Change my location
Restaurants
Dining Dish
Baltimore Dining ExaminerDining Dish (a.k.a, Dara Bunjon) is founder of Dara Does It, which caters to the food industry everything from PR to food styling to cooking instructions, and more. Enjoy her rants, raves, recipes and food adventures, and let her know yours!
Examiner Feeds
These websites were picked by the Baltimore Dining Examiner as useful resources.Baltimore Examiners
Mark Burlet
Baltimore Drink Examiner
Most Recent Post
Fells Point, Women's Rugby and the 2008 Olympics
Baltimore Drink Examiner
Most Recent Post
Fells Point, Women's Rugby and the 2008 Olympics
Greg Paye
Baltimore Fencing Examiner
Most Recent Post
Fencing Season Starts With Tractor Pull Open This Weekend
Baltimore Fencing Examiner
Most Recent Post
Fencing Season Starts With Tractor Pull Open This Weekend
Adam Meister
Baltimore Politics Examiner
Most Recent Post
Should Baltimore Leaders Attend The Democratic Convention?
Baltimore Politics Examiner
Most Recent Post
Should Baltimore Leaders Attend The Democratic Convention?
Baltimore Dining Examiner
Showing entries for Category: Inquiring-Minds
Shark Repellent alla Julia Child
|
Dining Dish - Baltimore Dining Examiner
 It was a friend’s birthday party, it was a crab feast, and it was under a tent in the same location where Julia Child had her first crabs (and I was there). This stirred a conversation about all the current hoopla about Julia being OSS in World War II. If you have read anything about Julia Child, the fact that she was with the OSS was not a secret: although, it is news to the general populous as certain documents from the war have become unclassified. My friend, Margaret Sullivan, the production manager/producer of two of Julia Child’s Emmy Award television series, Baking with Julia and In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs, started to share stories that Julia told during down time between filming scenes. Margaret explains that Julia didn’t want to make a big deal about her time in the OSS; she didn’t want to be called a hero. Julia said “I didn’t carry a gun and I didn’t put my life on the line.” Sullivan paraphrases Julia, “she had a wonderful time, a gal from Santa Barbara going and living in Ceylon where she eventually met her husband, Paul Child. Julia was an office organizer by day and she like others, were encouraged to go to receptions and cocktail parties in the evenings to see what they might learn by keeping their eyes and ears open. At the end of the evening’s festivities, all who attended would report back to the OSS stenographers who took notes on what the attendees remembered. Julia told Margaret, "it was amazing what facts got leaked at the parties." Being with the OSS was as much social as it was work for Julia. When they were filming one of Julia’s shows she was asked when she started cooking. Sullivan remembers her saying, “I could boil water for tea but my first big recipe was shark repellant that I mixed in a bathtub for the Navy, for the men who might get caught in the water.” Another Julia Tidbit About Margaret Sullivan: She is affiliated with Maryland Public Broadcasting and has been the production manager/producer on Pierre Franey, Jacques Torres, Steven Raichlen, Joan Nathan and of course, two of Julia Child's cooking series. As for the photograph, this picture was taken in 1999, I remember distinctly Julia telling her assistant, Stephanie, that if they had time before they left Baltimore, she wanted to go see Eyes Wide Shut with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. I’m in the photo behind the pole – one of my better profiles. |
Food Challenge
|
Dining Dish - Baltimore Dining Examiner
A friend of mine challenged me to create a recipe using Pama Liqueur (www.pamaliqueur.com), the world’s first true  pomegranate liqueur. Pama’s ruby-red nectar highlights the sweet-tart flavor of the pomegranate fruit with an alcoholic kick. My grandmother treated me to my first taste of the pomegranate’s juicy seeds that are squished together, side-by-side, like the audience at Jonas Brothers concert. I love tart/sour flavors tempered with sweet (lemonade, mojito) but I don’t like sweet and sour concoctions like a red barbecue sauce or sweet and sour chicken – too cloyingly sweet for my taste.Like a matador challenging the bull with a red cape the bottle of Pama has been sitting on my counter, tempting and teasing me to get started. So I did. Recipe Development I wanted all the flavor profiles of the tongue to be engaged: sweet, salty, bitter and sour along with a fat that would enhance the longevity of the flavor on the tongue. My end goal was to come up with a glaze/sauce for chicken and pork. I created three recipes, similar but not the same. Recipe One – Pama Dessert Syrup 1 cup Pama Liqueur 1 tsp honey 1 tsp Asian fish sauce 1/8 tsp ground black pepper ¼ tsp Dijon mustard 3 sprigs fresh thyme ½ Tbsp unsalted butter Combine the Pama Liqueur, honey, Asian fish sauce, ground black pepper, Dijon mustard in a medium-small saucepan and mix so the honey and Dijon mustard evenly disperse. Add the fresh sprigs of thyme. Turn the burner up to high and let the mixture reduce to ¼ cup. Remove the thyme sprigs and stir in the butter. As the mixture cools it will thicken. Refrigerate once it comes to room temperature In tasting the finished product I couldn’t help thinking this would delicious over vanilla ice cream or drizzled on pancakes/waffles. It would be good on chicken and pork as well but this still tends to be a bit tarter and the ice cream is a perfect foil. Recipe Two – Pama Glaze and Sauce 1 cup Pama Liqueur 2 tsp honey 2 tsp Asian fish sauce 1/8 tsp ground black pepper 2 tsp Dijon mustard 1 clove garlic, smashed 3 sprigs fresh thyme ½ Tbsp unsalted butter Combine the Pama Liqueur, honey, Asian fish sauce, ground black pepper, Dijon mustard in a medium-small saucepan and mix so the honey and Dijon mustard evenly disperse. Add the smashed clove of garlic and fresh sprigs of thyme. Turn the burner up to high and let the mixture reduce to ¼ cup. Remove the garlic and thyme sprigs and stir in the butter. As the mixture cools it will thicken. Refrigerate once it comes to room temperature The garlic and increase on a selection of other ingredients really added a depth of flavor, much more savory and ideal for saucing and glazing chicken, duck and pork. Recipe Three – Pama Dressing Syrup 1 cup Pama Liqueur 2 tsp honey 2 tsp Asian fish sauce 1/8 tsp ground black pepper 2 tsp Dijon mustard 1 clove garlic, smashed 3 sprigs fresh thyme This is the same recipe as number two with 2 changes:
Combine the Pama Liqueur, honey, Asian fish sauce, ground black pepper, Dijon mustard in a medium-small saucepan and mix so the honey and Dijon mustard evenly disperse. Add the smashed clove of garlic and fresh sprigs of thyme. Turn the burner up to high and let the mixture reduce to 1/2 cup. Remove the garlic and thyme sprigs and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate once it comes to room temperature. Use this as a substitute for vinegar for a salad dressing. I would use two parts oil (extra virgin or canola oil) to one part Pama syrup. Think arugula or mesclun greens with goat cheese and nuts for your salad. You can also use this as a bread dipper by adding it to a dish of extra virgin olive oil. When the syrup separates from the oil, let it. ***** In the end, I had about a shot of Pama left over, so I did what any pomegranate lover would do and enjoyed the Pama straight up.
|
New Concept Luckie's Tavern to Host VIN's Staff
|
Dining Dish - Baltimore Dining Examiner
 HOT OFF THE VIN NEWSLETTER: "As all of you know VIN is temporarily closing due to Towson Circle Phase Three construction. We are proud to announce that key members of our VIN family, including Billy Peterson, General Manager and Justin McGaunn, Sous Chef, have been selected to work with an exciting new restaurant concept, Luckie's Tavern, which opens mid September at Power Plant Live! in downtown Baltimore. We wish them the best in this endeavor. It has been such a pleasure to serve all of your during VIN Part I and we eagerly anticipate what the future holds." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Does anyone know anything about the "new concept" Luckies Tavern?
|
Many Restaurants Are Extending Restaurant Week Specials
|
Dining Dish - Baltimore Dining Examiner
If you couldn't get to all of your favorite restaurants during Restaurant Week you have a 2nd chance. Numerous restaurants are extending the  Summer Restaurant Week's specials. Each are a bit different: some offer just dinners, some have extended it for another week, and some for the entire month of August. I have received e-notices from a selection of restaurants who are offering extensions and I randomly called restaurants on the www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com list. I did not call all of them, sorry - I'm leaving a little leg work up to you. My best piece of advice is to call the restaurant you are interested in and see if they are continuing and what they are offering. Here is the list of restaurants I've put together ~ check them out to see how they are extending the promotion. Babalu Bicycle Blue Agave Blue Sea Grill Brass Elephant Brasserie Tatin Pazza Luna Prime Rib Ruth Chris Sotto Sopra All the restaurants' phone numbers can be found at www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com. Please, be courteous and don't double book reservations, don't "no show." I heard one restaurant had over 200 no shows over a couple of nights. Read my previous story Go, have a good time and come back and share your Baltimore's Summer Restaurant Week adventures.
|
Average Dinner in Baltimore Cost $34.23*
|
Dining Dish - Baltimore Dining Examiner
The 2009 Zagat Restaurant Survey for Baltimore and Washington DC makes its grand entrance today. The Zagat Survey is celebrating its 29th year reporting on the shared dining experiences of consumers like you. What started in 1979 as a hobby involving 200 of the Tim and Nina Zagat’s friends and associates has come a long way. Today they have over 325,000 surveyors worldwide. You’ve seen the burgundy and white Zagat Rating signs displayed in restaurant windows or walls that let you know how they were rated for their food, décor and service. The Zagat Ratings aren’t limited to just restaurants; their surveys cover airlines, bars, club, entertaining, golf, hotels, lounges, movies, music, resorts, shopping, spas, theaters and tourist attractions. Average Price of Dinner In correlating the surveys for cities nationwide, the Zagats are able to come up with a national average for dinner. Based on their surveys, the national average for dinner* is $33.86 with Washington DC being $35.13 and Baltimore $34.23. *The survey asks you to estimate the cost of a dinner with one drink (if you had one) and tip per person. It is broad stroked and leaves me with the question what constitutes a dinner: an appetizer and/or salad, entrée, and dessert or just an entrée and a drink ~ that requirement is not clearly defined. Before dining at any restaurant may I recommend checking the restaurant’s website to check out their menu and pricing. Keep in mind that on many restaurant''s sites the menus aren’t updated often; however, it is a good overview. Dining Examiner Survey This is the Dining Examiner Survey, though I doubt that Tim and Nina Zagat have anything to worry about, let’s see what you say. So, in conclusion, what constitutes a dinner out for you? Is it one course, two courses or three? Do you dine out with a budget in mind? Have your dining habits changed in the past 6 months? Speak up!
For more info: Zagat - www.zagat.com
|
Temporary Closing of VIN Restaurant for Remodeling
|
Dining Dish - Baltimore Dining Examiner
Dining Dish received an e-mail that VIN Restaurant in Towson is temporarily closing August 3rd due to the Towson Circle III development. Note that starting July 18th through August 2nd there will be unique nightly specials and heavily discounted bottles of wine.Here is the text from their e-mail: VIN To Close Temporarily For Remodeling VIN, the critically acclaimed and popular restaurant and outdoor lounge, will temporarily close on August 3rd and remodel in anticipation of the construction of the exciting Towson Circle III development directly adjacent to VIN. The planning of Towson Circle III has been carefully coordinated to integrate seamlessly with the original Towson Circle project and VIN itself. It is the hope of VIN management that the construction staging will allow the restaurant to re-open before the completion of Towson Circle III construction. Due to the extended downtime of the facility during this period, Executive Chef Chris Paternotte will be leaving to explore other opportunities. His stewardship of VIN resulted in not only a successful business, but a truly special culinary experience, and we highly look forward to his next endeavor. We are also proud to announce a spectacular finish to VIN "Part One" from Friday July 18th through Saturday August 2nd. The VIN team will be preparing truly unique and exciting nightly specials, classic VIN favorites, and offering an incredible opportunity for our guests to enjoy a wide selection of bottles of wine at half price. Portions will be oversized to tie everyone over until our next phase can launch!
|
Mayor Into The Lion's Den
|
Dining Dish - Baltimore Dining Examiner
 There I was at a happy hour get together tonight of the local press, a great number of them from The Sun. It has been a rough week at The Sun with approximately 100 layoffs and buyouts. No one is really feeling secure about their jobs-not a good week there. Talking about having a bad week, let’s take a look at Mayor Dixon – not a good week there either. Now put them all together. Talk about a strong, savvy politico, Mayor Dixon walked into the proverbial lion's den of a bar full of reporters who are drinking at a media happy hour gathering. This was truly a Kodak moment and I got it. I got to chat a little bit with her honor, the Mayor. Being the non-politico and the Dining Examiner, I asked her about favorite foods and restaurants. I can say that the mayor enjoys grilled fish, seems to have a penchant for Italian food, and enjoys a good mojito though she was sipping white wine. It Left a Sour Taste The gathering was at Ixia and I would think that some arrangements would have been made for discounts on the drinks for this group of about 30 but no, and no one behind the bar or hosting was savvy to put discounts together. I had two cocktails and with tip was $30. It’s a beautiful venue, and my yuzu based cocktail was delicious but it soured when I got the bill.
|