A Nice Discovery in Kentlands: Hot Breads

When my feet keeps circling around purposelessly, I know they are leading me to some special place. A morning that began at the small Kentlands farmer’s market without anything finding its way to my canvas bag, was followed by a search for a gas station in fear of being stranded. Just as I was about to give up, but still letting my instincts lead me, I noticed the bright colors of the station across the street. When I pulled up to the station, I saw the real reason for my tires leading me in this direction: “Hot Breads Bakery”

Despite the curiosity of my brain, I managed to satisfy my gas tank first. And as soon as I could, I walked in the Hot Breads Bakery only to face a beautiful, colorful cake display. In various shapes and flavors, most importantly, in slices. When you have an appetite and curiosity like mine, it seems wasteful to spend it on one large cake. So, I could try a number of things in this place, without having to buy big cakes. After a couple of minutes, I turned around to discover the real delicacies, a number of croissants, and puff pastries filled with exotic ingredients like chili, paneer cheese, etc.

But the real winner was behind the display: Thanks to the Indian family who had come in before me, I could see the warm and crispy pockets of tandoori chicken wraps coming out of the oven. And I knew they were exactly what I wanted. Matched with a perfectly balanced mango lassi, they became the best “fast lunch” I had in a long time. You may consider the $6.50 wrap a little on the expensive side especially with the not so large American-style filled to the rim exploding with ingredients size, but you will not look back once you had a bite. The tender chicken is nicely balanced with the spices, and is a nice contrast with the cool lettuce and the crispy yet thin bread wrapping the ingredients in a nice pocket. And of course my mango lassi is the perfect accompaniment.

If you have space left, you may want to try a slice of the many types of cakes. But if, like me, you want to hang on to the happy taste in your mouth, I recommend that you get a couple to go to share with those at home or in the office. That way you can probably match it with a good latte or espresso as well, instead of the runny filtered coffee at the shop.

Hot Breads Café offers a variety of savory and sweet pastries in addition to cakes, cookies, and a number of sandwiches and wraps. Kentlands has a variety of options when it comes to food, however if you are short on time, don’t want to circle for a parking spot, or prefer something easy to grab and go, give this place a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised…

Hot Breads Bakery 7 Cafe: 70 Market Street (Kentlands), Gaithersburg, MD 20878

(301) 977-1919 http://www.hotbreadsmddc.com/

A Pleasant Lunch at Black Market

It had been a while since I had pizza at Black Market. There were always other attractive items on the menu, and recently, the pizza oven was broken. Plus, I rarely find my way there for lunch, and crave for other items during dinner.

But on this lovely summer day, when I wanted to take a friend of mine away from the worries of work environment for his birthday, I led him to the Black Market (he kept asking as I drove "where are we going?" and I kept it as a secret "you're going to love it"). By the time we pulled in, he was pleasantly surprised "this is soo cute!" - as most of the people I've taken to Black Market...

If it wasn’t for his suit, we would probably sit outside, but with the open windows, it was still very pleasant and airy inside. As he talked on his phone, I let the servers know it was his birthday, and no, we didn't get any special treatment, in terms of service or the bill...

A birthday deserves champagne – even though the only glass of sparkling wine you can get at Black Market is cava. Prosecco would be a better choice, but is offered only in a bottle. The good news is the cava is served in tall flutes, probably in about 1,5 serving of what you’d get anywhere else, so you can enjoy it longer.

My eyes look for my beloved grilled octopus salad as an appetizer, but it is served only as an entrée at lunch, and even though I’ve been here for at least 4-5 times in the past 2 months, the server did not offer to make one as an appetizer, which I find a little disappointing.

My friend picked the lentil soup, and we proceeded with two orders of pizza. The server was now alive, telling us that the pizza kitchen was new, and that they’d like to get our feedback.

My friend was happy with his soup, and we both were very satisfied with the thin, crispy pizzas that were delivered as soon as his soup was cleared. His margherita was a nice lace-like design of thin slices of mozzarella, tomato and basil. My sopressata pizza was a spicy concoction of hot peppers, thin crust, and a perfect sprinkle of cheese. If one must find any fault with those pizzas, it can only be the size. There is no way one can eat a whole pizza alone for lunch, so I would suggest that you share perhaps a salad and a pizza with your companion, especially if you are planning to have dessert.

There is always an ice cream or gelato of the day at Black Market, and a couple other specials. Our mango panna cotta was a good refresher for a summer day, yet was not the classic Italian dessert we were looking for. But on a nice summer day, a fruity milk dessert is the perfect ending to a laid back summer lunch, especially when accompanied by a good Illy coffee. Only if we could have stayed all afternoon and enjoyed the tender light of the sun peeking through the leaves of the mature trees for a walk… But work awaits, and Black Market deserves many more visits…

Tackled in a Box, by way of Maine

“A cute Main Lobster Shack” is the description many articles I read about this place said. "Fresh fish prepared simply" emphasized the most. It tantalized my curiosity, so at the first opportunity I could, I find my feet leading me through the door of Tackle Box in Georgetown. It is almost noon, yet, there is no line, and only one young father having lunch at the communal table with his daughter sleeping in the stroller... I guess this is a good sign of desirable noise levels in the busy neighborhood of Georgetown.

The decor is that of a shack, with nice picnic tables designed as a communal table, and couple of stools lined up by the window. The ordering process is very simple - a big and colorful blackboard tels you the options and since there is one price for a typical platter, all you need to focus on is what to pick. The Main Meal is probably what most people order - $13 gets you one fish (or another seafood choice) done crispy or grilled, one sauce, and two side dishes. You can also get rolls ($19 for lobster roll, definitely not Maine prices!), appetizers (clam chowder, peel-and-eat shrimp, etc.), or other items like grilled hot dogs or chorizo. I guess there are people who don't like seafood in this world... Oh, they also have Lobster Pot - which, if I lived closeby, I'd be ordering quite often.

I like my fish grilled in general, so the blue fish seems to be the best choice. Sweet potato fries, grilled broccoli, and grilled lemons complete my order. The process is easy, and you can sit and watch your food being cooked. The food is served – I presume – in biodegradable disposable plates. The guy cooking the food, even though attentive, doesn’t seem to care much, and I am not sure if it is his attitude or the minimal effort he puts to it, but my plate turns to be less than what I expected. Grilled broccoli has no flavor other than broccoli, and it is a little too raw, even for someone who likes her food on the less cooked side. The fries are warm but seem to have absorbed a little too much oil then what I'd ahev liked. The fish seems fresh, but a little bit of salt and pepper probably would bring out the flavor. Plus, maybe because I was there before noon, I guess they lit the grill for me, so it lacks the marks and the crispiness from the grill on one side. The grilled lemon certainly could have been put on fire a little earlier, I am not sure if my inattentive cook forgot to time it right, or if it is supposed to come “warmed up” as opposed to “grilled”.

Overall, I was happy to have a nice piece of fresh fish for lunch, and I'd probably go back to try other things. I'd definitely go for more "juicy" sauces" as the grilled fish on its own doesn't have that much flavor, neither does broccoli (but I heard another customer raving about the grilled asparagus).

As I was getting ready to leave I saw more people coming in to give it a try, which is a good thing. I think this place will deliver better food when it is buzzing because then they don't have to play with the temperatures, and if that happens, I see that it could become quite popular. For now, I hope the lack of crowds are because of my visit in mid-August. And I hope it is the reason for my fish being cooked on a not so hot grill at the beginning. I think Tackle Box is worth another try and another chance, because it has a unique promise in our "frozen or expensive fish" city. If the owners pay a little more attention to training, and if the cooks pay a little more attention to instructions, I think we may have a “cute Maine lobster shack” to keep in Washington.

Tackle Box: 3245 M St NW, Washington DC 20007

Phone: 202.337.TBOX (8269) http://www.tacklebox-dc.com/