Wednesday, May 21, 2008
A culinary masterpiece was experienced last night at Cindy Wolf’s restaurant, call the The Charleston, in downtown Baltimore. Fantastic. Four years ago I took Jamie to this place and promised to return if she graduated from Johns Hopkins. I had to pay up yesterday. We were joined by Jamie’s friend,“Dr.” Jason who is well on his way to obtaining his phd. Words don’t begin to explain how great the food was, but I’ll try. We had, between the three of us, Charleston Shellfish Bisque w/Lobster & Golf Shrimp, Jumbo Lump Crabcake w/Napa Cabbage & Arugula Oil, Steak Tartare w/Jalapeno Oil & Pan con Tomate, Pan-Roasted Magret Duck Breast w/Roasted Beets & Local Rhubarb & Strawberry Compote, Pan-Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras w/Fresh Blackberries & Cornmeal Cake, Grilled Beef Tenderloin “Henri VI” w/Brioche Crouton, & Fresh Artichoke & Bernaise, and last but certainly not least Grilled Veal Sweetbreads w/Fresh Fava beans & Marcona Almonds & Vermouth Reduction. Now mind you each of these courses were served with the appropriate wine pairing, and then the meal was finished with three incredible deserts. It truly was two hours of culinary joy.

Of course I jumped a bit ahead of myself with the dinner, so let me explain why I’m in Baltimore. Jamie has graduated from Johns Hopkins with a double Bachelors Degree. YEAH! On an earlier blog I explained about where she is going for her Masters program, so I won’t repeat myself.

I flew into Baltimore from Milwaukee on Tuesday morning. An absolutely non-stop painless flight with plenty of leg and elbow room. Sweet! Twenty four hours later, from when I woke up at 3am, I was back at the airport picking up Lori & Chris. A few hours ago, we picked up Jamie’s Aunt, Aunt Salad Toe, aka Christa, from the airport. Let the fun begin.

More pics and stories of graduation week to follow. Stay tuned.