wisehands

If you like the crab stuffing on the stuffed flounder or rockfish, you can order a dish with the crab stuffing only (it's not exactly the same as the Crab Imperial). Just ask for the Crisfield Special!

Frankly ... Pizza! was reviewed in the November-December issue of Bethesda Magazine: http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Bethesda-Magazine/November-December-2014/Dine-Review-Threes-Company-FranklyPizza-SubUrban-Trading-Co-and-K-Town-Bistro/ PS: a correction to the article, they're open on Sat. & Sun. at 11:30 am now. PPS: I'm not a fan of clams, but according to a clam loving friend the relatively new Clam Pizza is now her fave. My current favorite is cheese with mushroom, caramelized onion, and garlic (and roasted red pepper when it's available).

[Note: the post below was from a PM I wrote to DonRocks and he thought it was too good to waste on one person via PM ..... so here it is:] You got it right DonRocks .... I'm just excited to have great local pizza. I guess Kev29 mistook enthusiasm for flacking. I don't know if you recall, but the irony of it all is that you and I had some discussion a while back about the phony style of promotion of the openings of many corporate run restaurants .... then I end up being semi-accused of the very thing I loathe. On top of that, if you knew Frank, you'd know he's the antithesis of hype. You know, if every neighborhood had a place like Frank's, as opposed to a Papa John's or Domino's, then we might be able to say our food culture is getting somewhere. When I was in Naples, I went to the various "famous" pizzerias .... Da Michele, Trianon, Brandi's, Le Notizie, Starita, etc. .... the usual suspects. Then I mentioned my pizza crawling to a friend who lived in Naples and she said those places are just OK but she knew places that were better, and she proceeded to take me to her cousin (about half the people in Naples seemed to be her cousin) Ugo's pizzeria. The pizza at Ugo's was fantastic .... she was right, it was better than the famous places. And totally unsung. No tourists in sight. The place was packed with locals having a great time. The moment I walked in I was spotted as a straniero, but since I was with Rita they figured I was OK and got a great welcome. Funny thing is I don't know if I could find it again myself because we went there at night and we were driving on winding roads in the coutryside. I have no idea where we were, other than "somewhere in Campania." It was my Shangri-La pizza experience.

Si, si, si for Davide! I was in Sorrento with someone who has lived in the area all her life and she took me to Davide's.

Here's the opening day menu for Frankly .... Pizza in Kensington, which opened mid-July, 2014. Frankly .... Pizza opening menu_0001.pdf

Here's a menu for Emeril menu 1996.pdf Emeril's from October, 1996. It's autographed on the front. I remember we had the degustation and it was fantastic! And back then Emeril was actually in the kitchen.

Whoa! Never written a press release in my life .... just a happy pizza eater.

Now that Frankly "¦ Pizza has been open a couple weeks, it's time for a full review. I must say up front that Frankly "¦ Pizza belongs in the top echelon of pizza places in the DC region "¦ and beyond. The basic Margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basel) is a good baseline for judging a pizza place. What stands out for me about Frank's is the balance of flavors, especially that I can taste the crust AND the toppings in a bite. He also uses top quality ingredients, some imported from Italy like Caputo OO flour, which is part of what packs his pizzas with flavor. I'd say the pizzas are artisanal, not exactly Neapolitan, as they are not as wet or droopy in the center, although, like the Neapolitan style, the pizzas are made in a wood fired oven (assembled by Frank) and made from many of the same ingredients. The menu offers only a few starters "¦ a couple salads, a bowl of olives, as pizza is the main event here for now. In the Red category, there's a Cheese, a Margherita that adds cherry tomatoes and basil, a Pepperoni, and a Porky Marge that adds bacon to the Margherita. In the white category there's Garlic (garlic, olive oil, cheese), Arugula (garlic, cheese, olive oil, ricotta, lemon, and finished with arugula), Mushroom (criminis, mozzarella and romano cheese, olive oil, shallots, parsley, gruyere, porcini salt), Spinach (garlic, mozzarella, caramelized onion, spinach, gruyere, lemon), Hot Mess (mozzarella, pickled jalapenos, caramelized onion, bacon, gruyere, romano), Bacon & Egg (mozzarella, arugula, 3 quail eggs, bacon, gruyere, romano "“ only available on Sat. and Sun.). Most of the ingredients mentioned above also are available as additional toppings. BTW, Frank cures his meats himself, as evidenced by the guanciale (pork jowl) and a leg of prosciutto hanging in a cooler behind the bar. The drink menu features some interesting offerings. Frankly "¦ Pizza is one of the few places to pour from a wine on tap system. Right now he has a Pratsch Gruner Veltliner, Milbrandt Chardonnay, Stolpman La Cuadrilla, and Milbrandt Cabernet. Bottled wines include Runaway White and Runaway Pinot Blanc, Lambrusco Grasparossa, and Montelliana Proseco. Beers on tap include Sam Adams Lager, Goose Island 312 Wheat, Dogfish 60 Min. IPA, and Starr Hill Pils. Frank also offers homemade sodas: Vanilla Cream, Fizzy Ginger, and Watermelon Fresca. I tried the Vanilla Cream and you can taste the real vanilla bean flavor. The décor is down-home American with features like a locally milled hardwood bar, Amish crafted tables, a couple pews from a Dundalk church, and wooden light fixtures (built by Frank's dad from chestnut wood salvaged from an old family Pennsylvania barn) with Edison bulbs lighting the way. As you enter the place you'll notice the outdoor patio, a nice place to hang out on a beautiful evening. The staff is very friendly and enthusiastic. If you live or for some reason find yourself anywhere near Kensington and you love pizza, you've got to try Frankly "¦ Pizza. 10417 Armory Ave., Kensington (behind the Safeway on Connecticut) http://www.frankly-pizza.com Hours (subject to change): Wednesday "“ Friday: 4:30 p.m. "“ 9:00 p.m., Saturday "“ Sunday: 4:30 p.m. "“ 9:00 p.m.

Mike & Eric, who formerly ran the now shuttered Bay Hundred in Tilghman Island, have resurfaced with a new restaurant in St. Michael's: Mike & Eric's. My impression of what the place offers is excellent skillfully prepared food at moderate prices, served in a casual setting by a very friendly hospitable staff at a great location. MIke, who is a very warm and welcoming host/bartender, runs the front of the house, while Eric runs the kitchen. They have some sidewalk seating, a very quiet back patio, and a comfortable dining room that is designed, according to MIke, to be as "non-jarring" as possible. For starters we enjoyed the Crab Bisque made with lump crab and sherry, and corn & crab fritters that came with a zesty red pepper aioli for dunking. For main dishes we had the Crab Canneloni made with swiss chard, ricotta, and crab topped with a sundried lemon cream, and the Bouillabasse, which was packed with seafood such as mussels, shrimp, scallops, and fish in a saffron tomato fennel broth, although I'd say the Bouillabasse is more like tasty seafood stew than a bouillabasse. The wines offered match up nicely with the items on the menu and are reasonably priced. They're located at 200 S. Talbot Street in St. Michaels.

The Tilghman Island Inn is under new ownership. It reopened on July 3. I don't know who is running the kitchen. BTW, although the restaurant here apparently has been using the name Mike & Eric's, it is NOT associated with the recently opened Mike & Eric's Front Street Restaurant & Bar in St. Michael's (which is being run by the actual MIke & Eric who formerly ran the currently closed Bay Hundred in Tilghman). Apparently the guy who bought the TI Inn also had acquired Bay Hundred and through legal contractual rigmarole ended up claiming ownership of the name "Mike & Eric's." So, to summarize this confusing situation, if you're looking for the real Mike & Eric, they're not at the Tilghman Island Inn, but at Front Street in St. Michael's.

Frankly . . . Pizza! does have a liquor license. Frank's got some nice brews on tap. He's also making his own artisan sodas..

Calumet Fisheries is one of a handful of unique Chicago eating experiences you can find these days. It's one of the last originals of what were called "shrimp shacks" in Chicago (there's another one called the Fish Keg at the other end of the city on Howard Ave. on the Chicago side of the Chicago-Evanston line). They have a smokehouse on the premises and offer more than a dozen kinds of smoked seafood and proclaim smoked shrimp as their specialty. They also really know how to fry fish. This place is truly off the beaten path. Not far from the Indiana line in an industrial area on the Far South Side, it's at 3259 E. 95th St., a.k.a. 95th & The Bridge because it's next to a drawbridge (made sort of famous by a scene in the Blues Brothers film). A few helpfuls: there's no place to eat inside, they have some old picnic tables or you can eat on the bridge (but remember it's a DRAWbridge!) over the Calumet River, but be prepared to have lunch/dinner in your car if it's freezing or raining, or better option -- drive a little farther and go sit and eat on a bench by the lake, also it's cash only. A nice video about the place is at http://checkplease.wttw.com/restaurants/calumet-fisheries.

My favorite gelateria in Florence is Vivoli located at 7r Via dell'Isola delle Stinche, which is just steps from the piazza fronting the majestic Santa Croce. It's also the oldest in Florence (1929). The origin of the name of the street is fascinating ... pronounced "stink-ay," which makes it memorable. It is one of the streets that bordered the Le Stinche prison, built in 1299 by the Florentine Republic to hold prisoners of war and those poor souls guilty of political offenses (one famous prisoner was Machiavelli, who was held for questioning there). From this arose the saying "go to Stinche," meaning go to prison and Le Stinche became an all purpose term for a prison. The name Le Stinche came from the name of a castle in Chianti -- Castello delle Stinche -- that was conquered by the Florentine Republic. The first prisoners held there were captured in this battle. In turn, the name of the castle likely comes from the terrain surrounding the castle, which featured several hilltop ridge lines. The castle was situated on a ridge between two valleys -- the Val di Greve and Val di Pesa. These ridge lines or mountain crests were likened to the straight line of the shin bone (anatomical term is "tibial crest"). Turns out the Italian term for shin is "stinco" and also denotes the top of a hill, highest ridge of a mountain, or the apex of a hill. Since more than one ridge or crest appears in the terrain of the area of the caste, the term became (f) plural .... Stinche! In 1833, Leopold II approved the sale of the prison buildings and they were demolished. The Teatro Verdi now stands on some of that land. Even the street name Isola delle Stinche or "Stinche Island" has a symbolic meaning. The street's original name was Via del Mercantino (Way of the Market), but was changed to Isola delle Stinche after World War I. The dark and windowless prison was surrounded by marshes and ditches which gave the building its appearance of an island. Florence's oldest and perhaps best gelateria stands today on what was one of the streets bordering the west side of the infamous prison. So the next time you're at Vivoli, dedicate a lick of your sweet "cono di gelato" to the bitter fates of those who were once imprisoned inside those streets.

wisehands, on 20 Oct 2013 - 1:27 PM, said: I believe they've kept their promise to keep the deep dish recipe at the original Uno and Due unchanged; however the actual execution of it might be another matter! Sadly, not all pizza pilgrimages are rewarded at the end of the trail. IMHO, corporate management is hell on pizza legacies ... Uno, Giordano's, Edwardo's are evidence.

My favorite for deep-dish is Lou Malnati's. I think Malnati's is the only deep dish pizzeria that successfully pulled off opening multiple branches and maintained its quality. I prefer Malnati's to Connie's, Nancy's, Bacino's, and Carmen's, but Giordano's and Edwardo's have declined badly, victims of corporate takeover and clumsy expansion. The original Gino's East location is still OK, but not so sure about any branches. Some people like Pizano's, which was opened by another member of the Malnati family. Pequod, along with Gullivers, was opened by Burt Katz, but he sold them. They're still OK, but not as good as when run by Burt. Burt decamped to Burt's Place, where he serves up his "carmelized crust" deep dish. I like Burt's alot, although Burt's Place is a bit quirky. You can't just show up, you have to reserve your pizza ... not a table or a seat, but your pizza (if you show up and there's empty tables, but you didn't reserve your pizza(s) chances are you are going to leave pizzaless). NOTE: Burt, who is 76, was hospitalized around the end of September (2013), so Burt's Place will be out of commission for a while (I heard six weeks). Let's hope he makes it back and can keep it operating. Uno's is tricky to deal with because the original Chicago locations, Uno on State St. and Due on Wabash Ave. are still good, BUT any other Uno is to be avoided because the Boston restaurant corporation that bought it from the original owner's widow has ruined it. However, they promised to keep the original Uno and Due deep dish as it was and not mess with how the pizza is made, so that's why it's still OK.

Great Lakes Pizza closed Winter 2013. The announced reason was a decision not to renew the lease due to dissatisfaction with the landlord. Rumor is the people who owned it, Nick Lessins and Lydia Esparza, are going to open a new place, but no word that it's happened yet.

Cacio e pepe is the classic Roman pasta dish ... it means cheese & pepper in the regional dialect. Chances are good that you will see this dish on practically every menu in Rome.

Am referring to Eric Nunamaker, also Mike the bartender, who together have taken over Bay Hundred. David McCallum is the owner, but don't know if he's gone back into the kitchen (just checked web site and he is listed as the Exec. Chef).

Update: A few months ago the Tilghman Island Inn lost its chef (I believe the former chef now co-owns and cooks at Bay Hundred Restaurant in Tilghman), along with several other staff. Have not dined there since, so I don't know how the food is now. If you are in the Tllghman Island/St. Michaels/Easton area, I'd currently recommend Bartlett Pear Inn in Easton if you're looking for high level cuisine.

We were tempted by several menu items so we had the tasting menu, which in our case turned out to be salmon tartare with radishes and cucumbers, potato soup, truffle butter glazed pappardelle pasta, halibut with smoked paprika and chive/basil oils, and a frozen lemon chiffon & graham cracker crusted dessert. We had it with the wine pairing flight and felt the wines served were excellent choices for each course, which made it well worth it. Our meal was on par with the best we've had in the DC area (probably would be in top 10 in DC ... for comparables we enjoyed the tasting menu just about as much as we did at CityZen or Restaurant Eve), but in a slightly more relaxed atmosphere fitting for a small town inn. It was expensive ($240 for 2, incl. wine, tip, tax; on the a la carte menu first courses average $10 and mains around $30), but also reasonable for the elevated level of the cuisine and less than similar meals in DC. With the sources of many of the dishes listed on the menu, the talented chef is clearly a proponent of the Farm to Table movement. Highly recommended, would agree with Leviathan that Bartlett Pear is the best I know of on the Eastern Shore for American haute cuisine.

The restaurant closed and now the trucks are too . . . the other tire has dropped!

The controversy about what the term "Maryland crab cake" means stimulated me to search around the web and analyze what's out there. The conclusion is that it's use can be based on any one or a combination of these variable characteristics: 1. The origin of the crab is either from Maryland or anywhere in the Bay, and/or 2. The type of crab used is blue crab, and/or 3. The grade of crabmeat, which may or may not be specified (e.g. lump, backfin, etc.), and/or 4. The other ingredients, which vary widely, but generally may include a binding filler (bread crumbs or crushed saltines), egg, mayo, seasonings (Old Bay, J.O., mustard are most common). As one can see, this leaves a lot of leeway and has devolved to mean it could be made from any type and any grade of crab from anywhere in the world formed into a patty that could include almost any other ingredients and could be fried, broiled, sauteed, or baked and may or may not be served with a sauce or on a bun, bread, or saltine. So when it comes to the term "Maryland crab cake" it's caveat emptor all the way! One of my favorite finds was a recipe for "genuine" Maryland crab cakes that touted the wonders of authentic Maryland crabmeat that was illustrated with a photo of a tub of lump crabmeat that was marked "from Ecudaor!" BTW, here is an interesting excerpt from the suitably vague definition from Wikipedia: "The two most common styles of Maryland crab cakes are known as Boardwalk and Restaurant. Boardwalk crabcakes are typically breaded and deep-fried, and are often filled with stuffing of various sorts and served on a hamburger bun. Restaurant crab cakes, which are sometimes called gourmet crab cakes, are often prepared with no filler, and are composed of all-lump crab meat served on a platter or open-faced sandwich. Many restaurants that offer Maryland crab cakes will offer to have the cakes fried or broiled."

If you like the crab cakes at the Narrows, I think you'd like the ones at the Tilghman Island Inn. Last weekend had them for lunch while sitting outside on their patio overlooking the channel leading to the bridge over Knapps Narrows. Also am a fan of Suicide Bridge. We like to go there whenever we go to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

Whoa! I see what you mean. My favorite was on p. 2 of the search: Amazon.com: Psycho chef: Thomas Elder: MP3 Downloads

Thanks for pointing this out and discussing it. PR "journalism" seems to be one of those "dirty little secrets" in the foodie world. I was an avid follower of one such popular foodie web site and it gradually dawned on me how intertwined the operators were with the PR machine. I got to know them a bit -- they were nice people -- and found out that one of them was running a PR agency. I connected the dots and realized the great time they were having going to the many food events and fabulous meals that they were describing on their blog was pretty much made possible by the PR machine. I have to say they were pretty good at it .... a couple years later now they seem to be on a first name basis with all the big names in the foodie universe. I still read their blog (it's still a good source of news), but now I understand I have to process the information through a filter. It would be unrealisitic to expect that PR could be kept at arms length when it comes to the foodie world, but more transparency would be a good idea.