Kitchen Stars
Women chefs take a bow as the Baltimore Foodies celebrate the crème de la crème of restaurant talent.
September 19, 2008
By Martha Thomas
Photography by Grace Gladhill
Some diners stared in disbelief and others laughed out loud when Jesse Sandlin’s main course was delivered to the tables. The Abacrombie Fine Food chef had prepared more than 60 bone-in lamb shanks with proportions befitting Fred Flintstone. Nobody complained about the lamb, mind you. It was fall-off-the-bone succulent, settled in a red wine reduction with creamy polenta and crisp brussels sprouts on the side. But only a handful of the Baltimore Foodies on hand managed to make a dent in the meal. The rest of us went home with meaty goodie bags. Read more »
Italy on the Menu
Thursdays are special at the Buttersburg Inn
July 29, 2008
By Martha Thomas
Photography by Bryan Burris
Constance Tunzi won’t let anyone help her with the chopping. Whether she needs to handle every detail herself or simply won’t let her guests work, she waves her hand dismissively at an offer to dice celery for the minestrone soup. Read more »
Music on the Menu
Sotto Sopra's Opera Nights
March 22, 2008
By Martha Thomas
Photography by Bryan Burris
After Madame Butterfly agrees to relinquish her child, Sorrow, so he may have a brighter future in the United States, she sings an aria before taking her life. If you’re hearing this at your table at Sotto Sopra, you will likely be hungry for more — opera, that is. Read more »
The Chef Business
February 26, 2008
By Martha Thomas
When she was a student at the Culinary Institute of America 20 years ago, Cindy Wolf was sitting around with a bunch of classmates when one of them said she wanted to work eventually as a food stylist. Wolf, now executive chef and co-owner of Baltimore’s Charleston Group, was surprised. “I’d never heard of such a thing,” she recalls. She assumed that, like her, everyone at the upstate New York culinary school aimed to run a restaurant kitchen.
Beyond Turkey
Traditions Fly The Coop
November 4, 2007
By Martha Thomas
Photography By Bryan Burris
The first Thanksgiving involved giving thanks to the unfamiliar. The Pilgrims threw a feast with foodstuffs grown close to home — foods, like potatoes and maize, unknown to them until they arrived in the New World. They ate what they could grow or kill, says Sidney Mintz, a Johns Hopkins professor emeritus of anthropology. “These people were thankful just to eat in this place.” Read more »
All About Oysters
Rumored to be an aphrodisiac, oysters vary like fine wines.
October 9, 2007
By Martha Thomas
Photography by Bryan Burris
An “aha” moment for Rowan Jacobsen came while he was sitting on a dock in Damariscotta, Maine. Oysters were being unloaded from a boat and shucked on the spot. “It was all there: the ice-cold water with a harbor seal popping up its head every so often,” says Jacobsen, who was in Maine to research a book on oysters. Read more »
Summer and the Sipping
July 24, 2007
By Martha Thomas
Photography By Bryan Burris
Years ago, an older friend taught me how to love beer: Go out and mow the lawn on a really hot day. Come in and grab an ice-cold, sweating bottle from the fridge. Draw it across your brow. Crack it open and take a big, refreshing swig.
A Taste of Home
Comfort Food from Around The World
May 8, 2007
By Mary Medland
Photography By Bryan Burris
Comfort food. It’s what our mothers fed us when we were home from school with a miserable head cold. Today, for most of us, that translates into macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. Right? Read more »
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Overcoming Holiday Overload
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For Baby Boomer Women, Social Networking is Essential
The Mossy Greensward
Holiday Cheer
Allergy-Free Season’s Eatings