Food Lovers Guide To Baltimore Is Hot Off Press

Food Lover's Guide To Baltimore

If you're looking for good eats around Baltimore, check out the new Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore by Kathy and Neil Patterson of the Minxeats blog.

I haven't gotten my copy yet, but Kyle had the sense to pre-order on Amazon.  I had thought the book was coming out in the spring, but Kyle got his copy this week.  Here is his first look:

Even though I have lived in HoCo for 15 years and MoCo/PG for 20 years before that, I'm still Washington suburbs centric when it comes to food. With the help of HowChow, I feel I've mastered the HoCo food scene. However, I'm really not as  familiar with the Baltimore food scene as I should be. This is where the new book fits in. It arrived January 3, much earlier than I expected. 

The book starts with a list of the best foodie blogs in the Baltimore area, HowChow included. Lists the major food events then launches into all the different Baltimore regions. Each region gets a foodie faves, food landmarks and  specialty stores, markets and producer listing section. Baltimore County gets its own three sections, and HoCo is included in the 'worth the drive' section with other adjoining counties. Regrettably, market/specialty food stores are not included in this section.  Out of 25 entries, HoCo is represented in 16 of them. So if you follow HowChow, you won't see many HoCo surprises. However, Sushi Sono is there but Sushi King is not. I bet there will be some lively discussion about what made it and what didn't. The book concludes with wineries/breweries, food trucks and recipes from local restaurants including a recipe for raw beet ravioli from the vegan HoCo fav Great Sage. 

What I really like about the book is how comfortably written it is. Minxeats has a nice friendly informative style and includes a lot of local history about each region. I think the book will really help me crack into the Baltimore food scene especially the markets and specialty stores in Baltimore and Baltimore county. 

The link for the book goes to Amazon though an affiliates program.  They give me credit when people buy through the link.  So I encourage that!

Comments About The New Ale House, Shave Ice, Dumplings, Belgian Waffles, And The Best WIngs

Steamed dumpling from Honey Pig

You need to keep returning to HowChow posts because people leave great ideas and observations as the comments run along.

The great recent example has been several weeks of feedback about the new Ale House Columbia on Dobbin Road.  Dzoey, Alicyn, K8teebug, Rick B. and others t alked about the food, and they seemed to be generally having fun -- except with the parking.

As an email, I got an interesting thought from Mike, who noted that a comment to the original post cited Kobe sliders.  Mike linked to a Forbes article that pointed out that Japanese beef wasn't even imported until just recently and that most meat marketed as "Kobe" was all hat, no cattle:

I haven't been to the Ale House yet, but I think they ought to be called out for their "Kobe" sliders.  I doubt it is really Kobe beef or likely even Japanese-sourced beef.  Dishonest labeling/marketing would not a good way to draw clientele. Kobe, and the (relatively) more common Wagyu, beef is such a fractional presence in the market that using it for ground beef is very unlikely. 

From the link above: "In 2009, the last year Japanese beef was legally, we bought 72 tons of it. That may sound like a lot but in that same year we ate about 13.5 million tons of beef, according to the USDA. The imports from Japan did not even represent a significant fraction of one percent of our beef."

That said, I will still stop in to try it out, primarily for the beer selection and the novelty of a new restaurant that isn't a max-chain.

(Update: The Ale House tweeted about their beef.  (Or check their main page for two tweets around 10 am.)  We're really talking about the meaing of "Kobe."  The Ale House tweets that it's getting fresh, Kobe beef and that "Wagyu lineage" cows are available in the United States.  I'm not sure that actually satisfies folks like Mike.  In the end, I'm warned that I'm not getting Japanese beef, so the sliders -- like all sliders -- need to stand on the beef and bun.  Personally, I'd rather restaurants explain what they think the name brand beef adds.  In my experience, places that do great burgers called "Kobe" also do great with their regular grind -- probably because they're talented kitchens and demand premium beef in their regular burgers like Victoria Gastro Pub.)

You can get eat at all kinds of places that aren't max chains.  You can learn to cook your own food at classes by Ben Tehranian, reports Anonymous.  Or you can check around the comments to find new spots to enjoy:

• K8teebug says that the Judge's Bench has the best wings anywhere.
• Kevlar51 reported on the tacos at Tere's Latin Market.  Bmorecupcake provided more detailed observations about the offerings at The Breadery in Oella -- croissants have gone away, but scones are back.
• AIPal3 wants you to eat at the BP in Maple Lawn -- fried chicken, lo mein, bulgogi subs, etc. 

Pit Beef At Smokin' Hot In Glenwood

Pit beef sandwich at Smokin' Hot

Is there a better reason to hit than the road than pit beef?

Smokin' Hot in Glenwood is a casual bar and restaurant.  They clearly pack the place with music and crowds during drinking hours, but they have a nice menu with barbecue for lunch and dinner.

My first hit -- the pit beef piled high and served with Smokin' Hot's nine-pack of house-made hot sauce.  This isn't just "mild, medium, hot."  Smokin' Hot offers a real range of flavors -- from a mild mayo-base to vinegar barbecue to really smokey and spicy.

I broke down my sandwich and forked smoked meat into sauces that I had spread on my platter.  This is excellent meat.  Full of flavor, but still juicy and tender.  I'd love to hold a taste-test, but for now, I'll hold it against my favorite at Pioneer Pit Beef.  The choice of sauces isn't Baltimore traditional, but the meat is good enough to make its own way.

Keep Smokin' Hot in mind for when the weather warms.  The strawberries will ripen at Larriland Farm sooner than you expect, and Smokin' Hot make a perfect lunch stop.  People vouch for all the barbecue, and I want to try the ribs.

Smokin' Hot
2465 Route 97
Glenwood, MD 21738
(410) 489-6001

NEAR:  Smokin' Hot is in a shopping center on Rte 97.  It's just south of U.S. 70, which makes it an easy place to hit on the way back from Larriland.  From eastern Howard County, it's probably best to take Rte 32 or Rte 144 and then work over the Rte 97.

Check Out The New Mexican Menu At Xitomate

Check out the new menu for the Mexican restaurant that will replace the Donna's on Rte 108 in Columbia.  Lotsabogeys found Xitomate's Web site, and it has a pretty broad menu that generally runs under $10 for lunch and $13-20 for dinners with a bunch of interesting items.

Anybody know more about when it will open?  And the Web site suggests that they're planning a location for Ellicott City as well.

Asian Court: It's The Dim Sum We Have

Fried sesame balls for dessert

Say hello to our little friends at Asian Court in Ellicott City.

When Red Pearl closed in October, we worried about losing our dim sum outlet, but we hit up Asian Court on Christmas and pulled almost all of our favorite dumplings and treats from the passing carts.

Barbecue pork buns.  Shrimp dumplings and shrimp in rice noodle sheets.  The sesame balls that Mrs. HowChow needs for dessert.  Asian Court delivered them all, and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch with a friend, balancing the starch with a little Chinese broccoli but mostly eating dumpling after dumpling.

Steamed pork buns

It wasn't obvious that Asian Court would be so delicious, even though we had enjoyed it years ago.  New folks appear to have taken over two years ago, and restaurants change with time.

Time has been good to Asian Court.  We joined an energetic flow of people on Christmas Day, many filling large tables with 10 or 12 people and everyone picking dim sum off the circulating carts.

The dishes are routinely well-done -- the fried items crunch while the broccoli was the perfect tender-crisp, the dumplings come out fresh and hot and the shrimp are sweet.  We doubled down on the steamed shrimp dumplings because they were so good.  Nothing fancy.  Just sweet, tender and pulled off with talent.  The service was minimal, but they politely left us alone as we talked.

My one disappointment was that Asian Court didn't have the full range that Red Pearl used to offer.  I looked in vain for a duck, spare ribs, or vegetarian shu mai.  (Update: Dzoey comments below about the fry cart.  That was unusual.)  The place was so crowded that carts couldn't always get around, and I wonder if we just didn't see some of the options because they were snapped up in other parts of the room.  You should definitely grab an employee to request anything that you specifically want.

There are dim sum options just south of the county -- especially Wong Gee in Wheaton and Oriental East in Silver Spring.  Look for reviews on Yelp, or start with some of the comments on a 2011 post about Red Pearl.

New Year = New Restaurants, Starting With Peru

Amanda's photo of the Grille Chick N' Pollo

Peruvian roasted chicken should return to Columbia on Thursday when Grille Chick N' Pollo re-opens in the Hickory Ridge spot that had been dark for months.

Amanda posted a photo of signs announcing a January 3, 2013 reopening.  The space had been Chick N' Pollo, but they closed last year.  Folks have said to expect a similar menu of roasted chicken and other Peruvian foods similar to the old menu.  I'm holding out for the delicious cookies and the grilled beef heart.

In other news, a Mexican restaurant is slated to fill the Rte 108 slot that used to be Donna's.  Xitomate appears to be the name, and an anonymous commenter linked to a Craigslist post that seems to confirm that Xitomate will be a new menu from the folks who run Azul 17 in Columbia.  There are several, so it seems they're still hiring folks for the kitchen and the front of the house.

Let me know if try the chicken when Chick N' Pollo reopens, and let me know if you hear a timeline for the opening of Xitomate.  And what about the timing for the new Indian restaurant that broke ground in Fulton?

Fuji On Rte 40 May Be Closing This Weekend

Fuji Restaurant on Rte 40 may be closing this weekend.  That's what Jean heard and reported by email.  She has heard that it will close Saturday and be replaced by another restaurant.

Fuji is a nice, small Japanese restaurant, and it has been on Rte 40 for about 20 years, according to Jean.

What Could Have Been At Bistro Blanc

Burgers at Bistro Blanc

Just for the record, they invited me for burgers at Bistro Blanc.

The mass email on Wednesday promoted half-priced burgers, and I made an impulse decision to go to Glenelg for gourmet beef and beer.

It could have been great.  The pickle was awesome.  The dehydrated mushrooms were inspired.  Some of the fries were the perfect  execution that you'd want in a high-end restaurant -- scattered with melted parmesan and served with sweet roasted garlic cloves.

But the night had collapsed by the time those arrived.

Five minutes waiting for them to set the table we had reserved.  Five minutes standing at the empty bar hoping in vain someone could tell me about the beers.  Forty minutes after ordering that we waited for our meal.

Forty minutes, and we weren't alone.  At one point, there were only two tables with food, and everyone else was waiting.  The table next to us waited longer than we did, and they were actually told "We ran out of buns.  They're bringing more from the supermarket.  They'll be here in four minutes."  Then the waiter promised a cheese plate that no one delivered.

By the end, the entire staff had given up.  Our waitress just apologized.  Clearly, something had gone wrong in back.  Really wrong.  We knew immediately that the burgers were medium rare, not medium well.  We just couldn't endure sending them back.  Mrs. HowChow ended up leaving the raw center on her plate.  One of the "supermarket" burgers must have been similar because the other table did send it back.

We have friends who really enjoy Bistro Blanc.  We even loved bits of the meal like those pickles, the mushrooms, sprouts and lettuce garnishes, and the bread basket.  But we have had a series of sloppy, disappointing dinners, including an epic failure in 2009.  We couldn't get over last night's experience -- a lonely 40 minutes and badly-cooked meat.

Most of the time, poor meals just disappear for us.  We recommend good things on HowChow and just don't mention the disappointments.  But Bistro Blanc wants to be something special.  That burger normally costs $14.  It can't be raw on the night when they invite people over for burgers.

LinK: One Dish Cuisine In The WPost

The Ellicott City cafe that focuses on gluten-free options got a nice write-up in the Washington Post yesterday.  The author -- whose name I can't see in the on-line version -- interviewed One Dish Cuisine's owner Maureen Burke and talked up the black bean burger.

What Does Gambrill Have That We Don't Have? Pretty Great Chicken By A South African Chain

Nando's Peri-Peri in Gambrills

Nando's Peri-Peri Chicken is coming to Gambrills, and I have to admit that I'm jealous.

Nando's is a chain from South Africa that sells spectacular chicken.  Really great wings.  Huge,  meaty wings grilled perfectly and offered up with sauces that run from mild to screaming-hot.  They do full chickens, salads, sandwiches and wraps (and great olives), but the 10 whole wings has been a major treat when I meet people for lunch in Gallery Place.  They rank equal to my favorites at Kloby's -- and they're grilled, not fried.

Now Nando's is coming to Baltimore with one spot on Baltimore Street and a spot opening today . . . wait for it . . . in Gambrills.

I know a bunch of people commute over to Anne Arundel County, so I heartily recommend eating at Nando's.  I'll drive 30 minutes to Gambrills for those wings one evening soon.  (The Nando's folks turned me away from a soft open yesterday because they were quite reasonably feeding just people who had made reservations.)  That food makes a worthy lunch if you work anywhere nearby.

But I must admit some jealousy because I don't know why Nando's would bypass our fair county for Gambrills.  In the past week, I have driven twice along Rte 3, and it makes Rte 175 look cosmopolitan.  The Nando's PR folks are lovely, and even they can't find Gambrills.  They write that they're opening the restaurant in "Waugh Chapel."

Waugh Chapel is a big shopping center with a Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Joseph A. Banks and Five Below.  Hello?  Sound horribly familiar?  If you travelled from South Africa in search of that kind of shopping, Howard County is your type of town!  Nando's and Lebanese Taverna -- those are the chains that I'm rooting will roost around here.

Nano's Peri-Peri
1417 Main Chapel Way
Gambrills, MD 21054

NEAR:  This is actually easy to find -- and easy to reach just east of Odenton and 30 minutes from most of Howard County.  Go east on Rte 32.  Take Rte 3 south.  Then get off on Main Chapel Way and look for the Waugh Chapel shopping center.  If you go, mention loudly that you're from Howard County.  We want to get a Nando's in the second wave.

New Indian Restaurant Breaks Ground In Fulton

Site of the new Fulton restaurant from the folks behind the Ambassador

The folks behind the Ambassador in Baltimore have broken ground on a new Indian restaurant in Fulton -- inside the Maple Lawn development just off Johns Hopkins Road.

You can see above that they're moving dirt.  The Maple Lawn developers announced in May that this would be an Indian restaurant.  The talk has been about a white tablecloth place along the lines of the Ambassador.

Does anyone know a timetable?  Or even the name proposed for the new restaurant?  This is on Maple Lawn Boulevard just south of Johns Hopkins Road.

Interestingly, Indian is already one of the deepest cuisines in Howard County.  Earlier this year, I wrote about the "Big Three" and the depth of Indian choices from Mango Grove, House of India, Royal Taj, and more.

New "Garbanzo" Pita Chain Coming To Columbia

A new chain appears to be coming to Columbia with fresh-baked pita, falafel and schwarma -- according to a sign spotted by Lotsabogeys.

The sign near the Walmart and My Eye Doctor at Rte 175 and Dobbin Road says "Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill," Lotsabogeys reported.  It looks like a national franchise doing a Chipotle-style "build-your-own lunch" plan with Middle Eastern inspiration.

Anyone know the food?  Anyone know the timing?  Thanks to Lotsabogeys.

(Update: The Columbia Patch called the Garbanzo headquarters and has details, including a February 2013 opening date.)

New Lotte In Catonsville -- Honey Pig's Steamed Dumplings Headline A Party For Food Lovers

New Lotte in Catonsville

If you love food, then you should be checking out the new Lotte Market in Catonsville this weekend -- with a first stop at the Honey Pig dumpling stand on the left-hand wall.

Lotte is a new Asian market on Rte 40.  Great produce.  Great seafood.  Wide aisle after wide aisle of food from America, Korea, South Asia, Latin America and around the world.  I just loaded up the fridge with fun, and I'll post more next week.

Wang mandu from Honey Pig

You will not be disappointed.  They were sampling dumplings, noodles, and more around the store -- to the delight of Mrs. HowChow -- and you can nose around from sweets to meats, Japanese noodles to Indian banana chips.  (See this post about reasons to shop Asian markets.)

The Honey Pig dumpling stand is a new extension of the barbecue chain.  Steamed dumplings -- wang mandu in Korean -- stuffed with chicken, bulgogi, pork or other fillings.  They're $2.  They're the size of a softball.  And they're delicious.

We got a chicken mandu just as Honey Pig sold out tonight.  Shredded chicken cooked with . . . .  Oh, dear.  We ate with plastic spoons so quickly that I didn't take notes.  It was a bright, rich flavor, and we will be going back for more.

Thanks for Kevin, who tipped us to the Honey Pig mandu.

(Update:  Honey Pig Dumpking closed later in 2013.  The Lotte remains open and wonderful.  They installed a casual Korean restaurant where Honey Pig had sold dumplings and then fried chicken.)

Lotte Catonsville
6600 Baltimore National Pike
Catonsville, MD 21228
410 - 750 - 3951

NEAR: Lotte Catonsville is on Rte 40 just over the bridge into Baltimore County.  It's on the left, and they renamed the shopping center as Lotte Plaza so it's easy to spot.

Ale House Has Opened -- HowChow Folks There

The new Ale House Columbia has opened off Dobbin Road in Columbia.  This is the former Rocky Run, which they ripped back to the studs and renovated.

Timothy stopped in yesterday for lunch and knocked off an awesome update for HowChow readers.  This has turned into a week of new opening announcements.  Timothy has provided the first report from the new Ale House, and he got a great lunch on takeout:

I just got back from ordering lunch to-go from the new Alehouse in Columbia (the former Rocky Run). I wanted to stop by to get a feel for the place since I enjoy going to many of our local bars, namely T-Bonz, Frisco and Judges Bench. The Alehouse wins the proximity war to both my home and office, so even if the food was just "okay" there was a very good chance I would frequent it often. 

The good news is that I may have just had the best burger I have ever eaten. I ordered their "Classic Bacon Cheeseburger" to-go since I was on a quick break, and I had a small Olivers Stout to tide me over while I waited. Note that there appears to be choice in 10, 16 and 23oz pours for each draft, but I could not confirm because the draft menu's were still printing when I arrived. That size choice is familiar at a place like TGI Friday's but lacking from our more specialized watering holes thus far. 

Lotte Opening New Catonsville Store Friday

The new giant Lotte on Rte 40 should open this Friday, and I'm pretty excited for the new option just a quick run east of Howard County.

The Lotte at Rte 29 in Ellicott City will stay open, but the new Lotte replaced an entire Toys R' Us so it's bigger and was slated to have even more international goods, last that I had heard.  It sounded like the new store would be more like H Mart, where the goods from Mexican to Thai, Pakistani to Chinese.  Of course, they have a heavy concentration of Korean items.

I'm looking to cook from Andrea Nguyen's Asian Dumplings, so this is particularly good timing for me.  I have posted about Asian markets in the past.  If you go, explore the produce, the fish section, and some basics -- like Japanese noodles, the frozen dumplings, or the Korean snack foods.

New Waffle Shop Opens On Frederick Road

Looking for waffles and coffee in Ellicott City?  There appears to be a new place on Frederick Road just west of Rte 29.

Adam found a new cafe that may to have the name "Waffee" or "Waffles, Coffee And Ice Cream" in the spot that used to be Comzy Time.  Adam -- who blogs at Option Pitch and Waffle Crisp -- says he noticed the new cafe near Oakey's Grill.

I walked in and they seem to be all about Belgian “Liege” waffles with combos for waffles, coffee, and Affogato (which, their flyer tells me, is Italian mascarpone ice cream and espresso).  And, in an homage to Howard County diversity only its residents can appreciate, the mixture of Belgian waffles and Italian coffee and ice cream is run by what looked to be an exclusively Korean staff.

Has anyone eaten at the new cafe?  MaybeKathy and Lintman, is this the place that you commented about?  Any know the right name?  We had another new waffle spot in the La Pearl waffle truck that has been driving about.  We need to try new stuff.

Peruvian Chicken Is Coming Back To Columbia

Peruvian chicken is coming back to Columbia -- at the same Hickory Ridge village center spot where it used to be.

Signs for Grille Chick 'N Pollo say that they're coming soon.  They're in the backside spot where the old Chick 'N Pollo used to be.  Jeremy sent me the photo above.  It looks like a similar place advertising roasted chickens.  I hope that they'll have plantains and the antichuchos.

Does anyone know the story or timeline for the new Grille Chick 'N Pollo?

(Update: The signs now say that they'll open on January 3, 2013.  Amanda posted photos on the HowChow Facebook page.)

What Howard County Needs: Shave Ice & Whole Foods (Or "What I Learned On WInter Vacation")

Shave ice on Maui

Snowballs are a wonderful tradition for Baltimore, but I'd drive a long way for the Hawaiian variation called shave ice.

It's Hawaiian so you can't drive.  But someone could definitely import a real shave ice machine and make a name offering the beauty of flavored snow.

Snowballs and other stands here serve up crunchy ice flavored with candy-colored syrups.  The Hawaiian ice machines grind finer.  The ice really feels like the fluffiest snow, and the syrups just spread into the ice.  Nothing pools on the bottom.

Ululani's in Kihei

At the top end, chains like Ululani's pour flavored syrups that they make themselves.  Basic fruits like banana, strawberry, and watermelon.  Tropicals like mangos, lychees, and passion fruit.  Exotics like tamarind or "tiger's blood."  They really taste like fruit, and the fluffy snow makes them completely unique.  

Okay, I'll say it:  It makes them better than snowballs.  (I love you snowballs.  But I have to speak the truth.)

They're getting about $5 a cone on Maui -- plus another dollar if you get coconut or macadamia ice cream on the bottom.  (And you have to get the ice cream on the bottom.)  It seems like someone could import a machine and skim a little of the frozen yogurt trend into a profitable business.  

A few summers ago, Mrs. HowChow and I found the snowy soft shave ice at an Artscape vendor, but we haven't seen it again.  I see Yelp reviews for Hula Honey's that looks like a mobile vendor or a food truck.  I'll need to campaign for a Howard County visit next summer.

Surprisingly, the other lesson that I learned on vacation was that I can't wait for Whole Foods to open in Columbia in 2014.  We stumbled on a Whole Foods one morning when we were heading out on a day-long drive, and we bought delicious sandwiches that we ate sitting on a black-sand beach.

Even without the beach, Whole Foods is going to bring some stuff that just doesn't exist here now.  The prepared foods were wonderful.  We stopped again and filled our hotel refrigerator with lunches -- poke and tortilla chips, then hummus, cheeses, olives and grilled vegetables.  

In Hawaii, these were delicious alternatives to hotel restaurants.  Back in Howard County, the prepared food will be a convenience, but the meats and fish will be my big draw.  Harris Teeter's spicy chicken sausage remains a great staple, but Whole Foods sometimes offers a half dozen chicken sausage variations.  Grill them.  Cut them in pasta sauce.  Crumble spicy ones into tacos.  I can't wait.

Variation On A Plan At Shin Chon Garden

Chapchae at Shin Chon

Our standard order at Shin Chon Garden has become so standard that it's the basis of a "Korean 101" post and a bit of a bore.

Don't get me wrong.  You won't ever go wrong with four people eating dolset bi bim bop and some grilling their own meat.  But we go to Shin Chon enough that we wanted to venture into other dishes.

New variation: Order chapchae as an alternative to bi bim bop.

Chapchae is a Korean staple that should be easy for anyone to try.  It's thin noodles served warm and dressed in a light sauce with vegetables and, if you want, a little marinated beef.  We went on a Friday night as a twosome, so we didn't sit at a barbecue table.

Barley tea

I've been trying other restaurants on Rte 40 -- like Tongnamoo House and Han Sung -- but Shin Chon is still our far ahead favorite.  The chapchae was fresh and light, although so filling that we couldn't finish all the noodles, mushrooms and other vegetables.  We paired it with dolset bi bim bop because I save my pork belly orders for nights when I can barbecue at the table.

The standard chapchae comes with a few pieces of marinated grilled meat to mix in the noodles.  If you want a vegetarian meal, just tell the Shin Chon staff.  Vegetarian chapchae or bi bim bop are easy, and a vegetarian pancake would help you fill a table for four.

Seriously, Shin Chon is one of Howard County's best restaurants, so check out the Korean 101 post for step-by-step thoughts for a first visit.  Or skim all the Shin Chon posts.  Shin Chon's waitresses will generally offer ice water for the table.  Ask them for tea if you want hot barley tea.  It's free so you should try it.  You'll get a large plastic glass of hot tea.  Traditional and a way to warm up on a cold night.

Link: Judge's Bench Is A Best Bar in Baltimore

A team of hardcore lushes Baltimore Magazine writers checked out bars around Baltimore, and the Judge's Bench in Ellicott City made their list of the 25 best bars.

The best bars are the cover story for the December edition, and, to my pleasure, the writers skipped the trope about how no one would expect to get good beer in the suburbs.  They talked up the ambiance and the beers at Judge's Bench.

Baltimore Magazine even invites you to jump in the bar review game -- asking you to vote for your favorite bars in its online poll.  They're running a similar restaurant poll where you can vote for your favorite places to eat.