It's TBS' Fourth Blogiversary

Yes, this blog started four years ago today. The blog has had its ups and downs as of late. Life has happened, and I've been having less time to devote to it, as my readership can see.

I went out last night with friends. I wasn't doing it to celebrate the blog's birthday, but I guess it counts anyway. Eric, Alan, Jim, Ralph and I to Rub in South Baltimore. There we enjoyed various meat plates. Mine was the delicious combination of smoked turkey (seriously, turkey usually bores me but not this juicy and beautifully-flavored bird) and ribs (which are still beckoning to me in my fridge). The sweet potato fries are among the best of its kind in the area, and the Texas corn pudding is among the only of its kind in the area. For drinks, Ralph and I each got one of the Rub beers on tap. I can't place the name, but it was one of the darker beers (not the stout), and it was not good. But the waiter generously replaced them with a Blue Moon and a Rub IPA respectively. Everybody else got wine. We all also shared some fried okra that was tasty and tender yet still a wee bit slimy, as okra tends to be.

We had hoped to take ourselves to the Rowan Tree afterwards, but with no parking anywhere near the bar, that wasn't an option. Looks like they're not hurting for our business.

Notes from the Field

A few things I've been up to this week:

• Apart from calibration, I'm not sure how my mother's bathroom scale says I'm five pounds heavier than my own.

• Went out with friends last night to Grano. I don't drink a lot of wine but the guys brought (Eric, refresh my memory here) a 2007 Languedoc that they were particularly impressed with. I had their lovely puttanesca sauce over linguine. In fact, I think we all ordered linguine, with different sauces. For dessert, I ordered the only one they had for the evening: coconut flan. The idea of picking nasty little bits of shredded coconut out of the flan did not thrill me, but I'm glad I took the waitress's advice. It was more coconut milk and less coconut flakes. Actually, I don't remember any coconut flakes. And the coconut was subtle. It was very good.

• Grano's second location is now open, by the way.

• I found out that the Hippo has Dogfish Head Pumkin Ale until it runs out. The Raison D'Extra is a more permanent fixture.
  

• Been making too many hot milk cakes lately. But I've noticed they take a good week and a half to two weeks to start "turning" so it's a nice, reliable cake.

• I finally found the Kooper's Chowhound Burger Wagon on Thursday, when it was at 1000 Hull Street, by the Tide Point complex. I need to check this neighborhood out more. I had no idea that the view of the Harbor was so lovely! That and there are a few restaurants that I need to check out in this part of South Baltimore, including but not limited to the Harvest Table (now serving brunch!) and the Whetstone Grill, also on Hull Street, with a dizzying variety of food, wine and beer options. But back to the temporary resident, the Chow Wagon. Their website claims it's the best burger in town. After ordering the Otis Burger ($8) - featuring sautéed mushrooms, red onions, Monterrey jack and cheddar cheeses with tomato, lettuce, all piled on a beef burger and sammiched inside a kaiser roll - well? I must say it really was a very good burger. It wasn't dried out at all. Don't expect it to be one of those monster burgers you get at Alonso's. You will probably be able to finish this one during lunch. I swore I would save half of it for later but I just kept on taking a bite, putting it down, and so on. The burger was well done and was a little juicy - not so much to make a mess, but just enough. It was such a nice day that I had to sit outside and enjoy the burger next to the harbor. Since I don't eat lunch out too often, I won't be seeking it out much. It'll be one of those occasional treats. One thing I should've done was ask if I could substitute one of the other three types of burger: turkey, vegetarian or - gasp! - bison! I don't get to eat a lot of bison, and I'm getting that the next time I hit them up.
  

Otis poses for the camera

• As if my lunch wasn't going to pack enough calories on, I also had to stop by the Baltimore Cupcake Company, since I was, y'know, in the neighborhood.
  

Baltimore Cupcake Company

Yes I made it over to the Baltimore Cupcake Company this weekend. I've been meaning to make it out to the various area cupcake shops because, hell, I like cupcakes. Just as BMore Sweet puts it, "It's pink, it's cute, it's pretty girlie". And inside you find a few trays of lots of cupcakes in a modest amount of varieties. The selection changes from day to day.

Various area bloggers have had mixed experiences with BCC. Before fleeing for San Fran, Xiao Zhu at Curiously Ravenous had a not-so-satisfying time with their cupcakes, since she got there after the selection had been seriously weeded down and because of the $3 per cupcake price tag.

There are pros and cons. The pros to BCC: the cupcakes that I got - both from their "truffle" line - were very good. I got two ($6 total), one with chocolate icing with a dollop of peanut butter frosting on top of that, and one of pink vanilla icing. Again, the cupcakes I had were delicious, and not dry. I also like the changing variety in cupcakes - chocolate, raspberry, vanilla, key lime, etc. On the con side: $3 for a cupcake? I could get a much fancier (though somewhat drier one) at Whole Foods for that much, though Whole Foods' frosting, while fancier, is arguably denser and more sugar-shock-inducing. And even though I didn't experience this, I've read a few comments and posts elsewhere that suggest that they run out of some of their best cupcakes fairly quickly. So all in all, I did like it. It is a tasty cupcake, though a fairly plain one. No it doesn't have to be fancy. But at $3, you expect it to be a little more zhuzh'd up. Oh, they also had tiny coconut cupcakes for about $1.50 or so. I would go back, though I tend to buy a few cupcakes at once. At $3 a pop, I probably will just go back once in a while.

Next stop, when I have the time: Charm City Cupcakes. Want some insight into the place? Check out Meg's post from Pigtown Pigout the June before last.



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Exit 11A - I-95 North (to Baltimore)

For lunch today, I ran off to Caton Ave. After you take the Beltway exit 11A into the city, the first exit off of I-95 is Washington Blvd. To get there, you have to merge onto Caton Ave. first.

There are a few places I have been to on and off of this stretch of Caton Ave. between Washington Blvd. to the south and Wilkens Ave. to the north. I have traveled it, oh, thousands of times in my life. I've had simple but filling foot longs at a popular corner deli, Polish sausages and franks from Polock Johnny's (map), food after my 9th grade semi-formal some - DAMN, I didn't realize it was THAT long ago! - and even a below average chicken curry from one of the increasing numbers of pizza-subs-and-curry houses that are popping up all over Baltimore. The one I reference is in Morrell Park, somewhere between Carroll Park and Patapsco Blvd. But you can find them everywhere from Pigtown to Mt. Washington to Hampden (so far, I've found six in the Baltimore area).

One place I have, again, passed by thousands of times but never thought to go into was the Caton House Restaurant (map), right off the Washington Blvd. off-ramp near the Violetville area, and next to the TESST College of Technology at Caton and Joh Aves (only hint about my 9th grade semi-formal - it happened before TESST was even built. No wait, they might've been building it at the time). Caton House is your average bar-restaurant, a bit less charming on the inside than Snyder's (off Exit 8), and less interesting on the outside than the Lansdowne Inn or Leon's (off Exits 9 and 10 respectively). And I don't know why, but as I said, I've never bothered to stop in. But it's a quiet neighborhood bar - as it would probably be at this time of the day.

Not a lot of people there for lunch, though I did get there after the lunch rush. If you stick to the sandwiches or burgers, you can order a drink and a side and you can eat for less than $10 - pretty cheap (make that $20 for the dinner platters). But bring a dollar or two extra for the tip. They also take Visa and Mastercard.

It took a little while to get my food, but I'm guessing it was made to order, so no complaints there. And the Reuben that I did order, though soggy and falling apart in some places, was still very tasty. The sauerkraut wasn't too pungent - some may like it very tangy on their Reubens, but I find that overpowering. As a result I could really taste the corned beef and the Swiss cheese a lot better. The thousand island dressing that usually comes on it was in a cup on the side - actually a plus, because I could regulate how much I wanted. Also served were a few pickle slices, which I usually devour though didn't really touch today. Along with the sandwich I ordered fries with gravy - better than most I've had - and a Diet something. Typical bar fountain soda, which seems to taste the same just about everywhere (a little more flavorful than dishwater), watered down enough that I couldn't tell if it was Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi (unusual for me).

Total cost of the meal was about $9.50. I left $2 tip for the waitress. Heck, I paid the same amount as I would have for two beers, and I usually leave a dollar for every beer anyway.

Places I visited:

Caton House Restaurant (bar & cocktails / American) - 1506 S Caton Ave, Baltimore, MD 21227; Phone: (410) 644-8496

• Would I eat there again? Yes
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Probably not
  

Polock Johnny's (sausages) - 3212 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21230; Phone: (410) 644-5997

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

Nasu Blanca (Baltimore Restaurant Week)

Yes guys, I am writing about it just like you said I would :)

Nasu Blanca has to be one of the best places I have eaten in a long time. Two friends and I went last night and found that out. It's a little - okay, more than a little - out of my price range for me to become a regular customer, but they are hoping to make it more often. Hell, so am I. I just might have to wait for the next Restaurant Week, though.

The place was packed last night, and our server, in kistchy pearls and a fun black dress, noted that it has been like this all week. And they all had three entrées and three appetizers from which to choose (and the same dessert; see the menu for yourself). Because there were three of us, we were in the unique position of being able to sample everything, by each of us ordering a different appetizer and entrée. They also had a special outside of the BRW menu: tempura-battered squash blossoms. Sounds scrumptious, but I'll try it next time.

Our waitress/sommelieuse noted that, for an extra $15, we could get wine pairings for each course, in the form of red/white wine or sake. The guys opted for the wine pairings. I stuck with with cheaper option, so I have no clue what wines were drunk or how they paired with the food. Instead, I just stuck with a tall, cool glass of Sapporo for $5. Nice, crisp and clean beer that Sapporo is.

We each tried every appetizer. They went as follows:

• Japanese eggplant in den miso sauce - Out of all the appetizers, this is the one I liked the most. Very sweet and dense. And I hate eggplant. Hate it. So this was something.
  
• Prince Edward mussels in a sofrito-sherry broth - This was my appetizer. We all loved these. It's difficult to do mussels poorly. Good thing they didn't! And they came with crusty toasted bread to sop the broth up with.
  
• Mixed greens with katafi and ginger dressing - It was good, though I am usually not wow'd by salads. Not this one either. But I liked the addition of the katafi (or kataifi - shredded phyllo, or the rich Greek dessert of the same name that's made of the stuff). In this salad, however, the katafi was not at all sweetened. Instead, it added a nice crunch.

As good as all that was, the entrées were in a different league altogether:

• Paella valenciana with chorizo, chicken, mussels and saffron rice - Tasty if at first mushy paella. But my friends liked the texture. I don't know why it seemed a little mushy to me. Not to them. I got over that quickly. It was some tasty rice, to be honest, and not that mushy as I got into it. I guess that sounds a little confused. Let me rephrase: Yes, I would indeed recommend it to you if you went there.
• Panko-crusted walu with sweet potato slices and butter ponzu sauce - I have never eaten walu, which is a firm and flavorful fish. Very tasty. It looked small but was very filling. The sauce and sweet potatoes were also wonderful. Even the throw-away greens on top and underneath were delicious. Normally, this dish costs $28! So this was an excellent deal. This was my entrée, by the way, though we all had our ways with each.
  
• Strip steak with pimenton dusted fingerling potatoes, cabrales butter and tempranillo wine reduction - This was my favorite entrée - in fact, my favorite of everything I ate during Restaurant Week, even the steak at Petit Louis (which is a close second). My friend ordered it medium rare. He says you can tell a great deal about the quality of a restaurant by how they prepare your steak. If you ask for it medium rare, it needs to come out medium rare. It did here. Blissful steak.

We all had the same dessert, a white chocolate banana bread pudding with caramel and toasted walnuts strewn artfully across our gleaming white, square dishes, and all with a small dollop of cream on top. Tasty dessert, very rich, though it runs a close second to Petit Louis' mousse. It's still delicious. I could eat it all day.

All throughout this dinner we had such attentive service. The entrées came out immediately after the appetizers were done. And the waitress, wanting to make sure that my friends had their respective wines before each dish came out, hurried out their wines before each course came out. That is some good service.

The grand total before tip came to $145. This included our three prix fixe menus ($30 each), the wine pairings ($15 each), the Sapporo ($5) and two basil julep cocktails (you do the math). They included basil and shiso, the Japanese leafy herb which you usually find on any plate of sashimi. It tastes sort of peppery.

Nasu Blanca, in short, was the perfect way to end my Restaurant Week (yes, it's over for me; I have a trip to save for, y'know). It also has to be one of the best dining experiences I have had in a long time. Do go if you have the money. Save up first, but go, at some point go!