Frederick, Maryland Food Fan

Central Michel Richard - Washington, D.C.

2008-11-06T17:17:00.000-08:00

October 21, 2008

After dining at Citronelle last December, we wanted to check out Richard's less formal (and less expensive) Central. It features a mixture of French bistro food as well as gourmet takes on American comfort food. Laurie and I started with one of their cocktails, and we enjoyed them both. I ordered the ginger daiquiri and Laurie ordered the grape caipirinha. The daiquiri was tart, not too sweet, and pleasantly gingery.

We shared the gougeres/cheese puffs (mini cheese popovers made from pâte a choux) and the onion and lardon tart for appetizers. I liked the cheesy, salty gougeres; Laurie did not. We both, however, absolutely loved the tart. Onions and bacon on a thin, flaky crust, drizzled with sour cream and chives - this was a great way to start a meal.

For the main courses, I went French and Laurie went American: The braised rabbit with spaetzle and carrots and the bacon cheesburger with fries. The rabbit came in two cuts, a piece of braised dark meat and sliced, lightly breaded lighter meat. Served with a mustardy sauce, the meat is familiar enough for fans of chicken but different enough to be more interesting than that ubiquitious bird. The carrots were the best I've ever had. It's hard to get excited about carrots but they were that good. I should've asked about them; I'm not sure what kind of stock and/or other ingredients were used to prepare them but they were fantastic. To complement my entree, I ordered a delicious Belgian ale on tap (though I didn't catch the name - sorry!).

A criticism of Central is the heavy-handedness with the salt. When I mentioned at the beginning of my entree that my food was salty, our server quickly offered to replace my dish. I didn't think it was worth sending back. As I eagerly finished the rabbit and carrots, I realized that the spaetzle was the main offender in the salt category. The fresh tarragon (one of my least favorite herbs) sealed the deal - I didn't finish it.

Laurie's bacon cheeseburger was the best burger either of us have had. From the housemade roll to the thin, fried onion circles, from the excellent quality beef, bacon, and cheese, if any burger and fries are going to command $18, it's this one. Laurie found the fries to be too salty and didn't like the seasoning. I thought they were fine but not great. (We prefer the ultra-crispy fries at Brasserie Les Halles.)

We shared the chocolate mousse. Between the crunchy chocolate candy on top and the raspberry center, I felt these distracted from the mousse, which was otherwise creamy and tasty.

Our meal at Central was good and very rich. We were both exceedingly full at the end of our meal.

http://www.centralmichelrichard.com

VOLT - Frederick, MD

2008-09-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

August 30, 2008

I've been excited about the opening of VOLT since I first heard about it in the spring. A sophisticated, modern menu that features local ingredients by a young chef with an impressive resume (Charlie Palmer Steak in DC, Aureole in NYC, graduate of the Culinary Institute of America), right in Frederick sounded almost too good to be true. Some of the courses at VOLT were easily the best I've had in a Frederick restaurant in my nearly 11 years living in the area. The meal, however, was marred by some amateurish flaws.

The beginning of the evening was both unfortunate and unacceptable. I booked reservations for the Chef's Dining Room, where patrons choose between a five-course or seven-course tasting menu (the four-course a la carte menu is served in the main dining room). Our reservation was for 7:30pm. We were not seated until 8:15pm. Then we were given cocktail menus - as if we hadn't had ample time to explore the selection (some of us were on drink number two). Later, I had to ask if we could place our order. Our table chose the seven-course tasting menu ($89, wine pairings extra). It was nearly 9:00pm before our server brought out the bread and canapes before the first course.

The breads were good and interesting: A knot roll and a bacon and rosemary bread. The canapes were bite size and came on spoons and included one of the highlights of the meal. The creamy red pepper custard with trout roe and ginger was absolutely phenomenal.

The first course was a selection of heirloom tomatoes with olive oil and tomato sorbet. I'm not a big fan of (nearly) plain raw tomatoes in the first place but even the tomato lovers failed to rave at this one. The tomato sorbet was intense in a unpleasant way: One of our friends at our table compared the flavor to Campbell's tomato soup.

The second course was shiitake veloute with pine nut sabayon, chili oil, and flowering basil. I thought it was intriguing, original, or tasty. My wife loved it.

Course number three was a fine, if uneventful, halibut dish.

The fourth course, however, was a stunner: Foie gras with melons and vanilla salt. I prefer my foie gras warm (preferably seared) but this was the finest cold foie gras I've had. Foie gras is often paired with a sweet ingredient such as fruit but I had never had it with melons, which worked in a unique way. The vanilla salt added an appropriate "sweet spice" to the fruit, which contrasted nicely with the savory richness of the foie gras. My wife does not like foie gras so I had this excellent, decadent course twice.

If any of the seven courses were "the main course," the traditionalist in me would say that it would be the beef and potato dish. And this course was easily the most disappointing part of the meal since the 45-minute late start. For all of the excellent flavors and concepts of the previous courses, this course failed due to fundamentals: Both the beef and potato puree were very over salted.

The sixth course breathed life into a normally staid course: Cheese. The raw cocoa and chopped pistachios elevated the cheese course to a level that exceeded my expectations.

The seventh and final course ended the meal with my preferred dessert of choice: Something involving chocolate. The chocolate and hazelnut pave was delicious, and like most of the other courses, the presentation was modern and inviting.

Despite the lengthy initial wait, the staff in the bar and restaurant were, as one of my friends later wrote, "friendly and intelligent about their craft." I ordered the wine pairings and enjoyed them, as well as the descriptions by the sommelier, who sought to educate but not condescend. And as a beer aficionado, I loved the pairing of the cheese course with not a wine but with Brooklyn Brown Ale. Well done.

The Chef's Dining Room was popular with most of our table, described as "very comfortable yet very classy." My only complaint is that half of the guests have their backs to the open kitchen.

If VOLT was in DC, the distance and desire to try some other restaurants, along with the problems described above and the price tag, would make a return trip prohibitive. Yet because the culinary highs were so high, and the restaurant is so close, I can see myself returning in about six months, hoping to see if the kinks were all worked out.

Spaghetti Sauce with Summer Garden Tomatoes

2008-08-18T19:41:00.001-07:00

Even more local than using the farmer's market foods, I've made two batches of spaghetti sauce using tomatoes and jalapenos from the gardens of family and friends as well as herbs from my herb garden. Thanks to Aunt Sue and Uncle Mike and Kelly and Joe.

Summer Garden Spaghetti Sauce

The strategy here is to be flexible with what you have. The jalapenos, for example, stand in for the more traditional crushed red pepper flakes. The recipe calls for 4 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped tomatoes only because that's what I had during the second batch.

4 1/2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes (including seeds, not including juices)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (feel free to use more for a richer sauce and/or stir in some butter at the end)
7 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 small jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped (include seeds and veins for more heat)
15 fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Heat the oil to medium-low and add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for about five minutes. Do not burn.

Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for awhile (10, 20, 30 minutes - whatever you want), allowing the sauce to simmer uncovered and thicken slightly.

Puree in a food processor or blender (use caution when blending hot liquids).

As far as pasta, I'm a big fan of angel hair.

Brasserie Les Halles - Washington, D.C.

2008-08-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

August 13, 2008

My wife and I took our four-year old daughter to check out dinosaur bones at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We also used it as an excuse to eat at a nice restaurant in DC!

The original New York City location of Les Halles is best known for being the last restaurant where Anthony Bourdain was a chef before Kitchen Confidential made him a star. Les Halles is a French bistro with a focus on steaks ("American Beef - French Style") as well as some other classics of French food (cassoulet, mussels and frites, steak au poivre).

I started with an appetizer portion of steak tartare, my first time eating the dish. At Les Halles, steak tartare is prepared table side with the server stirring in a raw quail egg, Worcestershire sauce, and the amount of Tabasco to your liking. In addition, anchovies, capers, cornichons, raw onions, and flat-leaf parsley are offered to be stirred into the meat. I remembered once as a child tasting raw ground beef and it not having a lot of flavor so I ordered mine with medium spiciness and everything except the raw onions. I enjoyed the dish, but I believe I my choices led to an overseasoned tartare. This "appetizer" portion was probably about six ounces of ground beef. With the mixed-in ingredients, as well as a small salad and two pieces of toasted baguette, this appetizer portion could make for an affordable lunch ($8). I didn't finish mine, knowing that I had a (cooked) steak entree coming.

I ordered the hanger steak with shallot sauce with frites (it also came with a small salad). The fries were excellent: Hot and very crispy (twice fried?). The steak and sauce were both rich, well-seasoned, and nicely flavored. I thoroughly enjoyed my entree.

The downside of the meal was my daughter's chicken tenders. She enjoyed the crispy fries but the chicken tenders were terrible, an afterthought which probably came out of a box out of the freezer. What made this even more frustrating was the $9.50 price tag. (Kids' menu chicken tenders don't have to be poor: Dogfish Head Brewing in Gaithersburg has excellent tenders.)

This was my second meal at Les Halles and I enjoyed them both. The restaurant, however, gets no love from neither The Washington Post nor The Washingtonian. I've been following both publications' dining guides for two years now, and Brasserie Les Halles has been absent from both. In addition, when the Post reviewed hamburgers at sit-down restaurants within the last year or two, Les Halles' burger finished at or near the bottom (by the way, Central Michel Richard's was #1, Palena's was #2). It doesn't seem to matter - it was packed for lunch on this summer Wednesday.

Ed's Country Bakery - Frederick, MD

2008-08-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

I was first turned on to Ed's County Bakery at the Shab Row farmer's market on Thursday afternoons. I enjoyed the double chocolate cookies, chocolate cupcakes, and the citrus cooler (orange-lemon-limeade). For my son's first birthday, we ordered two 1/4 sheet cakes (one yellow, and one chocolate). They both tasted and looked great and the prices are affordable.

The bakery also is at the Walkersville farmer's market on Wednesdays.

Ed's Country Bakery
4309 Cap Stine Road
Frederick, MD 21703
301-788-5409 (phone)
301-663-0482 (fax)
www.edscountrybakery.com
edo@edscountrybakery.com

My Thai - Frederick, MD

2008-08-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

July 31, 2008

I'm glad that I ordered another appetizer because this review would be pretty negative without it.

I ordered one of the lunch specials, which includes a spring roll. The roll (I ordered mine with chicken) was crispy and flavorful. The texture inside was creamy due to potato, which made the roll memorable as well as very good.

I also ordered the larb gai appetizer, which is "minced chicken tossed in cilantro, mint, red onion, and lime juice" served on a bed of greens. I'm intrigued by the combination of cilantro and mint, which is also used in Indian cuisine. The herbs are both strong and distinctive, yet they pair well together. The larb gai was delicious. When I told my server, she agreed and said that she sometimes eats it for lunch.

My entree was disappointing. I ordered phad prik sod with duck, which is "stir-fried with chili, snow peas, onion, scallions, and red bell pepper." The main problem was the overuse of soy sauce. With Asian dishes, I often use the plain white rice to soak up the sauce. I didn't do that with the phad prik sod.

For fans (or opponents) of chili heat, My Thai lets the diner know on the menu between "mildly spicy," "medium spicy," and "very spicy." They also are happy to season any dish to diner's tastes.

I plan on returning to My Thai, based on the strength of the larb gai and the spring roll but I'll be wary of salt when ordering my next entree.

Clay Oven - Frederick, MD

2008-07-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

July 9, 2008

When my wife and I began eating Indian food in Frederick some years ago, we'd go to Bombay Grill, on Market Street, downtown. For variety, we then tried Nilgiris off of Rt. 85 and that became our go-to Indian place. Earlier this month, we tried Clay Oven on Rt. 40 and had a good lunch.

Our preferred meal for Indian is lunch buffets, due to the selection, price, and how many Indian dishes (which are slow-cooked in sauces) excel when kept hot for long periods of time . Clay Oven's lunch buffet and dining room are smaller than those of the aforementioned competitors. One thing we appreciated was the consistent and noticeable spiciness of the food at Clay Oven. Perhaps in an attempt to appeal to a wider crowd, sometimes the chili peppers seem a bit buried at Bombay Grill and Nilgiris. Another (surprising) difference was the inclusion of a beef dish at Clay Oven's lunch buffet.

Most of the dishes really worked well at Clay Oven. The chef's use of spices (not just chilis), created many flavorful offerings. I enjoyed the chicken tikka makhani, chicken curry, navratan korma ("fresh vegetables simmered in a spiced creamy sauce with nuts"), and baigan bhurha (eggplant and onions). On the other hand, the dal makhani, a lentil dish, was one of the few bland dishes, needing more spice and more salt. The vegetable samosa was dense and unpleasant. The naan was acceptable.

In comparing my one visit to Clay Oven with my multiple visits to Nilgiris, Clay Oven's dishes were generally better seasoned. Most of Clay Oven's dishes were well spiced and appropriately creamy and rich. On the other hand, the chef(s) at Nilgiris can sometimes have a heavy hand with the oil and the salt. Yet the buffet at Nilgiris has an ever-changing variety of dishes (often including goat!) while Bombay Grill and Clay Oven seem to play it safer with their offerings. Perhaps this is why we tend to see more Indian patrons at Nilgiris. Nilgiris also has great naan, blistered from the hot oven and brushed with butter.

This was my first lunch at Clay Oven and I look forward to returning. I also need to return to Bombay Grill - it's been awhile.

Keeping berries fresh

2008-07-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

technique from Cook's Illustrated magazine:

One thing that can go bad quickly regardless of whether it's local or not is berries. I'm sure you've had the experience of buying berries, putting them in the fridge, and throwing them out in several days because they're moldy. A solution is to wash berries in three parts water to one part regular white distilled vinegar. This kills mold spores and bacteria on the surface of the berries. Then rinse with cold water. Then spin the berries dry in a salad spinner lined layered with paper towels. Store in a paper towel-lined container with lid ajar to let moisture escape.

I split a batch of wild black raspberries purchased at the Shab Row farmers' market in Frederick. Half the batch I left in the container I purchased them in, loosely covered. The other half I prepared as above. The washed and dried berries are still good one week later (save for one, lone moldy berry). The unwashed half were moldy. The procedure above bought me at least several extra days of good berries.

E.M. Restaurant - Chinatown, New York, New York

2008-07-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

June 21, 2008

Chicken feet. Jellyfish.

The morning after Steely Dan at the Beacon Theatre (and several bars after that), we agreed to do dim sum in Chinatown for brunch.

I asked our friend from high school (Brian) who lives on the Lower East Side to take us to a real deal place. I'm uninterested where tourists eat in Chinatown. Take me to some place authentic, I said.

So we head to Chinatown and on the outskirts the crowd is racially mixed. As we kept walking, we eventually got to a point where we were the only six non-Asians around. We entered the restaurant and we were the only non-Asians there. We sat down at a round table in a brightly lit room not unlike a banquet room of a modest hotel. Throughout the meal the wait staff was very welcoming while gladly and proudly telling us what every dish was.

We had shrimp shu mai, pork shu mai, a braised leafy green in soy sauce, lamb and turnips (probably boiled), and a scallion pancake (one of the table's favorite dishes) as well as several pork rib dishes. On the whole, there were familiar Chinese flavors involving soy sauce and mixing sweet and salty. Sometimes the food was pretty pungent (fish sauce? oyster sauce? an ingredient with which I'm unfamiliar?), such as the pork shu mai, yet the lamb and turnips was quite bland (other than the disturbing skin attached - and at least one piece with a few hairs unremoved).

Alright. Chicken feet.

If you've never had chicken feet, would you like them? The answer to that question is pretty much the same as the answer to: Do you like the skin on chicken? Because once you eat the skin off of a chicken foot, there's really nothing left but bone and cartilage. Brian said he prefers fried chicken feet to the ones that we had because the skin on fried feet is crispy while the skin on the ones we had was soft. I assume I would agree. The chicken feet were in a brown, salty and sweet sauce, topped with sliced scallions - flavors and appearance that you'd associate with Chinese cuisine.

Jellyfish tasted like cabbage but had one of the worst textures of any food I can think of ever trying. It was described by people at the table as like "a mouthful of chicken cartilage," "eating an ear or nose," and "eating bubble wrap."

What was different from regular Chinese restaurants in the 'burbs was that most of the food was much more modest. To me, there's a real peasant quality to dishes like chicken feet and the lamb and turnips, yet the waiters were in white shirts and black bow ties. The Americanized Chinese restaurants I'm used to seem to serve more expensive cuts of meat - but at higher prices. The six of us shared quite a few small dim sum plates and had tea and water and the bill (pre-tip) was $55. In New York. Where I paid $11 for a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada. Where I paid $15 for a beef brisket sandwich and pickles.

One ingredient that was noticeably absent was anything with duck. Brian said that duck (as well as roast pork) tends to not show up at weekend dim sum brunch but does at other Chinese meals (lunch, dinner).

Was the food amazing? No. Was this a good, affordable, and very interesting brunch in NYC? Absolutely.

Local Farmers' Markets

2008-07-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

I've been taking advantage of the mid-week markets in order to avoid the crowds of Saturdays. But I believe I'm missing a lot at the Fairgrounds and Baughman's Lane. I've got to check those out soon.

July 1: Coldstream Lot, Lake Linganore

This is a new market, which will hopefully expand. There were only three vendors and only one sold produce (the others were baked goods and coffee). But it's hard to complain when it's the closest one to my house.

Most of the produce at the one stand was not from the farm of the stand owners. They had a few items from their farm in Keymar, MD, some goods from a neighboring Carroll County farm, and others from as far away as South Carolina. I'm at the markets for local produce only so I bought a nice pint of cherries for $2.50. I paid $4.00 for a pint at the Shab Row market last week.

June 19 and 26: Everedy Square and Shab Row, Frederick

For its small size, the Shab Row market has a decent selection of goods from various-sized farms. In addition, there is a bakery, and on the 19th, there was a vendor who makes and sells chocolate truffles. In the two weeks, I've purchased blueberries, two types of summer squash, cherries, Thai basil, rosemary, orange-lemon-lime-ade, and a chocolate truffle. I've been pleased with the quality of all of the goods I've purchased (but a regular-size chocolate truffle for $2 was too much).

June 4: Heritage Farm Park, Walkersville

My first farmers' market trip of the summer was a bit of a disappointment at first, yet yielded a really good dish.

Only a minority of stands had produce. The rest hawked items such as wool and flavored popcorns, yet the trip was not a bust because I had cut out a recipe from the previous week's Washington Post's Food Section. From one produce vendor, I purchased radishes. From the other, I purchased spring onions. The dish was "Butter-Braised Radishes" and it exceeded my expectations. I had only had raw radishes in the past and was never much of a fan, but cooking them in water and a little bit of butter, along with sauteed spring onions, was a great new flavor. I saved the recipe and will make it again. I need to return to the Walkersville market.

Il Forno Pizzeria - Frederick, MD

2008-06-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

June 2, 2008

I'm angry at myself. Years ago I ate at Il Forno and really enjoyed the pizza and then it, well, kind of fell off my radar. My mistake.

My wife, kids, and I met some friends at Il Forno for a rare weekday meal out last night. We split a margherita pizza (tomato sauce, whole milk mozzarella, and fresh basil) and an alla salsiccia (tomato sauce, whole milk mozzarella, homemade ground Italian sausage, and fresh garlic). The toppings are simple, fresh, high-quality ingredients that elevate Il Forno over most pizza joints (though they could've been distributed a bit more evenly - a pizza pet peeve of mine). But the excellent crisp, wood-fired crust stood out the most to me.

Ledo Pizza still has it's place for it's flakier, somewhat pastry-like crust, and dense provolone topping (though their sauce is unnecessarily sweet). And an occasional Uno Chicago deep-dish is good for that couple-thousand calorie guilty pleasure. But next time my family wants pizza, I'll first suggest Il Forno. And curse myself under my breath for forgetting about it.

Michel Richard Citronelle - Washington, D.C.

2008-06-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

December 8, 2007

Number #1 in The Washingtonian. The higher of the only two DC-area restaurants in the October 2006 Gourmet magazine's America's Top 50 Restaurants at #12 (the area's only other restaurant was The Inn at Little Washington at #23). And the one with "Washington's most awe-inspiring chef" of the four four-star restaurants in The Washington Post Magazine's Dining Guide 2007.

We had to take the plunge. My wife and I, along with my brother and sister-in-law, chose the extravagance of Citronelle instead of Christmas gifts for each other. What followed was the most expensive meal I've had and certainly one of the best, though not necessarily my favorite.

We chose the nine-course Promenade Gourmande (instead of the three-course meal or the approximately 15-course Grand Degustation). The next three and a half hours was a tour de force of great ideas, stunning preparation, outstanding ingredients, with a sense of playfulness in both concept and plating. Among the many triumphs was the buttery and crunchy (from pistachios) "escargot crumble" of the amuse bouche followed by the "portobello truffle cappuccino" - a portobello soup with a whipped potato topping consumed via straw, which looked like, well...

Probably the table's overall favorite throughout the meal was the broiled sake-miso marinated sablefish. The fish was meltingly tender and flavorful yet not overpowered by the marinade. The centerpiece for me, however, was the black angus veal steak with sweetbreads and morel sauce. While the fish course showed Richard's expertise with Asian flavors, the veal dish had the classic flavors and ingredients of his native France. It was superb.

Most of the parts of the dessert courses were excellent, which is what one might expect from Richard, who was a pastry chef before he tackled savory fare. The jolie pomme, essentially an apple sorbet dessert, was delicious as well as visually beautiful with its thin, crunchy candy apple slices and vanilla bean serving as the apple stem. The chocolate course was a stunner with Richard's take on the Kit-Kat bar as well as the hard, dark chocolate-covered ice cream on a stick. The petit fours included large, perfect raspberries but also chocolate-covered grapes, an odd pairing that I don't think works particularly well.

There were a few other disappointments in the meal. Though the Truffle-foie gras Napoleon pairs two legendary delicacies and the layers of black truffle and brown foie gras looked amazing, the gelatinized texture wasn't terribly appealing and the flavors weren't as enjoyable as I hoped. The lobster burger was also a letdown; I didn't taste the ginger mayo and the lobster was surprisingly flat-tasting. That said, I'm going to take two positive aspects away from this course. First, when I eventually make it to Richard's other DC restaurant, Central, I won't choose the lobster burger entree. Second, the burger was served with potato chips fried in clarified butter. Though my chips at Citronelle were oversalted, I have since fried chips at home with clarified butter with success and I thank Richard for the wonderfully decadent idea.

I walked away from the meal happy (and extremely full) but not thrilled. At such a price, which was $20 more than the Citronelle website said at the time, the Promenade Gourmande certainly featured some amazing food but wasn't perfect. At least for such a price, Citronelle did offer some high-dollar ingredients, such as truffles, foie gras, abalone, and veal sweetbreads. But as the most expensive meal I've had to date, perfection is what I expected. For less money, my wife and I were proportionately happier with our meal at Minibar. And as far as four-star DC restaurants go, my brother preferred his meal at CityZen to Citronelle.

I'M BACK

2008-05-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

I've been finishing my Master's thesis. I should've posted here about my absence but I couldn't stand to look at how long I've been gone.

It appears that it's over.

Right now I'm excited about the summer 2008 opening of VOLT restaurant in downtown Frederick: http://www.voltrestaurant.com/

Presentation looks nice - for content about the restaurant, check out the blog link, accessible on the above page or here: http://blog.voltrestaurant.com/

I'm also excited about the numerous farmers' markets that are opening in May and June.

For Maryland, organized by county: http://www.mda.state.md.us/md_products/farmers_market_dir.php

For the Frederick County Virtual Farmers' Market site, which includes info on the new Tuesday market: http://www.discoverfrederickmd.com/farmersmarket/html/detail.htm?cat=115&store=1078

Using the Demiglace - Pan Sauce for Steaks

2008-01-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

I came up with the following because I wanted to taste the demiglace in a relatively simple sauce.

Pan Sauce for Two Steaks
2 cooked steaks (grilled, pan-fried, or broiled)
3 tablespoons (shot glass) cognac
1/2 cup no or low salt veal or chicken stock (see previous post for veal stock recipe)
1 tablespoon homemade veal demiglace (see previous post for recipe)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and black pepper to taste

Add cognac to pan on medium-high heat and reduce by about half. Add stock and reduce by about half. Add demiglace. Whisk in butter, one tablespoon at a time until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with steaks.

Taking Bourdain's advice - Making Demiglace

2008-01-21T20:06:00.000-08:00

I've made white chicken stock numerous times, using Julia Child's old-school classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but had never roasted bones and/or tried another main ingredient. I used the following recipe for veal stock from Gourmet magazine, adapted from Bourdain's buddy, Michael Ruhlman (also check out the Las Vegas episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations):
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/105520

I bought the veal bones at Wagner's Meats, aka the Mt. Airy Meat Locker.
http://www.wagnersmeats.com/

Roasted bones and vegetables make the house smell great and the stock is rich, flavorful, and salt-free, making it perfect for reducing into a demiglace. The high amount of gelatin in the veal knuckle bones makes the stock gelatinize when refrigerated.

For the demiglace recipe, I used Bourdain's list of ingredients and combined several recipes I'd found. I used the following:

Veal Demiglace
4 1/2 cups veal stock (from the above recipe)
1 cup dry red wine (I used a cabernet)
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf

I reduced it until it coated the back of a spoon, which yielded a 1/2 cup. Tasted straight, I felt it was a bit heavy on the shallots and black peppercorns but I've been very pleased with it in sauce for steak.

Cooking like a professional chef

2008-01-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

from Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Important ingredients that professional chefs use:

shallots - Use in sauces, sauté items, and dressings.

butter - It's the first and last thing in the sauté pan. Sauté in oil and butter and then finish sauces with it.

roasted garlic - Sliver thinly for pasta (like in Goodfellas), use a mix of fresh and roasted garlic in Caesar dressing. Avoid burnt, old, and jarred garlic, as well as garlic that was cut too long ago. Don't use a garlic press.

chiffonaded parsley - Thinly sliced washed, dried parsley (flat leaf, I assume).

stock - "the backbone of good cooking"
Roasted bones, roasted vegetables, and water, then reduce, strain, and freeze.

demiglace - Combine stock, red wine, shallots, fresh thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Slowly simmer and reduce until it coats a spoon. Strain and freeze in ice cube trays. Make sauces with demiglace and finish with butter.

fresh herbs - Throw out your dried herbs. Use fresh herbs to cook and garnish. Garnish suggestions:
* chervil - chicken breast
* basil - pasta
* chives (uncut) - fish
* mint (with whipped cream and raspberries) - desserts

Lucky Corner Vietnamese - Frederick, MD

2007-12-27T17:14:00.000-08:00

November 16 and 30, 2007

In my nearly ten years in the Frederick area, I've seen Vietnamese restaurants come and go (my wife and I still miss Old Town Saigon on Rt. 40). Lucky Corner, on the corner of N. Market and 7th Street, has been our go-to Vietnamese place for a few years now. On both November visits we started with the grilled lemongrass beef appetizer. The small stuffed beef rolls come topped with fried scallions and chopped peanuts both of which are more than just a garnish. The rolls, topping, and dipping sauce nicely bring together the classic Southeast Asian flavor combination of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty. One inconsistency we saw in both visits was that some rolls were moist and some were a bit dry on the outside.

One of my favorite things about Vietnamese cuisine is the combination of Asian and French elements. Sometimes when I order, I seek out such dishes. On the 16th I ordered the Saigon beef stew, which brought together East and West. I chose rice noodles to accompany the dish (egg noodles were an option) and the stew was what I hoped for: chunks of beef and carrots in a sauce but with Vietnamese flavors, including the usual accompanying condiments to pho, such as bean sprouts, lime, cilantro, chile pepper, and srichacha. This dish would be perfect for one who had never had Vietnamese food and was skeptical.

On the 30th, I ordered another special, the fried tilapia. This dish was perfect for someone who was dragged unwillingly to a Vietnamese restaurant - this, however, does not describe me. It was a plate of fried, golden-brown food: fried fish with potato croquettes. Rounding out this highly conservative, very Western dish was a salad with a decidedly non-Asian vinaigrette. The croquettes and salad were fine and uneventful but the fish was another story. It was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, executed well and simply. The fish was accompanied by the only real nod to Vietnamese food, a piquant dipping sauce. The problem with the fish was that the tilapia was unlike any tilapia I've ever had. If it was indeed tilapia, the fish must have been raised in a horribly crowded "farm." I would've been justified in sending it back, but hungry and admiring the crispy crust and moist white meat, I told myself it was fried catfish and ate most of it. After a review of two entree specials in two weeks, I might return with a review of regular menu items. Check back later.
Rarely daring, my wife got the caramel pork in hot pot, which is what she gets every time. One time it was better than the other, owing that to less salt. The dish is fine but it was better at Old Town Saigon, which is what my wife ordered. Always.

Perhaps Lucky Corner's finest attribute is the service. The restaurant is small yet they are always extremely accommodating to our two small children. The service is exceptionally friendly and polite; they seem to honestly care how your dining experience was. They'll gladly steam some plain broccoli (off the menu) for my picky daughter and are there in time to offer me another Singha (Thai lager).

Lucky Corner Vietnamese Finest Restaurant
700 N Market St
Frederick, MD 21701
301-624-1005

Metropolitan - Annapolis, MD

2007-11-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Metropolitan is a sleek, modern, multi-floor restaurant on the recently revitalized West Street in Annapolis. I had high expectations based upon what I had heard as well as what the online menu offered. The website proclaims its "pride in ingredients foremost" favoring local organic farmers while "technique and presentation are secondary." The menu, however, bares modern touches like a "strawberry-vanilla air" (accompanying pan seared foie gras) as well as beet and tomato "carpaccio." A restaurant whose mission statement follows Alice Waters' mantra with a menu that bares influences from the likes of Grant Achatz and Michel Richard? Count me in.

The meal got off to a strong start. We were welcomed by an amuse bouche of shot size glasses of a warm spiced cider, which was a nice beginning to a fall evening. Both the sunflower seed bread and focaccia were tasty and were served with orange butter (good) and parsley butter (unexciting, as it tasted like parsley and butter). My brother and sister-in-law enjoyed their well-made cocktails (martini and Manhattan, respectively) and my wife and I were pleased with the selection of Belgian beers (Hoegaarden and Duvel, respectively).

The table decided on the five-course tasting menu, which provides both surprise and opportunity for food discussion. No one got the wine pairing, which seemed expensive for a small amount. Our first course was angel hair with grilled shrimp, tomatoes, and shaved parmesan. It was fine but tamer than I expected. Little did I know that it would be one of the best of the five courses. The second dish was clams on the half-shell with tomatoes. The shells were creatively placed on a bed of rock salt; based on the taste, the rock salt was more than just presentation and was the theme of the dish: very salty. The clams were pummeled by salt and tomato; I didn't finish the course.

Course three: more seafood. The spice crusted monkfish was flavorful and was cooked perfectly. Though three straight seafood dishes were a bit much, the chef knows how to cook the seafood - none were overcooked. The quinoa salad was dominated by parsley (it appeared the chef was proud of the presumably fresh and organic tomatoes and parsley on this night!) and overall the course left me feeling like I had ordered a specifically low fat dish - this not what I'm looking for in a multi-course tasting menu.

The fourth course was one of the better dishes, a lamb stew with baby seasonal squashes. Rich, brown and flavorful, I liked the rustic quality of the dish, however, my wife complained that this was the second of four courses that suffered from a heavy hand with the salt.

The fifth course was a white cake with fruit and white chocolate. It was perfectly passable but it felt like, "Hey, the tasting menu table needs a dessert. Quick, grab something off the dessert cart!"

The service was a young, knowledgeable, polite, and attentive staff. After being asked, however, about the clam dish I did not like, our waiter's enthusiasm sank for the remainder of the meal as if he feared any further criticism. To his credit, he said that he would tell the chef about the dish. It was my mistake that I didn't tell the waiter why I didn't like it.

The meal had its highs and lows but suffered from a lack of cohesion and, at times, execution. The courses were also disappointingly conservative compared to the more ambitious menu. If I ever return to Metropolitan, I'm ordering from the menu (and I'll be getting the pan-seared foie gras with strawberry-vanilla air). $75 was too much for this meal. The multi-course beer dinners at Brewer's Alley in Frederick are better - and for about half the price.

Metropolitan
169 West Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-268-7733

www.metropolitanannapolis.com

Barley and Hops - Frederick, MD

2007-11-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 2, 2007

On a busy Friday evening, the whole family dined at the Frederick brewpub Barley and Hops. My wife and I started with the classic Maryland appetizer, crab dip. The dip suffered from some of the same problems as many other unimpressive crab dips: too much sour cream and/or mayonnaise and not enough crab. The dip was served with slices of warm, soft, salty, rich pitas, which were a bit much considering the richness of the crab dip. While I'm no stranger to rich and decadent, why must so much typical appetizer fare in basic "American" restaurants be so leaden? The appetizer wasn't bad - hungry, we certainly ate enough - but the dish wasn't memorable.

For my entree, I ordered the smoked meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes. My individual meatloaf arrived with a barbecue sauce. It was what I wanted: flavorful, moist, well seasoned, and with a nice amount of smoke. The barbecue sauce was sweet and tomato-based and tasted like commercial brands, possibly with a bit of oil or butter added for a pleasantly silky texture. The potatoes were flavorful with garlic and the bits of red skins added color and a chewy texture but the potatoes were slightly gluey (whipped by a mixer instead of mashed perhaps?). At $11, however, this is by far the least expensive entree, and overall it works.

The salads are fine - we appreciate the lack of iceberg lettuce (what a worthless lettuce) and we both love the sweet and spicy honey mustard dressing. We had a little problem with service, however. Our salads never came until we asked. Because my wife ordered the soup and salad, well, this is sort of a big deal. The mistake was made a bit worse when our server blamed new employees who were doing the prep work. While that might have been true, that's not my problem. The server is the face of the restaurant for good or ill and an apology without an excuse would have been the better thing to do.

My wife got the tomato-based Maryland Crab Soup with her late salad. She said the crab soup has a decent amount of crab as well as some heat, which too many restaurants seem afraid to do with their MD crab soups. I tasted it and I agree. She's tough on crab soups but is a fan of this one.

On the brewing front, everything seems fine. My Annapolis Rocks Pale Ale was well hopped yet with a nice malt background. My wife said the Tuscarora Red was nice and malty as usual.

Our daughter got the make-your-own pizza, which is a great idea for young kids. She enjoyed it as usual (and left off the pepperoni this time). The large open dining room, which is both helpfully noisy while providing some privacy in the booths, is great for families.

This wasn't the most solid trip to Barley and Hops but we will return.

Barley & Hops 5473 Urbana Pike Frederick, 21704 Phone: 301-668-5555 Fax: 301-668-5550 Open Sun 11-10 Mon-Thurs 11-11 Fri-Sat 11-midnight

That Cuban Place Cafe - Frederick, MD

2007-11-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 26, 2007

I went to TCP Cafe for dinner on a cool, rainy Friday evening. I started by ordering the The Original Cuban Sandwich. One of the owners, Narcisa, suggestively sold me on a cup of the chicken soup. Based on the weather, it was a wise pitch.

The Cuban sandwich, accompanied by a few unnecessary fried potato sticks, is a large, hot pressed sandwich with shredded pork, Swiss cheese, ham, mustard, and pickles. The sandwich press melds several of the thinner ingredients into a rich, tangy whole that becomes one with the inside of the bread. The outside of the bread provides a nice contrast with its crispness. The flavors were great but the pork that night was disappointingly dry.

The chicken soup was more like a stew, which is fine with me. Served piping hot and with crusty bread on the side, it was rich with shredded chicken and potatoes. It was nicely spiced with a little bit of heat, however, it was a bit too salty.

The best dish of the night was a side of fried yucca. I've only had the dish once before at a Peruvian chicken joint in Falls Church, VA, and TCP Cafe's was better of the two. Large chunks of yucca, crispy on the outside (though not greasy) and dense and rich on the inside, is recommended. If you're not familiar, TCP's yucca is a great fried side for someone looking for a new twist on large cut steak fries.

The service is warm and friendly as are the bright orange walls in this cool cafe on the corner of Market and 3rd Street. Narcisa gave me some of the house made hot sauce, a fiery orange concoction with a pleasant, sweet, and surprisingly complex aroma of more than just heat. And Alfredo is the kind of guy who gives you your food while calling you "brother" - and means it.

Overall, the food was solid this night at TCP but it has been better in my previous visits. I look forward to returning.

That Cuban Place Cafe
300 North Market Street
Frederick, Maryland 21701
301-760-7776

COMING UP SOON...

2007-10-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

I live and work in Frederick County, Maryland. My other pursuits take me other places. I'll start blogging soon with an intended focus on restaurants in and around Frederick but I will also blog about cooking.