Uncovering Writing

While scoping out some Congressional races in Arizona, I remembered one of my favorite restaurants from the Tucson area: El Charro Cafe. It’s the oldest, family-run, continuously-operated Mexican restaurant in the US. I first went there in 1994, when I was attending the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) annual meeting. Back then I was a software developer working on the Hubble Space Telescope at Space Telescope Science Institute, and I was out there to help present a poster for some work I’d done. I went again each time I’ve been back in Tucson and have been thinking it’s about time to head out there again.

Why is it so good? In a word, the carne seca. Yes, it’s that simple, dried beef. But, oh how they do it. Marinated with garlic, lime and spices, it’s left to dry in the hot Sonoran sun on traditional wire mesh cages until it’s so tender and ready for cooking. It’s served cooked and shredded, packed into chimis, tacos, burritos, or just by itself. If you’re in Tucson, visit this restaurant!

Howard Magazine (formerly called Columbia magazine) just published their best of article on dining in Howard County. While I won’t repeat all of the results, I did want to highlight a few that make me proud and happy!

• Best Ambiance: The Kings Contrivance: This fine establishment that does wonderful holiday menus (e.g. Mother's Day and Thanksgiving) also won best Fine Dining and was in a three-way tie for Best Overall Restaurant
• Best Indian: House of India: My favorite Indian place in the area also won honorable mention for Best Buffet. In my opinion, it's the best in that category too, check it out to find out for yourself!
• Best Mexican: El Azteca: this family-owned delight off Route 108 is the place to go for a wonderful meal that will fill you up with delightful spicies. Get the Tacos al carbon or the Chicken Molé and you'll be smacking your lips all night. El Azteca also won best Margarita. If you drink these concocations, make sure to do it by the pitcher here!
• Best Italian: Aida Bistro: A nice place to have an intimate encounter or a group celebration. Hang out with Mary and Joe for a wonderful meal.

Diane & I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary this past Saturday. It’s felt like only a few years and we are both even more in love with each other than we thought possible! To celebrate, we ate at Tersiguel’s, a French country restaurant in Ellicott City, Maryland. While it can be a little pricey at times, the food, decor and service are of the highest quality. For a special occasion, make the trip to historic Ellicott City and visit Tersiguel’s. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

We’re a cute couple but we’re not usually this cute! We started with cocktails. I enjoyed a perfect Manhattan on the rocks and Diane enjoyed a glass of French chardonnay. Then, we split a seafood appetizer for two that featured mussels, calamari, escargot and tiger shrimp. Fantastic! I enjoyed that with a nice sauvignon blanc. For the salad course, we both got fresh homemade mozzarella (made around 4 in the afternoon that day) drizzled with olive oil and served with wonderful heirloom tomatoes grown at their own farm. For our entree, we had Oregon kobe beef that was finished table-side in a rich demi-glace, with perfectly roasted potatoes and lightly creamed spinach. Our server offered us a half bottle of a red Bordeaux from St. Emillion. A 2002 vintage, it was called Maison Blanche. This wine was beautiful and paired perfectly with the beef dish. For dessert, we had a fresh apple tart. Diane enjoyed a glass of Remy Martin VSOP cognac and I had a recommended glass of Duc de Loussac armagnac.

If you want a good local Germany-styled brew, some brats or wienerschnitzel, or a totally eclectic menu, then you want to go to Ellicott Mills Brewing Company. Home of the finest German dunkels this side of the Rhein and the snappiest cajun alligator north of the bayou, this Ellicott City landmark is well worth the trip.

I had to post this since the meal came out yummy! I found some pencil-thin asparagus at the market today and just had to buy it. I got about 1/2 a pound of large white raw shrimp and marinated them in soy sauce, fresh ground pepper and about a tablespoon each of freshly chopped ginger and garlic. I used a ziploc bag and kept it marinating in the fridge for about 2 hours. I then sauteed the asparagus in 2 teaspoons of olive oil for about 5 minutes. I set the asparagus aside, added another 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 3-4 drops of sesame oil. Once hot, I stir-fried about 1/2 tablespoon each of chopped ginger and garlic for about a minute. I added the shrimp and cooked until pink. Returning the asparagus to the pan, I cooked them together for about another minute or so, browning the shrimp a little and reheating the asparagus. The meal complete, I served it over a bed of freshly-made brown rice. I had a nice glass of Côtes du Rhône with this dish.

We had a wonderful salmon dish last night that I made. I marinated almost a pound of salmon in a sealed container for about an hour. It marinated in fresh chopped garlic and ginger (about 2 tablespoons of garlic and 1 of ginger), and about 1/2 a cup or so of low-sodium soy sauce. I also added some salt and fresh ground pepper. The salmon came out looking like it was tuna sushi, a beautiful bright red. I cooked it in a non-stick skillet with maybe two teaspoons of olive oil over medium to medium high heat. About six minutes one side, four the other, and it was perfectly done. It flaked throughout but was still very moist. I decorated it with a sprig of cilantro, continuing the Asian-styled theme. Accompanying the salmon were some sauteed vegetables. I sauteed chopped shallots in about a tablespoon of olive oil, then added zucchini, yellow squash, diced yellow pepper and mushrooms, cooking them until warm but still fresh. Then I added salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. I closed with about two teaspoons of lite teriyaki sauce. Toss, warm through and serve.

While researching one of my races in upstate New York (the 29th), I ran across a link to a place that kept me warm and happy for part of my years at University of Rochester. The Elmwood Inn was a great pub that was across the street from a cemetery and walkable from the U of R. Summer or winter, fall or spring, it was the place to be and late at night and on weekends, it was packed. The tiny parking lot could never accommodated the clientele, so we were glad we could walk there most of the time!

Whether sitting at the bar area or in one of the window sections, it was a cool place to go for the best freaking wings and pitchers of ice cold beer. Just don’t play quarters at the tables right in the middle of the floor; we almost got thrown out for that! Even after college, we still return to the Elmwood when we’re in town. The night of our wedding rehearsal dinner, we headed there with our out of town friends and hung out past midnight. So, if you’re in Rochester and it’s cold and dark out, head over to the Elmwood for a pitcher and some wings to warm you up.

How I could have a restaurant category and not have an entry on Pasta Plus is an oversight that I must now immediately correct. I’ve been going to this restaurant in Laurel (Maryland) since 1990. Located in strip mall hell (a quip I wrote that got included in a Zagat review of this restaurant) at the intersection of US 1 and Maryland Route 198, most normal foodies would never go near the place. It’s got drapes that block the dining room view from the outside and it’s nestled next to an Arby’s, a defunct Chinese place, and a computer store from the 1970s or 80s that hasn’t been occupied since I’ve been going to Pasta Plus.

But, once you cross the threshold, you enter one of my favorite Italian eateries ever! From the maitre’d Max (Massimo), who is co-owner with his brother Sabatino, to the wait staff, runners and cooks, the service is exemplary and sumptuous. Max always has a smile and a handshake for his regulars, and I think for everyone to be honest. He always stops by people’s tables during their meals to see how they are doing. He does this to regulars and newbies alike. I’ve never seen such attention to detail and care from an owner before. It’s probably why his and the restaurant’s fan base is so large. The casual restaurant doesn’t have fancy this or fancy that, just nice sized tables and comfortable chairs.

Wine and beer are on the menu (no hard liquor) and appetizers, brick oven pizzas, homemade pasta, fish and meat dishes and desserts pour out of the kitchen. I’ve never had a bad meal at Pasta Plus and I’ve been going for 17 years! I heartily recommend any of their pastas and their fish dishes are beloved by many of my friends and family. The bruschetta pomodoro is my staple appetizer and one of the best versions around. They have an amazing dish that used to be the house speciality when the menu was just two pages. It’s called the timballo alla teramano. It’s a version of lasagna that’s made with much lighter crepe-style noodles. If you like lasagna but feel like you’re going to die after eating a piece, try this and you’ll have all the joy without any discomfort.

Pasta Plus doesn’t take reservations and it’s first come, first serve. They rarely, if ever, advertise, but it’s a big draw most nights it’s open. In the winter, it’s always crowded and the line extends outside. It moves quickly, but dress warmly in the winter if you head there between say 6:30 and 8:00 PM. Diane and I go there for special events, an evening out, or just for fun. It’s a versatile place.

My philosophy regarding good restaurants usually includes an axiom about the dinkiest looking restaurants often have some of the best food around. This axiom is proven to the nth degree by Jerry’s Seafood. Diane introduced me to this place, after she and her work folks used it regularly as a place to entertain important clients. Jerry’s is east, off the DC Beltway, on Lanham-Severn Road. It’s in a grungy parking lot and the sign, as noted below, isn’t always well lit. It’s a first-come first-serve place with interior decor reminiscent of beach seafood family restaurants from New Jersey, Delaware or Maryland.

Once you get in and get pasted the kitsch, you’ll be amazed. The menu isn’t too varied with a few fried fish items here and there. But, the reason to go to Jerry’s is for the Bomb. The Crab Bomb. It’s a ridiculously large jumbo-lump crab meat. It’s baked not fried. And it’s got like no filler. The only thing holding this puppy together is the good faith of the restaurant staff. And it’s one of the best things you’ll ever eat. If you’re looking for something a bit spicier, you can get the firecracker version of the bomb. It’s made with cracked black pepper and ground mustard seed. Oh my god, it’s yummy. Note that the there are two sizes of the bomb: regular and baby. The baby is 6 ounces, the regular 10. With almost zero filler, that’s a heck of a lot of crab, and well worth the time and expense. That’s the only drawback, if you need to have a drawback. Jerry’s isn’t cheap. But then again, the crab is wonderful, handpicked by staff in the back and perfect. So, treat yourself sometime! I recommend a Baby Firecracker Bomb.

Momofuku Ando passed away on Friday. For those who don’t know his name, that’s okay, I didn’t either. But his product, you probably know about it. It kept me alive during college, especially on cold nights in upstate New York. But, it energized my friends in southern California, Virginia, and Arizona too! Instant noodles! Ramen instant noodles! Remember boiling water in a hot pot, throwing the dried brick of noodles into a pot and licking your lips as they melted in the boiling water? Then, adding the usually too salty but oh so good “flavor packet” and there you had it, instant happiness! And at 25 cents a pop, at least in the mid-80s, it was the cheapest meal around.

We ate this evening at Mannequin Pis, a Belgian restaurant in Olney, Maryland. This is a fabulous place in a scary, barely accessible strip mall in suburban Maryland. Famed for its mussels, pommes frites, and beers, it is definitely worth the trip.

This was our second outing to the restaurant and we had excellent food again. I had a frissee salade to start, which could have been a meal in itself with all the smoked country-style bacon. I then had their Red Devil spicy mussels, about a kilos worth. Very spicy and to die for. A side of french fries completed a wonderful meal. We had a wonderful server and great company.

The meal would have been 100% perfect, except for the clueless and rude waiter (not our own wonderful server), who came to our table as I put down my pen from signing my part of the receipt. He told the whole table that he’d appreciate us hurrying up since another couple was waiting for our table. Well, we’d dropped over $200, ordering alcohol, appetizers, four entrees, and two desserts. WTF!!! I’ve never been so insulted or been treated so pathetically in my life. F-them. I couldn’t recommend this place, for service, though I’d have to say if you want great food, give this place a try. Just watch out for a pompous blond-ish haired freakoid who works the early-evening weekend shift.

Diane & I had dinner at Mi Rancho last night with a friend of mine from work and her boyfriend. We’d been to this place in the past, with friends of ours who moved out west. It’s a great down-to-earth Mexican place that has indoor and outdoor seating.

Their tortilla chips are delicious and light and go perfectly with the smokey homemade salsa! Yum. But, don’t fill up too much on these treats since their main menu is packed with traditional fare that’s sure to fill you up and then some. Diane had a great piece of salmon, served on a sizzling plate while I had their tacos al carbon with beef. The delicious and tender steak in my flour tortilla wrap was both perfectly done and way stuffed! The enchiladas and fajitas also looked great. Nice selection of wine, Mexican beers and margaritas helped wash everything down.

Only drawback? No sit-down bar! You can’t wait at the bar for others to meet up with you or just sit and have a drink. The place is so big, though, that you can almost always find a table and just sit and drink, either on the patio or in the enclosed area.

If you ever watched the original Iron Chef shows on the Food Network, you’d have seen Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, who did modern Japanese cuisine in that cook-off show. Awhile ago, he opened an eponymous restaurant in downtown Philadelphia. He’d worked at Nobu in New York as the executive chef, but this was his own baby. The restaurant is uber-chic, with a fantastic layout on the main floor. Lucite tables and benches delicately change colors throughout the evening. It’s subtle and tastefully done.

The food is seriously TO DIE FOR. The nouveau Japanese cuisine combined with eclectic dishes is well worth the need for reservations. The chef’s choice for sushi and sashimi is the best option if you’re into that style of food. I ate types of fish I’d had for years as well as items that only had Japanese names and I had no clue what they were. A great starter is their Cha-soba chilled green tea noodles with chopped scallion, fresh wasabi and dashi-shoyu sauce for dipping. They have Kobe beef too, though I think it’s only on the chef’s tasting menu.

Diane and I have been there twice now, both times with my parents. Below is a cell-phone picture Diane took of my folks during our second time at Morimotos. This was from December 27th, back in 2005.

We really enjoyed eating at Dogfish Head in Rehoboth Beach. I’ve been drinking their brews for many years now, first introduced to them by our dear friends Stacy & Marc. I usually drink the Chicory Stout or the 60 minute IPA. Diane, who rarely takes more than a sip of my beer from time to time, wanted to try out one of their brews. She’s most partial to Belgian style ales, which are a bit sweeter and have a more floral bouquet. She tried a pint of the Raison D’Etre (reason to be) and fell in love. She had a couple of pints over our vacation and even picked up a six-pack in the restaurant store on the way out of town.

As you can see from a previous post, there are some places to avoid in Rehoboth Beach, but there are also some great places to go to.

If you’re there, definitely try out Dogfish Head Brewery and Pub, on the main strip. They have a great menu and all their favorite beers and spirits are available for your enjoyment. They’ve got a great appetizer called their cajun andouille and chicken egg rolls. Get that or die!

For a romantic and eclectic meal, check out Blue Moon.

If you want authentic fish and chips, try out Go Fish. I couldn’t find a website, but here’s a great review and a nice photo of the restaurant’s front.

Sadly, one of our favorite places was the Camel’s Hump, which closed last fall after the longtime owner passed away. She will be missed and the beach community will long have a hole in its culinary experience.

Diane & I first visited this restaurant two years ago and were pleased with the food, although the service was a bit slow. However, when you’re at the beach, you want to take things easy, so we didn’t mind. This year, we went on Thursday, June 22nd. It was an experience albeit not one I’d like to relive anytime in the near future.

We arrived around 7:30 or so and sat out on the front patio. We were seated by the hostess, who was from Ireland. We had a great time chatting with her about our trip to Ireland back in 2003 (see here for more on that trip). We were visited at our table by a woman server who said our waiter would be around shortly. After a long wait, during which we had time to review our dinner and drink orders, our waiter showed up. He took our drink orders and disappeared for a long while. He returned eventually with a chardonnay for Diane and a lime/ginger vodka martini for me. They were both quite tasty. He took our dinner order, which for Diane was a gorgonzola salad followed by ahi tuna. I ordered an organic greens salad with fresh mozzarella and a thai red curry vegetarian appetizer. The server said that I’d made an excellent choice with my entree.

At about this time, a young couple came in and was seated on the other side of the front porch where we were. This is important to remember, as I’ll get to in a moment.

After a reasonable period, our salads arrived, and they were spectacular. We enjoyed them immensely and awaited our main courses. They arrived after a longer interval, but it was nice to take things slow. Diane’s platter was beautiful but mine looked a bit weird. I’d ordered a vegetarian red curry and this looked like a piece of chicken and some asparagus. Diane called the woman server, who I mentioned earlier, over and we told her this didn’t look quite right. She said oh, it’s the stuffed chicken with asparagus. I told her I’d ordered the red thai curry and she said that if I’d like, she’d talk to the management and just substitute this for what I’d ordered. I said that no, I’d like what I’d ordered. She said it’d take awhile and paused, but I insisted, so off my plate went while Diane kept her platter. She gave me a taste of her food and it was wonderful. Although for ahi, it looked a bit overcooked, with only a smidgen of pink in the center.

Our waiter returned to see what was up and I told him I’d gotten the wrong food. He said that he could have sworn I’d ordered the chicken, although, given that he’d complemented me on my entree choice earlier, I found that a little hard to believe. He then asked Diane how her boar was. A little shocked, we both said that she’d ordered the ahi tuna but he said that wasn’t right. Diane liked the boar and we’d both eaten about two-thirds of it already, so it seemed like we would stick with that. I was getting a little pissed at this point.

My red curry arrived shortly thereafter, and it was wonderful. A little while later, the male server returned and said that the problem was that there’d been a mix up and we’d received the young couple’s main course order. Our waiter said that since he’d put our order in first, he just assumed the first thing the kitchen made was our food. He’d served us their dinner! They’d had an appetizer, but they hadn’t received their dinner yet and it’d been about an hour or so at this point. I felt bad for them but was incensed over what had happened to us.

After refusing dessert or coffee, our bill arrived, with nary an apology, and I went to the men’s room. Diane argued with the waiter about our bill, since first it showed three entrees (the two wrongly ordered ones and my re-entered curry). He’d removed the extra order but there wasn’t anything taken off our bill or comp’ed. I assumed they’d comp our drinks, since that seems like the least they could have done. When Diane asked the waiter about this, he defiantly said that, “well, you ate it, didn’t you”. After more prodding, he took the bill back and they comp’ed us one round of drinks (we’d had two). The owner stayed far away from our table and the woman server kept blaming the young, new staff. She told us there’d been horrible experiences that night and they’d stopped seating any new people, which we observed to be true since we were right by the main entryway. Diane went to the ladies room and while in there, she heard the woman server chew out our waiter as being unprofessional and wrong, but he just kept denying any responsibility.

Overall, the chef was amazing, and the service horrible never recommend anyone going to this establishment. There are plenty of excellent choices to try in Rehoboth Beach, so going back for another potentially horrid experience is definitely off my top ten list of things to do at the beach.

I now have the name of the restaurant I ate at in Los Alamitos that was about 20 or so minutes south of LA. I had dinner there with my friends, the Bryne’s. It’s called The Original Fish Company, located on Los Alamitos Blvd, at Katella Avenue.

When I was there, I had hand-rolled spicy tuna rolls. There were two and believe me, you want to share these puppies. Yummy but way filling. I can’t find the name of the fish I had which I mentioned before, since it was one of the specials. If you go there, and you must go there if you’re in LA, then drink many of their fabulous martinis while sitting on the patio waiting for your table. Once inside, you should pick an appetizer to share off the menu and then only order off the special menu. It will be worth it!

Per my previous entry about my lunch with Francine Busby, here’s a photo of Raul’s Shack, a great pit stop for Mexican food in Encinitas, CA. Definitely check it out and have the special burrito (top of the menu, I can’t remember the name!).