bavila

Sweet. I'll be in town the week of Thanksgiving, so Mila is now on my list!

What about Mila, Todd? Is it open yet? If not, think it will be before Thanksgiving?

My experience has been that most farmers will sell bushels of seconds or rejects but you have to ask for them -- they aren't generally on display.

Polyface meats are totally worth the money. They deliver once a month or so to Naptown, and I am currently jonesing for their bacon and their turkeys (which all burnt up in a freak accident earlier this year). I can't say I've seen chefs at the Annapolis FM (which by the way hosts ONLY goods from Anne Arundel County -- talk about really local). But I do see JJ Minetola (Metropolitan) at Whole Foods occasionally -- definitely shopping. As for the bags, I am one of those carrying about a WF or TJ's reusable bag to try to reduce excess baggage. You may have read (click) about pending legislation in Annapolis to ban plastic bags in retail operations. And the WF here has gotten rid of (most of) them voluntarily. I think the bags you see at the FM are just part of the reduce-reuse-recycle zeitgeist.

This is exactly what I was thinking while reading the thread about Ye Olde College Inn closing. (I mean honestly, it was a dump, whether you liked it or not.) But then, we are talking about food here, and as we all know, food is about much more than a bottom line -- to both customers and chefs or proprietors.

Ha! But they do have good peaches. I passed over thier corn last week fortunately, and wound up getting this unbelievable Mirai corn from Toigo. It wasn't cheap, but it was wonderful. Did you happen to see if Toigo was still selling corn? I was as Eastern Market yesterday, so am pretty much marketed out for the weekend. ← Not to brag or anything, but if you'd come to the crab cake t, you could have partied with the man himself -- and the inimitable Vas -- and wandered out with a dozen ears or so . As it is, I'm giving it away at my office today (after having made corn relish and set aside sufficient earage for my own personal use). ← You were holding out on me Charles. I saw no corn anywhere on Sunday. Much less did I walk out with a dozen ears for my delightful children.

Could it be a work done by a child that features her "philosophy"? Thanks for the motivation to go dig in the dirt with the kids!

Hell yeah!

I would note that I used a sweet and hot mustard rather than dijon (I was out -- how do I run out of dijon mustard?), but I think the substitution was swell. And Charles, if I hadn't been in round-the-children-up mode, I would have scarfed down some of your cakes. Didn't quite make it to them. Were you kidding about the wine being Basque? I'll only drink Californian wines for breakfast, personally. Thanks to our gracious hosts, the Sweeneys, and to Charles for a top-notch report. As for future events, I'd be happy to host a gumbo/Louisiana cuisine event, Maybe a crawfish boil next May or June...

I suppose it's to late for phlawless, but I've taken my kids (3yo and 5mo at the time) to Dick and Jenny's with relative ease. It was also a weeknight -- weekend evenings might mean a long wait.

What's so great a great about crab cakes? And how do you make them even greater? In response to the gauntlet thrown down in this [link] topic, Busboy, aka Charles Sweeney, and I are hosting the great crab cake cookout at the Busboy residence in DC's Mt. Pleasant neighborhood on the afternoon of August 26, at 3 PM. Everyone in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is convinced that they and they alone have the perfect crab cake recipe, we aim to compare and contrast the infinite variations of this summer delicacy to discover the perfect recipe and technique - or at least to argue about it over beer and soda on a (we hope) lovely summer Sunday. This event is BYOC and BYOB: bring your own crab for final assembly in the somewhat cramped Busboy kitchen, and bring your own fa vorite crab-oriented beverage. We'll supply soft drinks, corn and tomatoes. And non-crab-cookers -- everyone, actually -- are invited to bring a side dish of their choice. Kids are invited and parents interested in coming into town for the day should note that the house is a quick walk from the National Zoo. We're looking forward to a relaxed, fun and illuminating afternoon where you can show your stuff or just relax on the last weekend before Labor Day. Everyone is invited, including friends, spouses and otherwise, but space limitations mean that we'll have to cap the event at 20 people, first come, first served. This is also an eGullet fundraiser, so we will be asking a contribution of $10 per person. For further details, please PM Charles or myself. Yours in crabbiness, Bridget LEGAL STUFF: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN ORGANIZED THROUGH EG FORUMS BY MEMBERS BUT IS NOT SPONSORED BY THE EGULLET SOCIETY FOR CULINARY ARTS AND LETTERS OR EG FORUMS. YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ANY EVENT OR ACTIVITY ARRANGED ON OR DISCUSSED IN EG FORUMS IS AT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE RISK. BY USING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUMS YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND (1) THAT IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ANY EVENT OR ACTIVITY, YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO A VARIETY OF HAZARDS AND RISKS ARISING FROM THOSE ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS; (2) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, YOU AGREE TO WAIVE, DISCHARGE CLAIMS, RELEASE, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE SOCIETY, ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, AND OTHER PARTNERS AND EMPLOYEES, FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY ON ACCOUNT OF, OR IN ANY WAY RESULTING FROM INJURIES AND DAMAGES IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ANY SUCH EVENTS OR ACTIVITIES. YOU AGREE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THESE TERMS WILL BE BINDING UPON YOU AND YO UR HEIRS, EXECUTORS, AGENTS, ADMINISTRATORS AND ASSIGNS, AS WELL AS ANY GUESTS AND MINORS ACCOMPANYING YOU AT THE EVENTS.

Wait...you mean you're vacating the premises in the midst of a remodeling project? Thou art braver than I.

I had so much fun provoking y'all with my crabcake question a while back, I thought I'd stir the (crab) pot again. I've had several cream of crab soups over my seven years in Maryland, most of which have been at least respectable. (My favorite to date, and this was about six years ago, was at the Annapolis Yacht Club.) Last weekend, I had a bowl with diced potato. I thought it was a completely ridiculous addition to the soup, but on searching the Net, I found a couple of recipes for cream of crab with potato. Is this something that's found in some localities rather than others? Is it just a lame way to stretch an expensive dish?

I'm a regular at Boatyard too, mainly for Sunday brunch/lunch. In my opinion, it is one of the best values in town comparing price to quality of food and overall experience. It's been voted a top bar for sailors at least twice, yet is clean and bright and a great place to bring kids. They've recently added some seating and a market and new menu items. There were some glitches in timing a few months ago, but everything seems to be smooth sailing now. Sorry, couldn't resist the pun. And if you're in Eastport, Rockfish has great happy hour specials M-F. We also like them for Sunday brunch (seafood cobb salad my fave -- ask for it if it's not on the brunch menu). There's a jazz ensemble who plays then, but it's definitely pricier than Boatyard.

My votes for downtown seafood not-touristy would be (in order of proximity to City Dock): Yin Yankee Tsunami Metropolitan Metropolitan is my personal favorite, though some are turned off by the NY-sophisticate feel. If you're really up for a splurge, the $75 tasting menu and $35 (I think) accompanying wines are an experience worth the money.

I second that!

Cantaloupes, honeydews, limas and blackberries were the new items I spotted in Annapolis today. Haven't seen any raspberries, but maybe I'm getting there too late. As for pooh-poohing the early peaches, after the ridiculous winter we had, we should be praising the gods that there are ANY peaches to be had.

Of course, "hangar" may have nothing to do with the English "to hang", but my first thought of "hangar" in an agricultural setting was hanging carcasses awaiting butchering.

Your cheese shots make me ashamed of the orange sticks (oh dear and "American" slices brought over by a friend for our 4th celebration yesterday) in my fridge. Ugly American indeed. Here's a question you may be able to give a more definitive answer to than anyone else I've asked. Should all blue cheeses be avoided by someone allergic to penicillin? Is the mold the same in Stilton, Roquefort and gorgonzola? My toddler son may be allergic to amoxicillin, and I just want to be sure I don't inadvertantly send him in to anaphylactic shock. As for your tart tatin, would it be inauthentic to slice the apples more thinly? I'm more of a pastry lover, and therefore find a think wedge of cooked apple an unwelcome obstacle to my pastry consumption. Merci!

Peaches on Saturday, woohoo!!!!!!!!!!

Are cepes synonymous with porcinis?

And if you or a lackey happen to come to Annapolis, there were at least 4 vendors on Saturday with peas.

Beautiful pic of some of the guys at Camellia Grill in the latest issue of Tulanian (Tulane's alumni mag). I seriously teared up, showed it to my 4yo and told her that she'd be going there on our next trip to New Orleans. I can almost taste the mocha freeze now...

Is there an accepted standard count for shrimp that are called "jumbo"? Is it strictly relative?

Yes, Sandy, this is what I mean. Is it that there's so little difference one must raise one's voice to standout? Until Busboy and the like straighten me out, I just don't get it.