Roadtrip: Smoked Fish, Italian Groceries And Maybe Flowers At Belvedere Square

We have to admit that Howard County does not have everything, and we certainly don't have anything like Belvedere Square.

Density.  Wealth.  Some developers with a vision for the unique.  You end up with the perfect place for a food roadtrip -- eat beautifully and then carry loot back to the motherland.

Belvedere Square is a small development in northern Baltimore.  One side has stores.  The other side basically has a spectacular food court -- a sushi joint, a bakery, an Italian grocery, Atwater's for soup, then even a stand that specializes in smoked food.  Roadtrip there on a weekend morning to eat, shop and nose around.

Has Ceazar International Market & Restaurant Closed in Elkridge? A Lost Institution

Has anyone else been past Ceazar International Market in Elkridge?  Lisa left a comment on an old post saying that the market and restaurant are closed, and the spaces were being cleared out.

Ceazar Market was the king of Middle Eastern markets when it opened its expanded space in Elkridge in 2009.  For 13 years before, they had operated in Columbia off Oakland Park Boulevard under the name Sizar's Food Mart.  The new store had a butcher, more space, and the attached restaurant.

Links: Candied Pecans & Fish (But Not Together)

Kiki made candied pecans on the KikiVerde blog.  Greg got a mystery fish from H Mart -- turned out to palmburo, which he loved and wrote about on the Food and Wine blog.

No connection between the candy and the fish, except that they're both local bloggers who you might want to check out.

Columbia Wegmans: A Flat Space And Promises

What we have now is a blank slate where a Wegmans will one day rise.

Wegmans site July 2010

The photo above is the Columbia Wegmans site Monday afternoon.  Not much to see from the street.  They flattened the trees and warehouse since last summer when I snapped this photo through the chain link fence.  They have certainly regraded and maybe even built up an area in the center.

But they're still burying pipes, and there were just a handful of people working there.  It isn't clear to me where the store is going to sit.

There is a hearing on April 7 before the Howard County planning board.  The sign says it involves a height adjustment to the clock tower.  Last I'd heard, Wegmans was aiming to open the Columbia store in mid-2012.  (Click here for all my Wegmans news.)  If anyone hears more details, let me know.

Drovers Grill Gets Reviewed By Sun And Tales

Drovers Grill & Wine Co. is a new family-run restaurant aiming to serve classy food and Maryland wine in Mt. Airy -- well, actually not in Mt. Airy, but we'll get to that.

Drovers is certainly in western Howard County, and it got a positive review from Richard Gorelick in the Sun.  Gorelick applauded the way that Drovers uses seasonal and Maryland products, talking up a fried oyster appetizer and a seafood/linguine soup.

Wordbones also enjoyed a meal at Drovers, although he went hyperlocal in the Tales of Two Cities blog by pointing out that it's actually in Poplar Springs and just borrows the Mt. Airy zip code.  He recommends the Blank Ankle wine.

I'm a little confused by the Sun review because I swear that we saw this in Sunday's paper, but Wordbones says his wife clipped in weeks back -- and the Sun's Web site has a March 18 date.

Watermelon Radishes At Mom's Organic Market

I never expected to love a radish, but you can't control when inspiration strikes.

We found watermelon radishes at a party.  Cool city party where the guys bought their vegetables at the Dupont Circle farmers market.

They're crisp.  They're mild.  None of the astringent taste that keep me away from radishes usually.  Plus, watermelon radishes look super-cool.  The outside is white, and the inside is magenta.  (Like watermelons -- white rind around red flesh.)

If you cut across the radish, you get thin slices that look like red dye is spreading from inside.  They're great in salads, and they're pretty enough to just lay out on a vegetable tray.  So far, I have only found them at Mom's Organic Market in Jessup.

R&R Taqueria Loves HowChow Users; You Should Love Them For Tacos, Maybe Some Soup

R&R Taqueria's business card (Thanks CupcakeRN)

Candied Fruit At Estrellita Market -- Mexican Sweets Create A Slice-And-Serve Dessert

[Update: Estrellita Market closed in late 2011.]

The Shell station now offers you a beautiful dessert on top of the tacos.

Estrellita Market has opened on the second floor of the Shell station at U.S. 1 and Rte 175.  Literally over the top of R&R Taqueria is a small Mexican market. Nice for spices, tortillas and Mexican basics.  But a must-visit spot for candied fruit.

Right at the counter, Estrellita displays "crystalized" fruit.  Real fruit, candied to sweetness and a texture that was exotic, yet obviously natural at the same time.  Pear becomes creamy and sweet.  Orange rind retains a bite and a touch of citrus, but becomes a chewy complex candy.

Link: King's Contrivance On The Swim-Run-Write

Mo's book club ate out at King's Contrivance, and she enjoyed the $29 prix fix meal with seafood bisque, salmon and the strawberry shortcake.  She posted, but has no photos because she worried that the book club women would be put off by cell-phone snapping.

This, people, is why I rarely say "Can I ask some questions?  I have a food blog."

King's Contrivance is an established upscale spot in Columbia.  I have actually never eaten there.  It's part of the "Woodberry Kitchen Problem" that I have written about before.  We rarely eat at expensive places, so, when we do, we often head into the city to somewhere that we know.

If you like Mo's post about upscale dining, check out all her posts about food competitive.  On Fridays, she posts "head to head" reviews of items like bagel sandwiches, wings, calamari, etc.  Click on all her food posts and then scroll down.

Kolache Kreations Offers $5 Off Through Groupon

Get $5 off coffee and baked sweets at Kolache Kreations in Ellicott City through today's Baltimore Groupon.  You pay $5 and get $10 in credit.

Kolache Kreations serves up a sweet and savory pastries -- common in Midwest areas populated by eastern European immigrants, but pretty unique around here.

Video And Profile Of Bonaparte Bakers On Patch

The Savage/Guiford Patch site has an entertaining video and article about the bakers at Bonaparte Bread at Savage Mill.  Brian Hooks (birthday: July 27 if you're shopping for him) talked to Daniel Ropero about making the bread that Bonaparate serves in Savage and Fells Point.

More Quick News: Smoothie Place Opened In Columbia, Groupon For Roma's Pizza

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has opened in Columia next to the Baja Fresh on Dobbin Road, according to a post by Mark on the HowChow Facebook page.  He says all smoothies will be 99 cents Friday and Saturday.  Apparently, it's a chain that he had tried in the Outer Banks.  (Update: Check out Columbia Patch for a $1 off coupon.)

If you're checking the Facebook page, also note comments by Wes and Matt about a new item at R& Taqueria called the "R&R" taco.  Beef cooked with orange juice and spices.

And finally, today's Groupon is $20 of food for $10 at Roma's Pizza & Subs in Columbia.  I haven't eaten there, but it is a chance to check the place out.

Fuji Restaurant And Sushi Bar In Ellicott City

Seafood udon w/tempura shrimp

Even I can be surprised by what can be hidden in a shopping center.

For years, I have ragged on reviews that employ the line about "I can't believe it's in a strip center."  Yet I was still wide-eyed to find a pretty, wood-paneled dining room at Fuji in Ellicott City.  Jean had written that the food was delicious, but I expected something super-casual like Mango Grove or Hanamura.

But Fuji is a little gem.  Very friendly, but dressed up with white tablecloths and artistic bowls and plates.

We followed Jean's advice and ordered a seafood udon noodles and three sushi rolls.  And we got a bonus!  Small salads, which were fine.  Then miso soup, which was excellent.  Strong miso flavor without any saltiness or fishiness.  There is just something fun about getting a morsel extra.

If anything, the udon was better.  It's a large bowl of soup with noodles.  The flavors are rich and almost sweet.  The bowl was full of tempura shrimp, squid, octopus and mushrooms.  Jean had touted Fuji as run by a Japanese couple and the udon as based on a scratch dashi broth.  It lived up to her recommendation.  Perfect comfort food.  Warm for the winter, but light enough to eat all year long.

Tutti Frutti Taking Its Talents To Columbia

Tutti Frutti appears to be opening a second location -- bringing the sour yogurt trend to the Dobbin Road area that has become thick with good food.

Tutti Frutti currently sells frozen yogurt with do-it-yourself toppings on Rte 40 in Ellicott City.  There is a sign for a second location in the Columbia Crossing shopping center near Dick's and Target, says emkenton in a comment yesterday.

This is right next to the spot where Ichiban Cafe already serves up Japanese food and BGR The Burger Joint aims to open in April.  It's also along a corridor running along Dobbin and Snowden River Parkway that includes Sushi King, Five Guys, Bon Fresco, Stanford Grill, Royal Taj . . . . . .

Anyone know what happened to the plans for a Buffalo Wild Wings on Dobbin Road?  Wino_II and others have comments about the new one coming to Arundel Mills, and I wonder if that replaced the Columbia location.

Michael's Pub Is Closing; Patch Has The Story

Michael's Pub in Columbia is closing tomorrow.  The Columbia Patch has a nice story about the bar that has entertained folks at King's Contrivance village center since 1986.

Old Bay Wings At The Second Chance Saloon

As the sun dropped Friday night, we enjoyed our first outdoor meal of 2011 -- and finally had a taste of the Second Chance Saloon's Old Bay wings.

To me, wings are the ideal pub food -- the fruit of deep frying that I don't want to do at home, but without the stuffed feeling that comes when you realize that the platter of nachos really was larger than your stomach.

Second Chance Saloon's wings made us happy because they were substantial and delicious.  Good meat on the bone.  You get eight pieces in an order.  We split one order of Old Bay and one of Buffalo and left quite happy with the first night warm enough to eat on a patio.

The Old Bay wings make my list because they're interesting.  Anyone can dump a breaded chicken piece in a fryer.  Second Chance turns out a light crisp texture, then the salty, spicy flavor of Old Bay.  This isn't the overpowering Old Bay that you can get caked on a hardshell.  This is crisp without being greasy, and you taste Old Bay and meat.

I never know which of the local pubs actually serves good food.  Bad nachos and burgers make me so sad (and distended) that I tend to stay close to favorites like Victoria Gastro Pub.  Second Chance had gotten a plug last year from the chef at Oceanaire Seafood Room, and one of the owners said he favored the Old Bay wings.

Second Chance has a nice menu of pub food -- somehow I got a vibe that they're trying to turn out good stuff.  It has a small patio out back and a few tables in front that overlook the parking lot, and they definitely had a beer list worthy to accompany the wings.  Anything else people suggest from the menu? Anywhere else you'd go for wings?

Thanks to Macsmom for tweeting about Second Chance's patio on Friday night.  That was the inspiration that got us there.


To me, the gold standard for local wings is Kloby's Smokehouse where you get "double" wings with each piece having both the tiny drumstick and the "two bone" upper piece.  For more opinions, check out the comments on a February 2011 post where many people chimed in on their favorites.


Second Chance Saloon
5888 Robert Oliver Place
Columbia, MD  21045
443-545-5844

NEAR:  Second Chance is in the Oakland Mills village center.  This is between Broken Land Parkway and Rte 175 just east of Rte 29.  It's the same village center that hosts Bangkok Garden and the Sunday farmers market.  There is a Food Lion in the shopping area.

People Love Their Ice Cream - Even Chilled

We drive past Soft Stuff on Rte 40 tonight.  The temperature was 49 degrees, and the line was 20 people long.

People love their ice cream -- even on chilly nights.  Tutti Frutti looked packed as well.  Still a month or two before I update the "Ice Cream For A Summer Night" post.

Apple Wine Tasting At Heyser's In Silver Spring

Heyser's grows its early peaches in a Howard County orchard on Brown's Bridge Road, but their main operations -- and regrettably all their sales -- are in Silver Spring.  That is where Kyle says you should go on Saturday if you want to try the Spencerville Red Hard apple wine.  He tasted Thursday, and you can drink at the produce stand if you go tomorrow:

A generous tasting is free, glasses are $3, and a 750ml bottle is $10. Cases (12 bottles) get a discount. I didn't get a glass but the idea of drinkin' at the local produce stand is just cool.

Great Shoal Winery in Princess Anne, Md makes the 8% apple wine (too much alcohol to be a  hard cider) from Heyser's Spencerville red apple sweet cider.  The original sweet cider is very sweet with a high acidity and makes a crisp dry somewhat sour apple wine. There's no bubbles so no real carbonation. It's unfiltered and cloudy too.

Links: Crab Stock, Then Risotto On Sarah Says And Battling Cheesesteaks On Swim-Write-Run

If you're looking to cook, check out two posts on the Sarah Says blog where she made stock from crab shells and then used the stock in vegetable risotto.  That's a great way to get flavor from something you would otherwise throw away.

If you're just looking to eat, get some advice from the Swim-Run-Write blog where Mo tested cheesesteaks head-to-head.  She pitted Simmies Arirang Hill versus Philly's Best Pizza & Subs.  I have never been to either, and I have never even heard of Simmies before.  Go see which one won.  (Or check out all of the S-R-W food posts.)

Huarache at R&R Taqueria -- The Secret Menu At R&R Is Your Mouth; Ask For Something Special

I keep writing about R&R Taqueria because you should keep going back to R&R Taqueria.

It was easy for me to fall into a rut of tacos, tacos, tacos.  They're so delicious.  But the takeout joint in a Shell station on Rte 175 offers a broader array of Mexican food -- broader even than its printed menu.

Definitely check out the specials.  Last week, they had a chorizo black bean soup that looked interesting.  But I ordered huarache because Tyler Cowen posted that R&R served the best huarache that he had ever eaten.  

What's a huarache? Start with Wikipedia's profile on the Mexican dish.  Then go order one.  I got an oblong cornmeal base, something between a thick tortilla and an Indian bread.  The base is grilled to have just a touch of char taste.  Mine came topped with a mild white cheese, "al pastor" pork, and some cream.  Dropped on top was probably half an avocado, sliced and perfectly ripe.