Bluegrass Tavern

We were able to cross Bluegrass Tavern off our list of "must-tries" last week when we attended a Charm City Chowhounds dinner there last week.

The meal consisted of 5 courses + an amuse bouche. When we got the preliminary menu via e-mail, I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy the food, as I don't eat veal, am not fond of rabbit, and have a serious, inexplicable aversion to breakfast sausage. But I found those to be some the least of the meal's problems. Even so, I came away with an appreciation for the way the restaurant prepares meats. Four of the five portions of meat we were served were perfectly cooked and seasoned. Additionally, the majority of the accompaniments were also close to perfect. The big problem was that few components actually worked together.

foie gras torchon, pomegranate & cherry jam, pain perdu

The foie gras itself was delicious, but there was too much overly-sweet jam and the pain perdu tasted like a cinnamon donut.

rabbit loin confit, endive hot and cold, hazelnuts, pickled enoki
mushrooms, port wine emulsion

This course was definitely the weakest, but let me start with the positives: I love endive, so having it both raw and cooked really worked for me, as did the nutty crunch of hazelnuts. Now the rest: the rabbit was boring and dry, and the pickled enoki draped over it had a jarringly vinegary flavor. On the other hand, the "port wine emulsion" was completely flavorless.

sausage stuffed quail, maple poached quail egg, Anson Mills stone
ground oats, house hot sauce

This riff on breakfast could have been very successful. The quail and sausage were a perfect match, tender and nicely seasoned. The savory oatmeal was gorgeous. But the quail egg didn't really add anything and I couldn't taste the maple at all; Mr Minx's yolk was cold and no longer runny. And the hot sauce was just plain a bad idea. Perhaps if it were thicker, like Sriracha or gochujang, a few dots could have been placed in the bowl to use or not. Instead, it was like molten lava, destroying everything in its path with its pungency.

bacon-wrapped veal loin, cauliflower puree, red wine ravioli

This dish was a clever idea that suffered in execution. The raviolo was filled with red wine that, once the pasta was broken, served as a sauce for the tender veal wrapped in bacon. Unfortunately, the effect was more akin to someone spilling his glass of wine on the plate. The cauliflower purée, however, was a lovely creamy touch that almost made up for the underseasoned and underwhelming sauce.

venison backstrap, aged cheddar grits, snail & piopini
mushroom ragout, escargot butter

The only completely successful dish of the evening was the venison. The meat was tender and flavorful, perfectly cooked, and the grits were extremely rich and cheesy. But the absolute star of the plate was the snail and mushroom ragout that tied the protein and starch together with a buttery, garlicky accent. This dish definitely tasted like more.

apple & pear pavé, apple caramel ice cream, apple gastrique

Finally, we were presented with a symphony of sour. The pavé was a bit tough to cut, and the layers of tangy Granny Smith apples and underripe pears cried out for a sweet touch. Instead, we got an apple gastrique (made with vinegar!), and a not-sweet-enough - not to mention melted - ice cream. Another case of good idea, bad execution. I think the amuse would have worked better as a dessert.

Sous chef Ray Kumm took credit for the meal, which may have been a bit overly-ambitious. Clearly he has some mad skillz when it comes to meat prep, but some of his combinations were real misfires. Had the meal consisted of an endive salad with hazelnuts, a soup made from the cauliflower purée, and the venison dish, perhaps with an amuse of the foie paired with the dessert's gastrique, it would have been far more successful. As it stands, however, it was a bit of a disappointment.

While this particular meal did not rise to the very high expectations I had of Bluegrass, I'd like to go back someday soon to try offerings from the regular menu - the crawfish hushpuppies, the lamb shank, the charcuterie. There's definitely huge potential for a great dining experience.

Bluegrass Tavern
1500 S. Hanover Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-244-5101

Be a Restaurant Critic!

Baltimore Magazine is hosting a contest to find three restaurant critics to help Suzanne Loudermilk, senior food editor, review restaurants for the magazine’s annual Best Restaurants issue. The contest began yesterday and goes until Oct. 27. Click here for more details:

http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/contests/critic

Contest participants should write a review of their favorite Baltimore area restaurant in 150 words or less. The entries will be judged by Suzanne based on creativity, writing style, and food knowledge. The only rules are as follows:

You must be 21 years or older to participate.
Only ONE entry is allowed per person.
Your work must be original and not more than 150 words.
Baltimore magazine staff and family members, professional chefs and restaurateurs, food bloggers, and paid and published reviewers are not eligible to participate.

Flashback Friday 10.15.10

This post is from August 18, 2006

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Childhood Food Memories - Part Deux

I was exposed to a lot of snack cakes in my childhood, and they were a big contributor to my tubbiness. (What's my excuse now? you ask....) Mostly TastyKakes, which are still my favs - butterscotch Krimpets! chocolate Juniors! Tasty-Klair pies! We'd also have the odd box of Drake's cakes, or, very rarely, Hostess somethingsorother. But never Twinkies. Blech! First of all, they weren't chocolate, and secondly, they had a nasty chemical taste. In fact, all of the Hostess cake-type products tasted too sweet and artificial for the tastebuds in my picky (ok, not very) family. The Hostess cupcakes were nicely decorated, with their swirls of white icing, and the Snoballs were festive, but they didn't taste good, so no thanks. About the only thing that was palatable were the Hostess pies (Neal still likes them) but they also suffered from X-treme Sweetness.

But Drake's cakes - mmmmm! They were primarily chocolate--Ring Dings, Devil Dogs, Yodels--but there were also yummy Coffee Cakes topped with cinnamon streuselly goodness. Honestly, Devil Dogs were my least favorite, because I thought the cake was too dry without the addition of the waxy chocolate coating shared by Ring Dings and Yodels. But I ate them, grateful that they were not a Hostess Suzy-Q, one of those cakes that had so much sugar in them, it came out of solution and made them unpleasantly crunchy.

Then there was the Holy Grail of snack cakes. During the Peanuts specials, there were always ads for Dolly Madison products, and I was desperate to try them. If they were good enough for Charlie Brown and Linus, they had to be delicious! They didn't seem to be sold in the Baltimore area, but I once snagged a Zinger on an out of town trip. It was vile, and I was sorely disappointed that I had fallen for the cruel joke played on me by commercial television.

It is interesting that now Drakes, Dolly Madison, and Hostess are all owned by the same parent company, Interstate Bakeries Corporation. I haven't had any of the above for well over a decade, and I wonder if they've all started to taste alike.

And don't let me forget Little Debbie! Ok, so I'd love to forget Little Debbie! Especially the Oatmeal Pies. (gag) My mother adored those nasty patties of unnaturally squashy cookies filled with white ooze and always kept a box or two on hand. I always thought that Little Debbie looked like a Little Hick and am surprised that the company hasn't gone the way of Betty Crocker and Aunt Jemima and modernized their fictional icon. Even if they do, in the future, it will not improve the flavor or texture of their products.

I haven't had a TastyKake in a number of years, and hope they haven't changed their formulas to better resemble their lesser companions on the grocery store shelves. Perhaps I'll keep an eye out for a seasonal favorite of mine, pumpkin pie. Or maybe I'll just grab a package of peanut butter KandyKakes and remember how I never had to share them with my peanut-allergic little brother.

What was your favorite snack cake as a kid? Leave a comment and let me know.

Erika Davis' Chocolate Chip Cookies

The conclusion to our 10th anniversary dinner was giant chocolate chip cookies, from Top Chef Just Desserts competitor Erika Davis' Elimination Challenge-winning recipe. Called "the ultimate" by one of the competition's judges, I found it was basically just a variation on the famous Toll House cookie recipe, substituting baking powder for half the baking soda and adding a lot less salt and vanilla.

The addition of baking powder kept the cookies from spreading, which I liked. After the initial test batch of somewhat tall, puffy, cookies, the second batch got some manual flattening before baking. I also upped the vanilla. Because I like it.

A search through the pantry revealed a scant 3/4 cup of chocolate chips, so I filled the remaining 3/4 cup with white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, bits of broken dark chocolate candy bar, and a dash of cocoa nibs. We were also out of walnuts, but had plenty of cashews and pistachios.

They were good - crunchy rather than crispy, at least when eaten the same day they were baked. Storing them in an air-tight plastic container left them a bit less crunchy, but no less tasty. However good, I wouldn't consider these "the ultimate" by any stretch of the imagination. I still haven't found that particular cookie.

Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Bravotv.com)

¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ lb butter
2 ½ cups flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups assorted chips - white, chocolate, cinnamon, butterscotch, etc.
1 cup assorted nuts (cashews, pistachios, etc.)

Preheat oven to 345°F.

Cream the butter, sugars, and eggs together then add the vanilla. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour to the butter mixture in batches, mixing to combine. Stir in chips and nuts. Scoop dough in generous 2-or-3 tablespoon dollops, flattening with your hand to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake 10-12 minutes until browned.