Tag Archives: dining

Day 102: Mr. Kraemer

Poor guy - we made Daniel take a picture with my friend Amy.

Poor guy – we made Daniel take a picture with my friend Amy.

All too often we only reach out to restaurants, hotels and other service oriented businesses when we are disappointed with the experience. But today’s letter is all about letting a local business know that their employee was phenomenal. If you go to Cafe Dupont for dinner, I highly recommend requesting Daniel as your waiter.

Bon appetit!

Day 102 Silvan

Mr. Kraemer,

What a wonderful experience we had at Cafe Dupont on April 5th. Our server, Daniel, was excellent – his ability to be knowledgeable while balancing professionalism and wit made it most enjoyable. I wanted you to know but please also share my compliments with Daniel and his supervisor.

Best regards,
Reed Sandridge

Day 33: Chef Janny, Bistro Blanc

Wow…what a crazy end to the Super Bowl last night – I still can’t believe it.

Photo: Newsweek.com

Photo: Newsweek.com

Photo: Jen Rynda

Photo: Jen Rynda

Today’s handwritten letter recipient and Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady have something in common. They’re all about texture. When questioned about Deflategate, Brady said that it was all about the texture of the footballs.

Chef Janny Kim of Bistro Blanc in Glenelg, MD agrees, “I’m all about texture.” He was referring to food though, not footballs. The 28-year-old self-taught chef is delighting customers at this Howard County hidden gem. I was with a group of friends at the Chef’s Table that featured a 10 course mouth-watering menu.

Pillows of RIce: fermented sesame leaf, roasted peanut curry, toasted peanut and micro shiso

Pillows of Rice: fermented sesame leaf, roasted peanut curry, toasted peanut and micro shiso

The aerated celery soup, the grouper, suckling pig, the 29 day dry-aged ribeye and spicy dark chocolate ganache were my favorites, but they were all very good. I’ve never written a chef to tell them that I enjoyed there food – but why not?

I even found a postage stamp that featured Edna Lewis – famed James Beard awarded chef known for her southern style culinary creations.

BistroBlanc-2

Chef Janny,

Suckling Pig with nuoc mam pickled vegetables and leek emulsion

Suckling Pig with nuoc mam pickled vegetables and leek emulsion

I had the distinct pleasure of dining at your Chef’s Table Saturday evening. I live in downtown Washington, DC and have dined in wonderful restaurants here as well as in New York, Chicago, Lima, Sao Paulo, Paris, Madrid, Florence, London, etc. The food that you created for us was worthy of the coveted Michelin stars. Your intense flavors, complimenting textures and stunning presentation are a clear result of your passion and commitment to culinary excellence.

Thank you, it was outstanding!
Reed Sandridge

BistroBlanc