dracisk

4 hours ago, Pat said:

That kind of thing is a real nuisance. One thing I've discovered works well with that extra several ounces of pumpkin puree is to add it to mac and cheese, with a bit more nutmeg or whatever warm spices you like.

I was thinking of you as I wrote that because you seem to be VERY good as using up leftover ingredients (judging from the dinner thread)!

I realized we're halfway through October and I hadn't baked anything pumpkin-centric yet, so this morning I made pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins with help from my eight-year-old. They're delicious! I appreciate that they use a whole can of pumpkin so I don't need to find something else to do with the remainder of a can.

I ate at Oyster Oyster last week and they had a wine from Early Mountain on the menu. I believe it was the petit manseng.

3 hours ago, Katya4me said:

Last night, my husband made mushroom lasagna.  We were a bit short on the amount of mushrooms called for, but it still came out really well. 

Omggggg I love mushrooms and this looks amazing!

Well, this is quite a roller coaster. They posted on their Facebook page today that they'll stay open until further notice:

Thank you for all the lovely message At the moment right now we will continue staying OPEN until further notice! Any updates will be posted! Have a wonderful day

12 hours ago, Katya4me said:

Dinner tonight was Thai basil chicken with leftover white rice. I wanted to use up all the Thai basil I had left, along with 2 shallots, so I doubled the recipe.  I used 6 little red peppers that came from my husband's coworker. They look similar to Thai birds, and it was the perfect amount. 

We also had Thai basil chicken last night! Probably a less authentic recipe but delicious nonetheless. We used Thai basil and jalapenos from our garden.

Closing. First Max’s now this. 😭

https://mocoshow.com/blog/nava-thai-to-close-permanently-after-this-weekend/?fbclid=IwAR3COveaUPsAoJe5rsNvkNa3M0et1OHBKvhpnCkSD_T-TdQaH8-ECbRYpVA&fs=e&s=cl

1 hour ago, Marty L. said:

Wait until 5:30 and go to Comptoir du Vin

Not gonna work this time but I'll definitely keep this place in mind for the future. I didn't know about it until now!

Thankfully looks like they serve lunch (not brunch) on Saturdays. That was another of my issues in finding a place -- IF a place was open during the day on Saturday (many aren't) they served brunch rather than lunch and I didn't feel like having brunch. I didn't dive too deeply into the Google reviews, but I'm not surprised that many of the negative ones had to do with isolated incidents.

Thanks again!!

1 hour ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Ouzo Bay

Ouzo Bay! I wanted to go there but saw that it had mediocre Google reviews (and slightly better Yelp reviews). Of course I trust your opinion more. I'll try it. Thanks!

29 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Go to Lexington Market and have crab cakes at Faidleys.

I was really envisioning wine as being part of the meal.

I'll be picking up a friend at her Inner Harbor hotel around 11am on a Saturday morning (9/10) and was hoping we could go out to lunch in Baltimore. I don't think I've been to Baltimore since pre-COVID. If there's anything decent in the Inner Harbor I'd be happy to check that out, but I'd also be happy to travel. I would have loved to visit Wit and Wisdom or Woodberry Kitchen, but both are closed (Wit and Wisdom permanently and Woodberry Kitchen temporarily -- reopening soon apparently). Pre-COVID Rye Street Tavern had been on my radar, but they're now open only for private events.

Is there anything along the lines of those restaurants that anyone can recommend? I was just in Rhode Island and ate a lot of Italian food so would prefer to avoid that. The Thames Street Oyster House had been on my radar for awhile, but given my recent Rhode Island trip I'd also probably want to avoid that since it serves New England-inspired seafood.

57 minutes ago, Bart said:

Happy birthday to a fellow Leo!!!

You, me, David Crosby and Jerry Garcia, just to name a few.

Me, too. I share my birthday (8/11) with Hulk Hogan and Joe Rogan. 😆 Also, Barack Obama and Roger Clemens are 8/4.

Happy birthday to Don and Bart!

As it turns out we were able to slide into the Iron Gate patio for tomorrow but Paraiso is on my list for the future!

1 hour ago, Katya4me said:

dill pickle pizza

I might be the only one in my house who would eat it, but that looks amazing to me.

Thanks to @Pat's positive review I'll be visiting Paraiso Friday night for a birthday meal with friends. I'd originally chosen Iron Gate, which I've never been to and I still want to go, but they didn't have any tables on their patio available. I'm fine with eating inside in general, but it looks like we're finally getting a break from this horrid hot and humid weather on Friday, so I really wanted to eat outside. We were able to reserve a patio table at Paraiso (the ability to reserve outdoor seating is one of the few (maybe the only) silver linings of the pandemic as far as I'm concerned). I hadn't heard of it before reading Pat's review and am really looking forward to it! I've been watching Better Call Saul and it makes me want Mexican food (though the Mexican food in Better Call Saul looks very little like the food on Paraiso's menu). 😆

Doh! Didn’t see that pras had already broken the sad news.

Just learned on my neighborhood listserv that Max’s is closing later this month. 😭

Somehow despite living a few blocks north for 13 years and working a couple of miles away for 14 years (many of those years overlapped) I never made it there. A travesty! I'll have to make a special trip to support them (and eat their delicious food).

4 hours ago, Pat said:

Stuffies

Aw, man, stuffies. They make a Rhode Island gal nostalgic. 🥰

1 hour ago, Katya4me said:

My husband is out of town this week and the house is far too quiet. I went for a run this morning but none of the group stuck around for the normal breakfast at Panera so I headed home while I figured out what I wanted for breakfast myself. I decided to make these ridiculously unhealthy pancakes: https://www.thekitchn.com/bacon-egg-and-cheese-stuffed-savory-pancakes-recipe-23334301.  I'd done some caramelized bacon earlier this week so I used that. Bit of maple syrup mixed with Sriracha and basted over the bacon before baking for 20 minutes.

I invited a friend over for brunch and made sangria, just to be a little bit extra.  Jug of cheap white sangria, a clementine Izzi, frozen pineapple and blueberries and fresh diced apples made up the sangria and it chilled in the fridge while I made the pancakes.  Absolutely delightful.

Oh my. Would love an invite the next time you make these.😆

4 hours ago, leleboo said:

Know what I miss about being in DC with his group around? Insider info about WHEN something might open. There’s a pizza and wine bar going in on the Pike near me and I neeeeeeeed to knoooooooow when it’s going to open! (Offshoot of an H’burg spot, for any locals reading: Bacco is opening a west shore outpost.) Ugh, the waiting is terrible.

We plan to stay in Harrisburg in June when we go to Hershey Park. Last year we stayed in a hotel near Allentown Road and Jonestown Road. We'll probably stay there again. Do keep us posted on this pizza and wine bar and anything else exciting you come across!

2 hours ago, Keithstg said:

Having been last week, would skip.

Interesting! I went in early March and enjoyed my meal, though at this point I don't remember many details....

Annabelle?

I went here for my birthday last summer. Sadly I don't remember many details, but I do remember that everything was delicious and the service was lovely. I don't know if it's still there, but they had a nice outdoor set-up in the street (and thankfully it wasn't jungle hot and humid that day).

We're having French onion soup and prime rib tomorrow night (also Caesar salad and mashed potatoes). Last gasp of winter meal!