Wine Kitchen on the Creek

The Wine Kitchen on the Creek

50 Carroll Creek Linear ParkFrederick, MD 21701(301) 663-6968

One of our regular go-to restaurants for both lunch and dinner. A perfect location right on the creek ; perfect for a glorious evening outdoors and for people watching!

 I'm going to break this down into two parts: Happy Hour and Regular Dining.

First Happy Hour. Fantastic bar food at a great price! These are not mini-servings with a mini-price. The dishes are all great. I don't think I've ever had one that I thought was meh. Particular favorites are the seasoned with gusto Steak Frites and the light and crispy calamari. For $6 , the steak could absolutely qualify for a light eater's dinner. The bar menu changes often, but I am always confident that whatever new delight they present will be something nobody else is doing and will be worth the calories. 

 Happy hour drinks - well, unless you order wine, there's not much of a selection. They offer one specialty cocktail for happy hour (changes daily), and if it's not your cup of tea, then your choices are limited. The other downside to happy hour is that you have to be inside the restaurant to participate. So, you have to choose between a really good value and the pleasures of sitting outside.

 Now - on to the regular menu. I give an overall 5* to the flavors of the food. With very few exceptions, I have found the offerings to be well thought out, often succulent, and frequently fresh and exciting. Where it is sometimes a bit lacking is in the portion size. 

The guacamole with chicharon appetizer is a prime example. For $5 you get a few chicahrones ( pork crackling) and maybe a quarter cup of guacamole. It tasted fine, but either it should have been a buck or they should have tripled the quantity of quac. That went firmly in the "never again" column.

 Ditto for the three tuna tacos - they were the itty bittiest little things I've ever seen qualify as a taco. Tasted good, but one bite and it was gone!

 The mixed nuts are a mixed bag. When the restaurant first opened, diners were rewarded with a decent size bowl teeming with warm, curried cashews. Now? Well, the nuts still arrive warm, but they lack the curry-ness of the old days and certainly the portion size has been cut back substantially.

 Now, some good stuff. The oysters. Raw oysters, shucked without destruction, and presented beautifully with a lovely mignonette. We have ordered these multiple times - and though the oyster selection changes based on seasonal availability, the freshness and briny goodness never disappoints. 

 Whether you prefer fish, fowl or four-legged, they do proteins particularly well. Scallops are seared with a golden crisp crust yet sweet and tender inside. The papaya salad on which they were served presented a nice spicy contrast to the delicate shellfish. It wasn't the best papaya salad that I've ever had, but it didn't overpower the seafood so it actually worked well. 

 I'm sorry to say that I can't report on any of the vegetarian options. I honestly do try to eat healthy most of the time, but at the Wine Kitchen, I just can't pass up on some of their amazing meat dishes. 

Oh and I almost forgot... the wine! Here you will find a well described selection of wines and a range of price points. You won't find the all-to-common Chateau Ste. Michelles or Beringers or Mondavis here. Rather they are wines that you may never seen before nor ever even heard of. 

 Fear not! You can order a flight of wines that will allow you to sample across a spectrum of flavors. You can have all red, all white, cheap white, cheap red, hearty wines, sparkling wines, mixed up wines, all-Spanish... well, you get the picture. There are plenty of flights to choose from if you don't want to pick just one glass. 

 ANd..part of the joy of ordering wines here are the descriptive cards that accompany your selection. Somebody (I hear it's the owner) has a good sense of humor and really excels at writing delightful tounge-in-cheek descriptions. They are a hoot! 

 I know that there have been some comments about the quantity of food on the plates. I agree that some (many of) the entree portions are small compared to typical restaurants these days. But..I think that the fact that I still prefer to spend my dining dollars at the Wine Kitchen attests to the quality and the value of the dining experience there.. And, in any case, I have never left hungry, and I have never left feeling like I didn't get good value for my money (except of course for those tiny tuna tacos and that darn puny dollop of guac).

Diva Takes Flight....

Well, my friends - I haven't posted in quite a while. No excuses other than...I've moved to Florida! So... though I shall retain the self-annointed moniker of Dining Diva of Frederick... I am actually going to have to be the Dining Diva of Boca Raton. Which is a joke in a way, because I'm pretty darn sure that just about everybody in Boca is a Diva, and many of them dining ones at that.

 I'm in the midst of a culinary bar crawl through the happy hours of Mizner Park. Quite an adventure and a drain on the pocketbook if you don't pay attention. However - I have found the "Ladies Drink Free" evenings and the "Food Half-Off" venues. So rest assured that I will share these findings with you. 

And, in case you were wondering, I still plan on being discriminating in the food selection. Half off terrible food will still not make the grade. At any rate, I will fill you in as I continue to sample the goodies of South Florida... Snowbird heading south.......... flap flap flap

Finger-Lickin' Darn Good Chicken - Sardi's in Frederick

Oh, my sweet, succulent, zesty bird – wherefore art thou? After years of nibbling on rotisserie chickensof every ilk :Boston Market, Kenny Rogers Roasters, Weis, Giant Eagle, Sams, Costco – and yes, even my trusty Ronco Showtime Rotisserie (which I DID order before midnight and was subsequently rewarded with 3 free , absolutely free, bags of chicken-leg elastic ties), I have finally discovered what could be my perfect poultry platter. Crisp-skin, intensely seasoned, Sardi's Peruvian Chicken: Pollo A La Brasa

If you were to drive “down-the-road”, you would have a plethora of Peruvian restaurants from which to select. Rockville Pike alone has a chicken shack in just about every one of their myriad strip-centers. But honestly, why tangle with the MC traffic unless of course you have a hankering for A&J’s Dim Sum or some spicy eggplant at Joe’s Noodle House?

No, my friends, you do not need to gird up your loins for the long haul to Rockville if you are craving some robust rotisserie chicken. You can gird up your loins and hit our very own Golden Mile for a quick trip to Sardi’s.

Sardi’s is located in a small strip center just off of 40 on McCain Drive, two doors down from Doc Geiser’s and directly across the street from Home Depot. And in case you’re wondering, yes, the outside ambience is very much indeed a good indicator of the general ambience you will find inside. Formica tables. Cafeteria Chairs. Bright lights. Spanish Language televisions broadcasting soap operas and soccer. Counter Service. Definitely not the destination for a romantic tete-a-tete with your paramour. But just right for eating family style and licking your fingers.

If you aren’t familiar with Peruvian Chicken, well, you sure are pretty darn late to the party and it’s high time you got acquainted. At Sardi’s, whole chickens are marinated and rubbed with a savory spice blend, skewered and then spit-roasted over a blistering charcoal fire. The spit roasting keeps the chicken moist all the way to the bone and has the capability of transforming the skin into a crackling salty explosion of flavor.

Usually the meat is juicy and moist and the skin is perfectly crispy. The ladies in my family, well, we’re chicken people. And when we get a really good piece of chicken, we are happy. But sometimes, we aren’t as happy as we would like to be. There have been some sad occasions brought on by dry white meat and flabby rubbery skin. I do not like dry meat. I do not like rubbery skin. The only good thing about rubbery skin is that I’m not tempted to eat it.

I’m not really sure what the cooking difference is between perfectly cooked birds and the flabby ones – my guess is that the perfect ones were extracted from the oven just as we ordered, and the less perfect birds sat waiting, lonely on the cutting block, waiting for a buyer.

But even if the chicken is a tad dry at times, do not panic, there is a cure. All you have to do is swirl the meat around in one of the three delicious salsas available for chicken dipping: Salsa Verde, a spicy blend of cilantro and aji peppers, Salsa Amarillo – kind of a spicy mustardy sauce, and an Aioli – a mild garlicky mayonnaise. With these sauces, you could probably make just about anything taste pretty good.

With many of the chicken platters, you get a choice of side dishes. In general, I was not a big fan of many of them. They have some kind of a vegetable medley that looks like someone opened up a bag of frozen diced vegetables and just steamed them. There are the ubiquitous rice and beans. And there’s some type of Peruvian corn with the most gigantic mutant kernels I have ever seen. Hot off the steam table they were bland and starchy.

There is, however, one real keeper of a side dish: the ultimate diet-buster, Deep Fried yuca. What could be better than taking heavy duty carbs and deep frying them? Keeping your hand out of the potato chip bag is nothing compared to trying to keep it from reaching for one more fresh-out-of-the-fryer spear.

There are plenty of other options on the menu other than chicken. Lomo Saltado, Souvlaki (the general manager is Greek), Churrasco de Pollo (chicken marinated in cilantro, peppers and onions), ceviches (very good, but not always available, and served with canchas – Peru’s version of a corn nut only fresher and tastier), and for the less adventurous in your group: Salchipapas (basically cut up hot dogs mixed up with French fries and served with catsup and mayo).

So if you’re beyond looking longingly into your loved ones eyes over gentle flickering candlelight, and instead have a hankering for some finger-lickin’ good chicken – you now know where to go. Sardi’s : Pollo A La Brasa

Sardis Chicken- Frederick50 N. McCain Drive, Frederick MD 21702
Tel: 301-620-7717
E-mail: sardis@sardischicken.com

Diva on a Diet

So, You may have noticed that I have been missing in action in 2010. At least, I hope you’ve noticed. Anyway, my lengthy absence can be fully attributed to my recognition in mid-January that my increasing girth necessitated a conversion from being the Dining Diva into a Dieting Diva. As it turns out, the change from Dining Diva to Dieting Diva was a direct result of too much Dining and not enough Dieting. Kind of ironic, don’t you think?

Though I may not have been a frequent visitor to many local restaurants in the last few months, I have nonetheless continued to consume a wide variety of, shall we say, interesting meals. Some have been interesting in a pleasantly good way, others – well, let’s just say the mishaps have made for some significant additions to the compost pile and some pretty happy canines in the Light House. One of whom may soon need to join ranks with me in our quest for sveltitude.

But, we shan’t dwell on the negative. Nope. Instead, for those of you who may have found yourselves in a similar weighty predicament, here a few delectables available at local restaurants that are both delicious and calorie friendly:

.

Ceviche: Thank goodness for Cacique, Mexicali Cantina, and La Flor de la Canela! This medley of fish, shrimp and scallops is enhanced with two of my favorite flavors: Lime and Cilantro. Light, refresting and good for you. Smack my hand if you catch me ordering the guac.

Gazpacho: I have spent more than a couple of afternoons with the hemp-wearing patrons of the Orchard. Smack my hand if you catch me ordering the veggie tempura

Ahi Tuna Sashimi: I know it’s a chain, but darn it Bonefish Grill has some mighty fine fish and pours a strong and briny dirty martini. Smack my hand if you see me reaching for the Bang-Bang shrimp.

Green Papaya Salad: Any Thai, and most Vietnamese restaurants make this salad – but in Frederick, Bangkok Thai kitchen does it very well! Smack my hand if you catch me ordering Drunken Noodles.

Zoë’s Chocolate: Oh, I don’t care - just go ahead and Smack me now –it’s worth it! This candy is so amazingly fabulous, I REFUSE to give it up entirely.

There are times, however, that I do actually stay home and cook. This is not nearly as much fun as it sounds. My biggest challenges have been increasing my tolerance for unexciting food and adopting a regimen of portion control. What the heck? THAT’s a portion??? .

I am now a fan of high fiber low fat flat breads from Costco. Fresh out of the bag, they can be used to wrap a variety of fillings. And everything you eat will taste like you wrapped it in a giant rubbery piece of high fiber low fat cardboard. My tolerance can only sink so low. Not one thing was enhanced by wrapping it with this flabby sheet.

But, if you take that same flabby sheet and bake it in the oven for a few minutes – it transforms into a great big giant cracker that can be topped like a tostada and covered with a multitude of toppings that will effectively kill the taste of the bread.

Now, that’s what I call cooking!

My favorite toppings :

Poblano Peppers and red peppers sautéed with Sliced Onions, sprinkled with reduced fat cheese and baked until the cheese melts. Top with a mountain of pico de gallo and cilantro. Squeeze lime over the top.

Mix up some Fat Free cottage cheese with some sugar free jelly. Spread the mixture over the top and put a plump blackberry right in the middle. Pretend this is a pastry.

Cook up some eggbeaters with mushrooms, onions and fresh herbs (I like tarragon, but basil is also good). Spread over the cracker, and top with one of those little 50 calorie containers of broccoli with cheese sauce that you can buy in the frozen food section of the grocery store. Somehow, eating all of this together minimizes the fake-butter, fake-cheese flavor of the broccoli.

If I’m feeling really virtuous and rested, I will actually cook. Here are a few things that I have made that managed to bypass the compost pile:

Grilled scallops with assorted grilled vegetables

Red Thai Vegetable Curry made with Light coconut milk

Fish Poached in a Sweet & Spicy Asian broth

Singapore Poh Pia

Hawaiian Ginger Chicken Stew

I must now sign off because I am weak with hunger. I hope to report back soon with more reviews that you can actually use…

A Russian Peasant goes to Volt

First, let me say that I am in no way qualified to judge or critique Volt from a true haute-couture of food perspective. I really don’t know if a beet infused foam bead tastes like a beet infused foam bead should taste. I’m only able to say whether or not, from my peasant perspective, it tastes good. I shall leave the wheatgrass foam critiques to the Tom Colicchio’s of the world.

So….does the food at Volt merit all the glory received since the latest season of Top Chef began to air? Well, after 5 visits, I can emphatically say yes…and no.

Oh, you already know why the answer is “yes”. The style, the service, the ambience, the vibe of the place. And, much of the food is pretty darn deli

cious. The portions are smaller than we have come to expect from restaurants. But the complexity and intensity of flavors more than make up for a reduction in volume. Plus, although the sizes appear small, I have never left t

here unsatisfied. (I’m just wondering – are their portion’s size actually what a serving should be? Hmm…that could explain SO much )

Pork tenderloin has been on the menu for two of our visits to Volt. Both times, the dish was artfully presented and appropriately accompanied by perfect little vegetables. The preparation of the meat however has been inconsistent.

At lunch, the pork was perfect: soft, tender, and nicely pink in the middle. My dinner entrée, sadly, didn’t fare as well. Though it was seasoned nicely, the meat itself was overcooked and kind of dry. Not so dry as to be inedible, but dry enough that I wasn’t making the swooning noises that normally accompany dishes prepared at Volt. Dry enough that I wished I had kept my salad so that I could swirl the meat around in the left over vinaigrette.

Before you start hollering at me and admonishing me for not sharing my feelings with the server so that the kitchen had a chance to fix the problem, let me explain. Yes, I could have sent it back and waited for them to remake the dish. But everyone else at the table had their food already and it would have put a real damper on the evening if I delayed everything by sending back my dinner. So I didn’t.

Plus, at this high level of cooking, shouldn’t someone in the kitchen have noticed that the meat was brown instead of pink? The meat was sliced before being brought to the table so the center of the meat was clearly visible to the cutter/presenter/server. This wasn’t a beat the clock in a Top Chef challenge so there was surely enough time for t

hem to recognize the problem before they delivered it to the table.

Lucky for our table, the other three had dishes that were just fabulous. Lobster that was tender and sweet and tasted of the sea. Beef that was meaty, rare and meltingly soft.

By the time dessert arrived and the sauterne was poured, all negative thoughts of pork were banished. My friends, I just can’t describe the dessert well enough to do it the justice it deserves. I’m thinking that it was very much like the dessert BV made during Episode 9 of Top Chef (http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/ganache-with-spearmint-ice-cream-and-chocolate-tuiles).

It was chocolate and chocolate and some chocolate and creamy and rich and smooth and, well, if I were at home I would surely have licked the plate.

The lunch cavalcade of chocolates was less successful. This time, instead of a dark chocolate ganache, it was white chocolate (which, of course, isn’t chocolate at all but cocoa butter sweetened up and flavored so that it tastes good – but it still ain’t chocolate.)

The ganache was served with a smooth milk chocolate ice cream and crispy chocolate tuiles. 4 out of 4 of us loved the ice cream. 0 of 4 of us liked the odd, somehow gelatinous ganache.

Nobody took a second bite. Then there were these little flat candied Florentine-looking crisps placed into the ganache, just so, to give some height to the dish. Pretty. Everyone took a bite. Brows furrowed, we asked each other, “Does yours taste burnt?” We asked our very fabulous server about it and he informed us “They are supposed to be burned”. Really? Burned is a good thing? Who knew?

To me, it wasn’t that good kind of crackly burned like the top of a Crème Brule. It was more like when you put the cookies in the oven and then get so engrossed in Desperate Housewives that you forget all about them and come back later to hard disks with dark brown edges. If you were to eat only the edges – it would taste freakishly similar to the tuiles. What can I say – if they’re supposed to be burned, they’re supposed to be burned. What do I know? As I said before, I’m a peasant.

Let’s see, what else did we have. There was the creamy, rich chowder with a sweet little scallop in it. What fabulous flavor. Striped bass on a potato soufflé with mussels on the side. My fish was so perfect and so sweetly non-fishy, that even a non-seafood lover would have fallen for it.

I could have skipped the mussels though. They were cooked well, but very fishy. That’s the thing with mussels – you never know how they’re going to taste until you actually taste them. One day, you can get big, plump tender and juicy mussels – and the next day, well, you get the Jersey Shore, Bro.

This has gone on long enough – time to wrap it up. Do I like Volt? Yes. Is it perfect? Not yet. Should you go? Absolutely. And cross your fingers that the real chocolate ganache is back on the menu…

Volt on Urbanspoon

Friscos - Sandwiches, Salads, Potatoes - Oh My!

AKA Frisco’s

Wedgewood Blvd (off of English Muffin Way)

301 698-0014

I like this place. Even though every single person working there is:

Younger than I am

Cooler than I am

Now that I’ve gotten that ego basher out of the way….let’s talk. As I said, I like Frisco’s. They don’t have the best sandwiches in town (Juliet's Italian Market in downtown Frederick and The Buzz in Monrovia do), but they do have decent sandwiches, huge salads, fair prices, cool ambience, good cookies, and lots of avocado. Oh, and of course, Exploded Potatoes.

Let’s start with the exploded potatoes because, let’s face it, almost everybody does. Usually, you can expect every bite to be a hot, tasty combination of potato, cheese, onion and bacon. You will want to take that little plastic spoon and get into every nook and cranny to get the last bite out. But, sometimes - the kitchen has a bad day. Greasy potatoes, dry potatoes, over-dressed potatoes. I’m sure there’s a recipe back there – but given that a potato’s natural sugars and moisture content can vary – the cook needs to adapt to changing produce conditions.

Sandwiches – just a huge variety. From the all-veggie Mission with melted brie, to the S.F. Fatboy – a carnivores dream with ham, salami, bologna, provolone, Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, Bermuda onion. The fillings are always generous and the choice of toppings vast.

Alas, I’m not a fan of the breads they use. Many are just soft, insipid, filling holders - they add nothing to the sandwich. A really fantastic sandwich is good inside and out. They need some real bakery breads (hello, Stone Hearth!). It might add a few cents to the sandwich, but it would be worth it for the added savory value.

Salads- trust me on this – even if you are a gezunde eater, you should order the small. (If you have no idea what gezunde means, then you obviously haven’t been to enough Bar Mitzvahs. I will help you. An example. You are at a reception. The “Harringtons” have enjoyed the cocktail hour and have consumed 2 chicken satay sticks and a mini-quiche. They are full and cannot eat dinner. Uncle Izzy scarfs down 12 satay sticks, 3 deviled eggs, a mountain of meatballs, a pile of pickled herring and has a roll tucked under his arm – just in case. He then polishes off the 4 course Cornish hen dinner with optional (yes I will, thank you) dessert. Uncle Izzy is, my friends, a gezunde eater).

So – unless you are Uncle Izzy, or are sharing, order the small. The aluminum pans they are served in are piled high with crispy lettuce and smothered in the toppings of your choice. The Santa Fe is especially good. Romaine lettuce topped with Southwest chicken and surrounded by veggies, pasta, sour cream, tomato salsa, & shredded cheese. Cobb Salad fan? Theirs starts with Romaine lettuce topped with diced turkey, natural pasta, crunchy fresh cut veggies, bacon, ripe California avocado, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Sounds SO GOOD. But alas, they ruin it. Why? Bottled dressings. Why oh why oh why would you take a deliciously fresh salad and pour nasty bottled dressing on it? Especially when it’s so easy to make dressing from scratch. You know, it’s one thing to have bottled dressing at Subway – but a restaurant that prides itself on serving fresh salads should go the extra step and serve fresh dressing as well. (A question for all you good people out there: Would it be rude to bring my own dressing with me? Lord knows I often have to ask for guidance when determining the rude-factor of something I am considering. Tact is not my strong suit. So – feel free to comment. If I love their salads and hate their dressings…would it be ok to bring my own? I await your response)

Soups – others seem to like them, but they have never made one that I was crazy about. They aren’t bad, they just don’t hit the right flavor notes with me. I can’t pinpoint what it is that I find lacking in them. They taste, and I hope like heck that I’m wrong, like they are made with canned goods. Maybe pre-made salsas and canned tomatoes? Too much cumin? It’s kind of like art – I can’t define why it’s not good, I just know that I don’t like it.

Wine – go on Friday to their wine retail store. All wines are just $1 over cost. Now’s the time to sample that luscious pinot that you have salivated for ever since Sideways.

All in all, I like Friscos. And with enough of that well-priced Pinot Noir – I can start to believe that I’m as cool and young as the cool, young people that work there...

Erring on the Side of Kindness - A Tale of Woe

Every now and then, I need a little motivation to get myself in front of the computer and update the old blog. Sometimes, it’s a particularly delicious meal that provides the necessary push. Sometimes, it’s that doggone Frederick News Post that gets me going.

Oh, why oh why do I continually let the FNP push my buttons? Why can’t I just take a deep cleansing breath, let it all go and get back to my happy place? I’ll tell you why.

3 years ago, when I turned 50 (ouch), I embarked on a mission. I decided that henceforth, I would abandon my judgmental ways, and embrace the philosophy of “erring on the side of kindness”. Given that I was innately biased toward “erring on the side of sarcasm”, this was a pretty monumental undertaking.

For (what seemed like) months, I actually paused and gave some consideration to what I was about to say before actually saying it. I offered to help others without being asked, and did so non-begrudgingly.

What a positive move, a righteous path of personal growth, spiritual awareness and all that other new-agey stuff the yoga people seem to like so much. A new me. A better me. Enlightened and enriched.

2 very bad things happened.

The first, and really quite irritating phenomenon, was that NOBODY NOTICED! When my so-called friends were asked how they were enjoying the new, “kindness erring” me, they were nonplussed. Really??? How was that possible? How could they not have noticed how I purposely did NOT simulate the gag reflex when they suggested eating at Olive Garden? How did they miss my NOT rolling my eyes when they ordered their steak well done? Seriously folks, I was erring like crazy!!!!

Oh, and the second bad thing that happened? Well, all those times that I was kindness-erring when my natural instinct was to judge, caused my body to rebel. All the bottled up hostility and sarcasm had nowhere to go, so it just kind of coalesced into one giant tumor in my neck which the expert doctors at Hopkins had to remove.

So, in the interest of saving my life, I have had to abandon the whole kindness boat and re-embrace my natural philosophical style of judge and opine. Which is why I just CANNOT take that flippin’ deep breath and get back to my happy place when the FNP annoys me.

And why am I annoyed today? Well, obviously it’s got to be something food related. And naturally, it’s once again the infamous FNP “unannounced dining experience ” article . Today, writer Bill Cauley (whom I thought was a sports reporter), wrote all about his recent lunch trip to El Sloppy Taco in Brunswick.

As it turns out, there wasn’t that much to tell. For, you see, Bill shares with us that he’s “ not a big lunch eater”. Great. So why exactly did he go to the restaurant for lunch? Trooper that he is, he ordered anyway. ONE taco. ONE! Not a taco combo platter, not a taco plus some side dishes. Nope. Just one single taco. Didn’t even add much of the hot sauces because, at least for Bill, “hot, spicy stuff tends to revisit a person at inopportune times”. Wow. Good to know. .

Lucky for us, his dining companion was there to fill in the gastronomic gap. Psyche. Dining companion wasn’t hungry and only ordered chips & salsa!

Wow. One taco and some salsa . Oh, the information overload! Stop! I can’t absorb any more!

Bill – why bother writing this at all??? And, Frederick News Post – why bother printing it? How does this even remotely serve the reader? I see how it might serve your advertisers – but it’s not going to do them a lot of good without readers.

Anyway – I feel much better now. I am taking nice big, deep breaths and getting back to my happy place.