StorageLady

What a food packed night! First, Christine Van Bloem who owns and operates the Kitchen Studio Frederick hosted an open house. She provided a few finger foods from Master the ARt of French Cooking, some wine to sip and free tickets to Julie & Julia! THe cocktail party revelers caravaned over to the theatres to join the sell out crowd for opening night of the foodie dream movie. Expectations high, I was wondering if the movie could possibley live up to its pre-release press. The theatre was packed! You would have thought it was one of those big shoot-em up, blow-em up, rampant sex teen movies. But looking around the demographic was definitely more, um, mature! Anyway...I really liked the movie. I thought the characters were well done, and not caricaturish. The parallel storylines transitioned very nicely. I have to admit that I wasn't immediately smitten with the other Julie. Especially at the beginning of the movie. Although her story was the impetus for the film, I found the portray a bit too cute. Meryl Streep on the other hand was wonderful!!! She brought a lot of joy to the film. And the scenes with her sister!!! Laughing!! So tonight is my Julie/Julia dinner party. Yes, yes I know. I bought into all the hype. Sue me. Anyway, I made a Provencal Beef Stew for the main course - the other guests will be bringing their rendition of a Julia Child recipe to round out the meal. Fingers Crossed that it turns out delicious! Bon Appetit! PS - I didn't pick up the anachronism in the final scene. PM me and fill me in!

Couldn't find dried porcini mushrooms or nicoise olives today in Frederick. Where's the best store to find these? I'm heading down to the Legg Mason Tennis Tournament in DC tomorrow - so will be able to stop in Rockville or G'burg or G'town along the way.... TIA

What? Isn't anybody else getting in on all the hype and hosting a Julie/Julia dinner party featuring recipes from MAFC? Oh, I am SUCH a sucker for marketing...

I actually enjoyed watching both of them - but felt that Melissa needed a bit more polish. She sometimes made me nervous wondering if she was going to be able to articulate without shaking. Jeffrey was cool - and his food always looked appealing. If I could only have one of the two cook for me - it would be Jeffrey..His dishes have that "hmmm, I haven't had this before" feeling

Where did you eat?

The veggies looked far superior to my local Weis. of course, I AM in Frederick!

It's been a few years since I turned a bottle vertical to get that last tidbit of beverage...but I guess if I've done it before... I'll just close my eyes..

Sorry, can't address the organic issue. My gut feeling though is : no, it isn't. I wonder why the produce wouldn't last as long as Giant. Maybe it's picked closer to ripe when it's delivered? The produce certainly doesn't look old...

I think Sardi's is opening up a place here in Frederick as well. Rumor has it that it will be where Don Chicken is now. I always liked Don Chicken even though many people found it too salty. The sauce was so delicious that it could have been a flippin' salt lick and I would have eaten it! I believe they make their sauces with aji chiles instead of jalapenos....

With the Super "Q" Mart in Germantown. Oh, I thought I was in love before... with Hmart and Grand Mart...but now that I have found the Super Q - I know that the others were merelyt puppy love. The biggest difference? It was CLEAN! and BRIGHT! and nobody tried to run me over with their shopping cart. Plus - beautiful green bunches of scallions ...for a quarter. Iceberg heads for fifty cents. Mangos for a buck. Lychees 1.99/lb. Head-on shrimp, more types of cabbage than I know what to do with, and an in-house cafe where the tables were filled with ethnic folks. I hope it's not just initial infatuation but the beginning of a long and fruitful(!) relationship.... I will not be jealous if you too develop a relationships with the "Q". It's located in the Fox Chapel shopping center on 355 in the heart of Germantown....

Thank you so much for putting this together. I had a fantastic time - loved meeting Monica and Sudhir Seth...And of course, the food was phenomenal...If I weren't in mixed company, I would have licked my bowl clean..As it is, I will treasure my once-white now curry spattered white tank as a reminder of a lovely evening with the DR crew.

Isn't it amazing how many of us have ties to Pburgh? My parents both grew up there, I spent my summers in Swissvale where my grandfather had a drug store. Never lived there till grad school at CMU....As far as Primantis goes - don't think I was ever there before 2:30 AM.....

I haven't eaten it - only seen it. And honestly, it looks frightfully unappealing. Those of you who have dogs who have ever eaten anything they shouldn't will surely see a vague resemblance to foam/mist/froth whatever you want to call it - that now sits atop many an otherwise visually pleasant dish. So...does it REALLY taste good enough to succesfully banish the unsightly memories from my mind? (Ericandblueboy - hope you don't mind I used one of the pix you took as an example of the use of foam on food...)

I believe all the filming except the finale has been completed.....

They usually have them at my Asian Grocer in Frederick. Is Hmart the large market just off of 29 on 40?. FOr some reason I thought it was called Grand Market (or maybe that's another store entirely). There are a couple of huge markets in the area - one at the end of 70 just east of Columbia and another in Germantown in the Muddy Branch Shopping Center. Sounds like a phone call would help before driving though... Sometimes you can find them in the frozen food section.

Oh, I've tried just about everywhere I know to try....Malaysia Kopitiam, Penang, Straits...but nowhere have I found the succulent, open fire delicious satay or mee goreng that we ate regularly in KL at the open markets and off the back of bicycles. Anybody have another place to recommend?

Just found out that Bryan Voltaggio will be one of the contenstants on this season's Top Chef which I think begins at the end of August. How exciting for us! His restaurant, Volt, has been quite the rage up here in Frederick , and he's been an active participant in many community events. Interestingly, his brother Michael who now lives in CA will also be on the show...Oh, the tension!! Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/bio/bryan-voltaggio Looks like we need a dining out lunch or evening up here before his fame skyrockets and we can't get a seat! Also - the 30 year old exec chef from Abacrombie Fine Foods in Baltimore, Jesse Sandlin, will be on the show as will Michael Isabella, the Executive Chef of Zaytinya Lots of hometown faves to root for!

I'm so pleased that you posted! I have had a great time reading your blog. I live in Frederick - but drive to Elkridge a couple of times a week because my daughter cheers for the Marlins whose gym is there. I have driven around and tried to figure out where to eat while I wait for the 2 1/2 hours for her to finish. Now I know!!!! Great job on the blog - and happy to have found you

Delray Beach Well, I'm back from Delray and in case anyone is lurking and interested - I'll give an update about the above restaurants..... 9 South - sadly, closed A-1 - awful, nasty, terrible and lousy service. What a misnomer. Should be Z-infinity Cafe Frankie-s Not on the list, but I had a coupon so we decided to give it a shot. BINGO! - Really loved this place.Small, in a strip center but so friendly and it smelled great. Had calamari baked in the pizza oven on a cedar plank - very tasty and much different than the normal fried/marinara style. Dinner was delicious although the seafood was a big overcooked in the pasta dish. But the flavors more than compensated for the chewy shrimp. Of course, half-off all wines after 8 pm didn't hurt my mood either! Rocky's - So fabulous. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Sad that it's tucked away on a side-street so missed the all-important passers-by. The Italian places on the main drag were hopping. Only 4 or 5 tables in Rocky's had customers - such a shame! Seafood was cooked perfectly - succulent juicy mussels, scallops and shrimp in a diavolo avalanche of yummines. OH - and hands down the best cannoli I have ever had in my life. Josephs and Ceviche House- never made it to either. Cabana - Good, but not outragelously so. Of course, we were there for lunch so didn't get the full effect.. Big Al's Philly Cheesesteak. Had such high hopes due to the delightful owners. But we were disappointed. Meat was dry and pretty much flavorless. A bit stingy with the grilled onions and cheese, too. Oh well.

In Frederick County, a bartender must be 18 to serve. We have discovered however, that the large chains (Fridays, Bonefish, etc..) only hire 21 and over. So, it looks like his best bet is to be a barback at a small, non-chain restaurant. We got some great advice from Dave (Shaggy) which we will definitely heed. If anyone knows of a restaurant near Frederick who is looking for a barback - please let me know! Thanks...Janis

My son, a recent high school graduate, is interested in becoming a bartender. He wants to work full time for the remainder of the summer and then part-time while he attends Salisbury Univ next year. He would like to learn as much as he can from somebody willing to teach him. We are looking at bartending schools - but were thinking that maybe an internship with an established bar may be more beneficial giving hands-on experience. Can any of you provide some guidance or suggestions? Or..even better...do any of you have an opening for a bartending intern?? He's polite, funny, bright, good with people, and hard-working. We live in Frederick - but he could drive pretty much anywhere for a good learning experience. Thanks !! Janis, aka StorageLady

Darn...No suggestions from the food mavens??? I have selected a few that I read about - let me know if you have been to any of these (all are in Boynton, Boca or Delray): Rocky's Italian Bistro Joseph's Wine Bar & Café 9 South Cafe Cabana Restaurant A-1 Thai Restaurant CEVICHE HOUSE

Thanks everyone - I appreciate all of the info...

What are you favorite all-around knives? I used a Wusthof Trident chef's knife - but are any of you using something you love that doesn't break the bank? Iknow Cook's Illustrated is a big fan of the Forschner - have you used it? I'm in desperate need of steak kinves - mine rip and tear the poor meat....any suggestions?

I PM'ed you - but didn't get a response ...so just want to make sure you have us included - it's Don & Janis and 1 book...Thanks!