Uncovering Writing

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This great gift from dear friends was a fun read and I will return to it in the future as a guide and reference tool. Neat tidbits on the history and science of bitters and a great little chapter on my favorite digestive, Amaris. I also loved the little table describing the different types of raw and white sugars (p. 48). Looking forward to playing with Manhattans (p. 61), Negronis (p. 64) and adding a spoonful of Campari to a dry martini (p. 183).

This is a yummy and really easy to make banana bread. When I was a kid, I was allergic to chocolate, so it was awesome to have a cake/bread that tasted great and I didn’t have to sneak when no one was around.

Ingredients:

• 2½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed brown sugar (or ¼ cup Splenda brown sugar)
• 3½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• ⅓ cup milk (I use evaporated)
• 1 egg
• 1¼ cups mashed bananas (2-3 medium extra ripe bananas)

Directions

• Heat oven to 350°F
• Grease bottom of bread pan (size: 9"x5"x3")
• Mix all ingredients, then beat for 30-60 seconds, pour into pan
• Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until pick inserted in center comes out clean
• Cool slightly
• Loosen sides and remove from pan.
• Cool more, slice to eat or wrap tightly in aluminum foil

Store wrapped for up to one week.

I tried two Manhattans on Sunday night with Bulleit bourbon. I made one with regular angostura bitters and another with with the orange angostura bitters. Neither was that good, but they weren’t horribly bad. For the price (the bottle was $20.99), I guess I’d call it a good “rail” bourbon to have. I can’t recommend it, preferring Makers 46 for a bourbon Manhattan. However, I still stand solidly by Bulleit’s rye whiskey. That is a stand-up rye that rocks a Manhattan and even rests nicely on the rocks.

[Updated 13 April 2011: Added Copper Fox]

I jumped on the rye bandwagon a few weeks before it took off in the mainstream media and became a featured spirit in the local liquor shops I frequented. I’m rarely “ahead” of the curve, so it was kind of cool to be able to sample stuff and tell friends (real and the twitter-type) about my experiences. Below are my thoughts on 12 ryes I’ve tried. This is not a scientific study nor one done by someone who’s done extensive tastings and write ups of those experiences. Here’s hoping this provides entree for you into the fabulous world of rye.

Before my list, let me say that I like rye since it’s like bourbon but not as sweet. The Manhattan and Sazerac cocktails were originally made with rye and this remains the spirit that makes these drinks shine. Rye was king before Prohibition, but after repeal, bourbon (and corn-based spirits) took off and rye was lost. Canadian whiskies and a few “old formula” ryes remained, but nothing sparkled. The resurgence of rye over the last few years has created a huge spectrum of things to try. Some are fabulous finds, others are cheap substitutes, and sadly, some are extremely overpriced swill that shows anyone will seek to cash in on the rye craze while it’s hot.

Rye, by law, must contain at least 51% rye, while bourbon must contain at least 51% corn. Up until recently, many rye whiskeys were around 51% and the rest was corn or other items that didn’t let the rye shine. Care, such as aging and other techniques make a rye great, but if there’s barely any rye, you begin way behind the start line.

Currently, my favorite is Bulleit’s straight rye mash whiskey. Bulleit was known for a high-rye content bourbon, but this new rye that came out on March 1, 2001, is a 95% rye mash. It works great neat, on the rocks and is currently my favorite rye in a Manhattan. I found a bottle for $24 a few days after the release. I’m not sure what price it’ll settle on eventually, but if you have a chance, grab a bottle now and start enjoying!

Excellent • Bulleit (great neat, rocks and in a Manhattan) • Catoctin Creek Roundstone (young, banana bread, Manhattan) • Sazerac 18 (excellent Sazerac but pretty expensive)

Very good but a bit pricey • Copper Fox (1 year old, very nice neat but not overly complex)

Overpriced and nothing special • High West Bourye (bland, not sweet, not spicy) • (ri)¹ (Jim Beam high-end brand) • Russell’s Reserve 6 year old • Sazerac 6 year old

Too high alcohol (fiery) for me • Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond 100 • Wild Turkey 101

Too sweet/syrupy • Jim Beam • Old Overholt • Pikesville Supreme

After seeing Let There Be Love at Center Stage on Saturday, we decided to try out The Brewer’s Art for drinks. I’d gone there back when I was working for/at STScI and had told Diane about it for ages. Now that Diane drinks some beer (Belgian-style only), it seemed like a nice way to finish off the night. Brewer’s Art is a great Belgian microbrew bar and an eclectic restaurant.

We decided to walk through the treacherous snow and ice to go from 700 N. Calvert to the 1100 block of N. Charles. Funnily enough, it was just a few blocks up the street from where we had dinner. Nothing like going back and forth, but that was a way to burn off the calories from Kumari. Normally, this would be a quick walk. But with ice, snow piles and a few vehicles on the road, it took us a bit longer. Luckily, it wasn’t too windy or cold out. We did learn that it would have been better to cut over to Charles as quickly as possible as Calvert didn’t have as much clear sidewalk or street surface area.

We arrived around 10:30 and the place was jammed. The restaurant was closed, but a few diners were still finishing food and drink. Diane got a beer menu from the bar and we figured out our respective drinks. My first ever beer here was Resurrection Ale, but I’m more fond of dark beers. They have one called Proletary Ale and that’s what I ordered. I had had it before, so it wasn’t a surprise. It was just as good as I remembered it. Diane chose the Resurrection Ale, as it’s one of their finest examples of an Abbey-style ale.

Taking our drinks, we stood in the front bar area, surrounded by 20-somethings, and the odd 30-something couple. It seemed that everyone in their 30s or higher travelled in couples, i.e. 2 people, or 2 sets of 2 people, etc. The younger crowd travelled in gaggles and crowds. We felt a little old in the place, but we weren’t posers (i.e. trying to look younger). I did do an old person faux pas when I first saw the beer menu. I got out my reading glasses to check out the menu. Diane told me to put them away. Point well taken.

We worked our way to the mid-chamber, where the couches, fireplace and some tables were set up. It was crowded in here too, but we took up residence at the maitre’d desk, which was abandoned since dinner service was over. We hung out, talked, watched the crowd and enjoyed our drinks. After, we set off back into the street, heading down Charles as far as we could go to get back to our car. A fun evening.

We were seeing a play at Center Stage and wanted to grab some food first. I knew the neighborhood somewhat, especially Mughal Garden and the Helmand. But, we wanted to try someplace new. A few googles away, and we found Kumari, an Indian, Nepalese, Tibetan restaurant. We arrived just before 6 and the place was mostly empty. We attributed it to the hour and the snowpocalypse of the past week.

We started with pompadons and three chutney. The ‘brown’ was a tad too sweet, but the other two were nice

Then we split an appetizer of chicken mu-mu, very similar to steamed chicken dumplings. It was large, about 7 large pieces These were served with a type of spicy tiki masala sauce. Very yummy but filling.

For dinner, I ordered the chicken vindaloo, Indian-level spice. Diane got the lamb saag, regular spice. The saag was great. The vindaloo was nice. It was hot (I sweated profusely) but I didn’t taste much burn or spice. Sad. But, I’d like to try the curry or jalfreezi next time. We had plain naan and rice as sides. Very fresh and good.

Diane and I spent two weeks in London, a day in Oxford and four nights in Edinburgh. We ate some amazing meals, including adding one to our Top Meals Ever Worldwide.

In London, we dabbled with Pret and EAT for lunch. Pret was so much fun the first time we found it in 2007, but now that we discovered EAT, that’s a much better place. I had amazing chorizo sausage baguette sandwiches several times. Yum.

For dinner, we ate at Wagamamas several times. Good noodles and a great vegetarian selection. Their tofu was done nicely, but then again, it was fried so it’s hard to mess that up. We also did “take away” from Marks & Spencer’s Simply Food. It’s like a US Trader Joe’s, so we bought sandwiches, salads, crisps and cookies there. We also had some nice beer (stouts and bitters) and wine (Spanish).

We did fish & chips at three different places. One from the take away shop above the Anchor bar, one from Hornimans at Hay’s and a quickie for Drew at Jacko’s Fish & Chips in Islington. Of the three, I liked the hole in the wall Jacko’s. The others were good (better than most you’d find in the States) but not spectacular.

One night we went to dinner with an old colleague of mine. We ate at Wahaca, a fantastic Mexican place. It was as good as some of the stuff we’d find in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as some family run places in our neck of the woods (El Azteca and La Palapa). Definitely check it out if you’d like, but be warned that it’s crazy popular, very busy, and doesn’t take reservations.

Another night, we went out with two of Diane’s colleagues, Claire & Jo. We went to Cantaloupe in Shoreditch. It was pretty quiet (weeknight) so we had much of the back room to ourselves. They had a nice selection of wine but almost no ale/beer options. We had some starters and then a nice meal with a bottle of Malbec, if I recall correctly. The best part of the evening was the shared company and the fun walk from their office through various parts of The City.

For Italian, we ventured back to a spectacular find from 2007, namely Made in Italy down in Chelsea. They make spectacular pizzas and have a very nice wine selection. We actually ate in the basement, right by the open kitchen. Was hot at first, but mellowed in a few minutes. So good. We also tried out Zigos, over in Islington, for some pizza and drinks. We were in the area to see Letting in Air over at the Old Red Lion Theatre Pub, and we needed snacks before hand and dinner afterwards. The bruschetta was good but the pizza and pasta dishes were mediocre at best. The high prices were not appreciated.

As we were in the UK, trying Indian curries was a must. We ate at the Bengal Clipper in Butler’s Wharf, just a few minutes away from Tower Bridge and our hotel. It was hit and miss here. I had their signature house curry that wasn’t all that yummy and Diane had a lamb saag that was pretty tough. But, we went back a few nights later and I had a fabulous spicy Murgh Xacuti and Diane had a yummy, tender, fall apart just looking at it lamb dish. So, sample the menu and try again if at first you don’t succeed.

We took a day trip to Oxford one Saturday and had some good Thai food for lunch at AT Thai and then some nice Indian at Chez Zouk. It was good but I liked the drinks we had at the Half Moon pub better. :-)

After Diane finished working in London for two weeks, we took a four day holiday to Edinburgh. On our first night, we turned to Cafe Roma since it was close to our hotel and it was a rainy windy night. It was nice food but not worth the high price they charged.

Another night, we tried to go to a cool Japanese sushi place, but it was closed that one night for renovations. We ate next door at a nice Thai hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Chiang Mai. They had wonderful Thai curries and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

When we first arrived, we quizzed our taxi cab driver about where to get good curries. He mentioned three places and we tried two of them. Sadly, the third suffered a horrible fire several months ago and was closed while we were there. They had a small place they rented but we passed on it. The first place was called Omar Khayyam’s and it was packed when we showed up with a reservation. But, we had great food there. Yummy.

On our last night in Edinburgh, we went to The Indian Cavalry Club. This was the best Indian food I’ve ever had. Diane had a great meal which I can’t remember right now and I had the best chicken vindaloo ever. The quality of the food, decor of the restaurant, great view from our window seat and amazing service made this one of our favorite meals ever. We can now add The Indian Cavalry Club (Edinburgh, Scotland) to our list of best meals that also includes Chez Girard (Lyon, France), NOLAs (New Orleans, USA), Gary Danko’s (San Francisco, USA) and Yacout (Marrakech, Morocco).

Okay, that’s a long post. I hope this helps others who might stumble upon my entry while looking for places to eat if they’re in London, Oxford or Edinburgh.

Last Friday (August 15th), Diane & I wanted to grab some burgers, wine and Yuengling at our local pub/restaurant, Rocky Run. We’ve been going there for about 10 years, maybe more. I can’t remember when they opened, perhaps because we’ve be going there for so long it just seemed like it was always there and it would always be there.

For a Friday night around 8:00 pm, we were taken aback at how empty the parking lot was. But we parked and headed in, figuring maybe we’d missed the happy hour crowd and the regulars weren’t in yet. We were shocked to see the sign pictured below in the window. No notice, in fact we’d just been eating there about two weeks before on August 2nd.

We are so going to miss Rocky Run. As B. Santos over at Columbia Compass wrote, Rocky Run was a place to go hang with your friends, have some good food and enjoy the staff. Diane & I loved trivia, munching on snacks and drinking while we played. It was the place to take out-of-towners or out-of-county folks. My mom loved their crab cakes and way back when my dad loved their chocolate mousse shooter! I loved their dunkel seasonal which they still had just about two months ago. I loved the Cuban panini, fried pickles, hot sauces (esp. their tame but fun Vampire sauce which was basically tabasco mixed with garlic), and the new Philly Steak and Cheese flatbread. Having grown up eating Philly steaks, I was impressed with the quality of their meat. Yum.

Things got bad about two years ago, and we stopped going for about a year. What I mean by that is that the food started tasting more Sysco-y instead of good old Rocky Run fare. The serving staff too seemed a bit less happy and even less engaged with the customers. But on a hunch, we headed back about six months or so ago and were amazed. A revamped menu and good staff. Things sounded good. The crowds it had for years hadn’t ventured back yet, but we had high hopes.

The thing I’ll miss the most is the crayons. Butcher paper on all the tables and a coffee cup full of crayons. The first thing we did when we sat down was to fight over the crayon cup to get the best ones. Below is the very last drawing I did at Rocky Run. It’s an idea for a tattoo for me. I took a picture of it on August 2nd, not knowing that it’d be the last one. Very sad.

We’ll miss you Rocky Run. Thanks for helping us create memories!

Nope, I’m not talking about the A&F chain, but about a fantastic restaurant that my in-laws took us to this past weekend. Located across from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Meyerhoff Hall, Abercrombie is actually a bed and breakfast with a fine dining restaurant partially below the ground floor. They’d been there once before, prior to seeing a BSO show with another couple. We went on June 22nd in order to celebrate two birthdays, an anniversary and Father’s Day! June is a busy month. :-)

We ate in the rounded back room, with ceiling-level windows looking out to the sidewalk. Tea candles filled small niches along the walls. I’m sure they’d be stunning on a cold winter’s night. On this visit, the air conditioning and fan were broken, so it got a bit warm, but never too uncomfortable. Service was superb.

We started with a appetite-whetting chilled soup of melon, mint and orange juice. It was served in a small container, sort of like a screw-top, single serving of jam or jelly you’d find on a room service plate. It was so refreshing, especially on a hot day in June. Diane & I had a house Mac & Cheese for our first course. This wasn’t Kraft Cheese and Macacroni. It was parmagianno reggiano and gruyere cheese served over Cavatappi pasta in a small cast-iron pot. Diane’s parents each had a Caesar salad.

For the second course, the three of them had wild salmon that was succulent and juicy. I had steak frites, where the steak appeared to be tenderloin medallions and the frites were potato wedges in a delightful crunchy batter with pepper. We drank a wonderful bottle of French red from the Languedoc region, one of my favorite areas between Bordeaux and the Rhone. Up until the last few years, it was a hidden treasure. Sadly, for me, it’s become better known and the prices have skyrocketed and the availability has plummeted. Regardless, this was a wonderful bottle and reasonably priced. If you go there, I’d highly recommend it.

For dessert, we ordered a Milk Chocolate Panna Cota, which was made with Mascarpone cream, brownie stuffed phyllo purse, and espresso prailine. We also had an order of their version of Milk and Cookies. Our server brought out four complimentary glasses of 20 year-old tawny port that was stupendous. It had character and wasn’t simply sweet. It was a great gesture and the port was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

We topped off the evening with a great performance of Beethoven’s 9th by the BSO’s Music Director Marin Alsop. The show opened with Joan Tower’s Concerto for Orchestra. Ms. Tower herself introduced the piece on stage, with some give and take between her, Maestro Alsop and the orchestra. That was so cool, since so much of the classical music I’ve seen is by composers long dead. It’s nice to see it as a living art and to have a connection between the person and the performance.

I’ve just gotten into cooking mahi mahi at home. I’ve had it in restaurants and liked it but never bought it at home. Typically, I do catfish (my favorite), salmon (Diane’s favorite) and swordfish (not so much anymore). I found inexpensive mahi mahi at our local Trader Joe’s, so decided to give it a try. The first time, I whipped it up with an Indian recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks. It sucked.

But, I figured I’d try again, just with a different recipe. I turned to Google and looked for soemthing to try. I found Lime-Grilled Mahi Mahi Steaks and it is the yummiest fish dish I think I might ever have prepared. I served it with grilled Yukon gold potatoes and fresh asparagus. Both sides were prepared with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme leaves.

Pizza was the highlight of yesterday’s Washington Post food section. It helped cement my choice to make pizza last night using a dough ball from Giant. I topped it with freshly sauteed green peppers and mushrooms and thinly sliced pieces of andouille sausage. Very yummy.

But, returning to the Post’s Food section, I was surprised, happy and extremely proud to see two of my local favorites reviewed. For one of the best eat-in pizzas, they recommended Pasta Plus. To quote from the article, “The minute you step inside, you know the pizza is going to be good. The waft from the imported wood-burning oven smells like a real Italian mom-and-pop pizzeria…”

If you’re on the go, a companion article talks about great take-away pies. They highlighted one of my favorite places, located in my village center of Kings Contrivance. Trattoria e Pizzeria da Enrico is recommended as a place for “good New York-style pizza.” It’s also a great place to eat-in and please sample their mainstream Italian dishes besides pizza. You’ll be happy.

I was at my favorite Cuban restaurant today and ordered a side of moros y cristianos. I expected a tiny amount, but it was a huge, family-style serving! I took most of it home and decided to cook the salmon I had in the fridge in a Cuban style. I googled around a bit and found this recipe which I tweaked in minor ways. It was awesome.

To make the whole ensemble, cut up a large zucchini into thin, long slices and coat it lightly with olive oil, salt, pepper, and ground cumin. Grill up the zucchini while you grill the salmon.

Ingredients:

• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 3 Tbsp minced fresh onion
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp tyme
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (fresh or 2 tsp dried)
• 3 tsp chopped parsley (fresh or 1 tsp dried)
• 6 Tbsp lime juice (about 3 limes)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• salmon fillet(s) (~ 1 pound for every two servings)

To prepare:

1. Mix the garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, thyme, cilantro, parsley, lime juice and olive oil in a glass bowl
2. Add salt and pepper to taste
3. Place the fillets in a shallow dish and pour marinade on top.
4. Marinate for 2-4 hours in the fridge.
5. Grill (or broil) fillets, basting for the the first few minutes. I grilled mine about 12 minutes, with the first 8 minutes skin-side down and then 4 minutes grilling the "top".
6. Serve with the grilled zucchini and moros y cristianos.

I just wanted to share the cookbooks that I use most often. The first two are my favorite everyday cookbooks, though they can be used for special occasions as well. The last is for hearty and luscious special occasions.

• Lite and Luscious Cuisine of India, Madhu Gadia (1997): This is my staple Indian cookbook. Ms. Gadia is not just an excellent chef, she's also a licensed dietician. She takes all kinds of Indian dishes and makes them easy to make (although prep time can be high in some cases) and extremely healthy. She cuts down on the use of oils and ghee (clarified butter), but never skimps on spice or flavor. If you want a great everyday cookbook that has vegetarian as well as meat dishes, check out this book. I swear by her chicken curry; alu gobhi; tandoori murgh; and baked fish with black pepper.
• Jacques Pépin's Simple and Healthy Cooking (1994): Full of fantastic, healthy and simple to prepare meals, this is a staple for weekday cooking and contains plenty of special meals for friends and loved ones. My favorite recipes from this book are: catfish sauté with vegetable medley; hominy, cliantro and cumin stew; blackened swordfish; and curried scallops oriental.
• Jacques Pépin's Table: The Complete Today's Gourmet (1991): This is a fantastic book to pull out for that extra special dinner for two or special guests. You'll probably use all of your pans, utensils and prep spaces, but the food is worth it. The dishes here are also pretty rich, as opposed to the other cookbooks on the list. My favorites are: melon in port wine; chicken chasseur; poulet au vin rouge; wine merchant steak; pommes persillade; and grapes and raisins in lime cookie cones.

A dear friend turned me on to this place tonight. We went there to try out a little Salvadoran / Mexican place in her neighborhood in DC, Petworth. Little hole in the wall places always have the best food and I always like to support the local independent stores. So, this was the perfect occasion.

What an amazing place El Limeno is. We originally were the only folks there at a table, though a few folks were at the bar when we came in. After a little bit, a table by us filled up with six folks. We ordered a Margarita and a Modelo Especial beer. Fresh chips (with the option to add salt later) and salsa arrived shortly and were immediately devoured. She had the soft taco combination (one meat, one chicken, one shrimp) and I had the fajitas. Damn they were good. No Sysco meat here. Real chicken, real spice, served up clean, hot and yummy. The only problem with the food was there was too much and we were going to burst! The web reports about this place having the best fajitas in DC are true. Service was great, but it helped and was welcome to be able to throw in a few words of Spanish.

El Limeno is located at 201 Upshur St NW near the Old Soldier’s Home.

If you’re from Philly or spent enough time there to have a quick lunch, you know what a good hoagie is. In some parts of the country, the style of sandwich might be called a grinder (up in New England), a hero or a sub. But, the real thing, the hoagie, is from Philly and the best ones are still there. A great Amoroso roll, real Italian meats and cheeses, oil, hot peppers, lettuce and tomato. It doesn’t sound hard to create, does it? But, for some reason, they never taste right outside the region. The roll is usually the problem, but sticking in inferior meats and cheeses, crappy condiments, and not using good oil contributes to making a poor sandwich and ruining the experience. And yes, it is an experience!

When up visiting my folks recently, Diane & I stopped at my favorite shop, Lee’s Hoagie House. Whenever we have time (and empty stomachs!)m we always go to the one in Abington off Old York Road. We split a half Italian hoagie. Sounds like a tiny sandwich, eh, only a quarter? We each still had a 6 to 8 inch hoagie. The last time we were up, we made the mistake of ordering a full hoagie and we almost didn’t need to eat for a few days! This time, we were full and happy, but able to have dinner later that night.

We returned yet again to Morimoto restaurant in downtown Philadelphia (at 723 Chestnut St). For the first time, Diane and I didn’t order the medium-sized chef’s choice sushi plate. We decided to go a la carte. We ordered our favorite salmon and tuni sushi and maki, and then I got my usual cucumber roll (kappa maki). I started with an amazing miso soup. We were joined by my mom and dad, who had a calamari salad and a five-spice lobster, respectively. Fun was had by all.

I finally have a chance to write a review of Peter’s Inn in Fells Point. What a fantastic find! Another couple took us to this tiny restaurant in Fells Point on a Saturday night. It’s on a quiet street that harks back to what Fells Point was like in the late 90s when I worked down there. Today, parts of the area have become gentrified and destroyed some of the character that made it my favorite area where I’ve ever worked.

Peter’s Inn is a tiny little place that has about 10-12 tables, takes no reservations and has a fresh menu every week. While it fills up, the staff are really cool and took our cell phone number to call us when our table was ready. We headed down to The Wharf Rat, a place that epitomizes the neighborhood bar feel and is one of only two places in the U.S. where I’ve been that actually felt like an English or Irish pub. [The other was Johnny Foley’s Irish Pub in San Francisco.]

Once we were seated, we dug into a fabulous wine list, menu and Michael and I even sampled a pint of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Yum! Later on, we turned to a gorgeous Languedoc red that went with everything we sampled. The portion sizes vary, with one or two items being a full meal, and the others being more like a tapas-sized serving. We ordered a bunch of different plates and sampled each others. There was a yummy tuna tartare, a briefly seared, thinly sliced beef filet and more delicacies. Michelle & I each ordered an amazing shrimp and chorizo sausage over chedder cheese grits. Yep, I said grits. It didn’t sound too appetizing, but, O.M.G. that was the yummiest meal. And, it was the perfect portion.

Since the restaurant is so small and intimate, it’d make a great place for a romantic evening. It’s also perfectly suited for two couples to have a memorable evening.

Drop everything and head to Cuba de Ayer, where we had a fantastic meal this past Saturday. Along with another couple, we spent Saturday evening at this Cuban restaurant, whose name literally means Cuba of yesterday. Tucked away in a strip mall off Maryland Route 198 just west of US 29, this small eatery has been there for almost three years. A friend told me about it a few months ago and we sent another couple there based on his recommendation. They told us it was fantastic and maybe the best Cuban food they’d had since having it in Cuba itself! So, after these two recommendations, we had to make it there.

Finding it was easy, tucked away just on the right hand side of 198 when you’re traveling westbound past 29. Parking is tight up front, but there’s more room in the back, especially near this amazing cool, and open late, Pakistani and Indian food/spice market. The place is small but vibrant. We waited outside and in an inner vestibule before making it into the restaurant area itself. The smells made my stomach jump for joy and if I was hungrier, I might have lurched at a table to sample someone else’s meal, or to hurry them up!

Turns out, we weren’t the only ones excited to try this place out. Two of us talked with a couple that came from Point of Rocks, out near Frederick, Maryland. That’s more than an hour drive to make it here. And, they were meeting another couple that was driving in from northern Virginia! I guess this was a mid-point, but definitely a long way to go for a place neither couple had ever been to before. The odds sounded better and better that we’d have a great time.

We were seated to the right of the main entrance, in the corner (see photo of our table below). I knew what I wanted before arriving, having scoped out the menu before hand. One of my favorite dishes is ropa vieja, which translates as “old clothes”. It’s a typical Cuban dish of shredded beef in a sauce with garlic, onions and red and green peppers. Like when I go to an Italian place where I try the marinara to “vet” the restaurant, I try ropa vieja at Cuban places. I ordered a Cuban beer that was on the menu, but they’d run out and on top of that, it’s been discontinued. So, I drank Presidente from the Dominican Republic. Along with my ropa vieja, I had moros y cristianos (a spiced rice mixed in with black beans and sauce) and fried sweet plantains. Three of us had the exact same thing. Our fourth had Lechon Asado, a dish recommended by our server. It’s a traditional Cuban roasted pork marinated in “mojo criollo” (a creole-style gravy) and onions. The general table vibe was that both dishes were great but the ropa vieja won out.

There was no room for dessert or coffee, but maybe next time we’ll try to save room. And there will be a next time. And one after that! And again for lunch, to savor the Cuban sandwich (which reminds me a lot of a New Orleans muffuletta sandwich. I heartily recommend this place to anyone who wants spicy (flavorful not hot) food, great service and wonderful ambience (once you make it out of the parking lot).

This is an incredibly simple meal that’s based on this recipe I found online. I modified the original recipe primarily because I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients, but I wanted to be sure to give credit. So, here’s my take which was sumptuous. Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely praise my own cooking, so this was a pretty good meal. It also reheats nicely the next day and still tastes just as juicy and flavorful.

1 lb. chicken breast 2 spicy italian sausage links - I used organic, no antibiotics, etc. 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes 4" sprig fresh rosemary 1 tsp dry thyme leaves (use 1 Tbsp fresh if you have them) onion (one large and one small; or two medium) cut into 1/2" dice 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil salt & pepper to taste

Brown sausage and chicken, in that order. Discard excess oil from sausage before browning chicken, though leave a thin sheen to aid in cooking chicken. Cut sausage and chicken into roughly bite-size pieces

While doing that, heat the oil in a pan that has high sides and a cover. When oil is hot, sauté onions until almost translucent. Add chicken, sausage, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes to onion pot. Make sure to include the juices from the tomato tin. If there isn’t much liquid, add some water or chicken stock.

Raise heat to bring to boil, cover, lower heat. Simmer for 30-35 minutes. Decorate with fresh sprigs of rosemary and serve. [4 healthy servings]