Calvert Farm has the best selection of organic. Cat's Paw is good with nice people but a lesser selection. I think these are the only two strictly organic stalls.

Mixed diameters Saturday at Waverly. The thick was really quite good and not woody. I don't get the preference for thin.

I think HaHa Foods on Rt. 40 deserves some CH attention; Baltimore has been a wasteland for Chinese food for so long. Tried a couple of dim sum Saturday. Fried taro and ribs with black bean sauce. Both were excellent, prepared to order and serverd piping hot. A different experience than pointing to items on a cart, but very fresh. I also took half a duck home for dinner on Sunday. Love that duck. There were diners at several tables that were piled with great looking food, don't know what most of it was, but I want to go back to explore. The razor clams looked good.

Has anyone else been trying this place. i would like to hear your impressions and recommendations.

I like to sear meats in my cast iron skillet then place in a preheated oven at about 300 degrees until cooked as desired. Sometimes even 275 if I'm not too hungry.

The Dogwood in Hampden is now closed for good (I guess). Too bad, although I wanted to like this place much more than I actually did. I liked their philosophy of emphasising local and organic product and the staff was very nice, but I never seemed to order anything that made me think I had to come back and get this again.

You can go for dinner. I stopped in about 5:00 Sunday evening. We did not try the dim sum, but they said it was available and made fresh to order. We did split half a roast duck which with a pot of tea made quite a nice dinner for $13. The soups looked good and the staff were friendly and helpful.

Try Fank's at the wholesale fish market in Jessup. Very higfh quality.

I frequently by beef from a local producer that is vacuum packed and frozen. The quality remains very high.

Giant Food frequently has goat.

I have a friend who caters events. She works directly with clients to customize menus. Her specialty is Mediterranean but she excels at all cuisines, preparing all food from scratch. She does deliver, providing as much service as is needed. References can be provided. She can be contacted at:

Vicki
baltimorev@yahoo.com
410 980 5131

I have a friend who provides personalized individual meals and caters events. She works directly with clients to customize menus, making sure all requirements are met with high quality food. There are frequent deliveries so the food is always fresh. She can be contacted at:

Vicki
baltimorev@yahoo.com
410 980 5131

Unfortunately Bud's is also gone.

I recommend against salmon bones for a traditional bouillabase. They are good for soups and stews but the end result will be distinctlly salmony.

It has been a while and all I can say is, not memorable. I can't remember what we ordered but can remember that I thought I would not rush back. Not that I wouldn't return but no real reason to. Sorry for being so vague. I wanted to like Chef Mac's more, so I would love to hear about any recent good dinners there.

Carp cakes are good.

Bones can be a problem but if they not taken from muddy water, muddieness should not be a problem.

Wegman's fish counter is very good, but expensive. Sometimes Wholefoods and Fresh Market are acceptable. I am very particular about fish. I have had beef and sausage from Green Onion and can highly recommend. The produce was unimpressive the days I visited, perhaps just timing.

In season, the farmers markets would be your best bet. I prefer the downtown Sunday market which has two reasonably priced organic stalls. One Straw Farm at the Saturday Waverly Market has beautiful produce but can be pricey.

For something more informal but more personal you may want to try Isabellas in little Italy. Next to the bocci court.
http://isabellas.biz/page8.php

I would also recommend Ryleigh's Oyster Bar and Cross Street Market. Mama's might be a bit too far.

No. They were labled fresh "day boat". Technically fresh means never frozen although many fish counters misslabel or fail to label their product.

I have had excellent scallops from Wegman's that I believe were "fresh" rather than "previously frozen".

You might want to consider the Thames Street Oyster House in Fells Point. From my limited experience the food has been quite good and I like the space. They have limited outdoor seating. http://www.thamesstreetoysterhouse.com/

I don't remember the name of butcher shop. It was about a block west of Mellis on South Street. I didn't check out The Guid Cheese Shop but love Mellis. The meats at the Balgove are also excellent. We had scallops and herring at Kerarchers. Anyone visiting St Andrews that likes to cook should consider a self catering cottage or apartment.

Thanks for the advise. I just returned home yesterday, but will file the recommendations for future trips. Yes, the daughter's at St Andrews. It is far from home, but a good excuse to visit Scotland and a good oportunity for her to experience a perspective on the world beyond that of the States. We had previously toured and enjoyed East Neuk.

A dining summary. Solo, I had an excellent vegetarian mezze platter at Hendersons in Edinburgh; and I'm a carnavoir. The family arrived in Pitlochory tired and hungry. Went indian, can't remember the name. Above average by home standards, maybe not by local standards. I can highly recommend the Dunmurray Lodge, best breakfast and most helpful host of the trip. We had an excellent lunch at the Applecross Inn. The prawns were excellent and unlike any I have had before. In Fort William we ate at the Crannog. The steamed shellfish in crab bisque and the halibut were excellent, the ribeye so so. It is a seafood restaurant after all. Back in St Andrews we treated the daughter and her friends to home cooking. The local butcher, seafood and cheese shops really stand out.

I am looking forward to our future visits. Oh, please excuse my spelling, kind of a problem.

Don't know about the Glen Burnie store, but the Parkville and 40th St stores in Baltimore were on a very low level and are now closed. No organic selection, fair at best produce and meat otherwise and limited sad looking prepared foods. They advertised themselves as high end with competitive prices. I'd say they were somewhere lower end than Shoppers with Shoppers having some organic and decent prepared foods.

We are from the USA and will be visting our daughter in St Andrews than touring the Highlands in early April,spending nights in Pitlochry, Inverness, Broadford (Skye) and Fort William. Looking for mostly lower to midrange restaurants and cafes. We also have liked some of the farm shops we visited in Fife like the Balgove in St Andrewsand the Pillars of Hercules in Falkland. Suggestions for dining and local specialties would be most appreciated. Thanks.

Nice selection of meat and veg. Hot and fresh prepared foods were lacking and lackluster.

I have not been to Hon for quite a while, but never thought the food was that bad. Not creative, but well prepared for what it was. Did they go downhill after the trademark fiasco? Was the bad food and busy night disaster staged for Ramsay?

Oh well. That's entertainment.

Tried Zhongshan when they first opened. Quite dissapointed. Dim Sum taro was reheated and still cold in the center. I thought I would give them some time to get thier act togther but never returned. Does anybody have recent experience?

Both the Hamilton Bakery and Atwaters produce excellent breads.