Flashback Friday - Spice and Dice

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on August 9, 2011.

-----------------------------------------

We Minxes love Thai food and ever since the demise of our regular haunt, Bangkok Place, we're always on the lookout for a new favorite. While we really enjoyed a meal at Bangkok Garden, being in Columbia makes it a bit of a haul and not exactly good for any spur-of-the-moment meal decisions. Recently, Mr Minx received a coupon for a place called Spice & Dice, located in a nondescript office park on Joppa Road about halfway between Goucher and Loch Raven Boulevards. That's not far from us, so we made a point to have dinner there one recent Tuesday evening. 

Spice & Dice has a bright and happy interior that, sans tables, would work well as a daycare center. Ignore, however, the many colors and patterns on the walls and concentrate instead on the menu which has a large selection of appetizers, plus curries, stir-fries, and noodle dishes. On our first trip, we sampled the fish cakes and the chicken laab from the appetizer section, plus the gingery chicken ped king and the vibrantly-spiced duck with basil sauce, all washed down with generously-sized glasses of sweet and milky Thai iced tea. After that successful experience, we vowed to visit again soon, this time with camera in tow.

A few weeks later, we met my father and brother for dinner at Spice & Dice. After taking some time perusing the many interesting menu options, Dad opted for the jasmine rice soup followed by pad thai with pork. The soup was outstanding, its light broth tangy with lemongrass and full of tender chicken. The pad thai was a fine rendition of the ubiquitous noodle dish, served with an extra helping of crushed peanuts on the side.

Jasmine Rice Soup

Pad Thai with Pork

We also sampled two appetizers, the chicken teriyaki dumplings and fried calamari. The dumplings were drizzled with an unfortunately goopy sweet sauce that did nothing for them and were otherwise forgettable. The calamari was slightly chewy, as it often is when served in the diamond-scored-rectangular chunks that tend to be typical of Asian restaurants, but was otherwise tasty, particularly when dipped in the lightly spicy pink mayo-based sauce.

Chicken Teriyaki Dumplings - pretty but meh.

Happy Calamari

As fans of Thai basil, my brother and I both ordered dishes that featured that ingredient. Or so we thought. His chicken with basil dish displayed no evidence of that herb's presence, but otherwise had a lively garlic flavor.

Chicken in Basil Sauce

My dish, shrimp with eggplant, contained a decent amount of basil leaves in a sweet-ish sauce that had partly been absorbed by the chunks of bright purple Asian eggplant. It was a bit inconvenient to eat the tail-on shrimp, but otherwise I happily hoovered up this dish, lusciously-sauced romaine leaves and all.

Eggplant and Shrimp with Basil

Mr Minx opted for the jungle curry, a preparation that contains none of the coconut milk present in other Thai curries. It had a very distinctive and unusual herbal flavor, predominately galangal and ginger, and was quite unlike any other Thai dish we've tried.

Jungle Curry with Pork

Some of the dishes at Spice & Dice are a bit on the sweet side - probably a nod to American palates - and the teriyaki dumplings were nothing special, but everything else was quite delicious.

While the decor was busy, the restaurant was not. I hope more people find this cute spot and stop by for a meal so it'll stay around long enough for us to become regulars.

Spice and Dice Thai Restaurant
1220 E Joppa Rd #108
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 494-8777

* 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!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Silver Spring Mining Company

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on August 17, 2011.

-----------------------------------------

Before last week, Mr Minx and I had eaten at Silver Spring Mining Company exactly once - in the late 90s. Back then, before we got married, we spent most Friday evenings in the company of married friends who were on the Atkins diet. These two were the kind of people who could and would talk endlessly (and of course didactically) about their diet, as if it was the most important, interesting, and indeed, only topic of conversation on Earth. Certainly the only diet. They loved SSMCo because they could get a steak and a cup of onion soup without the crouton and be in high protein-and-fat heaven. Bored by all of it, I'm afraid I remember absolutely nothing about that meal apart from having to wait for a table, and watching our friends greedily slurp up hot onion soup.

Our friends lost weight, divorced, got fat again, and are now completely out of the (our) picture. Without the distraction of their snooze-worthy dinner conversation, Mr Minx and I revisited the Mining Company one recent weekday because 1) we happened to be in the area; and 2) it was dinnertime.

Because it was early, we had the place pretty much to ourselves and were able to take in the scenery. Despite having been open only since 1995, Silver Spring Mining Company has the look of a far older and more established restaurant, with sun-faded photos on the walls and worn carpeting. The bathrooms, however, sported sparkling-clean, vividly purple-and-white checkered floors, which I can imagine are rather hard to take after partaking in a couple of signature cocktails or a pitcher of sangria.

The menu is rather chaotic, with too many photos and colors to distract from too many lists: "Starters;" "Fajitas;" "Specialty Sandwiches;" "Burgers;" "Chicken Sandwiches;" "Chicken;" "Wings;" "Silver Sides;" "Seafood;" "Salads;" "Soups;" "Miner Joe's Favorites;" and "Steaks." After spending several minutes perusing this mess, we decided to start with the fried pickles, because they were new to us. And who doesn't like fried food?

Fried pickles

While the idea was good, the flavor was very commercial. The pickles were from a jar, the breading was very thick and crunchy but rather flavorless, and the "country mustard sauce" promised on the menu was actually a Thousand Island-style dressing, presented in one of those lidded to-go cups used for tartar sauce or salad dressing. The real kicker was the price - a whopping six whole spears for $6.99. For that much they could have bothered to put the sauce in a non-disposable container.

On to our entrées.

Baltimore Reuben

After going back and forth, trying to decide if I wanted to be pedestrian and order a crab cake in order to take advantage of the $14.99 soup/entree/dessert "complete dinner" deal, or order one of the interesting-sounding sandwiches, I opted for a sandwich. The Baltimore Reuben looked good on paper, certainly better than it looked in person: two stacked slices of marble rye spread with Thousand Island and topped with a big ol' blob of mostly shell-free shredded crabmeat, a couple of nicely-cooked (probably steamed) shrimp, three slices of bacon, a slice of tomato, and some Cheddar Jack cheese. The only resemblance to an actual Reuben sandwich was the bread and dressing.

I had forgotten how the combination of crab and bacon can sometimes taste...funky...so I remedied that problem by peeling off the cheese and tomato (oh, that tomato! a razor-thin slice of nearly-white supermarket blandness that is a sin even during the Winter, but worthy of eternal damnation during tomato season), eating the bacon, then replacing the cheese. Without the bacon, the sandwich was...ok. There was a generous amount of crab, but I would have preferred a smaller amount of higher-quality meat, so the texture wouldn't be as...squishy.

All sandwiches come with fries, but I opted for a substitution of cole slaw. It was ok - a little mayonnaisey, but not bad. I probably should have chosen the garden salad or fresh zucchini medley to add some color to the dish. That is, color in addition to the sprinkling of whatever it was sprinkled clumsily around the edges of the plate. So Emeril Lagasse, ca. 1998, not to mention completely unnecessary on a plate containing a sandwich and a side dish that comes in a small bowl. It's not like dust is going to make things look more appetizing.

Jambalaya

Despite knowing full well that jambalaya is a rice dish, not a sauce-over-rice dish, Mr Minx went for SSMCo's version anyway. The "jambalaya" was pleasant, if not authentic, and contained a generous portion of chicken breast chunks, shrimp, and slices of spicy Andouille sausage in a tomato-based creole sauce, with garlic toast on the side. It was certainly better than my choice.

While I wasn't exactly happy with our meal, Silver Spring Mining Company has many fans - enough to support locations in Hunt Valley and Bel Air, as well as the flagship restaurant on Belair Road in Perry Hall. While we were eating, a party of six or so came in to celebrate a birthday and judging by their familiarity with the menu, they were regulars.

I'm pretty sure that's not a label that will ever be pinned on me.

Silver Spring Mining Company
8634 Belair Rd
Nottingham, MD 21236
(410) 256-6809

* 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!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Pappas

Pappas Restaurant has been around since 1972. Even today, Joe Mannix (splendidly attired in a large-scale Glen plaid sportscoat) would be perfectly at home in the main dining room, grooving to Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. Mike Connors is 87; I'm not saying that's the average age of Pappas' diners, but Mr Minx and I were definitely among the youngest people in the place, nearly half-full at 5:30 on a Thursday.

The menu probably hasn't changed all that much in the last forty years, apart from the additions of jalapeno poppers, chicken wings, and tiramisu in the 80s, fried calamari and orange roughy in the 90s. The rest is old-school Baltimore: seafood, steaks, and Italian-style dishes, served with two veg or a salad and one veg, presented in little side bowls, diner-style. The big draw at Pappas is the crab cake, a monstrous 8oz pile of colossal lump crab that was featured on the cover of Baltimore Magazine's July 2009 issue.

But first, soup.

We each had a bowl of Pappas' Maryland crab soup. The flavorful and well-seasoned tomato-y broth was chock full of vegetables including miraculously non-mushy lima beans. I would have liked some more crab, but overall, the soup was pretty good.

The first time we went to Pappas was last Spring, while we were writing the Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore. I ordered the broiled scallops, which were bland and overcooked. Mr Minx ordered the crab cake, and loved it. This time, I got the crab cake and he ordered stuffed shrimp, a childhood favorite. 

Three jumbo shrimp were broiled and topped with a huge mound of crab imperial, and broiled again. The imperial - which was pleasantly moist but not over-mayonnaised - had a nice brown glaze from the broiler, but the shrimp, which had been cooked twice at this point, were a little tough. 

My crab cake was impressively large and bursting with huge chunks of crab. The binder tasted like a mixture of mayo and mustard, and there was little, if any, crab spice, so the naturally sweet flavor of the crab shone through. One of my main issues with crab cakes made with huge lumps of crab is that if breading is used, it presents itself as pockets of mush that serve as spackle between the pieces of meat. This was the case with my cake at Pappas. One of my other issues is dryness, but Pappas' crab cake was nicely moist.

Our sides were fine. The broccoli was served plain, unseasoned, but had been perfectly cooked. Mr Minx's fries were standard issue. My "jackknife" potato, which I had ordered because I had no idea what it was, ended up being a fluffy mashed potato-like creation flavored with bacon and paprika and broiled until the top had a bit of crispness.

Overall, it was a good meal. We appreciated the dish of cool, crisp, sliced cucumbers and celery that we nibbled as we perused the menu. The service was attentive but not obtrusive. And the food was good. If you're looking for something fancy, go elsewhere, but if you want something that resembles a mountain of crab meat, then Pappas is your place.

Pappas
1725 Taylor Ave
Parkville, MD 21234
(410) 661-4357
http://www.pappasparkville.com/





Posted on Minxeats.com.

Someone's Mad at Outback

Another "Real Actors Read Yelp" video. Funny stuff.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Real Actors Read Restaurant Reviews

Love it or hate it, reading Yelp reviews can be very entertaining. They're even more entertaining when read by professional actors.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

The Black Olive

The first time we went to the Black Olive, the prices scared us so much, we practically ran out of the restaurant. The second time, I went for Restaurant Week with my friend Melinda. After having heard so many wonderful things about the place, I expected spectacular. What we got was merely good.

I think my biggest problem with the Black Olive is the outrageous prices. This is not a restaurant that needs to pay for lots of expensive equipment, like immersion circulators and antigriddles. It's a restaurant that serves pretty simple fare. Yet, a bowl of tzatziki - yogurt with dill, lemon, garlic, and olive oil - costs $8. A single, simply grilled fish averages $30. Crazy. But, we still went there for dinner one night.

I figured that if we ordered a series of mezze and one fish dish, we could get out of there without breaking the bank. As it turned out, I was right. The appetizer platter included four spreads (tarama, tzatziki, melitzanasalata, and hummus) with some olives and feta cheese. It was $22 (!), but with a basket of outrageously good olive bread (ok, a basket and a half) it was a meal in itself. Each of the spreads was rich and thick. The hummus was strongly flavored with parsley and dill, the eggplants in the melitzanasalata had obviously been grilled, and the tarama was surprisingly un-fishy.

We also tried an order of the bread pudding, made with the house olive bread. It was incredible - soft yet crusty.

We also ordered the whole St Peter's fish, aka John Dory. It wasn't too pretty after it came out of the saute pan, but after our waiter deboned it tableside, it became a beautiful thing. This fish has a mild, buttery, flavor and a somewhat firm texture. The skin is flavorless, so completely edible. It was served with a simple sauce made from olive oil and lemon juice and accompanied by a very tart vegetable slaw. We really enjoyed it.

We enjoyed everything, actually. And we were very full at meal's end. The bill was $67 - cheaper than other recent meals and, comparatively, worth every penny. We get it now.

Black Olive
814 S Bond St
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 276-7141
theblackolive.com


Posted on Minxeats.com.

7 West Bistro Grille

Mr Minx and I had a Chewpon to World of Crepes, but couldn't find the place (turns out it had changed names) so we ended up across York Road at 7 West Bistro Grille. (Not sure if it's really a bistro or a grill, or if it really needs that extra "e.") We had heard good things about the place, were hungry, and there it was.

The space is rather cavernous, with high ceilings and exposed brick walls. The front half of the restaurant is the bar area, and by 6:30 it was full of noisy post-work revelers getting their drink on. I can only imagine how loud the place gets when it's completely packed.

We were led to a table in the back, which was quieter, at least for a while. One good thing about arriving during Happy Hour is that the half price appetizer discount applies to the whole restaurant, and not just the bar area. We ordered the dip sampler, which including taramosalata, tzatziki, eggplant dip, and hummus and wedges of warm pita. "Dip" is rather misleading, as the four thick-textured items on the plate would be better described as "spreads." That said, they were all quite tasty, particularly the smooth and garlicky hummus. Between the spreads, bread basket, and bowl of fruity olive oil, we got full pretty fast.

Then the entrées came out. Mr Minx ordered the whole branzino (the menu calls it bronzini, but I'm partial to the Italian term for this European sea bass) with rice pilaf and broccoli, and I couldn't pass up the evening's crab cake special.

The crab cake was huge, full of jumbo lumps. Honestly, I don't really get the appeal of jumbo lump crab cakes. The huge chunks of crab tend to be dry, and unless a goodly amount of breading is used to mortar them together, the thing falls apart. Maybe tourists like them. Anyhoo...7 West's crab cake wasn't too dry, and there wasn't an extreme amount of breading, but overall, I didn't think it had much flavor. My side of green beans, however, were extremely flavorful, redolent of tomato and mint. The broccoli was a bit undercooked for my taste. However, the whole shebang was $12.95, and I had enough left over for a hefty lunch the next day, so I really shouldn't complain that much.

Mr Minx's branzino came to the table whole - with head and tail - and piping hot, with crispy skin and fluffy flesh. It was also full of bones. (For $24, I think I have every right to expect the fish to be boned. After all, I paid $24 for a three course lunch at a very nice restaurant in New York that served their branzino boned.) The accompanying rice pilaf tasted reheated. Honestly, if you can't make rice properly, don't serve it at all.

I have mixed feelings about this meal. Some elements were very good, and they were the Mediterranean-style ones - the spreads, the green beans. The branzino was well cooked, but sloppily presented. The crab cake was certainly better than some I've had recently and well worth the price, but it could have been better. Perhaps if we had stuck to the Greek items on the menu, we would have had a more successful meal. Maybe next time.

7 West Bistro Grille
7 W Chesapeake Ave
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 337-9378
http://7westbistro.com



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Yama Sushi

A recent batch of U.S. Junk Mail included a menu for a new sushi restaurant in Roland Park called Yama. You can't swing a cat in North Baltimore without hitting a sushi joint...so it's a good thing cats like fish. :) Fortunately, we love sushi and decided to check it out.

The restaurant is in a long narrow space in the former Super Fresh-cum-Fresh Green soon-to-be Giant shopping center on 41st Street between Roland Avenue and Falls Road. The walls are a dark orange and the lighting is sparse, so it's vaguely gloomy inside, particularly on a rainy night, but don't let that stop you - the sushi is good - and reasonably priced.

As per usual in a sushi restaurant, our eyes are far bigger than our stomachs (which are pretty big) and we ordered far too much food. Thankfully the portions at Yama are Japanese-sized, meaning we didn't have to do battle with giant American-sized rolls and slabs of fish.

While we waited for our vegetable tempura and miso soup, our waitress brought us tiny dishes of marinated cucumbers. I've never had an amuse in a sushi restaurant, and thought this was a nice touch.

We enjoyed the miso soup, which was a bit more flavorful than most, and the vegetable tempura, which was nicely crisp and came with a mildly-sweet soy-based dipping sauce.

Then came the very fresh sushi. First some nigiri...

White Tuna, Salmon, Tuna, Yellowtail Nigiri

...and then a platter of rolls. We ordered four rolls, two fancy ones and two that were more simple. And as if we didn't already have too much food, the restaurant included a fancy roll on the house.

Upper left: Spicy Scallop roll. Bottom: Super Duper roll.
Top: Salad roll. Center: Pearl roll and Spicy Girl roll.

The spicy scallop roll - the favorite of the night - was a simple preparation of chopped raw scallop flavored with a bit of Sriracha and wrapped inside-out. The "Super Duper" roll contained grilled salmon, eel, and avocado. I think it would have worked better without the addition of eel sauce, which made the nori a bit soggy. Another favorite, the "Spicy Girl," contained shrimp tempura and crab stick and was topped with spicy tuna. The "Pearl" was a little more involved, with fried oyster, cream cheese, avocado, and crab stick on the inside, and tobiko and shrimp on top. Unfortunately, the cream cheese overpowered the rest of the ingredients, but the roll did have a nice crunch from the oyster. We also enjoyed the complimentary "Salad" roll, which contained shrimp tempura, white tuna, red snapper, and crab stick, topped with seaweed salad.

We ordered green tea to wash everything down. Tea bags always annoy me, but I couldn't be too upset because the mugs were absolutely darling. As was the service.

We used a $5 coupon that came with the mailing, so our dinner was only $57 - not bad at all. We'll definitely be back.

Yama Sushi Bar
1030 W. 41 Street Suite F1
Baltimore, MD 21211
(410) 235-6888
http://www.yamasushibarmaryland.com/



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Silver Spring Mining Company

Before last week, Mr Minx and I had eaten at Silver Spring Mining Company exactly once - in the late 90s. Back then, before we got married, we spent most Friday evenings in the company of married friends who were on the Atkins diet. These two were the kind of people who could and would talk endlessly (and of course didactically) about their diet, as if it was the most important, interesting, and indeed, only topic of conversation on Earth. Certainly the only diet. They loved SSMCo because they could get a steak and a cup of onion soup without the crouton and be in high protein-and-fat heaven. Bored by all of it, I'm afraid I remember absolutely nothing about that meal apart from having to wait for a table, and watching our friends greedily slurp up hot onion soup.

Our friends lost weight, divorced, got fat again, and are now completely out of the (our) picture. Without the distraction of their snooze-worthy dinner conversation, Mr Minx and I revisited the Mining Company one recent weekday because 1) we happened to be in the area; and 2) it was dinnertime.

Because it was early, we had the place pretty much to ourselves and were able to take in the scenery. Despite having been open only since 1995, Silver Spring Mining Company has the look of a far older and more established restaurant, with sun-faded photos on the walls and worn carpeting. The bathrooms, however, sported sparkling-clean, vividly purple-and-white checkered floors, which I can imagine are rather hard to take after partaking in a couple of signature cocktails or a pitcher of sangria.

The menu is rather chaotic, with too many photos and colors to distract from too many lists: "Starters;" "Fajitas;" "Specialty Sandwiches;" "Burgers;" "Chicken Sandwiches;" "Chicken;" "Wings;" "Silver Sides;" "Seafood;" "Salads;" "Soups;" "Miner Joe's Favorites;" and "Steaks." After spending several minutes perusing this mess, we decided to start with the fried pickles, because they were new to us. And who doesn't like fried food?

Fried pickles

While the idea was good, the flavor was very commercial. The pickles were from a jar, the breading was very thick and crunchy but rather flavorless, and the "country mustard sauce" promised on the menu was actually a Thousand Island-style dressing, presented in one of those lidded to-go cups used for tartar sauce or salad dressing. The real kicker was the price - a whopping six whole spears for $6.99. For that much they could have bothered to put the sauce in a non-disposable container.

On to our entrées.

Baltimore Reuben

After going back and forth, trying to decide if I wanted to be pedestrian and order a crab cake in order to take advantage of the $14.99 soup/entree/dessert "complete dinner" deal, or order one of the interesting-sounding sandwiches, I opted for a sandwich. The Baltimore Reuben looked good on paper, certainly better than it looked in person: two stacked slices of marble rye spread with Thousand Island and topped with a big ol' blob of mostly shell-free shredded crabmeat, a couple of nicely-cooked (probably steamed) shrimp, three slices of bacon, a slice of tomato, and some Cheddar Jack cheese. The only resemblance to an actual Reuben sandwich was the bread and dressing.

I had forgotten how the combination of crab and bacon can sometimes taste...funky...so I remedied that problem by peeling off the cheese and tomato (oh, that tomato! a razor-thin slice of nearly-white supermarket blandness that is a sin even during the Winter, but worthy of eternal damnation during tomato season), eating the bacon, then replacing the cheese. Without the bacon, the sandwich was...ok. There was a generous amount of crab, but I would have preferred a smaller amount of higher-quality meat, so the texture wouldn't be as...squishy.

All sandwiches come with fries, but I opted for a substitution of cole slaw. It was ok - a little mayonnaisey, but not bad. I probably should have chosen the garden salad or fresh zucchini medley to add some color to the dish. That is, color in addition to the sprinkling of whatever it was sprinkled clumsily around the edges of the plate. So Emeril Lagasse, ca. 1998, not to mention completely unnecessary on a plate containing a sandwich and a side dish that comes in a small bowl. It's not like dust is going to make things look more appetizing.

Jambalaya

Despite knowing full well that jambalaya is a rice dish, not a sauce-over-rice dish, Mr Minx went for SSMCo's version anyway. The "jambalaya" was pleasant, if not authentic, and contained a generous portion of chicken breast chunks, shrimp, and slices of spicy Andouille sausage in a tomato-based creole sauce, with garlic toast on the side. It was certainly better than my choice.

While I wasn't exactly happy with our meal, Silver Spring Mining Company has many fans - enough to support locations in Hunt Valley and Bel Air, as well as the flagship restaurant on Belair Road in Perry Hall. While we were eating, a party of six or so came in to celebrate a birthday and judging by their familiarity with the menu, they were regulars.

I'm pretty sure that's not a label that will ever be pinned on me.

Silver Spring Mining Company
8634 Belair Rd
Nottingham, MD 21236
(410) 256-6809


Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Spice and Dice

We Minxes love Thai food and ever since the demise of our regular haunt, Bangkok Place, we're always on the lookout for a new favorite. While we really enjoyed a meal at Bangkok Garden, being in Columbia makes it a bit of a haul and not exactly good for any spur-of-the-moment meal decisions. Recently, Mr Minx received a coupon for a place called Spice & Dice, located in a nondescript office park on Joppa Road about halfway between Goucher and Loch Raven Boulevards. That's not far from us, so we made a point to have dinner there one recent Tuesday evening. 

Spice & Dice has a bright and happy interior that, sans tables, would work well as a daycare center. Ignore, however, the many colors and patterns on the walls and concentrate instead on the menu which has a large selection of appetizers, plus curries, stir-fries, and noodle dishes. On our first trip, we sampled the fish cakes and the chicken laab from the appetizer section, plus the gingery chicken ped king and the vibrantly-spiced duck with basil sauce, all washed down with generously-sized glasses of sweet and milky Thai iced tea. After that successful experience, we vowed to visit again soon, this time with camera in tow.

A few weeks later, we met my father and brother for dinner at Spice & Dice. After taking some time perusing the many interesting menu options, Dad opted for the jasmine rice soup followed by pad thai with pork. The soup was outstanding, its light broth tangy with lemongrass and full of tender chicken. The pad thai was a fine rendition of the ubiquitous noodle dish, served with an extra helping of crushed peanuts on the side.

Jasmine Rice Soup

Pad Thai with Pork

We also sampled two appetizers, the chicken teriyaki dumplings and fried calamari. The dumplings were drizzled with an unfortunately goopy sweet sauce that did nothing for them and were otherwise forgettable. The calamari was slightly chewy, as it often is when served in the diamond-scored-rectangular chunks that tend to be typical of Asian restaurants, but was otherwise tasty, particularly when dipped in the lightly spicy pink mayo-based sauce.

Chicken Teriyaki Dumplings - pretty but meh.

Happy Calamari

As fans of Thai basil, my brother and I both ordered dishes that featured that ingredient. Or so we thought. His chicken with basil dish displayed no evidence of that herb's presence, but otherwise had a lively garlic flavor.

Chicken in Basil Sauce

My dish, shrimp with eggplant, contained a decent amount of basil leaves in a sweet-ish sauce that had partly been absorbed by the chunks of bright purple Asian eggplant. It was a bit inconvenient to eat the tail-on shrimp, but otherwise I happily hoovered up this dish, lusciously-sauced romaine leaves and all.

Eggplant and Shrimp with Basil

Mr Minx opted for the jungle curry, a preparation that contains none of the coconut milk present in other Thai curries. It had a very distinctive and unusual herbal flavor, predominately galangal and ginger, and was quite unlike any other Thai dish we've tried.

Jungle Curry with Pork

Some of the dishes at Spice & Dice are a bit on the sweet side - probably a nod to American palates - and the teriyaki dumplings were nothing special, but everything else was quite delicious.

While the decor was busy, the restaurant was not. I hope more people find this cute spot and stop by for a meal so it'll stay around long enough for us to become regulars.

Spice and Dice Thai Restaurant
1220 E Joppa Rd #108
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 494-8777



Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Havana Road

On a recent weekend, Mr Minx and I decided to check out the new Cuban restaurant in Towson, Havana Road. Who would have thought that such a cute little restaurant existed in one of the fairly small and otherwise generic storefronts on Pennsylvania Avenue? The decor is somehow both homey and modern, with mismatched tables and chairs in a cozy room with dark red walls adorned with posters and photos of Cuba, a black-painted ceiling strung with tiny lights to mimic a night sky, and bark-shaded pendant lamps. Each table is decorated with an old cigar box and a single fresh flower in a simple glass vase. We immediately felt at home, except that we chose the wrong chairs in which to sit - beware the high-backed straw-seated ones that are not meant for lingering.

For those who are unfamiliar with Cuban cuisine, it derives from a melange of Spanish, African, and Caribbean influences. The Spanish influence was apparent in the shrimp and garlic sauce appetizer from the specials menu; we also sampled the black bean soup.

Havana Road's rendition of the former was fairly simple: perfectly cooked shrimp relaxing in a bowl of warm, very garlicky oil, with lightly toasted bread on the side. I liked the way that the garlic was skillfully cooked so it was toasty and brown but not burnt, giving the oil a rich mellow flavor.

The black bean soup was even more simple, at least in appearance. Mr Minx says it resembled a bowl of very well-used motor oil. Although unattractive, the soup was quite nice; somehow hearty and delicate at the same time, mostly smooth-textured, and well-seasoned with a hint of cumin.

For our entrées, we tried the classic Cubano sandwich, made with slow-roasted Cuban pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mustard, and pickle, pressed on traditional Cuban bread, with a container of mojo sauce and plantain chips on the side. The combination of ingredients in a Cubano may seem ordinary, but the result was anything but - it's melty hot, gooey, but not greasy, and the onion/garlic/lime kick of the mojo gave the sandwich a bright kick.

The ropa vieja--a dish of beef cooked so long and slow the meat falls into rope-like strands--was rich and hearty, and came accompanied by caramelized sweet plaintains, a bowl of black beans that was much like a solid version of the soup, and some plain (rather uninteresting) rice. The portion was so large, most of it was relegated to a doggie bag to be eaten later in the week.

We also tried an order of the yuca fries - fingers of cassava fried until crisp on the outside and fluffy yet chewy on the inside - much better than most restaurant French fries I've had and definitely worth getting - and glasses of their fruit tea, a refreshing quaff that tasted mostly of citrus.

Overall, we were quite happy with our meal, but then we are big fans of garlic. If you are, too, you won't be disappointed with Havana Road.

Havana Road
8 W Pennsylvania Avenue
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 494-8222

Baltimore's 50 Best Restaurants - Revisited

Back in April, I posted this link to Baltimore Magazine's list of the Best Restaurants of 2010. At that point in time, I realized I had not been to very many on the list (17 of 50). I vowed that Mr Minx and I would turn over a new leaf by trying at least one new-to-us restaurant every month for the remainder of the year.

I dare say we've been quite successful in our quest. While only five of the restaurants we've visited since April are on the list*, we've also eaten in nine other local restaurants that we had not tried in the past.

May
The Brewer's Art*

June
Talara
Bangkok Garden

July
Tangier's
Red Pearl
B'More Pizza, Subs, & Kebab

August
B&O American Brasserie*
The Chameleon Cafe*
Jack's Bistro*

September
Clementine*

October
Bluegrass Tavern

November
Langermann's

December
Demi (at Crush)
The Dogwood

Now it's 2011, and we're going to try to keep the same pace - there are still many area restaurants that we have not yet tried. Do you have any suggestions?

B&O American Brasserie

B&O American Brasserie, at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco, recently added some yummy-sounding new offerings to their dinner menu. Mr Minx and I were invited to partake of a complimentary meal to sample some of the new fare.

This was our first visit to the restaurant, and I was surprised at how somber the surroundings are. It was a bit like dining in a Medieval castle that just happened to have a rather lively bar. Despite that initial chilly feeling, the staff were all very warm and welcoming and I immediately felt comfortable, especially after being ensconced in one of the semi-private banquette tables at the back of the upstairs dining room.

We started off with beverages, an appropriately summery Modena Market cocktail with flavors of strawberry, white balsamic, and basil. It was quite savory, and a perfect drink to pair with food. Mr Minx chose a drink called "Mischief," which tasted primarily of lime on a smoky background of Laphroaig Scotch.

A restaurant located in a hotel often must act as the hotel dining room, serving three meals a day and catering to the fairly staid tastebuds of the garden-variety hotel patron. But B&Os menu is far from ordinary, offering inventive dishes that are attractive to diners from beyond the neighborhood, as well as interesting twists on standbys like roast chicken and shrimp cocktail. It's actually quite the foodie destination.

The basket of delicious crusty bread and rich yet ethereal butter adorned with green crystals of house-made basil salt cemented this notion. While not made in-house, the quality of the bread was impeccable, and honestly I could have made a meal out of it and a salad. But I was there to experience the full breadth of the menu, was I not?

After perusing the menu online and asking for recommendations from people who have eaten at B&O, I decided that I would...nay that I needed to taste the smoked pork belly with banana-lentil salad, crispy pig ear, & chili-caramel. For one thing, I love pork belly. For another - bananas and lentils? You're kidding me.

I made a Very Good Choice. The pork belly had it all: a lovely smoked flavor, one more prominent than in average store-bought bacon; tender meat; succulent fat; and a sticky-crispy layer of skin on top. It was a real bacon-lover's dish. The odd-sounding lentil and banana combination was shockingly good; its hint of lemon rind really brought all of the disparate flavors together. The only thing I was missing was the crispy pig's ear....

The flatbreads had been strongly recommended and Mr Minx couldn't pass up the version with duck confit, asparagus, cherries, and foie gras. A word of warning to those who plan to follow suit - the flatbreads are HUGE and are best shared or eaten as an entree with a lighter starter. Essentially they are personal-sized pizzas.

While we really enjoyed the crisp/chewy crust on this funky pizza, we felt the balance of flavors was a little off. The cheese overpowered the duck. The cherries also paled in its presence and served merely as textures. However, the little nuggets of foie gras hidden here and there were fun treasures to find.

For my entree, I chose the "Buffalo" duck with grilled watermelon, slaw, and "tater tots." Hello, World's Best Tater Tots! They reminded me of my grandma's placki (potato pancakes) in their overwhelmingly potatoey potato-ness. A shame I only got three of the little guys, because I did have to share them with my carb-a-holic but otherwise lovely husband.

The word "Buffalo" would seem to indicate a spicy, saucy preparation accompanied by bleu cheese and celery, but in this dish it was merely a light application of heat, mostly found on the watermelon. Yes, spicy watermelon works! The duck itself was fall-off-the-bone tender and quite nice.

Mr Minx opted to try the bacon-wrapped Amberjack with corn-cherry succotash, string beans & beer-foie gras vinaigrette. Amberjack is a somewhat firm and meaty fish that takes well to smoking, and the bacon in this dish did indeed imbue the fish with lots of smoky flavor. The fish was moist and tender but I wish the bacon had been crisper. Perhaps that would have been hard to achieve without overcooking the fish. Despite the presence of a generous quantity of bacon, this was a nice, light, summer-y dish.

I wanted to try one of the sides that came from the same brick oven in which the flatbreads were cooked and ordered the roasted string beans with cashews and cherry dressing. It was the only real disappointment of the evening. Or perhaps I should say it was not what I expected. While the beans were perfectly cooked, they didn't have any particular roasty-ness. And the overly-large whole cashew and cherry topping added nothing while making the dish a bit awkward to eat. Part of that was probably due as well to the wee skillet in which it was served.

Although we were pretty stuffed by this point, and I was taking a whole duck leg's worth of meat home for lunch the next day, we had to try dessert.

I heard great things about the bing cherry white corn "upside-down" cake with caramel corn and sweet corn ice cream. The cake was very much like a sweetened corn bread, studded with corn kernels and surrounded by cherries. Honestly, I've never before had a meal that contained so many cherries (probably because I am allergic to them - heh - thankfully only raw ones) and was happy to have the opportunity to eat them in something that wasn't pie. The corn ice cream was more subtly-flavored than I expected. Had I not known it was corn-flavored, I wouldn't have guessed. But it was nice with the caramel corn. In fact, I could have eaten the ice cream and caramel corn and been completely satisfied.

Another warning - if you've eaten an appetizer and an entrée, you may want to share a dessert. Like the flatbreads, they are quite generously-proportioned.

I wanted to try another one of B&O's inventive ice creams so urged Mr Minx to order the butterscotch pudding tart with gingerbread crumble and caramel balsamic ice cream. I thought that the gingerbread component had the perfect blend of spices. And Mr Minx enjoyed the dish so much, he requested it for Thanksgiving dinner!

While the meal had small issues here and there, it was largely quite delicious, with lots of intriguing sweet/savory contrasts. I'd pay to eat that pork belly again and again. And I might have to do just that before the menu changes again.

B&O American Brasserie
2 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-692-6172