Ellicott City Flood - Relief Efforts

Historic Ellicott City before the flood

It has been a week since the historic area of my town, Ellicott City, was devastated by a hideous flood. The storm destroyed much of the town, demolished sidewalks and the foundation of buildings.

Founded in 1772, the history of  Ellicott City pre-dates the Civil War - click here for more information.

We take great pride that many of the historic buildings are meticulous cared for and give our downtown its charm.

The aftermath of the flood left our town in pain. Two people lost their lives and countless businesses and homes were absolutely devastated. 

These streets housed a vibrant business district, including restaurants that we visited often.

It's really awful to see all the places you grew up with just obliterated. In just a blink of an eye, businesses, homes and two people, just gone.  It's really hard to even wrap our heads around that.

The road to recovery will be long but Ellicott City will #RiseAboveTheWater.

To help people and businesses get back on their feet, we are publicizing the following gofundme.com pages for the affected restaurants in the historic district (HT to Floria Volynskaya's Facebook page). Please help if you can.

Every penny helps to get these restaurants back on main street. So, let's all do our part in restoring the town we love back to its former glory.

Judge's Bench - https://www.gofundme.com/judgesbench

Ellicott Mills Brewing Company - https://www.gofundme.com/2hhhex8

La Palapa Mexican Grill & Cantina - https://www.gofundme.com/lapalapagrill

Tersiguel's French Country Restaurant -https://www.gofundme.com/2hkn2j94

Little French Market - https://www.gofundme.com/2hqefbg

Pure Wine Cafe - https://www.gofundme.com/2htkeac

Johnny's Bistro on Main (blog post here) - https://www.gofundme.com/2hvtrws

Sweet Cascades Chocolatier - https://www.gofundme.com/2hm8cwws

Tea on the Tiber - https://www.gofundme.com/teaonthetiber

The Rumor Mill Fusion Bar & Restaurant -https://www.gofundme.com/therumormillec
andhttps://www.gofundme.com/2hfdk6k

Cacao Lane Restaurant - https://www.gofundme.com/2hhmpbcc

Portalli's - https://www.gofundme.com/supportportallis

Bean Hollow Roastery & Espresso (blog post here) - https://www.youcaring.com/gretchen-shuey-614117

The Phoenix Emporium - https://www.gofundme.com/2hmcgtdg

Charles and Thomas at The Trolley Stop

Even though main street is closed, The Trolley Stop (read our 2015 blog post here) is one of the few restaurants still open in historic Ellicott City. Charles and I decided to show our support by dining there last night.

We will continue to share news and fundraisers about our town. Please contact us with information so we can get it out.

We are #ECStrong

- Thomas and Charles

Johnny's Bistro on Main & Bean Hollow - Historic Ellicott City, MD

Located in the heart of Ellicott City's historic district, Johnny's Bistro on Main is a quaint eatery that serves traditional favorites with a creative twist.  

The restaurant, named after owner and managing partner Johnny Breidenbach, serves rustic sandwiches, paninis, tapas, innovative salads and gourmet pizza "with a creative touch."

I was joined by Gracie on this culinary adventure. We both decided to order a sandwich from "Between the Bread" selections listed on the menu that arrived with skinny fries and a pickle. 

The "It's a Wrap" caught my eye - a grilled Tuscan chicken, fresh mozzarella, sliced proscuitto, mescaline greens, roasted red peppers, herbs and garlic aioli ($9.99).  The saltiness of the proscuitto and seasoned, tender chicken combined with the fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers packed a nice a one-two punch of flavors in my mouth. The ingredients were extremely fresh. I would have preferred less garlic aioli but that's just my preference.  Next time I will ask for the spread on the side.

It's a Wrap 

California Dreaming

Gracie ordered the California Dreaming sandwich - roasted turkey with apple wood bacon, guacamole, lettuce and tomato served on rustic herbed ciabatta ($9.99). It was a hit with Gracie who decided to opt out of the bacon slices. I took a bite and agree. The bread was outrageously good. I could have eaten just the bread and been one happy Dude. 

Creme Brûlée 

For dessert, the "Freshly Made Creme Brûlée with Vanilla Bean" ($5.99) was calling our names from the "Sweet Temptations" menu. We gave it a shot.   Although it was a small portion and we were full from the sandwiches, it was so well made with fresh ingredients and so tasty that we didn't leave a morel.

We continued our evening in historic Ellicott City by walking around the downtown area admiring the antique stores and restaurants all dressed up in Christmas fashion. We stopped into a nearby coffee house (we both have a passion for coffee) called Bean Hollow Coffee and Connections - a cozy vegetarian and vegan coffeehouse/restaurant that serves a ridiculous variety of coffee all day long (up to 10 pm except on Sundays) along with a selection of food including desserts, sandwiches and salads (last order taken at 9:30 pm).

Gracie was filled with mucho happiness from her coffee 

Bean Hollow dressed in its holiday finery

Gracie ordered the Americano- a full-bodied espresso shot poured into a cup of hot water. This coffee keeps the integrity of the espresso taste without the strength of a regular, unadulterated espresso shot. I ordered the triple Americano (an americano with three espresso shots).

Bean Hollow was a terrific place to end our historic Ellicott City journey.

Before the night ended, we took a ride to the Christmas house in the near-by Beaverbrook neighborhood in Columbia, MD to visit the Christmas house at 5034 Durham Rd. 

It looked exactly how I remembered the house - just spectacular with what's reported to be over 200,000 lights.  I think Gracie was impressed too. 

Sadly, we learned from the people we met walking around the Christmas display that this is the LAST year the house will have a big show for the holiday. Read more about the house here  I highly recommend you visit this Christmas light display before it shines no more.

- Charles