here in prince george's, vol. 1, no. 5

HERE IN PRINCE GEORGE'S 1 VOL. 1, NO. 5

HERE IN PRINCE GEORGE'S

Metropolitan Food, Libations & Luxury Home Show

Posted on March 18, 2010

Gaylord National Hotel at National Harbor 201 Waterfront Street

Oxon Hill, Maryland 20745 http://theluxuryhomeshows.com/home.html

March 27-28, 2010, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Got any plans for the weekend of March 27 and 28? If not, you do now. The Metropolitan Food, Libations & Luxury Home Show will be at the National Harbor that weekend and it sounds like something none of us should miss.

If you like visiting model homes like my sister does, then you’ll probably love roaming through the exhibits of interior and exterior home accessories, fine art, sculpture, and design accessories. If you fancy yourself a gourmand, then you’ll be interested in the organic foods, spices, condiments, farm-fresh cheeses, and sweet treats.

“Libations” fans can head toward the wines, spirits, and artisan brews. The Tasting Menu is too large to mention everything here, but here are a few descriptions that I saw that interested me:

1. Wine – Chocolate Box Dark Chocolate: has a deep russet red and gives off generous aromas of blackberries, anise seed and coffee. The palate shows vanilla oak, spicy and cigar box type flavors. Smooth, soft and silky tannins round off this wine.

2. Spirits – Zodiac Vodka: As a hand-crafted potato vodka produced in North America’s only potato vodka distillery, Zodiac delivers a clean taste and unparalleled smoothness that is not found in any grain vodka – anywhere. This 100% neutral potato spirit made from only genuine Idaho potatoes and is Gluten-Free. Available in 12 different astrological star-


signed bottles, this 80 proof traditional flavored vodka that can please your pallet no matter what sign you are.

3. Artisan Brews – Sir Perry Pear Cider: A very light yellow hue, like a very light apple juice. An apparent pear sweetness is present in the nose, and although not heavy, it is noticeable, with hints of apple. With a strong kick of tart sweetness which dries the mouth very fast in a pleasing way. The carbonation is very refreshing as well.

4. Gourmet Food – Havana Banana Bread: From Laurel, Maryland. Fresh banana bread. Need I say more?

I know what you’re asking: How much does this thing cost?

• $35 for All-Access Tasting Admission (for adults 21 and over), grants entry to the home show, the gourmet food tastings, artisan beer, and fine wine and spirits tasting. Save $5 with this coupon.

• $15 for Luxury Show Admission (ages 13 and up), grants entry to the home show (no libations tasting included).

• Free for children 12 and under.

I think you now have plans for the weekend of March 27 and 28, right?

What to Do? What To Do?

It’ll be 70 degrees outside this weekend. Got to Allen Pond Park.


Chef Lou’s Desserts


103 Centerway Greenbelt, Maryland 20770

www.cheflous.com

He gave me a banana nut muffin. When I opened the bag when I got home, I could smell the banana. Just as it should be, right? When I broke it in half and took my first bite from the bottom (everyone knows you should eat the bottom of a muffin or cupcake first and then have the top, right?), I smiled. It was good. Very good. It made me happy. Distinct banana flavor, just a hint of the nuts with small pieces throughout instead of having big honkin’ pieces of walnuts getting in the way. How’d Chef Lou know I would like the muffin? Because I bet everyone does!

Chef Lou is this extremely friendly person running one of the best bakeries in the area, as far as I’m concerned. It’s also the smallest shop I’ve ever seen, but the flavors are big. Chef Lou specializes in cheesecake and I think I’m going to go that route the next time we visit — and there will be a next time — but clearly he also specializes in muffins, pound cakes, mini apple pies, and cinnamon rolls, which is what we bought.

Hubby is the cinnamon roll aficionado in our house, and he declared Chef Lou’s to be quite tasty. It’s all in the amount of cinnamon. You have to have enough. Don’t skimp. And don’t forget the homemade cream cheese icing, please. Let’s not forget the icing. My parents were the lucky beneficiaries of the slice of pound cake. Their opinion? My dad got that ear-to-ear, Howdy Doody smile. (I get my love of dessert from him, as if you couldn’t tell.)

So, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Chef Lou’s is worth a visit. And then go back again and again. Tell your friends. Got a special event coming up, talk to Chef Lou. You’ll love his service, his attitude, and his desserts.


Bonus: Chef Lou’s Desserts is just a few doors down from Generous Joe’s in Roosevelt Center, so after you grab a pizza, sub, or sandwich, you can grab a cookie, tart, pie, or piece of cheesecake.

Generous Joe’s


107 Centerway Greenbelt, Maryland 20770

http://www.generousjoes.com/

So the only thing on Generous Joe’s web site is the menu, but frankly, that’s all you need to know. That and maybe how to get there.

Generous Joe’s in Roosevelt Center is everything you would expect it to be. From the outside, it looks like any ol’ carryout shop in any ol’ strip mall. When you walk in, the counter is right in front

of you and you’re ready to place your order. Well, you might be, but you won’t place your order until Joe himself is ready to take your oder. And that’s OK. It was actually kind of cute watching him walk around making subs and pizzas. At one point, someone called and he picked up the phone, said an almost inaudible “hold on,” and returned to his food preparation. He takes it seriously, and it shows.

You can eat in or take it home. The booths are the really old fashioned, bolted-to-the-floor kind. This place is clearly not modern in its decor, but all that doesn’t matter the moment you take the first bite of the meatball and cheese sub. My Jersey-boy hubby was beside himself. “This . . . is a quality meatball sub.” That, ladies and gentleman, means it’s good. Very good, in fact. Ooey, gooey, melty cheese and excellent tomato sauce. A little sweet just like we like it.

That same sauce was covering the best eggplant parmesean sub I’ve had in a long time. And the gooey cheese was awesome. Nice long slices of eggplant, just enough sauce to cover the sub without making it


too wet and messy to eat. Not too much breading and easy to bite through the tender skin.

I see more visits to Generous Joe’s in our future. I think we need to try a pizza or calzone next. You know what the one problem with Generous Joe’s is for us? It’s too far away from our house to take advantage of their delivery service. But that might be a good thing, huh?

If you haven’t been to Generous Joe’s, you should go. Grab yourself a sandwich, a sub (most come in an 8-inch or 12-inch size), or even a salad or some “twisty” fries to go with it. And after you get something good for lunch or dinner, go a couple of doors away and get some dessert at Chef Lou’s Desserts. Your day will be complete.

This “newsletter” is produced from the posts on http://www.hereinprincegeorges.com, a web site that provides suggestions and personal reviews to the restaurants, shopping, and entertainment options available right in Prince George’s County. There’s no need to travel to MoCo or NoVa.

Check the pages of the site often, and if you have suggestions or reviews, please email me at [email protected].

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here in prince george's, vol. 1, no. 5

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