Eating In Fells Point In Baltimore, MD

Eating In Fells Point In Baltimore, MD

Jack and I spent two days last week in Baltimore, MD. It seems like every time we go go Baltimore we have seafood---crab cakes or oysters. This time we also had them. The oysters were at the Oyster House where Jack had a great oyster soup. We usually have the crab cakes at Phillips Restaurant at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. The Inner Harbor is where a lot of museums are and it caters to tourists as well as locals. But on this most recent trip we had the crab cakes at the Tremont Hotel where we shared a meal. I think these were the best crab cakes I have ever eaten. All crab, no filler with a just a hint of Old Bay Chesapeake seasoning. Yum,yum!

Now I want to tell you about a restaurant that we discovered on a corner in Fells Point. The place has been in business for over 6o years in the same location. It is called Duda's Tavern and it was founded way back in 1949 by Walter and Pauline Duda to cater to blue color workers. In the 1980's when the Inner Harbor was developed the owners added a small kitchen to the tavern. Well, to make a long story short Jack and I discovered a fall lunch special on the menu that got us very excited. Sausages (brats and other types) served with mild sauerkraut and hot potato salad. Weordered that lunch special and were pleasantly surprised. The sausages were were good, the sauerkraut was good but the star on the plate was the hot potato salad. It was the best hot potato salad that I have ever tasted. Yum, yum!!!

The food at this simple tavern was so good that I had to ask our waitress for a menu to add to my large menu collection. The waitress obliged us and even gave us a golden sticker to add to the top of the menu. The sticker was for the tavern's 60 years of being in business in Fells Point.

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you a photo of my latest collected menu.

Horse Race Cookies From Red Truck Bakery

Horse Race Cookies From Red Truck Bakery

Every year on the same Saturday as the Kentucky Derby the Virginia horse crowd gets all dressed up in nice shirts and ties and dresses and hats and head to the Virginia Great Meadows Races which is in Plains, VA, not for from Warrenton. Dickie who writes Dragonquilter blog that I feature on my blog roll goes every year with her husband Scott and some other friends.

Well, in Warrenton we heard this spring that a new organic bakery had opened and was serving homemade sandwiches so in March Jack and I motored on down to Warrenton in Fauquier County. (This is the town where Jack Kent Cooke, the former redskins owner, divorced a couple of wives years ago.) Above are the horsehead cookies.

Here are the red truck cookies.

And here's the antique red truck!

Here's the inside of the bakery which has been transformed from a 1950's era gas station.

Just being inside brought back memories of the 1950's.

Here's the one table in the bakery made of old boards from a barn.

This is a communal table so you sit with strangers.

The day we went we talked with a couple from Falls Church.

This was the tag on the back of the red truck.

Here's a photo of the front of the bakery.

You can see that the two doors on the right are old time garage doors.

Mardi Gras is Over, Lent is Here

Mardi Gras is Over, Lent Is Here

Lent is here. Fat Tuesday is history now. But I want to show this photo of another famous New Orleans restaurant chef. The bearded man in the photo above is Paul Prudomme who is the owner and head chef of The Commanders Palace Restaurant in the garden district of New Orleans. Jack and I ate there in 1982 and still remember what a special treat it was.

We also remember the New Orleans food festival for the fourth of July in 1982 where famous New Orleans chefs prepared under tents food for large crowds of hungry folks. This is where the above photo was taken. Paul Prudomme and his restaurant crew fixed the most delicious stuffed crepes. Yum, yum! We loved them.

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) in New Orleans

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) in New Orleans

This is another great place to dine in a town that has dozens of great food establishments. This is the outside of Antoine's Restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It has been serving great French style food since 1840.

After you have eaten at Antoine's you can head to Cathedral Square in the French Quarter and feed the pigeons like we did with our daughters back in the summer of 1982. The "pigeon man" enjoyed selling bird seed to the tourists to feed the pigeons.
Here's another way to work off those Fat Tuesday calories. Do a little Hambone dance. This young man back in 1982 was teaching our daughters how to do some Hambone. What great memories for Jack, I and our daughters.

Don't you wish that you could relive a vacation event from the past? I do.

Brennans's Krewe of Bacchus in New Orleans

Brennan's Krewe of Bacchus in New Orleans

If you are ever lucky enough to experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans, you must go to Brennan's Restaurant for breakfast. In 2005 Jack and I were lucky enough to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and we made a point of spending one morning at Brennan's Restaurant where we had a long wonderful breakfast followed by a tour of this old establishment including the wine celler, special dining rooms and the gift shop where we bought a cookbook and collected a menu for my menu collection.

New Orleans has the Brennan family to thank for saving Mardi Gras in New Orleans from becoming a second rate national party. Jack and I in the photo above are having our eggs benedict and a bottle of wine (for breakfast!) in the famous Kings of Bacchus room. Behind us are photos of some of the recent world famous Kings of Bacchus. From left to right in the bottom row you might be able to make out these celebrities: Jean Claude Van-Damme, John Larroquette, Dick Clark, Tom Arnold, Drew Carey, Jim Belushi, Luke Perry and Larry King. Last year's King of Bacchus was the New Orleans football player Drew Brees. This year's King of Bacchus is Andy Garcia.

In 1969 the first King of Bacchus was entertainer Danny Kay. In following years these famous entertainers became the King of Bacchus: Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Perry Como, Charlton Heston, Kirk Douglas and Billy Crystal. Having Brennan family do the Bacchus Krewe and bringing in such famous people as these I have noted above to be in the Bacchus Krewe parade really brought national attention to New Orleans and increased the number of tourists who came to the city to see this parade. This is what saved Mardi Gras in New Orleans from becoming a lack luster event. To learn more about Brennan's Bacchus Krewe and Mardi Gras in New Orleans explore the web site below.
http://www.mardigrasparadeschedule.com/krewes/bacchus/

Skywatch Friday = Grey Skies At Wegmans

Skywatch Friday = Grey Skies At Wegmans Grocery Store

Jack and I love the Wegmans Grocery chain that started as a grocery business in New York state.
I like to describe it to folks who have never experienced a Wegmans grocery as a gourmet grocery with great value that is like a crossroads mix between Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, a wine and cheese shop, bakery, florist shop, fish market, and ethnic food store and restaurant. If you can't find it at Wegmans, you can't find it.

This Wegmans is on state route #29 .

This is another view of this shopping center. More grey skies.
But what do you expect in December in the greater United States.

Now please go visit other Skywatch Friday memes by clicking here:
http://skyley.blogspot.com/

My World Tuesday Part II = A Favorite Place to Eat

My World Tuesday Part II = A Favorite Place to Eat

Coastal Flats at Fairfax Corners

When Jack and I finished shopping at Fair Oaks Mall we got back in our car and drove across the highway to a restaurant called Coastal Flats. It has great food and great waiters and waitresses. It always reminds me of a restaurant at a South Carolina beach town but actually it must be more like a beach restaurant near Tampa or Miami Florida. (I'll explain later.) At any rate the place was nicely decorated Saturday with Christmas lights and red trim.

Don't you love the two fish kissing?

There is a giant mural all along one wall. Look closely and you will see couples doing the tango. So this makes me think the city might be Tampa or Miami.

The man who created this mural painted himself into the street scene. He is the man in the black jacket on the black motorcycle.

This is what I had: grilled fresh mahi mahi with a spicy polenta.

This is what Jack had: beef tips over a yummy penn pasta sauce.

Jack always has this dish everytime we go to this restaurant because it has his two favorite dishes: beef and pasta!

Tomorrow I'll show you what Christmas show we saw Saturday night.

The Lucky Cuss Restaurant Menu

The Lucky Cuss Restaurant Menu

Tombstone, Arizona is another western town that represents the old wild west. It is known as the town that was too tough to die. Every fall Tombstone, Arizona has a wild west festival called Tombstone Days. The man pictured on the cover of this old menu is Jack Hendrickson who moved to Arizona around 1960 and created The Lucky Cuss Restaurant and Barbeque Pit. Jack Hendrickson enjoyed doing western reenactments and I will always remember seeing him march with his burro in the Tombstone Days Parade when we lived in Arizona in the '70s.



Jack Hendrickson who moved to Arizona from Illinois named his new restaurant after another Tombstone legend, Ed Schieffelin who long ago had discovered two silver mines right outside of Tombstone that had earned him the nickname "The Lucky Cuss". Jack Hendrickson following in his idol's footsteps also thought he was "The Lucky Cuss" to be able to live and work in Tombstone so he named his restaurant The Lucky Cuss.

Jack Hendrickson became a Tombstone fixture by serving on the City Council for 8 years and for being the town mayor for 4 years. Jack died in 1988 but I think his restaurant is still in Tombstone and being run by his daughters.

Collected Menu - Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Collected Menu - Jackson Hole,Wyoming

If you look to the right on my blog and check my subject listings, you will find a category called Collected Menu. These are menus that I have collected over the past forty some years of places I have dined. The menu above is from Jackson Hole,Wyoming. I got this menu in 2007 when Jack and I took a 39 day trip across the United States. I think if you asked me to name my all time favorite western town, I would definitely have to say Jackson Hole. It just reeks with western charm from the town square that sports antlers to the mountains above the city that look as though the skiers could fly down and land in your lap on the town square. The Snake River Grill is on the town square and is a great western food place. Jack and I had a great meal here so I just had to ask for a menu to add to my menu collection.

Good Italian Food Far Away From Us

Good Italian Food Far Away From Us

This past August Jack and I took a roadtrip by car to New York, Canada and Vermont. The first day on the road we spent the night near Pulaski, New York and ate dinner at a fantastic family style Italian restaurant. I'm very sorry that I don't remember the name of the restaurant. You could tell that the owners were very, very proud of their Italian heritage. Look below.

Don't you just love these photos of the family's ancestors in Sicily?
I love old black and white photos like these.

Here's a map in Italian of Sicily.
Here is the restaurant's signature appetizer.

These were freshly baked bread balls that you dipped in olive oil, butter and spices.

Oh my! So delicious but so bad for you!

Good Mexican Food Close To Us

Good Mexican Food Close To Us

El Vaquero Restaurant

Washington Street

Haymarket, VA

Jack and I like the food and the quick service at this eatery.

I really like their frozen margaritas!

Yum, yum!

Here's a sample of a meal we have enjoyed here.

Collected Menu - Las Vegas, Nevada

Collected Menu - Las Vegas, Nevada

If you like German food like Jack and I do, then when you make a trip to Las Vegas get away from the casinoes for awhile and go the Las Vegas Hofbrauhaus where you will experience some good German food along with German singing and dancing. Jack and I have both been to the world famous Hofbauhaus in Munich, Germany. This restaurant reminded us of that experience. When you can't make it to the original place it is nice to go to a place that reminds you of the original. And isn't this a pretty menu. I just like looking at this menu. Brings back many pleasant German culinary experiences that Jack and I had not only in Munich but in places like Berlin, Frankfurt, Heidelburg, Rothenburg and Saschenhausen.

Collected Menu - Cincinnati, Ohio

Collected Menu - Cincinnati, Ohio

Some time back in the 1980's Jack and I were visiting my relatives in Ohio and my sister Mary Ellen Gariety Thobe suggested that we drive from Tipp City down to Cincinnati to eat at a restaurant that had singing waiters and waitresses who were music majors from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. So we did and we had a great time.

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Cincinnati, Ohio is another Ohio city known for its German heritage so we had lots of good German food that reminded Jack and I of when we used to live in Germany. By the way Cincinnati is also known as porkopolis because of all the pigs that used to be brought to market for butchering in the city.

I had some of the singing waiters and waitresses sign my menu. I wonder if these students made a career of singing. I also wonder if the Forest View Gardens Restaurant is still in existence. If it is, then I would recommend it for a delightful evening.

Collected Menu - Covington, Ohio

Collected Menu - Covington, Ohio

Here is another menu from southwest Ohio. Buffalo Jacks is a small local diner in Covington, Ohio. The first time I entered this restaurant I just about flipped out. Right at the front door was a huge stuffed buffalo! Holy Cow! I surely wasn't expecting to see a stuffed buffalo in Ohio. Wyoming or Colorado or Montana? No, I would not be surprised to see one those states.

But Ohio? Covington, Ohio? No way! But there he was this huge bull staring me in the face so I just had to grab a menu to take with me when I left. Especially since the name of the restaurant was Buffalo Jack's!

Collected Menu Minster, Ohio

Collected Menu - Minster, Ohio

Last October I shared with all of you five of the many menues I have collected and have had framed thru the years. This one is from a restaurant in Minster, Ohio that is called The Wooden Shoe.

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Minster, Ohio still has a large Dutch and German population and in 1933 there used to be a Dutch brewery in Minster that was called The Wooden Shoe. My father used to love the beer from that brewery and he was very sad when it was closed down because of competition from bigger breweries in the midwest.

WS WS WS

Today I guess folks feel the same way about NCR Corporation and General Motors leaving Dayton, Ohio and Clopay Corportation leaving Russia, Ohio.

Have You Eaten Afghanistan Food?

Have You Eaten Afghanistan Food?

Jack and I love the food at the Afghan Famous Kabob Restaurant on Route #29 in Gainesville, VA. The restaurant is now in a new location since the old building it used to be in has been torn down for the future realignment of #29 with the Southern Railway train tracks in Gainesville. All the meats here are Halal which means the animals are butchered and dressed according to Islamic religious principals. I just know that their meat kabobs and their Afghan style gyro sandwiches are the very best. I love the spicy green yogurt sauce they serve with the gyros.

The restaurant has lots of live plants growing in pots along the ceiling and a row of smoking pipes on display on a shelf. The smoking pipes are called hookahs.

Remember this photo of the young Afghanistan girl from the cover of National Geographic magazine in the 90's ? The girl had such a striking face that this photo became famous around the world. I've read that since then this girl has become an adult and that she is married now and has children.
Here is a striking photo of an Afghanistan man. Maybe this photo was taken by the same photographer as the photo above. I do know that one time when we came to this restaurant we learned that one the restaurant workers was related thru his sister's marriage to the California doctor, Khaled Hussein, who wrote both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Both of these novels although disturbing and depressing are worth reading.

Here are our Afghan gyros with the spicy green sauce.

And this is what Jack and I had for dessert.

Afghan Baqlawa which is thin layers of syrup-soaked phyllo dough with walnuts topped with ground pistachios. It is much like Greek baklava since both countries feature middle eastern cuisine. It was very sweet and very good. Yum, yum!

I wonder about the war still raging violently in Afghanistan. It has been going on now for over eight years. Will this current surge work and will we begin a draw down of troops next year?

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And five years from now I wonder what will be going on in Afghanistan and if the Afghan people will be living in peace. What do you think? If you have any thoughts on this subject leave me a comment.

Guessing Game Answer

Answer: This Is A Cheesecake Factory Restaurant

A great place to grab a meal and have cheesecake for dessert, except Jack and I were too full by the

time we finished the main course.

Guessing Game

Guessing Game

Where is this?

Have you eaten here?

I like how this place is decorated.

Look below.

Come back tomorroe and I'll disclose the name of this restaurant.

Meanwhile enjoy this Fourth of July Weekend.

Thank You, Dickie and Scott!

Thank You, Dickie and Scott!

This past Sunday our neighbors Dickie and Scott treated us to brunch at Bazens in Vienna,VA. A very good time was had by all four of us.

Jack and I each had something different. So did Dickie and Scott.

In this picture you can see my quiche and salad and Scott's filet eggs benedict. In the white napkin was the best rye and raisin toast! And did I mention that Jack had a Bloody Mary while I had a Kir Royal?