New Fall Menu at B & O Brasserie

B & O Brasserie in the Hotel Monaco is one of our favorite restaurants, especially for special occasions, but also for a simple weeknight dinner. The restaurant has seen several executive chefs over its relatively short existence, but each has created complex, high-end dishes that have never been boring or predictable. B & O's current executive chef, Scott Hines, continues the tradition set by his predecessors with a new fall menu that entertains the palate with layers of flavor and ingredient combinations that are new and exciting. We were happy to be invited to try out the new offerings recently.

We started our meal with a Brussels sprout salad made of the bright green outer leaves of the sprouts. Crab apples, onion, Marcona almonds, and pancetta round out the salad, providing a variety of flavors and textures. When I first tasted it, I thought the pancetta was Mexican chorizo. I later found out that the maple vinaigrette included achiote (or annatto) which lends an earthy flavor as well as a yellow hue, and is also used in chorizo. I was glad to discover that my tastebuds were not playing tricks on me. 

The oxtail marmalade is slow cooked oxtail (actually the tail from cattle we think of as cows, as opposed to oxen) blended with sweet and savory ingredients to create intense, meaty, flavor. When combined with a bit of bone marrow schmaltz (a rich combination of bone marrow and beef tallow) and a little of the lightly acidic pickled shallot and peppercress garnish on a slice of ciabatta, the result is a rich and satisfying bite that is lovely and well-balanced. A top-notch appetizer that would also be a perfect bar snack when paired with one of the B&Os always inventive cocktails. In that vein, I had the Harvest Moon from the new fall menu, a surprisingly dry combination of apple brandy, cacao nib syrup, lemon, and Millstone gingerroot cider. The Minx had the Rock Wall, a combination of mezcal and rum with cider, lemon, and spiced sugar syrup that reminded her of wood smoke and fall leaves.

The lamb noisette features medallions of medium rare lamb over a bed of fregola flavored with black olives and merguez sausage, and escarole, with a simply perfect lamb jus. An intensely carrot-y spiced carrot reduction is spread across the plate and feta cheese is sprinkled on top for an additional layer of flavor. There was just so much going on in this dish, and all of it was exactly the right thing.

A exciting surprise for me was the marjoram and orange gremolata atop the house made pappardelle with veal sugo. The veal is slow braised for 6 to 7 hours, making it unbelievably tender, and the pasta is lovely and silky on the tongue. While the dish would have been amazing as is, the salty pepperiness of pecorino pepato cheese nudged it over the top. While I might not be ambitious enough to tackle the slow braised veal, I would like to try the marjoram and orange combo on one of my own pasta dishes. It was quite the flavor revelation. Marjoram, a member of the mint and oregano family, is a somewhat underutilized herb when fresh, at least in such an obvious way. The flavor is reminiscent of both oregano and mint and added a fresh herbal contrast to the rich meaty sauce.

Although we were bursting at the seams, Chef Hines wanted us to try out a selection of their desserts. The lavender and caramel flan was redolent of lavender and finished off with slices of crisp meringue.

From the moment we arrived at the restaurant, everyone was raving about the lemon bar, and the praise was completely in order. Feuilletine white chocolate crunch, berry gelee, toasted meringue, vanilla ice cream, and lemon brittle make for a wonderful variety of flavors and textures that all work together. Your palate never gets bored with this dessert.

The B & O ice cream sandwiches are nothing like the ones you pulled out of the freezer as a kid. Almond macarons sandwich rich vanilla ice cream and are set on a pool of dulce de leche. To cut the sweetness and provide a little warmth on a chilly fall evening, the sandwiches are served with a cup of spiced hot cider.

While we've never had a bad meal at B & O Brasserie no matter what time of year we've gone there, this fall menu created by Chef Scott Hines is something worth checking out before the season is over. It makes us excited for the new, inventive dishes he will create in the future.

Full disclosure - Chef Hines provided several recipes for our latest book, Maryland's Chesapeake. He's a terrifically creative chef who is also very generous. We are so pleased that he's running the kitchen at B & O, and look forward to many more delicious meals there.

B & O Brasserie
The Hotel Monaco
2 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201
443-692-6172



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Dining In New York, May 2015, Part 2

My second day in NY was carefully planned; all activities revolved around a 2pm matinee of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Glee's Darren Criss was playing the lead, and he did a terrific job in what was essentially a one-man show (apart from a backing band).

Before the show, I had lunch at Xi'an Famous Foods, which had just opened a second midtown outpost on 34th Street. I got there early enough to avoid any lines or crowds and was able to spend a few long minutes perusing the menu. I wanted to try everything, especially the spicy and tingly lamb face salad, the spicy cumin lamb burger, and the spicy and sour lamb dumplings. As there was only one of me, I ordered just one dish. The pork "Zha Jiang" hand-ripped noodles were lovely. A simple dish of thick, wide, lightly chewy noodles topped with a spicy mix of ground pork and scallions made for a perfect lunch. The length of the noodles made them heavy and a bit difficult to manipulate with cheap wooden chopsticks, but I soldiered on, polishing off every tasty bite. I washed them down with a cup of cold sweetened chrysanthemum tea and went on my way.

I still had time before the matinee, so hit up Lord & Taylor and Saks for perfume sniffing on my way up 5th Avenue. I didn't smell anything worth paying retail for, which is fine. More money for food.

After the show, I walked over to David Burke Fabrick in the Archer Hotel. Both of my dining spots on this day were chosen because they were in close to places I needed to be: the hotel; the theatre; Penn Station. Fabrick had the added attraction of serving dinner uber early, useful for when one has an early train out of town.

Or, that was the original idea. There was a train accident in Vermont in the morning which delayed my train by several hours. I was panicking during dinner, really wanting to get home before midnight. A conversation with a very nice Amtrak phone rep who helped me book another train scheduled a mere hour after my original eased my mind. This gave me more time to wander about, and I suppose I could have gone somewhere else to eat, but I kept my reservation and ate dinner at the ridiculous hour of 4:30pm.

I wasn't sure at all what to order; I think the menu I had perused online was a bit different than the one I was handed at the restaurant. I ended up with the avocado panna cotta and shrimp tacos, neither of which I wanted, but seemed the best choices at the time.

The avocado dish was a panna cotta in name only. I thought a gelatinized avocado mousse would have been interesting, but it was really just guacamole and salsa layered in a bowl with sour cream and served with a dish of tortilla chips glued together with some melted cheese. It was ok, but definitely not $16 worth of ok.

The "angry" shrimp fajitas continued the unintentional Tex-Mex theme. I suppose they should have been spicy, but the wee shrimp were not at all. I ate several tiny tacos, each with far more tortilla than filling. The chipotle aioli, surprisingly, was the star of the dish. It wasn't bad, just nothing special.

What was special, however, was dessert. I have been Facebook friends with Burke's corporate pastry chef, Zac Young, for years now. (You might remember him from the first season of Top Chef Just Desserts, and from the Food Network's Unique Sweets). Despite not normally going for chocolate desserts because I find them too heavy, I ordered the chocolate hazelnut "handbag," with gianduja mousse, raspberry ganache, and vanilla bean ice cream. The whimsical pink camouflage-patterned creation also included white chocolate filled and coated raspberries, and a bit of coconut brittle, and was by far the most satisfying thing I ate at Fabrick.

On the way to Penn Station, I stopped by Macaron Cafe to pick up half a dozen of the sweet treats. I gotta say these are the best macarons I've ever tried. They're amply sized, with chewy cookies and interesting fillings, from rich ganache to a bitter matcha creme. I'm going to have to make this a regular stop on my trips to NY, although I'll have to pick up some from Ladurée next time too, for comparison.









Posted on Minxeats.com.

Macaron Giveaway!

Who doesn't like macarons? You know, those pretty little sherbet-hued cakelets made from almond meringue and filled with jam and/or buttercream? Some might call them macaroons. I adore them and buy at least two every time I see them in a shop (one for me and one for Mr Minx, but sometimes two for me).

When the good people from Sucré, a Sweet Boutique in New Orleans asked us to give away a box of their Summer Macaron Collection, we couldn't resist - especially since they sent us a box to sample.

The Collection stars two flavors of macaron: lemon buttercream with blackberry jam infused with balsamic vinegar and cassis, and another with vanilla buttercream and peach marmalade. Both are quite lovely, but I have to say both of us here at Minxeats preferred the peach. (Perhaps because it's baseball season and they're orange, like the Orioles!) They were also packaged beautifully, with much care. Despite coming from humid New Orleans to humid Baltimore, not a cookie was broken, nor were they affected by the weather in any way. Each one was crisp and delicious.

So, if you would like to receive your own pretty box of fifteen macarons from Sucré, leave a comment on this post. Please make sure you use a valid e-mail address or leave some way for us to contact you electronically if you are the winner.

The Fine Print:

Winners must be 18 years of age or older and a resident of the 48 contiguous United States.
A valid e-mail address must be included.
Contest ends July 1, 2013.
Winner will be notified via e-mail.

* 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.

Posted on Minxeats.com.