Category Archives: Baltimore Restaurant

The Capital Grille – Baltimore –

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Happy 2014!!

Man am I glad the Holidays are finally over. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Holidays season because to me, it is about being around people you love and usually in tandem with great food and wine (and usually followed with unwelcome extra pounds).

January usually follows for most folks with New Year resolutions that are in most cases about eating healthier, exercising more, losing weight, counting your calories, being nicer etc…

I have to admit, when I used to live overseas, being Vegetarian or Vegan was something I never heard of (no offense to all of my Vegan and Vegetarian friends). Whether it is for health reasons, or by choice, I do admire people that fit in that category. Speaking for myself, I know for a fact that I could never be in the V category. As a matter of fact, if my doctor called me up today after my yearly physical, and told me: Aida: as of today, you can no longer eat any kind of meat or you will die. My response would be: Off me NOW. This will just never happen as I love meat too much. It might sound offensive to some, knowing that I am truly an animal lover, but yeah, I love me some good steaks (and duck fat).

Which brings me to today’s topic. I usually do not blog about chain restaurants because there is usually nothing unique about it (it’s kind of an Oxymoron I know).

Many many years ago (and we are talking about maybe 9 to 10 years), my husband took me to Capital Grille downtown Baltimore (https://www.thecapitalgrille.com/pages/locations/?id=8023). I was introduced for the first time to a 22 ounces dry aged Delmonico Steak.

Let me start of by giving you a little background: I was born and raised in Lyon, France. Lyon is a city in East Central France, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon was historically known as an important area for the production of silk, but in modern times has developed a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France. As a matter of fact, Paul Bocuse is a highly recognized French Chef based in Lyon who is famous for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine (I have one of his recipe book that I shamelessly stole (with her knowledge) from my friend Linda). The reason why I am telling you all this is because you would think that, after being raised in that kind of environment, it is doubtful that a chain steak place could wow me: WRONG! A medium rare dry aged Delmonico Steak coming out of the Capital Grille kitchen is THE BEST STEAK I EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

Now maybe, it was a one time thing. Maybe there is no way this steak can be that good all the time. Well wrong again. My husband and I have been going back there consistently over all these years (went there again last Saturday), and it is still by far, THE BEST STEAK I EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

Here is something even more fascinating: How many of you know what is involved in the dry aging process of meat??Please read this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_aging. I always wondered, wouldn’t the meat go bad after that many days???? well wrong, it is apparently all about the temperature, and I have had the great pleasure to see the process first hand this past Saturday at The Capital Grille.

During our dinner, we had the pleasure to have a nice talk with Jamie Heffron, who is the Manager of this fine establishment.

20140104_223218I told Jamie how amazed I was to have such an excellent meal every time I went there, and that I was fascinated by  the whole dry aging process.  About 2 weeks ago, Sherry showed me a video that she had recorded about Barefoot Contessa while she was on vacation to Napa Valley, and visited Tyler Florence, who shared with her his Porterhouse Steak recipe (dry aged of course) cooked in a 1200 degrees broiler and bathed in a bath of clarified butter, sage, thyme and garlic mixture. I shared what I saw that day with Jamie, and he proceeds to tell me, oh! we have a 1800 degrees broiler here, and a whole room with dry aged meat, would you like to see how we do it??? Helloooooooooooo? Have we met?? Are blueberries blue??? Do you tell Noah about a flood (I just learned that expression from my husband! been wanting to use it for a while 🙂 ).

On my feet I was! Let’s go! Jamie introduced me to Matthew Jaffe, Executive Chef Partner there and was going to take Sean and I for a tour!!!!!!

20140104_222527Matthew explained to me how the dry aging process works, and took me to their 39 degrees meat room :). Now I must say, it kind of looks disgusting when you look at it that way, there is nothing appetizing about the way that meat looks, but let me say it again just in case you didn’t pick up on that: BEST STEAK I EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

Please allow me to share with you the pictures I took from that room:

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They have their personal butcher that comes in 5 days a week! Can you imagine owning a 1800 degrees broiler?????????????????? Man I would love to be able to cook just one time in their kitchen, which brings me to the next story: Sean sold my cooking abilities to them with such conviction that I might just be allowed to cook my famous prosciutto lamb for Jamie and Matthew to taste. Now wouldn’t that be freaking awesome, to be able to cook for the Manager and the Executive Chef of The Capital Grille??? Stay tuned on that…..I will let you all know if that ever happens.

Now, I had to introduce my partner in crime to this place, since it is after all, THE BEST STEAK I EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

I have been telling Sherry about it for a while now as she has never been there. I just simply told her that it was THE BEST STEAK I EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE and she knows that I am a food snob.

One night, I just kidnapped her and I took her there (she didn’t complain trust me).  We had a fantastic 2005 Margaux (Chateau D’Anglude), Lawrence was our server (he was great), and Sherry was introduced for the first time to the famous 22 ounces Dry Aged Delmonico:

20131226_185847Well there. She asked me if I would think that it would be inappropriate for her to have her way with the bone in such a fine establishment, I simply responded that I would personally be offended if she didn’t. The picture speaks for itself. Sherry my friend, I am proud of you!

So to summarize, I just wanted to make sure that you all got my point: BEST STEAK I EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

BE HEALTHY, AND STAY HUNGRY!! (and go have a Delmonico!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Aida.

Trattoria Alberto – Best Italian Kept Secret in Glen Burnie, MD

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Bonjour Friends!

I have to say: I was hesitant in writing this post as I want to be selfish and keep this place all to myself!

I have heard about Trattoria Alberto through Victoria and Sherry, and they kept telling me how surprisingly good that place was. About 2 weeks ago, Sherry and I went there on a week day, around 5pm, we were the first ones there. When I parked in front of the restaurant, I looked at Sherry and said : ” are you sure that this is it??”. It is located in a small strip mall on Crain Highway, and the store front looks like nothing, it didn’t even look opened! Sherry was confident that I was going to quickly change my mind, she was right.

We only had a couple of appetizers and a nice bottle of wine, it was perfect,

Alberto, the owner and Executive Chef, is an absolute doll (and I just love the way he dresses, the shirt, the tie, dressed pants and tennis shoes!):

20130911_200157Last night, I decided to take my husband there, since he never heard of this place either.

He had the same reaction I did as soon as he parked: “Are you sure this is the place??” LOL, yeah, you wait my dear..

Alberto has a pretty good memory as he immediately recognize me and greeted me warmly (some of you might say, not hard to do, you don’t see this spiky hair that often!).

I adore Alberto! he sings when he speaks. He proceeds to start talking about his menu, and what he got fresh in the kitchen for tonight, with a wonderful Italian accent.

The waiter, Luis, is adorable too, very quite, but very attentive to everything you might need:

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Check out their full menu a thttp://www.trattoriaalberto.com/pasta_veal_homemade_desserts_baltimore.php.

We started out with the Calamari Alla Griglia, or grilled calamari. Sorry folks, no picture on that dish. It was gone before I even got to my phone.

I chose the Linguine Alla Puttanesca for my entree, my husband chose the Vitello Sorrentina. Alberto even added as a side dish for him a cannelloni filled with broccoli and cheese. ALL the pasta they serve are hand made in their kitchen.

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They also have a very good wine list. We actually had a carafe of their Italian house wine for the evening, Cabernet blend which was delicious.

Towards the end of the dinner, we started chatting with Alberto and we asked him how come this place wasn’t more busy, as good as it is. He told us that business has been slow, especially with the Casino being so close and that people prefers to go to the restaurants there.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!!! What would you ever want to chose a chain restaurant over this gem!

Now, as much as I would like to keep this place all to myself, I am willing to share….Please go see Alberto, I promise you that this will be one of the best Italian experience you’ll get, especially in Glen Burnie!!!!

Stay hungry!!!

 

Aida.

Woodberry Kitchen………..Such a lovely place

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I am not sure this is such a great idea to blog about this restaurant so close to lunch time…So please, don’t hate me for what I am about to write (because you will be hungry!).

I’d like to point out that getting there was a little confusing, we made a couple of wrong turns before finding it. They have Valet parking, which is great as it is such a narrow street. There is a very unusual apartment complex right across the street with a pool. The pool landscaping is absolutely gorgeous, it almost makes you forget that you are actually in Baltimore City! (check it out if you do decide to go).

First thing first, here is their website: http://www.woodberrykitchen.com/. Know that their menu changes every single day, depending on what they get from the farms. True meaning of “from the farm to your table”.

The building itself for Woodberry Kitchen is a very old one, and I like the fact that they kept the rustic look and feel (bathrooms are great too! very important spot to check out first when you go to a restaurant :)).

We sat outside as it was such a beautiful evening last night, no humidity, lower 80 degrees, perfect!

Our Waitress, Julia, was simply awesome. I really don’t know how they learn all that stuff but she could speak in length about everything on the menu. She also made sure that we stayed “Hydrated” all evening :). Please make sure to ask for her if you go!

Julia

We had a couple of appetizers to share around the table (it was 5 of us), a cheese plate, deviled eggs and Marty (Sherry’s husband) had a fish salad. It was a white fish, I cannot remember the name of the particular fish (and no, I didn’t have that much to drink already, just one glass of Malbec) but I swear, the fish tasted like crab meat.

Now, as far as the deviled eggs, I will let the picture speaks for itself. It was as good as it looks:

Deviled Eggs

Now down to the entrees, Nate (Sherry’s son, our guest of honor since we were celebrating his 21st birthday) had the meat loaf. Sherry had some kind of beef medallions dish, Marty and my husband Sean both chose the soft crabs, I personally chose the roasted chicken (Forgive me if I don’t have the exact names of all the dishes, but when I went back to look for them in their menu, they were already gone! remember, the menu changes every day).

Now down to the pictures:

BeefSoft crabsChickenmac and cheese

I could have swore that I took a picture of Nate’s Meatloaf dish, but to my disappointment, I couldn’t find it on my phone. My apologies.

I have never been a big fan of meatloaf, but his dish looked amazing and tasted wonderful. The picture on the far right is Mac and Cheese (I can almost see you drooling looking at these). All I can say about that one is : YUM YUM YUM.

Now, I won’t speak to much about all the dishes, expect mine. THE CHICKEN. Yes, I wrote in capitals letters on purpose because I am yelling as I am typing it. Before I get to meat itself, I am going to try to describe the roasted veggies (you can’t see them in the picture because the chicken put his behind on them, but trust me they are there).

Number #1 :The carrots.  I had to ask Julia where on earth where these carrots came from (my first guess would have been heaven). I honestly never eaten carrots that tasted like potatoes. Julia told me that these particular carrots came from a farm named Side by Side in PA. YAY!!! Heaven is not that far away after all! So I did my research, and Voila!  here it is: http://www.sidebysidefarm.com/. Note to self: Plan a trip with Sherry in Fall to go visit that farm and use their veggies to make my Boeuf Bourguignon!

Number #2: The chicken. Oh my. the meat was so tender and the skin so crisp. I moaned at every bite.

Number #3: On purpose, I left the best at the last position: The sauce. OH MY GOD. The SAUCE. You know what. I will let the next picture speaks for itself:

IMG952792Yep. That good and that is all I am going to say about that. Since I couldn’t finish my dish (the chicken was quite substantial), there was no way they could transfer that deliciousness into my carry-out container, and there was no way on earth I was letting that go).

Food coma being almost over, Sherry had to do it and tell me that we had to get their most famous dessert which was featured in the Food Network not too long ago: THE C.M.P. (Chocolate. Marshmallow.Peanuts = Fresh cream ice cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallow fluff, wet peanuts).

Picture time:

C.M.P.

The top crust is crystallized marshmallow (not sure how they do that), then you dig into the wet peanuts and eventually to the ice cream. You add to that a decaf espresso with a twist (never had a decaf espresso before) and that’s it, put a fork in me (or a spoon or whatever weapon of your choice). I was officially in food coma.

So my friends, all I have to say is this: GO!!!! (I know I am going back there for my Anniversary!).

As always, stay hungry my friends!!

Aida.