Link: Eggspectation on Food & Wine Blog

Greg posts about breakfast all day at Eggspectation on the Food & Wine Blog.  He and a friend each had eggs, then ordered the Chesapeake crepe as well.

Best Hamburgers -- Still Waiting For Fatburger

(Click here for the most-recent Fatburger posts. Click here for a post about the best burgers in Howard County.)

Victoria Gastropub appears to be handily surviving its mixed review from the WPost. There was a 90-minute wait on Saturday evening when Mrs. HowChow and I arrived craving some burgers and fries.

We should have waited for something to open in Victoria's bar. The Victoria burgers were spectacular in our prior visits (and come with biscuits!), and there was one table where the women seemed to be finishing up their beers. But we didn't want to skulk around their table, and we figured that we could get good burgers at Eggspectations just across Rte 108.

We should have waited for something to open in Victoria's bar. Eggspectactions still has the loud, friendly feeling that we loved when we lived nearby. But the burgers don't taste the same. I remember flavorful patties that felt like someone had made them by hand. This weekend, they were thin and tasted right off a food service delivery truck. Still a good pickle. Still fine fries and a great place for breakfast. But Mrs. HowChow voiced her burger disappointment before I even said anything, and I think an $11 hamburger shouldn't be anonymous.

On the way, we checked out the Fatburger in Columbia under construction near the Trader Joe's. It looks just like it did a month ago when I figured that it looked ready to open. The tables and chairs are there, but the window is still full of construction permits. We're waiting!!!

(Update: Paul reports in the comments that someone told him on October 8 that Fatburger was two weeks away! I went past on October 19, and the place still wasn't open. I called The Perfect Pour on October 27 because it is a few doors down, and they said it was still not open.)

Where are the best hamburgers in Howard County now that Eggspectations has fallen off our list? We'll return to Victoria's, but we need options.

(Update: First vote in the comments -- Famous Dave's. More votes for Red Robin and Five Guys. If you want to read about Five Guys in Laurel, check out the Technology & MSG blog.)

Victoria Gastro Pub
8201 Snowden River Parkway
Columbia, MD 21045
410-750-1880

Eggspectation
6010 University Boulevard
Ellicott City, MD
410-750-3115

NEAR: They're both on Rte 108 near Snowden River Parkway. Victoria is at the intersection. Eggspectation is one intersection to the east -- on the way towards Rte 175. They're both super-convenient off Rte 100 if you take the Snowdon River Exit.

Eggspectation: Breakfast (and more) in Ellicott City

I'm a simple man at a restaurant breakfast - two eggs over medium, hash browns, bacon, coffee and could I please have the Tabasco sauce?

That's ironic because Eggspectation on Rte 108 near Snowden River Pkwy is the best place that I have found, and it trumpets its enormous menu. Omelets. Eggs Benedict. Pancakes. Waffles. You can even get eggs on a bagel instead of the traditional English muffin. I keep coming for crisp bacon, good coffee, and eggs and hash browns that I didn't have to cook myself.

This is the spot to take houseguests. A neighborhood place where you can relax over breakfast and no one hassles you when people linger over a second cup of coffee. (Of course, that means there can be a 10-20 minute wait at the rush hour.) It is also an all-day joint. Quite good burgers at lunch and dinner. A bar that often seems happily full of people eating at the bar or watching sports on TV. I would have recommended the burgers more before the Victoria Gastropub opened across the street, but the breakfast still can't be beat. The perfect place to take visiting in-laws.

It was the closest restaurant when we lived in Ellicott City. I'd love any other breakfast suggestions down in Columbia.

(Update: In October 2008, the burgers had gone downhill. I still recommend it for breakfast, but the burgers weren't the thick, flavorful patties that I remember from earlier.)

(Update: In May 2009, Greg on the Food & Wine Blog posted about breakfast all day at Eggspectation -- including the Chesapeake crepe.

Check out Victoria Gastro Pub across Rte 108 from Eggspectation. If you're at Eggspectation, you're also just a few blocks from great Thai at Bangkok Delight or the Chinese at Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro.

Eggspectation

6010 University Boulevard

Ellicott City, MD

410-750-3115

http://www.eggspectations.com/

NEAR: Rte 108 just east of Snowden River Parkway. It's super-convenient off Rte 175. Take the Snowden River exit and then turn left on Rte 108.

HocoLoco Girl on "breakfast" -- a listing of breakfast joints

HocoLoco Girl on "Sunday brunch" -- a listing of Sunday brunch places