American eats......

"List out your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location."

TAFKA PP has rudely tagged me with the above demand in my temporary address in the States which I'm not happy about but seeing as she said such lovely things about me and I'm being nagged and haven't written for ever....

Disclaimer: In comparison with Israel, everywhere in this part of the States is really rubbish. Generally expensive rubbish too. I'm going to utilise a little bit of poetic license in my choices. There is one exception so far in terms of places to eat, namely my first choice:

1) David Chu's, Baltimore. Baltimore is a 40 minute drive late at night which is when I usually make my return journey. David Chu's takeaway closes at 10:00 - they don't like people like me who come in at 9:55 but still serve with grace. Run by Chinese, everything I've had off the extensive menu so far is tasty and comes in huge portions which are good value for money. A lot better than any of the other kosher Asian places that I've eaten at (albeit that's a limited list). Worth a drive to get to.

2) I'm a big fan of the Deli sandwich. Stuffed full of meat, served with mustard and pickle, the rye bread sandwich is something which Americans do well. Although Eli's in DC has an atmosphere, the grill section in Kosher Mart, Rockville, the kosher Supermarket around the corner from my office trumps them. The 3 meat sub with fries and coleslaw works for me, as does the corned beef on rye or chopped liver sandwiches. No style, plenty of overstuffed substance.

3) We've eaten plenty of pizza whilst we've been here. Ben Yehuda is closest and the owner is a lovely guy who is shortly making Aliyah. Mama Leah (again, close to the office in Rockville) probably takes the taste and originality test.

4) Now here's where I'm diverting from the script; not a restaraunt (quite frankly I've finished with anything worth mentioning) but a very honorable mention goes to Trader Joe's. The funkiest market you can imagine, with very reasonable prices with so much kosher stuff that they actually have a guide to Kashrut symbols on their website. Kosher meat, bread, pickles, cereals, olives, cheeses, chili lime tortillas, sun dried tomato Humus (great idea, tastes like glue but "A" for effort) - you get the idea. My very favourite product line from this store is their pizza dough - you buy a bag of dough (regular, whole wheat or garlic and herbs) which is enough to make a 10 inch pizza at the princely cost of .99c - this brings me neatly on to my last choice - the best place to eat in this part of the world.....

5) Chez Gilly - this (soon to be) Mom and Pop outfit, sources the best, freshest ingredients (including home grown herbs) according to what's in season and depending on what takes their fancy on any given evening. From roast beef to sushi, meatballs to moroccan fish (trying a new recipe for shavuot), the pizza with 2 cheeses, fresh mushrooms, sun-dried tomatos and marinated artichokes is a Sunday night staple. Baked goods by Mrs Gilly have to be tasted to be believed. Recently fresh asparagus has been on the menu along with a variety of fish experiments. Shabbat invitations liberally extended if you're in the area.

Other memes in this series:

Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Kat (Ontario, Canada)
Cheezy (London, England)
tafka PP (Jerusalem, Israel)
Gilly (Maryland, USA)

Chag Sameach,

Gilly