Text 14025, 102 rader
Skriven 2007-04-14 13:58:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DALE SHIPP
Ärende: Picnic stuff 367
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 DS> My own opinion is that a water view is not very important.  We can

Depends. We will be having a bunch of people from coastal areas,
but for the Illinois folks and maybe the Georgia folks and the
inland New York folks getting closer to the water might be a plus.
Perhaps people could chime in about their preferences regarding
crabs, views, yes or no to spicy food, and price range.

 DS> do some research to pick out a decent place that might fit a variety
 DS> of tastes (i.e. seafood and meat both).   There is the Crab Shanty
 DS> on Route 40 that had gotten consistent "best of Howard county" for a
 DS> number of years.   There is G&M's over towards BWI.   For that

Neither of these serves native crabs, and G&M doesn't serve
whole crabs at all. I've not been to the Shanty (which advertises
Gulf crabs); G&M is reliable (I believe it serves foreign crabmeat),
though there have been whispers on the boards that it's gone
down a bit and Timbuktu (!) has come back up a bit.

I was envisioning a place where people could actually crack
their own crabs - will have to see what's around. Harris is
really good for that, though as we've ploughed through in
recent days, the traffic situation might be daunting. There
have to be places near Annapolis - next time I'm at the US
Airways Club I'll ask the lady there, as she lives in Arnold.

 DS> matter, I wonder how Kaufman's is these days?  We've not been back
 DS> there since they sold to new management several years ago -- but they
 DS> used to be a very popular place.   Have either you or Carol been
 DS> there in the past couple of years?  Or heard from anyone who has?

We've avoided Kaufmann's based on the hearsay and the
changing-hands jinx. Perhaps it's time to give it another
chance.

 DS> Two other names we have heard of are Jim's Hideaway in Odenton and
 DS> Scooter's on route 1 just north of 175.   Do you two know anything
 DS> about either of them?

I've heard that Jim's has decent food but is a noisy dive.
Not heard of Scooter's.

Later: I find Jim's is a restaurant.com restaurant, which means
you can buy gift certificates at a favorable rate. Sometimes
restaurant.com places are okay (it's like the Entertainment Book,
only with a somewhat different modus operandi), but some of them
are just plain desperate. Might be worth a field trip.

 DS> Title: Gujrati Dal

Mmm, that looks like something that Mango Grove would serve.

 -=> Dale Shipp said to Carol Bryant <=-

 CB> I guess the thing I'm talking about is that it doesn't have to be
 CB> unique to this area, but it should have something noteworthy about it
 CB> that makes it a step above or a bit different than a normal favorite. 
 CB> Something different than most could find at home, so it creates a
 CB> memory as well as a meal. 

That would be a plus but not vital. After all, we can create our
own memories. Dave's Hu Ke Lau lobster extravaganza was, I thought,
a good example of "something noteworthy" that created memories ...
pleasant ones for me, despite the fact that I didn't really enjoy
the entertainment.

 DS> You seem to have a different opinion of "noteworthy" than we do.
 DS> We really enjoyed the causual dining places that Burt took us to.
 DS> I think it was the company more than anything else that made them
 DS> noteworthy and memorable.

There's noteworthy for the food, noteworthy for the atmosphere,
and noteworthy for the company. The last is a foregone conclusion;
the others, well, we want to maximize the experience while balancing
the costs. I'd be inclined to do as much "at home" cooking as
possible, as the cost-benefit is favorable; this would of course
put pressure on you two, as Carol's isn't suited for a big party
(or, currently, any party at all, as her soapmaking has sort of
taken over the house).

 CB> I'm remembering a picnic I attended years ago
 CB> (not FIDO), and dinner on a Sunday night was at Macaroni Grill.  :( 
 CB> (this is NOT the sort of memory I'm referring to)
 DS> You poor thing:-}}   I suppose for encores they took you to Denny's?

[chuckles]

 CB> I don't have anything in particular in mind, but there are things like
 CB> brew pubs (although most towns have them these days), Churrascurias,
 CB> Moroccan style with the whole works including belly dancers waterfront
 CB> locations, etc. 
 DS> The churrascuria in Boston was great.  The one that used to be here
 DS> in Columbia -- lousy.

If we wanted to go that route, Green Fields in Rockville would be
the place to go. It's a chain - I've eaten here a few times and at
the one near where Manny lives. Pretty good food, and the experience
is exotic enough - the best meat coma you can go into without going
to South America. I'd suggest lunch if we had a large party.
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