tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62421282471972935992024-03-19T08:32:11.147-04:00HowChowHowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.comBlogger2253125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-7920186227032838672017-07-17T06:00:00.001-04:002017-07-17T06:00:23.134-04:00Soft Stuff Lost The Creepy Motel, But Made A Friendly Corner On Rte 40 For Ice Cream
Soft Stuff ice cream with rainbow sprinkles
I didn't believe that Soft Stuff could recreate the magic on Rte 40, but now I've taken a kid to lick ice cream on a summer night -- and I can see they pulled it off.
Soft Stuff is now a cash-only ice cream takeout in a shopping center on Rte 40 across from the Enchanted Forest shopping center. Years ago, it was a classic haunt -- a wooden iceHowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com174tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-27560037464208652602017-07-12T06:00:00.000-04:002017-07-12T06:00:16.767-04:00Gorman Farm Seems To Have Hit Its Stride; The Share That I Got To Sample Was A Real Gift
Cucumbers sliced and seasoned into kimchi
Gorman Produce Farm seems to have really hit its stride. Check it out if you want local vegetable adventures.
When I started blogging, I thought that I was going to become entranced by community-supported agriculture. That's a CSA where you pay a farm's fee at the start of the season, then get a weekly share from the harvest. In the HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-11065258496256959762017-07-11T06:00:00.000-04:002017-07-11T22:19:22.415-04:00Mod Pizza Brings The Five-Minute Pie To Columbia; Pick A Topping, Every Topping
Mod Pizza -- an attempt to get Lil' Chow to split a pie. It didn't work.
The individual pizza game has opened in Howard County, and I am a surprised fan.
Several new pizza joints have opened as chains open around the country. They're filling a spot that's a little more upscale and individualized than the standard pizza chain, yet more casual and quicker than wood-fired pioneers HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-62289862463521933112017-07-10T06:00:00.000-04:002017-07-10T06:00:13.424-04:00Taco Battle On U.S. 1: Get In The Line Of Fire And Pick Your Favorite Between R&R And El Papi
El Papi's taco special -- four tacos, a pair or each
There is a taco battle under way on U.S. 1, and this is one of the rare times that you should get right in a line of fire.
R&R Taqueria has been a HowChow landmark since 2009 when Alberto Flores first turned me onto excellent Mexican tacos in the Shell station at U.S. 1 and Rte 175. By 2011, R&R was a darling of the local foodHowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-42328090286634840222017-07-07T06:00:00.000-04:002017-07-10T16:08:14.097-04:00New Restaurants Coming Or Opened While I Was Out -- Lib's Grill, Shake Shake, A Speakeasy, More
Hot Pot Hero has opened in Ellicott City
It's going to take time to catch up to all the restaurants that opened while I was out or that are coming soon. Great folks have told me about these in comments or emails. I'll work out visits over time. Here is a fast rundown of some:
Texas Roadhouse is opening off Snowden River Parkway, noted several commentators including AnonymousHowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-63830479132420196492017-07-06T06:00:00.000-04:002017-07-06T06:00:25.550-04:00Hit Up Larriland Farm And The New Town Grill -- BBQ And Smoked Meats Come To Ellicott City
Sliced smoked lamb with chips and coleslaw at the new Town Grill in Ellicott City
Some things keep getting better -- and one of those is a trip to pick-your-own fruit and then to feast on barbecue and smoked meats.
Larriland Farm in Woodbine is one of my favorite places in Howard County. I've been going for more than a decade, and it truly gets better each time. They've got HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-82666602288663842102017-07-05T17:19:00.000-04:002017-07-05T22:14:43.187-04:00New Music And Food Venue Coming To Columbia Lake Front After Clyde's Closes Tomato PalaceThe Columbia lakefront will get a new music and food venue where the Clyde's restaurant group will offer live music and casual food, reports Warren Rojas in the DC Eater.
The Clyde's folks apparently closed the Tomato Palace. They're renovating to create a 240-seat performance space, not yet named but modeled after a DC spot called The Hamilton. They'll share a kitchen with the HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-67022298881573762082017-07-05T06:00:00.000-04:002017-07-05T06:00:00.576-04:00The Web Says Bon Chon Chicken Will Open Next To The Columbia Mall; Who Knows The Plans?
Bon Chon fried chicken -- with the udon soup
Bon Chon Chicken has two websites describing a new location in Columbia, and I want to know where that chicken is going to land.
Bon Chon is a Korean chain that does superb fried chicken -- along with other really good Korean dishes. The Ellicott City location is a HowChow favorite. Lil' Chow loves chicken tenders, and he slurps down HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-34994891956147757952017-07-04T06:00:00.000-04:002017-07-04T06:00:01.708-04:00New While I Was Out: Beer! Hysteria Joins Jailbeak, Black Flag, Manor HIll And Others
Raising a toddler impeded my ability to write, but it has done wonders for the amount of alcohol that I'm drinking.
The tequila post will come in time, but my recent adoption has been an old school option -- cans of beer.
Picnics, neighborhood cookouts, many, many evenings watching kids ride bikes, play light sabers and shoot arrows in our alley. Beer cans make much more sense, HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-4389626009978438042017-07-03T11:21:00.001-04:002017-07-03T22:22:31.151-04:00This Ice Cream Sandwich Deserves A Food Blog; What Is Coming To Clarksville Commons?
Ice cream sandwich from Scoop and Paddle
I mean, does anyone really need a food blog?
Probably not since the Internet left blogging behind five years ago. But then folks built a spot in Clarksville where they're trying to offer personalized pizzas, gourmet ice cream, and maybe more, more, more.
And you think: People need to know they can eat well here in Howard County.
Then you think:HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-67432128812926114632016-01-04T06:00:00.000-05:002016-01-04T06:00:02.721-05:00Second Bon Chon Chicken Coming to Arundel Mill
A new Bon Chon is coming to Arundel Mills with the Korean fried chicken fun that you already get at their Ellicott City location.
Josiah stopped the "coming soon" sign in a stand-alone building across from the Arundel Mills mall. Neither of us knows the timeline, so I'd love to hear if anyone knows when the fryers go hot at this location.
Until then, check out all my posts about Bon HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com131tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-83528945336574947662015-12-30T06:01:00.000-05:002015-12-30T06:01:06.876-05:00Is Chiptole Coming To Maple Lawn? Plus, New Mexican, New BGR, Closed Peruvian, Closed Thai
Anthony's New York Pizza & Pasta
The talk about Maple Lawn is that Chipotle is going into the new construction going in near the Harris Teeter. It's been that way for months now. People who know real estate explaining why the space and location look right. Other folks saying that the new facade looks like a Chipotle.
I nod when they say that.
But I honestly don't know HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-86253088419393758832015-12-29T06:00:00.000-05:002015-12-29T06:00:17.004-05:00Uma Uma Soft Open Brings Ramen To Rte 40 -- And Maybe The Best Little Bite I've Eaten All Year
Tomato tonkatsu ramen
Uma Uma has brought the ramen shop to Ellicott City, and you should check out noodle soups and more at the friendly, casual restaurant.
Ramen -- like barbecue -- can lead to food blog warfare among experts about styles and execution. So I'll leave that to other people and report just my observations.
First, the soup tastes delicious. Lil' Chow and I lunched HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-67486223398281108402015-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:002015-12-28T16:42:34.838-05:00Mai Dragon Brings A New Dim Sum Option Right Across The Line In Hanover
Dim sum at Mai Dragon in Hanover
New dim sum has come to the area and gotten a rave from friend of the blog Min.
Mai Dragon runs a pan-Asian menu in Hanover, and their website suggests that they do dim sum every day from lunchtime until 5 pm. They roll trolleys through the restaurant on weekends and make it to-order during the week.
As far as I know, Asian Court in Ellicott City is HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-68983351780767193862015-12-23T06:00:00.000-05:002015-12-23T06:00:10.918-05:00Surprise: I Went For Chicken Tenders And Went Back For Frisco Tap House's Ancho Glaze Wings
Ancho glaze wings at Frisco Tap House
Frisco Tap House has been many things in my decade in Howard County -- a Southwestern restaurant, a beer bar, a brewery.
Somehow, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my current favorite wings in Howard County when I stopped there for lunch.
Lil' Chow won't nap at home. We've developed a pattern for weekends or other days without daycare. HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-35744383679862405062015-12-22T06:01:00.002-05:002015-12-22T06:01:06.237-05:00No Liquor At Wegmans? The Liquor License Request Seems To Have Been Withdrawn
No Wegmans liquor for now, but here comes barbecue
For now, there isn't an active plan to open a liquor store at the Wegmans in Columbia, according to a Baltimore Sun article that came out while I was on hiatus.
In August, I had flagged the liquor license application filed by The Loft Wine & Spirits. In November, Amanda Yeager reported that the application was withdrawn because of aHowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-65808970062231279402015-12-21T06:00:00.000-05:002015-12-21T21:12:09.319-05:00Surprise: My Favorite Ramen Slurps At A Farm-To-Table Restaurant (For Now)
Ramen at White Oak Tavern
I stumbled on my favorite local ramen at a "guys night out" at White Oak Tavern.
White Oak is a casual bar and grill trying to push seasonal dishes and farm-to-table ideas on Rte 40 in Ellicott City. It's working a middle ground with aspirations for high-end meals, but a casual feel a little less expensive that a meal in DC or Baltimore.
Coming soon to Rte HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-84575025410965355962015-12-20T06:01:00.000-05:002015-12-21T21:12:28.319-05:00Where Can I Get Local Beer In Cans? (Asks The Guy Who Can't Peruse Liquor Stores Anymore)
Cheers with a toddler
I will admit that was my two-year-old calling out "I want to go to the liquor store" on Main Street at lunchtime last Sunday.
I had promised Lil' Chow pizza. I said we needed to stop at the liquor store before we circled back to River House Pizza Company, so he kept shouting "I want to go to the liquor store" as we waited for the Wine Bin to open.
Unfortunately, HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-27637956791956546922015-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:002015-12-20T08:44:17.842-05:00Surprise: For The Best Ice Cream, Hit Up A Garden Center For A Scoop (And Paddle)
You can feast on Scoop & Paddle ice cream in Clarksville
If food blogs exist for anything, it is to bang hard on a very local drum. So let me say again that the best ice cream in Howard County is served at garden center in Clarksville.
If that surprises you, then you should check out Scoop & Paddle, which has set up weekend hours inside the River Hill Garden Center on Rte 108.&HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-16617738874046798642015-12-19T10:02:00.002-05:002015-12-19T14:08:26.183-05:00Surprise: My Favorite Pizza May Be Outdoors, And It's Leaving This Weekend (Until Spring)
River House Pizza Company "namaste" toppings with a kid-friendly section
I'm trying to restart my blogging with a bunch of surprises that I've had while HowChow was quiet.
Like -- my favorite pizza may be served outside.
It's the River House Pizza Company that runs an mobile wood-fired oven off Main Street in Ellicott City. This is part of the Tonge Row shops anchored by the Little HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-7137434662184404062015-12-19T09:34:00.000-05:002015-12-19T10:14:31.396-05:00Sometimes, You Get Distracted, And You Need Tacos And Pizza And Ice Cream To Shake You Out
Sometimes, you get distracted, and you need tacos, pizza and ice cream shake you out of it.
It's been a nice fall, but life kept me away even from the fun stuff like HowChow. It's like Lil' Chow ignoring the Bon Chon fried chicken because he was mesmerized by the television. Football that he clearly can't understand.
But then people plied me with enough great food that I needed toHowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-18176689417326274332015-09-22T06:20:00.000-04:002015-09-22T06:20:00.128-04:00The Jolly Pig Will Make You Happy, Reports Jeff As We Motor On With His Food Truck Series
Tacos from The Jolly Pig truck
Tacos seem to be the heart-and-soul of the current food truck revival -- traditional, Korean, exotic, almost any variety of meats that you can put inside a tortilla.
Jeff Givens of Southern Skies Coffee Roasters continues his guest series posting about food trucks that hit up Howard County, including the National Business
Park when he was working there. HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-61359181818749945562015-09-21T06:20:00.002-04:002015-09-21T10:14:24.519-04:00Blue Sand Seafood & Grill Brings A Seafood Riff To Korean Food On Rte 40: Raw, Grilled, Soup
Seafood dolset
As I'm getting better at understanding Korean food, I feel like the Korean food is getting better in Ellicott City.
The newest find: Blue Sand Seafood and Grill, which opened in the back of the Bethany 40 shopping center and served a delicious dinner -- fresh, flavorful seafood that tasted authentic, but would also welcome folks looking to try Korean food.
Now, it's justHowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-590696387604435382015-09-20T09:03:00.000-04:002015-09-20T09:03:06.823-04:00Roots Celebrating A Renovated Grocery -- Specials, Samples To Sell My Wife Spices
La Pasta's ravioli pan-fried by Mrs. HowChow
Roots Market in Clarksville is celebrated a renovated store with a "re-grand opening" that runs all week.
They packed the place with specials and samples, reports Mrs. HowChow. She often jokes that she'll buy anything that she samples. Yesterday, it was pan-fried ravioli made by La Pasta in Silver Spring.
Her shopping list
Mrs. HowChowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14214893123333124514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6242128247197293599.post-36768031646215156952015-09-16T21:17:00.000-04:002015-09-17T06:41:16.812-04:00Drive-Through Starbucks Has Opened On Rte 108; Now You Don't Have To Stop For Caffeine
A drive-through Starbucks has open on Rte 108 near Coal Fire Pizza in Columbia.
(This post has been updated early Thursday morning with photos.)
Dave and I were emailing about the Starbucks in the Shipley's Grant development. This is on Rte 108 just west of Snowden River Parkway and just off Rte 100. Earlier in the week, there were signs that said the Starbucks would move across HowChowBloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08660717331370312252noreply@blogger.com6