Pink Ting at Super Grand (and Golden Krust)

If I had a summer drink, it would be some creation made with grapefruit soda.

Not with Fresca, but with Ting -- Jamaican brand that sells little bottles of soda that really tastes like grapefruit and sugar.  I bought the regular flavor of Ting at the Golden Krust Bakery in Catonsville.  I finally tried the pink grapefruit flavor when I was trolling at Super Grand in Laurel.  I'd swear that it tastes like I remember pink grapefruits -- a little sweeter, a little less acidic.

Pink Ting mixed with vodka?  That seemed nice for a warm evening.  Wikipedia says that Ting with citrus vodka is called a "Ving."  It also says that people mix with lime rum for a "Ting 'n Sting."  Those should be inspiration enough for you to troll at Golden Krust where you could get beef patties (although the patties don't get the best reviews) or at the Super Grand where you can get almost anything.

Super Grand stands out among the Asian markets for its broad selection.  H Mart in Catonsville still excels for fish and produce, but Super Grand has way more non-Asian items.  That means regular American brands plus products from Mexico, India, Jamaica and West Africa.  Ting sits in an aisle where you can get Ghanaian staples that I'm still figuring out.  I also notice that Super Grand's workforce lacks the hard distinctions that you see at other stores -- only Latino guys working produce, only Asian women on the cash registers, only Asian men in management.  People mix more at Super Grand, and they have been keyed to customer service.  Whereas Lotte's produce workers range from nervous (the Mexican kids) to brusque (the Korean managers), I have had a Latino Super Grand employee walk me across the store to explain in English where I could find Japanese noodles.  That global shopping, and it's a welcoming, friendly vibe.

Jamaican Beef Patties at Golden Krust

There is an interesting problem when you try to write about a food that you don't really know how to cook.

Jamaican beef patties.  I discovered them at the Golden Krust bakery in Catonsville, and I thought they were pretty good.  It's cheap snack food -- a dry crust wrapped around a meat filling.  I liked the beef more than the chicken version, and since I have never had them before, I was sort of struck by the dry, unusual crust.

So was Kevin of the Kevin & Ann Eat Everything blog -- who clearly knows that the crust shouldn't be that dry.  He excoriated Golden Krust in a review that I found earlier this month when I was thinking about this post:  "gum shredding shards" and a "crust that wasn't even that golden."  These haven't been a common snack, mostly because Golden Krust is in the shopping center with the H Mart where I often find something that I want to eat.  But now, I wonder if I need to go sample beef patties elsewhere before I go back here.

Delicious: Ting Soda at Golden Krust

High-quality soda may sound like an oxymoron, but the grapefruit flavor of Ting soda is the exception that proves the high-fructose rule.

Don't get me wrong. I drink a Coke Zero every afternoon, so I'm so anti-soda zealot. But I drink cola for the caffeine, and I buy the Ting soda for the taste.

Ting is a Jamaican brand that makes the soda that Fresca cheapens off with artificial flavor. Ting is a small bottle, but it really tastes like grapefruit and sugar. That's because the ingredient list includes only items that you have actually seen like grapefruit, sugar and water. It's a refreshing flavor, one that pairs nicely with the rich taste of a spicy beef patty from the Golden Krust Bakery.

This is one of the unusual drinks like ginger beer that you could store in the closet for a day that you want a treat or want something exotic to offer guests. Buy it at the Golden Krust Bakery in Catonsville, where you can also buy locally-made Jamaican-style ice cream.

(Read the comments for Wordbones' excellent suggestion.)

Golden Crust Bakery
838 N. Rolling Road
Catonsville, MD 21228
410-719-2788

NEAR: This is in the same shopping center as the Super H grocery store. It is on Rte 40 just west of I-695. If you are driving east on Rte 40 from HoCo, you'll see a Starbucks and a FedEx at the end of the shopping center. Turn right immediately after the Starbucks. If you miss it, just turn right at the next intersection.

Golden Krust: Jamaican in Catonsville

You can't fit a much better meal in your hand than a Jamaican patty from the Golden Krust Bakery in Catonsville.

Pastry wrapped around a meat or vegetable filling is a universal treat -- the empanada, the knish, etc. Jamaicans made it their own with spicy meat fillings, including the ubiquitous "jerk" seasonings, and Golden Krust serves them up warm and delicious from a takeout location on Rte 40 near the Super H grocery store.

The Golden Krust patties are spectacular because they aren't greasy. The pastry is flaky, almost dry. The fillings are flavorful, but spiced more with the discretion of mild Indian food than with the blazing heavy hand of kimchi or jalepenos. The pastries run $1.65 to $2.30 each, so you can explore from the spicy ground beef to the curry chicken to the jerk chicken. That was my journey, and I have to admit that three patties was too much for a single lunch. I got too full, and Mrs. HowChow finished off the last patty when I re-heated them at home. Pair up the pastries with some grapefruit-flavored Ting soda or some Jamaican-style ice cream.

Golden Krust also offers vegetarian versions -- one with steamed vegetables and another with whole-wheat pastry and a soy filling. It also sells "cocktail" patties by the dozen if you order in advance. Those would star as party finger food.

From the menu, Golden Krust appears to be a New York-based chain. Beyond the patties, they sell full takeout meals, including jerk chicken, curried goat, braised oxtail and fried fish. The guy in front of me carried out an entire tray that smelled delicious. Golden Krust also sells baked goods, which I will sample next time. Gizzarda -- baked pastry shells will with ginger-flavored, grated coconut! Bulla Cakes -- ginger cakes to serve with cheese, butter or just coffee. Those sound like fun.

If you like patties, you should also try the empanadas at El Patio Market in Jessup. If you want to know more about Golden Krust, check out the Baltimore Snacker post about trying a chicken special.

If you drive to the Golden Krust, you should also check out the Super H grocery store next door -- my favorite place for food, but also an easy place to pick of stuff even if you don't cook. If you are looking for Jamaican products, check out Julie's International Market in Elkridge.

To reach Catonsville off Rte 40 from HoCo, you probably will pass the Lotte Plaza shopping center at Rte 29 with both the Lotte grocery store and the Shin Chon Korean restaurant. Both are worth visits. You'll also pass Tere's Mexican Market on Rte 40.

Golden Krust Bakery

838 N. Rolling Road

Catonsville, MD 21228

410-719-2788

NEAR: This is in the same shopping center as the Super H grocery store. It is on Rte 40 just west of I-695. If you are driving east on Rte 40 from HoCo, you'll see a Starbucks and a FedEx at the end of the shopping center. Turn right immediately after the Starbucks. If you miss it, just turn right at the next intersection.