Gourmet Ice Cream Now At Le Comptoir: Delicious Treat, Adult And Toddler Approved

Salted caramel ice cream at Le Comptoir

New parent lesson for the day: It can be hard to pull a toddler away from a pint of ice cream, especially if it is rich, intense caramel on a warm afternoon.

Lil' Chow threw one of his first full fusses Sunday when we tried to cap the pint of salted caramel ice cream at Le Comptoir on the Columbia lakefront.

That's house-made ice cream and sorbet that they're selling $6 for a shareable 13 ounces.Just $4 for a single serving.

Restaurant-quality dessert served in a plain paper pint. It is another reason to make the Columbia lakefront a destination for dates, family night and general fun

We had stumbled to the lakefront after an abbreviated nap.  I ran Lil' Chow up and down the hill outside Clyde's.  Then Mrs. HowChow wanted to check out Le Comptoir's ice cream. Salted caramel, spiced chocolate and two sorbets.  One minute we were wondering if a 17-month-old would like salted caramel.  The next, he was dragging Mrs. HowChow's hand to his mouth to get a steady stream of sweet.

I has to feed her from my spoon so she could keep up the baby bites.  We thought it was terrific ice cream.  Worth eating there or even stopping to carry a pint home.

I'm a huge fan of Le Comptoir -- both for the food and sweets and for the chance to enjoy the lakefront even if you don't want a full meal.  Clyde's, Sushi Sono, Tomato Palace and Petit Louis all serve fine lunches and dinners, but there is almost a city vibe to a coffee or dessert at Le Comptoir's cafe tables.  Go enjoy.

One question:  Does anyone know the story about why the lake path doesn't go all the way around the lake?  I'm suddenly focused on stroller paths.  The lakefront path just ends on the far side.  Why?  Part of Rouse's master plan?

Drinking A Flower: Le Comptoir's Lavender Iced Latte Has Become A Mrs. HowChow Favorite

The Le Provencal iced latte and a chocolate cookie

Narrow-casting here for the lavender lovers in Howard County.  For everyone else, there are still cookies.

Le Comptoir in Columbia offers an iced latte flavored with lavender that has become one of Mrs. HowChow's favorite things.  Le Provencal is pricey at $6, but it's her treat as we sit on the lakefront.  Done right, it's a revelation. Perfectly iced coffee with a waft of lavender.

Not the flavor of soap, which is a common problem when you cook with lavender.  This is a hint of flavor, more of scent than something strong.  We assume they use a lavender simple syrup, but we're happy to enjoy without knowing the secret.

And then there are always cookies if you want a treat without flowery flavors.  Le Comptoir makes a variety of baked goods that have made it one of our favorite places.  But those chocolate cookies have become our favorites -- crunch on the outside, moist inside.  Not cakey (because we're not a cake family).

Le Comptoir is a terrific place to stop before checking out the new Whole Foods on the lakefront.  Walk from the grocery down towards the lake and Clyde's.  Le Comptoir, Petit Louis and Sushi Sono are all perpendicular to Clyde's overlooking the lake.

Best Seat In The House: Chocolate Cookies, Sunset And A View Of The Columbia Lakefront

The best seat in the house

That's the best seat in the house.

Sunset.  Two chocolate cookies from Le Comptoir, the new dessert and sandwich counter next to Petit Louis.  And a view out onto the Columbia lakefront.

I can't recommend enough a night on the outdoor seats at Le Comptoir.  For a few dollars, you can enjoy an idyllic view and a delicious dessert.  Pair with a walk on the lake.  Go after dinner at Sushi Sono or before a drink at one of the bars.  You might almost be in a pedestrian spot, and in a few months . . . . Whole Foods just down the lake.

Go have fun this weekend.

Quick Hits: Reports On Bean & Burgundy, Le Comptoir, Cafe Au Lait's Bahn Mi And More

I always love that the local food scene has become robust enough that I can't possibly link to every post.  The HoCo Blogs food page remains the best source because that captures lots of voices, including some profiled in last year's Sun article.  But I like to highlight a few hits along the way:

• Bean & Burgundy Bread got a favorable report from Elizabeth on The Bare Midriff.  She reported on a hybrid menu that mixes American and Korean dishes, and she liked her lunch.
• Le Comptoir got a pass from The Two Dudes Who Love Food.  Since I think I'm the "hype" that they mention about the place, I have to note that they didn't have such a great visit.  Their family had a $47 breakfast that they definitely didn't love.  If you want the hype, check out my posts.  We love the joint for sweets and coffee.
• Kitchen Scribble wrote up meals at two different places -- Cha Ya Asian Asian Bistro in Columbia and Cafe Au Lait in Ellicott City.  The cafe is the local outpost for bahn mi sandwiches.  I wrote about Cafe Au Lait's sandwiches in 2012, and kat ordered a huge selection for a group of people to share.
• And the folks at Cha Ya keep posting videos on YouTube.  They're pretty interesting -- although I laughed at the video where the chef talked about the wok that he uses.  I'm actually infatuated by the jet engine gas burner that he uses.  How do I get one of those?

On top of those, check out a new food blog with local authors.  Three Beans On A String mostly does recipes -- lots of inspiration of fresh vegetables.  But they're local folks.  Elizabeth talked up a mushroom stroganoff that she had at Great Sage, and the Twitter feed is good to follow for other local food links and ideas.

Le Comptoir: Every Sweet Is Among The Best Desserts In Howard County, Every County

Cookies! Even the cookies are exceptional.

Petit Louis is certainly a sweet spot, and they're still working hard to hit the sweet spot in every aspect.

I can't talk enough about the desserts -- both in the restaurant and at its casual counter Le Comptoir.  We have eaten almost everything that they offer.  Probably a dozen trips in a single month -- mostly to carry out a box of cookies or pastries.

I think that I'm being even-keeled when I say that I have eaten 15 different cookies, eclairs and pastries and every one ranks among the best desserts around.  Just last month, I emphasized how many great sweets are available in Howard County.  But Petit Louis and Le Comptoir immediately leapt up to the absolute top tier, and you can't check it out fast enough.

Macarons with a changing run of imaginative flavors.  Eclairs and financiers that shame regular pastries.  Tiny fruit gels that are brilliant $1 bites.  Cookies that even taste exceptional.  Mrs. HowChow almost passed on the chocolate cookie after we walked around the lake.  How special can a cookie be?  It turns out that they can be amazing with a crisp exterior and a soft inside, rich with chocolate and perfect with coffee (and with a second cookie like the rosemary-scented heart-shaped one).

And don't get me started about the macarons.  These trendy French pastries are basically sandwich cookies with merengues on the outside and a flavored filling.  We have been infatuated for several years.  I have carried macarons home from New York City.  But I have never had better ones that Le Comptoir.  The merengues are perfectly dry without cracking.  The flavors are fresh and intense, strong with banana, peanut butter, pistachio-grapefruit, etc.  They're the symbol of what I love about Petit Louis' sweets -- simple desserts that are so clearly not simple to create.

Now, a friend told me that he thinks Petit Louis became Howard County's best restaurant as soon as it opened.  I'm excited if that is true.  It may have been a mistake for us to eat there on a Monday night, but we were celebrating that day.  Five occupied tables couldn't fill the room with any energy, and we got a waiter who was growing into the role.

As it was, we unintentionally ordered two fried dishes.  I asked if the beignet was like the doughy fritter that you'd see in New Orleans.  Now, I realize that the waiter's nod was probably based on politeness, not agreement.  I got shrimp and vegetable tempura.  Terrific tempura, but that wasn't what I had wanted.  Then we got surprised again when Mrs. HowChow's desire for fresh fish got her fried cod.  Again, real skill to fry that perfectly.  Just not what she was looking for.  I remember servers at other Foreman-Wolf restaurants, and I think they would have led us to dishes that we wanted.

Of course, the entire meal leads you to dessert, so you go out on a bang without any risk of translation.  We went with Gateau Aux Fruits Exotiques and Pot de Creme Au Chocolat.  They're intense flavors, rich but light enough that we walked out smiling and bubbly.  Honestly, the fruits aren't that exotic -- passion fruit, coconut and pineapple.  It's talent that intensifies the flavors in layers of cake and cream.

As I'm sitting here trying to explain why we're au septieme ciel over Petit Louis' sweets, my best explanation is that they don't taste of butter and sugar.  You can always win over a table with dessert heavy with cream or sharp with sweetness.  Each Petit Louis dessert leads with a flavor -- a fruit, an herb, that chocolate.  They run from crunchy to creamy to gelled, but they each taste fresh and unique.

Seriously, you need to go check this out.  Petit Louis serves high end French dinners, and the Foreman-Wolf team have been spectacular to offer you smaller options -- maybe just dessert in the restaurant, definitely sandwiches, quiche, coffee and sweets as takeout or sit down at the casual Le Comptoir next door.

A bunch of new restaurants have opened over the past two months.  Practically, it will take a while for us to try them all.  But I'm also being slow because I want these places to get up and running.  I'm confident that the Petit Louis folks want Columbia to rival the Baltimore location, and I think that lakefront dining room will be a very special place.  One meal shouldn't define any of the new endeavors.

Petit Louis Cuts The Ribbon In Columbia

Petit Louis cut the ribbon its its Columbia location.  Ken Ulman, Mary Kay Sigaty and other local politiicans welcomed the restaurant on the lakefront.  We went into Le Comptoir to warm up.  At first, we just ordered two chocolates.  Then we added two macarons.  Then they brought out a tray of chocolate croissants warm from the oven.  And we had to try those!!  Amazing.

Seriously, you should come out Sunday to enjoy the warmth, coffee, pastries and sandwiches.

(Update:  You may want to call to confirm they're open Sunday.  The Web site says they open at 10:30 am Sundays, but there is a comment below that says they may be closed tomorrow.)

Drop What You're Doing! Go Have Coffee And Pastries At Le Comptoir, The New Walk Up

"Cinnamon bun," chocolate croissants, croissants

Petit Louis hasn't even opened, but the small walk-up counter next door has already kicked off a brand new experience for Howard County food.

Le Comptoir is a casual counter service area next to the space that will open next week as the latest Foreman-Wolf restaurant.  You can get casual lunch items, but it's worth dropping whatever you're doing right now to just get coffee and pastries.

The best croissant Mrs. HowChow has ever had.  Lemon poppy cakes.  A chocolate-pistachio pastry.  Two flavors of macarons.    Something described as a cinnamon bun, which I carried out and is waiting to be eaten as a little snack.

Everything that we ate was perfect.  A small, crispy croissant that was simultaneously light and flaky, but left a luscious impression of butter on my tongue.  A cake moist with a strong lemon flavor and a slight crunchy crust for contrast.  You know that I love the local bakeries, but you can't beat these pastries overlooking the lake.  We split a French press of coffee, and we had the best time.

Even before the coffee rush, I was pretty hyped up for this group's first restaurant in Howard County.  I can't say that I dream of French dining, but the Foreman-Wolf restaurants have this amazing feeling where people are obviously serious about the food, but not about themselves.  They're so nice.  The flavors and the people make me want to go back immediately.

At Le Comptoir, you can take out or sit at one of the cafe tables overlooking the Columbia lakefront.  Gorgeous now -- and great to get out of our house after these frigid weeks.  I can imagine that it will be even better in five to seven months when you could eat outside, walk around the lake, and let little feet run on the grass.

Petit Louis appears to be opening next week.  They're doing "friends and family" meals to work out the kinks and hosting a few charity lunches and dinners this week.

Check with Le Comptoir about their hours this week.  Eventually, they're planning on breakfast and lunch.  Maybe into the night.  But the restaurant is still opening, so I don't know their hours this week.  Hat tip to Clayton who stopped for an espresso and croissant on the first day Saturday.

Le Comptoir (inside Le Petit Louis)
10215 Wincopin Circle
Columbia, MD 21044
410-964-9999

NEAR:  This is on the Columbia lakefront next to Sushi Sono and just down from the Tomato Palace and Clyde's.  You park in the parking garage fronting Little Patuxent Parkway, then walk down to the lakefront.