tfbrennan

We ate in the bar a month ago and would not recommend the sliced NY strip entrees. Perhaps we were unlucky but the cuts were below par for Ray's. The hanger looked as good as always, however, and our 15yo really enjoyed it. Another time we had burgers -- can't go wrong there.

The background music frequently "On the Road Again"' -- frequently annoying. Sorry, Willie.

We'd not yet been to Ray's Hell-Burgers so jumped when word came that The Classics would be serving the burgers in the bar, and we stopped in early last night. The burgers (grilled onions, sauteed garlic, Heck Sauce, Vermont cheddar on one, au poivre with blue cheese on the other) were superb. We were surprised (but then, not really) when the usual complimentary sides of spinach and mashed potatoes were delivered with the burgers. The sauce could have used more kick, and I found the blue cheese overwhelmed the meat, but my wife thought it was spot on on hers. Great burgers, draft beer, mac and cheese, Key Lime pie and chocolate cake in the comfort and superb service of RTC, at a cost probably less than that of a TGIFridays or the like...amazing. Both of the tables near us had ordered burgers as well, so the word is out.

As evidenced in her new magazine!

So, Dan, how did you celebrate her big 4-0?

Hey, BBQ fans, listen to Don and many others. Eat here. Report back. First visit: ribs and pulled pork. Both were nicely smoked and quite moist, the latter a definite plus for the pulled pork. Both meats were a testament to their dry rub and smoke, and were delicious without adding a drop of sauce, which smartly is served on the side. The two sauces offered, "original" and "sweet and spicy," are good: I prefer more heat in a spicy sauce but pork is the star here and deservedly so. Next visit: brisket and key lime pie. Looking forward to it.

From the 8/21 Bowie Blade-News (location referenced is @ Rtes. 50/197 interchange near the Regal movie theater): "Jerry's Seafood Restaurant is coming to Bowie. The popular, Lanham-based seafood restaurant will be located in the restaurant park on Major Lansdale Boulevard in Bowie Crossing. Jerry's will be moving into the location vacated several months ago by the Bistro Fish Restaurant, that took over the location from Tony Roma's. Owner Phil Gainey, nephew to Jerry Gainey, the original "Jerry" in Jerry's Seafood, told the Blade-News that the restaurant has had its eye on Bowie for sometime. 'We offer both catering and carry-out services and both have expanded and it's quite frankly getting crowded in our Lanham location. People who do carry-out have to come in the front door to pick up food and that is disrupting to the restaurant atmosphere,' said Gainey. He said the Bowie location will include expanded hours, a full service bar, curb-side carry-out and, of course, all the favorites on its menu, including the Crab Bomb - a crab cake that includes 10 ounces of jumbo lump crab that's seasoned with Old Bay and baked golden brown. ... Gainey plans to open the Bowie location in September. Jerry's Seafood Restaurant is also located at 9364 Lanham-Severn Road in Lanham, 108 Second St. in Lewes, Del., and its other new location, 169 West St., Annapolis."

News article in local paper states restaurant (closed since Feb. '07 fire) will not be reopening at current location but that owner is looking for new location "no further than 30 minutes away." Bay 'N' Surf Won't Reopen in Laurel: Laurel Leader

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Theise article

NYT choc chip cookie article and recipe Most interesting thing learned: rest dough for up to 36 hours. Anyone ever done that?

First visit to Bloom (Odenton) yesterday, enticed by pork back ribs on sale at $2.98/lb (had to get membership card). Not much else of interest; layout is strange, and self scan checkout was the worst one I've ever used: scale couldn't detect frozen meals without having to actually drop them from a foot or more high, continual error messages of other sorts, and finally it froze up when confronted with ribs. No way to cancel and flee to human cashier (what few lines they have were very long - now I see why), so had to call out to customer service person to get me outta there. I also see why hand held scanner technology seems to have been ashcanned.

No argument here with Landrum's assessment of Bobby's Crabcakes' version; I may just order 3 sides of it on my next visit and make a meal of it.

This article about some BBQ'ers selling at a Davidsonville MD church will get me out to try them one weekend this summer. Unless someone's been and warns me off, I'll report back.... "Methodist" BBQ, if you will

Currently on hand: my favorite to date, Wisconsin White Birch, which pops up into large, white flakes, very nice traditional taste; my daughter's favorite, Starshell Red, large white flakes, tho a bit tough in my opinion; Baby Yellow, very tiny, somewhat sweet, hull-less flakes; Blue Heron, kind of nutty, but again, a little tough; and Black Hills, which is a little buttery. (I'm not very discriminating, however; I will eat any kind of popcorn till the batch is gone.)

Not local, but Fireworks Popcorn (popcornlovers.com) is a great mail source for unusual types of corn. Their varieties

Speaking from experience, inveigh upon Porcupine for her award-winning key lime pie recipe and you'll be golden.

The mention of A Voce brought to mind that I had made notes of our dinner there last year a few months after Carmellini opened which I hadn't posted (the future Ms. Ol_Ironstomach nee Gubeen -- congrats to you both -- passed along that she had heard good things about it but hadn't yet been): We began with appetizers of his duck meatballs and sheep's milk ricotta cheese. The generous bowl of creamy ricotta, served with crusty grilled bread, was a comforting start, but the meatballs, made with pork and foie gras, and nicely set off by a dried cherry mostarda, were a standout. We couldn’t settle on a pasta dish to share, so per our waiter's suggestion, got half-orders of scampi ravioli and a dish we couldn’t pass up: "My Grandmother's Meat Ravioli.” The former was served with zucchini in a lobster sauce, and was my wife's preference of the two. I, however, thought the ravioli was superior – perfectly cooked pasta, all soothing tomato meaty goodness. For the mains, we had wild black bass and one of the specials, roasted guinea hen. The fish was steamed and served in a spicy tomato broth with shrimp dumplings, zucchini and new potatoes. The guinea hen was flattened, rolled around a filling of foie gras, and then itself wrapped in pancetta, and served over spinach and agro dolce jus. All of those flavors came through in each bite, and were an exceptional combination. This dish was the highlight of the meal for me. We had a 2004 Romano Clelia Fiano di Avellino Coli di Lapio, an Italian dry white that paired particularly well with the bass. We ended with glasses of grappa and a chocolate dessert that was fine but not as memorable as what preceded it. The service was excellent: attentive, knowledgeable waiter, friendly staff.

My go-to sauce for pork ribs: THE PERFECT MAN'S APRICOT- HORSERADISH BARBECUE SAUCE 1 cup apricot preserves 1/4 cup dark rum 1/4 cup tomato paste 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 3 tablespoons cider vinegar 2 tablespoons ketchup 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon molasses 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons fresh shallot, minced 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 to 1 Scotch-bonnet pepper, seeded and minced (I usually substitute habanero, using min. 1, often more, depending on guests and their tolerance for heat) 1/2 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes (again, I use more) Salt and black pepper, freshly ground 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons horseradish, to taste

"ZOORRRAAA!!!!!"

Or the result of the Giada lesson that didn't make it to air... no, wait, that's a different show.

How about if he buys a round?

I was waiting to try the method on some thick strips, but my son's dinner request after a week at band camp was a sale package of ribeyes he brought to me in the store. He knew he would eat two, so I thought what the heck, let's see if the oven method will have any effect on these thin, run-of-the-mill Safeway cuts. My wife and I each had the CI steak first, then a bite of the non-CI steak. We were skeptical going into this but the difference was unquestionable. Question: would using the method on nice dry-aged Prime (or even Choice) from the butcher be worthwhile (could it hurt?), or, to use my father-in-law's expression, would it be like rubbing butter on a fat pig's ass?

Did a test of the (modified) Cooks Illus method today on regular grocery store Choice ribeyes. Sale package of six 1" steaks. Salted and peppered all, then put four of them in 275 oven till thermometer in one read 90 degrees, only about 12 minutes due to the relative thinness of the steaks, then on the grill over a hot hardwood lump charcoal fire for a couple of minutes per side for medium rare. Grilled the remaining two without the oven method. No comparison between the two methods -- the CI method steaks were far, far superior in taste. My wife and I were frankly quite surprised at the difference. A simple way to enhance Choice cuts, certainly.

Go ahead, be bold and throw the steaks directly on the coals!