Martick's is closed!

Martick's has closed!

I am so glad to have visited this restaurant finally in April 2008 with family and friends to celebrate my promotion.

Dining@Large wants us to unite in helping to protect this Baltimore Institution. Update: The Dining@Large blog was posted before the restaurant closed. (Thanks MinxEats!)

Small known facts: Martick's used to be a speakeasy in the 20s, owned by his parents. He is really from Paris, and he has one of the oldest espresso machines in the U.S.

Elvis Death Anniversary - August 16, 1977

Driving this morning, I heard on the radio that Elvis' death anniversary was on Saturday, August 16. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis brought many music genres together in his rise to stardom. He also helped to loosen up the American population musically. This Halloween I plan on being him, the young version. Tomorrow, I begin practicing Elvis' songs at karaoke, then its on to shopping for an outfit.

IMDB Elvis Presley

Elvis Homepage

Elvis Presley Bio

Olympus/Panasonic Collaborate on NextGen Camera Technology

I've been doing my research on digital cameras and liked the best the Sony Cybershot, Panasonic Lumix, and Canon Powershot. Out of the three, Panasonic came in first. However it appears that there is a new technology to hit the market without any announcement date. Panasonic and Olympus are to collaborate on new Micro Four Thirds which will allow for smaller and more slimmer models. Without a date committed for these cameras to hit the market...should one wait?

Panasonic Press Release here.

Info from DPReview.

Georges in Mt. Vernon

On Thursday evening, July 31st, I enjoyed a quiet night at George's in Mt. Vernon. The restaurant is at the corner of Monument and Cathedral. I was able to get street parking less than two blocks away.

The walls of the restaurant were a deep mahogany color, while the floors of the hotel were an old aged marble. The dinner tables were made of marble, and most people sat outside enjoying their dinner.

Unlike Aldo's, the pairing of textures and flavors were more interesting. The ambiance was a simple sophisticated relaxed-ness. Good and innovative American food was the main draw. The service was much more attentive.

First appetizer: Smoky flavored black bean soup with lime and cilantro
Main Course: Espresso, chile, cocoa powder rubbed sirloin (rare) with a blackberry sauce on rice and summer vegetables
Dessert: Godiva flourless thinly sliced chocolate cake

Accompaniment: House Cabernet Savignon

Sometimes an unpretentious air adds so much more to the dining experience. The wine was also reasonably priced, portions sizable, and flavors interesting.

Sonar-Virgin Fest After Party-August 9th

Saturday night, August 9th, I went clubbing with some friends at Sonar in Baltimore. Two years ago I'd be all over the club scene; dancing, meeting people, trying new bars, etc. Now my interests have expanded to include: going to events, concerts, operas, and being active in groups. I was lucky to find a DJ that lived up to the reason why I go out dancing now and that IS the music, primarily. Dave Nada, a resident DJ of the TAXLO party, spinned at Sonar Saturday night. To sample some of his music you can download a mix here.

You can also enjoy the mix at Bmore Original Records and even download it there. Mark Nada is a featured artist on the website. Mark Nada will return to TAXLO August 22nd. Baltimore has a unique dance mix culture known as Baltimore Club House. Mark spinned this flavor of house Saturday night and got the crowd going all night long. I approached the security guard to ask where Dave spinned and the guard said, why don't you go up on stage and ask. I was astounded. I couldn't believe that I was invited to go on stage like it was easy as getting a water at the bar; in fact easier! So up I went and danced on stage until I could find an opportunity to talk to Mark. A girlfriend joined me on stage dancing.

92.3Q would play Baltimore Club House late at night in the early nineties. Enraptured, I'd lean over the edge of my bed staring into my stereo feeling the music. It is said that K-Swift started spinning in her teens. I think 92Q let Khia on the decks so she could practice her amazing talent as a pre-teen. The frenetic beats, the repetition, all of it was hypnotizing. I couldn't get enough of it.

The Summer of the Great Artists Passing

I am so sad to hear that Isaac Hayes has passed away.

The artists' community has experienced some greats leaving us this summer:

Bo Diddley, June 2, 2008
K-Swift, July 21, 2008
Bernie Mac, August 9, 2008
and
Isaac Hayes, August 10, 2008

Coverage on K-Swift's last set...

The Zodiac is Closing Tonight!

I have just learned via the Baltimore Snacker that the Zodiac is closing tonight.

After twelve years, the owner has decided its time to close the restaurant. Glad I heard about this!

Zombie Harmony

Created by Mingle2.com (Dating for non-zombies)

Best of Baltimore Reader's Poll

That is right, the Citypaper is conducting its Best of Baltimore (BOB) Poll for 2008. So please enter in the contest and vote!

Final Film Thursday at BMA

Every so often, I like to visit the Citypaper website to see what new events and free stuff they are offering for Wednesday. This week I entered the contest for two free tickets to the Citypaper's Best of Baltimore party at the Waterfront Hotel in Fells Point. I clicked on some of the blogs and learned that the Baltimore Art Museum is having its last film series this Thursday, August 7, 2008. The movie, entitled "Together" is a Swedish indy film about communes. Never heard of it. Something that obscure, is it worth the gas? For those in town, screening starts at 8 PM. Films will keep being played at the BMA, however they will be picked by the staff.

Plantains and Impromptu Sauce!

I love to get creative with food, especially with all that I have available at home. Good Eats with Alton Brown on the Food Network heartily promotes creativity in the kitchen. I watched Wanton Ways with Alton when I couldn't sleep last night. Between that and The Plague with James Van Der Beek, Good Eats was much more captivating. All recipes on Good Eats are available on the web.

We had plantains leftover from a previous party and I decided to fry some up last night in coconut oil. Plantains require no sugar when properly ripened, so wait for them to be almost black before unpeeling. I fried them in coconut oil and drained the plantain slices on paper towels. Afterwards, I made a sauce for dipping with about 1 cup kefir, pomegranate balsamic vinegar, and cinnamon. It was pretty yummy!

Egg in a Tomato

Sometimes on the weekends, I love to get creative with my cooking. Cooking is fun and great for stress relief.

This Sunday, I decided to make egg baked tomatoes from Lisa's Kitchen.

Instead of parmesan cheese, I used up the rest of our Italian mixed cheese, although I will recommend a more strongly flavored cheese. I did push up to Broil twice to make the top a bit more crispy. I think it'd taste good with bacon draped over top the egg/cheese opening whilst in the oven next time. Also, I'll add more veggies (like onion to the egg batter).

Other unique combos for omelets:

Avocado, tomato, and sour cream
Asparagus and cream cheese
Pesto, feta, and spinach

Extended Restaurant Week

Apparently, numerous fine Baltimore Restaurants are extending their fix price menus beyond Baltimore Restaurant Week which ended on August 3rd, 2008. Please click here to read more.

I've also heard that The Oceanaire Seafood Room was continuing with the fix price menu likewise. This is a good time to note that many of these fine dining restaurants already have weekly fix price menus and specials on wines to draw in a crowd during the week. Roy's has a fix price menu for 30 dollars either on Tuesday or Wednesday. Helen's Garden of Canton and many other restaurants follow suit. Of course call to confirm the information!

Howard County HAD a Restaurant Week.

DC Restaurant Week August 11-17, 2008 here.

Aldo's in Little Italy

On Wednesday, July 30, I enjoyed an exquisite dinner with friends at Aldo's Ristorante Italiano in Little Italy in Baltimore, MD. Aldo's is one of the highest rated Zagat restaurants in Maryland. The website boasts beautiful pictures and I've always heard good things about the restaurant.

Baltimorerestweek.com posted Aldo's menu for the fix price dinner and Aldo's offered up stuffed Amish chicken with mashed potatoes, penne pasta with eggplant, seared beef tenderloin, and line caught pomfret with summer vegetables and couscous. Two desserts; a strawberry shortcake and a vanilla custard with peach sauce were offered. I decided upon the beef tenderloin on arugula encrusted in sea salt, with the ahi tuna loin as appetizer and vanilla custard for dessert. To enhance the flavors, I ordered a Cabernet for the beef. My two friends got the Amish Chicken with mashed potatoes and Chardonnay and the penne pasta with tomato sauce, roasted eggplant, softly spreadable ricotta and a Pino Grigio.

The words to describe the dinner were sublime. Aldo's considers the diner's experience to be paramount and great attention was placed on pairing flavors of vegetables, meats, seasonings, and even down to the texture of the food. The food came in slow succession, however the server made up for it with a complimentary restaurant mixed drink of limoncello with cream. The after dinner cordial was very tart and pleasing to the senses.

However the words to describe the ambiance was interesting...the dining hall was beautiful and serene with low lighting. The seating was plush. A table sitting next to us used sailor like language all evening culminating in one lady's shocked gasp. It appeared that many drinks were enjoyed. Rising from the table the loudest gentleman knocked his chair upon the ground and into his neighbor's table. As he apologized, he recognized the unfortunate diner who was victim to his flying chair.

All in all, the overall experience was pleasant and memorable.

Sky Lounge-Saturday 7/26

In a sea of t-shirts, tanks, jeans, and flip flops on a Saturday night, yes, indeed there is a lounge in Federal Hill where one may want to leave the flip flops in the car and wear nice heels. The lounge is known as Sky Lounge on 1041 Marshall Street.

Originally, we, girls, were thinking about going to Mosaic at PowerPlant, but instead we opted for Sky Lounge in Federal Hill. We arrived at Sky Lounge around 10:30 PM and stayed the whole night until close. The martini's were great, although the Oatmeal Cookie has gotten a little more spicy. Jagermeister was added to the Oatmeal Cookie martini. (Shorty's in Canton makes a great Oatmeal Cookie). The South Beach was fruity and refreshing without being too sweet or syrupy. The DJ started off with some hip hop and then ended the night with Daft Punk from late 90s. We danced a bit and it got more crowded around 11:30 or 12 midnight, but certainly more interesting. We were the most dressed up there. Flip flops, jeans and tanks somehow made it through the door.

We had a good night!

Sunday = rest.