New Pit Beef, A New Bakery, And More

We went on vacation last week, so I don't have recent discoveries. But people are leaving great comments that make me want to try the new openings and the spots that I haven't had time to check out:

• Karen asked whether anyone knows about Chick N Pollo in the back of the Hickory Ridge Village Center.
  
• Anonymous talked up the Oh, What A Cake bakery on Dobbin Road. Cupcake stuffed with peanut butter cream!!! Is this new or just a place I have driven past?
  
• MegH enjoyed the sandwiches at the new Bon Fresco that opened in Columbia. She said they’re serving sandwiches on ciabatta and giving out cookies! For more information, check out Jack's post on the Columbia Blog Project or check out Jason1's review on Chowhound.
• Anonymous says the Ginza of Tokyo near JHU Applied Physics have been making improvements. He/She talks up the special rolls, particularly the Marti Gras roll. Ginza)
  
• Adam of the GrubGrade blog reports that a new pit beef joint Oakey's Grill has opened at St. John’s Lane and Frederick Road in Ellicott City. This is his report:
  

I think they opened today (Saturday). They are a pit beef place that offers pit beef, pit turkey, pit ham, grilled chicken breast, and pulled pork sandwiches, all for $5.79. They also offer "subs" of each for a buck more, with topping choices of BBQ sauce, horseradish, onion, mayo, honey mustard, and tiger sauce. Lettuce and Tomato are .50 each extra. I went there and got a medium-well Pit Beef sandwich with horseradish. It was cooked just to my order and for the most part I found the meat to

be flavorful and moist, just to my liking. It was not overly stringy and fairly lean (although I did find one large strand of fat) and pretty comparable to The Canopy. Unfortunately it was smaller than what I remember getting at The Canopy and they did not offer any other kind of bread aside from a kaiser role (I suggested in the future that they make rye bread available.)

I think this place has potential though. They offer 1$ off coupons with each order and I plan to go back in the future. They certainly got my order right and I found the girls behind the counter a lot nicer to deal with then the somewhat impatient staff at The Canopy. I'm not sure if they match the Canopy in taste but at the very least their pit beef is close, and it is certainly much better than Pig Pickers.

Thanks for all the comments. Other people asked questions or gave updates -- including a wine tasting option at Greystone Grill in Columbia:

• Does anyone know a Howard County place to buy golden ginger ale? Nathan emailed me and said he had tried Red Rock Golden Ginger Ale at his high school reunion. Have you seen that at Roots or any other stores around here?
• CJB commented on my post about Hunan Manor and how people have left there to start their own restaurants. CJB says Hunan Manor is an off-shoot of Hunan House in the Cherry Tree Center at Rte 29 and Rte 216. Then, last night, SHerringham talked up Hunan House and the sesame chicken. I really need to check this out because Hunan House is on my commute home!
  
• Kooshmoose says that Fatburger in Elkridge may have smoothed out the service problems that marred its opening. Koosh rates the burgers as high as Five Guys. I’ll need to taste test again!
  
• Does anyone know if the Pollo Fuego has opened in Jessup? My last report was an anonymous report on June 10 that guessed it might open in two weeks.
  
• EMKenton talked up the “Wine Vine” offer at Greystone Grill – the option to try three different wines in three-ounce ours. It’s like the beer sampler that I enjoyed at Victoria Gastropub.
• Anonymous reports that there is a KyKy's Hawaiian Ice at the intersection of Rte 103 and Rte 104 in the High's Shopping Center.