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It was just too nice today to sit around. So, last minute TheDadReport crew ran up to Baltimore to catch the Orioles vs. Yankees (cuz the Nats were out of town). It was hard to tell who the home team was. There were as many Yankee fans as O’s fans. Reminds me of a Nats game last year vs. Cubs, it was a sea of Cub blue. Hate that shit. In fact just today Tom Boswell wrote about Gnat President Stan Kasten inviting Philly fans down to Nats town, wtf? Put real MLB playas on the field and we won’t have to ask hated rivals like Philly to bring down some more of their obnoxious ilk. For that matter, you could put my daughter’s softball team out there and I’d still never want a Philly, Cub, Marlin or Met fan in the house.  Read more »

We love us some pancakes here at TheDadReport.com. I like mine with Diet Coke the elixir of the Gods. Anyhoot, my long time best friend Joel (he, another elixir/pancake aficionado) turned us on to a home version that beats ALL comers. The recipe is from GQ magazine, May 2008.

“OH MY FUCKING GOD these are FUCKING GREAT PANCAKES.” Can you believe my wife talks like that? Actually she doesn’t, it’s what I was thinking upon first orgasmic bite. Good thing my kids can’t read minds, or this blog. They really are that good. Oddly I couldn’t find a link to them so I typed em up here with my own little paws. Try them and let me know what you think.

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GQ’s UnGodly Buttermilk Pancake Recipe

- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 cup whole or low fat milk
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled plus additional butter for frying
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Mix with a fork to combine.  In a small bowl, beat together the buttermilk, milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a fork just until combined.  (a few small lumps
are okay, don’t over mix).  The batter can sit for up to an hour.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat.  Add a tablespoon or two of butter. When it begins to froth, use a large spoon to pour the batter into the pan.  Don’t overcrowd.  No more than three pancakes will fit in a 12-inch skillet.  If desired, press mix-ins (blueberries, etc) into the pancakes at this point.

When bubbles are visible through the batter on the uncooked surface and edges are golden brown, after about 4 or 5 minutes, flip.  Cook 2 to 3 minutes more.  Serve with warm maple syrup and more butter.

Makes 12 four-inch pancakes

Took the DadReport crew to UMD the other night to see the lady Terps beat up on BC. Driving home from the game I’m thirsty as a rat with anti-coagulant poison boiling in his throat. So I decide to pull into McDonalds for a Grande Elixir of the Gods.

As I’m pulling into the drive-thru Erin pipes up from the back seat:
“What are we going to McFatty’s for?”

God help me but I love food that’s not salad.  Recently TheDadReport.com crew headed out to one of our favorite places, the venerable Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street, NW. The Bill Cosby is THE thing to have. Half-smoke, split and grilled, mustard, onions, steamed bun all smothered in Ben’s chili. Fries are great, so are the hamburgers. If you happen to be at Ben’s while we’re there, watch out for your safety when the Bill Cosbys hit the table. If you’ve ever seen a tree chipping machine you’ll know what I’m talking about . . . keep fingers, hands and clothes AWAY from the maw of the eating machine. Not only is the food fantastic, the people are crazy nice. There’s always a line, take cash cuz they don’t take plastic. Check out a few pics from the feast.

Go there, now.

We’ve been doing pretty good at staying out of McDonalds, especially with the girls. Every once in a while it’s the answer, like today. So we’re sitting there and Erin is looking at her Happy Meal.

Erin, “Ba da da da da ta . . . I’m not loving it”

On my own last night with my two little beauty queens. We’re batting around ideas for dinner. Austen just had her braces tightened so she was thinking something soft.

Me, “What about pancakes?”
Austen, “Yeah, that sounds good, I’m gonna get the chocolate chip pancakes.”
Me, “Erin, whaddya think, IHOP for pancakes?”
Erin, (grasping her stomach and bent over in faux pain) “Ughh, IHOD . . . here it comes.”

Quick note here for Upper Crust Bakery in Colesville, Md. (Intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Randolph Road) For several years we’ve been getting holiday pies from UCB, they are fantastic. They also have great breads, check the NY Rye. The rugelachs are without question the best in the area that I’ve tried. They offer 3 flavors, Chocolate, Raisin and Raspberry. My mother-in-law, (an authentic Jewish mother-in-law from Chicago) agrees that these are THE best rugelach, that is saying something. The cherry pie is just delicious, wonderful flavor, excellent crust and the top is coated with big granular sugar. As posted before, I like Woodmore Pastry in 4 corners for dinner rolls, hamburger/hot dog buns . . . and donuts . . . mmmm.

Got Milk? If you drive a little past Upper Crust on New Hampshire Ave. you can pick up some farm fresh milk from Heyser Farms to wash it all down.
The milk is delivered from an organic farm in Pennsylvania. In fact, it’s the same people who supply milk to some of the local Whole Foods Markets. The milk comes in real glass containers! The clinking noise they make takes me back to being a kid. My 2 growing daughters love the taste. There is a charge for each glass container, but it’s refunded with your next purchase.  Support the little guys, they need it more than ever now.

After we hit the mall in DC we invariably stop at Matchbox for some outstanding food. We always try to get there a little after the normal rush times of lunch and dinner. Even so, expect some wait time. We LOVE the 3-6-9 mini burgers . . . brioche buns, angus beef and unreal onion strings, whoa. (3-6-9 is how they come, you can get any multiple of 3) The girls love the mini’s. Pizza is superb, we “create our own” with zesty tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. Don’t miss the apple/pear salad, it’s fresh and delicious every time. Read more »

Oh God.

Just about every morning I go to Einstein Bros Bagels to get a bagel and the elixir of the Gods commonly known as Diet Coke. I then stroll into Starbucks next door, sit down, eat and read.

Also just about every day I pass 1, sometimes 4 people asking me for money. I try to discern whether these people really need my help or are just attempting to get money for another purpose. I have no way of being sure. Admittedly I use a flawed system of simply looking at said person, euphemistically called “hobos” by my young daughters.

Again, this is a flawed method, but one of the hobos has a cell phone, thus she don’t rate in my mind. The others wear different clothes every day, are super clean and have shoes, good decent shoes. I know, I know, describing people that way is lazy and uninformed. I’m describing the regulars to contrast with the guy I call “The Einstein Man.” I call him that because he has wild grey hair reminiscent of Albert.

I see The Einstein Man every once in a while. He is completely and utterly filthy. He has no shoes, only rags tied around his feet. He talks to himself. He never asks for anything. The few times I’ve see him he’s invariably digging through trash cans looking for food. Man. That does rate in my book.

So, a few weeks ago I buy him a bagel, take it outside to where he was laying down and give it to him. He said, “Thanks.” I felt pretty decent. Read more »

We’re talking about real ice cream here kids. No Slenderita in sight at the University of Maryland Dairy. This is one of our favorite places to get ice cream. We like our ice cream here at The Dad Report. The trouble is the hours of operation make it tough to frequent. Open only Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm. That’s a tough pull for most working adults.

If you can make it, its definitely worth the effort. Washington Times writer Karen Goff just wrote a nice article on “The Dairy”. I’m really pleased she did because the place is so unknown outside the school. I hope more people will make the effort to go. My favorite flavor is Fear the Turtle. Oooohhhh, white chocolate with caramel and pecan goodness. It is hard to explain how good it is so I won’t try except to say this is creamy ice cream with tons of flavor. Erin always goes for the super flavorful lime sorbet. (I know, sorbet in a great ice cream place) Austen usually tries a different ice cream flavor each time. ALL of it is great.

The Dairy is located right off of Route 1, next to the UMD Visitors Center. There is a small parking lot right there, but pay attention to those 30 minute meters or that $3 ice cream will quickly become extremely expensive.