Montgomery Maid

Maybe it was Bethesda. I was a small town girl, new in the big city, with no car. I seem to remember it was on Wisconsin avenue, though I could be wrong. In any case, I never went back. Once I did get a car, I discovered places like the old North China resturant in Bethesda. Much better.

I remember going to HH in Friendship Heights in 1974, when one of the other women in our group house took me there and made me order "those potatoes"--because she knew I would not be able to finish them, leaving the leftovers for her. Good times.

Last frost date depends on your location. In upper Montgomery County, where I live, we have had frosts as late as 5/10. My next door neighbors, who have lived here for 40 years, tell me not to plant tomato seedlings until 5/15, to be absolutely safe. That is a little conservative for me (I can cover the young ones easily), but I won't plant them until after 5/10 or so. 3/29 is optimistic.

I got mine at the Giant in Olney. I forgot to look at the per pound price, but a smallish set was $6.00 or so (there is only me to feed). The sell by date was 4 days away, the set was nice and fresh. Sauteed them in butter and bacon fat, served with bacon. I have to do this every spring as I have since I shared the sets with my father as a child. He's gone now, so eating shad roe in spring (like the first oyster in the fall) is ceremonial as well. This was the freshest and best shad roe I have had in years.

During the last week of July, I suffered from the worst and longest lasting stomach flu of my adult life. The only thing I could eat was soup. After 10 days of this, I stopped at China Jade on the way home from work. I chose noodle soup with shrimp dumpling. It was a great choice--strong broth, skinny egg noodles, peppery shrimp dumplings. It was, after a week of bland-er soup, a very good thing. Now that I am closer to my usual self, I will have to try the cumin lamb.

Pampangueña Cafe seems to be closed on Mondays. The first time I tried to go there it was closed. I came back the following week (on a Tuesday), and it was open. Unfortunately, the food was steam table tired and dried out. I ordered adobo and sweet pork, and could not finish either. Did I order wrong? I am willing to try again.

Moby Dick House of Kabob is in front of the Shoppers Food Warehouse shopping center. I had a special "spicy ground chicken kabob" last night for dinner that was flavorful and hot-spicy. I liked it a lot. Hunan Delight (back part of same center) is ok, but they know me well there.

I am very lucky to get duck eggs from a dear friend who keeps both ducks and chickens. She has two runner ducks, a Khaki Campbell and a black and white spotted mutt duck. I cannot tell the diference in the eggs among the breeds as I can with her chicken eggs (Auricanas, Barred Rocks and a single Rhode Island Red). These duck eggs are larger, egg-ier, and have firmer cooked yolks than her chicken eggs. They go very well with the usual breakfast items. I have also experimented with a bacon, frisee and fried duck egg salad which was tasty. It is true that all poultry (left to free range) slows down on egg laying in the winter months. Out my way (upper MoCo), there are some signs out for fresh eggs--try rte 108 up through Damascus, or go on to one of the side roads (NOT one of the subdivision ones).

to John Updike....

Like I said, it is what it is. Sometimes a girl has to have fried chicken, you know? I also get carry out from the Silver Spoon, which is in the same shopping plaza. They used to have good chicken wings, but they are now sad, oil soaked little things.

Canton Delight is one of my guilty pleasures--and it's on the way home from the Metro. The dinner buffet is $7. IF (big if) you can hit the place as they are putting out just-fried chicken wings or string beans, it is pretty good. They do a huge dinner business as well, so the food turns over fast. I have also had a surprisingly flavorful beef chow fun from the menu. It's not haute, but it hits the spot for the price.

Well, thank you! I think they will do a breakfast sandwich any time, but get the burger if you can. And many napkins. When you go to pay at the front counter, get a piece of cake if there are any left. I sure hope they aren't overloaded with visitors tomorrow!

The Sunshine Store is a treasure. It is camoflaged as a gas station, at the intersection of Routes 97 and 650, near the Montgomery-Howard County line. I do love the burgers, but I mostly pass by there in the early morning. They have decent pancakes, chipped beef or sausage gravy (read the specials list, which is posted on the wall) My go-to carry out is a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on whole wheat toast, with hot sauce. Easily four strips of bacon--when I was working for the steeplechase trainer, we discovered that a Sunshine breakfast sandwich at 7 was enough to get by for the day. When ordering, please be polite--the locals disapprove of bad manners. Also, that article claims they are open until 5 or 6--I have never seen the grill open past 3 (but they fire up at 5 on weekdays and 6 on weekends). I'll be there Saturday around 8 (Maryland Hunt Cup that day).