Urban Spoon

I don't get to use the Urban Spoon app much in Moscow. With a handful of restaurants in a given category, most of them Mexican, there just isn't a whole lot of culinary depth to be plumbed. On our recent trip to Annapolis, D.C. and Baltimore, respectively, I got to try some practical applications.

Thing is, I think I am Urban Spoon incompatible. Yes, it pulls up a bevy of nearby restaurants; yes, you can sort by neighborhood, cuisine, and price; and yes, you can read reviews. In a metropolitan area there are too many restaurants to easily sort through, too many dated reviews, and it is too hard to find a restaurant when you don't have specific neighborhood or cuisine hankerings - you know, when you just want something good.

We were booking for parties of six, typically, and each meal needed to be something special. If I were a local and just looking for a random eatery decision in a pinch, Urban Spoon might be a fun magic eight ball approach to the matter, even if I had been on slightly more familiar ground, like Seattle; but the reality is that when traveling in an unfamiliar city and booking meals for myself, family and friends I am way too particular for the level of variables Urban Spoon dishes up.

On the upside, Urban Spoon made it dead easy for me to make multiple reservations - and then cancel them.

Baltimore: Chameleon Cafe

On what we thought was the last night of our stay (that story is for a blog on travel disasters!), we went out with Rob, Bonnie, and the Kadan elders to Baltimore's Chameleon Cafe. After a few culinary near misses trying to find a dinner spot with Urban Spoon (a generally great app, it served up a dose of fail this time around) I finally got my MacBook on some WiFi and searched for Baltimore+best+chef. The name that came up most often was Jeff Smith, which settled things for us, off to Chameleon.

The specials were actually, well, special. I started with their pork rillettes, artfully prepared in the French tradition and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Think creamy pâté, the process purportedly takes weeks when done just right. I definitely appreciated the effort, it was fantastic.

Chameleon Cafe knows how to do a menu right - brief and focused. Their regular menu changes seasonally, and if the online version is to be trusted the handful of appetizers and seven or so entrees have already changed since our visit two weeks ago. We took a cue from the rillettes and Adam ordered the house made charcuterie for his starter. The staff were incredibly enthusiastic about the food, and rightly so. The sausage, pâté and terrine were all delicious. I had the leek wrapped confit of halibut for my main, which was wonderful (and yes, I have a halibut problem).

We have a bit of a travel policy for food that stipulates we only get one "repeat restaurant" each trip. There will be a lot of votes going to the Chameleon Cafe!

(photo courtesy of Rob Sentz, 2009)

Washington D.C.: Oyamel

Early on in our trip we went with the family to D.C. for a day of museums. Of course, we couldn't help but make the focus of our day a trip to Oyamel, which we had seen on No Reservations. Touting "small plates" and traditional Mexican food, my mouth was watering before we were through the National Gallery.

Our experience there was outstanding. Alex, our waiter, was helpful and the rest of the staff were like culinary ninja deftly clearly plates and making new delights appear in a marvelous dance. One of the highlights was lengua guisada, or beef tongue taco. Delicious - it was like creamy beef. Ok, it is hard to describe, I just encourage you to not be annoyingly stodgy and go all "eek, tongue!". You should not avoid something that is outright delicious!

Completing the fun: Alex told me I was sitting where Anthony Bourdain sat during the filming for No Reservations, and he didn't seem like the fibbing type. So, Anthony, I sat in the chasm left by your butt in the booth by the ceviche bar.

Mmm, lengua guisada! (and some cochinita pibil con cebolla en escabeche on the left)

Just as memorable as any lengua was the guacamole, and below is our best recapturing of the magic. It was made tableside, and in a rather peculiar portion (1 1/2 avocados?) so I went ahead and doubled the effort.

Oyamel Guacamole

(servings: never enough)

4 tsp red onion, diced fine

4 tsp serranos, diced fine

2 tbs cilantro, chopped

3 avocados, pits removed

1 lime, juiced

4 tbs tomatillos, diced

2 tsp salt

2 tbs queso fresco, or cotjia, grated fine

1) Mash the onions, serranos and cilantro to a rough paste

2) Add the avocados and mash to desired consistency

3) Add the lime juice, tomatillos, salt and fold. Top with the queso fresco.

Travelers and Meatballs

At the end of May we took a trip to Maryland to visit with family and generally tourist it up. We made an effort to have some culinary adventures, and I will break them down in coming posts by location. In the meantime, here is a truly awesome, hearty, recipe that is bound to make everyone you feed it to very happy. I hope my Dad isn't reading, because I plan on tricking him into realizing the awesomeness of lamb with this recipe next time he visits! I served it with a minty chickpea salad.

Lamb Meatballs with Chickpeas
(Serves 6-8)

3/4 c piquillo peppers (roasted red peppers, jarred)
2.5-3 c chicken stock
3/4 c plain yogurt, plus a few tbs for serving
2 lbs lamb, ground
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 rounded tbs garlic, minced
1/4 c flat-leaf parsley, minced, plus a handful for garnish
1 tbs thyme leaves
2 tsp paprika
3 rounded c chickpeas (canned, drained)
4 tsp kosher salt
few glugs olive oil or veg oil

1) Puree the peppers in a food processor, then move to a bowl and whisk in the yogurt and broth.

2) Combine the lamb, eggs, garlic, parsley, thyme, paprika and salt. Mix, and divide into sixteen meatballs.

3) Heat your largest skillet and bring the oil to a simmer. Cook the meatballs on medium-high heat until browned.

4) Push the meatballs to the sides of the pan and add the red pepper mixture as well as the chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low. If you like, mash a few of the chickpeas up for a creamier sauce.

5) Simmer for about ten minutes, season the sauce to taste, and transfer meatballs and their sauce to a platter. Top with parsley with yogurt on the side!

Chickpea Salad

I love chickpeas, and I love the fresh meaty-ness of this salad. The brightness of the mint and lemon with the salty feta and the warm chickpeas just make for a perfect lunch, snack or dinner salad on a summer evening.

Chickpea Salad
(Serves 6)

1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 red chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced crosswise
3 handfuls red and yellow tomatoes, grape and cherry
2 lemons, juiced
evoo
sea or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can of chickpeas, drained
handful of mint, chopped
handful of basil, torn
5 oz feta

1) Put the chillies and onions in a large bowl, then chop your tomatoes (halves and quarters) and add them with their juice.

2) Add the juice of the lemons and a few glugs of olive oil (to taste), then season.

3) Heat the chickpeas in a pan, mushing up some of them. When they are nice and warm add to the bowl.

4) Allow to sit for a few minutes while you prep other components of the meal, they flavors come together nicely at room temp. Add the mint, basil and feta just prior to serving.