Bonjour Y’all!

This winter has been a tough one for the Hungry Women! We don’t much care for cold and snow so we have had to resort to food for our comfort. Surprise! Surprise! Last Friday evening we had a friend who was visiting from Hagerstown. On the spur of the moment, we decided to jump in Aida’s SUV and take our friend to Vin 909 in Annapolis. This is one of our favorite spots and we wanted a respite from the winter. We were not disappointed. First of all, this is one charming little  Eastport house…almost like going to Grandma’s.

There are no reservations, so you take your chances. We had some prosecco, our friend had a Southern Tier oatmeal stout (so good!) and we waited for about 20 minutes for a table. We settled in and began to read the menu. There are always seasonal items and new discoveries and we love to try anything with foie gras on it. So, when our server, Melissa, told us about the pizza special which had Hudson Valley foie gras, black garlic and prosciutto on it, a collective groan of approval was heard all over the restaurant. We exclaimed, “you had me at foie gras”! The thin crust pizzas are all exceptional. In particular, The Rockstar is always a winner. Again, the Hudson Valley foie gras, black summer truffles, black garlic, figs, fontina and taleggio cheeses make this pizza a delight! The mozzarella cheese is made fresh daily. The vegetables come from a farm on the Eastern shore called Groundworks Farm. Truly fresh ingredients make ALL the difference. This is evident in the salads served here. We had a fresh baby arugula, local goat chèvre, fried shallots and prosciutto with white balsamic vinaigrette salad that was excellent. This plate represents what was left of the salad:

Our friend chose the special which was a delicate sturgeon fish served on top of a delectable hash which had many complex flavors. Aida, being the foodie that she is, identified coriander, much to everyone including our server’s amazement! If I am not mistaken, it was after that I saw Aida tearing up over how insane our food had been all evening! If licking the plate is a compliment, and you all know I am famous for such behavior, then Aida shedding a tear is an accolade of the highest order. The Hungry Women take all of this very seriously.

My son, Nate, also got in on the fun. He had the idea to take 2 of the pizzas and make a sandwich out of them. This is a creative bunch so we all thought that was an excellent idea.

On to dessert. Let me say that the Chocolate pot de creme is to die for! I get it every time. We also had butterscotch pudding…..beautiful! My husband had a blood orange curd served in half of an orange that took me back to Italy! To top it off, we ordered a French press coffee that complimented our sweets.

Our server, Melissa, our new best food friend, graciously brought us a coconut gelato which we promptly dipped in our French press coffee. Because that was so tasty, we started dipping our other desserts in the coffee! Dipping and sopping, 2 very technical terms, are a huge part of any dining experience when you are with the Hungry Women.

Melissa ended up sitting with us and telling us her fave eateries in both DC and Baltimore. We have added her to our list of like minded “Hungry Women”. She gets us. She loves food and wine and fresh ingredients. Dining is a shared experience. Food creates friendships and memories. Vin 909 had us a foie gras.

Stay warm. New food adventures await us in the Spring.

Sherry