Walt's - the classic

Can't have a fun friend list without Walt's on it. It's definitely NOT a foodie place, but one we love and return to nonetheless. In fact, it's where we kicked off Tim's birthday weekend.  Well, a few of us.  Sara and Heather joined Joe and Tim on Friday, January 25.  Had a few drinks, lots of laughs and of course, sang a few songs.  Well, Tim did. And, there was a duet with Dawn the bartender. Adorable, it's captured on video, just ask Tim to see it. The four of us did "sing" together, if Sara and Heather ducking from the microphones counts as singing.  Brought back many fond memories of our weekly visits and Tim's regular play list.  No grain alcohol-soaked cherries were consumed that night.

I'm sure this will not be the last visit in 2013 and next time we'll have a larger crew.  Start thinking of your favorite karaoke songs, I'm sure Tim will join you.

Behold the List!

The Fun Friend Fifty, 2013 style:

1 Krispy Kreme bread pudding

2 Food truck

3 Smith Island Cake

4 Exotic beer at a Beer Bar

5 picnic - Ft. McHenry

6 Deli

7 Exotic cocktail

8 Lexington Market

9 Vegetarian restaurant

10 Sushi at Pabu happy hour

11 Groupon crawl

12 Retaurant within first month of opening

13 somewhere/something in annapolis

14 circulator or water taxi to a bar

15 bocce @la scala                                Feb 1

16 mums or other dive bar

17 oysters (or oyster night/hh/festival)

18 a steakhouse

19 mr bills or other crab place

20 outside @waterfront kitchen

21 belvedere square

22 dim sum or pho

23 samos

24 pumpkin @helmand

25 a drink in dewey

26 volt

27 pitango gelato

28 dogwood woodberry kitchen

29 tio pepe sangria or coffee drink

30 salt

31 peters inn

32 farmers market

33 joe squared or iggys or Matthews

34 outdoor movie

35 sweet potato fries @annabel lee or redstar

36 tues night@Gertrudes

37 papermoon, blue moon, sip n bite, miss shirleys

38 attend 3 festivals (fed hill, honfest, flowermart, etc)

39 walts or any karaoke

40 charleston for HH or a meal or beverage

41 1/2 price wine night anywhere

42 A wine/sake/beer tasting

43 trinacria (or dispasquales)

44 breastfest/tyanna event

45 a winery or brewery tour

46 duckpin bowling/ski ball/pinball

47 Cat's Eye

48 O's game

49 a pub crawl (could be new years day)              January 1!!!

50 Brewers art (resurrection/garlic fries)

51 Grand marnier @Oem/shot in the dark

52 Restaurant week meal anywhere

A new year a new challenge - first item of 2013

We didn't waste any time checking off one of the Friend Fifty items.  Of course, knowing this crew, only a pub crawl (#49) would do.

January 1, 2013 - the fourth annual new years day pub crawl. I joined the group around 1:30 (they hadn't gotten very far, bar #2 or 3 for them). Met up at The Point, where Kate was having a riveting conversation with some drunk girls spilling their secrets to Kate the Sex Therapist. And, next to that was Shelley and some drunk girls, who friended her on Facebook and she made a dentist appointment for one of them. And, some drunk girls bought Cathy a shot of patron right as she walked in the door. With all of that, I was ready to go!  Mimosas all around and then off to John Stevens.

Place looked kind of tame, so we deemed it a "shot" bar. One espresso vodka later we were at Wharf Rat. Spent a fair amount of time there, a few of us needed food to make sure we could last the day. The new year's day tiara made its rounds. At this point we were at full strength with Julie, Cathy, Sara, Heather, Shelley, Carrie, Jeff, Dustin, Gautam (minus Kate - too much merriment the night before) and Kent and Kate (who actually started around 9am). Tried to go to Bar, but when we walked in, realized it was closed. Settled for Max's where we ran into another group of new years day revelers who some knew Sara and some knew Julie. It truly is Smalltimore!  After a long stop at Max's (where I had a beer buddy, split a beer w/Kate) off to Bertha's for a shot, to keep the day moving.  XL fireballs all around and on the move again. Kent, Kate and Gautam dropped off at this point.

Next up, Ledbetters where it was the girls and Dustin. And, he got an earful thanks to Shelley's colorful stories. Cheap beers and lots of laughter (and we were pretty much the only patrons). Derrick joined us to give Dustin a respite. We realized it was time for food and hopped over to Dudas. A few of us had the complimentary egg nog while we awaited food and drink. Heather and Sara split food (shocker!) and Cathy loved her burger.  Derrick's friend Jon joined us and the hilarity continued.

Hunger satisfied, or at least food in system so drinking could continue, it was  off to the Horse for one last beverage before calling it a day.  Really bad '80s singer (who was definitely NOT around in the '80s and another successful kick off to a fun year!  And of course, a perfect way to kick off the Fun Friend Fifty in fabulous style!

Its back...Foodie Challenge 2013 or the Fun Friend Fifty

After a much too long hiatus, the foodie friends are back with a new challenge for 2013.  This list of 52 (because 50 just wasn't enough, but 100 is still far too many) represents what we think are the best and most eclectic items Baltimore has to offer.  We invite you to join us on this journey of food, drink, friendship and of course, lots of fun.

We will be planning some events, but highly encourage all of you to do some of these on your own and blog about it as well.  We are still working on that functionality on this sight so stay tuned for more info.

Many of you already have one to cross off - #49 - pub crawl and New Year's Day definitely counts for those of you who joined us then.

Rules (there aren't many but we do need a few)

1 - Eat, drink and have a great time
2 - Let us know if you want to be notified of group outings and considered for prizes at the end
3 - Someone blogs about the said great time.  Include everyone's name who attended to get "credit" for the outing.
4 - Extra points where noted on the list and extremely fun comments on the blog
5 - Did we say have fun?

Happy eating and drinking!

Best of lists

It couldn't be the end without a best of/worst of list. And, as we reflect on the journey, here are some of the things that stand out:

Favorite outings:

Mr. Bills

Yes, our waitress was great but that’s not the only reason that we loved this outing. (though we did love that she fixed her hair before the photo) And, a local (thank you Eric) confirmed that this is the place for hard shells. Perhaps it started with having to show up two hours early and “having” to order pitchers of beer to pass the time, but we don’t think that’s it either. It wasn’t the gravy fries, cheese balls, crab fluff (ok - true disclosure - we didn’t order that). It was the company! Thank you Heather, Sara, Donya & Julie! (And our unnamed waitress, apparently Mr. Bill’s main squeeze!)

Lexington Market

Two outings. Very different. But both too fun! Big gang for the first one (see posting for list). Sporting our BSSC finery, we ran around the market (only Heather really knew where we were at any given time) gathering goodies. Too much good food. And buried treasure such as Naron candy. A blast from the past! Second trip. Smaller. Bringing in outside food (thank you Trinacria!). Tim and Heather munching on chicken livers. Not that horrible, according to Heather. Tim preferred the gizzards. A true team effort to try it all. (This chicken in the box better than Tyrone’s)

Hampden

Well, this was our lesson in learning to call to make sure places were open! On our first outing, diehards may remember that nothing was open from 3-5. Amazing that we still crossed off numerous random items (and added one to the satellite list - we love you Wine Source!). Second trip seeing the lights and having a great meal at Rocket to Venus was inspired (Brilliant idea, Sara!).

Clipper City (AKA Heavy Seas)

Donya. Squeaking. Tasty beer. Enough said. (Also the first time we met Joey - welcome to the group!) Also, to add to the satellite list – Heavy Seas beer at the Fells Point Festival.

Outdoor Movies (or lack thereof)

New Moon in Fells. Possibly the best of all worlds when we had an amazing meal (thanks to Donya, Julie and furthest traveled foodie Valentina) and then the movie was rained out! But, the food was delicious and we ate it all (couldn’t finish the smith island cake but I’ll bet no one expected us to). Movie in Little Italy. Couldn’t stomach that movie so finished the food and left! Definitely scheduling a return trip next year (and we’ll arrive early to get some lawn chair space).

H Mart.

Thanks to Tim for introducing us to his favorite grocery store. Only regret is no whole fish. Guess we need a return trip! We followed this up with a trip for Pho (not on the list). And, when will Tim open Pearl Jam - oyster farm/restaurant/brewery/jewelry store/crushed shell repository)? Tim, Tom, Steph, Sara & Heather had a fascinating conversation.

Tour of Samos

Our first big event and still near and dear in our hearts. So many have wanted to try Samos and we certainly did the “tour” right! BYOB, no reservations and cash only.

Prime Rib

Our largest outing outside of the parties. Potato skins were a huge surprise. The fun evening was not. The bright pink meat (closer to red!) selected by Mo and Tim (across & next to Heather) was also not a surprise! Think there were some doggie bags taken home.

Picnic

Belongs in the better late than never category, although, in hindsight, fall is the best time to hit Ft McHenry. Think most people were hung over post Halloween, but Sara, Kent, Kate, Jeff, Tim and Heather managed. (And ate well thanks to Heather’s great shopping at Whole Foods.)

Eichenkrantz

When you are the only ones in the restaurant, it always helps to have a chatty waitress. And, when it’s your first time there, it helps to learn the ropes (especially when both the waitress and owner don’t like German food). Maybe the last time we are there too but it was interesting, and the Christmas tree and music were a nice touch. (The food mediocre, the beer tasty – as one would expect.)

Opening party

Eight items. Great way to kick off the list. Single highest night of items consumed. (Not calories consumed - that honor goes to the night that we solely had Vacarros all you can eat, it was all we could eat, in spite of just getting one dessert apiece).

Holiday party

It was a race to get everything, but we made it work (and no snowstorm this year). Great turnout and great beverages. Oh and foodie stuff, quite an eclectic mix of leftovers – assorted ham (and veggie ham) items, biscuits, chicken salad and Mary Sue Easter Eggs (yes, purchased in December). Perfect mix to go with the eclectic white elephant gifts!

Cinghale, cinghale, cinghale...

Glasses of wine consumed: 23 (and counting?)

Times told Tony wasn’t there: 6

Others who joined in quest to find Tony: 8

Times that we humored Clark: 2

Overly expensive checks: 1+

Glasses of overpriced port: 3

Free items received: 1

Getting to meet Tony Foreman: Priceless

Charleston:

Perfect way to celebrate the end to any challenge.

Outdated

Blue Agave chocolate chile bread pudding - where did you go?

Rob formerly of Cinghale - deserted us to Chicago

Naron candy - not really even sold anymore. Why are you on the list?

Only in because we’re in Maryland:

Natty Boh (award for cheapest item on the list!)

Marshmallow & snowball (who thought of this combo? How? and most importantly, why?)

Chicken box (is it really worthy of two spots on the list?) (no)

Shrimp salad (so Maryland. Mary Mervis - so delicious)

Flower mart (still question the crabcake here, but the lemon, peppermint? Yum)

Bull oyster roast (Now we know what it is - and it doesn’t even need a bull or an oyster!)

Pit beef without a door (thank you Mo)

Old bay (it’s everywhere you want to be)

Too hard/obscure

a-rab for fruits and veggies (why are you so hard to find when we are looking for you and why did we wait so long?)

Murky middle (not the top; not the bottom; maybe belong on the list; but not really worth talking about)

Bertha’s mussels

2 chicken boxes

Corned beef Attmans

Black eyed susan at preakness

Pit beef from Boogs (really a ploy to get people to go to an O’s game)

Shoes & chocolate together

Sausages (do we need 3 on the list?)

Peach cake

Wockenfuss - both

Liquid earth

Charcuterie

Vacarros

Donna’s roasted veggies

Da mimmo

Bookmaker salad

bagel - gregs

tamales

coddies

attmans

gravy fries

grauls

otterbeins

pastores

wine market

BES cupcake

MS easter eggs

eichenkrantz

We don't really need a list for...

Ok, we don't really need a list to tell us what to do, but if we did, these would be on it.

These are things many of us had done prior, but the return visit is always a pleasure! Needless to say, we agree with these and they are keepers.

1. Resurrection Ale and garlic fries at Brewers Art
2. Mac and Cheese and Chocolate at Jack's Bistro
3. JFX Farmers Market
4. Pumpkin appetizer at the Helmand
5. Iggies and Joe Squared
6. Pitango Gelato (try the espresso/chocolate noir combo - it's our favorite!)
7. Rocket to Venus and Golden West
8. Woodberry Kitchen (though really - deviled eggs & popcorn - so much is better there!)
9. Mozzarella pie at Matthew's
10. Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding at Ale Marys
11. Tour of Samos
12. Sofis crepes and a movie at the Charles
13. Oysters and beer at Cross Street Market (see - we do go to Federal Hill)
14. Zeke's coffee
15. Margarita in a hubcap at Nacho Mamas
16. Sip n Bite
17. Bloody Mary with an old bay rimmer (enjoyed many times this past year!)
18. Dinner at Salt

See you at all of these places in 2011 and beyond!

Foodie Rankings

Some of our favorites and not so favorites. Every time we talked to someone new about the list they always wanted to know our favorites. We've decided to create several lists. It was the best of food, it was the worst of food.

10 Most Surprising (in a good way) - in no particular order

1. Mr. Bills Terrace Inn (no terrace, in fact no windows, but darn good crabs)
2. Red Canoe (who knew?!)
3. Sushi in Towson (insulting to have to leave the city but necessary)
4. Andy Nelson's (funny that a BBQ place made the top for two non-meat eaters)
5. Brunch at the Ambassador (definitely sit outside and have mangosas to wash down Indian and an omelet station!)
6. Cafe Zen string bean rolls (huge roll, huge surprise, look up the photo!)
7. Dominion Ice Cream (veggie ice cream) (the best way to eat veggies - spinach, beet, carrot anyone?)
8. Trinacria! (amazing Italian deli - even away from Little Italy)
9. Sandwich at Eddie's (check out the sandwich board!)
10. Dog with the works at Polock Johnny's (wasn't expecting that, great on turkey dogs)

Top 10 Favorites (in no particular order, too hard to compare), this one had to go to Eleven

1. Rheb's buttercreams (best of candy on the list, by far, thank you Christina!)
2. Smith Island cake from Sugarbakers (you must see the photo!)
3. Trinacria (yes, on both lists)
4. Charleston ('nuff said)
5. Ma Petite Shoe (really, how could shoes & chocolate not make the list)
6. Faidley's crab cake (the original, the best, the only - apologies to G&M)
7. Tour of Samos (great food, great group, and BYOB)
8. Berger cookies & Berger cookie pie! (decadent and worth the calories, a MD treasure)
9. Chiaparelli's salad! (the best salad, it's all about the cheese)
10. Tio Pepe Sangria! (way better than the food)
11. DiPasquales (yum, worth trying all kinds of things there)

The WTF list (aka what were they thinking)

1. Soft shell crabs on white bread (shudder, shudder, shudder)
2. Fried green pepper rings at Gunnings (shudder, shudder, shudder)
3. Fried chicken livers at Lexington Market (although better than gizzards)
4. MD stuffed ham (Sara's version was ok)
5. Turkey & sauerkraut (veggie turkey didn't quite cut it, Sara still has a gallon of sauerkraut in her fridge!)
6. MD beaten biscuits (labor intensive for Julie, we appreciated the effort and elbow grease)
7. Raw beef & onion (the tuna tartare substitute wasn't bad)
8. Lake trout & grape soda (looked better on TV in The Wire)
9. Late night dinner at Bel Loc Diner (it closes at 10pm!)
10. Fruits & veggies from an a-rab (too hard to find when you're looking for him!)

THE List

With all the posts and the items, we've never presented the full list. So, here's the list as originally published in the Baltimore Sun, which we saw posted in many establishments along the way!

We'll post a readable one (sortable) soon.

(this one was from either Smokey's or Gunnings)

Last one!

December 9

#88 - have an ice cream with vegetables at Dominion Ice Cream

Of course we have to end with something sweet - and this is a great one. Sara and Heather headed to the Hopkins area to check out this store and met owner Donna who could not have been nicer - and wanted to hear all about our foodie challenge! We sampled many of the delicious ice creams (no garlic in stock - and seemed to bring out their fall vegetable flavors - sweet potato, butternut squash) We settled on the spinach and butternut squash - we needed a lot to serve at the holiday party!

As promised, we served it at the holiday party where we had many adventurous souls willing to try the delicious ice cream. We probably shouldn't have told them it was veggies before they tried it, but we did. And, everyone loved it! Great way to eat our veggies!!

Missed items - lost count of which number!

December 8

#39 - try the charcuterie at Clementine

Sara, Heather, Tim and Kent headed to Lauraville (past our new favorite Red Canoe) to dine at Clementine. What a cute place - only wish it was a little closer as we all agreed that we would definitely go more often. We tried the seafood charcuterie. Kind of a disappointment but the rest of the food (and the cocktails) were really great! This should absolutely be on the list - just maybe not for the charcuterie. We'd suggest for the fun cocktails (though that also suggests that we may choose to put more drinks than food on the list!)

I feel like there were more fun stories from this night - help me out folks?

Missed items - part three

December 4

#51 - Dipasquales in Highlandtown

After (ok, during) a very fun afternoon of baking cookies at Cathy's, we needed a break for some real food (while chocolate martinis, other fun drinks, and, of course cookies are wonderful - we needed some other, more substantive food too!) What better opportunity than to venture over to Dipasquales for an Italian sub (and veggie for those who didn't want the Italian). It is such a cute market and I can't believe that it took me so long to get there! They were just closing so there was no real time to look around - we just picked up the sandwiches and headed back to Cathy's. But the subs were as good as everyone says they are. Even the veggie was flavorful (no green peppers here!) and of course, the Italian sub was supposedly incredible.

Because we couldn't rely solely on the subs, we decided to get #62 - a few mozzarella pies from Matthews pizza. For those of you keeping track, this is the third time this year we've done this one. Its just so good, we couldn't resist! I think we also threw in a meat pie too for those who wanted a little something extra.

The food helped bring us down from our sugar high, but the fun continued way into the night - particularly when Ryan played his first pool game ever with partner Cathy. They proved to be a winning team!

Missed items - part two

November 17

#44 - "Veal chop" at DaMimmos

You'd think when you are only able to do two foodie outings in a whole month, we may have been able to write about this one in a more timely manner, but alas no. We could blame the ten days in Barcelona, but we won't. (amazing foodie adventures there by the way, but that's a story for another blog). We could also blame the holiday season, but won't because they were relaxing and fun. Anyway, let's make a long story, short (too late!)

We ventured to the bar at DaMimmos. Only Heather and Sara were available for this outing but we went anyway. And, we knew we had to substitute something for the veal. We told the bartender about our foodie quest and she thought a substitution was fine (of course!) She said we had to substitute with the sea bass as it was spectacular and worthy of a top 100 foodie item in Baltimore. We thought it was good. Maybe worthy. The pumpkin martini was our favorite part of the meal though! That was truly yummy.

Always fun to sit at a bar and eat and the DaMimmos bar was excellent. Worth the trip for sure!

Missed items - part one

Well, as odd as it feels to post events after we finished the challenge, we have just realized that there are 7 that were not written up. And, they really shouldn't be forgotten. So this is the first of a couple of posts about other fun times along the way...

October 31

#12 - Breakfast at Blue Moon Cafe

After a very fun halloween where all of us dressed up like it was St. Patrick's Day (happy birthday again Heather!), six of us made it until the end of the night wanting a late night breakfast at Blue Moon. Unlike the late night at the Bel Loc (still can't believe it could be called late night when they close at 10!), this was true late night style. Fantastic meal (omlettes and scrambles all around). Wish it was more memorable (but it was very yummy and one of the favorite items on the list). Breakfast is never disappointing here - especially after a fun night in fells! Several newcomers joined this group - now remind me who was there again? Sorry - did I mention it was two months ago and memory is not necessarily my strong point!

#80 - picnic at Ft. McHenry

Yes, it took us until October to finally make it to Ft. McHenry. And, we decided to take advantage of what could be the last nice day to eat outside (in retrospect, an excellent choice! While it wasn't exactly the last nice day, it was probably the best of the rest of the year). Kent, Kate, Tim and new Jeff joined Sara and Heather on the picnic tables on the grounds to eat loads of Whole Foods' finest (thanks to Heather for picking it up!) It was a quick lunch - after all, it is a football day and what better place to go for the game than No Idea? Very convenient to the park. We will have to do this one again next year - and hopefully others will join (and earlier). Always interesting to have a picnic in jackets! :) This goes in the better late than never category and just whet our appetite for more picnics next year!

#35 - Have a special occasion dinner at the Charleston

December 29

What could be a better occasion than the conclusion of the 100 things every foodie should do in Baltimore than dinner at the Charleston? Thank you to Mo, Donya and Gautam for joining us for this supper special dinner!

Our evening began with a wonderful greeting from the staff who knew exactly why we were there and seemed excited to see us! (at least they asked all the right questions and made us feel really good about completing the challenge here!) They even knew of our visit with Tony Foreman the week before (see last week's blog for more info on one of our funnier stops along the way- #42)

We sat at the table and were very well taken care of by Brian who we later discovered was the assistant sommelier. He was very familiar with the list and asked one of the more insightful questions - did we get to talk to Rob about wine before he left town (#54 on the list). We hadn't - substituted Tim instead. He graciously offered that he might be able to get him on the phone for us which Sara immediately said, we'd love that! (he never did, but it was still a fantastic offer)

I guess we really should talk about the food here. And, as expected, it was a phenomenal meal. We did kick it off with a bottle of Veuve Cliquot, because we were celebrating (and it must be champagne, Tony only serves champagne, no cava or prosecco). It was so good that maybe he is right about cava, but we are really not ready to admit that yet. Sara chose to follow the list verbatim and let Cindy Wolf choose what she thought was best that night (don't think she was actually in the restaurant but you never know). And, that didn't disappoint. My first course was tuna tartare which was good but the real star of the meal was a lobster curry soup that came second. Too yummy. This was followed by turbot (which was fantastic because I really thought I didn't like turbot but would apprarently like anything that the Charleston cooks!). The fourth course was salmon - cooked perfectly. Heather ordered perfectly - started with an incredible artichoke reggiano soup with arugula oil drizzled on top, followed by the aforementioned tuna tartare then the stunning chanterelle mushroom atop a grit/polenta cake with goat cheese puree (this description is not doing it justice, it was the most amazing combination of flavors, textures - perfect) it out shone the salmon which was the last course. We all did the wine pairing which was an adventure in glassware!

The glass really does make a difference. Brian brought out a glass of pinot noir in two different glasses. They do all really talk to each other, this was because of a conversation we had last week at Cinghiale. Apparently there was much discussion on which type of glass to serve our barbera d'alba. Brian proved that the glass can make the wine taste differently - it even smells different in different glasses!

We ended the meal with after dinner cocktails that were phenomenal. You really can tell the difference with a top end, old port (thank you Mo for giving us a small sip of heaven! - and Gautam's was excellent too). Definitely worth the splurge.

All in all a perfect way to end the perfect challenge (eh - maybe not perfect i.e. the softshell crab on white bread & fried green pepper rings)! But definitely an amazing year with fabulous food, drinks and friends! Thanks for the journey and many, many lasting memories. Bon appetit and cheers!

#34 - Check out the "hipsters" in Hampden at either Rocket to Venus or Golden West

December 28

Our last two big nights and it's both exciting to be reaching the end - and also a little sad. But, what's to be sad about when you have a block like 34th street in Hampden with more lights than any lighting store. None of us had experienced the true power of it while living in Baltimore (Heather was there once before she moved here - and came anyway!) so it was something that we wanted to do - and got something off the list at the same time. The big goal was to try both Rocket to Venus and Golden West but we had so much fun at Rocket to Venus that we never left!

Donya, Tim, Sara and Heather were joined by Jeff and Erica and had some really good gnocchi, singapore noodles (a little spicy) and veggie wimpies (ok, sliders). Jeff was super excited about his wasabi mashed potatoes. Tasty cocktails, too.

On a side note, we did try Hampden much earlier, in July. However, we discovered that Rocket to Venus doesn't open until 5pm and Golden West which does serve breakfast, closes from 3 - 5pm. So, another trip was required and that's when Sara had the brilliant idea to "reschedule" #34 for the holiday season. Bright lights in Hampden!

(We did end up at Frazier's on the Avenue and were able to salvage the day with #95 bloody marys with old bay rimmers. And, the highlight #20 - shoes & chocolate at Ma Petite Shoe. Even the boys enjoyed the chocolate. No one walked out with new shoes. But, we were so hungry that we ate our chocolate as we were waiting for our meals. Kent, Gautam, Jim from Pittsburgh and Mo enjoyed the bacon chocolate while Sara, Heather, Julie and Kate preferred the spicy chili chocolate and salted caramel. Yum - who knew you could even have salt & black pepper chocolate.)

#43 - Eat roasted veggies at Donna's wearing black

December 2

After the always fun Washington Monument lighting, Julie, Heather and Sara headed to Donna's for some roasted veggies. Of course, only Julie and Heather were wearing black.

Had to start with a bottle of cava, why not! We deserved it after standing out in the cold watching the fireworks and the lighting (pretty weak this year). The veggies were divine, dressed perfectly atop a bed of mixed greens. Actually, the mac & cheese was even more divine! And, some grilled artichokes that were presented prettily, sort of in a tower. Bubbly, veggies and good company, can't beat that!

(Sad note, less than a week later, part of Donna's cafe burned in a 5 alarm fire. There are still three other Donna's, but this was the original.)

#52 - Fried Chicken Livers at Lexington Market

December 11

A fun and exciting return trip to Lexington Market, following a quick (ok, not so quick) jaunt to Trinacria (see last post), we browsed around like tourists. Didn't know if it was bad form to bring in "outside" food to Lexington Market, but we felt we earned the right in the quest to finish the "holy list". Besides, that place is so busy, who would notice? Navigated our way to Tim's favorite fried chicken place, where he expertly ordered a combo of fried chicken livers and gizzards. Yup, he actually chose to order the gizzards. We grabbed a beer, because of course Coors Lite and Bud Ice are the best things to wash down your fried organ meat.

Sara was off the hook for the livers, because she doesn't eat poultry. Heather was hoping to pull that off, but, in the name of the list, held true to its purpose. After inspecting the entire container of fried "bits" she selected a small morsel of fried chicken liver. Confirming with Tim that it wasn't gizzard, which he described as "a little chewy". To her amazement, it wasn't nearly as bad as she expected. Of course, it was doused with hot sauce. But, one piece was plenty. Tim kept munching on the rest, until he too had to give it up when his jaw became tired. Apparently gizzards will do that to you!

Then another repeat trip to Faidleys (see #1) because one cannot go to Lexington Market without a trip for their crabcake. Tim added some oysters for good measure.

#47 - Trinacria - but no calling ahead - we need to wait in line

December 11

While on the topic of Pastores, it did remind us of the amazing trip to Trinacria. And, as previously mentioned, we have been too busy eating to post blogs so are now playing catch up. Kind of bad to compare Trinacria to Pastores, but I'm sure its been done before!

Trinacria was like walking into an amazing store filled with Italian goodies. And, loads of people standing around wanting to order. We finally figured out how to get a number (when we weren't distracted by all the goodies on the shelves!). Of course, ordering was not easy because we really wanted one of everything! Mozzarella sandwich for Heather and Sara. All the meat behind the counter for Tim (along with fresh mozzarella - put the mozzarella Sara got at Whole Foods to shame). Really good olives. No place to eat there so we took it to Lexington Market to have with the chicken livers!

This place is definitely worth going back to! Of course, it's not much to speak of from the outside. In fact, it's a few blocks from Lexington Market, in the wrong direction. But, great Italian groceries, cheap Italian wine, fun cookies. Oh and a 5 pound bag of pasta for the holiday party. And an espresso bar at the deli counter and super nice staff!

PS - just today, Tim referenced wanting to go to Trinacria in an email. We are so proud to be expanding all of our horizons!

PPS - Fun trivia, Trinacria is Italian for triangle.

#77 Pastore's Delly

Dec. 28 - Towson for Pastore's

Heather was so wonderful to pick Sara up from the airport - of course, there's an ulterior motive for both - its called #77 and it is Pastore's Italian Delly and Grocery in Towson (not a typo - they really do spell it with two l's and a y!)

Such a cute little grocery store with loads of italian goodies. Reminded us of a smaller Trinacria and more emphasis on the sweet. We felt at home when we walked in when we saw the 100 foodie things posted on the wall - actually seeing that more and more often these days! While the Italian sub was the one on the list, we of course, tried a substitute.

Got a mozzarella sandwich, and, we split, shocker. The nice man behind the counter even wrapped up both halves in two pieces of paper! Sandwich, eh, so so. Came with tomato, oil & vinegar and basil. (Not sure we could see/taste the basil!) Got some olives as well. Decent, not necessarily worth a "big" trip to Towson. (sorry Ryan!) Especially when our new favorite Trinacria is so much closer. But, we tried it, crossed off #77/count #97 and then off to Hampden, hon. Good thing wasn't a huge sub, then wouldn't have had room for Golden West/Rocket to Venus.

Getting closer to finishing. Now that the end is in sight and so manageable, it is getting kind of exciting. But odd. What will we do next year without the foodie challenge. Suggestions?

#98 - Mary Sue Easter Eggs

I know what you are thinking - who has Mary Sue Easter Eggs in December? The kind that miss them at Easter! Fortunately for us, Mary Sue sells them year round so we ordered three different kinds for the party. Sara's favorite is the peanut butter chocolate. Any other favorites?