Sometimes Dining in Baltimore

A few months ago, a friend of mine in town told me about Sometimes Dining, kind of an underground dining group in the Waverly neighborhood in Baltimore.
Since their dinners are at an actual residence, spaces are limited, but luckily last week, I was able to score a seat for their Pi day dinner.
We showed up at the house around 7:30pm, and were immediately welcomed by the staff and chefs when we entered the house. We were instructed to sit where we could, and we were lucky to get seats at a large table in the kitchen area.
Everyone was very friendly at our table which consisted a mix of newbies like ourselves and friends of the people who were running things. They were BYOB, but they did include suggested wine pairings in our confirmation emails.
We started with some homemade rye bread that had a fantastic crust served with alder smoked honey butter.

Our first course was a beautifully set salad with broccoli stalked shaved in thin strips topped with fresh beets, cashews, and Unikass cheese (which was like a hard cheddar).
In between courses they served a drink of warm black tea, root beer and ginger.
The second course was homemade cinnamon noodles with a mushroom reduction, served with duck breast with a red onion, grapefruit confit. I really enjoyed how all the flavors were actually very subtle and fit together nicely.
The third course was "le trou normand", or "palate cleanser": a shot of clove infused vodka. At this point, the chefs came out and toasted their guests.
We also got small plates of pickled asparagus and roasted pistachios.
The fourth course was a wonderfully poached hake served wrapped in a scallion crepe with a frisee salad and topped with a poached egg. The whole dish was delicately prepared and delicious.



As the dishes were cleared for dessert, I ordered a really nice and strong cappuccino made with Baltimore based Bluebird coffee.
The last dish was an apple compote with a sage shortbread cookie with some creme anglais.
They finished us off with some homemade dark chocolates.
The whole Sometimes Dining experience was just so warm and intimate and with such wonderful and thoughtfully prepared food and drink, it is a true treasure in Baltimore's food scene.

Summertime at Au Pied De Cochon, Montreal

For 4th of July weekend, the TIGBG crew went up to Montreal. No trip there would be complete without a stop at our favorite restaurant, Au Pied De Cochon. This was our first time eating there in the summer, and we were really looking forward to try their seafood platters available this time of year.
We got the Plateau du Plateau for our party, and it was incredible: on a bed of ice and seaweed, it was chock full of amazingly fresh items like oysters, clams, mussels, baby octopus, king crab legs, crawfish, and snails.
We then shared a number of smaller plates, although watching specials like the swordfish filet (big as your head) and the leg of lamb (with a bone about a foot long) made it tempting to get more.
We got the Plogue à Champlain, a take on a Canadian dish with sliced foie gras, potatoes, and thick bacon on a small pancake and topped with maple syrup. An unbelievable combination- like breakfast foie gras.
We had only one repeat, despite a lot of debate at the table: the foie gras poutine - the classic!
We then ordered the APDC Lobster roll, fresh 1 1/2 lbs of lobster, cheese, foie gras (of course), and balsamic reduction served in a toasted brioche bun. Another masterpiece from Martin Picard.

To finish off another perfect meal at Au Pied de Cochon, we had, for dessert, first, a goat cheese tart topped with fresh Quebec strawberries. It was light, fresh, and very seasonal.
Our second dessert was the dark chocolate pot de crème.
After our meal, we realized every season is truly a unique experience at Au Pied de Cochon.

536 avenue Duluth Est
Montréal, QC H2L 1A9, Canada
(514) 281-1114