Gluten free concessions at Oriole's Stadium

Catching the O's play a home game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards?  Don't know what you will eat and drink while your friends down hot dogs and beer?

Worry no more!  Below is a list of gluten free concessions available at the ballpark during the 2014 MLB season [list courtesy of www.glutenfreephilly.com]:

@Eutaw Street (Near east side entrance of the stadium)

• Jack Daniel's Grill- bacon on a stick 
• Dempsey's Brew Pub & Restaurant-  The Dempsey, Catcher's Cobb, Steak and Baby Arugula salads and bacon on a stick
• Eutaw Market- Go Picnic meals 
• Boog's BBQ- Beef, pork and turkey sandwiches

@Inside the Stadium

• Das Sausage House (Sections 1, 43, 73, 326)- Old Bay sausages; Italian sausages; Esskay hot dogs  
• TAKO Korean BBQ (near Section 53)-  Pad Thai cold noodle salad; Beef and chicken tacos [on corn tortilla]
• Seasons Pizza (Sections 37, 222, 270, 366)- gluten free pizza [plain, maybe pepporoni too?]
• All-Star Cafe (Club Level)- BBQ Beef, pork and turkey sandwiches
• Various concessions throughout: Gluten-free beer [Redbridge, I believe...]

Leave a comment with your experience being gluten free at Oriole Park, or if you come across any other gluten-free finds!

February Guest Blogger Recipe: Lazy Man's Sushi

This month's guest blogger recipe--the first of the new year--comes to us from Brian M., a local engineer and product designer.  Brian also helps run Baltimore Food Makers, a group of people who thrive on having a close connection with where their food comes from. Read on as he describes a simple and customizable dish for those of us craving sushi, but too lazy/busy to make it! 

Lazy Man’s Sushi  

How is it that sushi elevates rice to such a higher level of sophistication?  Even if you’re not using raw fish, a simple cucumber roll would at first glance seem much more decadent than just a bowl full of rice.  True the ceremony of grasping singular slices of a sushi roll, each optimally dipped only momentarily into a tiny dish of ink dark soy sauce before resting gently on your tongue via chop sticks does cause the eater to appreciate the subtle flavors and textures more.  But when I’m throwing together lunch at the office, I rarely have the time for such eating extravagances.  Rather, I’m looking for some good, quick wholesome fuel for the rest of the day - something that satisfies all categories of carbs, protein, acidic and salty.  

Enter Lazy Man’s Sushi.  It’s all of the ingredients in an average sushi roll, but just mixed together in a big bowl.  The short grain brown rice mitigates the blood sugar bomb that is often associated with large amounts of white rice and the heavy amount of toasted sesame seeds adds some much needed crunch to an otherwise soft dish.

Ingredients*:

• Short grain brown rice, 3/4 cup
• Sesame seeds, 1/3 cup
• Rice wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons
• Nori seaweed, 2 sheets
• Canned tuna or sardines (optional), ½ can
• Olive or sesame oil (optional), 2 tablespoons
• Tamari, gluten free (optional), to taste

*quantities listed makes 1 meal for 1 person – scale as needed

Directions:

1. Pour rice into a pan, add 1 ¼ cups of water, & bring to a boil.
2. Once at a boil, reduce the heat to a very low simmer.
3. Simmer the rice for 45 minutes. 
4. While the rice is cooking, toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan on the stove top or in the oven.  Turn the seeds frequently so that they are evenly toasted--nicely browned but not burnt. 
5. When the rice has cooked for 45 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. 
6. Mix the vinegar into the rice until evenly distributed. 
7. Add toasted sesame seeds to the rice, and stir to distribute. 
8. If using fish, place the fish in a small bowl and mix with the oil until well coated.
9. Stir fish into the rice and sesame seeds.  (Note: if not using canned fish, a small amount of tamari/soy sauce can be mixed in as a substitute to supply salt to the dish)
10. Crumble the sheets of nori with your hands until in small pieces and add to the mixture. 
11. Enjoy!

We're Back!

Hello loyal readers,

Thanks for sticking with us through our hiatus.  We're bummed there wasn't a January Guest Blogger--but that just means February's will have to be super awesome!  In the meantime, here's a product review to wet your appetite (pun intended):

We finally got to try Woodchuck Hard Cider's Winter seasonal/limited release!  It's currently available by the 12 oz. bottle at Max's Taphouse in Fells Point.  This naturally gluten-free beverage is described by the company as follows:

"Somewhere between a delicate snowflake drifting down to your tongue and a hard-packed snowball to the teeth, the power of this winter Cider is a balanced culmination of Premium French and Traditional American Oak, giving the cider great complexity and broad characteristics that neither style could produce on its own."

So what'd we think?

It was good, but not great.  I can't quite put my finger on the flavor, but it went down smoothly.  Since it's on the drier side, it's easier to have several of these than of, say, the Amber.  I must admit, I thought it was supposed to taste like blueberries...turns out that's the Summer edition, so that was a let down.  I want to try it again without the expectation of fruit!

Overall: B+

If you want to try this flavor--hurry to your local bar or beer distributor!  The Winter edition is only available Nov, Dec, & Jan.  The locator on the Woodchuck website lists 58 places in the Baltimore area where the Winter Ltd. can be found: click here to find the location nearest you.

On a side note, Max's carries several varieties of Woodchuck; I saw at least 4 varieties in the fridge.  I believe they have a cider on tap, but I forget the brand.  Also, the bartender was knowledgable about gluten-free! I made a comment about being 'allergic to beer' and he automatically said, "Oh, gluten?" [and then allowed me to sub grilled-chicken for the beer beef chilli on the nachos :-)].

Cheezy's, Meet27, & more...

Hello again, dear readers,

It has been a whirlwind few weeks, so my apologies in the delay in posting.  But that means I have quite the roundup for you!  First on the list, Cheezy's Pizza & Subs in Towson:

I finally made it out to Towson to eat at Cheezy's.  Located in an unassuming building at the corner of Joppa Road and Loch Raven Blvd, this gluten-free-friendly establishment totally hit the spot!  I asked about a gluten-free menu and the friendly and helpful woman behind the counter brought it out right away.  There are so many choices--not just pizza!  We settled on a gf crabcake (which comes with a side salad) and a cheese pizza with mushrooms.  While Still Riding Pizza is not my favorite crust, Cheezy's delicious cheese makes up for it.  It's the kind that browns a little bit on top, which I love.  I've ordered pretty much this same pizza at Brick Oven Pizza (BOP) in Fells Point, and Cheezy's version was better.

The crabcake was the first I'd had since living in Maryland as well as since becoming gluten-free.  I really enjoyed it, as did my gluten-eating-able friend.  Then again, I can't remember what a glutenous one tastes like, so true crab aficionados may be disappointed.  My two qualms are that it's kind of expensive for what you get (I think $10.99 for 1 medium-sized crab-cake + side salad) and that it doesn't come with any sauce.  We easily remedied this with honey mustard dressing, which we actually put on everything we ordered.  Seriously, if you haven't tried honey mustard on pizza, you should...it's amazing!

Oh and GREAT news, brought to you 1st by bMoreGlutenFree: According to the staff, Cheezy's will soon be getting a dedicated gluten-free fryer!!!!  Cross-contamination-free fries galore! (French fries are bMoreGlutenFree's favorite food.)  All in all, my experience at Cheezy's was great--this news, just the cherry on top--and I cannot wait to go back and try the rest of their gf menu.

Moving forward, late last night I ate at Meet27 on the edge of Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood for the second time.  I can say for certain, my friends, that my delicious first experience was not a fluke--the food at this place is legit!  You can visit my yelp for the review of my 1st visit: bMoreGlutenFree's Meet27 Yelp review.  Anyway, we sat at the bar (which still doesn't have alcohol despite having a liquor license...so confusing...) since it was late and we just wanted a little nosh.  My friend and I split 3 appetizers: the french fries, the vegetable fritters, and the crab momos...or something like that I can't really remember the name.  Simply put, Meet27 knows how to make amazing sauces and dips. They're so good I can't handle it.

My favorite was the crab things, which were like cold Vietnamese-style spring rolls.  They were a great complement to the fried and crispy fries and fritters.  I had heard awesome things about the fritters, so perhaps that's why I was slightly disappointed by them.  Not to say they weren't good--particularly dipped in the tamarind and mint chutney--but they also weren't stellar.  The fries were just as good as I remembered from my first visit, especially dipped in the spicy mayo stuff that I love love love.  Again, I didn't use the peach ketchup (they do not have 'regular' ketchup), because I hate peach and, honestly, can't even fathom why anyone would want their ketchup to taste like fruit.

The Meet27 visit was on the heels of several Sweet Sin trips, which may become problematic since I now live in Charles Village.  I should just give them my credit card to keep on file; I swear I've already spent hundreds of dollars at that place.  Their veggie tacos are just too good to avoid for, like, more than a week or two.  The rice, avocado, cilantro, and of course spicy sauce, feels like a beautiful rainbow dancing in my mouth.  Sweet Sin is also my go to place for Kombucha, which at $4.00 is much more than it'd cost you at Whole Foods (≈ $3.15, I believe) or other grocers.  But I'm just happy they stock it!

I think that'll be it for this post. . .  Maybe soon I will write about my trips to Philly/Jersey and Annapolis.  If you are traveling to either of these [or other] places, feel free to ask suggestions in the comments section--hopefully I or another reader will be able to help! Also in the works are Charles Village and Fells Point overviews and a guide to eating GF on Hopkins' medical campus.

Thanks for visiting, tell your friends, and stay tuned!