Comments: Black Flag Brewing Is Coming; Wild Seafood Has Made The Grade; And More

Fried dumplings at Tian

Black Flag Brewing is coming to Columbia.  The Black Flag folks and I surprised each other -- a liquor board hearing notice was my first word about the brewery, and my post was their first word about the hearing.

Black Flag is leasing space in a new building under construction next to Lincoln Tech on Snowden River Parkway.  They're getting licensed as a brewery, which means that they'll make beer and host people to come drink and eat.  But it will be "carry in" eating or food trucks, not a kitchen in the brewery.  Brian emailed me to say they'll announce more news as they get closer and talked about the name:

We will be all over the map with our beers. The name Black Flag (which appears to be hotly contested in the comments section haha) comes from way back when ships or other groups of people would fly the flag to show no allegiance or affiliation to any group or country. That's what we intend to do with the beers we make - no specific focus. We think that the local area could use some more hoppy IPA options - the new craft breweries seem to have avoided them slightly. We also intend to have some culinary focus (have a great breakfast stout with coffee/oats/chocolate) and would love to be the first in the area to offer a true sour. It makes ingredient logistics a bit of a mess but should keep things interesting for the customers.

Mrs. HowChow and I have our eye on the swimming school that I think will open in the same building.  Here is hoping that we will eventually be able to have Lil' Chow swim lessons, then lunch and a beer at Black Flag.

Think mid-winter for Black Flag to open.

What else has been going on?  Marcia emailed me Saturday about Wild Seafood -- the retail successor to Frank's Seafood in the Jessup seafood market.  That was my local place for crabs, which are getting into the great fall season now.  I need to check it out after Marcia's rave:

We've been to Wild Seafood twice recently, and it's better than ever.  I am now seeing many of the former Frank's employees, and they tell me business is getting close to previous numbers. They have rearranged things slightly, you no longer hand money over top of the prepared seafood. That always bugged me. 

Today the whole fish, especially snapper, looked exceptionally fresh.  They will still clean whole fish for free.  They have Maryland crabmeat, today they also had North Carolina crabmeat which was slightly less expensive. On both visits they also had the $1 steamed crabs!

It was good before as Frank's, it is even better now as Wild.

Thanks to Marcia and everyone else who emails or leaves comments.  I'm a bit disappointed to learn that some of y'all have been going for weekend ramen at Matcha Time in Ellicott City without telling me.  LOL.  Look at their Facebook page from August!! But if you'll promise to mention when you see the next ramen weekend, I'll pass along these other comments and tidbits:

• Beef Brothers is opening on Rte 40 in Ellicott City, reports Brianscrazytalk and an email from Lisa.  This looks like a Baltimore joint doing deli, sandwiches, and salads.  They're going into the shopping center with Bon Appetit.
• Joe Squared may still be bringing its pizza to Main Street in Ellicott City, according to a Facebook post that Lisa copied into a comment.  It looks like Joe Squared is focused on the original Baltimore location, but still has plans for Ellicott City.
• I need to organize another black-bean dinner at Tian Chinese Cuisine in Ellicott City.  The photo above is the fried dumplings.  They're excellent split among a large group.  I'm going through old photos, and my toddler-addled memory has lost the details of dinners that I had planned to post about.  But I love the black bean noodles at Tian and recommend filling a table to try Korea's Chinese food.
• Wondergirl recommends the eggplant Parmesan at Luna Bella in Columbia.  A bunch of people chimed in with thoughts on Facci -- both the original and the new one in Turf Valley.
• Does anyone know about Los Compadres in Woodstock?  I saw a liquor license transferring from Sedona Cafe & Grill to Los Compadres on the September 1, 2015 liquor board hearing agenda.  I see a few Web sites that mention a Mexican and American restaurant.  Has anyone been?