Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Comments About Fried Chicken, A New Gourmet Store in Ellicott CIty, And Xitomate's Chips

The long-lamented Old Bay chicken wings at Bon Chon
One good suggestion leads to many, many more.

I wrote about the fried chicken at the BP in Maple Lawn, and the comments were a long rush of good ideas.  Karen and AlPal3 talked up the BP's Chinese food and other items.  Jess says we need to try the fried chicken at Kelsey's.

I have learned a few places that I want to try.  Steve Fine recommended bagels at Cafe Bagel in Elkridge.  In the same comments, BMoreCupcake recommended mushroom and cheese kolache at Kolache Korner.  Then Chris recommended Habib's Bagel Cafe in Eldersburg.

Tim and I had emailed about the folks coming to Turf Valley.  He also reported a new gourmet store coming to the western county:
I recently found out that the Foster County Store on the corner of Frederick and Triadelphia (next to the Pink Cabbage shabby-chic store) is going to reopen as a gourmet food market by some local caterer. The old store was closed when we moved here last year so I don't know much about it.
That's just the tip of the comment iceberg.  Lots of great suggestions -- special places, special dishes.  Check out a handful so you get more opinions that just mine:
I had lunch at Tomato Palace after not having been for a year or two, and it was pretty crummy. The Italian wedding soup had reduced beyond the pale: the pasta was completely mushy, and the broth was way salty and viscous. My carbonara was draped in really floppy pancetta - not cooked for nearly long enough. On the crunchier side was the bucatini, al dente to the point of not really cooked. Bucatini seemed like a weird pasta for that sauce to begin with AND it was served in what was essentially a cereal bowl, making it sort of hard to eat. I had a South African red wine that tasted completely flat and was served refrigerator cold. Our server was definitely on the B team (though, in his defense, he may have been in training - we were there at that weird time between lunch and dinner).
  • Lisa, CarlD and kam listed our their favorite places for something cool to eat on a hot summer night.  Separately, S recommended the white chocolate mousse at YogiCup -- and recommended a nearby place to sit on a bench.
  • Finally, BMoreCupcake emailed about what to find at the new Matcha store and restaurant in Ellicott City.  She had found some good Japanese items in the store:
    I meant handmade Japanese mugs, different types of green tea measuring spoons, Gyokuro green tea (which Wegman's always claims is on order but never arrives), bento accessories, and more.  Last time I was there, they had sold out of a lot of stuff.  I hope they restock the gift shop. I might prefer the gift shop over the restaurant side of the business.

5 comments:

Adam Paul said...

At the moment, my personal favorite is from the Roy Rogers just across the MoCo border in Burtonsville. Sure, it is "fast food" but it is pretty darn good!

Junior Barnes said...

The Tomato Palace used to be one of my favorite spots. The location is great, and I really liked the food. The pizza was some of the best around, the salads were fresh and good, and I even had my favorite pasta dish. (tri-color tortellini). When they reopened after the Clyde’s innovation, they revamped the menu and all my favorites were gone. :) They had the same menu for years, so I could understand why they wanted to change it. But now it’s ... pedestrian and generic. There’s nothing on the menu that stands out and makes you want to go there for a special meal. But I decided to give them a chance. So I went recently, and had 1/2 order of the house salad, and the “Smokehouse” pizza. The salad was almost exactly like that at Red Lobster. (They can do better than that. They have in the past.) I was warned that the pizza didn’t have any cheese on it, but I tried it anyway. Unfortunately, the concept just doesn’t work. All and all, I’m now very disappointed in the Tomato Palace, and it will be a while before I give them a second chance.

Adam said...

I don't know if this has been covered, but apparently that LuLu's Ice Cream in downtown Ellicott City is open. Drove down there yesterday.

Jack said...

There was an article in Ellicott City Patch on restaurants at Turf Valley Towne Center with some more detail and opening timeframes.

http://ellicottcity.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/four-new-restaurants-opening-soon-at-turf-valley-towne-square

Chris said...

Was just at Pho Dhat Than yesterday and saw the sign outside the Nichi Bei Kai. Looks like they've closed the location and have moved to 5550 Sterrett Place