JDawgBBall9

1 Top Ten, 1 Best of the Rest, 0 Rising Stars

I suck. I guess that's what happens when 95% of the time you're out its generic bar food not worth writing home about.

I just stole this from someone else so I'm assuming its accurate, just copied and pasted everything and leaving it below. The pretentious comment kinda made me chuckle.

1) Charleston

2) The Prime Rib

3) Woodberry Kitchen

4) The Black Olive

5) Cinghiale

6) Antrim 1844

7) Aldo's

8) Blue Hill Tavern

9) Pazo

10) The Oregon Grille

Then they have a Best of the Rest listed alphabetically, here's a sampling of the listing: Bluegrass Tavern, Brewer's Art, The Capital Grille, The Dogwood, B&O American Brasserie, The Helmand, Kali's Court, Jack's Bistro, The Oceanaire, The Milton Inn, Peter's Inn, Roy's, Salt, Sotto Sopra, Tio Pepe.

Rising Stars:

Bond Street Social, Chazz: A Bronx Original, Corner BYOB, Demi, The Olive Room, Phillips (at their new venue), Ten Ten, Thames Street Oyster House, Waterfront Kitchen, Wit & Wisdom: A Tavern By Michael Mina (what a pretentious name that is).

Only mention of it I found on the board was this post answering a question about local butchers and it does cover a lot.

Basically its a small shop that I've found is very knowledgable about the meats and offers some pretty decent prices (in my experience) for some very good meats. They ship all up and down the east coast and they are a big kosher distributor, although I don't know if they've ever had it in their retail shop. But if you ever need a good order of any cow or pig product, this is your place.

http://www.jwtreuth.com/

This small store deserves some love from me as I love their Italian sub and they have a lot of good Italian foods that I can't seem to find in my normal spots. Its hard to tell from their website but they have a great selection of imported olives, peppers, and a decent selection of wine (although I didn't pay attention to prices) plus the deli serves some awesome sandwiches as well as their imported meats and cheese. The personal favorite is the Italian. Its buried a couple blocks north of Eastern Ave in Highlandtown but their Italian sub alone is worth a stop if you're in the area or driving north in my opinion.

http://dipasquales.com/

I went Saturday as well and got al pastor, barbacoa, and buche...nothing really that hasn't already been said, you could tell a lot of the ingredients were fresh and each taco was bursting with flavor. They did have a three taco special that had cactus on one of them but I figured that since it was my first trip I'd keep it fairly basic. I don't think I've demolished a plate of food like that in a long time.

I think I know what I'm getting for lunch now

I ended up with a simple beer and cheese dip (used Mexican Velveeta instead and the Flying Dog amber), gargonzola stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto, and chorizo poached in red wine...all ended up working out fabulously, got a ton of compliments since they thought a 24 yr old dude couldn't put together those types of dishes and ended up with a ton of leftovers. I'll be eating great/terribly all week now, especially since I pre-made buffalo chicken dip and that never even made it out of the fridge.

Its that time of year again and I'm trying to be creative but the motivation just isn't there.

I'm not doing it due to my audiences and logistics and such, but cruising through the archives I saw that in 2008 when it was the same match-up some people did Manhattan vs. New England clam chowders. I'm also contemplating having the five cocktails of New York (each borough) but that would be unfair to everyone who has to drive.

Little did I know that on Thursday nights they had both 1/2 price wine from 5-6 PM and a $20 beer dinner- two courses, one beer. I opted for the beer dinner and while I was skeptical about cream of tomato, shrimp pasta with a cream sauce and Stone Cali-Belgique IPA all working together, it was a great deal for $20 and it ended up being fantastic.

i've been experimenting with sous vide at home, so i asked how long they sous vide the duck and flat iron steak, but i was told it was a "trade secret". blah. i wasn't really wanting exact details, but i was curious to know if the beef was cooked for more than 48 hours. oh well.

Don't take this as gospel but I *think* its for 72 hours then finished on the grill. I'm not positive though. For some reason I think it might've been mentioned somewhere on the menu- again, I could be wrong. If I make it back and remember I'll report back.

There's one in College Park now too

I haven't been here in years but went to the last page of the Baltimore forum like Don wanted people to do in the DC one and I just wanted to say that I really, really miss working just around the corner from the one in Columbia. Next time I'm in town around mealtime by myself I'm gonna try and make a detour and be gluttonous.

They also do tastings every Tuesday at CWC. Usually $25 a person for 7-8 different wines, all based around a particular theme. There's also a discount that evening on any bottles tasted. It's a great deal, and the owner, Mitchell, is incredibly personable and knowledgeable.

It looks like they still do these, I'm gonna have to indulge myself sometime.

I wandered in on Friday for the first time despite living walking distance. I found that the beer prices weren't great, but for the conveinence I certainly didn't care. But the wine selection and helpfulness from the staff was pretty clutch for a beginner like me. I wasn't purchasing any cheese or anything on this trip, but the two girls in line in front of me were and the staff was very helpful in getting them some that matched their wines.

They have a mixed case they sell for $100 that changes monthly that I might have to pick up one time to help expand my pallet. The naiveness in me will assume this is a good deal. The November case on the website:

white:

L'Auriere Muscadet '10 - Muscadet de Sevre et Maine, France

Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc '10 - Lake County, California

Paul D Gruner Veltliner '10 - Wagram, Austria

Arroyo de la Vega Verdejo '10 - Castilla y Leon, Spain

pink:

Poema Trepat Cava Brut Rose - Penedes, Spain

red:

Le Vin de l'Uncle Charles Cabernet/Merlot '10 - Pays d'Oc, France

Chateau Les Arromans Merlot/Franc '09 - Bordeaux, France

Clos Dalian Garnacha '08 - Montsant, Spain

Alta Corte Caladoc/Tinta Roriz '08 - Lisboa, Portugal

Le Lapin Petite Sirah - Paso Robles, California

Tati Barbera '09 - Piemonte, Italy

Le Roc Blanc Carignan/Syrah/Mourvedre '07 - Languedoc, France

note: full price of this case - $131

The little 'expand first post' feature could be used as a type of description with some babysitting if looking for a substitute.

In my short investigation it looks like the indexes aren't working because they all link to http://www.donrockwell.com and the www part is pissing it off

There's a little grey button next to the "Post New Topic" button that you can click to mark all posts in a specific forum as read. Looks like double-clicking the highlighted speech bubble image to the left of each individual board on the main forum index still marks it read as well.

Creme Brûlée Stout... anyone had it? Liked it? Too over the top? Curious about others' opinions.

Maria

I had it on tap about a year ago....VERY sweet but I liked it a lot as a dessert beer. Very hard to drink an entire pint though due to its sweetness. Love the smell but for people set on more traditional beers I can see how one wouldn't enjoy this at all.

I have it on good authority that they are going to get massively busy soon. Get over there now before you have to fight the crowds.

(Please don't ask why, cause I can't say.)

Rumor I've heard is a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives appearance

Today's Baltimore Groupon-

"for $45, you get a contemporary American dinner for two at Bluegrass Tavern (up to a $98 total value). The dinner includes:

A charcuterie-and-cheese appetizer (a $20 value)

Two large bites (up to a $31 value each)

Two glasses of house wine (an $8 value each)

Expires May 30, 2012

Limit 1 per person. Limit 1 per table. Not valid until 10/20/11. Reservation required. Not valid on holidays or during Restaurant Week. Closed on Mondays. Not valid with other specials"

http://www.groupon.com/deals/bluegrass-tavern

Other nice places to try in Baltimore are Salt in Bolton Hill, Clementine in Hamilton, Corner BYOB in Hampden, Crush in Belvedere Square, and Peter's Inn in Fells Pt.

If you guys plan a meetup, I actually live in Baltimore and would love to have a reason to eat out. PM me.

I always forget about Peter's Inn, never gotten a chance to try it out. Heard they fill up very quickly since its very small.

Also, Baltimore Beer Week continues until October 16.

To piggy-back on BettyJoan's initial questions, I find myself up in Baltimore at a client four days a week, and will continue through January. The client is in the inner harbor complex, and I'm staying at the Moncao until the new hotel opens in Harbor East in November (Note on Baltimore hotels - the Intercontinental is awful - left there for the Monaco). Aside from Cindy Wolf's places, I know little about the Baltimore food scene. I was dismayed to see that Corks has radically trimmed its wine list and is now a steakhouse, though.

Where should I head for dinners - apart from the great suggestions above? Generally a party of one, usually getting out around 9 each night. Have a car, but don't want to travel too far. Open to anything unique and delicious.

I've never had a chance to venture north but based on what I read it might be wise to check out some of the restaurants written about in the Mt. Vernon, Hampton & Charles Village neighborhoods. I might suggest heading east one day and going to Jack's Bistro in Canton and sitting at the bar.

I also greatly enjoy Pazo but haven't been in over a year.

Matthew's is great, however I don't know if it would be worth the ~$10 (or more) cab ride one way. But you're also pretty convienent to Lexington Market.

A lot of good newer stuff in the Harbor East area as well, that area has been building up a lot recently.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm a wine expert or anything but I had Stone Mountain's on tap (!) at Aida Bistro in Columbia, MD and I thought that for the price it was just as good as any red I'd be getting.

I don't know what it is, but the lobster grilled cheese just does it for me like few other dishes. Maybe its because the beer list always puts me in a euphoric mood (or 1/2 price wine on Thursdays and company doesn't hurt either) but I can't recall a time where I've left and not felt completely satisfied.

went to Jack's last night for restaurant week and had a nice meal- bonus was 1/2 price wine from 5-6 pm- my friend and I shared a nice beaujolais with our meal.

for starters we got their foie gras poutine- made with skinny fries, cheese curds and a foie gras gravy- very delicious. we also got the mac + cheese + chocolate, shells and cheese topped with a milk chocolate powder- a surprisingly good combination of sweet and savory.

for the main dish, i had the sous vide steak frites (yes more fries), and my friend got sous vide duck on top of a cassoulet of tomato based white beans. both were very well made. the texture of meat sous vide is still a new experience for me.

dessert was great- we had the fried smores- a fried marshmallow topped with chocolate sauce and graham cracker ice cream. we also got the red velvet sundae which consisted of red velvet ice cream topped with sponge cake.

all in all- a nice food experience.- great price -they only charged $30 for the prix fixe (vs this year's $35 increase)

I popped in yesterday but have been busy and didn't even realize that it was restaurant week. We were waiting for a seat at the bar but a reservation was canceled so we ended up bypassing the two-hour wait (this was between 6:15 and 6:30) and ended up at a table. The price this year was $32.

I also got the poutine (unfortunately I didn't have the balls to pull the trigger on the mac and cheese this time) and sous vide steak frites and don't have much to add, they were both very good and I really enjoyed both. However I did not eat too many of the fries with the entree, just too much. I ended with the strawberry rum cake because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the chocolate, and it was a good decision because that was very good as well. I don't even remember what it really tasted like in detail because I was getting pretty bogged down but they did a nice job with the bread pudding underneath.

The crab cake was also very good, very little filler and I think the other appetizer ordered was the Guinness Meat + Grits, both were hits. Ended up being a very enjoyable meal for all and I'm going to need to go back.

It has reopened, although based on reading 1000yregg's posts its probably under new ownership. I haven't been in yet, just an FYI

I haven't eaten at some of these places but just tossing out some options

In the city:

Abbey Burger Bistro in Federal Hill (walkable) has some pretty good burgers

1000yrreg also loves Bluegrass Tavern in Federal Hill

Obrycki's for crab cakes (closing in November I think, maybe cab?)

Lots of stuff in Little Italy, everyone has their own preferences for the meal itself but everyone prefers Vaccaro's for dessert

Oh, and Phillips and Hooters

In Linthicum, G&M is known for their crab cakes too but I've never been there and its an issue all the locals are very opinionated about. I'm sure people who didn't grow up around crab cakes would love them.

Edit: Oh and Lexington Market is a manageable walk from where the starting line will be, Monday-Saturday 8:30 A to 6 P

^I got the shrimp and grits from High Cotton yesterday and don't have much more to add, but it was freaking fantastic. Started it off with a bowl of Charleston crab soup which was very rich and crabby as well.