Hungry Times Two

Guess what, folks? We've discovered the ONE redeeming thing about going to a mall during the holidays. This weekend, Scott and I joined our friend Jim, his mother visiting from Florida, and two friends of his for a dim sum extravaganza at Hollywood East Cafe in Wheaton , Md. As Scott and I had errands to run afterwards, we followed Jim in our car, and were quite perplexed when we pulled up to the Westfield Mall in Wheaton . "A mall?" I asked aloud. How could good food come from the same place that has FYE , Macy's and JC Penneys? Scott reminded me we had a pretty amazing Vietnamese experience at a strip mall in Honolulu during our honeymoon in April 2007, so I shut my trap and hoped for good things to come. I'm happy to report that Hollywood East Cafe should get a Golden Globe, nay, an OSCAR -- at least a supporting one, for its Dim sum. Now, I must admit my dim sum experience is sparse -- other than a couple lunches at Ping Pong in D.C., I got nothin .' S...

Serious Eats, a blog I follow, has a poll today concerning the restaurant trend of small plates - debating whether they are a cool, Tapas- esque thing, or a way lame attempt to cheat their patrons. I have to laugh because I'm always a little nervous when Scott and I dine somewhere that offers small plates in lieu of entree-size portions. With the opportunity to taste a variety of things, I love the concept. However, Scott is wary of anything "small" about a meal. The man requires certain amounts of food, and anything less is just a big damn shame. Recently we took two friends visiting from Nashville to a Greek/Middle Eastern place where we each selected two things to try. Between the four of us, I felt we all received enough food and the price was just fine. Scott didn't speak up to say if he was satisfied, and I didn't ask, but his raid of the pita basket to sop up the remaining sauces and bits on each plate indicated maybe not so much. Is it a total racket for ...