10 Cool Places To Start Eating

Start with something that you know you'll like. My first tastes of HoCo were dates over sushi and Indian food, so don't believe this is a county of white bread. Horchata. Masala dosa. A night outside with ice cream. Try something fun.

10) Papad at Desi Bazaar in Columbia or Apna Bazar in Laurel -- an Indian cracker that you toast over your gas range, converting a staple from your pantry into exotic, peppery snacks. It's a bargain, and it's a door into these Indian grocery stores.

9) The burger at Victoria Gastro Pub -- a small, delicious burger on the perfect roll. Good cheese and bacon options. And you can upgrade to kobe beef if you are amused.

8) The perfect baguette at Bonaparte's Bread in Savage. The bakery sells other delicious breads along with French pastries in a cute shop at the Savage Mill. They also sell at the Sunday farmers market in Columbia.

7) The Persian food at Ceazar Restaurant in Elkridge.  You get casual, approachable food with some special touches and unique items like pickled garlic.  Then you can shop at the Middle Eastern grocery store next door.

6) A horchata from a vendor at the U.S. 1 Flea Market in Elkridge. Make it a meal with tacos, pupusas, fruit salad and more.

5) The masala dosa at Mango Grove -- a South Indian crepe wrapped around spiced potatoes.

4) An ice cream outside -- sit outside for Italian ice at Rita's in Columbia or soft ice cream at Soft Serve in Ellicott City.

3) The whole tandoori rockfish at House of India in Columbia.

2) The private rooms at Sushi King -- groups of 4-8 can sit inside private rooms at the Columbia Japanese restaurant. You could impress someone. You could just want privacy. You could use the sliding door to corral a two-year-old. Whatever you do, eat those sushi rolls.

1) Taking one down from the 50-foot-long wall of beer at The Perfect Pour in Elkridge. This is a spectacular selection -- from the exotic to the seasonal to the standards -- at a liquor store that gets the thumbs up from the Baltimore Beer Guy blog.