While I've Been: Victoria's Burger Is Such A Tasty Old Friend That I Never Order Anything Else

Burger and fries

I swear that I planned to order something when we took my parents to Victoria Gastro Pub for my father's birthday.

Our restaurant trips have been fewer in 2015, and many stops have been old haunts where we know that we'll find something good for everyone.  Victoria Gastro Pub fits that bill.  We have been enjoying the food and beer since it opened in 2008, but I focused on their burgers and fries on those early trips and never took my eyes off the meat.

The entire table actually ordered burgers during our August visit.  Except for Lil' Chow who emptied a kid's order of pasta and asked for a second.

Victoria's bicuit

It's just that simple.  Everyone read the menu.  Everyone saw options.  But we each returned to the burgers because they're ideal.  Thick patties that are juicy and meaty without being greasy.  Hearty buns that hold up to the holding and biting.  Fresh, simple tomato, lettuce and pickles.

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.  Tomorrow, I'll follow this old friend with my favorite place that is "new for 2015."

That burger is a success every time, and it's the kind of relaxation that I want from a dinner out.

I added to the fun last month by trying my first Manor Hill beers -- brewed up by the same Marriner family.  I sampled two and forgot to write down my selection.  I'm drifting from the hops stream that had carried me from IPA to IPA for many summers.  I asked for something with flavor, but less bitterness.  I can't remember what I got, but it worked exactly as I wanted.

If you haven't been to Victoria before, then you should also go for the biscuits that they offer once you order.  They're perfect.  Tender but not crumbly.  Rich but not greasy.  I believe they bake them in-house, and it's a terrific advertisement for the care that Victoria takes with their food.

Eggs Worth The Drive: Victoria's Brunch Wins Us Over With Poached, Scrambled And Bacon

Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon

The eggs are so good at Victoria Gasto Pub that they will lure me back on the road for brunch.

My big brunch years are behind me.  It was a fine decade across three cities when single folk and a few couples would leave their tiny apartments and gather on weekend mornings.

Poached eggs

I've got a house now . . . and a steady date.  Most of my friends aren't free on Sunday morning.  And I can cook eggs way better than the greasy diner plates that are my favorite memories of college.  Most weekends, we stay home with the papers, and we're happy.

But we took a niece to Victoria Gastro Pub last weekend, and the eggs are absolutely work the drive.  This is restaurant brunch.  Poached eggs with a lemony hollandaise sauce, prosciutto, kale and crab meat.  That's light, balanced.  It's perched on what I think was one of the biscuits that Victoria serves with dinner.  It's a rich dish, but a light meal that's just better than anything I'm scrambling at my own stove.

Our niece and I each ordered scrambled eggs.  Hers had leeks and mushrooms.  Mine had smoked salmon and gruyere.  They came on top of potato cakes, shredded potato crisped on the edges and perfect to dip in the bright herby sauces.  They're all interesting.  They're fun.  (Even more fun with the side of pepper-edged bacon that I added to mine.)

Here's the best part:  If someone at your table doesn't want breakfast, they can jump right to the burger for brunch.  Victoria's burger reigns as my Howard County champ -- although I hear there are competitors at the Ale House Columbia.  The Victoria brunch menu has a charcuterie plate, the lobster grilled cheese, and lots of other options.

Next time, Mrs. HowChow is going for the mascarpone-stuffed French toast.  Since we'd never had brunch at Victoria before, she'd shied away for fear that she'd get a platter of greasy, sweet bread.  With the skill in the eggs, she's anxious try the other offerings.

Where else do people recommend for a weekend brunch?  They're great for dates, great to entertain house guests.

Still Champs: Burger, Fries And A Raging Bitch Pale Ale At Victoria, Even Trapped Indoors

Indoor lighting = terrible. Burger = Still champ.

I went to Victoria Gatro Pub a while ago with the plan for the perfect evening, and their burger was so delicious that it made up for the fact that our plan fell apart.

More than two years ago, I crowned Victoria Gastro Pub as my favorite burger, but I said then that I wished there was more competition.  So I went back for a test in light of the recently-arrived burger chains like Five Guys and BGR The Burger Joint. 

Our plan was the outdoor space.  Victoria has covered its patio, and we drove with our hearts set on a seat outside to enjoy an evening, some beef, and some beer.  When we walked inside, I wondered what kind of suckers were sitting indoors when the patio was half empty.

Victoria Gets Take-Out Growlers And The Baltimore Beer Guy Gets A New Web Site

Victoria Gastro Pub has gotten 32 oz growlers, and they're finalizing plans to sell their craft beers for takeaway, reports the Baltimore Beer Guy.

The BBG posted a photo as the first entry on his new Web site.  I thought a new Blogger template qualified as a shake-up, but the BBG has struck out with his own URL.  If I had thought this would last three years, I might have gotten my own URL, but I think I'm a few hundred posts (and a few thousand links) committed here.

The BBG also notes that Victoria is running a special event with Belgian beers from today to Friday.  He has the full list.

Chatter: People Talking About Victoria & Facci

Chatter at Facci goes back and forth.  Talk that they may expand into the space next door.  Might be cancelled.  Definitely postponed.  Anyone know?

At the same time, talk on  Hoco Rising at Victoria Gastropub is that they may expand their liquor license so that they could sell growlers and six-packs for people to carry away.

(Update: Victoria folks confirm on Twitter.  Their license was approved last week, and they're planning new beer possibilities in 2011.)

Link: Beer Brunch At Victoria On Balt. Beer Guy

Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia will host a "beer brunch" with Frederick's Flying Dog brewery on Saturday, August 21 -- a prix fixe menu with two courses and tastings of three Flying Dog beers, according to the Baltimore Beer Guy blog.

Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia 2010

I keep coming back to Victoria Gastropub even thought I return to a corner of the restaurant's menu.

Victoria wants to push the high cuisine side of pub food.  Its theme is a classy twist on simple foods -- lobster in the grilled cheese, duck fat on the fries, and kobe beef in the burger -- and that menu packed in the crowds.  On a summer Tuesday, we had to wait 20 minutes for a table.

I have had many good nights at Victoria.  It's a casual scene, but nice enough that I have recommended it to people for dates or taking out-of-town family.  The bar has an energetic buzz.  The patio is great on a warm night.  Dinners start with biscuits that excite Mrs. HowChow every time.


In the end, I recommend the burger and a beer.  As I said, Victoria wants to upscale pub dishes.  I have eaten a bunch of the menu, and it's good.  The French dip was meaty and dunked beautifully in jus.  The lobster grilled cheese has its fans, although it seemed like a gimmick to me.  And my most-recent night with short ribs and filet was a classy meal -- with the restaurant reward of a plate that I couldn't cook myself.

But I left wishing that I had ordered Victoria's burger.  Not even the kobe one.  Even with its standard meat, Victoria puts together the best burger around.  The right burger on a light, flavorful bun that I wish I could buy for my own grilling nights.  Lettuce, superb pickles, and a half plate of crispy fries.  Send the fries back if they're not perfect.  Victoria wants to serve you high end food, and the fries at their best are a salty, crispy treat.  In January, the burger and fries are a way to warm up in a friendly place.  In July, the same meal tastes summer fresh.


The real change for the seasons is the beer.  Victoria prides itself on dozens of beer choices, and it pleases connoisseurs like the Baltimore Beer Guy who posts regularly about Victoria's rotating craft beers.  But it also caters to lightweights like me -- people who like beer, but don't know enough to pick from the huge menu.  I appreciate the smart advice that the staff has given me every time, really listening to what I wanted and suggesting beers that I have loved.  The last one was Wihenstephan Hefe Dunkel, which hit my "wheat beer" spot.

I know the recommendations are good because I haven't liked every beer at Victoria.  Victoria sells a beer sampler, and I love picking wide varieties, making sure to get something I wouldn't buy if I only had one glass.  It's great fun.  With the five-beer sampler, I have had beers that I hated.  Nothing bad.  But bitter, strong beers maybe aimed at brew crazies like the BBGuy.  Victoria wants to serve interesting food -- not just the basics that you'd get at a neighborhood bar.

I really recommend Victoria, and you should check out the whole menu, which I have said was small enough to fit on a page and smart enough to make half of the items interesting to me.  Try those entrees.  And definitely try the desserts.  We have had several great desserts,which they bake in-house and sometimes augment with herbs or fruits from their own garden.  But when in doubt, have a burger, a beer, and one of my favorite nights out in Howard County.

(Update: Read the comments below.  People are recommending a few of their favorite things.)

Victoria Gastro Pub
8201 Snowden River Parkway
Columbia, MD 21045
410-750-1880

NEAR: Victoria is easy to reach from Rte 108 or Rte 100.  It's at the intersection of Rte 108 and Snowden River Parkway, so you can take the Snowden exit from Rte 100 or come from either direction of Rte 108.  It's down from Eggspectation and next to McDonalds.

Trolling: Victoria's Lobster Grilled Cheese, Fried Chicken And Sides, And The Crab Cake Sushi Roll

Regular commentator Sarah joins the "trolling" series with a list of guilty pleasures.  She is a recent transplant to Columbia and Howard County, but native to Maryland.  Her fiance works in Greenbelt.  She works in Baltimore.  Her guilty pleasures are written short and sweet -- although they tend towards fried and cheesy in real life:

The lobster grilled cheese at Victoria Gastropub in Columbia.  Get it with the duck-fat fries.  Your arteries will curse you, but, man, this is a lovely sandwich.  Fries are vegetables, right?

A four-piece chicken dinner with mac & cheese and candied yams at Chick N' Friends in Columbia.  You don't need all that food.  But it is SO good.  Go ahead and finish off with the sweet potato pie.  You had a rough day.

The crab cake sushi roll at Niko Japanese Restaurant in Ellicott City.  You heard that right.  Yes, it's deep fried.  No, it's no authentic.  Make sure you go during the lunch buffet.

Trolling on Tuesday is my attempt at a series where readers would share three things with other HowChow readers -- favorite restaurant dishes, food to buy, food experiences, etc.  Click here for the explanation and the rules.  Click here for all the Trolling posts.  Anyone is allowed to submit.  

Link: Victoria GastroPub on Taste of Baltimore

Check out the Victoria Gastropub review on the Taste of Baltimore blog.  Even the cool kids from the city are coming out for brunch.  Every time we go for burgers, we say "We really should come back here for brunch."  Nakiya does make it look delicious.


(Update: I posted again about Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub in 2010.)

Biscuits At Victoria Gastropub

The photo is terrible, but the biscuits at Victoria Gastropub are one of the great food trinkets that you'll get around here.

House of India puts out papad as you peruse the menu. But that's the only competition that I remember for the square biscuits that I ate as I faked reading the options at Victoria.

Like I was going to order anything other than the best burger in Howard County. They put out a basket right after the water glasses. I had the time to split the biscuit in half and spread butter thinly across each piece in turn. Absolutely delicious, then a smile when Mrs. HowChow asked for a second basket.


(Update: I posted again about Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub in 2010.)

Beer Sampler at Victoria Gastropub

Victoria Gastropub offers the perfect option for people who like to sample beers, but can't throw back pint after pint.

For about $12, you get five half-pours of the dozens of beers that Victoria offers on tap. It's a buck more for some special brews, but the five five-ounce glasses are a reasonable way to either try something new or build your own selection -- all wheat beers, a light-to-dark collection, etc.

For me, the best part of my sample was that I hated one of the beers that I tasted. My face looked like I had drank something rancid, but the horrified reaction made me realize that I had truly enjoyed the other four -- and not just drank them out of some "Emperor's New Clothes" belief that the beer must be good if I'm paying this much. Twenty ounces of beer was all that I needed. It went great with the best burger in Howard County. And I went home happy.

For more about beer in Howard County, click here for my take on the "Sudsy Triangle" or go right to the Baltimore Beer Guy's blog.


(Update: I posted again about Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub in 2010.)

The City Paper Reviews Victoria Gastropub

The Baltimore City Paper reviewed Victoria Gastropub last week and started off by describing how packed the place was on a weekend night.  (Favorite tidbit: Hip city folks drive to Columbia for "the occasional Merriweather concert or Restoration Hardware jones."  Great line.)  

Mary Zajac's review compliments Victoria's beer selection, the oysters, the burgers and the stout float.  But it smacks the place around for slow service and for not being spectacular.  "[Y]ou could do just as well driving back to Baltimore," the review ends.  Sigh.  If only we could . . .   But it's nice to just know that hip city folks think Columbia has anything that compares to Baltimore.  

All teasing aside, most of the review rings true, and it echoes one of my recent thoughts: The burgers are a real draw, but the "duck fat" never tasted like more than handwaving to me.  I'm mostly amused that Victoria is the restaurant that draws the big city critics.  The WPost's main critic drove up in August, and both reviews prattled on about Columbia's chain restaurants as if the choice out here is a chain or Victoria.

Next time that you're forced to visit Columbia (and that Restoration Hardware jones will only increase if you know they're selling whoopie cushions this season), check out Maiwand Kabob.  A few minutes from the mall or Merriweather, and a quick place to grab Afghan dinner or carry it out to sit on the lawn.


(Update: I posted again about Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub in 2010.)

Best Hamburgers -- Still Waiting For Fatburger

(Click here for the most-recent Fatburger posts. Click here for a post about the best burgers in Howard County.)

Victoria Gastropub appears to be handily surviving its mixed review from the WPost. There was a 90-minute wait on Saturday evening when Mrs. HowChow and I arrived craving some burgers and fries.

We should have waited for something to open in Victoria's bar. The Victoria burgers were spectacular in our prior visits (and come with biscuits!), and there was one table where the women seemed to be finishing up their beers. But we didn't want to skulk around their table, and we figured that we could get good burgers at Eggspectations just across Rte 108.

We should have waited for something to open in Victoria's bar. Eggspectactions still has the loud, friendly feeling that we loved when we lived nearby. But the burgers don't taste the same. I remember flavorful patties that felt like someone had made them by hand. This weekend, they were thin and tasted right off a food service delivery truck. Still a good pickle. Still fine fries and a great place for breakfast. But Mrs. HowChow voiced her burger disappointment before I even said anything, and I think an $11 hamburger shouldn't be anonymous.

On the way, we checked out the Fatburger in Columbia under construction near the Trader Joe's. It looks just like it did a month ago when I figured that it looked ready to open. The tables and chairs are there, but the window is still full of construction permits. We're waiting!!!

(Update: Paul reports in the comments that someone told him on October 8 that Fatburger was two weeks away! I went past on October 19, and the place still wasn't open. I called The Perfect Pour on October 27 because it is a few doors down, and they said it was still not open.)

Where are the best hamburgers in Howard County now that Eggspectations has fallen off our list? We'll return to Victoria's, but we need options.

(Update: First vote in the comments -- Famous Dave's. More votes for Red Robin and Five Guys. If you want to read about Five Guys in Laurel, check out the Technology & MSG blog.)

Victoria Gastro Pub
8201 Snowden River Parkway
Columbia, MD 21045
410-750-1880

Eggspectation
6010 University Boulevard
Ellicott City, MD
410-750-3115

NEAR: They're both on Rte 108 near Snowden River Parkway. Victoria is at the intersection. Eggspectation is one intersection to the east -- on the way towards Rte 175. They're both super-convenient off Rte 100 if you take the Snowdon River Exit.

Delicious: Biscuits at Victoria Gastropub

The biscuits are so good that you may try to steal your friend's.

Victoria Gastropub markets itself as an upscale place for unusual beers and pub-style food. But the gratis basket of biscuits and butter stand out as far as any of the flashy food.

Baked on premise, our waiters have said. They're fresh with delicious crumb, more like a cake than layered biscuits. Plus, they're small enough that slathering them with butter doesn't feel excessive. Eat up before someone at your table tries to take yours.


(Update: I posted again about Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub in 2010.)

Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia

It turns out that you can eat too many french fries -- but only if they're extra delicious.

Victoria Gastro Pub is a new restaurant with an unfortunate name and really fun food.

Start with the name because everyone else does. As we walked in the last visit, my friends couldn't stop talking about "gastro pub" and why anyone would chose a name that made them think of Immodium and that cruise ship diarreha. Stop it. It's a British term for quality not intestine, at least according to the Victoria and Wikipedia.

Five steps inside the former Bennigans and you'll stop thinking about the name. Goodbye chain space. Hello, small dining rooms, a few private booths, and a bar with space to spread out. It's a classy pub that -- celebration music -- like every other restaurant, will be smoke-free thanks to Annapolis starting today.

(Update: I posted again about Columbia's Victoria Gastro Pub in 2010.)

And the food is better than the decor. I return again and again to the burger. The best burger that I have had in years, and it comes in two varieties -- $9 in angus beef and a $12 in kobe beef. This is exactly the burger that I want. Small, but perfect. Perfect roll. Good cheese and bacon options. Home-made pickles that are so crisp and flavorful that I ate them alone. And served in a real restaurant with a span of beers and the subtle noise of conversations, not the chaos of Red Robin. The kobe did taste different, although I ordered angus on my second visit because I wasn't sure kobe was better.

Victoria gives every reason to go back again and again because most things are as smart as the burgers. Bisquits that beat anything I can remember. Onion soup that my friend loved. Beers and wines for any taste, including a "tasting special" where you can get five five-ounce beers for about $12. (My friends loved seeing Hoegaarden Witte beer, and I could tell it was a treat even if it wasn't my taste. Our waiter let us sample several, and the Chimay is absolutely worth $9. That is the "can't make this at home" flavor that makes me want to drive somewhere on a cold night.) And a menu that run from $9 sandwiches to $22 fish with everything done with a nice detail -- a homemade cocktail sauce on the oysters, duck confit on the spinach salad.

The menu is one of those unusual ones that is short enough to fit on a single page, but interesting enough that I could order more than half the items. Mrs. ChowHow and I split a Lobster Grilled Cheese, an interesting idea with cheese and panini that would have been perfect on their own. I didn't taste enough lobster to bring me back, but that is really because the cheese and charcuterie plates, the BBQ rib sandwich and the "DLT" (duck, lettuce and tomato) are calling my name. On every visit, the waiters have extolled the fish & chips, which are sea bass stuffed with shrimp and crab. I'll be getting that as well.

This truly lives up to the British meaning of its name. Casual enough that you're comfortable in jeans and can eat sandwiches for $10 a head, but serving food so well-thought that I'd order a $9 beer and $22 fish and chips because they'll be worth every dime. They're even serving late at the bar (1 am according to the menu, 2 am according to one waiter).

But be warned about the fries. Duck is everywhere on the menu, and they promote a "duck fat frites" appetizer and even a "poutine" variation -- potatoes, fried in duck fat, then covered with duck confit, cheese and gravy. I ate the frites (more than my share, according to Mrs. ChowHow). Then I ate the fries with my burger. Happily, but probably too much of a good thing.

[Update: My friend sat at the bar for dinner and couldn't say enough good things. He just made happy sounds while trying to describe the poutine, and he enjoyed the lobster grilled cheese. Like us, he really liked the employees. A bartender enticed him with samples of some unusual beers and really encouraged him to get what he liked and enjoy himself. In contrast, reviewers for the WPost and the Baltimore City Paper both sort of panned the place -- saying some nice things, but damning with faint praise to say, in the end, that Victoria wasn't worth driving all the way to Columbia.]

[Update: Victoria now offers a really nice outdoor patio -- with the Columbia special of being able to watch your car while you eat.]

If you like Victoria, check out Eggspectations across the road for breakfast or Bangkok Delight a little farther up Rte 108 for Thai. For a step up the expense scale, also check out Iron Bridge Wine Company for imaginative American food.

Victoria Gastro Pub

8201 Snowden River Parkway

Columbia, MD 21045

410-750-1880

NEAR: Rte 100 , Rte 108 and Snowden River Parkway. Down from Eggspectation and next to the McDonalds.

http://www.victoriagastropub.com/