600!

Having finally found The Smoking Swine food truck and getting to my 599th Triple D visit, I was ready to get to my 600th Triple D visit!  Guy visited a few places in DC that I had been saving so that I could do my 600th at one of them and invite friend to help me celebrate.

There was one place that I had really wanted to visit as soon as I saw their Triple D episode.  "The Carving Room Kitchen and Bar" is in NW Washington DC at the corner of 4th and Massachusetts Avenue and I sent an email asking if they would be interested in hosting a group of about 15 for my 600th on a Saturday night.  A few days later they responded and said that they would love to host my 600th visit.  As the day approached I had planned to drive into DC and park on the street near the restaurant but as the day approached there were reports of rallies or protests in the city so I decided to meet with some friends in the Tyson's area and take the Metro to the Judiciary Square Metro stop, which is only about a 4 or 5 minute walk to the restaurant.

The Carving Room is a medium sized restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating.  The owners Rachel and Oded set up a special table for us and put up balloons around the table and also had special gold balloon sped into the number 600, a really nice surprise.  They greeted us as we entered the restaurant and made all of us feel at home.

The entrance to The Carving Room on 4th Street in DC

The "Guy Ate Here" pan in the open kitchen area of the restaurant

I was so flattered that my friends came to help me celebrate this milestone visit.  Dave, Sue, Barry, Nancy, Trish, Stephanie, Amy are special friends that have become great friends that I see throughout the year and they are very special to me.  Phil is a friend that I haven't seen since high school and have been wanting to do a Triple D visit with.  One of my Triple D Facebook friends, whom I have never met in person before came from New Jersey to help celebrate, I was flattered that Sebastian and Karen came, this was Seb's 390th Triple D visit.

Sebastian and Karen came from New Jersey to help celebrate

The Carving Room specializes in all types of meats everything is made in house, On their episode they made their famous Cigar appetizers and also featured some of their cured meat sandwiches and fresh cut hamburgers.  All of us at the table decided to get a couple of orders of the Cigar appetizers, which are cigar shaped spring rolls stuffed with all types of the meats they cure on site.  Each order had six cigars, 2 stuffed with Chorizo with a salsa dipping sauce, 2 stuffed with Corned Beef with a Russian Dressing dipping sauce and 2 Classic that were filled with Moroccan ground beef with a Lemon Yogurt dipping sauce. All were delicious and the Chorizo had a nice spice bite.  

The Carving Room's Cigar Combination Appetizer

All of us then ordered from the restaurants huge choice of sandwiches with at least a dozen sides to choose from.  I chose the Roast Lamb on Ciabatta with Bacon-Cheese fries on the side and a pickeled veggie garnish.  Everyone tried something different and it all looked delicious! My sandwich was great!  It had pickled cucumbers, pickled onions and a lemon yogurt sauce, which didn't overpower the sandwich but enhanced it.  The huge portion of fries were excellent!  Everyone just raved about their meal.

My meal at The Carving Room

One of the other sandwiches

Another of the great sandwiches at The Carving Room

As we were finishing Oded and Rachel came over to see how we enjoyed everything and I got both of them along with our server Alicia to sign my Triple D book.   I was also able to get one of the other restaurant diners to take pictures of our group.

Amy, Stephanie and me

Sebastian and I

Our group, a special group!

From Left to right - Nancy, Trish, Stephanie, Phil, me, Amy, Barry, Sue, Karen and Sebastian

Just before we left Oded and Rachel presented me with a T-shirt from The Carving Room and a beautiful carving board labeled "Bill's 600th Triple D visit at The Carving Room Kitchen and Bar".

What a great surprise, it's a gift that I will always treasure!

The Carving Board given to me by The Carving Room Kitchen and Bar to commemorate my 600th Triple D visit

I love the board!

Me and Rachel and Oded, the owners of The Carving Room Kitchen and Bar

As I left I was just so happy with the warm and wonderful service that Rachel, Oded and the staff gave to me and my wonderful friends.  As we left I was asked by more than a few what number 601 will be? I don't know but there will be more!  This has been a wonderful journey, I have met so many great people, some of whom have become friends and also been able to reconnect with old friends along the way, all I can say is that I am truly blessed! 

One more before the big 600

I left Louisville with my count at 598 and I started to plan for my 600th Triple D visit but still had one left before I could complete the plans.  Guy had recently visited several places in the DC area and one in Baltimore that I had yet to get to.  One of the places is a food truck that services the Baltimore area and had been a bit elusive. I saw their schedule so I planned to try and find the elusive truck.

"The Smoking Swine" is one of the most popular and successful food trucks in the Baltimore area and they were planning to participate in a twice monthly event in the town of Odenton, Maryland called "Food Truck Thursday", sponsored by the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company.  About a dozen food trucks gather in the parking lot of the firehouse to create a huge outdoor restaurant .  There are all types of food options offered including Cajun, Italian, Vegan, sandwiches, crepes, seafood and of course Barbecue, which is what The Smoking Swine specializes in.  Not only were they participating but Famous Jimmy's Seafood, another Triple D restaurant had their food truck at the event.

I arrived shortly after the trucks opened which were parked in a big square with The Smoking Swine at the top of the square.  The Fire Company sold the beverages and had tables set up both outside and up inside their large meeting hall.

Food Truck Thursday in Odenton, Maryland

Sponsored by the Odenton Volunteer Fire Department

One of their trucks

I walked around the trucks and then headed directly to The Smoking Swine truck   I looked over their menu which was pretty big considering they work out of a relatively small space and I decided to try the Pulled Pork Sandwich and the Meaty Beans, pretty much a classic barbecue meal.  I immediately recognized the owner who was taking the orders.  I asked him to sign my book and he was excited to do so and thanked me for coming by.  By the time he finished signing my order was ready and I took it inside the hall to enjoy.

The Smoking Swine food truck, Baltimore's finest food truck

I love their symbol!

The sandwich was loaded with pork and topped with a slightly spicy home made barbecue sauce on a Martin's Potato roll, my favorite roll!.  The beans were a basic baked beans but had a lot of barbecue pork and beef meat chunks stirred it and was awesome!  I met some older ladies who have volunteered at the fire company for many years, they told me about all the events they host and were very proud of the company's annual Bull Roast and Crab Feast.  They told me that the huge hall would soon be full, Food Truck Thursday is very popular!  As they left to go get their dinner, Drew came by and we talked for a few minutes about his business and he seemed to take delight in the fact that his truck had been a bit elusive for me.  He then gave me one of his bumper stickers and told me that I would agree with the message.

The Smoking Swine meal - Pulled Pork Sandwich and Meaty Beans

Pulled Pork with Sauce n a Marin's Potto Roll

Very Meaty Beans

The Smoking Swine bumper sticker that explains exactly my search for this elusive truck

After finishing I knew hat I needed to try something else, with over a dozen trucks it was a "no brainer".  I decided to try a 5 ounce Crab Cake from "Jimmy's Famous Seafood" the other Triple D truck at the event.  I had visited Jimmy's restaurant a few years back but had never tried their Crab Cake, which many have raved about.  The Crab Cake was broiled and  came with a large portion of thick cut fries and some crackers to accompany the cake.  I loved that it was served in a  Jimmy's logo box.  I can understand how many have raved abut the Crab Cake, it was probably the best I have ever had!  There was little or no cake, it was loaded with lump and claw crab mea, sweet and delicious!  Baltimore is famous for their Crab Cakes and many are great, Guy has visited a number of places on Triple D but I think that I now have a new favorite Crab Cake!

Jimmy's Famous Seafood truck

The truck menu

Love their Logo Box

All Crab, Crab Cake!  The best!

As I headed out I remembered my time living in Odenton.  In 1985 I moved to Odenton and lived there for about a year while I was working for Piedmont Airlines at Baltimore Washington International Airport which is about 10 miles north of Odenton.

Since I was in the are I decided to head into Baltimore to visit the Horseshoe Casino just inside the city.  The casino is the home to Guy's Restaurant "Guy Fieri's Baltimore Kitchen and Bar".   The place is on the first floor of the multi level casino and is open and airy.  I was seated by my server and the service throughout was very attentive.  The menu has items that any Guy fan would recognize with references to all things Guy.  They also have some items that are Baltimore centered.

Guy Fieri's Baltimore Kitchen and Bar

I was seated at a table in the corner of the restaurant and had a good view of the semi-open kitchen.  The décor is all Guy with a lot of items and nick knacks that are show related.  Each table was set with cloth napkins with the Guy skeleton logo.  I decided to try two items, the Crab Fondue and the Old Bay Chicken Wings, both Baltimore centered items.  The fondue came out with a huge portion of cheese fondue loaded with real shredded crabmeat and two large Pretzel rolls for dipping, they called them loaves and they almost right!  The 8 wings were dry rubbed with a butter Old Bay seasoning along with a Bleu Cheese Wasabi dipping sauce.  The fondue was delicious and every bite had a huge about of sweet Blue Crab meat.  The wings were unreal, I love the Old Bay seasoning and the dipping sauce had just a hint of the Wasabi making it a perfect dip for the wings.  

Guy's Open Kitchen

One of the hard working kitchen staff

Guy's Skelton logo on the cloth napkins

Guy's paper napkin

The menu

Crab Fondue

Old Bay Wings with Bleu Cheese Wasabi dipping sauce

As I headed out I passed Guy's second place in the food court area of the casino.  "Guy's Bar-B-Cue Joint'  a fast service place that features his brand of barbecue and sauces.  I was much too full to try anything, oh well I guess that means another visit!

I left Baltimore with my Triple D count at 599 and looking forward to getting to number 600!