New culinary options at Baltimore Washington International Airport

I’m not as old as the Wright Brothers, but I do remember when Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was Friendship Airport.  It was a time when one dressed up to travel; ladies in dresses, high heels, and white gloves not pajamas and slippers that I’ve seen recently. We could go outside onto the observation deck and watch the planes taxi and take off.  Meals were served on flights, definitely not haute cuisine, but more than the bag peanuts or pretzels offered today by the airlines. 

I remember a trip to Paris with my friend, a caterer, who beautifully packed up meals tied with multicolored ribbons to eat on the plane and sharing the remains of cheese from Paris’s street markets on the flight home.  Those days are gone!

Check out the full story and slideshow at the Dara Cooks column at Baltimore Post Examiner

Dinner guests with food allergies

When entertaining these days, how do you cope with people's food allergies and/or dislikes. What used to be simple has become fixing a different meal for each guest? Your thoughts?

You don't want to go to the trouble of fixing a meal and finding out your guest can't eat half of what you have fixed BUT between food allergies, specialty diets your window of what to fix has narrowed or you become a short order cook meeting everyone's needs. What do you do?

Talk amongst yourselves and then share!

Dining Dish Radio Program kicks off.

This past summer I did a radio interview on Baltimore Internet Radio with founder Dave Custy. We had great fun, told fun stories and connected on wanting to put a voice to the food community both here in Baltimore and with a national slant. Recently I ran into Dave and Janice Kaufmann, his partner in crime, at a media event.  Dave said I want to talk to you about doing a food-centric program. After a meeting and a lesson at home how to record a program I was on my way. The next step is learning how to record interviews from my home via Skype which will make for better programming. Interviews will be both local and on a national platform with the likes of cookbook authors, chefs, food producers etc.

My thoughts are doing two kinds of shows, one based on the food news in Baltimore and another based on national food news. Baltimore Internet Radio covers all things Baltimore, national and international.

Have mercy on me for this first program, I promise to become better and have more voices on the program tha other than my own. As we get rolling there will be advertising opportunities.  As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day, so give Dining Dish time as we learn to craw and grow.

Listen to the first  Dining Dish program on Baltimore Internet Radio  HERE.  

City Dining Cards: A deck of culinary delights

I don’t like City Dining Cards, I LOVE City Dining Cards and you will too.  The concept is local dining, at local independent restaurants, fifty of them plus two bonus wild cards for a full deck offering $10 off a $30 purchase of food* - simple. No screwy blackout dates or crazy restrictions -they are good every day at the restaurants in Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Capital Region, Chicago, London, Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Rochester and Syracuse. Each city has its own deck of delicious dining.  The cost to you for a City Dining Card deck is $20 – just pick your city. Let’s calculate how much you can save:

50 restaurants X $10 off per restaurant = $500 less the $20 for the deck (you can save more with multiple purchases) plus your two bonus wild cards of freebies.

Get all the details on the City Dining Cards HERE.

When you want to dine rather than just eat – Wit & Wisdom

Wit & Wisdom, a tavern by Michael Mina, is the place to go when you want to dine.  You know the difference; eating can be the local bar, corner restaurant and carry-out. Dining to me is not only fine edibles but the whole experience – top-notched service and au courant libations – dining becomes the entertainment for the evening. Located in Baltimore’s Four Seasons Hotel, Wit & Wisdom offers that warmth travelers desire, spaciousness diners enjoy and the inexplicable feeling that you are very special.

The husband and I dined there as guests of Wit & Wisdom, they are promoting their seasonal multi- course tasting menus with optional paired wine and ale.  Seated at a table facing the harbor view through a large picture window we could see the reflection of all the activity in the open kitchen in the window as well as the harbor’s colorful lights.  

Watch the slideshow, video and full story HERE.

Drop your mallets and vote for Baltimore's crabs

Website 10Best, a division of USA Today Travel has just launched the 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards.  It will cover all those things that travel encompasses from food, hotels, modes of transportation, things to do etc.  

Their first Readers’ Choice is the Best Iconic American Food and our Baltimore Crabs are one of twenty nominees. We are competing against the likes of Honolulu Poi. Kentucky Burgoo, Wisconsin Cheese Curds, Key West Key Lime Pie, Seattle Dungeness Crab for the top 10 spots.

Voters will have four weeks to vote, and are allowed one vote per category, per day. Click on the snapshot of the steamed crabs to vote at 10Best Iconic American Food. We are currently in 3^rd place. Drop your mallets and vote!

 

Restaurant news from Hampden

The first day of summer was beautiful weather and an inspiration to hop in my car and go check out the comings, the arrived and the remodeled in Hampden. .

Get the scoop on The ChaRmery, Paulie Gee's Hampden, Choux - Ma Petite Shoe Cafe, Cafe Hon, and Birroteca HERE

Dishcrawl - local, social dining in over 130 cities

In over 130 cities throughout the United States and Canada people gather for Dishcrawl’s local dining events. Baltimore is the most recent dining outpost for the young company started by Tracy Lee back in 2010.

Recently I had the pleasure of “dishcrawlin” as their guest through one of Baltimore’s downtown neighborhoods. Some might recognize the concept as a progressive dinner. Couples, young and old, singles, mothers and daughters were all afoot, as we walked to and from 4 restaurants to dine on one of their house specialties.

Watch the slideshow and read the full story HERE

Gluten-free cooking in and dining out

You've heard the term gluten-free and the growth of those with celiac disease, gluten intolerance and those who want to just eliminate gluten in their diet has grown at an amazing rate in a very short period of time. And as the numbers multiply so do cookbooks focused to the gluten-free life. One of the forerunners in gluten-free blogging is Shauna James Ahern with her husband and chef Daniel Ahern of Gluten-Free-Girl and The Chef. Shauna was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2005 and her first cookbook

 was Gluten-Free Girl and the chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes. Just released is their second cookbook Gluten-Free Girl Everyday tempting recipes for the gluten-free home cook.

When you cook for a celiac or gluten intolerant you should be aware that not only does your kitchen have to be cleaned thoroughly but there is equipment you should not be using or should be replaced that are porous or have scratches. Learn more about one restaurants food and wine dining event and the complete story HERE

Top items patrons steal from restaurants

What do you think the items are? From speaking to numerous chefs and restaurant owners from around the country and Canada nothing is sacred or safe. There are dining room sticky fingered guests and the patrons who like to pilfer out-of-plain sight from the bathrooms.

The dining room thieves are probably the most adventurous although there was one daring bathroom thief whose story was told by Chef/Owner Christopher Prosperi of Metro Bis Restaurant in Connecticut. Chef Prosperi responded to my inquiry, “The best story I ever heard was a restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island. A guest came to the restaurant in the middle of a packed Saturday night with a solid plan. He packed a bag of tools and some spare parts, and then headed to the restroom. During full dinner service, while pretending to repair the sink, he carefully removed the faucet, placed it in a tool box and replaced it with a cheaper Home Depot version. Then he walked out the door.”

Read the full story and watch the slideshow HERE

The Gunpowder Bison and Trade Company (GBT) invites you to join them on the farm for this outdoor, meat-centered, food series. Each week, on Thursday evening for four weeks, GBT chef, Jesse Sandlin, will create a menu focusing on different cuts of meat from many different types of locally raised animals. Troyers Liquors will be there pouring drinks and local musicians will be performing.

There is no admission fee. You only pay for what you eat and drink.

Get the full schedule and menu here.

Dine Downtown Baltimore contest: win a culinary excursion or staycation

Hey Baltimore, stop picking your Old Bay steamed crabs and put down your Natty Boh and take the less than 30 seconds it will take to “LIKE” Dine Downtown Baltimore’s recently launched Facebook page. Stay tuned in to culinary happenings at numerous downtown Baltimore restaurants just by liking their page.

Sotto Sopra Italian Restaurant - Downtown Baltimore

The contest is simple, LIKE Dine Downtown Baltimore and you can win a staycation here in Baltimore at the Hotel Monaco Baltimore and dinner at the B & O American Brasserie or the Waterfront Kitchen. You may win the other prize, a culinary excursion to the Grand Bahama Island with Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen for you and a guest. If you win consider taking me as your guest just because I’m fun, don’t snore and quite the raconteur.

It is so simple, the next time you are on Facebook just go to Dine Downtown Baltimore and like them. Once you like them, click on the culinary sweepstakes tab.

Gourmet dining bargain of the week – Tuesday, February 21

i’m always on the hunt for a great meal for a cost effective price.  Not the chain 2 full dinners for $20, a good meal, a quality meal.  Well here is one for you.  Chef Anisha Jagtap, Baltimore Burger Bar in Hampden is showing her creativity, skill and love for food with her chef’s tasting menu this Tuesday, February 21st – five courses and an amuse bouche for $25. It is BYOB and of course there will be tax and gratuity.

Check out the menu and remaining details HERE