I hope Timothy Dean won't mind, but I've completely lost interest in the Prime Steakhouse who-owns-it in favor of another restaurant mystery: who is buying (or not buying) the Brass Elephant?

Today's installment stars Michael Morris of Cana Development in Brooklandville. A super-secret Dining@Large source told me he was somehow involved in a deal to buy the shuttered Mount Vernon restaurant. The deal hit a snag earlier this week but is said not to be dead.

I reached Morris by phone just a little while ago and he confirmed this much:

"From a big-picture perspective, I'm involved with an investor group that is actively negotiating with the existing ownership of the property, and they're ongoing negotiations," he said. "At this point, until they've been completed, it's really not fair to anybody to go into details."

Morris said the investors are just that. They do not plan to run a restaurant at the location, but to buy it and have someone else run it.

"I can tell you our intention is not to run the Brass Elephant," he said. "We are coming in as investors in the property. We don't currently operate any restaurants."

Morris said he was a little amused by all the attention being paid to the Brass Elephant deal. "This little property," he said, had gotten more attention than the "gigantic, 24-acre" projects he'd worked on back when he was employed by Cordish.

At the same time, Morris said he could appreciate why people are interested.

Sun photo by Algerina Perna

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The blog hostess for Dining@Large is pleased to announce the engagement of her semi-frequent commenter, BaltBabs, to ... to ...

Well, I'm afraid I don't know the prospective groom's name. But heck, the groom's just a prop anyway!

Please send best wishes to BaltBabs, who just got engaged Sunday, and then get down to business: she needs the names of some good caterers and wedding-cake bakers.

Details from the bride-to-be:

"Wedding size 75-100 people
"Should be able to provide alcohol, linens, china, and cutlery
"Moderate priced ... not looking to go in debt  :-)
"Not looking for any exotic food, just traditional wedding food, but good!!!!  Definitely good!
"No dietary restrictions to consider."

OK, gang. Can you help out the bride-to-be?

Baltimore Bridal Show. Sun photo by Elizabeth Malby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (43)
        

In this week's Shallow Thought Wednesday post, John Lindner considers life as an outlaw. If he does time, maybe somebody will bring him a cake with a baked-in file. LV

So, bacon and cheesecake are the culinary equivalent of heroin and cocaine. And that’s a bad thing?

All this time I thought I was going to taverns, they’re really drug rehab clinics. The Cheesecake Factory is a methadone treatment center but you have to pay for the fix.

New meaning for BATF: Bacon Additives Transfats Fried food.

The question that occurs to me is this, since I’m not tempted to indulge in heroin and cocaine, what foods would I be willing to break the law to eat?

Bacon cheeseburgers would be one.

Almost any pasta with almost any cream sauce.

I could see dying in a shoot-out with the Steak Police.

Maybe someday I’ll be busted for shipping Gruyere across state lines in boxes of wine.

As much as I enjoy the controversy of eating foie gras, I don’t think I’d risk doing time for liver.

But I think I could look at five to seven in minimum security on a fries and ketchup violation.

“What ya in for?”

“Butter. You?”

“Powdered sugar.”

Gives a whole new meaning to getting caught with egg on your face.

Warning: listing the food crimes you’d be willing to commit may constitute conspiracy. I’m just saying.

Photo by Elvis Santana, courtesy Stock Exchng

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

Potential buyers for the Brass Elephant, who failed to come up with a deposit Monday, still want to go ahead with the deal, Randy Stahl told me on the phone just a few minutes ago.

Stahl is part owner of the shuttered Mount Vernon restaurant. He was the restaurant's chef from 1980 until 2000. And he still hopes to play another role for the Brass Elephant, that of seller.

He thought he was on his way to becoming that Monday, when an investment group that had signed a contract on the building a month ago was supposed to put down a deposit. The money never came.

But Stahl told me the deal is not dead.

"They still have interest  in buying. I still have interest in selling," he said. "They just need another 30 days. They told me something happened up in New York with one of the partners."

He didn't have any more details on that. 

While not exactly welcome, the delay has given Stahl time to straighten out a problem he did not want to hang over the deal: a whopping water bill.

The city billed the Brass Elephant $4,700 for the past quarter, he said, "twice what any normal usage is when we were fully open."

"The restaurant wasn't even open," he said.

I caught Stahl on his cell phone as he was leaving the city Water Department, where he'd gone after failing to straighten out the bill via e-mail. The department promised to send someone over to read the meter.

"I couldn't go to closing with that amount of money owed to the city," he said.

Cioppino, Randy Stahl and the Brass Elephant. Photo by Patrick Sandor

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Another Dining@Large reader needs your restaurant recommendations, this time for a Washington eatery. He writes:

"My turn to ask for help!

"We're going to be in DC tomorrow with family from out of state and are looking for an interesting, relatively inexpensive place to eat somewhat in the vicinity of the National Mall for dinner (all ethnicities, etc. are welcome). Something not too touristy, as we'll also be meeting some locals for dinner.

"Any suggestions?"

AP Photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

We all know the plight of golf widows. How about kitchen widows? 

Chefs work such long hours, they hardly have time for their spouses. 

Porter's, the Federal Hill restaurant that reopened a week ago, has solved this problem for one culinary couple.

It has two co-chefs, Peter Livolsi and Jennie Casserly. They're getting married in May.

Let's hope they like working together.

Livolsi has been chef at Petit Louis, Pazo and Three... . Casserly also worked at Three... .

I'd hoped to chat with one or both chefs today, to hear about the menu at Porter's, which closed in October. Neither one was available and the Web site doesn't post the menu yet. Owner Kevin Cooper was out, too, when I called.

"I haven’t been there yet, but my wife walked by Saturday evening and found it packed," he writes. "Mostly adult crowd, some with kids. Menu included seared scallops, halibut and venison. Looks like a good start."

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

I'm not really big on obscure commemorative months, but I'll make an exception for grilled cheese.

April is National Grilled Cheese month, someone at Mount Washington Tavern tells me.

To mark the occasion, the tavern is introducing not just any old grilled cheese sandwich, but "a brand new Artisanal Grilled Cheese menu."

The sandwiches:

Don Quixote Spaniard: Wheatberry Bread with Manchego Cheese, Prosciutto Ham and Brown Sugar Red Onions.

All American: Thick-Cut Rye with American Cheese, Applewood Bacon and Tomato

Three Cheese and Tomato: Vermont Cheddar, Havarti and Goat Cheese with Tomato on Wheatberry Bread.

All sandwiches are $8.25 and come with a pickle and sweet potato fries.

The tavern begins serving the sandwiches today. (The staff is too pumped to wait for April 1.) 

Photo courtesy of Mt. Washington Tavern

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

The idea for today's Top Ten Tuesday list comes, once again, from Dining@Large reader Alexander D. Mitchell IV. Just the idea, mind you, not the list itself.

So if you don't like it, please don't blame him. I'll take the fall this week.

Easy to say, since I think this list isn't likely to generate controversy like last week's. Then again, I didn't expect a light little riff on beets, arugula and health care would set so many people off. So who knows?

Maybe a radical anti-logging group like Earth First! will get after me for this one.

Top Ten wood-infused foods

No. 1: Wood-fired pizza

No. 2: Hickory-smoked ribs

No. 3: Smoked salmon

No. 4: Smoked salt

No. 5: Wedding cakes

No. 6: Cedar-planked salmon

No. 7: Oaky wines

No. 8: Oaked beers

No. 9: Prosciutto and melon

It's nothing without the toothpick

No. 10: Peanut butter-birdseed pine cones

Try hanging that outside for the birds without the cone

Wedding cake by Sugar Bakers in Catonsville. Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (30)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

The investment group that signed a contract a month ago to buy the Brass Elephant did not come up with the necessary deposit by today's deadline.

"We have not gotten a deposit," said Kemp Byrnes, a real estate broker representing the seller. "That's all I can tell you."

But Byrnes, of Byrnes and Associates, said the deal is not completely dead.

He said there is still "a conversation that's going on between the seller and buyer."

The potential buyer, an investment group that has not been identified, signed a contract a month ago but had 30 days to have the building inspected and to make the deposit.

On Friday, Randy Stahl, part owner of the Brass Elephant and the restaurant's chef from 1980 until 2000, said he thought the sale was a go.

"I'm fairly confident it will be done," he said. "I've been told all along the way, 'It's done.'"

He added, however: "I haven't seen an escrow deposit yet."

I reached Stahl by phone just a few minutes ago. He said he hadn't heard anything.

"I think no news is good news," he said.

When I told him that Brynes had just told me the money had not materialized, he said that was news to him.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

I'm steering clear of politics. Honest. Sticking strictly to food.

Which is why I want to know: Just what did the Republican National Committee order last month to rack up a $2,000 tab at the West Hollywood bondage club Voyeur?

News reports on RNC spending haven't gotten into the food. But after a little digging, I've turned up something stunning, something that proves the GOP still stands for stuffy, old-fashioned values even as it blows two grand at a girl-on-girl strip joint.

Voyeur serves cucumber tea sandwiches.

That's according to an old promotional bit still on the Web. (Thanks, Google cache!)

"VOYEUR’s signature cocktail menu includes sugar–free, all organic creations including watermelon jalapeno, blueberry mint and cucumber olive shots," it says. "Guests will enjoy simple, small-bite hors d'oeuvres from Chef Micah Wexler (formerly from Craft), including smoked salmon and cucumber tea sandwiches, prime beef sliders and a signature crispy shrimp cocktail." 

A review on BizBash.com sheds a little more light on the menu.

"For events, menu options include tray-passed hors d'oeuvres like roasted figs, yellowtail tartare, and risotto balls; appetizer stations like hummus and babaganoush with pita, artisanal cheeses with crackers, and a raw fish bar; and entrees like roasted leg of lamb and steamed Atlantic salmon," it says.

By the size of the tab, and the vibe of the place, I'm guessing the RNC skipped the dainty sandwiches went with the raw bar. 

Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Social media naysayers who doubt the value of Facebook friendships will eat their words tonight at Pazo.

Or rather, drink their words.

The restaurant is giving away free bottles of red wine to celebrate its many Facebook friends.

"We've reached 1,000 fans," reads the message from Pazo's Facebook page. "To say thank you -- anyone who comes in today, March 29th, before 7:00 p.m. will receive a bottle of PAZO red when they mention our Facebook page."

Sounds like a good reason to make new best friends with Pazo.

Pazo photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

If you don't feel like cooking up a big holiday spread Sunday, you don't have to.

A number of area restaurants are serving Easter brunch.

Too many, in fact, to list. Luckily, someone has done it for me.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Those of you eagerly awaiting the opening of area farmers' markets are probably licking your chops for local lettuces, strawberries and the like. But don't forget the olive oil.

Olive oil is a surprising find at producer-only farmers' markets around here. But it's legit. Seller Dimitrios Giannakos lives in Northeast Baltimore. Only his olive orchard resides overseas.

Giannakos said he had to talk his way into Baltimore-area markets.

"It was a problem coming in," he said. "It is my product. It's just a little bit outside the 150-mile radius," he added with a laugh, referring to the normal limits of the local-foods designation.

His farm is in southern Greece, 20 kilometers south of Sparta.

Giannakos came to Baltimore from Greece when he was 12 years old. He was in the restaurant business for many years, starting as a waiter and bartender in Little Italy restaurants. He owned the Athenian restaurant on Eastern Avenue and had Taverna Athena back when Harborplace opened.

Then five years ago he took over the Greek olive farm that had been in the family since his great-grandfather's day. The 65-acre spread produces about 15 tons to 18 tons of olive oil in a good year. (Every other year production is low, which is just the way it is with olives.)

He produces the oil there, but sells it over here. He has mostly focused on selling to area restaurants. Woodberry Kitchen, The Prime Rib, Blue Hill Tavern, The Black Olive, Chameleon Cafe, Ikaros, Zorba's and several restaurants in D.C. and Virginia buy his oil, he said.

But last year, he decided to sell at area farmers' markets. He does nine between Baltimore and Virginia, including the seasonal markets held under the JFX, at the Baltimore Museum of Industry and in Bel Air. He also sells at the year-round Waverly market.

Market shoppers seem to appreciate the oil, which costs $18 for a 1-liter bottle. It's extra-virgin, cold-pressed and -- most importantly, he said -- unfiltered oil.

Filtering, he said, "shines the color up but it takes everything out that belongs in there and that's what gives it the better aroma, the better flavor."

San Francisco Chronicle photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (52)
        

I saw something on a menu last night that I've never seen before:

"Maximum suggested dining time is two hours."

Those words appear on the menu at Catonsville Gourmet, where, incidentally, I had a terrific Caesar Salad with Grilled Salmon ($14.79).

My husband, kids, parents and I spent nearly two hours at the restaurant. And while the place was hopping, nobody hustled us out the door. 

So what's with the "suggested" time limit?

 It appears as part of an explanation of the restaurant's B.Y.O.B. policy.

"Catonsville Gourmet invites you to bring in your own alcoholic beverages, provided you are 21 years of age or older. These beverages may be consumed while you are eating. Catonsville Gourmet reserves the right to utilize tables for dining purposes. Maximum suggested dining time is two hours."

It seems almost silly that a restaurant has to assert, in print, its right to use its own tables for dining purposes. Or to set a "suggested" time limit on dining. But I guess people could treat the place like a bring-your-own bar, occupying tables for hours and hours without ordering much of anything from the kitchen.

Maybe this is standard B.Y.O.B. verbiage and I've just never noticed it before. If anybody out there has seen it elsewhere, let me know.

In any case, I love being able to bring my own wine or beer to a restaurant, since that saves money. If the trade-off is some surprising fine print at the bottom of the menu, so be it.

 
Oysters Muir at Catonsville Gourmet. Sun file photo 

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

More and more, people want to eat local meats. They want to preserve small farms.

But the local slaughterhouse doesn't enjoy the same fan base.

Growing interest in locally raised meats is running up against a shortage of places to slaughter the animals, The New York Times reports in an interesting story today.

The number of slaughterhouses has fallen in recent years. And plans to create new ones often face stiff local opposition, even when they go by the nicer-sounding name of "abattoir." 

Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
        

Former "Top Chef" contestant Jesse Sandlin cooked up some Marvesta shrimp the other night as part of the National Aquarium's sustainable seafood dining series.

Sandlin showed off her culinary skills -- and then some.

That's according to Downtown Diane, a professional gal about town who was nice enough to shoot me an e-mail after the event.

"She prepared a delicious sustainable shrimp dinner," Diane wrote. "She also answered questions about being on 'Top Chef' and best of all, she showed us her latest tattoo.

"She rolled up her pant leg to reveal a tattoo of a stick of butter."

Sandlin is working at one of the Charleston group restaurants these days, Diane said. I haven't been able to get the details on that yet, but I'll post them as soon as I do.

UPDATE: Sandlin is working as a line cook at Cinghiale.

NBC photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

You never know what's going to turn up in your food these days. Irradiated spices, maybe. Or a food additive made from human hair.

Every once in a while, the surprise ingredient is a pleasant one. Like rose.

Petals from dried, organic, heirloom roses are crumbled up and sprinkled atop the chocolate ganache on eclairs served at Hampden's Puffs & Pastries. The airy mousse filling is flavored with a rose syrup and rose water, both made with natural ingredients that give the cream a lovely pink color.

The flavor is floral to the point of perfume-y --  too much for my little boy when he tried a bite this morning. My husband and I thought the rose cream nicely complemented the rich, dark chocolate frosting, though we were happy to split a single $4 eclair.

Chef-owner Anisha Jagtap said many customers are surprised to come across pastries flavored with rose.

"They're so wary of that rose flavor," she said.

But the flavor is common in other parts of the world, including India, where it shows up in ice cream.

"It's definitely your regular flavor," she said. "It's like mint chocolate chip. There's a rose petal ice cream. ... I try to bring a lot of edible flowers to the Baltimore scene."

Photo by math-hubby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Just when you think those hen-keeping, kitchen-gardening, bake everything-from-scratch locavores are going a little overboard, you read a headline like this:

"The Human Hair Additive in Your Food."

It appears in Mother Jones.

"For his recent Mother Jones story on the origins of the 'remy' hair used in high-end wigs and extensions worthy of Lady Gaga, Scott Carney sacrificed his own locks to a Hindu temple, but explained that clippings from short hair like his are used mainly as fertilizer or source material for a ubiquitous food additive called L-cysteine (L-cys for short)," the magazine reports. "This amino acid, which gives hair its strength, also gives Noah's bagels their bounce, puts the softness in Tastykakes, and imparts mom-made freshness to Lunchables. It's a meat flavor enhancer and an expectorant, too—and has even turned up on a list of cigarette additives."

Guess I won' t feel so bad the next time one of my stray hairs lands in the family dinner.

But seriously, can we get any closer to Soylent Green? "Tastykakes are made out of people!  ... You gotta tell 'em -- Tastykakes are people!"

Or are they?

It's hard to tell which food manufacturers are serving up hair and which aren't, the article suggests. It also indicates that food makers might not know, or want to know, themselves.

The article notes that L-cys can also be derived from duck feathers or created synthetically in the lab and that most food manufacturers do not admit to using L-cys from hair.

Tastykakes told Mother Jones its L-cys comes from "sugar or syrup." Safeway said it uses the duck-feather variety. But the article also quoted a kosher-certification expert who said processors, whether they admit it or not, prefer L-cys made from hair because it is "twice as potent."

"[M]any industrial food makers buy their cysteine prepackaged with yeast and other additives as bulk 'dough conditioners,' without regard to the origin of the components," the rabbi told Mother Jones.

The rabbi, incidentally, did not seem troubled by the human-hair additive. But his last name said it all: Blech.

Sun photo by Algerina Perna.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

To his great credit, Herb Ritter is willing to chuckle when people point out how cute it is that he's a chef named Herb.

Which is what he did on the phone with me just now before getting down to business.

The business was this: Ritter has just become executive chef at The Gin Mill in Canton.

Ritter was The Gin Mill's very first chef when it opened a decade ago. He went on to work in North Carolina for a while, then returned to Maryland in the past year. He came back to The Gin Mill four and a half months ago, initially as sous chef. He became executive chef this week.

Ritter said he already has added some things to the menu, including a Crab Risotto with Smoked Tomato and Wilted Spinach entree for $19.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Brass Elephant is expected to have a buyer by noon Monday.

That's according to Randy Stahl, part owner of the Brass Elephant and the restaurant's chef from 1980 until 2000. A group of potential buyers who signed a contract a month ago have until mid-day Monday to put up their money, Stahl said, and they've indicated it's a go.

"I'm fairly confident it will be done," he said. "I've been told all along the way, 'It's done.' I haven't seen an escrow deposit yet."

Stahl said the potential buyers are a group of investors who intend to use the space as a restaurant. He said they also have plans of some sort for the upper floors -- possibly office  space or banquet  space, he said, but he was  just speculating.

"I don't know their names or what the concept will be," he said. "They're opening a restaurant and doing something with the third and fourth floors."

Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

I was still a little bleary-eyed this morning when I read Robert of Cross Keys' Free Market Friday post. I thought his headline was, "Tragedies and transvestites on Washington Boulevard." I wasn't sure what to expect! Here's RoCK. LV

Every time I drove over Washington Boulevard on I-95, I would be intrigued by this drive-thru restaurant I would see down below.  I’m not sure why, but I thought it was hot dog place.  I’m never on Washington Boulevard, so I figured this would the time to try that place.

About the time we were ready to leave the house the power went out. We always try to leave a light and the television on for Mr. Jefferson (the dog). Since I didn’t know how long we would be out, and we were going to drive-thru restaurant, I decided to take him along with us.

I opted not to take the highway, but to drive through the city. Eventually, I found my way to Washington Boulevard, although it took a little bit longer than I expected. My familiarity with west and southwest Baltimore is on the same level as my familiarity with Montreal or Reykjavík. I’ve been to all of them once or twice.

I park the car, leave Mr. Jefferson inside, and the wife and I walk into the store.   About fifteen minutes later we walk out, and find that Mr. Jefferson has trashed the car. Most notably, he left something that was somewhere between an accident and an anger-management issue on the front passenger seat.

I’m not sure what caused the dog to act like this. Perhaps it was the fact that I really didn’t walk him beforehand. Then again, maybe it was because the wife routinely leaves MSNBC on for him, which has the dog thinking that he is not responsible for his own actions and that someone else will come and clean up after him. I really can’t say which theory is true. It is probably a little bit of both.

After cleaning out the car, we proceeded south on Washington Boulevard.  The drive-thru I was thinking about came up as we passed under the highway. It turns out the place is called Italiano’s. I was not in the mood for Italian food (I later found their Website and the food is half Italian and half diner) and considering what Mr. Jefferson had just done to the car, I was not in the mood for a drive-thru restaurant. 

As my initial desire was for a hot dog, it was obvious where I needed to go. About another mile or so south is Polock Johnny’s. While I stop by the stand at Lexington Market at least once or twice a year, I have never been to the location on Washington Boulevard.

Upon telling the wife where we would be going, I could hear the resigned acceptance in her voice. Outside of maybe Indian food, a hot dog stand is probably her least favorite option. I find her disdain somewhat odd. She is from Chicago after all, a great hot dog/sausage town. Nevertheless, she does not appreciate the greatness of ground and preserved meats in natural casings. Go figure.   

One of things I love about Polock Johnny’s is that there is no confusion about what I will order. I’m not there to try something new. It will always be a Polish with the Works. The wife, however, was less certain. After a few minutes of deliberating, she uttered, “A Polish sausage with … ketchup and mustard.”  

Oy vey. Ketchup? WTF!

As my wife was making questionable decisions on the culinary front, I was making questionable ones on the health front. Keep in mind, Polish sausages have already been ordered, which are not exactly in the same category as salad or salmon.   To that, I added boardwalk fries, beer battered onion rings, a birch beer and, for some reason, a chocolate shake. When my doctor talks to me about the decisions I make, these are the kinds of things he is usually referring to.    

I can say that we didn’t finish everything, in particular the shake, which we ended up giving to the dog. Yeah, we decided the shake wasn’t too chocolatey for him, and at that point he had been good for at least 30 minutes. No doubt, he was in line for some kind of reward.  

It is probably a good thing I don’t have kids.  I would be one of those dads who take them Friendly’s when they come home with D’s on their report cards. Just so long as they didn’t come home with ketchup on the Polish sausages.  

Photo by RoCK

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

I'm not a vegan or even a vegetarian, so I'm not proselytizing or anything. I'm just trying to give you a lead on free doughnuts.

An animal-rights group called Compassion Over Killing -- yes, the acronym is what you think it is -- plans to give them away outside a downtown Baltimore Dunkin' Donuts Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

"Join COK for a vegan feed-in outside of a downtown Baltimore Dunkin' Donuts location! We'll be handing out free samples of vegan donuts while urging people to ask Dunkin' Donuts to offer egg- and dairy-free donuts!"

Afterward, the group plans to head over to Emily's Cafe & Desserts for a noon brunch -- price depends on what you order off the menu -- and a screening of the movie "Chicken Run." 

Emily's, a vegan cafe that opened last fall, is in the Stone Mansion at 4901 Springarden Drive.

The protest takes place at the Dunkin' at 25 Light Street.

Sun photo by Elizabeth Malby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (68)
        

It's not a soft opening, chef Patrick Morrow of Bluegrass was telling me on the phone just now.

It's more like a friends-and-family opening.

The much-anticipated South Baltimore restaurant will have a "test run" for loved ones this weekend.

The grand opening is Wednesday.

The restaurant is at Fort Avenue and South Hanover Street, where the Vine wine bar used to be.

It will have a Southern-inspired menu specializing in meat and game.

One of the dishes diners can expect to see when they finally get in the door: antelope from East Texas' Broken Arrow Ranch served with Vidalia-onion-and-cheddar-cheese tart and red-eye gravy.

Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Under the name BaltoBeerBaron, Steve Fogleman tweets during meetings of the Baltimore Liquor Board. He is chairman of that board.

I just checked BaltoBeerBaron to see if there was any restaurant news from the meeting that began at 1 p.m. today. Nothing yet.

But I noticed something Fogleman tweeted earlier this month. It refers to a liquor license transfer for a club on The Block.

"Lust, 408 E. Baltimore St, transfer approved to Brian Hollywood (his real name), former owner of Lightning Jack's in Pasadena."

A public servant with an actual sense of humor?!! What's going on here?

Fogleman has put his sense of humor on display before.

When he challenged city State's Attorney Pat Jessamy in the Democratic primary four years ago, he handed out campaign fortune cookies. 

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

What separates foodies from the world's ordinary eaters?

There's a fun discussion on that topic at seriouseats.com.

You qualify as a foodie, one person suggests, "if you want to make a grilled-cheese sandwich, but you only have three kinds of cheese."

Oregon Grille's Grilled Portobello and Cheese sandwich, with Boursin and provolone cheeses and roasted tomato on rustic white bread. What, just TWO cheeses?!! Sun photo by Amy Davis

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Sotto Sopra stages another one of its opera dinners Sunday and there are still a few seats left.

The menu:

Stuffed Calamari with tomato coulis, crispy shallots

Spring Pea Soup with lobster croquet

Mint Risotto with braised lamb shoulder

Spiced Cantaloupe Sorbetto

Porcini Crusted Scallop wth fava bean puree, lemon butter sauce

Pineapple Upside Down Cake with blueberry coulis

The performers: Soprano Diane Abel, tenor Paul McIlvaine and pianist Tom Hetrick

The price: $58 per person (excludes beverages, tax and gratuity) 

It starts at 5:30 Sunday night.

For reservations: 410-625-0534

Photo courtesy of Sotto Sopra

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

A Dining@Large reader writes:

"This is really lame but it’s authentic. My wife’s birthday is coming up and I’d like to take her out for a nice dinner. We’re vegetarians.

"Lurker" -- he works with the Dining@Large lurker who put me onto Pigs' Feet Yat Gaw Mein -- "suggested Woodberry Kitchen, which sounds very Northern California. (We’re big fans of Northern California.) But its online menu is light on vegetarian entrees (specifically, one).

"The other option I’ve come up with is Great Sage in Clarksville. Not particularly convenient and they don’t take reservations for parties under five, which irritates me. But we’ll probably make the schlep.

"Unless you care to nag your readers for suggestions."

OK, gang. Consider yourself nagged.

Vegetarian adds: "Oh, the other upscale place we discarded is the Ambassador Dining Room (we go there a lot, meaning once a year for the last two years)."

UPDATE: I went back to Vegetarian to clarify just how hard-core veg he and Mrs. Vegetarian are. He said no fish or fish sauce. But they're not vegan, so dairy and eggs are OK.

I asked Vegetarian where he and his wife live, so readers can consider the schelp factor.

His reply: "Technically Lake-Walker, which [Sun real estate reporter] Jamie Hopkins targeted as a top-10 underrated neighborhood recently. (BFD.) It’s below Towson, in the city, east side of York Rd. at Lake Ave."

He added that he's leaning toward Great Sage, schelp or no schlep.

"We’ve been wanting to try Great Sage for a while. It’s just that we’re old and lazy and 45 minutes one-way is a drag."

Oaxacan Enchiladas and Great Sage Lasagna at Great Sage. Sun photo by Elizabeth Malby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

Remember that nice family from Kansas looking for a casual seafood place where they could eat during their spring-break visit to Baltimore?

Well, they took the advice of some Dining@Large posters and went to -- drumroll, please -- Lexington Market.

I know what you're thinking: unsuspecting Kansas tourists cross paths with illegal gun dealers at the Utz Potato Chip stall. Film at 11.

But really, it ends well.

Cindy Hoedel, a writer for the Kansas City Star Magazine, reports:

Highlights:

•    Great brats and hot dogs at several vendors for crazy low prices

•    A cringe-worthy tourist moment when I saw a sign for “Coney Island Dogs / Fresh horseradish / Fresh grated coconut” and, thinking I’d stumbled onto a local specialty, asked for a dog with horseradish and coconut on top. Turns out, the stand sells all three things but not together

•    Live blues music

•    Fabulous looking fresh fish. If we had been flying back that day, I would have taken a fresh grouper home with me on ice

•    Beautiful smoked ham hocks

•    Faidley’s softball-sized lump crab cakes for, a bargain at $13 since one was enough for two people to share

•    Very friendly locals, including Faidley’s owners Bill and Nancy Devine. Bill is originally from Kansas, where we live, was an officer in the Navy like my dad and used to put on crab festivals in Germany where my husband is from, so it felt like old-home week.

So thanks to you and all your blog posters for the great tips, and we hope to return to your city soon to check out more seafood joints.

Cheers,

Cindy Hoedel (Cindy in Kansas City)

Hoedel family photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

A cookbook that highlights Maryland "food, farmers, watermen and chefs" comes out today from Storey Publishing.

"Dishing Up Maryland" offers "150 recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay."

It is by Lucie Snodgrass, a Harford Countian who has written for Vegetarian Times, done a book on green rooftops and served as -- SPOILER ALERT: the following detail is political but I say still worth a mention; if that ruins your appetite, skip to the next graf -- deputy campaign manager for Gov. Martin O'Malley in 2006. 

The book is full of beautiful color photography of local foods and farms shot by Edwin Remsberg, who knows his subject well. He's a farmer as well as photographer.

For a taste, check out this "soundbook."

Photo by Storey Publishing

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

Who's afraid of a big, bad, barbecue fight? Not John Lindner, who picks one in this week's Shallow Thought Wednesday post. LV

Amateur barbecue, however it’s spelt, is the art of spending the whole day drinking beer, achieving charred meat, and getting others to consider that a job well done.

It’s a cooking process the stamina for which I neither have nor want. Barbecuing, like deer hunting, has its charms. I get both practices. At times I have even wished to participate in the rituals, but, when it comes right down to it, only for the beer and camaraderie. My ilk is also a major fan of the 19th hole and the ski lodge fireplace.

Nor am I particularly goo-goo over barbecue’s end product; that is, the charred meat; as opposed to the sodden barbecuista.

But barbecue done well is a wonderful thing—when the mood for sticky fingers strikes.

It was this mood and an urging of curiosity that led me to check out Big Bad Wolf’s House of Barbecue.

My review: It’s perfect. Cool little shack. Better buds than mine have given it a 4. Nuff said.

Because it’s so obviously good, BBW’s got me thinking about the designation “the best.”

How is it we determine “the best”?

Is there only one instance of “the best” or is “the best” a category? Is BBW “the best” or merely one of “the best”?

After moments of wracking my brain, an unoriginal thought occurred to me: “the best” is not a designation but a gauntlet. It incites the one thing we are all good at: disputation.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Ordering coffee asks a lot of the average pre-caffeinated brain.

Decaf or regular? Skim milk, 2 percent, whole, cream or soy? More foam? Less? Syrup? Sprinkles?

Could scoring a little pick-me-up get any more complicated? In fact it has, at the new Hampden coffehouse Spro (which earned a mention here yesterday for offering a $13 cup of joe). Spro offers customers a choice of seven brewing methods.

I didn't know there were seven brewing methods.

Spro owner Jay Caragay assures me that there are and that some go better with certain coffees than others.

The methods:

1. French press. OK, we all know that one. But it gets obscure from here.

2. Vac Pot, which involves two glass chambers stacked one on top of the other.

3. Aeropress. "A pressurized brewing method that resembles a large syringe," is how Caragay described it. He added, to my great relief, "without the needle part." 

4. The Clever. A "full-immersion" brewing method that employs a paper filter and valve. Caragay said it's a new invention from California. "You get the body of French press with the filtration of a drip process."

5. Eva Solo. Another "full-immersion method," this one is Danish and uses a steel filter. "French press tends to have a lot of sediment, a lot of body. This is a little lighter. It enhances the brightness of the coffee."

6. Chemex. Yes, it sounds like a lawn treatment. A brewing method developed decades ago by a Massachusetts scientist, it employs a conical paper filter. "A clean presentation of the flavor."

7. The pour over. Like a drip brewer, but for a single serving.

Spro also has espresso machines for lattes and cappuccinos and a "cold-brew tower."  That's a Japanese method of cold brewing for iced coffee that produces just 60 drips a minute.

I think I'd need a double-shot before ordering to help me sort through all that. But Pro's menu suggests pairings, sommelier-like, for customers who aren't sure which method goes best with which coffee.

Oh, and there are 11 kinds of coffee.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Two television food personalities and a "Foodie Experience" serving samples from popular restaurants are coming to the Hippodrome May 22. 

Anthony Bourdain, the outspoken food critic and host of the Travel Channel's "No Reservations," teams up with Eric Ripert, a chef and host of PBS' "Avec Eric," for the show. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, as Richard Gorelick reports in this week's "Table Talk" column.

Here's how they're billing the show:

"No Reservations -- An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert is a frank and provocative back and forth about what really goes on behind the kitchen doors. ... Through illustrative anecdotes, stories and a Q & A, the night will include highlights from Eric's career and lurid lowlights from Tony's career and give you a real-world understanding of what it takes to survive in the cutthroat culture of fine dining restaurants."

The show will be followed by the Hippodrome's first-ever "Foodie Experience." Woodberry Kitchen, The Wine Market, Dogwood and other restaurants will offer samples of "gourmet menu items."

Tickets start at $29 for just the show, or $89 for the show and Foodie Experience. Shell out $250 and you'll get the show, food and a meet-and-greet with Bourdain and Ripert.

Travel Channel photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)
        

You know your city has arrived when somebody can charge $13 for a cup of coffee.

That day comes for Baltimore Saturday, when Spro in Hampden (Hampden!) starts offering 12-ounce servings of Aida's Grand Reserve for $13.

That's more than a buck an ounce for the basic cup of coffee, not some sort of tutti-frutti, tarted up, frappachino iteration.

"It's really a fantastic kind of coffee," said Spro owner Jay Caragay. "It's very juicy, fruity, good mouth feel, medium bodied."

And you can only get it at Spro's Hampden location, which opened on The Avenue (851 W. 36th) last weekend. Spro in the Towson Library will not serve it. 

Aida Grand Reserve, grown in El Salvador by a woman named Aida Batlle, makes Jamaican Blue Mountain look like el cheapo supermarket brew. But don't be put off by the price. Spro offers 10 other beans. Those start at $2.50 per cup.

That leaves some money for pastries. Srpo sell treats from the bakery across the street, Puffs & Pastries.

Chicago Tribune photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
        

We've had designer jeans. Designer diaper bags. Now, designer salt.

"Later this month ... PepsiCo Inc. plans to start churning out batches of a secret new ingredient to make its Lay's potato chips healthier," the Wall Street Journal reports. "The ingredient is a new 'designer salt' whose crystal crystals are shaped and sized in a way that reduces the amount of sodium consumers ingest when they munch. PepsiCo hopes the powdery salt, which it is still studying and testing with consumers, will cut sodium levels 25% in its Lay's Classic potato chips."

Sergio Vitale, owner of Aldo's Ristorante Italiano in Little Italy, alerted me to the article. He's skeptical.

"I guarantee you this new salt will eventually be deemed 'bad for your health,' just like margarine," he said. "Food developed in a test tube is not food."

Salt made the old-fashioned way -- solar evaporation of sea water -- in Mexico. Getty Images

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

OK, OK, you want nothing but food. I offer a favorite recipe.

It happens to involve beets, but any resemblance to topical subjects, including presidential root-vegetable bias, is purely coincidental.

I used to have the same opinion of beets as a certain world leader who shall not be named here. As a kid, my big sister got me to try one of the pickled purple discs.

"It's a cookie," she said.

It was not a cookie.

And I wanted nothing to do with them until I was in my 40s, in Whole Foods and in front of Donald, the cheese guy in Harbor East. He was serving up little tastes of a salad made with beets, oranges, fennel, hazelnuts and goat cheese feta. Unlike big sister, Donald had never steered me wrong. So I gave his salad a try. Yum!

I went straight back to the produce section and made my first-ever beet purchase. I even grow my own beets these days just so I can make this salad.

The recipe:

Red and Golden Beets with Orange, Fennel, Hazelnuts and Goat Feta Cheese

2 large yellow beets (all but 1 inch of top removed; leave tail)

2 large red beets

6 tablespoons olive oil

4 Mineola or navel oranges

1 fennel bulb, cut into paper-thin slices

1/4 cup fresh mint and Italian parsley, finely chopped

1/4 cup hazelnuts, halved

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and white pepper to taste

1 1/4 cups crumbled goat milk feta or goat cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees and place olive-oil rubbed beets in tin foil. Roast until tender (about 90 minutes). When beets are cool, peel and cut into 1/2 inch-cubes. Place in a large bowl, separating colors. (May be done a day ahead. Store refrigerated.)

Bring beets to room temperature. Peel and segment oranges, removing membranes. Collect any juice that runs out. Add fennel, mint, parsley, hazelnuts, shallots and 1 cup of orange segments in the bowl with the beets. Place 2 teaspoons of orange juice in a small bowl and whisk vinegar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to make dressing. Add to beets and stir. Top with orange segments and sprinkle with cheese.

Recipe credit: Whole Foods

Photo by math-hubby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

The idea for this week's Top Ten list comes from Dining@Large reader Alexander D. Mitchell IV.

I'd like to thank Alexander for the suggestion. And I'll thank the rest of you for sending any and all complaints his way.

Good luck with that, Alexander!

The list:

Top Ten foods most likely to be banned under Obamacare

1. Any produce not grown in a White House garden, schoolhouse garden or mammoth agribusiness spread in a swing farm state 

2. Any food that ends in "o"

That means Frito, Cheeto and anti-cholesterol poseur Cheerio

3. The entire chips/snack food aisle in every major supermarket

Exceptions made for whole-grain, no salt, biodynamic pretzels  

4. Artery-clogging cheeses

Exceptions made for triple creme purchased at Whole Foods by hipsters with food stamps

5. Tobacco

OK, it's not a food crop. But the nation's unsmoked smokes will be confiscated and stored at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

6. Twinkies

"A Twinkie is not a cigarette," Michelle Obama remarked at an anti-obesity forum the other day. That's precisely why the chemical-laden sweets will not be stored in the White House but trucked directly to Yucca Mountain for disposal.

7. Fast food

Obama will grant two exceptions in deference to his many European fans: French fries. And any McDonald's sandwich with "bistro" in its name.

8. High-fructose corn syrup

Scientists now say the sweetener is no more likely than sugar to make us fat. (It still may not be so hot for the liver and kidneys.) But along with sugar, it is making us fat. Besides, nutritional punching bags, like political ones, rarely wear out.

9. Arugula

Obama has been gunning for the tasty green since that campaign-trail joke flopped.

10. Beets

They may be darling root vegetable du jour, but beets are for Obama what broccoli was for George H.W. Bush.

Chicago Tribune photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (84)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

I'd like to tell you about a "beer, wine, food and silent auction" event taking place at the Harbor East Whole Foods Tuesday.

But all I've got is this photo of a signboard.

Midnight Sun blogger Sam Sessa was good enough to snap the picture and send it along to me.

Now, if only someone at Whole Foods would be good enough to return my call and fill me in on the details ...

Then again, the signboard pretty much says it all. If you can't quite make it all out:

It's 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

$10 includes food

$15 includes food, beer and wine

All proceeds go to the Whole Planet Foundation.

Sun photo by Sam Sessa

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Bryan Voltaggio fans, please return to the edge of your seats.

The Frederick chef who battled brother Michael 'till the bittersweet end on "Top Chef" is in the middle of another nail-biter.

He's just been named a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Awards in the Best Chef -- Mid-Atlantic category. 

Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen, who was among 20 semifinalists in that category, did not advance.

Voltaggio, co-owner of the restaurant Volt, is one of five finalists for the award. The others:

Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Va.

Jeff Michaud of Osteria in Philadelphia

Peter Pastan of Obelisk in Washington

Michael Solomonov of Zahav in Philadelphia

Winners will be announced May 3.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Many restaurants have gluten-free menu items these days, but Woodberry Kitchen has an exceptionally good reason for catering to the gluten-free crowd: the chef's wife has Celiac Disease.

Amy Gjerde, who co-owns Woodberry with husband Spike, had trained as a pastry chef and baked for his earlier restaurant ventures before the disease struck. The birth of the couple's second child, in 2002, apparently triggered it, she said.

"It was quite a shock," she said. "I had seizures and everything."

Her illness has influenced Woodberry's menu "hugely," she said. 

The menu highlights conventional items that are, by their nature, free of gluten. It also lists dishes that can be made gluten free with a few tweaks, such as substituting French fries or vegetables for a potato gratin side containing flour. The restaurant always has gluten-free bread on the premises. (It's not baked in house because it needs to be made in a flour-free environment, she said. It comes from Tenzo Artisan in Frederick.) 

"We really spend a lot of time training our staff and talking about the different allergies and not making someone feel like they're asking too much to ask the chef [a question] or change something around," she said. 

Doctors initially told Amy she couldn't even be in the same room with flour. But once she eliminated gluten from her diet, and her body started healing, her sensitivity lessened. She has even started baking again for her family. She has tried some gluten-free baking, but so far, "it hasn't taken my interest yet as much as the traditional baking.

"I still enjoy using those ingredients and making the traditional recipes of my mother and grandmother," she said.

One of her specialties, the item she most misses now that she doesn't eat gluten: black raspberry crumb pie. She makes the crust with lard, as her grandma did.

"That's probably the biggest thing I miss," she said. "That and biscuits."

Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

One of my co-workers likes to snack on raw potatoes.

Is that as weird as I think it is?

Photo by Getty Images

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

Instead of ring around the collar, today's stay-at-home mom battles the industrial-food complex. She started with a kitchen garden, then moved up to chickens.

That's the gist of a New York Times magazine article titled, "The Femivore's Dilemma." The subhed: "Can chickens save the desperate housewife?"

The modern, affluent homemaker may be as obsessed with providing her family with good food as June Cleaver was. But having a casserole on the table by the time Ward gets home from the office doesn't cut it anymore. It has to be nutritionally, environmentally unassailable food, preferably raised by Farmer Mom.

"Apparently it is no longer enough to know the name of the farm your eggs came from; now you need to know the name of the actual bird," Peggy Orenstein writes in the piece. 

This gentlewoman farmer has something in common with her feminists forebears, who made staying home with the kids a choice, not a foregone conclusion, the writer suggests. "Femivorism is grounded in the very principles of self-sufficiency, autonomy and personal fulfillment that drove women into the workforce in the first place," she writes.

But she also suggests chicken-keeping could become drudgery that quite literally coops women up -- especially if Dad isn't any help around the hen house.

"If you don't go into this as a genuinely egalitarian relationship, you're creating a dangerous situation," Shannon Hayes, author of "Radical Homemakers," a manifesto for "tomato-canning feminists," is quoted saying in the piece. "There can be a loss of self-esteem, loss of soul ... You can start to wonder, What's this all for?"

I enjoyed the article but think it gets one thing wrong: chicken lust isn't limited to stay-at-home moms. Swept up in the whole locavore thing, I seriously considered getting chickens last summer. The city allows four hens per back yard. I found a place to buy the birds. Found a farmer out in Buckeystown who would sell me organic feed. Found a guy with an illicit flock in Catonsville -- the county is stricter about these things -- to let me have a peek at his coop.

Then the summer wound down, my math-teacher husband headed back to the classroom, and the coop he was going to build never materialized. I was a little annoyed our project got put off -- until winter came along. During those twin blizzards, it occurred to me: local eggs are nice, but so's not having to wade into thigh-high snow to tend to birds.

Though my flock fancy has passed, I don't think it ever sprang from "the problem that has no name." For one thing, my husband and I both wanted the birds. We both work full time and have two young children, so the birds were never about filling our empty, meaningless days. For another thing, the chickens were meant to solve a problem that does have a name. Or two names: factory farming and high-priced organics.

I'd like to be able to have organic, free-range chicken eggs -- high in all the good things that come when the birds eat bugs and grass -- and still have money left over for that other nest egg. 

That said, I'd agree there is something amusing about what I'll call extreme homemaking -- maybe especially when practiced by busy working moms and dads. And I say that because I'm sometimes guilty of it. I can identify with these chicken-keepers-by-choice, not only as a near-hen keeper, but as an occasionally overly ambitious home cook.

I have tried (and failed) to make my own fresh mozzarella cheese. I have baked my own pita bread (successfully) when I couldn't find a 100 percent whole wheat variety at the store. I undertake projects like those because I think I can make something more wholesome and affordable than what's at the store, and because I enjoy cooking. But when these endeavors go awry and gobble up too much precious weekend time, I wonder: Am I being a good mother or selfish domestic striver?

As journalism has hit on hard times, I've often said I'd like to go into subsistence farming -- except that I'm pretty sure we couldn't subsist. There is something romantic about the idea, and absurd. I aim to be both good-foods idealist and realist today as I plant a vegetable garden in my blissfully chicken-free backyard.

AP photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

A reliable Dining@Large source reports having had a very good, if slightly under-populated, under-ketchuped lunch at B&O Brasserie the other day. He writes:

"Had lunch today at the B&O Brasserie. Excellent. Bad news is that the diners were scant at 1 p.m. on a Friday.

"We had the flatbreads -- made fresh in a wood-fired oven, one vegetarian and the other BBQ Pork. The pork was rather skimpy, but both dishes were very good otherwise.

"Split a mussels appetizer -- plump and very tasty. With excellent, thin, crisp, well-seasoned frites, served in a miniature deep frying basket -- yes, with a small cup of ketchup on the side.

"The setting is elegant -- enter through the hotel lobby, which is magnificent, rather than directly from the street. Service was also good."

A satisfied B&O customer wonders: what's with all the empty seats? Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 6:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I've spent much of this spectacular first day of spring out in our vegetable garden, raking, weeding and turning over the soil.

Once I cleared the leaves off the garden, I saw that my regular and variegated lemon thyme, which always make it through the winter, weren't the only troupers this year.

My parsley and Swiss chard are coming back to life. My strawberry plants, which were new last year, also survived.

Tomorrow I'll get planting, starting with spinach, peas, beets and salad greens.

I'm a relatively newbie gardener. Anybody out there have suggestions for other tasty things I can plant now?

Photo by math-hubby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

When we last left Timothy Dean, he was about to get right with the Liquor Board.

Dean was going to go down there to put his new restaurant, Prime Steakhouse, in his daughter's name. Or put it in both of their names. Either way, it wasn't going to remain in Baltimore City Liquor Board records in Dean's name alone.

That would just be silly, what with the press release that stressed how Dean had "chosen to remove myself as executive Chef and Owner in order to become a consultant for Prime Steakhouse." Not to mention Dean's contention in interviews that a group of publicity-shy investors owned the place.

Dean's lawyer, Peter Prevas, told me a few weeks ago that was the plan: to go to the Liquor Board and put the restaurant at least partially in Dean's daughter's name.

I checked in with the board the other day to see if that ever came to pass.

I was curious partly because someone at the restaurant had said Dean's daughter was quite young. A college student, she thought. Dean himself just turned 40.

Hey, maybe you can get work-study credit for owning a restaurant. 

So I called board chairman Steve Fogleman. He told me Prevas had been in touch with the board. But only to say there would be no change of ownership.

"His lawyer says Dean is the owner and will remain the owner," Fogleman said.

I've called Prevas and Dean but haven't heard from them.

As I wrote when this long, strange mystery began, I don't usually care who owns a restaurant. All I want to know is if the food is good.

But when claims about who owns a place come and go more quickly than soups du jour, you've got to wonder.

Sun photo by John Makely

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Let me assure you: Friday really is behind you, even if Robert of Cross Keys failed to cough up his usual Free Market Friday post. He writes:

"I'm sorry, but I did not get a chance to write this week. Crazy at work + NCAA basketball + 70 degree weather = no Free Market Friday."

We understand, RoCK. We all have a little spring fever.

Enjoy the weather this weekend. Then get your nose out of the crocuses and back to the grindstone next week.

Photo by Getty Images

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Bless me, father, for I have sinned. It's a Friday in Lent and I just ate meat.

I didn't mean to do it. I packed a vegetarian lunch -- a veggie quinoa dish I'd made for a food section story on Passover for Jewish vegetarians.

(Quick sidetrip to the subject of Passover and vegetarians: Seems that not only leavened bread is out, but also legumes if you're Ashkenazi. That means no tofu, no beans, no nothing it seems.

Enter quinoa. It could pass for cous cous, but it comes from a plant. It's not technically considered a grain and K-Star Kosher Certification gives it the thumbs up for Passover, in part because the stuff -- it hails from Peru -- was unknown to Old Country Jews when they set out all those holiday dos and don'ts.)

So anyway, I had to make cous cous so we'd have a picture in the paper. I figured I could eat some of it for lunch after the photo shoot. I left the food with the photographer and intended to claim my quinoa when he was done.

And then someone had to go and buy Sheila Dixon's Persian lamb coat!

We knew the other day that the mayor's lamb and mink coats were sold on eBay, but only this morning did I reach one of the buyers. And it turns out the gal who snapped up the lamb had a funny story: the buyer is a university lawyer who wants to use the jacket as a prop when she trains staff in ethics.

I'm not blaming the ex-mayor -- I've picked on her plenty -- but her illicit lamb coat led me to illicit lamb pizza.

I got busy writing the fur-coat story. The photographer got dispatched to shoot the buyer's picture. And my quinoa got locked in the photo studio.

By afternoon, with no sign of photog or quinoa, I decided to order an Iggies pizza. Looking up the number on the Web site, I saw the restaurant's Pizza of the Month: roasted peppers, roasted potatoes, lamb sausage and mozzarella. Sounded great. I phoned in the order.

Only as I walked up Calvert Street to claim La Pecora Nera pie did I remember that lamb and Lenten Fridays do not mix.

Maybe a good Catholic would have picked off the spicy little sausage rounds. Or stuck the whole thing in the fridge until Saturday.

But that little pizza cost me $10.07. I was eating it whole and hot.

Surely God wouldn't want good pizza to go to waste. (And it was good.) How about I go meat free tomorrow and we call it even?

Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

It appears that Gerry Mak, one of the people portrayed in the Salon article "Hipsters on food stamps," has replied to the item I posted about the story.

I say "appears" because I haven't been able to reach Mak himself. I'm still trying. But nothing in the comments suggests that it's a hoax poster. And surely Dining@Large readers are too sophisticated for that sort of tomfoolery, right?

I post the comments below for those who missed them on the original blog item. Mak appears to have made similar statements on Salon's site.

The general gist: He really isn't living large on food stamps and rarely goes to Whole Foods. He said he mostly shops at a halal market.

"Hello.  I'm one of the people in the original article.  I am not living large.  I am not living in a castle.  I am struggling like everyone else.  I go hungry some days.  I eat cans of sardines other days.  A can of Alaskan salmon is $2.49 at my local store.  I eat that sometimes.  I eat vegetables and chicken.  Please understand that the original article was written with controversy in mind.  I am just a guy who is having some trouble right now.  I don't take assistance lightly, and if you could only see how I actually eat, you would see that it's really not that extravagant at all.  I'm just trying not to eat processed food.  I pay taxes too, and I just found myself unemployed after 8 years working in the publishing industry.  I'm doing the best I can, just like all of you.

"The reporter contacted me telling me she was writing a story about artists and people who care about food who happen to be on food stamps.  That's me.  I care about food.  I think it's incredibly important, and I love to cook.  I don't have health care, so I think healthy food is paramount. 

"Just because I am going through hard times now (no harder than anyone else's, just hard enough to qualify legally for food stamps), I don't think this precludes me from caring about what I eat and enjoying food.  I cook the best meals I can from limited means.  Even the meal I cooked for the reporter cost me literally $2.  Sarah, the other person mentioned in the article, contributed about $5 worth of ingredients.  Because the ingredients were bought at an "ethnic market" people assume it was fancy. But it's just a small halal market across the street from me.

"I'm really just a guy.  I work (even though I am under-employed and trying to find more work), I pay taxes, and I am using a benefit that I legally qualify for.  I use it smartly as I can, buying the healthiest ingredients at the most reasonable prices.  I cook everything myself.  I never eat out.  I don't buy anything ever.  I pay my own rent.  I don't have a car, I don't have a bike, and I walk everywhere I go. 

"I am not truly poor.  I just have lost work, my parents can't support me, I have no savings, and I'm living as minimally as I can while I search for a job -any job - that will hire me.  Unfortunately, I've worked for 8 years in a dying industry, and I don't even qualify for retail and coffee shop jobs.  I'm really open to anything, but every opening these days is highly competitive, even the seemingly menial jobs."

Sun photo by Amy Davis

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Just heard from the Dining@Large lurker who tipped me off recently to Pigs' Feet Yat Gaw Mein.

Lurker writes:

"With the warm weather upon us, I have a craving for pulled pork bbq.

"Trouble is, every place I’ve seen in Baltimore features the western North Carolina style (tomato based bbq sauce).

"I’m looking for eastern North Carolina style, strictly vinegar-dominant sauce, no tomato presence anywhere. 

"Maybe someone out there has some recommendations."

Lurker was good enough to turn us on to "ghetto fusion."

And if you tried the pigs' feet -- I managed a nibble; pure porcine Jell-O, ewww!  -- you know this gal needs a good restaurant recommendation.

Can you help her out?

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

From Whole Paycheck to Whole Food Stamp.

There's provocative story in Salon headlined, "Hipsters on food stamps." Subhed: "They're young, they're broke, and they pay for organic salmon with government subsidies. Got a problem with that?"

The story happens to open with two, young, underemployed Baltimoreans who use their food stamps at the farmers' market and Whole Foods. She, an art-school grad whose museum-installation work has dried up, gets $150 a month in nutrition assistance. He, a University of Chicago alum and part-time blogger, gets $200 a month.

A snippet:

"'I'm sort of a foodie, and I'm not going to do the 'living off ramen' thing,' he [blogger Gerry Mak] said, fondly remembering a recent meal he'd prepared of roasted rabbit with butter, tarragon and sweet potatoes. 'I used to think that you could only get processed food and government cheese on food stamps, but it's great that you can get anything.'

"Think of it as the effect of a grinding recession crossed with the epicurean tastes of young people as obsessed with food as previous generations were with music and sex. Faced with lingering unemployment, 20- and 30-somethings with college degrees and foodie standards are shaking off old taboos about who should get government assistance and discovering that government benefits can indeed be used for just about anything edible, including wild-caught fish, organic asparagus and triple-crème cheese."

I wouldn't wish a Ramen-noodle diet on anyone, but triple-crème? Not my idea of government cheese.

Sun photo by Doug Kapustin 

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (68)
        

Not content to stiff wine lovers who'd like to order vino legally from out-of-state vineyards, Maryland lawmakers are considering ways to stiff waiters.

A bill before the General Assembly would outlaw the automatic tip that some restaurants tack onto the tab, at least for parties smaller than 10, the Baltimore Business Journal reports today.

Del. Cheryl Glenn, a Baltimore City Democrat, "decided to sponsor the bill after several meals in which the service wasn’t up to par and the restaurant tacked on a tip, anyway," the BBJ reports.

“I think it’s a consumer protection issue,” she told the paper.

I can't say I'd miss the automatic tip if it went away. But I'm wondering if our elected leaders would be willing to work for tips. If their service is good, they'd have nothing to worry about.

Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

If you overdid it last night celebrating St. Patrick's Day, I'm not sure you'll feel like cooking a big breakfast of spicy sirloin sliders and breakfast burritos.

But the folks at Tabasco and chef Laurent Tourondel of New York's BLT Market say that's just the thing for the morning after.

Besides, the Tabasco flak promoting these cures for the "Irish flu" signed off his e-mail with, "Hottest regards." How can I resist the guy? 

The recipes: 

SPICY SIRLOIN SLIDER WITH TABASCO HORSERADISH SAUCE

Caramelized Onions:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound sweet onions, sliced thin

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock Balsamic vinegar

Salt

Ground black pepper

Tabasco Horseradish Sauce:

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 teaspoons red wine vinegar

4 teaspoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup prepared horseradish, strained

Salt

Ground black pepper

Sliders:

8 (2-ounce) hamburger patties

8 slider rolls

Prepare Caramelized Onions: Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat, until smoking; add onions. Turn heat to medium and stir frequently until onions are completely caramelized, chestnut brown and practically falling-apart tender. Reduce the vegetable or chicken stock in medium saucepan to 1/4 cup. Stir onions into reduced stock; cook until lightly glazed. Season with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Prepare Tabasco Horseradish Sauce: Whip cream lightly in a small bowl. Mix red wine vinegar, mayonnaise, Tabasco sauce and mustard in a separate bowl. Fold horseradish into cream; mix with Dijon mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare Sliders: Cook hamburgers until desired doneness. Serve burger on a toasted slider bun; top with caramelized onions and Tabasco Horseradish Sauce. Serves 4.

HUEVOS FRESCO BREAKFAST BURRITO

Tabasco Roasted Tomato Salsa:

3 tomatoes, sliced in half and roasted until lightly charred

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons lime juice

Breakfast Burrito:

5 tablespoons butter

12 large eggs, lightly beaten tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons original Tabasco sauce

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 large flour tortillas, about 12 inches

2 cups roasted red peppers, thinly sliced

1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1 cup canned black beans

Prepare Tabasco Roasted Tomato Salsa: Combine all ingredients in a food processor until chopped. Add salt and lime juice to taste. Set aside.

Prepare Breakfast Burrito: Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add eggs, cream and Tabasco sauce; cook, stirring constantly until eggs are almost cooked. Stir in cheese; cook 1 minute longer. Spoon eggs onto warmed tortillas; top with roasted red peppers, avocado slices and black beans. Serve with Tabasco Roasted Tomato Salsa on side.

Serves 8.

Sun fie photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Shallow Thought Wednesdays guru John Lindner wants some ketchup. Is that too much to ask? LV  

Large scale disasters, like freak weather events, blogger retirements and national elections, devastate us in groups. But the small afflictions we bear alone. If we are civilized, we suffer them quietly, fearing to bore our dear ones or inspire them to think us petty. Big, bold disasters either kill or strengthen us. But the small hurts, toothpick jabs to the soul, are the ones that age and enfeeble. So it is with ketchup.

Receiving the ketchup bottle after the fries have cooled is a disappointment that must be carried off with a sigh. I rarely handle it that gracefully, but nevertheless take comfort in knowing that I at least recognize how I should behave. Further, I’ve whined about late ketchup before (I’m not obsessed, I’m bruised, OK?), so I mention it now only as a benchmark of regret. Because a new affront is afoot.

At what point of refinement does a restaurant’s décor demand that bottles of condiments be hid from view? It’s a thing one can’t quantify. One just knows instinctively, particularly if one’s been raised by my mom. You walk into a place and sense, we will not find a Heinz squeezy in this place.

In these places they serve the Red Condiment — always with the unspoken condescension “Well! If you must use kat-sup,” like it’s a moral weakness — in a miniature ramekin.

Surely you’ve seen it. The little white ramekin? It’s the same diminuative size wherever you go, as if there’s but one producer: some unmarked, concrete-block factory in the Qinghai province that churns them out and ships them overseas by the bargeload.

And the things are contemptuously tiny. It’s veritable rationing! Is there a real war on? “Ladies, turn in your pantyhose! We need the nylon for our paratroopers!”

The one-size-fits-all attitude of the ketchup ramekin strikes a blow to our dignity. The condenscending message, “Surely this will be enough for you,” is etched along the curve of the server’s sneer as he sets it on the table and quickly backs away as from a leper or a roach. And worse, to my utter humiliation, it often is enough – as if the Qinghai has me figured out right down to the mili-ounce.

True, the injury inflicted is as insignificant as the ramekin itself, but that’s the point, I guess. Picnics are more frequently spoiled by the ant than the Autan.

Photo by David Grant, courtesy Stock Xchng

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

It only took two days, several e-mails, four phone calls and a rogue McDonald's franchisee who just moments ago shared a perceived company secret, but I finally got the price on that new McBistro sandwich.

It's $3.39. That includes lettuce and cheese.

You can add two slices of bacon for 70 cents. 

After lots of back and forth, and a slammed phone at a local Golden Arches, the McDonald's PR machine coughed up the basic sandwich price last night. But the cost of the optional bacon -- key to the whole bistro pretension -- remained a mystery until I reached a friendly McDonald's franchisee this morning.

If I'd known it was going to be so hard to get the price, I would have just stopped into a McDonald's and looked at the menu.

But then my clothes would have smelled like a bistro.

AP photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

The waiting is over: B&O American Brasserie has picked a name for its frequent diner program.

It's the B&O Conductor's Club.

The most exciting part about this development: the person who came up with the winning name is our very own Federal Hal. The frequent Dining@Large poster will receive a $25 B&O gift certificate for being so clever.

Now comes the really hard part, Hal. Which one of us are you taking to lunch?

B&O's Smoked Carolina Trout with Celery Salad and Horseradish Creme Fraiche. Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

And now for a little St. Patrick's Day quiz: What is both the oldest and newest Irish Pub in America?

Patrick's of Pratt Street. 

The West Side pub, established in 1847, has long claimed the oldest title. But in a sense, the joint is brand new; it re-opened just last weekend after a year-long hiatus.

The Rowley family cut back the pub's hours to once a week in November 2008, then closed it completely a couple months later, so they could focus on opening Patrick's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Frederick. 

"We were at Pratt Street for 163 years,"  said Pat Rowley, whose wife, Anne, is owner. "We had a business plan that said, 'Every 163 years, open a new location.' We're not moving real fast, you know."

The West Side decor is the same, but Rowley said the menu has changed from formal sit-down dining to less expensive "pub grub."

"Good hearty foods that won't break the bank is what we're going for," said chef Zu Pinsker, who had been sous chef at the restaurant for four years.

Patrick's also will aim to offer local, seasonal foods, though Zeke's Coffee is about it for now.

"This is a bad time of year for that," she said.  "As soon as the farmers' market kicks up, we're going."

Patrick and Anne Rowley at Patrick's. Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor 

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

McDonald's gave me occasion this afternoon to look up the definition of "bistro."

"A bistro, sometimes spelled bistrot, is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting," sayeth Wikipedia. "Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. Slow-cooked foods like braised meats are typical."

Sounds a lot like the Golden Arches, right? Except for that "slow-cooked" business. And the part that evokes the City of Light. And the part, noted in other sources I consulted, about bistros serving wine.

Whether the word fits McDonald's or not, the fast-food chain is slapping it on a new menu item, the McBistro Chicken Sandwich.

It is being tested in just three markets nationwide: Omaha, Albuquerque and -- you guessed it -- Greater Baltimore.

The chicken comes either grilled or fried. It's available with bacon, white cheddar cheese, tomato and a choice of sauce (chipotle barbecue, honey mustard, buttermilk ranch). It is served on a whole-grain "bakery-style" roll.

All fine and dandy if you're in the market for a fast-food chicken sandwich. But what makes this bistro fare?

Apparently, in the eyes of McDonald's, it's the fact that customers can customize their sandwiches, and pay less if they hold the bacon or cheese or lettuce.

"McBistro Chicken Sandwiches are all about choice, and customers will pay for only what they include on their customized sandwich, enjoying a premium product without a premium price," says a McDonald's news release.

Are Parisian waiters known for being exceedingly accommodating? For singing, "Special orders don't upset us"? I'm thinking surly guy in a white jacket who brings you food so delicious you don't mind his attitude, not clown in a yellow jumpsuit whose painted-on smile can't begin to make up for his fare.

No price information was included on the press release. I found that surprising since the whole bistro claim hangs on the sandwich's flexible ingredients and pricing. A McDonald's PR rep said she'd look into it and get back to me.

Since the sandwich is already being served, I decided I'd just call a McDonald's and ask. I rang up the one in the 2800 block of Greenmount Avenue. The woman who answered hung up before I could get the question out.

Maybe they're getting the Parisian thing down after all.

McDonald's photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Got an e-mail this morning from Cindy Hoedel, a writer for the Kansas City Star Magazine.

She writes: "My husband and I are taking our two teenage kids to Washington and Baltimore this week for spring break. Can you recommend a casual seafood place that has fresh-tasting shrimp and blue crab?"

Since Cindy works in journalism, I can only assume "casual" is code for "cheap." Or at least something less expensive than, say, Oceanaire.

Can you help her out?

 UPDATE:

Cindy wrote back to clarify what she meant by "casual."

"I did in fact mean Not Oceanaire pricewise with a secondary meaning of 'I can’t get my teenagers to put on clothes that don’t look like they were pulled off a dead body behind a Dumpster.'"

Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron 

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

One day you're passe. The next, retro.

Cocktails. Soft drinks made with sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. Even beef -- the kind raised on old-fashioned grass instead of feedlot corn -- qualifies as comeback cuisine.

The mac-n-cheese might have lobster in it. The grilled cheese could be brioche and brie. Even gentrified classics tap into our food nostalgia, satisfying both outer epicure and inner child.

But sometimes what gets eaten in childhood should stay in childhood.

Which brings us to this week's list: Top Ten retro foods we wish would stay in the past.

1. Pop Rocks

The exploding candy has made a comeback in cocktails and even a tuna entree at Jack's Bistro. I know some people like it. But I'm skeptical -- just like when I heard Mikey from the Life cereal commercial died from ingesting Pop Rocks with soda.

2. Home-canned anything

I love the whole locavore logic behind canning and, honestly, I'd like to try it. But Sara Dickerman in Slate nails what's wrong with this homespun hobby's becoming "ridiculously trendy." She calls it "showy industriousness." "These culinary trophies are emblematic of a project-based food relationship that we urban food junkies are prone to indulge these days: athletic all-weekend bouts of cheesemaking or bacon curing or jam and pickle making are so much more bloggable and boastworthy than making a decent brown-bag lunch five days in a row." And then there's the botulism thing.

3. Cupcakes

I like them fine when they're delicate miniature cakes topped with, say, chocolate-mascarpone frosting. But so often they're dry and adorned with Crisco-based icing, even at high-end bake shops devoted to cupcakes.

4. Berger cookies

5. Red Dye No. 2

Even if that one's gone for good, a whole bunch of other dated, Day-Glo colors tart up our food supply. I tried to buy pickles the other day at Giant. Every single brand on the shelves contained yellow food coloring. Do I really have to haul all the way over to Whole Foods for a bottle of kosher dills?

6. Tomato aspic

Tomato Jell-O still shows up at holiday potlucks. Why?

7. Regular Jell-O

Calling it the "perfect food for a battered economy," Salon declared last summer that "The jiggle is back." Nothing says wobbly dessert fun like rendered animal parts.

8. Tongue

With more chefs buying whole animals directly from farmers, off cuts of meat are showing up on menus. I know this is immature, but I don't want to taste anything that can taste me back.

9. Green bean casserole

I call it green glop casserole. Who keeps inviting it to Thanksgiving?

10. Whatever those striped heirloom tomatoes were that I grew last summer

The guy who sold me the plants at the farmers' market said they'd be great. True enough for the other varieties I bought from him. But the striped ones were clunkers. We wound up letting them rot on the vine. Maybe some kinds of tomatoes should be allowed to die out.

Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (47)
        

Even without the triple exclamation marks, who can resist an e-mail with this in the subject line: "Closer to Spring Time!!!"?

Turns out the news inside was not from a meteorologist, but a restaurateur.

"It's a good sign when we can purchase line-caught Maryland Rockfish," writes Alan Morstein of Regi's American Bistro. "Our Executive Chef Ben Troast is preparing it. ... crispy skin-style sailing on Parmesan-scented risotto, with fresh sauteed green beans and finished with a champagne vinaigrette, yummmm."

That missive came on top of one from Oceanaire chef Benjamin Erjavec, who also shared his spring fish news.

"Finally, after a long, cold and snowy winter, Wild Alaskan Halibut is back," Erjavec e-mailed me. "I received 3 whole fish today weighing in at a total of almost 100 pounds. This is certain to go quickly, so I have another 100 pounds scheduled to come in tomorrow."

Erjavec warned that due to poor weather conditions in Alaska, the halibut catch has not been great so far. He offered to put some halibut "on hold" for customers interested in it.

"I would feel pretty confident in saying that I am one of only a few to have Alaskan Halibut in at this time," he wrote.

Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
        

Michael Pollan is going to play professor for a day at Goucher College.

The author and industrial-foods critic will give a lecture: "In Defense of Food: The Omnivore's Solution."

The event, at 8 p.m. on April 13, is free and open to the public, but tickets must be reserved in advance by calling the Goucher box office at (410) 337-6333 or e-mailing boxoffice@goucher.edu.

After the lecture, Pollan will sign books.

His most recent work is "Food Rules." Pollan also is author of "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals." 

Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Just when you thought the Catonsville dining scene couldn't get any more hifalutin, along comes a new restaurant devoted to grilled cheese.

We're not talking Wonder-Bread-and-Kraft-Singles combos either.

When Grilled Cheese & Co. opens later this month in the 500 block of Edmondson Avenue, near the Beltway, expect the likes of smoked bacon, aged white cheddar and diced tomato. And fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, pesto, balsamic glaze and "XVO." (If they had to abbreviate "extra virgin olive oil," at least they went with their own shorthand and not Rachael Ray's.)

There's even a dessert grilled cheese made with sliced brie, mascarpone cheese, semi-sweet chocolate and raspberry sauce.

The company's Web site says the restaurant concept, one the owners hope to expand to more locations, was "inspired by childhood memories of grilled cheese." At the same time, it describes the menu as "adult-focused." Along with the upscale sandwiches, there will be homemade soups and "gourmet" salads.

The restaurant is in a two-story white building that at one point housed both barbecue joint and exterminator. (That always amused me for some reason.)

Grilled Cheese & Co. is the creation of Vic Corbi and Matt Lancelotta, who've already been peddling upscale grilled cheese at area festivals. They're the ones behind the Grilled Cheese, Beer & Wine Festival planned for October, which EL mentioned in this space when it was announced last month.

I spotted the Grilled Cheese & Co. sign going up late Sunday afternoon while driving by with the family. My husband, still bitter four years after having frittered away one of his Charleston courses on grilled cheese, greeted the restaurant concept with a bad pun: "That's a crock, monsieur."

But really, if it's extra-good grilled cheese, what's not to like?

Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (32)
        

I was in a long, slow line at the Catonsville Post Office yesterday, and behind me was a woman I know from the YMCA. We chatted as we waited, and she recalled the time she took her son to the home of a magnet-school classmate who lived in a swishier part of the county.

She pulled up and saw not one, but two, Lamborghini in the garage. She made small talk with the other mother at the front door, complimenting her on her beautiful home. The woman asked where she lived.

"Catonsville," my friend said.

"Catonsville," Lamborghini Mom replied. "It's getting" -- she paused, searching for the right word -- "better."

This exchange came back to YMCA Mom because I'd mentioned to her that after mailing my package at the Post Office, I was heading a few blocks down Frederick Road to Atwater's.

Atwater's recently moved its baking operations into town and opened a small storefront, right near Catonsville Gourmet, a terrific restaurant that is doing its part to overcome the days when that name would have been an oxymoron.

Eat your heart out, Lamborghini Mom.

I'd been to Atwater's many times in Belvedere Square, but yesterday was the first time I'd gotten to the Catonsville location, not far from my house in Southwest Baltimore. The bakery is a very welcome addition to a stretch of road known more for independent music stores -- Bill's Music House, Appalachian Bluegrass Shoppe -- than for upscale food.

I'd hate to think Lamborghini Mom's conspicuous consumption is rubbing off on me, but I left Atwater's pleased but wanting more! more! more!

The bakery had Atwater's usual assortment of pastries and breads, but the menu is more limited than at Belvedere, where you can sit down and have soups, salads and sandwiches before moving on to dessert. There were only a handful of tiny tables in Catonsville, so clearly the aim is not to have a lot of eat-in business.

Some soups could be had for take-out from a self-service fridge. The fridge also had some interesting cheeses and local, organic eggs and milk. I like the idea that I can pick up that sort of product without having to schlep all the way to Whole Foods.

Maybe, as with the all the music stores, we'll start to get some good-foods synergy along the street. Can Appalachian Grass-Fed Beef Shoppe be far behind? How about Bill's Artisan Cheese House?

I expect to see a Lamborghini parked on Frederick Road any day now.

AP photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Why have a plain cup of joe when you can get your coffee with incense, music and an ancient coffee ceremony?

Sidamo, a little coffeehouse in Fulton, offers that every Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Green beans are roasted in a small pot, ground up and boiled before they're finally served.

"This is a very old, traditional coffee ceremony," said Kenfe Bellay, a native of Ethiopia who owns Sidamo with his wife, Yelmzwed.  "Where we come from ... you don't drink it by yourself. You call your immediate neighbor."

Traditionally, the ceremony takes hours, which gives Ethiopian villagers the chance to swap news of hyena-sightings and sort out disputes among neighbors, Bellay said. Sidamo's version of the ceremony is condensed to 35 to 40 minutes to better suit Americans, who tend to be short on hyena news and more inclined to settle local disputes in court than over coffee.

Tony Glaros, a writer for the Columbia Flier chain, put me onto Sidamo.  He's working on a column about the place and wanted to get the word out here, too.

"The place serves the best Ethiopian blends I've ever sampled, along with great tea and pastries," Glaros told me. He said the ceremony is "absolutely fascinating."

If that's not enough, he added: "The panini are also top-notch."

Sidamo is at 8180 Maple Lawn Avenue. (301) 483-3683

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

People used to go to restaurants so they wouldn't have to cook.

Now some are paying to slave away in restaurant kitchens.

Even if it sounds like something Chef Tom Sawyer would dream up, diners are paying big bucks to cook their own dinners in restaurant cooking classes.

A friend went with a date to a cooking class at Corks last weekend. It cost $96 per person. Chef Jerry Pellegrino had done most of the prep work, but his guests had plenty to do: cranking out homemade fettuccine, stirring risotto, mixing chocolate biscotti dough, roasting rack of lamb.

They drank a lot of wine along the way and enjoyed Pellegrino's outgoing personality, so the cooking never felt like work, my friend said. It was more like the night's entertainment. And the dinner they eventually sat down to was worth the price, he said, especially considering the amount of wine and cognac they washed it all down with. They were there for about four hours.

And no, they didn't have to do the dishes when it was all over.

Corks has been offering cooking classes since the restaurant installed a second kitchen about a year and a half ago, Pellegrino said.

(Yes, I've been a little Pellegrino-centric lately, what with his plans for a "living mojito bar," his attempted City Hall coup and his interest -- apparently gone now -- in the former Brass Elephant site. I'll try to branch out, but the guy's been interesting lately.)  

Pellegrino teaches up to 12 people at a time in the classes. People can sign up for a class individually, but sometimes a whole group of 12 comes in for a private party -- he recently did a class for someone's 50th birthday -- or as a corporate event.

Pellegrino said he read and article somewhere that compared cooking classes to Outward Bound-style corporate bonding events of years past.

"Everybody gets in the kitchen, everybody works together for kind of a common cause," he said. "With the advent of the Food Network and everybody getting to see the behind-the-scenes thing, people are very interested."

Even people who don't cook.

At the end of the night, Pellegrino gives participants copies of the recipes they've made. A lot of them are left behind.

"Eighty percent of the people who watch the Food Network never cook," he said. "I have the feeling that 80 percent of the people who take my cooking classes never go home and cook."

You have to crank for your supper at a Corks cooking class. Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Jordan Naftal, owner of the late Jordan's Steakhouse in Ellicott City, will revive a couple menu favorites in a very different setting.

Instead of a quaint historic-district rowhouse, he'll sell Caesar salads with grilled steak and grilled shrimp from a truck.

"Howard County's First Ever, Gourmet, Mobile Food Truck is coming soon!" he writes on Twitter.

I hope to have more information for you soon, but for now, I'm left with the small bites Naftal posted recently on Twitter@grilledCaesar.

The main thing for people pining for the salads since Jordan's shut: "Grilled Caesar: It's Coming!"

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Robert of Cross Keys sets out to master the art of Search Engine Optimization in this week's Free Market Friday post. Let's see if it works. LV

It has been a tough week at the office, so I wasn’t able to get around to writing about some of the things I’ve wanted to opine on.

When I woke up this morning, it appeared that Friday had arrived, but there was no Free Market Friday to turn in. Realizing that my imaginary Internet salary was at risk, I had to throw something together.

My first inkling was to create a clip piece, like on TV when they throw together a bunch of old footage and tie it into some story about reminiscing. "Family Ties" used to do this about every other week when Michael J. Fox was off making things like "Teen Wolf."

Yes, a clip piece. Maybe bring together some hardware store ham and cranberry sauce with the can rings for the food. Wardrobe selections would be T-shirts with either “Best Buns in Town” from Tony Packo’s or “Nice ____. Can I ___ them?” from RA sushi. Embedded music links from Journey or the Little River Band would provide the background music. It would great, or at least good.

The problem, however, with the clip piece was that I would really need an editor or at least an intern to pull this together. Unfortunately, I just didn’t have room in my imaginary Internet budget to pay for these kinds of expenditures.

So, where to go? Well, last week with the Great Gluten Debate I came to realize the power of Google Alerts. All I would need to do is type in a few popular search terms in the context of some questionable questions vaguely related to food. Bam! Instant Free Market Friday.  

What foods will be outlawed under Obamacare?

Peanut allergies? How come there weren’t no peanut allergies when I was a kid?

Where can I find a good recipe for veal stuffed with foie gras?

Are there any Internet coupons for farmed-raised shrimp I can use at Walmart?

What did Congressman Massa order at all those lunch dates?

Now, I wait for all the comments to roll in and watch for my imaginary Internet bonus to arrive in the mail.

Interest in NY Rep. Eric Massa's dining habits are key to RoCK's ratings. AP photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

I asked a colleague whose wife is expecting how their baby was coming along.

"It's the size of a jicama," he said.

When did gestation get mixed up with greengrocers?

It seems Babycenter.com sends expectant parents weekly in utero updates: "Poppyseed to pumpkin: How big is your baby?"

I take it as a sign of these foodie times that Babycenter compares growing fetuses to produce, some of it rather obscure before the Food Network helped bring kumquats (10 weeks), Chinese cabbage (28 weeks) and Crenshaw melons (36 weeks) to mainstream supermarkets -- and wombs.

Three weeks have passed since I heard about my colleague's jicama, so I checked back. His wife is at 35 weeks now, just five weeks or so away from delivering their beautiful, bouncing pumpkin.

"We're up to a honeydew now!" he said. "Good thing we got the bigger car seat."

Full-term jicama. Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

B&O Americana Brasserie is starting a frequent diner program and it needs a name.

The "lunch rewards" deal: eat lunch at B&O four times and the fifth is free.

The naming deal: submit a name for the program by 6:30 tonight. The winner gets a $25 B&O gift certificate.

Submit ideas via Twitter @BridgetForney or @AmyBurke02. Using the hashtag #BandOLunch helps but isn't essential.

B&O's Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Chipotle Goat Cheese and Saba. Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Move over heirloom tomatoes. The new retro food in town is Heritage Dr. Pepper.

This doc is so old-fashioned, it probably makes house calls.

The soda is made with sugar. You know, that powdery white stuff that used to sweeten everything until high fructose corn syrup came along.

I writing an article for The Sun's food section on the re-emergence of sugar in some soft drinks and other processed foods. I'm looking for a few good sugar enthusiasts who prefer it to high fructose corn syrup.

I know you're out there. Message me here or at laura.vozzella@baltsun.com.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
        

More bizarre restaurant news from the great state of New York.

Earlier this week, we heard about a Chelsea chef making cheese from his wife's breast milk.

And we're thinking, "Why isn't a food cop ever around when you need one?"

Instead of going after bodily fluids in foods, the food police are up to something else: banning salt from restaurant meals.

"No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises," the bill states, according to a reports from various news outlets.

The idea is to let restaurant patrons decide how much salt they want in their meal. Salt shakers still would be allowed on tables.

Said the New York Daily News: "If [bill sponsor] state assemblyman Felix Ortiz has his way, the only salt added to your meal will come from the chef's tears."

There's more than just taste at stake. Salt plays a role in kitchen chemistry. When baking bread, for instance, amino acids in flour interact with salt ions to help "line up the gluten fibers," something I should know as the daughter of a chemist and home economics teacher but, to be honest, I had to Google that.

First they came for the trans fats, and I did not speak out ... 

Photo by Getty Images

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (30)
        

The Cindy Wolf-Tony Foreman Industrial Complex looks formidable as ever.

The pair's restaurants dominate Baltimore magazine's list of 50 Best Restaurants this year -- again.

Charleston ranked No. 1.

Cinghiale was No. 5.

Pazo came in No. 8.

Petit Louis Bistro was No. 12.

It was more or less the same story last year.

If some upstarts don't shake things up, the magazine's much-anticipated restaurant issue will start to read like one of those "Best U.S. Hospitals" lists that Johns Hopkins is always topping. 

The lede a decade ago when then-Sun reporter Gary Dorsey wrote about Hopkins' long winning streak: "Ho hum. No. 1."

Charleston's shrimp, scallop and wild rockfish ceviche. Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

What's with all the retro sweets and alcohol all of a sudden?

First we had cupcakes and cocktails at Pazo.

Then we hear about the same thing at Milan.

Now it's Bundt cakes and prosecco.

That's what designer Mitchell Gold is dangling before Baltimoreans to lure them to his book party Thursday night.

Gold will speak and sign copies of his new book, "The Comfortable Home: How to Invest in Your Nest and Live Well for Less."

He'll also offer Bunt and bubbly, a combo that apparently reels 'em in.

"Early on, he discovered that two food items -- Bundt cakes and prosecco wine -- drew great crowds, so he ended up featuring a Bundt cake on the cover of his new book," says Vicki Aversa of Aversa Communications, who was promoting the event. "So now, every book party ... features all different flavors of Bundt Cakes from Las Vegas-based Nothing Bundt Cakes and prosecco."

If you're seeking home design help -- or just free cake and wine -- the event is 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at The House Downtown in Belvedere Square.

AP photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

In this week's Shallow Thought Wednesdays post, John Lindner sticks it to state lawmakers. I think he should take them out for a beer -- or a glass of wine -- and patch things up. LV

If you disagree that wine is food, then this STW violates every cherished rule the previous management erected to keep scoundrels like me from running roughshod over the D@L terroir. Not only is the following post shallow, it’s divisive and politically charged. I apologize in advance. Or, as they say in Annapolis, "Thank you for understanding."
 
I'm delighted to hear that Mother Maryland has seen fit to protect us from the horrors of interstate wine shipment. Oh whatever would we do without our noble champions?

The good nannies predict that a bill freeing adults to purchase wine from vineyards (or wherever) and accept the consequent out-of-state shipments into Maryland is unlikely to pass this year (as reported by
Julie Bykowicz in the Baltimore Sun). Or any other year for that matter.
 
Unlikely? Why not cock a snook in our general direction and be bold about it: “We’re not going to upset the gravy train for a pack of budget-conscious winos.”

Instead, we get this smarmily contemptible : "’If just one teen is able to buy and consume wine over the Internet*, and then goes out and kills someone’, [Baltimore County Liquor Board Chairman Thomas] Minkin said, ‘how could lawmakers live with themselves?’"

The answer: "Without a moment's difficulty." 

The picture Minkin paints of conscience-tortured lawmakers pacing their bedrooms at night because a teenager ordered a case of Malbec and then drove off into a manslaughter is beyond laughable. Would that lawmakers were so concerned about the consequences of their decisions.

Or maybe they just sell better mattresses in the 37 states that allow interstate wine shipments? I guess in DC, where Internet wine purchases and interstate shipment is legal, what's one wine-sotted homicidal teenager more or less? But we sure wouldn't want their ilk in our neck of the woods. We're a peace-lovin' neighborhood.

I don't think the nannies' unwillingness to liberate Maryland wine drinkers would bother me so much if they'd just admit that it's all about the money. In this case, the liquor lobby is stuffing the coffers of state legislators. I get that.

Again from the story: "The liquor lobby that protects the system is one of the top campaign contributors, giving to more than 80 percent of the 188 General Assembly members - all of whom are up for election this fall." Put that in your Riedel and suck on it.

By the way, it's apparently illegal for you to ship wine to a free state and then bring that wine across Maryland state lines.
 
Well well. That should keep those crazed teenagers at bay.

*Just out of curiosity, how does one consume wine over the Internet? Am I missing an app?
 
Photo by Elvis Santana courtesy Stock Xchng

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (41)
        

Spike Gjerde heads to Washington this morning to do some cooking -- and lobbying.

The Woodberry Kitchen chef will take part in National Small Farm and Ranch Grassroots Lobby Day, organized by the National Independent Consumers and Farmers Association.

Gjerde and others will voice opposition to a provision in a food-safety bill that would make it harder to buy directly from farmers.

"Bad for your farmers' market, bad for farm-to-table restaurants, bad for consumers in general," is how Andy Tzortzinis, who does PR for Woodberry, summed up the legislation.

The group's goal, as stated on NICFA's Web site: "To promote and preserve unregulated farmer-to-consumer trade that fosters availability of locally grown or home-produced food products."

Gjerde will be meeting with a U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary and reps for Sens. Mikulski and Cardin during the day. Come evening, he'll be one of five speakers at a reception for at least 500, many of them lawmakers. Celebrity farmer Joel Salatin will serve as emcee.

If Gjerde fails to woo the crowd with his words, perhaps his food will do the trick. He's helping to cater the reception.

"We're serving Gunpowder Bison Chili with Cheddar Skillet Cornbread and Circle C Oyster Stew with House-Baked Oyster Crackers,"  Tzortzinis said.

Sounds like the crackers alone could get a senator or two off the fence.

"They're like little cookies," Tzortzinis said. "They're incredible." 

Sun photo by John Makely

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

He came. He cooked. He maybe conquered, maybe not.

Bobby Flay challenged Rodney Henry of Dangerously Delicious Pies to a "Cowboy Quiche Throwdown" today at Luckies Tavern in Power Plant Live.

I have that much from people at Dangerously Delicious and Luckies.

Nobody's at liberty to say more than that until the show airs -- no telling when -- on Food Network. Stay tuned.

Photo courtesy Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

As a mother, I'm all for breastfeeding. As a home cook, I'm all for cheese making.

But as a restaurant-goer, I'm not sure what to make of the New York chef serving cheese made with his wife's breast milk.

Finally, as a journalist, I applaud the New York Post's lede on the story: "This Chelsea restaurant has gone from brasserie to brassiere."

After winding up their Berkeley nurse-in, maybe these nursing mothers can pop over to Chez Panisse and offer their cheese-making services to Alice Waters. AP photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

It's a nice enough day to talk about outdoor dining, even if the "living mojito bar" at Corks hasn't quite come to life.

Corks is building a deck out back that will seat about 35. When it opens in the middle of April, it will be planted with lots of varieties of mint that eventually, when the plants grow big enough, can be snipped off for use in mojitos, chef Jerry Pellegrino told me.

"What we’re going to do is grow eight to 10 varieties of mint," Pellegrino said. "Spearmint, peppermint, pineapple mint, chocolate mint -- a living mojito bar."

The new deck will have something to offer patrons who crave another sort of leaf: tobacco.

Smoking will be allowed in the outdoor deck.

The restaurant will promote the deck as a place where smokers, in this indoor smoking-ban era, can light over a drink, Corks investor Chuck Nabit told me recently.

"We're going to put ashtrays out there," Nabit said.

Do they really want to promote smoking?

"Addictions are addictions," Nabit said. "They're going to get over them or not. We're not in the addiction treatment business, but we're in the food business."

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

The inspiration for today's Top Ten Tuesday list came from language guru John McIntyre, who suggested Top Ten Irritating Examples of Menu-Speak. 

He was good enough to provide No. 1.

He was not good enough to provide Nos. 2 through 9, which is unfair because he's unemployed and I'm busy here at work.

I branched out a bit from pure language offenses to generally offensive things on menus -- up to, but not including, the sticky film on the average plastic-coated diner carte.

The list:

No. 1: "Au jus" written as a noun

No. 2: "Fashion forward food" (Milan, Little Italy)

No. 3: Euros (Milan)

No. 4: "Adolescent Lettuces"

These greens drive too fast and ignore their parents but get along fine with the celery root and toasted cumin dressing at Woodberry Kitchen.

No. 5: "[T]he 'r' is silent."

A pronunciation guide pops up unexpectedly in the description of Golden West Cafe's Apple Blueberry Chevre Salad: "Bed of mixed greens topped with thinly sliced granny smith apples, chevre cheese (the 'r' is silent) and rum coriander pecans. in blueberry dijon vinaigrette dressing." So nice to know they're looking out for rubes who might otherwise order the "chev-ray" salad. Crisis averted.

No. 6: No substitutions (Golden West)

No. 7: No split checks (Golden West)

No. 8: EVOO

I'd like to enjoy my beets, goat cheese, mache and extra virgin olive oil at Crush without thinking about oil acronym-er Rachael Ray.

No. 9: "Wild Wolfs Beef Shack"

If this Arbutus eatery really is wild, they need to claim it with an apostrophe.

No. 10: "Ask your Hooters Girl about the soup of the day!"

Better watch how you talk about goat cheese at Golden West Cafe. Sun photo by Doug Kapustin

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (35)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Sorry for the late notice, but if you want to hear from a guy who's been billed as a modern-day Upton Sinclair, you've got about an hour to get over to East Baltimore.

David Kirby is author of a new book, "Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment."

He'll be speaking and selling his book from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sheldon Hall, Room W1214, 615 N. Wolfe Street.

 Dr. Robert Lawrence, director of Bloomberg's Center for a Livable Future, says this of the speaker: "Kirby documents the scandal of today's industrial food system in the same compelling way Upton Sinclair alerted Americans to the abuses of the meatpacking industry in his 1906 The Jungle." 

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Bobby Flay likes to have the element of surprise on his side, but I know his next move:

(SPOILER ALERT: Don't read if you don't want to know)

Challenging Rodney Henry of Dangerously Delicious Pies to a "Cowboy Quiche Throwdown."

That happens tomorrow morning at Luckies Tavern in Power Plant Live. I have that from Luckies manager Ben Brengle, who said shooting begins about 9 a.m.

Note to Food Network: Don't blame Brengle for spilling the beans. Someone I'll identify only as Tipsteress Extraordinaire gave me the heads-up. Brengle just confirmed it.

I also called Henry, who said the Flay throwdown was news to him. But it just so happens that Food Network crews have been following Henry around for the past couple of days, filming him making Cowboy Quiche (bacon, ham, potato, red and green bell peppers, jalapenos, Gruyere and cheddar).

Henry said Food Network told him they're shooting for a prospective series.

A likely story! That's Flay's whole shtick.

"Chef Bobby Flay is on a secret mission: to challenge the absolute masters in different kinds of cooking – award-winning BBQers, bakers, pizza makers and more," says The Food Network Web site. "In each episode, one of these cooks thinks Food Network is shooting their profile for a show. What they don't know is that Bobby is going to drop in for a surprise visit and challenge them to an unexpected cook-off."

Said Henry: "No one’s ever said anything about him [Flay] being here. As far as I know that’s not what happening. But if he shows up, I won’t be surprised."

Just look surprised for the cameras.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)
        

Federal Hill Jim writes to say just because a pizzeria calls itself LedoFedHill on Twitter doesn't mean the joint's actually located in Federal Hill.

In response to my post on the restaurant's use of Twitter to rehome stray pizzas, Jim writes:

"As Elizabeth discovered, and I'm surprised you haven't in your other column, people in this town are very neighborhood conscious. It's particularly sensitive in parts of South Baltimore because the real estate peddlers have stretched the 'boundaries' of Federal Hill almost to the Middle Branch, as a means of jacking up prices.

"Now other businesses are playing the same game. That Ledo is in Locust Point, an admirable neighborhood with a strong sense of identity that's as far from Federal Hill you can get on the South Baltimore peninsula."

I'm sure Jim's right, but can you blame LedoFedHill for not wanting to bill itself as LedoLoPoint?

"Federal Hill, as defined in its neighborhood association charter, is bounded by Key Highway/Hughes Street on the north, the Key Highway waterfront on the east, Cross Street on the south and Hanover Street on the west."

Maybe we need less Twitter, more old-fashioned maps.

Sun photo by Amy Davis

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

I'm not totally convinced that Twitter is a sign of a healthy society. I mean, do we really need to know what everyone is doing RIGHT NOW?

But Ledo Pizza in Federal Hill Locust Point may just convert me. Twitter, it seems, is the killer app for stray pizzas.

"Anyone want a free medium pepperoni & sausage pizza that no one picked up? 2 hours old but should heat up lovely," LedoFedHill Tweeted at 2:03 p.m. on March 4.

"chicken, meatballs & anchovies. (don't ask) FREE to the 1st person that comes in for it!"
reads a tweet the next day.

Ledo manager Tim Trolinger has been tweeting for the restaurant for about six months but only recently started using the outlet to help homeless pizzas.

"It just came to me about a week ago," he said. "I had a pizza sitting there that somebody had not picked up for about an hour and a half."

Pies that get made by mistake, or get ordered but never get picked up, all find good homes now. (They used to get offered to customers coming into the shop or to staff, so they didn't really go to waste. But he said tweeting has been a fun way to get more people into the pizzeria.)

Twitter followers have rushed in to grab the free pies. Trolinger tweets as soon as the pizzas are claimed so those still in pursuit know they're too late.

Until now, Trolinger has mostly tweeted about restaurant specials. Not to mention general musings, like this: "Are they really going to put a Lingerie Football League team in #Baltimore? For the record, I support the concept."

I'd say free pizza alerts are a step in the right direction.

Sun photo by Doug Kapustin

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Let's hope the statute of limitations is up, because I'm about to cop to buying my husband a bottle of port.

Years and years ago, my husband and I visited Napa Valley and tasted port at Prager Winery and Port Works.

Maybe 10 years ago, after moving to Baltimore, I had a bottle shipped here as a gift. I never suspected that would make me an outlaw until I mentioned the bottle's arrival to a co-worker. He clued me in, belatedly, to Maryland's ban on that sort of thing.

Looks like the ban isn't going anywhere, as The Sun's Julie Bykowicz reports.

"The head of a key Annapolis committee said Friday that it 'will be a challenge' for his panel to endorse an end to a ban on direct wine shipments," Bykowicz reports. "Wine-lovers and state wineries have been pushing to overturn the prohibition for years but have been blocked by the state's powerful liquor lobby and lawmakers sympathetic to the industry."

Photo by Graham's Port

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

One of my cousins worked in Lyon, France, for a while, and I'm afraid the food was lost on him. He came home one Christmas and, over a bowl of cheese dip, remarked how much he'd been missing Velveeta.

That came to mind this morning when I spotted an e-mail from a Dining@Large reader named Matt. He writes:

"I have a friend who used to live here in Baltimore coming to visit, but she's been living in France for the last couple of years. I promised to take her out to a great meal at least once, and her only request is that we go somewhere she can get either solid ethnic food or great American comfort food, and nothing Middle Eastern.  Apparently in Paris, there's a dearth of spicy food and any ethnicity that isn't North African or Middle Eastern.

"Anything you can recommend is great!"

Can you help Matt and his expat pal out?

It'd be a shame to send her back to France without a decent meal.

Velveeta Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Macaroni. Kraft Foods photo 

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
        

A whopping 4 1/2 cups of cream went into the Chicken Tikka Masala I made for six one night last summer. So on the side, I served Swiss chard from our garden, holding the butter and Parmesan I'd normally toss in to make the greens tastier.

A dinner guest sized up the plate of steaming, unadorned chard.

"The redemption dish," he called it.

I was more subtle last night, when I set out to balance a sinful dish with a virtuous one. Instead of bleak greens, I turned this time to something called The New Chocolate Decadence.

A college classmate was coming for dinner and I'd planned to make homemade fettuccine and serve it with an Alfredo sauce. All that cream in the main course called for a light dessert, but who wants a light dessert?

So I went for a stealth light dessert from an old favorite cookbook, Alice Medrich's "Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts."

There's a recipe in there called The New Chocolate Decadence. It is Medrich's healthful take on the flourless chocolate cake. It is so dense and moist that when you serve it, you have to dip the knife in hot water between slices. My slices still come out looking rough. But the taste -- not the least bit light.

I made the dessert early in the day. As fate would have it, I ran out of time and scratched the fettuccine for a quicker, lighter entree of caramelized onion pizza. (Yes, I'm in a pizza rut.) In that company, the cake had no trouble passing for the splurge on the table.

The recipe, for anyone so inclined:

The New Chocolate Decadence, from Medrich's 1994 book, "Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts"

Ingredients

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 

1 whole egg

1 egg separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg white

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup plus  1/2 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup low-fat (1 percent) milk

Serves 12. Make one day before serving.

Position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Spray the sides of a round pan -- 8 inches, 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep -- with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Put a kettle of water on to boil.

Place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Combine 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk in a small bowl with the vanilla. Place the two egg whites in a medium bowl with the cream of tartar. Set all three bowls aside.

Combine the cocoa, flour and 2/3 cup sugar in a 1- to 1 1/2 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk in enough of the milk (about half) to form a smooth paste. Mix in the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent burning, especially around the edges, until mixture begins to simmer.  Simmer very gently, stirring constantly, for 1 1/2 minutes. Pour the hot mixture immediately over the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla mixture. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beating at high speed until stiff but not dry. Fold a quarter of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in remaining egg whites. Scrape mixture into the cake pan and smooth the top. Set cake pan in a baking pan or skillet at least two inches wider than the cake pan and place on oven rack. Pour enough boiling water from the kettle into the baking pan to come about a third to halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for exactly 30 minutes. The surface of the torte will spring back when very gently pressed but it will still be quite gooey inside. Remove cake pan water pan from oven. Remove cake pan from the water and cool completely on a rack. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight before serving. (May be frozen up to two months.)

To serve, unmold by sliding a thin knife around the sides. Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper on top of torte. Place a plate on top of the wax paper and invert torte onto plate. Remove pan and peel away paper liner. Turn torte right side up again and remove wax paper. 

Serve with raspberry sauce, if desired. (Thaw frozen raspberries and puree with sugar to taste.)

Photo by math-hubby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

I just went out for a run and while the temperature was well shy of the balmy lower 50s we've been promised for today, I came across a sure sign of spring: purple crocuses blooming in a neighbor's front lawn.

A few chest-high piles of snow dot the same street, but I'm looking on the bright side. 

If you need more convincing, I suggest downloading Tony Bennett and Bill Evans' "You Must Believe In Spring" and considering this:

"The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts is now accepting applications for the 33rd annual Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar. Space is available for farmers, crafters, concessionaires and street performers."

I received that notice via e-mail. 

But back to news picked up on my run through Southwest Baltimore: that security detail outside Sheila Dixon's house seems finally to be gone. Maybe the cops have moved on to someone who really deserves protection, like my pigs' feet squealer.

Photo by math-hubby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

So the Securities and Exchange Commission claims in a lawsuit that "America's prophet" Sean David Morton is a big, fat fraud, which brings us, predictably -- at least for the real psychics out there -- to In-N-Out Burger and, more broadly, to a question worthy of a modern-day seer: How far are you willing to go for a great meal?

That struck a chord with Donna Beth Joy Shapiro, the Baltimore cheese- and hat-maker and owner the late Old Waverly History Exchange & Tea Room.

Just last month, she planned a trip to California. Her stated reason: visiting creameries, working in a bakery and taking a three-day millinery workshop. The real reason: scratching her In-N-Out itch. 

Shapiro had a taste on a trip a earlier this winter and had been dreaming about the burger ever since. It made her a "prisoner of In-N-Out lust."

This from a woman who rarely eats beef, and never eats fast-food burgers.

"My diet is seriously 98, 99 percent vegetarian," Shapiro said. "But for this thing -- I don't know what they did to it. I tried to eat it slowly, like when you investigate a new cheese." 

But it was gone in no time.

Shapiro, forced by twin blizzards and sickness to cancel her return trip, will cling to a memento until she can book another flight.

"I kept the In-N-Out bag," she said. "I sniff it every once in a while."

Los Angeles Times photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

Ever since the city Liquor Board revealed via Tweet that somebody had a contract to buy The Brass Elephant, I've been trying to find out who the buyer is.

And finally, today, I can tell you who it is ... not.

Jerry Pellegrino is NOT buying The Brass Elephant.

But the Corks chef and financier Chuck Nabit had considered The Brass Elephant as a potential location for a new restaurant, Nabit and Pellegrino confirmed this week. Nabit called it "an interesting and somewhat problematical location -- in the middle of everything and in the middle of nowhere."

Nabit said they also considered Boccaccio before Peter Angelos snapped that up at auction. (Imagine losing to Peter Angelos. Not too many people know that feeling, at least in baseball.) 

"Of course we're always looking for another venture," said Pellegrino, who's also an owner of Abacrombie. "Corks and Abacrombie are great, but we're always looking for something [else] to do."

Nabit said he and other Corks and Abacrombie investors have been shopping for a spot where they can leverage "Jerry's talent and our money."

But the economy and weather have slowed them down.

"We've looked at a variety of different options around town," Nabit said. "This is a very difficult time for the restaurant business in Baltimore, exacerbated in the last two months by the weather situation we've had. It's been a difficult two months for everybody. ... We continue to look at options [but] at this point, it's probably a prudent move to keep ourselves pretty focused on our existing operations at Corks and Abacrombie."

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

So just what did Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake eat the night before she was hospitalized for "gastrointestinal difficulties"?

A Corks pork chop.

Credit City Hall reporter Julie Scharper for sniffing out that nugget.

And credit Corks Chef Jerry Pellegrino (left) for having a sense of humor when I called to ask him about it just now.

The busy chef hadn't heard about the mayor's hospitalization, so I explained that Rawlings-Blake had experienced symptoms that initially sounded like a heart attack but turned out to be agita.

Pellegrino, a fan of the new mayor, said his pork chop should not be construed as an attempted City Hall coup.

"We make a mean pork chop," he said, "but it's not actually mean enough to give somebody a heart attack."

Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

In this week's Free Market Friday guest post, Robert of Cross Keys savors a local delicacy. And no, it's not Pigs' Feet Yat Gaw Mein. Here's RoCK. LV

This week I finally get a taste of shad roe.  
 
For years I have been searching for the classic spring treat once commonplace on Maryland menus. The only place I knew that carried it is some restaurant in Emmitsburg called Shamrocks, but unless you are on a pilgrim in search of a Grotto, how likely are you to find yourself in Emmitsburg?
 
I always figured the Valley Inn in Brooklandville would offer it. They serve up many old school dishes for the WASPY set, like turkey tetrazzini, so shad roe would fit right in.  Of course, the Valley Inn is so old school that they don’t have a website. Since I’ve never gotten around to stopping in there – go figure, since I’m a wannabe member of the old school, WASPY set – I’ve never had the chance to look at their menu and confirm my hunch.
 
Anyway, I did find it, or more or less stumbled onto it, at the Chameleon Café. The run is on in Hamilton!

As soon as I saw it on the menu I had to order. Not sure if my wife would be open to it, I went on a long speech on Danny’s and the Chesapeake. I also used the word shad-tastic four or five times. None of this was necessary, as she was planning on ordering the shad roe with or without me. 

Having never had shad roe before, I imagined the liver-looking lobes would be rather oily and salty, like a combination of salmon or lumpfish roe. It isn’t. I would describe it as more earthy than fishy. It reminds me of black pudding, particularly in its soft, firm and slightly grainy texture.
 
The shad roe at Chameleon Café isn’t served with the traditional bacon pairing. Theirs comes with a potato-parsnip rosti, and an apple and currant chutney. The dish works very well. I particularly like how the sweet tang of the chutney really complements the richness of the roe.
 
The problem, but also the attraction, of shad roe is its seasonality. In an era when strawberries are available in the depths of winter, there aren’t too many foods that can't be had on demand. Shad roe, however, is one of those exceptions. If you don’t get it now, you have to wait till next spring.

In addition to the Chameleon Café and Shamrocks, the chef at The Oceanaire will prepare shad roe for you if you give him a couple of days' notice.  Finally, for the true fanatics, there is Shad Fest in Lambertville, New Jersey at the end of April, which sounds like a shad-tastic event.    

Chameleon Cafe shad roe. Photo by RoCK

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

King Arthur Flour, the company that got me crosswise with the gluten-free "community" by inducing my swoon over gluten-boosted pizza dough, wants to help me patch things up.

Why else would King Arthur have alerted me via e-mail to its new line of gluten-free cake, cookie, brownie, muffin, pancake, bread and, yes, pizza dough mixes?

 Are we good now?

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

A sustainable foods group hosts a dinner tonight to recognize area hospitals for reducing their meat purchases.

On the menu at the $100-per-person dinner at Baltimore's Pier Five Hotel: Chicken and beef.

Despite the evening's meat-reducing mantra, no one should have trouble swallowing the Pan-Seared Roseda Beef Tenderloin on Whole Grain Crostini with Sweet Three-Onion Relish or the Honey-and-Herb-Roasted Murray's Chicken with Dijon-Riesling Pan Sauce.

That's because Roseda Beef of Monkton and Murray's Chicken of Pennsylvania are both sustainably raised, said Louise Mitchell, sustainable foods coordinator for Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment.

Besides, she noted, the group is pushing hospitals to reduce the meat they serve patients and cafeteria customers, not eliminate it entirely. (Their goal is to improve diets and the environment.)

There will be lots of veggie dishes to go with that meat. The 90 or so hospital executives, food service directors, doctors, farmers and chefs expected at the event will round out their meals with Sweet Potato Pancakes with Apple Cider Sauce, Vegetarian Chili and Organic Spinach and Artichoke Dip Profiteroles. For dessert: Apple, Honey and Goat Cheese Tart.

Roseda Beef burger at Abbey Burger Bistro. Sun photo by Lloyd Fox

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

In a Stop Snitchin'* town like Baltimore, you don't squeal about pigs' feet without paying.

"Thanks for nothing," a friend told the Dining@Large lurker who tipped me off to the urban delicacy of Pigs' Feet Yat Gaw Mein. "Once the pigs' feet dish gets discovered by the 'mainstream,' the price will go up."

Lurker says this happened with chicken wings.

But she has no regrets.

She also tells me through an intermediary -- she doesn't want to post here, lest she lose the cool Lurker label -- that she is claiming the official Dining@Large beat of "ghetto fusion."

"I'm sure you'll be hearing from her," Intermediary says.

*Note to Sam Sifton: It's a Choptank thing, you wouldn't understand.

Lexington Market pigs' feet. Sun photo by Christopher T. Assaf

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Seven Mile Market's plan to move into a building now occupied by Safeway got me wondering: How do you convert a grocery store from goy to Jew?

The move, which is expected to make Seven Mile the nation's largest kosher supermarket, was the subject of a story in today's Sun by Edward Gunts.

I rang up Avrom Pollak, president of Star-K Kosher Certification, and expected to hear about an elaborate kosherization process.

Turns out, it's mostly elbow grease.

Refrigerated cases and shelves simply must be cleaned so there are no traces of non-kosher foods, Pollak told me. Bakery ovens have to be heated to their highest temperature for 45 minutes to an hour. As for stainless steel kettles used for making food at the market, boiling water in them will do the trick.

Certain things will have to be tossed, such as metal trays on which something like ham-and-cheese sandwiches might have been set. That could only be kosherized by heating the tray until it glowed.

"Generally with a baking pan, that's not practical," Pollak said. "It would probably warp."

And nobody wants a warped conversion.

Hershel Boehm of Seven Mile Market. Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
        

Nursing home food sounds like something bland, maybe even pureed, so Grandma can dig in without dentures.

But apparently things have changed. We have entered the era of nursing home cuisine.

That's according to Genesis HealthCare, an East Coast nursing home company with facilities in Maryland. The company is so proud of its food that it is staging a Food Network-style competition among its chefs this afternoon in Baltimore.

"Nursing Home Chefs Compete in Culinary 'Throwdown' at Baltimore Culinary College," reads the news release.

I'm not sure references to Bobby Flay and throwing things down is what most people associate with a nice, pleasant, safe place for Grandma to spend her golden years. But at least the food seems to be getting better. 

In this afternoon's competition at Baltimore International College, four two-person teams will go head-to-head with dishes called Perring Chicken, Carolina Gumbo, Pork Loin Stuffed with Spinach and Tomato, and Pan-Seared Salmon with Tzatziki Sauce.

This gives me an idea: Top Ten Best/Worst Nursing Home Dinners. Your nominations, please.

AP Photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)
        

Chop Suey Carry Out, a Formstone-covered rowhouse on a tough West Baltimore block, is an unlikely purveyor of fusion cuisine. 

But the restaurant grafts old country China onto inner-city Baltimore to create a wildly popular dish: Pigs' Feet Yat Gaw Mein.

Many Chinese places serve Chicken Yat Gaw Mein. The Sun's Rob Kasper just wrote about dining at a Pikesville place that also serves roast pork, shrimp and beef varieties. 

But here -- and perhaps only here -- the familiar dish with wide noodles and mild brown sauce comes with the offbeat addition of pigs' feet. 

"It's always fascinated me: Who would think up something like that?" said the Dining@Large lurker who tipped me off to the dish.

The delicacy seems to appeal to people after a hard night of clubbing.

"Two in the morning, the place is packed," Lurker said. "It's just one of those late-night foods you eat to soak up the alcohol."

The restaurant has been serving the dish for at least 30 years, according to a couple I met when I visited the place, at Edmondson Avenue and North Carey Street, last night.

Charlotte Boyd said her late mother and grandmother, who'd lived in the area, had been fans of the dish. Now she and her husband, Darnel Boyd, drive across at least once a week to pick up a couple $4.95 orders. They know of no other place in town that serves it. 

"This is the only Chinese restaurant that does that," said Darnel, 43, a carpenter. "I'm from East Baltimore and I come all the way over here."

Photo by math-hubby

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

New York Times restaurant critic Sam Sifton fills today's review of a Greenwich Village restaurant with all sorts of Baltimore references, most related to The Wire.

He mentions Wire characters Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell. He ends the review by quoting The Wire's Snoop, "a stone-cold gangster making sense of the Baltimore night." He also drops John Waters' name and says the restaurant's vibe was "suburban, as safe as Cal Ripken."

Why all the Charm-City centrism?

The restaurant is named Choptank.

As in the river that's neither physically nor culturally attached to Baltimore.

"Mr. Sifton may remember Baltimore and know its current cultural references, but his geography is a little rusty," writes a poster on the Times' dining blog. "The Choptank River is not across the Chesapeake Bay from Baltimore. The mouth of the Choptank is about 45 miles south-southeast of Baltimore Harbor, and as far as culture is concerned, it might as well be one thousand miles."

The only legit Baltimore reference was to Ostrowski's Polish sausage, which is on the menu under "nibbles" ($7 with sauerkraut and a house-made pretzel).

Sifton described the sausage as "garlicky as a Pigtown housewife." 

The Choptank River runs through Queen Anne's, Talbot, Caroline and Dorchester Counties as well as -- who knew? -- Stringer Bell's 'hood. Baltimore Sun photo by Monica Lopossay

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Shallow Thought Wednesdays guru John Lindner makes his long-awaited return this week with a pitch to Sun management. Good luck with that, John. LV  

I have a series idea that, had I remained at the Sun long enough to con Sar -- I mean, convince -- Sarah KK to assign it to me, I’m sure would have been a huge hit. Especially with me. As it is, I’m just going to throw it out there, gratis, for anyone with the wherewithal to "work it," as we say in the biz. (Or said, as the case may be.)
 
Here’s the pitch: (btw: the idea came to me in a caffeiney daydream, so, yeah, the set-up’s kinda rockin’ weird)
 
Just suppose that Tilurian slime devils came from space and took over the country. Then, in a bureaucratic foul-up, they ordered you to choose a single road in the Baltimore area. Any road, street, avenue or parkway. Next, they decree that your restaurant choices are limited to your road. You may visit any and all of the restaurants on this road as often as you wish, but you may patronize no other restaurants. Ever. (I know, right? They don’t call them slime devils for nothing.)
 
Now here’s the beauty part, sure to break down the defenses of even the hardest-hearted, budget-pinched editor: I pick a road and, by way of justifying my choice, review all the restaurants along it.
 
But! (Kicker alert.)
 
I also challenge the Sandbox denizens (I’ll include a note saying I won’t take suggestions from peevish snitpitchers) to pick a better road. And then! Yessssss. I review all the eateries along that road.

This goes on for years because, as a journalist, I’m duty bound to chase down all possible leads.
 
If we flipcammed it, we could probably do a Reality Blog cross-over thing (hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink) if you think about it.
 
Anyway, there it is.
 
And my pick?
 
Harford Road. Hands down. I double dog dare you to find a better all-round great restaurant road in these environs.
 
Oh, and for the record, I could drop the slime devils thing. Probably too edgy.

Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (41)
        

Mr. Magoo Pizza in Greektown seems to be doing a brisk delivery business -- in milkshakes.

And Baltimore doctors, nurses and other hospital staffers seem to be the ones mostly slurping them down.

A Magoo driver delivered five shakes to Mercy hospital one night this week.

"I'm in Greektown. It takes, like, 20 minutes for a driver to get to Mercy," said Hassan Mahfouz, Magoo's owner.

For some reason -- crazy work hours? dedication to calcium intake? -- hospital employees seem to be among his biggest shake customers.  

Said Mahfouz: "Mercy, Shock Trauma, Johns Hopkins and Bay View -- all the hospitals -- Union Memorial, all of them like my shakes."

Chicago Tribune photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

The old Chesapeake Restaurant on North Charles Street could become a combination seafood restaurant and upscale mini-grocer offering local produce, cheeses, breads and fish.

A local group that includes restaurateur Qayum Karzai and investor Michael Schecter is negotiating with the Baltimore Development Corp. to buy the building for that purpose. The restaurant has been closed for 20 years.

"We're happy about it and I think BDC is very positive about it," Karzai told me when I reached him by phone this evening.

The planned seafood counter in the market would be similar to the one in Harrods department store in London, according to The Daily Record, which first reported the prospective deal.

Should Baltimore get ready for its own Harrods?

"The Harrods store is much more exotic," Karzai said. "This will be a very, very small version."

The focus will be on local produce, much of it grown on Karzai's Fig Leaf Farm in Howard County. 

Karzai, who owns The Helmand, B and Tapas Teatro, said it was not clear if the restaurant, which would seat about 30, would keep the Chesapeake Restaurant name.

"I don't know about the name," he said. "There is a debate."  

Former Chesapeake owner Robert A. Sapero. Baltimore Sun file photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

Extra mayo, hold the factory-farmed eggs.

"Hellmann’s has announced that its Light Mayonnaise recipe in North America will feature 100% certified cage-free eggs in the United States as part of its ongoing commitment to 'Real Food,'" says a news release from the company.

Imagine that: a global food conglomerate, Unilever, getting interested in "real food." I like it! 

The news release goes on to say:

"Hellmann’s Light Mayonnaise is the first consumer product of its stature and volume in the packaged food industry to use 100% percent cage-free eggs -- which equates to approximately 3.5 million pounds of eggs. Eggs used in Hellmann’s Light Mayonnaise (and other recipes) will be ‘American Humane Certified,’  a certification program administered by the American Humane Association (AHA), the leading certifier of cage-free eggs in the U.S.

"Hellmann's aspires to change all of its ‘Real Food’ mayonnaise recipes – Real, Canola Cholesterol Free, Olive Oil, and Low Fat Mayonnaise Dressing – to cage-free eggs once a certifiable and consistent supply become available in North America." 

AP photo

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

My musings on the benefits of adding a little gluten to pizza dough got me accused the other day of gluten intolerance intolerance.

I plead not guilty.

But there's somebody out there who really is gunning for the "gluten free community."

It's language guru John McIntyre.

McIntyre's point, made on the language blog You Don't Say, has nothing to do with alleged over diagnosis or, heaven forbid, vaccines. 

It has to do with overuse of the word "community."

"I do not speak on behalf of the language usage community but for myself when I say that I am mildly disturbed and to a greater degree annoyed by this vogue for identifying single-issue groups as a 'community,'" he writes.

The book John McIntyre will have to proofread as penance for picking on the gluten-free community's language usage. Baltimore Sun photo.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)
        

I put out a call for Top Ten Tuesday ideas, and Dining@Large readers came through so well that I seriously considered doing a Top Ten list of Top Ten list suggestions.

Which did I choose? None of them.

It was urged from on high -- an editor here at The Sun was channeling EL -- that I write about some of my most memorable meals. Or non-meal, in one case.

I'm afraid what I've worked up is more essay than list. I'll write shorter next time. I'll also get to some of your great Top Ten ideas in the coming weeks.

The meals, in no particular order:

1. Tersiguel's

My husband and I used to live in Oella, walking distance from historic Ellicott City, and this French country spot was always our special-occasion, white-tablecloth restaurant. On Christmas Day 2002, I was a month away from giving birth to our first child. It was snowing lightly as we headed out for a family dinner at my sister-in-law's in Philadelphia. My husband drove with hyper-pre-natal caution. Before we even got to the Beltway, a car barreled by. We were so rattled that we turned back, content to give up the holiday dinner to keep our baby safe.

But still, we kinda wanted dinner.

We had two things to eat in the house, both meant for the family potluck: The caramelized onion tart my husband had made as an appetizer and the chocolate torte I’d baked for dessert. Then it occurred to us: Tersiguel’s might be open. I knew from a neighbor that the restaurant had served dinner on Thanksgiving. Why not Christmas?

I called. No answer. Maybe they’d open later in the morning for brunch. I called again. No answer. I called in the afternoon. No Answer. We gave up on brunch. But we held out hope for dinner. I started calling again late that afternoon. No answer.

Come early evening, maybe 5 or 6 o’clock, I gave it one last shot.

No answer.

But instead of hanging up, I spoke into the ringing phone: “Oh! You’re open?!! Can you take two for dinner? We'll be right there!”

My poor husband fell for it – until I doubled over, cracking up. We both had a great laugh, if not a great Christmas dinner.

2. Martick's Restaurant Francais

The first time we visited this place, we had wonderful mussels, perfectly cooked lamb chops – and a waitress who volunteered with a laugh and a snort that she’d never waited tables before.

3. Kumari

We introduced our kids to Nepalese food here before they were old enough to know better. My daughter learned to like chickpeas and daal, though my son still pretty much sticks to Tikka Masala, naan and Mango Lassi. The restaurant’s kids-eat-free buffet and free chai have kept us coming back over the years.
 
4. Charleston

This was a major splurge for us on my 40th birthday. My husband ordered the grilled cheese as one of his courses because a reviewer had swooned over it. It was a good grilled cheese, but it was grilled cheese. I still kid him about that.

5. Great Sage, Clarksville

I’d had trouble dragging my husband to a vegetarian restaurant, so my first time here was lunch with my daughter, after a preschool hayride out that way. We’d never had a mother-daughter restaurant lunch before. I had a terrific salad. She had ice cream. Great Sage has since become a family favorite, particularly as we have become more interested in organic and green cuisine. Downside: The kids discovered Horizon organic strawberry milk here, saddling us with a $14-a-gallon habit.

6. Sarah and Desmond's, Ellicott City

This cafe, which closed last year, won us over years ago with its play area. There were toys off to one side, and my kids would play contentedly for an hour or more while I read the Sunday New York Times or had actual, sustained, grown-up conversation with my husband. The service was always slow, but who cares when the kids are letting you do things you can't get away with at home? The pastries were decadent and made with natural ingredients. And it was always a kick to hear my little girl order the Lemon Lust Cake.

7. L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, Naples, Italy

Best. Pizza. Ever. I had it 11 years ago. Sigh.

8. Star Canyon, Dallas, Texas

Chef Stephan Pyles’ late, great restaurant was our big night out place when we lived in Fort Worth more than a decade ago. All big hunks of Texas protein gussied up with complex sauces. I bought his cookbook, The New Texas Cuisine, and have slaved away many times – grinding chiles, making my own ketchup – trying to approximate his cowboy cuisine. It’s more fun when Chef Pyles is doing the work.


9. Chez Pierre, Stafford Springs, Conn.

My husband took me here more than 20 years ago for my birthday when we were first dating. It was the first real fine-dining experience either one of us had ever had. I can’t remember what we had, except that we finished the meal with some sort of alcohol-laced coffee drinks that we later discovered cost $8 apiece. That pushed the tab over $100, a shocking sum to us then.

10. Chez Rose Vozzella, Kingston, Mass.

My grandmother made a tomato sauce with lobster, but I’d only heard about it. It was never served at the big family gatherings where we usually saw her. When I was out of college, I asked for a lesson. My dad came along, driving up with me from Connecticut to her place outside of Boston. We brought along a bunch of live lobsters.

My grandmother started by sauteing chopped garlic in a bit of olive oil. She added canned, ground tomatoes. Then, using big knives and their bare hands, she and my grandfather – both in their 90s – proceeded to tear the lobsters apart. My father and I recoiled.

“It’s a lobster,” my grandfather replied.

It was like watching a National Geographic special on the eating habits of some primitive tribe, only the tribe was Grandma and Grandpa. When they were done, the pot of “gravy” was filled with lobster parts that continued to twitch for half an hour. The upside: It was fantastic over spaghetti. 

The lovely Tersiguel's fare we didn't get to eat that Christmas 2002. Baltimore Sun photo by Doug Kapustin.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

We return, once again, to the subject of Timothy Dean, international restaurateur of mystery. 

Faithful readers will recall that last month, Prime Steakhouse opened in the spot once occupied by TD Lounge and, before that, Timothy Dean Bistro. The news release trumpeting the opening stressed that Dean would serve as consultant to the restaurant, not chef, not owner.

But come to find out, Dean was listed as owner in city Liquor Board records. What gives?

Dean and his lawyer did not call me back the day I made that discovery, but I finally got Peter Prevas on the phone this afternoon. I asked: Who owns the joint?

"Timothy will be involved with his daughter," Prevas said.

UPDATE: Prevas told me Dean's daughter was the person I'd quoted in my original -- and please note, positive -- blog entry about the restaurant. The person I'd quoted was Tanay Medley. After a reader posted something saying that Medley wasn't Dean's daughter, I tried reaching Prevas, Dean and Medley this morning.

I just got off the phone with Medley, who said she is not Dean's daughter. She wasn't providing any other information. I apologize for the confusion. 

Dean's daughter is Tanay Medley, who described herself to me last week as the restaurant's "office manager" and had this to say when I'd asked about ownership: "In all honesty, it's a group of investors. ... They remain blank faces so far."

Looks like Medley needs to get to know Dad and herself better if they're "blank faces" to her.

Dean and Medley his daughter are still working out the ownership arrangement, Prevas said.

"Basically they have an appointment to come in [to the Liquor Board] and do a new transfer application in which Timothy will be a licensee and his daughter will be an owner, I think perhaps the sole owner," Prevas said.

So why the misdirection last week?

Prevas responded with refreshing honesty.  "I guess because they didn't talk to me first."

Timothy Dean in his bistro days. Baltimore Sun photo by John Makely

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (56)
        

I know it's only mid-day Monday, but I'm already sweating Tuesday.

I need a Top Ten idea.

I've already ruled out Top Ten Ways To Annoy People Who Don't Mix Politics And Food.

Also out: Top Ten Ways To Upset Celiac Sufferers By Ruminating On An Obscure Baking Additive And Noting -- Though Not Condoning -- The Annoyance Of A Friend Who Just Wanted Plain, Old All-Purpose Flour And Had Trouble Finding It Amidst All The Gluten-Free Options On The Shelves, But Who, In Fact, Really Doesn't Begrudge Anyone Their Choice Of Flour, Especially People Suffering From A Very Hard-To-Manage Disease, He Was Just In A Hurry.

Other than that, I'm open to just about anything.

Your nominations, please.

Cupcakes from Sweet Sin gluten-free bakery. Baltimore Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor.

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)
Categories: Top Ten Tuesdays
        

 Got this note from a reader this morning:

"I was looking for a lead from your readers on where in Baltimore I can find mochi ice cream. I had them when I was visiting Seattle a few weeks ago. They were little balls of ice cream surrounded by rice paste. I think technically the surrounding rice paste is the 'mochi' part. Sounds weird, but it was very tasty."

And, presumably, gluten free!

Asahi Sushi in Fells point serves mochi.

And Graul's Market in Ruxton stocks a variety made in Hawaii in its freezer case.

I'm sure there are other sources out there. If anybody out there knows them, please chime in.

Chicago Tribune photo by Alex Garcia

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
        

Last night was Chef Will Bauer's last at 13.5% Wine Bar.

Fans of the popular Hampden spot will want to know two things: Where's Bauer going? And who will replace him in the 13.5% kitchen?

Bauer is taking a week off, then deciding where to go next, Chris Edie of 13.5% told me last night.

"He's got a lot of prospects but hasn't decided," Edie said.

And the new chef?

It's Sarah Acconcia.

She comes to the wine bar from Woodberry Kitchen, and, before that, Abacrombie, Edie said.

She ran the stone hearth oven at Woodberry and was pastry chef at Abacrombie. Sounds promising.

Baltimore Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor

Posted by Laura Vozzella at 5:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)