Link: Columbia Dog Talk on "Pub Dog"

The Columbia Dog Talk blog posts -- fittingly -- about Pub Dog, a pub off Dobbin Road in Columbia. I have never been, but CDT offers a review and dog photos!

And the Columbia Dog Talk has both a prior post about the new Rita's Italian ice joint in Kings Contrivance and a listing of dog-friendly restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries.

Dog Pub
8865 Stanford Boulevard
Suite 100
Columbia, MD 21045
(410)872-0364
http://www.dogpub.net/

NEAR: This is in the shopping center off Dobbin Road just north of McGaw Road and south of Rte 175.

Ethnic Markets and Cookbooks II

An Indian market was the glaring hole in my February post about local ethnic markets and cookbooks to bring for inspiration. Along with a small Tere's Latin Market on Rte 40, I found friendly, accessible Desi Market in Columbia, and I plan on returning over and over to explore. Also, I found an African market on Rte 175, although that place wasn't accessible on my first visit. I'll go back to try again, but I can't say that I knew what to buy or even to ask.

(Update: Check out a comprehensive list of ethnic markets in Howard County.)

West African: Afia International Market
I would love anyone else's suggestion about Afia International Market in Jessup -- in the shopping center on Rte 175 just east of Rte 1 that My Organic Market calls "Columbia East."

The store seemed filled with dried goods and packages from Nigeria and Ghana, but it wasn't accessible for me. I don't know the cuisine, and, honestly, the smell set me back. More like a butcher in Bangkok than in Columbia, and the smell made the sight of carved goats seem far more off-putting than the same display at Lily's or the Laurel Meat Market. Then, no one said anything as I circled the shelves under the blare of televisions bolted above. The talking stopped as I came near, then started again as I passed. I retreated.

I want to go back. Can you suggest anything? A cookbook? A treat like the samosas that I suggest at the Desi Market? A staple to try? The first time that I went into Aladdin, I had only a few minutes and endured a similarly cold experience. For the second, I brought a recipe and took my time to inspect the shelves and to ask questions. It has been welcoming ever since, although I still haven't finished the pound of roasted watermelon seeds that I bought on the owner's recommendation. (Nice crunch, little flavor other than salt. I can't eat more than a handful at a sitting. Still cheap at $3.49 to connect with the owner.)

Afia International Market
7351 Assateague Drive
Jessup, MD 20794
This is actually the address for My Organic Market in the same shopping center.

NEAR: IT's on Rte 175 just east of I-95. There is a large shopping center on the right just after you cross Rte 1. Look for the Starbucks. Turn right into the shopping center, then turn right and go past the Starbucks and the Rita's Italian Ice. Afia International Market is around the far side next to the Goodwill.

Indian: Desi Market in Columbia
The Desi Market should be a Bhutanese market because it is hidden in a commercial area north of Rte 108. But instead of selling food from the "Hidden Kingdom," the market offers everything that you need to have fun with Indian food. Mangos ready to eat in the car. Samosas ready to be baked tonight for dinner. Frozen foods. Flours, rose water, and spices.

Spices are the bedrock for Indian food and the first reason to visit Desi Market. You'll get a far wider supply than any supermarket. You'll also get a bag of spices for the price of a 1 ounce tube by an American spice company. Start with whole peppercorns, whole mustard seeds, whole cumin, whole coriander, and cardamom -- either whole pods or the tiny seeds already broken from the pods. If you like those, branch out to tumeric, fennel, cloves, or fenugrek. Or ask for tamarind pulp, a tart part of cuisine from India through Thailand that you can store in your pantry.

If you want to start with Indian food, borrow or buy Mangoes & Curry Leaves by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. They're Western photographers who have travelled in Asia for 20 years and have been writing cookbooks since 1985. Their site. Their book Mangoes & Curry Leaves has recipes that range from simple to complex and that cover almost every Indian food that I have enjoyed. The recipes are clear and written for an American kitchen, using the tools and the ingredients that you could get at Desi Market -- with substitutions that you could get anywhere. It has the most beautiful photos and short writings. By general rule, I discard photo-heavy cookbooks as precious and not useful. This book is the exception that makes me question the rule entirely.

Desi Market is just as friendly as the Mangoes & Curry Leaves. The young couple running the place were friendly and talkative. They answered questions. They suggested a recipe for a refreshing drink. If you walk in with a cookbook, I think they'll help you locate ingredients and even suggest what else you could buy.

Buy spices. Buy a bag of frozen naan. Check out the vegetables or stop somewhere to buy your own. You could be cooking Indian tonight. But while you're there, try a samosa -- either fresh or a box of frozen. Try the papad that I wrote about. Pick a bottle of rose water and Indian-style yogurt for the lassi recipe below. If you have a friend from India, buy a $1 bottle of Limca, the lemon-lime soda that Coca-Cola sells there. The glass bottles were on the floor facing the freezer case, and they're a nostalgic moment for anyone who has stood next to a Bombay vendor drinking soda from a straw.

If you are looking for Indian groceries, also check out Food Cravings a few blocks from Desi Bazaar and Apna Bazar or Eastern Bazaar in Laurel. And in the comments below, check out Askok's comment about Food Cravings.

Sweet Lassi from Mangoes & Curry Leaves
2 c. plain yogurt (full- or reduced-fat)
2 c. plain cold water
pinch of salt
sugar to taste
1/2 tsp. rose water

Whisk the yogurt and water together in a deep bowl until frothy. Add the other ingredients and beat in. Serve cold over ice. (Variation: Replace the rose water with 1 or 2 coarsely chopped bananas and mix all the ingredients in a blender.)

Desi Bazaar
9179 Red Branch Rd # H
Columbia, MD 21045
(410) 997-8400

NEAR: This is in a commercial area off Rte 108 just east of Rte 29. You can't see anything from Rte 108. You turn north on Red Branch Road at a traffic light, and Desi Bazaar is in a commercial building on the right. The parking is actually before the store, so we had to U-turn and go back.

There is another Indian store on Red Branch Road, but it was even harder to find out where to park. I had frozen food in my car, so I didn't go in.

Mexican: Tere's Latin Market
Tere's is a small Mexican market on the south side of Rt 40 in Ellicott City. It has a basic supply of spices, tortillas, and vegetables like plaintains, onions, tomatoes and avocados. It's a great stop if you need dried peppers -- costenos, japones, guajillo, chipotle, arbol, all on the back wall -- and the woman working when I visited was solicituous in fluent English. She would have answered any questions.

But Lily's Mexican Market in Columbia has far broader offerings with extras like the meat counter and larger freezers. Tere's -- with its supply of Mexican pharmacy and cleaning items -- is probably just as useful to a person who grew up with Mexican food and needs the basics. But there is less to explore.

Tere's Latin Market
8525-A Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-313-8555

NEAR: Tere's is on Rte 40 east of Rte 29. Just east on an Acura dealer is a shopping center that faces Rte 40. Tere's is next to a Quizno's.

Delicious: Grains at the Organic Markets

If you want to cook grains, start with plastic containers, then go to a crunchy supermarket.

Oats, bulgar, brown rice, couscous, etc. are delicious if you can find them and if you can keep them organized. I always ended up with a tangle of plastic bags and half-empty boxes. Until I bought tall containers, I never knew what I had, and I was never inspired to use them. I bought Decor Tellfresh containers, and they're great because you can jam more tall, thin containers on a pantry shelf. But buy anything that seals. The Container Store is expensive.

Grains are cheap. They're fun to try. They're super-nutritious. And you can get a world of beauties at Roots in Clarksville, David's Natural Market near downtown Columbia, or My Organic Market in "Columbia East."

Pick four or five grains to try. Start with two or three cups each to see what you like.

Go back for more of what tickles your fancy. Couscous for a simple side dish. Bulgar for salads. Barley for a

risotto variation. Rolled oats, quinoa and millet for breakfast cereal, then later for inspirations like "quinoa and carmelized onions." Wild rice for an exotic touch.

Borrow How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman from the library. He has descriptions and basic directions for two dozen grains. Then, he has 40 pages of recipes. (He also has recipes for lentils, which you should buy in bulk when you're trying the grains.) Or borrow Whole Grains Every Day Every Way by Lorna Sass. Her recipes are a little less accessible, but she has a brilliant section where she talks about making large pots of grain, then freezing them for future use.

My whole-grain weekend breakfast -- make several servings because you can store in the fridge and microwave a bowl for 2-3 mornings:

1. Put six cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer.
2. Set the timer for 40 minutes. Then add one cup of steel-cut oats. (They're different from rolled oats. Trader Joe's sells containers of steel-cut oats in the cereal section.)
3. Cover the pot, but leave a crack so that it doesn't boil over. Stir occasionally throughout the rest of the time.
4. When the timer says 25 minutes, add 1/3 cup of amaranth.
5. When the timer says 20 minutes, add 1/3 cup of millet.
6. When the timer says 15 minutes, add 1/3 cup of quinoa and 1/2 or more cups of raisins or other dried fruit.
7. As the timer runs out, the cereal should be moist without standing water. It should be soft, but still have a little "bite to it. You can add a little water if it dries out or stick to the pot. You can cook it a few minutes more.
8. When the cereal is done, add honey or brown sugar to your taste.
   

Try that once, then adapt to what you like. Use the grains in the mix that you like. Add wheat germ at the end if you want. Add fresh fruit like bananas or apples -- either early if you want them to disintegrate or late if you want a crunch. I'll eat this without sweeteners. Mrs. HowChow would consider that a punishment, not a treat.

You can borrow How To Cook Everything Vegetarian or Whole Grains Every Day from the Howard County library. Or you can buy either book on Amazon through these links (which means Amazon would pay me a referral fee):

My Organic Market (Columbia East)
7351 Assateague Dr. #190
Jessup, MD 20794
410-799-2175
www.myorganicmarket.com

NEAR: It's on Rte 175 just east of I-95. There is a large shopping center on the right just after you cross Rte 1. Look for the Starbucks. MoM is in that shopping center. It's a bit tricky to return home. You have to exit east-bound on Rte 175 and U-turn at the next light.

David's Natural Market

5430 Lynx Lane

Columbia, MD 21044

410-730-2304

www.davidsnaturalmarket.com

NEAR: It's in the Wilde Lake shopping center near the Columbia Mall. The shopping center is on Twin Rivers Road. Turn in at the light with a KFC. David's is on the right in a building separate from the main village center. David's has a main store with dairy and packaged goods, then a separate produce store down the row.

Roots Market
5805 Clarksville Square Drive
Clarksville, MD 21029
443-535-9321
www.rootsmkt.com

NEAR: It's on Rte 108 just north of Rte 32. The Clarksville Square shopping center is on the west side filled with "crunchy" businesses owned by the same people -- a restaurant, a pet supply shop, a decorating place. Look for the Jiffy Lube on Rte 108.

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.)

Ranazul: Tapas with a Mexican Flair

Come to Ranazul expected to be pleased, not filled. The tapas are exquisite, a mix of Mexican and American dishes with the traditional Spanish.

This Tuesday, three of us split a parade of tuna tartare, arepas, patatas bravas, sauteed scallops, and shrimp in tequila sauce. Each one was exquisite -- a subtle spice to the tuna, a delicious sauce to the shrimp. The perfect fried potatoes -- crisp on the outside, almost pillowy in the center.

It's a beautiful space. Modern decor. It is a city restaurant experience, far more like Harbor East or Penn Quarter than Columbia Mall. It's a dress-up dinner, but not a stuffy place. (Except for the offer to rent a liquor locker to people who buy $1,000 in wine.) Jeans are fine. The bar is friendly with a happy hour and strong sangria. Jazz musicians play Tuesday nights.

But don't go to fill up. Ranazul has a 301 area code, and it has Bethesda prices that make each plate a touch more expensive that I'd expect. Bread is a $1. Completely forgettable olives are $3. You don't want to order the shrimp if you mind cutting the two shrimp into pieces for multiple people. The draw is that everything is thoughtful and fun. End the meal with sopapias, fried triangles dusted with cinnamon, drizzled with honey, and topped with a generous scoop of ice cream.

(Update: The owner of Ranazul is aiming to open a steakhouse at the former Oz Chophouse in late 2009.)

Ranazul

8171 Maple Lawn Boulevard #170

Fulton, MD 20759

301-498-9666

NEAR: In the Maple Lawn commercial area just north of Rte 216. Maple Lawn is just west of Rte 29. The oz Chop House and Trapeze are on the same intersection. This is one exit north of the Montgomery County line in southern HoCo.

Delicious: Papad at Desi Bazaar

This is alchemy -- buying a $1.49 package that can sit in your pantry, then creating crisp, peppery crackers in minutes by
dangling them over a gas range.

Papad is the crispy, peppery cracker that many Indian restaurants serve as an appetizer or even offer to each table like bread and butter.

You can buy them at the Indian grocery Desi Bazaar in Columbia for $1.49 per package. They're soft, thin discs, studded with pepper. Pull one out. Clip it with tongs, then hold it
vertically over a gas burner. The edges wrinkle. The entire disc breaks out in tiny bumps. A few spots scorch or even catch fire for an instant. Toast every part, then put it on a plate. In seconds, it will be room temperature and so crisp that it shatters under a fingertip.

We ate them for dinner with samosas ($1 each) sold right near the front counter. (Heat at 450 degrees for 6-10 minutes.) You could eat papad as a snack or serve them with drinks. Easy to make ahead, or high drama to toast with your guests in the kitchen. And if you can cook Indian food, they would be an authentic way to start the meal.

(Update: The proprietor at Apna Bazar in Laurel -- address here in the list of markets -- taught me to microwave the papad. Put one on a plate. Microwave for a minute or two. They're delicious, and they're easy. You cook them one at a time and can pile them on a plate.)

Desi Bazaar -- a profile of Desi
9179 Red Branch Rd # H
Columbia, MD 21045
(410) 997-8400

NEAR: This is in a commercial area off Rte 108 just east of Rte 29. You can't see anything from Rte 108. You turn north onto Red Branch Road, and Desi Bazaar is in a commercial building on the right. The parking is actually before the store, so we had to U-turn and go back.

There is another Indian store on Red Branch Road, but it was even harder to figure out where to park. I had frozen food in my car, so I go in.

Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro

For my money, Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro is the best Chinese restaurant in Howard County. It isn't the authentic Chinese of Grace Garden in Odenfon. But I have a soft spot for the Asean Bistro because I went on an early date with my wife. It's a surprisingly nice decor for a shopping center joint. Live piano music most nights. Elegant design.

And they have scrumptious General Tso's chicken under the name "Chef Xu's."

That's my guilty pleasure. I like going with a group where you can order an array of dishes. General Tso's is like hamburgers -- better to get them at a good place than settle for greasy ones. With a crowd, I can balance off the friend chicken in brown sauce with Szechuan green beans and some other, more-healthy fare.

The truth is that the Asian Bistro has such a broad menu that I never order Chef's Xu's when it's just me and Mrs. HowChow. This is Chinese food as served in most American restaurants, but well-made and served in a nicer atmosphere than your normal shopping center. We love those green beans, the spicy black bean chicken, great tofu dishes, the chow fun noodles. Recently (late 2008), we discovered the red sauced wonton appetizer and the duke chicken entree. The first is a bowl of mild wontons stuffed with pureed scallops, chicken and pork and then sitting in a soy-based sauce that gives a really nice flavor. The entree is spicy, sauteed chicken with peanuts. A cousin of kung po, but strips of white meat instead of diced chicken.

When we lived in Ellicott City, the Asean Bistro was our delivery joint. The black bean chicken, a chow fun, and hot & sour soup with a wax-paper bag of crispy, fried noodles. You can't get those noodles at the restaurant. Only delivery. That was great eating for nights when we just couldn't open the refrigerator. Now, we drive to the restaurant.

(Update: By late 2010, I wouldn't say Asean Bistro is the top restaurant anymore.  Asean Bistro can't touch Grace Garden in Odenton, and my most-recent meals at Asean Bistro haven't been as good as I remember from five years ago.  It's still a fine place to eat, but it has come back to the pack even while places like Red Pearl in Columbia serve good dishes.  Check out my 2010 post about Chinese restaurants in Howard County.)

Asean Bistro was one of Elizabeth Large's "Top 10 Restaurants in a Strip Mall" in her blog, which is great fun. Check out the restaurant's Web site, which generally has a coupon you can print for $5 off a $50 tab.

If you're looking for Chinese, I definitely recommend Grace Garden, although only for people who want an adventure. I'd also recommend dim sum at Asian Court. Some people love Hunan Manor and Hunan Legend. I'm still trying to figure out what to order so that I can enjoy the good stuff, but you can try Hunan Legend's "secret" menu. Or click for a 2009 "best restaurants" in Howard County.

Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro

Columbia Palace 9

8775 Centre Park Drive

Columbia, MD 21045

410-772-5300

http://www.aseanbistro.com/

NEAR: In the shopping center just off Rte 108 between Howard High School and Rte 29. Very convenient from Rte 100. There is a Giant on Centre Park Drive, but Jesse Wong's is actually the closest store to Rte 108 near a dry cleaner and Dunkin Donuts.

Eggspectation: Breakfast (and more) in Ellicott City

I'm a simple man at a restaurant breakfast - two eggs over medium, hash browns, bacon, coffee and could I please have the Tabasco sauce?

That's ironic because Eggspectation on Rte 108 near Snowden River Pkwy is the best place that I have found, and it trumpets its enormous menu. Omelets. Eggs Benedict. Pancakes. Waffles. You can even get eggs on a bagel instead of the traditional English muffin. I keep coming for crisp bacon, good coffee, and eggs and hash browns that I didn't have to cook myself.

This is the spot to take houseguests. A neighborhood place where you can relax over breakfast and no one hassles you when people linger over a second cup of coffee. (Of course, that means there can be a 10-20 minute wait at the rush hour.) It is also an all-day joint. Quite good burgers at lunch and dinner. A bar that often seems happily full of people eating at the bar or watching sports on TV. I would have recommended the burgers more before the Victoria Gastropub opened across the street, but the breakfast still can't be beat. The perfect place to take visiting in-laws.

It was the closest restaurant when we lived in Ellicott City. I'd love any other breakfast suggestions down in Columbia.

(Update: In October 2008, the burgers had gone downhill. I still recommend it for breakfast, but the burgers weren't the thick, flavorful patties that I remember from earlier.)

(Update: In May 2009, Greg on the Food & Wine Blog posted about breakfast all day at Eggspectation -- including the Chesapeake crepe.

Check out Victoria Gastro Pub across Rte 108 from Eggspectation. If you're at Eggspectation, you're also just a few blocks from great Thai at Bangkok Delight or the Chinese at Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro.

Eggspectation

6010 University Boulevard

Ellicott City, MD

410-750-3115

http://www.eggspectations.com/

NEAR: Rte 108 just east of Snowden River Parkway. It's super-convenient off Rte 175. Take the Snowden River exit and then turn left on Rte 108.

HocoLoco Girl on "breakfast" -- a listing of breakfast joints

HocoLoco Girl on "Sunday brunch" -- a listing of Sunday brunch places

Mango Grove and Mirchi Wok

Mango Grove and Mirchi Wok are the ultimate restaurant duplex. Two restaurants in a single building, offering everything in pairs --

• vegetarian southern Indian food at Mango Grove with northern Indian food at Mirchi Wok highlighted by chicken, lamb and fish
• traditional dosas, oothappam and curries with Chinese-Indian fusions
• sophisticated, sometimes-exotic flavors with friendly, casual staff that makes it feel like home

Mango Grove and Mirchi Wok are each among my favorite restaurants. The naan is perfect. The people are nice. Each menu is broad, and, together, the two restaurants offer variation that you could spend months exploring. These are simply-decorated, shopping center restaurants. But they're each a spicy date spot or a reasonably-priced place to become a regular.

Start with a mango lassi. Mrs. HowChow does. We normally start with one of these sweet yogurt drinks and an order of the vegetable samosas. The perfect fried food. Crisp on the outside. Warm, flavorful, but not greasy on the inside. Cut them open and dip with the mint and date sauces that come on the side.

Then, try anything. More than in any other HoCo restaurants, I have ordered all across these menus and never been disappointed.

To start, go to Mango Grove and try a masala dosa and a curry -- maybe baigan bartha if you like eggplant or palak paneer if you like spinach and a firm, mild cheese. The dosa will be an enormous thin crepe wrapped around a potato and onion filling. The curry will be delicious, simmered vegetables, perfect to scoop up with pieces of bread. Naan is our favorite, although the paratha and chappati are also good. (Poori is so fried that I prefer naan.)

Watch for the specials and tell the waiters about your preferences and your experience with Indian food. One night, we ate a jack fruit curry. Firm pieces of fruit that had a meat-like consistency, but a tender feel and the spicy flavor that makes Indian food so exceptional. More like perfect potatoes than the sweet, ripe jack fruit that you can buy in a can.

When you try Mirchi Wok, you can cross the sub-continent for the tandoori chicken of northern India and the Chinese-Indian fusion foods of the big cities. Chicken korma had a scrumtuous sauce -- again to be scooped up by naan. The fun standout was a rice dish whose name I can't remember. It was rice and chicken cooked together with spices so that it came out moist and full of flavor. Almost a jambalaya or a biryani. Note that it was dark meat, which I love but which doesn't excite everyone.

There is a lunch buffet, which was good one day when I had to wait for my car to be served across Dobbin Road. Take-out works well, although I have read complaints elsewhere about the time that it takes. I got dinner once in 25 minutes -- exactly when promised -- even though Mango Grove was filled by a wedding party. It seemed a reasonable wait, and my only regret was that I hadn't ordered an extra naan that I could eat in the car on the way home.

If you like Indian food, check out my post about Indian restaurants across the county or my profiles of the markets -- Desi Bazaar and Apna Bazar.

Mango Grove

Mirchi Wok

6365B Dobbin Center

Columbia, MD 21045

410-884-3426

www.themangogrove.com

Near: On Dobbins Road just south of Rte 175. It is in a outbuilding of the Wal-Mart shopping center next to the McDonalds and the Chik-Fil-a.

Kloby's Smokehouse in Laurel

Smoke is the reason to go to Kloby's, and it is the reason to bring Kloby's home.

The Baltimore restaurant branched out earlier this year to offer ribs, smoked chicken, pork sandwiches and other BBQ favorites just off Rte 29 south of Columbia.

Ribs are a treat. The kind of cooking that seems best done by other people. The kind of finger-linking mess that makes it fun to bring home a rack to eat on the patio with paper napkins. I actually enjoy the ribs at Longhorn Steakhouse on Snowden River. They're bigger, meatier ribs than Kloby's. But they don't have Kloby's smoky flavor, and they're a chain recipe, not the flavorful, thick sauce that tasted of tomato and effort.

Kloby's took the place of Smokey Hollow BBQ, which closed last year. Kloby's has the same takeout focus as Smokey Hollow, and it offers a similar rainbow of meat -- BBQ chicken, pulled pork, brisket even turkey and hamburgers. The pork and chicken sandwiches are excellent. The chicken has a perfect charred exterior -- the taste of the grill, but no flavor of burning. Don't worry if your meat looks pink inside. That's a normal look for foods smoked over real wood. (True!)

One caveat -- Ask to see the salad before you buy. On my last visit, a woman walked back to the counter to say that her salad was just lettuce with chopped celery. The three teenaged boys behind the counter were nice, but they didn't have any other vegetables!

UPDATE: In July 2008, Kloby's added an entire section of tables, but the food is delicious anywhere you eat it.

If you visit Kloby's, check out La Palapa Too -- great ceviche, good Mexican -- in the same shopping center. If you like BBQ, you would probably also like the homemade sausage at Boarman's Meat Market in Highland. Or click for a working list of the best restaurants in Howard County.

Kloby's Smokehouse
7500 Montpelier Road
Laurel, MD 20723
http://www.klobysbbq.com/
301-362-1510

NEAR: On Johns Hopkin Road just west of Rte 29. This is really the border of Columbia and Fulton. Kloby's is in a shopping center with a Subway, a liquor store and La Palapa Too just east of the JHU Applied Physics Lab.

Shin Chon Garden: Korean in Ellicott City

(UPDATE 7/29/2008: Shin Chon has renovated and reopened.) 

When I have to wait in line, I figure that a place serves good food, and the trick is learning what part of the menu draws everyone inside.

At Shin Chon Garden, I stood outside in the cold on my first visit. Families spilled out of the front door, and we had to work our way into even the entryway. Since then, I have never waited more than a few minutes for a table, but I still feel fortunate when I get inside and get my seat. It's an energetic place. Full of people, most who appear Korean. Outfitted with utilitarian tables and some basic decorations that split Shin Chon into a few separate spaces. Overseen by televisions playing what looks like Korean cable news. (The morning news from Seoul sometimes plays over dinner in Ellicott City.)

If you can, go with someone who knows Korean food. Most tables are laden by family-style feasts where people are grilling meat, spooning out stews and otherwise enjoying themselves on food that I'm sure they could explain to you.

If you can't, go anyway because you can enjoy yourself from the start.

First, enjoy the banchan. They're 5-7 small dishes with room-temperature food. Free appetizers. Everyone shares them, and they'll include a kimchi, some marinated vegetables, tofu, a potato salad, and maybe tiny fish. Ask the waitress what they are. Sometimes, they're unsure of the English word, but you'll get the gist. Try them all. The banchan alone are a reason to try Korean food -- a half dozen flavors that make everything else sparkle. (And read about them at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banchan)

Second, start with the basic dishes. My suggestions: bulgogi (sliced, marinated BBQ beef), dolset bi bum bop (rice and vegetables, topped with an egg and served in a hot stone bowl), and chap chae (glass noodles with vegetables). Eat the bulgogi in little rolls -- wrapped in lettuce and topped with a spicy sauce that they're serve you. Stir the dolset bi bum bop with the different sauce and let it sit a few minutes. The rice crisps against the hot stone, and it's delicious to pull that up. For a real BBQ experience, you could add kalbi (rib meat) to the bulgogi. From there, you can leap into the rest of the menu.

Shin Chon doesn't rise to the level of the best Korean restaurants in Annandale, but the food is still worth waiting to get inside.

If you like Korean, try Mirocjo farther west on Rte 40 or create your own take-out dinner from the panchan and meats at Lotte supermarket in the same shopping center.  If you visit Shin Chon, check out La Boulangarie Bakery across the parking lot in the Lotte shopping center.

Shin Chon Restaurant

8801 Baltimore National Pike

Ellicott City, MD 21043

410-461-3280

NEAR: The far end of the Lotte shopping center on Rte 40 just east of Rte 29.

ezColumbia blog listing of Korean restaurants

HocoLoco Girl on Shin Chon Garden - a listing and comments

Bagel Bin and Deli

There is nothing like a New York bagel. I accept this, even though I don't believe the endless theories about why. It's not the NYC water. My sister-in-law lives north of the Hudson, and no bagel outside New York has matched the shopping center bagel place nearest her house. We crowd around them when they arrive for visits, hoping for a paper bag filled with the bagels that they consider routine.

But Bagel Bin works for me. Really works. The authentic skin around a bagel with real flavor and the dense texture that says, "This is not sandwich bread formed into a circle." At times, the bagels are inconsistent, but they're normally quite good and certainly the best that I have found out here in Howard County.  They're served in a variety from the old-line salt and poppy to the sweet newcomers like blueberry.  Plus, you can find little treats like bialy or even challah on Fridays.

I have worked my way through Bagel Bins. I started at the Wilde Lake location. It was one of the first errands that I did when Mrs. Howchow and I started to date. Weekend morning runs for some everythings, maybe a bialy, and if they're hot from the oven, maybe eat one in the car on the way home. Now, I have branched out to the ones in King's Contrivance and River Hill. 

I deduced that this is all part of a small chain, owned by someone crafty enough to build an empire but not interested enough to create a Web site. It's an interesting choice, and one that I actually respect. What do I want in a bagel Web site? They sell bagels, cream cheese, coffee. What would I want to look up? I want to go to a bagel shop, and I like that it feels like a local place. Local people at the tables. Odd photos on the wall. (Advertising a local photographer?) Local high school kids smiling behind the counter and making it impossible to really mind when they slow down the process or screw up an order.

Nothing beats a New York bagel, but I'm glad these places are here for me.

If you are looking for a Bagel Bin, look up the locations on the Web site for the Columbia shopping centers: www.columbiavillagecenters.com.  If you want more breads and cookies, check out my post about bakeries in Howard County.

Bagel Bin - Wilde Lake near downtown Columbia

Wilde Lake Village Greene

410-740-0024

NEAR: Right near the Columbia Mall and the Wilde Lake High School.

Bagel Bin -- King's Contrivance in southern Columbia

410-381-1730

NEAR: South of Rte 32 east of Rte 29. The shopping center is hidden in the King's Contrivance neighborhood, but it's worth the trip there for the bagels and soon for a Harris Teeters.

Bagel Bin - River Hill in Clarkville

410-531-0335

NEAR: Just north of Rte 32 on Rte 108. River Hill shopping center is just north and across Rte 108 from the car dealerships.

im Wine: Interesting Wine in Fulton

The i.m. Wine store feels like a friendly place, and I think I'd like it even more if I knew what anyone was talking about.

The i.m. Wine store in Fulton is a small place with large windows. Windows are rare in a liquor store, and I think there are rare treasures to find in i.m. Wine. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recognize them. I love wine. I love beer. I love liquor. Or at least, I enjoy the idea of them, the thought of stocking a wine cellar or serving up cocktails to guests. The truth is that I drink so little that I have never learned the details.

That is why i.m. Wine works so well for me. I go in for suggestions, and I always leave happy with the straight-forward answers. An inexpensive wine to drink today. A wedding gift that will age well and be something special on the 5th and 10th anniversaries. Mrs. HowChow bought a six-pack of mixed beers, and the owner walked her through the entire selection, picking things based on the beers that she had seen me enjoy. (The beer selection -- and the make-your-own-six-packs -- does make im Wine stand out from most liquor stores. It's a craft-beer selection, not so much on the foreign labels that you can get most places. I'd lobby for Pacifico, but my consumption can't warrant stocking anything specific!)

The owner and his folks do a great job at explaining without being snooty or sounding like they're trying to sell me the most-expensive option that they can get away with.  There are always specials just inside the door that cost $9-15.  The rest of the stock runs the normal range from $10 with lots in the $20-40 range and then more expensive for the real experts.  For me, answers are exactly what I want. If you're more "in the know," go ask questions, and I think the same i.m. Wine employees will engage you in a conversation that you'll like even more.

i.m. Wine
8180 Maple Lawn Boulevard
Fulton, MD 20759
240-456-0330

www.imwine.com

NEAR: In the Maple Lawn commercial area off Rte 216 just west of Rte 29.

Ethnic Markets and Cookbooks

Ethic groceries are a luxury of modern life. For $10, you can walk out with a slice of somewhere far away -- a sauce, a spice, a cheese. For immigrants, that slice can be a taste of home, but for anyone else, it is a chance to explore without paying for an airline ticket.

This is a brief summary of three markets that I have come to like -- Mexican, Middle Eastern and Asian. I hope to return to each in detail and visit an Indian market in Columbia, but for now, I paired some with cookbooks that would help you take advantage of the things that you'll find.

(Update: I profiled three more markets, including an Indian one, in May. Or check out a comprehensive list of organic and ethnic markets.)

Mexican: Lily's Mexican Market in Columbia

Lily's is a small, professional market at the end of the shopping center with the Express DMV and Sushi King. It has well-stocked shelves and a butcher in the back. Although there is a small amount of produce, the shelves are mostly cans, jars and packages labeled in Spanish and English and sold by national or international brands.

Terrific for finding Mexican staples like masa, the soft and crumbling cheeses, and both thin and hand-made tortillas. There are some unique items like fresh cactus, but mostly, it is Mexican brands of things you know -- sodas, cookies, chipotle peppers, beans, etc. There is a broader selection of Goya products, including recaito and several types of refried beans.

Buy a copy of any cookbook by Rick Bayless and see if the butcher can hook you up with something new. In Mexican Everyday, Bayless cooks mostly with fresh vegetables and simple recipes. I prefer it. But in earlier books, he preached an authenticity that probably calls for some visits down Lily's Market's aisles.

(Update: Lily's now sells fresh tortillas. And Lily's sells take-out tacos.)

(Update: I had an old address here. Lily's is at 6490 Dobbin -- in the same shopping center as the DMV.)

Lily's Mexican Market
6490 Dobbin Center Way
Columbia, MD 21045

410-772-5459

NEAR: The DMV off Dobbins Road just south of Rte 175. Look for the intersection with a Blockbuster. The shopping center with DMV, Lily's and Sushi King restaurant is across Dobbins from the Blockbuster.

Blog link to Lily's Mexican Market: http://www.toomanychefs.net/archives/001848.php

Greek and Middle Eastern: Aladdin in Laurel

Start with the bread, olives and yogurt. Aladdin is a small shop steps from Rte 1 in downtown Laurel. The shelves are mostly cans, bottles and bags, but you can start with fresh pita and lavash breads, including a whole wheat lavash that tears into delicious strips to be dipped in Greek-style yogurt or eaten with spicy olives. The yogurt is thicker than American yogurt, mild but somehow more flavorful than Dannon.

I don't have a Middle Eastern cookbook, but the shop is a no-cook dinner party waiting to happen. For $30, you could assemble a feast and unpack it right to the table. Fill bowls with with those olives and yogurt, then faugment the table with feta or Kashkaval cheese, baba ganoush and hummus. You can buy the dips canned, or you can buy the ingredients -- tahini, chick peas, even canned eggplant. Add a can of foul, the Egyptian-style fava beans, and six people could graze with a bag of bread. Dessert could be some figs or baklava (fresh from Canada or refrigerated from a Greek bakery apparently in Cleveland).

On top of the ready-to-eat, you can buy basic ingredients for your own cooking -- lentils, bulgar, lupini beans, rose syrup, pomegranate molasses. There are juices, including a Marco Polo brand pomegranate/sour cherry. There is an entire wall of spices (including black, dried lemons that I want to learn how to use) and a freezer with spanakopita and other heatable treats. Try the spicy samosas. I cooked them over high heat in a Pam-coated frying pan rather than deep-fry them as the package suggested. Spectacular flavor. The type of spiciness so intense that I stopped reading my newspaper, but still full of flavor and not discomfort.

Aladdin Food Mart
308 Main Street
Laurel, MD 20707
301-362-5060

NEAR: Downtown Laurel off U.S. 1. You can take Rte 216 East from I-95, then turn left at the light on Main Street.

Asian: H Mart in Catonsville and Lotte in Ellicott City

These supermarkets -- or at least the H Mart -- are worthy of long posts extolling their value and giving some suggestions. The H Mart is better, but both offer an enormous array of fruits and vegetables, large seafood sections, and an encyclopedic selection of Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Thai packaged goods -- sauces, rices, noodles, canned vegetables and fruits, etc. Lotte really excels at prepared food -- marinated meats and panchan -- that you can buy in whatever amounts you want.

Buy Thai Food and Cooking by Judy Bastyra and Becky Johnson. Great recipes that taste like the food I ate in Thailand. Great pictures, and I am often suspect of any cookbook that invests so much in the showing. An opening section describes and shows various rices, noodles, vegetables, etc. You can carry it through the H Mart and pick up everything you need except maybe kaffir lime leaves, which should be available online.

(Update: Why H Mart Is My Favorite Place For Food.)

H Mart

800 N. Rolling Road
Catonsville, MD 21228
443-612-9020

NEAR: Rte 40 just west of I-695. If you are driving from HoCo, you'll see a Starbucks and a FedEx at the end of the shopping center. Turn right immediately after the Starbucks. If you miss it, just turn right at the next intersection.

Lotte Market
8801 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-750-9656

NEAR: On Rte 40, just west of Rte 29. From Rte 29 south, you take the Rte 40 East exit, then stay in the left lane on the exit ramp. That takes you into the shopping center.

An Loi Pho: Vietnamese in Columbia

Drive past the KFC and the Pizza Hut and go warm yourself with soup and a twist on lemonade.

It's pho. It's bun. It's a drink made with salted plums. An Loi Pho serves up friendly, accessible food with enough authenticity to make the trip worthwhile.

Outside, it is a shopping center anonymous even for the suburbs, and inside, the decor isn't much more complex. Plastic tables. Minimal artwork. Silverware and condiments laid in on every table. The menu is simple and affordable, more of a soup and grill joint than a full display of Vietnamese cuisine with its sauteed vegetables and clay pot cooking. Most dishes are $6-$10, and most everything is a variation on noodles, meat and a sauce or soup. It's a fine selection if you know Vietnamese food, and it's easy to navigate if you want to figure it out.

The basic menu sections:

• Pho: a beef soup with noodles and a meat of your choice. Eye round, brisket and flank are all easy to recognize. Tendon and tripe may be delicious to you, but they were easy for me to avoid. They're served with a plate of bail leaves, sprouts and a lime wedge. Tear up the basil, squeeze the lime and add the spouts to your taste, along with any of the spicy condiments on the table. A bowl is a meal. A large bowl is gorging, but I don't leave overly full.
  
• Bun: white, soft noodles. They're in the pho, but if you order bun, you get a bowl of noodles with the meat of your choice and a sauce to pour overtop. The sauce coats everything, and the flavors are more grilled and lemongrass.
  
• Everything Else: an array of grilled meats served with rice and variations of soup and noodles. On my last visit, the Vietnamese families seemed to be eating grilled pork and chicken.

Start off with a summer roll or beef wraped in grape leaves. They're both delicious. I prefer the shrimp rolls, which are served cool not fried and dipped in a peanut sauce.

And order the "salted plum soda." Mrs. ChowHow stepped up and discovered this delicious offering. It's a hand-made drink, not a bottled soda. Club soda mixed with a little sugar and a few salted plums at the bottom. Imagine a lemonade with a touch of salt instead of sour. Refreshing and delicious. Exotic, but really not that strange.

Any An Loi meal should end with the "French coffee" that I wrote about earlier.  If you want a broader Vietnamese menu, check out Pho Dat Trahn, which is just a few shopping centers north on Snowden River.

An Loi Pho

7104 Minstrel Way

Columbia, MD 21045

410-381-3188

NEAR: On Snowden River Pkwy north of Broken Land and south of the Home Depot. Minstrel Way has a gas station and a KFC at its intersection with Snowden, and An Loi is in the shopping center behind the gas station. Look for the red neon signs.

HocoLoco Girl on Vietnamese -- a listing of places

Delicious: Ceviche at La Palapa Too

On weekends, La Palapa Too serves a ceviche appetizer that transforms the place into a special restaurant.

It's a restaurant that serves nice main courses like chicken mole and beef tacos with the added fun of live music many evenings. But the beans and rice are too mundane for the place to be great. It's the weekend ceviche that raises the entire experience. 

Tangy chunks of fish and shrimp that scoop beautifully with La Palapa's crispy chips. Firm fish, shrimp, an occasional squid, acidic dressing, salty chips. Order with a beer or a margarita, and you're having a great dinner from the first bites.  Order it outside on a warm evening, and you can have a great night overlooking the parking lot -- as I have written, the classic Columbia parking lot cafe. 

If you like Mexican food, stop at Lily's Mexican Market in Columbia for fresh corn tortillas, a Mexican butcher, great baked goods and all kinds of Mexican and Central American groceries.  Or check out El Azteca restaurant in Clarksville.

La Palapa Too

7500 Montpelier Road

Laurel, MD 20723

301-725-3111

NEAR: Off Johns Hopkins Boulevard just west of Rte 29. The address says Laurel, but it's just north of Fulton and just south of Columbia at the end of a pink-painted shopping center.

The original La Palapa is in Ellicott City. http://www.lapalapagrill.com/

Red Bean Desserts

Red bean may not replace chocolate, but you can get interesting, tasty desserts by checking out some local Korean-run bakeries.

Red bean paste mixes real beans and sugar into a mixture a little thicker than the filling of a cream donut. (Donut! Wait and hear about that!). It's not as sweet as a "Boston cream" or a jelly filling, but it has my favorite type of unusual, new flavor without being strange or really that exotic. These are great fun to enjoy on your own or to bring a selection to someone's house for dessert.

La Boulangarie Bakery off Rte 40 in Ellicott City sells fresh-made pastries filled with red bean for under $2 each. There is a baked version that tastes like a French dessert. There is also a steamed version that I actually preferred. A light cake in the shape of a bun with a walnut-sized dollop of red bean paste inside. They're fun to cut into pieces and serve to a bunch of people. (They're also individually wrapped in the picture.) La Boulangarie offers incredibly sweet-looking cakes and an assortment of other pastries, including a banana-shaped, banana-flavored cake that would be fun to serve kids.

But the four-mile drive east on Rte 40 is worth your time. Inside the H Mart supermarket is an outpost of the Momo Bakery. You'll see it right at the entrance with a similar display of formal cakes and other pastries. Momo has a separate cashier who you pay for the baked goods. First, try the red bean donut. "Fried but light" sounds like an oxymoron, but this is a delicious donut filled with the slightly sweet red bean. Eat it right out of the bag in your car. It is that good.

Then, go back inside to see if you feel a little more adventurous. Koreans make a rice-based sweet that they fill with various things, including red bean paste. They look like little dumplings. The consistency is like marzipan, but with a clean, lightly-sweet taste that makes me grab them whenever I see them at Momo. Mrs. HowChow loves them. Look at the packaged green and white sweets in the picture. That tray costs $3-4. The red bean sweets were the hit of my nephew's first birthday party.

Don't refrigerate the Korean sweets. They last 2-3 days on the counter, but they get hard if you put them in the fridge. As a practical matter, you can find the red bean sweets by either asking the Momo cashier or reading the ingredients on the label.

Click here for a list of other organic and ethnic markets in Howard County. Or here for all the posts about Korean restaurants and grocery stores. If you're looking for food while you shop, the Lotte is just down the shopping center from Shin Chon Garden, and the H Mart shopping center has a Korean place Beseto that has good food, but no table service.

La Boulangarie Bakery
8815 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043

NEAR: Rte 40 and Rte 29 Intersection. The bakery is across the parking lot from the Lotte supermarket in the Lotte shopping center on Rte 40.

Momo Bakery
inside the H Mart supermarket (right in front)
800 N Rolling Rd
Catonsville, MD 21228
443-612-9020 (H Mart)

This is a short profile of the H Mart, and this is a longer post about why it is my favorite place for food. If you go there, definitely check out the popped rice bowls.

NEAR: Off Rte 40 just outside I-695. If you are driving on Rte 40 from Ellicott City, you'll see a Starbucks and a FedEx at the end of the H Mart shopping center. Turn right immediately after the Starbucks. If you miss it, just turn right at the next light.

Delicious: Tamarind Maracas at Lily's Mexican Market

Great fun, but don't give to any children that you actually like.

The Tamarind Maraca is a sweet, tart and spicy candy. Imagine a chewy lollipop with the consistency of gummy bears. It's tart, almost sour, and sweet. But dusted with hot pepper. A treat for an adult. An impolite trick for any child accustomed to taste "Power Berry" or "Cran-Apple-Sugar."

Tamarind is a popular flavor in Mexican food, especially candy and sodas like the "Boing!" soft drink pictured with the Tamarind Maraca to the left. The paste tastes sour to me, but, like lemon, the flavor mixes well with sugar or used in sweet-sour cooking.

The "maracas" are a two-lollipop package sold for $1.69 at Lily's Mexican Market in Columbia. They're named for those "shaker" instruments.

For more about Lily's, check out this profile or read all the posts about Lily's.  Or look through a comprehensive list of Howard County markets.

(Update: I had the wrong address here.  Lily's is in the shopping center with the DMV.)

Lily's Mexican Market

6490 Dobbin Center Way

Columbia, MD 21045

NEAR: The DMV off Dobbins Road just south of Rte 175. Turn into the center at the intersection with a Blockbuster. Sushi King and the DMV are in the same shopping center.

Recipes that use Tamarind pulp that you can also buy at Lily's: http://recipes.epicurean.com/asc_results.jsp?ingredients=Tamarind

Beseto Food Court in Catonsville

The sign outside says "Beijing-Seoul-Tokyo" and offers a food court, but you should get off the plane in Korea and stay there for a while.

The Beseto Food Court ("Be-Se-To") is an L-shaped space in the shopping center with the H Mart on Rte 40 in Catonsville. (Not HoCo, but the H Mart is worth the drive.) At lunch, the Beseto offers a $20 all-you-can-eat sushi buffet in the restaurant's front half. Tiny rolls and sushi with a buffet of Chinese food and fruit. Skip it. This is a Korean-run restaurant, and on my visit, the buffet was all white and black Americans while the back area was filled with Korean-Americans ordering off the menu. (Update: See below about possible improvements to the sushi in June 2009.)

The menu says "Cham Mat," and this is a Korean cafeteria. You order at a tiny window beneath changing red numbers. You pay cash. (Although there is an ATM that charges only 45 cents in fees.) You watch for your number to appear above the window, and you go back for your tray.

My tray certainly was all-I-could-eat for $8.50. Squid cooked in a red-pepper sauce with cabbage, green onions and hot peppers. It was served with rice, cool noodles, soup and a small plate of kimchi and picked squash. They were all delicious, as good as any Korean food that I have had in hotbeds by Annandale. The back seating was filled with people eating everything from grilled meat to tofu casseroles. The order before mine was a bubbling fish dish that the menu called "grilled hairtail with beat paste casserole."

Don't be put off by the few newspapers on empty tables or by the Korean-American teenagers. But expect a cafeteria, not a restaurant with ambiance. Everything was clean. You sit on stylish blue chairs, and the entire menu -- available at the window -- is in clear English. Highlights are even posted with pictures on the wall. I asked questions, and the young woman happily answered questions and offered advice.

An adventerous eater could try anything on the menu, and you should definitely check out the wall and the paper menu. There was a spicy beef soup Yookgaejang (#17) that I almost ordered from the wall, but I don't see it on the paper menu. A new-comer might want to start with Kal Bi (grilled ribs), Bul Go Gi (grilled spices of beef), or Dotset Bi Bim Bop (a hot rice bowl with beef and vegetables - and called Bolsot Bob on the Cham Mat menu). Spice and hot peppers are the fuel of Korean cuisine, but you can avoid them and still enjoy yourself by trying one of those beef dishes along with Mandoo (dumplings) or the BBQ Chicken.

The menu also has a line of "Kimbob" items described as "seaweed rice rolls" with different fillings. I don't know what they are. I didn't see them this time. But I'm definitely going to check them out next time.

(Update: Patricia wrote a comment below commending the sushi buffet in June 2009. My original post was more than a year before that, and there have been big changes in the Beseto area of that shopping center. If Patricia says the sushi is excellent, then you should definitely check it out.)

Beseto Food Court / Cham Mat
822 N. Rolling Road
Catonsville, MD 21228
410-505-5002

NEAR: The H Mart supermarket on Rte 40 just west of I-695. It's a few miles east of the Howard County line, but it's worth it. If you're driving from HoCo, you'll see a Starbucks and a FedEx sign at the end of the shopping center. Turn right immediately after the Starbucks. If you miss it, just turn right at the traffic light.

Delicious: Vietnamese Coffee at An Loi Pho

Go to An Loi Pho off Snowden River Pkwy for a meal and then "French coffee."

You get a coffee cup with a metal strainer on top. The boiling water has just been poured inside, and you sit watching as it drips through the coffee grounds and into your cup. It's a nice rest, a moment to talk. Then, you pull off the strainer to reveal a surprisingly thick, sweet drink.

Condensed milk. Probably a Big Mac's calories mixed with the coffee th
at just brewed into your cup. The coffee is strong, sweet and condensed milk tastes different than anything in the latte, steamed milk family. You also get a tea pot of hot water to thin out the coffee if you want. I added a dash, but I don't suggest much. Enjoy the difference. I don't know if the French drink this way, but it tastes and looks like the coffee in Hanoi.

An Loi's meals are worth a post on their own. Simple decor, but delicious food. Great if you already have a taste for Vietnamese food. If you don't, you can't go wrong ordering a summer roll, a bowl of pho (soup) with the meat of your choice, and bun (vermicelli) with the meat of your choice.

If you want cool instead of warm, try An Loi's salted lemon and salted plum sodas.

An Loi Pho -- a longer review
7104 Minstrel Way
Columbia, MD 21045
410-381-3188

NEAR: Off Snowden River Pwky north of Broken Land and south of the Home Depot. Look for the traffic light with a gas station and a KFC. An Loi is behind the gas station in a shopping center with a Pizza Hut Express and a nail salon.


HocoLoco Girl on Vietnamese -- a listing of places