pras

Eastern Kabob & Sweets is located in the Sugarloaf Shopping Center in Germantown. They have a buffet all the time, but I haven't tried it yet. Each of the last two times I have visited I ordered chapli. Each time it was amazing. The first time I got the beef and my friend got the chicken. Both were good, but the beef was better. It had a nice char on it which added an additional layer of flavor. The dish comes with two "patties" on a bed of rice, with shaved onion on top. The platter also comes with so stewed chickpeas and naan. It is a BARGAIN at $11.99. There is a ton of flavor in the chapli. The rice is also well seasoned and slightly spicy. Each time I ordered the dish spicy, but the heat was a bit restrained--that's okay because it was packed with flavor. As far as decor goes, it is bright and clean, with some flat screens playing Pakistani videos. The staff is nice enough. They also have some disco lights going. They are open late Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

I have been into Ear Hustle. Just completed the second season. Each episode deals with a different aspect of Prison Life at San Quentin.

As I type this I wonder why I am doing so. Why do I feel the need to justify my opinion? I had a meal at G&M with my wife, daughter and dad. It was the second time I have visited. The more and more I write and read reviews on this website, I wonder what is it which makes a meal special? I have come to the conclusion, that the food is secondary. What is most important is the company, the time you had, and creating memories. I have had crab cakes at Faidley's. My memory of that was eating it out of a box before we took my mom home From Johns Hopkins after recovering from her whipple procedure (a meal never to forget). I haven't tried the cakes at River Falls though. On this wet evening, we picked my dad up at BWI from a weekend of traveling. It was his first solo trip since my mom passed away in May. He first went to Chicago to see his nephews, then to Sturbridge for my mom's cousin's wedding. We got to talk about what a good time he had. The waitress was very nice and knew how to deal with my dad's sarcasm. While I understand that the purpose of this website is to review restaurants, and the quality of the food, the company was much more important and definitely "clouded my judgment". I thought the cakes were good though. I like the taste, it was full of lump (didn't know they don't use blue crab), and I didn't note much filler. One thing is for sure, a dinner at G&M is different than one at Faidley's in Lexington Market--you don't have to fight off the rats on your way to dinner. So if all of the other elements clouded my judgment on the cakes, I apologize.

Earlier this month I installed a Nest. You need a hardwired doorbell to install. The hardest part of the installation was figuring out which circuit the doorbell was connected to. Once you figure that out, there is a guided setup which asks you how the wires are connected in your chime. Then it tells you exactly which wires to hook to which on the adapter they give you. Next you install the doorbell button at the door, then turn on. I was done in less than 30 minutes. The picture quality is really amazing. It will also connect to a google home, but it rings on the house bell also. One neat feature is that it will learn the people that come to your house often and begin identifying them by name. I live in a three story townhouse, you enter on the ground floor, but the main living space is one level up. So, for us, we can know who is at the door without having to run downstairs. You can also talk through the setup to tell someone you are on your way to the door. I was spying on my wife and daughter the other day when they were waiting for the carpool to camp. I startled them when I told my wife to sit up straight! The nest setup also is always recording, but there is a small fee to be able to access the recordings. 30 days is free, not sure if I will pay for a subscription. It's also nice to know when a package is delivered. It is pretty worthwhile for my setup.

Prague is known for Pilsner which is a crisp slightly bitter style, which you may enjoy. As far as English style IPA/beer, if you are ever in Syracuse, check out Middle Ages Brewery, which makes English style Ales. You can find them in the shelf at some places outside of Syracuse, but not outside of New York State. When I was studying at Syracuse University, the most popular class was Wine and Beer Appreciation, which was on Thursday evening. (as an aside I was warned that it was a difficult class and I should take it pass/fail--this was a huge mistake. The first half of the class covered wine and I got an A. If I got an a on the wine portion, I was assured to get an A on the beer portion!!) Now, back to the story. One week featured Middle Ages Brewing. The owner showed up with a cask, and a bunch of other offerings. We first cycled through the line and each took a pump from the cask and tried it. As we discussed the other beers, he invited us to take another pump from the cask. At the end of the class, a bunch of us were milling around, not ready to leave and he said "I am bringing the cask back with me when I leave. It will either be full or it will be empty." He didn't have to explain further! I guess that I am one of the few people who can honestly say that they killed a keg in a college class for credit!

Kolsch is really hard to make well. It needs to be served fresh and once poured it needs to be finished quickly (that's why in Germany, they are poured in small glasses).

Had dinner here after picking my dad up from BWI. Still very good. The service was friendly, full of Baltimore charm, and the crab cakes were good. Full of lump with little filler. This place was pretty jammed on Sunday during an epic rain storm. We were seated immediately, but I am sure if it wasn't raining the wait would have been significant.

Not to completely derail the thread, but last night I had my last bottle of Flying Dog Snake Oil. I post this here, because this is one of those wacky new fangled concepts--a smoky and spicy beer. Now, there is a story behind it--it uses fish peppers which were brought to the eastern shore by slaves and are still grown there today. Snake Oil refers to Spike Gjdre's hot sauce from Woodberry Kitchen which also uses fish peppers. The beer is probably not suited for most palates, and really is not what you would expect of a beer, but for whatever reason I really liked it--smoky and spicy (perhaps a bit too spicy, which is probably why I liked it). In fact, it was so "out there" that Flying Dog was giving the beer away by the case. Never-the-less, sometimes something works for one person's palate and not others.

I think the sour/wild beer craze is about to hit or soon will hit the point of saturation of the IPA/hazy IPA trend. Everyone now has a "sour" beer, but few do it well. I think the trend is going to mature though. You will see malt forward beers, and more nuanced beers make a comeback--Octoberfests, pilsners, kolsch, etc.

I need to check out Urban then. Thank you!

My wife and I were strolling around Bethesda one Saturday evening, free of child and looking for a new experience. We heard that Thelo had recently opened and it looked quaint with a nice patio (they didn't have their liquor license yet, but should have it now). The weather was nice so we thought we would give it a try. The owner very enthusiastically went over the menu with us. It was early so were were the only patrons there. He is certainly proud of the place and the food his chef is creating. We had the feta, a grilled cheese which was soft (not halumi), grilled and chopped eggplant salad, roasted beets, which came with a potato/garlic sauce, and finally an order of tzatziki (more about this later). The owner came over and chatted with us a bit before our food came. He is a Greek restaurant veteran. He told us how everything is made in house (except for the imported feta and yogurt). The chef makes the gyro every day. Grilled chicken is thigh instead of breast. I asked him about the tzatziki, and he enthusiastically told us how the chef starts with cucumbers, seeds them, grates them, then squeezes all liquid from them. He was so proud, while we didn't originally order it, but we had to and we were glad we did. It was thick and tasty. My favorite dish was the eggplant spread which was packed with flavor, but everything really was good. They don't serve the dips with pita here, but rather a crusty bread which gets some char from the grill (our Greek friends told us later that this is common on the islands). Everything was great and I need to get back to try the meat. One warning--as the owner told us, if you are going with a date, you both need to eat because the food is packed with garlic (vampires beware!). This was no joke, as I am pretty sure my pores were oozing it for a while after the meal!

Hadn't been here for a while and thought I would hit it up for guy's night out on Friday. Since my last visit, they have added a "double hot" and "triple hot" broth. The triple is served with newly installed in-table burner and there are compartments. I asked when they would add a quadruple hot, but they assured me that one is not in the works. The server warned us that it is made with some sort of ghost pepper from from Sichuan. Typically a warning like this does not scare me away, but something about the way she warned me had me scared (that and he said that it was too spicy for him). All three of us opted for the double hot. The broth was no joke. Very spicy, almost to the point of being too spicy, but still at a "tolerable level". It was very flavorful. Also, the quality of the dippers are still up there. It was a very enjoyable meal.

Was the drink noted above from Wildfire or Graffiato?

The legislation that allowed Guinness to open in Baltimore County was specific to Baltimore County and that facility. It should have been called the "Diageo Bill". For more of what has been going on in Maryland in the beer scene, please read this article from the Baltimore Sun.

You should do some research on what has been going on in the Maryland General Assembly regarding the conflict between wholesalers and small local breweries. Essentially, the big money has flexed their muscles to prevent the little guys from having viable tap rooms (even the bigger local guys like Flying Dog).

If it is 11:30 pm, I will meet you! I imagine you mean am though.

I haven't been to an ale house in ages, so I have no idea their current pricing. FWIW, I have never been a big fan of growlers or crowlers, unless it is something which doesn't make it to bottles. The Bruery Bottle Shop in the Union Market neighborhood is an example, of a place with beer that doesn't hit a bottle, but be forewarned, there is no drinking at the store or even sampling. Beer at the Bruery Store can also be expensive, but the pricing is commensurate with their retail pricing for bottles.

I was driving to Flying Dog Brewery yesterday afternoon and noticed that Chaps has opened a Frederick location at 4969 Westview Drive.

Need to check out the new incarnation. Here's to hoping good.

What did you think?

Wah wah wah wahhhhhhhhhhhh ... But really, the dry saute hot pot is something which can wake me from a deep sleep. I tell them I want it Ga La, which is supposedly spicier than Ma La. For sure, they have some more potent green Szechuan Peppercorns which they include.

Don't sleep on Big Wang, which is also close by.

I was finally able to get the dry hot pot that I had desired last night. I asked the person who took my order for carryout (who is the guy who it seems like manages the place) about the spot next door. He said that they are in the process of building it out, but that it has taken longer than they anticipated with the normal delays from the county building inspectors. They are building a bigger kitchen (he explained that the current kitchen isn't big enough, that there is only one day's worth of refrigerator space. They will convert the rest of the space to a larger dining room, and will also build some party rooms. They plan to keep the current menu, but expand it slightly.

I was going to head there on Friday, but my daughter had other ideas. It is possible that something got lost in the translation, but the guy I spoke to was pretty adamant. Plans can always change though.

Looks like fun, I wish my daughter didn't have a soccer game! Learn to make dumplings from Peter Chang (as told by Robert Dyer).