Sometimes foodies can be insufferable. This video is hilarious and puts it in perspective. I’ll make sure to watch it from time to time to stay grounded about these things.
Broadbent Vinho Verde NV
Just had a kick ass new white I’d like to pass along- Broadbent Vinho Verde NV. This non-vintage Portuguese offering comes from the noted British wine critic Michael Broadbent along with his son Bartholomew Broadbent. The Broadbents act as negociants- i.e. they don’t grow the grapes themselves but buy them and blend them to their satisfaction. Their website states that they ship all of this wine in refrigerated containers to ”enable the wine to taste as fresh and spritzy as it would ever taste in Portugal.” Boy did they succeed. Someone once coined the term ‘picnic wine’ and I think that beautifully captures the essence of this bottling. It has biting acidity, and big flavors of lemon and lime. Slightly effervescent it is just a superb summer wine. It may not be complex or profound but it does what it is designed to do and does it perfectly. Serve cold and enjoy! Heck I wouldn’t even be adverse to dropping an ice-cube or two in it.
At 9% alcohol the wine is a blend of Loureiro, Trajadura and Pedernã. I purchased it at the Frederick Wine House for $8.99 but it shouldn’t be hard to find as they make several hundred thousand cases of this a year. Get a case and make it one of your go to whites for the summer. Vinho Verde is meant to be drunk young. The Broadbent is bottled as a non-vintage wine, but if you look in the upper left corner of the vinho verde stamp of authenticity on the back of the bottle you can see the year it was bottled. Right now you should be drinking the 2010′s.
Filed under Wine
Frederick Wine House Closes
If you are as fond as I am of this store then this headline probably gave you a heart attack, but its true. Today after their customary Friday tasting they will shutter their doors at the 7th street location for good! Boy am I feeling evil. As Paul Harvey would say: now for the rest of the story. They are only closing to move their store for their long-planned relocation to the Wegman’s shopping center on Route 26. Word from them is that they will reopen by next Friday (5/27). The owner says they will have an increased selection of wines and are adding an extensive beer selection to their line up. I can’t wait! Loyal readers will know that this is my favorite wine store in Frederick. You can bet I’ll post a full report as soon as I can visit.
Filed under Stores
Frederick Wegmans
The new Wegmans is getting ready to open June 5th. They say that they anticipate 12,000-15,000 people (!!!) to show up for opening day. I’m definitely excited having never set foot in one before. I promise to report back here on my impressions when I do go, but there is no way you could pay me to go near that place on the first day. I’ve been to the Lowe’s that opened in the same shopping center and I can’t imagine how they will accommodate that kind of crowd.
Filed under Stores
Sumittra Thai Restaurant
I have never been to Thailand. I have never stayed at a Holiday Inn Express either, but I have eaten a lot of Thai food around the United States. It is my favorite Asian cuisine hands down. The reason why I feel I have the need to say this is that I have always had the suspicion that maybe the Thai food I am used to and like is an Americanized distant cousin of authentic Thai food. Sort of like what happened to Chinese cuisine when it came here. I wouldn’t know the difference. But I do know what I like in Thai food. Anyway, with this disclaimer out of the way if you are still interested here are my impressions, likes and dislikes of Sumittra:
I have now eaten twice at Sumittra and am delighted to report that since my first experience the service has improved markedly. They appear to have gotten their sea legs. During my most recent visit the service was right where it should be. During my visits I sampled a number of their offerings. Some items I really loved and some not so much. The highlights were the fried tofu appetizers: perfectly crispy and not greasy. The drunken noodles- I loved the flavors and the heat; and their sweet and sour stir fry. The latter was filled with perfectly cooked, yet still crispy, vegetables and covered with an excellent sweet and sour sauce. The sauce was perfect. Not too sweet and not too vinegary. I used every last grain of rice soaking up all the drips of that sauce. However, the dishes I wasn’t crazy about (the chicken satay and the Pad Thai) were all because of the same fault: they were just too sweet. I found the sauce on the satay to be too much sugary coconut and not enough peanut flavor. The Pad Thai was, in the words of my dining companion, “cloyingly sweet.” Having tasted it I would certainly agree. I don’t think I could have eaten a whole plate of that. Thai Rice on the Golden mile still has the best Pad Thai in town as far as I am concerned. On the plus side the menu is large and there are easily a dozen or more dishes I am really eager to try. I definitely will be back to try them. I haven’t even gotten to the curry section yet! Also of note is that almost every dish they offer can be made vegetarian. No liquor license yet and both times I’ve been too stuffed to try dessert.
The restaurant is very tastefully decorated in oranges and blacks with tons of exposed brick. It projects a modern, hip vibe. My only beef with the ambience was that the last time I was there is was loud. I mean really loud. I think this was primarily due to one eight person group that was so raucous they bordered (the wrong side of the border too) on rude. This certainly isn’t Sumittra’s fault so I can’t hold that against them. In hindsight I had no problems the first time I was there with the noise level.
To sum it up Sumittra Thai is an excellent and much needed addition to the downtown dining scene. However, beware of dishes that have sweet flavors. The chef just seems to go overboard with that taste. They are located at 12 East Patrick Street. No website that I am aware of.
Filed under Restaurant Reviews
Voltaggio, Flying Dog & New Restaurant?
Excellent front page article in today’s Frederick News Post. Talks about Bryan Voltaggio’s collaboration on a new brew with Flying Dog Brewery: Backyard Ale. The beer is designed to go with “smoked and barbecued foods.” Downside is that FNP says it goes for $5 for a 12 ounce bottle. Ouch- seems pricey for a regularly brewed beer.
Also in a sidebar the article talks about Voltaggio’s new TV show that he’s working on that might air on PBS in the fall. Equally interesting is the tidbit that he is now considering the old Carmack Jay’s property for his new second restaurant.
Filed under Booze, Restaurant- misc., The Good Life
Frederick Beer Week
Frederick Beer Week starts today. Word is that the beer judging class is sold out, but there are still tickets for the grand finale fest on Saturday. Anyone doing anything?
Filed under Booze, The Good Life
Il Porto
Il Porto reminds me of a good offensive lineman: just solidly doing their job over and over without much flash or fanfare. I’ve eaten at Il Porto twice in recent months and both times came away with the same attitude: good solid Italian-American comfort food. From the gnocchi, to the baked ziti, to the eggplant parmesan to the salmon picatta everything I have eaten or sampled there was good. Not sublime, not terrible, but solidly good. There is nothing fancy about their food; no avant garde foams or weird dishes, but what they do serve comes out just the way you expect Italian-American food to be. I was also very surprised how reasonable their prices were. Most entrees were in the $9-13 range. The other thing that really stood out was the service. It was impeccable both times we were there. The wine list is decent. They have a house red (which I did not try) and several wines by the glass. The only quibble I have is that they didn’t have many reds by the glass available. They did have a prosecco by the glass which was a pleasant find.
I also really like the ambiance of the restaurant. It struck me as one of those neighborhood places you find in Boston or New York. I think it’s due to the fact that when you look out the front windows all you see are trees and residences and no other commercial property. It really makes it feel like a cozy neighborhood joint, which is exactly what it is!
Il Porto: 200 South Market Street, Frederick, MD 21701-6527 Phone: (301) 620-7480
Filed under Restaurant Reviews
Actual Recipe From Food Network Website
I recently came across this actual recipe from the Food Network and could not stop laughing! Some of the comments are pure comedy gold!
Filed under Food
West Frederick Farmer’s Market
Reminder:- the West Frederick Farmer’s Market kicks off its 2011 season this Saturday, May 7th at 10:00 am. It is at the same location (110 Baughman’s Lane (Potomac Physicians Parking Lot), Frederick, MD 21702) as it has been in past years. It will be interesting to see what the vendors have. It seems to me that it has been a wetter and colder spring growing season so far. I know my garden is a couple of weeks behind last year. No matter what is there I am looking forward to it. It’s sort of Foodie/locavore opening day? Also due to the recent legislative change wine tastings will be allowed at Farmer’s Markets. I hope that is in the cards for the West Frederick Market. How cool would that be?
Filed under Food, Stores, The Good Life
Beer Mission Accomplished
As promised: It was very good and smooth as silk. Delicious malty undertones with some faint hops on the finish. Milder as bitters go. The hard part was limiting myself to one!
Filed under Booze
2006 Domaines Schlumberger Riesling Les Princes Abbes
Drank the 2006 Domaines Schlumberger Riesling Les Princes Abbes with Easter dinner on Sunday. A good solid wine but didn’t blow me away, especially at $20 a bottle. Had a typical petrol nose with flavors of pineapple and kiwi. Very, very dry finish. I would rate it a solid 85. When I took the first sip after pouring I was really not impressed. As the meal wore one I came to enjoy it more and more. It really enforced what I’ve come to realize with Rieslings: they are truly food wines, especially the dry ones. What I mean by that is often when you just drink them by themselves they don’t come across as all that good. They don’t reach their full potential until you drink them with your meal. The food really seems to play off the flavors and harmonize some of the weirder notes that can be off-putting when they are on their own. What do you think?
Filed under Wine
Frederick Beer Week
The inaugural Frederick Beer Week is set for May 10th through the 14th. Check out their website for more details. The grand finale beer fest looks great.
My only complaint? Should be a month long!
Filed under Booze, The Good Life
Voila!
Confession time: I hate coffee- dislike the taste so much that I don’t even care for mocha ice cream. My caffeinated beverage of choice is tea and I am nuts about a relatively new place (fiveish months old?) that has opened in downtown Frederick.
The place is Voila! and they have a huge selection of black, green and herbal teas all sold loose by the ounce. The proprietor always has three varieties (usually one of each type) brewed and available for your sampling pleasure. Everything they sell has samples in these cool little magnetic canisters attached to the wall so you can sniff each one to get an idea of their taste. The range of teas is huge and many I have never seen elsewhere (Tea on The Beach is an inscrutable favorite). I have tried about half a dozen varieties over the last couple of months and they have uniformly been excellent. I am also especially enamoured of Wild Grey green which is a green tea version of the famous Earl Grey blend. The costs vary but most are around $8 for two ounces. I get about 12-15 pots out of each two ounce can, so they aren’t that crazy expensive.
Voila: 10 North Market Street, Frederick. 301-663-0704. No web page that I am aware of but they are on facebook.
Filed under Food, Stores, The Good Life
A Toast To Frederick Wine Festival
Was this past weekend. Anyone go? I have not heard any feedback about this event. Didn’t even see a write up of it in the FNP come to think of it. Let me know.
Filed under Wine
Direct Shipping- The Glass is Half Full
Well it looks like a limited form of direct shipping is going to become law in Maryland. Ultimately a watered down version of the proposed legislation passed and is awaiting the governor’s signature. If signed the new law will take effect on July 1st and allow wineries to ship their products directly to Maryland consumers. With each consumer being limited to eighteen cases of wine per year.
Unfortunately the provisions allowing direct shipping from out-of-state retailers or on-line specialty Web sites as some consumers (me included!) had hoped failed. There was apparently enormous pressure from the alcohol wholesalers lobby who want to keep their monopoly. Both Virginia and West Virginia allow direct shipping from retailers to consumers and the sky has not fallen there. In anticipation of the new law I went online and signed up for half-dozen wineries’ mailing lists. I went a little nuts and if they all come through I’ll have to get a second job. And although proponents of direct shipping are vowing to push for expansion of the law next year I am also researching (purely for informational purposes, of course) where the nearest mailboxes etc type store is in Va or Wv.
UPDATE: Governor O’Malley signed the bill into law on April 13th.
Filed under Wine
L.O.V.E.
All sorts of catchy titles and puns come to mind but the bottom line is I love the Lebherz Oil and Vinegar Emporium (LOVE). The place rocks! I finally got around to going in there and I have no idea why I waited so long. They have over 40 different oils and vinegars in stainless steel casks all of which you can try. I was in a rush so I only had time to taste a few samples. I hit the store right when it opened and it was a good thing I was the only one in the store because the vinegars were so good that I may have been a little undignified (obscene?) licking those last few drops out of the sampling cups! I walked out of there with their 18-year-old balsamic and a raspberry balsamic vinegars. Their olive oils were so good it was overwhelming. I’ll go back when I have more time to sample. All the oils and vinegars in casks were available in three sizes of bottles (200, 375 and 750 ml). I also felt their prices were very reasonable .
Located at 214 North Market Street, Frederick and on the web here.
Filed under Stores, The Good Life
Prosecco
I’ve been banging the prosecco drum on this blog for years but it now appears that I am not really saying anything that Americans don’t already know. Imports of sparkling wine from Italy to the United States are up 73.1 percent from 2005 to 2010, according to Impact Databank. That translates to 2.58 million cases brought in in 2010.
Filed under Wine
Sumittra Thai Cuisine
First of all I really had no intention of doing this review. A full review on a brand new restaurant isn’t fair to anyone. However last Thursday we were walking downtown, hungry and decided to see if the new Thai restaurant that has been slowly assembling over the past couple of months was open. Lo and behold it was, so we stopped on inside. At that time we had no idea that this was their first day open. The place was fairly empty when we first arrived but soon it was packed. About ten minutes after we were seated it became apparent that the staff (looked like one waitress for all 72 seats) was in the weeds. It took an hour and a half for us to get two appetizers and two lunches, for which the waitress apologized profusely. At one point people were giving up waiting to be seated and were leaving.
On the plus side we both felt the food was very good. I had the drunken noodles which were pleasantly spicy with lots of perfectly done vegetables. The fried tofu was light and crispy. The spring roll was delicate, airy and full of crunch. The only complaint I had was I felt that the noodles in the drunken noodles dish were a little overcooked and mushy. Anyway I’m going to give them some time to get their rhythm and then I’ll be back.
Sumittra Thai Cuisine located at 12 East Patrick Street.
UPDATE: Added full review on May 16th.
Filed under Food, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurant- misc.
Proof is gone
More closings. Proof the bakery/sandwich place on East Patrick Street is closed. The windows are covered with paper. The good news is that the sign says a Thai restaurant will be opening soon. I look forward to giving it a try.
Filed under Restaurant- misc.
Closings
Several restaurant closings recently all in the Rt85/355 triangle area. Perkins, Houlihans and Philly’s Cheesesteak. A discussion about this at Frederick Maryland Online.
Filed under Restaurant- misc.
Scoops and stuff
Nine days after my post the Frederick News Post had an article about Bryan Voltaggio looking to open a second restaurant. Which was three days later than the Washington Post article that referenced this blog. OK maybe I got the possible location wrong but time will tell. Anyway I never promised you I was a journalist. Whole thing was pretty cool though.
PS Thanks to the Washington Post and Twitter for helping me set a new record for the most page hits per day.
Filed under Reading, Restaurant- misc.
Prosecco & Screw Caps
Funny how things sometimes converge. I was talking about a review by Gary V of some prosecco and commenting how the bottle he tasted had a screw cap; something I had never seen on a bubbly before. Well I came across this press release for Riondo prosecco. In it they state they are ditching the familiar mushroom cork and going to all screw caps. Reason given seems to be that it will retain the bubbles longer for partially consumed bottles- sounds plausible but it’s not a problem I encounter regularly.
Now loyal readers will know this is one of the house proseccos in regular rotation at stately Fred Manor. It’s great stuff and an excellent value. I confess I will miss the romance of the pop of the cork though. As soon as I see some in Frederick I will give it a try and let you know.
Filed under Wine