Ray Lewis' Full Moon Bar-B-Que

Every year, my closest buddies and I like to celebrate our near-holidays birthdays together. This year we chose to do so on November 30th. That was a Sunday, and no Sunday is complete without a Ravens game, so we headed to Ray Lewis' tax shelter restaurant in Canton for some ribs and Joe Flacco on the tube. Let me just say that Ray's isn't a place to go to for food.

We knew we were going to be there most of the afternoon, so we paced ourselves. Our waitress was fine with that because 1) we were pretty much the only customers for a while; 2) we promised her a big tip. First we started off with the BBQ nachos, a messy pile of commercial chips oozing that nasty day-glo orange plastic stuff that passes for nacho "cheese" at ballparks but shouldn't be allowed in an actual restaurant, plus chunks of chicken, not-so-finely-shredded lettuce, bbq sauce, plus a tiny bit of salsa and sour cream on top. The chicken was nicely tender, but the rest of the mess was disappointing, and the chips got soggy in seconds. Next we tried the riblets, which were tender, but they had that "cooked three days ago and reheated" flavor, and the sauce lacked character other than sweetness. Finally, one friend and I shared a burger, which was passable but greasy, and I'm not sure it was formed in-house. The other two ladies in our group had salads and seemed to enjoy them.

By halftime, groups of well-dressed people showed up to have their post-church Sunday dinner. A couple platters of fried catfish with sides of mac and cheese and greens went by, looking almost tasty. And one certainly could not fault the generosity of the portions. But alas, we went for more snacky-type foods and perhaps that was our downfall. Maybe next time. Not that there will be a next time. :)

The best thing about the place is that every booth not near the bar has its own small flat-screen tv, which allows for plenty of close-up gawking at handsome football players. Those near the bar had to watch the game on giant screens that had a terrible yellow tint, making them seem perhaps a little too close to the bathrooms....

Our waitress ended her shift in the game's final moments, so we made sure to take care of our tab with her. She informed the person that was taking over her section we would be staying a while and perhaps ordering more drinks or dessert. Alas, we were left for dead. Even after collaring the replacement server and telling her we did expect service, she waited at least 15 minutes before coming to us, at which point we were in our coats and at the door.

Yeah, probably won't be a "next time."

Go Ravens!

Top Chef Previews!

Caramels

I love buttery, sweet, chewy caramel candy. But no Kraft or Goetz Caramel Creames for me (yuck and double yuck) - I like better quality goods, thankyouverymuch. California chocolatier See's does a pretty good job with their caramels, and I always stop short of ordering a custom mix box of milk and dark butter chews for myself (as I did for Mom).

I was perusing Etsy the other day, contemplating it as a venue for my jewelry, when I stumbled upon La Bella Caramella, purveyors of fine homemade salted caramels in such intriguing flavors as lavender, jasmine, violet, pumpkin pie, and double bergamot Earl Grey, along with the more familiarly flavored crushed vanilla bean. I couldn't resist, and ordered a fall sampler of pumpkin pie, chai, and spiced apple flavored caramels, along with a batch of vanilla. All are fantastic. The flavored caramels are pretty intensely spiced, but the sweet richness of the candy can certainly support the big dose of yum.

She added a sampler of the lavender flavor, and those are pretty delectable too.

What are you waiting for? Go buy some caramel!

Asian Food Weekend

Last Saturday I decided to get rid of the bunch of scallions wilting in the fridge, along with leftover fried chicken and assorted other veg by making pajeon, a Korean pancake.

Korean Pancake
1 cup (70g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (125ml) ice-cold water
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 bunch of scallions
a spoonful of soy sauce
vegetable oil, for frying

Stir together the flour, water and salt until just mixed. Or cheat and use one cup of Korean pancake mix and one cup water. Chop the scallion into long pieces. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet and cook the scallions until they start to soften. If you're using additional ingredients, add them now and warm through. Pour the pancake batter over all, spreading to cover the goodies in the pan. Cook until browned underneath. Now comes the fun part - attempting to flip the thing. After making a mess of that, press the pancake down with your spatula to cook the other side. Slide cooked pancake onto a cutting board and pretend it looks pretty. Cut into wedges and serve with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a few drops of sesame oil.

Sunday's dinner was going to be a riff on David Chang's short ribs, but I decided to add a big spoonful of some random Thai curry paste that was in an unmarked container in the fridge. This necessitated the addition of coconut milk to mellow the spices and the heat.   Served with rice and asparagus, it was delish.  

I love short ribs.