Baltimore City Winter Restaurant Week 2015

I look forward to restaurant weeks all year long. They happen pretty frequently and are a great way to try new places without spending a ton of money. I find that the lunch deals tend to be the best. Dinner often comes out to around the same amount we probably would've spent had we ordered off the regular menu. Just a tip to look out for if you choose to partake.

My friend Lauren and I visited Ten Ten American Bistro on Monday for lunch, owned by the Bagby restaurant group who also runs Fleet Street Kitchen, Bagby Pizza Co., and Cunningham's. I still need to visit Fleet Street Kitchen and Cunningham's (I've heard awesome things!) but thought Ten Ten would be a great start to trying out the group's spots.

I ordered the Brussels sprouts for my appetizer, lightly fried and served in a seafood-chili vinaigrette. If you know me you know I love Brussels and these were some of the best I've had. I ate the whole bowl myself! I really liked the crunch from the fryer and the seafood taste wasn't too fishy. It was noticeable, almost like a shrimpy taste, and the sweetness from the chili really enhanced it. The chili sauce appeared to be similar if not exactly Thai sweet chili sauce, not spicy at all, which is great because I'm not a big fan of anything that's too hot.

My entree was the salmon BLT, served on multigrain bread with bacon, housemade BBQ sauce, and of course lettuce and tomato. I liked that this place had a lot of healthier options on the menu. While BLTs are fantastic on buttered, toasted bread it was nice to try one on multigrain. My only critiques for this sandwich were that I wish the salmon filet had been bigger (the filet to bread ratio was a little off) and more sauce. If you're not a huge sauce person it was probably enough but I feel like sauce often makes the dish and I like lots of it.

My second stop of the week was The Wine Market Bistro in Locust Point. This place serves as both a bistro and shop and diners get a 10% discount on wines purchased from the store. Since we were eating lunch and I had to work later that day we skipped the wine but did try their house made mint infused lemonade. Yum! Very fresh and reminiscent of spring, which I can't wait for!

We both ordered the wild mushroom soup as the appetizer, served with crispy mushrooms, rosemary-almond gremolata, and crispy pancetta. This was so yummy and hit the spot since it was very cold that day.

At this place I ordered the roasted carved chicken sandwich, served with a sage and rosemary aioli, arugula, and oven roasted tomatoes on ciabatta with a side of housemade Old Bay chips. This was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. I loved how tender the chicken was and the amount of aioli on the sandwich was perfect. The rosemary was also in chunks so the flavor really stood out. I also don't usually like lettuce and tomato on sandwiches and this time I actually ate them both with the sandwich.

Lee tried the fish and chips and loved her dish. I tried a few bites and the fish was very tender with a delicious crunchy batter and the housemade tartar sauce was to die for. Definitely a must order!

I think out of the two The Wine Market Bistro was definitely my favorite and somewhere I would make it a point to go back to. Ten Ten was good but the second place stood out a little bit more. I would be willing to give Ten Ten a chance for dinner though another time.

Lemon Spaghetti with Shrimp

This week we've been on a Giada kick with the recipes. Today's was suggested to me by a friend and after perusing the fridge I made it spontaneously because I just happened to have all of the ingredients in the house. I've been looking for lighter, healthier recipes and this one for lemon spaghetti fit the bill. I added in shrimp to give it protein and make it a little more interesting.

To start, cook your shrimp over medium heat in one tablespoon of olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. While your shrimp are cooking boil one pound of whole grain spaghetti noodles and drain, reserving the pasta water.

In a large bowl mix 2/3 cup of olive oil (I cut it down to 1/2 cup because I didn't want it to be too oily), 2/3 cup of grated Parmesan, 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, and salt and pepper. Add in the spaghetti and shrimp, about 1/4 of the pasta water, and some chopped fresh parsley or basil. You can add more pasta water if you need to.

Top with a little extra Parmesan and parsley and serve!

This dish doesn't make you feel guilty about eating pasta between the whole grains and the light, non-sugary sauce. It was reminiscent of warmer temps, something I'm very much looking forward to!

Giada's Braciole

Giada continues to rack up points for her meat recipes after Wednesday night's braciole. I had never even heard of this dish but as I came across it on Pinterest I knew I had to make it. I would encourage you to make sure you check your cook times though before you wait to start something because I forgot and we ended up eating at 8pm, which is late for us. Whoops!

This recipe is really easy but does require patience. It has to cook for 2 hours in the oven and you must turn it every 30 minutes. The work is worth it though!

To start, preheat your oven to 350. Stir 2/3 cup of grated Parmesan, 1/3 cup of grated Provolone (if you can't find Provolone on it's own shredded you can use it mixed with mozzarella), 1/2 cup of Italian breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1 minced garlic clove, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil together in a bowl.

Lay the flank steak out on a flat surface and season with salt and pepper, then pat the breadcrumb mixture over the surface of the steak.

Now for the fun part. Starting on the short end, roll up the flank steak as tight as possible and tie with butcher's twine. I initially did not have butcher's twine and was going to abandon it but don't! It's absolutely necessary because the meat will shrink while it cooks and will not stay rolled, causing you to lose all of that delicious filling. Once tied season the outside with more salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large oven-safe skillet. It must be oven safe! I used my cast iron. Once hot, add your meat and cook on each side just until browned.

Once browned turn down the heat just a hair and add in 1 cup of dry white wine. Bring to a boil, then add in 3 1/4 cups of your favorite marinara sauce.

Partially cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes and basting it with the sauce. After 1 1/2 hours remove the foil and bake for 30 more minutes uncovered.

Once done remove it from the sauce, cut the twine, and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Cover with sauce and serve!

The meat ended up being so tender and we cleaned our plates. We both also love sauce on anything we eat so the fact that this was covered in marinara was a huge plus. This is definitely a great dish to make when you have guests over and I know we'll be making it again just for ourselves!

I served the braciole with cooked broccolini coated in a mixture of 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. So yummy!

Iron Rooster

A few mornings ago I had the pleasure of meeting my friend Laura for brunch at Iron Rooster in Annapolis, a trendy spot by City Dock that serves breakfast all day as well as lunch and dinner items. After getting stuck in traffic for at least thirty minutes on the way down I was happy to be greeted quickly by our server, who had already been helping Laura, and ordered a mimosa.

Iron Rooster has pretty much every breakfast item you can imagine and some that are a little less traditional like monkey bread. You can even order a house made pop tart of the day. Fun!

I was feeling like lunch food so I picked the shrimp and grits with jumbo gulf shrimp, stone ground grits, and poached eggs. This was delicious. The grits were very creamy. The whole dish was covered in a slightly spicy red-orange broth that tasted almost Cajun. When you broke open the eggs and mixed it with the broth and the grits it took the dish to a whole different level. They also didn't skimp on the shrimp, giving you about five to six. Scallions and bacon bits garnished the top and were mixed in the grits, adding in lots of flavor.

Laura ordered the egg white omelet with onions and peppers, home fries, and bruleed grapefruit. She liked her meal and it was nice that the restaurant had quite a few options for clean eating, especially since Laura is training for her first physique competition in April. Wish her luck!

I would love to come back here to try their dinner options as well as to get breakfast again. The service was also excellent, very quick and friendly.

Vintage

Justin and I don't get to spend this Valentine's Day together. Such is the life of a nurse. I'm also at the very end of my 60 hour week and exhaustion doesn't even begin to describe it. Yesterday I finished my ACLS recertification and headed home so we could do our celebrations that evening. Justin surprised me with homemade chocolate covered strawberries that he and a friend had spent the afternoon making for their ladies. So cute!

For dinner we traveled to New Market to a new restaurant called Vintage. I had come across it while I was looking at the list for Frederick Restaurant Week and the menu struck me as something the two of us would enjoy.

The restaurant is located in a historic home on New Market's Main Street. Parking is available in front of the restaurant on the street or you can park around back and go in through that entrance, but you do have to cut through the dining room to get to the hostess which is a little awkward.

The inside is much larger than it looks from the outside. A spacious foyer with a fireplace houses the hostess stand and a tiered dining room extends beyond. The decor is very bright with whites, grays, and light blues. Old shutters allow you to see other diners below and above you with a slight air of mystery. The tables are reclaimed wood. Fitting for the name of the restaurant.

For starters we ordered the deviled eggs and pear and parsnip soup. The deviled eggs were topped with sweet pickled green and red peppers, a flavor combo I had not tried before and really liked. The pear and parsnip soup was mildly sweet and creamy and delicious. Vintage also serves cornbread instead of more traditional bread options. I absolutely love cornbread and theirs was so good! I also appreciated the fact that they went with something more creative.  So far we were impressed with the food.

Justin picked the Chicken and Waffles for his entree, friend bone-in chicken on a bourbon sweet potato waffle with smoked chili maple syrup and pecan crunch. This was incredible. The chicken was some of the best friend chicken I have ever tasted with the perfect peppery crust. It also appeared to have been smoked before it was fried making it that much more fantastic. The moist sweet potato waffle paired well with the slight heat from the chili maple syrup and was phenomenal.

I ordered the Pan Seared Trout, whole trout with Brussels sprouts, bacon, and pomegranate buerre blanc. The fish was seasoned really well with salt and pepper and doused in butter. It was very flaky and light. I really liked the sweet addition of the pomegranate with the sprouts. My only critique was that the sprouts could have been a little more tender; they were borderline mushy.

Vintage also has an extensive cocktail, wine, and beer list and we enjoyed several of their cocktails. Try them all!

We really loved this place and were blown away by our experience. Vintage's motto is "elevated comfort food" and I think they achieved this to a T between the thought and care put into preparing each dish and the presentation. We can't wait to go back!

Aida Wine Bistro

Having the flu and then trying to play catch-up on work and life has caused the blog to take a hit over the last few weeks. I'm going to start trying to post again as much as possible, but I'll let you all know now I have a 68 hour work week staring me down so it may take another week or so to really get back into it!

Several weeks ago my MOH and I met up for an afternoon of wine tasting in Frederick County, followed by dinner at Aida Wine Bistro, an Italian restaurant in Columbia. My friend Lauren also joined us for the evening.

Aida makes several of their own pastas and also tries to pull as many local ingredients as possible. The menu is moderately sized and diverse, and when we showed up on a Saturday night at 1900 the place was starting to fill up.

To me no Italian meal is complete without a glass of wine and I was surprised to see Old Westminster Winery's Greenstone, a dry white, on the wine list. Often when a place has local wine it's from one of the more popular places like Boordy so I give Aida credit for including a smaller local winery, and one that's down the street from my house, on their menu.

We ordered an appetizer each and were also offered breadsticks but you do have to pay for them. I noticed that it was taking a long time for them to come out and when I first asked the waitress she told me the bread is made to order and it would be out shortly. When she came back with the bread she apologized stating that she had forgot to put it in. They were worth ordering, very doughy and warm and served with a white creamy sauce and olive tampenade. The white sauce was good however I don't like olives so I skipped the tampenade.

I picked the grilled Spanish octopus for my appetizer, served with confit potatoes, cream cheese tampenade, and champagne vinaigrette. The octopus tasted fantastic with the char marks from the grill and it wasn't overly chewy. The creaminess of the cheese and acidity from the vinaigrette were great complements. If the thought of eating octopus creeps you out I urge you to give it a chance! It just tastes like a white fish.

Caroline picked the herb crusted lamb carpaccio, served with crispy capers, parmesan croutons, and truffle aioli. We were going to town with ordering things that a lot of people like to avoid! Your taste buds would've thanked you though had you tried it because it was paper-thin, savory, and very tender. eIt's easy to forgot you're eating raw meat when it tastes that good.

Lauren tried the grilled heart of romaine with homemade Caesar dressing, croutons, and parmesan. It was very elegantly presented and Lauren said she really enjoyed it.

I couldn't go to this restaurant with homemade pasta and not order any. Their spaghetti, linguine, and ravioli are all made on site. I picked the mushroom ravioli in a cauliflower puree with shiitake mushrooms, prosciutto, and a balsamic reduction. You really can't beat the quality of homemade pasta, it's very tender. The ravioli were filled with a pureed mushroom filling and the shiitake's were on top with the prosciutto. I thought the prosciutto could have been a little bit more tender, it was a little tough. I also would have liked a little more sauce. Overall a good dish but it could have been a little better.

Caroline picked the spaghetti with homemade marinara and meatballs. You could also order this with garlic and olive oil and the meatballs were optional. She said that the homemade noodles and sauce were really good. The meatballs had a good flavor but she thought they could have been a little bit more firm.

Lauren ordered Kathryn's fresh pasta primavera with local and seasonal vegetables, linguine, garlic and oil, and herbs. She said the dish was very fresh and flavorful and the veggies were crisp.

Overall I think the food at Aida is done well and worth a visit if you're in the area looking for some authentic Italian. My only comment is that the service was extremely slow. We were there for two hours and not because we were gabbing over wine. It took a really long time for each course to come out, almost uncomfortably slow. If you visit don't count on a quick meal.