Jump to content

Joe H

Members
  • Posts

    2,915
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    19

Everything posted by Joe H

  1. Cantler's Is Only A Start... On CH I had two posts last summer which were my most recent excursions to date in search of Maryland's best crab house experience. I think they are both interesting; certainly the restaurants and crab houses we visited have rarely been mentioned on any of the boards. These are links to both of them: http://www.chowhound.com/midatlantic/board...ages/44130.html http://www.chowhound.com/midatlantic/board...ages/44687.html I know that several on here have now been to Suicide Bridge and others; I would be curious as to comparisons. Todd Kliman wrote a lengthy piece on Maryland crabs for the City Paper last month which included the name of the restaurant which he felt had the best crabcake he has ever tasted. This is the link for his article: https://secure.washingtoncitypaper.com/cgi-....x=26&next.y=13 This is the link to the website of the Cambridge, Maryland restaurant, "Ocean Odyssey" which he raved about: http://www.toddseafood.com/ There is also a rather unique message board where quite a few people regularly discuss their crab related adventures and indulgences. This is the link to it: http://www.blue-crab.org/forum/index.php/board,11.0.html Last, this is an especially good website which lists one person's choice for the best crab houses on or near the Bay: http://www.blue-crab.org/crabhouses.htm Having said all of this Waterman's in Rock Hall serves a side of sherry with their cream of crab soup, Jerry's Seafood in Lanham has lumps of crabmeat on top of their's (not Maryland crab meat) and Harrison's on Tilghman Island has terrible cream of crab but outstanding red vegetable crab soup. The Narrows, my candidate for Maryland's best lump crab cake, has terrible, watery vegetable crab soup but excellent, thick (but not "floury") cream of crab as does Jerry's and Stoney's on Broome Island. Just thought I would start a discussion........
  2. Barbara, I really believe it's the image that people have of D. C. who do not live here. Having travelled 125+ days a year for 24 years in all of North America and Europe for business (and never having been short of an opinion!!!) I believe it's their expectation of what they will find when they get here. I also believe that this expectation has changed over the 24 years I've been travelling. In the early 1980's Washington was not considered a world class, beautiful city. Certainly, not a clean and safe city especially with all the national press about our murder rate then along with an overall negative impression of some areas of the city. Every city has areas like this but in D. C. we suffered because of the association with crime. Today, the two words I hear most when I meet people elsewhere-ESPECIALLY IN EUROPE-are "beauitful" and "clean." I have talked to many Europeans who have come here. In the '80's this was not their first choice for an American vacation. Perhaps New York, Miami, California (northern or southern) or Orlando but D. C. really wasn't even included. Today, I believe that the two magic destinations for Europeans are Orlando and Las Vegas, followed by New York and, yes, Washington. Just my impression but I believe this. I also believe we compete with San Francisco for the title of America's most beautiful city. Last I cannot help but add how many people have told me that they expected D. C. to be like New York: "dirty" with "graffiti everywhere." And it is not. It is clean, heavily treed, very European if you will. Americans love Washington. This year we had 18 million visitors, one of the top five destinations in the U. S. I believe. This is growing-we benefit from a week dollar and, for some, a hesitation to travel overseas. But when people come here they read books like Frommer's and Fodor's and Michelin (travel guide) and others. All write about Washington restaurants. None write about Washington restaurants in the way they write about restaurants in many other cities. I would draw an analogy here with Barcelona ten years ago where I would make the argument that Parisians fought the ascension of the Catelan city to its level by grudgingly giving it credit. For that matter Parisians only grudingly give any other city credit. Yet today some believe that the most exciting cities in the world are both in Spain: Barcelona and San Sebastian. You won't read this in a paper or magazine in France. But you will read it in a lot of other places. I don't have the time right now to go into detail (forgive me) but it would be worth a lengthy discussion (a study even) for how Barcelona overcame this. I would complete the analogy to show ourselves and New York. No, we have nothing in common with the Spanish cities and yes, ten years ago they were both ahead of us today. But maybe not as far ahead as one might think. There was another interesting article in the Sunday Times which focused on efforts by Michel, Fabio and others, working with a doctor from Alexandria, to realize a new direction in food preparation that actually involved using (don't laugh) cryovac bags. Apparently, taste can be intensified, concentrated if you will along with texture by a particular technique the doctor has developed and we are in the forefront of this-along with Keller and Boulud. But we're there. And the times gave us major play in the article. This is a step as are steps taken by some of our chefs to travel to New York and cook where the magazines are located. This is not so much "boosterism" as it can be part of an orchestrated plan to promote the city. Don't think for a second that Barcelona or Las Vegas do not promote themselves. Look how the perception of Vegas has changed? Yet, subtly, the new Wynn is now boasting "chefs in residence" almost an admission that you can have an excellent meal at so many of the celebrity restaurants; but in fact Valentino, Emeril's, Commander's, Il Mulino, etc. THERE may not be as good as the original in the city where it started. I am suggesting there are different levels of this, only one a board like this where some of the participants, genuinely loving food, find things about here that are unique and worth sharing with each other. Or features of Washington which are on par with elsewhere. Another level is our press and how the press sees their own city. The press can be the voice of the city. A third level is our own government and its incentive for promotion of the restaurant industry. The goal, I think, for D. C. is to influence some of the writers in Fodor's, Frommer's, Michelin and elsewhere that when they write about the beauty of D. C. they also tell their readers that one of the highpoints of the visit will be our restaurants. Not just the top end (and Ethiopean) but also our kebob and Peruvian chicken places, crab shacks and elsewhere. There's more but this isn't my job. I'm just someone who was born here 58 years ago and, having travelled far too much, found that we have some things as good as anywhere else. Yet nobody, or at least only a few, were talking about it. One last point: most of my posts over my four years on CH had nothing to do with this. Rather, I much prefer writing about personal experiences and sharing them. The emphasis in the City Paper article was my promotion of D. C. and two top end restaurants. 95% of what I wrote had nothing to do with either. Yet this was the reason I left because of what happened.
  3. Perhaps it's not the constant pumping up so much as it's just taking for granted that some things here are simply either the best or as good as anywhere else in America. Specifically: crabs, pollo a la brasa (and other central American dishes), Ethiopean, Korean, etc. Right now John B. is hosting weekly Tuesday gatherings at TemptAsian, leading a communal search with as many as 14 at the table through their menu. Point is that this place is worth the search. And, no, I did not mention Maestro, the Lab (or the Grill) or Citronelle but they would "round" this out, as would several others. Addendum: Mimi Sheraton, to establish her own credibility for crab eating (as if she needs to do this!) mentions the eight or nine cities around the world where she has eaten crab before proclaiming the Chesapeake Bay as the home of the best in her New York Times article this weekend.
  4. I couldn't help but think of my above "last post" when I saw a magazine this weekend (Food and Wine?) featuring America's five best restaurant cities: NY, SF, CHI, LV and New Orleans. I just can't help but believe that this city does not promote itself as it could. While flying to Oklahoma City I had a connecting flight through Chicago. The current month's issue of Chicago magazine has the "Best of Chicago." Just reading through various lists showed a pride, almost a lust by the writers for their own city's restaurants. This month's Philadelphia magazine also has the "Best of" Philly. The article that stood out was a particularly well written one were the writer was dispatched to ten cities around the country looking for a cheesesteak that might equal "what could be found at home." The same kind of passion and pride was evident in this. No, D. C. wasnt one of the cities he was sent to. The two best cheesesteaks by the way were in Milwaukee and Clearwater. Complimenting this article was a feature noting the best cheesesteaks in each of the surrounding areas of the Philly metro area. While I've seen features/articles/essays here I don't remember anything expressing quite this level of local passion, certainly not since Phyllis Richman or a feature about Horace and Dickey's in the Sunday Post magazine a number of years ago. Both of these seemed to share the same kind of passion that Calvin Trilling wrote about Kansas City with. (Of course Arthur Bryant's still fries hand cut fresh potatoes in pure lard and D. C. in the '50's was famous for fish sandwiches on Maine Avenue, particularly a shack called Benny's, that did the exact same gloriously greasy thing. Benny's was also, for me as a kid, a memory I still have with Krispy Kreme at Georgia and East West for dessert.) With crab houses like Cantler's, the Drift Inn, Stoney's and Popes Creek I also couldn't help but wonder why Mimi Sheraton chose Virginia Beach and the Tidwater area as her location to write about Chesapeake Bay crabs in this weekend's New York Times? We've come a long way yet we still have further to go. I think it's the passion found in New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco and New York which help elevate them along with the food. Somehow there's an image that chicken fried in a cast iron pan in Opelousas will taste better than the same chicken fried in the same pan on U street. Or that crabs taste better sitting at a picnic table in Baltimore than they do sitting at a picnic table on the water in St. Mary's or Calvert County or Woodbridge. Or that Tex Mex food is better in the Southwest than it is in D. C. It may be but I had some pretty mediocre Tex-Mex yesterday at what was suppose to be Oklahoma City's best. It actually made me long for Rio Grande (yes, I know it's Uncle Julio's in Dallas) or Taqueria Poblano. I just believe we are better than we give ourselves credit for.
  5. I sincerely thank everyone for their appreciative thoughts. A number have been touching and confirmed my having wanted to share so many experiences with many that I met on CH. I never knew that I was discussed on wine forums. I only remember a handful of posts on CH where I talked about particular bargains that I thought people might want to take advantage of. I don't remember any real excessive hyperbole like some of my posts might have intentionally featured (!). In fact Shitch is a person who I absolutely revere for his knowledge and experience as well as his ability to maintain a truly awesome level to pull a "daily" wine from. Thanks, Dinwiddie, for the invite. Much appreciated. By the way is your's the same group that John B. is part of? He helped me with the Maestro and Black Salt dinners with a number of his friends coming from his D. C. wine group. John also has an annual open house for 150+ on New Year's Day where he and Janet cook for three days leading up to it. He is an awesome chef and responsible for a fantastic feijoda. And, on Saturday night in Oklahoma City, for a good friend's 50th birthday celebration we opened a bottle of 1863 Blandy's Malvasia Solera Madeira which I thought was a remarkably full bodied yet surprisingly alcoholic nectar (17%). My wife, who prefers a White Russian, thought it was responsible for a later hoarseness and regretted even having her lips near the glass! Zora you would have loved it!
  6. I cannot tell you how good it is to hear from you. Welcome!!!! I will pour a glass of wine in a few minutes and toast you. I have missed hearing from you.
  7. Is this the Robert from New York state, who once was in the kitchen at the Inn at Little Washington?
  8. They banned me because I objected to their deleting "my last Chowhound post" which is posted above as post #30. I felt that by deleting this particular post (actually an essay since I took a bit of time to write it) they were making their own comment about D. C. I also felt that by leaving Reece's posts (which are still there having never been deleted) they were making their own political comment. The deletion of this particular post, for me, left me no alternative but to leave. I wasn't alone in my response to Reece: there were another seven or eight people who responded to him. For all of my objections it was pointed out to me by them that it was their board and I had to subscribe by their rules. They found Reece's posts to be "chowworthy" and "my last Chowhound post" to be otherwise, perhaps even political from their own pespective. Regardless I had also been attacked about mentioning Maestro so many times and they never accepted my explanation that I (and John B.) had arranged a dinner for 58 people there along with numerous posts before and after it on the board. Or that whenever someone asked for an opinion about D. C.'s best restaurant Maestro was almost always one of the names given. Rather, that I had been "schmoozing" and had my own agenda with Maestro. (I have no involvement with the restaurant except as a fan of it.) Because I had so many friends on Chowhound-we had our own community-I did not want to leave. We had a group of 14 or so where once every month or two we would cook for each other, meet regularly for luncheons, occasional dinners-because of Chowhound I met a number of good friends who continue to today as do the get togethers. I am deeply indebted to them for allowing that. I am also thankful to the many people who personally wrote me asking what happened to me. And to one poem that I received that was sweet. And to several people who I corresponded with from time to time about weight (I once lost 142 pounds on a diet and have kept if off for over 25 years, in part by walking 25-30 miles a week. Even in snow.) I wish them continued success. I should also note that Chowhound has dramatically changed over the four years I posted. On the D. C. board I posted essays about "Horror in Vancouver," a dinner I had at the bar of a restaurant in San Francisco and stories about experiences in other cities all of which, again, were on the D. C. board. During 2004 moderation on all boards became considerably more "present"; they had decided on a path (rules or the enforcement of) which many of us felt was totally different from their earlier path. Any post not specifically related to the area was deleted. "Chatty" and more personal posts were also deleted in many instances. On the Chicago board a similar community had formed to what we have in D. C. After a number of months most of them left and formed their own board similar to so many having left eG and moved here-but for different reasons. Most of this I (and others) accepted but I had one post in particular ("Bongos on the Beach"-Chinois and a "drum circle") which was the best essay I ever wrote on Chowhound. It was deleted from the General Board. What bothered me is that I accepted the deletion but felt that it could have at least been moved by a moderator to a different board. They felt otherwise. Because of this, with the exception of "my last Chowhound post" I never published another of what I would call an essay. (Whatever happened to Burke and Wells?) I am certain that Chowhound's moderators will tell you that I was overbearing and imperious in my demands to have my last posts restored. They would be right. I would add that in the almost four years that I posted on Chowhound however, other than the moderators or Jim Leff, there were only a handful-if that-of disagreements between myself and others that were not merely differing opinions on food. Or how much cheese should be in a risotto. Chowhound was about much, much more for me than just better restaurants or even "5,000 mile hamburgers." It was a community that I was part of and enjoyed. In my travel for my business I would have experiences that I could not wait to return home and write for the board about. I wanted to share with them. Whether cheese in a Bologna shop, a bratwurst in Nurnberg or curry on Wilmslow road in Manchester's "curry mile" or a visit to a 2,000 year old Roman furnace in Liguria. These were extraordinary experiences that I was fortunate to have. I wanted others to be there with me. I thank all who were there to read them, that I could share them with. That was what made Chowhound for me. The several "blowouts" were a celebration of sorts of this, but they were secondary. It was the camaraderie and the friendship, the communal acceptance of strangers who shared perhaps only some common values, yet to each of us they were among the most important of all the values we could have shared. There was one photograph that Roe Panella took in particular of the first Lab dinner where thirty strangers met, twelve of whom were single, few of us knew another. In the photo which I am hoping she will post (I cannot download it) there are six glasses raised in a room with twelve or more smiles. The happiness of that moment captured a spirit for me that I will never forget. Maybe I was somewhere on the road by myself more often than not wishing I was home; but this night I (and Roberto) were able to bring something special to those I wanted to share so much more with. Chowhound was a wonderful escape from my business. Were it not for the board that Jim Leff started and faithfully supported and promoted himself I would not have so many wonderful memories. But, again, it is his board and for all of the boards that started in the late '90's and disappeared his (and eGullet and Roadfood) are about all that really remain from then. However I might disagree with the "evolution of his formula" it is working and I respect him for this. It is also best that I've moved on-I'm really away from these boards altogether, I no longer have the interest to participate as I once did.
  9. The recipe is correct. At least 20 or more people from Chowhound have eaten it at my house along with a number of chefs. (John, we have to remedy this!) For all of my emphasis on not changing anything in the recipe it seems that many people STILL insist on changing it. It is correct as it is. This is why I wrote that with such strict instructions: do not change anything. If you need more liquid then you have not timed it correctly. Other risottos require more, perhaps much more liquid. This does not. This is also one of the most fatteningly intense dishes that one can eat. My guess is that this recipe will serve as many as fifteen people since it is basically about 8 to 10 bites and that's it because of the richness. I'm sorry for the tone of the post but there were approximately 250 to 300 responses to this over several threads and at least 10 or more people CHANGED something in the recipe to suit it to their tastes before ever making it correctly to know what it SHOULD have tasted like. All I wanted was for people to taste it the way I make it; then change it. Also, use violane nano which you can buy at Dean and DeLuca or the Italian Store in Vienna. Balducci's carries a generic brand of it. Carneroli gives a somewhat different texture. Use Mauri gorgonzola dolce which Balducci's and Wegmans sell. Whole Foods' and Dean and DeLuca's brands are not as intensely flavored. The original recipe was from Roberto Donna's cookbook which I made following his exact instructions. He does not specify dolce in the recipe and he does not chop his toasted pistachios so they are chunky. But everything else is the same as his recipe. Today (and I have made it for him three times) Roberto says it was a missprint. He would never put so much cheese and butter in a dish!!!!!! If it was a misprint I am indebted to him for not correcting it! Since I wrote this several years ago I have tasted a better risotto: Roberto's white Alba truffle risotto which at the last Lab blowout generated spontaneous applause from the 30 in the room. Roberto's speck and red bell pepper risotto is also outstanding as are several others he does. Fabio imports his arborio from Italy himself and has several outstanding risottos as well including a really interesting and unique grappa version. CityZen's foie gras risotto is another excellent dish.
  10. The following post is merged in from the thread entitled "My Last Chowhound Post." This is the actual post whose deletion by Chowhound caused me to leave that board: There are several comments from posts on a thread below that bother me. Generally they represent a feeling from several that having moved here they are "stuck" or forced to accept residence in a city second to where they moved from. For them part of this residence is acceptance of a restaurant scene that is distant from where they came. This is arrogance. This is also a reflection of what I believe to be the complete lack of promotion of our city government and our local publications. Also the restaurant industry. Even ourselves. I am guilty of a great deal of hometown chauvinism since I was born and grew up here. I am in love with this city. With a passport with almost 100 entrees I have travelled to a lot of other places. Every single time that I have come home I have known that I have returned to where I want to live. Not a single city that I have visited anywhere has been more beautiful, powerful, wealthier, educated or more desirable. Nor has a single one offered more oportunity to myself or anyone else than this city. When I see negative comments like this I am going to stand up for what I know is right: I am indeed fortunate to have grown up here and to continue to live here. It is my decision that I remain, not a company's nor an economy's. My opportunity was here and I have taken advantage of it. I have resisted moving anywhere else. When I contribute to the San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, New York and other boards I do not include negative observations or concerns as part of my posts. I don't go to these cities thinking that I will miss part of what I have found here. I know, as others below have noted, that there is very real local excellence that will eclipse what I have found here in some ways. I also know that the same is true for here, unique to us as their strengths are to them. New York may have MORE better restaurants; so may Chicago, perhaps San Francisco. New Orleans is the most food obsessed city in America (although there is nothing there on par with our three or four best restaurants). D. C. is not obsessed with food. At least we are not SUPPOSE to be. Just as Tysons Corner has eight steak houses with another on its way, this is suppose to be a meat and potatoes city, much as it was in the '40's, '50's and '60's. But something happened along the way. Chefs such as Roberto Donna moved here from Italy when he was very young, Jean Louis Palladin and Gerard Pangoud left Michelin two stars for here, Michel Richard left Los Angeles where he owned one of the city's best restaurants and grew his restaurant here into a BETTER restaurant, Fabio Trabocchi left one of the best restaurants in London to open a BETTER restaurant here, The Inn at Little Washington grew from obscurity to be America's first legitimate effort for a Michelin three star receiving the publicity in the '80's through the mid '90's that the French Laundry receives today, of course the chef de cuisine from the French Laundry has recently moved back home-D. C.-and opened CityZen, Cindy Wolf moved from Georgia Brown in D. C. and opened Charleston which today is one of America's best restaurants. All of these have staff that have grown and moved on to their own restaurants, many local. This benefits us, reinforces the local industry and most importantly raises the bar for when we go out. Just as these chefs have grown on another level so have grown those who have moved here from their native countries and brought their own hometown flavor with them, growing it here until it is close to what they left. Perhaps a taco truck, a store front or cubicle but for many, eventually, an opportunity to influence our whole dining scene taking it to another level that we have never known. In their own way contributing just as much as the more popular chefs noted above. I should also note that Phyllis Richman, a native born Washingtonian, grew her reputation here in our hometown paper with gifted prose based on experiences in our restaurants. She also, sharing pride and loyalty as I do, told the world about Washington's growth almost presiding over it. She never would have achieved her reputation had she not have had the material to write about. Many of those in the preceding paragraphs were among the many that provided her with this. She grew as they and we did. These also remind us when we visit elsewhere that there is genuine excellence here on par with anywhere else. Perhaps we may not have as MANY good or great restaurants, but still, we have them. And today, with currently 5.9 million people living in the D. C. area and almost nine million counting the Baltimore metro area we are now THE THIRD LARGEST GREATER METROPOLITAN AREA IN AMERICA, behind only Southern California and New York. We are also now growing the fastest of anywhere in America for better or worse. Our restaurant scene is also growing as fast as anyone. From the Eden Center to Riverdale to CityZen. But we do not promote ourselves. And someone needs to tell others what is happeneing here. Only Patrick Lynch has won the national James Beard award. No one else. Every year for the five chefs nominated for the "best chef, Mid Atlantic" there are usually three or four from here. And, usually, the winner comes from here, rarely Philly, Richmond, Pittsburgh or elsewhere. The national winner invariably comes from New York with San Francisco second. Occasionally Chicago, less occasionally elsewhere. Unfortunately this last fact reinforces the restaurant industries in these cities. Chefs know that if they work there they will receive more exposure because of the city's local industry working and promoting itself. There is motivation to MOVE there from here once one is out of the blocks so to speak. And this can hurt us. Two years in a row Fabio did not win the Rising Star award. Some question if he would have won it if he were in New York. If this is true this can hurt us in the future. But not if we protect and promote our image. At some point our city government and our hometown newspapers and magazines and even ourselves-yes, ourselves-will stand up and scream that we are equal to anyone. Because we are. I only hope that those who write and talk about us nationally, those who live here and those who move here, understand that for most of us-especially those born here as myself-love this city. It's about time that we stood up and told the world that our restaurant industry and its level of excellence is on par with anyone. For many of us we are just as passionate, just as enthusiastic, just as obsessed with anyone in New Orleans, San Sebastian or Bologna. We just need to let others know that what we have is worthy of this passion.
×
×
  • Create New...