Friday, March 30, 2012
Blue Cheese Stuffed Endive with Fig Vinaigrette
The 2 Soul Sisters are back in the kitchen. We are both HUGE blue cheese lovers, so we came up with this dish to satisfy our blue cheese cravings. Separate endive into individual stalk. Sprinkle a liberal amount of blue cheese into each stalk. In a pan roast pine nuts (heat a pan on medium-high heat and add pine nuts. Make sure you keep the nuts moving in the pan. Heat for 5 minis.) Sprinkle pine nuts on top on blue cheese. Dice a dried fig and sprinkle fig on top of blue cheese. Add a tiny bit of fresh diced chives on top of blue cheese. To make the vinaigrette, add the following ingredients into a food processor: diced dried figs, honey, a little olive oil and a dash of white wine vinegar. Drizzle your vinaigrette over the blue cheese and enjoy. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Roasted Potatoes and Crispy Leeks (A 2 Soul Sister's Original Recipe )
By special request the 2 Soul Sisters are sharing our culinary creations. Here is a dish we like to call Roasted Potatoes and Crispy Leeks. We took red potatoes and diced them. Next we sliced leeks and spread the leeks and potatoes on a baking sheet. We liberally added chopped garlic and a little olive oil to the potatoes and leeks. Lastly we sprinkled sea salt and pepper on top of the mixture. Slide into a 400 degree oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. This is a fast and extremely healthy variation or fried potatoes and onions. Red potatoes have less starch and fewer calories than russet potatoes. Roasting uses less oil than frying, plus the roasting process makes the leeks light and crispy. Try it and let us know what you think!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Welcome to Meet 27 American Bistro
Meet 27 American Bistro is located just outside of Charles
Village. They take American food and
fuse it with South Asian and Caribbean flavors.
The restaurant can be found at the corner of a traditional Baltimore
neighborhood. They cater to
patrons looking for vegetarian, vegan or gluten free fare.
127 West 27th Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
(410) 585-8121
Meet 27 Warm Cinnamon Apple Cake
If you like a rich dark textured cake, this is the dish for you. The cake was sweet and aromatic. I loved the fact that they served it warm. It had the perfect amount of cinnamon and the vanilla caramel sauce was a great compliment to the cake.
Meet 27 Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake
If they say so...lol. This cheesecake was not dipped in anything. Rather, it had a frozen dollop of chocolate on top. There was a hard texture to the cheesecake. The cheesecake sat atop a brownie bottom. Despite our best attempts, we were not able to taste the orange reduction.
Meet 27 Vindaloo Pork
This "Chef Favorite" consisted of slow cooked pork marinated in their own hot spicy sauce. The pork was super tender. The dish was very spicy and tasty. There were aromatic herbs used and a nice veggie medley with saffron rice to compliment the dish.
Meet 27 Lamb Loin Chops
The lamb chops were marinated with rosemary and cinnamon and served with mint yogurt pesto over basil and herb mashed potatoes. I love lamb chops! However, one must be very careful of the cut of chops one uses. A less sinewy and fatty cut of lamb would have been preferred here. Despite all the yummy herbs listed above, my chops lacked flavor and salt. The mashed potatoes were very tasty and seemed to be flavored with coconut milk.
Meet 27 House Salad with Pan Seared Salmon
We have to admit that the salmon in this salad was seared to perfection. The edges of the fish were crispy and the center was tender and moist. This dish has a great amount of crunch and flavor. The salad contained gala apples, cucumbers and orange segments. The greens were a mixture of arugula and mixed field greens. The citrus vinaigrette was a good compliment to the dish.
Meet 27 Chicken Satay
The chicken was perfectly grilled, moist and tender. It was coated in a mild yellow curry. We wish the chicken had more flavor. The peanut garlic sauce was fabulous, however a dish should not rely on sauce (as this one did) to make it fabulous.
Meet 27 Vegetable Fritters
Imagine a ball of firmly packed minced vegetables to include eggplant, cauliflower, potato and spinach dipped in a chick pea batter, then deep fried. It was served with tamarind and mint sauces. The texture could definitely be off putting; if you could over come that, the flavor was pretty tasty. The mint sauce was a good compliment to the fritters.
Meet 27 Signature Fries
The signature fries were coated in a chick pea batter with turmeric and cayenne pepper. They were served with a mango peach ketchup and chipotle mayonnaise. Here again we had differing opinions. Angela loved the fries. She enjoyed the seasoning and mango peach ketchup. I on the other hand thought they were too greasy and heavy. I also did not think the ketchup or the mayo was as exciting as they sounded. You could also request sweet potato fries.
Melissa's Meet 27 Bistro Review
As I write my review of Meet 27 I’m having a hard time
trying to form an opinion. Angela helped
me see that I struggle because there were few strong opinions to be had about Meet
27. It seems strange that food would
leave me opinionless. However, I think
that speaks to the lack of spark and exhilaration this restaurant
provided. The food was ok. It was nothing to rave about , certainly not enough
to call a girlfriend and say, “Girrrlllll, wait till I take you to this place!” It was actually so unremarkable that I can’t imagine
I would ever go back. Let me take this
moment to say that there were no major problems. The atmosphere was quiet and subdued. The service was friendly and appropriate. The food was mediocre. It just lacked pizzazz. I appreciate that the restaurant was geared
toward folks with dietary constraints (vegetarian, vegan, gluten free…etc). I wish that the atmosphere was livelier and
the food stood out more in flavor and in memory. Overall I give Meet 27 ♪♪.
Angela's Meet 27 American Bistro Review
Meet 27 was a different kind of dining experience than I
think we are used to. It was neither bad nor good. I don’t have anything
scathing to say nor do I have anything to rave about. I can say that I liked
the feel of the place. It is at the corner of two streets of row-houses,
bordering Remington and Charles village, giving it the look and feel of the
neighborhood hang-out joint. The inside is all dark wood with big slabs of dark
grey stone as flooring. The centerpiece of the restaurant is a big gorgeous bar
with a large mirror that sits unused as this is a BYOB establishment. The main
dining area overlooks the bar. I think
what really makes this place different from others simultaneously makes it
impossible to have any coherence to its menu, and this is that the restaurant’s
claim to fame is that every dish prepared here is gluten free. I had a hard
time deciding what to eat here.The service was adequate. Our waiter was very
nice, his service neither too slow nor too fast. I do have to say that I got
the feeling that this was a place some folks might absolutely love. But other
than my appreciation of the atmosphere, I cannot claim to be one of those
folks. I rate this establishment ♪♪
and
a half note.
Meet 27 American Bistro Overall Review
Well….humm….Meet 27 was…ok.
This dining experience has left us in a bit of a quandary. We love to eat and talk about food. However this place has left us a bit speechless. There really is not much to say. Honestly we think you may have to try this
place for yourself, as the food is…well…ummm...ok. We did enjoy the attempt of fusing American,
South Asian and Caribbean flavors. One
would think that this exciting mixture of flavors would produce exquisite food. Perhaps it could be magnificent, that just
did not seem to be the case here. The
atmosphere was curious as we had differing opinions. Angela enjoyed the look of the restaurant while
I thought it was just ok. This would be
a good spot if you live in the local area or if you needed a place that met
your specific dietary needs. Parking was
limited to street parking. The prices of
the food were somewhat reasonable. Overall
we rate Meet 27 American Bistro ♪♪.
Friday, March 23, 2012
2 Soul Sisters Twitter
2 Soul Sisters Blog is now on twitter. Get moment to moment details of our dining expeditions. Find out which restaurants are coming next. Follow us on Twitter at 2SoulSisBlog.
THANK YOU
We reached a huge milestone this week. Our blog has had over 500 views since we launched on Valentine's Day. Thank you all so much for all of you support and suggestions. We are always open to new ideas. If you have a restaurant that you want us to review please let us know. If you want to know were to eat, just ask. We will give you suggestions. We are here to make your eating experience as awesome as possible. If you have not become a follower of the blog please join. We appreciate you guys! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Do it Yourself Pizza
The other day we were inspired to make our own dinner, so we made personal pizzas. It was so much fun. Making pizza at home is a great way to get family and friends involved in making dinner. When people make it themselves they can have things just the way they want. All you need is pizza dough (make it from scratch or get it in the refrigerator isle), pizza sauce, your favorite pizza toppings and lots of yummy cheese. This a great dinner option for kids. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thai Arroy
Thai
Arroy is a hidden treasure in Federal Hill.
This quaint restaurant is just across from the historic Cross Street
Market. Stop in for lunch or dinner and
enjoy fresh delicious Thai food.
1019 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 385-8587
Baltimore, MD 21230
Thai Arroy Mango Sticky Rice
This is our all time favorite Thai dessert. Thai Arroy managed to take it to another level. Their mangoes were so sweet, fresh and tender that we wanted to smack each other. (you see..we don't want to smack our mothers.) The sticky rice was firm and super sticky. The coconut milk sauce on top was extra sweet and rich. We disagreed slightly about the fresh coconut flesh grated on top of the dessert. Part of the discrepancy is that Angela does not like fresh shredded coconut and I absolutely love it! So you have to try it and be the judge.
Thai Arroy Ginko Nut Sweet Taro Mousse
Here warm sticky rice is encased in a ginko nut paste. This nut paste was reminiscent of a smooth yet slightly textured custard. It was not at all heavy, yet was warm, creamy and sweet just not too sweet. It was truly a fascinating dessert.
Thai Arroy Ped Makham
One of the things I like most about Thai food is that the Thai really know how to treat a duck. They truly put a hurting on it. This dish was no exception. The duck was cooked to perfection, light, rich, slightly gamey and tender. The natural sweetness of the duck was enhanced by the chef's use of pineapple and tamarind sauce. The dish was also graced with the presence of onions, bell peppers, carrots, snow peas and fresh chili. I was truly happy with this dish.
Thai Arroy Nam Prik Pao Kao Pad (Fried Rice with Mixed Seafood)
This dish made Angela's day. Her quest was finally rewarded. I too have to admit that this fried rice was absolutely insane. One of the things we liked best about the dish was the texture of the rice. It had a perfect bite and was wonderfully sticky. Fresh chili, garlic, Thai basil, peppercorn, snow peas and carrots were tossed in with the rice. Angela choose the seafood mix with consisted of shrimp, calamari and mussels. We thought it was curious that they left the mussels on the half shell mixed in the rice. The veggies has an intense sweetness and were cooked to perfection. The calamari was a little tough for our liking. Overall the dish was sweet, spicy and savory with a floral finish.
Thai Arroy Hoy-Ob (AKA Mussels)
These gigantic crustacean were so plump and tender. The mussels had the perfect amount of heat/spice and the Thai Basil enhanced the natural sweetness of the mussels. The earthen bowl the dish was served in made for a very nice presentation. The herbs used gave this dish floral notes.
Tha Arroy Thai Dumplings
If you are used to Chinese dumplings you will be surprised by the texture of these Thai dumplings. The filling was reminiscent of sausage, as the meat was tightly packed. There was lots of meat and no veggies. The filling was a tad dry but that did not detract from the dish. We will say that the sauce made the dish. Without sauce the dumplings were lackluster. The sauce was a perfect combo of sweet and savory. The dumpling shell was light and airy.
Melissa's Review of Thai Arroy
Let me start by saying that I LOVE Thai food. The clean fresh flavors associated with Thai
make me a very happy girl. Thai Arroy
did not disappoint. The food was
inventive, fresh and delicious. I was
even impressed with how they structured their menu. They listed all the fried rice dishes, the
sautéed dishes and the noodle dishes in separate sections. Because there were so many options on the
menu, this layout made it easy to navigate.
Our waitress was very informative and gave great suggestions. It was clear that Thai Arroy is a
neighborhood favorite as the place was packed.
As I panned the restaurant I could see that everyone had smiles on their
faces. I will admit the front room of
the restaurant is small and crowded. If
you are claustrophobic ask for a seat near the window or door. The atmosphere over all was simple and
minimalist which suited the restaurant just fine. The wonderful food was clearly their
focus. I think I have a new favorite
Thai Restaurant! Overall I give Thai
Arroyo ♪♪♪.
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