The American 'Ethnic' Food Section

This from an American woman living in Berlin, commenting on the awesome international section at her local supermarket in the Alexanderplatz of the German capitol. She's noting the "USA" section, with some of the most familiar foods a Yank could find in Germany. Love the hot sauce.

World Cup - and Plate

I am getting very much into the World Cup going on currently in South Africa. There are eight teams headed to the quarterfinals that start on Friday - Uruguay, Ghana, the Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Paraguay and Spain - and soon enough there will be four. Once we get to those semifinals, I am going to try out (or for lack of time, find) a dish from each of the four semifinalist countries and write about it. And since the games are taking place in South Africa (who didn't even make it to the glorious Round of 16), I'll include a fifth recipe from there, too.

I can't really prepare for it right now, except for the South Africa part. But I can make some guesses: I'm pretty sure at least Brazil is going to make it forward. Did you see that game against Chile? Damn, now I understand just why Brazil is such a soccer - er, football - juggernaut. So there will definitely be something South American posted here at some point soon.

UPDATE 1: Well it looks like I was wrong about Brazil - the Netherlands beat them 2 to 1 today as Brazil just fell apart after the Dutch tied it up. Utter shock, and the five-time World Cup champs go home, while the Oranje - the best team never to win the World Cup - go on to the semifinals. So we have two cuisines of five set: South African and (NOT Brazilian but) Dutch. The only downside: Dutch food ain't that good. I've had it.

UPDATE 2: The field is narrowed again, as Uruguay heads to the semifinals for the first time since 1970, keeping Ghana - and the African continent - from their first ever trip to the semifinals.

UPDATE 3: And the semifinals are now set: the Netherlands will face Uruguay on Tuesday, and the following day the mighty German team will take on perennial never-been-to-a-finals-before-but-still-good Spain.

Disembodied comment!

I recently got a comment asking about a local snack food that sounded in description like the "coddie" - the little codfish cake that is sometimes eaten between or on crackers with mustard. I myself hate the damn things but many Baltimoreans love them. Not sure where the comment is but I don't see it with any recent posts. Please let me know which post you're commenting to, folks, unless it's one of the newer ones! Otherwise I will never find it :(

An Loi

Are you in need of a quick dinner spot before a play? My friends and I were in just such a need on Sunday night before seeing the closing night of a play at Howard Community College (Edward Albee's The Goat - Wow, very energetic, powerful and absurd play). But where to eat that wasn't a chain? I am okay with chains, but I prefer to avoid them if something "non-chain-y" is around. The chains are often a little pricier than some of the non-chains anyway. Eric, however, was insistent: no chains. Fine with me. I was ready to mention the always good Mango Grove, but Alan had heard from a friend about a Vietnamese place off Broken Land Parkway.

An Loi is not just a phở place, like many Vietnamese restaurants I have frequented; it serves so much more. An Loi has other types of soups, hearty noodle dishes, various Vietnamese appetizers, and even a small wine and soju list. Especially impressive to me was their fish sauce: it's homemade. Yes, it says right on their menu that they make their own nước mắm, which I have never heard of any restaurant doing before. Maybe others do and I just didn't know about it, but An Loi is the first that I know of. It is a little richer, a little more "umami-ish" - than any fish sauce I have tasted before.

Our appetizers were the typical Vietnamese spring rolls ($3.50) - the soft rolls wrapped around noodles and vegetables. All I can say about them was that they were filling. I've found these spring rolls to be more or less "okay" no matter where I go: they are a thing to order, but they don't wow you like other menu items. The peanut dipping sauce was worth noting, especially for the chopped peanuts on top. More interesting was the papaya and shrimp salad that came next, which was tangy and vinegary. In fact, this tanginess was a bit stronger to me than the papaya flavor, but the salad was still tasty.

I could have ordered the Bun Thit Heo Nuong (the highly recommended "B2" for only $7.95), which Alan enjoyed - we thought the pork in this vermicelli dish, with shredded lettuce, mint, basil, shallots, peanuts, bean sprouts and such, reminded us very strongly of bulgogi. (I can't recall what Eric got, but I liked this even more.) Instead I decided to go with the tried and true phở (large bowl for just under $7). I think mine was the phở an loi. It was filled with the typical thin-sliced beef, tripe - I hate tripe but this was more thinly sliced and enjoyable than I've ever seen in phở) and tightly-packed meatballs, mixed in with dense strands of think rice vermicelli, plus bean sprouts and the occasional jalapeño slice (again, sliced extremely thin) that I added myself. I have to remark on the meat, which was, again, more thinly sliced than I've ever seen in phở, and was also more tender than in any phở I have had in a long time. Of course, I could not finish it, even though this large bowl was smaller than most large bowls I've had. This is simply because it still was packed with about as much meat and noodles as a typical phở that I have had before.

I do also have to comment on one unusual beverage that I simply had to try out of curiosity. Among the various beverages was a salty lemon soda (about $3). This sounds awful but you would be surprised at how fascinating this salty-sweet carbonated beverage is! It's almost like a slightly salty 7-Up. I think I caused a little extra interest from some of the wait staff, curious at the European-American trying this drink that to him would clearly be something new. I don't see myself drinking a six-pack of this stuff, but I would encourage you to try this if you head to An Loi.

One final comment I must make: we got our food fast. Very fast. I don't mean McDonald's fast, but it was certainly fast for a sit-down restaurant. This was despite the fact that we were one of several tables of patrons there that night. I don't know if this is typical or not, but if you have a play or something to get to, like at Howard Community, chances are you will make it in time.

WTF, Friendly's?

Friendly's Grilled Cheese Burger Melt. Excess. Gluttony. Ick.

(Photo from Friendly's via Slashfood)

Sláinte Pub and the Amazing Last Minute Goal

Unless you live in a cave, you've probably heard by now about the dramatic US victory over Algeria in Wednesday's World Cup match. Thanks to Landon Donovan (I used to live in his hometown of Redlands, California, mind you), who scored the game's only goal in the 91st minute of play, the US Men's National Team went from being sent home to being the winners of our Group. Now we advance with England, while Algeria and Slovenia head home. Go USA!

I decided to watch today's match at Sláinte Pub (pronounced SLAWN-chuh in the South, or SLAN-chuh in the North) in Fells this morning, with a lot of men and women who decided to take a sick day today (the malady: World-Cup-itis). To do this, I had to get up pretty early. The hoopla started at 9:30, but unless you got there around 8:30 you were not going to find a seat. Not only did I find a seat but I found one at the bar (okay, somebody else's seat, but he was outside and let me use his seat until I finished eating) in plain view of their biggest TV. Sláinte's motto is "Where soccer is religion." It certainly feels like a tempe to the Beautiful Game: three floors were showing today's games - the bottom two floors had the US-Algeria game, and the top floor had the riveting game between England and Slovenia. Football scarves abound all over the pub. Perhaps they may show other sports here when something soccer-related isn't on, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

In addition to three Diet Cokes and two beautiful pints of Guinness, each with a fat and shaggy head of foam like I have rarely seen, I went ahead and ordered myself some breakfast. Sláinte's regulars swear this is THE place for a good breakfast. Most of these breakfasts are in the $9 to $13 price range, including a mixture of American and Irish breakfast favorites. Some of the more intriguing menu items include the the not-quite-Mexican-or-Italian ranchero fritatta ($15) and the imposing traditional Irish breakfast ($12) of bangers, rashers, scrambled eggs, beans and toast, etc (I may need to order this for Sunday morning's England game - yes, I'm already considering returning). They have more traditionally American offerings as well, including blueberry pancakes ($8) and vanilla French toast ($8.50).


My breakfast was the Boxtie (BOX-tee), a mishmash of Irish-style potato pancakes (like a few large hash brown patties) interspersed with egg, Irish bangers and rashers (sausage and bacon) and topped with what is described as a "Guinness-infused cheddar". The Boxtie is served with sliced potatoes, onions and green peppers, and a slice of melon with a strawberry. This is a pretty imposing breakfast in itself, and it took me a while to slog through it. My favorite part of this meal was the Boxtie itself - the potato pancakes were slightly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and not at all mushy. The flavors melded well with the bangers and rashers. I'm not sure how I feel about the Guinness cheddar. There could have been more of it, because I really didn't get too much of a taste. But overall it's a dish I would suggest you at least try. Perhaps you should try it when the US plays (I think they're playing) Ghana on Saturday afternoon? Or when England next plays on Sunday morning. I mean, Sláinte isn't a church, but again, you are getting their brand of religion! And it's easy to go into a higher state of consciousness when your team scores the game winning goal that keeps you in the whole dang tournament just before the game ends. It is amazing and exhilarating.


Again, GO USA!!!

Pride Weekend Eats

There's a popular saying from Fran Leibowitz: 'If you removed all of the homosexuals and homosexual influence from what is generally regarded as American culture, you would pretty much be left with "Let's Make a Deal”' While I don't know about that - and while I'm flattered to think that could ever be the case - her quote sure as hell does not explain the culinary wasteland that is the typical gay pride festival. This is why it is so fortunate that at least the Pride Fest Block Party on Saturday is centered around Mount Vernon. There, the food is a bit better than the "crab on a pita drowning in melted cheese" I had at the Sunday festival in Druid Hill Park a few years ago, and which many people will have chosen again for this year's Festival in the Park. It's disappointing that Pride Fest coincides with the African American Festival at M&T Bank Stadium just about every year. I would hope that the food is a good bit better, and hopefully not of the "crab on a shingle" variety.

And so, because gay (truly, LGBT) pride is truly not a foodie event, you have to avoid most if not all of the kiosks and head for the restaurants. Which I did.

• City Café - I must say, this is quickly becoming a semi-regular hangout for me. It's always a good place to go on a weekend night for a cappuccino and some sort of dessert. The problem for me lies with the entrées, because they're often pricier than I want to spend. (The expense in general is also why I don't eat out that much anymore.) But I did something different on Friday night and just had some appetizers, always a good idea if you're trying to save money and sample the food at the same time. I was not disappointed with the appetizers I got. The first was a fried green tomato with crab meat plate ($11): two slice o' green maters in sweet lump crab with a lemony beurre-blanc. It didn't look like much, but I did not exactly snarf it down. The coating on the fried green tomato was dark, dense and crispy. I found that it overpowered the nice sour tang of the green tomato just a little bit, but it was something I could deal with. It was a lovely dish, but what really stood out were the grilled lamb chops ($11): four small "lollipop" lamb chops with a limoncello glaze, sprinkled with pecans and dried apricots. the lamb chops were almost caramel-like in their sweetness, and packed a good amount of juicy, tender meat. Even these two appetizers together cost $22, but it's a bit cheaper than either one of these plus an entrée, which would set you back at least $30.
  
• Lunch was a half-buffet/half-fixed menu outing at Indigma. They're trying something I've never seen at an Indian restaurant before: their "table side buffet". Here's how it goes: 1) Choose one of three prix-fixe lunches, veg, non-veg and mixed, each of which consists of eight Indian tapas in small square bowls (including the rice), with hot naan. You get as much as you want, but it may fill you up; 2) then go to the buffet, which includes salads, chutneys, raitas, pickles and desserts. I ordered the mixed combination for the surprisingly low price of $10, plus a ginger lassi for $4. The lassi was a little thin, and the ginger was subtle. Really, the lunch offerings overpowered it. My favorite among the tapas was their fenugreek (methi) chicken. It was so juicy and not at all tough or dry, with a nice color and texture. It was chicken the way I would always like to eat it. A potato fritter went all too fast (maybe I should've eaten another one) and the butter chicken had a nice, buttery sauce. There also was a lemon pickle I got at the salad bar that was very different from most Indian pickles I have ever had. The food was pretty good but for the price it was amazing.

• Dinner was at Minato, where I met up with several friends, including my neighbor, for sushi. This time I let them choose what to get, and they made no mistakes. I just can't identify the rolls but we had the typical sushi-sashimi platters. My share was around $30 or so. That includes a sake and plum wine martini that gave me all the sake I needed without having to order my own bottle, and at $7.25 it was cheaper than most of the good cold sake they have. Again, I left satisfied. For me, Minato never disappoints!

Of course, the festival itself didn't exactly please me food wise. I got an okay crab cake sandwich for $7, and a cold sweet tea which, depressingly, was neither all that cold nor all that sweet. Add to that a $6 piña colada in a peensy plastic cup that had less alcohol in it than if I had just asked them to give it to me "dry" and hold all the rum in the first place. At least we in the Men's Chorus went out to Tamber's afterwards. I ordered the chicken tikka ($14) which tasted more like a barbeque fajita than anything Indian. But still it was so much more preferable to the eats at the festival in Druid Hill Park. Yes, even then my theory was confirmed: the typical Pride Festival is itself a culinary wasteland.

Why does Sandra Lee have a television show again?

What the fuck is wrong with this woman? I mean, seriously!?



And here all this time I was really wondering how to make a block of ice cream look like a baked potato. My life is now complete.

The Littlest Potato

I just picked this at my plot in Clifton Park while I was weeding and otherwise tending to my garden. Most of my potatoes will certainly be much larger than this when I finally do dig them up, but still:

Isn't it cute!?!?!?

Food Stamps now accepted at some local farmers' markets

This is a very good thing.

I just heard on WYPR that the Pimlico, Highlandtown and Waverly Farmers' Markets will start accepting food stamps. I don't know if this will be with every vendor, but it is one important step towards making sure that good produce is accessible to all Baltimoreans, not just those who can afford it.

Because it's Flag Day

Seriously, I figured Duff, Geoff and Mary Alice would've beaten Ina to the punch. But the Lady of Long Island, Her Highness of the Hamptons got there first. There can be only one. And oh yes, it is Ina.



Oh yes, it is Ina.

Bacon Cook-Off: Bacon & Pancetta Wot

Well, the Great Grapes Bacon Cook-Off is history, and it was a lot of fun! Kit Pollard, Kathy Patterson and I all flexed our bacon muscles for a crowd of dozens of hungry wine lovers, as well as three celebrity judges: WJZ's Bernadette Woods and Jessica Kartalija, and Hugh Sisson of Heavy Seas Beer and WYPR's Cellar Notes. I also got to serve my cook-off entry to my fellow competitors, Dara Bunjon, emcee Greg Nivens and a whole bunch of spectators.

My entry came in second place, which is fine. I went to enjoy myself (which I did)! And the judges said that there was really just a point or two of difference separating all three dishes: Kit's three BLT's and a bacon-infused Bloody Mary (ahem, Kit, I never got to try the Bloody Mary); Kathy's bacon banh mi, and my own Ethiopian-inspired bacon and pancetta wot with tomato and bacon salad. What inspired me to do something Ethiopian-style? Well, with substantial Muslim, Jewish and Ethiopian Orthodox Christian populations, Ethiopia does not feature a whole lot of bacon - or really any pork - in its cuisine. Nevertheless, I was curious to see how well bacon meshed with Ethiopian food. I was pleased with the result, as everyone seemed to be!

You can find the other recipes on Kit & Kathy's websites. Mine is below. Again, thanks to Dara and Greg, and to the audience, judges and of course, Kit & Kathy.

Bacon and Pancetta Wot with Tomato-Bacon Salad

Ingredients: Bacon and Pancetta Wot - Note: Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter), Berbere (traditional Ethiopian spice mix which heavily features hot pepper) and Injera Bread (a large, spongy and sour-tangy pancake made from teff flour that you use instead of utensils to pick up your food) can all be found in Ethiopian markets, the closest of which are in the DC area. I made my own Niter Kibbeh but bought my Berbere and Injera Bread from Woder Ethiopian Carry-Out and Market in Silver Spring. There are markets throughout the DC area, many of which are in Silver Spring, Alexandria, Falls Church and various parts of DC. That said, many sources suggest making your own Berbere (which I did not do) and Niter Kibbeh (which I did. Recipe follows the Wot and Salad recipes). It is far more difficult to make your own Injera Bread, so it is best to find a market to buy it from. There are recipes online, but the bread won't exactly be the same.

1/8 cup Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter) or ghee
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 slices ginger, cut into pieces and skin removed
3 tablespoons Berbere Spice Mix
3 tomatoes (preferably Romas), diced
6 slices bacon (I used uncured and thick-cut, but feel free to experiment with others, such as applewood smoked bacon or even maple flavored), cut into 1" pieces
4-5 slices pancetta, cut into 1" pieces
1/4 lb ground pork
salt and pepper to taste
Injera Bread

Put Niter Kibbeh in heated pan over medium heat and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for about 2 minutes, and then add the Berbere and tomatoes. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bacon, pancetta and ground pork (I chopped the bacon and pancetta after I put in the tomatoes, but you won't be working with a time limit so pre-prep to your heart's content) and continue to cook for about 15 minutes. Serve with Tomato-Bacon Salad on Injera Bread. Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients: Tomato-Bacon Salad - Note: I made less of this for the competition than I liked, so here's a version that will serve 4 to 6 people.

1 tablespoon Berbere
1 tablespoon Niter Kibbeh or ghee
2 -3 slices bacon
4 tomatoes (preferably Romas), diced
1/4 medium yellow onion, or 2 green onions (green and white parts included), chopped
3-4 slices ginger, chopped and skins removed
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 chilies (preferably Thai, Serrano or jalapeño), chopped and (unless you're like me and you like the heat) seeded and de-veined
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Fry bacon sprinkled with Berbere in Niter Kibbeh until crispy enough to crumble, and set aside to drain. Mix all other ingredients together and let sit for a few minutes. Crumble the bacon into the salad. Serve on Injera Bread.

Again, it is probably easier to make your own Niter Kibbeh and Berbere. When I did a test run of the recipe, I made a Berbere spice mix of my own based off of one I found online. I did not use that one during the cook-off, but I think I liked the one I made better. As for the Niter Kibbeh, I made my own based on ingredients from various recipes I found online. Using Julie Sahni's tried and true microwave ghee recipe, I made my own microwave Niter Kibbeh

Ingredients: Microwave Niter Kibbeh - Note: you will also need cheesecloth or a fine strainer for this recipe.

1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 slices ginger
1/2 tablespoon cloves
1 teaspoon of each of the following:
turmeric, ground
basil, dried
cardamom seeds
cinnamon, ground
methi seeds (aka fenugreek, easily found in any Indian or Pakistani market)

Melt butter in large uncovered microwave safe dish for 1 minute, and add the other ingredients. Cover the dish and microwave for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't overflow, or you will be cleaning melted butter out of the bottom of your microwave. Strain into a dish, making sure all solids are removed. May be stored at room temperature.

Just a friendly reminder...

There's a little Bacon-Off this Saturday at Oregon Ridge's Great Grapes event, around 1. I will be competing with Kit Pollard (Mango & Ginger) and Kathy Patterson (Minx Eats) to see who can make the tastiest, prettiest & most original bacon dish in just half an hour. No more hints, except that it'll be food.

That's a great way to keep from stuffing myself with all the crap at the HonFest concession stands, plus Greek & Italian pastries at the respective festivals at St. Nicholas' in Greektown and St. Leo's in Little Italy: by stuffing myself with bacon instead.

When Geeky Met Cakey

The following meme is making the rounds of the internets right now. It's not making the rounds in this math-y form but I wanted to find some way to make it even geekier:

Wil Wheaton (actor, famous for Star Trek: The Next Generation and various recent guest performances on various TV shows; also professed geek)

+

w00tstock (the music & geekfest recently held in Chicago, masterminded by Wheaton, Mythbuster Adam Savage & musicians/comedians/geeks Paul and Storm)

+

cake made to look like a TARDIS (the spaceship stuck in the form of a British police box, used by the Doctor on Doctor Who, and that is bigger on the inside than the outside)

=

WOW!!!!!

Wheaton's pics are circulating around the web but I love this one taken by the makers of the TARDIS cake, Celebration Generation. It gets all sides and yes, credits the original source of the photo. The light on top blinks, by the way (linked from Celebration Generation's blog; all apologies to them):

The story of Wil Wheaton's TARDIS cake from Celebration Generation - think Charm City Cakes meets the Midwest - here. Also note Wheaton's reactions to the cake. I myself would've just melted.

Taro Update

I stuck a taro root that I got from H Mart into some potting soil & put it on my porch about a month and a half ago. Just in the last week, it's started shooting up.

This was completely non-existent a week ago:

Salad fresh from the garden

With today's trip to both the farmers' market (where I got these delicious strawberries) and my garden plot at Clifton Park (where I got all that gorgeous lettuce and that baby red onion), I decided to save myself $20 to $30 for a meal out tonight, and instead had a relatively free meal in. Okay, so I had to pay to rent the garden plot, and for the lettuce and onions to plant, and for the strawberries. But when all is said and done my one meal tonight probably cost me a few dollars compared to the cost of eating out.

• enough lettuce leaves to fill a medium sized salad bowl (about 20 to 30 large lettuce leaves)
• handful of in season strawberries (oh God, PLEASE not those flavorless "strawberries" from the supermarket), quartered if big, halved if small, & thrown in whole if tiny
  
• one large or two-three small spring onions (mine was one large red spring onion), sliced - use both the tops and bottoms
  
• handful of basil and oregano leaves
• balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste

Mix it up in a bowl and eat.

That was easy enough, wasn't it?

Because she was one of my favorite Golden Girls

Another Golden Girl ventures into the great beyond. Now Blanche can join George in her dreams for good. To wit, my favorite Rue McClanahan clip of all time, involving delirium and a pair of raw eggs.

Great Grapes Bacon Cookin' Contest!

I've never been part of a cook off before. Well, this is my chance to change all that! On Saturday, June 12, 2010, I will be one of three local foodie bloggers taking the bacon cook off challenge. This is part of the Great Grapes Wine, Arts & Food Festival. Yes, I know it coincides with HonFest, but seriously, were you going to spend all day there?

The half-hour cook off is at 1 PM, where I will be competing with Kit Pollard (Mango & Ginger) and Kathy Patterson (Minx Eats) to see who can make the purtiest, most creative and above all tastiest bacon dish. I am not sure what they will be fixing, but it will have some form of bacon in it.

Also be sure to see the Sunday blogger panel at 3 PM, moderated by Dara Bunjon (Dining Dish) and also featuring Liz Stambaugh (What's To Eat Baltimore), Wendy Tien (Upstart Kitchen), Wendi Mosteiko (Bon Appetit Hon) and Jessica Lemmo (Adventures in Baltimore Restaurants)

Tickets are $20 for one day ($15 for a designated driver - that is, no wine, ticket) and $30 for two, and some come with goodies.

Because it's (the end of) Soft Shell Week

I have been busy lately, planning a bacon recipe for next week's bacon cookoff with Kit (Mango & ginger) and Kathy (Minx Eats) at Great Grapes (will be posting about that soon), as well as prepping a class to teach this week and, well, recovering from my vacation. But I forgot to mention that this week is SOFT SHELL CRAB WEEK here in Baltimore, hons! This article from the Huffington Post's Max Watman talks about his favorite way to grill softs.

Wait - GRILL!? Yes, he grilled them. He had a dozen softs, and separated them into three groups. From the article (his bullets):

• I left the biggest and best crabs almost plain, with only a generous sprinkling of kosher salt.
• Another four were soaked in a mix of 1/2 teaspoon of crushed ginger, 1/4 teaspoon Sriracha, 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce, and 2 tablespoons of seasoned sushi vinegar.
• The last four were soaked in a more classic mix of the juice of half a lemon, a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, and 2 teaspoons of Old Bay.

His favorite was the simple crab with salt.

I dunno, dude. I still stick by the method my grandmother (God rest her soul) chose to fry up softs, and it isn't that messy: just clean the crab, dredge it in flour or fish fry (I always like to add some Old Bay) and fry it in butter. Put it between two slices of bread (preferably white) that has a little mayo or salad dressing on it.