Raw Spice Bar

Though I live in the hometown of one of the biggest spice producers in the world, I find myself buying spices online far more often than I buy them in the supermarket. It's not that I don't trust the supermarket brands--I have never had an issue with any of them--it's that I really have no idea how long those spices have been hanging around the store. Especially more exotic items, like star anise or garam masala. How often does the average Giant/Safeway/ShopRite/Wegman's shopper buy something like that, and how often does the store replenish its stock?

There are several really good spice shops online, and I've tried them all. Each has products not available at the others. Some shops have really wide ranges of seasonings, while other shops carry what might be considered more specialty items. RawSpiceBar is in the latter category. While they do sell things that just about everyone has in their spice rack--granulated garlic, cumin, ginger, peppercorns--they also have the more esoteric grains of paradise (a member of the ginger family that's like a citrusy black pepper), sansho peppers (a Japanese cousin of Sichuan peppercorns), and asafoetida (a stinky resin used as a substitute for garlic and onions in some Indian dishes). RawSpiceBar specializes in spice blends, and as with the individual spices, they have both the familiar (poultry seasoning, herbes de Provence, taco seasoning) and the exotic (Ethiopian berbere, Turkish baharat, Indian chaat masala). Rather than use larger jars, RawSpiceBar sells their freshly toasted and ground spices in 1-ounce containers (about 2 tablespoons). With their subscription service, customers can choose to have their supply replenished in 1, 3, or 6 month intervals, so they never really run out, yet the spices are fresh every time.

When RawSpiceBar approached me with samples in exchange for writing about them, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try another source for seasonings. I was especially interested in the more oddball spice blends, but was happy to take whatever they sent. To be honest, I was a little disappointed to receive a package of apple pie spices. I mean, how interesting is cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice? Not very. But RawSpiceBar's version of this blend also contains green cardamom, ginger, star anise, grains of paradise, and rosemary. It's a blend that definitely kicks the milquetoast ass of supermarket apple pie spices. It's bold. It's spicy. And it goes fabulously with apple, as I found when I used it in a simple apple tart. But it also works with pumpkin. I made a quick pumpkin butter with leftover canned pumpkin, brown sugar, and a big pinch of RawSpiceBar apple pie spices and pretty much ate the butter straight from the jar with a big spoon.

Thanks to RawSpiceBar for introducing themselves to my pantry. I have a couple more samples that I will be playing with in the future, and then I'm going to order myself some fancy stuff like French vadouvan, Persian advieh, and Japanese curry powder. Yum.

Spicy Apple Tart

4 large apples (I have found that Cortland are especially tasty in tarts, but use your favorite)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Raw Spice Bar apple pie spices
1/4 cup sugar
1 refrigerated pie crust
Apricot jam

Peel the apples and cut them into quarters. Slice off the core bit and cut each quarter into 4-5 slices. Put in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice, spices, and sugar.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Place the crust into a 10" or 11" tart pan with removable bottom, gently pushing the dough to fill the corrugated sides. Trim excess pastry flush with the top of the pan. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles within the pastry, making sure to fill in all the gaps with other apple slices. It doesn't have to look neat or perfect; it will still be beautiful.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the apples have started to brown and the crust is a nice golden brown. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and allow the tart to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Warm a few tablespoons of apricot jam in the microwave until it's more liquidy. Brush a thin coating of it over the cooled tart.

Serve warm, room temperature, or slightly chilled. Whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream are fine accompaniments.

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Pat's Select Pizza Grill

Any place that serves good pizza and is within reasonable driving distance is going to become one of our regular dining destinations. Add a selection of salads, pastas, sandwiches, and wings (in the rare case that one of us doesn't want pizza), and we have Pat's Select.

Pat's is a small regional chain out of South Jersey that has so far branched into Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The Cockeysville outpost, which is closest to us, opened in the second half of 2018. On our first visit, Mr Minx and I were treated to a selection of Pat's most popular options, which included the margherita pizza, cheesesteak roll-ups, and wings. We were also urged to order whatever else from the menu we wanted to try, so we opted for a wrap and a pasta dish.

The cheesesteak roll-ups, from the appetizer selection of the rather voluminous menu, consist of flour tortillas filled with sliced steak and melted cheese and come with a creamy horseradish dipping sauce. They were hot and tasty and good for sharing. Pat's wings come in both bone-in and boneless varieties and can be tossed with any of six sauces of varying heat levels, or naked. We went for the "blazing bourbon," which provided just the right amount of sweet heat.

Pat's pizzas are long, rather than round, but there is a thick crust round pizza available. All are baked in a blazing brick oven visible from the dining room. There are two sizes, the 15" x 7" being more than enough for two people and the 24" x 11" being, well, gigantic. There are all the usual toppings, but also specialty pizzas with pulled pork or buffalo chicken and bleu cheese. We had the margherita, a simple affair of fresh mozz, good sauce, and extremely fragrant basil on Pat's light crispy crust. Mr Minx and I are fussy about pizza. We like what we like, and we hate everything else. There's a lot of mediocre pizza out there, and about as much bad pizza. Pat's is good pizza, however, which means we'll be going back. Possibly often. They also have strombolis, and two oven baked sandwiches, one involving chicken parm, and the other, meatballs.

We tried Pat's meatballs atop a mountain of spaghetti baked with marinara and cheese. Honestly, we didn't really notice how much pasta was in the bowl until we took the leftovers home and had them for dinner the next day. Mr Minx can eat a LOT of pasta, and there was enough left over that he was able to share it with me. But back to those meatballs...they were very nice. Not too soft, not too cheesy, but just right. They'd be great in that oven baked meatball sandwich I mentioned in the previous paragraph, and I do intend to try that in the future.

Last but not least, we tried the Sriracha shrimp wrap, a flavorful combination of breaded and fried shrimp with avocado, red onion, tomato, cilantro, and sriracha aioli. I'd eat that again. However, there's a ton of other stuff on the menu to try first. They have crab cakes! They have many many salads, burgers, steak sandwiches, other wraps, more pasta, fries, even gyros. It'll be a while before we can say we've tasted something from every major category on the menu. I'm thinking that will be a fun endeavor.

Pat's Select Pizza Grill
10151 York Rd
Cockeysville, MD 21030
(410) 683-2000
patsselect.com

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Chipotle Catering Giveaway #sponsored

The holidays are rapidly approaching, and along with them come the requisite parties. In my office, we tend to do potluck, but after umpteen years of eating the boss's rubbery warehouse store shrimp cocktail, my co-workers and I greet the idea of our annual holiday party with something less than enthusiasm.

Sometimes a couple of us go in for catering from a local fast casual restaurant. Like Chipotle. Everyone's eyes light up when they see the spread of meats, beans, and toppings that they can use to customize their meal. It's so much better than Rhonda's cop-out big box store potato salad and Phil's crudite plate!

Chipotle can cater a party as small as 6 guests and as large as 200, and with only 24 hours notice. Chipotle's burritos, bowls, and tacos are familiar to everyone. They've always used real ingredients, prepared by hand, without added flavors, colors, or additives. And who doesn't love a taco? #tacotuesday is a thing for a reason.

Doesn't your party deserve goodies from Chipotle, too? You know it does! Learn more at Chipotle's Catering site. Once you pick up your order, all you have to do is unpack the boxes, and it's ready to go. Bowls, forks, napkins, serving spoons, and tongs are included.

You can try Chipotle Catering for FREE, cuz I am hosting a giveaway! The winner will get a card good for a spread of food to feed 20 people. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling me where you plan to serve your free feast. I'll pick a winner on Monday, November 19th and contact you via email for your address so I can put your prize in the mail ASAP. Catering cards expire on Dec 31, 2018, but that's plenty of time to let Chipotle cater your party.

More rules (mine, not theirs):
Continental US only.
Must be 18 or over to participate.
Deadline: November 18th
You must include your email address in your comment so I can contact you!

Questions? Leave a comment and I'll try to answer you ASAP.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

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Bar Louie at White Marsh

The restaurants at the Avenue at White Marsh don't seem to change very much, except for the one across from Red Brick Station. That space most recently housed The Tilted Kilt; before that, Bayou Blues Cafe. Now it's a Bar Louie. This nationwide chain specializes in the kind of food that seems to make Americans the happiest: burgers and other sandwiches; flatbreads; Mexican-inspired items like tacos and nachos; plus salads, pasta, and booze. It's one of those places that, if you're among a group of people who all want different things, can make everyone happy.

Before the restaurant opened to the general public, Mr Minx and I were invited in to taste the menu, on them. Having been to the Bar Louie in Hunt Valley a couple of times, we knew what the restaurant was all about. Normally a loud and boisterous venue, it was nice to be able to dine there while it was still uncrowded and somewhat quiet, though the "friends and family" guests were already starting to have a good time at the very early hour of 4pm. It was happy hour, after all.

We started off with cocktails, two of the restaurant's signature martinis. Mr Minx had the cucumber-forward Effen Good, made with Effen cucumber vodka, mint, lime juice, and agave nectar. I had the Tea Ketel, with Ketel One vodka, Earl Grey and honey syrup, lemon juice, Fee Brothers orange bitters, and La Marca Prosecco. Both were good, made with quality ingredients (and a steal at $5.50 during Happy Hour), though I preferred his drink to mine. I felt the fizz of the prosecco to be unnecessary and somewhat disconcerting in a martini.

We started off with a couple of apps, labeled "bar bites" on the menu. The flash-fried calamari with spicy pickled peppers and a charred lemon to squeeze over were served with a dip of aioli rather than the usual (and tired) marinara. There was a generous amount of tender tentacles, and we were happy with the dish overall.

What really turned me on was a dish called "roasted roots," namely carrots and radish, in an Angry Orchard cider glaze with warm whipped goat cheese and spiced Rice Krispies. Honestly, it was pretty shocking to see a dish of roasted carrots on the menu. Vegetables that are not brussels sprouts are rare as hen's teeth in chain restaurants, and I have to wonder how long these will be on the menu. (There is also the trendy roasted cauliflower!) The menu at the White Marsh Bar Louie is a test menu, btw, that they are hoping to roll out to the other restaurants at some point in the future. You'll find things here that aren't at other locations, and vice versa. Like those carrots, which despite the cider glaze, were not at all sweet. The radishes--a highly underutilized vegetable that is far more delicious cooked than it is raw--were a nice earthy touch. Carrot freak that I am, I would order this again.

I wasn't as thrilled with the chicken and churros. While perfectly Instagrammable, the textures were a bit disappointing. The boneless white meat chicken was juicy and perfectly cooked, but the coating quickly grew soggy under the buffalo maple glaze. The savory churros were a little tough. The flavors, though, were fine.

Mr Minx's sandwich, however, the "BBQ Pork & More," was the highlight of the meal. A crispy and sturdy (but not hard) pretzel bun stood up to its filling of moist chunks of pork in a bbq sauce topped with bacon onion jam, white cheddar, crispy pork rinds, and aioli. It was sweet (but not too), juicy, porky, and delicious, and surprisingly not at all messy. The accompanying fries were pretty good, too.

There are only two desserts on the menu, churros with bourbon-spiked maple dulce de leche (or a non-alcoholic double chocolate sauce), and an ice cream sundae of sorts. Having already had enough of the churros, we decided to split the sundae. We had a choice of a squeeze bottle of Bailey's espresso liqueur, or boring non-alcoholic espresso cream sauce; we chose the former. After applying the sauce to the vanilla ice cream, the effect was somewhat like a chilled, boozy, affogado (espresso over ice cream).

As I mentioned earlier, we'd been to the Hunt Valley Bar Louie a couple of times. In fact, I had a blog post started quite a while ago, but never got around to finishing it. This seems like as good a time as any, as some of the things we ate are still on the Hunt Valley menu and will likely remain there until the future new menu rollout.

I am a sucker for most Asian-flavored items, so we had to try the tempura shrimp. Tempura was a bit of a misnomer, as the batter on the shellfish was more akin to a beer batter in texture. It came with three sauces, Szechwan (sic), Thai chili lime, and buffalo.

I was also into the Thai Chicken flatbread, topped with spicy chicken, mozzarella and provolone cheese, green onion, red pepper, jalapeños, and house-made Thai peanut sauce.

We also had a straightforward beer-battered cod and fries with tartar sauce...

...and beef brisket sliders (sliced beef brisket, peach moonshine barbecue sauce, pickles, topped with grilled pear slaw) that were served with fries. Though I didn't taste the moonshine, the menu states that diners "must be 21" to order them, so I guess they use a goodly amount.

Everything we tried those on those prior visits was satisfying, particularly the flat bread (because peanut sauce). As I said before, if you want tacos and your friends want pizza and burgers, Bar Louie can make everyone happy.

Bar Louie
The Avenue at White Marsh
8133-C Honego Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21236
410-844-7512
http://www.barlouie.com/locations/states/maryland/white-marsh

Hunt Valley Towne Centre
118 Shawan Rd
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
443-541-2950

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Le Bistro du Village

Anyone who had ever been to Crepe du Jour on Sulgrave Avenue in Mount Washington realized that while they had a wide selection of sweet and savory crepes available, they also had a full menu of French favorites like soupe a l'oignon and coq au vin. Those who had never been there, however, probably thought it was just a crepe shop. Mais non! To end seventeen years of possible confusion, owner Mustapha Snoussi changed the name of his French restaurant to Le Bistro du Village. A bit of truth in advertising, as their web site notes.

To help spread the word about the name change and the menu they've always offered, the restaurant invited a select group of local media influencers in for a lovely three course dinner. I was happy for the opportunity to sink my teeth into some duck confit and escargots.

The menu at Le Bistro du Village is divided into several parts. Hors d'oeuvres, les salades composer, les moules maison, and les soupes du jour are essentially appetizers, although many dishes could be a meal unto themselves. Plats Principaux are entrees; there are also sides and, of course, crepes. Desserts, too, for those who don't want to end their meal with a sweet crepe.

We started with four apps for the table. My favorite was the seafood vol-au-vent, a puff pastry shell filled with a mixture of shrimp, scallops, and mushrooms in a tomato-based Provençal sauce. The seafood was tender, and the sauce was simply delicious.

I also enjoyed the moules marinières, a classic preparation of mussels cooked in white wine, with tomatoes, garlic, parsley, & shallots. The mussels were small (a good thing - I find large mussels to be tough) and tender, and the sauce begged for lots of crusty bread with which to mop it up.

We also sampled a salade Niçoise, a classic composed salad usually (but not always) involving tuna, tomatoes, eggs, and green beans. This dish especially would make a nice light supper on its own.

And what's a French dinner without escargots in garlic butter? A travesty. These were classic all the way. Honestly, more restaurants should use escargots. They are really delicious.

For my entree I chose the duck, which included a confit leg and duck breast that was cooked a la sous vide before the skin was browned in a pan. It came with potatoes, spinach, and an orange sauce. At first I was worried that the orange sauce would be too sweet (my first experience with duck a l'orange came at age 11, with cold duck and cloying sauce) but was happy to find that the one at Le Bistro du Village is light and well-balanced. And the dish is beautiful, no?

Also lovely was the carré d'agneau aux herbes, herbed rack of lamb to you and me. The perfect pink chops came with asparagus, roasted potatoes, and a Dijon mustard sauce.

Others at the table ordered the perfectly cooked salmon filet and the unphotogenic but tasty coq au vin, which came over a bed of noodles. There are also plenty of other classic French dishes on the menu, like boeuf Bouguignon and chicken cordon bleu, but also a burger topped with Brie and bacon, for those not wanting to venture too far into the unfamiliar territory of a foreign cuisine. (I am being facetious. Some people just like burgers.)

Our dessert choices were between crepes Suzette and chocolate mousse. All but one of us opted for the crepe, which was not flambeed for us at tableside (the number of crepes would have created quite a blaze!) but still had the classic citrus/Grand Marnier flavor. The crepe was so light and tender, despite its size, most of us had no problem polishing off the whole thing.

Le Bistro du Village is open 7 days a week for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. The space is cozy and inviting, and the staff and owner are delightful. I will definitely be visiting more often, and you should, too.

Le Bistro du Village
1609 Sulgrave Ave
Baltimore, MD 21209-3617
410-542-9000

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Chocolate Strawberry Naked Cake

Sometimes I am too ambitious for my own good. I've never been much of a baker, excepting the occasional tray of brownies and cookies at Christmastime. There's also the annual cake for Mr Minx's birthday, but that's usually a simple chocolate bundt. This year, I wanted to do something fancier. I was desperate to make a "naked cake," a cake with exposed layers, popularized by Christina Tosi at NY's Milk Bar. I've seen a lot of them on Instagram, and they look so cool. Also, they didn't seem all that difficult to make. Frosting the sides of the cake always seemed like the most fidgety part, and making a cake naked eliminates that whole messy ordeal.

My idea was to use the same super moist recipe that I use for the bundt cake, with the addition of roasted strawberries, and a simple stabilized whipped cream frosting. It would be like a strawberry shortcake, only not short and with the added goodness of chocolate.

I didn't want to attempt to cut round cake layers in half horizontally, pretty sure that would be a disaster. Instead, I made several flat rectangular cakes in a jelly roll pan and cut them into rounds. That ended up looking a bit sloppy. Perhaps my knife wasn't sharp enough, or the cake recipe I used was too moist. In any case, the somewhat jagged layers got stacked between pieces of waxed paper and spent the night in a cake carrier until I was able to assemble it the next day. It would have been too much to try to get it all done on Saturday morning before our annual afternoon birthday crab feast guest arrived.

The roasted strawberry idea I got from a foodie newsletter. The recipe in the newsletter was actually for oven-dried berries, but I liked the idea of cooking strawberries in the oven until they got soft and gave up a lot of liquid. Some of that liquid became a subtle flavoring for the whipped cream frosting that I stabilized with gelatin so it would last longer and not weep all over the cake.

I had used up all the strawberries in the roasting process but wanted to top the cake with something besides whipped cream. Birthday candles were out of the question (as was singing "Happy Birthday"), but I remembered we had a bag of Crunchies freeze-dried strawberries that the company sent me to taste after the Fancy Food Show. I had been nibbling them on their own, but felt they would be the perfect garnish for this cake and a good counterpoint to the squishy roasted berries between the layers. They stood up like sweet stalagmites, adding height as well as color and flavor. They softened a bit as the cake stood, but they never sagged, and I kinda liked the third strawberry texture in the mix.

Crunchies are non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, and halal and contain no added sugar or artificial flavors. They are just freeze-dried fruit, pure and simple. I also love the Crunchies mango snacks and am contemplating making a similar cake, with yellow cake and mango filling, so I can use them as a garnish, too. That is, if we don't just eat it all straight out of the bag. :)

For someone who didn't really know what she was doing, I did a pretty decent job. Though the cake isn't the most beautiful thing in the world, it tasted so so good. ::::patting self on back:::::

Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake

For the roasted strawberries:
2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved, quartered if large
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate cake:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons liqueur of your choice (I used Kahlua)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the frosting:
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatine
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:
Crunchies freeze-dried strawberries

To make the strawberries: Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Toss the strawberries with the sugar, then with the vanilla. (Don't put the vanilla on the sugar to cut corners; it will just make the sugar clump up and make it hard to toss with the strawberries. No, I did not learn that through experience.) Spread in one layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until strawbs are soft and there's lots of yummy juice on the baking sheet. Allow to cool at room temperature before scraping into a covered container and refrigerating until completely cooled.

To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a layer of parchment in a jelly-roll pan and grease it lightly with butter.

Combine the butter, cocoa, salt, and 1 cup of tap water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook only until butter is melted and mixture is completely combined. Stir in the liqueur.

Place the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Pour in the chocolate butter mixture in 2 or three batches, stirring between each to combine. Beat the eggs with the sour cream and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture. Whisk until fully incorporated.

Here's the tricky part. Depending on the size of your pan, ladle in enough batter to cover the parchment entirely and be no more than 1/2 inch deep. Bake for enough time that the cake springs back when you touch it. I used a 9" x 13" jelly roll pan, which made three cakes with the amount of batter specified, each baking from 13-15 minutes (the first cake took longer and the last cake took less time). An 12" x 17" pan or thereabouts would probably take 18-20 minutes, so start checking at the 16 or 17 minute mark. Just looking at it should tell you if the middle is wet or cooked through. Once your cake or cakes are baked, allow them to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Loosen the edge of the cake with a knife and turn out onto a rack to cool completely. You should peel off the parchment while the cake is still warm.

Once the cakes are cool you can cut them. If you want to make it really easy on yourself, cut each cake in half and make a square layer cake. (Next time, that's what I'm doing!) But if you want a round cake, use a 7" or 8" round template as a guide. Place each cooled cake on a cutting board large enough to hold them, or right on your counter or table if that's easiest. Using the template and a sharp knife, cut your circles. Lift them away with a large spatula and put them on parchment or waxed paper until you're finished cutting. The scraps can be eaten as a cook's treat, or put them in a plastic bag and freeze them for when you're having a cake craving.

To make the frosting: Remove 3-4 tablespoons of the strawberry roasting liquid to a bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the liquid and allow to rest for several minutes until set. If your strawberries didn't give off much liquid for some reason (perhaps because you ate it as you scraped it off the pan), use a few tablespoons of water instead.

Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular bowl, if you're using a hand mixer) and beat for a minute or so. Put the gelatin in the microwave for about 10 seconds to liquify (it might take 15 seconds). Stir well so there are no clumps of gelatin, and with the mixer running on a fairly low speed, v e r y slowly drizzle it into the cream, beating all the time. Once incorporated, turn the mixer speed up and beat until medium peaks form. Don't overbeat, or you'll have butter. Scrape the cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, or the tip of your choice.

To assemble the cake: Place a round of cake onto a cardboard cake round or on an aluminum-foil covered springform or tart pan bottom of appropriate size. Eyeball the strawberries. Do the pieces seem too big? Then chop them up a bit. Maybe you should just chop them up a bit anyway. Spread an even layer of strawberry pieces + some of the cooking liquid on the cake. Pipe on a layer of the cream, then top with another cake layer. Add another layer of cream, then another layer of cake. Top this third layer of cake with more strawberries and more cream. (You won't use all the strawberries. Eat them with ice cream or with a spoon.) Add the fourth layer of cake and pipe the frosting decoratively on top. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.

Garnish with freeze dried strawberry pieces before serving.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Flashback Friday

While researching our first book, Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore, we were invited to eat at the Prime Rib. Mmm. The Prime Rib.

--Kathy

This post was originally published on May 7, 2012.
------------------
The Prime Rib

The Prime Rib has always seemed to us like a place to celebrate big milestones, like 50th birthdays and 25th anniversaries. It's elegant, it's fancy, and it's expensive*. But it's certainly not out of the question for a weeknight dinner, just because.

We went early on a Wednesday evening, when the restaurant was still pretty much empty. A good idea, it turns out, because by 7pm the place was hopping and it was loud. While it was still quiet, we had a good opportunity to take in the surroundings a bit. The Prime Rib is dark and elegant. Dark as in black. The walls are black. But combined with subtle gold details, subdued lighting, the famous leopard-print carpeting, and interesting works of art, the decor comes off as old school glamorous. Old fashioned, perhaps, but not at all stodgy. It's the kind of place where men should wear suits and women should be a bit dressed up. That was the rule once upon a time, but the restaurant has sadly relaxed its dress code to "business casual," which some people translate as "slob," unfortunately. There were still a lot of suits in the place, most on businessmen getting their drink on at the bar.

Anyway...on to the good stuff. First of all was our waiter. A 17-year veteran of the Prime Rib, Chuck was extremely attentive, friendly, and a big part of the success of our meal. Right off the bat, he felt like a member of the family, like someone who wanted to make sure we had a good time on our night out on the town. And we did.

We wanted to try as many things on the menu as possible, without breaking the bank. We started off with a crabcake and the oysters Rockefeller, which Chuck had split in the kitchen so we didn't have to make a mess trying to do so at the table. A really nice touch - the single crab cake we ordered had been formed into two minis, one for each of us. And it was delicious - moist, lightly seasoned, with undetectable filler. The oysters were nice, too. They were huge and meaty, only lightly cooked so they were very tender, and topped with a light coating of spinach and a hint of cheese. Not overwhelmed by topping, the flavor of the oysters sang out.

For our entrée, we split the Signature 26oz bone-in prime rib, which was deboned and plated in two pieces for us. We also chose the fresh corn off the cob and the famous Greenberg potato skins as our sides. The potato skins had been recommended by several people, one of whom was our neighbor, Paula, whose sister Helen is the Prime Rib's accountant. Paula told me that their uncle, George, had worked for the Prime Rib when it opened in 1965 and invented the skins. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, George did a good thing. The skin of a baked potato, especially when it's a bit crispy, has always been my favorite part. At the Prime Rib, only the skins, with very little potato attached, are fried until crisp and served with horseradish sauce and sour cream with chives. The effect is like a very earthy potato chip; they're really nothing like the "skins" sold elsewhere that are barely-hollowed-out potatoes.

The meat itself was nearly fork-tender, very juicy, and nicely seasoned. On the side was a pile of freshly grated horseradish, which added a nice punch to the meat. Between the sauce for the skins and the fresh grated stuff, I was in horseradish heaven.

I barely made a dent in my meat because, honestly, those giant oysters might have been enough for me. When Chuck came back with our doggie bag of  beef and potato skins, he told us he had added cups of horseradish and sour cream, plus a loaf of bread in case we wanted to make sandwiches with the leftovers. Other restaurants should be so thoughtful.

It's touches like that that make the Prime Rib worth the price of admission. Service is impeccable.

We left a little room for dessert and tried the house-made key lime pie, which was nice and tangy, and the hot fudge sundae. I had visions of Marconi's bowl of fudge, or even my favorite childhood sundae from Read's, but this was neither. While it was fine, the ice cream seemed a bit icy.

Overall, we had a fabulous time at the Prime Rib. The food was really good and everything seemed fresh - as in not glopped with heavy cream and butter in typical steakhouse style. Chuck was like a favorite uncle we're eager to visit again, and General Manager David Derewicz was amazingly generous.

*Our meal was very generously paid for by The Prime Rib, however, my opinion was not. Everything I say in this post I honestly believe to be true.

The Prime Rib
1101 N Calvert St
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 539-1804
theprimerib.com





Posted on Minxeats.com.

Become a Kahikian Giveaway!

We've written about Kahiki Foods before - in fact, we're brand ambassadors for this line of frozen Asian meals. Today, we're helping them give away a beautiful stainless steel wok!

Like this one:

Here's how it works. All you need to do is to subscribe to their newsletter. All subscribers get a $2 off coupon right off the bat, plus deals and coupons at other occasions, including birthdays. There are also easy recipes, diet and nutrition tips, chef tips, and other stuff.

But there's a catch. This is a competition for us, too. The more subscribers we get to sign up, the better the chance of getting a wok. We get a wok, and one of you (chosen randomly) will get one, too.

If you haven't tried Kahiki products before, we're also giving away three vouchers, worth a total of $22.50, to one lucky winner. Enter to win via this Rafflecopter giveaway. You can increase your chances of winning by visiting the two social media options on the Rafflecopter site.

So...that's a two-step Kahiki giveaway.

STEP 1: To enter for your chance to win the wok, click this link (Kahiki.com/minx) to sign up for the Kahiki newsletter.

STEP 2: Enter the Rafflecopter raffle daily to increase your odds of winning!

The contest ends on September 13th, so you have two weeks. Good luck!

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze

Since the Fancy Food Show, we've been getting lots of tasty products to review. One of my favorites is Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze. Part cereal, part smoothie, completely delicious, Munk Pack is a great snack to throw in your bag and take with you to eat at work or on the road.

There are three flavors: raspberry coconut, blueberry acai flax, and apple quinoa cinnamon. My favorite is the raspberry coconut, which definitely tastes of raspberry, but also has banana and apple in it. (All three flavors have apple, the Blueberry Acai Flax has banana, too.) It's hard to describe the texture of the stuff....it's not thick and gloppy like oatmeal, nor is it runny like applesauce, but perhaps somewhere in between. Mostly smooth, with bits of grain. And bits of coconut in the raspberry flavor. It's really quite tasty, and at 100 calories or less, a lot better for you than a candy bar (but, I understand, not chocolate).

Munk Pack products hit all the right buzzwords du jour: gluten-free, non-gmo, kosher, vegan. The products have no added sugar, 3-4g of fiber, and are packed in a BPA-free pouch that lets you squeeze every drop of goodness right into your gullet.

You can purchase Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeezes at Eddies on Charles Street and on Roland Ave and at Wegman's. Or at Amazon, which of course has everything.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Sheila G's Brownie Brittle

Have you ever found yourself nibbling on the crispy bits of brownie clinging to the pan after you've served up a fresh batch from the oven? Sheila G has. In fact, this is her favorite part of the brownie, so she decided to make a line of snacks specifically created to taste like those crunchy morsels there never seems to be enough of.

Brownie Brittle, as she calls it, comes in four flavors: Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip, Toffee Crunch, and Salted Caramel. They're cracker thin and roughly square shaped, but tend to break apart into smaller pieces in the bag, much like real brittle. Despite their diminutive snack size, Brownie Brittle is intensely chocolate flavored so you won't need to eat too many to feel satisfied.

The Chocolate Chip flavor is the most reminiscent of a traditional brownie, but the crispy texture might also give you nostalgic memories of eating Coco Pebbles while watching cartoons on TV. The Toffee Crunch is also quite good with just enough toffee to give you the flavor without getting unwanted bits of gooey sugar stuck in your teeth. Salted Caramel is a hot flavor right now, so it's no surprise that Sheila G has a version of it. I just wish it had a tad more salt to drive home the contrast with the caramel.

After an unfortunate childhood incident where I ate a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream by myself and got sick, I've never been a fan of that flavor combination. However, in the interest of thorough reporting, I sampled the mint chocolate chip Brownie Brittle. To my relief, the mint is fairly subtle, providing a touch of refreshing support to the rich chocolate flavor. I could actually eat a few of these without any bad flashbacks. For mint and chocolate lovers, I'm sure this would be a favorite.

Sheila G's Brownie Brittle allows you to enjoy the flavors of a brownie with far fewer calories than eating a whole brownie square. In fact, a 1-ounce serving has only 120 calories. So if you go hog wild and eat the whole 5-serving bag, well, at least you'll still have a couple of calories left in your daily allowance for some vegetables. You know, for balance.

Later this year, Brownie Brittle will be available with holiday decorations. The mint, chocolate chip, and salted caramel versions will each have a chocolaty drizzle on top, to make them a little more festive.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Chicken and Waffles

When we agreed to be brand ambassadors for Kahiki Foods, we received a shipment of various products, including bags of tempura-crusted chicken nuggets in two flavors. We devoured one bag of chicken with its accompanying honey sauce, but decided to use the other one in a different way...as the chicken component in chicken and waffles. Why not? without the accompanying sauce, it's just fried chicken--crusty, crispy fried chicken.

What got me started down this path was the bag of blue cornmeal I purchased at the grocery store last week. Blue cornmeal makes me think of Bobby Flay, and Bobby Flay makes me think of chipotle peppers. (Or, as he pronounces it, "chi-poh-ta-lay.") What could I concoct with blue cornmeal and chipotle peppers (both in the pantry) and whatever protein I had in the freezer (myriad)?  Every time I opened the freezer, I saw that bag of tempura chicken, and sometimes it even fell out on my foot. Why not use it, sans the bag of orange sauce (which I might be able to use for something else in the future)?

Once I decided on chicken as my protein, chicken and waffles seemed appropriate. I incorporated the chipotle into the cream gravy.  Once I added it, with a little extra smokiness from smoked paprika and a nice pinch of cumin to continue down that Southwest flavor path, the sauce tasted like queso. Even without any cheese. So I added cheese, too. Just a little, because I didn't want the sauce to end up being too thick.

It turned out really well. There are a ton of extra waffles though, which will be called into duty for breakfasts during the week. A nice bit of extra sauce, too. The leftovers will definitely get another handful of cheese, and maybe some sauteed chorizo. I hear a pile of tortilla chips calling its name.

Blue Corn Waffles with Fried Chicken and Chipotle Cream Gravy

For waffles:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 ½ cups 2% milk

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cups 2% milk
1 chipotle en adobo, minced
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pinch smoked paprika
Large pinch cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

To serve:
Fried chicken or chicken nuggets
Chopped scallions for garnish

To make waffles: Preheat waffle iron. Preheat oven to 250°F and place a baking sheet in the oven.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the milk and butter until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined.

Spoon batter into waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions. Cook until golden and crisp.

Place cooked waffles onto the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Repeat until all waffle batter is used. Makes 12-14 waffles, depending on the size of your iron.

To make sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute without browning. Slowly whisk in the milk and stock. Raise the heat to high and continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken and the raw taste of the flour has been cooked out, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle and scallions. Whisk in the cheese and seasonings, adding more or less to taste.

To serve: Top waffles with chicken pieces or nuggets and spoon some sauce over all. Garnish with scallions.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.



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Graeter's Ice Cream

Mr Minx and I love ice cream. Loooooooooove it. We could eat it every day, but (usually) limit it to a weekend treat. This past weekend's treat was a sampling of four flavors of Graeter's ice cream, courtesy of the lovely people at Graeter's.

Graeter's, from Cincinnati, Ohio, is a super premium ice cream made with the French pot method. A French pot is not so different from the type of home ice cream maker many of us own, comprising a freezable liquid-filled metal liner, plastic outer casing, and a lid with a crank. In this type of machine, as the liquid base freezes onto the sides of the liner, it is scraped off with the paddle attached to the crank. This technique doesn't allow for much air to get whipped into the cream, so the end result is dense and rich.

Graeter's is definitely dense and rich, and contains somewhere between 16-18% butterfat. No wonder it's so darn good. We got to try four flavors: black raspberry chip, vanilla chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, and mint chocolate chip. "Chip" is really a misnomer. "Slab" might be more accurate. Rather than mixing in bits and pieces of chocolate into their ice cream, Graeter's pours a melted chocolate into the pots. After it solidifies onto the frozen cream, a worker breaks it up and mixes it in, creating chewy chunks of chocolate.

Say that five times fast: creating chewy chunks of chocolate. I adored the chewy chunks of chocolate!

I couldn't tell you which of the four flavors is my favorite. The vanilla chocolate chip is well-balanced, flavor-wise, and not overly vanilla-y. The black raspberry chip has intense fruit flavor (and color), and the mint chocolate chip tastes like real mint. And while I'm not a huge fan of chocolate ice cream, unless it's home-made, Graeter's tastes pretty fine. And the chewy chunks of chocolate are a bonus in each flavor.

Looks like we might have to do another taste test tonight. And maybe tomorrow night. You know, just to make sure we really like it. (We do!)

Graeter's is now available in grocery stores all around the country, including Mars, Fresh Market, and Weis in the Baltimore area, but you can order it from their Web site, http://www.graeters.com.

* The  products in this post have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

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Pabu

A month or so ago, while perusing the Four Seasons Baltimore Web site for more information on Michael Mina's restaurant Wit & Wisdom, I noticed a blurb about an upcoming restaurant called Pabu. "Pabu," a Japanization of the word "pub," was going to be an izakaya-style restaurant, a joint venture between Mina and Sonoma County sushi master Ken Tominaga. I immediately got excited. While I love sushi and am happy that it's plentiful (particularly in Towson), I've long felt that Baltimore needed a Japanese restaurant that served kushiyaki (skewered things), chawanmushi (a custard dish), and the other interesting tidbits that are customarily consumed with sake.

An izakaya is basically a bar that serves food, but unlike the one we visited in New York, Sake Bar Hagi, Pabu is no mere watering hole. While the New York restaurant is dark and cramped, Pabu, located at the far end of Aliceanna Street across from the Marriott, occupies a space that is bright and spare, with lots of blonde wood and large windows. Shelves of large, nearly-identical, pottery sake vessels act as dividers that help break up the room. The bar is immediately in front of the entrance; across the room, its long shape is echoed by the sushi bar, behind which is an open kitchen.

We were seated off to one side, beyond the bar, and had a good view of the room. Because this was a media dinner*, we were presented with a special menu of the restaurant's choosing, an omakase. But before the food came, our eager and knowledgeable server suggested we try various things from the spirits menu, of which the restaurant is justifiably proud. Their sake collection is so vast (the largest in the area), it requires a special sake sommelier to keep things organized. The staff is all very well-trained, too, so feel comfortable allowing your server to make suggestions, as we did. We first tried two of the signature cocktails: the Japanese whisky-based Yakuza, with chamomile tea and yellow Chartreuse; and the Lemongrass Sour. Both were quite good, the Yakuza was surprisingly light, and easy to drink. Later, we were brought two different sakes to sample as well as a couple of special Japanese beers, one of which was made with rice, the other with sweet potato.

On to the food.

Jako - tiny minnows, ginger, shiso, goma

Seaweed salad - san baizu, creamy sesame

"Happy Spoons" - oyster, uni, ikura, ponzu creme fraiche

We started off with three "cold small plates," jako, seaweed salad, and the "happy spoon." Jako is a dish of tiny minnows - teeny, bitsy, weensy minnows even - that are cooked until they become dry and chewy, not unlike jerky, and flavored with sesame, shiso, and ginger. They're fairly salty and make a good bar snack-style accompaniment to beer or sake. The seaweed salad was a lot like the kind to which we're accustomed, with the addition of a creamy sesame dressing, and the "happy spoon" was something else entirely. A small oyster, salmon caviar, uni, and tobiko rested on a bit of creme fraiche flavored with ponzu. It was meant to be eaten in one bite, and just as I popped mine and began to chew, I was distracted by someone who appeared at our table to introduce herself, and in the confusion and haste to swallow, I forgot to taste what was in my mouth. My impression, however, was of fresh brininess, and I'd love to try this bite again.

Later in the meal, Chefs Michael Mina and Ken Tominaga came over to say hello. I was thrilled to meet them, and commended them on bringing the izakaya concept to Baltimore. At least, that's what I think I said; it may merely have been starstruck gibberish. :)

Maitake & seasonal vegetable tempura

Maryland crab okonomiyaki - bonito flake, benishoga, karashi mayo

Next came two warm plates, a selection of tempura vegetables that included eggplant, asparagus, lotus root, winter squash, and a maitake (hen-of-the-woods) mushroom. Honestly, I could eat tempura all day and particularly enjoyed the mushroom; maitakes are much like savory clusters of flower petals and make for particularly delicate tempura. The other plate was okonomiyaki, a savory cabbage pancake topped with an over-easy egg. This dish would make a delicious breakfast.

Tsukune, Muniniku, Hudson Valley foie gras

We then received three examples of kushiyaki, or skewered meats, that had been cooked on a charcoal-fueled robata grill. The tsukune, or chicken meatballs, were served with a jidori egg yolk that was meant to be whipped and used as a dip. The meatballs themselves were amazingly tender and juicy, with a crisp shell. So good. We also enjoyed wee lozenges of nori-wrapped foie gras dabbed with tangy umeboshi plum. The third skewer, of chicken breast, was merely ok. (There's only so much one can do with chicken breast.)

Miso with nameko mushroom, miso with fresh tofu, scallion, wakame

Our next course was soup, a classic miso with freshly made tofu and a rich, almost beefy, miso with mushrooms.

Nigiri - mebachi meguro, madai, kohada, katsuo

Sashimi - chutoro, aji, hotate

Ken's Roll - shrimp tempura,avocado, spicy tuna, pine nuts,
chili garlic furikake, eel sauce

Finally, we received selections of nigiri and sashimi, including chu-toro and a scallop that had been alive just seconds before serving. It was so fresh, it only needed a squeeze of lemon to bring out its natural sweetness. The maki was "Ken's Roll," a combination of shrimp tempura, avocado, spicy tuna, pine nuts, chili garlic furikake, and eel sauce. While the ingredients seemed pretty typical of American-style rolls, the result was far more sublime. The eel sauce (the real deal, btw, made with actual eel trimmings) was dribbled on the plate and not on the roll, so the diner could choose to have that extra bit of sweetness, or not, and the furikake had a real kick to it.

Finally, we had the best dessert imaginable: four dishes, two light and citrussy, two with a bit more heft. When combined, they offered the perfect combination of salty, tangy, creamy, and sweet. The salty came in the form of miso caramel under a bit of mochi-wrapped ice cream. A quenelle of green tea sorbet in a lemongrass broth with a brunoise of pineapple and melon was refreshing and so fragrant, I wanted to dab it behind my ears. The honey panna cotta topped with little pearls of yuzu gelee was both creamy and tangy, and the sweet white chocolates were filled with a whisky sauce that filled the mouth with sweetness.

Dessert omakase

Altogether an outstanding meal full of interesting textures and flavors. While not exactly the Saki Bar Hagi type of izakaya (dirt cheap, noisy, and crowded), we feel Pabu is a much needed - and delicious - addition to the Harbor East landscape.

Pabu
725 Aliceanna St.
Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 223-1460
http://michaelmina.net/restaurants/locations/pabu.php



* We received free food and beverages during this visit, however, all opinions in this post are ours alone and not that of the restaurant.

Posted on Minxeats.com.