~IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND THEY ASK ... 'whatcha doin' -- HON, eatin'?~

all photographs by Wilbur M. Reeling & Nikon 5400
...WUZ-ZUP-WIT-CHEW?...
DIS-UP-WIT-ME
If you talk the talk -- you'd better walk the walk!

This is some Maryland Eastern 'Show ... walkin'

I owe this one to Chez Pim, she gets credit for this idea http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/

I just thought it was a good one

IF YOU GREW UP IN THE 60'S, LIKE ME, YOU ONLY KEPT YOUR ..."MARY JANE"... FROZEN -- THEN YOUR COFFEE BEANS - BEN and JERRY'S and now "FOIE GRAS" -LOL- HERE'S MY STOCKED FULL FRIG & FREEZER, EXACTLY AS IT WAS AFTER THIS MORNING'S REPAST -- NO EDITING -- JUST THE "RAW PIX!"

CLICK PHOTOS FOR FULL VIEW

below: the r.front: DUCK BREAST & r.rear: w/GOLD LABEL FOIE GRAS

below: wine & champagne rack
below: the daily drinkers
below: breakfast of soft boiled Amish free-range eggs, Cave aged Farmer's Double Gloucester, French preserves & bread with Jana Valley+82 butter, Guerande 'Fleur De Sel' Sea Salt & Sarawak Lampong-Sumatra black pepper ... and a whole lotta of UMAMI !!
below: part of my 1000 COOK BOOK COLLECTION
below: walk to the front door and enter

below: my Spring Gardens

below: ... just a pix of our puppy and friend's "SOYKHER" Racing Porsche that he let's me use to shop for Foie Gras on Saturday morning (so it won't take me to long!) -- LOL -- the car was rolled last season and waits for the new stickers & decals
left: Igor Soykher -- middle: FoFoPuppy -- right: Ole' Uncle Ernie

below: my drive way, a Maryland Winter ... impossible to walk & tuff to drive that Porsche

Honor's Jag "S" Type -- my Turbo Saab
SNACKS

left: nuts - cheese - salmon / right: German sausage

the snack table, returning from the walk in Baltimore to find it

above: ... some bottom walkers that didn't walk fast enough -lol-

some top-shelf talkers that also walk the walkabove: Honor & some soft, fluffy 7 pounders or ... "FoFo & Chewy"

"things on the sofa that never walk"

("FOX TROT" 2006, Collection Mr. and Mrs. Robert Simko)

... the things on my last canvas that took a WALK

above: things recently added to my studio storeroom worth walking for

"BIG-BOYS-WALKING"

SOME OF MY COLLECTION -- FAVORITE BELGIAN SIPPERS

I love the Belgian XXX-Trips the best -- I like sippppppping 'em

... then you can't walk [OR DRIVE]

... so, they say on TV -- What's in your wallet ? and I say, what's in your frig ?

DATz ALL FOR THIS TIME -- CYA

~~ HONG KONG SUSHI...Maryland Style ~~

all photographs by Wilbur M. Reeling & Nikon 5400

& this one is for Chuckeats Sushi and Truffles and Porsches

..."is putting parsley trees in Wasabi Dragons an ART FORM?"...

When you live in the middle of nowhere and you are surrounded by people who know nothing, this is what you get.

Several years ago after an interview with a chef from China that did not speak English, I asked to see his credentials from the Cooking Institute where he said he had graduated. They gave me a photo copy of a document in Chinese characters that I could not read.

WHEN I HAD IT TRANSLATED IT WAS HIS PUBLIC LIBRARY CERTIFICATE

-- you gotta be careful

above: need I say more?
above: mmm, mmm good stuff when you can make wasabi shaped like a fish too

above: a la Maryland Eastern Show!!... half tomato garnish with wonderful lemon

above: some ..."delish"... curley leaf parsley and carrot Mangeoire de Garde a la Hong Kong

above: just Chuckle ... by yourself ... please
above: Honor's pretty RED NAILS hold and show a proper chop stick technique for the Eastern 'Show, Hon --lol-- but ready for another heaping helping of wasabi a la mountain lemon with parsley volcano eruption
below: NO - NO - NO ... this is Hong Kong Tempora, no matter what you say!
below: WE ARE OFTEN ABLE TO ESCAPE ... QUICKLEY IF NEED BE!

180MPH on the straight and ... almost ready for the season

dasz how we do on da Eastern 'Show -- Hon!

--LOL --

~dats the end of that one folks!~

PS - follow-up ... Tuesday May 25th
-- OMG! --

Sometimes my sense of humor is just "cursed" ...

Already, dozens and dozens of you have eMAILED me how wonderful the HONG KONG food must have been when all along I was making fun of "HOW HORRIBLE THE FOOD WAS" ... the Real Stuff is here --

http://chuckeats.com/blog3/2007/05/16/kuruma-zushi-ny-the-wrong-quadrant/#more-146

That terrible Sushi with the Hong Kong "SPIN" and Dragon Wasabi has about as much to do with the quality of a 3 star Michelin Restaurant like American famed Chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry in Yountsville, serving "PAVE" OF JAPANESE MEDAI "AMANDINE" with Melted Fennel Bulb, Black Winter Truffles "Pignons de Pins" & Grains of Paradise as compared to the RT. 66 Holiday Inn in Barstow at the Chinese Laundry ... "asking you, light or heavy starch!!"

SHAPE UP FOLKS... please

~~Jose Andrés MiniBar in Washington D.C.~~

all photographs by Wilbur M. Reeling & Nikon 5400

..."stop putting FOAM on my food!"...

Jose Andrés MiniBar is not a

"BIG BOY ON THE CULINARY PLAYGROUND"

... more like a BULLi !

CLICK PHOTOS FOR FULL VIEW

below: PASSION FRUIT "TEQUILA SUNRISE"

below: Ernie Nagy, Chef & owner of the waterfront

"Tidewater Restaurant" in Havre de Grace, Maryland

with my daughter Honor at the MiniBar

"molecular gastronomy"

FANTASTIC FOOD & CERTAINLY A "bib gourmand"

. . . BUT A MICHELIN 3 STAR PRICE?
-- for 3 of us $697 on Visa, plus $9o for cash gratuities --

MiniBar tasting menu

My favorite TV food line is from Desperate Housewives when BRIE'S SON asked her when she was going to stop serving CUISINE and start serving some FOOD? -lol-

... with MiniBar TV STAR Executive Chef Katsuya Fukushima.

Chef Katsuya's parents have retired to Havre de Grace, MarylandIt is certainly a MAJOR stretch to pay $697 & a separate cash $90 tip for 3 people to eat a "molecular gastronomy" dinner in a place that resembled a twenty year old tacky threadbare Chi-Chi’s Mexican Restaurant. We had a never ending stream of Hors d' oeuvres ~ Mezze ~ Tapas or what seemed like a never ending ‘Amuse-Bouché ’... but we did it at what was thought to be the first class José Andrés MiniBar. WHAT A SHOCK!

below: chefs of Café Atlántico in the open kitchen

below: "molecular gastronomy" Chef Michael Turner & CURRIED CHICKEN WINGS

below: OLIVE OIL BON BON

above: "molecular gastronomy" Chef Michael Turner was playing the MiniBar part all evening of "hated Chef Marcel" from Bravo TV's big hit show Top Chef, but ... "BEST F@*&# ing Manly Man, live-beating Cobra heart eating, CHEF IN THE WORLD & Real TV Star & Real Chef Anthony "Tony" Bourdain" said of Marcel in Bravo’s Top Chef TV --"Marcel Vigneron’s self-love is as garish and repellent as his winged hairdo"

below: "molecular gastronomy" Chef Ryan Moore was our winner "Ilan" and FAV of the MiniBar 3-ring event, ... says NY Times of Bravo’s Top Chef TV SHOW WINNER, "Ilan", Only in contrast to Marcel does Ilan Hall seem humble and winsome. Don’t be duped. In this season’s first episode he flatly declared, ..."I want to be famous"...below: BAGELS & LOX ..."stop putting FOAM on my food!"...

Chef Katsuya Fukushima & Chef Ernie's tee-shirt poke fun at .."FOAM"..

below: (front) TUMBLEWEED OF BEET & APPLE CRISPS
APPLE CRISPS

below: MARACUYA - MARSHMALLOW - PIÑA COLADA

In 2003 MiniBar was given a 3 star review from the Washington Post’s Dining Guide but downgraded in 2006 and is now down to 2 and a fraction stars out of a possible 4.
In a 3 STAR MICHELIN you need literal perfection every time, not some times. A restaurant is rated for food, wine, service and ambience. But, expect to pay at least $200 per person, usually a lot more for a complete 3 STAR MICHELIN dinner.

below: MATCHBALL

below: THAI DESSERT
below: "SUN DRIED" TOMATO SALAD
below: ZUCCHINI IN TEXTURES
below: DECONSTRUCTED GLASS OF WHITE WINE (partially eaten)
DECONSTRUCTED GLASS OF WHITE WINE (11 flavors on gilee)
below: SALMON-PINEAPPLE "RAVIOLI" WITH CRISPY QUINOA
below: COTTON CANDY FOIE GRAS
below: "CORNBREAD"
below: SMOKED OYSTER AND APPLES
below: CORN ON THE COB
below: EGG 63* WITH CAVIAR

below: PISTACHIO-BEETS AND MIXED BERRIES

below: "PHILLY CHEESESTEAK"

below: NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

below: CAESAR SALAD

below: JAPANESE BABY PEACHES WITH YOGURT

below: BREADED CIGALA WITH SEA ASPARAGUS

PERHAPS MiniBar is trying to attain a level below 1 STAR MICHELIN ("bib gourmand") but I still think it’s a major stretch to rate it as a MICHELIN bib gourmand. To get that you need 40 percent of the overall score to food, 30 percent to wine and 15 & 15 percent each to service and ambiance.

~40% FOOD: -- no way José -- Both MiniBar owner and Chef José Andrés and Executive Chef Katsuya Fukushima, were trained at the 3 STAR MICHELIN Restaurant "elBulli" in Roses Spain under it’s owner & 3 star Chef Ferran Adriá. The thesis of elBulli Cuisine #2 is ..."The use of top quality products and technical knowledge to prepare them properly"... BUT WE WERE SERVED truffles from Oregon not Perigord or even Piedmond d' Alba, Osetra Caviar from Uruguay (I think Costco sells it), WAGYU beef, well done Sirloin.
~30% WINE: -- no way José -- 2 of the whites were served warm and I thought a red that I had to drink was bad. I would have trashed it ... but no one ever asked!
~15% SERVICE: -- no way José -- our wait-person, Pablo, left empty wine and water glasses and never even one time asked if everything was okay. He must have slipped home for a while when I wanted a cold replacement for my warm white wine or the bad red. A bigger bother to me was that he did not replace the soiled and used utensils even after being asked over&over after the 4th & 5th course.
~15% AMBIANCE: -- no way José -- the place looked worn, dismal and tired over-all, sort of threadbare like a 20 year old Chi-Chi’s that has never been re-decorated. The wrapped copper bar (was a leftover 6 seat Sushi Bar) looked as though it had not been cleaned or polished for weeks & weeks. It was covered with lots of dark stains. Lots of wine glass and watermark stains, big and little stains and it was scratched and dented. When I asked why it was not cleaned and polished I was told Chef Andrés liked the "RUSTIC LOOK". I thought it just looked dirty. Also, a lot of the service items and in particular the wine glasses and utensils looked very tired and very cheap. I was told they were purchased at Wallymart – no shit, no lie, Wal-Mart (and I think that’s where the pretend Riedel wine glasses came from by the looks of ‘em).

Compared to what? After thinking about my credentials to write these ‘NOT SO GOOD’ things, I have to say that I have eaten in more than twenty different 3 STAR MICHELIN Restaurants and many like Taillevent, Le Bernarin (while Gilbert Le Coze was Chef), Jöel Robuchon, La Tour d’Argent and Plaza Athenee in Paris, dozens of times. There’s also Monte Carlo’s 3 star Louis XV, and the Negresso in Nice during the film festival in France plus many others. I just cannot imagine the 3 STAR MICHELIN Chef Thomas Keller allowing this in one of his restaurants.

This entire meal had no UMAMI, (deliciousness, triggering a sensation of craving) as if it was missing the thread to hold it all together. When I left, far from quenched or satiated, I cannot think of a single "molecular gastronomy" food that I’m yearning to return to eat again, even had the surroundings been like a 3 star Louis XV .

All this "fuzz, foams, bubbles, smoke & mirrors" will end for us when "Sam & Sue’s Sip and Bite Restaurant" find a way to serve you foam on your scrambled eggs and bacon.

Thinking about the UMAMI factor while writing this -- I actually drove to South Philly and had the best one. A Pat's "KING OF STEAK" wit Cheez Whiz, load 'a Rib Eye, lil fried onion on a FRESHLY BAKED ITALIAN LOAF for just $7.00 (plus about $30 in gas)

The funny thing is for all you non-gourmet types is the BEST PHILLY SUB is not Geno's or Pat's wit Whiz ... it's a TONY LUKE'S ROAST PORK wit BROCCOLI ROBE.

--LOL --

PS --Tuesday May 8th, 9:30PM
....mmmmmm..... Boy! I have had more phone calls, letters and eMAILS saying they were so sorry that things were such a let down at MiniBar that I feel a need to respond.

It wasn't a let down at all -- it was really fun and great learning something new from Chef Ryan Moore and speaking with Chef Katsuya Fukushima and poking fun at ..."foam"... and "molecular gastronomy" in general. We even asked Chef Katsuya Fukushima to be our guest for dinner at my home or Chef Ernie’s restaurant when he next visits his parents in Havre de Grace.

We had a great time (fantastic even) and the food & preparation was 99 on a scale of 100. We are all happy to have gone. I picked up the tab and didn't blink a thimble of "molecular tear juice." –lol-- It was my pleasure. It just was not 1st class.