Oh, What A Cake in Columbia

The best part about profiling one bakery is that other people write to alert me about more.

Oh, What A Cake! is an established wedding and fancy cake shop on Dobbin Road in Columbia that I discovered last month after an email to HowChow. I have run errands on Dobbin for almost four years, and I had no idea that I was just blocks away from a cupcake treat on every trip.

You should check out Oh, What A Cake! even if you just grab a red velvet cupcake, as I have done now twice in the past week. I actually bought trays of cupcakes both times -- once for dinner at my house and once to carry to a friend's. They sell small cakes that go for 80 cents or $1 and larger ones with fillings for about $2.50. They're all delicious, and the selection makes them a hit with a crowd. Vanilla cake with basic frosting for the kids. Almond, lemon, red velvet and other flashy flavors for the adults. Definitely try the cream cheese frosting, which has the thick but not-too-sweet flavor that I like best.

Although the cupcakes and the cookies are great to grab, the real business at Oh, What a Cake! is wedding creations along with sheet cakes and pound cakes. This is custom work. You appear to be able to get anything you want. There are books of photos for inspiration, and you can see into the bakery's back room where the real work is done.

In the end, Oh, What A Cake is all about that pastry work. The shopping center sits on a commercial strip of Dobbin that connects McGaw Road to Oakland Mills Parkway. Not exactly a commuter route, but then Howard County's other best bakeries -- like Bonaparte Bread and Touche Touchet -- aren't placed for drive-by business either. Those places serve coffee and a broader menu, with some tables to sit. Oh, What A Cake is just takeout. Cupcakes in the car, I'm pleased to report, are oh, so delicious.

Click here for my prior post about bakeries in Howard County, which I need to update to include Oh, What A Cake!

(Update: In a comment below, the Baltimore Beer Guy points out that Oh, What A Cake is just down Dobbin Road from Frisco Grille & Cantina. A cupcake, and a stellar beer! What could be finer?)

Oh, What A Cake!
6656 Dobbin Rd # K
Columbia, MD 21045-5841
(301) 931-2253‎

NEAR: This is on Dobbin Road between Oakland Mills Parkway and McGaw Road. So it's very convenient from Rte 175 (heading south on Dobbin) or from Snowden River Parkway (going west on Oakland Mills or McGaw). This is a few blocks away from Lily's Mexican Market on Dobbin or from Bon Fresco on Oakland Mills.

Link: Chick N' Friends in the WPost

Chick N' Friends got a positive write-up in Wednesday's Washington Post.  The Columbia takeout spot does fried chicken and fish, and I wouldn't leave without a sweet potato pie with one of the chicken meals.

Pele Plantations Coffee near Kona, Hawaii

If Howard County had a few more volcanoes, then you wouldn't need Pele Plantations Coffee.

Mrs. HowChow and I rode a decade's frequent flyer miles to Hawaii last month, and chance -- plus a busted connection -- put us in the very last row on the Kona flight next to a really nice guy from Los Angeles. Bad seats broke the ice. We chatted about the Big Island where he had lived for several years, and Trey invited us to tour the coffee farm where his father had moved 20 years ago from the mainland.

Pele Plantations turned out to be an experience that ranked with the lava fields and the hike to black-sand beaches. (But below the sea turtles. Nothing matches a swim with the sea turtles!)

Gus and Cynthia Brocksen run their own organic coffee farm on the slope of a hill south of Kona. They also buy beans from other locals, and their niche is selling "estate" coffee, meaning that the coffee in your bag comes from a single, specific farm. If you like the flavor of "Kona Rose," then you can order again and know that you'll get coffee from the same fields.

You're going to get great coffee no matter what you order from Pele Plantations. Gus and Cynthia toured us around for three hours. We had imagined a big commercial operation, but they basically run the business from their home -- a home with a large garage, a pumping mill, and a drying shed with a movable roof. They hand-pick pick only red beans, which they say avoids the bitterness in green beans that come along when commercial growers strip entire plants on a single day. They handle the beans every step of the way except for one step, and they clearly care about the coffee.

I'm sold. I don't know if I can justify $25 per pound for everyday coffee (and the organics hit $36), but I do believe that their "Mauka Fire" coffee is the best coffee that I have ever bought. It is so much better that I don't really have the vocabulary to explain the difference. Strong, earthy coffee taste, but no bitterness. Caramel-smooth, says Mrs. HowChow. Pele Plantation provides the coffee for the espresso bar and the luxury suites at the Four Seasons resort, so you know that taste must be special.

If you want to try a special coffee, buy mail order from Pele Plantations because they're going to treat you honestly. Every store on the Big Island offered "Kona" coffee, and they're mostly big company brands so you have no idea what you're really getting. In contrast, we stood in Pele Plantation's garage with burlap bags of the different varieties. We decided on "Mauka Fire" on Cynthia's recommendation, and we watched Gus roast three pounds just for us. They have no coffee on the shelf. It's all bagged in green form, then roasted for your order. Too expensive for most people, but a real treat if coffee is your little luxury and cheaper than most "Kona" sold on the island.

If you go to the Big Island, definitely call for a Pele Plantation tour. Years ago, I went on a stuffy tourist tour in Costa Rica. That isn't Cynthia's style. She outfitted Mrs. HowChow with picking gear and walked us right into the fields where plants grow in the fast-draining lava rocks. We learned about coffee plant. We heard about local economics and about Gus and Cynthia's first date. We saw their macadamia nut trees. We saw their sheep. (We saw more of the ram than we ever expected, if you know what I mean.) Then, we came back to the house, and Cynthia was going to run the pulping mill just for us until we promised that we had seen enough. It's a comprehensive tour (although you don't taste the coffee because they don't have any sitting around), and I really believed Cynthia when she said, "You don't have to buy any coffee." We bought three pounds.

The really interesting option at Pele Plantations is their coffee club. You pick your schedule -- deciding the type of beans, the roast and the frequency. You could buy every month, every two months, every three. No minimum enrollment. No penalty if you cancel. The Brocksens think that you'll love their coffee, so they'll stand up for it.

For local coffee roasting, you should check out Mad City Coffee in Columbia or look for coffee roasted by Orinoco Coffee, which still roasts in Columbia although the retail store on McGaw Road closed. I also stumbled on Southern Skies Coffee in Finksburg, MD. The Web site looks like a small roaster selling four varieties. Has anyone seen Southern Skies Coffee at a store/restaurant?

(Photos by Mrs. HowChow (Canon EOS).)

Pele Plantations
Gus & Cynthia Brocksen, Owners & Founders
P.O. Box 809

Honaunau, HI 96726

http://www.peleplantations.com/

Dutch Country Farmers Market Moving to Laurel From Burtonsville This Summer

The Dutch Country Farmers Market in Burtonsville will close next week in order to relocate the entire market to a shopping center on Rte 198 in Laurel.

The market is an entertaining outlet for meats, dairy, fresh-squeezed juices, vegetables and the bacon-egg-and-cheese pretzel. For two years, it's future has been hazy because its current landlord wants to renovate the Burtonsville shopping center. In the spring, the market signed a new lease in Laurel a few blocks easy of U.S. 1, and it sent emails yesterday saying the market would close after July 4 and aim to reopen in late August or September.

(Update: They're open in Laurel.)

The Dutch Country Market is a real resource for unique items, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys food. The Laurel location may be a little farther east from Howard County, but it isn't that much harder than driving down Rte 29 to Burtonsville. You'll just need to accompany a market run with Peruvian chicken and yuca fries at Mega Chicken in Laurel instead of the ice cream at Seibel's in Burtonsville. Actually, the drive through Laurel gives you the option to pair the Dutch Country Market with shopping at either Eastern Bazar or Panam Supermarket -- both just south of Rte 198 in Laurel.

While the Dutch Country Farmers Market is under repair, check out my post about butchers in Howard County for other carnivore resources. Or click for the starting page for my "What I Learned" guide to food in Howard County.

If you want to comment on the Dutch Country market, please post them on the main post about the market. I would prefer to centralize them there.

Dutch Country Farmers Market (to July 4, 2009)

15642 Columbia Pike

Burtonsville, MD

301-421-1454

http://www.burtonsvilledutchmarket.com/

NEAR: The Dutch market is at the intersection of Rte 198 and Columbia Pike. This is a block west of Rte 29. From Howard County, take the first exit in Montgomery County. You'll go around a traffic circle at the top of the exit ramp, and then you'll ride down the old Rte 29 past Meadows Farms nursery. The market is in the shopping center on the right just before the intersection with Rte 198.

Dutch Country Farmers Market (after August or September 2009)

9701 Fort Meade Road (Rte 198)

Laurel, MD 20707

877-421-1454

717-786-4736

http://www.burtonsvilledutchmarket.com/

NEAR: The market will be on Rte 198 just east of U.S. 1. It is very convenient from downtown Laurel.

Authentic Chinese at Hunan Legend in Columbia

One of my favorite parts of this blog has been sharing the Chinese-language menu from Hunan Legend. Last year, I had a horrible meal at the Columbia institution, and I posted about my frustration that I couldn't get the waiter to serve us authentic Chinese even when we asked. A reader named Wai sent me a copy of the Chinese menu that she had translated. I posted the menu. Since then, other folks have emailed me for the menu and then ordered the authentic Chinese dishes when they visited.

(Update: Hunan Legend has created an official translation. I think people like Warthog convinced them that Americans would be cool with authentic flavors.)

A HowChow reader nicknamed Warthog posted on Chowhound last week about the fun that he has had using the menu and getting to meet Hunan Legend's owners through convincing them that he really wanted to skip the Americanized food. Warthog talks up the authentic Chinese food -- and some Malaysian dishes as well. This was his opening post:

I have friends who I dine with frequently who love Grace Garden, but don't get done with work early enough to make the long drive worthwhile.

Luckily, HowChowBlog recently posted a translation of the "secret" Chinese menu at Hunan Legend in one of the Town Centers in Columbia (Dorsey ?).

As is depressingly often the case, it turns out that they are perfectly capable of cranking out really good, authentic Chinese food. The trick is convincing them that you WANT the real deal. The house specialty is more toward the milder Cantonese style of Chinese cuisine, as opposed to the spcier Szechuan focus at Grace Garden, but after several visits, I'd say these folks are right up there as far as quality - if you can convince them to forgo the "Americanizing".

The main difference is that the chef at Grace Garden is on a mission to "convert" the masses to "real" chinese food, and he's willing ot take a chance that the customer is ready for it. The Hunan Legend folks seem very wary, perhaps due to too many returns of "real" dishes from those wanting the same old gloppy, overly sweet Americanized stuff. It seems that you really have to work to convince them to let you into the "can be given the good stuff" club.

I would suggest that you find and print out that translated menu, take it with you, and be very obvious about consulting it. Then indicate to your waiter (or preferably the owner, if she's there) that you've heard very good things about their "real" Chinese food, and that you want to try it. Then go back a couple of times to convince them that you're serious.

I'd not call them better than Grace Garden, and I'd probably rank them slightly below G.G., but mostly because I prefer G.G.'s spicier style of food. For those who are much closer to Hunan Legend than to Grace Garden, or who prefer the milder and more subtle end of the Chinese food spectrum, it's an option well worth exploring.

G.G. fans, please believe me - I'm not trying to syphon customers away from G.G.! Instead, I'm hoping that we can "grow" the market for both of them, and perhaps convince more Asian restaurants in the are that there is a viable customer base for the "real" versions of their respective cuisines, in addition to the dumbed down version. It doesn't have to be all one or the other.

It turns out that the owners at H.L. are actually Malaysian, so my friends and I are now working on coaxing some authentic Malaysian dishes out of them, now that they know that we really appreciate the authentic preparations. If we are successful, I'll pass on info about what dishes we find out about. There is one Malaysian stif-fried noodle dish on the "secret" menu, and the owner has promised to let us try a "not on any menu" seafood curry that is popular with their Malaysian customers. Who knows what other wonders may await us?

I'm with Warthog that I think most Chinese restaurant owners think that Americans want Americanized dishes. Places like Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro turn those dishes into delicious meals. But Grace Garden in Odenton packs its tables with authentic Chinese food, and I would like to convince other restaurants that they could offer a page of new dishes or a "secret" menu. There are people who wants to try new food. Even here in Howard County.

Click here for the entire Chowhound post where Warthog describes dishes like bitter melon and beef or sausage and cabbage. Click here for my take on Chinese restaurants in Howard County.

Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery in Columbia

Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery has opened in Columbia and brought sandwiches and bread that rise immediately into my favorites in Howard County.

Great ingredients. It couldn't be more simple, but it feels less and less common to find delicious food that tastes like someone was paying attention. Certainly rarer at a casual sandwich joint -- where the chains make their money with interchangeable ingredients.

Bon Fresco's sandwiches are exceptional. Thick $6.50 sandwiches that each have several great ingredients. Thick slices of real roasted pork loin with grilled squash and a spicy sauce. A pile of salami that looks more like a gourmet deli than a sandwich shop, topped with

green-leaf lettuce and cream cheese. Cream cheese? We would never put cream cheese on salami, but Bon Fresco offers this kind of inspiration in everything from tuna to turkey, prosciutto to grilled vegetables. These are sandwiches with real flavors. Each ingredient stood out, and it came together with the beauty of Thanksgiving leftovers -- a simple sandwich made scrumptious because someone spent an entire day cooking the parts.

Of course, great sandwiches start with great bread, and Bon Fresco's baking is every bit as attractive as its meals. In the open kitchen, Bon Fresco bakes baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia and other loaves.  (Update: They added an Italian bread in 2010.)  You won't buy better bread in Howard County. This is the bread that I love -- crisp crust, light interior. They're sandwich breads so they don't have filings or flavors. We ate two ciabattas right out of the oven. So hot that the crust cracked rather than tore, and we juggled pieces as we drove home and wolfed them down. We brought home a separate baguette, and that bread holds it own with the local favorite Bonaparte Bread for sandwiches and French toast. Again, these are sandwich breads so the inside is more perfect white loaf than the famous, yeasty French bread of 2941, but they're spectacular warm and worth the trip over anything that I have bought in a supermarket.

This is a great place for lunch or to just pick up bread to bring home for dinner. Check out the salads. There is a rotating selection, and the Israeli coucous and the curried chicken salad looked spectacular when I visited. (Update: Try the potato salad!)  When a place pays attention to ingredients like Bon Fresco, simple dishes like tomato and mozzarella become worth a few minutes' drive.

Bon Fresco is just off Snowden River Parkway on Oakland Mills Road. Like so many Columbia joints, you can't see it from the main road, and I hope that people will search it out. As Jason1 noted on Chowhound, $6.50 is pricey for a sandwich without even chips, but I think Bon Fresco is worth the money. This is the kind of place that I hope would become a chain, and it has the clean, modern look of the renovated Maiwand Kabob, the perfect example of how to expand without losing the magic that made the first store so memorable.

(Update: Try the potato salad as your side.  It's very mild -- halfway to mashed potatoes from potato salad.  Just potatoes and something creamy, maybe a touch of vinegar.)

(Update:  Remember that you can make your own sandwiches.  I posted in January 2011 about how I added roasted vegetables and tapanade to the Maple Lawn turkey sandwich.  That's ideal.)

If you are looking for other options, check out my post about bakeries in Howard County or about the Pepperjack Deli in Laurel, which also serves good sandwiches. Or click for the starting page for my "What I Learned" guide to food in Howard County.

(Update: Check out my 2009 list of the Best of Howard County.)

Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery

6945 Oakland Mills Road

Columbia, MD 21045

410-290-3434

NEAR: Bon Fresco is in the shopping center on Oakland Mills Road at Snowden River Parkway. The center with Race Pace bike shop and a Ledo Pizza overlooks Snowden, but you need to turn onto Oakland Mills at the intersection and turn right into the shopping center. Bon Fresco is in the out-building just to the right of the entrance.

India Delight in Columbia Appears To Have Opened Quietly

Columbia's newest Indian restaurant appears to have opened quietly -- even while trying to fool the local food blogs with ads about a July 12 grand opening.

Several people left comments about India Delight's ads in the Sun and Post about a July 12 opening, but Amy G. says that she ate there last night and enjoyed herself. Shahi paneer was the best she has ever had. The naan was soft without being greasy. India Delight is on McGaw Road near The Green Turtle and Smoothie King. It replaces the California Tortilla that closed earlier in the year. (Update: Eric posted below Amy G. about the Saturday lunch buffet.)

Click here for my post about Indian restaurants in Howard County.

Link: Coal Fire Pizza on PizzaBlogger

The PizzaBlogger has written a treatise on Coal Fire Pizza that includes a review, a series of photos, an explanation of the oven, and a brief interview with the manager. I haven't progressed to real reporting, so you should definitely read the review. Also check out my original post and the detailed comments that people have written about their own experiences.

The PB's bottom line: Coal Fire Pizza just off Rte 108 is one of his favorite pizzas in Maryland.

(While you are at it, check out the PizzaBlogger's post about open-air movies in Little Italy in Baltimore. That sounds like great fun.)

What Do You Say About Health Code Violations?

Mrs. HowChow wants to see an "A" outside every restaurant where she goes to eat.

California has a health inspection system that puts a large letter on the window of every place that sells food. It's a grade for cleanliness. An "A" is the best. A "B" might work for a hole-in-the-wall. But they're rare in my brief experience, and you're going to need some special cuisine to lure Mrs. HowChow inside. Below that, I think my former Angeleno would cross the street to avoid a place rated "C" -- if they can stay open at all.

I was thinking about this letter system because we passed through Los Angeles on Monday, and I had just posted about Hunan Manor. It's a Columbia institution, but Channel 2 reports that it also has a history of health code violations listing mice and roaches. On the one hand, I don't write a free blog to smack around local businesses. But on the other, people know about these violations, and they probably should know more.

A local guy Fred Tancordo has been pushing the Howard County Health Department to pursue and publicize violations. Tancordo, a retired USDA inspector, has been writing up problems that he sees at places like the Lotte supermarket in Ellicott City. He wants the county to be more aggressive and to share more information. You can search your favorite restaurants on the Howard County Heath Department's Web site, but I agree with Tancordo that the site offers little useful information. The list of establishments closed this year still says "Coming Soon," and I couldn't figure how to see the inspection reports. The county seems to list the places that it inspected in the past 30 days, but I can't see the actual results.

Do you think this stuff matters? Why doesn't Howard County want us to know their findings? Is there some reason not to assume that, in this day and age, it takes conscious effort to have such a skeletal Web site? Anyone know how to get the information?

Post Your Snowball Photos With B More Sweet

The B More Sweet blog is collecting photos of snowballs as part of a post/project to document the icy summer treats all around Baltimore. Check out the blog and add your photo to her Flickr group.

New Pit Beef, A New Bakery, And More

We went on vacation last week, so I don't have recent discoveries. But people are leaving great comments that make me want to try the new openings and the spots that I haven't had time to check out:

• Karen asked whether anyone knows about Chick N Pollo in the back of the Hickory Ridge Village Center.
  
• Anonymous talked up the Oh, What A Cake bakery on Dobbin Road. Cupcake stuffed with peanut butter cream!!! Is this new or just a place I have driven past?
  
• MegH enjoyed the sandwiches at the new Bon Fresco that opened in Columbia. She said they’re serving sandwiches on ciabatta and giving out cookies! For more information, check out Jack's post on the Columbia Blog Project or check out Jason1's review on Chowhound.
• Anonymous says the Ginza of Tokyo near JHU Applied Physics have been making improvements. He/She talks up the special rolls, particularly the Marti Gras roll. Ginza)
  
• Adam of the GrubGrade blog reports that a new pit beef joint Oakey's Grill has opened at St. John’s Lane and Frederick Road in Ellicott City. This is his report:
  

I think they opened today (Saturday). They are a pit beef place that offers pit beef, pit turkey, pit ham, grilled chicken breast, and pulled pork sandwiches, all for $5.79. They also offer "subs" of each for a buck more, with topping choices of BBQ sauce, horseradish, onion, mayo, honey mustard, and tiger sauce. Lettuce and Tomato are .50 each extra. I went there and got a medium-well Pit Beef sandwich with horseradish. It was cooked just to my order and for the most part I found the meat to

be flavorful and moist, just to my liking. It was not overly stringy and fairly lean (although I did find one large strand of fat) and pretty comparable to The Canopy. Unfortunately it was smaller than what I remember getting at The Canopy and they did not offer any other kind of bread aside from a kaiser role (I suggested in the future that they make rye bread available.)

I think this place has potential though. They offer 1$ off coupons with each order and I plan to go back in the future. They certainly got my order right and I found the girls behind the counter a lot nicer to deal with then the somewhat impatient staff at The Canopy. I'm not sure if they match the Canopy in taste but at the very least their pit beef is close, and it is certainly much better than Pig Pickers.

Thanks for all the comments. Other people asked questions or gave updates -- including a wine tasting option at Greystone Grill in Columbia:

• Does anyone know a Howard County place to buy golden ginger ale? Nathan emailed me and said he had tried Red Rock Golden Ginger Ale at his high school reunion. Have you seen that at Roots or any other stores around here?
• CJB commented on my post about Hunan Manor and how people have left there to start their own restaurants. CJB says Hunan Manor is an off-shoot of Hunan House in the Cherry Tree Center at Rte 29 and Rte 216. Then, last night, SHerringham talked up Hunan House and the sesame chicken. I really need to check this out because Hunan House is on my commute home!
  
• Kooshmoose says that Fatburger in Elkridge may have smoothed out the service problems that marred its opening. Koosh rates the burgers as high as Five Guys. I’ll need to taste test again!
  
• Does anyone know if the Pollo Fuego has opened in Jessup? My last report was an anonymous report on June 10 that guessed it might open in two weeks.
  
• EMKenton talked up the “Wine Vine” offer at Greystone Grill – the option to try three different wines in three-ounce ours. It’s like the beer sampler that I enjoyed at Victoria Gastropub.
• Anonymous reports that there is a KyKy's Hawaiian Ice at the intersection of Rte 103 and Rte 104 in the High's Shopping Center.

Link: La Boulangerie on B More Sweet

La Boulangerie in Ellicott City gets the thumbs up from the B More Sweet blog, which posted last week while I was out of town.

The Korean bakery across from the Lotte supermarket on Rte 40 offers Korean desserts and a selection of formal cakes. B More Sweet enjoyed the sweet potato cake topped with fruit. I actually haven't had the cakes, but I love all the pastries at the front of the bakery, and I also recommend the bubble tea.

For my posts about La Boulangarie, click here. Or check out my post about bakeries in Howard County.

Hunan Manor in Columbia

Hunan Manor is one of the basic ingredients of modern Howard County.

The Columbia restaurant serves good Chinese food, but, even more, it is an institution for people who have lived here. People went with their parents. They celebrated birthdays. They cherish the memories and their favorite meals. Hunan Manor is also a fount for local cuisine because its former owners and chefs left to start other restaurants, including the pan-Asian Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro and the authentic Chinese Grace Garden.

Both those joints exceed the original in my opinion, but Hunan Manor is still a nice restaurant. The dark wood and the carvings give it a classy casual feel. The kitchen does standard takeout, but it stretches for fresh fish dishes and Peking duck.  The menu is actually huge, and there is a photocopied supplement with authentic Chinese dishes with some pages translated into English.  They'll give you a copy if you ask.  Or email me, and I'll send you a copy.

In the end, Hunan Manor misses my Top 10 because I don't love all that Chinese food. There are delicious items. Chinese brocoli with a fresh taste and a light sauce. Chicken in oyster sauce with crisp water chestnuts. A pickle appetizer with fiery liquid flavoring spears of cucumber.

But other dishes suffer from the thick sauces that are far too common at Chinese restaurants. The crispy beef was horrible -- thin chewy slices of something that tasted of soft breading and sugary sauce. My wife and I split on the eggplant with ground pork from the Chinese menu. I was impressed by silky soft eggplant that held its shape and was flavored with something that I couldn't exactly place -- a little ground meat, maybe something fermented. I thought it was tasty both hot and then for lunch the next day. But I understood why the heavy sauce turned off Mrs. HowChow, who is extremely adventerous and didn't eat even a second forkful.

What are the best dishes at Hunan Manor?  I know this is a kitchen with real followers out there.  If you don't like Hunan Manor, where do you go for Chinese?

If you want more about the Chinese options nearby, check out my post about Chinese restaurants in Howard County.

Hunan Manor

7091 Deepage Drive

Columbia, MD 21045

410-381-1134

NEAR: This is just off Snowden River Parkway just north of the intersection with Broken Land Parkway. From Rte 175, you can just go south on Snowden and turn right at the traffic light with a Manpower office next the Three Brothers Italian restaurant. That is Carved Stone Road.  Hunan Manor's red roof is a block up that road on the right.

Candied Fennel Seeds at Food Cravings

It is a revelation to eat the candied fennel seeds for sale at Food Cravings and other Indian markets.

Indian restaurants often have a bowl of seeds, some with candy coatings, at the door for a little breath-freshening treat. As I have written, Mrs. HowChow doesn't sample open bowls of anything, but I really enjoy the taste.

My revelation is that fresh tastes way better than stale. I opened a bag of the candied seeds, and I realized that they're naturally crunchy and way more delicious before they spend a few days softening in that bowl. Plus, the full bag of candied seeds have a better flavor than the restaurant standard where most of the seeds are au natural and only a few have candy coatings. Full candied seeds are sweeter, and the fennel taste is a touch less harsh.

Great treat for yourself. Nice to end any meal with garlic, spices, etc. Funny little gesture if you serve them in those plastic Chinese soup spoons.

If you are looking for Indian groceries, check out Food Cravings or Desi Market in Columbia or Apna Bazar or Eastern Market in Laurel. Or click here for all the posts about Indian food.

Where Can We Buy Premium Chocolate Bars in HoCo or Baltimore?

What stores around Howard County or Baltimore have the best selection of high end chocolate bars?

Frank Hecker, a mainstay on the HoCo Blogs scene, emailed me about finding speciality or unusual chocolates.  Like Frank, I'm a fan of really good chocolate bars.  They're small luxuries -- costing just a few dollars even if they're triple the cost of a Hershey's.  Frank writes:

I sometimes check out the list of top-rated chocolate bars reviewed at Seventy Perfect, and I've tried a couple of them, most notably the Michel Cluizel bars; they really are quite nice, definitely a cut above your typical "premium" bar (e.g., Ghirardelli, Green and Black's, etc.) and not much more expensive. I suspect the same is true for the other highly-rated bars I haven't had a chance to taste.

However the closest place I've found to get Michel Cluizel is Balducci's in Bethesda, and even they have a limited selection. I have no idea if anyone in Howard County carries these, but I'd really be interesting in knowing. High-end chocolate bars are a real bargain treat as far as I'm concerned, because a $5 or $6 bar will last me several days eating a piece or two at a time. It would be nice if some local business catered to my tastes, which I suspect might be shared
by others.

Can anyone suggest a good place to shop around Ellicott City or Baltimore?  Does Roots or any of the organic markets offer the good stuff?  As I remember, Produce Galore had shelves of chocolate, but they are regrettably a part of Columbia's history.  Is there a gift store or a coffee shop that filled the hap?

Sarah and Desmond's Bakery and Cafe

Sarah & Desmond's Bakery & Cafe is the coffee shop that I wish was in my neighborhood.

(UPDATE: Sarah & Desmond's closed.)

The bakery and sandwich shop sits just off Main Street in downtown Ellicott City, and it fills on a Saturday morning with sunshine, slow-moving people, and the smell of muffins fresh from the oven. With the traffic just outside the plate glass windows, you could almost believe that you were in a city.

Sarah & Desmond's offers a robust menu for a small bakery. Sandwiches. Salads. Muffins. Cookies. Cupcakes. My most-recent trip was a morning when I really needed something good, and I bought a blueberry muffin that went straight from the baking tray into my takeout box. It was so warm that it crumbled, and I ate greedily in the car -- light and fruity cake with a sugary crisp top, nothing like the dense, plastic-wrapped muffins that haunt so many breakfast places.

With the muffin, you can get Zeke's coffee. For a dessert, you should definitely try the cupcakes. Like Touche Touchet in Coumbia, Sarah & Desmond's offers an adult cupcake -- delicious cake, a stiff frosting with flavor (not just sweet), and a size that you actually want to finish. If you want something more substantial, you can buys sandwiches, salads, quiches or soups.

By now, I hope that you're inspired to try out the joint. That's why I'll mention at the end that Sarah & Desmond's is a vegetarian bakery and cafe. They even do some vegan baking, and the vegan cookies are good although nothing beats a warm muffin. Vegetarian options should be an added plus for anyone who wants them, and it shouldn't scare of the meat-eaters among us. It's a bakery. Most baked goods are vegetarian. You'll eat well. I haven't tried the sandwiches yet, but there is a broad menu -- and nothing fake. It's good-looking vegetables with flavors like olives, goat cheese, artichoke hearts, etc. No one is tricking you with mock deli meats. Give it a try.

(Update: There are several suggestions about things to order in the comments below.  Apparently Sarah & Desmond's does gluten-free baking along with vegan options.)

If you are looking for baked goods, check out my post about bakeries in Howard County.

Sarah & Desmonds Bakery & Cafe

3715 Old Columbia Pike

Ellicott City, MD 21043

410-465-9700

NEAR: Sarah and Desmond's is just off Main Street in downtown Ellicott City. It is a block up Old Columbia Pike. I don't know where you are supposed to park. I have either walked there from Main Street or parking in the lot behind the bakery, but on my most-recent trip, I realized that bakery is linked to the closed yoga shop -- not the bakery.

La Palapa Too in Laurel (Really Fulton or Columbia)

We had a good meal and a fun Saturday night at La Palapa Too.

La Palapa is a local trio of Mexican restaurants that serve up good food and an energetic vibe in Ellicott City, Laurel and Burtonsville.  La Palapa Too isn't really in Laurel.  It's just south of Columbia off Johns Hopkins Road.

You should go for the ceviche appetizer.  The lime-infused fish inspired one of my first HowChow posts.  Chunks of fish, shrimp, avocado and onion.  A few pieces of squid.   Some minced hot pepper to add to your taste.  We

scooped ceviche with La Palapa's chips.  It's a terrific starter and the kind of intelligent zest that lifts a kitchen above chains and humdrum menus.

For the entrees, I suggest that you order for sauces.  Mrs. HowChow often returns to the mole sauce, which coats chicken slices in a slightly sweet, slightly nutty flavor.  Mostly recently, I really enjoyed a shrimp "al diablo" with a fiery red sauce.  I asked for some extra corn tortillas (60 cents) to dip out the sauce after I had eaten the five shrimp.

We had a great time sitting just inside from the patio.  All evening, a duo played guitar tunes -- Indigo Girls, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Buffett -- and kept an entire crowd in smiles and drinks.  The sun set.  The musicians played.  We didn't wait for a patio table, but we could still hear and feel the vibe from our table.

If anything, the vibe and the sauces overshadow the rest of the night.  You get rice, beans and salads with most meals.  They're basic, even uninspired.  I don't want to expect too much, but the entrees run $16 or more which feels like there could be snappy side dishes as well.  The margaritas are sweet.  I had actually had a perfect one the night before that tasted of just lime and tequila.  Next time, I'll stick with Pacifico.

Overall, I'm a La Palapa fan.  The ceviche and a Mexican beer are reason enough to visit, and you could spend a great night drinking and listening to music.   

La Palapa Too is one of my favorite "parking lot cafes" -- outdoor seating that overlooks the automobiles.  If you like Mexican food, stop at Lily's Mexican Market in Columbia for fresh corn tortillas, a Mexican butcher, great baked goods and all kinds of Mexican and Central American groceries.  Check out El Azteca restaurant in Clarksville or my post about the Mexican restaurants in Howard County.

La Palapa Too

7500 Montpelier Road

Laurel, MD 20723

301-725-3111

NEAR: Off Johns Hopkins Boulevard just west of Rte 29. The address says Laurel, but it's just north of Fulton and just south of Columbia at the end of a pink-painted shopping center.

Is Waverly Woods Getting A New Pizza Joint?

Does anyone know details about a new pizza place coming to the office/retail building at the entrance to Waverly Woods?

Alison emailed me and said she had heard that the pizza place off Marriottsville Road north of I-70 would be called Trattoria Montese or Montrese.  She said the rumor is that it was another restaurant by the same guys who own the Trattorias in King's Contrivance and Dorsey's Search in Columbia. 

I'm planning a return to the Trattoria E Pizzeria Da Enrico in King's Contrivance because people really talk that place up.  Mrs. HowChow says I didn't do it justice because we have always eaten slices.

If you're looking for pizza now, check out my post about the best pizza in Howard County.

Pani Puri at Eastern Bazar (or any other Indian market)

Pani puri is an Indian snack food that I will always love because my friend's family took us out on our first night -- or maybe the second -- in Bombay.

To make pani puri, you buy the crisp hollow balls of impossibly thin dough.  You break a hole at one end, then you fill the hole with a mixture -- made as far as I understand of onion, potato and chick pea flavored with the pani puri sauce.  Bags of the

 crisp balls and jars of the sauce are available at local Indian grocery stores.  The bags in the picture are from Eastern Bazar in Laurel, but I have seen similar displays at Desi Bazar.

The "coolness" to "work" ratio with pani puri is off the charts.  You buy the crisps and the sauce.  You just cook up some potato and onion, add some canned chickpeas, some of the pani puri sauce and some water.  Then you serve them one at a time by cracking a hole in a crisp, spooning in a teaspoon or so of warm filling, and handing them out to enjoy.

Look for all the supplies at one of Howard County's Indian groceries, including Food Cravings in Columbia, Desi Bazaar in Columbia, Apna Bazar in Laurel or Eastern Market in Laurel.  In May 2009, someone was opening a new Indian grocery near the Gateway Pizza in Elkridge.

Pani Puri

This is a very general recipe based on how I made pani puri.  I'm sure you could find another recipe on the Web.

1 bag of pani puri crisps

1 jar of pani puri sauce

1 large new potato, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 c. chickpeas

1) Boil a pot of water and add the potato.  Test them after five minutes to see if they're tender.  Cook until they're tender.  Drain the potato when its tender.

2) While the potato is cooking, saute the onion until it is soft.

3) Add  the potato and chickpeas to the onions.  Saute until everything is warm.  Pour all the vegetables into a bowl.

4) Add two tablespoons of the pani puri sauce.  Add about four tablespoons of water.  Taste the vegetables.  As far as I know, this is just personal taste.  The pani puri sauce that I bought was spicy with about two tablespoons.

5) With a spoon, crack a hole in one of the pani puri crisps.  Spoon in a tablespoon or so of the vegetables.  Eat.  Repeat.  (They're best crunchy and fresh.  I think they're best eaten right away like a snack.)

Yogiberry Coming To The Columbia Mall

Yogiberry is bringing the flashy frozen yogurt fad to Howard County by opening at the Columbia Mall in July 2009, according to sources.

(And Yogiberry opened on August 28, 2009.)

By "sources," I mean a comment by Susan on an old post about the Yogiberry in Olney and an email from my friend Alisha who saw the signs when she was at the mall.

Yogiberry is a DC chain serving the frozen yogurt style from Korea and LA's Pinkberry. They sell slighly sour yogurt topped with fresh fruit, candy, cereal and mochi. That mochi is my favorite. They also decorate with a modern vibe with bathrooms that look more like clubs than shopping centers.

The Columbia Mall appears to be making big changes in the food court. There have been signs for a new Five Guys burger joint since March, and a comment below says there may also be a Chipotle and an Arby's on the horizon.

If you want to try this trendy yogurt, you can also visit a Mango Berry in the Catonsville shopping center with the H Mart. Plus, Mrs. HowChow found frozen yogurt that you can eat this weekend in Howard County -- flavor and fruit, but no mochi or flash. But that is a different post.