2010 October 28: Cellar Door (Frederick, MD)

Today, the local Frederick chapter (Angel, Caryn & Gigi) of the Filipina Lunch Bunch gathered and had…brace yourselves...a NON-Asian meal! Can you believe it? Honestly, there are not that many good Asian restaurants around here, plus Angel hadn't been to the historic area of Frederick, so we decided to branch out a bit.

We ate at the Cellar Door in downtown historic Frederick, mostly because I had a $25 coupon to use which gave us $50 worth of food for $25! You know we can’t pass up a good deal…

So here is what we had....

1) Fish Tacos: Made with Rockfish - INCREDIBLE! Not even the slightest fishy taste!
2) Vegetable Panini: Came with house-made potato chips that were really tasty
Somehow, I didn't get pictures of the salad most excellent PASTA PUTTANESCA dish we had.
3) Harvest Spice Cake: The waiter called it a pumpkin tart, which this clearly is not, so I renamed it. Spicy and moist and beautifully presented! The waiter said the chef was very pleased that I took pictures of his food!
4) Beignets - French donuts that were warm and soft and doughy and delicious!

2010 October 13: Viet Gourmet (Frederick, MD)

I had a coupon so I convinced Angel & Gigi to meet me so we could try out this Vietnamese place in Frederick....we really liked it!

Tofu w/ Mixed Vegetables - Đậu Hủ Xào Rau Cải

Fried tofu sautéed in mixed vegetables and brown sauce

TOFU BLACK PEPPER SAUCE - Đậu Hủ Ram Tiêu
Fried tofu, carrots, broccoli and black pepper sauce

TOFU CURRY W/ COCONUT SAUCE - Đậu Hủ Xào Cari 

Tofu marinated and cooked with carrots, onions & snow peas

And for dessert...Bubble Tea Smoothies! Avocado, Coconut and Thai Coffee! Divine!

2010 October 6: Lumpia-Pancit Filipino Restaurant - farewell to Cheryl!

http://www.lumpiapansitatbp.com/

This day we had the buffet again at "Lumpia-Pancit" and enjoyed traditional Filipino dishes for our last get together with Cheryl before she moved to Orlando. She will be missed!

http://www.lumpiapansitatbp.com/Download_Menu.html

2010 August: Thai Pavillion, Round 2

Ok, we liked this place so well when just 3 of us attended, that we had to go here again with the whole gang...it was worth coming back for the mango salad alone!

Cheryl announced that day that her husband was being transferred to Florida. Sad!

Som Tum Ma Muang: Julienned mango, crispy coconut, shallots, cilantro and red onion tossed in a spicy lime sauce.

Crispy Flounder

Pad See Yew Tofu

Some kind of tofu that I can't recall...

Crispy Banana with Coconut Ice Cream AND Sticky Rice and Mango Custard

Mr. Jacobs brought flowers for all the ladies!

Shopping at the Asian Market

2010 May: Sichuan Pavillion

Bean Curd Salad / General Tso's Tofu / Sweet & Spicy Eggplant / Stir-fried Baby Bok Choy

Dessert (round 1) at Bobek's Fruit Smoothie Shop (Passionfruit Cove & a Brazilian Specialty, Cupaco) then a few doors down, we found "The Fractured Prune" where freshly made hot donuts are dipped in glazes and toppings of your choice (I did the banana glaze topped with chocolate chips, coconut and peanuts!) They were so fresh and warm that they absolutely melted in your mouth! We also inquired about their donut parties/field trips to bring the kids when they are out of school.

As we were leaving, we noticed the steps back had greetings in different languages from different countries and we happened upon the most appropriate one for our group - MABUHAY is sort of like ALOHA, and can mean anything from Hello to How are you and I love you!