Tidbits - Mid-January Edition

Just a few notes, as the state-by-state thing is winding down and I have a little time to write about the places I've eaten at in the meantime.

* I've been getting a lot of good stuff at the farmers' market in Waverly lately.  I'm trying to stick to a new year's resolution of eating locally-grown or -raised food at least once every two weeks.  I've been better at this than I thought.  A few weeks ago I got tendergreen (a type of mustard green) which I made into a nice salad, and mizuna, a Japanese green that you can (apparently) pickle very easily.  The Little Grass Shack website shows how, among all the other info it gives about the versatile, easily-grown plant.

Also, look at what I whipped up from my loot from Waverly:

The other night I ate mashed sweet potatoes (definitely grown locally), fresh horseradishy-smelling turnips braised in butter, sugar and salt (probably grown locally) and kielbasa from South Mountain Creamery (made from locally raised pork).  Also note: I'm trying to eat less meat (not "no meat" - fool, please), so here is the kielbasa as a side dish to the turnips.

* Last week I found myself in Frederick, and after a day of conferences I decided to make it, finally, to Volt, the flagship restaurant of Top Chef's Bryan Voltaggio, a Frederick native.  Mind you, I do not have $85 just laying around to pay for a delicious three-course meal (that is, again, before beverages, taxes and tip).  Fortunately, Volt has a lounge menu with cheaper foods you can eat at the bar, so that's what I chose when hitting the bar at Volt.  The sleek bar usually picks up around 5ish, and I got there a little earlier.  While talking about Voltaggio's latest venture in the DC area (no chains for him - each of his restaurants is unique), the barkeep gave me a Flying Dog Raging Bitch, on tap ($7), locally made right in Frederick.  This went nicely with my order, a lush, buttery lobster roll ($12) on a homemade brioche bun, with kettle chips.  I don't usually eat a lot of lobster, and when I do it's usually in roll form.  This was a particularly lovely one, and it just went too fast for me.  All the more reason to go back to Frederick for another one?

* My friend Eric and I went out last weekend for a nice leisurely bite at the 13.5% Wine Bar.  I've written about it before, but just to mention how nice my latest meal there was, I have to give major kudos for the cheese selections the waiter made for us (five for $16), as well as the calamari, which  was the crispiest and most tender fried calamari I have had in ages (can't remember the price, but I think it was about $10).  Everything we had was delicious, I might add.

Food Stamps now accepted at some local farmers' markets

This is a very good thing.

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

Thai Restaurant

Few restaurants have a more generic-sounding name than Waverly's aptly-named Thai Restaurant. But as I am sure various reviewers have pointed out before, the food is anything but generic. Various friends of mine have gone before and have usually left satisfied.

Eric and I headed to Thai Restaurant on Saturday night for a taste of what he has said was some pretty good and relatively inexpensive Thai food. We arrived after one or two large parties, so we hoped the service would not be terribly slow. The back entrance to the wood-grained dining room gives the illusion of a small and cozy restaurant. Though a little cramped, there is room for several parties. This doesn't really slow down the kitchen, though our waitress was a little on the slow side (no doubt something she'll grow out of as she learns the ropes).


We started with some drinks - Eric got the my tai and I opted for the passable Chang Beer - and followed that up with a few appetizers (these and more on the menu, posted here). Eric ordered the shredded green papaya salad (don't recall the price) and gai sawan ($8).


The salad was tangy and sweet but not my favorite dish, though that's really more because of the papaya in general than the recipe itself. The gai sawan is a fascinating dish, as Eric explained it to me: four chicken wings, but with all the meat and skin pushed up to one end as if to resemble a drumstick. Inside that crispy skin is stuffed a small amount of crab meat. The end result was fattening, scary and delicious, particularly with the sweet and sour sauce that came with it. This is something to order even though you know your waistline will regret it later. But since we shared the gai sawan, two drumstick-wings per person isn't going to do that much damage to me.

Gai sawan, flanking my tom ka gai soup

As I've said before, my measure for how good a Thai restaurant may be is how its tom ka gai ($5) measures up to others I have eaten. Thai Restaurant's tom ka gai is one of the less spicy ones I have eaten, but that is made up for by the richness of its coconut milk broth. In addition, it had edible pieces of lemongrass, which I rarely find used in this soup as anything other than a flavor enhancer. Their tom ka gai is one of the better ones I have eaten lately.


My entrée was the luscious and fiery pad panang curry ($14). A bit different than their standard panang curry, it adds lime leaves to the coconut milk and bell peppers already in it. As many Thai places will do, Thai Restaurant varies the price of this and other entrées based on the meat or lack thereof that you request with it: far more than just beef, chicken, vegetarian and pork (the last being my choice), you can also order it with shrimp, mussels, duck, scallops and squid (price range: $13 to $17). Other entrées, such as their hot and sour dishes, include such diverse additions as tofu and Chinese sausage. Some of those entrées come a little pricier than their typical $12 to $17 stir fries and curries, such as market price fish (upwards of $30 for whole-fried rockfish or flounder, for instance) or their crispy duck, which Eric got (also delicious).

The crispy duck

As for my pork pad panang curry, I needed a fair bit of rice as Thai Restaurant does not joke around with the heat. It was quite rich with coconut milk and panang curry sauce. In fact, the coconut milk seemed to overpower the dish just a little bit, but not enough that I wouldn't recommend it. It was quite rich, as was most of my food, so I had to get a take-home container. Strange as it seems, the curry was actually less fiery the second day around. It was better the second day.

I can see myself going back to Thai Restaurant. It seems like the hip spot that both many locals and JHU, Loyola and Notre Dame students head to regularly. That's not why I would go back - a crowded restaurant usually means you won't get your food for a while, as I have found. I would have to go back for more of the rich Thai food I got this past weekend, specifically that tom ka gai and those evil little drumstick-looking things (that would be the gai sawan).

Thanksgiving shopping at the 33rd Street Farmers' Market

My family decided this year not to buy or make too much for Thanksgiving (unlike last year when we went way overboard). I hope we can stick to that. Cathy is holding it at her house this time but I am making the turkey. She wants a whole slew of vegetables (which, again, can go overboard). So I went to the Waverly Farmers' Market today after work to look for stuff to get.

Among other things, I got this humongous butternut squash for only $5. And it wasn't even the largest one - there was one the size of a medium-large pumpkin for $8. A bundle of rosemary for $2 and three heads of garlic for $1, plus a dollar of jalapeños almost rounded it out.

And then I saw these...


They're so cute! Little green grape tomatoes! You don't even need to slice 'em up. Just roll 'em around and fry 'em whole.

Local spice company reports $68M profit

That local spice company would be McCormick, one of the world's spice behemoths, whose profits rose to $68.8M in the last quarter. I kid you not - it's weird to enter a grocery store in London or someone's home in Morelia (England and Mexico, respectively) and see a McCormick-based product on the shelves. This is specifically due to the economy, which has tanked, in case y'all hadn't heard. Because of this, fewer people are eating out. And since more people have realized that there's more to spices than salt, pepper and ketchup (!), apparently McCormick is reaping the spicy, herb-laden benefits!

As for me, I sure as hell am eating out less. Notice the paucity of posts lately? Okay, I've been busy. Really busy (last year of grad school, let's leave it at that). But I also just don't have as much money to eat out anymore. Something else you may have noticed is the number of posts about things I am eating right at home, whether I make them or just bought them in the supermarket. Mind you, I'm not going to stop eating out altogether, but I won't be eating out that much for a while. This is going to continue for some time, I might add.

Though one thing I admit: while I have enough in the way of spices at home, both McCormick and not, I tend to buy most of my spices in "stranger" locations. Try out that Waverly Farmers' Market if you can (my schedule no longer permits it). The Whisky Island Pirate Shop has the most fascinating array of spices I have seen in a while. I've gotten both smoked paprika (from which I just cannot go back) and sumac - which is liberally sprinkled on many Persian dishes - here. The rest of my spice shopping is at the various ethnic groceries - cardamom and asafoetida from the Punjab Market (also in Waverly), just as one example. Too bad McCormick isn't bottling that!

More Farmers' Market Stuff

Over the last week and a half I visited three different farmers' markets: Towson's on Thursday morning and afternoon, Waverly's on Saturday morning (I just got back from there in fact), and the I-83 one on Sunday mornings. Each one has its own unique personality, with a little overlap - there are always the "farmers' market junkies" who go hopping around from farmers' market to... er, um. Damn, I guess I'm one of those "farmers' market junkies".

Apart from that, Towson's seems to be the farmers' market for the leisurely crowd, the Roland Park- and Mount Washington- types, who may have the money to buy a few nice extra vegetables, chutneys and nuts. The Waverly market is a more plebeian one, with a hodgepodge of different working, middle, upper-middle and "granola" class folks all co-mingling together on a super small and compact scale. The I-83 market is just a big mishmash of everyone and everything, a nice cross-section of the city at a massive farmers' market for the 19th largest city in the US.

Towson:

I went last week on a whim - and some asshole snapped a photo of my license plate, I am certain of it. I circled round again and he was about to do it again, but I slowed down and glared at him. He seemed a little taken aback wen he saw it was the same car. I wanted to ask him why he did that - did he have some nefarious plan or something? So I parked in the Towsontown garage next to Trader Joe's (you can do that, y'know) and went over to ask, but he was safely nestled in a conversation. It looked like he was a press photographer anyway, since I saw him snapping photos of the merchants later. I let it go, but not before I bought a freshly grilled hamburger from the folks at Kabob Hut, who regularly set up a grill in front of their place on Market Day. A hamburger - which you will probably get medium rare - is $4. It's patted by hand and is juicier and more flavorful than most hamburgers I have eaten anywhere at all. Hot dogs are $2. I didn't see any produce that I needed, but almost bought some strawberries for $5 a pint. I'm usually a little disappointed with the selection at Towson's market, though I love that it's located so close to many great businesses, including Towsontown Center and many restaurants right along the same street. I've eaten at the Kathmandu Kitchen several times, and it's often due to the Towson Farmers' Market.

I-83:

The next one I went to was last week's I-83 Farmers' Market. I got there pretty late, as much of the good stuff was taken (no spinach). Mostly I went shopping for my sister, who has her own little handful at home in Lansdowne. She wanted spinach for salad, and fixins for a salsa. She gave me $20 and a loooooong list of veggies to get. I found about half of what she asked for, and paid more than I wanted to for the rest. She wanted avocados and three different bell peppers and some jalapeños, of which I found none. Also no spinach, though I did find a mesclun and baby spinach mix for $6 for a pound. Also found ten shallots for $4, garlic at 50¢ a head, and cilantro (bunched) and basil (live) for $1 each. I bought myself some garlic scapes - 3 for $1 - and a $1 bunch of oregano. And I was amazed to find something I hadn't enjoyed since I went to the Market Nights a few years ago on Thursday nights in Redlands, CA: cinnamon-y mini-donuts with powdered sugar (one minibag for $4). I put on my own cinnamon and powdered sugar but I love them just the same.

Waverly:

Hoo-wee! I hit the jackpot here. There were some nice little prepared foods here, though I think I-83's is better for the sheer size of the selection. I just got back with a bag of green tomatoes - from the Eastern Shore - for $3.75, a big-ass bunch of basil for $2 (which makes the piddly live plant I got for Cathy look like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree), a nice large bunch of cilantro for $1, and two, no, three ears of bicolor corn for $1.

It's fun to see what turns up at Waverly's market. There was a group of people selling furniture out of a U-Haul van today, and it wasn't crap either but nice, older, sturdy wooden furniture. It was all lined up along the entry walkway so I walked around it. I don't need any furniture. As with every farmers' market, there is also more than produce at Waverly's, too. And I know that these same merchants pop up at most of them, but they're just so much more accessible here for some reason. I can't explain it. The purveyors of flowers, meat, cheese, bread, potted herbs, desserts are all out there for you - it's cozier.

The prepared food is nice, as I have stated before. Today's selections included a gluten-free vegan spelt brownie with dates and (yuck) nuts ($2). The nuts were only on top. Usually I can't stand or tolerate nuts on my brownies but this one really made an exception. This brownie just tasted richer and more chocolaty than most brownies. It was also a little oilier. I also got a small container of yemisir wot (spicy lentil stew) from the Ethiopian Delites kiosk ($3). They also make a take-out meal for $5, including a little of everything they sell (also all-vegetarian). I finally inquired about where to find injera bread in Baltimore. The solution: call Dukem ahead of time and buy it from them. Easy enough!

I cuaght the location of the South Asian market nearby as I was leaving so I parked again and went into Punjab Halal Meat & Groceries (the City Paper's Best Ethnic Grocer of 2006, and Best Indian Grocer of 2007) for some asafoetida powder for $2.75 and a samosa for 85¢. Love their selection, especially all the frozen fishes.

So from this past week's farmers' market hopping I have learned the following things:

• The I-83 market is like the Arundel Mills of farmers' markets
• The Towson Market has some gems, and is centrally located around Towson's businesses, though can be lacking in its selections.
• The Waverly Market seems to have the best selection of produce in a small area, and is - again - cozy.
  

Waverly Farmers' Market

I finally got up early enough to get over to the Farmers' Market in Waverly. And because I went today, I'm not sure if I'm going to the I-83 one tomorrow. I brought around $20 with me, and spent half of it. And oh, the frivolous purchases I made! Just kidding. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I would find. I do know that I found things cheaper - sometimes much cheaper - than I am used to. My one big problem was deciding what to buy, amidst the booths and booths of fresh veggies and fruits, flowering plants, herbs, dairy products and prepared foods. The first booth I came to had some pretty fancy greens that cost more than I could pony up, even though they were probably 1) cheaper here than they would be anywhere else, and 2) rare enough to not be able to find anywhere else. It was still very popular (more power to 'em). But I stuck to the booths that sold corn for 50¢ an ear and little boxes of baby potatoes for $3. I spent much time lingering around these booths, buying said bag of red creamer potatoes for $3, a bag of fresh green beans for $2 and a bunch of green onions for 75¢.

The prices for spices and herbs were what impressed me the most. You can't find bunches of fresh herbs that cheap in the grocery stores anymore. Here I found bunches of thyme, mint and cilantro for $1, and basil for $2. Boxed live herbs were a little pricier at $3 in most places. And then there was the Whiskey Island Pirate Shop. They sell fresh steamed-on-the-spot crawfish for $10 a pound. I didn't have enough to buy that - conserving my money here. I did have enough to buy some of their specialty dried herbs and spices, which go for noticeably cheaper than they do in the stores. I was able to get thyme for $1 per half-ounce - enough to fill my spice jar. Most impressive was the ounce of smoked paprika that I scored for $2. This tastes nothing like the paprika I am used to. Instead, it's more like a very mild chipotle. Very good stuff. Price-wise I was most impressed with the ounce of pine nuts I got for $1.50. Usually in the stores, you find three times as much for at least four or five times the price.

Before going I had to get something to nibble on. I stopped at the Curry Shack for a jerk pie for only $2. I also tried some delicious black-eyed pea soup at Eula's Cuisine, but an entire jar cost $12 and (again) I didn't have it on me. Sadly the chef says she won't be there next week, but she roams around to different farmers' markets. Hopefully she'll show up when I have the money on me! At least I got on her mailing list.