tea.

I often order coffee because I know it will be safer than the tea, even if what I really want is a nice cuppa. 

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

For reasons too complicated to explain, I ended up tonight eating dinner alone in the Ruth's Chris Steak House in Pikesville. No more saturated fat and salt for me until next month. I've used up my allotment.

Anyway, I walked in without a reservation, and the hostess asked me my name. I made up one, let's say Smith, and from then on I was, Smith, party of one, as in "Please show Smith, party of one, to her table." I kind of liked it. It gave the whole evening a kind of gravitas it wouldn't otherwise have had. ...

I do want to mention my waiter, Winston, master of upselling, and yet he made me love every minute of being upsold.

Naturally I had to take three-fourths of my dinner home, and Winston did something no one thought of when we were talking about doggy bags. He brought the leftover containers to the table and ceremoniously transferred the food in front of me, as artfully as he might have filleted a fish.

This is the perfect solution, it seems to me. I didn't have to do any work, it was mildly fun to watch him do it and I didn't have to worry about, well, anything.

Ask for Winston if you eat there.

(View from my table by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (51)
        

I'm getting so many announcements and reports about new farmers markets, I'm having trouble keeping up. This is a good thing.

The latest one is in South Baltimore at Tide Point, the office complex located on the water in Locust Point at 1040 Hull St.

The market will be small. Right now Springfield Farms, Atwater’s,  Neopol, Mingodale Farm and High Grounds Coffee are signed up. Hours starting July 24 will be Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. ...
 

Last week I got an e-mail from Donna Beth saying this:

I wrote a little item for www.steamedfemale.blogspot.com about the slowdown in business at two other city farmers markets. I didn't want to be excessively negative, but several farmers from the downtown market are upset by a dearth of customers at the Pimlico and Howard Park markets. I've seen no publicity for these markets and, of course, higher prices are driving customers away.

Although when I went to her blog I didn't see the item.

I've heard from lots of people about the newest city market at Harbor East on Saturdays, good to know about if you live down there and don't want to travel as far north as Waverly.

And then there are the markets at Cross Keys on Tuesday and Whole Foods in Mount Washington on Wednesday. I do my main shopping at one of the large weekend markets, but if I can't get there or I run out of peaches or suddenly have a craving for local tomatoes, I stop in to one of the smaller ones during the week. 

Perhaps your best bet is just to check this directory of farmers markets.

I got pretty good corn from the truck guy at Waverly yesterday, but I practically had to beg him to sell me the bi-color corn (he only had a few ears) instead of white corn. I'm getting tired of white corn all the time. He has so much corn, is reliable and is a nice guy, so it's easy just to buy my corn there; but I do wonder if the corn at one of the other vendors might be worth trying even though no one else has much (at least on Saturday). You can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone else. 

(Photo by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

When we got to the new Riptide by the Bay (1718 Thames St., 410-732-3474) in Fells Point, I was surprised to find that it had steamed crabs (no one had mentioned them when I called for Table Talk) -- and they are practically its raison d'etre.

I don't know if Riptide is Fells Point's only crab house or not. Both Mo's and Obrycki's are nearby, but I don't think of them as Fells Point proper. Anyway, we jumped at the chance to try the crabs, and we also sampled the regular dinners of this casual seafood place. (Always a messy business to do both at the same time, but as usual your restaurant critic will undergo any hardship for you. Did I mention the corn on the cob steamed in its husk?)

(Amy Davis/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Review Preview
        

Gailor is away for the weekend in Orlando. (I'm hoping for a guest post from her about what she's been doing/eating down there.) Lately she's been on a health kick, and so the rest of us have been eating healthily along with her. With the exception of the strawberry ice cream, of course.

But once we were sure she was really gone, my husband and I headed for Eddie's and stocked up on shrimp salad and mint chocolate chip ice cream. And just for good measure he bought a large bag of M & Ms while I treated myself to a Toblerone bar. It didn't taste as good as I remember them, but still: mmmm Toblerone. ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Howard County is having its first Restaurant Week starting a week from Monday. Actually it's two weeks, the second of which is Baltimore Restaurant Week. Howard County's runs from July 21 to Aug. 3.

Most of the restaurants you'd want to go to in Howard County are participating: the ever popular Clyde's, Tersiguel's, Kings Contrivance, Aida Bistro, Cafe de Paris, Iron Bridge Wine Company, and a lot more that you'll find on the official Web site. 

It's the format we've gotten used to in Baltimore city: a three-course lunch for $20.08 and a three-course dinner for $30.08. Restaurant Week gives people a chance to sample a restaurant they might not otherwise visit. ... 

I don't know why these random things strike me when I'm trying to be serious and reportery. But I wonder how the price-that-reflects-the-date thing ever got started.

Isn't it silly to make the prices $20.08 and $30.08 (which Baltimore Restaurant Week restaurants do as well) just because it's 2008? At least that's why I assume they end in an "8." Last year the prices ended in "7"s.

(Antipasto at Aida Bistro by Colby Ware/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Well, isn't this thrilling. Not. Participating 7-Elevens are offering free Slurpees today in honor of July 11. You know, 07-11. Co-consumer blogger Liz Kay has all the exciting details over at her blog.

OK, I'm being mean about this, considering I've never had or even tasted a Slurpee; but I don't notice wine shops giving away free bottles of wine, which is pretty much what I need at this point in the week. A free Slurpee just isn't going to do it for me.

Also what's this with "participating locations"? That's such a weasely phrase. I wonder if it's a matter of some franchise owner saying, "You know what? I just don't feel like giving away free stuff for such a stupid reason."

Now if they were giving away sushi at participating 7-Elevens, I might reconsider.

Ha ha. Just kidding. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

So many people have sent me the Vin press release announcing that the Towson restaurant is closing temporarily during the Towson Circle III construction (thanks, everyone), I think I better do a separate entry about it.

I actually heard about Vin first from Lars Rusins, the Baltimore Foodie, who had gotten an e-mail from Chef Chris Paternotte announcing he was leaving the restaurant. I talked to Paternotte yesterday, and he didn't say anything about the closing -- just that he and Cordish Company had agreed to part ways. He implied the reason was that "fine dining in Towson is an uphill battle."

Then I called Reed Cordish, vice president of the Cordish Company, and he was the one who told me Paternotte had been unhappy about the closing.

"Huh?" I said. "What closing?" ...

Cordish says it would be hard for Vin to stay open because the front entrance will be blocked during at least part of the construction. The closing date is Aug. 3, and it will remained closed until at least the end of the year. He's expecting Vin to be open again by summer 2009.

Cordish was nothing but complimentary about Paternotte, whom he called "the creative force" behind Vin. I asked him if he thought the place would go in another direction if and when it reopened (i.e., offer more casual dining). He said not if Paternotte can be persuaded to come back as a consultant.

My guess is that once the circle project is finished, Vin will reopen. Maybe not as the fine-dining restaurant with a hip vibe that it is now, but in some form.  

Maybe if we're lucky it will reopen with a new name, or a new spelling of the old name. I still can't remember to pronounce it "vine." 

(Amy Davis/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

A friend told me last night that he had read that people most often order the third item under a restaurant menu category like "appetizers" or "entrees." My husband chimed in that he had read that, too.

Not that he would share that bit of information with me because why would trivia like that interest me? Oh, right. I write a blog. I actually use quirky items about restaurants, I don't know, three or four times a day.

I haven't been able to find the story by Googling, so I can't confirm or deny, but if anyone knows any more about where that tidbit came from, please post below. I love stuff like that. I'm always tempted to order an item that's in a box on a menu, even when no one is saying it's a specialty. ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

My Westminster correspondent sent me this photo via his cell phone. This is the new Wine Me Up Wine Shoppe and Tavern.

It's kind of hard to imagine a tavern also calling itself a wine shoppe, or for that matter a wine shop calling itself a wine shoppe, but it's cute, isn't it?

That's Multimedia editor etc. John Lindner taking the photo in the picture.

This got me thinking maybe more wine bars are opening up in the burbs. When I did the Top Ten Wine Bars a while back...

...only a couple of them were outside the city. But now maybe if I did such a list I'd have a few more candidates. I just finished doing a Table Talk item for next week on the new Bliss Coffee and Wine Bar in Riverside (which is near Bel Air). And, of course, I shouldn't fail to mention the Carried Away Gourmet I discovered Tuesday, which has a wine bar Thursday and Friday nights.

Last November I said if I did the Top Ten Worst Wine Bars it would probably end up being the same list as the best, because I didn't think I could come up with more than 10 wine bars of any sort. I don't think that's true anymore.

By the way, if any of you has been to the Wine Me Up (and you thought drinking wine was a serious business), please give us a report on it below. 

(Photo courtesy of John Lindner) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

My editor guessed some kind of SweetTart, and from the sugary ingredients you can see why. But it isn't even a food you think of as sweet at all.

My comment is ack. That's like saying darn when you mean damn. ...

"Answer: It turns out to be the newest mystery flavor of Doritos, 'Mountain Dew' flavor, and part of a new online game/promotion.

When I tasted them I guessed Tequila Lime flavor, and entered that in the contest answer box on the website. It kept saying 'Wrong' but I was so sure I was right that I did it over and over again.

It turns out that every wrong answer resulted in a couple of alphabetic clues, and after a couple of entries I had seen enough clues to get the real flavor. After looking at the list and pondering, it occurred to me that malic acid is the base of most of the freezee pops of my youth (I remember asking my dad what a malic was).

I knew it was also in soda pop flavors, and working backwards through the list (the color is obviously a light yellow-green) and at the acid and sugar flavors, I deduced that this might actually be something that could be figured out.

When all was said and done, they tasted better when I thought they were Tequila Lime than they do as Mountain Dew."

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Now that Owl Meat has moved on to Mystery Menus, MD Canon is filling the gap with his own Mystery Product. (Wow. This is a funtastic Thursday.) I'll give you the ingredients and let you guess, but then I'll publish his answer pretty soon because it's more entertaining than the game.

Here's what he said in his e-mail: ...

Whole corn, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: yadda yadda yadda), sugar, salt, corn maltodextrin, fructose, dextrose, citric acid, buttermilk powder, MSG, corn syrup, natural flavors, sodium diacetate, modified corn starch, artificial color (Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake) and malic acid.

The general category should be easy enough to figure out, but getting the flavor right was a challenge until I had a revelation about the list itself: Start at the end."

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

Voodoo Pork has suggested a post on what people like on their sandwiches, and Multimedia Editor Mary wanted a Top Ten on sandwiches. I think their time has come.

I'm not a huge sandwich eater, in both senses of the term. I like dainty little sandwiches with their crusts cut off, made with bread thinly sliced and buttered and filled with cucumbers or shaved ham. And not overstuffed.

Of course, that always changes when I get to Attman's and order a hot pastrami on rye with coleslaw and russian dressing and polish the whole thing off in the blink of an eye. ...

You know how everyone else on this blog feels about bacon? I'm that way about avocado. Mmmm avocado. Everything tastes better with avocado. You haven't lived until you've had a BLT on toast with avocado. That's one of the things I miss most about California; any sandwich at any place can be had with avocado.

Also, let's talk about mayonnaise. Nothing is more annoying to me than mayonnaise on a sandwich that isn't evenly spread to the corners.

"I'm not spreading wallpaper paste here, Lady," a guy behind the deli counter once said to me when I was being too picky about it. 

So there are several things to be discussed:

* How you like your sandwiches.

* The greatest sandwich you've ever had.

* The worst sandwich you've ever had. (Mine would have to be out of a train station vending machine at 3 a.m. with American cheese and white bread.)

* Whether we can come up with enough restaurants, bars, cafes and delis by next Tuesday to have a Top Ten Best Sandwich Places.

(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (151)
        

Owl Meat is at it again, with another Funtastic Thursday Mystery Menu(s). Here we go:

 Oh, wait. That's not the menu. I just like his little friends. Here we go: ...

Isn't it obvious who they are now?"

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (57)
        

For some reason this story fascinates me. Intelligentsia Coffee, a Chicago-based company, has decided to stop selling venti-size coffee and espresso drinks. (That's the 20-ounce cup.)

The founder of the company explained it this way in a story in the Chicago Tribune today: "Drinking our coffee is not like drinking jug wine. We're focused on intensity of flavors and providing coffee in the way it tastes best. And it's not in that size." ...

He also said, "Do you really need 20 ounces of drip coffee?"

Call me cynical, but can he really be worried about whether customers need his product?

Or will true coffee addicts just buy two of the smaller size, thereby increasing profits even more?

Oh no, Elizabeth. Bad Elizabeth. Why don't you just give them the benefit of the doubt? 

By the way, there are more insightful coffee comments under today's Shallow Thought Wednesday. Don't ask me why. Maybe no one wanted to talk about food and death.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
        

I've ignored Mark a couple of times when we've been talking about places to eat outdoors (sorry, Mark) because I just don't know if there are any local restaurants that ban smoking in their outdoor eating spaces. Maybe if I make this a separate entry, someone will tell us if there is any smoke-free al fresco dining to be had in Baltimore.

I'm more sympathetic to smokers than you might think for a nonsmoker, and expect people to be smoking if I eat outdoors. But once I was eating outside at the Newsroom, a vegetarian, organic cafe in Los Angeles, and was so startled to smell smoke, given the nature of the place, I turned around to look. ...

The guy went nuts, even though I didn't say anything and looked away quickly. He started yelling at me that he had every right to smoke etc. etc. I guess in California you feel really beleaguered if you smoke. It was so weird it made me a lot more cautious about even suggesting by a flick of an eye that someone's smoking bothered me.

Anyway, please help Mark out if you can.

(Photo of Brasserie Tatin's courtyard by Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Outdoor Dining
        

While I'm thrilled at the following account of my bravery by Multimedia Editor and Resident Cheeseburger, Wings, Crab Balls, Tiramisu and Abalone Expert John Lindner, I'm glad he didn't notice that the day I was off was coincidentally Magnificent Monday, the day all 16 men and women left in the draw played their quarterfinal matches at Wimbledon.

Here's John's shallow thought on today's deep topic...death.

"I thank you all.

Why?

It occurred to me recently that the Elizabethans are literally (literally) risking their very lives to engage, entertain, and inform one and all who visit the D@L greatest food blog on earth and beyond.

Really? How so?

By eating, of course.* Case in point: A week or two ago, our EL was forced to stay home because of an illness which she attributed to food poisoning. See where I'm going with this? Now, EL is a professional. She's paid to shrug off hazards of the game.**

You Elizabethans, on the other hand, eat freely, often at your own expense, thereby exposing yourselves to endless chance encounters with illness and even death.

So here's to you daredevils, you bacon eaters, you butter lovers, you carefree creme-crammers. May your bad cholesterol remain ever low. Thanks for your many sacrifices.
 
* The abalone, killer of the deep (from Foodreference.com):  'The viscera of Japanese abalone can harbor a poisonous substance which causes a burning, stinging, prickling and itching over the entire body. It does not manifest itself until exposure to sunlight -- if eaten outdoors in sunlight, symptoms occur quickly and suddenly.  Skin lesions may occur on body parts exposed to the sunlight. It is believed the toxin may come from seaweed ingested by the abalone.'
 
** Full disclosure: I can't imagine the agony EL must have been suffering that day. For I know her to regularly 'play hurt.' Therefore I can only conclude that her recent bout of food poisoning must have been near fatal. I, on the other hand and by comparison, have been known to skip important deadlines at the hint of cholera, dengue fever, or the plague. She shames me."

(Caviar and lobster with abalone and vinaigrette jello is served at Rosanjin, a Japanese restaurant on Duane Street in New York on Friday, Dec. 15, 2006. Photographer: Tom Starkweather/Bloomberg News) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

Surprise. Here I am in beautiful downtown Bel Air. I'm working on a Destinations feature, the four-hour walking tour that appears periodically in the Saturday paper. Believe me, I would not have volunteered for beautiful downtown Bel Air if I HAD KNOWN IT WAS GOING TO BE 110 DEGREES AND NO SHADE. Please, beautiful downtown Bel Air, plant some trees on Main Street. My shoes are sinking into the asphalt.

The good news is that with my unerring nose for food finds, I stumbled into the Carried Away Gourmet for lunch. ... 

It looks like any small town cafe with nothing in the way of style, funky booths and a long counter, except on the chalk board it says, "Wine bar Thursday and Friday nights 5 p.m. to 9 p.m."

Wine bar? You get your iced tea in a styrofoam cup and bus your own table and it has a wine bar? I would love to see this.

I also had a very good  lunch, something called a Bedford Blue Salad. My photo doesn't do its looks justice. It had hearts of romaine, a ripe avocado half filled with blue cheese and chopped tomatoes that seemed pretty summery. 

One difference between downtown Baltimore and downtown Bel Air: the covered parking garage here costs 25 cents an hour. 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

 
My husband told me over breakfast that I missed the anniversary of sliced bread yesterday. Since I struggle with slicing bread for toast every morning, he pointed out, maybe it's an invention I might want to take advantage of. Ha ha. Good one, Tom. I can see today is starting off where yesterday ended.

Anyway, I just Googled "sliced bread" and found out that the inventor of the first mechanical bread slicer was Otto Frederick Rohwedder. ...

This is not a joke. I don't see July 7 as the date, but Mr. Rohwedder was born on July 7, 1880 in Des Moines. He introduced his invention in 1928; it was patented on July 12, 1932 (Patent:1,867,377). That's only four days away, so why don't we think of some way to celebrate on Saturday. Suggestions?

There are other milestones, according to Ideafinder.com. As you can see, the story is filled with intrigue, mysterious fires, pop-up toasters and so on. I think we have the basis for a multi-million dollar action movie here:

1912 Otto Rohwedder toys with the idea of producing a machine to slice bread
1916 Rohwedder begins to design a machine to slice bread
1917 fire destroys his factory, prototype machine and the blueprints
1926 Toastmaster begins selling pop-up toasters
1927 Rohwedder finally saves enough money to begin again to build a bread slicer
1928 Rohwedder files patent application for a single step bread slicing machine
1928 forms a company Mac-Roh Sales & Manufacturing to build and sell the bread slicer machine
1928 first mechanical pre-sliced bread goes on sale to the public in Chillicothe, Missouri
1929 St. Louis, Missouri baker, Gustav Papendick, adds improvements to Rohwedder's machine.
1930 Wonder Bread begins selling pre-sliced bread, most bakeries follow suit
1932 toaster sales skyrocketed, thanks to the standardized size of sliced bread
1933 American bakeries were turning out more sliced than unsliced bread
1933 Rohwedder sells patent rights to and goes to work for Micro-Westco, Inc.
1934 Patent 1,970,379 issued August 14, 1934 for Slicing Machine assigned to Papendick, Inc.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (36)
        

 
Gertrude's at the BMA is the place that comes to mind for most folks looking for a nice place to have lunch outdoors. I wanted to make up a list of other restaurants you might not have thought of that have scenic spaces beyond a few tables on the sidewalk. I'm avoiding Harborplace and the restaurants around the lake in Columbia; everyone knows about them.

I couldn't come up with 10 that no one would think of, but at least this will give you some alternatives for a good lunch in an attractive outdoor setting: ...

* The shady back garden of the 4 East Madison Inn 

* The Ambassador Dining Room's hidden terrace with flower garden and water feature 

* Canton Dockside's outside seating isn't as charming as some of these others, but it's as pleasant as you'll find for a crab house.

* The patio at Grille & Pub at Mountain Branch, which also has a good view

* The enclosed courtyard in front of Kali's Court

* The bluestone patio at the Oregon Grille, with lots of areas for dining among with plants and flowers

* The beautiful garden at Red Canoe with trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables (!)

* The Stone Mill Bakery's shady patio overlooking a grassy area where kids can play

* The well-landscaped courtyard at Green Spring Station, which is now the Tark's Grill outdoor space

* The Wild Orchid's pretty patio, which is nice because it seems very residential

(Photo of the Oregon Grille's patio by Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

Well, boys and girls, this was a grumpy day for a lot of people, wasn't it? In fact, I'm feeling pretty cranky myself at this point. I'm going to put it down to the end of the holiday weekend and hope everyone cheers up tomorrow. The spice comments aside, one poster took a gratuitous swipe at a Sun photographer, for heaven's sake.

The photo is of Clementine's charcuterie, and you're looking at various house-made sausages, cured meats and pates. Also, the Sun's photographers are news photographers; they don't PhotoShop.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

If I subscribed to the theory that spices have to be replaced every six months, I'd be broke; nothing is more irritating than throwing out a half-full jar of spice because you only use it every once in a while. That's why TSP Spices is such a good idea: the organic spices are sold in single-use packets.

The Baltimore company, started by a former Sun employee, Sara Engram, and Katie Luber, an art historian, has been around a couple of years; but it's suddenly reached the big time. TSP Spices is featured in this week's Time magazine because Whole Foods will soon be carrying the line. ...

Actually this photo wasn't a good choice. I believe that nutmeg, along with pepper, suffers from being preground; it loses most of its flavor. But the packets sure are stylish, aren't they?

(Photo courtesy of TSPspices.com) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (66)
        

My review of the Oregon Grille in Cockeysville appeared in yesterday's paper.

I went there because there's a new executive chef after many years, and I was curious to see if I would notice any changes.

But coincidentally, the review appeared a week after Dan Thanh's consumer column about one customer's disagreement with the management.

Most readers took the customer's side, although I thought the discussion here was thoughtful and entertaining.

Anyway, the following comment appeared, for some reason, under yesterday's entry Looking for Lunch in All the Right Places: ... 

Posted by: Anonymous | July 6, 2008 9:44 AM

This brings up a couple of interesting issues. As Matt Hudock pointed out, by the time Dan Thanh's column appeared, I had been to the restaurant and my review was written and turned in to my editor.

But even if it hadn't been, I might have decided to go after reading her column just to see how the service was for myself. I have no idea what the truth of the incident was, but there were enough odd things about the story that I didn't think it was as black-and-white as some folks did.

And I certainly wouldn't let some anonymous customer influence my choice of restaurants to review.

Mmmm, I wonder if Anonymous was the customer himself? 

(Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

Next Sunday I review Clementine (5402 Harford Road) in Hamilton. As the Chameleon Cafe down the street did, it started off as a neighborhood dining spot.

But also like Chameleon, I won't be surprised if Clementine ends up having citywide appeal. 

(Andre Chung/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Review Preview
        

Realbaltimorefan posted this comment this morning under Next Tuesday's Top Ten:

I would like to see the "Top Ten Places You Probably Haven't Thought of to Eat LUNCH Outdoors (That Are Also Baltimore Finds)". I'm not sure if there are Ten places that fit this description, but Gertrude's at the BMA should certainly be considered. Personally, I prefer dining "alfresco" at lunch (hopefully sitting in the shade with the sun shining) rather than dinner.

While I'm not sure I could come up with 10 good candidates, especially that you haven't thought of, it's a topic worth discussing. My votes would go to spaces that have a lot of plants/flowers/trees around them. Art sculpture gets them bonus points. ...

We're looking for more places like:

* The well-landscaped courtyard at Green Spring Station, which is now the Tark's Grill outdoor space

* The Stone Mill Bakery's shady patio

* The back garden of the 4 East Madison Inn 

* The outdoor space in front of Kali's Court 

* The bluestone patio at the Oregon Grille 

If we include RBF's suggestion of Gertrude's, that's six. If you could come up with four more legitimate ones, we'd have our Top Ten for this Tuesday. OK, I know I'm asking you to do my work, but, hey, it's a holiday weekend.

There must be more places in the burbs and Annapolis that I just don't know about. I'm not including the restaurants around the lake in Columbia because they are too obvious, like Harborplace. And these can't be  restaurants that have tables on the sidewalk, pleasant though that may be.

Suggestions, please. 

(Photo of the Green Spring Station courtyard by me) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Outdoor Dining
        

Gailor and I are just back from a girls' night out. My husband is away, and I offered to take her out to dinner wherever she wanted. She chose Pazo. (She'd never been there.)

We went early; 6:30 p.m. was the last opening they had. I was glad we had dressed up a bit because there was a sign that said, "Proper attire required."

I'm not sure what that meant. Everyone else was in a) jeans, and not designer, b) T-shirt, c) flip-flops, or d) shorts. Maybe if you wore your pajamas you'd be turned away.

We had some good tapas, and the waitress suggested we get a bottle of wine rather than two glasses because it was only $17. I bring this up because of last weekend's discussion about the Oregon Grille. When I got the check, the price had gone up to $19. For some reason, I didn't think to ask the waitress about it until after I paid.

"It was $17 yesterday," she said. What I liked was that she went back and checked, and then said, "We're adjusting your bill accordingly." No discussion. ... 

Afterwards, Gailor and I walked along the water and around Harbor East, which she hadn't seen. There were demonstrators outside of the Oceanaire Seafood Room with signs about clean water, but also a couple of foie gras protesters.

They were very polite. When one of them murmured something to Gailor, she said, "I'm all about not eating foie gras, but my mother, on the other hand..."

Thrown to the wolves. 

(First photo by Gailor, second by me. No flash, I promise.) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

I just had my first Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. I wouldn't go out of my way to go back, but the people sure were nice. 

My problem is with the consistency. I haven't quite thought out my philosophy about this; but it's something like there are two kinds of ice cream in the world, soft ice cream (as in Dairy Queen) and hard ice cream (as in Baskin-Robbins or one of the premium brands).

Homemade ice creams that start off hard and melt in the blink of an eye because they have no preservatives are so far above this discussion we won't even go there.

Anyway... 

...once the Cold Stone -- what do I call her? -- kneader mixes in the extra(s), such as chopped-up KitKat bars into mint ice cream on the cold marble slab, the ice cream ends up the consistency that at home would make me panic because I would think, What's wrong with the freezer? That unconsciously causes mild tension while I'm eating the ice cream.

So why the photo of Dominion Ice Cream's sign? Gailor and my husband were standing outside Cold Stone in Charles Village eating their ice creams while I was inside getting mine, and a woman walked by eating ice cream from somewhere else. Like Gailor was going to let any other ice cream place go undiscovered.

In the same tone she'd use to report another terrorist attack only maybe more horrified she said, "Guess what she told me, Mom. 'I got it at Dominion across the street, AND THEY HAVE REALLY GOOD VEGETABLE ICE CREAM.'"

I knew about the place because it had made the City Paper's Best 2007 issue. So we wandered over to Dominion Ice Cream and looked in the case at the vegetable flavors: carrot, spinach, sweet potato, and tomato.

The woman offered to give her a taste, and it was a first. Gailor turned down a free sample of ice cream.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (67)
        

Is this ugly or what? However, I'm going to give you the recipe that came with this photo because I love sangria. And what with the weather and all, maybe you need something to cheer yourself up. I know I do. I've just found out that the Wimbledon men's semifinals, which are going on right now, have been embargoed on ESPN2 so they can be shown not live on NBC later. Excellent move, NBC. I'm sure there are many exciting features and lots of important news on the Today Show today.

Note: even on a holiday it's not good to start drinking before 11 a.m.

I hadn't heard of the book the recipe is from, and I never thought of the concept of "pitcher drinks" before, although I like it. Let's see how many we can name.

Well, sangria, of course, and martinis. Mmmm. I think I'm stuck. I guess there are 99 others, though. ... 

Red, White and Blue Sangria

Preparation time, start to finish: 15 minutes (plus at least 4 hours chilling). Makes about 7 servings.

1 bottle dry white wine
1/2 cup triple sec
1/4 cup citrus- or berry-flavored vodka
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup simple syrup
3/4 cup blueberries
3/4 cup hulled and sliced strawberries
3/4 cup raspberries
1/2 cup pineapple chunks

Combine all ingredients in a large glass punch bowl or pitcher and stir well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Serve over ice.

(Recipe from Kim Haasarud's 101 Sangrias and Pitcher Drinks, Wiley, 2008)

(AP Photo/Larry Crowe)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

 
This is the first time in a decade we've been here for the Fourth of July, and I'm not sure what to do with myself. I could clean my closets. (No kidding. That's one of the items on my list for this weekend.)

I don't even know what restaurants are open tonight, and I'm sure not cooking.

In past years we've spent the holiday in a small town in Tennessee, starting with a flag raising in the woods at 8 a.m. And then the fun just keeps coming: the dog and cat show, the cake contest, the cloggers and, of course, the parade. One year it had tanks, I'm not sure why.

For those more inured to crowds than I am (the population is, after all, 2,361), there are fireworks and a barbecue at the lake when it gets dark.

I'm very sad.

Or not. Wimbledon is on today, and for once I won't have to watch it on a screen the size of a postage stamp.

(Mauricio Rubio/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

When I think about ideas for Top Ten lists I go back and forth about choosing something I would find quirky and fun to write about or topics that we've done to death here but people keep e-mailing and calling and stopping me in the street to ask me about. I'm thinking of crab houses, for instance. Ha ha. Just kidding. No, wait. Please keep reading.

Anyway, the question I keep getting almost as much as where to eat in the Inner Harbor is where to eat outdoors. I know I have a separate category about this to the right, but it still feels like I should update the list this summer. So that's one option for next Tuesday's Top Ten: Top Ten Places You Probably Haven't Thought of to Eat Outdoors.

I was particularly inspired by this when I learned that...

The second Mari Luna, which will be opening at 1010 Reisterstown Road this fall, will have a rooftop deck. I LOVE rooftop decks. I'm still mourning the Metropolitan's in Annapolis.

You can read more details about Mari Luna Latin Grill in next Wednesday's Table Talk. (Thanks again to Joyce W. for the tip.)

Another option would be something I couldn't do without your help like Top Ten Bagel Places That Aren't National Chains. I think we'd have to allow local chains or there wouldn't be enough of them. It would be fun then for some volunteers to take the list and actually get one plain bagel at each of them on the same day and tell us which really is the best.

And yet another idea I've been toying with is Top Ten Baltimore "Finds," restaurants even people who have lived here a long time probably don't know about or have heard about but then forget to try. This is kind of intriguing to me. 

Or maybe you have another idea you'd like to see done. Even if you've suggested it before, feel free to mention it again. I keep forgetting to make a master list, probably because that would suggest I'm actually organized, which would not be the case.

Check in tomorrow and we'll have some fantastic Fourth fun. I'll be around if you are. 

(Julie A. Ferguson/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

I missed the entry on foodie books yesterday over at the Read Street blog. (However, I noticed Dahlink didn't.) The photo with Dave's entry is of one of my favorite foodie books of all time, Alice, Let's Eat, by Calvin Trillin.

Trillin is near and dear to my heart because he once said to food critics (I'm paraphrasing here): WAS IT GOOD? I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF IT TASTED GOOD. It reminds me not to get too creative in my descriptions.

Of course, my editor would have a heart attack if that's all I said in my review of a restaurant: The fish was good, the steak wasn't good, the salad was very good, the dessert was terrible.

But sometimes I'm tempted.  

(Photo of Trillin by Albert Ferreira/Startraks) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Pamela just sent me this urgent plea, and I wasn't able to be of much use:

Help! I'd like to find some very memorable, distinct places for a weekend LUNCH (on saturday), and i'm coming up blank. Crabhouses are out of the question, and we'd like something chic but not stuffy. Some of the places i had in mind are either closed on saturday, or don't serve lunch! Do you have any recommendations for a somewhat elegant, fancy, gustatorily memorable lunch spot for entertaining an out of town guest? we'd like to do something nice for them!

The places that came to mind without my doing any research were the usual suspects: Gertrude's at the BMA and Donna's at Cross Keys for their outdoor eating spaces, maybe Brightons if she wants elegant (but it might be too stuffy for her). ... 

I'm drawing a blank otherwise because downtown restaurants that aren't tourist spots tend to be open for lunch only during the week.

I'm on deadline so I don't have time to call around or visit Web sites right now. Does anyone have any other ideas?

I have a feeling I wouldn't be able to sell her on a place like Ethel & Ramone's, pictured. Not chic enough. 

(Glenn Fawcett/Sun photographer)

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

Owl Meat is back from his travels. When I asked if he was in North America, he said, yes, "Somebody's got to walk the chicken."

Cryptic. But deep.

Anyway, he came through in spite of the jet lag and sent us this Funtastic Thursday Mystery Menu. ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (46)
        

John McIntyre, who knows everything there is to know about gerunds, also knows how to make a mean martini. Do not miss the video demonstrating his talent, currently playing on his blog, "You Don't Say."

As one of his fans described it in an e-mail, "It's like food porn for Harper's readers." 

(Colby Ware/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

Every Tuesday late into the night and then very early Wednesday I check my work e-mail over and over again to see if Multmedia Editor and Resident Cheeseburger, Wing, Crab Ball and Tiramisu Expert John Lindner has sent me a Shallow Thought.

This morning I was saddened by this brief e-mail:

Reason I didn't post a timely shallow thought: Slept all night on left side, woke up with only right brain functionality.To make up for it, I'll force myself to compose a food haiku.

Well, folks, it was worth the wait. John came up with the following brilliant effort.

Your contribution to this Shallow Thought Wednesday can be:

a) Discuss the evocative allusions and underlying meaning(s) of John's haiku; or

b) See if you can top it with your own food haiku.

Just as a reminder, a haiku is a Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables.

Here's John's: ... 

Sipping beaujolais

my cheeseburger has vanished

Waiter! Creme brulee!

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Every once in a while when I clear out my inbox I end up with tidbits that don't quite fit anywhere else but are interesting.

For instance, I got an e-mail yesterday from Meghan Welsh, a manager at Tsunami/Lemongrass downtown saying that a "gentleman" from The Sun had left a message on their voice mail. He had heard "from some sources that either both Tsunami and Lemongrass or just Tsunami were going to close their doors, and he assumed that since the phone hadn't been answered that we really were closed for good. He said that he would rely on the other sources (who really knows who these sources are!) and that the information would be published today."

Of course, the poor woman was in a panic, although no story appeared. Anyway, a Sun reporter would have called one of the original restaurants in Annapolis to confirm. I'm assuming it was a prank. Tsunami, however, does have a new menu, she told me.

Moving along... 

I heard from a reliable source who didn't want to be quoted that Dizzy Issie's in Remington will be reopening Aug. 4. But we all know that opening dates can be fluid.

The Parthenon Diner downtown has closed (so quickly!). A sign on the door says the Park Avenue Grill will open there in August under new management. 

Consumer blogger Liz Kay tells me that Urban Cellars in Charles Plaza now has curbside pick up so you don't have to find a parking spot. 

Lager's Pub in Canton has new owners and a new menu featuring "overstuffed signature sandwiches."

Actress (and Baltimore native) Anna Faris had dinner with a group at Aldo's in Little Italy last Saturday night.

There's more, but I have to keep moving if I'm going to get everything done that needs to be done before I have to physically be at my desk at work. 

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (37)
        

Why do the most seemingly harmless shortcuts always come back to bite you on the backside?

Case in point: the photo I posted with today's Top Ten Restaurant Chocolate Desserts. It was from a story that ran in the Los Angeles Times in May, but I just liked it a lot. And I figured it was unlikely that we actually had photos of any of the desserts on my list.

Then I got this e-mail from Katie: ... 

Hi Elizabeth,

So I'm 6 months pregnant and ran across your article on the top ten restaurant chocolate desserts. I am about to call my husband and make him run out and get the dessert in the picture (the one in the white cup.) Which dessert is this on the list?

Arrrggghhh. Here this poor mother-to-be (it's not fun being pregnant in July) is craving those lovely Italian frozen puddings, coviglia al caffe, and I had to break it to her that her husband can't buy it for her. It's not one of the desserts on the list.

However, I did find the recipe, from the story by Amy Scattergood and Donna Deane. Maybe her husband will make it for her.

Here it is:

Coviglia al caffe

Total time: 30 minutes, plus freezing time

Servings: 10

Note: Adapted from Cucina del Sole by Nancy Harmon Jenkins. "Coviglia should not be frozen hard," she writes. If you must keep them in the freezer longer than 2 to 3 hours, transfer them out of the freezer and into the refrigerator so they loosen up before serving.

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons very finely ground espresso coffee (freshly ground)

2 teaspoons flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

1/2 cup strong brewed black coffee

1 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Grated bittersweet chocolate for garnish

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the milk until it is just hot to the touch, but do not let the milk come to a boil. Keep warm.

2. In a small bowl, combine the ground espresso and flour, tossing with a fork to mix well. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat until the mixture is light-colored and thickened. Continue beating as you slowly pour in the warm milk. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, the coffee and the mixture of ground espresso and flour, beating constantly.

4. When everything is well-combined, transfer the mixture to a heavy saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to a creamy consistency. Note that it's important to watch the mixture and stir constantly because if it comes to a boil, it will curdle as the eggs start to cook. (If that starts to happen, immediately pull the pan off the heat and cool it by setting the base of the pan in cold water. Strain the mixture to get rid of any curdled/cooked bits and continue with the remainder.) In the end, the mixture will thicken to a custard and coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

5. Beat 1 cup of the whipping cream in a chilled bowl to soft peaks, then fold the whipped cream into the coffee mixture. Rinse the beaters and beat the egg whites to stiff peaks; fold into the coffee cream.

6. Pour into a glass bowl and freeze about 1 hour, then stir the mixture, which should be half-frozen. Divide into espresso cups and return to the freezer until almost frozen, an additional 2 to 3 hours.

7. Whip the remaining cream together with the powdered sugar and remaining vanilla to soft peaks. Spoon a small dollop of whipped cream onto each serving and sprinkle lightly with bittersweet chocolate. Serve immediately.

Each serving: 207 calories; 3 grams protein; 13 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 16 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 133 mg. cholesterol; 39 mg. sodium.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Francesca asked for the ancho chili chocolate bread pudding recipe to be posted here. I can't always find old recipes in our archives, but this wasn't published too long ago. It was the signature dessert of Michael Marx when he was chef/owner of Blue Agave in Federal Hill.

The photo may look a little odd, but it's because the recipe was part of a Valentine's Day story on chocolate desserts. ... 

Chocolate Ancho Chili Bread Pudding    

Makes ten 5-ounce portions    

1/2 pound butter    

2 1/2 cups grated bittersweet chocolate    

1 quart heavy cream    

2 cups milk    

5 large eggs    

1 1/2 cups brown sugar    

1 cup white sugar    

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract    

2 1/2 tablespoons ancho chili powder (see note)    

2 tablespoons ground canela (Mexican cinnamon)(see note)    

1 teaspoon ground clove    

1 1/2 tablespoons ground allspice    

one 1-pound loaf of challah (or similarly dense, egg-rich bread), cut in cubes    

Melt butter and chocolate over double boiler. Remove from heat. Whisk in heavy cream and milk. Beat eggs in bowl until fluffy. Add brown and white sugar, vanilla extract and spices.    

Add chocolate-butter-milk mixture slowly to egg mixture until incorporated. Add cubed bread and mix it with a rubber spatula. Let stand for 1 hour. Pour into greased, 8-inch square baking pan that's 4 inches deep. Top with parchment baking paper and foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Test with wooden toothpick in center.    

Note: Ancho chili powder and canela can be found in Hispanic markets. Plain cinnamon can be substituted for canela.

(Jerry Jackson/Sun photographer) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Rosebud has pointed out that July is National Lasagna Awareness Month. For some reason this is really worrying me. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about national awareness months:

A national or international awareness day [or week or month] is a date usually set by a major organization or government to commemorate a medical research or ethical cause of importance on a national or international level. 

This raises a lot of questions. ...

1) What major organization would assign National Lasagna Awareness Month?

2) Why July, not a month I usually associate with something that has to be baked in the 350 degree oven for an hour?

3) Most important, what is there about lasagna to be aware of? Does anyone not like lasagna? Conversely, is it anyone's favorite food?

4) Meat or vegetable? 

I can't even see any reason to make it yourself unless you have a large family. You can get perfectly good lasagna at any number of restaurants and gourmet-to-gos; and if you make it for a party dish everyone thinks you're an unimaginative cook, no matter how good it tastes. 

Here are some lasagna factoids to ponder. 

I can't think of anything else to say about lasagna, even though I'm trying really hard to be aware of it.

(AP photo) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (44)
        

Usually chocolate is a winter craving for me. I'm not even a serious chocoholic: I prefer milk to dark, and a heavy chocolate dessert after a big meal just doesn't do it for me.

So why am I making chocolate desserts a Top Ten Tuesday topic in July? I can't explain it, but lately I've been wanting a little chocolate. I sank so low as to buy a Kit Kat bar the other day on impulse. Big mistake. The chocolate was so soft most of it got on my fingers.

Anyway, I want to prove to you that not every restaurant chocolate dessert has to be a death-by-chocolate experience. Even the flourless chocolate cakes I've included here have some subtlety.

Obviously I haven't tried every chocolate dessert at every restaurant in the area, so please tell us about your favorites by posting a comment below. ... 

*Meli's chocolate framboise: layers of mousse, chocolate cake and just a touch of raspberry in the chocolate ganache.

*Catonsville Gourmet's Smith Island cake. It's from Sugar Bakers, but it's better than most house-made desserts. 

* The mousse-like dark chocolate royale cake at the Brass Elephant

* Woodberry Kitchen's warm, puffy flourless chocolate cake with cafe au lait ice cream

* The molten chocolate cake with a salty caramel center at Cinghiale (the combination of salt and sweet is just about irresistible)

* Brasserie Tatin's marjolaine le bec fin: hazelnut meringue, chocolate mousse, hazelnut buttercream, whipped cream, ganache

* Chocolate souffle with creme chantilly at Cynthia's 

* Tersiguel's  chocolate mousse served with berry coulis and shaved chocolate

* The chocolate pecan pie with mascarpone at O'Learys

* The profiteroles with chocolate sauce at Martick's (214 W. Mulberry St., 410-752-5155). This is a nostalgia pick because I had the miniature cream puffs stuffed with ice cream for the first time many years ago there. 

(Los Angeles Times photo by Liz O. Baylen)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (38)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays