LAMILL Coffee, Baltimore

Another fine addition to the Four Seasons in Baltimore is LAMILL Coffee, originally from LA. While the coffee is excellent, an added bonus is that pastry chef Chris Ford is responsible for most of the items on the menu.
He is certainly fond of making seasonal macaroons that are larger, usually a whopping 2-3 inches in diameter. I've had flavors like cinnamon brioche and red currant in the past.
One time, I tried his dense rich bacon cheddar scone as a savory alternative.

One of my favorites is hot beignets with your choice of dips. I end up getting the Meyer lemon curd all the time.
I recently tried the everything cookie, similar to Momofuku Milk Bar's compost cookie, it's got an assortment of items baked in it. What I could tell was chocolate chip, oatmeal, raisins, popcorn, potato chips, and pretzels.

 

I also recomment the delicious cinnamon brioche.

200 International Drive
Baltimore, MD

Mintwood Place, DC

We braved tornado warnings the in the DC Metro area to have dinner at Mintwood Place in Adams Morgan this past week. Chef Cedric Maupillier's new restaurant has garnered some rave reviews since opening at the start of this year. The place is casual and a bit noisy, but our food was great. At first glance of the menu, nothing jumps out, but everything we had was wonderful.
We started with a trio of "nibbles". First up was pickled devilled eggs.

We ordered a seasonal item, blanched radishes, snap peas, and baby carrots "a la croque au sel". The dip was an herbed butter and salt combination.
I realize I am a sucker for shishito peppers. Their version was simple- roasted and sprinkled with fleur de sel.

  

My favorite dish was a seasonal starter: burrata with spring garlic and asparagus. The perfectly cooked asparagus in combination with the creamy cheese and the fresh garlic flavors was out of this world.
My main was wild salmon on a bed of spring peas, carrots and sorrel. The skin was crispy and the fish was fatty and good.

Kathy & Karen both had the vegetarian dish, a marvelous five grain risotto with asparagus, peas, mushrooms, and broccolini.
Homer got the steak frites. It looked beautifully cooked. I tried one of the delicious fries.

For dessert, we shared a few items. Karen and Homer had the sorbet trio: strawberry, pineapple, and green apple. The winner was the apple.
Kathy had the blueberry tart topped with a Greek yogurt ice cream. It was loaded with berries.
I had the strawberry rhubarb crumble a la mode.

1813 Columbia Road Northwest
Washington DC
(202) 234-6732

Pabu Izakaya, Baltimore

   One thing lacking in the Baltimore restaurant scene is a true Japanese restaurant. Most of the sushi restaurants in the area are Chinese or Korean run. I was very excited when they announced that Pabu, an izakaya run by chefs Ken Tominaga and Michael Mina, would open in the Four Seasons at Harbor East. I'm already a fan of Wit & Wisdom, Mina's first restaurant in Baltimore. I was also excited to hear that desserts would be made by pastry chef Chris Ford.
   Pabu is also promoting itself as having a master sake sommelier, Tiffany Dawn Soto, so when I first arrived for an early Mother's day meal with my parents and aunt & uncle, I ordered a sake cocktail, the Super X, made with Lillet Blanc, junmai ginjo, yuzu, and housemade falernum, a kind of simple syrup. It had a good tartness and sweetness to it.

   Since Pabu is an izakaya, we ordered a lot of small plates, starting with a couple tempura dishes. First was a dish with maitake mushroom and some seasonal vegetables.
   They also inadvertantly served us a plate of the meso anago (young eel) tempura.
Both dishes were beautifully fried, and in particular the eel was great.

   We ordered Jako, a small dish of minnows seasoned with ginger, shiso and goma. It's like the Japanese equivalent of beer nuts, a salty snack to pair with drinks.
   My father and I wanted to try their Rappahannock oysters served with a tasty ponzu sauce.

   Next was soy braised lotus root with sesame seeds and thin chili threads.
   I always order the shishito peppers if they are on the menu. They served a bowl with at least 20 or so peppers, nicely charred, topped with shredded bonito and seasoned with shoyu.

   Pabu's edamame dish had a nice flair to it as it was seasoned with chili oil and smoked salt giving it a good kick in flavor.

   Our next course was hirame wrapped uni tempura. They came as small nuggets on the stick. When you bit into it, you first would hit the delicious white fish meat and in the center was the wonderful sea urchin.

   We then proceeded to get several items from their Robata grill. First to come out was tiny Japanese eggplants served with a miso sauce. It was good, but I thought the sauce was a little heavy.
   We then got ika yaki, or whole grilled squid. It came with a side of the yellow Japanese style mayo.

   I really loved the beef tendon. It was soft and seasoned with a wonderful yuzu kosho ponzu sauce.
   We also got kokoro, sake-cured chicken hearts, which reminded me of very tender gizzards, and kariganebone, the shoulder blade of the chicken.
Somehow, they ended up giving us an extra order the the shoulder, but boy, was it good.

   My folks also really liked the erengi mushroom skewers served with garlic and more shishito peppers.
   After the small plates, each of us ordered a "main"  of either noodles or rice.
I ordered a tasting of nigiri sushi. Chef flies some fish all the way from Tsukiji market in Tokyo for the sushi.
   The rice was awesome, and the selection of fish was pretty amazing including mackerel, yellowtail, sea bream, and horse mackerel.

   My mother and aunt ordered Michael's Chicken Noodle, a chicken ramen with a really flavorful broth.

   My uncle ordered the soba noodles. It included a quail egg to mix with the dipping sauce.

   My dad had the unagidon which included a piece of foie gras on top the the freshwater eel.

  Of course we had to order dessert. With a pot of coffee from Lamill, first we had a deconstructed sesame ice cream sundae. In the large bowl was ice cream with cocoa meringues. In the smaller bowls, there was black tapioca, togarashi chocolate sauce, and caramel crumble.
 

   We also ordered the dessert omakase, a plate with four dessert items. There was a white chocolate bar loaded with whiskey. I really loved the honey panna cotta topped with yuzu gelee and tapioca.
   It also came with a green tea sorbet with lemon grass, melon and pineappple, and a small mochi with miso caramel ice cream.
   I'm already looking forward to go back to try promising looking items like Maryland crab okonomiyaki, octopus poke, and tsukune, as well as some ambitious looking rolls. 

200 International Drive
Baltimore, MD
(410)223-1460

ink., LA

 When I went to Los Angeles, my friends and I had a memorable dinner at Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio's restaurant ink. We all decided to get the tasting menu, but we ordered some additional appetizers.
First was roasted shisito peppers topped with almond-bonito sand with a side of tofu mustard. The peppers were nice and spicy.
We also got an order of Malpeque oysters topped with an oyster leaf and mignonette ice. We were instructed to eat everything in a single bite. They were delicious.

 Our first course of the tasting menu was a beautifully composed plate of scallops, tofu, and rice crackers sprinkled with a black vinaigrette and cocoa. It was nested on a small bed of green tapioca.

The second course, our table agreed, was our favorite. In a take on chicken and waffles, Voltaggio had a beautiful portion of foie gras nestled in between waffle crackers served with a line of smoked maple syrup that had a consistency of marshmallow. If that weren't enough, he added small dollops of sriracha sauce. The combination of flavors were incredible.

The third course was a wonderful portion of sturgeon served on a bed of mushroom oatmeal and topped with mushroom "hay". The "hay" were dehydrated mushrooms. To say this dish was an umami bomb is an understatement.

Our fourth course was "steak frites". The beef was a beef rib cap which was very tender and tasty, and it was accompanied by "flavors of béarnaise", a kind of deconstructed version of the sauce.

As my dessert course, I selected a line of grapefruit curd with cilantro sorbet, lime meringue and avocado. It had more of a savory taste to it.
My friends ordered the apple with caramel and burnt wood ice cream.
I would dare say, I enjoyed my meal at ink. more than my experiences at Volt.


8360 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(323( 651-5866

Wit & Wisdom Tavern, Baltimore

We went to the new Four Seasons Hotel in Harbor East in Baltimore for a light dinner at chef Michael Mina's Wit & Wisdom Tavern last week. Upon entering, our first reaction was, "Are we in Baltimore?" With it's large panoramic windows overlooking the water, a large bar area surrounded by fireplaces and couches, and a modern minimal decor, it felt like we were another city.
The kitchen area is open, similar to Woodberry Kitchen, with a wood burning stove in the center. The restaurant was dimly lit while it seemed as if spotlights were lighting up the chefs and food prep area like a show.
I was very excited that pastry chef Chris Ford, formerly of Rogue 24 in DC, was currently directing the dessert menu.

We decided to stick to small plates and appetizers for our meal to save room for dessert.
For out first course, we shared the smoked housemade ricotta topped with roasted eggplant, black walnuts and vinegar. The ricotta was delicate and wonderful. I also had a fall vegetable salad which consisted of beets, squash, parsnips, and Benton's ham.

Our second course consisted of perfectly fried hush puppies made of Anson Mills grits topped with a sauce made of Crystal hot sauce and honey. They were crispy outside, soft inside, and the sauce with it's combination of sweet and spicy just put this dish over the top.
We also shared the roasted brussel sprouts and apples with apple vinegar.
I had a small bowl of the Carolina Gold congee with duck tongue confit, egg, and crackins. It was like a meeting of Chinese and French styles in one bowl. The duck tongues were so good, and the broken yolk mixed with the rice was so creamy and delicious.

We decided to get two desserts to share. First was the "Baltimore Bar" which was a reimagining of a Baby Ruth Bar. It was made with a layer of peanut butter ganache and a layer of chocolate mousse, all covered with chocolate and then topped with pieces of pretzel and candied peanuts. It was a beautiful plate: rich and satisfying with sweet & salty flavors.
Our second dessert was even better. We had the maple custard with orange toffee, bourbon, and almonds. It was reminiscent of a crème caramel with more intricate flavors.
I look forward to returning to give their entrees a crack, but I will always save room for dessert here.



200 International Drive
Baltimore, MD
(410)576-5800