People Comment About CrunchDaddy, Ice Cream, Asian Liquor, Italian Food, Schwarma, & More

The "orange roll" at Yama Sushi

I recommend the orange roll at Yama Sushi, but I don't remember exactly why.  I took a photo.  I created a post.  But I didn't write down notes -- or at least I lost them before I could write out an explanation.

But you should definitely try the Columbia sushi joint.  That's one of many places that I discovered through comments that people left on HowChow.  The newest place was Tere's Latin Market, which I tried for the first time in May.  John, Kelsey and others chimed to recommend specific dishes at the Ellicott City spot.  They're joining with one of my Chowhound favorites, Elgringoviejo who has posted about Tere's tacos there, saying he prefers them to R&R.

One question about a possible new place:  Has anyone seen a cheesesteak truck working the area near Rte 216 and Maple Lawn?  Eric emailed me, saying that he had seen the truck twice but hadn't been able to catch the details as he drove past.  Anyone know the story?  Email me.

Beyond new places, the comments provide everything from recommended dishes to reports of meals to requests for information.  As I try to do, this is a catch-all of some recent comments so that you can check them out:

• In the midst of a political argument about the liquor store at Wegmans, Jade's Mama actually made a point about the wares -- or the local lack of Asian wines and other liquors.  I, for one, would buy makkoli or the Shaoxing rice wine that Andrew Nguyen put in recipes in Asian Dumplings.
• Kevin, Rob, Stephanie and others reported on their candied popcorn from CrunchDaddy Popcorn.  I stand by everything that I wrote -- although I think the honey and cinnamon variety may be better than I thought originally.
  
• Anne added a link to her blog, which doesn't really cover local food but certainly makes her a local food blogger.  Check out the Quick and Easy, Cheap and Healthy blog.  (Separately, Kyle emailed me a link to a blog by a Reservoir High graduate who has moved onto NYU and blogging about food that I didn't know existed when I was in college at the Insatiable Palate blog.)
• Jen reported on the two ice cream stores apparently opening near Main Street in Ellicott City -- LaLa's and Scoop Ahh Dee Doo.  She pointed out the second one has brought Taharka Brothers ice cream to Tonge Row.
• Morty Abzug reported that La Mia in Laurel discontinued the falafel, schwarma and most other Middle Eastern food.
• Bmorecupcake talked up Halal Meat in Catonsville, noting that you can get fresh meat, veal and even chicken kabob mix with an authentic Pakistani taste.
• Anonymous commented about dinner at the new Drovers Grill in Mt. Airy.
• Gabrielle, Vicky, Kam and others joined in on the "progressive dinner" idea and recommended shopping center with multiple food options.  They recommended three-restaurant menus in Elkridge, Ellicott City and more.
• I asked for advice about Italian restaurants, and more than a dozen people chimed in -- dishes like the garlic sausage and pasta at Pasta Plus, off-menu items like the white pizza at Stella Notte, and spots that I hadn't heard of like Pepino's Kitchen in Burtonsville.  (If you want a little more Italian food, check out the HoCo 360 post about Trattoria Amore -- advice on what to order and a great photo.)
• Ken Oh kicked off the reaction to Rudy's Mediterranean with a great joke.  Then Bmorecupcake, Dzoey and others provided detailed reports on their own meals and the Turkish cuisine.
• Anonymous saw a hot dog stand outside Centennial Park and wondered if it was LaLa's.  Anyone know if there are multiple gourmet dog carts in Howard County these days?
• Another Anonymous talked up Meadows Custard -- and got caught wrongly in Google's spam filter for a few days -- both the current Columbia location and the other five decades when he/she enjoyed the frozen custard.
• Dzoey reported that the gigantic burrito at El Hidalgo looks good -- but enough to split with four people.