HowChowBlog

Anyone who wants a meat adventure should drive to J.W. Treuth & Sons -- just up the road from Ellicott City in Oella. This is the retail part of a company that sells beef to butchers and restaurants from Boston to Richmond and even overseas. The wholesaler is super-modern, boasting about both its kosher products and its special service whisking just-slaughtered eyes, glands, brains "and more" to medical researchers at NIH and Hopkins. In contrast, the J.W. Treuth store is out of the past. It's in Baltimore County on a two-lane road off Rte 144 that alternates between commercial lots and older homes. Inside, there is just a long counter and enough room to check out the wares. And the wares are the reason to drive to J.W. Treuth. All kinds of beef cuts, chicken, seafood, at least four varieties of house-made sausages. Everything is reasonably priced, and everything that I have tried has been delicious. I have created great dinners here -- like a fillet and four enormous scallops that I turned into dinner for two. The fillet was tender, but had a real beef flavor that is just missing from cheaper joints. The scallops were sweet, pretty much on the level of my favorite Today's Catch in Columbia. I have also bought the Chesapeake sausage, which is an Italian sausage with Old Bay seasoning replacing some of the usual spices. Delicious. Watch out though. I ordered a single sausage figuring that I'd get a six-inch link, but one sausage weighed more than a pound and made its way into multiple meals, including sandwiches and then a chicken stew. J.W. Treuth & and Sons 328 Oella Avenue Baltimore, Maryland 21228 Phone: 410-465-4650 http://www.jwtreuth.com/index2.html NEAR: You can get to Oella Avenue from Ellicott City or Catonsville off Rte 144 (Frederick Road). Don't trust Google Maps because Westchester Avenue is closed (or it was in September 2008). From downtown Ellicott City, you take Rte 144 towards Catonsville. Turn left on Old Frederick Road. Then turn left on Oella. Watch the house numbers because J.W. Treuth is small shop.

No foie gras on the menu, but Iron Bridge is still one of the great places to try during the Howard County Restaurant Weeks than run through early August. My wife and I ate at Iron Bridge on a celebratory whim tonight. For restaurant week, Iron Bridge is offering three courses for $30 -- an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. Iron Bridge has specials every weeknight like a "burger and wine" special on Mondays. But we actually ate the regular appetizers -- four tapas-sized dishes that we split before having dessert. We paid a little less and still walked out satisfied and full. Iron Bridge is a special kitchen. Dishes are small, simple and smart, which was my reason to try more little dishes than a full-plate entrees. Consider the "fries" served with a barbecued beef slider. They look like thick cut fries, but they're really slices of polenta, fried with such a light touch that the outside was crisp and the inside was almost creamy. It's surprising. It's funny. But most importantly, it's delicious and dipped beautifully into the barbecue sauce. I started to write that the best items were the simplest -- house-smoked salmon with a spectacular cream on thin slices of toast. But the dishes are deceptively complex. Someone turned out that salmon with a mouth-filling flavor of fish and salt, but none of the oiliness that mars bad lox. Someone made a perfect cream and thin toasts with a slight crunch, but still the chewiness of bread. It's an intelligence that run through everything at Iron Bridge from the manager who moved us away from a happy, loud group to the waiter who let my wife order a half-pour when the menu only listed wines by the full glass. This was one of my favorite dinners in a long time. The beef sliders and the shrimp were both cooked perfectly. The bread pudding was delicate -- although more like a cake than the moist puddings that we prefer. The wine was superb and fit my wife's request of "dry, but full flavored" exactly. This was the fun of eating at a favorite restaurant, made especially good because we didn't fall into our "favorite sushi roll" rut. Iron Bridge changes its menu all the time, so we make new picks confident that nothing with disappoint. I really wanted the cheese plate, but we relented because four tapas and dessert truly filled us both up. If you want the restaurant week special, you need to ask. There wasn't anything in the restaurant that advertised restaurant week or said the "three for $30" special applied tonight.

If you want to graze for fun food in a new pasture, check out the intersection of U.S. 1 and Rte 175 in Jessup. The shopping center there has been trying for years to be "Columbia East," and I'm sure the landlord is psyched to have a Starbucks and a Rita's pay the rent. But the neighborhood has actually developed an interesting cluster of food that you can check out in a short afternoon. The First Stop: Start with a takeout empanada at El Patio Market on U.S. 1 just south of Rte 175. It's a small Hispanic grocery. They sell terrific empanadas that they'll heat there or that you can take home. They also sell frozen empanada wrappers imported from Argentina that are easy to use and absolutely delicious. (The Mexican restaurant next door was just okay on my single stop, but other people talk it up.) The Traffic Stop: Drive north on U.S. 1 until you see a taco truck. That is Pupuseria Lorenita's. Keep snacking on great tacos in your car. There are several trucks along U.S. 1 from Jessup through Laurel, but Lorenita's has my favorite tacos and pretty regular hours. It has moved a bit recently because Paco's Paints (it's host) moved and then closed. The Goody-Two-Shoes: Go back to the Columbia East shopping center and check out My Organic Market. Good vegetables, bread and a small cheese selection. All the national organic brand basics. The Bad-For-You: Across from MoM is Fortune Star Buffet. This is all-you-can-eat Chinese. When it's busy, the selection can be large and interesting, and the food stays fresh. Avoid the boring stuff. Explore the rest. The Mystery: Press your nose against the window at Coco Butter's down the row from Fortune Star. It advertises chocolates and jazz. It's only open at night. There is a story there, but I can't figure it out. The New-Comer: Pollo Fuego just opened on the back side of Columbia East. It's selling Peruvian chicken around the corner from MoM. Juicy, flavorful chicken. It's a basic, but there is real skill in turning out a bird with a peppery taste, moist meat, and skin that is just too delicious to leave on the plate. Pollo Fuego turns out nice chicken, and that makes a great plate with fried yucca and red beans -- still holding their shape, but cooked soft and creamy. The Old-Timer: Frank's Seafood in the wholesale fish market. From Polly Fuego, turn left on the road running behind Columbia East. That deadends into the fish market where you have to show an ID, but don't pay anything to visit the retail Frank's for fresh fish and crabs, crabs, crabs. That is just a little taste. There is also a West African grocery in Columbia East on the side that faces U.S. 1. I don't know that food, so I haven't ever been able to figure out if it is worth visiting. If you have time, it is definitely worth driving north on U.S. 1 into Elkridge -- El Nayar for basic Mexican at Business Parkway, Smokey's & Uncle Grube's pit beef stand at Roosevelt, and Caezar's International Market for Middle Eastern groceries and the neighboring Persian restaurant on Rte 103. But that's probably another post.

Larriland Farms in absolutely spectacular, and peaches are the best reason to go. They have row after row of tree. Last summer, I think we filled all our bags without walking to more than a dozen trees. They're delicious, and Larriland has a nice Web site where they tell you what is ripe and how much is available today. The "pick-your-own" farm west of Columbia and just off I-70 is an adventure, but it's run so smoothly that you're guaranteed to have a good time. It feels personal and family-run, yet professional as well. Fruits and vegetables abound. Prices are reasonable. The fields are clean, well-marked and outfitted with stands so that you can pay in the fields -- crucial if you're traveling with kids and don't want to get in and out of the car an extra time. But, if you can stop, definitely shop in the Red Barn where you can buy any of the active produce, along with cheeses, jams, candies and honeys.

Some nights you just need to just carry dinner home. Pull some plates. Spread out the food. Start eating right away. Howard County is made for takeout. Every shopping center has a Chinese restaurant and a pizza joint. But bad food doesn't make for a great night of takeout, so there are the places where I'll drive a little extra to pick up. This list is about pick-up, no-cook dinners. Tacos at Lily's are great to eat right away, and the crab cakes at Boarman's broil up to a dinner worth serving guests. However, this is a list about lunch in a bag (or a box) that you can take home, eat right away, and maybe have something left over for lunch the next day. Chinese at Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro off Rte 108 in Ellicott City. This was my wife's staple when we lived up near there. Hot and sour soup with crunchy noodles. Chow fun. Black bean chicken. That's my wife's comfort menu, although you can't go wrong at Jesse Wong's -- and it tops the list because they'll deliver so you don't even have to go there. Fried chicken at Chick N' Friends in Columbia. Chick N' Friends is takeout -- no seating at all. If you can, get chicken right out of the fryer. Pair it up with corn bread, maybe collard greens. This is home cooking in the best possible way. Pizza from Pazani Trattoria in Elkridge or Coal Fire in Ellicott City. Pizza is personal. I go thin crust with premium toppings, so I go to Pazani off Rte 103 north of Rte 100 or Coal Fire on Rte 108 near Snowden River. Korean soup and panchan at Lotte Supermarket in Ellicott City. It'll be a while before I forget the Channel 2 report about vermin. But I have to still say that Lotte serves up a unique takeout if you buy a quart of spicy beef soup near produce and your selection of pickled vegetables and other dishes at the panchan bar near dairy. Peruvian grilled chicken at Mega Chicken in Laurel. This is all the way into Anne Arundel, but it's only 15-20 minutes from much of Howard County. The delicious chicken and the yucca fries are worth the drive, and the fries crisp right back to life in a 400-degree oven. Any grilled meats and the pumpkin appetizer at Maiwand Kabob in Columbia (or in Burtonsville or near the Arundel's Mill Mall). This growing Afghan chain sells wonderful food and especially wonderful bread. That pumpkin is worth any drive. Thai curries and mango sticky rice from Bangkok Delight off Rte 108 in Ellicott City. The curries all travel well. This is one of my favorite places. The sticky rice dessert is best right out of the kitchen, but it travels okay as long as you don't put it in your refrigerator. Pho from An Loi in Columbia. This may be my favorite. You get the Vietnamese soup in pieces -- a quart of broth, a container of noodles and meat, a bag of sprouts, herbs and hot peppers. So it's as fresh in your kitchen as it is at An Loi. Warm comfort in winter. A light dinner in summer. We always have leftovers and have learned to refrigerate the noodles in with the broth so that they don't dry out.

Fried chicken requires a Goldilocks touch -- too greasy and it's fast food, but doctored too close to healthly and you might as well buy something off a rotisserie. Chick N' Friends takeout in Columbia serves up delicious chicken -- moist and full of flavor, not just the taste of crust. To me, the difference is that they cook in batches. On my favorite visits, I have waited up to 10 minutes for our order, and we sit on a bench outside with chicken so hot that you have to pull it apart with forks. Normally, I'm a skinless chicken guy sauteing with a little Pam. But it's a guilty pleasure to crunch through fried chicken so I'll drive a little extra to the Long Reach Village Center. I can't coat my kitchen with oil, and I always wonder about the boxes sitting under the heat in the supermarket deli or KFC. I'll go back to Chick N' Friends, especially for the white meat. The breasts were so moist, and the large pieces of meat balanced well with the crispy skin. (Not that I didn't nibble every piece of meat and skin from the wing as well!) At its best, Chick N' Friends tastes like home cooking in the best possible way. The corn bread muffin was moist and tasted like corn. The collard greens were tender without much seasoning. And the sweet potato pie was superb. Lightly sweet with a smooth texture, but the taste of something hand made. The crust was firm, and, even where it was slightly burnt, that made the pie taste like something that I'd gotten from a friend. Chick N' Friends roasts chicken if you want a heart-healthy option. It also fries several types of fish, and there are waffles available all day. Next time, I'm going to try the chicken and waffles - or maybe the wings. Recognize this is a takeout place, but, in good weather, you can sit on the benches around Long Reach's flower-filled courtyard. Also -- the WPost raved about Chick N' Friends this month.

Sorry. I was worried about getting too long. Gorman Produce Farm 11051 Gorman Road Laurel, MD 20723 301-957-6884 NEAR: This is on Gorman Road east of Rte 29 and west of U.S. 1. This is south of Rte 32, just minutes south of Columbia and almost walking distance from King's Contrivance. From Broken Land Parkway, take Broken Land south of Rte 32 until it deadends. Turn left and then right on Murray Hill Road. Take that until it deadends into Gorman Road. Turn right on Gorman. You'll see the farm's sign on the left just before a point where the road bends to the right. From Rte 29, take the exit for Johns Hopkins Road, which is also marked for Gorman. Turn left at the top of the ramp and go through the next traffic circle. The road changes name to Gorman, and you just drive until you see the farm's sign on the right at a point where the road bends to the left. From U.S. 1, go west at the light for Gorman Road. You'll pass the Savage library. Gorman Road actually turns right. The "straight ahead" changes name to Skylark Boulevard as you enter a housing development. After you turn right to "stay" on Gorman, the road curves and curves. You'll see the farm's sign on the left just before a point where the road bends to the right.

Pazani offers my favorite kind of pizza -- a crisp, greaseless crust with delicious, but light toppings. The toppings are exceptional, and the crust is strong enough to fold in half around the warm cheese and goodies. On my last visit, my wife and I split a pie that was half pepperonata (sausage, peppers, onion) and half capricciosa (mushrooms, artichokes, olives, and peppers). These are flavorful cheeses, salty olives, sweet sausage in chunks. Vegetables that tasted like someone sliced in the kitchen and sauteed here, not like anything canned or delivered by an 18-wheeler. But my current favorite is still the spinach-chicken white pizza that I had for lunch one day on the way to BWI -- a slice heated through in the oven and tasting better than most pizza served fresh. In the end, I love Pazani because those toppings tasted so fresh. My wife prefers Coal Fire in Ellicott City (mentioned in another topic) because she thought the basic crust, cheese and sauce were the best around. Pazani pulls off a very unusual design. There are no waiters. You order at the counter, fill your own soda, and then wait at your table for the food to be delivered. But it's a classy place, and the modern design and the friendly handwritten menu makes it feel a step above most local pizza restaurants. The kitchen aims a step higher too with good house salads (order the dressing on the side), a dozen entrees, and specials like a stuffed pasta that almost convinced me to skip pizza last time. I want the Pizza Fresca that just opened in Maple Lawn to be this good because it's so much more convenient for me. But Pazani is worth the drive any night that I have time. Of course, Pazani is a true HoCo restaurant in that it would be almost impossible to run across. I lived a half mile away, and I had to start a food blog before anyone recommended Pazani to me. It is actually quite convenient off Rte 100 or Rte 103.

If you live in Columbia, Laurel or Savage (or commute up Rte 29 into Howard County), then you should buy vegetables at Gorman Produce Farm as soon as you have a free afternoon. You're reading about food in Howard County. Go buy from people growing food in Howard County at the newly-rejuvinated farm between Rte 29 and U.S. 1. Lydia and Dave Liker have leased the farm on Gorman Road, and they sell produce just in from the field. This is about a mile south of the Harris Teeter in King's Contrivance. Much of the Liker's produce goes out through their "community supported agriculture" program where people paid $550 for weekly boxes of vegetables from June through October. But you can pick up fresh vegetables by stopping at the farm and buying from the Likers -- or from Dave's father, who helped me buy on Saturday. I saw a new sign for the Gorman Produce Farm on my way to the Savage library. The sign doesn't really say that you can buy vegetables there, but I drove down a gravel road to the signs that say "park here" and "produce here." Inside a building were plastic tubs and boxes full of vegetables -- squash, basil, cabbage, green beans, eggplants, chard, and on and on. I broke out my "emergency" $20 bill, and I bought carrots, kohlrabi, squash and lettuce. They're beautiful and delicious. The vegetables are not certified organic, but the Likers say on their Web site that they grow everything according to organic principles. That works for me because I'm skeptical of government "organic" labels -- just like I'm skeptical about the government labels for "local" produce. Why not believe a farm where you can look around yourself? You can meet the farmers most days until about 6 pm. The CSA pick-up is Thursday, and they say people can pick up until 6 pm. Dave Liker said that the gates on Gorman close when they're closed for the day. His father pointed out that it's a working farm, so there are times when people drive up and the Likers are too busy working to make a sale. Gorman's prices seem about what you pay at the Howard County farmers markets. Tomatoes should ripen in a week or so. Corn too. The fields are just going to deliver more and more through the end of the summer. This is a re-post because I did something wrong and erased the original post when I was trying to add link. I think it is pretty much the same.

If you live near Burtonsville, then it's worth making a summer drive over to Seibel's on Rte 198 for homemade ice cream. Seibel's is a family-style restaurant at Rte 198 and Rte 29 where they have been mixing up their own ice cream since 1939. From the outside, it doesn't look like a place with inspired food, but I had heard raves from people had visited. As it turns out, the ice cream was pretty good. Both the banana and the lemon ice creams were creamy and full of flavor. The lemon violated our ice cream rules -- coming in a yellow tint that sure doesn't look like lemon juice. But the flavors were real fruit, and they came in big waffle cones that we enjoyed in our car. I don't know anywhere in Columbia that makes its own ice cream, so a drive down to Seibel's is a sweet adventure for a summer night.

An Loi serves my favorite Vietnamese in Howard County. Perfect for winter with pho. Perfect for summer with light meals of noodles and chicken. An Loi Pho serves up friendly, accessible food with enough authenticity to be a local favorite. 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. (Of course, it isn't the Eden Center, and my great disappointment is that no one here serves bahn mi sandwiches.) 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." My wife 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. If you're looking for other Vietnamese in Howard County, Pho Dat Trahn is a few blocks north on Snowden River. It has a larger menu, but I prefer An Loi's food.

The Hunan Legend Chinese menu is attached as a PDF. Email me through the site if you can't open it. I'm not 100% sure if I did this right. Hunan Legend Chinese menu-1.pdf

If you're looking for Mexican in Howard County, your first stop should be Lily's Mexican Market off Dobbin Road in Columbia. Lily's is your place for a Mexican lunch -- tacos and horchata at the takeout counter in the back of the store. Start with the carne asada and the carnitas. Lily's makes its own corn tortillas, so the tacos start off fresh. They're one of my favorites with the Pupuseria Lorenita's taco truck on U.S. 1 in Elkridge. Lily's also sells all the Mexican basics that you need to explore a Rick Bayless cookbook. Packaged goods like dried or canned peppers, masa, spices, and pre-made sauces. Fresh items like cheese. A butcher counter. And those fresh corn tortillas, which are worth a trip on their own. They're usually stored in a cooler next to the takeout counter, where they're often still warm when you pull out a bag. You can ask for smaller bags if they only have the family-sized. The produce is limited, although I have bought avacodos and tomatillas. The one special item is cactus -- nopales, which are surprisingly easy to cook on a grill pan and slice for tacos at home. Overall, Lily's is a great place for anyone who wants to explore Mexican food. On top of lunch or ingredients, you should also check out the snacks like the fresh Mexican cookies or the plantain chips. Certainly, the Panam Supermarket in Laurel is larger and has a full produce section (Latin and American). But Lily's is your neighborhood store and has months of items to explore. 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 the DMV, Lily's and Sushi King restaurant is across Dobbins from the Blockbuster.

While other people are snarking about "no good food in Howard County," I'm eating Korean food in Ellicott City. The Korean food along Rte 40 is worth a drive if you live anywhere from Baltimore to Burtonsville. It's not Annandale, but then there are probably suburbs of Seoul with less Korean delicacies than Annandale. Ellicott City has a swatch of Korean restaurants and markets where you can discover Korean food or find authentic delicacies. Howard County Korean starts at Shin Chon Garden in the Lotte shopping center on Rte 40 just east of Rte 29. After last summer's renovations, Shin Chon Garden reopened blond and beautiful -- blond wood and modern design, but still great food. It remains casual and friendly. The old place was a bit quirky and dominated by televisions. Now, there seem to be more seats, and there certainly are more tables with built-in grills. The crowd still looks like the optimal ethnic restaurant: Most of the crowd is Korean, but the atmosphere welcomes anyone. I don't know enough about Korean cuisine to notice any post-renovation change in the menu or the food. You start with the banchan: 5 to 7 room-temperature snacks that you can eat as appetizers and to accompany the meal. Tofus, pickled vegetables, kimchi, even potato salad. They change every visit, but the mixture makes a Korean dinner one of my favorites. Because my wife and I normally order only two entrees, we tend to return to the basics like bulgogi and kalbi (marinated meats) or dolset bi bum bop, which is a mix of rice and vegetables toped with an egg. Jump at any chance to go with a person who knows Korean food or with a large group so that you could try a few dishes. If classy isn't your style, you can try Mirocjo on the second floor of the rundown Bethany 40 shopping center on Rte 40 just west of the Enchanted Forest shopping area. Inside, the restaurant has industrial fans over the barbecue tables and a floral wallpaper that suggests 1970s grandmothers. But the food is delicious. Similar panchan, and I think it is as good as Shin Chon -- although not as nice-looking. Then if you're looking for someone new, check out the Bethany Seafood Restaurant (at least that is what they call it in English). Bethany's back door faces Mirocjo in the Bethany 40 shopping center. Bethany is at the far end of a building that is turned sideways to Rte 40, so you find the front door by driving along the east side of the building and looking for the Korean signs. Although there is little English outside, you'll have an English menu and perfectly fluent waitresses inside. Bethany Seafood actually makes my list because it pulls off that array of flavors in my favorite dish -- dolset bi bim bop (or "bob" as Bethany calls it). The waitress brings a hot stone pot filled with rice, cooked vegetables, and some pieces of meat. Bethany's is my new favorite because the meat is actual slices of kalbi rib meat and because the hot pot browns the rice, which becomes crisp against the soft vegetables and tender, charred beef. With dollops of the spicy sauce, Bethany's bi bim bop becomes perfect. Better even than Shin Chon's. But Bethany is a seafood joint. The waitress translated the Korean name as "Eel City, Flounder Country." There is both a sushi bar and a series of aquariums that show off how fresh your dinner can be. I have my eye on a pan-fried squid and on a cod and claim stew, and there is a spectacular Yelp post by "AJ K" that describes live lobster sashimi. Seriously, they served up live lobster -- along with little snails, mollusks and a lobster broth at the end. That's three places to start. There are many others along Rte 40 -- and there is the Lotte supermarket that has had its share of health code violations, but still serves the best takeout dinner around from its panchan bar and marinated meats to grill.

This is actually a tip that I haven't tried myself, but I really trust. Hunan Legend is a Chinese institution off Rte 108 in Columbia. Last year, I had a really bad meal at Hunan Legend and wrote about my frustration because I knew people love the place and knew there was a "hidden" menu. Since then, I have gone crazy for Grace Garden in Odenton, which serves up authentic, delicious Chinese food off menus that you can read in English. But what if you don't have time to drive all that way? An acquaintance actually got Hunan Legend's Chinese menu and translated. It's 34 items, including appetizers, stirfries, noodle dishes and more. The translator was very humble about her "rusty" Chinese, but I have heard from several people who carried the translated menu to Hunan Legend and enjoye authentic Chinese -- Chilean Sea Bass in the spicy sauce, snow peas leaves with scallions and garlic, "dried tofu" with pork, or pork blood and intestines in a spicy, hot sauce. One guy has begun talking with the owners, who he says are Malaysian and have some other Malaysian specialties that they serve to peopel in the know. He says that the trick seems to be *convincing* the waiter/owners that you really want authentic Chinese. They're gunshy about Americans who say they want the "real thing," but don't enjoy their meal. I actually haven't used the menu yet, but I'm happy to send it to anyone who emails me at howchowblog at gmail. (Update: I will also try to attach the fiel to this post. I didn't know I could do that.)

Victoria Gastro Pub is really one of the best restaurants in Howard County. It has an changing, adventurous menu on the gourmet pub theme, but I keep going back for burgers and beer. Within our fair border, Victoria's upscale burger -- with a nice bun, good fries and delicious beef -- really has no peers. I love biting into a burger with real taste, with the juice that comes from fat but the flavor that comes from meat. My grill and a home-grown tomato make the absolute best hamburger, but Victoria is the place that I drive when I'm too cold or tired to do it myself. (And this is all just their normal burger. The kobe beef tasted different to me, but not better and therefore not worth the extra money to me. But be firm on the fries. The last time I went for lunch, the fries were overcooked and hard. I should have sent them back.) To go with the burgers, Victoria Gastropub offers the perfect option for people who like to sample beers, but can't throw back pint after pint. For about $12, you get five half-pours of the dozens of beers that Victoria offers on tap. It's a buck more for some special brews, but the five five-ounce glasses are a reasonable way to either try something new or build your own selection -- all wheat beers, a light-to-dark collection, etc. For me, the best part of my sample was that I hated one of the beers that I tasted. My face looked like I had drank something rancid, but the horrified reaction made me realize that I had truly enjoyed the other four -- and not just drank them out of some "Emperor's New Clothes" belief that the beer must be good if I'm paying this much. All that fun sitting out on Victoria's outdoor patio. (Looking out, of course, on the parking lot -- but that is a separate post about Howard County dining.)

Wegmans appears ready to start construction of its Columbia supermarket -- at least according to the building permit that Wegmans applied for on June 30, 2009. An employee of Wegmans Construction in Rochester applied to build a temporary construction trailer at 8895 McGaw Road. That is the site across from Apple Ford where Wegmans has been talking about a new store since at least 2006. A county employee appears to have done a "building review" on July 1, 2009, but there isn't a permit issued yet. This confirms comments by Wordbones -- who is the source for Wegmans construction news -- on the Tales of Two Cities blog. In June, Wordbones wrote that their local attorney said the company had prevailed against legal challenges. The attorney did not have a date for a Columbia opening then, and the Wegmans Web site still said "TBD" today and listed it behind two stores to open in 2010. About five months ago, Wordbones heard that Wegmans was aiming for early 2011. See this link (which I can't attach in HTML for some reason): http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2009/06/wegmans-saga-part-eleven.html?showComment=1246889554439 You can check application B09001570 yourself at the Howard County Web site. Just search for all permits on McGaw Road in June 2009. Again a link: https://accela1.howardcountymd.gov/citizenaccess/

My name is Brent, and I am completely shocked to live in a house overlooking a corn field. (Although it is a wheat field this summer.) I came back to DC in 1999 to live a city life. A lot changed, and I fell in love with a woman who works in Baltimore. So we live in southern Howard County, which was a shock after years enjoying restaurants and ethnic markets in DC and the VA suburbs. After some time up here, I got tired of people snapping that Howard County had nothing but chains. I had found some great little places, and I thought it would be fun to read the blogs where people wrote about *other* cool food options in Columbia, Ellicott City, etc. There was nothing to read. A thousand blogs had bloomed in Baltimore. A thousand more in Washington. But no one was telling you where to buy fresh corn tortillas in Columbia (answer: Lily's Mexican Market off Dobbin Road). So I have been writing about food in or near Howard County for a little more than a year. It has been great fun. Mostly, it is an inspiration for me to chase down rumors or sample places that I would normally drive past. But I have learned an enormous amount from people who leave comments on HowChow, and I have had fun with some projects like distributing a translated version of Hunan Legend's "secret" Chinese menu. This board seems like more of a chance to share and discover more places.

Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery opened a few weeks ago in Columbia and brought sandwiches and bread that rise immediately into my favorites in Howard County. Great ingredients. It couldn't be more simple, but it feels less and less common to find delicious food that tastes like someone was paying attention. Certainly rarer at a casual sandwich joint -- where the chains make their money with interchangeable ingredients. Bon Fresco's sandwiches are exceptional. Thick $6.50 sandwiches that each have several great ingredients. Thick slices of real roasted pork loin with grilled squash and a spicy sauce. A pile of salami that looks more like a gourmet deli than a sandwich shop, topped with green-leaf lettuce and cream cheese. Cream cheese? We would never put cream cheese on salami, but Bon Fresco offers this kind of inspiration in everything from tuna to turkey, prosciutto to grilled vegetables. These are sandwiches with real flavors. Each ingredient stood out, and it came together with the beauty of Thanksgiving leftovers -- a simple sandwich made scrumptious because someone spent an entire day cooking the parts. Of course, great sandwiches start with great bread, and Bon Fresco's baking is every bit as attractive as its meals. In the open kitchen, Bon Fresco bakes baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia and other loaves. You won't buy better bread in Howard County. This is the bread that I love -- crisp crust, light interior. They're sandwich breads so they don't have filings or flavors. We ate two ciabattas right out of the oven. So hot that the crust cracked rather than tore, and we juggled pieces as we drove home and wolfed them down. We brought home a separate baguette, and that bread holds it own with Savage's Bonaparte Bread for sandwiches and French toast. Again, these are sandwich breads so the inside is more perfect white loaf than the famous, yeasty French bread of 2941, but they're spectacular warm and worth the trip over anything that I have bought in a supermarket. This is a great place for lunch or to just pick up bread to bring home for dinner. Check out the salads. There is a rotating selection, and the Israeli coucous and the curried chicken salad looked spectacular when I visited. When a place pays attention to ingredients like Bon Fresco, simple dishes like tomato and mozzarella become worth a few minutes' drive. Bon Fresco is just off Snowden River Parkway on Oakland Mills Road. Like so many Columbia joints, you can't see it from the main road, and I hope that people will search it out. $6.50 was pricey for a sandwich without even chips, but I think Bon Fresco is worth the money. Plus, I have heard that Bon Fresco has already started adding some side salads to their sandwiches, and the owner has told people that they're working on a recipe for potato chips that they'll make there.

To me, Pioneer Pit Beef in Woodlawn offers the perfect pit beef sandwich -- the smoke, the beef, the slight char, the horseradish. This is a simple thing. The Pioneer is a shack on Rolling Road just north of Rte 40. Inside, there is just room to line up for a sandwich. Order beef, ham or turkey. Take the "tasting" slice to be sure that you're picking right from "rare, medium or well-done?" Ask for fries or cole slaw. Step outside. But you step outside with an absolutely delicious sandwich. I go for medium meat with horseradish and maybe some onion. In the crowd, people lather up with mayo, BBQ sauce and "tiger sauce" (mayo and horseradish combined), but I can't condone the practice. I don't want to cover up the meat -- the beef flavor of a tough cut, grilled and then sliced so thin that you bite through like filet. Pioneer is one of my absolute favorite foods. Simple. But done so perfectly that it makes me want to skip pit beef that is just okay. (Boogs?) Ironically, I stumbled on Pioneer long before I started HowChow. I literally drove past this stand on the side of the highway when I was following Google directions to the Salvation Army. When I tried to find it again, I failed -- until I realized that the City Paper's "best pit beef" sounded like the stand by the highway. Pioneer Pit Beef is just north of the H Mart in Catonsville. You can stop for a sandwich, then shop for groceries. Pioneer has no phone. They only take cash, but the sandwich is a bargain at $5.50. I understand that they're open from lunchtime until early evening Monday through Saturday. If you need a Howard County joint, the best one that I have tried is Uncle Grube's off Rte 1 in Elkridge. A new place Oakey's Grill just opened on Frederick Road in Ellicott City.

Most importantly, Jesse Wong's Asean Bistro isn't closed. Jesse Wong's Hong Kong in Columbia closed, but the Asean Bistro just off Rte 108 is open and seems full whenever I visit. The Asean Bistro tops the Chinese restaurants in Howard County. It isn't the authentic Chinese menu that you can get at Grace Garden in Odenton or even off the "secret" menu at Hunan Legend in Columbia. It's an array of dishes from China, Malaysia and southeast Asia (this the name "ASEAN," like the alliance) translated for American palates. A large menu, and I haven't had anything that failed. We love the Szechuan green beans, the spicy black bean chicken, great tofu dishes, the chow fun noodles. Over time, we have 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. In the end, I think the Asean Bistro beats out good rivals like Hunan Manor because it consistently avoids the gloppy taste too common in Chinese places. The crispy beef at Asean Bistro is a treat. At Hunan Manor, it was soft and tasted of breading. The Asean Bistro is one of those nice places in a shopping center. They transformed the inside with wood and murals. There isn't live piano music on many nights. Ironically, the Asean Bistro is also probably *the best* place for delivery if you live up near Ellicott City. When we did, this was our delivery joint -- the black bean chicken, a chow fun, and hot & sour soup with a waxpaper bag of crispy, fried noodles. You can't get those noodles at the restaurant. Only delivery. It's a great night.