The Fonio Files

As of late, I've become obsessed with finding fonio. Fonio is a grain native to West Africa - in fact it is considered the oldest African domesticate. And people have liked the taste for thousands of years. But outside of West Africa, nobody has really heard of it.

My curiosity about this exceptionally nutritious crop started one Sunday during an episode of The Splendid Table. During one segment, host Lynne Rossetto Kasper interviewed Senegalese-American chef Pierre Thiam about the cuisine of Senegal, his Brooklyn, NY, restaurant Le Grand Dakar, and his new cookbook Yolele! Recipes From the Heart of Senegal. During the interview, they discuss the African miracle grain fonio, which Thiam tells Rossetto Kasper is almost impossible to ruin. It can be cooked somewhat like couscous. It can also be cooked in the microwave. But I was able to ruin my first batch, and after I did so (creating, in essence, a very lovely fonio hockey puck), I decided to find an actual recipe.

In honor of Vancouver 2010, the durable yet tasty fonio hockey puck.

Thiam includes a recipe for sesame fonio in his cookbook. Fortunately, it was sitting right there on the Splendid Table website. Even better, I had all the ingredients (or similar ones).

For sesame fonio (complete recipe is here), you need to stir fry 1/2 cup of black sesame seeds in a few teaspoons of peanut (or in my case, olive) oil.

Taken with the "Food" setting on my new camera. Looks a little like hot asphalt, doesn't it?

To 3 cups of salted boiling water, add the sesame seeds along with a cup of fonio. Reduce the heat - and I mean way down, otherwise you'll have sputtering fonio bubbling up in your face. I found it helpful to stir the whole thing. After a few minutes, it will absorb the water. Make sure you remove it from the heat and fluff it up.


The fonio has a pleasant, slightly nutty flavor, which the sesame complements well. I also found that the fonio absorbed some of the black sesame color, making it look like a big grayish blob with little black specks inside it. But the taste was quite pleasing, a little different from other grains I have eaten, in a good way. I also discovered through experimentation that fonio tastes quite good with soy sauce.

Sesame fonio, plated with stir fried baby lettuce and Nigerian-style deer stew

Now here's the difficult part: how does one find fonio in Baltimore? It's easy if you know where to look. You can only find it in African and African-Caribbean markets. Whole Foods doesn't carry it. Giant certainly doesn't carry it. Not even H-Mart carries it, and they have everything. Lucky for Baltimore, there are a few African markets in and around the city. I got mine from the Afro-Tropical Food Market across from the Senator, in Belvedere Square. I got 500 grams (1/2 a kilo, or about 1.1 lbs) of Deggeh brand fonio, imported from Mali via the Bronx, NY, for $4. The Splendid Table website also gives various mail order sources for fonio under the recipe for sesame fonio.

Greg's Bagels

I just got back from Greg's Bagels at Belvedere Square, raved about in the Sun, the City Paper and the Examiner (though apparently not Baltimore Magazine - I guess it's not expensive enough to get in there). Whichever commenter told me about it: you were right. They have a fabulous array of smoked salmon, larger than most in Manhattan (NYC's) Upper West Side. To eat them you must either order it on a bagel with or without cream cheese for $6.75 (the bagel by itself is just $1, up from 80¢), or order it by the 1/4, 1/2 or whole pound, starting at about $8.50 per 1/4 lb. And oh my, the variety. Among the Nova, Moroccan, Scottish, Royal Scottish, Alaskan, Norwegian, Thai and literally a dozen other varieties, I ordered the Balti-lox. This isn't "Balti-as-in-Baltimore", but "Balti-as-in-Balti-curry": salmon smoked with honey, ginger and cayenne. Very tasty on top of one of Greg's thin, filling but not heavy vidalia onion bagels with cream cheese. Granted, the small iced tea ($1) could almost easily fit in a child's play tea cup, but Greg's was refreshingly upfront about the need to raise prices. Right at the counter they explain all about rising food prices to their loyal customers, or as they put it (to paraphrase), "or maybe once you read this, soon-to-be-ex-customers". Any restaurant that can keep that much humor in this age of rising food prices has got my patronage. Just not that often - the bagel was good but I've got to conserve my money here!

Exit 25: MD-139 (Charles Street, to area colleges)

COLLEGE TOUR! (Well, sort of...)

Exits 25 through 27 take the hapless driver to Towson. There is a lot to eat in Towson. Too much, and not all of it is of the fast food variety. To be frank, I was not sure exactly how to approach Exit 25. Of course, it took a while to dawn on me that this is the exit to use to get to most of the major north Baltimore area colleges - Towson, Loyola, College of Notre Dame of Maryland (or CONDOM - hey I didn't make that up), and Johns Hopkins University. None of these is anywhere near the exit, so to get to anything food-related along Charles Street, apart from either Eddie's of Roland Park (map), you have to head toward the colleges. And so that is what I did. (By the way: their chocolate top cookies are quite good, but it's mostly due to the fudge. The cookie part is a throwaway.)

Towson University

You can just as easily get to Towson from Exit 26 or 27 as from 25 (it just takes a little longer but it's mostly a straight shot via the Towson Bypass), so anything in the "downtown-y" area of Towson will wait for future posts. For Towson I headed the opposite direction on York Road, toward home. I passed up Bill Bateman's Bistro (map) - not in a "wings and beer" mood, even though I should make it a point to stop in. More so, I have never ventured into TU's University Club (map). I only mention it because it regularly participates in the semiannual Restaurant Week. As a grad student at Towson, I rarely am there with enough money or time to eat more than a semi-thawed pesto chicken croissant sandwich (ick).

Going further down York Road, I wanted to seek out food from the smaller businesses toward the city line. China Fun (map) passed me by - or more to the point, I passed it. Farther down is a whole slew of restaurants featuring sandwiches from Robby's Deli (map), ice cream from Uncle Wiggly's (map) and food from all different regions of China. Since it was the only one open at this hour and I was in the mood, I went for the last option, Mandarin Taste (map).

It was pretty sparse the night I went, with coloring books and a phone book piled up in one booth. But the atmosphere was a bit brighter and less cramped than most Chinese takeouts I have been to. The proprietor recommended the Sha Cha Chicken, which was a favorite of many customers. At about $4.50 it wasn't bad for the price, and neither was the eggroll I got for about $2. When I got it home I found they gave me a lot of food. And though it's not what I'd call orgasmic, they do know to put actual chunks of pork in their pork fried rice - big (for pork fried rice), juicy chunks of it. And I liked the sha cha chicken - a little spicy, even though it wasn't spicy enough for me. It also had lots of vegetables - carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, onion. I'd definitely get it again, though I wouldn't go out of my way for it. I liked the egg roll too.

Johns Hopkins University

Farther down Charles Street, past Loyola and Notre Dame (yes, I am doubling back), you hit Johns Hopkins, one of the most prestigious universities in the country. As with TU there are a few good eats in this area. JHU is particularly blessed to share sidewalk space with the Baltimore Museum of Art (note to self: go round there at some point), home of Bawlmer boy John Shields' area-famous Gertrude's (map), which I hear has a killer brunch. Also didn't get across the street to all the cafés and shops in Hopkins Square, which encompasses (among others) a Record and Tape Traders. Again, another time.

On University Parkway, across from the National Lacrosse Museum, are two places I have enjoyed in the past. The Carlysle Club (map) is dependable and delicious Lebanese food. it's also expensive, so I don't go there much. Last time I went was, I think, sometime in 2006 with some friends. I had this great lamb dish but I can't put my finger on exactly what it was anymore. Oh well - a reason to go back. A hop, a skip and a jump away from that is the happily vegetarian One World Café (map). They bake most if not all of their food on-site, and I think it's all vegetarian, or at least vegan. This includes their dizzying array of baked goods. And wow - they have this wonderful nutless vegan carrot cupcake (about $2.50). With a small cappuccino (about $2.50) it was a very satisfying snack. The icing is sugary and though it isn't cream cheesy at all (of course not - it's VEGAN), it's very tasty. It's still a fattening cupcake: the greasiness in the cupcake paper was demonstrable. Just save it for a special occasion. Like tomorrow?

I think this is actually one of my better photos.

Loyola College / College of Notre Dame of Maryland

I must confess: going back around Loyola brings back memories, because it's where I got my (first) BA, around 19 ninety-something. I don't know about now, but the food back then was horrendous (CONDOM's was little better). Because of that, I often meandered away from the dorms and down West Cold Spring to the restaurants nearby. When I wanted a bagel for breakfast, or wanted to get away from the occasional drunken dorm mates, I would often find myself at Sam's Bagels (map). The ubiquitous Sam's now has several locations around the area, including the one in Catonsville that completely does away with my need to go back to this one. But it did coincide with my biggest brush with movie stardom, the one time I accidentally walked by the shooting of Serial Mom at the Video Americain - yes, I saw them shooting Serial Mom - with an egg and sausage bagel sandwich on an everything (my favorite flavor of bagel). Yes, I went there that long ago.

Another place I stopped was the often-lauded Alonso's (map), well known specifically for its massive, 1 lb. hamburger (with or without bacon). It is one West Cold Spring institution amid a sea of more recently opened businesses - Miss Shirley's (map - affiliated with Alonso's), the new Evergreen coffee shop (map - where lots of students and a few professors were lounging, using their laptops over - well actually I didn't see what they were eating), even the Loco Hombre (aw hell, just see the map for Alonso's) - of which Alonso's is apparently a part - is now opened up after I last went round. You see, I haven't been here in well over a decade. There's also the new S'ghetti Eddies (map), part of that big Loco Hombre/Alonso's/Miss Shirley's conglomeration. Only the Chinese takeout is still familiar, besides Sam's and Alonso's.

Today, Alonso's is much sleeker looking, and no nasty smoke smell (one reason why I never went back). Today there is sports paraphernalia all over the walls - signed jerseys, footballs, baseballs and soccer balls from the Ravens, the O's (minus all the drugs) and the Blast (in order of prevalence). The waiter just let me seat myself - it wasn't full, since it was at the tail end of the lunch hour.

I started with the three-salsa tortilla chips ($4). I did this even though I planned to get that massive burger, because I wanted to try the nopal (or nopale) salsa. If you haven't had nopal cactus slices from a jar, be warned - they are very salty and very slimy. This nopal salsa was not at all slimy, but still salty. I did like it, and I have to say it was the most interesting part of my meal. With it came two more salsas, a sweet tomatillo salsa and a chunky salsa fresca. Plus a deep basket of tortilla chips in enough colors to make a gay pride festival planner happy.

Then it came - THE big-ass burger of legend ($13). I got the cheapest of them, with no bacon (add $1.50), and not blackened ($15 before bacon). I cut it in half and automatically set one half aside to take home. I don't know how I got through the other 1/2 lb. I asked for the burger medium rare to rare - and they do indeed know how to make a rare burger (not like in SoCal where "rare" means "medium well"). I wasn't sure if it was safe to eat for a second, it was so rare. The burger itself was tasty, though I am not ordering the bleu cheese on it the next time - they gave me a massive dollop of it, which actually sank into the burger. It was ridiculously strong and took away from the burger. It's my own fault - I should have known better, I guess. The flavor of the burger is pure beef, and that's really all I could taste - no herbs, spices, etc. But again, that may be due to the strength of the bleu cheese. Not to make it sound bad though, because I certainly wasn't disappointed in this burger. I'd definitely get it again, just without the bleu cheese. I was, however, disappointed in the fries - plain, ordinary, some were a little dried out. But I wasn't there to order the fries (still, they could've been better). Since half of them are sitting in the takeout container with the other 1/2 lb of that burger and a ton of multicolored tortilla chips and large blobs of tomatillo, fresca and nopal salsas, I can try the fries with some other condiments and see if they can be improved upon.

The half I ate for lunch yesterday. That vegan carrot cupcake would be a pretty funny complement to this burger, no?

Along with a soda (about $2), tax and tip, the bill came to $23. I haven't spent that much on a lunch outside of Restaurant Week in a while. Again, I'd go back and get it, though next time I may just settle for the cheaper and more subtle Alonso sliders instead ($9 for lunch).

Oh, here are the salsas - the lumpy one in the back is the nopal cactus salsa. I'm not a fan of nopal, but I'd get it again. Probably not that often, but I would get it again.

Places I visited:

Alonso's / Loco Hombre (burgers / American / Tex-Mex / bar & pub - both locations share the same menu and building space) - 413-415 West Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21210; Phone: (410) 235-3433

• Would I eat there again? Yes
  
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Again, yes
  

The Carlysle Club (Lebanese / Arabic) - 500 W. University Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21210; Phone: (410) 243-5454

• Would I eat there again? Definitely
  
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Once again, yes
  

Eddie's of Roland Park (grocery store - American / upscale) - 6213 N. Charles Street
Towson, MD 21212; Phone: (410) 377-8040

• Would I shop there again? Yes, but not too often - I need to pay bills
  
• Would I go out of my way to shop there again? Probably not, again due to the expense
  

Mandarin Taste (Chinese / Mandarin / Szechuan / Hunan / Cantonese) - 6805 York Road
Baltimore, MD 21212; Phone: (410) 377-2500

• Would I eat there again? Yes
  
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? I don't need to, but I might
  

One World Café (coffee / bakery / vegan & vegetarian) - 100 W University Pkwy, Baltimore, MD 21210; Phone: (410) 235-5777

• Would I eat there again? Yes
  
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? I was just thinking of doing that

Sam's Bagels (bagels) - 500 W Cold Spring Ln, Baltimore, MD 21210; Phone: (410) 243-1774

• Would I eat there again? I often do (but at the Catonsville location)
  
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? I don't need to, but sure

Places to look up later:

Bill Bateman's Bistro (bar & pub / wings) - 7800 York Road, Towson, MD 21204; Phone: (410) 296-2737

China Fun (Chinese) - 7206 York Rd # B, Towson, MD 21212 - (410) 321-4212

The Evergreen (coffee / deli) - 501 W. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21210; Phone: (410) 235-8118

Gertrude's (Chesapeake / brunch) - 10 Art Museum Drive (located in the Baltimore Museum of Art), Baltimore, MD 21218; Phone for reservations: (410) 889-3399

Miss Shirley's (American / bakery / brunch) - 513 West Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21210; Phone: (410) 889-5272

Robby's Deli (deli / sandwiches) - 6321 York Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212; Phone: (410) 337-8755

S'ghetti Eddie's (pasta) - 410 W Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21210; Phone (410) 235-5999

Uncle Wiggly's (ice cream) - 6911 York Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212-1510; Phone: (410) 377-3373

University Club at Towson (American) - 10 West Burke Avenue (in the Burkshire Marriott Conference Hotel), Towson, MD 21204; Phone: (410) 324-8202

Senator II: Dreamgirls

After my delicious lunch at Atwater's I shuffled over to the Senator. Walking over all the sidewalk panels displaying various movies premiered (for our town, if not the world) at the Senator, I snapped a photo or two. Okay, I had done that earlier in the day when I bought my ticket, but one or two more never hurt.

I walked in and noticed only a few people milling about. Maybe this was because most people were done with Dreamgirls, so only a few had come to see it again. There was a short mix-up with my ticket, which was easily exchanged - not a long line for tickets (another odd thing, I thought), but again perhaps this was due to most people having already seen the movie. Even my friends that I saw it with before said they were pretty much done with Dreamgirls. They headed to the Charles to see Venus instead.

I wanted to get a photo of the concession stand. Neither that I took turned out very well, but I did get some of the inside of the actual viewing room. No, not during the movie. I was still waiting for it. Nobody tried to stop me, which was odd - or perhaps it was because nobody saw me. To be sure, few people seemed to give a damn tonight. They didn't even do the obligatory announcement before the show started. You may know the one: they thank you for coming to "the Historic Senator Theatre" and whatnot. Tonight they just weren't into it enough. And the audience wasn't as inspired either. That really stuck with me. I figured that, if anything, there would be more people there tonight. But no, and when the movie hit that critical Jennifer Hudson piece that won her all those awards (hopefully one more), one person applauded. That is different from the first time I saw the film, when many people were getting into it. I even almost applauded. I didn't, though - I mean, it's not like she could hear me.

Forgive me for saying, and I doubt the owner feels this way (he's spoken passionately on WYPR about saving the Senator), but it honestly seemed for a little while as if the Senator herself was ready to give up the ghost. Just for a little while, like she had gotten despondent.

The popcorn was pretty average, too. It was cold, unlike what I usually get at the Rotunda (that other Senator-related theatre). And the extra butter wasn't terribly buttery. It was almost on par with the buckets that pass for small popcorn at most megaloplexes, and a bit less the cost, but it didn't seem like anyone cared to make it hot. Still, it was a hell of a deal, with a small soda totaling $6 for the soda and the popcorn. I can spend $9 or $10 getting much the same thing at Arundel Mills.

I stuck around for most of the credits for Dreamgirls - they show production sketches at the end, which is fun if you want to get into the crew's minds. At the end I snapped a photo or two more (yes, in the lobby and outside the theatre), and headed to my car. Perhaps it will be the last photo I take of the Senator all lit up, hopefully not. And if the Senator is despondent, I hope she gets out of it quickly.

Senator I: Ploughboy Soups by Atwater

Well, I went to the Senator for what hopefully isn't one last time. I got there early to buy a ticket for the 4:00 show - but too early. The ticket they printed was for the 1:00 show! This I did not notice until later, but that's for my next post. Anyway, I ran some errands and came back - less than an hour until showtime! I wanted some popcorn so I went for a light lunch - to not fill up.

I meandered over to Belvedere Square in search of something light. Somehow I made a beeline to Atwater's, where I often go for a quick meal. Atwater's Ploughboy Soups serves sandwiches, soups and salads. As the cashier noted, if you're in a hurry, the soups are a much better choice. And with a large crowd I got my bowl of soup in about five minutes.

Out of several options, vegetarian, veg dairy and meaty, I got a tomato and saffron soup that had lots of great stuff peeking out from the creamy yellow broth. It had orzo. It had olives. It had shrimp and lump crab meat and eggplant. Wonderful stuff. With it, as is Atwater's custom, was some hearty bread, a stupendously crunchy crust with a soft, dunkable inside. Ooh, this is wonderful stuff! And a relatively cheap eat, considering this bowl was $6.85. I got nothing to drink with it, though their selection of bottled drinks was certainly wide enough.

I walked back on over to the Senator, camera in hand, ready to photograph the hell out of the place. After all, I might not get another chance.

Cafe Zen

I have not been making a whole-hearted effort to eat out less since my visit to England, so unfortunately I spent more money last night than I cared to. Not too much, but more than I wanted to. The whole evening out was $25, including a movie and dinner. The movie was Dreamgirls, which is playing at the Senator and is sooo damn good! The movie is worth seeing if for no other reason than Jennifer Hudson's show-stopping performance of "And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going." Oh my God, it had people applauding twice - and you know she couldn't hear 'em! So please go see it. And see it at the Senator (I can forgive the buckets of popcorn in the front rows from the previous show this time, but let's hope they don't make that untidiness a habit).

The dinner came afterwards, as I went with some friends to the Cafe Zen, which is in a ridiculously close walking distance. Cafe Zen is a pretty good Chinese place, a perfect place to catch dinner after a matinee at the Senator. It has the distinction of having some of the tastiest hot tea I have had at a restaurant. Most places just have weak - I mean weak - tea, but Cafe Zen's was robust and flavorful green tea. It was also complementary.

My friends ordered a bottle of wine, which went for $25. I might've had some - the waitress poured me some without asking - but I had a headache, and alcohol only exacerbates my headaches. We also ordered some appetizers. My friends got soup, and I ordered a shrimp spring roll (only about $1.50). Hot, and tasty! Then the three of us all had pork potstickers. These were much juicier than I am used to, which was great - well, a little messy but great. This was only about $3.50, little more than $1.15 per person.

For our main courses, we each ordered something different. My one friend got the Sichuan beef (about $8), which was tasty (I tried it). My other friend ordered the crispy duck ($11), which was fatty, as duck usually is, but indeed crispy on the outside. Yum! (Yeah, I tried it as well.) I ordered the Mongolian pork, which does not usually come spicy. I asked them to spice it up for me. I don't think they did - or if they did, they have a much meeker idea of spicy than I do. It was tangy, but not too tangy - actually, not as tangy as I prefer. But it was good, with slices of onions and scallions. It came with complementary white rice. The whole dish was all of $8, quite worth the price.

I did like the food, but I do yearn for real, non-Americanized Chinese food. We got to talking about how some, maybe many Chinese restaurants are afraid of the non-Chinese reaction to some of the traditional Chinese foods. So they give us a tamed-down version, and if you actually want something more traditional, you have to ask for the Chinese menu, and have a working knowledge of written Chinese. I don't know if this is true or just an urban legend, but it's enough to make me consider taking some Chinese classes. Besides, it'd be fun to learn Chinese! I like languages anyway.

Saigon Remembered

A few nights before Christmas a friend and I met up for some grub up in Towson. We debated where to eat and I remembered the restaurant conveniently located across the street from the gorgeous Senator Theatre. Perhaps the only Vietnamese restaurant inside the city limits (though one of a handful in the area), Saigon Remembered offers some flavorful Vietnamese food at prices that run about $11 to $16, with a few priced above $20 (right, I'm going to pay that much for dinner if I don't have to).

We went Christmas Eve Eve, and like everything the night before there was lots of room and not many patrons. We had each been before, so we got right to perousing the menu in the middle of much chit chat. My friend does not enjoy seafood - mostly due to the texture - so perhaps his reaction was quite natural when I explained that one ingredient they might have marinated the Vietnamese Steak (which was unbelievably tender) was fish sauce. The best way to describe this condiment is "liquid anchovies" - though it does smell a bit, um, stronger. Stay tuned for another post about some unconventional uses for it.

Having asked about the marinade and informed to his satisfaction that there was no fish sauce in it, my friend ordered the Vietnamese Steak. I went for a pork and shrimp combination dish served over rice noodles with lots of good stuff in it: pickled carrot and jicama shreds, cabbage, ground peanuts, and a side of sweetened fish sauce with thin shreds of carrot mixed in. We treated ourselves first to a helping of deep fried pork spring rolls, which again came with the sauce. We both liked the sauce, so I don't think he knew what was actually in it! But oh well...

So the main dishes come out, and my friend gets a knife and fork for his steak, which actually comes out in lots and lots of little cubes instead of one big steak. It was still absolutely delicious, as I found out when I tried one little cube of his steak. I offered him some of my combo, but he was too wrapped up in the steak. And even though I am ordering the steak next time, I did like what I got. Everything was just plain good. Nothing fancy, but well made.

With iced tea and tip, the total came to about $40 (his cost a little more than mine). Next time I go to the Senator, I am anglin' for that steak.