Southern roadhouse vibe: Canton's Jokers 'n Thieves

Jokers  ‘n Thieves’s menu couldn’t be more low country; twelve-hour smoked brisket, shrimp and grits, fresh pork cracklins’, pimento cheese, greens, cheesy Carolina Gold rice, and numerous bourbons that would  delight any Southern gentleman or lady.  The revamped food and drink emporium on the corner of Canton Square is painted a vivid blue on the exterior and optional seasonal al fresco dining tables. Inside is another view; exposed rafters, what appears to be reclaimed wood and tiles on the wall, rough-hewed wood tables, two bars with flat screen televisions,  fresh cut flowers on the tables, exposed bulb lighting and very old fashioned looking bar stools. Jokers ’n Thieves has that casual Southern roadhouse vibe, but in an urban setting. Live music on Friday and Saturday night adds to the roadhouse charm.

A visit, hosted by Jokers’n Thieves, afforded me an opportunity to taste test Executive Chef Jesse Sandlin’s culinary explorations into low country cuisine. Chef Sandlin, recognized as one of Baltimore’s top chefs, having in recent years headed the line at Vino Rosina and Oliver Speck’s Eats and Drinks. 

Read the full story and watch the slideshow HERE.

Local businesses partner and create Fried Green Tomato Ice Cream

Miss Shirley’s Cafés, known for southern inspired, breakfast, brunch and lunch and the Charmery, Baltimore’s own premium ice cream maker,  have entered a dreamy, ice creamery partnership with the creation of unique ice cream waffle sandwiches.

June kicks off with a unique and delicious Fried Green Tomato Ice Cream sandwiched between a Cajun spice mini waffle  served with a real southern fried green tomato and chow  chow.  This is the first of many partnerships of hand crafted  ice creams from the Charmery and can be found at all the Miss Shirley’s Café locations; Roland Park, Inner Harbor and Annapolis.  Fried Green Tomato Ice Cream will also be available at The Charmery in Hampden mid-June.

• July: Bloody Mary Ice Cream sandwiched between Old Bay mini waffles with jalapeno-smoked bacon, garnished with green olive and celery stalk
• August: Sweet Tea Lemon Mint Ice Cream sandwiched between lemon scented mini waffles, garnished with mint and lemon wedge.
• September: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ice Cream sandwiched between cinnamon Danish mini waffles, garnished with raisins and cream cheese icing
• October; Apple Cider Doughnut  Ice Cream sandwiched between Granny Smith apple mini waffles, garnished with maple glace and house-mad whipped cream.

The Charmery www.thecharmery.com/  @TheCharmery  - Miss Shirley’s Café www.missshirleys.com/
@MissShirleys

French chef takes over the French Kitchen

 

It was a little over a year and half ago that the French Kitchen in the historical refurbished Lord Baltimore Hotel opened and in that time have had a handful of chefs running their culinary endeavors; the restaurant, banquets, room service, the LB Tavern and the LB Bakery. For whatever reasons, they didn’t work out, but if you are going to have a restaurant called the French Kitchen, bringing in a French chef, Chef Frank Ziegler, who grew up in Alsace, makes great marketing and hospitality sense.

Chef Ziegler comes to the table, excuse my pun, having worked at Le Caveau d’Eguisheim alongside Michelin Star Chef Schubnel and formative cooking training at the three Michelin Star L’Auberge de I’lll  and Pavillon LeDoyen.  His CV reports his United States experience at five star hotels and resorts at the Delano Hotel Miami with Chef Claude Troisgros and with Chef Curtis Duffy from The Peninsula Chicago.  His wanderlust took him worldwide as assistant culinary director and executive chef in Bangkok, New Delhi and Jakarta.

Check out the slideshow and complete story HERE.

Mason Dixon Master Chef competition is back for its 5th season

Ignore the cooking competitions on television when you can see chefs up close and personal, put to the test with ingredients and time restraints at the 5^th annual Mason Dixon Master Chef tournament being hosted at the Inn at the Colonnade Baltimore.  Sixteen regional chefs cook, similar to March Madness bracketed competitions, starting Monday, June 15^th and ending Sunday, August 16^th with the last two chefs standing doing head-on culinary battle for the 2015 title.

A full schedule as well as chef bios are available at http://www.masondixonmasterchef.com/schedule-results/bracket.php.

2015 Mason Dixon Chef Competitors

Kiet Philavanh, Basta Pasta

Jonathan Hicks, Birroteca

Wilbur Cox, Jr., Bistro Rx

Cole Whaley, Café Rue

Alfio Celia, Carluccio’s

Andrew Maggitti, Chartwell Country Club

Lanydrek Christ Pandzou, Colony South Hotel

Dana Herbert, Desserts by Dana

Rick Koplau, Duke’s Grocery

Jirat Suphrom-In, My Thai

Melissa Fordham, Personal Chef Services

Jeff Keeney, The Point in Fells

Sean Praglowski, Power Plant Live!

Bill Kelley, Renditions Golf

Niko Negas, Roasthouse Pub

Greg Mason, The White Oak Tavern

Guests are invited to be part of the excitement; tickets for all 15 dates of this summer-long single-elimination chef competition are available for purchase at: http://www.masondixonmasterchef.com. Tickets for most matches are $25 for general admission and $45 for judging experience (including all taxes). In addition, the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament donates 10% of the net proceeds of each ticket sold directly to their charity partner Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland (http://www.mealsonwheelsmd.org).

Competition Dates (5:30pm – 9:00pm):

June 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30

July 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28

August 10, 11, 16

Event Timeline:

5:30 p.m. – Happy Hour with Complementary Hors d’oeuvres and Wine Tasting by Boordy Vineyards, plus Drink Specials

6:30 p.m. – Cold Prep Begins for the Competition

7:00 p.m. – Chef Competition

8:00 p.m. – Judging Begins, Complementary Dessert and Coffee Served

This multi-week event is a single-elimination tournament designed to showcase some of the area's finest executive chefs and restaurants. Guests attending this exciting event will be more than just spectators, as they enjoy the unique experience of witnessing two spectacular area chefs battle it out in the prep kitchen right on the main floor. Each evening, two chef teams go head-to-head to prepare an appetizer, entrée and dessert for each of three expert judges, as well as amuse bouche portions of their entrees for up to 30 audience member judges. Their creations are scored on creativity, presentation and taste, and only one chef advances to the next round. At the end of this tournament only one of the 16 competing chefs will emerge as THE Mason Dixon Master Chef! 10% of the net proceeds of each ticket sold directly to Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland. More information available at www.MasonDixonMasterChef.com, on Twitter @MDMasterChef, and Facebook at Mason Dixon Master Chef.

Pane e Vino opens in Baltimore's Little Italy

As I am reviewing my snapshots and photos shared by fellow bloggers, Kathy and Neal Patterson of MinxEats.com at a media gathering at Little Italy’s latest addition Pane e Vino --- I am salivating with sense memories of the appetizer sized and shareable dishes we tasted.  The giant buffalo/ricotta meatball with rustic garlic toast is possibly “the best” meatball I have ever tasted; tender, moist – the perfect balance of meat and filling.  Let me sing the praises of the sous vide calamari, broccoli rapini and tomatoes, sopping up the juices with the crusty bread. It was tough sharing it when I could easily have consumed the whole dish.   These were two amazing dishes out of numerous shareable and small plate offerings we enjoyed that evening.  The Piadina – grilled steak, stracchino, arugula, housemade harissa, pickled onions and the flatbread , more foccacia-like, porcini, prosciutto and Gorgonzola are shareable portions. No buffalo chicken wings at Pane e Vino, they offered chicken drumsticks instead with their harissa --- clever using the chicken legs --- everyone always goes for the drumettes on the wings. 

Watch the slideshow, read the full story HERE

Behind the scenes podcast from Women Chefs and Restaurateurs 2015 conference

Dining Dish, like my blog’s name, is the name of the podcasts I record for Baltimore Internet Radio and have been doing over the past five months.  With my hand-held recorder in tow at the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Conference in New York City I was able to capture interviews with Dana Cowin, Editor-in-Chief of Food and Wine, Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation, Meredith O’Malley, a manager for the Michelin starred Del Posto Restaurant whose Chef Mark Ladner just won the James Beard Award –Best Chef New York.

Founding member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, Lidia Bastianich – restaurateur, cookbook author, television personality and co-owner in the  Eatalys was the keynote speaker. With the recorder held up in the air I was able to capture her speech, even capturing other founder Anne Rosenzweig. Listen as outgoing president of WCR Chef Elizabeth Falkner introduces Lidia and the entire keynote speech.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST – Women Chefs Conference – Taking a Bigger Bite.

The 22 year old Women Chefs and Restaurateurs organization supports chefs from restaurants, caterers, bakers, pastry, personal chefs to front-of-house managers, sommeliers, mixologist and more with a platform to share, mentor, learn and  offering amazing networking opportunities. I’ve been a member since my days as the marketing and public relations director for Vanns Spices and have continued as a member since starting my own business - 12 years. Whether beginning your culinary/hospitality journey or being established there are amazing scholarships and stagiaires available.

Any woman looking to enter or involved with the hospitality industry should seriously consider the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs organization. Coming in October is a mini conference in Calgary and April, 2016, the annual conference is in Los Angeles.

Women Chefs and Restaurateurs – www.womenchefs.org   Facebook  Twitter & Instagram @wcrwomenchefs

Meals on Wheels Annual culinary extravaganza: Carry on the Preakness party

On the hoofs of Preakness weekend, the party continues at the Grand Lodge Hunt Valley on Monday, May 18 from 5:30 to 9pm with Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland  Annual Culinary Extravaganza.

Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland’s first culinary fundraiser was in 1990.  Then known as “Taste the Best of Baltimore,” it consisted of a series of dinners in fine area restaurants, featuring some cooking demonstrations by participating chefs.  Their mission is to enable people to live independently at home through the provision of nutritious meals, personal contact and related services.

The first consolidated fundraiser was in 1993.  In 1995, the event became formally known as the “Culinary Extravaganza.”  The hallmark of the event, which continues to the present time, is the spotlight shone on participating chefs and the exquisite food they generously prepare for those in attendance.  The event has expanded over the years to now include Live and Silent Auctions, wine/food pairings, live music and entertainment. 

The list of participating hospitality purveyors will continue to grow, those participating:

·        Chef Expressions – Chef Jerry Edwards

·         La Scala – Chef Nino Germano

·         Parfections – Chef Kim Rigby

·         Saval Foods – Chef Patty Henley

·         Charm City Cakes – Chef Geof Manthorne

·         Dangerously Delicious Pies

·         Bountiful Experience - Sarah Mogol

·         Innovative Gourmet – Chef Barry Fleischmann

·         Sparrows Point County Club

·         Classic Catering – Chef Therese Harding

·         Flavor Cupcakery – Chef Shelley Stannard

·         Pierpoint Restaurant – Chef Nancy Longo

·         Baldwin’s Station – Chef Dustin Heflin

·         Clementine – Chef Winston Blick

·         Matsuri – Chef Bill Tien

·         La Tavola – Chef Carlo Vignotto

·         Silo.5% Wine Bar

The 2015 Culinary Extravaganza – Hats & Horses

www.mealsonwheelsmd.org/Culinary

Monday, May 18^th 5:30-9pm

Grand Lodge Hunt Valley – 304 International Circle – Hunt Valley

 Tickets start at $150 each – Purchase Tickets