'Fresh Thoughts' on Our Meal at the National Aquarium

by Erin and Xani



Xani and I saw the movie Food, Inc. tonight (it's only in Baltimore until Wednesday, folks!). We are both big fans of Michael Pollan and his philosophies, and as we have discussed in earlier posts, we are glad to be part of the movement towards safer food: safer for our bodies, our families, our communities, and our planet. (Read a brief but great review of Food, Inc. by the Amateur Gourmet here. The movie also raises a few very interesting legal issues such as antitrust, libel, agencies' regulatory powers, etc. -- legal nerd alert!) While we both make a daily effort to know where our food is coming from and support sources that produce local and/or organic and/or sustainable products, an opportunity to further support this effort fell into our laps a few weeks ago -- or should I say it swam into our laps?

The National Aquarium in Baltimore held a series of dinners on sustainable seafood called the Fresh Thoughts Dining Series, and Xani and I were invited to attend the third and final dinner in late June. It was fun, delicious, and definitely informative and interesting!

Xani and I walked from our neighborhood through the harbor to the Aquarium on a lovely June evening. We arrived and were presented with a free ticket to the dolphin show! We are SO VIP. It was a great show - I am always amazed at how smart dolphins are. Apparently they are one of few animals that recognizes themselves in mirrors! After the dolphin show, we checked out the jellyfish exhibit, which was creepy but beautiful, and then we headed up to one of the top floors of the Aquarium for the dinner.





The room was beautiful and looked out across the entire harbor, and you could see our neighborhood of Federal Hill across the water.



Our 'hood



There was a bar (yippee!) with local Clipper City beers, plus sangria to match the latin flavor of the evening's menu. After a few drinks and some guacamole and chips, we sat down at our assigned tables. The chef served stuffed mini-peppers filled with cheese and peppers. It was a delicious first bite to the meal. After some more chatting with Aquarium staff and other bloggers, we settled down to listen to a few brief talks on sustainable seafood.





Chips and guacamole made right on the spot



Stuffed peppers

The theme of the evening was our good friend, the tilapia. They chose tilapia as the theme because it is farm-raised locally in Maryland, and (we learned) it is an herbivore so it is low down on the food chain. Lower down on the food chain means fewer fish went into creating the fish you are eating: for every pound of tuna you eat (which is high on the food chain), that represents 10 pounds of squid, and for every squid, that represents 10 pounds of smaller fish that it ate, etc. With a tilapia, all you are eating are the plants it ate. The ecologist explained it by likening it to land animals: eating tuna or swordfish is like eating lions and tigers - they are the biggest, baddest predators on the block, and we should avoid eating them to conserve the fish (or tiger?) population.

After all that learning we were ready to eat! The food was excellent, especially the tilapia tacos. We both love fish tacos and these were outstanding - the fish was marinated in cumin, chipotle, lime zest and juice, and olive oil, and was cooked perfectly. Then it was placed atop a corn tortilla along with a lime-cilantro creme, pickled red onion, shredded cabbage, and queso chihuahua - YUM! So delicious. They also had chicken tacos, and the chicken was from Springfield Farms (a local farm where readers might recall we got our Thanksgiving Turkey last year). In addition to the tacos, the chef served a delicious salad and grilled corn as well, both so tasty and fresh. We enjoyed lovely conversation with our tablemates and a few more brief speeches (one from the Clipper City brewery, another from the chef) as we finished our dinner.



Fish taco



Chicken taco, salad, corn

Then it was time for dessert! It was strawberry and blueberry shortcake with whipped cream. The shortcake was perfectly made - tender and sweet, plus a sprinkling of coarse sugar over the top. A great end to the meal.



Shady shortcake

After dinner, the aquarium had closed to the public so it was just us VIPs hanging around. Xani and I had the shark exhibit all to ourselves! Kinda spooky but mostly awesome.

Thanks to the National Aquarium and Amy B. for inviting us to this interesting and important event - we learned a lot and had a great time!

Happy sustainable eating, and go see Food, Inc.!

EP & X


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Sushi the Old-Fashioned Way: One Fish at a Time

by Guest Blogger BCD Dad

Dad has had the opportunity to travel to Singapore and Brunei in recent months for work and has gotten a few meals in. He was gracious enough to chronicle one of his awesome sushi experiences in Singapore in a guest post. Thanks Dad!!

The experience of Shiraishi Restaurant, Singapore, May 2009



It does seem odd that our family, that came from grandparents who were essentially meat-and-potatoes raised, has become such fans of the fin. Perhaps it started when Grandpa Podolny (William) became so engaged with the Japanese in his business relationships and it has blossomed ever since, being reinforced by my own travels to Asia, by my brother Richard’s many experiences in Japan and now our daughters’ various travels to China and further abroad.

Meat and Potatoes notwithstanding, there does always seem to be a compulsion for the search for perfection, and I admit that I succumb, especially when I am in Asia and have a free evening to myself. Unfortunately none of my traveling colleagues share the passion for poisson to the degree of our family, so it is not something that I can persuade, especially considering the price.

So when the planets aligned and I found myself with a free evening in Singapore, which has to be among the top foodie cities in the world, the pursuit was on. A little internet research and a recommendation from the concierge at the St. Regis, and I had a reservation at Shiraishi, a tiny sushi bar located in the Ritz Carlton Millennia Singapore. I hesitated at first, the restaurant being in a hotel, forgetting briefly that outside of the USA, the finer hotels also have the finer restaurants. I was also a little skeptical since the online reviews for all of the top-end sushi/sashimi places were only mediocre. But I don’t really trust other reviewers of sushi restaurants, since the absence of a California roll, for me, is a plus.

Shiraishi has sixteen seats and tables for ten. It is small. There were four sushi chefs upfront and four wait-staff. A very good ratio so the service was perfect.



Minimalist setting to go with the minimalist presentation

My goal was to try the very best and most unusual sushi/sashimi in the house. Shiraishi is a “fugu” rated restaurant, but alas, the poison poisson was out of season. I left the menu up to the chef along with a budget (what a distortion of terms). What followed was an interesting, unusual and delicious presentation of about twelve different courses – most of which focused on a single fish.

A first course on-the-house “amuse bouche” did make me worry a little bit though. It was a dark tuna in small pieces with several flavorings including onion, soy, and sesame. But I was tasting “tuna fish salad.” Things got much better in a hurry. As an alternative to edamame, there was dadachamame (maybe), a sort of cross between lima beans and soy beans, boiled and salted edamame style. This had a lot more substance than the edamame, with almost a sweet potato flavor.



The next course was a mixed sashimi. The presentation included a white fish, very thinly sliced, almost transparent, with ponzu sauce, and then four or five other types including amebi, Kampachi (like hamachi), and what was to be the star of the evening: an absolutely luscious Ohtoro (very fatty tuna). These other fishes enjoyed freshly made wasabi and two kinds of fresh herbs that first decorated the plate and then under the chef’s direction were added to the soya mix.



Annoyed that the amebi was missing a very crucial part, I calmed down when the tempura battered shrimp head and tail appeared as a separate course on a teeny-tiny plate of its own.



Then came the parade of sushi. One piece per serving – a size just perfect to fill the mouth, a minimum of sushi rice – and advice on each piece ("no soya on this one").

Here’s the round-up:



Ohtoro – Awesome



Kampachi – A perennial favorite (same as “hamachi?)



Uni and Ikura – From Hokaido. A very interesting juxtaposition

Kohada – “…no soy on this one…”

Anago– Perhaps the only real disappointment. Too bland and mushy.



Akami (tuna) with oshinko

There were three more, but I’m sorry I can’t recall what they were!

The finale was a nigiri sushi combo. Three pieces each: back for an encore the Negitoromaki – Fatty tuna & welsh onion roll and then a riff on Kappamaki, a delicious miniature cucumber with Umeshiso spicy pickled plum sauce.



Green tea, the house sake, and three bite-size pieces of a perfect “honeydew” melon rounded out the meal.



This was a strictly minimalist approach to the fish. At other ‘high-end’ sushi shops, there is typically, and I quite enjoy, the artistry of the presentation. Here, this was kept to a minimum – no reproduction of the Imperial Palace done in daikon and wasabi. Aside from this minor observation, it was a very pleasurable meal which could only have been better if shared with my sushi afficionado family.

Dennis

Thanks Dad! Great post. Now when are we going out for sushi??

Love,

X & E

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A Tale of Two Cities: Cleveland and Charlotte

by Xani

Recently I've been on the road again and my latest trip took me to visit my dear friend Hayley in Cleveland, then on to Charlotte, NC for a conference. Plenty of good times and good eats in both places. Beginning with:

Cleveland!
Cleveland gets a bad rap. The winters are interminable, the local economy sucks, and every summer the city gets invaded by "Mayflies" or "midges" which may sound like something cute but actually they are disgusting little pests that land all over your body! Gross!!

Um, anyway, Cleveland may have its issues but thanks to Hayley I always have an awesome time when I visit. And we ALWAYS enjoy plenty of tasty treats.



My first night we hit Momocho, a funky little joint that bills itself as "mod mex." We arrived in time for happy hour and enjoyed 1/2 price margaritas, including this trio of flavors: cucumber, blood orange, and... something else that now escapes me. Cucumber was the best!

Then we worked our way through LOTS of guacamole (and more margaritas). Another trio, this sampler included: traditional guacamole, guacamole with pineapple, jicama, habanero, and mint, and guacamole with blue crab, corn , and chipotle. Interesting combinations... not the BEST guacamole I have ever had, but I never met an avocado I didn't like!

Mmmmm.... Guac

Our Guardian Angel

Margaritas getting to us...

Next we moved onto the main courses, which were, sadly, a little forgettable (also, my pictures suck and therefore will not be posted). I did like the remolacha (roasted beets + spinach / spiced peanuts / chihuahua cheese), an interesting vegetarian dish, and the queso fundito (house made chorizo sausage / rajitas / corn tortillas). We also had a special with... boar? elk? It's all lost in a margarita haze at this point. The food was solid, just nothing mind-blowing. Great atmosphere and great margaritas (obvi)!

The next night we had a truly fantastic meal at a place I'd wanted to try for a long time: Lolita. Lolita is the more casual counterpart to Lola, Iron Chef Michael Symon's fine dining establishment in Cleveland. The menu includes lots of delicious meat (especially pork) products that Symon is famous for. But, of course, we began with cocktails:

This was a lime and vodka concoction that went down smooth

Then, the parade of food started. We began with these lovely roasted dates with almonds, chiles, pancetta and parsley.

And pure decadence on a plate: roasted bone marrow with grilled bread, scallions and salsa verde. Heavenly.

The "Big Board" included generous servings of a selection of their house-cured meats and tasty accompaniments including soppresata, proscuitto, cured duck breast, and so on. Look at all this gorgeous MEAT!

We finished up with an excellent wood-fired pizza with housemade pork sausage (more pork!), garlic, olive oil, rapini, chiles and fresh mozzarella, and a side of crispy fried brussels sprouts with anchovies, capers, walnuts and chiles-- delicious!

Excellent pizza-- and the leftovers made killer breakfast

What a meal!! Iron Chef Symon (and the hardworking cooks in the open kitchen) did NOT disappoint. I would definitely go back and try some of the other tantalizing dishes (crispy chicken livers? bucatini carbonara with pork belly?? yes, please!)

When it was time to leave Cleveland (sad-- was having so much fun with Hayley and did NOT want to leave. Can't wait til she visits Baltimore in August!) I headed directly to Charlotte, NC, a place I had never been before. With no rental car it was a little challenging to get out and about to interesting eateries, but one night some coworkers and I hijacked (not really) the Charlotte Fire Department shuttle and hitched a ride over to Mac's Speedshop (tag line: Beers. Bikes. BBQ.). What a scene-- apparently we were there on "Euro night" which meant every bike in the lot was a BMW or Ducati. It was crowded with people so we enjoyed a few frosty beverages while waiting. Once we were seated, we ordered a variety of BBQ-- some folks got a platter of pulled pork or brisket, but others (including myself) got the "Little bit of everything" so I could see what all this BBQ was about. A few moments later, my "little bit" arrived. The platter, which was $15 and came with two sides was one of the most ENORMOUS servings of food I have ever seen. It was obscene. One whole giant platter covered with ribs, brisket, pulled pork and quarter of a chicken, and the sides on another giant plate. I'm embarrassed to say I barely made a dent in the food (but would be more embarrassed to report I had eaten it all!). My pictures don't do it justice:

pics are waaaay dark, but if you can make our two plates, I can promised you they were both LOADED with food

meat mayhem

It was a meat masterpiece! But waaay too much food and as tasty as it was, I had to leave most of it there (no fridge in the hotel room, although I'm sure it would have made great leftovers). The only person at our table who was able to finish his whole plate was Mike. Mike, if you are reading this, my hats off to you. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

What a trip. It was heavy on meat, and extra-heavy on fun! Where will work/play take me next?? Stay tuned to find out!

X

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News Flash! Upcoming Event!!

Attention readers in the MD/DC area!! We want to let you know about a really cool event coming to the National Aquarium next week. "Fresh Thoughts" is a series of seafood dining events focused on sustainable seafood. Click here for more information on the next (and final) dinner taking place this Tuesday, June 23rd. We'll be attending and blogging the event, and we're super-excited about it! What better way to eat fish than when you're surrounded by fish? Hope to see some of you there. See the full press release below!

National Aquarium to Host Final Fresh Thoughts Dining Event of the Season
June 23rd family-friendly dinner to feature tilapia

Baltimore – This spring the National Aquarium introduced a new dining series -- Fresh Thoughts: A Seafood Dining Trilogy -- that celebrates sensible and scrumptious seafood choices. On June 23 from 5:30-8:00 p.m., the National Aquarium will host the third and final event of the series, this one featuring tilapia and focusing on family fun!

During the outdoor event, guests will welcome summer with an evening for the whole family including good old-fashioned grilled fish feast, samples of micro-brewed beers from Clipper City Brewery and exciting activities. Guests will receive admission to the 5:00 p.m. dolphin show, a special after-dinner showing in the 4-D Immersion Theater of Planet Earth: Shallow Seas and access to the Aquarium’s exhibits until 9:00 p.m.

The featured entrée for the evening will be Tilapia Tacos:
Grilled fillets of farm-raised tilapia marinated in olive oil, lime juice, chili, and garlic. Served with soft tortillas from Lilly's Market, lime-cilantro cream, pickled red onions and jalapenos, tomatillo salsa verde, salsa roja, guacamole, chopped tomatoes, shredded cabbage, and queso chihuahua.

For complete menu, see attached!

WHAT:
Final event in Fresh Thoughts Dining Series
Tilapia - Fish & Family Fun
Featured Entrée: Tilapia Tacos

WHEN:
June 23, 2009
5:30 – 8 p.m.

WHERE:
National Aquarium
501 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202-3194

ADMISSION:
$45 for members, $55 non-members; $25 child
For reservations, please call 410-576-3869.

INFO:
Visit http://www.aqua.org/freshthoughts/index.html

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NYC in 24 Hours

by Erin



Confession: I have an addiction. A serious, debilitating addiction (surprisingly, NOT to bacon). It's an addiction to New York City! I can't get enough - I think about it all the time, I fantasize about living there, SO many of my favorite people live there, and let's not forget about the FOOD! I masochistically signed up for Tasting Table NYC just to hear about all the up and coming food spots I will not be able to partake in but for my sporatic visits a few times a year.

Anyway, between graduation and beginning bar review (uuuggh), I had about a week to just sit around and soak up the rare feeling of having nothing to do. Of course, a trip to NYC was definitely on my list, but I could only come in the middle of the week when most of my buddies/family had to work, so (with the encouragement of Mom and Lauren) I chose to come for a whirlwind, 24 hour trip!


Instead of the train, I took the Bolt Bus from Baltimore ($10 each way - can't beat that!) and arrived just in time to meet up with BFF Lauren in the West Village for a drink before we met up with cousins Ann and Steven for dinner. We ate at Malatesta Trattoria, a quaint Italian place right near the water with open windows and house-made pasta.

Highlights of the meal included the grilled calamari, which was so tender and had a nice added charred flavor, and the sauteed spinach with lots of garlic.



Grilled calamari



Sauteed spinaci



Caprese salad

I also liked my dish, the pasta arrabbiata, a lot - had lots of heat and the sauce was not too heavy. The others also enjoyed their dishes: Steven got ravioli with pink sauce, Lauren got one of the specials, pappardelle with crab (and something else but I can't remember), and Ann got spaghetti with a tomato-based sauce (also can't remember -- all brain cells are being used for legal information at the moment, sorry!).


Ravioli with pink sauce



Spaghetti with tomato and...other stuff



Papardelle with tomato and crab



Penne arrabbiatta

All three of their dishes were made with house-made pasta; the penne in my dish was unfortunately not, but it was cooked to the perfect al dente.

We did not get dessert at Malatesta because we had plans to go to Amy's Bread for -- what else -- CUPCAKES! We in fact not only got an assortment of cupcakes, we also got a few slices of their ridiculously good looking full-sized cakes!

We got red velvet cupcakes and a vanilla cupcake with lovely pink frosting. We also got slices of coconut cake, carrot cake, and German chocolate cake. Actually, we got everything but the German chocolate and as we sat down, Steven got back up and bought the GC slice - the man loves chocolate, what can we say?

Everything was so delicious! As for the cupcakes, I recall the red velvet was good but the frosting was more of a meringue buttercream (more butter than sugar), not the traditional cream cheese frosting. The carrot cake, however, DID have CC frosting and it was bad-ass! The pink cupcake was pretty perfect: not too sweet cake, pretty sweet frosting, good frosting-to-cake ratio.



Pink! And so delicious



Red velvet - we got the last two!

As for the cakes, they were all delicious. The coconut cake was probably my favorite - so moist and coconutty... [drooling]. Surprisingly (or, not so surprisingly?) I really liked the carrot cake! I had it for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it, so I guess I like carrot cake now.



Coconut cake...nom nom nom



Carrot cake



Ann and Steven - love them! And they love cake



Me and LP! We love the pink one!



Steven with his secret extra slice of German chocolate cake



Cupcake carnage



This is the face of a diabetic coma

After we had lapsed into diabetic comas, we stumbled home - Ann and Steven to their apartment in the Flatiron District, me and Lauren to her home in Brooklyn.

The next morning, I took the train into the city with Lauren as she went to work and I went to Madison Square Park, one of my fave spots in the city (which happens to be right outside Ann and Steven's apartment - alas they were at work, lame!). I read my book and enjoyed a Brooklyn bagel we picked up on the way to the train, and then my good friend Kerry arrived! Kerry, a fellow UM law grad (whom you may remember from our meal at Otto in NYC, amongst others), also had nothing to do before bar studying began, so we got to spend some QT together.

One of my and Kerry's favorite things about Madison Square Park is the fact that SHAKE SHACK is there! I've been there several times and just love it. We just happened to be strolling by just as they were opening, so we decided to get a wee snack just for kicks. We got one Shackburger (cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, shack sauce) and a small cup of frozen custard to share. One of the flavors of the day: salted caramel.



Custard!



Kerry and shackburger - two of my favorite things



Hooboy - that was GOOD. The burger was great, as always, and the frozen custard just blew me away! First, custard has a great texture, different from ice cream or gelato, and it reminds me of when I lived in St. Louis and we got to enjoy Ted Drewes custard all the time. Second, salted caramel frozen custard?! I love salted caramel anything, and here it was fantastic: sweet, salty, creamy, melty, yummy.

After our snack, Kerry and I walked around for a while, I picked up some Ess-a Bagels for the family back home, and I got to see Kerry's new apartment - very nice indeed. Then, we parted ways and I met up with Lauren to have my farewell lunch at The Odeon Restaurant.



We ate outside and had a lovely lunch amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. (I believe we were in Tribeca?) Lauren got the tuna burger with a spicy wasabi mayo, and I got the tarragon chicken salad on grilled baguette, which was served with a watercress salad. I appreciated that they used baguette - most chicken salad sandwiches come on soft bread, which gets too mushy in my opinion. Here, not only did they use baguette, they grilled it, making it even more crunchy and delicious - bravo, Odeon, bravo.



Tuna burger with great fries



Now that's a happy girl



Chicken salad on grilled baguette

After lunch, I took the train (all by myself!) to Penn Station and got back on the ol' Bolt Bus. What a great 24 hour trip! I got to see many of my A-listers and ate a few good meals and snacks. Thanks Lauren, Ann, Steven, and Kerry! Love to you all, and hopefully see you in the City soon!

Happy NYC visiting,
EP

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Today is National Donut Day!

by Erin



Hey folks! My apologies for being a bit absent in recent weeks - I have started studying for the dreaded bar exam so I don't have much time for anything that does not include studying, eating, or sleeping (with the occasional break for recorded episodes of "So You Think You Can Dance"). BUT, I had to take a break from studying to inform all you donut-loving readers that today is National Donut Day! Apparently Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' are celebrating with freebies.

We love a good donut, so let's take a trip down memory lane to remember some of our favorite donuts we've had in the two years we've been blogging [cue music, "The Road is Long"]:

Dunkin' donut on Free Iced Coffee Day

Coffee and mini donut at Egg in NYC

The BCD girls at the Doughnut Plant in NYC!

Donut tasting - donuts from Doughnut Plant NYC

Beignets at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans

Read more of our donut-related posts here. And the picture at the top is courtesy of our BFF Lauren from when she did a field report on Dynamo Donuts in San Francisco for us.

Happy donut day!
EP

ps. Post coming soon about my post-graduation whirlwind trip to NYC! I promise it's coming as soon as I just learn all the elements of larceny, robbery, burglary, larceny by trick, false pretenses, forgery, etc. etc. etc.
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Meat and Potatoes

by Xani

A classic/recurring joke at the BCD dinner table is to look down at the plates of delicious, elaborate food we've prepared (and the piles of dirty dishes in the kitchen) and say "oh, just a little something we whipped up." And then we all have a hearty chuckle. Because dinner is always an event, a challenge, a walk down memory lane-- it's never simple, even when, at its core, it is. Which brings me to the meat and potatoes meal we "whipped up" Saturday night at Blackacre.

Steak, potatoes, asparagus-- a basic, classic meal served in restaurants and homes around the country, right? But each time its served the chef or cook gets to make decisions that start to change the meal and make it something special. Where do the ingredients come from? How fresh are they? How are they prepared? Steak in a cast-iron pan or on the grill or in the broiler? Mashed, baked, or fried potatoes? Boiled or steamed asparagus? With sauce or without? And so on... one of the joys of cooking is making these small changes to a basic dish or meal and then seeing how drastically those changes have affected the outcome.

At Kitchen Stadium, even when we go basic, we go BIG and BOLD. Let's start with the steaks:

Not your ordinary new york strip or filet. These beasts were carved off a 15 pound hunk of boneless prime rib roast by Yours Truly just a few hours before we cooked them. Prior to that, they had been wet-aging a Cryo-vac package in the fridge at Blackacre for about 3.5 weeks (during which time the meat began to "break down" aka rot and therefore produce a more tender and succulent steak). We used a kitchen scale, a tape measure and a super-sharp knife to break the 15 pounds into a 5.5 lb boneless rib roast, and 4 (approx.) 2.5 lb steaks. We froze all but two of these, which we brought to room temperature, seasoned heavily with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, seared for 5 minutes per side in a screaming hot cast iron pan, then into the oven until they reached an internal temperature of 122 degrees.

Now the potatoes: simple, yes, but decadent. From #35 on this list, duck-fat roasted potatoes are certainly worth shortening your life for. These little babies came from our favorite local farm stand, Emily's. I peeled a strip from the center of each potato before tossing them into hot duck fat, and sauteed until deep golden brown, crispy, and cooked through.

Local asparagus, also from Emily's, were blanched in salted water while EP tried her hand at hollandaise. For her first attempt at this classic (and notoriously temperamental) sauce, she took a little help from technology and made it in the food processor, using a technique from Julia Child. The egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and pepper went into the food processor while butter was melted. The hot butter was poured slowly into the whirring egg mixture until the sauce became a thick cream. Voila, hollandaise!

Successful timing meant that all our dishes were ready to serve at exactly the same time. The meat had rested for 20 minutes or so and was ready to carve just as the potatoes were pulled off the heat and seasoned, asparagus were drained and sauce finished.

Check out the final plate:

Simple and beautiful and beyond delicious. Add some fabulous Amarone to drink, gorgeous sunset outside and great conversation about how "meat and potatoes" has changed in America over the last 50 years and what a nice little evening we whipped up.

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Graduation Celebration at Charleston!

by Erin

Last week -- I can't believe I can say this -- I graduated from law school! Long-time readers will recall that when Xani and I started BCD, I had just finished my first year of school and I was in the middle of petitioning for journal. Ah, those were the days!

A while ago, Mom and Dad asked me where I wanted to go for my graduation dinner and I chose the Charleston Restaurant, arguably the best/most upscale restaurant in Baltimore. We had been to Charleston twice before, but not since 2007. We had always gone for Xani's and Mom's birthdays, and had therefore only been in the winter, so we were excited to go in the spring and see how Chef Wolf incorporated the delicious seasonal veggies.

After a hectic day of graduation festivities, we met up at Charleston, located in the swanky Harbor East area of the city. We had cocktails in the small but comfortable bar: Mom got a bellini, Dad got a scotch (JWB on the rocks with a twist), Xani got a mojito, and I got a champagne cocktail. After we finished our drinks, we made our way to our table, located in a small room with windows overlooking a quiet street. The decor at Charleston is cozy and luxurious, but not stuffy.



We sat down and the waitress brought us an assortment of breads: a dinner roll, a delicious corn-shaped piece of cornbread, and some other type of bread. Meanwhile we perused the menu, which was divided into "hot," "cool," "fish," "birds and game," "meats," and "cheese."



As many of you know, we LOVE to share and you'll often find us rotating plates even at the fanciest of places. This meal was no different, but we have wised up a bit in terms of our "sharing technique." While normally we would each get a different 4- or 5-course meal, and then eat a quarter of the dish, and pass to the next person, this resulted in a person getting approximately one spoonful of soup or one molecule of foie gras or duck, and it was a bit frustrating, especially if the dish was really good! So, we modified our technique where we basically have two 4- or 5-course menus, and two of us get one of the menus, and the other two get the other, so you only have to switch once per course. Granted, you only get to try 8-10 dishes instead of 16-20, but we are okay with this.

We challenged our wonderful waiter, Len, by telling him which 10 dishes we wanted, and let him arrange them into two 5-course meals. We also asked him to pair wines with everything. It is a testament to his and the staff's skills that he took on the challenge with only a slight wince and performed beautifully.

First we enjoyed an amuse bouche of...some delicious soup that I can't remember. Asparagus maybe? It was awesome - that's all I know. Then came the many courses! (Note that many of these dishes are still on the menu but a few are not, so I have tried to describe them from memory as best I can!)


First course (hot):

• Charleston Shellfish Bisque, Lobster, Shrimp, Tarragon Oil
  
• Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, and Real Grits
  

Shrimp and Grits

Shellfish Bisque

Second course (cold):

• Salad of Fresh Artichoke, Celery, Chives, and Lemon
  
• Asparagus with Goat Cheese

Asparagus with goat cheese


Artichoke and celery salad

Third course (fish):

• Pan Roasted Alaskan Halibut, Creole Sauce, Tabasco Scented Rice, Crispy Shrimp
  
• Seared Scallop with Citrus Supremes and Roasted Beets
  

Seared scallop

Halibut and shrimp

Fourth course (delicious offal - at this point they were mixing "birds and game" and "meats" so I have given this course my own title!):

• Pan-Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Yukon Gold Potato & Bacon Hash, Madiera Pan Sauce


• Sweetbreads with Roasted Cauliflower
  

Foie gras!


Sweetbreads

Fifth course (meats and birdies):

• Pan-Roasted Magret Duck Breast, Rhubarb Compote, Port Wine and Bing Cherry Reduction


• Grilled Colorado Lamb Chop
  

Lamb chop

Ze duck with cherries

What a meal!! So many of these dishes were outstanding, which we have come to expect of Chef Wolf - she is amazing! To avoid a lot of repetitive gushing, I will discuss a few of the tip top stand-out dishes.

The both of the first hot courses were amazing and we've had them both in the past - obviously they are classics and are so loved that they haven't left the menu in over 2 years! The shellfish bisque is super-rich with lots of great seafood flavor in the soup, plus a generous portion of shrimp and lobster atop the soup itself. There is, as to be expected, a hearty helping of cream and some liquor (probably sherry?) in the soup as well, which make it even more exquisite.

The shrimp and grits were also wonderful and so flavorful from the spicy andouille sausage, the creamy grits, and the perfectly cooked shrimp. My mouth is watering as I type this!

Another standout was the foie gras, but how could it not be good? Foie gras + potatoes + bacon?! I have yet to meet a foie gras dish I didn't love and this one was no exception. We also loved the duck, which was perfectly cooked and was served with that awesome bing cherry sauce. I also recall the lamb being superb and again, perfectly cooked. I see a theme here!

One surprise of the evening (for at least Xani and Mom) was that the scallop was so wonderful. Normally they are not big scallop eaters but in this dish, the scallop was seared but still creamy on the inside, and had a subtle scallop flavor that played beautifully off the pine nuts, citrus, and yummy roasted beets.

After our meal, while discussing our favorites, Len brought up the subject of dessert. (Dessert, by the way, is included in any 3- to 6-course meal you select. Very classy, Charleston.) I was especially excited for dessert not only because of my sweet tooth, but also because our friend Joy is the pastry chef at Charleston! She is so accomplished and we are really proud of her.

I had told her we were coming for my graduation, but I really didn't know what to expect in terms of special (dessert) treatment, or if I should expect anything to begin with. But before we could even begin discussing dessert, Len brought out a beautiful cake made by Joy just for me! AND, it turned out that she and Xani had been in cahoots and had discussed what flavors it should be, and decided on a dark chocolate cake and a coffee filling - kinda like Black Coffee and a Donut flavored!! Amazing. How did I get so lucky??




The cake was chocolatey and coffee-y (love that flavor combo) and served with fresh raspberries on the side. Add a round of coffees and espressos and a glass of armagnac for the table, and it was a delicious end to the meal. Oh wait - there were little chocolates, a mini lemon square, and a macaron too! THANKS JOY for everything! You really made my night even more special!


And thanks to my wonderful parents and Xani, and to all my friends who supported and encouraged me (and talked me down) over these past three years. Only two more months of bitching while I study for the bar, and you'll be home free ;)

Congrats to my fellow graduates!

Happy celebrating,

EVP, J.D.

ps. Here are a few pictures from graduation:

Me and Xani at the Recognition Ceremony the night before graduation, where I received an award for my clinical work

Getting hooded by my favorite professor, Prof. Van Alstine!

All four of us had Prof. Keller for Income Tax, so we had to get a picture with him!

A shot of my awesome hood!

Family! Lots of lawyers

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