Treva

I had the Branzino ($22), which was served filleted open, nicely charred from the wood-burning oven, and on top of a mound of yummy spaetzle. On top of everything sat two pieces of maple-juniper bacon, which were great, and around the plate was a smoked pepper sauce. It was probably my favorite fish dish I've had at Liberty...better than the skate wing, which tasted very good, though I couldn't help but feel bribed with butter whenever I had it. In this dish, the branzino shines and everything else on the plate accentuated the fish.

I had the Branzino on Wednesday! The house made Maple-juniper bacon is unforgettably good. The cocktail menu was underwhelming. I ordered the refreshing Grapefruit Buck (Absolut Ruby Red Vodka, Elderflower Cordial, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Barrett's Ginger Beer and Ice) and The Industrial - a margarita. Service and vibe were very good. Hoped for bigger better cocktail menu. Going for the gnocchi next time - or maybe the Branzino again.

Anxi Oolong, but it's not helping my little hangover.

I agree. Coffee and Tea. And maybe Cheese?

I'd say "Bread," except this town SUCKS in bread. But maybe Pastry and Baking?

Yes! Yes! Cheese!! Good thinking, Don. Inspired.

Bread, too. We need a place to complain. Though The Bread Ovens at Quail Creek Farm in WV make a good showing at Penn Quarter and other? Fresh Farm Markets. The Bread Ovens @ QC deserve accolades. The Ovens can dominate the new category for now, deservedly.

Congratulations to Katie Duris and Allie Turner of Arlington's Murky Coffee for placing first and second in the finals of the Mid Atlantic Regional Barista Competition in Cranberry, Pennsylvania today. Jeremy Sterner of Peregrine Espresso in Washington, DC placed third. The top six finalists included David Flynn of Peregrine Espresso, Allie Caran of Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore and Dana Waelde of Crazy Mocha in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, DC make up the MARBC arena.

Katie will compete at the US Barista Championship in Portland, Oregon in March. The winner of that competition will represent the US at the World Barista Championship in Atlanta in April against national barista champions from more than fifty countries. The US is looking for its first World Barista Champion. Two-time US Barista Champ Heather Perry of San Dimas, California Coffee Klatch placed second in the 2007 WBC in Tokyo.

Congratulations to Nick Cho, Murky's owner, on the fine performances by Murky's women baristas.

http://marbc2009.wordpress.com/

I'm thinking DR could use a coffee category. Expand beer and wine to include all beverages? Or? Coffee is great ingredient gaining popularity with chefs everywhere. Coffee deserves a special place in DR. But where? The DC area specialty coffee and barista scene is expanding rapidly. Coffee consumers are becoming ever more savvy and discriminating when it comes to java matters. Tea too.

http://www.chapelscreamery.com/ Call first. Lovely cheesemaker. Not sure about the 90 minutes. Depending on traffic?

and in Western Maryland http://www.fireflyfarms.com worth the drive.

Seeking the best crêpery and crêpes served in the greater DC/Baltimore metropolitan region. Traditional crêpes or unusual crêpes. I want crêpes that reflect some effort, thought and care - with great ingredients.

Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thank you.

An especially gooey bluey Monte Enebro and Solà Fred from Celler el Masroig.

Tough search subject; I don't know of any local fish smokers other than Neopol Savory, in Baltimore's Belvedere Square market, and her #1 is still salmon. DR thread here. Would love to find a local whitefish and/or bluefish smoker.

I hear ya! I've been to Neopol and admire some of their fare; it is plan B.

You want bluefish?!? I have your guy, Tyler's Tackle Shop and Crab House in Chesapeake Beach. http://www.tylerstackle.com/seafoodmenu.html

Do ya think we can talk him into smoking whitefish and some other fishes?

I'm so in the mood. And I am completely in the mood for a good raw bar. An oyster contest? I do fairly well - for a girl.

Looking for quality and variety. Seeking a talented and dedicated local smokemaster. I live in Anne Arundel County, but will make the drive to stock up. I would do the smoking myself if it weren't for the persnicketies.

I've been to a few cuppings at Counter Culture. They're low-key, unpretentious, informative and social. Each time we cupped three different single-origin coffees, made private notes, then discussed the aroma, fragrance and flavors and other characteristics. Afterwards, Alex Brown of CC revealed the origin and coffee. All of the coffees were verrrry good. I especially recall a great Kenya Thunguri. (Wishing I had some now). It's a pleasure to attend the cuppings and take the time to… consider coffee and the how and why it can be so sublime and elevating - in a more than caffeinated way. It's good to learn about coffee and consider its origins and history. Counter Culture has a solid reputation for direct trade and better-than fair trade practices. The cuppings are not merely an public education and marketing effort. It's a time for all CC staff to take a break from their work to appreciate and learn more about their ever-changing product. There are extensive cupping notes posted regularly on the Counter Culture web site. I'm not affiliated with CC. I'm a fan. I hope you will attend and post about it. Caffé Pronto in Annapolis also hosts cuppings every Friday at 2:00 pm at their Festival at Riva location. I'm also a fan of Caffé Pronto.

Tetilla and Chile Spiced Mango

Strong Ass Coffee Panna Cotta by Angry Asian

Espresso Martini

Tylenol PM

Pete, Did you happen to have coffee at Restaurant Eve? How was it? Restaurant Eve is one of the few fine restaurants with specialty coffee/espresso service in the Metropolitan area. I have an interest in promoting high quality coffee service at restaurants (because it is the right thing to do). I'm compiling a public Google map of restaurants featuring such. I'd like to incorporate reviews and comments on the posts, but haven't figured out a simple and clear format for that.

http://tinyurl.com/CoffeeCulinaria-US-Canada

If you didn't try their coffee perhaps someone else on this thread did?

Thanks!

Rum Coffee and Cardamom Cake with Espresso Egg Nog

We just made the version that my grandmother used to make annually before her passing. The version that most people are familiar with is the Lenten variety, which uses olive oil, pistachios, etc. The kind that we currently have at home is decidedly non-Lenten (aka non-vegan). It comprised of at least a dozen layers of phyllo, ground up almonds, clarified butter, and syrup. If people are interested, I'm sure I can find the recipe with the specifics.

I am interested. Please, tell us more about your grandmother and her cooking. If you don't mind.

For me, mouthfeel:texture :: aftertaste:flavor

If you like wikipedia (I do) here is a good description of mouthfeel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texture_(food)

Wikipedia cites 19 assessable characteristics. Cohesiveness, denseness, dryness, fracturability, graininess, gumminess, hardness, heaviness, moisture absorption, moisture release, mouthcoating, roughness, slipperiness, smoothness, uniformity, uniformity of chew, uniformity of bite, viscosity and wetness.

Who knew mouthfeel was so complicated?

Over-roasted espresso beans. Sloppy cappuccino. Too bad. Nice location. I'll try it again.

Dined at Grace Garden about 10 weeks ago with ol_ironstomach, Henry, Beto and a nice group of Charm City Hounds.

The following is excerpted from my thank you note to the organizer:

"Grace Garden with Chef Li, Mei Lei and Charm City Hounds was a sublime and happy occasion! Our table was so-very eager to have the first course of ooh and ahh melon soup; we could hardly believe the second course: egg-white omelet wontons - pretty pretty gift-wraps for nuggets of chicken as nuggets should be..

Surprising dish after surprising dish. Dizzy good stuff. My head was spinning more than the lazy susan. I want more of that duck. I want crispy-fried flounder skin again and again. Mmmm-mmm pork belly. And the three T beef treasures- so memorable and sichuan-derful. Lamb and shrooms - two of my biggest weaknesses in one - oh I'll have just another taste please, and another.

Green is good. The bok choy and broc were welcome and refreshing.

The mango tapioca pudding was smooth and sooth.

You must forgive my silliness. I haven't recovered yet.

Thank you for the amazing menu choices and collaboration with Chef Li."

It wasn't my first visit to GG and I've returned a few times since. I'm addicted to the Tofu pockets and Fish Noodles. Like Beto - I want to work my way through the menu.

The Criolles by Michel Cluizel - Chocolate Shaped Like a Cacao Pod and Filled with Ganache. That's very fine French chocolate with very fine Kentucky Bourbon.

Seuss-ian. Yes. That's exactly appropriate.

Karen, if you make the drive to Fresh World International, you might also want to stop at Cynthia's in Severna Park (also on Ritchie Highway) for lunch or dinner. it is in a strip mall - next to Annapolis Seafood. Cynthia is constantly well-reviewed and has the best bread pudding.

http://cynthiassevernapark.com/

Two great culinary destinations in one field trip.

Please let us know if you succeed in your quest and what you thought of your destinations.

In the holiday cheese drawer:

Pierre Robert - Triple Cream Dream

Vento d'Estate - Barrel-aged and buried in the most fragrant hay

Prima Donna - for my niece

Shropshire - for the stew

Banon mini - for me

Gruyère - for the potatos

Gorgonzola Picante - for the gnocchi

Mont Enebro - for the Cava

Valençay - for the truffled green peaches

Manchego - for the Quince, Marconas, Boquerones and Rioja

Langres - for the Champagne

Truffle Tremor - for the Roasted Plums and Sauterne

Garrotxa - for the Gewürztraminer

Bayley Hazen Blue - for the Chanterelles

Roquefort

Ethiopia Wonda Worka Yirgacheffe from Caffé Pronto. French Press.

Jdl,

So, this would be my “greatest hits” tasting menu. Keep in mind this menu consists of some of my favorite dishes, as a menu it’s a bit heavy, but I don’t think anyone would complain. So here it goes:

Bluefin Toro

Butter Pickle Ceviche and Yuengling Popover

Horton Petite Manseng

Foie Confit

Plum Financier and Sarawak Pepper Gastrique

Riesling

Butter poached Maine Lobster

Summer Truffle and Sweet Corn Chowder

Arrowwood Viognier

Wagyu

Ginko nuts, Baby Carrots, Ciopplini Onions,

And Crispy Shiitakes

Volnay

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Souffle

Milk ice cream

1928 Maury

Rachael

I'm in. Where do we sign up?

Fresh World International Supermarket/ El Supermercado Grande on Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie is Japanese and Korean Heavy - in a good way.

There is an aisle of kitchen tools and serving dishes. This market is fab, big and fairly new.

The fish section is a field trip. Fresh fish, live fish, whole fish, dried fish, smoked fish, salted fish, pickled fish, frozen fish, fish fish fish.

I've never seen so many varieties and brands of rice noodle or beans (most of one aisle is dedicated to beans).

Produce friendly. Gobs of greens and herbs.

They have a crazy little Korean Bakery. The Tiramisu was fetching. I said 'ahhh tiramisu." My mother said "That's Italian." The shopkeeper said "No, it's Korean!" It was completely charming and sapid.

Considering how busy Central's kitchen is at times, it's remarkable that they can produce a dish such as the Braised Rabbit with Spaetzle & Carrots ($31). A variant on lapin a la moutarde, the legs are braised in white wine, proscuitto scraps, bay leaves, juniper berries, and mirepoix. Then they're deboned and glazed with the braising liquid, grain mustard, and creme fraiche. They sit atop spaetzle which is executed like a parmesan risotto, then finished with freshly chopped tarragon (the tarragon is a subtle, but important aromatic component in this dish). Alongside the spaetzle are some carrots which are also braised in the cooking jus, then glazed, Some sauteed loin meat is sliced into small, thin cylinders, and arranged along the side of the plate with fleur de sel and black pepper. The dish is then finished with a small arugula salad which pairs nicely with the somewhat neutral loin meat.

Cheers,

Rocks.

Obscene explicitness, Rock. I can taste this. Always carrots with wabbit. What wine did you enjoy with this bunny?