Sullivan's Steakhouse

Mr Minx and I generally aren't steakhouse people, but we do like a good chunk of meat on occasion. When we received an invitation to try Sullivan's Steakhouse, we immediately said yes.

We started our meal with the lump crab cake appetizer. Don't expect a Maryland-style cake at Sullivan's. Theirs contains bell pepper and is breaded with panko. But it's moist and lumpy, and the crisp crust is a nice addition to a familiar dish.

The lobster and shrimp bisque is a must-try. It has a deeply-flavored shellfish stock base, with a hint of tomato. There's not much in the way of actual chunks of lobster in the soup, but the ones we found were very tender.

Mr Minx went for the 22-ounce cowboy rib eye, and I had the roasted rack of lamb. The steak was a bit shy of medium rare, tender, with a nicely seasoned crust. The chops were a little over mid-rare, but still juicy, and bathed in a lovely, slightly sweet grain mustard/rosemary glaze with a hint of mint.

We also had the classic steakhouse sides of creamed spinach and white cheddar and bacon au gratin potatoes. Both were impeccable. (I can eat creamed spinach all day.)

For dessert, we had the Chocolate Meltdown: a flourless chocolate torte topped with chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries and concealed by chocolate dome. At tableside, the server pours hot chocolate sauce over the dome, which melts it and reveals the treat inside. Generally, this is an Instagrammable moment, but our hot chocolate sauce was too thick and lumpy to pour properly, and the end result was a big chocolate mess on the plate. Not too pretty, but it tasted great, which of course is the most important thing, right?

In addition to their regular deliciousness, Sullivan's is bringing back Prime Rib Sundays. Every Sunday starting at 4pm, guests can dine on 12- or 16-ounce portions of hand-carved prime rib served with garlic horseradish mashed potatoes and a selection of Sullivan's signature sides.

Note: Several Inner Harbor-area restaurants have closed in the last year, some blaming it on crime. The real crime is the cost of parking. Parking in downtown Baltimore is shamefully expensive. Up to 2 hours can cost $24! That's no way to attract local diners. Pro tip: use a parking app, like Parkopedia. I found a garage that offered 3 hours for $9, and it was around the corner from the restaurant (1 West Pratt garage). Do your wallet a favor and try reserving your space in advance.

Sullivan's Steakhouse
1 E Pratt St Ste 102,
Baltimore, MD 21202

* 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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Mad Chef Kitchen & Bar

Last year's Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament winner Fabio Mura is a busy man these days. Not only does he run the kitchen at Grille 620 and River Hill Grill, he's also in charge of food at the new Mad Chef Kitchen & Bar. Located in the same Turf Valley Town Square shopping center as Grille 620, Mad Chef Kitchen & Bar has the same casually elegant vibe as its two sister restaurants. But while the menu at Grille 620 has more of a steakhouse vibe and River Hill Grill has the elevated bar food thing perfected, the food at Mad Chef Kitchen has a bit more of an international flair. Evidence of Chef Mura's Sardinian roots peek in here and there, too.

Full disclosure: we've worked with Chef Mura in the past. He was featured in our book, Baltimore Chef's Table. That doesn't prevent us from speaking about his food honestly.

Between consulting with our waitress and the Chef, we decided on two small plates, one shared entree, and two desserts.

Mura drew inspiration for his Sardinian fonduta (the Italian version of fondue) from several things: a recent trip to Italy; the Sardinian honey and cheese pastries known as seadas; even fajitas. These elements became melty broiled provolone cheese drizzled with honey, citrus zest, and almonds, served on a hot cast iron plate with crispy rustic bread on the side. The flavors of the dish played well against each other, with the orange zest being an especially welcome addition. The cheese was also hot and somewhat gooey, but unlike melted mozzarella which tends to stay soft and traditional fondue which has a more liquid quality, the provolone was a little more solid and needed to be cut with a knife before manipulating it onto bread. Still, a flavorful start to the meal. I couldn't help think that this combination of ingredients would be killer on a pizza crust.

We didn't order the empanadas because we didn't want to be greedy, but Chef Mura sent them out anyway. The pastry was light, crisp, and greaseless, with a flavorful ground beef and onion filling. The accompanying salsa had a nice kick to it, but the empanadas were moist enough not to need a sauce other than their drizzle of lime crema.

We're a sucker for lamb ribs and are happy to see them pop up on menus more and more frequently. These were billed as "Korean barbecue" but didn't strike me as being from any one particular area of Asia. The sauce was light and sweet, but not cloying. The ribs themselves were very meaty, extremely tender and easy-to-eat, with a nice lamb-y flavor.

The luxurious paella for two included shrimp, mussels, clams, calamari, lobster, and sizable chunks of scallop. I've made paella at home, but it was nowhere near as good as this stuff. The short-grain Bomba rice, redolent of saffron and seafood stock, was perfectly cooked, and the various sea creatures adorning it were tender. The scallops in particular were delightful, and I did my best to bogart all of them for myself.

Then there was dessert. Chef Mura himself said we must order the zeppole and his tiramisu, which had "a new twist." The twist turned out to be pretty innovative; rather than coffee-soaked ladyfingers topped with a mascarpone cream, the cream was layered between crepes. The dish had all of the flavors of the original, but with a completely different texture. Pretty clever, Chef!

While the tiramisu was delicious, the zeppole were fan-freaking-tastic. The sugar-dusted orbs of fried dough were impossibly fluffy and moist on the inside; pretty much perfect on their own. But a drizzle of the accompanying dark chocolate hazelnut orange sauce made them absolute heaven. A must-order.

Mr Minx and I very much enjoyed our meal at Mad Chef Kitchen & Bar. The restaurant was comfortable, the staff friendly, knowledgeable, and on-the-ball, and the food was very good.

A shout out to the young man who refilled our water glasses. His reply of "my pleasure" to our "thank you" was a refreshing change from the current usual reply of "no problem." It shouldn't be a problem to serve a paying guest, and indicating that possibility could exist tends to make guests over a certain age uncomfortable.

Mad Chef Kitchen & Bar
Turf Valley Towne Center
11085 Resort Road, #404
Ellicott City, MD 21042
(410) 203-0327
https://www.madchefkitchen.com/

* 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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Crafted Cocktails

I love a good cocktail, and fortunately for me, there are some restaurants in Baltimore with really good cocktail programs. But I don't always want to go out to drink. Sometimes I just want to pour myself some good booze and sip it in the privacy of my own home while watching the Orioles blow another game (nobody needs to see me cry in public). Although I like to think I'm a pretty good cook with some understanding of ingredients and flavors, that doesn't carry over to my cocktail-making abilities. They're pretty sad, so I appreciate all the assistance I can get in the form of bottled pre-mixed cocktail helpers.

I like the products from Crafted Cocktails--they're all-natural, sweetened with agave syrup (which we use all the time), and come in flavors like spicy watermelon and jalapeno pineapple. They also offer shrubs, which are old-fashioned sweet vinegar syrups that can be used in a cocktail or mixed with sparkling water to make a refreshing soda-type beverage. I was excited when the company was willing to send me bottles of the Moonlight Spicy Watermelon Mix, the Lanai Jalapeño Pineapple Mix, and both the blackberry and ginger shrubs. The ginger shrub is actually still unopened--Crafted Cocktail products come in really generously-proportioned bottles that need to be refrigerated after opening, so I am savoring them one at a time while conserving fridge space. I think the ginger flavor will be a great asset for cocktails closer to the holidays, so expect more posts to come toward the end of the year.

Right now, I'd like to share three cocktail recipes with you using the products I have tried. More can be found at http://www.craftedcocktails.net/recipes.html.

Blackberry Bramble

Blackberries
1 1/2 oz gin
1 oz fresh lemon juice
.75 oz agave syrup
1/2 ounce Crafted Cocktails Blackberry Shrub
Ginger beer

Muddle 6 blackberries with the gin, lemon, and agave until they have broken and released their juices. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and add the shrub. Top off with a splash of ginger beer. Garnish with blackberries and lemon.

Jalapeño Pineapple Margarita

1 part blanco tequila
3 parts Lanai Jalapeño Pineapple Mix
Lime wedge or sliced jalapeno

Pour into a martini glass. Garnish with lime and or jalapeno.

La Jefa

1 part blanco tequila
3 parts Moonlight Spicy Watermelon Mix
Squeeze of fresh lime

Pour into a margarita glass with salted rim. Garnish with fresh lime wedge and sliced jalapeno

* 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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Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer

For those of you who have never tried ginger beer, it's like an extra-pungent ginger ale. The ginger is usually pretty spicy and it makes a great cocktail mixer, as well as a drink on its own. I often wondered why, since it's called ginger "beer," that there's not an alcoholic version of the stuff.

And then I discovered Crabbie's.

Crabbie's was started in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 19th century by grocer Miller Crabbie and his son, John, but it's only been available in the US fairly recently. We were offered some samples to try, and as fans of regular ginger beer, we couldn't pass them up. Crabbie's tastes like the perfect spicy ginger soda, nicely carbonated, sweet but not too, with a little kick (4.8% ABV). You can't taste the alcohol, but you'd certainly feel it after drinking a couple.

As you can see from the pic,
 I like Cruzan Black Strap,
which once upon a time was bottom
 shelf but with recent popularity
 has worked its way up closer to the top)

Ginger beer is perfect in a classic Dark & Stormy, but the drink is even better with Crabbie's.

Dark & Crabbie's
1/2 oz dark rum 
1 bottle Crabbie's Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer
Fresh lime wedge

Method: Fill your glass with plenty of cubed ice. Pour over ½ oz of dark rum. Then add your Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger beet to create the perfect drink. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Crabbie's can also be used in a pretty tasty Moscow Mule. Serve it in a copper mug, if you can.

Crabbie’s Moscow Mule
3 – 4mint leaves
¾ oz lime juice
½ oz simple syrup
1 ½ oz vodka
Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Method: Muddle the mint gently in the bottom of your glass. Add the lime juice, simple syrup and vodka, along with 3 – 4 ice cubes. Then add a splash of Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer.

Here's a third recipe, using the Spiced Orange flavor. I suppose you could use the Raspberry flavor to make a Crabbie's Raspberry Punch, too.

Crabbie’s Orange Punch 
1 oz dark rum
1 oz gin
1 oz vodka
2 oz fresh lemon juice
1 ½ oz cranberry juice
Crabbie’s Spiced Orange Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Method: Add the spirits and fruit juices to a cocktail shaker. Shake well and stir into a pitcher filled with ice. Then add a generous hit of Crabbie’s Spiced Orange Alcoholic Ginger Beer. Garnish with slices of your favorite fruit.

Crabbie's is available at places like the Wine Source, Eddie's, Total Wine & More in Towson, Dulaney Liquors, and at some restaurants. Use the locator tool on Crabbie's website for more.

* 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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Bahama Breeze

Sometimes the best antidote for a completely crappy day is a good, stiff drink. So we were incredibly happy that after a particularly bad afternoon, Bahama Breeze invited us to celebrate International Pineapple Day (April 2) at their Towson location, complete with complimentary cocktails and a sampling of happy hour appetizers.

Mr Minx and I had eaten at Bahama Breeze not long after they opened, and I must admit, we were not impressed. The atmosphere seemed chaotic, and the food was not memorable. But ten or so years can change things.

The restaurant, though tropically themed, was cozy and dark, particularly where we were seated in the bar area. And the place was hopping, yet everything seemed under control. Not long after we reached our table, we were brought the first of two pineapple-based cocktails we would receive that evening, the Painkiller. Made with Pusser's Dark Rum, cream of coconut, pineapple and orange juices, and a fragrant grating of fresh nutmeg, the drink was big and strong (like I like my...drinks). Often tropical drinks are uber sweet, but this one was just right.

Our second drink, which came about halfway through the meal, was a Goombay Smash, comprising Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum and Myers's Original Dark Rum mixed with fresh orange and pineapple juices. Again, not overly sweet and nice and strong. The orange was a bit more prominent in this drink.

With our drinks, we enjoyed a plate of Bahama Breeze's fried coconut shrimp (because fried foods are as essential to lifting one's mood as alcohol) with a spicy citrus mustard sauce. They were pretty good, but maybe a bit bread-y.

We also received a plate of their Jamaican chicken wings. Culinary manager Kevin Morton says they are marinated in authentic spices, then baked with additional seasoning, and finally served with a dip that has more of that jerk flavor. We thought these were dynamite. The wings were large and meaty, perfectly cooked, and super crispy. And while jerk seasoning can be intensely hot with the fire of scotch bonnet peppers, the wings at Bahama Breeze were tailored to fit a palate more accustomed to milder foods.

Kevin then suggested we order whatever else we wanted off the menu. He had just finished talking up their burger, so we decided to split one. To keep with the International Pineapple Day theme, we ordered our Wood-grilled Cheddar Burger with some pineapple chutney on the side.

The burger was a thin patty, which we prefer, cooked to just a shade past medium. The bun was somewhere between a typical squishy fast food bun and a brioche bun in that it was nice and soft, but had a pretty glazed appearance. The chutney added a bit of sweetness, a la ketchup, but wasn't quite as sweet. Overall, we enjoyed the burger for its simplicity. Bahama Breeze might not be the first place one would think of to order a burger, but if nothing else on the menu tempts, the burger can satisfy.

We also opted to try the conch fritters, which came with more of the citrus mustard dipping sauce. They were nicely meaty, crisp, and piping hot.

Bahama Breeze was really a nice surprise. We don't eat at chain restaurants often, not because we are snobs, but because there are so many other options these days. Bahama Breeze is owned by Darden, which also operates Red Lobster and Olive Garden. They also own The Capital Grille, which routinely makes "best of" lists in Baltimore, so don't judge. Bahama Breeze only has 30 or so outlets, so they don't have as much of the corporate control as some of Darden's other restaurants. Kevin Morton says that while some menu elements come from corporate (the onion rings, for example, which Kevin said were breaded in-house until recently), he can cater other menu items to the tastes of his patrons. He seemed to have real passion for his job, and runs the restaurant as if it were his own. That attitude, coupled with the sunny dispositions of the staff we came in contact with, makes a big difference in a customer's dining experience. I can think of some locally owned-and-operated, non-chain restaurants that could use that approach.

Bahama Breeze
100 E Joppa Rd
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 821-7090
http://www.bahamabreeze.com/







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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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