Win a $50 Gift Certificate to Crush

A public service announcement, because I love the Crush Restaurant Group and would recommend their restaurants to anyone and everyone:

Crush Restaurant Group is running a great Facebook contest. Simply “like” Crush Restaurant on Facebook, along with its sister restaurants, Crush Cafe and Demi, and you could be selected to win a $50.00 gift card that is applicable at any of the 3 locations! From now until midnight Thursday, February 24th, anyone who becomes a fan or who is already a fan of all three pages, will be automatically entered to win a $50.00 gift card. The winner will be selected on Friday, February 25th, so make sure to check the fan pages that day for the announcement.

Crush Café is located at 210 W Pennsylvania Ave and is open Monday through Friday 7:30am-3:30pm. Crush Café offers gourmet breakfast and lunch at reasonable price. From fresh potato chips hand made every day to premium ready to made order soups, sandwiches and salads Crush Café fits all breakfast and lunch needs. Crush Café also offers catering services, at a delicious, refreshing, and professional level.

Demi is located at 501 E Belvedere in the basement of Crush and is open Tuesday through Saturday 5:00pm-11:pm. Demi is a small plates driven restaurant concept, specializing in modern American cuisine with global influences. Executive Chef Tae Strain brings small plates to a whole new level of both taste and presentation. Demi’s intimate 32 seat space offers sleek and minimalist decor, and includes 8 'chefs' stools that face an open kitchen giving dinners an inside look at behind the scenes.

Crush is located at 501 E Belvedere and is open daily for lunch, dinner, and Sunday Brunch 11:00am-11:00pm. Crush offers exquisite dining at an affordable price in a trendy, casual atmosphere. Head chef/owner Daniel Chaustit brings Baltimore an award winning menu, superb presentation, and the full bold flavors his dishes are known for. Crush also offers an extensive variety of wines assuring you the right taste to accompany your meal.

Demi at Crush

I was quite excited when I read that Daniel Chaustit of Crush was opening a new restaurant....within Crush.

Click to enlarge

Located in the lower level of the Belvedere Square restaurant, by the now-open kitchen, Demi serves small plates. Not really tapas-style dishes - think of it more as a selection of appetizers. That works for me, because I tend to find the appetizer selection in most restaurants to be more enticing than the entrées.

I wanted to celebrate Mr Minx's completion of 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo and thought Demi was a perfect way to do just that. After perusing the short menu, we each chose three dishes.

Fingerling Potato, Romaine, Haricot Vert, Yuzu Caesar Dressing

This was quite unusual - the potatoes were not quite crunchy, nor were they soft, and they had a pleasing spice flavor (Mr Minx likened it to Indian food). The fried potatoes were nicely balanced by the crisp Romaine lettuce and haricots verts, and the Caesar dressing was both sharp and slightly sweet.

Ahi Tuna, Sticky Rice, Sweet Soy, Sriracha Aioli

I don't normally order tuna appetizers, but I was in the mood. This dish, with a surprise hint of orange peel in the tuna's seasoning and a lovely crunchy rice cake bed, was delicate, subtle, and lovely.

Spice-crusted Beef Carpaccio, Truffled Mushroom Emulsion, Pear Salad

This dish was so prettily red and Christmassy! The truffled mushroom emulsion tasted like a rich, earthy mayo and the pear salad, while relatively flavorless, provided a crunchy counterpoint to the melt-in-your-mouth carpaccio. While I loved the tender beef and slightly tangy sauce, I think it would have worked better on toast rounds, because the taste of water crackers is so distractingly distinctive.

Six Minute Egg, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Parmesan, Toast

Who knew that cauliflower purée and eggs would go so well together? Six-minutes is the perfect middle ground between snotty-textured soft-boiled and dry-yolked hard-boiled eggs. Like an over-easy egg, but still in egg form. It was rich and delicious, and I particularly appreciated the Parmesan crisp for its much-needed textural contrast.

Pappardelle, Truffled Ricotta, Confit Tomato, Aleppo Red Pepper Broth

While ordering pasta in restaurants isn't my thing, I loved Mr Minx's pappardelle dish. The sauce was rich and creamy with just the right amount of spiciness, and the fresh-looking tomatoes offered up a buttery confit-ed surprise. I could have eaten a big ol' bowl of this stuff.

Maple-glazed Pork Belly, Hoisin Spaetzle, Snow Peas, Sesame Seed

The slab of pork belly reminded me of a boneless spare rib - tender shreddy-textured meat with a coating of fat and skin. Mmmmm! The crispy little spaetzle were wonderful.

Flourless Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream, "Heath Bar"

As a token of the chef's appreciation, we were both brought a dessert. Flourless chocolate cake is always best served warm, while it still has a bit of lightness. This was a classic example of the genre, gussied up with the crunch of buttery toffee bits.

Overall, I thought it was a very good meal - both flavor- and presentation-wise - and I look forward to going back to taste the rest of the menu.

Demi
510 East Belvedere Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21212
443.278.9001

Decadence

I should have taken a camera to What's to Eat Baltimore's "Drink for the Dogs" fundraiser at Crush Wednesday night. (Liz is walking in the 2010 March for the Animals in Druid Hill Park on April 18th. She's still looking for pack members, and failing that, donations! Please support Baltimore Happy Paws and the Maryland SPCA - a private, independent, non-kill shelter - by clicking here.) Not only did Mr Minx and I get to meet some fun new people, we also got to partake of a great buffet. And this being a food blog and all, I need to mention the food! There was spinach dip and tiny eggrolls, curried chicken on a stick with a fab peanut sauce, and sliders. There was also a nice spread of antipasto, including marinated vegetables, thick slices of mozzarella, prosciutto, and artichoke hearts. But the BEST thing was also the most decadent:

Duck fat fries topped with duck confit, candied pork belly, melted cheese, and truffle oil.

Un-*expletive*-believable! Decadent and filling and a meal in itself. Wish it was on the menu all the time.

Baltimore Restaurant Week - Crush

For our second Summer Restaurant Week meal, we chose to stay in our neighborhood and eat at Crush. Normally we like to try places at which we've never eaten, but Crush was my brother's suggestion. We all enjoy the place and hadn't been in a while, so we thought it was a good idea to revisit the restaurant.

The Restaurant Week menu offered selections from the regular menu; at $30 for three courses it was at least a few dollars less expensive than ordering courses a la carte. Desserts were basically free.

For appetizers we chose the heirloom tomato caprese (Mr Minx), with lovely fresh tomatoes and very mild cheese. Sorry for the blurry pic!


MinxBro chose the shrimp and grits which was served with an andouille sauce. Every restaurant seems to have a completely different version of this southern classic, and like all the ones I've tasted before, Crush's was delicious - spicy, creamy, and shrimpy!

I opted for the other salad choice, arugula with bleu cheese, pecans, and berries in a light vinaigrette. I'm a big fan of arugula and have enjoyed this salad in the past.

For our entrées, Mr Minx chose the penne with blackened chicken, peas, pine nuts, and parmesan-basil butter. Crush's rendition of a now-classic pasta dish was richer and creamier than the version I originally tried at the late, lamented Polo Grill. My only complaint was that the chicken was a bit dry, but that's what happens when you use boneless, skinless breasts.

MinxBro decided to go for the ribeye, to compare it to the steaks at Ruth's Chris. No contest - the ribeye won hand's down. The meat was flavorful, and while it had a bit of a chew, there was no real gristle. The housemade steak sauce was a bit sweet for my taste, and I didn't see the promised Bernaise, but overall it was an enjoyable dish.

I love the salmon BLT at Crush because the salmon is always so well-cooked (tender on the inside, crusty on the outside), at least to my liking. The salmon entrée was just as good, albeit a tad salty. The lobster mashed potatoes were terrific, however, with generous chunks of lobster meat mingling with equally generous chunks of potato (the texture was not unlike potato salad). It's a side that could be overly rich, but wasn't.

Finally, dessert: Mr Minx went for the blueberry almond sponge cake, which was more muffin-like than spongy.

MinxBro had creme brulée. I found it to be a bit sweeter/more looser-textured than I normally like.

And I had the apple cake. While good, it paled in comparison to my friend Kate's famous Jewish Apple Cake.

Overall, we had a good meal at Crush. No news there - we have every time. Not perfect, but well worth the $30.09 and future visits. I'm still grateful that we have Crush in our area because it's perfect for both satisfying a simple burger craving and for having an elegant multi-course meal.

Crush
510 E Belvedere Ave
Baltimore, MD 21212
(443) 278-9001

Crush in the Sun

Baltimore Sun reviewer Elizabeth Large discusses Crush this week. I'm happy to see she gave it a favorable review, with three stars for both food and service. Hopefully this will encourage folks to patronize the restaurant. Of course, even if she hated it, I'd still make a point to go to my newest non-ethnic neighborhood joint.

Not sure I appreciate the not-so-subtle chastizing Large provides with the comment, "If you're looking for something fancier but not too pricey, the smaller of the two beef filets is as much meat as anyone should be eating these days." Tell that to Michael Phelps. :) For those of us without cholesterol issues, there is no such thing as too much red meat!

Crush has a Web site in progress, but their menu is currently available online.

Crush, Part Deux

Mr Minx and I grabbed some dinner at Crush again tonight and I'm happy to report that it was just as good as the first time we went. He got basically the same thing I had last time with the addition of a romaine salad with bleu cheese and bacon. I had the soup of the day, a gazpacho with avocado and zucchini, the fried oysters, and an arugula salad with bleu cheese, pecans, and poached pear. Apart from the soup needing a pinch more salt, everything was fab.

I'm already planning our next visit. :)

Crush

Crush, the new enterprise by Christopher Daniel's Daniel Chaustit, opened yesterday at Belvedere Square, in the old Hess shoes building recently occupied by Taste. As Mr Minx and I were in the neighborhood at dinner time, we decided to stop in and see what it was about. The menu, with its variety of fare both refined and casual, pleased us, so we requested a table.

It was nice to see that they didn't waste time or money redecorating the space. The red walls, striped banquettes, and odd rope-and-ladder decor was the only thing I liked about Taste. I heard that the reason that restaurant didn't succeed was that the neighborhood wasn't supportive. Mr Minx and I tried to support the place, but apart from our initial experience there, we found the food too ordinary for the price. I can make faux Tex-Mex chicken at home, thanks, for less money and with better flavors.

Everything on Crush's menu looked good, and the prices were reasonable. Mr Minx was itching to try the risotto appetizer, but didn't want to eat both that and the hamburger he was also eyeing, so I suggested we share the rice. I loved the combination of al dente rice with the similarly shaped but more crunchy toasted pine nuts. The tiny tomatoes in it gave it a bit of acid, and the shrimp had a nice grill flavor. It was garnished with microgreens, some of which tasted a bit like celery. Was it lovage? In any case, we enjoyed it.

Mr Minx went for the burger, 8oz of nicely fatty meat served with his choice of cheese and bacon for $10. It also came with a generous pile of shoestring fries and mild, mayonnaise-y cole slaw. The burger was properly cooked and had a good, unadorned, meaty flavor. I think Crush could become our new default burger joint.

I had dental work earlier in the day and worried about eating anything too chewy, so I passed on the tempting NY strip with asparagus and truffle fries and opted for the salmon sandwich, served BLT style with wasabi aioli. It also came with a mound of fries and slaw. The salmon was meltingly tender, and the mayo was as good on the fries as the fish. Mr Minx also borrowed some for his burger. My only complaint about the sandwiches is that they were served on Kaiser rolls, a bad idea because they always fall apart when in contact with hot, moist, food. Toasting them was a nice touch though.

Since we were going for the gusto, we had dessert. I ordered the cookies and IBC rootbeer float and received one each peanut butter, white chocolate macadamia, and toffee brickle cookie. They all had nice homemade flavor, but I sadly had to give away the toffee cookie to Mr Minx to save my dental work from the stickiness. He had the warm pineapple upside down cake, which came in a cute little single serving. It was delicious and made me think of my Mom, who loved the stuff.

We washed everything down with a DR Loosen 2007 Riesling, one of our favorites.

Our first experience at Crush, especially considering that it was opening night, was excellent. We loved the food and the service was impeccable. We hope to make this a regular haunt, and encourage those of you in our area to do the same. Support Crush!