Last month, I went to Baltimore for work, and stayed a little while longer to hang out with friends and family.  Apart from the food at the workshop I was attending, which would be best described as “upscale dorm style/cafeteria food,” I ate very well. (Photos are posted below in gallery-style.)

First stop: lunch with EF at one of the few pho places in Baltimore, which happened to be about a block away from her house.  I was warned that the pho was “just so-so,” but after 3 days consuming the aforementioned cafeteria food, I was really craving some noodles and I wasn’t about to discriminate.  True, the rice noodles did taste a little factory-made, but the broth was good and so were the meatballs.  After lunch, we stopped by a newly opened vegan bakery for cupcakes.  The space had a cool industrial/art gallery vibe, and the guys running it were super nice.  This place wouldn’t have stood out in Berkeley or Brooklyn, but I should note that EF’s neighborhood is the very antithesis of Berkeley (i.e poor and black), and so it was really interesting to see a cheerful bakery brightening the urban landscape.

For dinner, EF, her boyfriend (now fiance… congrats, guys!), and I went to one of their favorite restaurants: The Brewer’s Art.  Delicious microbrewed beer and one of the best damn cheeseburgers I have ever had.  It was juicy, fresh, and cooked to perfection.  I also dug the dark interior of the basement, which in some ways made the food even more delicious, because I wasn’t expecting such good food to come out of a pseudo-divey place.

The next day, my sister treated EF and I to a sushi buffet lunch at Yuraku, which I’ve blogged about before, so I won’t belabor the point except to say it was great.

The feeding frenzy continued at a cozy dinner party at T&E’s.  T made chicken piccata from one of Giada’s cookbooks and served it over a bed of couscous.  She also made a fabulous salad of field greens with cherry tomatoes, candied pecans, and croutons (much like the one I daydreamed about previously).  I was very thankful that T graciously honored my request to serve the crumbled goat cheese on the side, instead of mixing it in with the salad.

Cheese-related aside: I know it’s probably very shocking to some of you, and in fact I myself am quite embarrassed, that I, as a foodie, do not like goat cheese. But alas, it’s true. Goat cheese makes me want to vomit. It is some sort of nasty byproduct of the Devil’s waste. Blech.

Anyway! Back to the tasty meal.  Dessert was a super delicous chocolate cake served a la mode.  After dinner, we worked off some calories with several hours of Wii Fit, which was mostly fun but occasionally embarrassing (especially the soccer ball heading task.  God, I suck at that.)

The next day was a blur, as I did my couch potato thing and watched about 10 hours of March Madness.  I sat on my sister’s new recliner and ate junk food all day: Costco pizza, chicken wings, and lemon meringue pie. It was awesomely indulgent, but I felt a little queasy after it was all over.

Finally, my last meal involved noodles (hooray!) and bubble tea from another branch of Asia Taste, which I blogged about before.  EF and I actually got to the place too early — the bubbles weren’t cooked yet, and it was going to be another 45 minutes.  So, we decided to eat our noodles and then order our bubble teas to go.  Despite my bubble tea fanaticism and our 6+ years of friendship, EF had never tried it before.  I don’t really blame her since she’s never lived anywhere with trustworthy bubble tea.  I mean, I wouldn’t touch bubble tea from Chapel Hill, NC with a 100 foot pole, no matter how desperate I am.  Anyway, so I think EF was really glad to hold on to her bubble tea virginity for as long as she did, because her first experience was a good one.  I was glad too, relieved that she was not frightened by the chewiness of the bubbles (or pearls), as many people are.  Success!

You know how sometimes food is delicious not just because it tastes good, but because it symbolizes something special?  For me, In-N-Out is like that.  First of all, I don’t eat fast food very often, so to eat at a fast food chain is a rare and special occasion.  Second, I only associate In-N-Out with road trips, since the closest one is about 8 miles north on the freeway, and who doesn’t love road trips?  Third, there is the feeling of being “in the know” at In-N-Out.  Their bare-bones menu belies the secret code to getting what you want.  Sure, the menu might read “cheeseburger,” (boring!) but what you should order is a double-double-animal-style.  What does that mean?  It’s a double cheeseburger (double cheese, double burger) with grilled onions and their special “animal style” sauce.  Which I think is something like thousand island dressing, much like McD’s Big Mac “special sauce.”  I imagine that knowing the secret code was much cooler pre-internet, since In-N-Out actually posts a glossary of not-so-secret terms on their website.

The one thing that’s not stellar about In-N-Out?  Their fries.  You won’t hear me say this too often, but they’re not greasy enough, and they taste like cardboard. But maybe if you dip them into a thick shake, they’ll taste better?

The neon lights beckoned to us from the freeway...

The hardworking crew of In-N-Out workers, right as a busload of people entered the restaurant.

My meal: cheeseburger animal style, fries, root beer. Yum.

I can haz cheezburger?

Neopolitan shake

Close up of a double-double animal style

A double-double is no joke -- it's massive!