Be HowChow's 200th Friend

I just need two more friends to break the 200 barrier on Facebook.  If you enjoy the HowChow blog, become a fan on Facebook.  You'll get updates when I post and links that you can share with friends.

(Update: Wow!  Blew past 200 into the 240s.  Thanks.)

Next Vietnamese Question: Where Bahn Mi?

Where are the closest bahn mi -- the spectacular Vietnamese sandwiches that mix a tasty meat with fresh and pickled vegetables?

French bread.  Barbecued pork, lemongrass chicken, pate, or some other savory base.  Topped with cilantro, cucumbers, pickled radish, hot peppers.   These sandwiches were some of my favorite treats when I lived in Northern Virginia.  We stopped at Ba Le in Rockville on the way home from the Container Store, and it made us both crave them again.

Ba Le is a hole in the wall.  It's counter service with sandwiches, pho, and some other basics.  We loved the $2 glasses of young coconut milk, and we split three sandwiches.   Does anyone offer a bahn mi around here?  Any Vietnamese places?  Anywhere else?  The Chinese takeout across from the Columbia Halal Meat in Elkridge advertises bahn mi in its neon sign, but they say that was a former owner.

My plan is a "Bon Fresco bahn mi."  They don't sell bahn mi now, but Bon Fresco and the bahn mi both thrive on great baguettes and high quality ingredients.  The Columbia restaurant just needs to add lemongrass pork or Chinese sausage to the Italian cold cuts that they do so well.  I'll stand in line.  I'll start a Facebook group.  I'll do whatever we need.  Hell, I picked a opening date for the Columbia Wegmans.  Why can't I propose a sandwich for Bon Frescho?  I need bahn mi.

Until I can buy bahn mi, I'm going to try to use some recipes that I found on the local Fat Kinds LIke Ranch blog.  Christy links the the Battle of the Bahn Mi site -- and also to Andrea Nguyen's Viet World Kitchen.

Sun Reviews Venegas Prime Filet

Venegas Prime Filet got a review in the Sun today, but they might not have wanted this kind of attention.

The reviewer liked the steaks, but didn't love much else.  Provided some serious criticism about sauces, side dishes, service, and so much else.  I still haven't eaten at the new Fulton restaurant, and I still want to give it a try.  Other folks were talking it up as recently as last night.  (Comment, DK?  Pick a Blogger nickname!)

Five Guys In Columbia

Somewhere between gourmet and fast food, Five Guys is serving up burgers and fries that make tasty casual meals.

At one point, Five Guys was a cult joint growing in northern Virginia.  Now, it's a solid chain, and it settled into Howard County over the past year with locations at the Columbia Mall and off Dobbin Road.

There is something authentic about a Five Guys.  You can watch them fry up potato slices, and you can peek into the back where piles of meat wait to be shaped into burgers.

Real food makes a good burger -- although one that you can't red or pink inside.  On our last errand trip to the mall, we split a burger as a snack.  Good beef flavor that comes close to my own grill.  A bun far better than most burger joints.  Really good pickles and mushrooms.  This isn't my favorite burger at Victoria Gastro Pub, but that one costs triple and frankly doesn't have fries that match Five Guys' offerings when they're hot from the oil.

The truth about these little chains is that they can vary.  The Fatburger in Elkridge hasn't inspired me to return.  I'm hoping that Sonic lives up to expectations if it comes to Ellicott City.  So far, Five Guys met the standards that lured me to Laurel before the Columbia locations opened.  I'm hoping that continues.

Five Guys at Columbia Mall
10300 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD  21044

NEAR:  This is in the Columbia Mall food court.  It is on the ground floor at the end of food court closest to the stores.




Five Guys at Dobbin Center
6435 Dobbin Center Way
Columbia, MD 20145

NEAR:  Five Guys is in the shopping area with a Blockbuster off Dobbin Road.  This is the backside of the large shopping center that faces Rte 175, but you get there by going south on Dobbin Road from Rte 175 and then turning left at the second light.

Don't Throw Out The Baby With The Beer Water

The Looney's Pub in Fulton has a hearing in March before the liquor board, and I'm hoping that no one over-reacts.

Looney's appears to be an enormous success, filling the Maple Lawn lots most nights and bringing foot traffic to a development that is still in progress.  Apparently, Looney's has also served liquor to an underage police cadet and let people drink outside.  The Sun wrote a story in December about a two-day alcohol suspension, and there is another hearing scheduled for March 4, 2010.

I'm very glad that I spent my 20s in cities where I could walk home from the bars.  I drank like the crowds at Looney's, and, in my current, drier days, I wonder how those crowds get home.  Looney's actually impresses me by having a van that will shuttle home drunk patients (and amused us to no end on the night we followed the van to one of my neighbors' homes).

The March hearing says it is to "fine, suspend, or revoke" Looney's liquor license. [See update below]  I don't know what Looney's has done, but I hope underage drinking isn't enough to shut a business down.  It's illegal.  But I'd rather have 18-years-olds drink in public, and I'm still touchy about the three years when I was eligible for the draft but couldn't sit at a bar.  Personally, I drank less when I paid for pints instead of the grain alcohol that we cherished when we were underage.  (My college housemates eventually matured into five classy people.  When we couldn't legally drink, we once threw a party with a trash can of punch made of grain and Ecto-Plasmic Hi-C.  That was a scene way worse than anything Looney's could ever imagine.)

[Update: Bill Larney, the owner of Looney's, writes a comment below that the hearing is an appeal of that two-day suspension. The Sun's article did describe a suspension planned for January, and that seems to be what Looney's has appealed.  Larney also says that the "drinking outside" was a smoker holding a beer.  So no revocation or any of the over-reaction that I was wondering about.  Larney talks about new management and about the free shuttle that they have to get customers home.]

Thanks to HowICook for the links.

Taco Dinner From The 1970s

I come from a world where Mexican food came in a bright yellow box.

Before Taco Bell, before El Azteca in Clarksville, before R&R Deli served a dozen spectacular dishes from the Shell station, there was Old El Paso.

Old El Paso delivered Mexico in a box.  Or at least that was the idea.  Hard shells in a box, taco seasoning in an envelope, taco sauce in little bottles.  This was the world before salsa.  Taco sauce was thin and mild and left the fridge only on taco night.  We didn't even have refried beans until our babysitter taught my mother about them.

You can recreate the 1970s even in these days of "no trans fat.  Mrs. HowChow liked the burgers made with Laurel Meat Market's ground chuck, but she requested an Old El Paso night as well.  To be true OT, you need to limit yourself:  Old El Paso hard shells, the taco seasoning, iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes and shredded cheddar.  Consider the canned green chilis, which were an innovation in the early 1980s.  But don't serve avocados, which are ubiquitous today but tasted inauthentic when I added them to our table.

No soft tacos.  No authentic corn tortillas from Lily's Mexican Market.  No chipotles.  Mrs. HowChow and I shared the same childhood strategies to put the cheese on the beef so you get a little melting along the way.  Top with the vegetables and crunch away.  It's not just nostalgia.  We really enjoyed dinner.

The final authentic touch would be eating until your stomach hurts.  As I remember, taco night involved no portion control.  My brother and I crunched taco after taco by the box, then made "taco salads" with the leftover fillings and the inevitable broken shells.  (The Old El Paso that I bought today had no broken shells.  They have clearly improved the packaging in the past 25 years.)

Next time, I might just whip up an appetizer that I remember from the same time -- slice green olives, stuff them with ground beef, then deep fry.  That's party food.  I'd get one before I was hustled off to bed.  It's the 1970s on a toothpick.

Old El Paso is a General Mills brand, so you can buy them at almost any grocery store -- and at Laurel Meat Market for a one-stop shopping with that delicious ground chuck.  For real Mexican, you should start at Lily's Mexican Market -- or just read all my posts about Mexican cuisine.

Link: The BBG Pushing The Food At Frisco

The Baltimore Beer Guy had a funny story about Frisco Grille and more suggestions about reasons to go *eat* at Columbia's key craft beer bar.  Check out the BBG post.

Three Howard County Restaurants Make Baltimore Magazine's Top Rankings

Three Howard County restaurants make the Baltimore Magazine Top 50 list in the March 2010 edition.

Their top choices are Tersiguel's (#15) in Ellicott City and Iron Bridge Wine Company (#30) and Victoria Gastro Pub (#46) in Columbia.  It's a really good edition.  There is also  a review of Hunan Taste in Catonsville that also suggests some additional dishes to order.

This again me want to try Tersiguel's.  I can't rate places I haven't visited, but you can click here for my best restaurants in Howard County.

Yorkie Chocolate Bars at Harris Teeter

What is with the British?

You can buy a Yorkie bar because you want the chocolate.  It's a pretty good milk chocolate, creamier than a Hershey's bar.  Five good squares of dessert.

But you really want the wrapper: "IT'S NOT FOR GIRLS" in white print across the bottom.  The "O" in Yorkie has the international sign of a woman crossed out by a red line.

Why?  I have no idea.  I don't even really want to know.  I found the Yorkie in the British section of the Harris Teeter, and I thought it was funny enough to bring home.  Mrs. HowChow laughed as well.  And we ate well.

Look for the Yorkie bar in the international food aisle of Harris Teeter -- one in Columbia and one in Fulton.

Burrito Brothers in Columbia Closed

The Burrito Brothers in Columbia closed.  I'm not sure when.  I saw the sign on the door when I stopped at King's Contrivance Sunday for bagels at Bagel Bin.

Burrito Brothers had a lonely location -- on the end of the shopping center as far as possible from the Harris Teeter.  Although Columbia town centers seem limited in their ability to support restaurants, Kings Contrivance always felt like an exception with its tree-lined courtyard encircled by Bagel Bin, Rita's Italian Ice, Michael's Pub, and Trattoria E Pizzeria Da Enrico.  Looks like Burrito Brothers couldn't make that grouping work.

(Update: Check out the comments below that recommend burritos at Frisco Grille and Lily's Mexican Market in Columbia.)

If you want an interesting lunch on the Mexican theme, check out the R&R Deli for spectacular tacos at Rte 175 and U.S. 1.  A little closer to King's Contrivance is Bon Fresco at Snowden River Pkwy and Oakland Mills Pkwy-- spectacular sandwiches.

Pho Redux: What Do I Want In My Bowl?

Could I ask a basic question?  What am I looking for when I search out great pho?

I recently posted about Pho 89 in Laurel and made plans to try Pho Saigon 54 after reading good reviews.  People added spectacular comments about Saigon 54 and other places like Pho Nam on Rte 40 in Catonsville, Pho Real in Burtonsville or Pho Hiep Hoa in Wheaton.

We are going to warm ourselves with some Vietnamese soup, especially because I read a recent Chowhound string about pho that talked up Pho Saigon in Catonsville.  We know that An Loi in Columbia isn't the last word on Vietnamese food, and that string has some nice distinctions between the pho from different regions of Vietnam.  It made me wonder what I should be looking for -- what flavors, what garnishes, what makes a great pho -- other than just soup that I think tastes good.

Help! I *Didn't* Find Shaoxing Rice WIne

Yesterday morning, I celebrated my discovery at the H Mart of Shaoxing rice wine -- the one missing ingredient from Andrea Nguyen's Asian Dumplings cookbook.

Yesterday afternoon, Nguyen posted about Shaoxing and coincidentally pointed out that I bought the wrong item.  She recommends Pagoda brand rice wine and says "Whatever your price point, avoid Shaoxing 'Cooking Wine' which is salted and tastes awful."

One look in my pantry confirmed that I had bought cooking wine.  My prior pride in last week's pork and cabbage dumplings crashed down around me.  Inauthentic and salty!  The memory tastes like shame.

Help me!  Nguyen was very nice in emails saying that sherry can substitute for the Shaoxing rice wine.  But a few pulls on the bottle clearly got her tipsy and honest enough to blog that I do need Shaoxing for "an extra authentic boost."  I have all the ingredients for kimchi and tofu dumplings.  I want to be extra authentic!

Has anyone seen Pagoda brand rice wine?  (Photo from Nguyen's Web site.)  H Mart?  Lotte?  The Chinese supermarket on Rte 40?

Shaoxing Rice Wine - Finally Found At H Mart

I finally sniffed out the Shaoxing rice wine at the H Mart.

I'd wanted Shaoxing because I'm cooking a storm out of Andrea Nguyen's spectacular Asian Dumplings cookbook.  Nguyen assured me that dry sherry substituted for the Chinese rice wine, but I became infatuated when I was able to find agar agar, ground pork and all the ingredients -- except for the Shaoxing.

Basically, I turned around.  I had gone bottle by bottle through the vinegars and sauces on one side of the H Mart's sauces aisle.  That's the left if you're walking from the fish section towards the front of the store.  No Shaoxing.  No Shaoxing.  No Shaoxing.

Last weekend, I turned around.  The Shaoxing was at eye level in the first section of shelf.  That took 30 seconds.

(Update:  I didn't find the right product.  A few hours after this post, Andrea Nguyen posted about Shaoxing and her favorite brand Pagoda.  I bought "cooking wine" -- which is salted and tasted terrible!  Please help me find Pagoda brand.)

Thanks to Lisa who emailed and everyone who left comments on the prior post with recommendations about where to find Shaoxing.  That confirmed for me that I had to just be overlooking it.

Link: Frisco Grille Is Moving And Expanding

Frisco Grille -- the Columbia beer bar and southwestern restaurant -- is moving down Dobbin Road and doubling in size, according to the the Baltimore Beer Guy.  Check out the BBG post with all the details and look for the new location in late spring or early summer.

Link: Yates Market To Become A Deli

The Yates Market in downtown Ellicott City will shift from selling groceries to selling deli sandwiches and other food around March 1, 2010, according to Kay on the A Walk To The Past blog.

Kay is excited for the new Yates Deli on Main Street and recommends the Pfefferkorn coffee, which Yates will continue to sell.  Yates is combining with the upholstery store next door and will run the business as a joint venture, according to Kay. 

Folks, this sounds legit.  Kay's blog is regular and serious.  But the concept of "deli and upholstery" means that there is always the chance that I'm not getting a joke here.

Yates Deli & Upholstery
8249 Main Street
Ellicott City, MD

NEAR:  Yates is on Main Street about halfway up the hill.

Comments About Sonic, Tacos, And Sushi

I'm always pleased when people post comments on HowChow, although I'm often surprised at what kicks up the most dust.

I figured that people would respond to Lee Biars' post about restaurants, and Sarah led several people who added their two cents to Lee's observations from the other side of the check.  I did not expect 20 great comments about liquor stores last month and was shocked that a tiny post about Sonic would trigger excitement from Danita, emkenton, Simon and others.  I'm suspicious because of the hype about Fatburger, which Craig F says still doesn't deliver.  What makes people love Sonic so much?  Mrs. HowChow says the limeade.  What else should excite us for the future Sonic in Ellicott City?  Anyone know where the Sonic will open?

If HowChow had a single great mission, it would be proselytizing about takeout tacos.  MaybeKathy loved the chicharronnes tacos at Lily's Mexican Market, and the new joint -- R&R Deli in Elkridge -- got compliments on several posts from Southern Skies, dzoey and bboyneko and from Michelle and fultie.   (Okay, maybe our great mission is ridiculing the area west of Rte 29 that the post office calls Laurel.  Fultie joined that mission as well with a link that shows the crazy zip codes around there.)

The funniest comment was only funny because The Minx was correcting my mistake.  I had gone on in the Hunan Taste post about "ox lung" and how I would know if it was good lung.  Turns out that "ox lung" actually refers to a combination of beef tripe, tendon and tongue.    Whoops.  My mistake, although I still don't know that I'm rushing to order.  And then there were comments galore:

• Mrs. HowChow talked up carryoutmenu.com for the next time that you're trapped inside.
• Does anyone know about an Indian market called Curry N Spice?  Anonymous asked me, and I had seen references when I started the blog.  I have never been to the market.
• Katana Sushi fans reported about the changes at the two Katana locations.   Sounds like the Elkridge Katana got new management, which tried a new menu.  Josh K says Katana went back to its old sushi menu early this month.
• Other sushi fans -- including Steven, BeerGuy, jamfreak, and others -- talked up their favorites at Sushi Sono.  Ho.co.po argues for Nichi Bei Kai, which she says has improved after some issues under new management but which I haven't tried yet. [Whoops on the original pronoun!]
• KAL recommends two places in Laurel -- Mangos Grill and Tampico.  Baltimore Beer Guy and Brandon each recommended a place in Columbia for buffalo wings.
• Stephanie T has me planning a trip to Odenton for beef patties at Caribbean & Soul Food Carry Out.
• Alberto A. Flores -- the original R&R tipster -- and Sofia reported that the cookies at Chick'N Pollo are called alfajores.  If that puts you in the mood for sweets, anonymous talked up the "cake truffles" at Oh, What A Cake! in Columbia and another anonymous loves the Old Bay chocolates at Sweet Cascades.
• If you're going savory, Monay talked up the chorizo enchiladas at Frisco Grille, Kristi recommends the kabobs and the potatoes and peas side dish at Mimi's Kabob, and Kevin loved the Rockfish Angaar at House of India.  Fultie likes the sandwiches at Sidamo in Fulton.  Several people love the ground chuck at Laurel Meat Market, including Alex who says he can substitute it in sauces for triple-ground.  The chicken at Chick'N Pollo gets mixed reviews from dzoey, Samit and others, although I'm still a fan.
• Morty Abzug reports that Maiwand Kabob will replace the salad and rice with small portions of two other sides.  That's spectacular.  The side dishes are my favorite part and all better than salad and rice.
• Sbiese suggests that Dog House Pub's Web site for listings of the weekly specials and bands.
• People continue to comment about Portalli's in Ellicott City and Coal Fire Pizza on Rte 108.  Anonymous liked the dim sum at Asian Bistro in Ellicott City.  Another anonymous did not like Parsa Kabob in Elkridge.
• Billz wondered whether any local restaurants offer good dumplings.  You can cook your own, but he thought a dumpling restaurant would go well in a world of tapas and small plates.
• MaybeKathy and dzoey each suggested alternative locations to buy bird food.
• People continue to join HowChow's campaign for Bon Fresco -- talking up the sandwiches and the personal service at the Columbia sandwich joint, although they're also unhappy when Bon Fresco closes early and turns them away.
• And finally, MJRaker emailed me months ago about the cooking classes at Cafe de Paris.  I had meant to actually take one of the classes, but I haven't gotten there yet.  MJRaker says their great fun and run by the chef of Cafe de Paris himself:

I've taken 2 cooking classes recently at Cafe de Paris and enjoyed them very much. I haven't had a meal there since Laurent came on board yet which is why I asked if you had -- I wondered what you thought. I plan to but just haven't gotten around to it yet. I can tell you that Laurent conducts the cooking classes, it's hands-on so the students help prepare the meal, you make 3 courses, and you get to eat what you make which they pair with different wines. 

Both times I thought the appetizers we made were excellent, there has been a protein course each time (one time I liked it the other time not so much) and a dessert course which were great.  I am not in any way affiliated with the restaurant would be happy to post something once I've dined there. I would recommend a class if you're in to that kind of thing. It's fun to actually prepare food in a commercial kitchen which is something I had never done before.

Link: Aida Bistro on Brewnotes

Aida Bistro in Columbia gets talked up by Ben on Brewnotes -- where he reviews a bunch of craft beers and a bunch of local restaurants.

Aida is a pricey joint, but Ben recommends the bone-in veal chip, a risotto and more.  He says he has never  been disappointed with the food.  That's a key.

Hot Food For A Great Cause

The Howard County libraries are having a night of Latin-flavored books and food as a fundraiser next week at the East Columbia branch.

Go to the "Evenings in the Stacks" on February 27, 2010 and enjoy food from local restaurants and caterers, including Azul 17, the Elkridge Furnace Inn, El Nayar, La Prima Catering, On the Border, Parfections, and the Lincoln College of Technology, which runs a cooking program in Columbia.  (If only they could also get the spectacular tacos from R&R Deli in Elkridge.)

Those people are supporting a great cause in the libraries, which I think are a terrific source for cookbooks. I have been burned so often that I'm often loathe to buy new cookbooks.  The library lets me test-drive a stack so that I go out and buy the ones that I have to own.

Tickets are $100, which isn't for everyone.  But you get get all that food, plus a night listening to three authors Francisco Aragon, H.G. Carrillo, and C.M. Mayo.  For more information, click on the library's Web site.

Hilarious E. Large With An Ellicott City Angle

You need to get the last few weeks of Elizabeth Large, so you should be reading her Dining at Large blog.

But even if you aren't a regular, you need to check out a short story she told today about dining at Cacoa Lane in Ellicott City years and years ago:

Very early in my career, before I imagined I would be returning to restaurants years later, my husband and I reviewed Cacoa Lane in Ellicott City under the first owners. It was just the two of us. After dinner the husband of the owner/chef came out and sat at our table. (We were the only customers there.) He lounged back and talked at length to my husband, asking him questions about his job and so on, while completely ignoring me. Hey, it was the early '70s. . . . .

Clcik for the whole story and the punchline in Large's post on Dining at Large.

Link: Bon Fresco Gets A Rave From The WPost

Bon Fresco gets a rave in today's WPost -- talking up the spectacular bread and the thoughtful sandwiches. Owner Gerald Koh gets congratulated both for baking terrific breads and then name-dropped so that you know he used to work for people approved by the Post's Food section.

I still stand by my comment that Bon Fresco in Columbia is one of the best restaurants in Howard County.  And Koh says again that he is hoping to add breakfast in March.

My favorite part of the review was the short trip back down memory lane to when I was a newspaper reporter and nothing actually happened until I wrote about it in the newspaper:

Bon Fresco is a hidden gem. With zero street presence (it's tucked behind a somewhat larger cluster of stores) and no Web site yet, it's the kind of place you would have to discover on your own.

You have to discover Bon Fresco on your own -- or from the repetitive HowChow posts pushing the bread and sandwiches since last summer or from Yelp or from Chowhound or from DonRockwell . . . . . .