Foodies Unite!

[vespachick]

Ruckus, I'm putting you in charge of finding the best post-show crab cakes for us tomorrow, okay?   ;)

Seriously, you guys just KEEP RUBBING IT IN!   :(

(I'm so jealous I could spit...but I do hope you all have a rockin good time  [smiley=beer.gif]).

[aMillionDreams]

I think it's awesome you all went to Poe's!  My dad used to live blocks from there, such a fun little joint!  And it's a small world after all!  

I'm making veal stock as we speak, it smells great!  Tomorrow comes demiglace!  Anthony Bourdain would be proud.

[mjkoehler]

I think it's awesome you all went to Poe's!  My dad used to live blocks from there, such a fun little joint!  And it's a small world after all!  

I'm making veal stock as we speak, it smells great!  Tomorrow comes demiclace!  Anthony Bourdain would be proud.

Excellent!

[Ruckus]

Ruckus, I'm putting you in charge of finding the best post-show crab cakes for us tomorrow, okay?   ;)

I have places to recommend if you guys were actually staying in B'more and not them burbs of Columbia that I avoid like the plague. ;)

[Ruckus]

I think it's awesome you all went to Poe's!  My dad used to live blocks from there, such a fun little joint!  And it's a small world after all!  

I'm making veal stock as we speak, it smells great!  Tomorrow comes demiclace!  Anthony Bourdain would be proud.

Excellent!

This is like deja vu man!  Awesome AMD.  I'm guessing you got Bourdain's book.  That book is just fun to read, even if you aren't planning on doing any cooking.

The first time I tried the stock, I think I didn't use enough bones so I had to really reduce it and only got a small amount of demi out of it.  I look forward to hearing how it came out.

Oh yeah, and Poe's was a great place.  The weather was awesome and the burgers were solid.  Unfortunately, I wanted to try the only local beer they had on tap, Coast (I think), and they were out. :'(  I had to settle for a Hoegaarten

[aMillionDreams]

Yeah, I read kitchen confidential, such a great read!  And I've been reading the Les Halles book. Bourdain is a great writer.  I find myself going back to it and reading parts out loud, which is always a sign of a great book. 

The demi turned out well, but I sure got less than I was expecting.  I think I'll go ahead and make the rest of the stock into demi.  I bought a cleaver and it sure was fun hack the shit out of those bones!

Glad you all had fun at Poe's!  Sorry I couldn't join ya, one of these days...  

Deja vu?  Am I repeating myself?  Sorry if I am, I know that can be quite annoying.

[Ruckus]

Yeah, I read kitchen confidential, such a great read!  And I've been reading the Les Halles book. Bourdain is a great writer.  I find myself going back to it and reading parts out loud, which is always a sign of a great book. 

The demi turned out well, but I sure got less than I was expecting.  I think I'll go ahead and make the rest of the stock into demi.  I bought a cleaver and it sure was fun hack the shit out of those bones!

Glad you all had fun at Poe's!  Sorry I couldn't join ya, one of these days...  

Deja vu?  Am I repeating myself?  Sorry if I am, I know that can be quite annoying.

Ha!  No repeating.  I just love that we both made stock French style with Bourdain inspiration in this thread and made demi out of it.  Awesome man!  

As for Poe's I was just there with my buddy from B'more.  I wish we had met people but it was great nonetheless.

[Ruckus]

So here was Table 21 at Volt.  It was a very solid meal but it had a lot of misses and very few exceptional dishes.  Since there was a second seating after our group, it also felt rushed as we had to be done in 2 hours and 45 minutes no matter what.

Of course the one dish I didn't capture was the pork belly dish, one of the highlights of the meal.

[aMillionDreams]

I'm quite jealous, Ruckus.  The celeriac macaroon vanilla, foie gras sounds awesome!

[ALady]

What were the highlights, Ruckus?  Looks amazing.

[Ruckus]

What were the highlights, Ruckus?  Looks amazing.

My favorite was the tuna dish with the rice wrapping and the faux wasabi and ginger caviars with soy foam and yuzu.  The flavors were so balanced and the temperature and textures were perfect.  Perhaps I am biased because of my background, but I figure that would just make me more critical of such a modern manipulation of classic Japanese flavor combinations.

Another favorite was the head cheese with that wonderful truffle vinaigrette.  It was pretty perfect for me with the head cheese being perfectly tender and just enough truffle in the dressing.

The foie dish was amazing!  I didn't even want to spread the terrine on toast because I just wanted to cut into and eat it.  I typically enjoy my foie simply seared with salt and paired with something earthy and/or sweet.  This was my favorite terrine version I've had.

Also excellent were the pork belly dish (no photo), the goat cheese ravioli, and the beet salad.

The celeriac macaroon was interesting but a little salty.  It was a tiny single, dehydrated macaroon that had the consistency of astronaut ice cream (duh) with a dab of foie in the middle.  It was nice but it was just a small salty bite.

The chicken parmesan, arctic char, and reformed blue cheese dishes were bad failures I thought.

I could go on and on but overall it was a very good experience and in time I could see myself going back but probably just for their traditional menu.  That said, for that type of cuisine and experience, there are many other places I would recommend over Volt.

[Ruckus]

Yeah, I read kitchen confidential, such a great read!  And I've been reading the Les Halles book. Bourdain is a great writer.  I find myself going back to it and reading parts out loud, which is always a sign of a great book. 

I just grabbed Kitchen Confidential from the library two days ago.  I know, I know...I can't believe I still hadn't read it.  Anyways, it really is a great read.  I've been so busy yet I've found time to get through the first third of it.  

[jones]

My wife and I are going to http://www.madeleinesfusion.com/ tonight.  We ate there last year and it was really good.  The chef is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

[Ruckus]

My wife and I are going to http://www.madeleinesfusion.com/ tonight.  We ate there last year and it was really good.  The chef is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Have fun FG!  Hope it's good.  Is that Evansville, Indiana?

[jones]

My wife and I are going to http://www.madeleinesfusion.com/ tonight.  We ate there last year and it was really good.  The chef is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Have fun FG!  Hope it's good.  Is that Evansville, Indiana?

Yes, it is in Indiana.  I am considering the Grilled Golden Tile with Red Curry and Wasabi Cucumbers.  This obviously seems like a spicy dish (which I like), but I am kind of new to the acceptance of fish.  I really only enjoy fish that is mild in flavor.  Does anyone know about the "fishy factor" of a dish like this?

[Ruckus]

 

My wife and I are going to http://www.madeleinesfusion.com/ tonight.  We ate there last year and it was really good.  The chef is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Have fun FG!  Hope it's good.  Is that Evansville, Indiana?

Yes, it is in Indiana.  I am considering the Grilled Golden Tile with Red Curry and Wasabi Cucumbers.  This obviously seems like a spicy dish (which I like), but I am kind of new to the acceptance of fish.  I really only enjoy fish that is mild in flavor.  Does anyone know about the "fishy factor" of a dish like this?

Ha, my brother used to live in Evansville so I got to visit a couple times.  Home of Mattingly and Alton Brown right?  Did u live in the area during that blizzard around Thanksgiving a few years back.  I got an epic tale of getting stuck on the highway on a Greyhound bus between Louisville and Evansville during that storm. ;D

[jones]

My wife and I are going to http://www.madeleinesfusion.com/ tonight.  We ate there last year and it was really good.  The chef is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Have fun FG!  Hope it's good.  Is that Evansville, Indiana?

Yes, it is in Indiana.  I am considering the Grilled Golden Tile with Red Curry and Wasabi Cucumbers.  This obviously seems like a spicy dish (which I like), but I am kind of new to the acceptance of fish.  I really only enjoy fish that is mild in flavor.  Does anyone know about the "fishy factor" of a dish like this?

Ha, my brother used to live in Evansville so I got to visit a couple times.  Home of Mattingly and Alton Brown right?  Did u live in the area during that blizzard around Thanksgiving a few years back.  I got an epic tale of getting stuck on the highway on a Greyhound bus between Louisville and Evansville during that storm. ;D

Yes, I remember that storm quite well because I almost didn't make it home from work.  I stayed late (didn't know it was so bad) and I couldn't  see the road in the country and had to steer just by looking at the weeds and reeds in the ditches because everything was level with snow.  In my hour drive home, I only met one other car, a state trooper.  Scary.  

I am actually from a town called Owensboro, KY which is about 30 minutes from Evansville.  Noteable: Johnny Depp and Florence Henderson hail from Owensboro.

[jones]

Madeleine's was excellent, although they had a different menu from the one on the website.  I had filet medallions au poivre atop mashed potatoes with roasted asparagus and my wife had prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloin with the same sides.  She had chocolate lava cake for dessert and I went with a dirty martini.  No pictures, but all in all a good night.

[mjkoehler]

Madeleine's was excellent, although they had a different menu from the one on the website.  I had filet medallions au poivre atop mashed potatoes with roasted asparagus and my wife had prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloin with the same sides.  She had chocolate lava cake for dessert and I went with a dirty martini.  No pictures, but all in all a good night.

steak au poivre = One of my top 5 meals ever, especially make with a NY Strip. I make a mean one at home once in a while.

[mjkoehler]

Seriously I want steak au poivre right now. I've been craving it all damn day.