MC Horoscope

Oh wow! Hey Daniel! I will have to check this out. I pass by this place all the time on my way to Marathon Deli for their gyros, subs, and pizza on pita bread. Never heard anyone say much about it before, but I understand from the review it's sort of new.

Vienna Inn, 1960

I saw a deer in my backyard this morning for the first time since living in Colesville for seventeen years. Don't know how in the world it made its way this far into a populated area. The nearest wooded areas are 2 parks on the Paint Branch, so it must have marched through several neighboorhoods! Flooding in my basement because the storm drain at the foot of the stairs outside gets clogged by falling hickory nuts from my neighbor's tree! My wet vac has seen quite some action since Sunday. My wife takes Colesville Road to downtown Silver Spring to work. Not Monday. That's where there was mud on the road yesterday, by that dam near Trader Joe's, according to today's Post. We're lucky it is not worse. Makes you think of all those flooded folks from last years' hurricanes and feel thankful we are spared that mess!

Swiss chard planted late, last day of April, first harvest today. Delicious! I wonder how much longer before the hot summer scorches it? Will it survive until autumn? Cayenne, jalapeno, ancho. Put these 3 to a flower pot next to the house, where heat will bounce off the brick wall. Arugula from seed. How tall should this get before harvest? Tomatoes: tried a variety named Peron this year among others. Not familiar with it. A very early growing, sturdy variety.

Very much enjoyed our dinner there last night! We went in around 7:15 without a reservation and were seated at the chef's table in the back, for 2! That was lucky. On a previous occasion on a weeknight without a reservation our wait would have been 40 minutes so we made it on over to Cesco's on Cordell instead. We split the mushroom carpaccio appetizer, then my wife had grilled sea scallops wrapped with prosciutto and I had squid ink pasta and shrimp with a tomato sauce with capers and anchovies mixed in. Too full for dessert but I look forward to trying something next time! The sea scallops were delicious, very tender and almost moist in the center and the shrimp were juicy. Next time I will make room for salad, too. 4 wines by the glass and our check came to $90.

Well, here's my report. It's out of the way on the Patapsco river. The main attraction seemed to be the outdoor bar overlooking the river and the boats docked there. The food was good but a bit pricier than I expected. I had a soft shell crab sandwich for $16. The platter with 2 crabs would have been $28. Stuffed with crab imperial would have been $34. I'd never heard of stuffing a soft shell crab so I wonder what that was like! Crab cake dinners were good, they said, but $28. The cream of crab soup was tasty but there wasn't much discernible crab meat in it. Someone ordered the lobster bisque and sent it back in favor of the crab soup. She thought the bisque was off. Could have been a bad day. The shrimp salad sandwich someone had looked very big and was enjoyed very much.

Going there tomorrow with a group of about 10. Anybody been there? Any recommendations?

Thanks. Yes, I think I was too early with the okra. You're right about the plant. Very nice! I grew them once before but didn't harvest them before they were too tough. Kept waiting for them to grow longer than 2-3 inches but should have picked them at that size.

I put in arugula first week of May. Should have thought of March instead but I find it too cold to want to work in the garden then. I can try again in the fall.

Thanks, brr. I just planted arugula for the first time, from seed, and hope it takes off. I have Swiss chard this year, from plants not seeds. It sort of withers in the hottest part of the summer but rebounds in the fall. This year I put my peppers in flower pots, 3 plants per pot. They seem to be doing well. Cayenne, sweet banana, and jalapeno. I put in some okra plants I got at the Lone Cedar farm on Adelphi Road, but they are not doing well. Maybe I planted them too early? Anybody here successfully growing okra?

Then they must have gone out of business due to lack of demand. Thanks for clarifying!

Hi Daniel! I think they park in the back. I see your point, but every time I passed by, there were several patrons on their porch smoking. I assumed there were more inside but I might be wrong.

Vicino, across Sligo Avenue from Jackie's. Go when they have soft shell crabs in May and June.

We'll be visiting my family in Louisiana on the 4th of June, but I can attest to the soundness of Ft. Hunt park for a party like this. The Baltimore/Washington alumni club for the University of Louisiana-Lafayette has used it for several years for our annual crawfish boil and we enjoy the covered pavilion and easy to find location. We used to be University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) and enjoyed our reputation as University for Slow Learners. Give 'em hell, USL!!! Hot boudin, cold cush cush. Come on Cajuns. Push Push Push! wish we could be there

I've been to Samantha's a few times in the past month or so for lunch and had chile rellenos (sp?) with cheese or with beef. Nice pulled beef, very moist. Also had their tamale and enchilada lunch special. They have a seafood soup on the lunch menu I mean to try soon. I probably don't have time at lunch to choose from the dinner menu, but it sure looks good! It's in and out quickly for lunch! They're quick. They seem to like it that I order a maranon or a tamarindo.

Yeah, that package is great for when I make rice dressing Cajun style! Brown the meat, add onion, bell pepper and celery, onion tops, parsley, beef stock, seasonings, and roux. Cook down. Add shrimp and cook until tender. Add rice and mix. Great with fried chicken.

Sweet, eh? It's a cheap recipe.

This recipe was published in the hometown newspaper of Lafayette, Louisiana, The Daily Advertiser. Credit to Nettie Lewis in 1995. We like its moistness. 2 pounds ground beef or chuck 1/3 cup onion, chopped 1/3 cup sweet red pepper, chopped 1/3 cup green bell pepper, chopped 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 1/4 teaspoons chili powder 3/4 cup milk 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 1 1/4 teaspoons dry sage 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 2/3 cup dry bread crumbs 4 strips bacon Sauce: 1/4 cup canned tomatoes, chopped 1/4 cup ketchup 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon black pepper In a large bowl, combine first 13 ingredients. Combine milk, eggs and Worcestershire sauce and add to the beef mixture. Add crumbs. Grease a large sheet of foil. Place bacon on foil. Mold meat mixture into a loaf and place over bacon. Wrap and seal foil tightly over loaf. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or more. Overnight preferable. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place wrapped loaf on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour. Open foil. Drain juices. Combine sauce ingredients and spoon over loaf. Bake uncovered for 30 more minutes. Serves 8 [edited because originally it didn't say when to add the sage, salt and pepper to the loaf]

Keep it in mind when soft shell crabs are in season. Soft shell crab francese! Yeah, that veal chop is good!

What is the BP station?

They're still good at Crisfield's too, in Silver Spring. I was there a couple of weeks ago. Nice and cold, could have been a bit saltier. 8.50 a half dozen, I ordered a dozen and got 15 or 16. Their clams are good too.

Han Ah Reum Asian Supermarket 12015 Georgia Avenue Wheaton (north of the "downtown") Wide variety of fish and shellfish. A very busy business. Nice produce section, too. Today I saw Chilean sea bass, red snapper, fluke, croaker, salmon, monkfish, butterfish, smelts, catfish, etc., and I always see clams, crabs, and shrimp