John McIntyre sent me this as a possible topic of discussion, and I was so taken with it I thought I would post his whole e-mail. Unfortunately, I can't think of any new embarrassing food preferences to tell you about because if you read this blog regularly you already know about all of mine. The one that probably caused the most consternation was my liking bagels toasted and buttered -- and not too dense. Here's John. EL

John McIntyre's entry: I order steak well done.
 
This is rank heresy, shameful, disrespectful of meat and of the chefs who prepare it. Kathleen (who tells my son, "Put your father's on the grill ten minutes ahead of ours") attributes this to unfortunate formative experiences in my youth in Kentucky, where people are suspicious if the meat is a different color on the inside. I am still a rube. ...

I sometimes mention feebly that this was also General Grant's preference. Yes, the commander who sent tens of thousands of soliders to slaughter was so squeamish about the sight of blood that he ordered his beef cooked to a cinder. I am not the first to reflect on the irony. I also understand the sentiments of the people in Willa Cather's "Death Comes to the Archbishop" who, when Father Vaillant orders his lamb lightly roasted, gaze in horror at "the delicate stream of pink juice that followed the knife." But no quantity of historical or literary anecdote will cancel the look I get when I say that I want my meat served well-done.
 
That is why I don't dare go to steakhouses (that and stinginess). I tremble at the thought of an irate chef, blood in his eye, sweeping down on me with a cleaver in his hand. In ordinary restaurants, I lower my head and mumble apologetically, "Make it as well done as your conscience permits." Then I order a second martini.

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (71)
        

Earlier this summer I wrote about the original name of Spam, Hormel's Spiced Luncheon Meat, which I thought was a much better name.

This poor food. A whole category of things we hate, spam, has been named after it, so now the name of the canned meat has horrible connotations.

I don't even remember how I felt about the name, as opposed to the meat, before the Internet; but I guess I thought it was a clever combination of spiced and ham, and its only flaw was that it was the name of something unpalatable. ...

But now the name itself has been ruined.

Under that same earlier post, Retired in Elkridge pointed out that the name was the result of a contest, which I hadn't known. Before it was called Hormel's Spiced Luncheon Meat.

I propose we come up with a better name, one that doesn't remind you of why you hate to open your e-mail inbox. I may award a wonderful prize to the best name, or I may write to Hormel and link to this post, suggesting that the company come up with a wonderful prize. I haven't decided yet.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

All-American Restaurants was a tougher category than I thought it would be.

I didn't want to include diners and barbecue places, because they deserve Top 10s of their own.

And I didn't want to include restaurants like Cafe Hon that are American but also fun and campy.

The restaurants on my list all take their American food seriously.

If you're a new reader of our Top 10 lists, please click here before you go all postal on us.

Here's my list in alphabetical order. Feel free to post your own suggestions. ...

* Baugher's in Westminster. Fried-to-order chicken and homemade pies and ice cream.

* Bullock's Family Restaurant in Westminster. The specialties are broasted chicken and strawberry pie.

* Eastern House in Highlandtown. Proof that All-American is a state of mind: There are some Greek dishes on the menu. 

* Friendly Farm in Upperco. Lots of old-fashioned charm, long lines and family-style dining.

* Jennings Cafe in Catonsville. Traditional American food served by award-winning waitresses.

* Kibby's in Southwest Baltimore. Known for its shrimp salad.

* Michael's Steak & Lobster House in Dundalk. Home of the 40-ounce T-bone steak.

* Peppermill in Lutherville. Pleasant food in comfortable surroundings.

* Rallo's in Federal Hill/Locust Point. Open for breakfast and lunch; no longer serves dinner.

* Sunset in Glen Burnie. The American, family-owned verion of fine dining.

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (47)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

How dumb are some people? I got this comment a while back about a restaurant I won't name:

I will never eat at [name deleted] again merely based on how filthy and disgusting the majority of the servers were the two times I was there.

Dirty fingernails, wiping their noses on their sleeves, and the stench from not showering....plus the food isn't even that good.

F#@!ing hipsters!!

Why even waste your time? I'm not naming the restaurant and getting myself and the paper sued.

And why waste your time and mine putting in a fake e-mail address? I was going to suggest softening it so at least something negative could be published (OK, a little optimistic on my part), but my e-mail bounced back.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

My husband and I are heading for Sewanee, Tenn. today for a relaxing week, an informal family reunion, and a small town Fourth of July. Poor Gailor has to stay in Baltimore for work.

Thank goodness for auto-publish so you can talk among yourselves while I'm on the plane.

I do have my laptop with me, so I won't be out of touch long. And I do have someone checking comments to eliminate multiple posts, spam and unsavory statements when I'm out walking in the woods or something. 

You'll see that many of my posts this week are going to be short and asking you to do more of the work. Please oblige.

To get you started, I'm going to repeat a comment Jules W. wrote a few months ago. We were trying to figure out what kind of themed week to have this summer: ...

I have a suggestion for a "week", following up on Joyce W.'s suggestion-- instead of (or along with) Beach Week, why not have a Vacation or Travel Week, where people can post eating adventures from whatever city, small town, country, beach, desert, or cruise ship they visited, for business or pleasure?

Posted by: Jules W. | April 18, 2009 11:08 PM

Here's what I answered him:

This is a good idea, but I've had a hard time getting people to post reviews of whatever in the past. There is nothing sadder than a post asking for responses that only gets two. Readers, I've found, can be a little shy. But maybe I'll try at least an entry or two this summer asking. EL

Because this is the first day of my vacation week, maybe it's a good time to post this and see if anyone will respond. At least we hope to hear from you, Jules W.

(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
        

Yesterday my review of Talara, Harbor East's new ceviche and tapas bar, ran in the Arts & Entertainment section.

I liked the food a lot, and I would go back for the tapas and ceviche in a heartbeat, but I hope I emphasized enough that a tapas meal here will cost you as much as a full dinner at some places. One reason tapas has made something of a comeback recently, I believe, is that you can usually eat cheaper with small plates. That won't happen here unless you go for the happy hour. 

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

I'm usually not around Baltimore on July 4, and if I am I make a picnic and we eat it out on our little deck in back. It didn't occur to me that restaurants might be open on the Fourth until I got a couple of press releases, one from Donna's and the other from McCormick & Schmick's.

Donna's locations will be open their regular hours. The Fourth menu will include gazpacho with crab, zucchini fritters, crab cakes with summer slaw and sweet fries, Mediterranean lamb burgers in pita, New York strip steak with hand-cut fries, grilled local corn with herb butter (greens and herbs from local markets), summer bread pudding, and key lime pie. ...

Meanwhile, McCormick & Schmick's is celebrating the Fourth with what the seafood chain calls "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Lobster."

I don't get it. Why the substitution? Aren't lobster and happiness the same thing?

OK, enough with the bad lobster jokes. It's a one-pound lobster with accompaniments.

This revolutionary deal will be available for $19.95.

OK, enough with the bad Fourth of July jokes. Although I do think it would be better if the price were $17.76.

Surely these aren't the only two restaurants in the area open July 4. If you know of any others, please post below.

(Bruce Gilbert/Newsday)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

I'm trying to get the whole "Elizabeth Large is on vacation" thing that appears in the paper to actually be in when I'm on vacation, so next week, when I'm going to still be on vacation, there won't be any review.

I think.

If I'm wrong, and the one for July 12 somehow appears, think of it as a freebie.

Deep thought: The problem with leaving on Monday for vacation is that you think you've got the whole weekend to pack so you never get around to it. And then suddenly it's bedtime Sunday night and you're not packed.

Meanwhile, I think we need some nice food art with this post because it's been about 36 hours since Dining@Large has had any. (Regis and Kelly don't count.) Pictured is a mini-paella from Talara in Harbor East.

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

When I checked my work e-mail this morning I saw that consumer blogger Liz Kay sent me this podcast about Batter Blaster pancakes, our old favorite, from Consumer Reports.

I'm going to run right out and buy myself a can. Geez. They make it sound like a health food. No wonder it's in Whole Foods.

Disclaimer: I'm not really going to run right out and buy myself a can.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

You know its not really Ms Large who said anything.. its the people who post on here [who], you know, go out and actually spend money on restaurants? Obviously you are an employee who is worried about finding their next job, and I would be too... the restaurants that can't compete are being culled by more selective diners.

Yes it sucks when a good restaurant goes under.. places that you say "oh I wish I had gone there, but I never did".. places have to have enough appeal to get people to get off their butts and spend some money.. and whether you liked it or hated it, Ixia wasn't getting butts in the seats.

Posted by: hahaHAha | June 25, 2009 12:31 AM

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

For some bizarre reason that I don't really understand, a burger from a Hagerstown eatery will be featured on LIVE! with Regis and Kelly, as part of “Live’s Ultimate Hometown Grill Off.”

"We’ve asked viewers to submit nominations for their favorite grill dish and the local chef who prepares it," the PR person told me.

"Each week we’ll fly in one of the nominees to prepare the dish on our show.  At the end of the summer, one winner will be named and the chef and recipe will be featured in Better Homes and Gardens."

No, don't stop reading. ...

On the June 26 show, one of the five contestants in the burger category was the chorizo burger from Hempen Hill BBQ in Hagerstown.

I like the idea of Hempen Hill's chorizo burger winning (not that I've ever had it or even heard of the place), so what I want you to do is go on the Web site RIGHT NOW and vote for it and Chef Jason W. Vogel. Wouldn't it be excellent if he won?

Chorizo burger. Mmm. Sounds a little strange.

The voting ends tomorrow, June 28, at 10 a.m. Also, anyone who votes is entered to win a Weber grill.

(Photo courtesy of Disney-ABC Domestic Television)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

I just spoke to Randy Stahl, the Brass Elephant owner who's been at Remomo in Arundel Mills Mall since 2005. He says that he and his partner, Jack Elsby, now at the Milton Inn in Sparks, would like to sell the building and lease the restaurant space back.

The Brass Elephant could then use the capital, he said, to make much-needed improvements like putting in an elevator and a first-floor bathroom. In an ideal world, the partners would hold on to the business and its liquor license until the economy improves.

I asked him if more than the building was for sale -- specifically the restaurant, the catering business, and the liquor license.

"For the right price," Stahl said almost reluctantly, "they're available."

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (60)
        

I can't keep up.

I just read about Neo Viccino's closing on Chowhound. I called the restaurant to confirm, and was told it's true. It will reopen as a sports bar.

I hope those concert goers like jalapeno poppers before a performance.

More later. I was told to call back for details after the lunch rush.

(Amy Davis/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

It's weird, but Bucky, our macho, rural good-ole-boy regular, has been getting sort of existential and Zen-like lately. Witness the questions at the end of his guest post today. Here's Bucky. EL

Everyone has his or her own little quirk, right?  Except for my friend, John Martin Thomas (JMT).  He has everybody’s little quirks.

He is, for example, extremely particular about his food.  Every aspect of it.  He is also very predictable about what he eats.  Having breakfast at the course after an early round of golf? He eats huevos rancheros.  Every single time.  Meeting him at Elw…uh, the steakhouse we go to for dinner?  Prime rib.  Every single time.
 
So, last weekend, Paco and I were to meet JMT for Saturday lunch at the bar.  I got there and was surprised to see Paco’s car already in the parking lot.  (Paco’s quirk:  never on time.  And the most amazing thing about this quirk:  He always has a good excuse.  Not “good” in that it’s entertaining, “good” in that it is always a legitimate reason for being a few minutes late.  But I digress…) ...

As I walked in, Paco walked out of the kitchen.  Huh?  And he had a big grin on his face.  We each ordered a beer, and flirted with Stacy, the bartender, for a couple of minutes.  When she went to wait on somebody else, I asked Paco, “What are you grinning about?” 

“Just wait,” he replied, “but don’t order a cheeseburger.”
 
JMT came in, stopped at the bar to pick up a beer (and flirt with Stacy), then came over to the table.  We ordered lunch:  Paco, a club sandwich, me an Italian sausage sandwich and JMT had what he always has on Saturday at the bar, a cheeseburger, double pickles, tomato, lettuce and onion.
 
When we got our lunches, JMT looked at his cheeseburger, which was assembled like this, top to bottom:  top of the bun, patty, cheese, pickles, more pickles, onion, tomato, lettuce, bottom of the bun.
 
Yes, they had assembled his burger and condiments upside down.  Paco’s grin was ear-to-ear.
 
“Hey,” JMT said, loudly, to everyone in particular, “what the hell is this?”
 
Two issues:
 
1)  Does food even have a right side up or an up side down?  If you ordered, say, pumpkin pie and it was served with the dollop of yogurt underneath the crust instead of on the top of the filling, would that bother you?  Would you even notice?  Would you send it back?
 
2)  Is it “pathetic” (Mrs. Bucky’s word, not mine) for three men who are north of 50 to be flirting with a bartender who graduated from high school in this millennium?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

The Baltimore Business Journal is reporting this morning that the Brass Elephant in Mount Vernon is for sale. Of course, any restaurant that a newspaper describes as a "venerable eatery" (it was once known as the most beautiful restaurant in Baltimore) is probably in trouble these days.

I called the Brass Elephant just now and talked to a manager, Khalief Mack, who said he thought only the building was for sale, which isn't what the Baltimore Business Journal is reporting. He's going to have Randy Stahl, one of the owners, call me back. He also told me that the restaurant is staying open.

As soon as I find out more, I'll let you know.

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Iced coffee is the summer's trendy drink. I wouldn't know this except when Gailor moved in for the summer the first night she brewed coffee to have iced the next morning.

OK, I said to myself, hot new trend.

Sure enough, when I got to work that day there was an e-mail from the National Restaurant Association announcing that iced coffee is hot. Not only that, USA Today did a trend story on the drink.

In the past year, iced coffee has become so popular it's overtaken iced tea as a breakfast drink in restaurants. Wow, who knew anyone drank iced tea for breakfast? I missed that whole trend. ...

The best thing about iced coffee is watching the cream slide down past the ice cubes in delicious rivulets.

My favorite version of iced coffee is an iced latte, but the milk has to be steamed first or it doesn't taste right. You can't just put espresso and cold milk together and call it an iced latte. (I'm talking to you, Starbucks.)

When I was into iced lattes last summer I would get a regular latte and bring it home. By that time it had cooled off enough to pour over ice and not get too watery.

(Gene Sweeney Jr./Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

Well, boys and girls, today we reached an important milestone at Dining@Large.

At 5:18 p.m. today, Lissa posted our 50,000th comment!!!!! She joins Hal Laurent, our Voice of Reason; Owl Meat; e and LEC as milestone winners of fabulous prizes, which have sometimes been hard to collect. And probably will be particularly hard to collect now that our parent company is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

But I will do my best for you, Lissa.

Here were her immortal words: ...

Yes, Bucky, Bozo was a franchise. And scary. Like all clowns.

I do love how every person who comes to the Internet feels that their own particular grammar and punctuation quirks are the One True Way, and that everything that came before them was obviously a lie.

The Internet has never recovered from that first influx of people from AOL, I fear.

Please join me in offering her excited and warm congratulations!!!!!

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Commenting
        

Today Other Reviewer Richard wrote about Kabob Place, a new Indian restaurant at 1301 N. Charles St. I was impressed. He knew this neighborhood was called Midtown Belvedere. I assumed it was Middle Eastern from the name, but not so.

Although there are a few tables, it sounds like one of those places that survives mostly because it supplies carry out to a neighborhood hungry for decent and inexpensive fare.

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

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

New research suggests that moderate alcohol consumption may be the greatest contributing factor to the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, which supposedly promotes longevity.

Any nutrition story that contains a quote like the following gladdens my heart:

"My advice to people is drink wine unless you like it too much," said Dr. [Dimitrios] Trichopoulos, [MD, PhD, of Harvard]. "Excessive drinking is very hazardous to your health and society."

Here's the complete story on this finding and others, which contains the usual caveats.

Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
Categories: Wine and Spirits
        

I'm always happy when Owl Meat addresses the recession because of his vast and superior knowledge of economic issues. His thoughtful and insightful analyses bring a little class to Dining@Large. Here's Owlie with today's Funtastic Thursday guest post. EL ...

In this economy businesses are working hard to create specials to attract the dwindling stores of disposable income. Here are a few that my crack staff have collected.

Long John Silver's Bucket O' Krill
 
Ruby Tuesdays Happy Hour –- 25 cent bar mat shooters
 
Red Robin -– All You Can Eat "Robin"
 
Paddy O'Furncher's Irish Pub -– Buy one, get one
 
Chili's -– The $5.95 nacho bar is just Cool Ranch Doritos, ketchup and Splenda
 
P.J. Cooter's -– Mondays ladies drink free .. in the owner's tricked-out van
 
Applebee's $4.95 Roast Bif or Loobster Thursday
 
Friendly's Economy Soup of the Day -– Cream of mayonnaise
 
T.G.I. Friday's Road-Kill-Apalooza -– Sunday is Varmint Day!
 
Olive Garden -– Endless Bread Crumb Bar
 
Red Lobster -– Bait Fest ... Don't be glum, eat some chum!
 
Sizzler -– Get your photo taken on Sir Loin's lap on Wednesday ... ladies.
 
Cracker Barrel -– $1.95 Hobo Stew. Now chunkier ... more hobo.
 
There's a fajita bar and your waitress is named Fajita.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (69)
        

OK, this is a direct steal from a recent Chowhound topic: Baltimore's most overrated restaurants. But it's such a good one I have to post it here. Actually this was a Top 10 suggestion I got two years ago, and never quite had the nerve to use. (I don't own enough Kevlar.)

These are restaurants everyone raves about, but you yourself just don't get the appeal. The original poster on Chowhound, for instance, nominated the Oregon Grille, Aldo's and Sullivan's, which surprised me. Those wouldn't even make my Top 10 -- Do they get that much love in the first place?

So what's on my list of overrated restaurants? Are you crazy? Do you think I'm going to tell? I'm a coward. But if I get a consensus on 10 places, I might make a Top 10 list and blame it on you, my Dining@Large readers.

Of course, if I get a consensus, then maybe that puts them in the controversial restaurant category as opposed to the overrated.

(Photo of Sullivan's by Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (93)
        

How did this slip past me? Well, better late than etc. etc. Just now I was working on my Top 10 Tuesday list, All-American Restaurants; and I Googled Mealey's in New Market. It turns out it closed a couple of months ago. That immediately rang a bell. Someone, somewhere, said something to me at the time; but I never checked it out.

A lot of Baltimoreans who never ate there had at least heard of Mealey's. And if you like antiquing in Frederick County, this was the restaurant where you stopped for lunch. It had been around since the early 1900s.

(Nanine Hartzenbusch/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

In today's Table Talk column I had to fudge the lead item on Maisy's, which was supposed to open sometime this week; but because of my deadline, I wasn't sure it would. It turns out that the restaurant opened today, serving food only. The liquor license is still in the process of being transferred.

I also got to tell you more about the owner of Tenzo Artisan Chocolate, Pastry and Catering, Janice Shih. She gave up her career as a doctor to bake. ...

As for Top 10 Wednesday, it's still Beach Week in the print edition. But you might want to take a look to see which comments made it in.

The woman in the photo, by the way, is able to have a glass of wine at Maisy's bar because she's a friend of the owner. Ayana Lugo happened to be there before the place opened when the photographer was.

(Gene Sweeney Jr./Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

For every closing there's an opening, although not, unfortunately, in Baltimore. Hell Point Seafood, Bob Kinkead's new restaurant, is scheduled to open this Saturday in Annapolis. Given the way city permits can be a last-minute issue, though, I'm not holding my breath.

Hell Point Seafood will be the sister restaurant of Kinkead's in Washington.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Sometimes our Shallow Thought Guru John Lindner is such a tease in his guest posts. At least he could have told us more about the ash tray in the photo. Here's John. EL

Ever disparage a restaurant in front of a stranger only to have the stranger respond, “My mom owns that place”?

That sort of happened to me with Maggie's.

The first time I visited, it was heaven. Here, finally, was a casual restaurant serving good food that was close to home. (In Carroll County, that’s saying something; even the end of my driveway isn’t close to home.) ...

The second time I visited, I took Very Special Guests. Prior to our arriving, I talked the place up like I was part owner. Alas, our meal that night was disappointingly pedestrian.

Later, I can’t remember the circumstances, I was making polite conversation with a stranger who happened to be a foodie. She asked what restaurants I liked. I launched into a review of Maggie's. I waxed critical, but wistfully so, saying how much I wanted it to be good.

She proceeded to tell me that she loved the place and that her son worked there, I believe as manager. Uh oh.

But then she said even her son had admitted that the restaurant’s quality had suffered during a period of change. She didn’t act at all offended. If anything, she seemed sympathetic. She suggested I keep my eye on the place and give it another chance.

I did.

I finally returned to Maggie's a few weeks ago and...

To be continued.

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

Sometimes a story comes over the wire that no matter how engagingly I try to write the post about it, I can never improve on the original prose. I'm think of one with the headline "NY police close case of snake head in broccoli" that moved yesterday afternoon.

First of all, I never heard about the case when it happened. Second, I will never eat in a T.G.I. Friday's again. I may never eat in a restaurant again. ...

I wish I had art to go with it.

Anyway, some guy found, or said he found, the snake head in his broccoli at a T.G.I. Friday's in Clifton Park, north of Albany, on May 3. Needless to say, the parent company wasn't pleased, and asked the New York State Police to investigate.

Lab tests showed that the snake head wasn't cooked (they needed lab tests for that?), and therefore the snake head was added to the broccoli at the restaurant.

Interestingly, the statute of limitations for adding snake heads to broccoli in New York State is five years, so if someone comes forward with more information, the culprit could still be prosecuted.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
        

I like the idea of Top 10 All-American Restaurants in honor of the Fourth, which Robert of Cross Keys proposed. But how exactly do I define All-American? Not New American, for sure. Not American, but with a wink (as in "I'm really cutting edge").

Feel free to not only come up with a definition, but also nominate places that should be on the list.

I love the caption for this photo: ...

Rodney Haines blows out the candles on his 100th birthday cake at Baugher's Restaurant where at 3 o'clock every day he has a Baugher's burger. Ed Schaefer,77, left, and Rodney's son Glenn, 75, right, were among the well-wishers.

This was in 1999. I wonder what happened to him. Well, I guess I know. But I hope when I'm 100 I'll be eating my favorite food in some restaurant at 3 p.m. every day.

(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)
        

Bill writes so movingly about his pigout food that I wish I could help him out, but I don't know of any restaurant where it's a specialty. I looked at the menus of a couple of places I thought of, but had no luck. "Enough about crabs," he wrote. "Where's the best fried stuffed shrimp?" EL

I grew up in Lakeland along the southwest edge of the city.  One of my all time favorite pig-outs was the fried stuffed shrimp at Tangier's seafood in Morrell Park.  Since they closed MANY years ago, I've been looking for a replacement. 

The Tangier's version had enormous shrimp, packed full of crabmeat and had a light, fluffy crunchy fried shell.  Most places I've tried since have supermarket sized large or extra large shrimp with a couple of tablespoons of crabmeat tenuously clinging to it and a soggy fried coating.  Gunning's in Dorsey is the closest I've found so far, but even they are lacking.

Any places you could point me toward?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Sometimes I get news that isn't a surprise but is a shock. That's how I feel about the closing of Ixia in Mount Vernon. The restaurant's last night of service is this Friday, June 26.

It also doesn't surprise me that the person who handles most of the media inquiries for Ixia is David Briskie, the restaurant's designer. A meal there has always been as much about theater as eating.

In some ways I'm surprised Ixia survived as long as it did -- eight years. I never got the feeling it created a social community the way nearby Sotto Sopra has, which is the best way for a high-end restaurant to survive in downtown Baltimore. ...

I asked Briskie, of course, if the recession did Ixia in. Chef Kevin Miller's food was excellent, but it was also very expensive.

"In part," he said. "But we did what we wanted to do here. It's time to move on. We decided to close not for any one particular reason."

I asked where Miller would be going; Briskie said the chef hasn't made any decision yet. Ixia's owner, Un Kim, also owns Paper Moon, which will remain open.

The e-mail I got announcing Ixia's closing also said that an Ixia cookbook with a focus on the restaurant's design as well as the food will be published in the fall.

(Kim Hairston/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (108)
        

I got the results of a survey by Mintel Menu Insights just now, and while not surprising, I found it interesting.

Surveying American diners, Mintel found that only one in five (20%) rank food health as an important factor when ordering dinner. Far more essential are taste and hunger satisfaction, selected by 77% and 44% of respondents, respectively, when describing what they look for on a dinner menu. And although over three-quarters of adults claim they'd like to see more healthy items on the menu, barely half (51%) say they usually order them.

Setting aside the questions of methodology and so on that we've talk about here before, the results were pretty much what I would have guessed if someone had asked me to.

But it did remind me of something about my recent road trip I wanted to tell you about. ...

What's with the Ohio Turnpike and the whole healthy eating thing?

Gailor and I were driving along when it got to be lunchtime. I would like to tell you I'm the kind of dedicated food person who gets off the toll road and wanders around the countryside looking for great road food on trips like these. But who am I kidding? All I want to do is get home. In fact, as I told you before, I drove the last five hours straight through just in case Gailor might possibly want to take a break if she was driving.

So we stopped at one of the service plazas on the turnpike for lunch, and there was a full-service Panera Bread bakery-cafe. As in, bakes the bread on the premises. It turned out there were Paneras at most of service plazas.

Are they out of their minds? 

The lines for the Burger King and the pizza place were long; but we waltzed right into the Panera, and had salads made with free-range, hormone- and antibiotic-free chicken. As Gailor said, on a California toll road, it would be the reverse. The lines at the Panera would be long and the fast food places, short. But in Ohio?

I lived in Ohio for many years, so I know whereof I speak. I was also startled that there was a billboard advertising an all-local, all-natural cafe at one point, and a raw food bistro at another. I guess they figure vegans would be willing to get off the highway for their specialized diets.

I will be interested to see if next spring the Paneras are still there.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

I was going to do a Top 10 on All-American dishes in honor of the Fourth of July. But then I remembered I had done it a couple of years ago. Boy, some readers were less forgiving then. I guess they've gotten used to me or given up on Top 10.

Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and make up a Top 10 of lunch places for city jurors, from my own experience and from your suggestions. That way I'll have a place to send people when I get this question, which I do frequently. I realize not all of you who serve on juries are in the city, so if you want to recommend restaurants around other courthouses, feel free to post below.

I used the Google Maps walking feature to figure out how long it would take to get to each lunch spot from the court house. I think the numbers are a little optimistic for many people; allow a little more time. I also threw in a couple of places, most notably the Dogwood Cafe, for when you've been given more than an hour to eat.

Here's my list in alphabetical order: ...

* Au Bon Pain at 1 South St. (3 min.) It's a chain, but a decent one. The real draw is the courtyard at the side where you can eat your lunch.

* Cypriana Cafe at 120 E. Baltimore St. (2 min.) Excellent Greek pitas, salads and paninis.

* Dogwood Cafe in the Woman's Industrial Exchange. (8 min.) Locally sourced, organic when possible, soups, salads and sandwiches. Not the quickest lunch.

* Five Guys in the Pratt Street Pavilion. (6 min.) Burgers and fries that are better than the usual fast food.

* Java Joe's at 8 E. Baltimore St. (4 min.) Gourmet coffee, upscale sandwiches (available as low carb), frozen drinks. You can call ahead to place your order.

* Roly Poly Sandwiches at 7 N. Calvert St. (1 min.) For when you're short of time, pretty good chain that specializes in wraps.

* Rosina Gourmet at 300 E. Lombard St. (5 min.) Overstuffed traditional Italian sandwiches that win local awards.

* Sofi's Crepes under the Woman's Industrial Exchange. (8 min.) Savory and sweet crepes you can take with you.

* Suzie's Soba at 7 N. Calvert St. (1 min.) Good Asian fusion food near by; but it's not fast and it's not cheap, and I worry about it in that location. When I've been there, it hasn't been crowded.

* Tremont Plaza Deli at 222 St. Paul Place. (4 min.) Excellent traditional deli sandwiches, gives 10 percent discount to jurors.

(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (47)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Usually I ignore the e-mails telling me that this or that has X number of calories, but one caught my eye today from HealthCastle.com, whatever that is. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the figures, in other words. Anyway, here's what the e-mail said. It was the last one that startled me:

* Know Your Cone: A cake cone has 35 calories, a sugar cone has 50 calories, and a waffle cone or bowl has 110-160 calories. Chocolate dip adds at least 120 extra calories plus 8 grams of fat and trans fat.

* Go Easy on Sauces: Hot fudge topping adds 150 extra calories plus trans fat. Hershey's chocolate syrup adds 75 calories, and whipped cream adds 45 calories.

* Nix Bad Mix-ins: Fruits and nuts can add fiber or beneficial omega 3 fatty acids, but cookie dough and brownies only add calories and trans fat.

* Make the Light Choice: Many ice cream parlors now offer light ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet -- sweet cold treats with less calories and fat, especially if you skip the cone.

* Forget About Shakes: Ice cream parlor milkshakes generally contain 1,100–1,500 calories! Avoid them at all costs. ...

I forwarded the e-mail to Gailor with a new subject line: No more milkshakes for you.

Her e-mail came back:

Lalalala …I CAN’T HEAR YOU….lalalalala

Yeah, I sort of have that reaction, too. When you need a milkshake, you need a milkshake.

(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

Jacques Kelly just stopped by my desk to thank me for the link to his column this weekend. He started talking about Jake's in Rehoboth, which he says makes crab cakes the way he remembers them.

"They haven't gotten puffed up," he said. "They haven't gotten G&M-ized."

Great description.

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

Susan Reimer is looking for people who are planning to do some canning this summer, and asked me to put out an appeal. She's doing a story for the food section on canning vegetables.

I've done a lot of pickling and preserving in my time, but one thing that never seemed worth the trouble was canning vegetables. My canned vegetables always ended up tasting like, well, canned vegetables. ...

I'd rather eat frozen or out-of-season fresh than buy produce to can.

I would feel different if I had a garden full of too much wonderful produce, but if I can get a basil plant to grow in my yard, I'm lucky.

Anyway, if you're interested in talking to Susan for the story, let her know by e-mailing her directly at susan.reimer@baltsun.com.

(Sun archives)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

I got my July issue of Baltimore Magazine over the weekend, and the cover story is its first-ever round up of places to get great crab cakes. Suzanne and company did an excellent job, and I'm disappointed the story isn't up on the magazine's Web site yet. As soon as it is, I'll link to it here.

The only reason I'm not waiting is that some of you may want to get a copy of the print edition to keep around.

(Glenn Fawcett/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

At this point, Cross Keys seems a little cafe-heavy to me. Yesterday I reviewed the Village Square Cafe, the latest in a series of eating places that have come and gone in the development since it opened.

(Actually it's come but not gone, and I think it has a pretty good chance of not going, but you know what I mean.) ...

I was in Donna's at Cross Keys on a weeknight recently when I thought it would be slow, and the place was packed. The Village Square Cafe seems to be doing very well, too. I don't know about the hotel's coffee shop next to the cafe, but I haven't heard it's been suffering.

Maybe there is room for all three after all.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (28)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

One of our regulars, whose latest user name I can't remember at the moment because she likes to change it periodically, sent me this e-mail:

I think you wrote about this already, but would you kindly remind me where one can eat lunch during jury duty?  My lucky day is this week.

I did write about my jury duty in January, and I'll link to the post. Several people gave me good suggestions. I don't think I ever did a Top 10 about it, but I should.

I ended up at the Cypriana Cafe.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (77)
        

Next Sunday I review Talara, the new ceviche and Nuevo Latino tapas bar (with a little sushi thrown in for good measure) in Harbor East. I got around the ceviche/seviche question by not mentioning Talara's sister restaurant, Seviche in Pittsburgh. That way I can go with our style book and spell the raw fish marinated in citrus juice with a "c" without confusing folks.

If you've been thinking of trying Talara's Happy Hour, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and after 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, do it before my review comes out. I think it's a great deal, and I say so. You spend about two-thirds of what you'd be spending otherwise. ...

When I e-mailed a friend to ask him to make reservations, I sent him my Table Talk item on Talara, including this sentence:

Loud salsa music, South Beach atmosphere, mojitos, a live-wire bar crowd, outdoor seating - what's not to like?

He e-mailed back, "Everything except the mojitos."

It says something about the place that by the end of the evening he had been won over.

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Review Preview
        

Part of my Sunday morning ritual is to go through the coupons in the paper to try to cut out enough of them for things that I would buy anyway so that I actually make up the cost of Sun for a week. (I do get an employee discount.)

Of course, I then forget to use them when I go to the store.

Anyway, today I came upon one for Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think mayonnaise should be made with olive oil. And I'm someone who loves olive oil. I just don't think a store-bought mayonnaise should be tarted up. ...

As I kept flipping through the coupons I came upon one that bothered me even more, Land O' Lakes Butter with Olive Oil. Ugh. Like that makes it healthier. It sure isn't going to make it taste better.

So now I need one more example of an improper addition of olive oil to something just so the manufacturer can claim a health benefit, or why ever they're doing it, and we'll have a hot new flavor trend.

Photo caption: BALTIMORE, MD -- 08/26/2008 -- Globs of oil float beneath a dock as workers help to recover olive oil within the containment area at the harbor Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008. The cleanup continues following a spill that flowed from the Pompeiian Oil plant caused by vandalism, allowing 5,800 gallons to seep into the drainage that flows into the harbor. Several days of cleanup may be required, an MDE official said. (Karl Merton Ferron/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
        

Before the end of Beach Week, I want to be sure to link to Jacques Kelly's excellent column today, which has a peripheral beach reference.

It's about summer foods in Baltimore, but he starts in Rehoboth. It made me hungry just reading it.

(David Hobby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
        

When I went to the movies this afternoon, I parked for free at the Sun and walked down to the Landmark in Harbor East. I'm not as cheap as that makes me sound; Gailor, who was going with me to Star Trek, had driven down earlier to go to the gym, so her car was already down there.

Anyway, as I walked through the Inner Harbor, which was filled with people, someone stopped me to ask where a restaurant was. ...

What are the odds of that? You pick someone at random in a crowd to ask where a restaurant is, and she's the restaurant critic of the local newspaper. I felt like saying, Ask me anything about any restaurant in a five-mile radius and I'll be able to tell you. But that sounded kind of braggy so I didn't.

"Are there any fast-food restaurants around here? A McDonald's?" he asked.

Wow. I was stumped.

"There's a Five Guys in the Pratt Street Pavilion," I countered. "It has good burgers and fries."

He wasn't interested. "Is there a McDonald's?"

I had to admit I had no idea if the Inner Harbor has a McDonald's. Does it?

Landmark, by the way, has good movie popcorn. They pop it there and it isn't too salty.

(Karl Merton Ferron/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
        

Bagels

[Not sure of the category]

There are two culinary requirements for ex-New Yorkers: good Chinese food and good bagels. I'm sorry to say I've given up on Chinese food in Baltimore. When the need arises, I go to DC or I eat at Thai restaurants in Baltimore (really good).

I do know about Goldberg's. I made my peace with soft bagels, but their bagels have, to my mind, a faint chemical taste. I have solved the bagel problem through mail order. You pay $1.10 per bagel and shipping charges that range from a low of $13.56 for a FedEx package of 2 dozen bagels from H&H Midtown Bagels to shipping fees over $40. The H&H bagels were OK, but a little sweet. My current favorite is Tasty Bagels in Brooklyn--reasonably dense bagels with minimal sugar added. I chose the Next Day Air Saver (UPS) shipping option at $26.31. Breakfast happiness at last.

Posted by: Del | June 16, 2009 7:53 PM

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
        

The time has come to pack up the car and head back over the bridge. It was nice to get away for a week from customers who leave lousy tips, trendy topics like sous vide cooking and foam, and crab cakes. Oh wait. I guess we didn't get away from crab cakes.  Still, you know what I mean.

But now we have to get back to work.

I have a Top 10 coming up Tuesday that I haven't even thought about. 

The following week I'm on vacation, and while I'll have my trusty laptop with me, I wouldn't mind having one easy post a day I could write in advance.

One vacation I did "Second Helpings," where I repeated posts. Did I have a feature one time called "Stupid Easy Food Questions" and make you do the work, or did I just think about it and discard it?  Anybody have any new ideas?

And, of course, Fourth of July is looming. I could do a Top 10 on the best places to watch fireworks in the area, but are there 10 of them? I couldn't name them, but maybe you can.

And what about Fourth food itself? Anything to discuss there?

(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

I've felt bad about not having more hard and fast information for you for Beach Week. That's why I particularly appreciated this e-mail from Andy, who seems to know what he's talking about. EL

I've got a place in Bethany so I go down often but mostly eat around there.  I've got three recommendations for you that are "nice beach eats" -- they are not nostalgic like JR's Ribs, Dumser's Ice Cream, Thrasher's Fries; but they are really good restaurants no matter where you put them (i.e., they'd all succeed in Baltimore or any other city). ...

My favorite is Bluecoast.  It is directly on Route 1, just a half mile north of the Bethany Beach Totem Pole.  A great lobster grilled cheese (which unfortunately wasn't on the menu two weeks ago).  Truffled tater tots are a fun side dish.  My girl friend loves the baked crab cakes, which seem to always be a "daily special" -- usually served in a sweet corn bisque with mashed potatoes.  The Company SoDel Concepts also owns some other places which I hear good things about.  I've only been to Northeast, which is fine; but if you can only pick one, go to Bluecoast.
 
Another good spot is Nantuckets. The bar is more fun to sit in and order dinner than the boring older dining room.  It is in Fenwick Island and also directly on Route 1. They are known for their Rhode Island clam chowder that they ship nationally.
 
Finally, my only Maryland recommendation is Liquid Assets. Think the Wine Market (from Fed Hill/Locust Point).  It is on Route 1 and 94th Street in a strip center.  Really good small plates to snack on while grabbing drinks.  Their entrees are also very good.  The crowd is a little bit older (40s through 60s -- sorry!) but very lively at the bar. If the bar gets too crowded or noisy, they have a separate dining room off to the side in another room.

(Karl Merton Ferron/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

Bucky is better than anyone I know at writing guest posts that have no food in them at all and yet I still want to publish them. Is that a good thing? I can't quite decide, but I admire his cleverness. Here's Bucky. EL ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (39)
        

Sam reports on Midnight Sun this morning that Lucy's Irish Pub and Restaurant is closing Sunday, with a chance that it might reopen in the fall. Someone either here in a comment or in an e-mail to me had asked about it a few days ago -- it was dark when it shouldn't have been, or something like that, and they wondered if it had already closed.

I'm not surprised, just sorry. Now I'm really at a loss as to where to tell people to go for dinner before a show at the Hippodrome. 

(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

When the Sun sent me down to Ocean City recently to write a Bloggers at the Beach story for the Travel section, I didn't do any reviewing.

I did, however, have dinner at Jules Restaurant. Its strip mall exterior doesn't prepare you for the handsome dining room inside.

I had the luxury of ordering exactly what I wanted from the small, somewhat unusual menu created by owner/chef Jules Adam Sanders and changed frequently. That turned out to be an artichoke with butter and grated parmesan cheese and his version of oysters Rockefeller. ...

There were other more interesting dishes I could have ordered, like drunken duck or the house-smoked fish plate; but an artichoke and oysters Rockefeller were what I wanted. The oysters were particularly notable. The plump, sweet shellfish; spinach; and hollandaise had a beautiful balance of flavors, with no one dominating.

With a glass of sauvignon blanc and not one but two of the freshly baked rolls and butter, I didn't even have room for dessert.

(David Hobby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

Jon Parker came through for us last minute with exactly the kind of guest post I was hoping for: a short, entertaining beach anecdote. It proves that being a native of the Chesapeake region is a state of mind, not an accident of birth. Here's Jon. EL

This is pretty late for Beach Week, but I have no idea what beach I was at. I think it was in Virginia, but I'm not sure. ...

When I was a kid, maybe six or so, we went on vacation from Oklahoma to visit my grandfather's brother. He worked in DC, but he was a hard core waterman in his free time. We stayed in a cabin on the beach -- again, I'm not sure if he rented it or owned it, but knowing him he'd bought the thing.

I have three real memories of that trip. First was being stung by jellyfish all over my body. I was in itchy, scratchy pain, and ended up rolling around on the floor in a blanket to stop it.

The other is helping Uncle Heston set the crab traps and pulling up tons of blue crabs. We ate crabs all that week -- crab cakes for lunch and dinner every day.

And the third is not so much a memory as an oft-repeated family story. After four or five days there, I approached Aunt Lois and asked her if we could have something special for dinner that night. She figured I was completely sick of crab by that point.

"Sure honey, what would you like?" she asked.

"Crab cakes!" I replied. Apparently even though I was nearly three decades away from returning to the Chesapeake, I was a hardcore crab eater even at that age.

For some reason, I still have not made a trip to the beach since I returned to Maryland 15 years ago. But I still eat crabs at every opportunity.

(Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

There's no getting around it. Other Reviewer Richard has been having a run of bad luck lately. Or maybe "bad" is too strong. He's just been to some places that haven't been good enough to get excited about, or bad enough to have fun tearing them apart.

His review of the latest, the Pratt Street Ale House, appeared in today's paper. I did like his description of the Maryland crab soup "which tasted like canned vegetable soup with spray-on crab flavor."

(Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
        

In the age of instant success and notoriety, I've become the Ultimate Authority on the hard refresh, which I wrote about in an earlier post -- at least according to this e-mail I just received:...

Subject line: What is a hard refresh?

Dear Sir/Madam,

SilkWise.com is a popular question answer website. Some of our users asked the above question, and we think you are the domain expert who can provide a great answer to it. Can you help to answer the question or improve the current answer at the following link?

http://www.silkwise.com/content/viewthread_thread,7903

Everyone has unique expertise. SilkWise is the place to share your wisdom, build your networks, and market yourself!

SilkWise Team

Naturally I didn't click on the link. It's always satisfying to reply to e-mails simply, "I'm the restaurant critic." I don't even have to add "you idiot." Oh well, there's probably no one on the other end of the line anyway.

How I imagine it is that they simply picked words at random out of a million blogs and shot off the same e-mail to all of them.

Now if only they had picked out "butter," I would have totally bought into it.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

Owl Meat says he has no Funtastic Thursday for Beach Week, and in fact doesn't particularly like beaches, so he's letting Amanda C. write a guest post for his guest post spot. Here she is. EL

My stepbrother says that Clambake is his favorite Elvis movie. That seems odd to me, since my first memory of a clambake involved him, and my first success at thwarting his tyranny (not to be my last).
 
Our families were, as they say now, blending, and all of a sudden I had two stepbrothers. One of them was a sweet grumpy little boy named Liam who was three years younger than me. I nicknamed him "Bear." The other was Bobby, an obstreperous boy slightly older than me. We just didn't get along.
 
So we all went to Dewey Beach, Del. Previous outings were iffy at best. Bobby was either moody/sullen or mischievous/mean. Boys! I adored four-year-old Liam, because, well just because. The Other One was a major pain. ...
 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (166)
        

The comments under the earlier post today from Bethany Beach people were great.

For one thing, they jogged my memory about the Parkway Restaurant, which for some reason I didn't include in the 2006 story I quoted earlier. Could it have been closed when I was there last?

Once I heard the name, I remembered that Gailor and I had gone down and stayed for a couple of days on the Sun in 2000.

She was in college and writing freelance for the paper that summer, and I was doing a story on a family that had a reunion each year in Bethany.

We had a blast, and one of the highlights was dinner at the Parkway. In fact, I came back and wrote this item for my Table Talk column: ...

Best on the beach?

Funny what I thought were steep prices in those days, and -- no surprise -- they are significantly higher now. But if the food is as good as I remember, it's worth the cost.

Needless to say, the photo has nothing to do with the Parkway Restaurant except that it was taken at Bethany Beach.

(AP Photo/The Carroll County Times, Chris Ammann)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

No one has said much about Bethany Beach this week, but when I went a couple of years ago for the beach guide, I liked it a lot.

I can't, however, remember anything about my meals there. And I can't imagine Bethany having a Restaurant Week.

So I went back and looked in the archives. Here's what I had to say about the restaurants in my beach guide story:

Here are a few highlights when you're looking to eat out in the Bethany Beach area: ...

Bethany Blues BBQ Pit (6 N. Pennsylvania Ave., 302-537-1500). Great wood-fired beach barbecue. Check out the $75 special dinner for two, barbecue with champagne! Entrees: $13-$25.

Blue Crab (210 Garfield Parkway, 302-537-4700) is Bethany's best downtown crab house.

Bluecoast Seafood Grill (1111 Coastal Highway, North Bethany, 302-539-7111). Great restaurant rebirth. (Formerly the Redfin.) Specialties include a pan-seared grouper and Delaware fish stew. Entrees: $17-$29.

Mango's (97 Garfield Parkway, 302-537-6621) offers American and Caribbean cuisine, but the real draw is that you're practically on the water. Entrees: $15-$29.95.

Royal Zephyr (27 Atlantic Ave., Ocean View, 302-541-9555) Soon to be opened, you can dine in real railroad cars, one coach and one first class for fine dining. Entrees: $12-$35.

Bethany Blues still seems to be opened. The Blue Crab doesn't have its own Web site, but I called and it's still open. Bluecoast is still there; prices have gone up. Mango Mike's is as Jimmy Buffet as ever. The Royal Zephyr did open, but the Web site hadn't been updated in over a year, which was worrisome. I called, though, and I think it's just an oversight.

Anyway, I'm hoping someone who's been more recently can give us some more up-to-date information. Are there new places? Are these still good suggestions?

(Photo of Mango's by Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

I love the tone of this guest post from Dave, one of the readers who responded to my request for beach memories or recommendations in honor of Beach Week. I like it because I think of Rehoboth as full of chic, trendy, very unbeachy restaurants. He remembers when it wasn't. Here's Dave. EL

I have fond memories of traveling the Rehoboth Beach for summer vacations.  When I was young (single digits) we would rent a house with my aunt and uncle and stay a week.  Food-wise, we ate in, but would get sticky buns for breakfast at a bakery on the shore side of the canal. ...

Of course, there was always Kohr’s Bros. Soft Serve (my aunt and uncle's preference) and Mack’s Ice Cream (my parents' preference), caramel popcorn from Dolle’s and Candy Kitchen Salt Water Taffy.

Eating out at the beach didn’t start until I was in double digits and we stopped renting houses for a week.  We would stay at one of the motels in town.  Breakfast was at a place I thought was called Best Breakfast in Town, but was actually the Squire's Pub.  They had a passable breakfast, pictures of the great nor’easter and Bloody Marys which could be doctored with innumerable hot sauces (or so it seemed).  Eventually we found the Sunrise Diner in Dewey after the Squire's Pub closed and we tired of McDonald's.

But who cares about breakfast? Lunch and dinner are more important meals.  So much so that we always ate them late, lunch about 2 p.m., dinner around 8 p.m.  This was done to beat the crowds. 

The only time we would eat early is when we took my great aunt and great uncle to dinner.  We would be early birds at Harbor Lights, located south of the Indian River inlet.  My dinner of choice was crab imperial served in a scallop shell.  Harbor Lights is now a bunch of condos. I never did know what happened to it. 

Other favorites were Louie’s on Rehoboth Avenue for subs and pizza; Nicola Pizza on First Street between Rehoboth Avenue and Baltimore Street, for Nic-a-boli’s and salad; Jake’s at the corner of Baltimore Street and First Street back when it only took up one or two storefronts (now it takes up the whole building) for sandwiches. 

(Kim Hairston/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

Today's Table Talk column might be of interest to blog-only readers because I don't think I repeated anything this time. (I sometimes do.)

The lead item is on the Hill in Federal Hill, and I already have a correction to make in next week's column. I understood the owner to say he gets his desserts from Connie Crabtree, the caterer across the street, but he meant that he got the desserts from someone who shares her space but is a separate entity. The company is Tenzo Artisan Chocolate, Pastry and Catering. I received a very nice e-mail from the owner, Janice Shih, who is looking for a new space to expand into. ...

Also in the column I printed some steamed crab prices. I had picked up the phone and called a few places downtown just to see what I'd have to pay for a dozen hardshells. The prices varied but were all high. It wasn't meant to be a scientific survey, just a random sampling.

Last week's Top 10 Tuesday reprinted in today's paper is Outdoor Eating Places, with a few comments included.

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

I love the way our Shallow Thought Wednesday guru John Lindner has been exploring the possibilities of theme and form in his guest posts. Here's John on Beach Week. EL

STW things I found in my cooler during Beach Week:
 
1) Lamb sausages from Evermore Farm. Mmmmm … lamb sausages from Evermore Farm

2) White Colby cheese from Hawks Hill Creamery. Mmmmm … etc. etc.

3) Homemade sourdough bread

4) Cotes du Rhone

5) A sultry Macanudo

6) J. G. Ballard novel (in side pocket of cooler)

Beach things I found in my Hate Closet:

1) Conspicuously underclothed behemoths

2) Electronics

3) Sharks!

4) SPF ratings

5) Screw the sharks! Jellyfish!
 
Beach things I found in my Love Closet:

1) Scent of the seafood jungle

2) Moonlight on ocean waves

3) Rhythmic surf

4) Low-altitude pelican formations

5) Distant sails

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

Is the sunset bar a concept that's unique to Ocean City? I haven't heard of it anywhere else.

I love the idea, and I don't see why we can't have sunset bars in the Inner Harbor, although if we did, I'm not sure which ones would have the best view.

Maybe you have to have that endless stretch of water with nothing blocking the horizon to have a great sunset bar experience.

Not to mention a mango margarita. ...

Anyway, these are the sunset bars in Ocean City and environs that Faithful Reader Mike suggested should be on any list:

* Fager's Island

* Macky's Bayside Bar & Grill

* B.J's on the Water

* Bayside Skillet
 
Interestingly, he told me that the Sunset Grille in West Ocean City shouldn't be included, even though it's a nice place. 

"West O.C. doesn't get the sight lines of the bayside O.C. establishments."

(Karl Merton Ferron/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (30)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

I can't believe what a lovely 24 hours this has been. I drove the last five hours without stopping, I was so anxious to be home.

We picked up Chinese on our way and just finished eating. My fortune was, "When the moment comes, take the first one from the right."

I was fine with it until my husband and Gailor asked whether that was the one on the end or the second one.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Lissa gave us a beach mini-review in a comment earlier, and I liked it so much I decided to make it one our guest posts. I didn't have a photo of Go Fish, but this is Rehoboth. Here's Lissa. EL 

I was in Rehoboth Beach last night, and actually had an edible meal with excellent service at Go Fish. It was a little pricey, but not outrageous for a half block off the boardwalk. ...

My beer-battered deep-fried pork sausages were light, crispy and not greasy. The chips were OK -- I've had better and worse. They had malt vinegar on the table (big win - it is the One True Chip topping). The cole slaw was not bad. My partner said her fried fish was excellent.

The waitress was friendly, attentive but not hovering, noticed our order hadn't come out before we complained, checked why, told us and apologized (the ticket thingie in the kitchen ran out of paper), refilled drinks and, in general, gave the kind of service I'd expect at, say, Brasserie Tatin, not at the beach.

I'd cheerfully eat there again, should I find myself at Rehoboth Beach. Yes, there were loud children and louder drunks, but that is to be expected. But, someplace with fish that excellent battered and fried (a genre that is harder to get right than one might think at first) and has excellent service in a tourist town? It's a keeper.

(Kim Hairston/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

One thing I'm struck by as I think about boardwalk food because of Beach Week is that a lot of it isn't what would appeal to me after hours in the sun and surf. Caramel corn is a very good example.

And isn't fudge a popular boardwalk food? Weird.

The ideal boardwalk food to me would be, say, a grape popsicle. (OK, the ideal boardwalk food to me would be a frozen daiquiri, but I'm trying to speak to the child within.)

(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

The time has come to talk about my memories of beach food, which frankly are pretty grim. I'm not referring to the good meals I've had on the Sun when I've been sent across the Bay Bridge for our beach guides. I mean the food at the southern beaches like Pawleys Island, S.C., I went to as a child.

I've already mentioned catching crabs for my mother to boil. (I said steamed before, but I'm pretty sure she threw them in boiling water.) I never tried them, but I do remember the time a bunch of them got loose on the kitchen floor. Nasty. It's amazing I love steamed crabs as much as I do now. ...

As faithful readers know, my childhood was spent mostly in Tennessee, and the only seafood I ever had was Mrs. Paul's fish sticks. My parents probably ate shrimp and catfish, but we were never given any.

When we went to the beach, we didn't eat out much. In fact, I've quoted my mother before, who said vacations as far as she was concerned simply meant a change of sinks.

I also remember gigging for flounder with my father. But I was so horrified that one eye had migrated to the other side of the fish's face I could never have eaten them. It creeped me out.

My favorite drink at the beach was something one of my parent's friends who stayed with us made one time.  He mixed a couple of spoonfuls of frozen pineapple juice concentrate into tonic water and called it "angel spit." My brother and I probably loved it so much because of the name.

And that's all I remember about food at the beach. Whatever else we ate, it wasn't as interesting as Thrasher's fries and salt water taffy, but then Pawleys Island didn't have a boardwalk.

(Photo courtesy of the town of Pawleys Island's Web site)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Whoa. I've never been awakened by a motel fire alarm before. Who knew that each room had strobe lights as well as really loud sound? The fact that it was 5:18 a.m. wouldn't have mattered so much if we hadn't rolled in at 12:30 a.m. (OK, we didn't get very far. But then we left at 11:15 p.m.)

Someone had burned toast, the woman behind the desk told me.

It says something about the day Gailor had yesterday that she never left her bed.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (34)
        

I'm no expert when it comes to Ocean City restaurants, but I have eaten at a few, and I did talk to residents who eat out all the time when I was down there recently. They helped me make up this list.

Don't get all excited if you don't agree. That's what I'm hoping for. Just let us know which places you would substitute for each best.

The following are my suggestions of best places for certain things in and near Ocean City. What you won't find here are restaurants that are all round good, like the Marlin Moon Grille, but don't happen to fall into one of these categories.

Here's my list: ...

* Best Italian: Fresco's. Pastas are a specialty. No surprise there.

* Best sunset bar: Macky's Bayside Bar & Grill. Chosen because of the stirring rendition of Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" as the sun sets.

* Best place to dress up and wear your pearls: Nantuckets in nearby Fenwick Island

* Best pizza: Tony's on the Boardwalk

* Best crab cake: Captain's Galley II

* Best steamed crabs: On the Bay Seafood, 4204 Coastal Hwy., 410-524-7070

* Best place for coffee and dessert: Jules

* Best breakfast: Bayside Skillet (as long as you want crepes or an omelet)

* Best hidden gem: Grove Market in Bishopville. Hole in the wall with four-star food, I've heard.

* Best lunch: Sunset Grille in West Ocean City. Remember the $4.99 filet mignon?

(Photo of Fresco's by Karl Merton Ferron/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (45)
Categories: Beach Eats, Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Misha was one of the first readers to respond to my request for a beach memory, and I do like this one. Alas, I don't have the right art to go with it, but a nice photo of a beach scene is always a good substitute. Thanks for the memory, Misha. EL

I saw the post for reviews/commentary/memories just after having a chat about Eastern Shore fried chicken with my boyfriend. When I was a child one of "the places to go" for dinner was English's in Ocean City. I remember waiting in long lines just to get in the shade of the porch. ...

When I was a wee one there was a barrel of candy corn at the front door. Mom always regulated just how many pieces I was allowed so I did not spoil my dinner.

I also remember how they looked before they renovated and tried for a nicer look. The place was simply filled with row upon row of wooden picnic tables. Buckets of delicious fried chicken held sway on those picnic tables.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

Tweety Cat wrote me recently with this problem:

For the past several hours on the blog I can see a partial comment on the right under most recent comments, but when I click on it in order to read the whole thing, it does not show. And yes, I've refreshed, gone out and come back, etc.  Once before I'd been frequently checking without seeing anything new, then suddenly there are a bunch of new posts and replies to the posts that hadn't even been showing for me.

The solution to this and similar problems is what's called a "hard refresh." You hold down the shift key while you click on "refresh." That's the symbol with one or two curvy arrows at the top of your browser.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Yesterday I reviewed Crepe du Jour in Mount Washington, a modest little restaurant that dishes out some nice food. It's a good place to keep in mind when you're looking for a relatively inexpensive meal or when you want to eat outside. You can have the sidewalk cafe experience out front, or sit on the covered porch/deck in back.

There's not much more to tell you than what was in my review, except that once again I had bad luck with the credit card process. And once again it wasn't my fault. The waiter came running out and actually caught us in the car just before we were about to pull away from the curb. ...

He told me I had taken both copies of the credit card slip. I've been known to take the merchant's copy after I've signed it instead it of the guest copy, but never both of them. I dug around in my purse and couldn't find the restaurant's copy (and didn't believe I'd taken both). Finally I just added the tip and signed the guest copy and gave it to him.

I wonder to this day what happened to the merchant's copy. When I got home I dumped out my purse and didn't have it. The waiter said they had looked all around the table before he chased me down, and it wasn't anywhere.

Maybe I should start getting an advance from the Sun and just pay cash.

(Gene Sweeney Jr./Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

I know that everyone who has ever spent his or her childhood in Ocean City feels this way, but I don't get it.

Nothing against Thrasher's, which has been around since 1929. If you love fries, these are good fries. The fact that they are supposed to be eaten with vinegar raises them even farther in my estimation.

But what is it about Thrasher's that makes them so much better than other fries?

Is it that your family went to Ocean City every summer when you were a kid and you still remember your first hot, salty taste of those fries? ...

Thrasher's now has competition in the Boardwalk Fries chain. If you had to define what makes something a boardwalk fry as opposed to any other kind of fry, what would you say?

Could you tell the difference between a Thrasher's fry and a Boardwalk Fries fry in a blind taste test?

Does the fact that you can't get ketchup, or anything else to go with your Thrasher's fries but vinegar, for that matter, add to the cachet?

Did you know that a bucket costs ten bucks this year, according to Photographer Jed?

(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

Next Sunday my review of the Village Square Cafe in the Village of Cross Keys will appear in the Arts & Entertainment section.

Originally it was a restaurant I thought Other Reviewer Richard would review, but he happened to know the chef so he recused himself. And once the cafe -- which has a liquor license, by the way, although it's been primarily a breakfast and lunch place till now -- started serving dinner three nights a week, it became more the kind of restaurant I review. ...

Interestingly, when it was time to pay something happened that has never happened to me before. The owner came to our table to say that the credit card machine wasn't working, and she would have to take our information down and run it through later.

That didn't seem like a big deal to me (after all, the Sun was paying), but she was upset enough to go to every table and explain at length, which took forever.

(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Review Preview
        

The car is packed, we've got the suntan lotion SPF 45, and the weather for our week at the beach is looking great. We've got plenty to talk about: the restaurants, the boardwalk food, what you eat at the beach if you fix meals where you're staying.

My time at local beaches has been limited, so I'm relying on your input. Because I most recently went to Ocean City, that will be my focus, but it doesn't have to be yours. I've also spent time in Bethany and Rehoboth for stories, and loved them both. Rehoboth in particular is a restaurant-goers' dream beach town.

If you want to talk about the Jersey shore or Virginia beaches, that's fine with me.

My childhood beach memories are mostly from Pawley's Island, where my brother and I caught crabs with chicken necks and gave them to my mother to steam. Naturally we didn't eat them. Yuck.

Any beach food, on whatever coast you ate it, is on the table for discussion.

And if there's anything beach-food-related you want to make sure we talk about this week, please post your suggestions below. ...

I've gotten several guest posts from readers about both their beach memories and places they like to eat when they head to the ocean. It's not too late if you want to send me a paragraph or two, or even a photo.

When I looked back at our first two themed weeks, Sugar Week and Crab Week, I saw that most, if not all, of the posts were exclusively based on their themes. That won't be true this week for three reasons.

First, I'm doing a lot of posts these days because the Sun has let me focus more exclusively on Dining@Large. (I haven't had to write as many lifestyle stories as I used to, which is both good and bad. I enjoyed them, but it involves too much multitasking with the blog.) Anyway, I don't want readers to get bored with beach food.

Second, I'll be flying into Chicago tomorrow afternoon and driving back to Baltimore Tuesday. I'll have my trusty laptop with me, so if anything happens of interest, and it obviously won't involve sand and surf, I want to tell you about it.

Third, I get so much food-related e-mail these days. I like to share it with you, and will, even if it isn't about the beach.

By the way, I realized when I looked back at the earlier themed weeks, they both started with a "Welcome to [fill in the blank] Week" post. I wanted to be consistent -- and have the words "Beach Week" in the title. But I thought Zevonista's headline, "The Sandbox Heads to the Beach" was so clever I'm going to send him the Beach Week prize, the Inn on the Ocean cookbook. (Please e-mail me the address I should send it to.)

Top 10 Tuesday will focus on Ocean City restaurants this week, so if you have any nominations for Best This and That, please post below.

OK. Let's get started. How many of you are at the beach this week? Please raise your hands. Before you head out today, take a look at the Sun's  Bay & Beach page. And keep checking in here for both tips on where to eat and to add your finds to the discussion.

(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (31)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

I just like this comment by Robert of Cross Keys under the discussion of cooking chores you dislike most.

Far and away is making home made pasta. I got a pasta machine as a wedding gift, and there are times it seems to be metaphor for marriage. It requires way more space and is more expensive than you would have thought. It makes a mess, and even after you think you've cleaned it up everything there are still bits that will remain only to pop up in the future at some inopportune time. It is tedious requiring lots of patience, but even when you put the time in it never turns out the way you envisioned.

Posted by: Robert of Cross Keys | June 7, 2009 9:15 AM ...

The following is a close second, commenting on an earlier post about Puffs & Pastries in Hampden. What a great description of a mousse-filled cream puff from someone we never usually hear from:

i disagree with anne. i just ate one and it was perfect, partly because the mousse was NOT very sweet, just smooth and tasting of good quality dairy and chocolate more than sugar. but I'm writing this 8 months later so I guess the cream puff may have evolved to reach the pinnacle of awesomeness where it now resides.

Posted by: miriam | June 7, 2009 7:29 PM

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Hal brought up an interesting point when he said he never knows what to do with the convection oven feature. I never particularly wanted a convection oven. I just got one because the range I liked the looks of (I know, I know) had one.

I didn't know what a convection oven was exactly and I'm not interested enough to look it up, but I thought it was some super special technology. From what I can tell, though, it's just a fan blowing the hot air around, which turns off when I open the oven door. Big deal.

I use the convection oven setting, but I'm never quite confident that my recipes will turn out right because you lower the temperature and cook things for a shorter time. But it's not clearcut, and if I want something to be absolutely perfect, I use the conventional bake setting.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
        

It's funny, but less than a year ago I wrote a post in which I said, "Locavorism can never got too far." And then I got a thoughtful e-mail from Jules W., in which I was once again proved wrong. No worries, I'm used to it.

The e-mail had a link to an article in the Toronto Globe and Mail about what can happen to a certain plant when a craze goes mainstream. Here's what Jules W. said about it:

Maybe you've seen it, but if you haven't, it's a thought-provoking article.  It reminds me of my own reaction when I see that a new fish, fowl or mammal has become the newest fab food:  "Do humans have to stuff EVERYthing that could be possibly edible in their mouths?" ...

When I went to look for art for this post in our photo archives just now, I found this picture and caption:

Dean Blevins holds a wild ramp from the side of Whitetop Mountain, May 3, 2005, in Whitetop, Va. In 2007, demand for ramps from celebrity chefs, avant-garde restaurateurs and avid foodies has some experts worried for the future of the pungent wild leeks grown in the hills of Appalachia. 

So I guess this isn't a recent worry in the States. But somehow I missed it.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

It must be getting toward the end of a long day, because when I opened this e-mail, I started laughing:

Dear Ms. Large:
 
When I started to read your colum [Top 10 Excellent Service], I remarked to my wife that I'm sure Tio Pepe would not be on the list. What a surprise!
 
We had been going there once or twice a year for special occasions because the food was wonderful. However, every time as we left, we remarked how surly the wait staff was.
 
The last time we went there, and it will be the last time, we sat for 25 minutes before someone came to our table.  In fact, as he sometimes does, the chef wonders about the restaurant and asked us how we were doing.  We told him that we had been waiting 25 minutes for someone to help us.  Incredibly, he took our order!
 
Never again.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

This is guest poster Bucky's idea of a fair test. Bucky, no human being would like unsweetened yogurt on pumpkin pie. The idea alone makes me gag. To be fair, I want you to cut up a ripe nectarine and mix it with a quarter cup of blueberries. Put the Fage yogurt on top of that, and I guarantee you'll like it. Here's Bucky. EL

So, last week Elizabeth piqued my interest (and that of PBC Rob, Bourbon Girl and Stacy) with her comparison of Fage yogurt to whipped cream.  I like whipped cream — the real stuff, not Cool Whip or the kind that squirts out of a can. (Although the kind that squirts out of a can is fun, in its own way, and that’s a point in its favor.) ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (37)
        

Sometimes having a widely read blog is the best thing ever. I got this e-mail from Natasha:

Hello Elizabeth,
 
I had stumbled upon your website after searching up “Murchie’s” in Google.

I was pleased to see that you wrote a post about us!
 
I was hoping to contact you in hopes to help you find out what that mysterious tea you love is!

I’m thinking that it might be Russian Caravan, Queen Victoria, or Palm Springs Blend according to the description you gave. ...

Natasha kindly sent me sample tea bags of Russian Caravan and Queen Victoria, which arrived yesterday. (Not sure what happened to the intriguing-sounding Palm Springs Blend.) Russian Caravan, I already knew. Queen Victoria is delicious, but I can no longer tell if it's the same tea or not.

My next step, now that I have a contact, is to send my new best friend Natasha the last tablespoon of the mystery tea that I saved to check against whatever I decided was the right tea. I think it will now be worth giving it up and putting the inquiry into Natasha's capable hands.

Question to ponder: How can Murchie's have a Twitter account but you can't shop online unless you use Paypal? (To shop with my Visa I have to call the 800 number.)

Since I get 25 e-mails a day about my Paypal account saying that someone has tried to access it and I should send all my information directly to the e-mail writer to prevent something bad happening, I don't think I'll be opening a Paypal account anytime soon. It would be too confusing.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

I've told you about my beautiful but worthless fridge in an earlier post, but I don't think I've mentioned that I managed to buy all new beautiful but worthless appliances when we renovated our kitchen three years ago. For instance, there's the incredibly quiet Bosch dishwasher that doesn't wash dishes as well as my 20-year-old Kenmore did but does take twice as long.

I also bought a Bosch range (electric because I'm a TVA gal) and over-the-stove microwave. The burners work by cycling on and off on high so there's really no steady moderate heat. It's a terrible idea.

Anyway, the worst part is having to synchronize the range and microwave digital clocks whenever the power goes out, which is frequently because, as my husband says, it's like living in a third world country with BGE as your power and electric supplier.

The two clocks are set in two different and complicated ways, and by the time I figure them out one is always a minute behind the other and I have to start over. I've spent many happy hours of my life doing this because the two clocks are so close together. It drives me crazy when they aren't synchronized to the minute. You look up and you see two different times. Ugh. ...

Yesterday morning the range clock had stopped for some reason at 1:59 a.m. I reset it for the correct time, 5:26 a.m. (and reset the microwave clock, which was fine, so they would turn over at the same time). It set but didn't advance. So I tried again. It didn't advance. I'm nothing if not a quick learner, so I reset them three more times. No luck.

My husband suggested I unplug the range before I called a repairman. Have you ever tried to unplug a freestanding range that's been set between two counters? Not easy.  For me, impossible.

So I called Ferguson's in Timonium, the place where I bought my appliances, to ask for a repairman's name. They gave me an 800 number, which I thought was kind of weird.

I called and a woman said, "Bosch." I explained my problem, thinking she would transfer me somewhere, but instead she said, "Flip the breaker and leave it off for 20 minutes."

I did, and it worked. Now I love Bosch.

I take back all the mean things I've said about its appliances.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (43)
        

When I got home tonight I found that my cousin in West Palm Beach had sent me a box of mangoes. Aren't they beautiful?

When I had a normal life I would have taken a few and set them aside to ripen, and the others I would have immediately used to make delicious mango chutney. I would have preserved it and saved the jars for nice little Christmas presents.

Now I find myself looking at those mangoes sitting on my kitchen counter as if they were a collection of writhing snakes.

(Photo by me)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (75)
        

Well, it looks like the Red Canoe in Lauraville is no longer a well-kept secret. I just hope the recognition doesn't spoil it.

Now that Other Reviewer Richard has given the food 3 1/2 stars and spoken so eloquently about its charming outside seating and warm-hearted, enthusiastic staff, the children's bookstore and cafe is probably going to expand, get a liquor license, start offering fine dining and eventually franchise itself.

No, no. Just kidding. I'm just hoping the 3 1/2 star curse doesn't extend to Richard's reviews.

(Gene Sweeney Jr./Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Owl Meat seems to feel a little negative about his guest post today -- at least he calls it "subdued," which of course means that I love it. (OK, I did have to kill out the photo of Johnny Cash dressed as Barnabas.) Here's the Owl Man. EL

"You don't win friends with salad.
– Homer Simpson"
 
My mother's salad was a monument to consumer choice and refrigerated long-haul trucking. Her salad-palooza was hewn of iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, radishes, mushrooms, olives, celery, croutons, molly bolts, shiny rocks, and root beer bottle caps. It was a tribute to year-round produce, a nutritious shotgun blast of freedom of choice gone wild. ...

Salad dressing? One could travel the globe just by scanning the inside of our avocado-colored Frigidaire.

In my salad days when I was green in judgment, I traveled to Italy, France, Catalina, Russia, a ranch, and the Thousand Islands with my pals Caesar, Paul Newman, and the Green Goddess.

It was her dream of hope for her children wrought in raw vegetables. So many choices. How could a boy decide? That may explain my five college majors and my reputed fear of commitment.

Yes, I blame salad. Children shouldn't have that many choices. Permissive salad-parenting is perhaps the greatest danger to the youth of tomorrow since lawn darts, acid-washed jeans, and Hugh Jackman. Wolverine!
 
Now I am a salad minimalist. When confronted with a tossed beast with many ingredients, I eat it one item at a time.

The ginormous Happy Hour salad at Amicci's ($5) goes like this: First, two black olives. Then, strips of grilled chicken. Then, a bite of cucumber and red onion; repeat until both are gone. Then I stare at the pepperoncini and hot cherry pepper.  Sometimes they win, sometimes I win. Finally, I attack the lettuce, an arduous task of fork hunting and pecking, stabbing at romaine spine for a forkful of slaughtered cos. Senatus Populus Que Romanus!
 
Free yourself from the hegemony of the American super power salad. Try a more Zen salad. Pour your best olive oil in a bowl with a little fleur de sel or sea salt. Toss Boston or Bibb lettuce. Sprinkle on balsamic vinegar. Toss again. A perfect combination of four complex flavors. Salad shouldn't be a vulgar dumping ground for the hubris of a wealthy nation. It should be a work of flavor-art for the mouth and soul.

Salad bars? No. Just no. They are like a key party for germs.
 
Salad nightmare: Chicken Liver Salad Dressing and Pork Apple Salad.
 
In my vintage cookbook collection I have the Maxwell House Coffee Cookbook.  It's amazing how many recipes benefit from instant coffee. The recipe for duck marinated in instant coffee and toothpaste was delicious, but the coffee-lemon salad dressing was a bit underwhelming:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup salad oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons instant quality coffee
 
Suggested listening: "Poke Salad Annie."

Ever think about having a salad to help you sleep? Maybe you should. Lactucarium is an opiate found in all types of lettuce. Ancient Romans and Egyptians served lettuce at the end of a meal to nudge diners toward the silky embrace of Hypnos and Morpheus.

If this post is a bit subdued, perhaps it's because I've been eating salad for a month and I can't stop. I've got a lettuce monkey on my back. His name is Opie.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (142)
        

Mintel, a company that tracks global trends (my kind of company), has exciting new findings about the three major food groups: ice cream, coffee and alcoholic beverages. Is there a more irritating word, by the way, than "beverages"? I feel like a flight attendant using it. But that's what the company was tracking.

Anyway, Mintel found that seven in 10 men prefer plain flavors of ice cream like chocolate or vanilla.

Actually they might as well have said "like chocolate," because have you ever known any man, or for that matter woman or child, to prefer vanilla? (Unless, of course, it was vanilla disguised as "rainbow," which only fools kids under four.) ...

Women, or so the survey says, like flavors with things in them, like chocolate chips, or in my case, praline.

Have you ever noticed when studies happen to coincide with the reality in your household, sample: two, you become absolutely convinced that the research and research methods are valid?

And -- surprise -- fewer than one in three respondents told Mintel they looked for fruit-flavored ice creams.

People are more wishywashy about their coffee. One in five favor Starbucks; one in five favor their local coffee house. The press release didn't say what the other three liked. Coffee with milk or cream is the most popular drink (33 percent).

Whether the respondents were drinking at home, in a swanky bar or in a restaurant, beer beat out everything else as the alcoholic beverage of choice.

Naturally Mintel didn't say how many were surveyed. Even though it would be easy to find out, I think I'll just enjoy the findings without knowing.

(Kim Hairston/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (56)
        

Here I link to the story on the world's largest crab cake -- ugh -- but not my own Table Talk column till now.

Actually you probably didn't need the link today. Often it's hard to track down, but for some reason it was the featured story in the little Taste widget on the Sun's home page. I love that.

The column features news about the Pure Wine Cafe (in my head I call it the Pure Wine Bar), the PETA thing that you already know about because you read Dining@Large every day, and the latest on Banksy's Cafe.

I don't get it. Is it a condition of leasing that space that you have some strange name? ...

Rereading the Top 10 (Excellent Service) that was reprinted this Wednesday, I was struck by the fact that good service in a restaurant is kind of random these days. If you're in luck, you get a waiter or waitress who's smart, friendly and on the ball.

But it's rarely like when Hampton's was open in Harbor Court, and the waiters-in-training would follow around after the experienced waiters to learn the trade. Such a premium was put on good service there that when I wrote a story on restaurant service I did a sidebar just on Hampton's training methods.

(Photo by Mike Buscher/Special to the Baltimore Sun)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

If I hadn't been working hard on my video game story, I wouldn't have missed the opportunity to link to the Biggest Crab Cake in the Universe story when it first appeared on our home page today.

I was thinking of stopping by Eddie's and buying a couple of crab cakes for supper tonight, but now I don't know. Not after reading about the 240-pound crab cake. Speaking of which, have you tried other gourmet-to-go but not cooked crab cakes at places like Whole Foods and Graul's? If so, what do you think?

(Hon Fest photo by Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

In a comment by Tweety Cat today she mentioned seeing people in a Florida restaurant slip the host money to get seated in front of her party.

This fascinated me. I mean, people are always doing this in movies, but has any of you really tried it in Baltimore?

I can imagine doing it at the Cheesecake Factory. Would the hostess just laugh? ...

How much would you try to slip the maitre d' or hostess or whatever at

a) Tio Pepe

b) Morton's the Steakhouse

c) Cinghiale

d) the Helmand? 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Sometimes Shallow Thought Guru John's posts are so deep and pithy I think I'm going to have to start calling HIM the Zen Master. I think I'll go buy one of those 1.5 liter bottles of Carlos Rossi chablis for $6.49 and ponder this awhile. EL ...

Is life too short to drink bad wine? Or too hard not to?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

I admit to being on the lookout for some easy Top 10s for the next few weeks because I'll be on vacation for a week at the end of the month and have a lot going on before then, like my road trip. However, next week's Top 10, of course, will have to be beach-centric. Anyway, I got the following inquiry, which seems to me to be the basis of a good Top 10 if only there were 10 of them.

I can think of one: Ryleigh's Oyster has $2 steamed crabs on Tuesdays. Now you come up with nine others, please.

The e-mail from Glenn: ...

I have been searching for a good 'Dollar Crab, Dollar Beer' (actual values may vary of course .. inflation and all, hehe) place for the past couple of years.  I used to go to the Admirals Cup in Fells Point, but alas they are no longer open for business.  I have been unsuccessful in my many attempts at physically and internet-ally searching.  I was hoping that you could point me to either a list, or just give a suggestion of a place near the Fells Point area.

To tie this all together, maybe a Top 10 'Crab Deals' or something along those lines would make for a good post?

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) 

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Steamed crabs
        

Zagat has published the results of its fast-food survey, and I think the ballot box was stuffed. Here are the most important results, with more than 6,000 fast-food fans voting.

Best fast-food burger: In-N-Out Burger

Best full-service burger: The Cheesecake Factory

Best fast-food coffee: Starbucks

Best full-service coffee: The Cheesecake Factory

Best fast-food salad: Panera Bread

Best full-service salad: The Cheesecake Factory

Best fast-food value: McDonald's

Best full-service value: ...Wait for it...

You guessed it. The Cheesecake Factory.

I don't get it. I mean, I had a nice meal at the Cheesecake Factory; but if I weren't reviewing, I wouldn't wait an hour in line to eat there. Life is too short. Also, I've seen other Cheesecake Factory locations in other states, and they were never as packed as ours in the Inner Harbor is. What's going on?

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
        

As the Zen Master and I were taking a walk this morning, I decided to pick his brain for a Beach Week headline for the first post on Sunday. "Welcome to Beach Week" just isn't going to cut it.

"How about, 'Welcome to El Beach Week," he suggested.

Huh? I didn't get the Latino angle.

"You know, El Beach Week. Eee Ell. EL's Beach week." ...

No.

"How about 'Beach Week Is a Beach'? 'Beacha Can't Not Love Beach Week?' 'Beach...'"

No. No. No, a thousand times no. I had to put my hands over my ears and make the um-um-um-I-can't-hear-you sound.

So, boys and girls, it's up to you. Any great headlines for Beach Week? And while you're at it, anything you want to discuss now that it's almost upon us?

In case you're wondering about the photo, here's the caption info:

"Heidi Dresman and Julie Eade come to Liquid Assets Wine & Martini Bar (also called LA) three nights a week after working at OC Hair Studio where Eade is the manager. Both live in Ocean City and are drinking one of the bar's signature drinks, Wide Awake Drunk. The bar in LA sits within a beer and wine carryout."

(Kim Hairston /Sun Photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (28)
        

I got the idea for this Top 10 when I noticed Chocolatea now has outdoor seating, and it's always filled.

If you're like me, you love to eat outdoors this time of year. I've done a couple of Top 10s on the best places, but they are all obvious. And therefore crowded.

This list is made up of some unexpected choices and new restaurants I went to recently and made note of the fact they would be a good place to eat once the weather improved.

If you have other suggestions that folks might not know about, please post below.

Here's my list in alphabetical order: ...

* Crepe du Jour in Mount Washington. You have your choice of the covered deck in back or the sidewalk cafe experience in front.

* Houlihan's in the Inner Harbor (pictured). Yes, it's a chain. But it's one of the nicest places to eat outdoors in the harbor area because it's sort of enclosed, has nice plantings and is away from traffic.

* Lebanese Taverna in Harbor East. A friend and I had drinks outside here and shared some mezze. The food was fine and the view of the water was very peaceful.

* Red Canoe in Lauraville/Hamilton. Forget that it's a children's book store and focus on the cafe and the porch and shady patio.

* Reynolds Tavern in Annapolis. "Casual al fresco dining" is offered in its charming walled garden.

* Si Salsa in Pikesville. American-Mexican food served on the spacious patio in back, surrounded by a wooded area. 

* Stone Mill Bakery in Green Spring Station. The dinners here are a well-kept secret, even if the quiet terrace in back isn't.

* Sullivan's Steakhouse in the Inner Harbor. The deck is set a little apart from the sidewalk crowd, but you still have a front row seat if you like the harbor scene.

* Suzie's Soba in Hampden. The back porch of this Asian noodle house plus is quirky and pretty, and hidden away from the neighborhood craziness.

* Village Square Cafe in the Village Square, Village of Cross Keys. The food is good, and the only traffic in the good-looking square is foot traffic. What's not to like? 

(Amy Davis/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (58)
Categories: Outdoor Dining, Top Ten Tuesdays
        

From the discussion about barbecue, I think we're going to need a separate list of best pit beef places. If you have any other suggestions, please post them here.

While we're at it, should we decide why pit beef isn't barbecue?

(Doug Kapustin/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (65)
        

Gailor has firmed up her summer plans, so I know what I'll be doing next week. (That is, not driving to California.)

She's starting work at a Baltimore company on Wednesday, which makes the trip from Chicago to Baltimore a little tricky, because I fly into Midway at 5 p.m. on Monday.

If she's ready to leave, hahahaha,* she'll pick me up and we'll get in three or four hours driving before we sleep. Otherwise I'll make my way as best I can on els and such to Evanston, the suburb of Chicago where she goes to school, and spend the night on her floor. Tuesday should be a fun day in that case.

One of the first things I did this morning when Gailor told me she'd be in Baltimore this summer was check the Birchmere schedule.

If you're wondering where the food comes in, you have to eat there before the show or you won't get a decent seat. I've yet to find anything I'd drive to Virginia to eat, although for what it is, it's fine. Check out the menu. I have to laugh at the "Low Country Chicken Cordon Bleu" sandwich. ...

But the main reason for this post is to tell you that LITTLE RICHARD IS THERE TONIGHT!!! I thought he was dead.

If you go, let me know how the Low Country Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich is.

* Those of you who were reading when I drove cross country with Gailor last year will remember that we planned to leave at 10 a.m. My brother called at around to 7 p.m. to see how far we had gotten, and when I mentioned an intersection two blocks from her apartment, he said, "At least you're in the frigging car."

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

Ever alert reader and frequent commenter Cosmo Girl has sleuthed out an almost unbelievable product: frozen fried soft-shell crabs. I don't know if these are new, but I've never seen them.

How far we've come from the frozen french fry. I think.

The problem is, we need a volunteer to try them for us. Somehow I don't think it's going to be Bucky, in spite of her e-mail:

Saw this today at the Costco in Arundel Mills. I didn't buy it since I don't like soft crabs. I will let Bucky do the experimenting  :-)

Anyone?

(Photo by Cosmo Girl)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (37)
        

I called a friend of mine on her cell last night, and the background noise was so loud I could barely hear her.

"You'll never guess where we are," she said. "Bistro Blanc. They're giving everyone free champagne because they got a good review."

I see it's already on the Web site.

What the restaurant didn't realize was that she and her husband deserved that champagne. They had been the companions on the review, and they had liked the place so much they returned Saturday night. ...

Good as the food is, I'm not totally convinced Bistro Blanc can make a go of it. (And, believe me, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.) It seems out of the way, even if you live in Howard County. The service was ragged, too.

It doesn't help that Google maps isn't up to date yet, and our friends' GPS system was thrown off by the new traffic circles. Call for directions or get them from the Web site.

If you're curious about the photo, it's of a dessert named My Friend Joseph, in memory of a close friend of Chef Marc Dixon's. The cake has layers of brucelina and chocolate mousse, is covered in chocolate ganache, and is served with a strawberry-rhubarb compote and topped with a chocolate tuile.

At least that's what the caption says.

(Amy Davis/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

It's kind of an odd photo for this post, but it does show you something of what the subject of next week's review, Crepe du Jour in Mount Washington, looks like. It's a very cheerful place.

I remember when Crepe du Jour was a cart in the Cross Keys Village Square selling crepes in good weather. When it moved to Mount Washington, it was reviewed by other critics in Live eight years ago. ...

I myself never reviewed it, but I did once eat on its deck out back, which gives it lots more seating than just the cozy dining room. But I don't remember Crepe du Jour being as much of a restaurant, or maybe I should say bistro, as it now is.

To find out what I thought of our meal,  check out my review in next Sunday's Arts & Entertainment section.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)
Categories: Review Preview
        

I missed Trouble's comment the first time round asking if I had ever done a Top 10 of barbecue joints. I did, a month or so after Dining@Large started, so it was a couple of years ago. It's definitely time to update the list.

If you have any suggestions for additions or deletions, please post them below.

Also, Metromix just did a good list, but it still might not be a bad idea to draw up my own list again because it goes into the Top 10 database to the right. Take a look at the Metromix story, and tell me what you'd add or subtract. The big problem is that it isn't really a Top 10 once you get past the top three or four, it's more a "these are the best we could come up with."

(Amy Davis/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (60)
Categories: Bar-B-Que
        

If I made a list of Most Hated Cooking Chores, deveining shrimp would be No. 1.

Oh, yuck. If I didn't have a strong stomach, getting that stuff out would put me off shrimp for good. You can probably guess what we had for dinner last night.

As I was cleaning the shrimp, I started thinking about other kitchen jobs I don't like.

This is one that shouldn't bother me as much as it does, but it annoys me to clean the silk off a shucked ear of corn. ...

I also don't like getting the sand out of locally grown asparagus, cleaning mushrooms because you can't soak them, and trying to whip ultra-pasteurized cream.

While I'm complaining, is there a more futile kitchen chore than washing strawberries? You can't really do more than rinse them in cold water, so don't even think about all the hands that have touched them before yours.

How about getting rid of that little tendon thingy in a boneless breast of chicken? It's not hard, but I just don't enjoy it.

(Shrimp Pomodoro at Fazzini's by Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (36)
        

Normally there's nothing I like better than a good swerve. But when a new topic swerves back to the same old, same old, it gets boring.

On the other hand, I don't like being Big Brother and telling folks they have to stay on topic. So I was very grateful for this comment under Undertipping, and What to Do About It. I thought it took a certain amount of courage to say it: ...

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

So I'm shopping at Whole Foods this morning and my basket is filled with healthful foods: organic spinach; blueberries; Earthbound Herb Salad Mix, which deserves a post in itself; air-chilled, no-hormone chicken breasts; Fage yogurts -- you get the idea.

I get to the bakery in back, and sitting in the case is the most charming collection of cupcakes imaginable.

There are four varieties artfully arranged on a marble slab: one with an enormous pink rose on top (it looks as if it will topple over with the weight of the rose); one with a bunch of tiny, perfect lavender grapes; one with pale green grapes; and one unexpectedly topped with a pale green frog with its pink tongue stuck out.

I'm in love.

I couldn't afford to buy them all to photograph (I didn't have my camera with me), so you can't get the full effect. They cost $3.49 each. 

Oddly, I don't have much interest in eating my cupcake. I just like looking at it.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

A new kind of Coca-Cola lands on store shelves in Japan this Monday, June 8: Coca-Cola Plus, green tea flavor. It contains green tea extracts and no calories.

The target audience is "health conscious" women in their 20s and 30s. The drink leaves a slight green tea aftertaste, which is hard to believe when you think about how undelicate the Coke flavor is, and has tea antioxidants called "catechins."

What next? Basil-flavored Pepsi? ...

Actually, yes.

This is weirdly disturbing news. I get it if you drink Coca-Cola and say, "I don't care if all those empty calories are bad for me. It tastes great and I love it. And it's an American icon." Or, "I drink diet Coke because I worry about my weight, but I don't pretend it's good for me."

But to promote it as a health drink just seems wrong. And yet maybe the new product is better for you than regular or diet Coke. Which is even more disturbing.

(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (62)
        

I wanted to link to Laura Vozzella's item today about Robert Banks, who will soon be opening Banksy's Cafe in Lake Falls Village, where Glasz Cafe was. I go into more detail about the food in next Wednesday's Table Talk; she talks more generally about him. Except for the Krispy Kreme-based ice cream sandwich, of course.

Banks told me he's hoping to open in June. I think I said something like "this summer" in the column.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

Bucky raises an important and difficult question in his guest post today, and my only concern with it is why he thought he wouldn't eventually be writing about every food-related event in his life for Dining@Large. 

Wow. This is one ugly photo. He must have been taking lessons from jl.

Here's Bucky. EL

So, we were driving down the coast last week, on our spur-of-the-moment vacation, and Mrs. Bucky spied a little café that looked out over the beach in Newport, Oregon. 

“Why don’t we stop for lunch,” she instructed. ...

I should point out that when we take a driving trip, she is the Navigator while I’m just the Captain.  Since we were in Oregon, I started calling her Sacajawea.  After about the 50th time, she started getting irritated which, of course, made me do it another 50 or so times.  But I digress.

We went into this charming little place and perused the menu. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, because I knew it would be made with Tillamook cheese.  I don’t remember what Mrs. Bucky ordered because, at the time, I didn’t think I would eventually be writing about it, so I didn’t take any notes.  And my memory is beginning to fail me at times.

Where was I?  Oh yeah…

When the waitress brought our lunches, I did what I always do — always have done, since I was a little kid and old enough to manage myself at meal times.  I salted my grilled cheese sandwich.

Whoa. The waitress practically tore my arm off, grabbing that salt shaker out of my hand.  “What are you doing?” she…uh…well, “asked” is too mild of a verb, while “screamed” overstates it.  And then — AND THEN — she said, “You don’t need that salt.”

Sacajawea just sat there with that smirky look on her face — yes, that one — because she has been telling me that same thing since the very first time she ever saw me eat a grilled cheese sandwich many, many years ago.

What I want to know is, should a server ever advise a customer on condiments? 

(What I don’t care to know is what you think about salting a grilled cheese sandwich.  Yes, I am aware that the amount of salt I eat will likely shorten my life by a couple of years.  But this country is going to hell in a hand basket, and I figure I wouldn’t have enjoyed those couple of years all that much anyway.)

(Photo by Uncle Larry, who apologizes that it’s fuzzy.  He was sitting in the cramped back seat; and Bucky wouldn’t stop on the busy highway so he could get out and take a good, clear picture of the Tillamook Cheese factory in Tillamook, Oregon.)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (97)
        

VB6 was the Word Spy Word of the Day in my inbox yesterday. It stands for Vegan Before 6 (p.m.), the idea being that you eat a vegan diet until then but afterward eat whatever you want for the rest of the night.

I could do the vegetarian version of that, and often do, but not the vegan. I like milk and yogurt and cheese too much.

Oddly, I had run into the concept for the first time just a couple of days before on Mark Bittman's blog, but now I can't find the entry to link to it. ...

The latest citation on Word Spy for the term says it means no animal products, processed foods or simple carbohydrates (such as refined sugar) before 6.

It also attributes VB6 to Bittman, but I guess the writer means the concept, not the catchy abbreviation, which seems to have been coined by a commenter on Bittman's blog, Mats Flemstrom.

It seems to me a doable and health-promoting trend, without too much fanaticism involved. Still, I haven't heard of anyone around here trying it. 

It also reminds us that whatever our diet (for weight, for cholesterol, for diabetes), we can get benefits even if we can't always stick to it. That's a problem for me as a restaurant critic. Believe it or not, given what I've written here, I do try to eat healthily most of the time. But when I review, all bets are off. I just have to say that's OK and get back on the straight and narrow the next day.

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
        

I know how much you folks have enjoyed the discussions about foie gras and such, so surely you'll be excited to learn that Oriole Park is No. 9 on PETA's  top 10 list of vegetarian-friendly major league ballparks. The Frederick Keys' Harry Grove Stadium is No. 4 on the minor league parks list.

That interests me on so many levels. But to pick an uncontroversial one, do the different rankings mean that Frederick Keys has more vegetarian offerings than Camden Yards, or that minor league parks in general are less veggie-friendly so the minor league park is higher up on its list?

(Photo of grilled Italian sausage at Camden Yards by Karl Merton Ferron)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Oh, wow, I felt sorry for Other Reviewer Richard when I read his review of Fazzini's Italian Kitchen in Cockeysville in today's paper. He wanted so much to like it, he felt the staff deserved it to be liked, he knew outraged patrons would say ugly things about his tastebuds, yet he had to be honest about his meal.

I've had to write a few reviews like that in my time.

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
        

I'm sitting here eating my first Fage yogurt (pronounced Fa-yeh! the carton says. Yeah, good luck with that, Fage). It's the "Total 2 %," whatever that means. Unsweetened, as we discussed, but over fresh strawberries and blueberries. IT IS SO GOOD. Why didn't you tell me?

Just kidding. Everyone did tell me, and I thank you for the recommendation. It's like eating a bowl of whipped cream.

How I feel about whipped cream is obscene: I want my coffin to be filled with it and then you can put my body in. The only downside is that now I have a new, expensive addiction. ...

I was telling my brother in California about my discovery and it turns out he eats Fage every day. He recommends the "Total 0 %," which is an even more mysterious name (total what?), and says he can't tell the difference between it and the 2 percent.

(Photo courtesy of the Fage Web site)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (78)
        

That Owl Meat. He gets me every time.

I am a parent, and I started off well, breast feeding and then making my own baby food. But one day I found Gailor and myself on the front steps eating Fritos out of the giant economy bag.

What happened?

Here's Owl Meat with an intriguing guest post. EL

Monsanto's new research division KMFDM in Borken North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is launching a multi-phase GMO program called Wissenschaftkinder (Science Babies). In one experiment, corn was genetically modified to contain bioluminescent genes extracted from myoclonic krill and a rare jellyfish (Aequorea victoria). When laboratory animals consume the corn, they emit bioluminescence similar to that in fireflies. ...

Human infants under 18 months generally lack the enzymes to break down and eliminate the inert glowing substance for 12 hours. Monsanto spokesperson Holger Czukay believes that this will be helpful when trying to "locate the babies in distress mode in light-deprived environments."  He adds that it "will lessen the need for turning on electric lights, thus helping the infant to return to a sleep state more rapidly."

This dovetails with their energy-saving Grüne Profittechnologie initiative.
 
Okay, none of that is true. I just thought it was a cool photo effect. Now, more about tiny humans and food.
 
When I was very young. I would eat anything -- clams, oysters, braunschweiger, possibly even mayonnaise, hard-boiled eggs, and the dreaded so-called picnic salads. Some kids start out picky, but I became more selective by nine or 10. That's right, selective.

I later developed a re-appreciation for clams via sashimi. At sushi places I gobbled giant clam, surf clams, razor clams, cockles, mussels and some Japanese delicacy called "alai alai oh."  I even once ate live scallop liver and lips and hallucinated (accidentally) for an hour or so.

Oysters? No. No. No.
 
It's hard to know if I grew out of certain foods or the world did.  Example: fish sticks.  
 
I don't have a child, so I can't imagine dealing with someone that picky and illogical. Parents seem to give up and let their children eat junk in restaurants. Kids' menus consist of the same cliché items: macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, hamburger, fries, and tater tots. What in the world do children in lands without American junk food eat? I guess that's why China gives away so many babies  – tots want tots.
 
American children are the most spoiled on Earth, with the possible exception of toddler Dalai Lamas. The way that parents coddle them like petulant dauphins who can kill with their minds is disturbing. It's bad for their health and their future social well-being. Spoiled children become selfish adults. Come on, kids will only eat fried chicken fingers? They didn't even exist when I was little.
 
Regarding the ubiquitous Ziploc baggie of Cheerios – when did Cheerios become baby crack? This just in: The FDA declares that Cheerios are a drug.
 
There are a few things to chew on. Fire away.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (152)
        

Sign on the old Cafe Troia building in Towson: Coming Soon. International Steak and Seafood.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

This is a first for me as far as recommendation requests go, and I'm stumped. I bet there's some restaurant around here that qualifies; I just can't think of it. I personally don't put frogs legs in the same category as raccoon, but even so I'm drawing a blank. Anybody? EL

My siblings and I want to take my dad to dinner for Father's Day and I've been tasked with choosing a restaurant. We want to do  something special this year and dad has always talked about his desire to try unusual, exotic foods- things like frogs legs, alligator, rattlesnake, raccoon (strange, I know, but that's my dad).

I've searched through the Maryland Restaurant listings online but couldn't find anything on a menu more exotic than crawfish. I wonder if you might be able to recommend a place to eat that would satiate my dad's peculiar tastes.

(AP Photo/Herb Pilcher)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (38)
        

Today's Table Talk column in the food section featured Bellissimo, the Mediterranean seafood restaurant that has replaced Crackpot in Bel Air. I also learned something interesting when I was in Ocean City: That the Maryland Restaurant Association's Favorite Restaurant 2009, Marlin Moon Grille, may not be around next fall. The lease won't be renewed.

As for Top 10 Wednesday, the Print Edition, the regulars dominate the comments. 

(Jed Kirschbaum/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

I love this photo by Algerina of the Velleggia's auction, which was held today, June 3.

Intrepid Reporter Lorraine posted the facts of the auction story right away, but she wanted to write a bit more about what was happening in Little Italy in general for the print edition, so we were having a discussion just now. My impression is that the restaurants there aren't doing as well as they used to, and not just because of the recession.

Some people have told me they no longer see Little Italy as a collection of well-loved family restaurants where they can get good southern Italian food, but rather as a neighborhood geared to tourists, with overpriced eateries. I don't think that's necessarily true. Locals who love Little Italy are still fanatical about it.

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

Once again guest poster John Lindner raises a point I wish I had thought of first. The same thing happened to me once. Luckily I realized it in the parking lot and just went back in and handed the server some more money with an apology. He looked relieved and said, "I thought I had done something wrong." It never occurred to me he would not only be short the money but also blaming himself instead of my arithmetic. Here's John. EL 

I undertipped --woefully so. ...

Last Wednesday night I met a friend for dinner at Ryan’s Daughter. Our waitress was sweet, accommodating. We asked to move to another table – she offered to carry our drinks for us (I don’t let go of my Guinness once I’ve got my hand on it, but it was a nice gesture on her part.), attentive without hovering, knowledgeable, and patient. (We took a long time to order, sending her away at least twice).

My friend paid for the meal with a card and after a brief protest allowed me to cover the tip.

How good it is to cover the tip when you don’t have to pay for the meal: a chance to appear generous without commensurate cost. But in this case my head was mired in the fog of interesting conversation. (I wasn’t the one talking at this point.) I did a quick calculation and slipped our server just a nudge over the standard minimum.

Under the circumstances (and based on “jl’s principles of applied tipping”), it should have been at least twice that amount. I had the gelt on me. Had I tipped twice the amount I did, I would still have paid less than the cost of my meal and drinks.

It was an oversight. A miss. A blown chance and a moral embarrassment.

There’s nothing I can do, right?

(OK, I can return, ask to be seated in her section, order a beer, drop a 20 on her, tell her to keep the change, or better yet just leave, and presto: soul relieved. But would that be … gauche?*)
 
*Is anything gauche anymore? Whatever happened to gauche? Everything used to be gauche. Now, it seems, nothing is gauche? When were things gauche -- in the 70s?

(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
        

There was actually a pretty good quickie wrap up of the issues surrounding the soda pop controversy in b yesterday.

I like the idea of soda being the new tobacco, the next big health issue because of the American fat problem. (Fat is so much more descriptive than obesity, don't you think?)

Even better, I like this comment when readers were asked, "What would it take for you to give up soda?"

"An act of G-d. John Lewis, 23, Columbia"

(Doug Kapustin/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (64)
        

I don't like the Sandbox description either because, of course, we never do anything childish here. But I had no idea anyone else didn't besides Owl Meat. I didn't think it was up to me to decide whether it should be used or not, but I never use it.

Which raises the question: Does anyone like it?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 5:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

This is a question I wish I had asked first on my blog, but the BA Foodist beat me to it. I've never questioned anyone in the biz who would actually know because I don't believe they would tell me the truth. Is that cynical of me?

The waste worries me. (Not that any bread and butter ever goes to waste on my table.) But the idea of recycled bread and butter makes me a little queasy. I wish nice servers would offer a doggie bag so we could take the bread home.

I hate those stories of people who stick their fingers in the uneaten rolls so they can't be reused, though. It seems so dog-in-the-mangerish.

(Nanine Hartzenbusch/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (43)
        

Here at the Sun, folks, we take our vending machine seriously. We hate it with a passion. But I knew something was going on that was worse than usual when I heard a loud banging/shaking/clanging coming from the machine, and I'm on the other side of the newsroom.

I leapt up, camera in hand -- yes, for once I had it with me -- and got this photo of a fellow staffer "fixing" it. The most violent part was over by the time I got there. ...

I knew something was up because we had received two "all" e-mails earlier. I just hadn't expected the next step to be so...physical:

If you attempted to purchase a bag of Baked Lays from the second-floor vending machine and were stymied, I managed to extract it and have it at my desk in Sports. 

And:

Seriously, what is up with that vending machine. It seems like every time someone fishes stuff out of that little shelf that keeps popping up and trapping food, the shelf reappears and traps more snacks.  It’s ridiculous.

Signed,
Guy who lost a Kit-Kat last week

Somehow I don't think we're alone in vending machine hell here at the Sun.

(Photo by me)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

...and not ashamed of it.

I want some local strawberries NOW. I can't wait until the weekend markets.

Where can I get them in a 10-mile radius of the Sun?

(Kathryn Whitney/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
        

A new wrinkle has appeared for Beach Week, which starts Sunday, June 14. (A small digression here: I went back and checked, and Sugar Week started Sunday, August 19, 2007. Crab Week started Sunday, June 1, 2008. So we'll start Beach Week on a Sunday, not a Monday.)

The wrinkle is that this morning I bought a one-way ticket to Chicago for Monday, June 15. In the wrong direction, in other words.

Luckily there are laptops, and laptops with mobile broadband cards. You know how much fun we have on road trips.

Yes, boys and girls. I'm flying out to help with the driving to...oh? Really? We don't know know where we'll be going? Well, isn't that fun.

At least Gailor has narrowed it down to Baltimore or Los Angeles.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

We've spent so much time here complaining about bad service, I thought it might be good to throw in a little positive reinforcement. These are the Top 10 restaurants where I've gotten the best treatment from the wait staff in recent years.

Once I started my list and had written down the two or three obvious ones, I decided to go to my archived reviews to see which restaurants had gotten three-and-a-half stars to round it out. ...

After I reached 10 (about three years back), I stopped. So you can see that a) my methods aren't very scientific and b) these are places I've been to fairly recently. For instance, I didn't include the Prime Rib downtown because it's been almost a decade since I reviewed it -- even though the service was wonderful and I haven't heard anything to make me feel that's no longer true.

Your favorite restaurant may have better service than any of these, but if I haven't been, I didn't include it.

That doesn't mean you can't tell us about it.

* Antrim 1844 in Taneytown. The gracious service helps make the meal worth the trip and the price tag.

* Charleston in Harbor East. I said in my review that our waiter was just about perfect.

* Ciao! Pizza Bistro Italiano in Quarry Lake at Greenspring. Surprised? I was, too. I had forgotten about our star server, a graduate student in philosophy.

* Kali's Court in Fells Point. I said, "the service was on target...pleasant, efficient and unobtrusive."

* Michael's Steak & Lobster House in Bayview. The waitresses here are career waitresses. They know what they're doing, and they like their work and their customers.

* Oregon Grille in Hunt Valley. Sigh. I once said of it, "The service couldn't be better" and then gave it three-and-a-half stars, not four.

* Patrick's in Cockeysville. I haven't been back after it reopened. (It was closed for months because of a fire.) I have no reason to believe the service isn't just as good, though.

* Tark's Grill in Greenspring Station. The waitress and manager took an uneaten dish off the bill without being asked.

* Tio Pepe in Mount Vernon. I've heard some negative things about the wait staff (mostly that they favor their regulars), but the service has always been stellar when I've eaten there.

(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (69)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

I don't have a clue about a restaurant suggestion for Ina, who just sent me an e-mail. Does anyone have any ideas? EL

Our friends from Cherry Hill, N.J. would like to meet my husband and I for dinner off of I95 after crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge into Maryland. (That is approximately the halfway point between Balto. and Cherry Hill).  Since I am not familiar with Cecil County and the Schaefer Canal House is no longer open could you recommend a restaurant? We don't want to spend more than
$15/per entree.  Nothing fancy.    
 
Thought you might be a able to suggest a Cecil County restaurant.  Thanks for your help.

(Photo of Schaefer's Canal House by Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
        

As Beach Week approaches and the anticipation mounts, I have great news. I have a prize.

When I went down to Ocean City recently for my story, I also had to come up with an Under $20 "find," part of the ongoing Bloggers at the Beach feature. Mine was supposed to have a food- or restaurant-related theme and be unique to Ocean City.

This was trickier than you might imagine because it was Ocean City. Finds there are more along the lines of a great raft or a funky T-shirt. There didn't seem to be any upscale gift shops where I might buy, say, some fabulous mugs with a hardshell crab design on them. ...

I finally decided on the cookbook from the Inn on the Ocean. I know owner Vicki Barrett is a good cook from eating her elaborate breakfasts, and I have faith in her recipes.

So now I have this cookbook to give away as a prize, but no ideas for a contest.

I don't want to give it for Best Guest Post because I'm grateful to everyone who wants to write something about the beach experience. I don't want it to feel competitive. (And please keep those beach food memories and recommendations coming, folks.)

There must be something we can do during Beach Week, tentatively set for June 14, that we can give a prize for. Suggestions welcome. Asking, for instance, people to submit their best beach food photo?

I say "tentatively set" because I'm going back and forth between starting Sunday, June 14, the actual beginning of the week, or Monday, June 15, when we have about double the readers as on the weekend.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)
Categories: Beach Eats
        

Looking over the comments under the bottled water post, I was struck by how many people refill their empty bottles with tap water (I know I do), but no one mentioned that it's supposed to be a health hazard to refill single-use bottles.

I've read the arguments from both sides. Those who are pro-refilling say there are no health risks if you wash out the bottles with hot, soapy water after every use. Right. If I drained every half-filled bottle I have knocking around the trunk of my car for tennis, which have all been refilled numerous times, I would probably be drinking water from a year ago.

I have no opinion on the chemical-leaching issue because who knows?

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
        

My review of Si Salsa in Pikesville appeared in yesterday's paper. I actually had a very good time there, but you have to go with the mindset of having fun and not worrying too much about authentic Latino cuisine.

And they are not trying to fool you. Our exuberant hostess, for instance, who ran outside with a big smile and opened the door for us when she saw us approaching, was Russian. I'm not sure about our waiter, but he was definitely not Hispanic. ...

I would think now that the weather is good, Si Salsa would be a place to think about eating at just for the patio. I like the way it looks out into the wooded area. (OK, it also looks out onto the small parking lot, but it's on a raised deck, so the effect isn't the same as we discussed in an earlier post.)

Because the photo was taken in April for Table Talk, you don't get the leafy green effect.

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Monday Morning Quarterbacking
        

I really doubt if any of us realized our new First Couple would end up being powerful restaurant critics by their mere presence at an eating place. Fashion, yes. Food, no.

Well, that's not quite true. Past presidents have had influence over our food choices. (Look what Bush did to the broccoli industry, and what Reagan did for ketchup.) But not restaurants.

Maybe it's just that restaurants have become more important to all of us as we eat at home less so we like to read about celebrities' choices more. Here's one story to illustrate what I'm talking about. And then yesterday I came upon this discussion on Obama as Restaurant Compass on Chowhound.com.

Actually, "restaurant compass" is a better way to phrase it than "restaurant critic."

(Photo credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)