malarkey

See I would love to do this too. Who says I can't have both? 😋

Indeed. We could spend our first night there instead of Fells Point. We haven't booked anything yet.

Yes to this. We already have a place within 10 minutes of Fair Hill. The plan is to fly into Baltimore then drive up the next day. Great suggestions everybody, thank you so much for your responses!

Hello out there... is there anyone still here reading? Me & a friend will be staying one night in Baltimore before heading up to the 5 Star Event in Elkton (Fair Hill). We will likely be staying downtown, so are looking for a spot to have a lovely dinner. We are open to anything. Here's what is on our list so far: Charleston - This would probably be my choice if I didn't have anyone else to consider or was traveling with a hardcore foodie. Friend might be open to this though, it's not like she's a super picky eater or on a strict diet. Black Olive - Looks very interesting, but some of the reviews and photos from this place make me have doubts. Looks super casual (which I don't mind at all) but I'm not really wanting super casual service like maybe we'll remember to bring your drinks/food/whatever. Woodbury Tavern - looks great, but some were crying over their shift in business model, claiming the food was also a casualty of this change. Petite Louis Bistro - I love classic french bistro fare, so this would make me happy if the food is well prepared. Also found by searches but not specifically recommended by anyone: Thames Street Oyster House, Bond House, Duck Duck Goose. Thank you in advance for any recommendations you might have.

Love your tiki glass collection, frog. I have the "Mr Bali Hai" mug ~ obtained it on my last visit to Shelter Island this past winter :->

many of my nearest & dearest I met as a result of eGullet. 14 years ago... really? That long?! Thank you Steven Shaw for enabling that.

I'm actually surprised they haven't branched out to Houston. I will tell you this: I miss Haven, Feast, Hugo's, Backstreet Cafe, Stella Sola... the spots where I used to spend my evenings in H-town.

2nd Bar & Kitchen continues to make great food, Swift's Attic is awesome; both are all about small plates/sharing and local-seasonal stuff. I had a lovely meal recently at Clark's, a new seafood joint from the folks who also own Perla's, in fact I thought it was better than Perla's. I really like La Condesa as well, especially their small plates. Barley Swine is great as well, but its small and you will wait to get in there, especially with SxSW in town. And while I think the food is great I do think his prices are a bit steep (well, for Austin). Carillon for getting on a fancy feast because wowie can Josh Watkins cook. Really great stuff. Trace has done some switching up of staff, and I haven't been since all that happened but I really liked my meal there. Parkside on 6th is great, also small plates & sharing oriented. Backspace is also Shawn's joint and it's gotten some good accolades as of late. The Rainey district will be crawling with peeps but if you want some real interior mexican you might want to hit up El Naranjo.

More than just bute can show up in horse meat. Stuff like wormers, etc., which I would think would have a worse impact on a human than bute, which is basically aspirin for horses. Wormers come with labeling that indicates they aren't to be used on horses being raised for food.

Ok... so it's been ~3 years... and that means that maybe just maybe a new salad cookbook has been released and someone found it fabulous. I live on salads, a LOT. They are so easy to throw together at the end of the day and as previously mentioned are great for warmer weather. Anything new that someone is cooking out of & loving?

So where did you go Swinks? Had I seen this in a timely manner I would have suggested Parkside downtown.

The best line was where he said, "I usually have 5 people to help me do this." ← My favorite line was when he claimed Bayless was "copying" him by choosing to make tacos. WTF dude.

hmm that's interesting. I always wash everything by hand because I don't have a dishwasher. And the stinkiest spatula is one of the Le Crueset, so not exactly one of the 'cheapies.' Really odd, I never expected this to happen (all silicone promos push it as "non reactive") and I haven't done anything out of the ordinary with them to push that tempurature limit. Bottom line, I can't use these like this. They are going to throw themselves off the kitchen counter cliff into the garbage heap of death. On second thought, maybe I should take them down to City Kitchens and see if they've encountered this before...

I have some silicone spatulas, some are Le Crueset, some are cheaper versions. I've noticed recently that a few of them are giving off a soapy plastic smell when I cook with them. It's fairly strong, and gives off a flavor as well that lasts awhile as I regrettably found out when using one to do a taste test of something I was making. ok, this has to be bad, doesn't it? I'm on the verge of throwing them away. I initially thought it was just soap residue and that I hadn't washed them thoroughly, but I still get the odor/flavor after a rewash. I did a search on Google looking for info, but nothing has really turned up. Has anyone else experienced this? These have worked fabulously for many years, it's only been recently this has started to happen. Does silicone 'break down' or 'offgas' after awhile??

that's tempting. I haven't had me a serious pie in a long time Yum!

that's very sad, Jason. The food community will miss his contributions.

great photos markk. that raviolo, wow! I also find the Cromesqui really interesting.. I've never seen a prep like that before.

I would switch out Spur for Quinn's on Capital Hill. But that's just me!

there was a soft opening for 'friends & family' and the initial report is "really fabulous"

Interesting to read this entire thread after all this time. I predicted an early demise, and here we are, 3 yrs later and Elemental is still around. Obviously they are independently wealthy I wonder if Carla ever went? And I wonder what happened to Jbonne? Did he move away?

My question: How could he go to Texas and NOT go to Lockhart?!

You should also consider Boat St Cafe for your "fancy" dinner. It would stay within your budget and the food is divine.

A group of us ate there on the 1st of Aug, and I felt that too ~shades of the Herbfarm~ but in a much better, more relaxed, more congenial form. I really liked it. Can't wait for that wood burning oven to be finished. I think the whole venue is great; trains, planes and all.

So how was it??

yes!