Bloom announced that they will be shuttering their Walkersville store in February.
Oops!
Just goes to show you how stupid the State’s liquor laws are: Comptroller Blasts County For Illegal Liquor Purchase
Filed under Booze
Local Wineries Odds and Ends
Great article about Black Ankle vineyards here. It’s only part one. I look forward to the second part and to see how she answers the question a lot of us, including me, have asked: are Black Ankle wines worth the price?
Also someone (or someones) else liked the Knob Hall Chambourcin as much as I did. It won the top award at the American Wine Society’s Annual National Conference in a competition of the top varieties and wines of the Maryland and New Jersey region. Article here.
Filed under Wine
Lunchbox
Word is that Lunchbox opens tomorrow. I will stop by next week and let you know. Anyone care to post any of their impressions in the comments?
Filed under Restaurant- misc.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Yesterday I was in a foul mood. I was a grumpy parent, a crabby spouse and a surly boss. Not quite as bad as Kevin Spacey in Swimming With Sharks (favorite clip here) but pretty close. I’m not sure what my deal was, by when I woke up this morning I was filled with the Thanksgiving spirit. Truly I have so much to be grateful for on this the eve of my favorite holiday. A day oriented towards family, food, drink and gratitude. What’s not to like? So happy Thanksgiving to all. Dinner for 15 at stately Fred Manor tomorrow!
Filed under Food, The Good Life
Knob Hall Winery
This past weekend I had an opportunity to visit Knob Hall Winery. Located in North Western Washington County, the owner, Dick Seibert, has taken 30 acres of his 200 acre family farm and planted a number of different varieties of grape. The tasting room is situated in an 1860′s post and beam barn. I have a thing for old barns so I loved to look at the woodwork. However, I will have to admit it was quite rustic. Currently they have plans to renovate and update the tasting area though.
Quite frankly I do not care what the tasting area looks like as long as the wine is good. I did get to taste all of Knob Hall Winery’s current releases. As usual with my Maryland wine tasting adventures I am always pleasantly surprised, uncovering wines that can hold their own against others from better known areas. My two favorites were their Chambourcin and their semi-dry rose. The rose was only slightly sweet and had nice fruit and acidity. The Chambourcin was full bodied and very interesting, with lots of sour red fruit and hints of earth and leather. It is unusual to see a single varietal made from Chambourcin, a fairly obscure grape, and I was excited to try it. Defintely worth a trip and bringing home a bottle or two as well.
Knob Hall Winery is located at 14108 St. Paul Road in Clear Spring, Maryland. Their phone number is 301-842-2777.
Filed under The Good Life, Wine
Third Thursday in November
The third thursday in November is tomorrow and that means beaujolais nouveau. Loyal reader(s) will know my conflicted feelings on the issue. As usual I will sample some and let you know. I am not aware of any special festivities planned for the Frederick area. Anyone have any news?
Previous thoughts on this event for 2010, 2009, 2008, more 2008, and 2007.
Filed under The Good Life, Wine
Lunchbox- A New Restaurant From the Makers of Volt
Word is that the team of Voltaggio and Staples are opening a new restaurant in early December on Carroll Creek. From the description its going to have to be on one side or another of the Wine Kitchen. It will serve sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts in a casual setting. Here is the website. Not much to see right now.
UPDATE: Hadn’t seen this when I wrote the above entry, but Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post has a more in-depth article here. BV is going to be busy next year! He also reports on some major changes at Volt:
Come January, Voltaggio plans to introduce some significant changes at his flagship restaurant. Volt will dispense with its a la carte menu and offer instead a four-course list for $80 that will completely change at the start of each month. Lunch service will be cut back to Saturday and Sunday, a move that will help Voltaggio and his team “push Volt to the next level” — finetune dishes, prepare additional canapés, re-write those menus — since the kitchen space will be free weekdays.
Filed under Restaurant- misc.
Frederick’s Beer Trail
Did you know that Frederick had beer trail? I didn’t. Here is the article from the Downtown Frederick Partnership. With the exception of Roast House Pub I’ve hiked the whole trail, however I’m not sure I agree with all the listings. Certainly Flying Dog, Barley & Hops and Brewer’s Alley deserve to be on there. What about the others? Does simply serving good beer warrant inclusion? Let me know.
Filed under Booze
Alcohol To Save The Postal Service?
The Senate’s bipartisan plan to shore up the postal service’s shaky finances includes a provision to allow the USPS to ship wine and beer. Currently only UPS and FedEx do so. Sen. Lieberman is quoted as saying the plan would pull the mail service ”back from the brink of bankruptcy.” Alcohol has certainly saved me from the brink a few times so why not the mail?
Full article here.
Is this the future of the USPS?
The Wine Kitchen
Wherein I break my own rule and review a chain restaurant. I know this does not really fit my criteria of a chain: there is one Wine Kitchen in Leesburg and they opened one in Frederick last month. If you have been paying attention to my twitter feed you would know this review was coming. First impressions were very good: the space is tastefully decorated in what I’d call semi-modern style with lots of wood and metal. Plenty of tables overlook Carroll Creek and in the other direction the open kitchen. There also was a private room which looked like it could easily seat twenty or so. When I was there is was still under construction.
The food was very good. I started with the butternut squash soup which turned out to be the highlight of my meal. Rich creamy soup with fried goat cheese balls and a drizzle of olive oil. I came close to licking the bowl on that one. I also sampled the sheep’s milk agnilotti, the heritage pork belly and the Border Springs Farm lamb flatbread. All three of which were delicious. I cannot stand overcooked pasta and I am happy to report that the agnilotti was cooked perfectly. The pork belly had a nicely crisped exterior and a juicy inside. The menu is not huge, but there is plenty to choose from.
Of course, like the name implies this place is about wine. The best way to enjoy this is get one of their flights. These are groupings of three wines, thematically tied together. They come in high quality glassware and each flight was accompanied by a little set of cards explaining the three different wines. I ordered the Italian Renaissance, which was the only flight that had both white and red wine. I had the white (Fuso Verdicchio) with the soup, which made for a terrific pairing. The other two were reds. The only down note was that I felt like the last wine of the flight, the Marabino Noto Nero D’Avola, was a little old and flat tasting. I always have a little bit of a concern about freshness in places that have a lot of wine by the glass available on the menu, yet just keep the partially full bottles out on the counter with the corks stuffed in them. On the plus side there are lots of interesting flights to try: Pinot Evil and a flight of three bubblies caught my eye.
The service was good and the lunch with appetizer, entrée and a flight of wine each came to about $40 each including tip. All of us agreed that it is well worth a return trip. On the way out we noticed a nice set of leather sofa surrounding a fireplace. That would be the spot to while away some time while sampling their wines!!
Filed under Restaurant Reviews, Wine
Chef Bryan Voltaggio Snapped at the Farmer’s Market
Not trying to get all paparazzi on you but here is a recent picture of Chef Voltaggio at the West Frederick Farmer’s Market shopping. It’s not my picture so I’ll just link to it.
This serves as a great reminder to get out there before its over! I was there two Saturdays ago and just blown away by the abundance. All the fall glory with some of summer still hanging on as well. This really is the best time of year to go. Among my scores were some amazing apples, my favorite vegetable of all time: brussels sprouts and got a huge bunch of rainbow chard on impulse. Mrs. F displayed her strong knife skills (Shout out to Chef Christine and the Kitchen Studio!) by julienning the leaves and dicing the stems. Sauteed the whole thing in olive oil and served it with a sprinkling of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. Amazing!
This picture does not do it justice!
Danielles Closed
Just saw that Danielle’s restaurant at Shab Row shut its doors for good. There was some indication they were going to try something different but apparently now they are just plain closed. I remember when the space was occupied by Tauraso’s. It seems to me that local restaurants who are serving higher end ”American” cuisine are having a harder time of it than some other more specialized restaurants. What do you think?
UPDATE 10/26/11: The Frederick News Post is reporting that the restaurant owed more than $353,000 in sales and witholding taxes. Ouch!
Filed under Restaurant- misc.
Mionetto Prosecco
Mionetto prosecco frequently pops up on lists of value bubblies. I’ve had it a few times over the years and enjoyed it but it hasn’t been in our regular rotation here at home, which was frustrating since I know its very widely distributed. It turns out it’s just really a matter of going to the right liquor store, and I found it this past week at Old Farm Liquors. It was on sale for $9.99. To be precise, since they make several varieties, I am talking about Mionetto Prosecco Brut D.o.c. I found it to be moderately bubbly, with lots of golden delicious apple flavors with a hint of pear. It winds up with a nice, crisp dry finish. It also had a little bit of champagne-like undertones that elevated it a notch above the usual prosecco. Had it with ham and cheese (Gruyère) crepes and it was excellent.
VOLT ink party
Got an email from VOLT. They’re having a party at Harry Grove stadium next Tuesday the 18th:
Please join the Voltaggio Brothers for an action packed night at the Harry Grove Stadium
- Home of the Frederick Keys Baseball Team - Tuesday, October 18, 2011 6 -10 p.m.Two of America’s best chefs have joined together in the creation of VOLT ink, a new cookbook by Bryan and Michael Voltaggio… and we are throwing a party to celebrate!Concession food courtesy of the Voltaggios take on ballpark food. Beverages by Flying Dog Brewery and Brewers Alley. FACKA Double Header (Frederick Adult Co-ed Kickball Association) featuring one regular game and a second All Star Game with the brothers playing on the East
Coast vs the West Coast team. Concert provided by the Regal Beagles Yacht Club Band and the Blatant 80′s. Kids Fun Zone for oodles of fun for the kids.Entry tickets $8 for adults and free for children 12 and under. Children will need a ticket for entry.
Early release of the book will be on sale for $40 and the brothers will be on hand for signatures.
I’m going to keep an eye on the forecast for Tuesday, but right now it looks decent. You can get tickets by calling 301-815-9939 or clicking here.
Filed under Food, Restaurant- misc., The Good Life
Maryland Wine
The Washington Post did a neat article on Maryland Wine in their food section yesterday. They report a couple of interesting tidbits. First that Maryland wineries are up from 15 in 2000 to 52 today, with 15 additional applications pending. I also liked the information that Black Ankle Vineyards was the first Maryland winery that sought out land (poor, rocky soils on relatively steep slopes) specifically for grape growing rather than planting on a previously owned farm. Exciting times and you as a Frederick County resident are living in the center of Maryland’s wine country.
Filed under Wine
Flying Dog Brewery Tour- The Best $5 You Can Spend!
This past summer the Flying Dog Brewery restarted their brewery tour which had been on hiatus for something like 18 months. Rumor had it that the brewery had run afoul (or come close to running afoul of) the old law which limited the size of the samples that a brewery could give on a tour to only six (6!?!) ounces. During the hiatus Flying Dog worked with legislators and other interested parties to get the law changed to six 3 ounce samples. This new law went into effect July 1st and the tours resumed that day. Signing up for a tour is easy. Click here to make your reservation, pay your $5 per person and show up. It’s absolutely the best $5 you can spend in Frederick.
The tour starts in their tasting room. You are given six wooden tokens, each one good for one three ounce sample of their beer, and let loose in the bar area.
Hard decisions to make with only six tokens!
They have pretty much everything they make on draft including all the specials and seasonals. Two knowledgable servers were pouring and on hand to answer all your questions. Following a good while in the tasting room the tour began. I wont bore you with a blow by blow- just go. The people I went with ranged from home brewing beer geeks (yours truly) to casual drinkers and everyone loved it. We saw the mash areas, the fermentation vats, the labs, the bottling line (which was running full tilt and very impressive) and finally the warehouse, which was like a Stonehenge of beer. Interspersed we learned about the founder and how Ralph Steadman got involved.
The warehouse. Can you lock me in for a night?
All questions were welcomed and the guide was knowledgeable and friendly. We learned some interesting trivia. For example: all the sample packs have to be made up by hand so there is some poor schlub who spends all day mixing the bottles and placing them in the boxes. Think of that next time you buy one! At the end we went back to the tasting room where you could ‘spend’ any unused tokens. There is also a Flying Dog gift shop where you can purchase their beer and other merchandise. As a lovely parting gift you get to keep the tasting glass. I plan to go back until I have a complete set!
Filed under Booze, The Good Life
Frog Eye Farm For Sale
In scanning the real estate listings in my other life I noticed that Frog Eye Farm; the most excellent pick your own blueberry farm that we have been patronizing over the years is up for sale. I was aware that the owner had been having some health issues. I hope all is well with him and whoever buys it keeps it up. Anyone for blueberry farming? Anyway as a hedge we will be planting a half dozen blueberry bushes on stately Fred Manor just to assure our supply.
In case you are interested the listing for the property can be found here.
UPDATE 4-23-12: The listing link is no longer valid. Anyone have an update on this property?
Filed under Food
Direct Shipping Update
Just saw an article that nearly 300 wineries are now signed up or in the process of signing up for direct shipping in Maryland. Check out the list, as of August 11th, here.
Filed under Wine
Coal Fire Pizza Mini-Review & Vacation
I am out of here until August! Did eat at Coal Fire over the weekend. The Margherita was outstanding; worth the trip alone. I just love that thin, charred, crispy crust pizza. Tons of fresh basil and the cheese was superb. They make all their mozzarella in- house. An absolute home run in my book. Not as thrilled with their spicy sauce but maybe that was because I didn’t have anything on the pie but cheese. I think with the right combination of toppings it could be better. Pleased to see they have some local beers available as well. See you in August.
Filed under Pizza, Restaurant Reviews
Coal Fire Pizza
In Frederick is now open. I hope to give a review soon, but have an impending vacation looming. We’ll see.
Filed under Pizza
Direct Shipping- Crickets Chirping?
Per reports, even though Maryland’s new direct shipping law goes into effect on Friday, only eleven wineries have signed up so far. Most of them appear to be Maryland wineries. I wonder if more will sign up as this law becomes widely known?
Filed under Wine
Breckenridge Brewery Part II
First of all thanks to James for posting the comment in the original BB post! Per his suggestion I stopped by Ye Old Spirit Shoppe on 7th street and they do carry Breckenridge Brewery products. Unfortunately they were out of the Vanilla Porter, which the clerk said is by far their most popular variety. I was kind of crushed to find I have such populist tastes. I consoled myself with a six pack of their Oatmeal Stout. I’ll let you know.
Filed under Uncategorized
Beer- Breckenridge Brewery
Had a Breckenridge Brewery Vanilla Porter this weekend. I thought it was awesome. Not really a food beer, too distinctive in its flavor, and probably too heavy for the weather we are having around here now, but in front of a campfire in the highlands of West Virginia it was magical. I think during the cooler months it will become a regular in my rotation. Anyone know where I can get this in Frederick?
Filed under Booze, The Good Life
Angelcakes
Everybody knows that cupcakes are all the rage. With reality TV shows, cookbooks and a proliferation of stores it was only a matter of time that a cupcake store would open in Frederick. Now to be fair the store is billed as a “cake and cupcake shop” but the cakes are only by special order. What people go for are the cupcakes. And go there they do! When I stopped by on a weekday afternoon the place was jumping. The co-owner told me that they had sold out the day before (also a weekday) by 2 p.m. At first I was seized by panic since there were only a handful of cupcakes on display and I feared that I had missed the boat. I soon realized that these were only samples of what they have for sale. In fact each type of cupcake is individually nestled under a beautiful glass dome like a jewel. It is only fitting that the cupcakes are sold in Tiffany blue boxes.
At first Mrs. F though I had brought her home a tiara, but her disappointment didn't last once she opened the box
Angelcakes has seven regular varieties: Madagascar vanilla, scarlet red velvet, black and white, shaved coconut, salted caramel, key lime and chocolate ganache. In addition to these they have rotating daily specials. On the Wednesday I was there
it was chocolate peanut butter. Some of the other special types that look delicious are snickerdoodles (Saturdays) and fresh strawberry (Sundays).
Two chocolate ganache on the left and then the chocolate peanut butter on the upper right and the salted caramel
I sampled a chocolate ganache, chocolate peanut butter and a salted caramel. They were all very good. The cupcakes were very moist and chocolaty. The chocolate peanut butter was bursting with flavor and the salted caramel was delicious. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite out of the three I sampled. The icing was plentiful and incredibly sweet. I’d be the first to tell you that I am not really an icing person to begin with so this was a big negative to me. I ended up scraping the some of the icing off, which was a bummer since I wanted to keep the drizzle of caramel and salt crystals. I think they should offer their cupcakes with either “regular” or “half” icing. However others in my party had no problem scoffing down all their icing and then the rest of mine which I could not eat. If there is any real quibble to be had with the cupcakes I tried was that the edges of the cupcake itself were hard and chewy. This was on all the cupcakes so I don’t know if it was intentional or not. Either way it did not detract from my enjoyment.
Bottom line is that a trip to Angelcakes is an awesome indulgence. Go there and get some, just go early. Angelcakes is located at 319 East Church Street and their website can be found here.
Filed under Food