Repeats with a Twist, Black's Bar & Kitchen, Bethesda, MD

Earlier this fall I was able to take a quick trip back to Maryland for a couple of days. It was pretty last-minute, mainly because we didn't have a home game and I found a cheap plane ticket. This week I realized I had completely failed on posting the 3 restaurants I went to during my stay, so I'm fixing it and this is the last one.

Emily and I have been friends since she worked in the football office at Maryland as a student and recruiter. We have had so many funtivities together over the years, and she was able to come out and visit last year for Homecoming. 

Since moving to Oklahoma, I get back to Maryland every summer for a couple of weeks. I've also been lucky enough to get back a couple of times in the fall, usually for a Maryland football game. The first 2 summers I tried to see everyone and do everything. By the time I got back to Oklahoma, I would literally need a couple days to recover. Then I started doing exactly the opposite, seeing a few people and spending most of my time relaxing. I might have taken it too far the other direction now, but that's another story. I didn't get to see Emily this summer, and on this trip my flight back wasn't until late Sunday, so we agreed to meet for brunch. She threw out a couple of options, and we agreed on Black's Bar & Kitchen.

My first trip to Black's was with Emily 2 summers ago. The restaurant is in the heart of downtown Bethesda, MD, about 20 minutes from my parents' house. Black's is part of the Black's Restaurant Group, comprised of 8 different restaurants. Sunday brunch at Black's is pricey, but it's got a huge raw bar and includes unlimited mimosas. 

The restaurant has got a good-sized patio out front. The interior is basically divided in half, with the main dining room on the right, and the bar area on the left, and then the kitchen is at the back. The dining room is very warm and inviting, with a combination of tables and booth seating. On our first trip we sat in the main dining room, and on this trip we sat in the bar area. The bar itself is very large, and serves as the separating wall between the 2 spaces. There's a long tall table in the middle of the bar seating that I'm guessing are normally used for seating, but for Sunday brunch they are covered with desserts. 

You have 2 options with the buffet. With unlimited mimosas or without. Even if you only plan to get just one mimosa, you're better off with the unlimited. Because chances are, you're going to get more than one. They've got 6 different flavors to choose from, and they are all very tasty. The Kir Royale and Pointsettia are my favorites. 

On the buffet, I swear they have everything. The hot bar is on the main dining room side, and the raw bar is at the end of the regular bar, just behind the host stand

Emily started with a combination of hot food and raw bar. Me, I went straight for the raw bar. I didn't want to seem gluttonous, so I just got a little on each plate...and got 2 plates. I had to hold myself back from getting a third.

Oysters, calamari, tuna tartar, shrimp salad, smoked mussels

Oysters, shrimp cocktail, BBQ shrimp, shrimp salad, clams

Not one single negative about anything on either plate. The only place I will eat oysters in Oklahoma is Bodean's, so I took full advantage of having access to these. I normally would not get calamari or tuna that are raw, but I went adventurous. I'm so glad I did, because the marinade on both added so much flavor. I could have easily gone back and just picked up the bowls of both. The mussels had a wonderful smoky flavor that was not overwhelming at all. The shrimp salad was light and refreshing. 

After the raw plates, it was time for the hot food

Bacon, grits, potatoes, Israeli couscous salad, eggs Benedict 

I love buffets that have bacon. I usually go way overboard, but I'm quite proud of myself for only getting 4 slices. I was tempted to go back for more, but again I held back. The grits were cheesy, creamy, and delicious. I'm not sure what else was in the couscous salad, but it was really good. I don't normally do eggs Benedict, but I'm glad I got this one because it was excellent. 

We were both full, but you can't sit right next to the desserts and not try them out

As you see, I was very restrained, only picking up 3 small pieces. But no surprise, they were all chocolate. The one closest to the front was homemade Reese's cup, and was fantastic. I honestly can't remember what the other 2 were...yes, I realize that's a fail. But they were both very good. The one in the back was a mousse, so it was very light.

As we were eating, a professional photographer came in and was shooting lots of pictures of several dishes. I got up to take pictures, and made a passing joke to one of the staff members that mine would never be as good as hers, but I was going to do the best I could. It turned out I was speaking with Alicia, the Asst. General Manager. We spoke for a few minutes, I told her about my blog, and she thanked me for coming.

I had been thinking for a few months that I needed to get business cards so when I run into that situation I can just give them a card. My plan was to get on that as soon as I got back to Oklahoma. Fast-forward to nearly Christmas, and still no cards. The good thing is, I am ordering them this weekend so I can have them for my trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl.

Will I go back? Well, of course I will. I really enjoy the atmosphere of Black's, and I would love to go check it out for happy hour or a weekend lunch on the patio on my next visit. Also, I need to check out some of their other restaurants. 

#207 - Fuji Japanese Steakhouse, Crofton MD

My friend Heather and I worked at Maryland together for about 10 years, and she is one of my dearest friends. We've been there for each other through thick and thin, and there's been a whole lot of both. Her birthday falls in mid-July, and I'm almost always back visiting during that time. We both love Marathon Deli right in College Park, so that's where we always go. But on this trip she just happened to be taking the day off on that Friday, so we decided to go somewhere closer to her house in Crofton. 

Crofton has grown so much in the past 10 years, and absolutely exploded in the last 3. I barely even recognize it at all, with several huge shopping areas opening up. I threw out a couple of lunch options, and we settled on Fuji Japanese Steakhouse. They actually opened another restaurant this spring, not too far away. Fuji has a prime corner location. They've got a covered outdoor patio out front, but it was cold and windy, and we had no desire to sit out there. 

The restaurant is primarily hibachi, with 6 big hibachi stations that take up the bulk of the inside seating. There's also a large bar area separated by a partial wall. You can sit at the bar, at the sushi bar, or at a table. We were seated at a table. They've also got a small regular dining section. The one down side is that it was too dark. I'm guessing they were going for mood lighting, but you really don't need that at lunch.

The menu is typical, featuring appetizers, soups & salads, lots of rolls, and items from the hibachi.  Heather started with the salad, and then got the combo steak & shrimp hibachi

I tasted a bite of the salad, and it was very good. I'm such a huge fan of this type of salad dressing.

I didn't try any of the meat or shrimp, but she said they were both cooked perfectly and really good. I did have some of the rice, and it was awesome. And after one bite I couldn't help myself, and kept eating more.

My first choice of soup at Asian restaurants is usually wonton, but they didn't have that on the menu. And I'm always hesitant to get miso soup, because I don't like mushy tofu. So when I saw Sui Mono soup, I decided to give it a shot

Clear broth soup with mushroom, fried onion & scallion

I really enjoyed this soup. The broth had a lot of flavor, and the soup was served very hot.

I needed a sushi fix, so this was the perfect opportunity to do that. I don't do raw. The first time I ever tried sushi was in Maui, and my friends convinced me to try the raw eel. That was a one-time experiment that I'll never do again. After a couple of years, I slowly became more adventurous, and will now do rolls that have some raw in them, but the majority of the roll has to be cooked.

After some back and forth, I went with the spider roll and the cowboy roll

Spider Roll: deep fried soft shell crab with avocado, cucumber, and fish eggs

Cowboy Roll: Deep fried scallops, spicy tuna, avocado & mango,
wrapped in soy sheet served with tomatillo sauce

The spider roll is an old favorite of mine, and this one did not disappoint. I've never had one with cucumber, and it was a very nice twist. The Cowboy roll was a very interesting mix of flavors, as I've never had mango in a roll before and I don't normally do the soy sheets. The roll itself was very tasty, and even though the tuna was raw I fully enjoyed it. I've never seen tomatillo sauce included as a dipping sauce for rolls before. It was okay, but to me it didn't add anything to the dish so I stuck to soy sauce.

Will I go back? Definitely. The food was really good, and I would love to try some of the other rolls on the menu.

#206 - Nando's, College Park MD

As I was going through the list of draft posts on my blog yesterday, I realized that I completely failed to do 3 restaurants from my visit to Maryland this fall. So I immediately got to work fixing that.

It's very rare that I get to go back to Maryland during football season, but I found a really cheap flight so I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately it didn't coincide with a Maryland home football game, which would have been a great opportunity to see a whole lot of friends. I've been able to do that a couple of times, and it's been awesome. Both schedules are already out for next year, and I can actually choose from 3 different home games to go back for. 

College Park has changed so much since I was in school at Maryland 20+ years ago. Every time I go back I drive through campus and around town, just to see what's new. Ratsie's was a College Park institution for 30 years. It was in a prime location right on the corner of Route 1. I don't think we ever went there during the day, but it sure had great late-night pizza. It finally closed down this spring, and Nando's took over. When I was in Maryland in July, we drove by and the entire building had been gutted. 

My parents and I went to Nando's for lunch. I was amazed to see how the space has been completely and totally transformed.

At first I thought they took over whatever was next door as well, because the space seems so much bigger. But I think it's just the way the new space is designed. The restaurant has bold colors, wood ceilings and tables, and a combination of booth and table seating. There's a large open kitchen in the back. I love restaurants that do that, so you can watch them work.

The restaurant originated in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1987. Since then, it has grown a ton. In the US, there are locations in Maryland, DC, Virginia and Illinois. Across the ocean are locations in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the UK. 

The restaurant was still really crowded when we arrived, even though it was after 1pm. I liked that the hostess immediately asked everyone who entered if they had been there before, and then explained the process for newbies. The order and seating method is very unique. They seat you, give you menus, and then you get up and wait in line to order. It seems kind of weird to me, but you can take your time perusing the menu if needed. I'm guessing if you already know what you want you can order first and then sit. The one down side is that the music was too loud.

Nando's does Portugese food, featuring chicken, sandwiches, wraps, salads, and sides. The sides are priced separately, but sandwiches, wraps and pitas all come with one side. They also have beer, wine and sangria. The chicken is the most popular thing on the menu, marinated overnight and grilled to order with your choice of Peri Peri sauces, offering everything from plain-ish to extra hot. 

We decided to start with the hummus with Peri Peri drizzle

The hummus was excellent, and the pita was served warm. What a great combination. The drizzle had a serious kick, and I loved the mini bottle it came in. I could have easily eaten all of that hummus myself.

My mom got the roasted veggie wrap

Roasted eggplant and red peppers, PERi-drizzled couscous salad, hummus, pickled onions and crumbled goat cheese in a whole wheat wrap

I tasted a bite of her wrap. I'm not a fan of eggplant, but the wrap was delicious. It had a great mix of flavors. The wraps are pretty substantial, so between the hummus and her lunch she got full pretty quickly and she ended up taking home half the wrap and the corn for later. 

My dad got the portobello mushroom and halloumi wrap

Roasted and served in a whole wheat wrap with our chili jam

What is halloumi you ask? Well, it's a cheese, made from a mix of goat and sheep milk. I didn't try any of my dad's, but he said it was really good. 

Of course, I had to get chicken. You can get dark or white meat quarter, half a chicken, chicken breast, chicken livers, or wings. I went simple with a 1/4 dark meat, with the medium sauce. They have bottles of all the sauces at the condiment station, so I picked up the garlic and hot to taste test. I had a really hard time deciding what to get on the side. I thought about the fries or the rice, but when the cashier raved about the macho peas I decided to go with that instead.

Macho Peas: rugged pea mash with whole peas, parsley, mint & chili

The chicken was fantastic. It was so incredibly tender and juicy. I tasted both of the sauces, and the garlic was instantly my favorite. Not a powerful garlic taste, but it had a wonderful depth of flavor. The chicken didn't need any more sauce, but that didn't stop me from eating every bite with the garlic sauce. The macho peas were okay, but I wouldn't rave about them. I had such high expectations, and to me they were bland. I tried some of the peri drizzle on them and that helped. Then I added some of the garlic sauce, which pushed them up to really good. 

Will I go back? Yes, I definitely will. The chicken of course is what drew me in. But some of their other items look really good as well. So next time I'm back in Maryland, I'll have to check it out.

#205 - Burn Co BBQ, Tulsa OK

Our last home football game of the year was Thanksgiving weekend, our rivalry game against Oklahoma. I'm just glad we don't play on Thanksgiving day or Black Friday. I know there's a lot of teams that do, and it's their tradition, but I'm quite sure our fans would revolt. Playing that weekend means I don't have students around Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday morning to help me with game prep stuff. Thankfully I had quite a few come in and knock out a ton of work Monday and Tuesday. Since I knew I would be at work all day Friday, I decided to take the day off Wednesday to run a few errands. I went to Tulsa, and made plans to meet a friend for lunch. When my friend Dick was in town a few weeks ago, he sent me a picture of his lunch from Burn Co BBQ. We had talked about it the night before at dinner, and both he and Mike had raved about the food.  Yes, my friends and I are those people who discuss the next meal while we're still eating the current meal. 

So, there are three unique aspects to Burn Co. First, it's only open from 10:30-2:30. We arrived at 10:45 and there was already a line 40 deep outside the door. I've seen pictures where the line is a lot longer at the same time

Second, when they run out, they run out. In the online reviews everyone raved about the restaurant except for one guy who showed up at 1:30 and they were out of most of the smoked meats. Well, that's what happens when a restaurant is only open for 4 hours. It's kind of like a party...don't show up at the end and gripe because there's not much left.

Third, you have to listen to hear your name called. I do agree with one reviewer who said it's not a great system. A lot of names sound alike when they're being yelled in a crowded restaurant. We were listening, and I could barely hear mine being called. And the servers get an attitude when you don't hear your name. I'm guessing it's supposed to be a funny attitude, but it doesn't always come across like that. 

The restaurant is located near downtown Tulsa in an old building. It went through a couple of other restaurants before Burn Co took over. You wait in line, order at the counter, and they bring the food to you. As I mentioned before, the line can and does get very long. Our whole experience took about 90 minutes from start to finish, so this is not a restaurant you can visit on a lunch break from work unless you are there when the doors open. Thankfully the weather wasn't bad so we didn't mind waiting outside, especially because it was only about 25 minutes

The inside of the building is very rustic looking.  They have a small area to the right immediately as you walk in where they sell t shirts and a couple of sauces. There's a large bar that takes up almost the entire right wall. The line goes right by that bar, so you can have a drink or 2 while you wait. Very smart move. They also have a small meat counter where you can pick up raw product. There's a self-serve drink station in the far left corner, and the rest of the restaurant is seating. All the tables are family style picnic tables. They also do a very robust carryout business. We saw at least 20 people coming out with large trays as we waited. We sat at one table, but when I saw a space open up at another table that had more natural light, we moved. Yes, I am that person as well. I need light for pictures!

The menu is pretty simple: smoked meats, smoked sausage, grilled meats, sides and drinks. The smoked meats is what Burn Co is known for, so it's what runs out. They use a Hasty Bake to cook all of their meats, and everything is fresh. No freezers or microwaves in this place. I had never heard of a Hasty Bake, but I guess it's the real deal. They have 2 large TVs above the order counter, and that's where they display the menu items. And as you wait, you may see items taken off that menu. That means they are out. We arrived early enough that we could choose from everything, but while we were waiting for our food items started slowly coming off. And by the time we left, they only had one smoked meat left. 

They only do mac & cheese Thursday - Saturday. I was hoping they would have it on Wednesday since it was Thanksgiving weekend and they would be closed. I was wrong.

For each meat, you can get the "little girly man" or the "big boy" sizes. They also have the Frankenstein, the chef's choice of 3 meats. I asked what the choices were, and they won't tell you. I decided not to be that adventurous.  Shawn went adventurous

This day it was jalapeno cheddar sausage, bologna, and pulled pork. I took a bite of the sausage, and of course it had a huge chunk of jalapeno. But it was delicious. So tender and juicy. I've never been a big fan of bologna, but this one was outstanding. It was thick cut and perfectly smoked.

I went with all "girly man" portions, and got ribs, pulled pork and brisket

The ribs were fantastic. Fall off the bone tender, and the sauces on the table added a really nice kick. The brisket and pulled pork were wonderful as well. I didn't eat the bread, because it would just get in the way.

We also got a couple of sides

 
These were some of the best baked beans I've ever had. They use 2 different kinds of beans. We couldn't figure out what they were, but they just melted in your mouth. The sauce was deep and rich and full of flavor.

This grilled potato salad was delicious. I've never seen a potato salad with such huge chunks of other stuff, but they added great flavor, and the peppers and onions still had some crunch. And you can never go wrong with big pieces of bacon in anything.

Will I go back? Well of course. And I'm going on the weekend when they have the mac & cheese. I have to find out if it's good enough to only be served 3 days of the week.

My Chef's Hat - Creamy Chicken & Corn Chowder

Living in Oklahoma, we are lucky that cold weather rarely hits before late November. When it does though, it's always a rude awakening. That happened a couple weeks ago, and it was a combination of cold, wind, rain and just all around dreary weather when the day before it had been at least 25 degrees warmer. That kind of weather makes me want to do nothing but stay curled up in bed all day and eat warm, comforting food. We had a home game coming up that Saturday so the staying in bed thing was out. I can't remember what my original meal plan for the night was, but halfway through the day I decided I needed soup. 

I had never made soup until about 2 months ago when I made Thai Shrimp Soup. For some reason I thought it was really difficult and time consuming. I'm sure there are a lot of recipes that are, but the shrimp soup was pretty simple, so it fortified me that I could make other kinds as well. Off to Pinterest I went, and came across Creamy Chicken & Corn Chowder. It looked like exactly what would hit the spot. 

The recipe calls for chicken breast, but I very rarely ever cook it because they tend to get really dry very quickly. Yet another reason I prefer dark meat. As I read through the reviews, a couple of people mentioned that they had used rotisserie chicken.  I had never bought a rotisserie chicken before, but that seemed like a great idea, especially because I could use the carcass to make chicken broth. I stopped at the grocery store after work, and got the next to last chicken that was left. It was only $5, which is really good considering it's an entire chicken and I could use it to make at least 3 meals plus make the broth.

Here is the official recipe picture

And here is my version

The chowder was awesome. It was rich and flavorful, and I love the contrast in textures. The rotisserie chicken added a great deep flavor that you wouldn't get from regular chicken so I'm so glad I followed that recommendation.

Overall I was pretty pleased with my first attempt at chowder. Corn isn't in season right now. Normally you can still find pretty decent fresh corn at the grocery store well into the fall but they didn't have any at all, so I used frozen. And in a chowder, I don't know that you could taste the difference. I did mess up on the potatoes, because I cut them too large, and I used too much. So mine was much thicker than the recipe photo. I tried to add more broth to thin it out, but by that point it didn't really work. But that is an easy fix. I added jalapenos in the cooking, but didn't add any fresh for serving as the recipe recommends. That would help add a great kick of heat right at the end, because I couldn't really taste any heat from the cooked jalapenos. I think using roasted garlic would be a great add as well. Maybe a little in the last few minutes of cooking so it doesn't totally go away.

Will I make this again? Absolutely. It's such a perfect dish for a cold day. It's easy to make, and doesn't take too long. It's definitely on the dinner rotation.

Original Recipe Found at Cooking Classy

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#204 - Saki Sushi, Edmond OK

A couple of weeks ago I went to Dallas for the weekend since we had an away football game and I didn't go to the game. It ended up being a great blog weekend, as we ate at 4 brand new restaurants. My original plan Sunday morning had been to get up early, go running, and head out about 9am.  But when my eyes opened it was already 8am...so running was out. And when when I was just about ready to go I smelled sausage cooking. Of course I wasn't going to pass up a home-cooked breakfast, especially because Joni makes biscuits and homemade gravy to go with that sausage. 

It's about a 3-hour drive from Joni's house to OKC, and after a couple of errand stops in town I was hungry. I hadn't been on restaurant.com for a while, so I got online to see what I could find nearby.

If you've never used restaurant.com, you're missing out. Basically you buy a certificate, spend a specific amount of money, and then get half off the meal. At most restaurants the minimum you have to spend is $20, but at some places it's $10. They add new restaurants all the time. Some of the more popular restaurants run out of certificates early in the month, but then they're full again the next month. My mom bought me a bundle deal of $400 in certificates 3 years ago, and then we bought another one last year. I've found some really good restaurants on the site. Now that I think about it, I haven't been disappointed yet. And I still have about $250 in certificates to use.

After some searching, I came across Saki Sushi. I had never heard of it before, but it gave me the chance to get my sushi fix. It's located in a tiny strip mall in Edmond. As with many restaurants in strip malls, looks can be deceiving. The restaurant is larger than it looks from the outside. They've got a patio out front with about 8 tables. Inside it's one large open space with booths on the left wall, 4-top tables in the middle, and on the right it's really cool tables where you walk up a couple of steps and basically sit inside the floor

I've never seen anything like it before! The regular bar and sushi bar are along the back wall of the place. Since I was a solo diner, I sat at a table so I could watch NFL games on the TV behind the bar.

The menu is pretty big, with both cold and hot appetizers, lots of sushi, wok dishes, bowls, Teriyaki dishes and desserts. With my certificate I had to spend at least $20, so I started with jasmine tea, which came out steaming hot and was really good

Next up was an appetizer, and I went with the Harumi veggie spring roll

These were really good. I was pleasantly surprised that you get 3 rolls for the price. They came out scorching hot and freshly fried, and you can never go wrong with that. The sweet chili sauce on the side was a little different color than I'm accustomed to, but it was thick and rich, and extremely flavorful.

As usual, it took me a while to decide what to get. Raw sushi is out. I just can't with the texture, and more importantly with the thought of eating completely raw food. For a long time I wouldn't do rolls that had any raw fish at all. But I've evolved over the past 2 years, and become more adventurous. 

I finally settled on the Rattlesnake and Kopy Kat

Rattlesnake: shrimp tempura, avocado, crabstick, masago, scallion, wasabi, mayo and spicy mayo
Kopy Kat: spicy tuna, fried jalapeno, cream cheese, masago, tuna, crab salad

I really liked the Rattlesnake. The contrast in textures of all the different elements worked so well together, and the roll had excellent flavor. The Kopy Kat had good flavor as well, but I didn't care for the combination of raw tuna and cream cheese. It was just a little too much for me. Had the tuna been seared, it would have been fantastic. I eventually took the tuna off and at the rest of the roll separately.

Will I go back? No question. And I want to go with at least one other person so I can sit at the cool tables.