nelumbo

When I was a student at UMCP mumble years ago, Route 1 in College Park was a wasteland of bad pizza, worse Chinese takeout, and sticky-floor bars. Applebees and IHOP actually raised the bar when they opened, or at least that is what we thought at the time. I've avoided that strip of Rt 1 since I returned to the area a few years ago, preferring the plethora of options further north in Beltsville. Somehow ended up at Pho Thom for dinner earlier this summer, directly across Rt 1 from the CVS shopping center and neighbor to Ovo Simply Veggie. The space is fairly small - a few 2 and 4 tops near the front door, then a line of benches along the wall heading to the back, with a single row of tables fit into the narrow space. The decor is probably more upscale than the median for CP, although there is a largish tv mounted at the front of the restaurant. Service was basic but attentive. The menu includes pho, but aside from that appears to be primarily thai. I haven't tried the pho (which I can get in Beltsville easily enough), but I did try some of the thai options. On my first visit, I had the Yum Squid spicy salad, which was better than I expected - the squid was tender, and the dish was spicy (I asked for extra spice) and had clear, well-balanced flavors. I had a small taste of my friend's Pad Kee Mao - it seemed pretty decent, not as good as Nava Thai but in the upper 25% on my personal pad kee mao ranking scale. Had pad prik on my second visit - personally would have ditched the bell peppers, but it was otherwise good enough. If I want thai without driving all the way to Wheaton, or when stuck in CP for some reason, this may become a go-to.

Zucchini fritters with sour cream, key lime pie, iced tea.

Needed to thin the leek bed this morning, so pizza topped with sautéed young leeks, bacon, mozzarella, goat cheese, and the half dozen cherry tomatoes that are my entire crop so far this summer (I didn't plant the tomatoes, they are volunteers and got quite the late start - if the deer don't get them first, I'll have a hefty late-summer/early fall harvest).

So the H&A market in the old Hechinger building at Riggs & 193 in Langley Park (across 193 from Tick Tock Liquors) is now a "New Grand Mart". The changes include a half-aisle of Indian products, another half-aisle of Jamaican/Caribbean products, and a re-organization of the produce section. The store is still about 50% Asian, maybe 30% Latin, and the rest mixed ethnicity products, organized loosely by region. I think this is a much nicer store than the Grand Mart in Laurel, although it doesn't have the "modern" feel of newer H-marts. Pretty much everything that used to be in H&A is still there, although some of the refrigerated items have been moved around. The fish counter is the same, although they were now additionally offering some prepackaged seafood, like salmon steaks and fish roe. If my freezer wasn't full of blackberries, I'd have taken home a box of cuttlefish tentacles. The meat section is still small but I think it may be a bit nicer/cleaner - there was a decent selection of pork and beef, plus a counter where they had a few large cuts of goat available. The produce area now has better labeling, and there were some new things I hadn't seen before, like snake gourds and two kinds of enormous foot-long "okra". Lots of the usual fruits, rambutan, mangosteen, dragonfruit, etc. Another new item was Megachef premium fish sauce (blue label) - I picked up a bottle to compare with my regular standbys of Squid brand and Golden Boy. I have felt in the past that H&A had a good balance of Asian products - Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Chinese, but not a lot of Japanese items. This balance is about the same as before. Some of the other Grand Marts that I have been to in northern PG county have very little Asian food - maybe a half aisle of ramen. I hope they keep this mix of a wide range of products, especially the Asian ones, because Lotte and H-Mart are a much further drive and I have been able to find 99% of the items I want here.

This market is located in the parking lot of the Charlotte Hall library on Rt. 5 in St. Mary's county. It is open Monday-Saturday all day during peak season, with fewer days per week in April/November, and closed in winter. As far as I can tell, all of the vendors are local Amish farmers. Parking in the library lot can be a hassle on busy Saturdays. The market offers "classic" produce - not a place to find exotic or heirloom items, and I've never seen anything advertised as organic. Spring and summer crops show up here a week or two earlier than at the markets I've been to closer to DC. In addition to produce, there are vendors that offer baked goods, including shoo-fly pie (and other pies), cookies, breads, rolls, and whoopie pies. There is a selection of jams, jellies, and preserved items also. There is very little in the way of meat or dairy, although I've seen one or two vendors with a small quantity of churned butter available.

Far down the tidal Potomac is the small community of Abell, Maryland on Canoe Neck Creek, just off of St. Clements Bay. Morris Point juts out into Canoe Neck Creek, and at the end of this point lies Morris Point Restaurant. This is a small restaurant with a tiny little open kitchen, mostly attended by locals. The menu features seafood, pasta, and casual American options (sandwiches, burgers, etc). We usually stop by during the midafternoon lull while out on the water for some light fare. The Clam Pot is one of the more popular choices; not being a big fan of clams, I tend to opt for the Maryland Vegetable Crab soup or a slice of Key Lime Pie, or perhaps the Crab Dip Florentine for something a little more filling. Driving to the restaurant involves wandering down a series of small residential roads; the restaurant is perhaps more easily reached by boat. They have a dock large enough to host several vessels and are quite welcoming to boaters. There are a handful of tables in the main restaurant, plus some outdoor tables on the dock that are used in summer. The restrooms require a trip outside to a separate entrance. Open Friday - Sunday only. 38869 Morris Point Rd, Abell, MD 20606

Having eaten at Just Jerk several more times - there can sometimes be a bit of a wait for the food to be ready, so we usually call ahead and pick up takeout. The jerk chicken is the best that I have had in this area - I usually order mine "spicy" which gives it a good kick, if you don't specify spicy when you order, you will get the milder version by default IIRC. Their plantains are also really good.

I like their haemul pajeon and also the kimchi version (the pancake appetizers), although they aren't quite as good as the ones at Hwa Gae Jang Tuh in Rockville. Also good is the the soon dubu jigae (soft tofu stew); they also have the unusual budae jigae (Korean "army base stew" with hot dogs and other random ingredients).

Noodles Corner is a small restaurant in a strip mall in Columbia, wedged between Mango Grove and Pub Dog. If you are up in this area and looking for decent Chinese, give it a try, because they have a second Taiwanese-based authentic menu in addition to the regular Americanized stuff. You may need to ask for the "other" menu, which is written in English IIRC. I've only eaten there once, and it was a few months ago so I don't remember in detail what we ordered - I think it included the three cup chicken and possibly the bamboo with shredded pork, plus two other dishes that I don't recall. Despite the name, Noodles Corner does not seem to specialize in noodles at all. If you just walked in off the street, you would probably assume that it was just another Americanized Chinese place. I think they may also deliver. We only ordered from the "authentic" menu, so I can't speak to the "regular" Americanized menu. The ~four dishes that we ordered were all good, but I'm not familiar enough with Taiwanese to judge authenticity. Not on the level of, say, Grace Garden, but I'd certainly eat here again the next time I'm in the area. There are many intriguing items on the menu, including offal/blood/pigs feet/etc.

It looks like the Langley Park Ba Le may have closed. It was not open this evening at 6 pm, and there was a "for lease" sign in the window. I will miss nabbing a three color drink whenever I shop at H&A.

Ate here without having read the TS review, ordered the goat curry because I am a sucker for goat. While the flavor was good, every single piece of goat had major gristle/cartilage and/or shards of bone. If I had known about the Udupi Palace connection, I would have stuck with the vegetarian menu...

Buddha's delight, aka jai, for CNY today. Couldn't find a few items, but that is probably best as it barely fits in the stockpot as is....

I've only been to this Korean restaurant twice. It is in a small strip mall on Rhode Island Ave just a few blocks north of the intersection with Rt. 1 in Beltsville. Seoulia seems to specialize in soups and casseroles. There are some tables that have inset grills for bbq, but most of the other diners seem to chose dishes that involve tabletop burners with bubbling pots of stew/soup/casserole. On the first visit, I had the soondubu jjigae (soft tofu stew), which was spicy and pretty flavorful. On the second trip, we had both the seafood and kimchi pancakes and also some bulgogi. The bulgogi was pretty standard, but the pancakes were both quite good, containing various forms of squid, shrimp, and such. I definitely intend to come back and try some of the casserole/stew dishes that seem most popular with the Korean clientele.

I've had the drunken noodles at Nava before and thought they were pretty good. Today I had the spicy squid salad, which was nice - a fair amount of spice and tender squid. However, the floating market soup had absolutely no heat (the temperature was fine), although I had asked for it spicy. The waitress came by to ask if it was spicy enough, and seemed sad when I said that it wasn't spicy at all...

This is a small "Vietnamese Deli" wedged into a corner in Hechinger Plaza in Langley Park/Hyattsville, at the corner of Riggs and 193. Apparently it has been there for some years, now neighbors to the H&A Grocery (in the former Hechingers space). The menu has a large selection of banh mi, plus rice and noodle dishes and several soups. There is a large refrigerated section with drinks and prepared desserts (three color dessert, some other kinds of pudding things, all $2), also some grocery type items, and an area with a few buns, spring rolls, etc. There are only three tables, and most of their business seems to be takeout. I think the banh mi are around $3/each, with a "buy five get one free" offer. If you get the three color dessert (che be mau), the refrigerator is cold enough to solidify the coconut cream, and you will need to wait for it to warm up if you want to have it more like a drink. I'm not an expert on banh mi and have only tried the banh mi at Ba Le a few times. Usually I get the roast pork or bbq pork - these banh mi are a bit more moist than I am used to, I think due to the pickled vegetables. I need to remember to eat the banh mi as soon as I can so they don't get too soggy. I've also tried the crab and tomato soup, which came with a dish of condiments similar to what you would see with pho, and consisted of tomato, crab, and pork on a mass of vermicelli rice noodles. I liked this soup a lot, and want to try some of the other soups. I'm not sure if they have the usual pho, but there was some spicy beef soup on the menu. Much of the take-out orders to Vietnamese clientele seem to be the rice and noodle dishes, so these bear further investigation as well. I frequently shop at the H&A market, and this makes a nice stop for a snack or lunch.

Ventured to Just Jerk for lunch this month - this is a small roadside joint on Lanham Severn road at the horrible intersection with 450, in Lanham. In fact, google maps was confused about the location, placing it on the ramp section of 450 and gave completely incorrect directions - you need to be headed westbound on 564 (Lanham Severn), it will be on your left in the section where the road has split between Cipriano and Princess Garden. If you are coming from the west, you will need to loop around and turn into the westbound lanes to get there. The building is a small structure, green with yellow trim and plenty of parking. We went around 11:30 on a very hot weekday - there was a sign on the door saying that they were going to close early because it was too hot inside. There was no line, and no one else buying lunch, but I have heard that sometimes they get very busy. There is not much in the way of seating, so we got takeout. It only took a minute or two for the food to arrive after placing the order. I ordered the small jerk dark chicken platter, which came with plantains, cabbage, and rice. They also have beef patties, seafood, sandwiches, and additional sides, plus a freezer full of York Castle pints. I'm not that familiar with jerk, so I can't compare, but I thought the chicken was quite good - juicy with nice flavor - and also liked the cabbage and plantains. There was plenty left over from the "small" platter to eat for lunch the next day, although if it hadn't been broiling hot outside, I might have been hungry enough to polish off the whole thing. I will definitely visit again to try more of their menu, especially since they are only ~10 minutes from my office. Just Jerk 9005 Lanham Severn Rd Lanham, MD 20706

Hi, I'm Nikki, I grew up in the area (yes, I remember the Hot Shoppes in Langley Park and Wheaton Plaza, as well as Giffords at Georgia and Sligo), moved away for 10+ years, and have recently returned. Currently in Greenbelt, and I am pleased to find some good Korean/Vietnamese/Peruvian chicken options nearby in Beltsville. I am planning to work my way through all the asian options from Wheaton to Bowie.