Artfully Tasty: The Brewer's Art

To some, it’s a dungeon where lights are dim and leaning in to whisper is the only way to talk. To others, like myself, it’s a chaotic bar with limited seating and ordering at the register. And to others, it’s an upscale restaurant. Whatever it is, it’s delicious. Chef Dave Newman artfully scores with his The Brewer’s Art in Mt. Vernon. A brewery in its own right, the bar-turned-eatery brews its own beverages in house. Waiting for tables both at the bar and in the restaurant, happy hour crowds fill the bar at 5:30 p.m., eager to take swigs of aperitifs and special taps. The volume is bustling as people strip off their coats and share stories in this avant-garde, speak-easy-type eatery.

The Brewer’s Art offers food for patrons at all price points. The restaurant serves mouth-watering renditions of duck leg confit, braised lamb shank and baked Kabocha squash ravioli, while the bar conveniently serves bar food. Deciding to have a relaxed, quick bite, my friends and I ordered beer and wine while we waited like hawks for a first-come-first-serve bar table overlooking Charles Street. Annoyed about missing out on braised lamb and ahi tuna, I reluctantly took a menu from a girl working behind the bar. If there is anything I hate more than bar food, it’s ordering at the bar. Here, you do both.

To my surprise, the one-sided bar menu was anything but. Light fare including Miso white tuna tataki, Tuscarora beet and blood orange salad, rosemary garlic fries and curried cauliflower bisque adorned the menu. I couldn’t decide between the roasted pork belly and the mixed greens salad with warm Manchego-stuffed dates and 16-month aged prosciutto. With help from someone working behind the bar, I selected the stuffed dates. The crisp salad, sprinkled with Marcona almonds and balsamic reduction, was blissfully sweet with a tinge of saltiness from the ham. It was a perfect choice paired with the Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc from South Africa. The burger with Vermont sharp cheddar and the Caesar salad, beautifully platted, were equally as tasty.

The Brewer’s Art bar food is well worth the wait for a table and ordering at the bar (EK!) if you don’t feel like splurging for a table in the main dining room. Get there quick – the dishes change seasonally and the date salad won’t be around for long. Oh, and invite me, I’m dying to try the salt roasted Bosc pear salad.

The Brewer's Art

1106 N. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD

The Jewish Table: Noodle Kugel

For my class, Culturally Responsive Education, I am asked to be reflective with the understanding that truly knowing and appreciating one's self is the first step to understanding others. One of our student choice assignments was to create an Objet d'Art, or a cultural artifact, to represent our heritage and cultural identity. Being the lover of food that I am, I chose to write about and make a noodle kugel. My cultural artifact is more a culinary artifact, and my final product, below, begins to scratch the surface of my love affair with food.

Objet d’Art: Culinary Art

The Jewish Table: Noodle Kugel

For as long as I can remember, my father has been making noodle kugel – for holidays, celebrations and even just because I love it so much. Be it break the fast for Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, the sweet new year, Hanukkah, the celebration of lights, or Sukkot, noodle kugel has a guaranteed place at the Packer table. Leftovers (if there are any) are not dished out to relatives, but saved to be eaten for breakfast the next day – “Katie Cakes” gets it all.

As a Jewish young woman, much of my identity stems from my interactions in and around Jewish holidays with my family. Because we aren’t highly religious, my family’s pride in our religion stems from our culture and our tight-knit family, which comes together over the dinner table. Food is the fiber of our family. So excited over pending meals, my mother and grandmother set our Jewish table for the celebration of holidays at least a week in advance. During meals, my grandparents tell stories about our ancestors, inevitably someone bickers and food, which every family member wants to contribute, is abounding. Growing up, I considered myself lucky that the majority of my family lived within a 15-minute drive. Our holiday celebrations during the year include staple dishes like matzo for Passover, honey and apples for Rosh Hashanah, and latkes for Hanukkah, but brisket, chopped liver, matzo ball soup and the kugel are always around.

The word “kugel” means pudding, not like a Jell-O, more like a bread pudding. A noodle kugel done right encompasses many different foods and the relationship between them is difficult to define, which, ironically, is reminiscent of my family. The soaked noodles are intertwined when baked, reminding me of my own family’s closeness and reliance on one another. Of Ashkenazi heritage, kugel recipes are age-old, and my family, from Eastern Europe, makes food in this style.

Noodle kugel never seemed special to me until I began attending Jewish holiday meals with friends. While some parents and grandparents make kugel with raisins and cinnamon, my father makes his with cheese. It’s sweet and dense with a crunchy top and just about the most fattening thing you could consume. Other noodle kugels don’t dare vie with my dad’s, and this is when I realized that my family is different than most. The kugel we rejoice over is unique, just like my family. I am proud to call myself a Packer and identify so intimately with my heritage. My family’s connection with food and my positive memories around the table cultivated such a passion for diverse cuisines that it shaped my collegiate career. I studied journalism and specialized in food writing. Even in my 20s, I still look forward to going home for holidays, knowing that kugel will probably be on the table.

My cultural identity, of course, is not with a kugel. It’s about what the kugel represents – family dinners around oversized tables with folding chairs to fit everyone in. Laughter and love foster joyous mealtimes. Coming together over kugel allows the current empty nests of my family and my relatives to be filled once again to celebrate Jewish holidays as well as our family. It’s a plus that the noodle kugel is out of this world!

NOODLE PUDDING SUPREME

(Dad’s Noodle Kugel)

1 lb broad noodles

4 eggs

1 lb cottage cheese

1 ½ cups sugar

½ lb Velveeta, cut in small pieces

1 ¾ cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. Vanilla

¼ cup melted butter

A cinnamon and sugar mix

Grease 11 x 14 pan. Mix first 5 ingredients together plus ¾ cup sugar. Pour into pan. Beat eggs well, add remaining sugar, milk, and vanilla and pour over top of noodle mixture. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours.

Just for laughs, my family celebrating in the late 1980's. We still celebrate like this today.

Our table today - so much food we have a buffet.

MexiCAN

With last-minute reservations to Pazo nearly impossible and Peter’s Inn swamped, some visiting friends and I trekked off the beaten path to the dramatically stark, concrete space in the Silo Condominium building, Miguel’s Cocina y Cantina. The space is bumping, the portion size just right and the in-house tortilla chips thick and flakey. Miguel’s Dia de los Muertos, skeleton-inspired décor lends itself nicely to the hip ambiance exuding delicious energy. The juxtaposition of the deeply colorful interior with the contemporary steel structure of the restaurant is just what this cantina represents – old Mexican dishes with a modern flare on flavor.

The open-space restaurant reminds me of the streets of Guadalajara, not Baltimore. The façade of Guadalajara along the inside glances at patrons to create an outside-looking-in feel. The bar, abuzz with happily drunken tequila lovers, served margaritas, tequila shots and other agave favorites, in addition to virginal Jarritos.

The food, just like the gig itself, is an authentic celebration of Mexican culture. Tacos are soft, not hard. There is not a “make-your-own-burrito” option. And don’t even try to ask for a chicken burrito without the spice. Take it or leave it. Hating food too spicy, I munched on beautifully plated, crunchy oveja flautas, filled with shredded lamb, crushed almonds and dried cranberries, giving the otherwise hot lamb a sweet kick. The squash blossom flower quesadilla with grilled zucchini and jack cheese wasn’t huge, but tasty nonetheless. And the pollo huitlacoche, too spicy for me to try, floated atop arroz verde, red chard and mole. It didn’t stand a chance and was devoured quickly. The spicy, green tomatilla salsa and the homemade, smoky mole were a hit with my party. The basket of deep-fried chips and sauces were gone within minutes.

Just like in Mexico, don’t expect anyone, or anything for that matter, to be speedy. The wait staff comes and goes as they please, eventually remembering to fill your glass or bring your food (they did, however, forgot our guac). Even without the chunky avocado, we left sated and satisfied.

If greasy, fast Mexican is what you are looking for, Miguel’s isn’t your place. But if spices – smoky and hot, frozen margaritas and fresh chips are what you are after, Miguel’s can provide your munch…and your hangover.

My end of the date rate the plate: Worth a good forking.

Miguel’s Cocina y Cantina

1200 Steuart Street

Baltimore, MD

443-438-3139

Spring into Sushi

For the first time in a long time, I heard birds chirping. Winter woes wash away with the sun; unpolished toes are making their way from insulated boots to summer-y flip-flops; and finally, the temperature is catching up to the time jump. Spring is here. To celebrate the season of sunshine and fresh beginnings, I craved light, refreshing sushi.

Among the bright lights of Broadway and Fleet, Asahi Sushi in Fells Point, serves fresh fish in a simple setting. The place is bustling on a Friday night with 20-something year olds pounding saki bombs and slurping miso soup. The reasonable prices are at play. In addition to the “hot” menu, a front-back sushi menu accompanied by golf pencils, lists sashimi, riceless rolls, tempura rolls and the more common inside out rolls – volcano roll, dynamite roll and a few more unique rolls to tempt taste buds.

To quell my quaking stomach, I ordered a ginger salad, two rolls and mochi for dessert. The ginger salad, unlike most, was a chopped salad with a tangy ginger dressing. My red and white tuna roll, with buttery white tuna and spicy mayo, begged me to eat it first. I did gladly, without complaint. Without much room left in my stomach, I tackled the salmon-avocado roll, which was nothing extraordinary, but still deliciously fresh. Giving into temptation at the urging of a friend, I ordered the red bean mochi. Its gummy outside filled with tart, yet sweet red bean ice cream made this chilly treat a perfect end to the casual meal.

This no-frills restaurant has the right food at the right price, and they even split checks without you asking. Despite tough street parking on a Friday night, Broadway’s high-restaurant population zone has people moving in and out quickly. Asahi Sushi is not to be missed for fast and fresh sushi. Oh, and it's BYOB...doesn't get better than that!

Asahi Sushi

514 S. Broadway Street

Baltimore, MD

(410) 534-4255

'Bout Time I Boast 'Bout Baltimore

As I make my culinary rounds ‘round Baltimore, I am slowly, but surely acquiring a taste for charm city and its gastronomic offerings. I’ve had my fare share of bland, rushed meals and hyped-up let downs. I’ve even had one particularly awful meal for free! But despite B’more's slow start, I have indulged in some mouth-watering meals and have pinpointed darling date domains, dingy hamburger joints, trendy hot-spots with booze abounding, perfect for girl pow wows and people watching, and of course, a few, unmistakable regular spots that I frequent weekly.

While I haven’t been writing, I’ve shared tapas by cool candlelight at Mezze; split a rack of lamb at Alizee, giggled over gelato and freshly filled cannolis at Vaccaro’s, lounged at Meli while devouring a plate of glazed salmon and found the best Baingan Bharta at Tamber’s, the most unlikely of places for indulgent Indian. I’ve brunched on “She Wore Red Velvet Cake Pancakes” and iced coffee at the famed Miss Shirley’s, sipped sugary sangria at Nacho Mama’s and even relived my love affair with jamon iberico, ceviche and manchego at Pazo. My foodie feast doesn’t end here – along the way I have dined at the in-vogue farm-to-table restaurant, Woodberry Kitchen, slurped garlicky noodles at Suzie’s Soba and toured the Boordy Winery before throwing back some wine and fondue in its 19^th century barn-turned-country-club. Best of all, I grocery shop at Trader Joe’s with my environmentally friendly canvas bag in hand, naturally.

Washington, D.C., Baltimore’s sister city and gastronomic superior, is just about a hop, skip and a jump away. While I don’t visit the Capital often, when I have, my taste buds have been pleased – French restaurants, fresh breads, farmer’s markets and chocolate salons to die for.

My adventure is still beginning with so much to dish on so many dishes. And so, my stomach growls as I say: bon appetite from Baltimore, Hon! I'm back!

The Wine and Cheese Gallery

Hidden amidst never-ending construction in downtown Gainesville, a simple door with the word “open” greets patrons. Beautiful bottles of oils and glass jars of homemade jams line the walls. Chocolates – Bacio, Toblerones, Vosges and Lindt – cover the counters in all sizes. Cheeses of all sorts fill the glass refrigerators. Unique beer by the bottle squeezes its way between cookies and candies. Beyond racks and racks of wines from the world, a small, charming dining area awaits.

At noon, and nearly empty, The Wine and Cheese Gallery begun serving Saturday brunch. My girlfriend Lauren and I took a seat by the window overlooking nothing in particular but beaming with the sun-lit Florida sky. The one-sided paper menu listed only about 15 items, each more wonderful than the next for light lunch. Chicken salad on rye, salads with pecans and almonds, sandwiches with brie.

Unable to refuse quiche, I ate a wedge with buttery crust, tomatoes and broccoli, while Lauren ate the veggie scramble – eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, feta and olives. Both were filling enough to satisfy, but airy enough to sit well.

Dessert left much to be desired – some type of blueberry cake – which Lauren decided wasn’t worth ordering. We walked along the racks of wine, nodding at chocolate ones and ones from Spain, before paying our check at the front. We couldn’t resist buying a few pieces of chocolate near the register for the car ride home.

We squawked about whom we wanted to bring back for a delightful meal, knowing that The Wine and Cheese Gallery would be perfect for our best friends and our parents. A little cheese to go with that wine? Yes, indeed.

The Wine and Cheese Gallery

113 North Main Street

Gainesville, FL

352.372.8446

Saigon Legend

It's always been my deepest desire to travel to Southeast Asia - to visit the temples in Angkor Wat, to basque in Singapore's pristine cleanliness, to ride in a rickshaw through Japan, which I first read about in my mom's childhood poetry, to walk part of the Great Wall of China, but most of all, to soak my teeth into Asian spices and delicacies.

My obsession with noodles and rice is a thing of the past. In my aunt's house in Washington, D.C., she has an authentic Asian noodle cart. When my family and I would visit, I would imagine I was a street vendor selling all types of noodles to all types of people, piquing my interest to actually try the various varieties at whatever Asian restaurant we visited.

In addition to my constant cravings for pad thai, my taste buds yearn for soupy Pho, summer rolls made from rice paper and crispy Singapore noodles made with vermicelli noodles. Saigon Legend is as close as it comes to authentic Asian in Gainesville.

The small space on University is simple. The tables aren't dressed, people seat themselves and the cash register at the front is where to pay. But Saigon Legend is about the food, not the atmosphere.

Food comes out as it is made, with essentially each person receiving a meal five minutes after someone else. While the descriptions on the menu are minimal, making it hard to know exactly what you are selecting, every dish is mouth-wateringly scrumptious. The Mongolian beef served over crunchy noodles has a faint kick. The Singapore noodles are light, served with heaps of veggies and chicken and virtually no sauce. The pho is a sink-sized portion of broth and vegetables with a side of sauces and bean sprouts. The rice-paper shrimp summer rolls and their peanut sauce are my favorite, and I order them as a appetizer before whichever meal I select.

Though many of my friends are averse to dining at Saigon Legend, stating that it's just a bit too authentic for them, some of them frequent it at least once a week. They all agree, however, that the prices can't be beat. For $5 to $10, feasting like a king (or queen) is easy. Just beware: it will make you crave a trip to Southeast Asia pronto to experience the Saigon legend firsthand.

Saigon Legend

1228 West University Ave.

Gainesville, FL

352.374.0934