Dining At Large Listing Top 50 Suburban Restaraurant -- Howard Spots Making The List

Richard Gorelick has followed up on his "Top 50" list for Baltimore with a Top 50 list for Howard, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties -- including a first installment (#50-41) that includes Ranazul, Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro, and Cafe de Paris.

Gorelick's Dining At Large blog is worth a regular read, but this week should be good fun as people jump in with protests and their own favorites.

Valet Parking At A Shopping Center Restaurant -- And Other News From South Of The Border

. . . and that means south of Columbia.  The restaurant scene off Hopkins Road has become so hot that they need valet parking.

Facci Ristorante has brought a taste of urban living to the suburbs, and it's a welcome sight considering that more than half of the shopping center at Rte 29 and Johns Hopkins Road will be restaurants -- Facci, Kloby's Smokehouse, La Palapa Too, and more.  The lot of fills, which is inconvenient but can also be unpleasant with cars racing for spots or trapped as people maneuver, wait, back up, etc.

Both Facci and Kloby's are in mid-expansion.  Peering into the windows on Saturday, they both look weeks away from hosting people in their expanded space, at the bourbon bar (Kloby's), or in the private room (Facci).  But construction continues.  In fact, Kloby's has applied to expend its liquor license to the new space.

New Outdoor Patio Coming To Looney's?

Just in time for beautiful weather, Looney's in Fulton is asking to open its patio for alcohol service.

The issue comes up at a May 10, 2011 meeting of the county liquor board, according to an ad in Sunday's Sun.  At the same meeting, the board will consider the request for Kloby's Smokehouse to serve liquor in the space that it is expanding into off Johns Hopkins Road.

The patio at Looney's could be a nice spot.  You can watch traffic go past.  People get ice cream at the joint across the street.  It's a chance to create at least a shadow of the streetscape that the Maple Lawn developers could have created by investing in space where people might actually hang out.  Instead, they scattered and shoehorned outdoor seating at a few restaurants.

Good luck to Looney's and Kloby's on the expansions.  I just wish Looney's would get rid of the banners advertising discounted beer.

Link: Bangkok Garden on Good For The Palate

I'm getting back up to blogging speed, but while I do check out the Good for the Palate blog where Robin wrote up a night at Bangkok Garden.  She particularly liked the chicken curry puff, which has rounded out my plan for posts about "Fried Dumpling Week: Samosas vs. The World."

First, We Knock Down All The Supermarkets

Last week, I realized that the problem with Howard County's food options is that we have way too many supermarkets.

I spent much of last week in Manhattan.  I saw a single supermarket in days of walking around the island, and I ate wonderfully.  Some really expensive stuff.  But mostly, the food cost the same as around here; it was just better -- a brick oven pizza, a bahn mi sandwich, some French desserts called macaron.

The key to this abundance seems to be that New Yorkers are hungry.

They can't buy their own food.  So they flock to these restaurants.  We waited an hour to eat ramen on West 52d Street.  Somebody roughed out a basement and installed cooking equipment against one wall.  Hip youngsters pack the 18 seats to buy soup.  They stood around patiently in a rainstorm, way less jostling than the crowds at Facci.

You get a bowl of chicken-based soup, tricked out with noodles, some vegetables, and two slices of pork belly.  Delicious!  I'm not saying that we'll attract the three Japanese chefs in their urban kerchiefs, but someone could make some money selling ramen -- or bahn mi -- or macarons -- if we could make people hungrier around here.

First, we need to start knocking down the supermarkets.  Oh, I see you had the same idea.

Pickled Eggs By Mark Bittman -- They're So Easy, And You Can't Get Enough Magenta Eggs

One thing that impressed me about Mark Bittman is that you barely have to shop for even his most-interesting recipes.

Hard boiled eggs?  Got them.  Cider vinegar?  In the pantry.  Thin-sliced onion.  Check.  Grated beets and horseradish?  Okay, maybe grab those at the store.

I cooked a dinner party recently where one guest was newly vegan and one gets sick from gluten.  (And one just doesn't like the taste of cheese, but that was a footnote.)  An antipasto plate seemed like the perfect way to let people take whatever food worked for them, so I flipped through cookbooks looking for items that would be tasty, beautiful and could be cooked ahead.

Enter Bittman's pickled eggs from How To Cook Everything Vegetarian.  You basically peel your eggs and put them in a large jar or bowl -- something that can take the heat of boiling water, but preferably has a tight-fitting lid.  Then you cook a mixture of vegetables, vinegar, water, salt and sugar until the onions are soft.  Pour that over the eggs and refrigerate for two days to a week.

So easy, and you get magenta eggs.  Slice them in quarters, and the yellow yolk contrasts with the beet-stained whites.  They're a little more firm than regular eggs with a taste from the vinegar and horseradish.  Great on the antipasto plate.  Great sliced on salads.  Delicious enough to just eat in our lunches.

These eggs ended up on a plate with some cut vegetables, eggplant dip, and sliced chorizo from Roots.  For the beets, I used the huge storage beets from Super Grand in Laurel or one of the other Korean supermarkets.  You can get one beet -- all you need for this recipe -- for less than a bunch of the tiny beets with their greens at a regular store.

Let's Try Again: Flavors Of India Says It Opens April 14 -- New South Indian Joint In Columbia

Sign (By Kyle)

Flavors of India has a sign saying that it will open tomorrow, April 14, so we're looking forward to reports about the new southern Indian place in Columbia.

(They also had a sign last week that said they had already opened, so we take everything with a grain of salt.)

Flavors of India comes from the folks who own House of India.  I understand this will be cuisine similar to the dosas and other items at Mango Grove, another place that I love.

(Update: Flavors of India opened.)

Maryland Crab Meat Has Arrived At Frank's

Maryland crab season kicked off this week, and Frank's Seafood in Jessup has started to sell the year's first crab meat -- according to a private tweet.

Private tweet!  Private tweet with Frank's!  I'm a celebrity!  Oh, wait.  They put the same news -- and a $2 coupon -- on their public feed.

Link: Frisco Tap Room On Kitchen Scribble

I still haven't been to the new Frisco Tap Room, but I'm hearing the basics from Kat on the Kitchen Scribble blog.  She talks pluses (chorizo pizza!) and minuses (parking).

While you're on Kat's site, check her posts about her CSA.

Comments About Authentic Japanese, Road Trips, A New Indian Option And More

Smelts! Almost as many as comments

I never get enough comments.  They're a terrific part of HowChow -- full of information and fun.  I know you can't read all the old posts, so I try to capture some regularly in a sampling package.

A whole bunch of people talked about the Fuji restaurant in Ellicott City.  There was a short debate about the value of "authentic" Japanese food.  Then some people about the food.  Anonymous had a bad experience, then Wonderful had a terrific night.  Earlier, Kim D and Dzoey had recommended their meals.

Another group commented about Belvedere Square.  I pitched the idea of a roadtrip.  They jumped in with other suggestions about soups, bagels, pizza, bread and more that you can pick up.

Avram earned his title as the official Moonlight Cafe correspondent of the HowChow blog.  He discovered the new menu and the change to an Indian place called Tandoor Grill, and he provided a series of comments about the new cuisine.

While that is coming, does anyone know where the new Moby Dick is coming?  Anonymous asked, and Moby Dick still advertises a new Columbia spot on its Web site.  Where?  When?

And there is more:

• Want wings?  I liked the Old Bay wings at Second Chance Saloon in Columbia, and folks like Robin and Wondergirl added their thoughts about teriyaki wings there and Old Bay wings at Kelsey's in Ellicott City.
• Henry Hong (foodnerd), Soo, 1000yregg and others said that the Korean fried chicken at Bon Chon is quite different from the Rainpia version.  Hong had reported that a "KoFC" joint was coming to the H Mart in Catonsville.  Anyone have an update?

Tino's Italian Bistro Coming To Columbia?

The former home of Strapazza has a sign saying that it will become Tino's Italian Bistro, according to a post by Kristi on the HowChow Facebook page.

Anyone know Tino?  Anyone know the plan?

Flavors Of India LookIng To Open, Maybe They "Soft" Opened Already in Columbia?

The new southern Indian restaurant opens in Columbia next week -- according to what the folks there are telling an anonymous commentator.  But it actually may have opened today -- according to a banner that Tanya reported on the HowChow Facebook page.

Flavors of India is opening in the space vacated when Aida Bistro moved to a larger spot.  It's owned by the folks behind House of India -- one of our favorites.

Anyone been?  Did they do a soft open?  Any first thoughts?

(Update: They didn't soft open.  Looks like April 14 is the day.)

Go Explore New Food -- Guaranteed That You Won't Be Shocked By What You're Eating

Soon doo boo

No one likes to be surprised by fork-full of organ meat.

I'm with you people.  I love to explore new food.  I do worry that the search for authentic can lead to the frontiers of what I really want to eat.  Add a language problem, and you might scare yourself from trying something new.

So here are some no-risk ways to try something new.  Vegetarian items where the cuisine may be exotic, but you have eaten all the ingredients before:

Veg sampler w/all-teff injera

• All-teff injera at Soretti's Ethiopian Cuisine in Burtonsville.  A vegetable sampler is a no-brainer here.  The all-teff bread makes this exotic even for people who know Ethiopian food, but you could safely stretch to any of the meat tibbs as well.
• Soon doo boo at Lighthouse Tofu BBQ in Ellicott City.  The spicy tofu stew makes a delicious dinner, and you don't have to worry about what lurks below the red, cloudy broth.

Hot Fudge At Williams Sonoma (And Danish Jam-Filled Pancakes If You'll Buy A Special Pan)

Williams Sonoma is a strange store for a cook to have ignored for so long.

On my own, I have a pretty off-brand kitchen.  A pot is a pot is a pot.  Maybe I invested in a few items, but mostly I followed Mark Bittman's mantra of no frills supplies and mostly I cooked from scratch.  So I really didn't shop for kitchen stuff in the mall.

It took Mrs. HowChow to teach me that the food was delicious.  We'd check out Williams Sonoma for samples as we walked around, and I saw how that store -- with its clear directions and its mixes and sauces -- got her excited about cooking more than anything else.

Baking more than cooking.  Sweets most often.  Mrs. HowChow isn't excited for Williams Sonoma's pot roast spices.  She wants new cookie sheets.  She also wants hot fudge.  Williams Sonoma's hot fudge has no equals around here.  No chemicals.  It's cream, sugar, butter, cocoa . . .  It heats beautifully and makes any ice cream into something special.  I cannot find anything that compares, and I have no idea how to make my own.

So we go to Williams Sonoma together.

Links: Long Reach Safeway In Tales of Two Cities And Chopstixx Gets Lauded On SwimWriteRun

Wordbones analyzes the future of the Safeway in the Long Reach village center on Tales of Two Cities.  No specific news, but he sees heavy competition and predicts change at the Columbia center.

Mo writes about Choptixx in Elkridge on SwimWriteRun.  This Chinese restaurant is on my list of places to try -- especially for its "street meals" menu of Asian street cuisine.

Today's Groupon is Portalli's in Ellicott City

Portalli's in Ellicott City is today's Groupon -- $40 in food for $19.  That's a fun place for upscale Italian food and definitely worth trying with a $20 discount.

Un Mondo Chorizo At Roots Market

At the groceries that sell healthy food, I'm always looking for the items that will taste delicious.

I got to Roots for the good stuff -- vegetables, Michelle's granola, and bulk grains.  So I'm justified to grab chorizo from the display right near the checkout.

Un Mondo chorizo has the taste of spices and fat.  It's a pork sausage that we sliced onto a antipasto plate with cheese, marinated vegetables and pickled eggs.

The chorizo was unctuous and tasty, but not oily at all.  Slivers of rich flavor that contrasted beautifully with cauliflower brined in vinegar and rice crackers dusted with seaweed.  A great example of how you can make a meal of flavor from a handful of meat.

Hanjoongkwan in Ellicott City

You can mix two foreign cultures and still end up with comfort food.

Hanjoongkwan is one of Ellicott City's restaurants that specialize in Chinese-Korean food -- or the "Chinese" food that you would expect to be served in Seoul.  It is no more authentically Chinese than General Tso's chicken, but it's just as delicious.

The real hit was noodles with black bean sauce.  That's jajangmyun (or some similar transliteration), and you get an enormous platter of noodles with a thick, rich sauce.

This isn't the fire of Korean BBQ or the elegance of sushi.  I understand that Hanjoongkwan doesn't make its own noodles, but these were tender and stood up to the mix of beans and onions in the sauce.  It felt more like a plate of pasta on a night when you just want something tasty and warm.

Want To See Wegmans Columbia Site Plan?

Want to see the site plan for the Columbia Wegmans?  Wegnow left a comment on a prior post with a link to a Howard County planning board Web page that shows a map of the site:

Check out this on the HC planning board website: http://www.co.ho.md.us/DPZ/DPZDocs/SDP07131tsr.pdf It shows a picture of SR Pkwy with an image of the to be built Wegmans. Garage and clock tower are closest to SRP, store on the west end of the site. I think when this gets approved, permits are not too far behind. 

Hot Dogs & Fries Pizza At Pazani

Has anyone eaten the "hot dogs and fries" pizza at Pazani Trattori in Elkridge?

It almost seems like an April Fool's joke, but it isn't.  I took this picture last year, but I never got a taste.  (I didn't actually want one, but I'm clearing photos and still curious.)  The sign said it was hot dogs, fries, American cheese, ketchup and mustard.

Pazani's pizza was once one of my favorites, but it hasn't wowed me on the last few trips.  I need to update my 2009 "pizza in Howard County" post because I'm just not drawn as much.  Any new suggestions for good pizza?