Chef Spotlight - Featured Chef: Brothers Who Can Cook

Recently I attended  film discussion in Baltimore, Maryland and listened intently to the questions posed by the audience. A man mentioned to the audience a  'brothers who can cook' event and that tickets were available.

image of Triple A courtesy of internet

image of Idris Elba courtesy of internet

I was momentarily distracted as I envisioned Idris Elba or Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje serving me one of their favorite dishes.








After the  discussion concluded I made my way to the man who mentioned the event, He handed me  a save the date card and encourage to attend. Brothers Who Can Cook , is  described as ' a celebration of African American men who are professional chefs, or who love to cook, mixed with celebrity to advance and promote upscale cuisine, healthy cuisine, and honor motherhood with a pre-mother’s day dinner'.

Interested participants complete and submit an application and fee to serve up dishes at the Baltimore based event which draws approximately 350 people. The number of attendees continues to grow each year.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the fourth anniversary of Brothers Who Can Cook on May 3, 2014  due  to schedule conflict. However,  I have 'liked' the Brothers Who Can Cook Facebook page so I can save the 2015 date on my calendar and purchase my ticket.

In the meantime I'm calling on the dining gods to inspire Mr. Elba or Mr. Akinnuoye-Agbaje to make a guest appearance at the 2015 Brothers Who Can Cook event.

Want to know more about Brothers Who Can Cook?
Visit the website, www.brotherswhocancook.com
'Like' the Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/BrothersWhoCanCook


Be well,

Technicolor girl

Charleston, 2014 James Beard Award Finalist - Great Expectations

I had to check out the Charleston. Charleston's Chef, Cindy Wolf, was the only woman in the Mid Atlantic Best Chef  finalist category and she had been nominated twice before. I sent a text to my pal Bebe to see if she would be interested in visiting. Bebe responded affirmatively immediately. I like dining with Bebe because her sense of taste is amazing, she likes exploring cuisines, and she has a discerning eye for presentation.  As the date of the visit grew closer I told friends about my excitement and the great expectations  I had about dining at Charleston.

The dining gods looked out traffic me the day of the visit, I navigated through rush hour traffic from Virginia to Baltimore well enough to arrive early.  I opted to sit at the bar and wait for Bebe. The  bar area speaks of quiet sophistication. - gleaming counters, comfy looking chairs.  I ordered a glass of Brut Rosé  while I waited. Bebe arrived and tried the Rosé as well after a moment of hesitation.  This Brut  Rosé was light, crisp, with a slightly dry finish. Bebe nodded and smiled after her initial taste. A server brought us potato crisps accompanied with crème fraîche to enjoy with the Rosé.

As gentleman approached us and asked if we were ready for dinner. We were guided to the dining room and placed at a table with a direct view of the kitchen. I gave silent thanks to the dining gods!  The gentleman gave us an overview of the restaurant concept: multi course dinner, select the dish you would like for each course. He then asked us if we would like anything else to drink and told us the restaurant had an extensive wine cellar. It turns out we were talking to  Tony Foreman, Charleston's Wine Director and co-owner of Charleston.

We decided to try the four course meal.  An assortment of bread and creamy butter was brought to the table. A sharp smell crossed the table, disappeared, and returned. I thought I smelled mildew. I asked Bebe if she smelled something as well. She confirmed that she did and asked if: 1)  I wanted to change tables  or 2) it was possible that it was her cologne. I liked the view from the table and  didn't want to move.

Course 1

We both ordered the Rich Lobster Soup with Curry. The bowls arrived with arugula oil, curry oil and lobster meat already in the bowl.

 

rich lobster soup prep

The aromatic curry was tasty  with hints of cardamom and other spices. Bebe  didn't finish her soup because of the significant amount of lobster cartilage she found in the lobster meat in her soup. I didn't encounter cartilage in the lobster meat in my soup, some pieces were a bit chewy, perhaps overcooked.

rich lobster soup

 

Course 2
Bebe's golden beet salad appeared to hastily constructed; she frowned. The ingredients were good though - Vermont goat cheese, frisée and balsamic vinaigrette

golden beet salad

The spinach and blood orange salad looked good, but tasted like water (the spinach tasted as if it were  was either frozen or old). I asked if the salad could be replaced and asked for suggestions . The wild octopus salad was recommended.

spinach and blood orange salad

The wild octopus salad was amazing. The octopus is poached in wine  and then seasoned. For those who may be leery about trying octopus this salad is a wonderful introduction. The firm octopus has no 'fishy' taste  at all. The fava beans add a touch of color and additional earthiness to the salad.

wild octopus salad

Course 3
Bebe ordered the Rockfish with French Green Lentil Cream, Vidalia Onion Beignets. She shook her head in disapproval after the first bite and moved the plate to me. The Rockfish dish was a study in contrasts. To me, the French lentils were savory and  heavy (reminiscent of dal makhani or black eyed peas)  and competed with the  Rockfish.



Rockfish with French lentils

I tried ordered the Turbot with oyster and button mushroom fricassée, lemon beurre blanc. The sauce on the turbot  had a delightful popcorn butter like scent. The mushroom fricassee was tender.



turbot

Course 4
Bebe ordered the Buffalo tenderloin and followed our server's suggestion to get buffalo medium rare. The  buffalo dish that arrived  was overcooked and tasted like cube steak. Our server urged Bebe to send the dish back to be prepared again.



buffalo tenderloin

 I ordered the duck magret and followed our server's suggested in meat temperature. It also arrived cooked longer than requested. Rather than send another dish back, I shared the dish with Bebe.

duck

 

cheese service is available

 It was rather late in the evening, so we initially declined having dessert. Our  server informed us that dessert is included in the multi course experience and encouraged us to select an item that we could take with us.







The service was attentive, helpful and efficient. The bathrooms were clean and bright. As a fine dining establishment, the type of food delivery missteps that occurred was  disappointing to experience. I felt embarrassed because Bebe was present at my invitation and had encountered a very uneven dining experience. It seemed as if Bebe was reading my mind when she said to me near the end of the meal, 'I know you're disappointed, but you have no control over the meal'.  The mildew smell had returned. I took that as my cue to exit.

Single diner note:  Charleston has a two party minimum to make a reservation via OpenTable.

Valet parking is available. Metered off street parking is available and be forewarned, parking enforcement is active.

.

Woodberry Kitchen - refined simplicity

I asked a pal who works in Baltimore where Woodberry Kitchen was located and what he knew  of Woodberry Kitchen. His response was, 'it's not far from my job and it's a hoity-toity place'. I decided to go anyway. I got lost enroute because I didn't see the sign Union Street (this could be a challenge at night). After getting back on track I arrived in the Clipper Parkway area. 

Woodbery Kitchen is located in a converted mill space. The restaurant's large windows, exposed brick walls create and ambience décor which I would describe as ' rustic and refined simplicity'. Nearby studio space is occupied by retail shops. Woodberry Kitchen's whimsical website explains the restaurant's concept is farm to table highlighting local and organic ingredients.

While I perused the menu a member of the staff brought  crusty bread, soft bread that is made on premises. Matt L., my server told me that the butter is from a Pennsylvania creamery.

I had a half portion of the Turtle boy green salad: yacon root, carrots, cremini mushrooms, pita toast, mustard dressing.  Also had pickled orange bell peppers and red onion. The salad were greens fresh crisp and brightly colored . The sourdough crisps were a bit tough to manage. This was paired with Riesling Trocken, Stock and Stein. The Riesling seemed to compete with the vinaigrette.

Broccoli soup: ham. Cheddar, sour cream. Very tasty. Great color. More salt than I would've expected., it kind of  takes away from the  broccoli. The Riesling paired better with the soup.

broccoli soup

Wood roasted sausages: weiswurst and lamb, red potatoes, braised red onion, harmony pickle, herb sour cream.  Paired with Rousanne, picpoul Hecht & Banner 2011. This very savory German inspired dish was very tasty. Matt L told me Woodberry Kitchen makes the sausage on premises. The Hecht & Banner wine was a good choice. 

wood roasted sausages
 

I ate part of the entrée, the rest was packaged to eat another day. Matt L smiled a conspiratorially as he slid the dessert menu in front of me. The bourbon pecan pie paired with buttermilk sherbet  caught my eye (I adore Bourbon and my mother is one the best pecan pie makers I know). This pie was delicious! I'd venture to say the bourbon pecan pie would 'mother approved' - she'd love this combination as I did.

bourbon pecan pie and buttermilk sherbet

 

Woodberry has an extensive and impressive wine list including Muscadet, Rousanne, Dolcetto,  and Cab Franc. Mead, craft beer, and cider are on the beverage list too. Woodberry Kitchen uses Riedel wine glasses - a nice touch.

What about my friend's 'hoity toity' comment'? I didn't find it be true of the restaurant staff . If the comment was meant to apply to the other diners, I didn't see that either. Families, groups, and couples dined near me and I didn't sense the 'what are you doing here?' vibe that permeates some establishments and/or the establishment's diners. Adult contemporary music played during my visit (think James Taylor to Stevie Wonder)  in the background; the noise level is higher in bar area

The staff is casually attired: women in white shirts, gray skirts, min jeans and shirts. Everyone is pleasant, polite, and attentive. I checked out the bathroom early on in my visit. It was clean, but some of the supplies (e.g. paper towels) were almost gone (this can be remedied easily enough - a member of staff checks the supplies every 30 minutes). Later as  I departed the restaurant a queue had formed in the hallway for the bathroom.

Single diner's note: Woodberry Kitchen accepts reservations for 1 person. The staff does a good job in making sure you are taken care of.

Valet parking is available. On street parking is available, please note the posted signs. The attire is  casual (a few people had on jeans) and the restaurant is family friendly.  Reservations are recommended and can be made via OpenTable. 

Side note: Woodberry Kitchen is active on Twitter, @wk restaurant is the restaurant's Twitter handle. When I responded to an inquiry about my weekend activities and mentioned that I would be visiting Woodberry Kitchen within a hours I received  a reply from Woodberry Kitchen, "We look forward to seeing you!" Had Woodberry Kitchen been on the lookout for me?  I suppose I need to return to find out!

Ask for Matt L when you visit.

Would you like to follow me on Twitter? My handle is @Techdinegirl.

Be well,
Technicolor girl

2014 James Beard Award Finalists - the final round

A month ago I wrote about the restaurants that advanced to the finalist round for Best Mid Atlantic chef.

There were three restaurants on the finalist list that I had not visited before :
Amis in Philadelphia, Pa
Charleston in Baltimore, Md
Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore, Md

I debated whether or not to venture out and visit the nominated finalists. I finally succumbed to personal curiosity and a bit of wanderlust. I invite you to follow me as I seek the remaining restaurants on the list 2014 James Beard Award Finalist list for Best Mid Atlantic Chef.

Be well, 

Technicolor girl