Fourth Quarter Dining and Such

Everyone agrees that 2016 was a tough year on the grand scale, but on a personal level, for me, it had a lot of high points.

We ate and drank some fantastic things. I tried new places and hung out with food friends as often as possible. We drank tons of Hazanas Rioja. Cooper and I spent an interestingly large chunk of the year inside distilleries, both in the U.S. and in Ireland (one day I'll write about the rest of that trip). Dixon and I started collaborating (those articles are so fun to write). It was a good time.

But now, here it is in 2017 and I haven't written about some of the meals I ate in October. That's embarrassing.

So let's take care of that. Here's a look at some of our end of year highlights:

Towson Tavern

Towson Tavern got a new chef this fall - Josh Vecchiolla, the former sous from Parts & Labor. I've always liked it there, but under Vecchiolla's guidance, the menu has gotten a meaty upgrade that's really strong.

We had dinner there in late October with our friends Will and Karen. The drinks were excellent, as always, but the best parts were the stinging nettle dip and this chicken, which was seasoned perfectly, cooked in a cast iron pan, and just great all around.

Visionary Arts Museum Food Exhibit
The new exhibit at the AVAM is all about food, so we, obviously, had to go. It's pretty cool.

I mean, how could I not love this? A note about celebratory meals, posted right over a book called Muskrat Cookin'. That museum, it is the best.

Henninger's

The last weekend in October, we celebrated Bill's birthday with dinner at Henninger's (always the best - I could go there every night) and after dinner drinks at Cat's Eye Pub.

It was Halloween weekend and the weather was gorgeous, so Fells was wild. We made some friends - including an older guy who was dressed as "half naked" (literally, he was half naked). And I remembered why Cat's Eye is one of the best bars anyplace.

We barely took any pictures, but for whatever reason, I did snap this pre-dinner shot of Cooper and his duck lips. Why? Who knows.

Bar Vasquez
Foreman Wolf's new Argentine spot, Bar Vasquez, opened in the old Pazo space this fall and in early November, I had the chance to try it out with a fun group of food friends. It was so good. So good.

I've been recommending it right and left - it's an absolutely perfect place for a special occasion dinner, or even just to meet up with friends if you're looking for something a little more sophisticated than your average Baltimore evening. It's expensive, but between the food, the space, the drinks and the service, it's well worth it.

These potatoes were spectacular, but then, everything was. The duck I had for dinner might be the best duck I've ever eaten.

Figs
I made fig-rosemary jam! I had to. Our fig crop this year was hilariously large and it hung on until...well, it's January and there are still figs on the tree. I doubt they're good, but they're hanging on.

No Kid Hungry at Food Market
Also in early November, Cooper and I went to a dinner at Food Market, benefiting No Kid Hungry. Charm City Cook Amy organized the event, which involved a bunch of local chefs and raised a boatload of money for the organization.

We were thrilled to be a part of that, but we were also thrilled to be on the receiving end of some incredible food. One thing this city does well is a chef-driven charity dinner. I have heard stories of boring "rubber chicken" fundraiser food. Seems to me, Baltimore has risen above that.

Our table was an absolute blast; whoever did the table assignments was a rock star. And every course was terrific. This, venison lasagna by Bryan Voltaggio, was more like a napolean than like lasagna. Incredible.

Wicked Sisters

Wicked Sisters, the new spot in the old McCabe's space in Hampden, opened earlier this fall. It's the latest effort from Charlie and Lori Gjerde and Carrie Podles, who own several other local spots, including Papi's Tacos.

Cooper and I found ourselves with an unexpected Dixon-free Friday night in mid-November, so we stopped in to see what it was all about. It's casual and fun and we liked the food a lot. We started with Brussels sprouts (solid) and I had an excellent burger.

After dinner, Charlie handed us this glass full of Winecream, and we couldn't say no. I mean, they're a local company. Who doesn't want to support that?

Mock Thanksgiving 

Our annual pre-Thanksgiving party was a small affair this year, with just a few friends and their kids coming over for dinner on the Sunday before the big holiday. I made a mess of the turkey and I might not be ready to talk about that yet (or ever), but the night was an overall success, thanks largely to Piper and Hadley, who came over early and set a mean kids table.

Those two design stars have started their own YouTube channel and Facebook page. If you're a fan of short videos of hilarious girls, I strongly suggest you follow them.

Clavel and WC Harlan
After Thanksgiving, we jumped straight into the busy holiday social season.

The first weekend in December, our friend Stacey came down to visit us from New York. Alicia and Mary and I took her to Clavel and WC Harlan. We knew she'd love them both - who doesn't?

Stacey took this picture!

Carol and Crawl
For the ninth year in a row, we spent the first Saturday of December with our friends, celebrating the holiday season with way, way, way too much booze and a lot of off-key singing. Not caroling - despite the name of the party, there is no caroling. If there's any crawling, it's done after the party has officially ended, when people are trying to make it to their beds. It is a fun party. With lots of mozzarella sticks.

Also, this year, lots of ridiculous outfits:

Buck Buck Moose at Volt
Cooper and I spent one day after the Christmas party licking our wounds, then we got back into it, heading to Frederick for a book signing dinner at Volt. Hank Shaw, the blogger behind Hunter Angler Gardener Cook and the author of several cookbooks that we love, was at the restaurant, and Bryan Voltaggio was in the kitchen, cooking recipes adapted from the book.

It was our first time at Volt and we took Cooper's cousin Sarah, who lives in Frederick, with us. Dinner was great - fun and interesting and delicious - and we were especially happy to have another go at the venison lasagna from the No Kid Hungry dinner was just a warm-up. That stuff is so good.

R. House
This fall also marked the opening of R. House, the food hall in Remington.

I've been twice now - once on opening night with Nikki Marks (of Madame BBQ/Mindgrub fame) and again before seeing the Hampden lights with Mike, Alicia, Maggie and Dixon (Cooper was sick, so he stayed home).

They've done a great job over there. It's casual and easy and the food is good. Technically, it's a food court, but it's such a cool one!

I've tried a bunch of different things so far and have liked all of them. The only thing I've photographed, though, is the shawarma from ARBA. It's great.

Clavel at The Charmery
After R. House but before the lights, Dixon, Mike, Alicia, Maggie and I dropped by The Charmery, where they were in the middle of a busy Clavel pop-up. Mexican cinnamon ice cream, wedding cookies, Mexican hot chocolate, lots of other things that were great - unsurprisingly, this was a collab that worked.

McGarvey's
I turned 41 this year, which means I've been celebrating my birthday at McGarvey's for 20 years straight. TWENTY YEARS.

This year was a fun one, even though bad weather and illness meant a lot of people couldn't make it. But still, a bunch of high school friends joined Cooper and me for oysters, crab dip and Aviators at McGarvey's, oyster shooters at Middleton's (pictured), quite a bit of Irishness at Galway Bay and a mildly sloppy close to the evening, featuring good red wine and French whiskey at Harry Browne's.

We always close out the night at Harry Browne's, which is by far the nicest place we go, and we're always a little unruly when we get there (not too unruly, but still). The bartenders there, though, they are fabulous. The one working during my birthday celebration was a total pro - keeping us engaged and put together and having fun. He was the best.

Matisse/Diebenkorn and Parts & Labor
Earlier this year, when word got out about the Matisse/Diebenkorn exhibit at the BMA, my brother and sister and I hatched a plan to meet there while they were in Maryland for Christmas. And we actually made that happen!

The Friday before Christmas, Dixon and I met Tom and Cail and Erin and Clark at the museum. The first thing we did was head to the exhibit itself; I was completely blown away.

I love both Matisse and Diebenkorn; I wrote college papers about both painters (though not about them together). They're two of my favorites, so purely from an aesthetic sense, I enjoyed the exhibit. It's pretty.

But even if I wasn't a particular fan of either of the artists, I would've been impressed. It is so smart and hangs together so well. It reminded me why art history fascinates me. I'm planning to go back again - this time without a 10 year old boy (who was not quite as enamored as I was). I could spend days just soaking it in.

After the exhibit, we wandered through the Cone Collection and the Contemporary Wing; Tom and Erin hadn't been to the museum since they were kids and Cail and Clark had never been. Dixon had a blast in the contemporary collection, taking pictures of the pieces with his iPod and getting really into it. I'm not sure I realized how interactive it is. It's great for kids and I loved watching him have fun with the art.

After all of that, we headed over to a very busy Parts & Labor, where I got their version of a pit beef sandwich and it was killer. Highly recommended!

New Year's Eve
Christmas Eve, Christmas day and the few days after passed in a bit of a blur. Cooper and I both end up working a lot during the week between Christmas and New Year's, but we also always have friends in town, so we're out a lot. This year, that meant seeing people from Denver and Seattle - and also doing a lot of work.

New Year's Eve, we had friends (with kids) over here for a dinner showcasing various cuts of meat from the Jack Straw Farm cow we split with friends. (Oh yeah, we have a freezer that is jam-packed with beef right now.)

The meat was very good, as was the Barefoot Contessa sauce I made with it and the Barefoot Contessa cake Alicia made for dessert. Ina is everywhere these days.

But the highlight of the night wasn't on our plates - it was the kids. Piper, Hadley and Maggie went live on Facebook a couple times and made tons of videos, including one at midnight, when Cooper sabered a magnum of Champagne.

In retrospect, we probably should've opened that big boy earlier. Everybody went home at like 12:15. Because...kids.

Overall, it was a big quarter. On New Year's Day, all we could pull ourselves together to do was order some Chinese food. We're exhausted.

But we're not slowing down. This weekend, we'll be celebrating Kyle's birthday at Bar Vasquez. And after that...who knows. I'm sure it'll be something good.

This Week: March 15th to March 21st

This week has mostly been about work, work and more work - but before all that, we had a super fun weekend. Friday night, my high school friends Pete and Liz, who live in Maine, were in Annapolis, so a bunch of us - several of the "known since kindergarten" crew - got together at McGarvey's:

Pete & Liz are the ones making out. So gross.

Crab dip, crab cakes, burgers, oysters. Beer. There are so many things McGarvey's does right. I have been there a zillion times and I never get sick of it. It's the setting of so many of my favorite memories.

On Sunday, we hosted a small St. Patrick's Day brunch at our house ("brunch" means people come over from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.). We had smoked salmon and radishes and shamrock cookies from my sister and Alicia's cabbage noodles and Jen' reuben dip and lots of Irish bread and bangers (thank you, Trader Joe's) and mash and - the centerpiece - homemade corned beef hash (this recipe), which is not pictured because I was too busy cooking the hash and eggs to stop and photograph anything.

It was so festive and fun:

Everyone was in the spirit and ready to have such a good time - from the little kids to the grandparents.

On Monday, it was back to the grind again. But at least we have the memories of the weekend.

#waskineau

My little sister is married!

Erin and Clark got married last weekend in Annapolis. It was such a fun weekend
all the way around. So much fun, in fact, that I barely took any pictures.

The weekend kicked off with a little siblings-and-friends lunch at
McGarvey's on Friday.  McGarvey's is, of course, my favorite bar in the entire world
- my sister loves it, too. We had a couple Aviators (the house beer), some crab dip
and a variety of seafood-related sandwiches (crab cake, soft shell, rockfish, etc.)
It was a fantastic way to start the weekend.

The rehearsal dinner was at Carrol's Creek Cafe in Eastport. Long, long ago,
in the summer of 1996, my friend Alison worked at Carrol's Creek,
so I ate there a ton (their cream of crab soup is awesome). This week, I had crab cakes
(just like I had for lunch) and the Barrineaus - my sister's new in-laws -
surprised Erin and Clark with a giant Washington & Lee cake
(where they both went, and met).

The Barrineaus made sunglasses as a rehearsal dinner favor:

I stole this picture from Erin's friend Lyndsay Polloway's Facebook page. Thanks, LP!

The dinner was fun and speeches were sweet. Then, right before the slideshow, created
courtesy of Clark's sister Sarah, the power went out. It was strange. Fortunately, it
came back on, so we all got to ooh and aah at pictures of baby Clark and Erin.

After dinner, everyone headed to Ram's Head, where we met up with my
old friends Bert and Heidi. We stayed out too late, of course, but had so much fun.

Saturday started with Waskom sibling Starbucks in Erin's room, then Erin and
all the bridesmaids went to my parents' house to get ready. I was careful not to
take any pictures while we were at my mom and dad's - I was afraid I might
accidentally post something on Facebook.

The ceremony was at St. Mary's, where my dad and his family went to school,
I got married, Dixon was baptised - and a whole bunch of other family events
have taken place. It's a gorgeous church and Father Flynn, the priest who
married us and married Clark and Erin, rocks.

(I don't have any pictures, of course, since I was busy matron of honoring.)

The reception after was at the Annapolis Maritime Museum. It's a small museum
housed in the old McNasby's building on the Bay in Eastport. The space was
super cool - filled with interactive exhibits that educate about the oyster and
crabbing industries of Annapolis. Dixon loved it.

After a bunch of windy waterfront photos and a fun cocktail hour, we shipped
Dixon off with Cooper's parents and got down to business. 

The wedding was catered by Ken's Creative Kitchen - the team that must be the
best caterers in Annapolis. The food was amazing (especially the crab cake appetizers)
 and the service was excellent. A few years ago, Ken catered my friends' Pete and
Liz's wedding. That night, my mom couldn't say enough about how great the
service and food had been. There was really no other choice for Erin's caterer.

We started with lovely salads of mixed greens and goat cheese:

The entree was crab-topped rockfish with spring vegetables
and super airy potatoes:
(Note the royal blue tablecloths - it's a W&L thing.
The bridesmaids wore hot pink and orange.)

After dinner, we all celebrated with Erin, Clark and their favorite college band,
Snackbar Jones. It was crazy fun.

And this photo came from Erin's friend Lis Juterbock's Facebook. I really didn't take any of my own!

The reception flew by, of course - they always do when you're having fun.
Once it was over, we headed downtown on a hilariously bumpy water taxi ride.
We went to Pusser's to continue the party and then, eventually, home.

Erin and Clark are in Spain now (the Basque region, including San Sebastian)
and I am at home, wishing I'd planned a post-wedding trip of my own.
Because who says only the bride and groom should get a honeymoon?

It was so much fun all around - and wonderful to see my little sister so happy.
I wish we could do it all over again!

Cool Shopping

My old friend Amy and a new friend of hers, Ellen, are starting something so cool I felt compelled to write about it.

The two of them are both longtime fans of fashion - Ellen worked in fashion merchandising for years and Amy studied fashion photography. Now they're living the suburban-ish life in Arnold, but they still love fashion. So they're starting a pop-up shop!

It's called "Here." and will occupy otherwise empty storefronts around the area for short stints. First up: March 1st through 10th at 47 Spa Road in Annapolis.

Every installment of the shop will have a different theme - the first theme is "flirting with spring."

The shops will feature clothes, accessories and home goods. Ellen and Amy are hoping to feature local designers as much as possible, too.

As soon as Amy mentioned this to me, I was in love with the idea. She's so creative and this is a fantastic outlet - it's such a great, low-risk way to start a retail business.

So if you're near Annapolis in early March, check them out! (Hours and other information are on their website.)

Birthday 2012

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

December is a busy month around here.

Cooper's birthday was on the 12th - we celebrated with dinner at Petit Louis and also dinner at his parents' house.

My birthday was last Saturday, the 22nd. (We both turned 37.) As is my tradition, I celebrated with oysters, Aviator beers, and crab dip at McGarvey's.

This year, since it was a Saturday, the party was even better than usual. For one thing, in the morning, a couple of Cooper's high school friends came over for brunch. We try to get together every Christmas, and this year, brunch worked best for all involved.

It's always a good time and this year was no exception.

As an extra bonus, his friend Patrick brought me macarons from Laduree in Paris, where he lives. Macarons, as it turns out, are a fantastic way to kick off a new year.

The Annapolis portion of the day was even more fun than usual, too. Most years, we have a low-key lunch with just a few people. But this year, since it was a Saturday, we started around 4:30 and kept things going at McGarveys then Harry Browne's, our late-night Annapolis go-to, until late. Very late. 

Tons of my high school friends came out - including the ones who live in Maine and also Alison and Suzanne, who have been at nearly all of my birthday celebrations since I turned 21 - and Alicia, Mike and Bill made the trek down, reserving a room at the Governor Calvert House in downtown Annapolis.

There were plenty of oysters, an enormous amount of crab dip, and more holiday cheer than I can even put into words.

We carried that cheer through Monday, at my parents' house (more oysters) and yesterday, at Cooper's Aunt Diane's and at his parents'.

And now, as I look out the window, it's snowing.

Very merry, indeed.

Great Waiters & Small Worlds

Saturday wasn't all about baby showers. During the afternoon, I got the craziest email. It all started last week, when in one of her final posts on the Dining@Large blog, Elizabeth Large wrote about whether she'd ever been recognized.

A commenter, who identified himself as "Robert in Annapolis" revealed that he'd waited on her once way, way back in the day (and by that I mean the early 70s). He told her he worked at Auberge de France on Main Street - which happened to be one of my parents' favorite restaurants (at some point, it became India Palace and then it burned down and still hasn't been replaced). And their favorite waiter happened to be named Robert.

I had a feeling it was the same guy, so I wrote a comment on the blog, mentioning that when my mom was in the hospital after just having had me, my grandfather and dad went to Auberge to celebrate. Upon hearing the big news, Robert sent my dad to the hospital with a dish of chocolate mousse and a spoon for my mom. It made an enormous impression (among other things - apparently he was one of the Last Great Waiters).

So back to the weekend. On Friday, I got an email from Robert's son confirming that yes, he was that Robert. And on Saturday, I got an email from Robert himself, asking me what my parents' and grandparents' names were.

I told him and he absolutely remembered them - as it turns out, not only were my parents regular customers, but during the winter of 1976-77, my dad went over to Robert's house to help teach him how to split wood. Robert's comment, "What I got out of that experience was the knowledge to order pre-split wood!" My dad still, occasionally, splits some wood. It's ridiculous.

These days, Robert is still in and around Annapolis for much of the year - he owns a title company (where his son also works) and his wife runs the green market in West Annapolis.

Once the market starts back up in April, I'm hoping to get down there one weekend and to meet Robert and his wife. I grew up on stories of his commitment to his profession and his mastery of it - he set the bar high for other waiters. So even just emailing with him has been kind of a thrill.

Old Bay Holi-Bay Recipe Contest

I'm feeling pretty warmly towards Old Bay these days, and not just for the usual reasons. I love the stuff, of course - I didn't grow up in a bubble inside Maryland - but now I also kind of love the people.

Here's what happened: I got an email the other day from Old Bay's PR people. They were announcing their holiday contest, which is open to Facebook fans (details below). I'm already a fan, so I knew about the contest, but I emailed back saying that of course I'd mention it on the blog. Why not?

I mentioned that I'd recently sent some Old Bay to Eve Martel, a blogger who lives in Montreal (I interviewed her a while back for Houzz) - I thought it might make a nice anecdote for the Old Bay crew. I also mentioned that I was planning to send some to my high school friend Bert, who's just been deployed and will be spending the next year in Afghanistan. Immediately, I heard back with a note saying that Old Bay would be happy to send my friend something themselves.

I know it's a little thing, but it does take time - and imagine how great Old Bay would smell in the middle of the very-far-away desert.

And that, my friends, is why I'm an even bigger fan of Old Bay today.

If you're not already a Facebook fan of Old Bay, you can become one by going here. And here are the details of their holiday contest:

Celebrate the Holi-Bays Contest:

November 19th through December 25th, Old Bay wants to hear from its Facebook fans* on how they use their favorite spice blend during the holidays - it could be whipping up an Old Bay recipe, sprinkling it on a holiday favorite, using it as a holiday decoration or giving it as a gift.

To enter the contest, post a photo showing how you zest up your holidays using Old Bay – (Entries are limited to one photo posting per week).

• Each post will be voted on by the amount of “likes” it receives from fellow Facebook fan members.
• The photo post with the most “likes” will receive an “Ultimate Holi-Bay Gift Basket” ($140 value) that includes:
• A $25 gift card, a steamer pot and fryer, tons of Old Bay products, 5 sample packs of Old Bay for you to share with friends and family, as well as some items for the ultimate Old Bay fan – branded t-shirts, cups, temporary tattoos, and an inner tube for sledding (or relaxing in the water for those who live in warm weather all year round)!
• One winner will be announced each week, starting the week of November 30th.
• We will mail out all gift baskets upon receiving each winner’s address information.

*You must be a Facebook member and fan of OLD BAY’s Facebook page to enter contest

The Cycle of Life, Restaurant-Style

Since yesterday afternoon, Elizabeth Large has posted a bunch of information about local openings and closings. In the positive column, tomorrow Crush will open in the old Taste spot at Belvedere Square. Crush is owned by the Daniel half of Christopher Daniel in Timonium. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that it does well, especially since it's so close to my house.

On a sadder note, there are a couple of notable upcoming closings. Zodiac, on Charles just north of the train station, and Northwoods in Annapolis. Oddly enough, I've never been to either, though I've heard amazing things about both. It's especially strange, really, that I never went to Northwoods, since it's been in West Annapolis for 23 years and I have had a lot of dinners out during those 23 years.

History and Beer

Sloshspot has compiled a list of the 10 oldest bars in the US and it's pretty cool, even if the writers did accidentally overlook about half the actual oldest bars in the US (including The Horse You Came in On in Fells Point).

Also not mentioned: Reynold's Tavern in Annapolis. Maybe it doesn't count because only the Sly Fox part of it is really bar-like?

Regardless, it's a cool list and the motivation behind it (the author was drinking in a pub in Europe and naturally started thinking about how young everything is in the US...so he looked around for some of our not-so-young places).

I've never lived very far from pretty intensely colonial areas, so I thought I had a decent appreciation for history - until I went to Europe for the first time. That said, our history is pretty great. So why not absorb a little of it while you drink?

Quotable Tuesday: Crabby

If Baltimoreans have a Holy Grail, I once said in a review, it would be the perfect crab house. - Elizabeth Large

It's Crab Week on the EL blog and, not surprisingly, everybody's full of opinions.

As for me, if I'm having crabs, I'd just rather not go out. I like my own crab cakes better than most restaurants, and the best crabs I've had in the past few years were ones that our friend Clancy caught in the Severn, then steamed at his parents' house.

When we go to the beach in a few weeks, we'll have crabs again. In true hunter-gatherer spirit, the boys will all go crabbing with Gary-Down-the-Boatyard (so named because that's how he introduces himself on the phone: "Hi, this is Gary-Down-the-Boatyard. Is Cooper there?"), then we'll steam the crabs back at home. It's a perfect end-of-vacation dinner.

I am so ready to go to the beach.

One More Quick Restaurant Review: McCormick and Schmick's

After writing a semi-review of Verbena in my last post, I remembered that I wanted to quickly say something about my lunch on Friday. Dixon and I met my mom and grandmother at the new McCormick and Schmick's in Annapolis Mall.

It's a nice place, but a chain, so I won't get into boring details. But I will say that we all had an extremely good lunch and our service was absolutely outstanding. I had a mixed broiled platter with salmon, a small crab cake, an oyster, shrimp and scallops. Nan had trout that she finished - and she never finishes anything (she's tiny). My mom probably won, though - she had parmesan-crusted sole with a lemon and caper sauce. And Dixon had grilled cheese.

It's not the most exciting restaurant in the world, and there's nothing outrageously earth-shattering on the menu. It's also kind of full of old people (but I think maybe that's just representative of Friday afternoon at Annapolis Mall as a whole). But our waiter was ridiculously nice, totally knowledgable and had an innate sense of when and how frequently to check on us - something that I find a lot of wait staff lacks. The food was good and it was consistent. And my grandmother was happy with everything - which, for me, is often the most important measure.

And that is all.

January Is Excess: Restaurant Review: Les Folies

I can't believe that in the two and a half years I've been writing here, I've never reviewed Les Folies. I've been there a million times, both for lunch and for dinner, usually with my grandmother and various other family members. I know I've mentioned it here, but I've never written an actual review.

Time to remedy that.

I'll start at the end: Les Folies is a fantastic restaurant. I don't think I've ever had a bad meal or bad service there. Whether it's lunch for two or dinner for eight, the kitchen and staff are consistent and strong.

This past Saturday, Cooper and I had dinner there with my parents, sister, brother and his girlfriend (no Dixon - it's not a place to take kids). We were celebrating my brother's 30th (only a few weeks late). Our reservations were for 6 pm, and we'd gotten them just the day before. By 7 the room was full.

Service was quiet and extremely competent, as always. You won't find an overly familiar waiter with "how are you guys doing?" gum-snapping enthusiasm at Les Folies. It's understated, to say the least.

We each started with an hors d'oeuvres or salad. Cail (my brother's girlfriend) and I got the escargots (which comes with the eyelash curler-like utensil, unlike at Petit Louis). I've had it before, and it's very good, though it might actually be a little too garlicky for my taste. I'd just eaten the same dish at Petit Louis a few weeks before, and I like PL's slightly more subtle interpretation better. But still, great.

Unfortunately, I can't remember everybody's starter. My mom and brother, I think, just got Caesar salads and my dad ordered something that involved endive and blue cheese that looked good, but that I thought I could make at home. I convinced Cooper to order the foie gras special - and we were all glad he did. A thick slice of foie gras checkerboarded with (I think) duck mousse, it was served with an amazing brioche. It was way too rich for one person, really, but everybody at the table enjoyed a bit of it.

My dad and brother won dinner. My dad ordered the wild boar special (listed on the menu as "wild board" and if the waitress wasn't sick of that joke by the time we left, I'm SURE she was by the end of the night) - I didn't taste it, but it looked crispy and gamey and perfectly sauced. Tom ordered the rabbit special, which involved rabbit cooked about five different ways - including a little tiny presentation of the ribs still on the bone. His plate looked like crazy modern art.

Actually, my mom also did well with a poussin in hazelnuts special with a delicate sauce she totally gushed about.

Cail and Erin ordered safe bets from the main menu - the lamb for Cail and veal in cream sauce for Erin. I've had them both (I've had the veal like 10 times) and am never disappointed.

Unfortunately, Cooper and I both were a little disappointed with our entrees. Not because they weren't good - they were - but because we should have ordered more adventurously. We both got steak frites. I'm not sure why - I rarely order something so simple I could make it at home. And it was good - the frites, especially, were perfectly crisp and salty - but again, we could have that any night.

We got over it, though, with dessert. We all had souffles - some grand marnier, some chocolate. You have to order the souffle with your meal, so they have time to cook, but it is well worth it to make the decision early. The grand marnier souffle (my preference) comes with creme anglaise and is light, fluffy and decadent all at once.

Overall, a great meal.

But a few notes on the experience and ambiance, some good, some bad. First of all, the location sucks. Annapolis is a beautiful town, but the spot where Les Folies is located is, well, not. It's on Riva Road, just off 97 and next to a farm supply store. Seriously. Parking gets tight and you're not supposed to turn left to leave the lot (which is what everyone wants to do). I wish they'd move downtown, where parking is also tight, but at least the area has charm. No offense to Bowen's Farm Supply, but, well, it's not charming.

And the overall feel. As I mentioned, the service is pretty much flawless - and very quiet, which is how I like it. It also happens to be how my grandmother likes it. Along with thousands of other grandmothers. All of whom go to Les Folies. This IS your father's French restaurant.

The decor is sort of upscale brasserie, kind of Toulouse Lautrec-ish, and the menu is some brasserie, some a little more upscale than that, and some Meditteranean (paella's on the menu). There's something of an emphasis on seafood. But all the messages are a little mixed, so it ends up just feeling "Frenchy" - which is fine.

What's not fine, though, are the plates. They're horrendous - white with weird 80's Art Deco designs. I'm still trying to figure out the aesthetic motivation behind them.

But here's the real problem with Les Folies: I can't help but compare it to Petit Louis. The food is certainly comparable, though Les Folies might have a little more variety and it also might be a little more expensive. I think the wine lists are also comparable. But to me, Petit Louis feels like a younger person's restaurant.

This isn't entirely fair or rational - Petit Louis is full of its fair share of blue-hairs every time I go there. But there are younger people, too, and some children. Those are a rare sight at Les Folies.
These detractions, though, aren't fatal. Les Folies is still one of my very favorite restaurants and I will never turn down a meal there.

But I wouldn't be upset to see them by the dock...no, not at all.

Disturbing, Indeed

In the Epicurious blog, Michael Y. Park notes a trend that is nothing if not distressing: the disappearance of the "buy-back" - that on-the-house round that good bar customers (used to) get after buying a couple of drinks.

I spent many hours during my early bar-going years planted on one barstool or another, single-handedly lowering the average customer age at McGarvey's. It's not the oldest bar ever, but it is something of an Annapolis institution and, in my experience, both the clientele and staff adhere to old schoolish pub guidelines in the best kind of way: big tips, patience (on both sides) and, yes, regular buy-backs.

The tradition isn't limited to places that cater to an older crowd, either. I live in a college town now and before we had Dixon, Cooper and I went out fairly often. We were good customers and, as a result, were bought drinks by bartenders everyplace from Souris' to Bateman's.

Except for one place, and that's the reason for this post. There used to be a tiny dive on York Road in Towson called Angel's Grotto. It was dirty and cramped and half the songs on the jukebox wouldn't play. For whatever reason, we saw a lot of charm in it - especially since it wasn't as overrun with college kids as some of the other local places. And the bartenders were nice, too - super friendly and good to talk to.

But the owner was a gigantic jerk. And despite the hundreds of drinks we bought there, he never bought us one single round back.

And that is, actually, why we just stopped going. The bar has changed hands now, but we have such negative associations with the place that I'm not sure we'll ever return (forgetting, for a minute, that we're old now and have a baby, so our bar-hopping days are slightly behind us anyway).

The moral of this story, though, is one that I beg bar owners to heed: a little love goes a long way. The distinct absence of love goes a long way, too - just not in the right direction. Let the buy-back live. Please.