This probably belongs in the “Internet with your coffee” media-darling series, but since the place is new, and I don’t write that, I think it merits its own review.
The Steam Caf
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28Feb
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28Feb
We all know about nutritional fads and trendy diets. Some of them may be less atrocious than others, but they all have one thing in common: they tell you that you must eat less ingredient Y and more ingredient X (which the diet expert/celebrity in question will happily sell you). Vitamin and mineral supplementation has been around quite a while, and probably is, at the most basic levels, a Good Thing. Goiters and Rickets are exceedingly rare in the US today, where they were epidemic a generation ago. However, today’s frenzied pace of nutritional fads, coupled with the new US Government Dietary Guidelines, make for some seriously worrying food supplementation.
Vitamin C is in everything, vitamin A (Beta Carotene) too. The former in excess quantities can lead to kidney stones, the latter to liver problems and jaundice. The latest thing about to be added to foods are Omega-3-fatty-acids, famous for their protective effects on the heart and vascular system. Now, aside from my general aversion to overly processed and modified foods, there is a serious problem here: omega-3’s only have a positive effect in very limited amounts. I used to work in a biochemistry lab doing research on just this topic: how much of what types of lipids (including omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 fatty acids) were good for you, and how much of what types were bad. Omega-3’s are very good for your heart, up to moderate doses, but with more than low-moderate doses, they begin to wreak havoc on the liver and kidneys. I can see this trend going so well.
So how do you eat healthy and stay fit and thin? Eat more! That’s right, I said it: “Eat. More.” It’s just a matter of what you eat. Low-calorie-density foods, like soups and fruits and veggies, fill you up their high volume, but still have fewer calories. One apple is more filling than one cookie, but has probably half to a third as many calories. This is a theme of those new dietary guidelines, and the heart of what may be the next dieting trend. Not that I’m promoting any sort of fad diet at all…they tend to have a second feature in common, as well as the one stated above: as soon as you stop being 100% on them, you gain all the weight back. Which is worse for you than never having lost it (true fact – studies have shown that “yo-yo dieting” is extremely rough on your cardiovascular and digestive (read: insulin regulation) systems. So, you best bet is to eat all kinds of foods in healthy balance and moderate amounts. -
28Feb
If you happen to spend a lot of time staring at the back of Baltimore cars, you will notice a variety of bumper paraphernalia. There are political stickers, those notifying the world that the occupant’s child is an honors student (again!), those trumpeting their academic affiliation, the ‘Believe’ stickers (for Washingtonians, Believe is a Baltimore campaign to inspire the populace to envision a city without crime and poverty, it has not worked yet) and those stating “Eat Bertha’s Mussels.”
Never having been one to resist the arguments of a bumper sticker, I promptly took myself down to Bertha’s Mussels, a Baltimore institution in the Fells Point distinct.
Bertha’s resides in a lovely building at 734 S Broadway. The front room is a low and smoky pub, followed by a large and airy dining room outfitted in solid oak. While the menu is varied and offers a good deal of interesting appetizers and main courses, everything except for the mussels is rather expensive, and honestly, if you are going to eat anything else, why are you bothering to come? Needless to say, we all had mussels. The portions were generous, huge plates of steaming mussels and various dipping sauces, including garlic butter and spinach, Spanish sauce, garlic butter and anchovies, etc. For the healthier version, garlic broth is available in exchange for butter.
While the mussels were meaty and filling, we found them to be a little
ubbery, not as tender as we were expecting. The sauces were delicious (we went for garlic broth and spinach, and Spanish sauce), subtly seasoned and light enough not to cover the slight flavor of the mussel, and there was more then enough to use up an entire container of sauce with one order of sauce.
However, we left not entirely satisfied. Our stomachs were full of bread and mussels and garlic, but somehow we were unfilled. Two of the three of us had never eaten mussels before, and left feeling as though, while we were glad we had done it once, we never had to do it again. The third felt as thought she had fulfilled her annual obligation and would not need to consume a plate of the creatures for another year. While I would recommend eating at Bertha’s to others should they have a desire for mussels, to those looking for a nice, non-mussel specific meal there is no need to obey the bumper sticker, and eat Bertha’s mussels. -
25Feb
There have been enough raves about the Dupont Circle Levantes that a last minute change of plans was made on the way to Penang last evening. Verdict: Just fine but not necessarily worth missing -
25Feb
DCFUD-staffer NM of Seeking Irony and Bluestate is now a rock star in her own right. Or at least, an iPod DJ-star.
Check out the front page article in today’s Washington Post. -
24Feb
A friend of DCF -
24Feb
A friend of DCF
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24Feb
Just to show how ahead of common herd we are, Consumer Reports followed our lead on Cold Stone Creamery with their own expose in the current March 2005 issue, page 8-9 (you can access their website www.comsumerreports.org by subscription only).
They Say:
“The sum of a Stone Cold creation was better than its parts”.
Translation:
The ice cream when sampled alone was not as good as either Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s or even gummy and mild Baskin Robbins. Just average. With mix-ins, taste improved dramatically covering defects in texture and adding flavor complexity.
Other conclusions: Cold Stone costs about the same as the others ounce for ounce but since the smallest serving they sell is 6 oz, each individual serving is more expensive than the others. They also tell you to be sure to grab plenty of napkins – the cups are usually filled to overflowing. We know, we know.
-mhf, guest blogger -
24Feb
Today’s Haiku:
They have vitamins!
They are so vital for health!
Feh. Veggies bore me
Yesterday’s Menu:
Grilled steak with Montreal Steak Seasoning on it, no sugar yoghurt smoothie, two hard boiled eggs, some low fat cottage cheese, a cheeseburger sans bun, and a Scotch and soda at Bluestate.
I feel
Could be worse. I’ve finally discovered the world of no-sugar-added products- Peanut butter made with Splenda, chemical strawberry yoghurt, blue cheese dressing made from artificial flavoring, creamer, and more Splenda, and no-sugar chocolate mouse. Lets hear it for the diabetic-food section at Giant.
Today’s Recipe: Chocolate Popsicles- Mix 1.5 cup skim milk, 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, and 3 packets Splenda
- Pour into popsicle molds or an ice cube tray to freeze
- Mix 1.5 cup skim milk, 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, and 3 packets Splenda
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23Feb
Not sure what you’re doing tonight? I’ll tell you what you’re doing tonight, you’re going to Cafe Saint-Ex for Bluestate to watch DCFUD bloggers nm and rj3 get their groove on. Oh yes you are.
zaf and amg will be the two kids ogling the beer while morosely sipping diet soda.
