At first I didn't think I would make it to A Taste of Two Cities, the Baltimore-Washington food truck rally at Westport Waterfront. I was able to get there right at the start of it, and was a little surprised (only a little) to see so many people there already!
With the large circle of trucks from Baltimore and Washington (almost complete list of competitorshere) I had to pace myself accordingly, deciding to hit up an equal number of food trucks from each area. I started with entrées, then appetizers and finally dessert.
My first choice was DC's El Floridiano (Twitter: @ElFloridianoDC), which proudly announces that it is the only solar powered food truck on the East Coast. El Floridiano, obviously, is bringing some Miami heat (not thatMiami Heat) to the Nation's Capitol. And on Saturday they brought some to Westport too. I got the small version of their Pan de Lechón ($4): juicy pork on a roll with a creamy spicy sauce. El Floridiano also has a little tent covering a table of other hot sauces for all your heat needs.
Next it was food from the hometown. I followed up my pan de lechón with sushi. Noodlerolla (Twitter: @noodlerolla) has Japanese and Korean favorites, from bibimbap to miso soup to several types of maki rolls. I got their simple, fresh and juicy salmon avocado roll for all of five bucks. The little packet of soy sauce decided to explode all over me, but that's not the food truck's fault.
Quite full already and worrying that I would not get the chance to try anything else. I got something to drink instead. I chose a Maine Root Soda from the Red Hook Lobster Pound Truck (Twitter: @RedHookLobsterTruckDC). I've eaten there before, getting the buttery Connecticut version of their wondrous lobster roll ($15 when I got it). But due to lack of money, time and room in my belly - plus a desire to try as many new things as possible - I held off on the lobster. They have a self-serve soda dispenser with various Maine Root Soda products. I got the standard root berr, which is rich and tingly and has none of that weird "fountain drink funk". One root beer was just $2.
Again it was Baltimore's turn. I crossed the food truck pavilion and after deliberating over many Charm City food trucks peddling everything from South Carolina barbecue to chicken and waffles to grilled cheese to all of the Gypsy Queen's offerings (the eventual winner of the day's festivities), I finally made it over to Miss Shirley's (Twitter: @MissShirleys) which I have never visited before (honest, just haven't been able). Among the many offerings on their menu was a seemingly simple dollop of mascarpone grits with bacon and tomato bits. Probably this was my favorite thing to eat in a day where I enjoyed everything ate or drank.
To finish off, I had dessert. There were many choices in this category as well, with lots of trucks peddling ice cream, cupcakes, even popcorn. I decided to go for two cupcakes. The first came from Curbside Cupcakes (Twitter: @CurbsideCupcake), DC's first mobile cupcake truck. The variety from this gleaming pink truck included one that sounded particularly interesting: the H Street cupcake, a swirl of marble cake and marble-ized frosting for all of three bucks. It was a soft cupcake with rich frosting that capped off a good morning of eating.
But this wasn't all: I had to make a stop at Icedgems Baking cupcake truck (Twitter: @IcedGemsBaking), a truck I visit when I can. This time I chose their Jubilee cupcake, made in honor of Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee: a yellow cupcake with raspberry jelly under the top, flecked throughout with bits of orange rind, and topped with a pink rosewater frosting. I was too full to eat this at Westport, so I just took it with me in the hopes that I would have room for it soon. I found some.
My final assessment of the Taste of Two Cities: I've only been to Baltimore's first food truck rally, which was, honestly, a mess: food ran out and people (read: me) stood in line for the better part of half an hour just find this out. I'm sure these events have improved since then. This food truck event is proof of that, as this was quite an orderly and well-organized event. Granted, I got there early, but for me at least it went well. And hopefully for all of our local and visiting food trucks the case was the same. But I just couldn't tell who had the best food truck. The only way to actually figure this out: have another one of these events. In fact, they should probably do this a few times a year, alternating between either ends of the BW Parkway. I mean, that's the only way we'll truly find out whose food trucks are better. And if not, at least we get to eat at them more often.
If you are anywhere near the Westport Waterfront on Saturday, 11 to 7, bring some money and a hefty appetite. The first ever Baltimore-Washington intercity food truck event, A Taste of Two Cities, is happening this weekend. Here's what you'll find:
* forty food trucks - twenty from each city
* judges! - three from each city
* parking - lots and lots of parking
* people - lots and lots of people, but hell, you can't help that
We have the home field advantage here, but any Washingtonians coming to this thing will be arriving with an appetite so get there early if you can. There will be food. Lots of food. Directions to this event can be found at the Westport Waterfront website, but mind the irritating music that opens up with the page; the directions can be found in the upper left hand corner behind the green arrow.
Just heard this on CBS: Barack Obama recently met with a member of our military at the White House, and served a very special, hard-to-find brew. Which is strange, since it's made in DC. Why is it so difficult to find? It's the White House's own brew. As NPR reported a few months ago, Obama decided to do this for St. Patrick's Day (to honor his partial Irish heritage). Historians say this is the first time beer has ever been brewed in the White House. Yep, I would've guessed 1807 or some time around then.
I was in DC last Saturday night for Capital Pride. No I wasn't living it up, but I did eat out and then crashed at a friend's place before our Sunday morning soccer game and then my first ever visit to DC's pride festival. Said dinner was at Casa Oaxaca on 18th Street in Adams Morgan. Casa Oaxaca brings not just Mexican, but specifically Oaxacan dishes to DC diners. I had been meaning to head here for a while but was always flummoxed with the variety of restaurants.
I chose to eat downstairs in their softly-lit, earthy-colored restaurant. The menu does not offer much in the way of cheap eats - average entrée prices are about $15 to $25. Casa Oaxaca notably has a dizzying array of moles, a Oaxacan specialty. It's not just mole poblano.: it's red moles and black moles, yellow, orange and green ones. There was even a fig-based mole that intrigued me enough to seriously consider ordering. Eventually I went ahead with their three mole plate ($19) - red, black and green moles smothering a nice piece of chicken breast, with beans, Oaxacan cheese and small corn tortillas. It's a delicious combo that gives you a nice sample of several moles that would be pricey to order on their own.
Much of my bill came from what I ordered to drink - unusual for me, since I rarely order anything pricier than a small sake when I get sushi. In addition to the obligatory Mexican beer (Dos Equis on draft for $5.50), I considered ordering one shot from their extensive tequila list - I wasn't driving anywhere. Instead, I moved my eyes to their mezcal list. Most mezcales are made in Oaxaca (unlike the more Jalisco-based tequila), and so it seemed appropriate. Since I have no experience ordering mezcal I had no idea what to order. The waiter recommended the Del Maguey Minero ($10 - they were all that much), which goes well with moles. After the obligatory offering to Mayahuel, the Aztec goddess of fertility and of maguey (the source of mezcal)* I very slowly sipped the warm, tangy shot of mezcal while I ate. This may be why it didn't hit me so hard. Mezcal is strong if you drink it all at once, and since I was spending so much for such a small glass of alcohol, I intended to make it last.
To finish off my meal, I ordered a chocolate flan ($6), a silky and rich custard that also went well with this brand of mezcal. This topped off what ended up being, after tax and tip, a $50 bill. That is not chump change for me, and it is the rare time that I will spend so much on one meal. Heck, that's usually two or three meals out for me. But I'm not eating in Adams Morgan often, and I thought I would splurge for once. Yes, for me that is a splurge.
Before meeting up with my friend, I walked over to the 18th & U Duplex Diner for a few Sierra Nevadas on tap, while I navigated around all the much more drunken gays in silly beads from the day's parade, and watching the United States lose their CONCACAF Gold Cup match to a Panamanian team they were roundly expected to defeat.
* Now that I have an Android phone, I decided to look up how to drink mezcal while I was in the restaurant (these devices are pretty handy). Traditionally, among other things that I was in no place to do, one makes an offering to Mayahuel by spilling a little mezcal on the ground. I stuck my fingers in the glass and flicked a little on the floor. Hey, I don't want to take any chances here.
* While I wrote the other week about my food truck experience in LA, I never got around to my experience the week before in DC with their food trucks (I did send out Twitter posts about them though). I was specifically seeking the fabled Red Hook Lobster Truck (Twitter: @lobstertruckdc), parked that Wednesday at L'Enfant Plaza metro along with several other food trucks. It sells - what else - lobster rolls. Okay, it also has shrimp rolls, but they're known for the lobster. $15 for a lobster roll but this is absolutely worth it. They have two kinds: the Maine-style lobster roll, which is mayo-based, and the Connecticut-style roll, which is butter-based. I went with the Connecticut-style, and it was just wonderful. I could not stop little pieces of lobster from falling out of the roll, so I just ate those with my fingers - forgetting the obligatory fork, of course. They also have whoopie pies and New England lines of craft soft drinks.
Of course, I had to try the others, but how to do so with only $5 left? Get some small bites! The Fojol Bros (of Merlindia) (Twitter: @fojolbros) serve Indian plates, usually $7 or $8. Don't have that? Get one of their $2 "dingo bites" - sort of like a shot of one dish with rice. I got their silky butter chicken. After a free sample of jerk chicken from Goode's Mobile Kitchen (Twitter: @mobilekitchen), I got a massive side order of chickpeas for only $2 at the Tasty Kabob truck (Twitter: @tastykabob). I'm not kidding about the "massive" part either. This was easily as big as two lobster rolls, and as filling as two dozen of those dingo bites. If you have just two bucks, go to the Tasty Kabob truck, and you will get filled up. * Heads up: both Baltimore and Washingtonian Magazines have similar themes this month: where to get the cool groceries, find the best butchers, peruse the nicest cheeses and sample the hoppiest beers. Read them for yourself to find out where to get the foods and shopping experiences you've been craving in the Baltimore-Washington area.
* Watching a soccer game at Sláinte Pub soon? Like, maybe, during the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2011 matches this month? (USA 2 - 0 Canada, yippee!) But you want to save some of that food money for beer or dessert? Why not sample the Sloppy Jim? For $10 (on special - it might be more at its regular price), you get a Sloppy Joe-style sandwich on an onion brioche bun, with cheese. And the Sloppy Jim isn't ground beef - it's bison sausage. Mmmm.
ADDENDUM: Speaking of food on the radio: today's Kojo Nnamdi Show featured a large segment on military food. Watch below as Kojo samples a delicious MRE:
* The last of my bacon-pancetta wot that I made for last year's Great Grapes bacon cook-off (info about this year's Great Grapes festival is here) has been sitting in my freezer - in a freezer ziploc bag - for almost exactly a year. Now? Still good.
I went on a date last night to see the DC United play Colorado (it was a draw - gee, thanks, refs). It was my first visit to a DC United game - nay, my first visit to RFK at all. And since my self-imposed boycott of the O's back from a time when they brought suckitude to a whole new level, I have not been to a major league sporting event of any kind for years (NB: now that they're at a level where they deserve my money, maybe my feet will darken the doors of Camden Yards). The Ravens, as great as they are playing, really aren't an option at the current price. And I still need to get my ass down to the Arena to see the Blast at some point.
The last time I visited a stadium to see a sporting event, the tickets were $25 to see the O's play whomever. Those were nosebleed seats. The edible food was almost as much, and the inedible food was still overpriced. I know they serve a different caliber of ballpark food today - pit beef, crab cakes, real Marylandia - but down in RFK the food that I had was just different. In our section, the food was pleasantly Latin in flavor: Mexican and Salvadoran. Since he bought the tickets, I bought the food. I almost went with the carne asada with beans and rice ($10), though my date chose that for himself. Instead, I forewent that for a few pork & cheese pupusas with curtido (Salvadoran slaw) for $9 - or at least, that's what I should have paid for it, when the guy only charged me $6. Mr. Honesty here tried to point this out to him, but it was no use. And I needed the extra money to buy my date and I some Negra Modelos.
A few more beers later we were back on the Metro to his place (ahem) - and not before watching the many inspiring little league soccer teams in attendance, waving their DC, Maryland, Virginia and DC United flags whenever we almost got a goal (or when we got our one goal). There was also much yelling at the refs, who seemed to really like what the Rapids were doing. Just sayin'.
Shake Shack, that most In N Out-ish of New York City-based fast food chains, is coming to the District of Columbia soon, according to the Washington City Paper. There will be two locations - Dupont Circle and Nationals Park, that last one convenient for any DC-bound Mets fans. It has very high-quality meat, which it grinds itself! As often as I get to DC these days, this is just another reason to go. Now let's work on getting a Wagamama out to these parts.
Beyond US Senate Bean Soup, it's difficult to identify DC's cuisine. Is it Chesapeake cuisine? The Potomac does branch off the Chesapeake after all. Is it Southern? Is it Northern? Or is it not even American?
Snacking State-by-State: District of Columbia
Official Name: District of Columbia Is it a State? Nope - it's a Federal District District Nicknames: DC, the District Formation: September 9, 1781 (as the Territory of Columbia). Officially became the District of Columbia on February 27, 1801, carved out of the original Washington County, Maryland; Georgetown, Maryland; and Alexandria County & City, Virginia - the last of which have since retroceded back to Virginia) Important City: Only one, really: Washington Region: Mid-Atlantic, South, Northeast; South Atlantic (US Census) RAFT Nations:Chestnut, Crabcake Bordered by: Maryland (northeast, southeast, northwest), Virginia & the Potomac River (southwest) Official State Foods and Edible Things: none - not even "American food" or "apple pie" Some Famous & Typical Foods: also none really - except US Senate Bean Soup; is very easy to find just about any food in DC, from every region of the country and most countries around the world.
On a recent episode of the Kojo Nnamdi Showon Washington's NPR station WAMU, a few guests tried to define the cultural flavor - and along with that, the culinary flavor - of the District. Here Kojo discusses the DC ethnic eats scene with guest Tim Carman, food critic for the Washington Post:
[NNAMDI] And this we got from Lisa in Takoma Park. "One thing that I'm not sure makes D.C. better or worse, just different from other older cities on the East Coast, a lot of our ethnic neighborhoods are most vibrant in the suburbs. It's no secret among foodies, for sure. If you wanna eat great Chinese food, you go to the suburbs in Montgomery County. If you wanna eat Salvadorian food, you can come to my neighborhood, in Takoma Park. In other cities, you can find these ethnic pockets in the inner core of the city." That is an important distinction and, in a way, refutes what our early e-mailer has been saying because people do go in pursuit of those foods all over the region, do they not, Tim Carman?
[CARMAN] We have a really strong ethnic food culture, and that -- I think that's almost points out like this classist approach to what people think of as good eating. You know, when people judge a city's restaurant scene, they typically, I think, look at the more sophisticated places. You know, is it a white table cloth service? Do they have a four-star chef? Whereas if you take the larger picture, I think D.C., from really different cultural perspectives, has some really fine cuisine, whether it's Chinese or Salvadoran or Ethiopian, Vietnamese, of course. I mean all of this. [Kojo Nnamdi Show, January 3, 2011]
That's one thing I love about the DC region, as does Tyler Cowen and his Ethnic Dining blog (By the way: are you wondering what's the difference between the suburbs in Maryland and Virginia, ethnic food wise? Wonder no more). Washington and the DC suburbs have many ethnic cuisines, and they are just as important a part of the local flavor as any all-American dish. It's what makes the tandoori chickens, pad thais and doro wots of the region "American" - just like the burritos, stromboli and egg rolls that preceded them.
To represent the international diversity of DC's dining scene, I chose a few recipes: a main course and a few sides. The sides come from Korea and El Salvador, two well-represented communities in the area. But first and foremost I swerved towards Ethiopian. Whenever I visit Adams Morgan in DC, it is very difficult for me not to visit one of the several Ethiopian restaurants. And there are many to choose from: DC has the largest Ethiopian community in the world, outside of Africa. To truly represent DC, I found a recipe for the best known (to Americans) Ethiopian dish of all: doro wot. Reprinted in the Washington Post, this recipe comes from Senedu Zewdie, former owner of the now-closed Sodere Restaurant. This is her mother's recipe, and I can only hope I do it justice.
Recipes: Doro Wot (with GamJa Salad and Curtido)
Recipe: Doro Wot (Ethiopian Chicken Stew)
I cut Zewdie's recipe in half, to make it more manageable and less expensive. I am not going to feed an army of twelve here. I also admit that, since this post lands during the Lenten season, it would be more appropriate to make a vegetarian recipe - a lentil dish, for example. But I wanted doro wot, and I actually made the chicken several weeks before this was published. By now I'm probably getting Georgia or Hawaii into the pipeline.
Anyway, this recipe gave me a good opportunity to use up some of the Ethiopian ingredients and supplies that I still had left over from last year's bacon cook-off. If you don't know, this was where I tried (successfully, I think) to cook bacon in an Ethiopian style wot. That may not sound strange to Americans, but bacon is not something you will find easily in Ethiopia: neither Muslims nor Jews nor Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are allowed to eat pork at all.
For this much more traditional dorowot I used the following ingredients
* 5 - 6 onions (about $1.49/lb - about 2 lbs) * 1/2 small can of tomato paste (about 70 cents) * 1 cup of nitter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter - I still had some from my recipe in June, and yes, this spiced ghee lasts for a very long time on your shelf. But I needed to make more. Two sticks of butter and the requisite spices, plus some cheesecloth were all I needed to get to a cup. Check out my bacon wot recipe for what I did to make nitter kibbeh in the microwave) * 3/4 cup berbere (had more than enough left over, but you'll need to make your own or visit one of DC's many Ethiopian markets to buy a tub for about $5-$6) * 1 clove garlic * 1 teaspoon ginger (I had none ground, only fresh, and yes this changes the recipe a little bit). * 3 pieces each chicken thighs and chicken legs, bone-in but skin removed (about $6 to $8 total) * ground cardamom and black pepper (had it) * sweet white wine (had it) * six hard boiled eggs (there go the rest of my eggs - yes, I had enough in the fridge)
Doro wot takes a while to prepare. You need at least 4 1/2 hours to do it, and you have to check in on it constantly. My advice: find things you were planning to do around the house while you make this, unless you find some way to adapt it to the slow cooker.
First, saute over low heat the sliced onions, in nothing but 1/4 cup of water. Yes, just water. You'll need to check in on it frequently because you will be doing this for about 90 minutes (it took me 75).
Next, add the tomato paste for a few minutes, and then the nitter kibbeh, berbere, ginger and garlic for yet another 60 minutes.
Nitter kibbeh, (mostly) freshly made
While that's cooking, you need to poach the chicken. Cook it in boiling water for about 15 minutes.
Like so
When the onions have been cooking for an hour, add the chicken - I also added just a little bit of water, not from the pot the chicken was just in. Cook this for yet another hour. I covered it to avoid splatter.
In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add 3 1/4 cups of water and simmer for 15 minutes, then add everything else - cardamon, pepper and eggs - for 15 final minutes.
Serve the whole thing on injera bread.
This doro wot is very much the opposite of the US Senate Bean Soup. It's thick not soupy, it's richly colored not pale, and it's exciting not bland. It's also somewhat spicy, so be prepared for that. Except for some bits of cardamom that I did not grind up well enough, this was a wonderful thing for me to eat, my first actual Ethiopian stew that could actually be eaten by someone from Ethiopia.
The sides I made are very much not Ethiopian, and probably never before have been served on injera bread. But they further reflect the cultural diversity of the DC region. And they work well in cutting the heat of the doro wot.
Recipe: Korean GamJa (Potato) Salad
I first tried a somewhat similar mashed potato dish at Joong Kak with my friends the last time or two we had Korean BBQ. It was one of the many panchan side dishes served before and during the meat. I thought this potato salad version would be a good idea to make my own. However, I made the mistake of doing the entire recipe, leaving me with more potato salad than I will ever want or be able to eat.
I don't even need to explain this recipe. Just watch this video by YouTube user tamar1973, née Tammy Quackenbush. I followed what she did.
As for my ingredients, I bought a 3 lb bag of potatoes ($3 on sale), thinking I would have some left over. These were only medium potatoes, but after about 8 or 9 of them I found the bag almost empty. Also going in were the aforementioned Gala apple (70 cents), a Korean pear ($3 at H Mart), two stalks of celery (expensive these days at $2.75), salt and white pepper.
After cooking the cubed potatoes for 10 minutes, cool them off in the fridge and add the chopped fruits & vegetables to it, and then add the dressing.
You should use Kewpie mayonnaise (500 grams sells at H Mart for $5!!!), as well as sugar (I went with Tammy's brown sugar), more salt and white pepper, and sesame seeds.
Mix it all up and there you go! A most unusual side dish for your doro wot.
To finish off the presentation I went with a unique and favorite cole slaw, again not a usual one for Americans, since this Salvadoran cole slaw has no mayo in it at all.
Recipe: Curtido (Salvadoran Cole Slaw)
This recipe I halved. I used this one from Epicurious.com to make my curtido.
You will need 1/2 a small head of cabbage (about a dollar tops), 1/2 a large carrot (had one already), 1/8 cup minced onion (I used 1/2 a small onion) and 1/4 cup cider vinegar (had it). Just thinly shred the cabbage and carrot, slice and chop the onion, and mix everything together. Let it sit for at least two hours. Ready to eat with any pupusa or arepa.
The very diverse sides really did complement the doro wot in different ways. The potato salad was sweeter than your average one, and the curtido was not sweet at all. Each added a beautiful variety of flavors to the plate that I will look forward to over the next week as I work through all my leftovers. I just need more injera bread (if you run out of that, make some couscous). Now I finally head down 95 - or US-1. They both lead to the same place: the Gulf, the Keys and everything in between. From boiled peanuts and Gulf shrimp to pan cubano and Key Lime pie: it's the Sunshine State, Florida.
Zewdie, Senedu, with Stephanie Sedgwick. "Doro Wat". Washington Post, May 18, 2005.
Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "District of Columbia" page and other pages. Regrettably, the Food Timeline State Foods webpage has little to say about the District. Sigh. Still no representation.
I know DC is not a state. But it certainly must not be ignored. The capital city of the United States of America holds a special place for me. My parents drove us down from Baltimore to see the Smithsonian on so many occasions when I was a kid. I find myself there often these days for museum visits, soccer games and Americana galore - plus the Mid-Atlantic's most diverse LGBT community (sorry Charm City). Its rich culture has to have something unique food-wise, yes? It is that something that I am trying to find for this post.
Snacking State-by-State: District of Columbia
Official Name: District of Columbia Is it a State? Nope - it's a Federal District District Nicknames: DC, the District Formation: September 9, 1781 (as the Territory of Columbia). Officially became the District of Columbia on February 27, 1801, carved out of the original Washington County, Maryland; Georgetown, Maryland; and Alexandria County & City, Virginia - the last of which have since retroceded back to Virginia) Important City: Only one, really: Washington Region: Mid-Atlantic, South, Northeast; South Atlantic (US Census) RAFT Nations:Chestnut, Crabcake Bordered by: Maryland (northeast, southeast, northwest), Virginia & the Potomac River (southwest) Official State Foods and Edible Things: none - not even "American food" or "apple pie" Some Famous & Typical Foods: also none really - except US Senate Bean Soup; is very easy to find just about any food in DC, from every region of the country and most countries around the world.
It would be a cop-out to devote the District post to "typical American food" (whatever that is). The whole point of this series is to suss out "typical American food". The District of Columbia, including Prince George's, Montgomery & the various Northern Virginia Counties, has a wide variety of foods and cuisines, and has become an international food city in its own right. Or at least a national one, if the folks at Top Chef can be believed. One way to tackle this variety is to highlight recipes from famous restaurants. Note, for example, the locally famous Ben's Chili Bowl, perhaps one of the most famous restaurants in DC. Though I haven't had the chance to eat there, so many people have, from President Barack Obama to Bill Cosby (apparently the only person allowed to eat there for free).
Perhaps a more famous recipe comes right from the kitchen of the United States Congress cafeteria. Served every day, United States Senate Bean Soup has been made for over 100 years. As the US Senate website notes, there are a few stories about the origin of this soup.
According to one story, the Senate’s bean soup tradition began early in the 20th-century at the request of Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho. Another story attributes the request to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903. [United States Senate, 2006]
Closer to the present, Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) claims that this very "inside-the-Beltway" soup is a fave of the citizens of his home state. This comes as little surprise, because Nebraska is a major source for the Great Northern Beans that are featured in the recipe. It;s also because it's not the most exciting soup in the world (Ooooh, dig! Well not really, ye Nebraskans in cyberspace. Most Midwesterners I've talked to agree: outside of Chicago, Midwestern food is pretty darn bland, at least in the prairie states).
Instead of using Senator Nelson's Nebraska recipe (I'm not doing my Nebraska post until next year), I wanted to just throw this in the crock pot and call it a night. Fortunately, I found a recipe in my copy of Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. This ended up as the recipe I used first for this post.
The recipe: US Senate Bean Soup
For this soup, Hensperger and Kaufmann recommend the following ingredients, which are not all thrown in together at once:
* 1 pound of dry navy beans (about $1; they recommend soaking them overnight but I was just fine soaking them for half an hour) * 1 ham hock (a 1 1/2 lb package was about $3) * 2 onions (about $1 or so) * 3 potatoes (about $2 or so) * parsley (I used dried - I was out of the fresh stuff) * salt and pepper
Note that their recipe also calls for celery. I didn't have this on hand, but threw in a cubed carrot instead. I also had planned to add a little butter, as many recipes recommend, but left it out in the end.
* Though I don't usually include this in the list of ingredients, it should go without saying that you need water - lots of water. I used about 8 cups.
Put the following in the slow cooker for an hour on high: the beans, the ham hock and just enough water to cover them. After that, drain the water and add everything else but the salt, pepper and parsley.
Cook it all on low for 8 to 10 hours - I did this overnight.
At which time it will look like this.
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 15 minutes more on low, and then remove the ham hock, taking the meat off of it and stirring it back into the soup.
Serve it with buttered bread - the authors recommend garlic bread.
I hate to say this, but this recipe was bland - very, very bland. It is possible that I undersalted it, though it probably still would have been bland. I do not know what the folks at the Congressional cafeteria do to make this any more interesting, so I played with a few ideas:
* I added adding thyme and rosemary along with the salt before heating it up. * chunks of avocado give it a nice flavor and texture, no matter what else you put into it * sriracha sauce ended up being my go-to condiment for this soup. Put in as much or as little as you like. It gives it a zing that the early US Senate chefs (and Sen. Nelson of Nebraska) probably wouldn't have imagined.
Zewdie, Senedu, with Stephanie Sedgwick. "Doro Wat". Washington Post, May 18, 2005.
Some information also obtained from Wikipedia's "District of Columbia" page and other pages. Regrettably, the Food Timeline State Foods webpage has little to say about the District. Sigh. Still no representation.
I often go back and forth between Dan Rodricks on our own WYPR (88.1 FM) and his noon-to-two counterpart Kojo Nnamdi on WAMU (88.5 FM), partly due to subject matter, partly due to reception. Today was a Kojo day, and I was lucky to hear Corinna Shen, owner of Rockville's Seven Seas Restaurant, and Todd Kliman, food critic for Washingtonian Magazine. Shen is a big proponent of mixing the Americanized "Chinese" menu with the "real" menu, so that non-Chinese patrons will be more willing to see what Chinese patrons are actually eating - dishes made with loofah and duck blood and frog, that non-Chinese patrons might be reluctant to order, and Chinese restaurant owners may be even more reluctant to give to non-Chinese diners. Kliman gives some tips on how to get those "real" Chinese menu items - show that you respect the cuisine, that you have heard of some of these not-so-Western ingredients, and that you really are willing to eat anything. It still will not always work, but when it does, be prepared for dishes that look nothing like General Tso's chicken.
This is just the latest in a string of shows that Nnamdi has done about the varied ethnic food landscape of Washington, DC and the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. This Local Restaurant World Tour, as he dubs it, is by all means a go-to source for ethnic eating in Montgomery & PG Counties, Northern Virginia and the District. Just one look at the map on the Kojo Nnamdi Show website shows a map of the DC metro area splattered with maps of China, Greece, Thailand, Korea, Trinidad, Italy, Ethiopia and several other countries, some as far away from DC as Frederick and - yes - Baltimore (Da Mimmo's is currently the only Baltimore restaurant on the map). If you are in or around the DC region, and you know you will be eating, you must check out this map.
This sabbatical has been very refreshing, but one problem I'm finding with it is that I can't tell people about the great places I'm finding in the meantime. Okay, there's the Twitter, but how much depth can one go into in just 140 characters?
Take last night for example. I headed to Arlington to see comedian Chris "Nerdist" Hardwick, the host of G4TV's Web Soupand occasional guest on Chelsea Lately- ever engaging, never insulting, always self-deprecating, and very interactive with the audience both during and after the show (he suggested during the show that we all get pie afterwards, and he was convincing enough that I half-believed him). But before that show - which I waited almost 45 minutes to get into, and which our headliner profusely thanked us for waiting for - I stopped at Bangkok 54, an upscale-looking restaurant on one side and a Thai grocery store on the other. If ever in Arlington you should get their lime Thai iced tea ($2.50) and crispy basil squid ($13).
I actually have seen Chris once before, when I went to a taping of Web Soup this summer on a trip to LA. The food I had there wasn't sit down Thai, but of course I wrote about it anyway. For those who aren't familiar with the blog, I do these travelogues once in a while when I go out of town. It's just so hard to find the time, you know?
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From Bulgogi Tacos to Avocado Salsa: A Day of Eating in LA
(originally posted Wednesday, May 26, 2010)
In my first full day in California this time around, I hit LA, primarily to see a taping of Web Soup (the episode is on tonight; you might hear me guffawing in the studio audience). Oh that I lived closer so that I could go more often! And host Chris Hardwick is a hoot, as is his on-set producer. Before the taping I hung out at the La Brea Tar Pits, right across the street. You have to pay $7 to get in, but lots of it can be seen for free. You could even bring a picnic lunch and eat next to the Tar Pits. No worries about falling in - there's a fence, with fake mammoths in distress and everything. The gas bubbles in the tar pits themselves are a fascinating site to see.
Of course, I had to eat while I was in Los Angeles. In general the food was memorable, though some of it was more memorable than the rest:
Bite (West Hollywood) - I stopped in here, despite a recommendation for a few burger places, some of which also sold wonderful carne asada and burritos. I went into the sleek, skylight-illuminated Bite instead, since I didn't feel like walking all that way to the burger joint (also wasn't too in the mood for a burger). Bite's service is a wee bit on the slow side - even when they have just a handful of customers - but they are attentive when they do show up, even offering bread (I turned it down) and free, homemade tortilla chips (I didn't turn it down). They had a variety of small and large plates, and I opted for a few of the small plates.
The avocado salad ($5.50) had a lot less avocado than I had expected, but still had lots of chunky tomato, onion and corn that made it the best thing on the table. The tortilla chips, fresh and hot from the fryer, made for an excellent complement and I should have eaten that alone. Instead, I also ordered a turkey and cheese empanada ($3.50) which was good at first, but quickly became heavy and a little on the mystery meat side. The crust, at least, was flaky and tender. Maybe I should've ordered the beef empanada instead. The final small plate I ordered was a plate of fried calamari rings ($8), breaded not in the typical crispy and flaky breading but instead in a dark colored Italian herb coating. It was a different coating than I am used to but it was good for what it was. The chunky tomato sauce and ranch or blue cheese (?) dip that came with it went nicely with the calamari for dipping. The squid was tender though a little bland, mostly serving as a base for the breading. All the while I wished I had gotten the Greek salad, which the guy at the next table was simply raving about.
Bool BBQ Truck (various locations throughout LA; at the Miracle Mile / Comcast Studios on Wilshire Blvd yesterday - follow them on their Twitter feed for today's location) - For about a tenth of what I spent for lunch at Bite, I got a much more memorable taco in LA proper. The hook: it was from the popular Bool BBQ Truck, which makes a mixture of Korean and Korean-style Mexican food (there were also Chinese and Brazilian versions parked just a few feet away). Since I had a mere few dollars on me, I went for the one thing under $4, a $2.50 bulgogi soft taco in two small corn tortillas. This was just a fun and different way to eat both Korean and Mexican food, and I wish we had one of these in Baltimore sitting next to the Kooper's Chowhound Wagon and the Iced Gems cupcake truck. Sweet chunks of bulgogi (Korean BBQ) mixed with crunchy cabbage, not quite yet kimchi (though they have that too), onion bits and cilantro. all in two warm corn tortillas. It was a little bit of impressiveness to presage my foray into the tar pits and the G4TV studios.
The folks at G4 know about this place, yes?
BCD Tofu House (Koreatown and various locations throughout LA and the country) - After the taping I headed further through Koreatown to get to one of the local gay bars for a beer (side note: I still got it, by the way, wink wink). There was a bevy of establishments, and blocks upon blocks of buildings with signs written neither in English nor in Spanish but in Korean. Enough of them had some English that I could find my way towards the restaurants. A few looked inviting but had two or three persons seated - the employees, for the most part. But one place, in one of those IHOP-shaped buildings (only much bigger and homier) not only was not empty but was filled with Korean-American diners. If the Korean community is coming here for its Korean food, the safe assumption is that it's probably a mistake to pass it up. BCD Tofu House is not confined to Koreatown but is spread throughout the LA Basin, with additional locations in Seattle, Korea and Japan (a pre-recorded new report also suggested there was on in Manhattan but their website does not mention it). The customer base at BCD hustles and bustles almost as much as the waitstaff, enjoying its food all the while sipping little more than water. Seriously, nobody was drinking anything but water.
Like many good Korean establishments, BCD Tofu House is no-nonsense about getting you your food quickly and efficiently (Bite: take note). It gives you various choices in what to order: you can order lunch and dinner combos for between $13-$18 - it's all the same combos but just a few dollars less for lunch - or you can order a hot (to the touch) stone bowl of tofu with various ingredients, spicy or mild (and they don't kid around about the spicy part), plus a separate stone bowl of rice and various plates of panchan. My panchan included a few types of kimchi, plus a whole little fried fish that I made quick work of with gleaming stainless steel chopsticks. There was also an egg that I made little notice of, not realizing that it was raw and was meant to be cracked into the boiling bowl of tofu that was delivered to my table.
I ordered the #3, the Seafood Premium Tofu ($9), which included oysters, clams and shrimp with humongous bits of tofu in an extremely spicy broth. If I get back - and I may have to the next time I'm in town - I'll crack the egg in the tofu like I am supposed to.
Other photos -
Owwee.
This is as far as I got with using my camera at G4. I didn't even bother to whip it out but I should have asked Chris Hardwick for a photo. I think he would've been alright with it.
I don't think this ended well.
It's remarkable that with all the creatures that have perished in the Tar Pits, only one member of our own species suffered that same fate: a rather clumsy woman in her mid-to-late 20's from around 10,000 BC.
Lots of these little fellas fell into the Tar Pits: a wall of wolf skulls
1. Found some potatoes and peas vindaloo in the freezer (recipe from Julie Sahni's Moghul Microwave). Tastes as fresh as ever. Score!
2. I just love Fat Tire. When are they coming out to Maryland!? I have to go all the way to North Carolina to get it. Though for a very limited time, it's being sold somewhere in DC, at the Black Squirrel in Adams Morgan. But just temporarily. By the time I can get down there it'll probably be gone.
3. A few things I've eaten recently that have caught me off guard because of their tastiness:
Trader Joe's French Vanilla ice cream has an extremely luxurious richness to it. Really, it has to be the best commercially available (that is, not farm made) vanilla ice cream I've eaten in ages.
The Helmand's vegetarian platter ($14). I don't often eat meatless when I eat out, but this past Saturday I made the choice and it was a winner!
Dietz & Watson hot dog - I had one at Bon Bon's Ice Cream in Belvedere Square today and I was very impressed. Didn't even feel bad about the $2.85 I spent on it and the sauerkraut that came with it (I actually saw the caraway seeds).
The cute little mini-cakes that you can get at City Café for a mere $3. I had a cup-sized red velvet cake that had two different layers of icing - a whipped one and a much denser cheesy one. The carrot cupcake I had today was almost as good.
4. Went to a sake tasting at Honeygo Wines - not in my neck of the woods so I had to go out of the way for it. The one I left with, after snarfing down three pieces of free nigiri sushi (What kind of fool passes up free sushi?): Gekkeikan's Haiku brand. The woman said the rice is polished. Gekkeikan says: "Slow fermentation at low temperatures gives this sake a slightly dry flavor with a light aroma reminiscent of orchard apples." I didn't taste apples. But I still liked it.
5. And finally, something that has nothing to do with food. As I've hinted once or twice on here and Twitter, I can sing! I'm a member of the Baltimore Men's Chorus, and I've got a plug to make. Our big spring concert and silent auction is coming up on Saturday, May 22, 8:00pm at the University of Baltimore Auditorium. Yes, I know that's the same night as the big Anthony Bourdain-Eric Ripert event at the Hippodrome. Yes, I know many foodies will be going there. But if you weren't planning to go see Bourdain and you wanted to listen to more than a few talented gay men singing some great music, you have your chance! Tickets are only $15!
I know it's taken a while. But as far as we are into the new year (half a month!), I've finally narrowed down my favorite eating experiences of 2009 down to tens: ten restaurants (and then some), ten recipes and ten foods.
Ten (Plus) Restaurants of Note
13.5% Wine Bar (Italian, American, wine - Hampden) - A smallish wine bar, hip but not in an in-your-face sort of way. But it's got so much more than that. It's got beers and cocktails. It's got appetizers, panini, salads, a roving cheese cart, and a massivewine selection. And you can buy whole bottles if you want. Even on Sunday. Plus, their desserts are walked over fresh from the nearby Puffs and Pastries (see below). My favorite dish: the "Mack N. Cheese PhD" which sports mascarpone and several other cheeses ($10 except on Sunday evenings, when it and several other small plates are 1/2 off).
Carlyle Club (Indian, coastal Indian - Roland Park) - The formerly Lebanese restaurant now serves haute coastal Indian food. Specifically try their dosas, though most things are good to eat. And much of it is local.
El Nayar (Mexican, Western Mexico - Catonsville, Elkridge) - It's very difficult to find particularly good Mexican food in the Baltimore area, but it is there. The favorite place I found this year has been sitting in Elkridge for a while now. I had the chance to eat at their new Catonsville location. I was impressed by the quality, variety and reasonable price of their soft tacos, a quality of which I just haven't found in Baltimore yet.
Grano (Italian - Hampden) - Not only has it stuck around (unlike most of the businesses in its same location on the Avenue) but it's expanded to a second location down the street. The mix-and-match pastas with sauces are a revelation to me, and you have to try very hard to spend more than $15 to $20 there. Their coconut flan is also tasty, more coconut milk than coconut flakes.
Joong Kak (Korean - Charles Village / Koreatown) - The filling, tender, flavorful Korean barbeque is just the tip of the iceberg. The soju, the pajeon, the panchan, the homey atmosphere, the pleasant and quick service - well, here's the rest of the delicious iceberg. A fave of my friends.
Kooper's Chowhound Burger Wagon (burgers - various locations, depending on the day) - I love a good burger, but lately they have gotten tiring. Kooper's has helped by delivering deceptively juicy burgers, available in beef, turkey, bison and veggie. I first found them at Tide Point, where I got a juicy, packed beefy hamburger for about $8. And they cook it to your taste. The next time I found them they were at the Rotunda, where I benefitted from their Rotunda lunch special: $5 for the burger of your choice, plus sweet potato fries.
Minato (Japanese - Mount Vernon) - This has become my favorite sushi restaurant, though certainly not my only favorite. It's more than just a flashy interior: their rolls, their selection of martinis, their sake and wine selections, and (especially) their sashimi are all consistently delicious, and their service is regularly friendly. My favorite thing to order: the sashimi, which is juicy and comforting.
Puffs and Pastries (bakery - Hampden) - Yes, there's a lot from Hampden. I am biased by the places I spend the most time, and I pass through often. This itty bitty and inviting bakery has some of the most amazing cookies I have ever eaten. They've had to raise the price of their humongous chocolate chip cookie, about 7" across, to $2. Considering most places would likely charge at least thrice as much for half the quality, I mean it's a steal, people. A delicious, buttery, sinful steal. I just hope they don't read this lest they raise the prices of their wonderful cookies.
Tamber's (diner, Indian - Charles Village) - I went here with a large group after a Christmas concert (I was in the concert). They all raved about this diner that I hadn't heard of before. Tamber's has two diverse sides to its menu: its diner side and its Indian side. the chicken tikka masala was buttery and wonderful, and the naan soft and hot. It's not difficult to please me with Indian, but in a place that makes it just one of its specialities, it was kind of a surprise to me. Plus, the service was pretty quick for a large groups such as ours.
Trinacria (Italian, deli - Downtown) - Why did I never stop in here before? They sell quality groceries from Italy, quality pre-made foods in their refrigerated section, and inexpensive wines, bulk pastas and ready-made sandwiches. Try their tiramisù, in the refrigerated section. It's rich and light at the same time, and I don't know how they manage to do that. Wonderful stuff.
Also deserving of high praise
Dukem (Ethiopian - Mount Vernon) - The service was a wee bit slow the last time, but still friendly. The food was rich and spicy as always.
Wine Source (wine, beer - Hampden) - It's a market, not an eatery. But their constant tastings, extensive cheese section and always helpful staff have made it my favorite beer-wine-and-liquor store by far.
Woodberry Kitchen (Chesapeake, slow food - North Baltimore) - They really pride themselves on serving up local foods with local ingredients, in unique, somewhat pricey ways. I ordered a helping of their bacon wrapped Chincoteague clams ($9). Small, but every bite was lovely.
And if you're in...
Inland Empire and LA County: In addition to all the praise I must heap on Fresh and Easy (that is, Tesco stateside), I also have great things to say about Pepito's (Mexican - Riverside) who serves a darn fine soft taco, the Ocean Star (dim sum - Monterey Park) with all the dim sum you can eat (I think they undercharged us, too), and the consistently delicious tapas to be found at Café Sevilla (Spanish - Riverside).
New York City: My summer trip to NYC was actually the first trip where I was truly happy with everything I ate. Among the best things I found: the Northeast's answer to In-N-Out: the Shake Shack (burgers, shakes - Manhattan, Upper West Side), who make ALL their burgers from freshly ground meat and ALL their shakes from freshly made ice cream. La Carbonara (Italian - Manhattan, Chelsea) was also a good food find thanks to a lucky recommendation. I haven't been able to replicate those caramelized zucchini slices yet. Plus, for those of us who aren't from New York, we often forget how much great stuff can be found outside Manhattan. The spacious Jackson Diner (Indian - Queens, Jackson Heights) has a buffet that'll knock your socks off, including ready-to-order dosas.
Raleigh: The delicious Asian fusion of Duck & Dumpling (pan-Asian - Inside the Beltline) is a bargain in a beautiful space, just a few blocks away from the city's museums. I am now sold for good on cha chiang noodles. I just hope I can find some in my neck of the woods. I also enjoyed my stop at Flex (Inside the Beltline), one of the friendliest gay bars I've ever had the pleasure to set foot in.
Savannah and the Fort Stewart area: If in Savannah, pass on the Lady and Sons unless you've reserved a few months in advance, and head for the Moon River Brewing Company (Lowcountry, burgers, brewpub - Savannah), whose samplers of microbrew and selection of Lowcountry favorites should have a wait, since it's pretty damn good. And please don't leave Savannah until you stop by the Savannah Candy Kitchen (candy - Savannah and various other locations). Get a warm chocolate praline if you're able. There are also many, many places to find wonderful barbeque in the area, such as the Clubhouse at Rye Patch (Southern, Lowcountry, barbeque - Ludowici). But I am surprised to admit that the ribs and mac & cheese at the Kroger of all places (supermarket - various locations), though not nearly as good as at the Clubhouse or most other restaurants, is better than from any other supermarket.
Washington: ThaiPhoon (Thai - Dupont Circle) gives you some hearty tom kha gai and a hearty and satisfying pad thai. But they give you so much that you might not be able to finish it. Just a warning. Ten Recipes of Note
Cantonese style stir fried greens and/or seafood - I found myself stir-frying a lot of things this year, Cantonese-style, using Chinese rice wine, sesame oil, soy sauce and garlic, among other things. Sweet potato leaves, beet greens, bok choy, Boston lettuce all work quite well. Swiss chard? Well, okay, I don't like Swiss chard.
Hot Milk Cake - A classic Baltimore sponge cake, if done right it is velvety and moist and will keep for a while. It's also extremely sweet.
Irish Soda Bread - 2009 was a year that I started using the bread machine I bought from my landlady in California for eight bucks. She used it three times. I've already used it about ten times as much. I've made a dizzying variety of breads and rice dishes in this thing. My favorite was an Irish soda bread I found from a recipe on the ChefMom website. It was so much better than the store-bought version that comes out every St. Patrick's Day, with juicier raisins, softer bread and a strong caraway flavor that holds up ridiculously well to the pre-made stuff that I can only describe as "grainy" and "cardboard-flavored".
Mozzarella Cheese - What can I say? I made mozzarella! And it was much creamier than the store-bought kind. Again, it'll be difficult to go back.
Nataing - The first main dish I made in my new Food Ethnography project, this Cambodian meat dish from The Elephant Walk Cookbook is extremely rich with all that pork and coconut milk and fish sauce. I had to make a second for Dara's blogger dinner party.
Neapolitan Tomato Sauce - I haven't used a jarred tomato sauce since I learned how easy it was to make it from scratch, and to freeze it so I can have more later. It freezes very well.
Old Bay Boiled Peanuts - After eating so many boiled peanuts and driving in Georgia this past summer, I had to make my own, with a Chesapeake twist. But you have to add a lot of Old Bay to get the flavor. These also freeze very well.
Old Bay Caramels - I swapped out the sea salt in a Fleur de Sal Caramel recipe for some Old Bay, in a kitchen experiment. While it didn't turn out at first, particularly the ones that I added extra Old Bay to since I couldn't taste it at first, the ones with less Old Bay ended up tasting quite nice after sitting for a week or two - the perfect blend of crumbly, sweet caramel and salty, spicy Old Bay. A strange mix, to be sure, but an interesting one.
Pan-Fried Soft Crabs - Most Baltimore families have a soft crab recipe, I imagine. My mother's mother pan-fried hers with nothing more than some flour and butter. I added cornmeal since I like the taste. Even better in a soft taco with some sliced onions or scallions.
Roasted Vegetables (peppers, chilis, tomatoes, broccoli) - Quite simply, there are fewer things more satisfying than a nice oven-roasted tomato or flame-roasted pepper. Don't even need bread crumbs or anything like that. Just drizzle in olive oil and salt and bake for about an hour at 350°F. Ten Other Food Items of Note
anything made by Fresh and Easy - Despite their almost-Scientological zeal, the folks at Fresh and Easy (supermarket - various locations throughout Southern California) have every reason to be enthusiastic about their wonderful products, which often end up half-priced in a special, prominent aisle when they are a day or two old. Their lemon bars, brownies, and many of their bottled sauces are sorely missed in my apartment.
Farmers' Market Milk - Like most milks bought at a farmers' market or CSA, South Mountain Creamery's rich homogenized and cream top milks (available year-round at Waverly Farmers' Market on 33rd Street) have spoiled me for supermarket milk in the same way that Fractured Prune donuts have spoiled me for Krispy Kremes. Just tastes like water now.
Fat Tire (and beers like it) - Since we still can't get Fat Tire in Maryland, the best we can do is the Gordon Biersch Märzen out of San Jose. It has a similar fatty and rich feel in the mouth, I have found.
Fresh Berger's Cookies - The fresh ones you buy at the booth in Lexington Market have now spoiled me for the Berger's Cookies you buy at the store. But if I can't make it downtown, the ones at the store'll do, hon.
Mo's Milk and Dark Bacon Bars - The Dark Bacon Bar (available at Ma Petite Shoe and Whole Foods, among other locations) is better, but the Milk Bacon Bar is still pretty good.
Mrs. Holmes Boiled Peanuts - Fresh out of South Carolina, you had best stop in almost any convenience store to buy some to eat along the way to wherever you're going. Plentiful in Georgia.
Palmiers from Sarabeth's Kitchen at Chelsea Market - I know, I'm the last foodie to ever realize that the Chelsea Market is where the Food Network offices are located (and I'm the first one to accidentally stumble upon the place without that knowledge). The wing-shaped (or "elephant ear") palmiers cookie is the only palmiers cookie I have ever eaten that is, well, edible. And its buttery flakiness makes up for all those other nasty, gummy, sticky, cardboard-flavored ones I've eaten in the past.
Southern Tier Choklit Stout - My favorite part of Baltimore Beer Week was a beer from a brewery I already knew quite well. Southern Tier's Choklit Stout is among the best from a brewery that puts out some of the best beers on the East Coast.
Whoopie Pies - My first exposure to whoopie pies, ever, was this year. Before I just thought they were some type of moon pie. Silly me! They really are tasty, with a rich buttercream filling (or marshmallow, or "bettercreme" - yekhkh - depending on where you get yours) sandwiched between two soft and moist devil's food buns. I guess this Yankee-slash-Amish dessert has crossed the Mason-Dixon Line for good! My favorite is the one Trader Joe's puts out in a six pack (regular or pumpkin). Not so good: the one from Giant, but hey, Marylanders are just learning about whoopie pies, okay?
That's it for what I liked the most in food in '09. Coming soon: what I disliked the most.
I'm just a guy from Baltimore who likes to try out old and new restaurants and recipes. That's all you really need to know. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading about my escapades as much as I enjoyed being on them! If you would like to contact me, please use the Comments feature - it's so fast! You can also click here if you have Outlook on your computer. Thanks!
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