MattF's Profile
Electric BBQ Smokers?
You don't have to spend 500 bucks to make bbq. This thread is on electrics, but any cheap offset smoker from Lowes or HomeDepot will work fine and (based on my experience) turn out better q (though it's admittedly much more effort).
Electric BBQ Smokers?
>Can anyone else say they've smoked turkeys or hams for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years or even Easter when it can be cold as heck outside, regardless of weather??
Uh yeah, pretty much any bbq geek has. Christmas 2010: Goose and brisket. New Years Eve (last night) 2 briskets. I've smoked in snow. I've smoked at 10 degrees with strong winds (admittedly difficult). I've smoked in rain. Not lazy q either, all with a slightly mod'd silver smoker.
[Updated, changed "good" to goose]
why do scallops taste metallic?
I will every time now. Coll, no offense, but these days assuming the chef knows what their doing doesn't suffice. The chef may know perfectly well they're buying and serving garbage scallops.
Timbuktu in the Arundel Mills area (Coca-Cola and 100) uses STP treated scallops ... I ended up on this thread trying to figure out why my scallops tasted like metal. They were horrible.
Best Inner Harbor Tourist Trap
Unfortunately I think you're right about Legal ... was just in downtown Bmore a few weeks ago for a conference, and we couldn't find a Legal so we ate at MS Grill instead. I was disappointed in their fish and chips :( I got my fix last week in Crystal City though; boy oh boy I love the Rhode Island style Calamari there :)
Best Inner Harbor Tourist Trap
John Stevens was always the old favourite for me, but I haven't been there in years and have heard it's declined a bit. It's not a tourist trap, it's local. If your tastes lean towards cobblestone streats and pubs that probably haven't changed in a hundred years, hit Fells Point (there's also a pretty good music store there :) . If you prefer the known-factor of national chains, then the Inner Harbor is your place, and IIRC Phillips has a seafood buffet there that's pretty good. I've eaten at the McCormick in Vegas twice in 3 months now, and while that one has good fresh seafood the menu is remarkably bland and uninspired. I would imagine it's the same here (being a chain). I'm a much bigger fan of Legal.
You may also want to check out Nick's over on Insulator Drive. That's my family's current seafood digs..
Waiter changed tip
I disagree gryphonskeeper. I contend that while that may be the layout on *your* system, it would depends on the POS used by that restaurant. It could be a Micros, a PC-based system, an IBM, who knows. While there certainly does seem to be dominance in the POS market, you can't assume everyone has the same as yours.
I once had to use a keyboard that was made for a foreign language; the keys were *completely* not where I expected them, and it made typing extremely challenging; a server who's used to one POS suddenly using a new one may have had a similar challenge.
Either way, I seriously wouldn't worry about 11 cents. Noone would risk getting fired for 11 cents; they would have done that on a larger check for more money. I'd imagine it was a mistake or side effect of the charge card system.
Dinners in Baltimore this week
Thank you aussiewonder, hon (must be bmore !) and ko1. It's great to get this kind of reality check. I had JS recommended to me years ago when we first moved here, and the wife and I loved it, but unfortunately things do change. I thought Saigon Remembered was wonderful, so apparently I don't know what good Vietnamese is ! Can't wait to try the new recommendations.
Howard County Pattisseries ?
Ah, let me explain the "shortage" statement ...
this is silly, but I was pressed on time and driving ... so I was looking stuff up on my navi. I guess a better way to have said this would have been "there seems to be no shortage of shops with 'bakery' or 'cafe' in the name" although there does seem to be a shortage of actual bakeries ;)
Thank you all for the help; it's really nice to be able to get good qualified food advice from fellow foodies ... I think it would have taken me los of shortage to discover Bonaparte !
Howard County Pattisseries ?
Good morning everyone !
I had a bit of a dessert emergancy last night and ended up buying a fondant take-away from a local restaurant, but I'd like to have more options available in the future.
Are there any reall good pattiseries in the Howard County / Baltimore area, or along the 295 corridor ... or *anywhere* in the region ?
It seems there's no shortage of bakeries, but I'm on a quest more for fancy pastries and sweets rather than breads and biscuits ... tarts, tortes, petitfours, confections etc.
Thanks in advance !
Dinner for four in Columbia
Trattoria e Pizzeria is indeed moderately price, and while I can't compare it to Little Italy, I find their food to be tasteless and uninspired. For pizza specifically I would recommend *anywhere* other than there. I find Waterloo to have better pizza, and of course Ledo; even Pizza Hut beats there's in my opinion ... but to each their own (taste).
Dinners in Baltimore this week
I actually don't even know the other restaurants recommended, but I'd like to recommend Saigon Remember. It's NOT downtown; it's in NorthEast but it's not a long commute from downtown - I once drove a colleague there from Columbia and despite the 1 hour each way (traffic) he agreed it was well worth the patience.
It's the best Vietnamese I've found in the area, with a wide range of summer rolls and other starters (such as beef charred in grape leaves) and of course plenty of mains. Since I'm way out in the burbs (more of my friends work in DC than Baltimore) I don't get to go as often as I'd like; it's mainly reserved for occasions now, but if I were closer I do believe I'd spend considerably more money eating out than one should ;)
This is the review that introduced me to them http://www.citypaper.com/eat/review.asp?rid=4848
If you want a really funky, earthy pub experience I always enjoy introducing fellow mussel lovers to Bertha's. It's not "fine" seafood; it's a pub. They do have a restaurant side, but I usually just saddle up to the pub and enjoy my mussles with a pint ...or two ... or four. They offer them up in a wide variety of ways, none with any pretense. And of *course* they really play up the whole "eat bertha's mussels" thing and I always enjoy reading the wall of bumperstickers that play on that theme. Ok, silliness... but I actually do enjoy their mussels ... and beer. Again though, this is a very "down to earth" pub experience.
There's also a seafood restaurant in Fells Point that I believe is called John Steven's: it's a very nice full service sit-down restaurant inside a very classic stone rowhouse. Room is limited, so they "expand" by setting up an outdoor area. Personally I think the indoor seating in the small back room has more ambience. The menu has all the usual "nice seafood restaurant" items on it.
ko1 : I'd be interested in your opinion on these rec's. you seem to be considerably better versed in Bmore dining than myself.
My Reccomended places in Columbia-Laurel area
I'll have to try Bangkok Garden ... never even knew about it after 10 years in Columbia :( That's the problem with Columbia; everything's hidden !
For Thai we go to Bandkok Delight on Centre Park; very nice, and a ruby curry that I have trouble finding elsewhere.
Vietnamese: tried the place off of Snowden (behind a KFC and by an auto parts store if I recall correctly); not impressed, and it wasn't very clean. More of a take-away feeling, and we saw several roaches. not nice.
Back when we lived in Montgomery Co. it was always the place on Georgia down by Flying Dragon Importers and Barry's House of Magic; can't remember the name, but now we found a *great* place in Baltimore: Saigon Remembered. They have a wide assortment of summer rolls (which I love), some really great starters include beef charred inside grape leaves, and some very filling main plates. I read on a site once that they use a lot of MSG, and my son had a problem after eating there one night, but my wife and I have eaten there many times with no adverse issues; I just mention it as a precaution if you're particularly sensitive and need to be wary of it. I have no idea if they actually use MSG or not. They are hands down one of my favourite spots in the area, and I actually once took a colleague there for dinner whom was staying in Columbia. He was weary of the drive but decided the meal was not to be missed and completely justified the drive and getting back late.
For pizza, there's several I like; including Waterloo's (they have a greek pizza that I love), but honestly my favourite pizza has almost always been Ledo's. It's not very easy to eat and I wish they would stop slicing it into those infentesimally small squares, but the sauce is sweet and the pepperoni is too.
Oddly enough, best pizza I recall over the last several years, however, has been the 4 cheese pizza in Ricci's (is that the name of it ? can't recall) in Ceasar's Palace, LV. I'm sure next time I'm in New York I'll have something that I'll swear is the best pizza ever ;)
Kebob's : I'll try Maiwand. There's a little place on 198 towards 295 (by the McDonald's) run by an Afghani family that makes not only great kebabs, but a few choice indians treats as well, such as channa with freshly baked nan. Simple, fantastic food.
For crabcakes I'll try Timbuktu's but an acquaintance said they weren't impressed. I've going to Gunning's a few times (right next door I believe) and they have nice crab-cakes. Ccakes we typically just make at home though; it's not like it's hard, and honestly they can get so expensive in restaurants that we can feed the whole family for the price of one or two via eating out.
Still looking for more crab shops; I like real water-town atmospheres and will drive up to an hour and a half away if I can find the right place, with the right crabs and the righth prices; atmosphere is definitely very important to me in a crab joint though ... and I'd rather stay away from the Eastern Shore just due to traffic.
