Comments About Fried Chicken, A New Gourmet Store in Ellicott CIty, And Xitomate's Chips

The long-lamented Old Bay chicken wings at Bon Chon

One good suggestion leads to many, many more.

I wrote about the fried chicken at the BP in Maple Lawn, and the comments were a long rush of good ideas.  Karen and AlPal3 talked up the BP's Chinese food and other items.  Jess says we need to try the fried chicken at Kelsey's.

I have learned a few places that I want to try.  Steve Fine recommended bagels at Cafe Bagel in Elkridge.  In the same comments, BMoreCupcake recommended mushroom and cheese kolache at Kolache Korner.  Then Chris recommended Habib's Bagel Cafe in Eldersburg.

Tim and I had emailed about the folks coming to Turf Valley.  He also reported a new gourmet store coming to the western county:

I recently found out that the Foster County Store on the corner of Frederick and Triadelphia (next to the Pink Cabbage shabby-chic store) is going to reopen as a gourmet food market by some local caterer. The old store was closed when we moved here last year so I don't know much about it.

That's just the tip of the comment iceberg.  Lots of great suggestions -- special places, special dishes.  Check out a handful so you get more opinions that just mine:

• ErinM recommends the kway teo and Mandarin-style fish at the Chopstixx Cafe.
• Dan and WildKitty both talked up the new Curry Leaf, but for Indian in Laurel, they recommend Sapphire Restaurant. 
• Folks really debated the food at Xitomate in Columbia -- some positive, some negative.  Weirdly, we even disagree about the chips.  I think they're special.  Anonymous, Alison and others will take a pass.
• Lee Biers explained how they're building Portalli's new patio up the hill from the restaurant.
• Kevlar51 recommended Dave's in Savage, especially the pulled pork.  I'd written about Dave before and the cart near the MARC where he sells lunchtime barbecue.
• Soo Yi moved to Florida, but wrote back in memory of Maiwand Kabob's lamb kabobs, green sauce and naan.
• Anonymous fretted about changes at Bonaparte Bread in Savage.  Similarly, Rachel emailed me with concerns about the Tomato Palace, which just reopened after renovations there and Clyde's.

I had lunch at Tomato Palace after not having been for a year or two, and it was pretty crummy. The Italian wedding soup had reduced beyond the pale: the pasta was completely mushy, and the broth was way salty and viscous. My carbonara was draped in really floppy pancetta - not cooked for nearly long enough. On the crunchier side was the bucatini, al dente to the point of not really cooked. Bucatini seemed like a weird pasta for that sauce to begin with AND it was served in what was essentially a cereal bowl, making it sort of hard to eat. I had a South African red wine that tasted completely flat and was served refrigerator cold. Our server was definitely on the B team (though, in his defense, he may have been in training - we were there at that weird time between lunch and dinner).

• Lisa, CarlD and kam listed our their favorite places for something cool to eat on a hot summer night.  Separately, S recommended the white chocolate mousse at YogiCup -- and recommended a nearby place to sit on a bench.
• Finally, BMoreCupcake emailed about what to find at the new Matcha store and restaurant in Ellicott City.  She had found some good Japanese items in the store:
  

  I meant handmade Japanese mugs, different types of green tea measuring spoons, Gyokuro green tea (which Wegman's always claims is on order but never arrives), bento accessories, and more.  Last time I was there, they had sold out of a lot of stuff.  I hope they restock the gift shop. I might prefer the gift shop over the restaurant side of the business.