Eating the Adriatic

OK, another non SoCo post since I'm still away from home. I felt compelled to write about two fabulous meals that we had on the beach of the Adriatic. The restaurant, Ciaschi, is located in a small seaside town called Grottammare. There is a long boardwalk in town and while it was a little early in the year when we visited, I imagine the town gets pretty full during the summer months.

Now I cannot comment on anyplace else in Grottammare because our only two meals were at Ciaschi. We had dinner one night and it was so good, we had to go back for lunch the next day before heading south to Abruzzo.

Ciaschi, as one might expect, is a seafood restaurant--and man, do they know how to do seafood well. It is mainly prepared in a simple fashion to let the natural taste of the fish shine through. Given the amount of food we consumed during our visits, I'll only focus on a few things. But rest assured, on the taste scale the dishes we tried fell between very good and excellent. (Socoblogirl adds: the other draw here is the owner/chef, Antonio. He is so enthusiastic and proud of his local cuisine. He brought out raw fish to show us what we were eating, and bragged about the local catch. So charming!)

I assume the creature below may look familiar to folks who live in or near Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay, but these were not anything like our blue crabs. These crabs, granchi, were much smaller and as you might expect, containing less meat, but they were so sweet; incredible. Part of the wonder of this dish stemmed from the spicy olive oil sauce in which it came. The crabs themselves were pan fried in olive oil and then presented as you see them in the sauce. Fab!

Another highlight of the meal came before the main course, lightly fried squid legs with oil, parsley, and tomatoes with what seems to be a local delicacy, fried jumbo olives. We had them the night before and they were stuffed with a mix of beef and pork, but since this is a seafood spot, theirs were stuffed with fish. Scrumptious. And I know fried squid legs is not something extraordinary to find, but these were very fresh and having them with toms, parsley, and oil did make them different from at least what I was used to.

And how could I write a post about an Italian restaurant, even if seafood is its specialty, and not mention the pasta. Here at Ciaschi they served us spaghetti with roe and little lobsters (more like shrimp for us) in olive oil. Again, a straightforward dish done very well.

While I won't post more pics, other dishes in our dining extravaganza included cold marinated salmon, alici (anchovies), mussels, turbot, skewers of grilled fish, and a couple Adriatic oysters (ostriche) which were briny, clean, and really gave you a taste of the sea. I'll also mention a lot of white wine was consumed, making everything taste even better.

The owner, Antonio, says because the Adriatic is not as deep as the Atlantic, the fish are more flavorful. After that meal, how could I argue?

Dinner and lunch in Cossignano

Settling in to the Italian countryside. We are in Le Marche. Found a fabulous ristorante called Castello de Marte, run by a young guy named Fabio - no, not him. Our guy buttons his shirt.

This is a tiny little village. Some older Italians are chilling in the square drinking whiskey and playing cards. Is this what older Americans would be doing if we had a real social safety net and a younger retirement age? I'd like to find out.

Anyway, back to the food. Since it's the closest place to our lodging, we dined here for dinner last night and then again for lunch today. Have consumed a lot of cured meats, asparagus - very much in season - and of course pasta! All washed down with some local wine. I'll be sending some of this home to SoCo.

If you are ever near here, I would heartily recommend you make your way over to see Fabio. Mixing countries, our dinner last night was all omakase. We ordered nothing, but everything came. I think we had 5 starters. It was pretty incredible. Our only choice was which wine to drink. It's nice not have to give too much thought to where you'll eat and then what to order. It was very much appreciated.

This is ideal. I think it's nap time. Ciao.

Early Summer Break - back in 3 weeks

I hope the flag to the left gives you an indication of where I am heading later today. I see much cured meats, vino and pasta in my future.

My wife and I are celebrating a significant wedding anniversary so we're heading across the pond. In addition to eating, I guess we'll do some sightseeing, and visiting some of my family who live in Abruzzo.

And once done there, we move on for the second half of the trip. We'll undoubtedly continue our gastronomic journey eating probably the best pork on earth, paella, fresh seafood, and drinking more vino - but this time poured from high over our heads. There will certainly be a large dry cleaning bill for me once I get back to SoCo.

I plan to take many pictures of the delicacies we encounter. If I can blog while I am gone I'll do so, if not then upon my return. OK, behave yourselves. Ciao.

Long Live The Greek Place

Man, I was so over the Big Greek Cafe. It's time for something new and exciting at 8417 Georgia Ave. And that new and exciting dining spot is: The Greek Place. Now open for business.

So for those jonesing for gyros, hummus, or falafel, you can now get your fix. Well you probably could have before at Lebanese Taverna. But if you specifically need a Greek fix, you're now in luck.

I was told the same hours, same food, same menu, but because of new owners they had to change the name.

Not sure yet exactly what happened on the ownership front. SS Singular reported in March that the Big Greek Cafe was being operated by the same family who have run the Golden Flame since like the 18th century. So I did a little searching on the website for the MD Dept of Assessments and Taxation. However, that provided little clarity.

It was odd. On Feb 16, 2009, a document was filed stating 8417 was now owned by the Big Greek, Inc. Then on April 16 a document was filed stating the trade name of 8417 Georgia Ave was the Big Greek Cafe. But says the president is Jose Carino. Then just last Tues (May 5), another document was filed stating the new name is Taqueria El Mexicano, owned by Carino. What?? The taqueria is certainly long gone. What gives?

But this is probably way more than you want to know, right? Does anyone really care? If so, let me know and I'll dig in more. If not, just get over there and eat some hummus.

Cinco de Mayo en SoCo

In case folks in the hood are looking for a Cinco de Mayo celebration, there is one happening this evening on Hellsworth.

However, it should be noted, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican independence day, that is Sept 16, the most important national patriotic holiday in the country. Cinco de Mayo is mainly celebrated in the state of Puebla commemorating the Battle of Puebla where French forces were defeated on May 5, 1862.

However, we have co-opted this day as a convenient excuse to party and drink. Yeah for America. And appropriately, SoCo will have its own "fiesta." Hellworth will be closed to make room for a stage that will host mariachi music, Latin jazz and dancers - this is according to the Washington Post. It is reported that Austin Grill is expanding its patio to create a "Mexican beer garden," with $2 Mexican Flag shooters and $5 margaritas and beers. This sounds pretty authentic to me.

If anyone goes, I'll be really curious to see AG's "Mexican beer garden." My gut says it's their patio decorated with some Mexican flags. Viva Cinco de Mayo!