Mod Pizza Brings The Five-Minute Pie To Columbia; Pick A Topping, Every Topping

Mod Pizza -- an attempt to get Lil' Chow to split a pie.  It didn't work.

The individual pizza game has opened in Howard County, and I am a surprised fan.

Several new pizza joints have opened as chains open around the country.  They're filling a spot that's a little more upscale and individualized than the standard pizza chain, yet more casual and quicker than wood-fired pioneers like Facci Ristorante.

Mod Pizza was the first one that I tried.  It follows the standard pattern -- counter service where you pick an individual-sized pie and then pick from dozens of toppings.  More varied and fresher than the canned mushrooms or chopped pepper that you might get at a standard place.  Then they bake your pizza with a blistering oven -- maybe a gas-fired oven, maybe a rolling conveyor belt.

I'm a fan.

Mod Pizza comes in two sizes.  Each work as a personal pizza.  I've alternated between the two sizes, depending on my hunger and whether I figured Lil' Chow would leave a slice or two when he was done.

Crusts come out crisp and slightly charred.  Mod folks place them in a gas oven and watch them cook.  The crusts have the individual char of a specialty pizza, but they've been uniformly terrific.  No burnt pizzas.  No under-cooked.  I've only eaten Mod Pizza on site.  I see lots of people carry out, although my experience is that crisp special pizzas -- like Facci Ristorante -- are better right out of the oven.

A slide outside Mod Pizza

In the end, it's the toppings that make Mod Pizza stand out.  So many pizzas in my past have eft me uninspired because the only toppings were oily pepperoni, chopped onions, maybe canned olives and artichokes.  The pies are heavy and dense.

Mod Pizza -- like its compatriot You Pizza in Clarksville that I'll write about soon -- goes big on the toppings.  You can pick suggestions from the menu.  Or you can stand at the counter and add any topping that you want.  Cheeses that start at mozzarella and go through ricotta, goat and parmesan.  A half dozen meats.  A dozen vegetables that range from crisp red peppers to briny artichokes.  Finishing sauces.  You can pick anything, and, most importantly, it's all fresh and full of flavor.

Then the blast in the oven brings it all together  My current creation starts with ricotta with a little tomato sauce, garlic and bacon.  Then mostly vegetables, often artichokes, maybe spicy peppers, sweet peppers, olives, parmesan cheese . . . .

You can add too much.  I've made pies where the toppings were too much to lift.  That's why I backed off the ricotta and parmesan cheeses.  Chopped bacon adds salt and smoke without the mass of the heavier meats.

This pie had too many toppings

In addition, I'm in the tank for Mod Pizza because this is where Lil' Chow found his favorite pizza this spring.  At birthday parties, Lil' Chow eats whatever pizza you put in front of him.  Anywhere else, he was picky.  No sauce.  Just cheese and bread, and even that didn't inspire him.

Until Mod Pizza.  When I announced our first visit, Lil' Chow screamed objections.  Then he go to the shop and saw that he got to pick his own food.  A small pie, just mozzarella and salami.  On maybe the second trip, an awesome Mod Pizza employee layered salami like the scales of an armadillo.  Lil' Chow was hooked.  On a stretch when Mrs. HowChow was busy at work, I think Lil' and I ate there five times in 10 days.  He ordered salami, no-sauce every time.  I experimented and enjoyed every one.

One fun part of the Mod Pizza location is that there is basically a small playground outside.   This is at the base of an apartment building across from the COlumbia Mall.  You can pack inside the building.  The entrance is on the side street.  Next to the restaurants -- also a CaliBurger and a Corner Bakery -- is a play area.  Several petal-shaped sculptures that are toddler-sized slides and hiding places.  Plus water sprays that mist from the ground -- providing a perfect cooling fun without soaking anyone's clothes.  Look for buttons on the stone bench near the nozzles.  They trigger patterns of mist.

Surprise: My Favorite Pizza May Be Outdoors, And It's Leaving This Weekend (Until Spring)

River House Pizza Company "namaste" toppings with a kid-friendly section

I'm trying to restart my blogging with a bunch of surprises that I've had while HowChow was quiet.

Like -- my favorite pizza may be served outside.

It's the River House Pizza Company that runs an mobile wood-fired oven off Main Street in Ellicott City.  This is part of the Tonge Row shops anchored by the Little French Market.  Lil' Chow and I split a pie last weekend, and I'm blogging this morning because this is the last weekend until spring for you to run over and enjoy a pizza yourself.

This is part of a "Surprise" series that I'm writing as I try to start blogging again.  Come back for more over the next few days.

River House sells crisp pizzas with a perfect char and a variety of high-end toppings.  You order at a window and then pick up the pizza from the chefs working under an awning next to the movile oven.  Last Sunday, Lil' Chow and I walked partway up the Trolley Trail towards the Breadery, then circled back to walk up Main Street.

Discovery #1:  Lil' Chow doesn't want to window shop.  He was polite.  But he was on my shoulders, and I'd hear a firm "No" whenever I paused to look in the window a store.

Discovery #2:  He likes pizza better without sauce.

Lil' Chow loves to cook pizza with me.  He has never eaten a huge amount, and I realized a few weeks ago that he preferred the crusts to the even the "plain" slice with sauce and cheese.  So, when we wandered to River House off the parking lot behind Tersiguel's, I asked to fill three-quarters of our pie with their "namaste" toppings and one-quarter with just cheese.

This is really exceptional.  It's better than the pizza that I make at home.  That wood oven chars the crust and browns the mozzarella.  They dot the surface with toppings -- dashes of chunky marinara sauce, onion, baby portabellos, and roasted red pepper.  We had the added pleasures of a warm December day and a toddler who ate with enthusiasm and good cheer.  But that pizza stands up on its own.

Unfortunately, they're closing up shop after this weekend for a cold-weather break.  Probably back in March.  Go for lunch now!

Now, I'm a sucker for the wood-fired ovens.  So my other top pizzas run from Facci on Johns Hopkins Road to the other mobile pizza oven at Brick'n Fire that often parks in Oella.   Lil's Chow and I also really enjoyed Bella Luna in Columbia.  With these ovens, pizzas differ.  It takes a skilled chef, and the pizzas at each place vary depending on who is running the oven.  Check out all my posts about pizza.

Anyone have other recommendations for pizza?  Anyone know the status of new restaurants on Main Street.  There had been talk about Joe's Squared coming to Ellicott City, but I guess that hasn't actually happened.

Pizza di Joey Starts Our Parade Of Food Trucks; Jeff Reports Lunch From Annapolis Junction

Joey Vanoni of Pizza di Joey

Food trucks aren't just for cities anymore, and I want to get in on the ones that make the trek out to Howard County.

I have posted about food trucks in the past, but Jeff Givens starts off what we hope will be a series of posts about other options -- focused on trucks that visited the National Business Park in Annapolis Junction where Jeff used to work.

Jeff is a long-time friend of the blog.  He runs Southern Skies Coffee Roasters from his home in Carroll County.  He writes and photographs about food on the side, and he took notes about the food trucks at National Business Park when he was working there.  As Jeff says, the Annapolis Junction office park is massive, but offers little in brick-and-mortar lunch options.

To fill the gap, the building management turned to food trucks.  Office workers often line up more than 20 deep in the parking lot at National Business Parkway and Technology Drive, and Jeff explored his way out there.

Jeff followed the trucks' schedules on Twitter, but he has written profiles for HowChow -- starting off with the Pizza di Joey (update: who I hear also stops at the Applied Physics Labs on some days):

Monster slices

Joey Vanoni has baked pizza everywhere from the cramped quarters of fast-attack submarines to the mountains of Afghanistan. He spent 7 years on active duty in the Navy. During the long, arduous tours aboard a submarine, he helped to keep up morale by baking artisan pizzas - a skill he learned while working in a coal fire, brick oven pizzeria during his youth in New Jersey.

After leaving active duty, he spent time in Afghanistan as a contractor, where he continued to make pizzas during his off time. Joey's pizzas were so popular that his coworkers pitched together and built a brick oven.

When he returned to the U.S., Joey's retirement dream of starting a mobile pizzeria was put into high gear when the government sequestration occurred. He and his partner, Tomas Ruperto, had a truck outfitted with a brick pizza oven which can bake up to 4 pies at a time at temperatures of 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The oven weighs 4000 lbs, so the truck had to be custom built in a specialty shop in upstate NY.

About the pizza:

Joey makes his NY style pizza in true artisan fashion with high-quality ingredients. He buys hormone-free beef from a farm near Westminster, MD and the pork sausage is made locally from Duroc pork to a recipe by Rich Shore of Sausage Barons. The slices are HUGE and made simply. Even "The Works" pie has only pepperoni, garlic, onions, peppers and mushrooms. Most of the other varieties only have 1 or 2 toppings, allowing the quality of each ingredient to shine through.

The pizza was really delicious. The crust had the perfect amount of chew and was slightly crispy on the bottom. The sausage that Joey has made to his recipe was well-seasoned and fresh. One slice is more than enough for someone who sits behind a keyboard all day.

On the side of his truck it says "Serving those who have served." It's not just branding, as Pizza di Joey donates a portion of his revenue to different charities, including the Wounded Warrior Project and House of Ruth. Active and retired military are also offered a discount on their purchase.

To find Pizza di Joey, watch for updates on Joe's his Twitter feed @PizzadiJoey.  Or check their Facebook page.

Pizza Time At Luna Bella -- Crisp Crust, Fresh Toppings, And All-The-Parmesan A Kid Could Eat

Luna Bella's pizza -- with parmesan topper

When the woman leaned over and busted me as HowChow, she said it was the Parmesan cheese that had given us away.

Luna Bella is a long-established Columbia restaurant, and I figured that Lil' Chow and I could slip inside on a weeknight.  Luna Bella does a full Italian menu from salads to fish, pastas to chicken parm, but I've always gone for pizza.  That was the choice that I gave Lil' Chow as we stepped from the parking lot into the Hickory Ridge village center -- "Chicken or pizza?"

He went pizza, so I'll see next time if he'll explore yucca fries and Peruvian chicken.

Lil' Chow got his own kid's-size pie.  I went with a vegetable stromboli.  I wanted the bite of provolone instead of mozzarella, and I wanted veggies over meatballs because I lack the discipline to eat only half.

Stromboli

I really recommend Luna Bella, especially because the Hickory Ridge village center lets you hang out after dinner near the fountain or run a toddler around with a cup of chocolate ice cream from Meadows Frozen Custard.  Amid a white-table-cloth joint full of adults, the Luna Bella folks treated me and Lil' Chow perfectly -- immediate ordering, quick delivery, and really nice food.

Our crusts had the crispness that you get from a wood-fired oven.  I think it's a step above most pizza around Howard County, even if it isn't a match for the charred crust and specialized ingredients on a Facci pie.  I saw several salads that looked delicious, and folks next to us had a calamari appetizer that made me wonder if I could get Lil's Chow to eat fried squid.

My stroboli came stuffed with squash, mushrooms and onions.  I dipped up the entire side of marinara.  Lil' Chow's pizza worked for me, but he felt that it didn't have enough cheese.  By which I  mean, that he removed the mozzarella and replaced it with shredded Parmesan.  Two deliveries.

That was when the woman at the next table asked if I wrote the blog.  She said she had suspected, but become convinced when she saw Lil' Chow's love of cheese.  The recent Facci post had discussed Lil' Chow's all-you-can-eat love for Parmesan.  Plus, we're a matching pair of middle-aged white guy and two-year-old Korean immigrant.  I laughed and fessed up.

Next time, I'm going to sit outside and try Luna Bella's meats.  They put sausage and pepperoni right at the front of the list of ingredients you can add to a calzone.  I'll promise myself to save half for lunch, and I'll go full glutton with sausage, pepperoni and caramelized onions.  But then, there are also meatballs . . . . .

Has anyone had Luna Bella's sandwiches?  I hadn't realized that they did sandwiches, but their menu on-line talks about some heavy-duty options like a meatball hoagie, a chicken parm sub, and a chicken cheese steak.  I love them all.  But I only want exceptional because a bad chicken parm sub would be a softball in your stomach.  I'm included to try Luna Bella's sandwiches one day for lunch.

Pizza And Ice Cream In Downtown Ellicott City; Top Of My To-Do List -- If I Can Work Around Nap

The folks who brought weekend outdoor pizza to downtown Ellicott City have re-opened the nearby ice cream shop to make a dangerous duo -- to your waistline.

River House Pizza is Nathan Sowers' mobile wood-fired oven that turns the courtyard near the Main Street parking lot into an outdoor pizza restaurant.  For several years, they have served one of the highlights of the monthly market.

Now, that monthly market has become the weekly Ellicott City Old Town Market -- every Saturday offering music, farmers stands and more.  Check out their Facebook page for hours and details.

At the same time, Sowers has expanded River House to Friday lunchtime (11:30-2) and all day Saturday and Sunday (11:30-7).   He has also re-opened the ScoopAHHdeedo ice cream shop that operated down the row for a few years, but I think was shuttered for the last one or two.  The scoop shop will be open Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 7 pm.

I've been remiss writing up the expansion.  I keep wanting to go.  We really loved the BrickNFire mobile pizza oven that operates across the river at the Breadery in Oella.  Now you can get pizza and the Taharka Brothers ice cream.

Have people been to the weekly Old Town Market?  What do you recommend?  This is now on my list -- waiting for a Saturday when I can get Lil' Chow down there before or after nap.  For a real report, check out Katie's post updated in 2014 on the Cupcake RN blog.

You can make real fun all weekend in downtown Ellicott City.  On top of the pizza and the Saturday market, one of the highlights is the weekly movies shown outdoors by the Wine Bin.  Check out their schedule on their site to see titles starting on May 22.

Joe Squared Pizza Coming To Main Street Ellicott City, Landlord's Manager Tells The Sun

Joe Squared's pizza -- maybe coming to Ellicott City

Joe Squared Pizza will open an Ellicott City branch in the former Taylor's Antique Mall on Main Street, the landlord's project manager told the Sun earlier this month.

Joe Squared is a really good pizza restaurant with two locations in Baltimore.  We ate lunch at one today after a morning at Port Discovery.  It's a thin-crust square pie with high-quality toppings.

Blair Ames wrote a story on Dec. 11 about a tax credit announcement held on Main Street with a bunch of elected officials.  I would have thought tax credits were news 20 years ago when I was a newspaper reporter.  But amid a stultifying list of projects, Ames quotes Don Reuwer with information that actually affects people --  that they have a tentative deal for Joe Squared to occupy the first floor of the former Taylor's Antiques with offices on the second and third.

This is a prominent spot right at the intersection with Old Columbia Pike.  It is across from Pure Wine Cafe, which pairs nicely with Joe Squared's casual vibe and attention to ingredients.  The Taylor's folks have talked about a restaurant since at least January, and Reuwer told Ames that they hope to finish the project in six to eight months -- so figure next summer or fall because construction is always difficult and often delayed.

Hat tip to the anonymous commenter who mentioned Joe Squared and Main Street on yesterday's post.  I hadn't read the Sun article, and no one had mentioned it to me.  There is another comment that says the new restaurant from the folks who own Victoria Gastro Pub will be FoodPlenty in Clarksville.

Double hat tip to the HoCo Rising blog that noticed the lede buried in the Sun story last week.  Of course, some bloggers live a leisurely life where their new baby can't run yet.

Pizza And Popcorn: BricknFire Pizza Brings Great Pizza To Columbia, Oella And Other Spots

Margherita pizza with prosciutto by BricknFire Pizza

New fatherhood has meant that I need to plan my days around naps and bedtime, and Mr. CrunchDaddy has inspired me to at least try to plan for some pizza this weekend.

Dan -- creator of the local CrunchDaddy Popcorn and friend of the blog -- has been nudging me to seek out pizza at BricknFire Pizza.  BricknFire is a pop-up pizzeria.  A portable oven run by Megan Lanasa, whose family owns the Breadery in Oella.  She bakes pies at farmers markets, Howard County General Hosptial, the Breadery, and other sites.

Dan has been a fan for a while.  He has even teamed up with Lanasa so that he'll do popcorn tasting on Saturday from noon to 3 pm while she is selling pizzas.  I asked him to write up what has caught his fancy:

The quality, authenticity and simplicity of BricknFire Pizza makes for a truly wonderful eating experience. This portable brick oven operation (run by Megan Lanasa) appears at various locations in the area from week to week and frequently on Saturday afternoons at The Breadery in Oella (run by her father, Mike Lanasa). The best place to find their weekly schedule and list of specials is on their Facebook page.

I'm Italian... but I order my Americanized pizza with lots of stuff on it... all the meats, mushrooms, olives, etc. When I have the opportunity to enjoy a real Italian pizza, I'm happy to let the bare elements speak for themselves. I expect the tomato sauce to be fresh, the mozzarella to be milky and the herbs to make my taste buds dance. BricknFire does it like they invented it, with San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, fresh herbs and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil as a finishing touch. Baked on fresh made dough in a wood-fired brick oven, the result is heavenly.

Regular offerings at BricknFire Pizza include the classic cheese and Margherita pizzas as well as one with soppressata (cured Italian sausage) as a nod to the meat lovers. Specialty pizzas, dessert pizzas and sandwiches are offered at the whim of Chef Megan and feature a variety of locally-sourced ingredients. The picture that I included was a Margherita pizza with prosciutto added. It really doesn't get more Italian than that.

Again, BricknFire posts its schedule on its Facebook page.  Get lunch today at Howard County General Hospital in Columbia from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.  Or check them out at the Breadery in Oella Friday from 4 to 8 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm.  Try for the bonus Saturday afternoon when you can get pizza, shop at Breadery, and taste CrunchDaddy.  I'm a huge fan of Dan's popcorn and recommend bags as hostess or holidays gifts.

The Breadery is worth checking out even without the pizza.  It's a really nice bakery.  Part of the real revolution in bread that happened even before Whole Foods came to town.  They were expanding into cheese and others foods when I last visited, but I haven't seen the expanded layout.  It's an easy drive from Main Street in Ellicott City, and it's a great walk up a trail when the weather is good.  Again, I'm hoping this weekend.

BricknFire Pizza Is Firing In Oella, Says Adam; Enjoy A Cool Walk To Great Food Off Main Street

BricknFire Pizza from opening day

On my list for this summer is an afternoon walk up a shady trail from Main Street to brick oven pizza.

The new BricknFire Pizza is operating from the parking lot of the Breadery in Oella.  The bakery is worth a walk on its own, but BricknFire is running a portable pizza oven that takes the place up a notch.  It all sits next to the Trolley Line #9 trail that runs up a shaded hill from downtown Ellicott City up into Oella.

When I wanted to try last weekend, BricknFire was out at winery.  But friend of the blog Adam checked out some pies at the early May opening, and he sent me a thoughtful piece that talked up the good:

The char

There’s a lot to like about BricknFire Pizza, but there are still some elements to work out. Set outside the rustic façade of the Breadery and adjacent to the Trolley Trail, Brick’n Fire has a pastoral ambiance which bolsters the ethos of rustic, Neapolitan style pizza. Based on my initial tasting, they’re not far from it.

The opening day menu consisted of three pizzas; Cheese ($9), Margherita ($10), and Soppressata ($10). A brochure promises various “Chef Creation” pizzas at “market price” for the future, although specifics weren’t enumerated on.

Open Saturday: BricknFire Brings Pizza To Oella

Opening on Saturday -- BricknFire Pizza in Oella.

This is a second-generation place from the family who own The Breadery.  They have installed a pizza oven, and they're growing their own herbs.  Check out their Facebook page.  They're a stone's throw from Howard County just up the hill from downtown Ellicott CIty.

If you're thinking about pizza, you should really consider a walk on the path that runs from Main Street up past The Breadery.  You won't find a better light exercise than enjoying a walk up the forested path and enjoying the food at The Breadery and BricknFire.

I wrote about the walk two years ago.  Duane wrote this spring in the HoCo Connect blog.

Hat tip to CrunchDaddy of CrunchDaddy Popcorn who reminded me about BricknFire and mentioned the opening.  

BricknFire Pizza
418 Oella Ave
Catonsville, Maryland 21228
(443) 851-0676

NEAR: BricknFire and The Breadery are really easy to reach from Main Street in Ellicott City. Oella and Catonsville are right across the river in Baltimore County. You wind up picturesque Westchester Avenue and end up a few doors down from The Breadery.

Trolling: Bison Burger At Cacao Lane, Proscuitto Pizza at Coal Fire; Adam Hits The Half Price

Coal Fire's prosciutto cippola pizza

Friend of the blog Adam is back with some serious fun -- recommending a bison burger that I really need to try.  He and I are both fans of restaurant specials, and he talks up a pair of them for this week's Trolling post:

It’s great when restaurants host local social events. It’s also great when they cater awesome specials for those events.  For a few years now, Cacao Lane in Ellicott City has graciously hosted the local chapter of Theology on Tap, a weekly gathering that features a speaker on topics relevant to the faith lives of young adult Catholics. 

Cacao Lane discounts their burgers and sandwiches for those in attendance, and I took full advantage with one of the best bison burgers I’ve ever eaten.  I don’t say this lightly; I’ve had bison from dozens of restaurants out west, and have regularly bought local bison from Gunpowder Bison Co. in Monkton, MD.

Bison burger at Cacao Lane

Often times, the burgers are dry and uninspired, but Cacao Lane’s -- requested and cooked rare -- is juicy and flavorful.  Beefy overtones pair with a slightly gamey finish in the meat, while the patty is certainly helped by a sharp and tangy blue cheese.  I love the red onion jam they add, which gives a mellow and developed sweetness to counter the bold cheese and bison flavors.  The brioche bun is a nice touch of richness, as is bacon, which I made sure to add.  Not bad at all for six bucks!

Similarly, I love the pizzas as Coal Fire Pizza in Ellicott City, but I hate the price, especially given that their not the most filling pizzas.  Solution?  Happy Hour.  I love their half-price pizza specials, which take place 3-6 p.m. every weekday. 

Tucked into the small bar, it’s a great opportunity to meet and talk to fellow pizza lovers or run into old friends, as I did recently. Take advantage of the half price to get their Prosciutto Cippolla. The combination of the crisp, concentrated flavor of the prosciutto and the sweet roasted flavor of onion works perfectly on top of their signature sauce. The best part? Jut short of eight bucks after tax. 

There are some other great deals I hope to take advantage of soon, including Monday's half-priced burgers at Diamondback Grill in Ellicott City, two dollar off small bites at Pure Wine Café in Ellicott City as well, and happy hour specials at Alexandra's Restaurant in Turf Valley. Here’s hoping some loyal HowChow readers have more great suggestions!

Seriously, who else has suggestions for any weekly specials or happy-hour deals?  I have my eye on the half-priced Sunday burgers advertised by Ranazul in Fulton.  Adam and I would love other folks to join in.

What I Did On Summer Vacation #1: Cuban, Pizza, Chinese & More With Good People

Pork chops at Cuba de Ayer in Burtonsville

The posting was light this summer, and I need to stoke the writing hunger to re-start this hobby blog.

So I'll start with a few posts reporting on the summer vacation.  Light posting doesn't mean light eating.  We eat out less than most readers assume, but we did very well over the summer -- both with food and with people to enjoy the meals.  Often, the company makes the meal.  These are some of the fun that we had:

Udon noodles (front)
Bok choy and mushrooms (back)

• Pork chops at Cuba de Ayer in Burtonsville.  We met friends for dinner, and I ordered a 20-year-old memory in Cuban pork chops.  Just as good as I remember from South Florida.  Thin, but juicy chops.  Slightly charred.  Deliciously meaty and served with sweet plantains and beans-and-rice.  Their Cuban sandwich is also a treasure.
• A table of Chinese at Noodles Corner in Columbia.  Family visited last month, and we started relaxed with a late dinner where everyone picked what they wanted.  Ask for the "authentic" menu.  Order anything that looks good.  Try udon noodles with seafood that comes with scallops, shrimp, crab stick and an intense pepper flavor.  Or basil eggplants -- perfectly tender while still retaining their shape.  The basil aroma filled the table even before we ate, and the brown sauce came fresh and thick, a talented contrast to my clumsy, clumpy attempts at Chinese sauces.
• An afternoon pizza at Coal Fire Pizza in Ellicott City.  Coal Fire is kid-friendly in every way.  At times, it seems run by teenagers, which means you need to expect variation in quality and service.  But you can get great pizza when the kitchen does well, and the casual setting means you can mix a good pie and a good beer with little kids or a huge group.  We ate on the patio, which is even better.  That thin-crust pizza disappeared.

Spicy pizza from Coal Fire

I hope that your summer was good.  I'll post more reports over the next week, including news about new restaurants.  Let me know in the comments about summer eating that you'd recommend for people to try.

Link: Luna Bella On A Guy And A Bee

If you're looking for pizza options, check out the review of Luna Bella on the A Guy And A Bee blog.  Zach talks up the pizza -- and the Meadows Frozen Custard ice cream sandwich that they got right across the Hickory Ridge village center in Columbia.

Pub Dog In Columbia -- Pizza, Beers And All The Drinks Come In Pairs; Is This How Bars Work Now?

Bars are so much better now than when I was a regular in younger days -- no smoke, better beer and much better food.

We re-engaged with bar life last weekend with dinner at Pub Dog in Columbia.  They brew their own beers, and they serve a limited menu that plays to their strengths.  By limited, I mean pizza.  They serve pizzas, a few appetizers like hot pretzels, and a few salads as well.

That's good pizza.  It's a thin crust with terrific toppings.  We had a "Fox & Hound" that came with mozzarella and smoked gouda, then sliced red pepper, sausage, and mushrooms.  No one scrimped on ingredients.  Smoked gouda gave a unique flavor, and everything else had the taste and look of fresh food.

The pizzas run $8-10 for 10-inch pies.  We actually split our pizza and an order of hot pretzels.  Most people could probably finish off their own.  I saw several that looked terrific -- two white pizzas, several with barbecued or grilled chicken, and the "Spinach Pizza" that sounds healthy but pairs the green stuff with mushrooms and bacon.  Personally, I prefer the crust cooked crisp (even charred like Facci), but Pub Dog has a soft-crust style that works.

I also liked the beer.  I laughed at myself when our waitress arrived with two beers.  That would have seemed awesome in my volume-drinking days, but my first reaction was "Why?"  Honestly, they're small mugs.  A happy hour bargain at $3.50.  But it's not two pints.  Even I cheerfully drained two mugs of the hoppy IPA.  Not the bitter revelation of my favorite Flying Dog Raging Bitch, but a refreshing craft beer that matched nicely with pizza and pretzels.

Pub Dog qualifies as a bar because of how it limits its menu and how it picks and dresses the waitresses.  But this is a fun place to eat.  The pizza is worth a drive.  There is an entire run of booths, and they have outdoor seating -- which is dog friendly to go with the name.  On a Friday night, I didn't see kids, but I assume it's fine to drop in for pizza with little ones earlier in the day.  Even on a weekend evening, this was a placid, adult crowd.

Pub Dog isn't connected with the short-lived Dog House Pub & Grill that operated in Long Reach village center.  The original location is actually on Federal Hill in Baltimore.

Pug Dog
8865 Stanford Boulevard
Columbia, MD 21045
410-872-0364

NEAR:  Pub Dog is in a shopping center just off Dobbin Road south of Rte 175.  This is the center with Noodles Corner and Hanamura Sushi.  Mango Grove is renovating space a few doors down.  From Rte 175, turn south on Dobbin Road.  Turn left on Stanford Boulevard, then right into the shopping center.

Trattoria E Pizzeria de Enrico in Columbia

I'm still looking for pizza, so I went for a new look at an old favorite around Columbia, the pizza joint in King's Contrivance.

Trattoria E Pizzeria de Enrico is a casual institution around here.  It's part of a small group of Italian spots, and it was one of the first places that people recommended when they started to comment on HowChow.

Last week, we ordered a whole pizza because fresh always seems better than the slices that they sell individually.  Way too much for two -- especially because we split a calzone beforehand.  This is pizza with the basics -- cheese, sausage, and thin-sliced mushrooms.  We dug in.

No grease spots.  That's how you can tell Trattoria kicks out pizzas with more ambition than the chains.  Even cooling, the cheese stays delicious.  The crust stays crisp, but still chewy with a thick sauce and the right balance of all the ingredients.  With the calzone, you get an extra cup of sauce for dunking.  Trattoria doesn't sell new jack pies like Coal Fire or Facci, but I plowed through at least one slice too many because that made a great dinner.

Oddly, it made a totally different leftover.  After a day in the fridge, the dough flattens.  Reheated, it crisped into something thin and more like Coal Fire.  Delicious in round two as well.

What is your pizza place?  I can't enough pies to tour the entire county.  Amazing to think that I ate pizza five days a week through college.  I am shocked that I survived two in a week now.  I'm convinced that Facci and Coal Fire sell the gourmet pizza around here.  Trattoria does the best standard pies that I know.  Where else?

Trattoria E Pizzeria Da Enrico 
8630 Guilford Rd 
Columbia, MD 21046 
410-381-1255 

NEAR: This is in the King's Contrivance Village Center. This is south of Rte 32 and east of Rte 29. King's Contrivance has the new Harris Teeter, a Bagel Bin, and a CVS. Take the Eden Brook Drive / Shaker Drive exit from Rte 32. Follow the signs south to Eden Brook Drive, which goes right past King's Contrivance.

Pistachio Pizza At Facci Ristorante

Facci on Johns Hopkins Road has expanded the menu along with the space inside, and it just gets better.

The new find:  pistachio pizza.  That's Facci regular pie topped with great ricotta cheese and the flavors of the charred crust, paper-thin red onion, pistachios and rosemary.  It's unique, and it's delicious -- even after it's driven home.

As takeout, the pizza and an arugula salad made a great dinner.  They'll just be better when we can eat at the restaurant next time, ready to try risotto and the pastas that we hadn't seen on the menu before.  For some reason, Mrs. HowChow got in a pattern of house-made ravioli with pesto, so she hadn't looked for new items when she went with friends.

Has anyone tried the other new pizzas?  There is one listed with clams and other seafood?  And another topped with fries?  Really, fries?

Pudgies Opened Thursday In Clarksville

Pudgies Pizza and Subs opened Thursday in Clarksville, according to a comment from Rob.  This is a small New York and Pennsylvania chain.  Anyone been yet?

(Update: Hoco Rising has the first reviews -- pizza that he loved in college, described as garlicky and flavorful but not for people who demand a crisp crust.)

Coal Fire Reviewed By The City Paper, Or "Should I Care If A Restaurant Is Turning Into A Chain?"

I love people who try to create quality food, and I love seeing quality food become a success.  So I'm not sure why I can't make up my mind about Coal Fire Pizza.

The first Coal Fire opened in Ellicott City in early 2009, and I loved it at first.  The last few visits have been good, but unspectacular.  One was bad enough not to finish my slices.  

I had been thinking about why I hadn't felt inspired to return to Coal Fire, and the issue arose again last week with Tim Carman's review of Coal Fire Pizza's new Gaithersburg location.  Lydia R mentioned the City Paper review on Don Rockwell, and she was disappointed that Coal Fire purposefully limits the char and pops air bubbles to make the pizzas more consistent.  I get that.  Who feels special about a place that consciously makes everything more uniform?  Why shouldn't I be more excited by thoughts of dinner at Grace Garden?

But every restaurant can't be a Grace Garden -- so spare that it's run by a handful of people and offers inspired food, but not really ambiance or high-end service.  Coal Fire's concept was clearly born to franchise.  They're built on the lovely conceit that they do something special, but they're running a business with kids and part-timers and all the other hassles that make restaurants so hard to oversee.  It takes real skill to create unusual dishes -- to create char, but not burn or to create pizzas with individual flair, but never a failure that ruins a customer's night.  Can a chain even try to make something unique?  The Pizzablogger and I had talked about how Coal Fire's quality seemed to vary by the person running the oven, and uniform steps presumably help Coal Fire turn out more-uniform pies.  But six months ago, the PB declared his heart broken and the pizza lackluster.

I'm bummed.  I do like Coal Fire and respect the efforts to be more than a standard pizza place.  I see them making its own mozzarella.  They're sticking with their unusual sauces, which split commenters on the prior posts but certainly displays an individual flair.  But it isn't the same place that I thought was worth a long drive and some extra money.  I just hope that the artisanal efforts aren't fading as they rent more space in Frederick and beyond.

Facci Ristorante -- First Thoughts On The Soft Open

Facci Restaurant opens tonight with wood-fired pizza and Italian off Johns Hopkins Road, but Mrs. HowChow scored us seats on Saturday during the "soft open."

Facci's arrival should be big news.  The owners renovated a Pasta Blitz branch to add a bar, a wood-fired pizza oven, and an Italian menu aiming for a middle ground with prices low enough for casual nights but quality high enough for special food.

We got inside Saturday because Mrs. HowChow stopped that afternoon to stare in the windows, and the manager stepped outside to introduce herself.  She invited us to the "soft opening" where the chefs were learning recipes and the waiters were learning the ropes.

We gorged ourselves.  Started with the "Italian boat" antipasta platter.  Meats, cheese, toasted bread, grilled zucchini and roasted peppers.  It's an auspicious start because each piece was delicious, and each offered a distinct flavor -- charred zucchini, sweet peppers, salty cheeses.  The zucchini was tender with a vinegar bite.  The bread was perfectly brushed with oil, then toasted.  The stone and wood create a cozy spot, but, five minutes into dinner, we were talking about summer nights on Facci's patio with that antipasta and a drink.

Then, we moved on to white pizza and pesto-covered ravioli.  Again, stand-out flavors.  The pizza came with terrific cheese, broccoli rabe, and a unique sausage.  The ravioli were stuffed with smoked mozzarella and coated with a creamy pesto.  The pesto tasted like July.  Basil that put me again to thoughts of warm nights on the Facci patio.  Mrs. HowChow picked the ravioli because they were made in-house.  The kitchen makes the ravioli, the gnocchi and some of the other pastas.

They also, of course, make the pizza.  Facci imports tomatoes, flour and more from Italy, and they char the pies in a wood-fired oven.  They imported the oven as well.  The pizzas aren't huge.  They're $9-14 for six slices, and they come with an array of cheeses, meats and vegetables.  I loved the pizza.  I also photographed the crust for the Pizzablogger, who saw promise:

It's hard to tell. The pic certainly shows the pizza was most likely cooked at an adequate/good temperature (700-800°F floor likely) from the char...which appears to be pushing being burnt in the upper left of the pic. More importantly is the overall golden tone of the slice in your pic. This is (hopefully) indicative of a good amount of sugars being naturally released from fermentation and being present at the time of firing the pizza.....those sugars being what caramelize and color the crust that color, which would most likely mean some degree of developed flavors in the crust from fermentation by-products.

That overall golden tone could also be indicative of sugars being added to the dough while mixing, be it cane sugar, honey, diastatic malt or some other additive....which could lead to an overly sweet tasting crust.

In short, the pic shows some promise and I am looking forward to going there very soon!

Facci is aiming at an exciting niche.  Less expensive than Greystone Grill or Azul 17, but more unique  than straight casual places like Bon Fresco and An Loi.  Appetizers and salads run $5-11.  The pastas run $9-14, and the meat dishes top out at $13-18.  It's a place you could justify any day, but delivers enough for date night.  (Seriously, Mrs. HowChow loved the ladies room.  Modern sink and cool open faucet.  It's a date-night bathroom.  Just ask for a date-night table in the dining room because the bar televisions loom over the other half of the room.)

We went to Facci with no expectations, and it was a terrific experience.   Stuffed with that much food, we have turned down dozens of fine desserts.  I was headed that way until Mrs. HowChow heard that Facci makes it's own canoli.  Crisp shell and a filling that tasted of vanilla and cream.  A strawberry sauce that tasted like fruit.  A spectacular end, and we were already planning on a return with RDAdoc and family.

I look forward to other people's views on Facci Ristorante.  It's unique  in my eyes, and I hope they can keep the quality up every day.  The Pizzablogger recently posted about the inconsistent pies at Coal Fire Pizza, and I'm really aware that serving good food can be hard business.

Facci Ristorante (as of January 2010)
7530 Montpelier Road
Laurel, MD 20723-6014
(301) 604-5555

NEAR: This is on Johns Hopkins Road just west of Rte 29. It is a shopping center that includes  La Palapa Too and Kloby's Smokehouse. This is just south of Columbia and just north of Fulton.

Trattoria Montese Opened At Waverly Woods?

Has anyone been to the new pizza place at Waverly Woods -- maybe called Trattoria Montese?

Alison first alerted me to the new place in June. But she has heard since then that the owners had problems with contractors. The Baltimore Beer Guy emailed me this week that Trattoria Montese has opened, but I haven't been there yet.

Any reports?

(Update: See below from the Baltimore Beer Guy --- loved the pasta, says it's a counter-service place that looks BYOB.)

Buying Pizza Dough -- Take Out To Make In

Where can you buy a good pizza dough in Howard County?

I love making pizza, but there isn't time to come home from work, let dough rise for an hour, and then bake dinner. I was driving home Tuesday wishing that my commute ran past Trader Joe's when I decided to just take a chance.

Turns out that Pizza Fresca in Maple Lawn will sell you a pizza dough. It was $4. At first, that seemed steep, but I got a container of dough that made two large calzones. Definitely larger than the refrigerated pizza dough at Trader Joe's. Definitely fresher than Trader Joe's. And a great calzone because I filled it with my own mozzarella, chicken, eggplant and basil. Eggplant from Larriland Farm, basil from my porch. No neighborhood pizza place can compete with that. Next time, I'm going to use sausage from Boarman's.

(For the PizzaBlogger who knows his ovens, I'll report that I baked that calzone in a GE Profile with a ceramic pizza stone that I bought in about 1992.)

This was my first time buying dough from a pizzeria. Maybe it's silly to pay more for dough than I pay for a baguette at Bonaparte or Bon Fresco, but I was very happy with the results -- and $4 is cheaper than takeout. Are there other pizzerias that will sell you dough? Anyone else recommend a place to stop?

(Update: Amy comments below that she buys dough at Roma's Pizza & Subs on Phelps Luck Drive in Columbia. Anyone else?)

If you like pizza, check out my take on pizza in Howard County or peruse the many comments about Coal Fire Pizza in Ellicott City. If you love pizza, check out the PizzaBlogger, who does detailed tastings and writes broadly about making pies.

Pizza Fresca
8180 Maple Lawn Blvd # D
Fulton, MD 20759-2525
(301) 317-8088

NEAR: Pizza Fresca is in the Maple Lawn development on Rte 216 just west of Rte 29. From Rte 29, go west on Rte 216 and then turn right on Maple Lawn Boulevard. Turn left at the first intersection and loop behind the stores to the parking lot.