Our Go-To Restaurants

Pre-COVID, we Minxes dined out at least once per week and sometimes 2-3 times if we were invited to restaurant events. Our regular night for dining out was Tuesday, the same day we did our grocery shopping. For the most part, it made sense to eat in restaurants that were close to grocery stores. The Weis Market in Towson Place (still Eudowood to me) is our favorite grocer, so we ended up at Red Robin entirely too often. Sometimes we would go to Spice and Dice for Thai food, or Gino's, and if we were especially tired of all of those places, we'd go to Glory Days Grill. Sometimes we'd go to a different grocery store because they all don't carry the same products at the same prices. Wegman's had a good by-the-pound buffet, so we ate and shopped in the same building. At other times, we'd go to ShopRite in Timonium, and we'd dine either at the Nautilus Diner, Il Basilico, or Yamato Sushi. Eventually, we soured on Yamato. While the fish was always fresh, the rolls were too large and seemed bland for the high price. We started going to Yama Sushi in Hampden/Roland Park/Whatever that area is called and consequently added the Giant in the same shopping center to our list of favorite stores.

in the car with the local bird from Ekiben

During the early days of COVID, we stopped dining out entirely. Our rare trips to the Weis Market were a quick in-and-out involving masks, rubber gloves, and lots of hand sanitizer. We ordered lots of carry-out and delivery from regular favorites Red Pepper, Kathmandu Kitchen, and Yama Sushi. We also discovered how delicious the burgers are at Alonso's, that giant fried chicken sandwiches from Ekiben taste just as good when eaten in the car, and that fries and wings from The Local Fry actually travel pretty well. Once summer hit and restaurants offered outdoor dining, we ate at La Cuchara as often as possible and celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary at a table in Petit Louis' parking lot. 

Now that things are pretty much back to "normal," except for the fact that there still is a pandemic going on, we're back to eating indoors on a weekly basis. We still don't go grocery shopping all that regularly, thanks to Amazon Fresh, but we do have a regular Saturday restaurant date. I do Whole30 off and on most of the year, which limits our restaurant choices. However, there are three places that are pretty safe for me, and we end up eating at them fairly frequently.

Lorenzo salad and wings @ Earth, Wood, & Fire

Earth, Wood, & Fire (1407 Clarkview Rd, Baltimore, MD 21209) serves one of our favorite pizzas in town, and they also have really good burgers (which are available on gluten-free buns). A pizza and a large Lorenzo salad (endive, arugula, grapes, macadamias, bleu cheese, in a lemon vinaigrette) constitutes our usual order, but on Whole30 days we each get an order of their spicy dry-rubbed wings in place of the pizza. To be honest, we can make the wings at home because I was able to cajole the recipe out of the chef, but we like the restaurant and want to continue to support them by eating there.

patty melt @ Nautilus Diner

Nautilus Diner (2047 York Rd, Timonium, MD 21093) has the typical huge diner menu with lots of carby breakfast options that aren't my thing even when I'm not dieting. I usually go for a slab of lasagna or moussaka, but now that I've discovered how good their patty melts are, my regular order may change. On diet days, however, I get a giant 3-egg omelet, with home fries, hold the toast. Broiled or roasted chicken--no stuffing, please!--is also a good choice, with a baked potato, veg of the day, and bonus cup of Maryland crab soup. Even I can't eat an entire half chicken, so there are plenty of leftovers to take home for a lunch later in the week.

chunky dunker oyster with watermelon mignonette @ True Chesapeake

As long as I stick to the oysters and other seafood items and stay away from the bread and other carb-laden goodies, I can have a fine meal at True Chesapeake. But why torture myself? Though we have gone there while dieting, it's more fun to go when I'm not. 

loaded yuca fries @ La Food Marketa

Another place I like when I'm on Whole30 is La Food Marketa (2620 Quarry Lake Dr, Baltimore, MD 21209). While I can't eat the tacos and such, I will get wings, brussels sprouts, and the loaded yuca fries. (Yes, some of those items have cheese on them, but it's my body, my diet so butt out.) The restaurant has a nice patio, so we tend to eat outdoors when we can. Neal is rather fond of their kobe beef hot dogs topped with street corn, and once in a while I order something different, like black bean soup. Those yuca fries are always on our table, however, no matter what else we get. 

beef kabobs and chicken fesenjan over tah dig @ Villagio Cafe

Most of our go-to restaurants are close by, no more than 10 miles in any direction. One, Villagio Cafe (6805 York Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212), is within walking distance. I think I've had lunch with friends at Villagio more often than Neal and I have eaten dinner there. It's never disappointing. My favorite is the un-lovely tah-dig topped with chicken fesenjan (crispy rice with a stew of walnuts and pomegranate with chicken), but I also enjoy their kebabs and lamb shank. Sometimes, when we want to feel young, we go to The Peppermill (1301 York Rd, Timonium, MD 21093), a restaurant that has been referred to as "God's waiting room." It's an old-fashioned sort of place with the kind of non-trendy comfort foods we grew up eating and where applesauce is considered a vegetable. But any place where I can get stewed tomatoes as a side and a hot fudge sundae or coconut cake for dessert is aces in my book. 

various maki and nigiri sushi @ Yama Sushi

Back to Yama Sushi (1030 W 41st St, Baltimore, MD 21211). I believe that maki rolls need to be small enough that I can fit an entire piece in my mouth without having to take a bite--2" in diameter at the very most, and that's pushing it. The rice of a piece of nigiri should be thumb sized, with the fish not much larger. Also, the rice should be fresh and not cold. Sadly, so many restaurants make giant rolls that are impossible to eat, and drape their nigiri with tablecloths of raw fish. The rice is either overcooked and sticky or cold and crumbly. Yama sushi is the optimal size and the rice is always perfect. Sometimes it's even a little warm. I appreciate an inventive roll, like their Red Devil, topped with lightly cooked, Cajun-spiced tuna, and the Christmas Tree, which wears a garland of seaweed salad. Not only is the food always very good, but the prices aren't astronomical and the service is pleasant. (We miss our regular pre-pandemic waitress who addressed us  as "honey" every time she came to the table.)

fish and chips and baby back ribs @ The Crackpot

Stalwart seafood restaurant The Crackpot (8102 Loch Raven Blvd, Towson, MD 21286) gets our business fairly regularly. It has recently come under new ownership and the menu has changed quite a bit. One can still get steamed crabs and a crabcake that weighs 23 ounces, but also chicken momo, veggie samosas, and chicken or beef tikka masala. I've always been fond of their baby back ribs, which are a bargain $12 on Mondays. I wasn't crazy about their crabcakes (which also came in a gluten-free version) and haven't tried them recently, though I'm curious to see what the new owners are doing with them. 

There are also a handful of go-to restaurants for when we're in a celebratory mood. We used to go to Cunningham's, but now that the restaurant is part of the Atlas Restaurant Group, they no longer get our business. Instead, we go to True Chesapeake, Cosima, or La Cuchara, all three of which were mentioned in a recent post. Others of our go-to dining spots that have also been named in prior posts: Red Pepper, Kung Fu 12, Asian Kebab and Hot Pot, and Il Basilico. Sometimes I think we should branch out and try other places, but to be very honest, we're quite happy with the selection of restaurants we currently visit. That's not to say that we haven't tried others--we have. But none of them have been worthy of adding to the list...though there is one we hope to visit again soon. More on that sometime in the future.

If anyone knows of a must-try restaurant in our general vicinity (Towson), please leave a comment!

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spotlight on: Hersh's

Not sure if anyone knows, but I've been writing a restaurant column for the City Walker App Blog. The purpose of the app itself is to give visitors a local's-eye-view of a city, so they are able to experience it in the same way residents do--on foot. (Not that anyone actually walks anywhere anymore.) The blog offers a bit more detail; I have endeavored to take users on a stroll through the city while pointing out restaurants along the way. In addition to the walking posts, I have been writing others that put certain favorite restaurants of mine in a spotlight. I thought I could share those here with you.

----------------------------------------------------

When I was much younger, Baltimore was a pizza wasteland. Sure, restaurants touting their nightmarish “fresh dough” pizza were all over the place, and yes, I ate my share of it, always hoping to find a slice that actually tasted good. The whole ‘fresh” dough thing was quite a misnomer; it was made in a factory somewhere and trucked into restaurants around town, so how fresh could it be? Well into the 1980s, Baltimore-area pizzas consisted of these flabby, flavorless crusts topped with bland red sauce and puddles of rubbery salt masquerading as cheese. Though cooked up in mom-and-pop establishments, they were awful enough to make Pizza Hut and Domino’s seem like the good stuff.

There were, of course, exceptions to the rule. My favorite pizza came from a regional chain called Pappy’s, where they served birch beer by the pitcher and gave styrofoam hats to kids. You know, the ones that are modeled after straw boaters and seen on the heads of barbershop quartets and election day candidate-hucksters. I was probably 10 when I had my last Pappy’s pizza so can’t be held accountable for my taste back then. There was also Matthew’s Pizzaria in Highlandtown, Squire’s in Dundalk, and Pizza John’s in Essex, all of which are still in business lo these many decades later. The former has a strong fan base, but I’ve always thought their pies were bland. Squire’s pizzas are anything but, with a very herby and somewhat sweet tomato sauce and a crust that is crunchy rather than crispy. I’ve never been to Pizza John’s, but I hear that they serve thin NY-style pizza and they make their own dough, so I should probably get my ass out there, right? In any case, none of the pizzas of my Charm City youth could hold a candle to most dollar slices in New York. For a while there I decided I didn’t really like the stuff. Fortunately, in the 00s, a bunch of pizza joints opened up in Baltimore, all serving thin-crust goodness with toppings like pesto and arugula. I realized I did like pizza, even craved it, though none of these newer establishments were what I’d call a “holy grail.”

Then I tried Hersh’s.

Hersh’s is on the very end of Light Street, a good mile’s walk from the Inner Harbor. Owned by siblings Josh and Stephanie Hershkovitz, Hersh’s serves Neapolitan-style pizza and a whole lotta other yummy Italianate things. But first, the pizza. It’s cooked in a wood-fired oven and is served uncut, like in Naples. The crust is thin with a perfectly blistered cornicione and some leopard-spots of char on the crust and upskirt. While the pizzas look so damn good you just want to pick it up and shove it into your pizza-pie-hole whole, cutting it into at least four slices is probably a better way to approach things. Less hot cheese in the lap. Also as in Naples, you can’t just come in and expect to get a giant pie slathered in shredded cheese and slices of pepperoni perched on a 5-napkin oil slick. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) If you’re really into pepperoni, you can add some to a Margherita (otherwise topped with housemade mozz, grana padano, and fresh basil), but why not put a little more excitement in your life? My suggestion is to order the Tre Porcellini if it’s on the menu. It’s topped with three different pork products–sausage, braised pork, and guanciale–along with provolone, garlic and red pepper flakes, and it will take you to hog heaven. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!) The Fumo e Fuoco is my fave, topped with smoked mozz, grana padana, and soft rounds of fried eggplant, all drizzled with a spark of chili oil. Excellent for dinner, even better when eaten cold for breakfast.

But enough about the pizza. While a pie and a beer, glass of vino, or a crafty cocktail can be a perfect meal for some, Hersh’s kitchen magic is not limited to things on crusts. You see, Hersh’s isn’t a pizza parlor. It’s an Italian restaurant. Yet, it’s impossible for my husband and I to eat at Hersh’s and not order pizza. However, we like to make it one course of a multi-course meal and share everything. So we might start off with one of the antipasti, most likely the wood-fired octopus or maybe the meatballs in tomato sauce over housemade ricotta, then move on to a salad. Right now there’s a lovely Autumn Salad comprising escarole, apples, pecans, parm, and gorgonzola dolce in a dijon-apple cider vinaigrette that sounds perfect. And while the more protein-focused of Chef Josh’s main dishes are going to be dynamite, we usually lean toward ordering a plate of his tender housemade pasta, like a classic spaghetti Carbonara, or maybe some roast pumpkin gnocchi with crispy braised pork and arugula-pumpkin seed pesto. (Yeah, I’m drooling too.) Once we’ve demolished those items, then we’ll have pizza. And if we can’t finish it, that’s when it becomes breakfast the following morning. There’s really no losing with this meal plan.

So if you’re in the mood for really great pizza and a plate of pillowy ricotta ravioli or maybe tagliolini with some sort of seafood on top, you definitely need to walk all the way down Light Street to Riverside to eat at Hersh’s. (And if your feet are sore from all the other walking you’ve been doing, jump on the bus. The Silver Line goes straight down Light and stops within a block of the restaurant.

Hersh’s
1843 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 438-4948



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Thai Beef Salad

It's not even Summer yet and we've already had some sizzling weather on the East Coast. When the weather is warm and I don't want to spend a lot of time fussing with dinner, I resort to gazpacho and salads so I can stay out of a hot kitchen. When I got word of the Keystone Beef recipe contest in honor of National Beef Month, I knew a quick salad was the way to go. It helped that the rules require the dish be made in 30 minutes or less, but that was going to happen anyway because the main ingredient was pre-cooked meat. Yeah yeah, I see you wrinkling your nose at the thought of canned, pre-cooked, beef. I felt the same way, but then I tasted Mr Minx's Emergency Chili made with the same product, and realized that canned beef isn't all that different from canned tuna. It's convenient and tasty and cuts down on cooking time in a big way.

This dish cooks for about 12 minutes, and chopping takes maybe another 10, but the flavor payoff makes it seem like it took much longer. I served the salad over a pile of baby spinach and arugula, but you can scoop it into cups of lettuce, if you'd like, or even eat it over rice or pasta.

Thai Beef Salad

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sambal oelek
1 can Keystone beef, drained
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved, quartered if large
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 scallions, chopped
Salt to taste
Handful of torn mint leaves
Handful of cilantro
French fried onions
Fresh greens of your choice

Combine the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and sambal in a bowl. Place the beef in a sauce pan and warm over medium heat. Stir in the sauce. Cook for ten minutes. Add the tomatoes, carrot, and scallions and stir. Cook an additional minute or two. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if necessary. Stir in most of the mint and cilantro, leaving a few pieces for garnish.

Serve the beef warm or at room temperature over a pile of greens. Garnish with leftover mint and cilantro and some of the french fried onions.

Serves 3-4 as an appetizer or two as a main dish.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Farro Salad

I'm a fan of Deb Perelman's blog, Smitten Kitchen. It's actually one of the few blogs I still read regularly; she writes in an entertaining manner, and her recipes are uniformly successful. Because I knew the recipes would be solid, I made sure to get a copy of her cookbook and read it from cover to cover. Several recipes jumped out at me, screaming, "make me! make me!" One of those was this salad of farro with carrots, parsnips, feta, and mint, all bathed in a dressing of lemon juice, harissa, and honey. And there you have the recipe. It's really simple and really good. The farro is pleasantly chewy, the root vegetables are sweet, the mint aromatic, and the dressing and cheese really liven up the dish. I think this will become a warm-weather staple in my house, once I can figure out how to cook the root veg without turning on the oven. Perhaps pan sauteeing over high heat, maybe charring the veg first over a gas burner.

I'm just going to paraphrase the recipe here, telling you what I did. If you want the exact recipe, you'll just have to buy the book!

Farro Salad with Carrots and Other Good Stuff

1 pound of parsnips, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 pound of carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
Seems like a lot of veg, but they shrink down to nothing. Toss the veg with olive oil and salt and spread out onto two foil-lined baking sheets. Roast 20 minutes at 400°F, stir, then roast an additional 10 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

8 ounces of dry farro
Add farro to 2 1/4 cups water or stock with a big pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cover pot. Cook 35 minutes, or until tender and fluffy. (I used Wegman's brand farro and it was done in about 25 minutes. YMMV.) Cover pot and let sit for 10 mins or so to allow farro to absorb remaining water (I poured it out.) Fluff with a fork.

Make a dressing with 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, a big pinch of cumin, 2 teaspoons of honey, and harissa to taste. (I have dried harissa powder in a jar and it's very mild so I used 2 teaspoons. Other brands will be uber hot, so use judiciously.) Season with salt and set aside. Have more lemon ready, in case you need more oompfh.

Toss the cooked farro with the dressing and add the veg. Toss again. Add a big handful of crumbled feta cheese and another handful of chopped fresh mint. Stir and taste for seasoning. You might need more salt and or lemon juice, as I did.

I served the salad with boneless skinless chicken thighs that I had marinated in a combo of salt, harissa, cumin, and olive oil (pinches of each for 3 thighs). Browned on both sides in a bit of olive oil, then turned down the heat and cooked until done, about 20 minutes total.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Paulie Gee's Hampden

Baltimore has never been known for its pizza. Starting in the 70s, many restaurants serving pizza used "fresh dough" that was trucked in from a factory, so crusts were uniformly flavorless and flabby across the board. Then the big chains like Pizza Hut, Domino's, and Papa John's came in. They put out complete crap, but since they can seem like the only choices, especially for delivered pizza, people eat them anyway. There are exceptions, of course. Matthew's, in Highlandtown, claims to be Baltimore's first pizzeria (since 1943), and they are a favorite of many. There's also Pizza John's in Essex and Squire's in Dundalk (my fave), both serving tasty pies for generations. But even with a couple of decent pizzas in town, Baltimore was never going to be New York, a city where even a cheap dollar slice can be manna.

Suddenly, in the 21st Century, Baltimore has good pizza. Even some great pizza. We even have New York pizza now. Ok, technically Paulie Gee's serves Neapolitan-style pizza, but founder Paul Giannone opened his first shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The Baltimore outpost, owned by Maryland native Kelly Beckham (aka Pizzablogger), is the second franchise location outside of NY and a welcome addition to the foodie paradise that is the neighborhood of Hampden.

Paulie Gee's is all about the pizza. It's pretty much all they serve, apart from the three salads currently on the menu. We tried 'em all. Each salad features its own type of greens (spinach, baby arugula, or spring mix) with a handful of toppings and a vinaigrette. Nothing groundbreaking, but all tasty, and fine choices if diners need something green to fool themselves that they are eating healthily in a pizza joint.

Sherry Lee Lewis - spring mix, pecans, red onion, guanciale, cranberries, oloroso sherry vinaigrette.

The pizza is the real show here. We heard that the pizza crusts weren't quite perfect when the place first opened, at least not in the opinion of some of our foodie friends. Chalk that up to getting used to the ovens and all the vagaries involved in making pizza crust, from the yeast to the water to the fermenting times. Now, however, I think they have it down.

Currently the menu boasts some 34 pizzas, a baker's dozen of which are vegan. We took a vegan friend with us one afternoon to sample a couple pies. He chose the Lou Ferrigno with cashew ricotta, pecan pesto, and vegan sausage (all house-made) along with basil, grape tomatoes, and a dash of nutritional yeast. It was pretty, and the ricotta was admirably cheese-like. He seemed to think the sausage was realistically meaty, but I'm not fond of meat analogs in general.

We also had the In Ricotta da Vegan (I'm not sure if the names amuse me or make me sad) with vegan tomato sauce and more of that sausage stuff; dollops of cashew ricotta, baby arugula, and evoo are added after the pie emerges from the oven. Again, the vegan ricotta was pretty nice. Of course the real star of both pies was the crust, thin, lightly chewy, with a nice crackle and a ton of blistering.

Over two visits, Mr Minx and I tried four other pies, two with tomato sauce and two without. We ordered the Betty White, a white pie with mozz, parm, pecorino, garlic oil, and soppressata, but got the Barry White, instead which is meatless. Because our server didn't write our order down. (Why? Why? Something usually comes out wrong or not at all when people rely on their memories.)

Top: Lou Ferrigno. Left: In Ricotta de Vegan. Right: Barry White.

We also had Mo Cheeks (tomatoes, parm, pickled red onion, pecorino, guanciale)...

Mo Cheeks

...and Hot Child in the City (somewhat similar to Mo Cheeks, but the red onion isn't pickled, the guanciale is replaced with Italian sausage and rosemary, and there's a liberal dose of HOT chile oil).

Hot Child in the City

Also the Stinger Bell. Yes, they couldn't not have a fucking reference to The Wire, because, you know, that's all Baltimore is known for. At least they didn't top this white pizza with shell casings and smack. Instead, there's a clever combo of smoked mozz, basil, lemon slices, lemon bitters, and Mike's Hot Honey. Yes, it sounds totally wacky, but works well together. The lemon doesn't make the pie sour, and the honey doesn't make it sweet. Instead there's great balance with subtle smoke in the background.

Stinger Bell

Beckham, and Co. transformed the former Republican Club by exposing the brick and decorating the place with two domed pizza ovens and a ginormous stack of fire wood. The wooden chairs aren't particularly comfortable, but one doesn't linger over pizza. With those blazing ovens, they take a short time to make, and the thin crust means they get cold pretty fast. Best to eat and get out so the next pizza hungry patrons (and we are legion) can take their turn. There's also a full bar in the back with a growing list of wine, beer, booze, and cocktails (which are also available in the front).

We like Paulie Gee's a lot. The pizzas are very good, and it's a hell of a lot closer to us Towson residents than our other favorite pizza joint, Hersh's. Expect lots of pizza photos on our Instagram accounts (@minxeats and @neal.patterson).

Paulie Gee's Hampden
3535 Chestnut Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21211
410-889-1048
http://pauliegee.com/hampden/




Posted on Minxeats.com.

Southern Provisions

Southern Provisions used to be Jokers n Thieves, with the lovely and talented Jesse Sandlin in the kitchen. I'm not sure what happened there, why JnT became a different restaurant with the same general theme. We had dinner there once, summer before last, and liked it quite a bit. The soft shell crab waffle sandwich was killer, and I fell in love with the Carolina gold rice porridge served with a slab of smoky brisket. In any case, Jesse is off doing other things and the nice space on the corner of O'Donnell and Potomac Streets is now called Southern Provisions.

We had a book signing down the street at 2910 on the Square (a fab gift shop that we highly recommend) in early December and moseyed over to Southern Provisions for dinner afterward. I had heard that they were offering the trendy Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, and wanted to give them a try.

We ordered a couple of beers and both the Nashville hot chicken sliders and something called "Ol’ Saint Nick Fritters" for appetizers. I did the ordering, and when I added the "Chop Salad," our waitress seemed inordinately confused. Apparently she thought the sliders were my entree. A bit of advice to wait staff: when a fat woman orders a lot of food, just write it down and bring it. Maybe ask if she wants it all at once or some as an app and some as an entree, but don't stare at her like she has three heads. She may be a food writer who just wants to taste everything. There are these things called "doggie bags" if she doesn't finish it all.

Mr Minx ordered the Brisket French Dip. The waitress didn't look at him funny.

Let's start with those sliders, shall we? Real Nashville hot chicken is marinated, fried, and sauced in an ass-kicking cayenne-based paste. It's red and it's hot. As a sandwich, the chicken is typically served on white bread with pickle chips.

Well, they got the pickle chip part right.

The chicken itself was fried, somewhat dry, breast meat. Neither the chicken nor the breading was particularly flavorful. And there was no discernible heat. The menu claims the chicken is dipped in something called Jim Beam Devil's Cut hot sauce, but perhaps, as in the making of a dry martini, a bottle of the sauce was merely waved over the chicken. Disappointing.

I ordered the "Ol’ Saint Nick Fritters" just because they sounded like a disaster. "Fresh mint, sage and ginger fritters served w/peppermint bark butter." Not only is the Oxford comma conspicuously absent, I couldn't get my mind around the peppermint bark butter. The waitress assured me that the dish was tasty. She also said the fritters were like hush puppies, crisp on the outside and soft in the middle--an apt description. Definitely crispy on the outside, the fritters were raw and gooey on the inside. The waitress whisked them away with apologies; a few minutes later, a manager brought us fresh ones that were cooked all the way through.

I slathered a hot ball with some of the pink butter and took a bite. Weird, but not awful. On their own, the fritters tasted a tad like stuffing. The butter was creamy and tasted like melted Hershey's white chocolate kisses, the ones with the bits of candy cane inside. It would have been fab spread on a slice of chocolate cake. Had there been no sage in the fritters, it would have worked with them, too. Otherwise, it was just weird. But far from inedible.

I imagine it was my mistake thinking that a "chop salad" was going to be a "chopped salad." A chopped salad is, well, chopped. That is, everything is cut into small pieces, including the lettuce. A sturdy lettuce like iceberg or romaine works best; their prominent rib actually offers something to chop. Southern Provisions' salad was just a salad. There was a mess of baby greens topped with milky blobs of what was listed as "house made" mozzarella, plus roasted beets and pecans. A shit ton of pecans. An entire pie worth of pecans. I'm not complaining - they were the best part of the salad. What wasn't the best part was the "warm bacon & onion vinaigrette" which was unbalanced, leaning too far toward sour. It was also watery, which may have meant the greens hadn't been dried well after washing. In any case, it was a bad salad and I regretted ordering it.

Neal's brisket French dip was meh. The "sautéed" onions were little more than steamed (and whomever chopped them needs to learn better knife skills). The brisket was tender and had a nice smoky flavor, but it was a little hard to taste with all the bread. The fries were good though, well-cooked and seasoned.

So. Completely meh. Maybe that's being generous. They did take the fritters off the tab, which was nice. I should have complained about the abysmal salad and lack of hot sauce on the chicken, too. We actually should have sent it all back. But what's bitchier - being a picky and complaining customer, and making the wait staff suffer when it's not their fault, or writing about it afterward?

Southern Provisions
3000 O'Donnell St
Baltimore MD 21224
410) 675-4029



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Family Meal - Baltimore

Chef Bryan Voltaggio has made quite a name for himself in the Baltimore/DC area. He started with one ambitious restaurant in Frederick, Volt, then went on to open Lunchbox, Range, Family Meal, and Aggio. There's an Aggio in Baltimore now, and just recently a third Family Meal opened here too.

Located on Pier 4, just past the Power Plant and across from the National Aquarium, Family Meal's space is open and clean, with an open kitchen and welcoming bar area. Mr Minx and I were among more than a dozen members of the media invited to a tasting of Chef Voltaggio's classic American fare.

The Keeper

The food at Family Meal borrows heavily from home cooking. Some of it, like the fried chicken, biscuits, pimento mac and cheese, and braised greens, has a Southern touch. The meatloaf, breakfast for dinner, and milkshakes bring to mind an upscale diner. And the little touches, like housemade pickles and hot sauce, creme fraiche with the chili, and the touch of salt cod in the spinach artichoke dip let you know you're in a Nice Restaurant. Albeit a family-friendly one (there's a kids' menu, too).

Onion rings

We started out with a couple cocktails, the Raven (vodka, ginger beer, black berries, creme de violette) and the Family Meal Sous Vide Sazerac (Catoctin Creek rye, lemon, fennel, peychauds bitters). Later we sampled the Devil You Knew (reposado tequila, pomegranate syrup, ginger, lemon) and the Keeper (vodka infused with "our bay" seasoning, pickle brine). All four of beverage director Dane Nakamura's drinks were refreshingly un-sweet and easy to drink. We especially enjoyed the Keeper, a nice twist on a (very) dirty martini.

On to the grub. There was so much of it, yet we didn't taste everything on the menu by far. What we did try: deviled eggs with smoked applewood bacon; cornflake breaded onion rings with bacon horseradish dip; spinach artichoke dip with salt cod, homemade seasoned soda crackers; chili with the fixins, charred lime crema, and aerated cheese; beef and onion soup; a wedge salad and a chopped salad that was like an antipasti plate or Italian cold cut sub in a bowl, but without the hot peppers; a lobster roll; fried chicken with jalapeno biscuits and housemade hot sauce; meatloaf with "everything" mashed potatoes and garlicky spinach; salmon with cannellini beans and cabbage; pimento mac and cheese; braised greens; banana scotch pudding; cream-sicle pie; and last but not least, a brownie-like chocolate dessert topped with ice cream, caramel sauce, and peanut butter powder.

Banana scotch pudding, chocolate/pb/caramel yumminess

Whew.

While every dish was well-thought-out, fresh, and delicious, there were some real stand-outs. That beef and onion soup, for example, is Chef Voltaggio's spin on French onion soup. There are caramelized onions, chunks of braised short rib, and croutons, all smothered in a blanket of the stretchiest aged Vermont cheddar imaginable. So rich and unctuous, it would definitely make a satisfying meal if paired with one of the lighter salads. The spinach and artichoke dip, flavored with a soupcon of salt cod, was so far elevated above the typical home-made party-food version that it practically levitated. There were housemade saltines on the side, but I was eating it with a spoon. We also loved loved loved the desserts, particularly the banana scotch pudding, which was surprisingly light.

While Bryan Voltaggio is the owner and face of Family Meal, I also have to give a shout-out to his Chef de Cuisine, Keith Long, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of the restaurant. Full disclosure: a couple of Chef Long's recipe were featured in our cookbook, Baltimore Chef's Table.

Check out all the images from our meal in this slideshow.






Posted on Minxeats.com.

Minxeats Best of 2014, Part 2

Every year, we try to recap some of the best food we've eaten during the past twelve months. In Part 1, we mention all of our favorite restaurant dishes. This time, it's our own home cookin' that gets the spotlight.

February - Nutty Bars

April - Rice Salad with Chinese Sausage and Roasted Broccoli

May - Coconut Macaroon Cake

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Korean Pork Meatball Tacos

July - Blackened Carrots with Harissa Yogurt and Carrot top-Mint Pesto

August - Gluten-free Green Tomato Caprese

Three Cheese Ravioli with Raw Tomato Sauce

Nectarine Soup with Crab Salad

September - Gluten-free Stone Fruit Crisp

Swiss Chard Gumbo

November - Tomato Garlic Parm Soup

December - Caramel Apple Cobbler

Chinese Cassoulet



Posted on Minxeats.com.

New Winter Menus at Vivo and Grillfire

Grillfire and Vivo, the restaurants at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve, are ringing in the holiday season with new menu offerings. Grillfire is introducing new starters, salads, and a surf and turf dish, and Vivo has added five new wood fired pizzas. I'm all over that buttermilk fried chicken and oysters dish with andouille gravy and creamed spinach and the burrata and pistachio pizza!

STARTERS
Flash Fried Chesapeake Oysters $12
“Rockefeller” with creamy spinach, gouda, caper butter and Pernod

SALADS
Roasted Beets, Arugula and Goat Cheese $10
Rainbow baby carrots and toasted walnuts with champagne-honey vinaigrette

GRILLFIRE FAVORITES
Add a side salad, Caesar or iceberg wedge, for $6
Baked Brie Chicken $24
Balsamic-cherry glaze, wild rice, grilled asparagus and butter-toasted walnuts

Braised Durham Ranch Bison Short Rib $26
Asparagus and onion “casserole,” charred fingerling potatoes and pan jus

SURF AND TURF
Includes one accompaniment. Add a side salad, Caesar or iceberg wedge, for $6
Ribs and Shrimp $25
Half-rack baby back ribs and chili-glazed jumbo shrimp

Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Oysters $24
Andouille gravy and creamed spinach

SANDWICHES
Seared Ahi Tuna Wrap $17
Tomato-jalapeno salsa, black beans, avocado, baby greens and wasabi mayo

VIVO PIZZAS
Prosciutto and Arugula $16
San Marzano tomatoes, oregano, basil and fresh mozzarella

Baby Clam Neapolitan $15
Garlic, lemon, mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, oregano and parsley

Burrata and Pistachio $15
Garlic, olive oil, Pecorino Romano, sopressata and crispy kale

Il Porco $14
Braised pork, housemade sausage, rapini, Pecorino Romano, provolone and taleggio

The Hotel at Arundel Preserve
7793-A Arundel Mills Blvd.
Hanover MD 21076
410-799-2883

Posted on Minxeats.com.

The Corner Pantry

Chef Neill Howell won the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament in 2013, when he was working at Bond Street Social. I managed to snag the restaurant for a slot in our cookbook, Baltimore Chef's Table, but chef Howell had other plans. When he left Bond Street Social to open his own place, I transferred his info to a sidebar. Sadly, that sidebar was cut by our ruthless editor (along with a bunch of other stuff). Yes, Neill, I am apologizing again.

Turns out, change is good. Although he's not in the book, he is cooking up a storm at the Corner Pantry, a Balto-British cafe in Lake Falls Village. Recently, Mr Minx and I were invited to a media dinner hosted by chef Howell and his wife, Emily.

The Corner Pantry is located in the spot that used to house Banksy's. Gone are the faux-Burberry wall decorations; they've been replaced by fresh white subway tile and a large stainless counter atop which sit the day's wares. The first thing one notices is the pastries made by pastry chef, Julie Sutula: scones; crumpets; pop tarts; cookies, muffins; biscuits; and even Cornish pasties (a meat pie). Next to that is the cold counter, which holds the day's selection of salads and proteins. For $10.99 a pound, customers can load up on goodies like salmon, kimchi soba noodle salad, rice and cauliflower salad, etc., to eat there or to take home. A variety of breakfast and lunch sandwiches are also available, plus a few other dishes from the kitchen.

A selection of menus

We were served items from both the cafe and the catering menu. It was quite a lovely spread, and I'm betting chef Neill and Emily do a bang-up job with catering. The crab and corn fritter, which we were served as a passed app, was delightful. Scrummy, as they say across the pond.

Biscuits with tomato bacon jam

On the table were plates of Sutula's moist biscuits, which were hard to stop eating with a dollop of Chef Neill's tomato bacon jam.

Ploughman's Board

We started dinner in earnest with the Ploughman's board. Typically, a ploughman's lunch includes bread, cheese, and a thick brown vinegary chutney-like stuff called Branston pickle. After having a particularly constipating one in England in the 80s, simply hearing the word "ploughman," saddens me. But the ploughman's at Corner Pantry is a delight of tangy, toasty, and meaty elements. We were served tender ham hock, some toasted raisin spelt bread, a dollop of goat's cheese, a wee Scotch quail egg, and a bowl of piccalilli relish.

Kimchi soba noodle salad

The main course was served family style and included the restaurant's popular kimchi soba noodle salad. We're big fans of soba, our noodle of choice for cold salads. Chef Neill's was spicy and garlicky and so good we came back for more a couple days later.

Lamb Kofte with buttermilk tahini

Another dish off the catering menu is lamb kofte lollipops, which were served with a buttermilk tahini dressing. The kofte, elongated meatballs of Middle Eastern origin, were moist and redolent of cumin. (We also snagged a couple more of these when we came back for a repeat visit on the weekend.)

Roasted peach salad

The roasted peach salad included local peaches and Big City farms greens (which are also available for purchase in the grab-and-go case at the back of the restaurant) along with red onions--a delicious combination of ingredients for a simple tossed salad.

Roasted rockfish

We also tasted rockfish, simply roasted and served with lemon. This is something that would typically be a featured protein on the cold counter, like the roasted salmon that was available recently. Simple but very good. There was also a side dish of lemony rainbow chard (not pictured) that I could not stop eating.

Donut hole on passion fruit butterscotch and tiramisu

Dessert, of course, was also served. There was a lovely little tiramisu served in a mason jar, and a donut hole with passion fruit butterscotch. Say yes to passion fruit butterscotch! It was fab. Donuts are a Saturday special at the Corner Pantry, and if you're lucky, that donut hole/butterscotch combo will be featured. (Check their Facebook page for Donut Saturday announcements.)

We also took home a selection of the Corner Pantry's baked goods, all of which were uniformly delicious and made a fine breakfast the next morning.

Just a couple days later, I decided I didn't want to cook dinner. We don't live far from the Corner Pantry, so we popped in for some carry-out, which included roast salmon, kimchi soba salad, kofte, and a crab cake, which was one of the week's kitchen specials. And I must say...it was very special.

Crab cake and salad with homemade tartar sauce

Made with Maryland crab meat, this baby was almost all meat. I didn't notice any filler at all, and the seasoning had a lovely lemon flavor. Chef Neill may be from the UK, but it seems that his soul is firmly in Baltimore. I highly recommend this crab cake, so be sure to give it a try if it's available!

We recommend everything at the Corner Pantry, actually, and are happy that we finally had a chance to get there. We hope to become regulars. :)

For more info on menus, catering, etc., check out the Corner Pantry Web site:
http://www.corner-pantry.com/



Posted on Minxeats.com.