1000yregg

I apologize for that link. Pretty horrible, eh?

Last night, I went to Pazza Luna in Locust Point for the restaurant week menu. They are an Italian place now owned by the Sotta Sopra people. I started with the Yellow Tomato Gazpacho- nice, sweet, light. My friend had the crab salad and asparagus salads- we thought the lump crab they used seemed a bit like Sam's Club lump crab- pasteurized. My entree was the Pan Seared Branzino in Orangecello Sauce- I really like the citrus flavors with the fish. My dining companions got the veal which was alright- the sauce was porcini mushroom- tasty. For dessert- I had the tiramisu which was good. One person in the party had the Semi-freddo Triple Chocolate Mousse- it was great. I'm off to Bicycle tonight.

Someone mentioned that there is nothing good in the GasLamp, but if you're stuck there, I'd recommend Cafe Chloe. it's just on the edges of the gaslamp- a few blocks from the ballpark. Great breakfast and lunch, illy coffee, and because of the location, less bombarded by tourist- more locals seem to show up here in the mornings. I love their pomme frites, the macaroni, pancetta and gorgonzola gratin, and the lavender lemonade.

Perilla review from the NY times. Only 1 star. Friends of mine went and liked it. They said it feels more like a neighborhood restaurant rather than a big name place. They blogged about it.

July 30-August 5th is Baltimore Restaurant week. link The restaurant list for $30 3-course prix fixe meals includes Bicycle, Pazo, Brewer's Art, Helmand, Red Maple, Pazza Luna, Nasu Blanca, and Timothy Dean I am planning on taking my staff from work to Gertrude's on Thursday, but I was wondering if any folks on the board want to meetup on any of the other days to check out some of these places.

I had that pizza- i was in tokyo for golden week and my cousin's family had a party and we got several of the hot-dog and cheese stuffed crust pizzas. So wrong and yet so good. As I recall our toppings included potatoes, corn, teriyaki eggplant, sausage, and pepperoni. Their pizza hut crust was not a greasy as the ones here in the US. If they made it this way here, i would eat there more.

i liked the Pizzeria Bianco pix- went there a couple years ago- great place if you are able to get to Tucson- it's a short drive, i would recommend El Charro Cafe- a Mexican place- pretty amazing- their specialty is Carne Seca- a beef dish that they sun dry on the roof of their restaurant. Delicious and worth a shoot to Tucson- you might also be able to check out a show at the Hotel Congress while you're down there.

Well, since no one really posted about the Berkshires in western mass, i ventured out on my own and discovered a couple amazing food places. The Berkshires is the mountainous, land locked version of the Hamptons for New Yorkers- hence lots of people dressed very trendy. However, the area has many farms and places that serve locally grown foods. I would first recommend the Southfield Store in Southfield, MA. Went there for breakfast on a recommendation from a friend. He told me they had the best croissants he has had in the USA- including all of NYC. Big words, but I went the the early morning and had a pretty spectacular warm, freshly bake croissant- buttery, flakey, firm exterior. I also went to Taft Farms north of Great Barrington, MA, a great little farm store with pretty amazing pies made from local ingredients. I liked their Tangleberry pie- strawberry, blueberry, blackberry and raspberry. In Great Barrington, MA, on the main street, is Rubiner's Cheesemongers with their back cafe- Rubi's. First off, the front shop, located in a former back (vault included), has amazing selection of great cheeses, pates, and groceries. The staff is extremely helpful with a lot of generous samples. I grabbed lunch in Rubi's at the back of the building- had a taste of a delicious grillled cheese sandwich with gruyere- very buttery as well. Also tried their open-faced country pate sandwich- the pate consisted of foie gras, the sandwich had whole grain mustard and cornichons. I should note- both sandwiches had great bread as well.

I was in NYC last week and tried the newly re-opened Shopsin's now located in the Essex St. Market. The menu, formerly 4 pages is now only 2 pages, but it still has some 30 pancakes and 50 soups. I had the Diego- poutine topped with poached eggs, side of bacon, and i had 1 piece of cantaloupe and honeydew. delicious breakfast decadence. I'm glad they still serve poutine as well as their amazing plantain, cinnamon, and parmesan pancakes. I then went next door to the Saxelby Cheesemongers. They had a great selection of locally made cheeses and were very nice and helpful. Got me a slab of Turp Farm Square Cheese- a raw goat's milk cheese from Vt. outstanding.

I've only been to Sydney about 1 1/2 years ago, but here a few ideas: Lord Nelson Pub - oldest pub in Sydney- has the Quayle ale- named after our esteemed VP, good fish and chips, good pork pies with chutney and mustard bill's in Darlinghurst neighborhood- great breakfast, very attractive waitstaff Pier at Rose Bay- amazing view of Rose Bay at this more fine dining restaurant- i had some amazing seafood dishes here- kingfish carpaccio, scallop with pork belly, beet root salad, apricot souffle (pics) I would also recommend dim sum in chinatown in sydney and getting thai food as well.

Being from the area, I love pit beef sandwiches. Just wanted to see if the board has any recommendations for great pit beef. Personally, I like Canopy Pit Beef in Ellicott City the best. The beef is roasting over the so-called pit and you can get it cooked to your preference. The rare is really bloody! Served with horseradish on a kaiser roll - classic Baltimore flavor. Canopy also has pretty amazing freshly cut fries made in peanut oil- dipped in beef gravy, yum. Another bonus is birch beer in their soda fountain.

I would recommend people go to Whartscape, running concurrently with Artscape. It's a chance to see the up and coming Baltimore music scene- Dan Deacon, Beach House, Spank Rock- in small venues- a loft apt and a gallery. If I weren't leaving town for a wedding, i would go to all the shows they're running.

So, I live in walking distance to Locust Pt in Baltimore, and I went this last weekend to try a meal at Nasu Blanca- a restaurant that combines Japanese & Spanish cuisine. We started with a trio of appetizers- the japanese eggplant in miso sauce, squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese, and halibut cheeks in a nice garlic sauce. My party and I agreed- the eggplant was pretty great. I liked the cheeks as well- squash blossoms were ok. For entrees we had the kobe filet that came with a tuna tempura roll, the paella valenciana, and the grilled monkfish in a bouillabaise. The kobe filet was delicious and the roll it came with was good. The paella was just ok- the rice was a little undercooked, but the shellfish was nice. The monkfish was pretty good- it came with a nice fennel gratin, but the dish it was served in cooled to broth too quickly. To drink we had a nice bottle of chilled Yuki No Bosha limited junmai ginjo- nice, sweet flavored. I would say Nasu Blanca is a little pricey for the food, but an enjoyable place to try out once in a while.

maybe bravo is trying to change it's niche audience

New Haven; West Hartford I figured I would be a little controversial and state that New Haven pizza is great, but I don't think it's the best in CT. I lived in CT for 3 years, and my favorite pizza place was Harry's in West Hartford, CT. I had friends from Yale who drove up 84 to get Harry's. I love their crust- amazing texture with occasional bubbling. They also ended meals with homemade Italian ices- loved the pink grapefruit.

I prefer a thinner crust to my pizza, but I do like Matthew's Tomato Pie with grated cheese- the tomato sauce was nice. The crust is thick- reminds more of pizza hut, but not greasy at all. It has a good body to it. It's a good price for a high quality pie I must admit.

I get the impression all the sushi places in towson are run by chinese people. same with most of the places in federal hill. i like the one in towson with the revolving sushi bar because of the novelty of it. personally, i still prefer my sushi chef be japanese though.

I was wondering if anyone who had seen the most recent Top Chef knew anything about the blue-ribbon adorned Chaine des Rotisseurs who were part of the tasting group on the elimination challenge. I confess, I knew nothing about this group when I saw them. Personally, I found them to of be rather snooty. When looking at their US website- it's kind of chintzy. The Baltimore chapter has professional members which are chain restaurants like Ruth's Chris and Mccomack and Schmidt's. And also- no group in NYC, Vegas, or LA. Anyone know the deal about this group?

Since moving back to Baltimore a couple years ago, I've become a fan of steamed crabs at Obrycki's in Fell's Point. I grew up in Baltimore, so crabs are a very important part of the summer for me, and when I heard that Obrycki's did not use Old Bay seasoning, at first, I balked. However, when I tried their crabs which are seasoned with a peppery-mustardy type seasoning, I was hooked. It was not as strong or salty as Old Bay can be. Their selection of crabs was also outstanding- I don't recall ever having a bad crab when I eat at the restaurant. In regards to the rest of the menu, all I can say, is I like the Key Lime Pie, but I really only eat crabs at the place. It's a nice change from the usual steamed crabs everywhere else in Maryland. Obrycki's 1727 East Pratt Street Fells Point Baltimore, MD 21231 (410) 732-6399

don't forget to indulge on foie gras before you head to the "cruelty-free" restauranting in Chicago.

I figure that gastroenteritis and the decline to imbecility is the price to pay for food adventures. Did i ever tell you about eating turtle spinal cord and shell in china? oh, another hole in my brain. . .

I do have a tendency to like the hole in the wall ethnic places in Baltimore. I would recommend for great tacos on fresh delicious corn tortillas going to Tortilleria Sinaloa in Fells Point. The place has this large corn tortilla machine churning out corn tortillas that is packages in paper and sold to locals as well as some local restaurants. In terms of tacos, yeah, they have chicken and beef, but I would recommend the carnitas(pork), lengua (tongue), and chorizo tacos. On occasion, they have even had chicharron (pork skin) and cabeza (brain) tacos. The tacos are served authentically with a guacamole sauce, onion, cilantro, & side of lime. They have 2 types of salsa- both pull no punches- a verde and another orange-red salsa. I would also heartily recommend their menudo soup which has great flavor. They also have pretty delicious tamales. Everything is reasonably priced and made to order. You can also get some jarritos- mandarin, sangria, or tamarind flavored sodas. 1716 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21231

I am going to the Berkshires in a couple weeks for a wedding. Anyone on the board have recommendations for places to check out?

I was kind of an out of town regular at Shopsin's thanks to a friend who was a regular. I loved going there for brunch on weekends I was up in NYC, and the family is really nice, but you had to follow the rules or else. I will sure miss the old restaurant. It got mentioned on Heroes in the last couple episodes of the season. I was told that their stand at Essex Market is now open as of last month. I hear they're next to a really good cheesemonger. They trimmed down the menu but they still have some 20 kinds of pancakes and 30 some different soups. (menu) I hope to check the place out next time I'm in NYC. I would hope they bring back their poutine menu, which had several variants to the classic canadian dish.

Fenwick, Bethany I recommend Crabcake Factory (on 12000 Coastal Highway- ocean side) for their delicious jumbo lump crabcakes. For breakfast, The Fractured Prune around 120th has great, hot, fresh doughnuts. For more upscale, try bluecoast (no caps means shi-shi) in Bethany Beach- first come first serve, but pretty nice food. These are all pretty close the the place in Fenwick. Here is a post from our trip last year.