Drive-Through Starbucks Has Opened On Rte 108; Now You Don't Have To Stop For Caffeine

A drive-through Starbucks has open on Rte 108 near Coal Fire Pizza in Columbia.

(This post has been updated early Thursday morning with photos.)

Dave and I were emailing about the Starbucks in the Shipley's Grant development.  This is on Rte 108 just west of Snowden River Parkway and just off Rte 100.  Earlier in the week, there were signs that said the Starbucks would move across the parking lot to a new space with a drive-through.  Now, it looks like coffee is being poured.

Dave's wife now has a standing job offer to be the nighttime photographer for the HowChow blog.  She stopped last night after I posted and snapped a few shots.  Dave and I were both properly impressed:

I’ll give credit to my wife, she happened to be driving back late tonight and I asked her to stop by a take a few pictures of the new Starbucks when I saw your email. Selfishly, we are excited in that it is located about 1 mile from our house and frankly, much easier to get in and out of than fighting the traffic/intersection into Dobbin Center at that Starbucks drive thru.

On a related topic, Urban BBQ has announced plans to open in the same shopping center.   Dave and I were wondering if they'll replace the old Starbucks or go in next door to the new one.

While I've Been: Tous Le Jours Has Become The Class Of Rte 40, A Great Bakery And Hangout

DOnut and latte at Tous Les Jours

All summer, I have found myself drawn back to Tous Les Jours -- the bakery that opened in a March snowstorm and has become the class of Rte 40 as far as I'm concerned.

Tous Les Jours is a Korean chain offering French pastries.  That is a common theme in Seoul, and it offers spectacular fusion items like red bean donuts when it's done well.  But it's also just a terrific bakery doing breads, cakes, pastries, coffee and drinks -- savory to sweet, grabbing take out to hanging out with friends.

This place does everything well.  It is our "new for 2015" option that quickly became a favorite stop.  We have gone for mid-day breaks and after-dinner desserts.  We enjoyed hot coffee and cold drinks.  We have barely scraped the menu, especially because the pastry selection seems to alternate more than many other Korean bakeries.

This is part of my "While I've Been Out" series to restart the blog.  Late last year, the blog got some serious competition.  I'm still working out how to keep writing while I'm doing so many other new things as well.  Yesterday, I talked up an old friend -- the Victoria burger.  Today's is this new coffee shop.  Tomorrow, I will suggest a great excursion from Main Street to great food.

I can't suggest Tour Le Jours enough if you haven't tried it yet.  Stop for coffee and a pastry.  Stop to buy classy desserts to serve at home.  Hang out for a whole afternoon in a comfy chair with a laptop or friends.  You can have it all -- and you can view this as just another friendly bakery with accessible sweets or as an authentic example of how young people are eating right now in Gangnam.

Start with the red bean donut.  I admit that my personal bias.  I posted about red bean among the first 10 HowChow posts in 2008.  But you won't go wrong.

Then check out whatever interests you.  Tous Le Jours does macarons, breads, croissants, and cakes.  They do coffee and bubble tea.  They do bing soo, the Korean dessert with shaved ice and fruit.  They do a variety of fruit "ades" like lemonade and strawberryade.

Most of the dishes have a classy Korean style, but they're more modern and international than specifically Korean.  I worry there are people turned off by the Rte 40 bakeries like Tous Les Jours or Shilla because they think they'll feel foreign.  Give them a try because the French base will make almost everything feel welcoming.

And the Tous Les Jours store adds to the welcome.  It's clean-lined and outfitted with cafe tables, easy chairs and long tables.  We have mostly sat after dinner with Lil' Jake.  But I've stopped in mid-day.  You can get in and carry out from the counter, but you can stay to work on a laptop, talk to your friends, or just soak in the scene.

The one authentic Seoul experience is how you pick your baked goods at Tous Les Jours.  Look to the left for the sleek wooden trays and metal tongs.  Take tongs and pick your baked goods from the displays.  Then take your tray to the counter to pay.  They'll bag takeout orders or let you sit down with your tray.

Tous les Jours Opens On Rte 40; A Top-Notch Bakery And Coffee Shop Mixing France And Korea

Excellent croissant and red bean donut

It's thanks to Lil' Chow that I can tell you that the new Tous les Jours looks and taste just like the top-end coffee shops in Korea.

Of course, Mrs. HowChow and I saw Seoul's coffee shops last year when we went to meet and then bring home our boisterous toddler.  But it was this morning's daycare closing that got me into Tous les Jours for opening day.

And it's worth getting in there even if you've never been to Korea.  This is a terrific coffee shop -- heavy on caffeine and sweet pastries rounded off with croissants, a few sandwiches, smoothies and bing soo.  Clean, modern design.  Big spaces with tables and easy chairs.

Lil's Chow and I split a croissant and a red bean donut.  I drank the espresso on my own.  These were delicious pastries -- as were the other samples that the Tous folks pressed on us.  A light, flaky croissant with a crisp outer shell that reminds me of jet lag in Seoul.  One of the best red bean donuts that I have ever had -- and I've been posting about them for six years.  Lighter and fresher than most local bakeries with a perfect scattering of sugar on top.

The Korean bakeries have really expanded along Rte 40.  First, La Boulangerie in Ellicott City.  Then Bon Appetit and Shilla.  Now, chains actually from Korea seem to be coming -- Caffe Benne that will open next to Soft Stuff and Tous les Jours.  The Tous is on the north side of Rte 40 west of Rte 29 in the shopping center with a Boston Market and Lighthouse Tofu.

You should definitely check out Tous les Jours  this weekend.  It's classy and delicious enough for adults to lounge, but the pastries are kid-friendly enough that you could break your cabin fever by letting your youngsters sugar up.  You could go for lunch or grab dessert after dinner at Lighthouse or fried chicken at Bon Chon.  Folks have wondered how Rte 40 can support all these coffee shops, but I have to say that Tous les Jours tops my list now -- exceptional food and a really nice space.

If you're interested in the Korean coffee shops, I absolutely recommend checking them out.  Pastries, drinks and desserts are a few dollars each.  Right now, Shilla and Tous Les Jours are my favorites, but you can read all the posts about Korean bakeries.

If you go to Tous les Jours, look in the corner for the display of trays and tongs.  Again, that's right out of Seoul coffee shops.  Pick up a set and select what you want from the pastry displays.  Then take them to the register to be boxed or carried to a table.  I love the modern trays.  I'd buy some for our house.

Hat tip to Min who saw an opening day advertisement in a Chinese newspaper.  That's how I knew that Lil Chow and I could check it out.  The Purim parade was postponed again today because someone fed our daycare stories of ice and snow.  Since Lil Chow couldn't have hamantashan, it seemed only fair to get him out of the house and feed him red bean donut.

Tous les Jours
9338 Baltimore National Pike (Rte 40)
Ellicott City, MD

NEAR: Tous les Jours is in a shopping center with Boston Market and Lighthouse Tofu on Rte 40 in Ellicott City.  It's on the north side of the road west of Rte 29.  Coming from Rte 29, you'll see signs for Asian Court, a Chinese restaurant with excellent dim sum.  Then watch for Tous on the right.  It is in the "back" of the shopping center so its windows look parallel to Rte 40, not onto the road.

Drinking A Flower: Le Comptoir's Lavender Iced Latte Has Become A Mrs. HowChow Favorite

The Le Provencal iced latte and a chocolate cookie

Narrow-casting here for the lavender lovers in Howard County.  For everyone else, there are still cookies.

Le Comptoir in Columbia offers an iced latte flavored with lavender that has become one of Mrs. HowChow's favorite things.  Le Provencal is pricey at $6, but it's her treat as we sit on the lakefront.  Done right, it's a revelation. Perfectly iced coffee with a waft of lavender.

Not the flavor of soap, which is a common problem when you cook with lavender.  This is a hint of flavor, more of scent than something strong.  We assume they use a lavender simple syrup, but we're happy to enjoy without knowing the secret.

And then there are always cookies if you want a treat without flowery flavors.  Le Comptoir makes a variety of baked goods that have made it one of our favorite places.  But those chocolate cookies have become our favorites -- crunch on the outside, moist inside.  Not cakey (because we're not a cake family).

Le Comptoir is a terrific place to stop before checking out the new Whole Foods on the lakefront.  Walk from the grocery down towards the lake and Clyde's.  Le Comptoir, Petit Louis and Sushi Sono are all perpendicular to Clyde's overlooking the lake.

Sometimes You Have To Get Out of Town To Find Something You Love; Cuban Coffee To Share

The colada at the Miami Dade College snack bar

Sometimes you have to get out of town to find something you love.

Cuban coffee culture has created the perfect mix of caffeine and friendship, value and flavor -- and I don't understand why I can't buy them all over America.

Behold above:  The colada, a huge shot of Cuban coffee served everywhere in Miami in a styrofoam cup with a half-dozen tiny plastic thimbles on the side.  Dark, sweet, espresso-like coffee.  Served so that you can share with your friends by filling thimbles and snapping them back.

What could be better than a cheap way to drink coffee all day?  I bought the colada above at a snackbar at Miami Dade College.  Truth be told, I used it as jet fuel.  I drank about two-thirds alone so that I didn't nod off during a morning spent listening to lawyers.  Huge caffeine boost, but small enough liquid that I wouldn't need the bathroom breaks that come with a venti-largo-grandi cup of coffee.

But the real fun comes from spacing them through the day.  I buy one for the group's morning coffee break.  You bring one back when you go pick up lunch.

These cost a little more than a dollar in Miami.  I assume they're making money, so I don't understand why the colada -- and Cuban coffee generally -- has never become a trend in American cities.  A Miami coffee bar serves espresso shots, the big colada, and then sipping drinks like a cafe con leche.  Come on people!  Someone should start the colada revolution around here.

The best Cuban coffee near Howard County is a Cuba de Ayer in Burtonsville, and I'm a big fan, especially of the pork chop and the Cuban sandwich.  They serve nice cafe con leche as well.  I have seen that Le Comptoir offers a "cordata" with espresso and steamed half-and-half, but I haven't tried it yet.  

Caffe Benne Appears To Be Going Next To Soft Stuff On Rte 40 In Ellicott City

Another coffee chain by way of Korea and Europe appears to be opening on Rte 40 -- this time Caffe Benne in the new construction with Soft Stuff.

Caffe Benne's plan to open in Ellicott City was spotted last year by Michael Gioioso of BMore, and the new location was spotted by Andrea, who posted on the HowChow Facebook page.  This is next door to Soft Stuff, the ice cream parlor that just re-opened in new construction on Rte 40 across from the Enchanted Village shopping center.

From the Web, it looks like Caffe Benne fits a mold of Korean chains inspired by European coffee and baking.  It looks like Shilla or Bon Apettit or the coffee shop part of Bean & Burgundy.  They're all great places to check out -- coffees, other drinks, lots of sweet baked goods, and a touch of savory ones.

Does anyone know the Caffe Benne chain?  Any ideas about whether or what makes it stand out?

(Update:  Fixed the typo in the headline. Thanks Dan.)

My New Favorite Awesomest Thing In The World

Sweet. Potato. Latte.  Awesome.

Get ready for the holidays with my new favorite awesomest thing in the world.

Imagine a classic Thanksgiving sweet potato side dish:  Whipped sweet potatoes covered with melted marshmallows.  Then imagine that as a warm winter drink.

Inspired?  Then go to the new Shilla Bakery on Rte 40 in Ellicott City.  They have all kinds of pastries, cakes, coffees, and other drinks.  But my new crush is the sweet potato latte.

This isn't a latte with a hint of sweet potato.  This is dessert in a paper cup.  Creamy, sweet, actually tasting like someone whipped marshmallow and sweet potato into a warm version of a milk shake.  I loved it.  I didn't need more than a few bites of the other desserts that we had ordered, but the sweet potato latte made my night.

The Shilla Bakery is a really cool place to hang out.  Families.  Teenagers.  Four women sitting at a table with coffees, forks, and a roll of sponge cake.  Everyone can have fun for an afternoon or after dinner.  We recommend the macarons, which have a crunchier exterior than the perfect ones from New York City but that come in a range of interesting flavors.

Sweet potato cake

HowChow regular Min ordered a sweet potato cake from Shilla for a birthday.  She thought it was delicious -- dense in texture, but not overwhelmingly sweet.  She originally thought it was covered in coconut, but that turned out to be finely-grated cake crumbs.

Bon Appetit a little farther west on Rte 40 is a straight-up competition with Shilla.  I need to check out their latte options.  The new Bean & Burgundy Bread has probably triple the space, and they're trying to offer coffee, baked goods, and a bigger savory menu as well.  They're all casual variations that offer a nice way to get out of the house as the weather gets cold.

Bean & Burgundy Soft Opens With Coffee, Sandwiches, And A Pretty Modern Space

Bean & Burgundy Bread has soft-opened, and it's a huge modern space with everything from coffee to pastries, sandwiches to Korean food.

The new restaurant on Rte 40 has counters for coffee and sandwiches.  There is also an glass-walled kitchen where you can see the cooks at work.  I just had a cup of coffee.  I had just eat a pit beef sandwich at Gadsby's Bar American, so I couldn't even spring for the bulgogi-Philly cheesesteak hybrid that they were advertising.

Give them a little time to get a rhythm.  But let me know what you try and what you think.  I saw a speciality coffee with honey and lavender whipped cream.  They were out of the cream, but I could see Mrs. HowChow wanting to try that when we go back.

Does anyone know what they're doing for dinner?  More than sandwiches?

Do teenagers live in these coffee shops?  My friends and I ordered bread sticks and sodas many afternoons so that we could claim a Pizza Hut booth and stay out of our parents' homes  Sitting in Bean & Burgundy, I thought that this would be so much better than Pizza Hut.  No kids at lunchtime since there was school, but I wondered if teenagers know how good they have it and buy some coffees and pastries at places like this, Bon Appetit or Shilla.

Drive-Through Starbucks Coming To Columbia?

Has anyone heard about a drive-through Starbucks coming to Columbia?

Deb messaged me on Facebook to say that On the Spot mobile detailing had mentioned the Starbucks when they emailed to say the business would be moving.  They said there would be demolition and development in the commercial area near Rte 32 and Eden Brook Drive.

I think On the Spot is in a commercial area at the end of Old Columbia Road.  That's a dead end so I'm surprised, but I'm not expert on placing Starbucks.  I guess the area is easy to reach from Rte 32, especially if you can order your coffee without getting out of your car.  This is the quote from On the Spot's email:

"For those of you who are local and interested, they are going to be putting a Drive-Thru Starbucks in the strip center they are developing at Old Columbia Rd."

Is this the right area shown in the Google "street view" below?


View Larger Map

Any Coffee Fanatics Try The Clover Machine At The Starbucks On Rte 40 In Ellicott City?

Have any of you coffee fanatics tried the new Clover machine that Starbucks is using to make special brews on Rte 40 in Ellicott City?

CrunchDaddy and I were talking today, and he mentioned that the Starbucks just west of Rte 40 has one of these new Clover systems that make individual cups through a super-precise process.  Folks have told CrunchDaddy that the machines can run $15,000, which explains why the coffees are a bit more expensive than your regular cup.

Neither of us has tried the Clover system.  Friends had told him that the coffee is exquisite, and you can pick from any variety, including ones that the store isn't brewing for the regular folks.


Has anyone tried this?  Is it worth a visit?  Click here for Starbucks' pitch.  If you go to the Starbucks on Rte 40, walk down the shopping center and check out the Cooks 'n Cakes bakery.  Coffee and a sweet sounds like a nice way to relax.

Zeke's Coffee At The BP In Columbia Crossing

Zeke's Coffee is a Baltimore boutique roaster that my stereotype says you'll find in a Hampden shop selling cupcakes and sandals made from hemp.

But Twitter says that you can actually get a cup at the BP station near the Target in Columbia.

This morning, Good to Go Market tweeted about their new Zeke's set-up at the BP in Columbia Crossing.  This just north of the intersection of Rte 175 and Dobbin Road.  I admit to being surprised, so I thought the Good to Go folks -- who also run Sunocos in Ellicott City and Columbia -- deserved a little notice.

Is it just me, or do you feel like a company that makes an extra effort to buy niche coffee will also make an extra effort with your car?  I'd love to know any other gas stations with coffee that you think does something special.  Will anyone clean your windows and serve you Southern Skies?  My to-do list already includes the subs at the downtown Columbia Exxon.

Anna's Coffee Roastery in Columbia: Roast Their Own Beans And Put Korea's BBQ In Mexico's Taco

Bulgogi tacos at Anna's Coffee Roastery

The local coffee shop scene gets a new roast and a new take on international bulgogi now that Anna's Coffe Roastery has opened in Columbia.

Anna's follows a line of local coffee shops that roasts its own coffee and sells a line of breakfast and lunch options until the end of the work day.  They're getting nice comments online about the coffee, but I went right for the flashy stuff: bulgogi tacos.

This is staple trend in places like Los Angeles, but the bulgogi taco is a nice lunch option here in Howard County.  It's the cousin of the bulgogi panini at Riverside Coffee -- and a similar use of Korean barbecue to head onto an international scene.

Anna's sells two bulgogi versions -- a "sweet' version with beef and a "spicy" version with pork.  They're thin-sliced meat, charred nicely and served on a corn tortilla with rice, letture and sour cream.  In the end, neither is very sweet or spicy.  The main flavors are the meat and their sauces, which were rich and offset nicely by the lettuce crunch.  Gabrielle and her family lunched there Sunday as well, trying both bulgogi as platters with rice and a salad, and she recommends it as well:

Gabrielle's bulgogi platter

The spicy pork was not overly spicy (I actually wouldn't have minded a little more heat) but had a great flavor full of onions, ginger, and red pepper. My husband's sweet beef bulgogi had a subtle sesame oil flavor and was also sprinkled with sesame seeds

Like Riverside's panini, Anna's tacos are aimed at a general audience.  It's a nice mix of Mexican and Korean favors, enticing to anyone who likes a little barbecue.  Dr. RDAdoc and I split two of the $8 taco plates, and I went spicy when he let me decide which of the final two tacos to finish.  If anything, I could have taken more spicy too.  A little kimchi, even on the side or as an optional topping?  Or some pickled Mexican vegetables to add just a little zip?

Anna's is definitely a nice addition to the options along the Columbia/Elkridge line.  Gabrielle's six-year-old devoured a half turkey club, and the menu runs from breakfast sandwiches through a bunch of lunchtime options.  For now, I'm pretty loyal to my Sidamo's coffee beans, but I'd love to know what people think of those other roasts.

Anna' Coffee Roastery
8827 Centre Park Dr Ste D
Columbia, MD 21045
(443) 546-4131

NEAR:  Anna's is in a shopping center between Rte 108 and Rte 100.  It's just north of the Giant onCenter Park Drive.  You pull into the entrance near the Burger King and Bangkok Delight, then drive past the Thai restaurant to a strip of shops with an MRI shop.

Coffee Bubble Tea At Ichiban Cafe in Columbia

Sometimes you need a cute trendy drink to cool you down.  Some times you need caffeine.

Now, you can have both at Ichiban Cafe.

Ichiban serves up bubble tea along with a broad menu of Japanese food and sushi.  Mrs. HowChow tested the place last year with a jasmine bubble tea, but we went back with a need for refreshment -- and a mid-shopping trip pick-me-up.

Bubble tea -- or boba tea -- is basically a soft drink with tapioca pearls.  Places like Ichiban and  La Boulangarie or Bon Appetit Bakery in Ellicott City serve varieties often flavored with fruit and tea.  You get an oversized straw so that you can suck up the iced tea and the soft, chewy pearls.

At Ichiban, I got a coffee bubble tea.  Real coffee iced down, then tricked out into a Taiwanese treat.  Good flavor, fun with the tapioca, just enough caffeine to get me through the end of our errands.  If I remember right, they had a mocha version as well.  That's an alternative to a soda if you're doing errands in the summer heat around Dobbin Road.

Ichiban Cafe 
6250 Columbia Crossing Circle 
Columbia, MD 21045 
410-290-1898 

NEAR: Ichiban is in the Columbia Crossing shopping center with Target. This is off Rte 175 at Dobbin Road. It is near the Joseph A. Banks and across from the Dick's sporting goods.

Sidamo Coffee & Tea in Fulton

The coffee at Sidamo Coffee & Tea has become so key to my mornings that the place needs a post of its own.

The Fulton coffee shop opened last year in Maple Lawn, and it serves breakfast, lunch and all the coffee drinks that you would expect.  Ironically, I bought beans there as part of a survey that initially left me convinced that all Howard County coffee shops were created equal.  But Sidamo's coffee was more equal.  I kept going back.  I kept loving the coffee.  By now, Sidamo has been my source for whole beans for almost a year.

Sidamo is the second location for owners who started out on the H Street NE corridor near Capitol Hill.  It's a cheery, sunlit space that kicks off

If anything, I wish Sidamo did more to push its sandwiches.  The chalkboard lists just the generic names, and it took a Washington Post review to talk up the fact that they're imaginative sandwiches made with homemade ingredients like hummus, lentils, etc.  (Update: The sandwiches are delicious -- worth a visit if you need lunch.)

But the coffee has become my real addiction.  I have been addicted to the caffeine since a relapse in 1998, but Sidamo has me addicted to coffee that tastes delicious.  They roast the beans on site in the red metal roaster that sits at the front of the store.  They're heavy on Ethiopian varieties, and I cycle between Mandheling, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe.  They're all full of earthy coffee flavor -- but smooth rather than bitter.

One fun item that I actually haven't seen yet: Sidamo hosts a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony every Sunday at 2 pm.  It's a little theater.  A free lesson about Ethiopian culture.  The WPost described the version at the DC location.

If you want crazy-good coffee, check out Pele Plantation coffee from Hawaii.  These are the people who taught me that coffee doesn't have to be Starbucks-bitter.  Their coffee is delicious and might make a fun gift for the coffee nut in your life.

Sidamo Coffee & Tea
8180 Maple Lawn Boulevard
Fulton, MD 20759
301-483-3683

NEAR: Sidamo is in sight of Rte 216 in the Maple Lawn development.  You need to drive around the back of Looney's to park and walk into Sidamo.

Coffee Flavored Sparking Water At Nazar Market

Coffee-flavored soda is one of those ideas that would sound forced if I heard it from Coca-Cola but seemed rakishly exotic in a Turkish grocery store.

Sarikiz actually makes coffee-flavored mineral water -- along with a green bottle of the mineral water on its own.  It's a real coffee flavor in a small bottle.  Not the milkshake that Starbucks sells as a bottled frappachino.  It's a carbonated soft drink with the refreshing pull -- especially if you're just looking for something different like buying the Turkish sour cherry nectar and mixing it with sparkling water.

Nazar Market in Coumbia sells all of these items along with a variety of other Turkish, Middle Eastern and Persian foods.  Consider checking out their refrigerator to accompany a sandwich from Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery, which sells spectacular sandwiches and breads right across the parking lot.

If nothing else, consider the bottles if you want a coversation starter for guests.  Nazar Market sells small cases along with the single bottles in the fridge.  The bottles -- with their small size, real bottle caps and Turkish provenance -- would add a little flair to a buffet or a dinner party, but still provide flavors that should please almost anyone.  I had meant to buy a case of the mineral water for Mrs. HowChow's office party, but I just realized that fell through the cracks when we hosted the party last month.

Pottery Stop And Coffee Shop in Ellicott City

At the newest Howard County coffee shop, you can make your cup and sip it too.

The Pottery Stop on Rte 40 has been a paint-your-own pottery shop for years.  The Java Grande cofffee shop closed last year in the same shopping center, and the Pottery Shop expanded into that space.

Now, it's The Pottery Stop and Coffee Shop -- two businesses at once.  For our food theme here, the key is the coffee shop.  They're serving coffee, smoothies, and blended drinks, plus muffins, cookies, brownies to eat.  They're waiting to fix the freezer before starting the serve the bagels that Java Grande used to sell.

Owner Lisa Feltz says some people do seem confused.  She says coffee drinkers peer into the windows.  But they're welcome inside.  Anyone can come for a drink or a snack, and Lisa said people are welcome to sit unless there are painters waiting for a table.  There's less space on weekends, but Lisa says there is generally weekday space for people to relax.

The Pottery Shop is open even days -- 8 to 8 Monday to Saturday with later hours Thursday to Saturday, and 9 to 6 on Sunday.  This is the shopping center just west of Rte 29 on Rte 40.

The Pottery Stop And Coffee Shop
9050 Baltimore National Pike #103 (Rte 40)
Ellicott City, MD 21042
410-480-0111

NEAR:  This is just west of Rte 29 on Rte 40.  From Rte 29, you turn north on St. Johns Lane, which is a traffic light.  Then you turn right into the parking lot.

Sidamo Going To Be Up And Roasting

Sidamo Coffee & Tea will soon be roasting their beans in the Fulton store -- in the bright red machine delivered there late last week.

On Saturday, people did not know when the roasting would start.  Sidamo now roasts at the original Washington location.  For summer, the blended tea lattes are a great treat, but I'm a traditionalist buying Sidamo's whole beans.

All three of the Ethiopian varieties are wonderful -- strong and flavorful, but not as bitter as Starbucks.  These are delicious coffee.  I'm alternating between the Sidamo and Yhrgacheffee blends.

Sidamo sells coffee, breakfast and lunch in the Maple Lawn development on Rte 216 just west of Rte 29.

The Pottery Stop Opens Its Coffee Shop

The Pottery Stop in Ellicott City has officially opened its coffee shop, according to its Twitter feed.

The paint-your-own pottery store on Rte 40 just west of Rte 29 has taken over the space that used to be Java Grande.  Their plan over the winter was to offer their pottery in a bigger space, plus serve coffee, snacks and desserts.

Welcome to the Pottery Stop and Coffee Shop.

Bays Coffee House in West Friendship

New York bagels just down from the Howard County Fairgrounds?  That's what Adam from GrubGrade found on a jetlagged morning when he walked into Bays Coffee House in West Friendship.  The GrubGrade boys have a national site reviewing everything from neighborhood restaurants to snacks and fast food.  But summertime has brought Adam back to the nest -- and out for a cup of coffee and some breakfast.

Do you know the single greatest travesty of the Howard County dining experience (ok, besides the fact that the Baltimore Sun has long ignored us)?

It’s that West Friendship more or less lacks any decent food stop whatsoever. Sure, there’s the Subway and Friendship Pride pizza place in the old West Friendship plaza, but at 6 AM a guy is sometimes in need of, you know, a decent breakfast. Or if it’s 3:30 in the afternoon, I’m feeling more like chilling on my laptop with free Wi Fi and a fresh-made smoothie – not nibbling on a greasy pizza that’s more flab and fat than crust and flavor.

Has anyone else noticed this glaring problem for all those who live between Waverly Woods and Glenwood?

I know I sure have, which is why I’m stoked to have discovered the newly opened Bays Coffee House in the otherwise out-of-the-way plaza at the corner of 144 and 32, just a stones throw away from the Howard County Fairgrounds.

Affordable, fresh-roasted coffee? Check. Monster, real-deal New York style bagel sandwiches that weigh in at nearly a buck less than what you’d get at an Einstein Brothers? Check. Muffins and croissants the size of my head? You know it. And heck, that’s not even counting Bay’s selection of specialty hot and cold coffee drinks, along with breakfast sandwiches featuring eggs, bacon, and cheese.

Blended Chai Tea Lattes at Sidamo

Go off menu at Sidamo's in Fulton to turn your latte into a warm-weather treat.

Blended chai tea lattes are Frappochino's by another name, and they taste as sweet.  They taste really good actually, and I only know because my cousin asked if the lattes on the menu could be blended with ice.  Who knew?

Sidamo is becoming my source for coffee.  I love bold coffees, but I have realized that I don't love Starbucks bitter taste.  Sidamo roasts currently at their DC store, and they're waiting for the roaster to be delivered to the Fulton branch.  They have two varieties that I love, and I'm alternating when I buy the whole bean pound bags.

The blended chai lattes are your "stop for a treat" option.  I'm pleased to see Sidamo's seats fill up, and I hope they can add a few outdoor tables as the weather warms.  This Maple Lawn may work out yet!