Maple Leaf in Banff, Canada

1000yregg and I went up to our family get-together in Alberta, Canada. (So I'll try not to duplicate posts with him.) One of our big dinners out with the clan was at the Maple Leaf in Banff.











Starters included my cousin's husband's artfully presented scallop and shrimp ceviche with champagne sorbet. My dungeness crab gazpacho was spiked with gin and chili oil -- I loved it -- just brought a nice tangy bite. And my boyfriend's a big believer all around in cooking with liquor.

Then my cousin's husband (who's not a big meat eater) went on to wild Atlantic salmon, and I had lamb shank served with a ragout of root vegetables and gnocchi. While it was good, to be honest it didn't compare with the falling-off-the-bone succulent lamb shank that used to be made at my beloved Jersey dive ethnic Aladdin's Palace. I preferred 1000yregg's bacon-wrapped elk filet, but I'll let him tell you about it himself.

Breakfast at Bouchon, Las Vegas

Yesterday, I had a 4 hour layover in Las Vegas, so my friends met me a Thomas Keller's Bouchon in the Venetian for what has been rated as the best breakfast in Vegas.
I had the sourdough waffles with strawberries, vanilla butter and maple syrup.
My friends had the boudin blanc, a white sausage made with turkey and veal, served with a side of scrambled eggs.

They also had French toast made with brioche, bread pudding style.

We split the selection of the pastries which included a pecan sticky bun, a dark chocolate croissant, a banana nut muffin, and a cheese danish.

We also had the famous pomme frites that Tony Bourdain curse in his Vegas episode of No Reservations.

BrookLEn in Maine: Lobster every meal

Last weekend my lady LBT and I made a getaway to the far culinary reaches of America- Portland, Maine, aka Vacationland. After driving 4+ hours, we immediately headed to the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, a staple for lobster-lovers of Portland. The shack is on a rocky hill overlooking the ocean, perfect for a lobster roll and fried shrimp. Unlike the "Maine-inspired" rolls of New York's favorites, Pearl Oyster Bar and Mary's Fish Camp, the lobster meat is not mixed with mayonaise; instead, a nice dollop is placed on top, which can easily be removed for non-mayo people (like LBT).
I foolheartedly claimed I could eat lobster for every meal while we were in Maine. That night for dinner, we shared a Lobster BLT at the awesome Portland restaurant Fore Street. Fore Street's kitchen and wood-burning oven are open to the dining room, which gives foodies the great experience of pointing at a dish and saying "gimme that!". We also enjoyed a mercilessly good tomato-goat cheese tart and some Maine cod.
The next day, my only lobster consumption was at a semi-touristy spot on the Portland waterfront called The Portland Lobster Co. But even at this tourist trap, the lobster was tasty, as were the fried oysters that I added to the lunch. That night, LBT was raving about a local pizza-place called Flatbread Company, an organic/local/hippy-dippy joint, and I conceded even without lobster on the menu. Despite all of their attempts to convince us the stuff was practically grilled in soil, the pizzas were savory and quickly consumed, nitrate-free pepperoni and all.

On Sunday, I needed one last lobster fix, and while having breakfast with LBT's Portland cousins at Porthole, I was told to order the Lobster Benedict, off the menu. The result was a bachemel-drenched heap of lobster over local sourdough bread. It was a cholesterol dream...

Land Thai Kitchen, NYC

My friend who lived in Thailand for three years got us tickets to see Ramakien: A Rak Opera at Lincoln Center Festival. So we had a fitting pre-show dinner at Land Thai Kitchen on the Upper West Side.

While not the authentic Thai street food of Sriprapai in Queens, my friend still thinks for fancied-up restaurant food, this place rocks. For one thing, the spice actually has kick. We had a beef salad, a green papaya salad, drunken noodles with chicken, and seared duck. But the best part was dipping balls of the sticky rice into all the different piquant sauces at the end.










Dessert of molten chocolate cake was not Thai, but so yummy. We also had sesame and coconut ice cream. My friend loved the green sauce from her memories in Thailand -- she had some Thai name for it -- but when I tasted it, I said, isn't it just sweetened condensed milk with green food coloring? She told me not to ruin it for her...

Ann's Dari-Creme

Upon looking at our sidebar of links, I saw on Holly Eats' hot dog list that there was a place nearby here in Glen Burnie, Ann's Dairy-Creme! I had to go.
Ann's is a little shop with a counter on the side of Richie Highway open late. Their specialty - a footlong hot dog, fried, served on a hoagie roll with chili, mustard and onion. I spoke with the gals working there, and their dogs don't rip in the fryer- they just darken and wrinkle when cooked. I had some tasty fries there as well as a banana milk shake.

Restaurant Week Meal at Timothy Dean Bistro

Last night, went with some friends out for restaurant week to Baltimore restaurant, Timothy Dean Bistro. The chef's story is interesting - he started as a dishwasher in a restaurant and made
his way to being a Sous chef to Jean Louis Palladin to running Palladin's restaurant at the Watergate Hotel.

He opened his own restaurant just last year to great reviews all around. Thanks to restaurant week, he was offering a 3 course prix fixe menu. I started with corn chowder with oysters. It was tasty and sweet.
For main course, we at the table each got something different:
-the braised short ribs on polenta
-the roast chicken
-BBQ salmon




























Dessert was great. First was the melon soup with berries- the soup was really sweet, but the berries cut the sweetness some.
The other dessert, the molten chocolate cake was amazing mainly because it came with a scoop of black truffle ice cream. The taste was subtle, but amazing.

We Love Tony!

So I read my August issue of Food and Wine -- the theme being eco-epicurianism. Among the many creeds about eating only locally and organically produced, sustainable food, Anthony Bourdain says:

"While I support and admire those chefs who have made personal decisions to feature organic, sustainable or exclusively local food -- and am very enthusiastic about heritage breeds and artisanal products -- my only real concern is "Is it good?" Personally, I don't care if my tomato was raised in a lab or some hippie's backyard. I don't even care if it causes the occasional tumor in lab rats. I only care that it's the best tasting damn tomato available."

Go Tony! Yes, I try to buy my produce at the wholesale farm market and have a freezer full of meat from a local farm, but I don't obsess over it. I also agreed with the food scientist who says that we in the First World are privileged enough to make those kinds of choices, but the rest of the world isn't so lucky, and if genetic engineering of crops can help reduce acreage with more yield, and feed more people, why wouldn't we do it.

And lastly, Nina Planck, who ran NYC's Greenmarket program, says:

"Lard is an amazing food. Pork fat is loaded with monounsaturated fats, the same kind as those in olive oil."

It's not just the bicycle riding that keeps Chinese people healthier than Americans...

In-N-Out Burger

A visit to the west coast would not be complete with a meal at the best darn fast food place in the world: In-N-Out Burger!
I decided to get a 3 by 3 Animal style with fries and a vanilla shake. Man, it hit the spot.
I love that there are all these secret off the menu variants you can order if you know the code - animal style, protein style, 4 by 4, etc.
Plus it always reminds me of The Big Lebowski.