Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Lunchbox


It is very rare that Jay and I get to have lunch together, so when we had the chance, I insisted we visit Lunchbox, the newest venture for Bryan Voltaggio (aka owner of the famous Volt Restaurant, aka Frederick's poster-child). (OK, here's where I fully admit that I am a Top Chef junkie, and really enjoy watching the success and growth of our local hero! I'm not a stalker, I promise!) (Insert Jay: He is just a chef, get over it. He was on tv, blah blah blah...he is just a person who makes good food. By the way, I don't get the allure of Top Chef…you never get to eat the food they make on the show, so who knows what it tastes like.)

Lunchbox is a great place to stop for a quick lunch, and is surprising very cost-effective. I went with the Portabella and Goat Cheese sandwich, and Jay had the Pastrami & Swiss. I also got  an order of the Chicken Buttermilk Dumpling soup. Both our sandwiches were pretty good, definitely worth the $5! The soup…holy crap, the soup was amazing. Super HOT, but really good—just perfect after our cold, crisp walk through downtown Frederick, MD. Jay topped his meal off with a FREE apple (Insert Jay: I wish it was a honeycrisp apple!), and I also grabbed some of their oatmeal raisin cookies (what can i say, I was really hungry that day—don't judge!).

OK, so let me get into more detail about those cookies. I admit, I had gotten oatmeal raisin cookies at the Lunchbox a few times before, and they were AH-MAZING! (as in, after my last lunch there with a friend, we actually had post-follow up emails just to talk about their cookies). But, unfortunately this visit left me sad about my cookie fix. Neither of my oatmeal raisin cookies had any raisins. Not. A. Single. One. I want my raisins, people—Lunchbox, take note! (Insert Jay: If you've ever seen the movie Casino, you should remember the scene with De Niro telling the chef to make sure there were an equal amount of blueberries in every muffin. It would be fitting if someone got whacked by Pesci over this raisin oversight)

Now that I'm off my cookie soapbox, I'll say that other than that, we were happy with our meals at Lunchbox. The vibe and decor is very clean and geometric, and we love the fancy plastic "silver"ware utensils. The service was very fast and efficient (although we weren't entirely sure what to do with our trays when we were finished). However, if you've read some of our previous posts, you'll know that Jay is a monster when it comes to eating, so he wished there had been some chips or something to accompany the sandwich…it wasn't quite enough for him.

We'd recommend Lunchbox for a quick, easy, and affordable lunch—I know I'll definitely be back—and we look forward to seeing some of Brian's future ventures in Frederick as well. We'd give Lunhbox a solid "Good Enough to Take Your Parents Too", and maybe borderline "Hell, Yes!".  (Insert Jay: Are you referring to me or the restaurant?)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Cacique Restaurant


Como estan bitches? If you're a reader of this blog, you'll know that Kay and I had a bad experience at our last Mexican outing (read here). After washing the taste of disappointment out of our mouths, we felt the need to fill a void. Kinda like a the void a red headed step child feels when seeking approval from their father. The void is not the lack of approval, it's the lack of a soul. I'm not sure how that applies here but that is the best I can do. (Insert Kay: um, ramble much? I have no idea what Jay is talking about here…) To fill our void, we decided to hit up a personal favorite of ours and set out to Cacique (warning: website has sound that you can't turn off!) located in downtown Frederick, MD.

One note to make before I get going, based on much previous experience (Kay and I frequent Cacique a lot) you need to expect to spend some time for dinner here. It's not just a quick drop in place. To put it bluntly, you're going to be on Spanish time here. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Unlike dinner at my house (shovel and chew so that you're the first to get seconds), dinner at Cacique is an event.

So, back to our dinner event which took place on a Friday night. After arriving around 7pm or so, we were quickly seated. The waiter's assistant promptly hooked us up with chips, salsa and waters and our waiter arrived shortly arrived to take our orders (without writing them down…impressive). I went with a beef burrito and Kay went with a beef/chicken fajita combo (Insert Kay: mmmmm, fajitas!)  After munching on some chips, our food arrived in a timely fashion. Our waiter noticed my empty water glass and sent his assistant over to fill it (expected but impressive nonetheless) (Insert Kay: In case you haven't read some of our other posts, Jay has what we could call an obsession with drink refills). My burrito was great and Kay was satisfied with her fajitas (Insert Kay: Again, mmmmm, fajitas!). The flavors were great and the meals were highly satisfying.

If you've read previous posts, you've noticed my ability to down some food (Insert Kay: The boy can eat!). I can crush a burrito at Cacique but in doing so my belly hurts from eating too much. I'm always in limbo here, there is never enough to take home and there is always too much to eat. A normal person would just leave a few bites on the plate and call it a night. Not me though, I like a good challenge. (Insert Kay: I always take home my leftovers with me and look forward to eating them the next day…like a normal person.) All in all, Cacique cuts the queso. (Insert Kay: Wait. What? Don't you mean mustard?)

One thing to be aware of when visiting Cacique…when you wake up in the morning, you can still smell the restaurant on your clothes from the night before. (Insert Kay: It's the fajitas!!) If you've ever worked in the food business, you know what I mean. This may be something they need to address or this may just be a form of advertising. If we had to give Cacique a rating, we would give it a "Hell Yeah" and we'll definitely be back! (Insert Kay: um, we're practically regulars already!)




Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Mexicali Cantina


Dios mio, what a culinary catastrophe I was the victim of tonight. Jay here, do yourself a favor, stay away from Mexicali Cantina in Frederick.  I took my pops there over the summer and it was okay. When I visited it a second time a few months ago, again, it was ok. So, Kay and I figured we 'd try it out, but, wow, what a mistake.

When we arrived, the parking lot was full. I figured it would go one of two ways: 1) a long wait and slow service, or 2) a fiesta of flavor that would explain such a large crowd. We were quickly seated (after eyeing the fountain in the lobby), and chips and salsa arrived immediately. I figured we were off to a good start…but that was the last positive thought I had.

First of all, our meals took a long time to arrive. Long enough for us to both finish our waters and a bowl of salsa.  Even after politely asking the waitress for refills, it still took forever.  (Look servers, pay attention: when a glass of water is empty, fill it. If you walk by my table, look at my empty water glass, and then continue to walk away…it had better be to go get me a damn refill. The next time you walk by empty handed you are losing part of your tip.)

When we finally got our meals, I was already worked up. After eating only 1/3 of my meal, I was actually pissed.  I couldn't finish eating and had to push the plate away in anger over how bad it tasted. (Insert Kay: He literally kept saying "This is gross, this is really gross.") I ordered a burrito/taco combo and Kay ordered....who cares, it tasted like shit. (Insert Kay: and my meal had a very large bone in it. I am happy when restaurants use real, pulled chicken, but please watch the bones. This bone was a little too large to have been missed. Gross.)

To top it all off, the waitress never checked in on us during the entire meal (not a single time after our food arrived, or before our food arrived, for that matter).  I was minutes from putting money on the table and just walking out. (Insert Kay: we actually considered swinging by McDonald's just so we could get something to eat. No joke. And we hardly ever eat fast food!)

Kay and I seriously couldn't figure out why/how this restaurant was so busy! For all of the people who frequent this establishment, you must be hopped up on margaritas that kill your taste buds. We would give Mexicali Cantina a rating of "Eff This Place," and will definitely not be back.  Ciao. Wait, that's Italian.


Friday, January 6, 2012

Magoo's Pub & Eatery


So, this isn't our first, second, or even third time to Magoo's Pub & Eatery. It's actually one of our go-to places for when we need a good, quick meal in downtown Frederick, MD. In fact, we go there so often that when we walked in, we were quickly greeted at the door and offered two seats right in the front & center of the bar. Ok, so, really,  the place was a little busy and there was a short wait, so Jay and I just opted to eat at the bar, because we were starving.


We both enjoy the atmosphere of Magoo's small, friendly, Irish pub feel. Jay went with his "usual", a rueben, which he claims is one of the best (if not the best) in town. Even though I mostly get their Chicken Taragon sandwich (um, yum), I decided to go with something a little different and ordered the Chicken Pot Pie (Insert Cartman, "I like pot pie") . While we waited for our food, we enjoyed some beers (getting promptly carded, and then complimented for how well we've both retained our aging, thank you very much) and played around with the trivia questions located on the beer (Insert Jay: I lit it up on the sitcom category running the table).
 
Before we knew it, our food had arrived (thank goodness, because, like I said, we were starving at this point)! My chicken pot pie was good, although the flaky pastry topping was just a tad on the gooey side. I scarfed the entire thing down (which says a lot because I typically can't/don't eat everything on my plate) But, be forewarned, if you are really hungry, do not get the pot pie. It is freaking hot! I burned my tongue, bad! (and still couldn't stop eating it!). Jay equally ate every last bite of his rueben and almost growled at me when I tried to sneak a forkful of coleslaw from his plate (insert Jay: dumb bitch kept taking my fries too).


Politics aside (Magoo's owner is a former mayor of the city), we'd give Magoo's a high "Good Enough to Take Your Parents To" (which we've actually done, several times). The food is really good for American-Irish pub food, prices are great, and there is usually little to no wait for a table (although we've never been on St. Patty's Day). The atmosphere has a friendly, neighborly, "Cheers" feeling to it, and you'll almost always find the owner front-and-center, working the bar (as a business owner myself, I just think that is pretty cool).

While we didn't go with a dessert this night (Jay was being lame and wanted to get home), be forewarned that dessert seems to takes a long time. I have no idea why (Insert Jay: I've seen them make dessert, you can easily make any of them at home). Also, there is another great little hole-in-the-wall (like, literally) bar in the downstairs of this restaurant if you're ever looking for a quick drink.

And on a side note: while we were waiting for our check (and waiting for Jay to finish his Guiness, because he's a bit of a lightweight), the couple next to me actually asked for my opinion on Magoo's and a few other restaurants in the downtown area. Has our cover been blown, or do we just exude food criticism? I guess they could just tell that we're big-time food bloggers, now! (Insert Jay: and on another side note, the waitresses wear kilts. One of the waitresses has banging legs and I'm not even a leg man. Fellas keep an eye out)

Sunday, January 1, 2012

il Porto


I gave Kay the night off so I'll give the report on il Porto.  My gift of gab is not quite as versed as Kay so bear with me (she'll be making edits anyway). A few days prior to our actual visit, we drove by the restaurant, as we often have, and Kay said we should try it one night. Well, after discussing several choices of dining establishments, (by "discuss" I mean "argue") I tossed out the idea of il Porto. (Insert Kay: Um, I actually think it was I who tossed out the name, just sayin') We looked up their menu online and it seemed reasonable so we figured we'd give it a shot. 

We headed to downtown Frederick on a seemingly normal Friday night. Finding a spot to park took no time, what did take time was having to wait for Kay to change her purse over. We were just going to eat then go home so I don't get the idea of changing over your purse but I digress. (Insert Kay: Ladies, I know you understand...wanted to change to an "evening purse") We entered il Porto and were instantly greeted and seated by the host. The restaurant was about 50% full and had a nice vibe. We both liked the tall ceilings and got a good seat by the window.

The waiter came over within minutes to take our drink order. Kay went with an amaretto sour (high roller!) and I went with a trusty water.  The menu was straight forward, Italian.  I had a tough time deciding between Chicken Marsala and Manicotti.  Traditional Italian fare (what I classify as any noodle with sauce) is always too small of a portion for me. I'm not a large fella but I have a large appetite. Chicken Marsala is a favorite of Kay's and I knew it would be a tough feat talking her out of ordering it.  So I went with the Chicken Marsala along with a side house salad and after a lot of quick talking (I had to offer up a few bites), Kay went with Roasted Chicken. 

Dinner came out in a timely fashion along with refills (note: without having to ask!). The Roasted Chicken was enough food for two adults and a fat baby. (Insert Kay: It was literally the size of my head!)  The Marsala was served with a side of linguine with marinara sauce. I dropped the ball here when ordering, I should have asked the waiter to put the marsala sauce on the linguine and skip the marinara.  I did make a good choice by adding the salad though as the Chicken Marsala would not have been a large enough portion for me. Kay's roasted chicken came with some potatoes, but she wished there had been some type of green veggie to accompany it. 

All in all, this was a good choice for dinner.  The wait staff was on point with refills and checking in on us. We weren't blown away with the food but for the price it was a good deal.  Our waiter was very polite and knowledgeable.  We'd give it a "Good Enough to Take Your Parents To" rating and we'll most likely go back. The only complaint was the tacky neon "open" sign on the window directly at our table. This joint is too classy for a neon sign but I understand the need as they are in a low foot traffic area.  I'd put it higher on the window out of sight for patrons.