Throwback Thursday: Best of 2017, Part One - Restaurant Food

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on January 1, 2018.

I get sad looking back on some of these posts and seeing dishes I can no longer get my hands on (or sink my teeth into). Like that beet reuben--Pen and Quill is long gone. Or anything from Smoke, though the former owner is hinting that he's planning a re-do. Hunan Taste is also gone, and the owners owe my brother $100 for the gift card he bought before they closed their other restaurant (a hot pot joint in Timonium). I've threatened to make the zucchini bread from The Turn House many times, but have never followed through. Thankfully, I can still get the tempura broccoli from Ekiben and the pambazo from Fiesta Mexicana anytime I want.

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Welcome to our annual round-up of our favorite dishes from 2017! This first post will include all the restaurant dishes we enjoyed last year. Not all of them were written about here on Minxeats; some were Instagram-only posts (they'll be the ones without links). We tend to eat at the same restaurants over and over, so it makes more sense to post pretty photos than to write repetitive posts (which we are also known to do!).  (I know the photos seem blurry, but if you click on them to get a larger version, I promise those will be much more in focus!)

So. Many. Parentheses. Sorry.

February

The tempura broccoli from Ekiben is a flavor revelation! If you haven't tried it, what on earth are you waiting for? Be sure to order it with the optional Chinese sausage, unless of course you are a vegetarian.

March

Everything at Hersh's, especially the housemade pasta, like this tagliolini with shrimp and lemon breadcrumbs. And the pizza. Always get a pizza.

April

I loved the smoked beet reuben at Pen & Quill. Though the chef that created it is gone, it's currently on the online menu; if you're lucky, they really still do have them. A perfect reuben, with all the gooey cheese and tangy sauerkraut, with beets instead of beef.

At the B & O American Brasserie, the agnolotti with smoked carrots, morels, onions, and peas really floated my boat. Smoked carrots! Everything else we tried from the Spring menu was pretty delicious, including sweetbreads that nobody else seemed to like (they took them off the menu fairly quickly) and luscious lamb ribs.

May

We've tried all the sandwiches at Smoke, and the Boss Dawg is my favorite. It's got everything one needs in a sandwich: pulled pork, house-cured bacon, cheddar, slaw, crispy onions, jalapeno-bacon glaze, and pickles.

While our entire seafood-forward meal at By the Docks was really great, I can't stop thinking about the baklava cheesecake. BAKLAVA CHEESECAKE.

OMG the fried oysters and artichoke veloute at La Cuchara. Mr Minx thought they were the best fried oysters he had ever eaten. I concur.

June

While I was quite disappointed with the soft shell crab roll I had there in the same meal, Azumi's age dashi tofu was tender, crisp, and loaded with umami. Outstanding. Enough to lure me back to try more? Maybe.

July

The brisket the Turn House served at a media dinner in July was the best fuxxing brisket I have ever eaten.

Ditto for their zucchini bread, which was served with molasses butter. Find the recipe for both at Savory Experiments.

August

I normally don't order chocolate desserts in restaurants because they can often be too rich. But we couldn't resist this warm chocolate chess pie at Nickel Taphouse. Even my brother, who claims he's not a dessert person, couldn't help but assist in the demolition of this gooey delight.

This tomato water bloody Mary served at a lovely al fresco dinner held by Copper Kitchen was the best damn bloody Mary I have ever had. And it's dead simple.

Do you like sweetbreads? I sure do, and this pile of perfectly cooked specimens with a lemony sauce was served up at the Bluebird Cocktail Room one happy Happy Hour.

November

Back at B & O again, the Buffalo Pig Tails were dyn-o-mite (as was everything else).

We were invited to a Friendsgiving dinner at the Turn House where we had a lot of really fine food, but my favorite item of the evening was this chocolate nut pie. It wasn't too sweet, nor too chocolatey. I know--no such thing as too chocolatey for some folks, but there is for me.

We always go to Hunan Taste around my birthday. This year, we might have had the best meal there ever. The twice-cooked pork was fantastic and something we'll definitely order again to go with our usual Sichuan green beans and beef on toothpicks (seen in the background).

December

I've eaten the Buffalo brussels sprouts at Nickel Taphouse a few times this year, and they are always dynamite. So flavorful!

The pambazo at Fiesta Mexicana is definitely worth writing home about. I ordered mine with "milanesa" or breaded beef, and my mouth was very happy. Can't wait to get back there again where I just might order the same thing.

Hope you enjoyed reminiscing with us. Here's hoping for a delicious 2018!



Posted on Minxeats.com.



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Posted on Minxeats.com.

Best of 2022

I suppose it's not surprising that we didn't do a "best of" post for 2020 or 2021. Not that we didn't eat well those years--we did. We were just in a totally different groove, and blogging wasn't part of it. But we're back in the swing of things here at Minxeats--at least I am, not sure when Mr Minx will start adding his twenty-five cents (inflation!) to the blog. In any case, this post represents my thoughts on the best foods we consumed this year, both at home and in restaurants. Here's a TL;DR if you're not up to scrolling to the bottom: many of the items seem to be sandwiches or pizza. 

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. This post contains many images of food. You may find yourself drooling uncontrollably. Minxeats takes no responsibility for your actions after viewing.

January

pollo catalana @La Barra  

My BFF Andree and I went to New York in January to spend some quality time together. One of the best things we ate was a dish of chicken and plums, aka pollo Catalana, at La Barra, a restaurant within Jose Andres' Little Spain in the Hudson Yards complex. 

February

roasted cauliflower with babaganoush and other stuff.

Roasted cauliflower is a regular in the Minx household and I try to make a different version every time. This was my favorite, which involved a Stonewall Kitchens feta spread. Find the recipe here.

March 

salmon @La Calle

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: La Calle makes the best salmon in Baltimore. It's always moist, with crispy skin, and perfect seasoning. I think I ate it twice in 2022, which is not nearly enough times.

pork belly @Kung Fu 12

The Shanghai braised pork belly at Kung Fu 12 in Towson is so rich and luscious, with the perfect ratio of fat to meat. If you're not a fan of fatty foods, or somewhat gelatinous textures, you may not go for this, but that kind of food is right up my alley. 

loaded yuca fries @La Food Marketa

Another dish I ate at least twice in 2022 was the loaded yuca fries at La Food Marketa. Crispy planks of fried yuca are mounded with a pile of shredded beef short rib, drenched in queso, and topped with a fried egg. $13. Cheap and delicious, and one of my all-time fave restaurant dishes.

bone marrow crab dip @True Chesapeake

Another dish we ate multiple times in 2022 (at least thrice) is the outrageous bone marrow and blue crab dip at True Chesapeake Oyster Company. It comes with just enough grilled crusty bread on which to spread the rich and decadent delight. 

April

motzi bread @Dutch Courage

I'm not a fan of smoked salmon, but Dutch Courage's tartine of salmon mousse with horseradish cream on locally baked bread from Motzi sounded pretty good. And tasted even better. The bread was incredible and I think I might make a real pig of myself if I ever got my hands on a whole loaf.

June 

June was a good month for eating! Especially pizza-eating.

pizza with smoked baby scallops, pancetta, pesto @Cosima

This is one of my all-time favorite pies, and if it's on the menu at Cosima, I order it. Normally I go there with a group and have to share my pie, but this time it was just me and my friend Kim. I ordered the capesante pizza as my entree and loved every bite of it.

kupati with rice @Tbiliso 

I stumbled upon Tbiliso, a Georgian restaurant, while poking around Google Maps. We tried several items on our first visit (and need to go back and try more), and this sausage dish was my favorite. 

morcilla with eggs @Spanish Diner

I know blood sausage isn't everybody's thing, but I grew up eating kiszka, a Polish blood sausage. I was in the mood for a simple lunch after slogging around the Fancy Food Show so stopped into Spanish Diner at Hudson Yards for an order of fried eggs with crusty bread and these lovely patties of morcilla. So good, especially with sangria and a flan chaser.

jambalaya pizza @Earth, Wood, & Fire

Another of my favorite pies is the Jambalaya pizza at Earth, Wood, & Fire, jam packed with andouille, chicken, shrimp, and jalapenos. It's spicy, but not too, and tastes remarkably like its namesake rice dish.

Everything pizza @Squire's

Squire's has always been one of my favorite places for pizza, and theirs is not quite like others in town. The crust is drier and firmer, and the sauce is sweet and herby. I love it piled with all the meats and mushrooms, aka the "everything" but without the green pepper (which ruins it, IMHO).

July

patty melt @Nautilus Diner

Back in the day, all burgers at Friendly's were patty melts. I couldn't understand why they didn't have buns, only bread. Today, the patty melt--a burger on griddled rye with sauteed onions and preferably swiss cheese, 1000 island on the side--is one of my all-time faves. I hadn't tried Nautilus' version and am generally not impressed with most of their burgers, but I was in the mood and we were there.... And it was excellent, with just the right amount of greasy lusciousness. 

beef milanesa torta @R&R Taqueria Honeygo

Another one of my favorite sandwiches is the torta at R&R Taqueria, which I normally order with a breaded beef cutlet (Milanesa). It's also full of veggies, beans, and cheese. Far too big for one person, this sandwich is perfect for sharing. 

August

roasted cauliflower, meatballs, muhammara @home

I''ve been lazy in the kitchen this year, relying on stuff from the freezer (homemade soups and chilis) or leftover takeout. Sometimes I get creative, and this dish of meatballs and cauliflower with various Mediterranean sauces and seasonings was pretty darn delish.

sriracha lime dumplings and seafood pancake @Random Access

Another trip to New York meant another food fest. I had wanted to try Random Access, a new Thai restaurant in "my" K-Town neighborhood, but somehow couldn't squeeze it in on prior trips. This time, I feasted on these tangy, spicy, creamy, juicy, cilantro-y dumplings and a pancake/omelette thingy topped with various seafoods and more cilantro. All the bold flavors made my mouth happy.

mortadella sandwich @All'Antico Vinaio

Legendary Florentine sandwich shop All'Antico Vinaio has two outposts in Manhattan that serve up monstrously large sandwiches of Italian cold cuts on a focaccia-like bread. My La Paradiso, which included pistachio cream and pistachios as well as a kind of fresh mozzarella known as stracciatella, on a pile of thinly sliced mortadella, was easily enough for a small family. I admit I ate the whole thing.

October

lobster roll @Charly's

My friend Cyrus Keefer is currently the chef at Charly's Sue Creek, a new waterside restaurant in the wilds of Essex. He crams a whole chick lobster (1.5 lbs) into his succulent version of a Connecticut-style lobster roll. More, please.

black and bleu burger from Alonso's @home

Alonso's has the best burgers in town. Always fat, juicy, and perfectly cooked, on a super fresh roll with the perfect amount of cheese. Go try it if you haven't already.

November

cajun mac and cheese with pulled pork @Cajun Kate's

We've started a tradition of going to Cajun Kate's on my birthday (November 17, if you want to send gifts), and it's hard to leave there without trying the mac and cheese du jour. This particular day they had three varieties, and we ordered the most decadent. The creamy and very cheesy mac doesn't need a layer of smoky pulled pork, but now that I've tried it, it seems wrong to eat it any other way.

December

nonna pie @Underground Pizza Company

Our last pizza for the year came from Underground Pizza Company, which specializes in Detroit-style pies. Among the three variations we tried, our favorite was the Woodland, though the Nonna was pretty darn good. Love that vodka sauce!

peking duck on a bao bun @Kung Fu 12 Szechuan

Christmas Eve dinner at Kung Fu 12 involved half a Peking duck, which came with the option of pancakes or buns, and duck soup or crispy salt and pepper bones. The first time we had the duck there, we went for the soup and ended up bringing 2 quarts of stock home. Though it is soup season, I didn't want to have to think of what to do with all that duck stock (and it wasn't going to fit in our very full freezer), so we went with the bones. I didn't photograph it, because it was literally a plate of bones. Fried bones with crispy bits of juicy fat and skin that were a delight to eat. Though we had some other good stuff that night, I think the bones were my favorite thing on the table.

Best of 2017, Part One - Restaurant Food

Welcome to our annual round-up of our favorite dishes from 2017! This first post will include all the restaurant dishes we enjoyed last year. Not all of them were written about here on Minxeats; some were Instagram-only posts (they'll be the ones without links). We tend to eat at the same restaurants over and over, so it makes more sense to post pretty photos than to write repetitive posts (which we are also known to do!).  (I know the photos seem blurry, but if you click on them to get a larger version, I promise those will be much more in focus!)

So. Many. Parentheses. Sorry.

February

The tempura broccoli from Ekiben is a flavor revelation! If you haven't tried it, what on earth are you waiting for? Be sure to order it with the optional Chinese sausage, unless of course you are a vegetarian.

March

Everything at Hersh's, especially the housemade pasta, like this tagliolini with shrimp and lemon breadcrumbs. And the pizza. Always get a pizza.

April

I loved the smoked beet reuben at Pen & Quill. Though the chef that created it is gone, it's currently on the online menu; if you're lucky, they really still do have them. A perfect reuben, with all the gooey cheese and tangy sauerkraut, with beets instead of beef.

At the B & O American Brasserie, the agnolotti with smoked carrots, morels, onions, and peas really floated my boat. Smoked carrots! Everything else we tried from the Spring menu was pretty delicious, including sweetbreads that nobody else seemed to like (they took them off the menu fairly quickly) and luscious lamb ribs.

May

We've tried all the sandwiches at Smoke, and the Boss Dawg is my favorite. It's got everything one needs in a sandwich: pulled pork, house-cured bacon, cheddar, slaw, crispy onions, jalapeno-bacon glaze, and pickles.

While our entire seafood-forward meal at By the Docks was really great, I can't stop thinking about the baklava cheesecake. BAKLAVA CHEESECAKE.

OMG the fried oysters and artichoke veloute at La Cuchara. Mr Minx thought they were the best fried oysters he had ever eaten. I concur.

June

While I was quite disappointed with the soft shell crab roll I had there in the same meal, Azumi's age dashi tofu was tender, crisp, and loaded with umami. Outstanding. Enough to lure me back to try more? Maybe.

July

The brisket the Turn House served at a media dinner in July was the best fuxxing brisket I have ever eaten.

Ditto for their zucchini bread, which was served with molasses butter. Find the recipe for both at Savory Experiments.

August

I normally don't order chocolate desserts in restaurants because they can often be too rich. But we couldn't resist this warm chocolate chess pie at Nickel Taphouse. Even my brother, who claims he's not a dessert person, couldn't help but assist in the demolition of this gooey delight.

This tomato water bloody Mary served at a lovely al fresco dinner held by Copper Kitchen was the best damn bloody Mary I have ever had. And it's dead simple.

Do you like sweetbreads? I sure do, and this pile of perfectly cooked specimens with a lemony sauce was served up at the Bluebird Cocktail Room one happy Happy Hour.

November

Back at B & O again, the Buffalo Pig Tails were dyn-o-mite (as was everything else).

We were invited to a Friendsgiving dinner at the Turn House where we had a lot of really fine food, but my favorite item of the evening was this chocolate nut pie. It wasn't too sweet, nor too chocolatey. I know--no such thing as too chocolatey for some folks, but there is for me.

We always go to Hunan Taste around my birthday. This year, we might have had the best meal there ever. The twice-cooked pork was fantastic and something we'll definitely order again to go with our usual Sichuan green beans and beef on toothpicks (seen in the background).

December

I've eaten the Buffalo brussels sprouts at Nickel Taphouse a few times this year, and they are always dynamite. So flavorful!

The pambazo at Fiesta Mexicana is definitely worth writing home about. I ordered mine with "milanesa" or breaded beef, and my mouth was very happy. Can't wait to get back there again where I just might order the same thing.

Hope you enjoyed reminiscing with us. Here's hoping for a delicious 2018!



Posted on Minxeats.com.