Death Star!

I have not forgotten about the cake - well, maybe I did forget to post pictures. . .

Here is the Death Star cake, rendered in chocolate raspberry and fondant, by the incredibly talented and creative Chef Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes and soon to be seen on Ace of Cakes. I can't recommend his work highly enough. Working with him and his manager again has been yet another great experience. And in a month or so, I'll be contacting them again to do a cake for my parents' 40th anniversary in December. We're thinking about doing an air hockey table, since the two of them love to compete against one another.

Keep in mind that my lightsaber is 14" long. This cake was about that tall and that wide. As we carried it from the lobby, where it was dropped off by a very pleasant Charm City Cakes employee, to our room, we received many "that's CAKE?!" exclamations. You could smell the sweetness (fondant will do that) - and that drew an actress from Farcape into the room - I had to be told later who she was. Oops. Maybe I should watch the show.

Anyhow - onto the cake!





A photo of the chocolate and raspberry cake. Dark enough for the Death Star, wouldn't you say?



Sha proves that the best way for the Jedi to beat such darkness is to consume it. With a smile!



The cake was a huge hit and we were loathe to cut into it. But, as you can see, we managed to get past that and enjoy every bite!

And back yet again

Yes, I have posts to put up! We're back from Otakon, and recovering from the crowds. Now that cons are done for a little while, I'm going to try to catch up here. Though, of course, I'm not really done - there's preparing for the exhibitors' hall for U-Con in November. And, of course, there's always renfaire on the weekends from now until October.

For now, though, just a few shots from McCormick & Schmick's Grill at the Inner Harbor, from lunch yesterday. It's always a bonus when we can be seated without anyone giving a second look at any costuming - Roo actually received compliments instead on the black and red ao dai she was wearing, even though she added an obi, which she used to hold her sword. Ah, kids today!

First: My mixed greens salad. That's really all it was. Just... mixed greens. Mixed greens that looked and tasted suspiciously like the packages in the supermarket.



Roo was much happier with her French onion soup:



Our entrees came. I have been in a tilapia mood lately. The flavors were nice, at least what I could tell under all the salt that was used. I know I'm strange, though, and have a low tolerance for salty things, so this was probably very good:



Roo loved her chicken parmesan:



But most of all, she loved the creme brulee. She's such a little fiend for the stuff.



On the whole, not a bad tourist-area type meal. Not something I'd be in any rush to get back to, but I understand they're highly recommended.

I did not take photos of our dinner at J. Paul's since I had forgotten I had it with me. They steamed the crab with garlic, which was an unusual, but very interesting flavor. The rockfish I'd ordered came swimming in a buttery salty sauce that I just couldn't handle. Now, this was definitely MY fault for not reading the menu thoroughly. Had I realized it was a buttery sauce, I would have ordered something else. The server asked why I didn't touch the fish, only eating the vegetable and some of the rice and I did tell him. He whisked it away and insisted on taking it off the bill, even though I took full responsibility for the fact that I didn't care for it. I was the one not being observant, it certainly wasn't the kitchen's fault.

We sat outdoors, there, too, and enjoyed people watching. Watching the mundanes watching Otakon con-goers was a LOT of fun, too.

I still have to post photos from when JT and I went to Sole Food in Philadelphia. And, of course, tomorrow there should be pictures, depending upon where my husband wants to go for his birthday dinner.