RUB for Dining Out for Life

I did manage to get out for Dining Out for Life on Thursday. I went with friends Alan & Eric to RUB. I have to admit that the atmosphere on Thursday nights makes Thursday not the most ideal night to hold this function. The men and women of the Federal Hill kickball league swamp the place (I bet they hold games on Thursday nights). Most people were just there to revel and drink, but wouldn't ya' know. There's always a few guys (in the gender neutral sense) there to annoy you. It got loud but it was Happy Hour, so I dealt with it. The only truly annoying person was this guy that hooted, "WHOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!" at every single thing that happened in the football game he was watching behind the bar. They make a play?

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

The ref stops to talk to a player?

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

The camera stops to focus on a player drinking water?

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

The equally unexciting but far less irritating "Soccer Cam" on the two smaller flat screens just recycled footage of amateurs dribbling the ball (the kind of clips that get uploaded to YouTube) in between clips of some "personal interest" story about the Chelsea FC (the TV was right in front of me, but I wasn't really paying attention).

At least we got seated quickly! Getting served was sloooooow but just like Eric mentioned, once your order is in the food comes out pretty fast. And so it did that night: my ribs and chicken with sweet potato fries and Texas corn pudding (the two-meat platter, $13) got to me in about 10 minutes. And as always, the food was satisfying. Adding a Blue Moon for $4 my total came to $17 ($21 after the tip). And half of that goes to Movable Feast. That's something that makes me go

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

Rub BBQ

This past week I met up with friends for dinner. We debated about where to go and they suggested barbecue. Rub BBQ at the southern end of Light Street, is an easy place to ring up a huge bill, but it's also equally easy to get full on $20 after tip. Of course, I chose the latter option.

The night was nice enough that we got to sit outside, though inside is quite comfortable. The decor is very Texan, while HDTVs show baseball and English Premier League soccer - giving a sort of sports bar aura. That is, if sports bars served Texas dry rub BBQ. Various beers were on tap, including both Blue Moon and Honey Moon (Blue Moon with honey). I ordered the Honey Moon for about $3. My friends got a bottle of wine - I think it was a Shiraz. No, I'm wrong - it was a Syrah. I give up. You can tell I'm not sommelier material here. But the same can probably be said for the twenty or thirty somewhat loud twenty-something men and women coming in from (I think) a series of kickball games. They didn't bother me, except for the four or five drunk fools who stumbled around in the street as we were pulling up to find parking (not hard to do), ogling a big fluffy white cat roaming around on the awning of one of the local buildings. You'll do just about anything when you're drunk.

Rub BBQ offers Texas-style barbecued Angus brisket, sausage, pork flat ribs, chicken and turkey, plus a whole host of other offerings - sandwiches, platters, hot wings, and a whole host of vegetable and other sides. Both my friends opted for the three-meat platter with two sides ($16 each), while I went for the still-filling two-meat platter ($13), again with two sides. My choices were flat ribs and Angus brisket, with sweet potato fries and Texas corn pudding (this one, unlike the recipe I just linked to, is without jalapeños). Included for free is a slice of Texas toast, raw onions and pickles (that includes a pickled jalapeño). All was very satisfying, though I fully admit that I'm not used to dry rub - most of my barbecue has been on the wetter, more vinegary side, though I have to get up to that Alabama BBQ Company at some point. They have that odd sounding but delicious mayo-based BBQ sauce.* As for Rub BBQ and its dry rubs, they let you get around that with BBQ sauce at every table, mild, hot and honey-mustard. I went for the hot, of course.

Everything was quite good. I was impressed with the Angus brisket - more tender and juicy than I am used to in a brisket. I must say this was the best brisket I have had in a very long time. Same with the ribs, which I naturally assumed would be much messier than they were (again, dry not wet). The creamy corn pudding was a very pleasant surprise. I've never had it before and will be making it for myself at some point soon. And what little of it I did bring home - yes I got a doggy bag - did live up to a second meal.

The total for all of us was about $80 before tip. That included a two-meat platter and two three-meat ones, one bottle of Syrah (about $30 - which is why I don't usually buy wine. I only had a little of it so my friends got the cost of the wine) and a Honey Moon (about $3). My math may be off here, and I may still be wrong about the prices of the drinks. My cost was about $20 - for the platter, the beer and something towards a tip. I'll have to head back sometime this summer - even if I can't avoid drunken kickballers harassing cats on rooftops!

*I haven't been able to find a good run down of all the many varieties of barbecue/barbeque/BBQ varieties in the US, not to mention all over the world. Wikipedia's comes close, though they make no mention of Texas dry rub at all, and instead imply that it's only found in Arkansas. If only we could get local boy Steve Raichlen in here to sort it all out - he's up on both BBQ and grilling, which are - of course - two different things altogether.

Sushi Hana, Thai Arroy, Indiclub Triple Play

I haven't eaten out much this past week, which is saving me tons o' money (yay)! Some thoughts on the few places I have eaten at over the past week.

Sushi Hana

I didn't think I could eat anymore after the Great Tastes Show, but Cathy and I thought we could squeeze in a little sushi at the Sushi Hana last weekend - she wanted to do her taxes after the show, and I had TurboTax on my computer. We were hungry afterwards and Sushi Hana was close.

We got more than we thought we would, especially since Cathy was convinced to order a second roll (against my urging - you can't really bag this stuff, can you?). It was Sushi Hana's "I Like It Roll" - sliced and wrapped in seaweed, with fake crab and avocado, tempura-fried, and topped with crab. It was tasty but I had to take mine home. At least it was cooked. The other one, whose name I forget, was pretty good too, covered in raw tuna and black fish eggs.

This is that last roll.

Of course, the tempura ice cream was a requirement. It's perhaps my favorite dessert, period. The fizzy marble water I got with it was interesting. You have to go through all this trouble to push a marble into a bottle of soda and then it gets fizzy. Don't ask.

Grand total for everything: damn, I don't remember. Each roll was about $10 and the sashimi appetizer was about $7.

Thai Arroy

Cool Thai art greets you at the door.

My friends Eric and Alan are surprised I have kept with this blog, which I told them about a while ago Most bloggers give up the enterprise in less than a year; the fact that I've stuck with it as long as I have bodes well for the BS.

Hey, my acronym is BS! That only just hit me :|

So Thai Arroy: Very crowded place in Federal Hill. But Eric sent the rest of us to reserve a table while he found a place from which he wouldn't get towed. Looks as if Thai Arroy is frequently among Baltimore's Best, and it shows in the food. Some of what I enjoyed:

• Some spring rolls with a really good peanut sauce - actually the peanut sauce was the part I was impressed with. The roll was standard. Tasty, but like many I have had at Thai and Vietnamese spots before.
• My tom kha kai soup. It's difficult to do tom kha soup wrong. I say this because I have rarely had a bad one. This one also pleased. Consistent and delicious.
• My main course, the pa nang kai (pa nang chicken), more coconutty goodness, with chicken, carrot and green beans. I don't like green beans because they usually taste too fresh. I know this sounds strange, but it's almost as if they are undercooked, and I just don't enjoy them. Not these - these were good. I had plenty left over for dinner in the week.
  

Indiclub

Could someone tell me why the hell parents would allow four children to go running, screaming, fighting with butter knives, stopping at other diners' tables and almost running underneath the waiter's legs to go unchecked while they just chit chat and wait for their food. My God, they even thought it was cute!

Apparently there was little that Indiclub could do (would do?) to stop them. It was a table of twelve adults who obviously didn't notice this bullshit. And I can ignore most stuff that happens out when I'm eating - crying babies, arguing diners, even someone getting sick. But twenty minutes of this squealing, yelling, playground behavior and my sister saw me transform into Mr. Restaurant Rage. Fortunately, I kept it to the table, but I had to say something to the waiter, who apologized and said he had asked them to stop. And it didn't really stop until the waiter talked to them after I mentioned something to him. We thought we were in the Twilight Zone for a while, since we seemed to be the only people who were bothered about this. Until a gentleman behind us mentioned with to a fellow diner, not long before he left, "It is too much noisy in here." HA! Thank you!

But DAMN! Parents, either force your children to stay at the table, find a babysitter or take them to Cheeburger Cheeburger where they're allowed to act like maniacs.

Ahem.

Aside from that, the food, which I've talked about before, was pretty good. My favorite part of the meal was the crab masala (about $7), which was new, creative and very tasty. That appetizer went too fast. My achaar gosht ($13), or lamb in pickling spices (I love Indian pickle - pungent), was not quite the same I used to get at Indian Delite in Catonsville, which has since stopped serving it. It was part bitter, part salty, and quite hot. I probably wouldn't order it again, but I will definitely finish what I did get. The kulfi ice cream was so dense and delicious, very cardamom-my. Very satisfying, despite the kinderexplosion at the other end of the restaurant.

IndiClub (Indian / South Indian / Pakistani) - 1660 Whitehead Ct., Woodlawn, MD 21207; Phone: (410) 594-9600

Sushi Hana (Japanese) - 6080 Falls Rd., Lake Falls Village, Baltimore, MD 21209; Phone: (410) 377-4228



Thai Arroy (Thai) - 1019 Light St., Baltimore, MD 21230; Phone: (41) 385-8587

Matsuri (Baltimore Restaurant Week)

I'm already liking this Baltimore Restaurant Week thing and it's only one lunch old. The sister and I went to Matsuri (Restaurant Week menu) today to kick things off. I don't make it to Federal Hill often, and she never gets there. so this was a new experience for her.

We were seated by the window, and pretty much knew what we wanted. The only question we had was whether to each order a different entrée and share, or each order the same so we'd each have more sashimi. I didn't want to share, so we each got the same thing.

Our first course of three (for only $20 - okay, $20.07) was a choice between a seaweed salad and shumai dumplings. We each got the shumai, which were crispy outside and moist inside. Lovely to eat. Along with that we got the standard miso soup and a salad. My sister remarked that the dressing was very good. I agree - better than most I've had in Japanese restaurants. It wasn't a crunched up, sour sweet carrot dressing like you get in many places, but a creamy, savory dressing that made the iceberg lettuce underneath it unusually edible.

The main course was, of course, sushi and sashimi. And the arrangement was as beautiful as it was tasty. Wonderful mackerel (I think it was mackerel), salmon, squid, clam and scallop - oh, and krab with a K - all with a heaping bowl of rice. It was the standard type of offering, but it tasted so good!

Our final course was where we split ways. She got the green tea mochi ice cream, and I got the red bean mochi. The waiter brought each of us two of our ice creams, so conveniently we swapped. She liked the red bean better than the green tea; I liked them both equally.

Our meals would have remained $20.07 each were it not for the drinks we ordered. She got a Diet Coke (about $2), while I got the standard small warm sake ($4.50). Altogether the total came to about $48 with tax. Good service, good food, good ice cream.

Regi's

I just had a nice brunch with a friend at Regi's in Federal Hill. I get to Federal Hill infrequently and I'd never been to this place. Very quaint and a good choice.

There was no room outside, and the main room was way too noisy to chat, so we got a table in the back room where it was quieter. I talk softly, so this was good. After my friend ordered a mojito (about $8) - and I followed, with my own mojito and a Diet Coke - we ordered some brunch. Regi's has a good selection, and I was told that every item was pretty good. We each eyed the kobe sliders (about $13) - thick little burgers made from kobe beef. But so that we could each try the other's food, he ordered the sliders, and I went for the steak with eggs (the trucker's special, also around $13).

We chatted while munching on complimentary blueberry and corn muffins (not blueberry-and-corn muffins; I meant blueberry muffins and corn muffins). Then we each got our own plates. Immediately we cut some of our food up for the other to sample. I loved the steak. Medium, just as I asked for it, and very tender, though it was a little gristly on each end. Would've loved some A1 with it, but it was fine by itself. The eggs were pretty good, too, and the side order of fried potato chunks were standard fare. The kobe slider was a tastier beef burger than I am used to - very tender beef, though not remarkably flavorful. But I've had
tastier buffalo burgers, and I have to say, I find buffalo better than beef in every case. This includes kobe beef - in a contest, as far as I am concerned, kobe hardly holds a candle to buffalo meat. It holds it much better than most beef, but buffalo is better.

Altogether the total came to $50. A nice price to start the day, which culminated in several hours of just ogling houses for sale all over Federal Hill. Oh my God, these are such gorgeous houses! And it may sound weird to just go look at for-sale houses just to look at them. Apparently, my friend - a former real estate agent - tells me that the practice is much more common in DC. We saw some beautiful views of the city from the decks of homes and model homes that easily cost $400, $500 - $900K! The best one, not far from the Visionary Art Museum, had the most fun plastic food! I must get my hands on this stuff.

Little Havana

Several of my co-workers met in Federal Hill tonight - the very night that prospective gubernatorial candidate Martin O'Malley was attending a rally in his honor, the night before general election day. We met, however, for beer - or wine, or liquor, or whatever - at a favorite cantina, the Little Havana. LH is more than a bar - it's many TVs make it easy to catch football, baseball or soccer at various times of the evening. There is also a great menu. I know, bar food tends to be blaaaah, but Little Havana's is pretty good. Their Cuban sandwich is definitely recommended.

I went on another coworker's recommendation, however, and ordered the blackened crabcake sandwich. I love crab - otherwise, I should return my Maryland citizenship - but it's usually too expensive for me to order out. Lucky for me, Monday night is half price night, for both food and drinks (drinks during happy hour only, I don't remember if that applied to the food too). I ended up paying $7.30 for my sandwich with beans, rice and plantain chips. I think they overcharged me by a dollar - this price is for fries instead of beans and rice, and I heard someone else get charged $6.30, but by that time it was far too late for me to bother pressing it. But the crab was some of the tastiest I've eaten in a while: a Maryland-style crabcake (meaning the breading is mixed into the crab, not coated around it like on other parts of the Eastern seaboard). with Cajun blackened seasoning on top. The sandwich came with tomato, provolone (?) and pancetta bacon. The crab was sooo good. This is what eating a crabcake in this state is normally like!

Even better, I got my fill of $2 draft Guinness until 7 pm!