Hon's Wun-Tun House - San Francisco, CA

Finding myself in San Francisco a few blocks from Chinatown made me yearn for some authentic Asian food. A little research on the Internet pointed me in the direction of a shop a few blocks from the financial district but several blocks from my hotel in Union Square. What the heck - it's worth it if it's good. And, from the prices I read about why not give it a shot?

After arriving at the location on Kearny Street I started to second guess my choice. It was certainly no-frills. In fact, noone was even in the restaurant. I convinced myself that it was the dinner hour and most people that work in the financial district probably come here for lunch. The price and recommendation drove me in. Based upon my online research I ordered the curry beef and a side of white rice: to go. For under $7.00 I was on my way with my treat.

After returning to my hotel room I opened up the package. A container similar to one that egg drop soup would come in and a chinese box with white rice was before me. I don't even know if I like curry! I opened both and decided the best way to eat it was by putting rice on my fork and dipping it into the broth. Wow, that was good! So I put all the rice into the container. The flavor of the broth was unbelievable. The beef itself simply melted in my mouth. It was prepared perfectly. With each bite I noted either potato or a piece of wonton. After completing the meal I wanted more. But I would have to wait. As soon as my wife came out two days later I took her straight down to Hon's for another taste of this delightful meal. She had to try it for herself after listening to my rave reviews for 48 hours :)

Overall you can't beat it: an incredible meal for less than $10. Whether it's authentic or not, Hon's Wun-Tun House offers a great version of curry beef.

Ray's the Classics - Silver Spring, MD

Met a couple of good friends for dinner last week at a place called Ray's The Classics. Nice location on Colesville Road in Silver Spring, MD. Easy to get to and plenty of parking behind the building.

The interior is deceivingly large - while we met in the bar area near the front door for dinner, on the way to the bathroom I noticed that the dining room is an L shape and spans all the way to the back of the building. The bar area was hip (in fact the seats looked like ostrich skin!), very clean and the service was great; although the busboys seemed to grab at the plates before we were finished.

Since we were in the bar area we decided to stick with the Price Fix menu for $28.95 per person including your choice of soup, entree (from a limited menu) and the choice of a dessert. Apparently the dining room has a non-Fix menu with a much larger selection.

Our table decided upon the New England Clam Chowder and the Crab Bisque for our soup choices. The service was rather quick, and before I knew it I was looking into a cup of chunky New England Clam Chowder. This Clam Chowder was different than what I expected and different from any other I have had - in a good way. The base was creamy but very light. Most clam chowder I've eaten had a very thick, creamy base. Since this base was light you could actually taste everything that was in the chowder. Celery, clams, potatoes - you could see exactly what was on your spoon and furthermore could tell that each ingredient was fresh. Very fresh. While I didn't have the opportunity to taste the Crab Bisque I could see the consistency of the base reflected what was in the Clam Chowder and I was told it was very good. I'd highly recommend either of these soups.

For the main entree two of us decided upon the Bacon-wrapped Medallion Filets, while the others chose the "Diablo NY Strip" and the marinated sirloin. The Filets were OUT OF THIS WORLD. A word to those who are picky about the "wellness" of their beef: I ordered mine medium while my friend ordered hers medium well. Mine came out more medium rare while hers was more medium. I appreciate a rarer portion of filet so I was beside myself with how good the steak was. It had an incredible flavor and the meat had the perfect consistency. You could easily tell it was a high-quality cut. I had a chance to taste both of the other entrees as well. The "Diablo NY Strip" was served as bite-sized portions of meat mixed with garlic and onions and had a great flavor - however, it was entirely TOO spicy. I like spicy foods but I couldn't eat but one piece of the meat. It's a shame because it was cooked well and was (once again) a great cut. I'm not usually a fan of sirloin steak so I was apprehensive to try a piece of our companion's. The menu promised a marinated sirloin and the steak that was delivered was as promised. The sirloin was once again cooked a grade lower than was requested (looked medium rare rather than medium) but the flavor was terrific and the meat was of great quality. While I wouldn't usually think to order a sirloin I would order one from Ray's anytime.

To accompany our meal was a side of mashed potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach. All three: OUT OF THIS WORLD! So good. The mashed potatoes had chunks of potato in there to let you know it was fresh - and the garlic mashed potatoes had entire cloves of cooked garlic on top. Wow.

Finally, the dessert menu brought us the opportunity to try the chocolate pudding, their "Famous Rockefeller NY Cheesecake", a chocolate cake, and an RC COla float (in lieu of the root beer float). The concensus of the desserts was that they were average in appearance and taste. But it's tough to compare the desserts with such a great entree.

As with any Price Fix menu you're not going to walk away completely stuffed - but with Ray's The Classics Price Fix menu you're certainly going to go away satisfied. In fact, I'm still thinking about the steak a week later.

Smoky Mountain Barbecue - West Jefferson, North Carolina

My wife and I decided to spend the fourth of July holiday in western North Carolina. Things are peaceful and a bit slower paced than the hustle and bustle of the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area. While there, we checked out some of the local food establishments - one of which was Smoky Mountain Barbeque. Right up the road from downtown West Jefferson, this restaurant features typical southern food.

The unmarked building with a sign that simply reads "open" provides the backdrop for Smoky Mountain Barbeque, and like this building Smoky Mountain provides a no-frills eating experience. But we're not there for the environment; we're there for the food.

Ordering your meal is like a cafeteria line. You tell the first person what it is you'd like to have, she gets a tray ready, and passes it down the line. Usually within a few minutes several people will stop by your tray to fill it up with food. While it is probably attributed to the holiday, I must confess that looking behind the scenes of this restaurant, Smoky Mountain must have been the largest employer even if it is just for the day. There were so many people working in the back I'm not sure how they could move around!

Obviously their specialty is barbeque while also offering a variety of dishes with fish, ham, turkey, and chicken. I decided to get a little taste of everything and ordered a 1/3 rack of ribs with a fried chicken thigh on the side. Each entree comes with two side items and 3 hush puppies. The sides include your choice of french fries, onion rings, cole slaw (red or green), potato salad, baked apples, pinto beans, green beans, baked beans or a baked potato. I chose the green slaw and potato salad.

The ribs were so tender that they fell off the bone. While barbeque sauce is on every table I didn't need it. The ribs had plenty and the sauce was very sweet and flavorful. The chicken thigh was deep fried and had a great flavor to it. I did however, have a chance to sample their pulled pork. It had good flavor but was very dry. Maybe this is why the barbeque sauce is on the table. One of the best parts of the meal was the hush puppies. They were cooked perfectly with a ton of flavor - and once again, just sweet enough.

Both sides were good - the cole slaw was fresh and handmade while the potato salad shared the same qualities. I didn't get to finish either as the ribs, chicken, and hush puppies filled me up.
Oh, yes, and the sweet tea. Well, everyone in the South has great sweet tea so I suppose that goes without mentioning.

Prices were very reasonable. 1/3 rack of ribs was $7.49. A half chicken plate is $6.89. You can even get a "combo plate" with pulled pork or beef bbq and a chicken thigh for $7.39. And, these meals will fill you up.

I recommend to anyone looking for down home cooking and find themselves in Boone or West Jefferson North Carolina to try this place out.

Raise Time

The folks we can't live without - those in the fast food service industry, custodians, landscapers - are getting another 10% raise; their second 10% raise in as many years. I know if I got a 20% raise across two years I'd be ecstatic. However, it's a different story if all of my peers got a raise along with me.

This looks very similiar to inflation. Let's break it down:

Let's say I'm a farmer who sells milk. I employ uneducated labor and pay them minimum wage to milk the cows, bottle it, and deliver it to the local stores. For this example, we'll say that rent in our area is reasonable, so the federal minimum wage of $5.85 suffices to keep a roof over your head and provide basic necessities.

Now, in the course of two years, the federal government increases the minimum wage 20%. As a farmer who doesn't make much money in the first place this will cripple my business. I can't afford a 20% increase in my labor costs. I have two choices: 1. increase the cost of my milk to compensate for this wage increase or 2. keep the milk price constant and lay off 20% of my workforce. More than likely I would pick choice one.

Overall, I don't like either of those scenerios. And the scary thing is this doesn't just affect the cost of milk - the cost of EVERYTHING will increase and/or unemployment will rise. Food costs at the grocery store or restaurant, dry cleaning, gasoline, getting your oil changed. So, even if you were making minimum wage and received a 20% increase you will likely lose the "extra" cash within the next year or two. And, if you're part of the majority of Americans who didn't get a raise this year that means you'll feel this increase the most.

Most states/localities already have higher minimum wage rates than the federal level. These rates are best determined by the local governments - not the feds.

I'd love to hear your comments!

Blue Dolphin Seafood Bar - Gambrills, MD

Tonight my wife and I decided to try the $8.95 Lobster Special at the Blue Dolphin Seafood Bar & Grill in Gambrills Maryland. I didn't have any idea of what to expect for $8.95; but for that price it didn't matter.

I decided to start with the cream of crab soup. I make my own Maryland crab soup but try the cream of crab in just about every restaurant that offers it. I have to say, the cream of crab was pretty good. It was pretty creamy but not too thick. It had an incredible flavor with a decent amount of lump crabmeat. They only offer a bowl for $7.95.

The rolls that were served with the appetizer left a lot to be desired. Two pumpernickel rolls and a poppyseed roll. With it was a honey/butter mixture that was to die for - but considering the taste of the rolls we didn't even finish one of them. It certainly wasn't my taste (nor my wife's).

The lobster doesn't come with a side (expected) and as such I chose two sides while my wife chose one. I went with the mashed potatoes and corn while my wife opted for the spinach.

The lobsters that we received were on the smaller side but had a great taste. I'm normally not one for lobster but I was very satisfied with the taste. It was cooked well, the tail was split down the middle and the claws had a sweet taste to them.

The sides, on the other hand weren't satisfying at all. The mashed potatoes were similar to those individual microwavable twice cooked potatoes and the corn was probably the worst corn I've ever had. I rarely ever use salt but had to put a LOT on the corn just to make it edible. Even then I didn't even eat half. They tried to make the spinach fancy: it is sauteed with garlic, feta, and olive oil. The spinach seemed to be fresh but the flavor wasn't appealing to either one of us.

Since we ate only a portion of our meals we both decided on ordering desserts. I opted for the strawberry shortcake and my wife went for the apple pie a la mode. Both were large portions but seemed again to be something you'd get in the frozen food aisle of the grocery store.

Overall I suppose it was a fair dining experience. I do intend to go back to try the crab cakes since I've heard great things about them. Other than that, I would probably only dine during their happy hour when they offer half price appetizers or during their other special nights:

Monday - Lobster for $8.95

Tuesday - 1lb Steamed Shrimp for $8.95

Wednesday - Steaks for $12.95

Thursday - Your choice of a variety of fish, broiled or fried for $12.95

It would be hard for me to part with $43.95 for two broiled lobster tails...