Restaurants: Best of Howard County 2012

Maiwand Kabob's gyro

I have been eating in and around Howard County for seven years, and I can assure anyone that they can eat well even in the suburbs.

What's going to be your favorite?  Well, that I can't predict.  Tastes differ.  Restaurants change.  We have beaten down the stupid lines about how everyone in Columbia eats at chain restaurants, but we haven't reached some boring consensus about the best places to eat.

This is my "Best Of" list.  These are places where I'd tell you to start if you want something delicious.  Earlier this year, I literally wrote "where to go" advice for someone just moving to Howard County.  This post is more of an annual writing exercise where I think about new stuff I have found and try to spark a little conversation from other folks eating their way along.

I don't know if your best restaurants are on my list.  That's why you can write comments!  Tell me the three places that you would recommend to someone who just started eating in Howard County.

This is an update from my July 2008 post, my October 2009 post, my October 2010 post and my October 2011 post about the best restaurants.  Later this week, I'll follow up with the great news of 2012, a list of great food experiences, and a list of great shopping finds.

A Few Of My (Current) Favorite Things:

I love great food, and great items appear at some places that aren't perfect restaurants. For example, Tere's Latin Market is in the back of a grocery store on Rte 40, but you'll get great tacos and special salsas.  I arbitrarily forced myself not to repeat anything from my 2009 list, my 2010 list, or my 2011 list.

Egusi at Kuramo

• Butterfly roll at Yama Sushi in Columbia.
• Hardshell-clam-covered pizza at Facci on Johns Hopkins Road
• Soon doo boo at Lighthouse Tofu BBQ in Ellicott City.
• Tacos at Tere's Latin Market in Ellicott City.
• Roadside barbecue from Dave's BBQ in Savage


Egusi at Kuramo in Columbia
Fried chicken -- spectacular, spicy if you want -- at Bon Chon in Ellicott City.
Doner kabob at Rudy's Mediterranean in Columbia.
Donuts at Laurel Tavern Donuts in Laurel.
Pit beef at Smokin' Hot in Glenwood -- so new for me that I haven't posted yet!

Seriously, check out the three old lists.  Those are 30 more cool dishes to try.  I could go any night for wings at Kloby's Smokehouse or housemade noodles and black bean sauce at Tian Chinese Cuisine.

My Top Restaurants in Howard County:

Not claiming to be "The Ten Best." This is an alphabetical array of recommendations to anyone moving to Howard County.  My list tilts to flavorful and affordable, and it changes over time -- although I don't eat out enough to make many changes.  Plus, it omits places like Aida Bistro that I haven't tried recently enough to post about.

R&R tacos

• Bon Fresco in Columbia for sandwiches -- and for takeout bread
• Iron Bridge Wine Company in Columbia for tapas and wine
• Grace Garden in Odenton for authentic Chinese (almost in the county)
• Maiwand Kabob in Columbia for Afghan 
• Mango Grove in Columbia for southern Indian like dosas.
• R&R Taqueria in Elkridge for delicious Mexican inside a gas station
• Royal Taj in Columbia for nothern Indian and a terrific buffet.
• Shin Chon Garden in Ellicott City for Korean
• Sushi Sono in Columbia for sushi

Okay.  That isn't even ten.  But there are a bunch of places where we haven't eaten recently so I don't know how to place good spots like Facci in Laurel for pizza and that house-made pasta, Aida Bistro in Columbia for superb Italian food and wine, and Victoria Gastropub in Columbia especially for burgers.  And if you just want a professional list, remember that we reverse-engineered Richard Gorelick's 2011 Howard County favorites as well.

Five Places On My List To Try:

My favorite part of HowChow is that it is my excuse to try new places. These are joints on my list to try for the first time or to try again so that I could post:

• Aida Bistro in Columbia for Italian
• Han Joong Kwan in Ellicott City, especially for hand-torn noodle soups
• El Hidalgo in Elkridge for Mexican and Colombian
• Trattoria E Pizzeria de Enrico in Columbia for gnocchi with aurora sauce
• Mount Airy Inn in Mt. Airy

This week, I'm posting a series of "best of" posts starting with best restaurants and best food experiences.  Then some posts about finds at stores.  You can click for all the "best of posts" going back.

If you're looking for more, there are several long series.  First, check out the two weeks of 2012 posts with recommendations for people new to Howard County.  Then, look at two prior series of posts -- a "tour of Howard County" describing restaurants and markets in specific areas or my 2009 guide to what I've learned about Howard County from "best Chinese" and "best takeout" to "best BBQ" and "best burgers."