Monday, October 11, 2010

Link: Howard Magazine's "Best Of" For 2010

Howard Magazine has named it's Best Restaurants for 2010 -- and congratulations to everyone who was voted to a win.

Lots of good places on the list.  Of course, this is just a warm up for next week when I have lined up my best of 2010 -- and it's a week of posts.

A sampling from the Howard Magazine list: Aida Bistro for best overall restaurant, Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro for best Asian, Eggspectation for best breakfast, Charter Deli for best deli, and Azul 17 for best new restaurant.  Check out the full Howard Magazine list.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Bob Evan's was an honorable mention for breakfast. Disgraceful....

Anonymous said...

You have to wonder about a "best of" list that contains so many chain restaurants. The fact that the Olive Garden is a runner-up for best Italian, and that Outback won for best Steak says a lot about the quality of this list.

pizzablogger said...

I'm all for diversity of opinions, etc, but Ledo's and Bertucci's are the top two listed pizzerias in Howard County? Good lord.

Wow. That brings to question the validity of the entire best of list. But then, I always thought the entire premise of "best of" lists were BS anyway. --K

pizzablogger said...

Looking at the list, one has to wonder if any potential advertising dollars, other considerations, etc put pressures on a publication to include certain names on such a list.

I second the mere mention of Olive Garden, which is an absolute EMBARRASMENT to Italian cooking. My grandfather is surely rolling in his grave right now.

Bob Evans? effing Starbucks?

Bah-loney. --K

HowChow said...

Howard Magazine is a popular vote if I'm right. I wouldn't blog about food if I just wanted to eat at chains, but I have to admit that more people ate at Olive Garden last Saturday night than had Afghan food with me.

I'm going to post my "Best of" lists next week. I'm going to do a list of restaurants, then a few posts on less-formal themes. So PLEASE think of yours, and you can add comments or write your own Trolling post.

I wrote a series of posts on themes like the Howard Magazine list -- "Pizza," "Chinese Food," etc. -- in a series called What I Have Learned. There are more nuanced options in those posts, although some have gotten old enough that I would like to re-write them.

emkenton said...

What I noticed immediately is that Bon Fresco didn't get a mention at all! That's crazy!

pizzablogger said...

Howchow, where did you eat Afghan food? In HoCo or someplace like the Helmand?

Would like a HoCo location for Afghan. Tis very good food!

Had Ethiopian food myself on Saturday as you were eating Afghan food. A nice one-two punch! :) --K

HowChow said...

@PB -- Maiwand Kabob is wonderful. Check tomorrow's post about mantwo and the prior posts about kabobs, pumpkin, etc. Mimi's Kabob in Clarksville is good too.

Marcia said...

The ballot was in the previous issue of Howard Magazine. I am going to say it is a popularity contest, and if most Howard Countians are families with kids, chains are likely more popular than others due to cost & kid friendliness. Just look at the parking lots at night !

And, I am a Bob Evans fan. If I just want a basic breakfast, nothing fancy, the cook at the one off Rt. 108 & Rt. 175 knows how to make me perfect fried eggs (yolk cooked but runny for dipping toast into) and I love their potatoes. Coffee is blah, but wait staff is always friendly and the food is fine. I won't apologize for going there and from the looks of the dining room, I am not alone!!!

Trevor said...

HowChow, I am looking forward to your best of HoCo list. I'm hoping there are a few surprises on there, perhaps a few new places to try.

Anonymous said...

OMG! I can't believe this list! I would never eat at some of the places that won! What a disgrace. HowChow, I am looking forward to your "best of" list.

HowChow said...

Hey guys, don't fall for the food blog trap. The Howard Magazine list can't be a disgrace. It is just a list. ;-) I certainly stand by my own recommendations over the popular vote, but there are some good places on the HowMag list. They're putting the list out there so people might get new ideas nad might start talking. After all, we're just going out to dinner.

I'm going to do a week of "Best of" posts, and I will love people adding their own lists or ideas in the comments. There really are good places for good food.

Anonymous said...

They put the ballot out for anyone to vote. So next year, get your hands on a ballot and vote, right? You have to note that the places that make the list are generally more affordable than the faves discussed here. I'm sure that counts for a lot for many in the county.

Sarah said...

Marcia-- if you are interested in trying something more local, give Frank's Diner near the corner of 175 and 1 a shot. Good food (ohhh the sweet potato pancakes so good), cute little diner, very inexpensive, lots of kids there.

mattrothphoto said...

ha! I know I'm several months late, but I'm a former staff photographer at Patuxent (I quit to freelance in December) and I'll give y'all a little insight on why the list was what it was. As Mr. HowChow states (I took his photo for our HoMag's feature on him, too. he's a super nice guy) it's a popularity contest. Trust me, everyone involved in the editorial side had plenty of eye rolls over the decisions. There was no advertising money involved in who was decided a winner and who wasn't. We actually decided to spotlight a few local runners-up over category winners. There's plenty of great local, independent restaurants in Howard County. And if you looked in the food issues, those are the one we ...I mean, they, highlight. If you love a restaurant, vote for it. Get your friends to vote for it. And don't double vote. Those are discarded.