Buongiorno y’all! Ever since my friend, Bob Laggini first told me about this gem of an Italian bakery, I have been smitten. Never have I seen such an assortment of lovely baked goods. Antonio and Bruna, the owners of this fine establishment, are as delightful as the pastry. One Saturday morning, Aida, Yvette and I decided to check out this “Willy Wonka- like” shop of baked goods. (Yvette gets credit for that description). We had read that Antonio created the 1st tiramisu in Treviso, near Venice, on Dec. 24, 1969. THIS IS THE BEST TIRAMISU I have ever tasted! It is light, beautifully balanced perfection. Yvette had made an emergency tiramisu run a few days earlier, so we had already tasted that. However, little did we know that Bruna and Antonio make some devilish concoction that looks like a “lobster” made of phyllo and is filled with copious amounts of some sort of custard that should be illegal. You will need a cappuccino with this item.
I have heard on the Food Network, I believe, that “tiramisu” means “pick me up”. This had something to do with ladies of the evening needing something to perk them up as business was done. I must say that we were elevated to new heights by Antonio’s expertise. We asked Bruna if she would come to a party we were having that very night. We want to adopt her as our Italian Nonna.
Discover “La Dolce Vita” in Baltimore’s Little Italy. Check out http://www.piedigrottabakery.com
Sherry
Stay hungry, women!
Woodberry Kitchen………..Such a lovely place
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!
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:
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:
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:
Yep. 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:
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.
Woodberry Kitcken on the 24th Of July!!
We are going to the Woodberry Kitchen on the 24th! http://www.woodberrykitchen.com/
I have heard so many good things about this place, I -cannot- wait to blog about it!!!
Stay tuned!!
Aida.
4 Seasons Grille – Crofton location
On the 28th of June, Sherry and I decided to go see the movie “The Heat” with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy (even though we are talking about food here, I highly recommend that movie if you don’t mind peeing your pants).
Since the show was at 7:40pm and the theater location we chose was in Crofton next to the Wegmans, we were wandering around trying to decide where our next eating adventure would be. Sherry had the brightest idea to go the 4 Season Grille (in the shopping center where the Home Goods is). I seem to recall that she has been there once but it was for lunch, not for dinner (Sherry, correct me if I’m wrong!).
I have been in that shopping center multiple times, but never realized that this restaurant was even there! It was pouring down rain that day and we were soaked just running from the car to the restaurant.I wasn’t too sure about the 4 Seasons and as the name seemed very similar to a restaurant downtown Baltimore that I was very disappointed with. The name will come back to me at some point.
Anyway, the waitress took care of us immediately and we had a nice little booth. The restaurant wasn’t too crowded.
I think we ordered a Trivento Malbec and started to look at the menu. I was hungry, everything in the menu looked divine.(http://www.4seasonsgrille.com).
Going down to the list of appetizers, we saw this at the same time and pointed it out to each other:
Goat Cheese Brulee
Goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic & pine nut blend, caramelized Parmesan crust, pita chips, balsamic glaze
Being a big fan of creme brulee myself (and so is Sherry!), Goat cheese brulee sounded so interesting. Looking at the ingredients, I drooled (yes, I do that a lot). Sold! we looked no further, ordered it without even looking at the entrees yet. About 10 minutes later (while we were still trying to decide our entrees), the dish came and it was beautiful (I still can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of it!).
We both took a piece of the pita chips and dipped into the dish: oh my! I think I forgot my name. Sherry was making all these noises that were becoming quite obscene, we just couldn’t stop until it was all gone. Once our food orgasms were over (I think at that point, we were both making inappropriate noise), it was down to the entrees.
I personally chose this:
Truffle Mignon
8 oz. filet mignon, truffle butter, roasted garlic spinach, roasted garlic mashed potatoes.
I already said before that I have an addiction to truffle and will soon be going to the Truffle Anonymous, so everything that has the word truffle in it, I am all over it!.
I think Sherry had a pasta dish but I can’t remember which one. Even though her dish was good, I gave her a bite of mine, and here she was again, singing, speaking tongues that even I couldn’t understand. She didn’t finish hers, we both shared mine. (She actually took her dish to go and forgot it in my car! shame shame…).
I also recall that we were not the only ones speaking tongues. A couple of tables over, there was a nice little group that were screaming and making THE noises. I had to know! (I felt like when Harry met Sally movie with the famous line “I want what she had!” after Meg Ryan did her thing). I walked over and asked the group what was the fuss about, and they told me that they had this:
Seafood Crepes
Filled with shrimp scallops, asparagus tips, lemon zest, Parmesan, mascarpone cheese, baked, seafood bisque
That one will be next on my list when I go back there because I will most definitely go back!!!!
Overall, another highly recommended restaurant. The prices are reasonable for food that good. Worth every penny. (The menu on their website actually have all the pricing for every item so check it out before you go).
As usual, stay hungry my friends!
Aida.
Petit Louis and Duck Confit
Bonjour y’all! I have had the privilege of dining at Cinghiale, Pazo, Charleston and now Petit Louis. I have always viewed Cindy Wolf as a rock star. I can still remember her short ribs in some insane reduction at Charleston. I think it was the first time I licked a plate in public. Cindy may not find that to be a compliment, but I assure you it was the most sincere way I can express how much I LOVE excellent food. So, dining at Petit Louis this past Saturday night was an equally outrageous experience. There were 12 of us in attendance. We are a fun loving, rowdy group who enjoy food and wine and celebrations. Because we tend to try everyone’s food, I was able to taste many dishes. I had the frisée aux lardons,poached egg & blue cheese salad. (3 snaps & a twist & throw myself off a cliff!!!!) Then, there was a perfectly cooked New York strip with Frites. My goodness! My husband had mussels in white wine, tomato & basil. Let’s just linger here for a moment. The broth was so rich and multi layered that I picked the bowl up and promptly drank the liquid right there in front of God and everybody, including my son, who was likely either quite embarrassed or very proud. It was a holy moment. Let me tell you that Nate, my son, has become quite the foodie himself. He ordered the Confit de Canard served with beets, Swiss chard & that reduction that only Cindy is capable of preparing. I have fallen completely in love with duck! I believe this to be a marriage where divorce is utterly impossible. There is no turning back. I want to explore all things duck. It’s a love affair. Petit Louis and Duck confit.
Independance day, Bastille day, Birthdays, so many things to celebrate in July!
Good morning! This month has been a very busy one with so many birthdays to celebrate, therefore multiple occasions to eat out and so many things to blog about. The first one that we absolutely need to discuss is Vin 909 in Annapolis (http://www.vin909.com/).
Sherry and I tried the Dayboat Local See Scallops and the French sliders. The scallops were good but not as orgasmic as the ones we tried at The Point Crab House and Grill (http://www.thepointcrabhouse.com/) which is a restaurant on the water in Arnold (we will definitely come back to this one!). Now, let me point out the description of the French Sliders: All-natural dry aged local beef, triple crème brie and gruyere fondue, truffle mayo and caramelized onion. I triple dare anyone not to just drool by reading this description. I just LOVE truffle and let me tell ya,: These sliders makes you wanna sing or hurt yourself (or both!)! We had to take a moment to ourselves and pray (I have a picture that proves it!)
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The meat was cooked to perfection, the combination of flavors was amazing, I went to heaven and back through every single bites! On a scale from 1 to 5, that one is a 6!. Our experience at Vin 909 was far from over and the food orgasms didn’t stop there. Since we were celebrating Sherry’s birthday, dessert was in order.
We both ordered a French press coffee and a Chocolate pot de crème. Oh. My. Gawd! Being French myself and a food snob, in this tiny little restaurant, how good can it be. I stand corrected. BEST POT DE CRÈME I have had since I came into this country 13 years ago. Rating: that’s a 10 even if the rating system doesn’t go as high!
You add to the entire experience a wonderful Aqua de Piedra Malbec which made this lunch simply perfect.
Overall, pricing is reasonable, portions are perfect which means that you don’t leave the restaurant feeling like you are 9 month pregnant, service is excellent and the staff is very friendly, great atmosphere: HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!
We made a promise to ourselves to go back there and sample out the rest of the menu so stay tuned! And as always, stay hungry my friends!”
Where the Hungry Women at??? 