The Shanty Grille - Ellicott City

UPDATE - 

Restaurant CLOSING December 31, 2014

Read the announcement from the King family here

We went to the Shanty Grille  (formerly Crab Shanty) for Saturday lunch. It's been a landmark in Ellicott City for over 34 years! 

I remember my mom telling me that it was well known when she was a kid growing up in Howard County. It still is today.

The decorations seemed old fashion - a cross between antiques and western. Almost everything in sight is made of wood and more wood. For some reason, they had Christmas decorations on the upper walls of the restaurant such as a non-working fire place next to a huge red sleigh, and a miniature train display. Weird since we ate there in March.

Christmas decorations - huge red sleigh and giant fireplace

 The place was dimly lit, (which made us a bit drowsy) and there was a flurry of senior citizens who came in. I guess people have been coming here for many years. Our waiter was very nice but we waited a long time to order and receive both our drinks and meals. Which was curious because there were only a few other tables occupied. 

Maryland Crab Soup

The Maryland crab soup had a bit too much Old Bay seasoning for our tastes. But it did have a lot of vegetables. The other soup of the day was the Bacon Cheeseburger soup. This sounded very unique but the thought of a soupy hamburger was not appealing to us.

Calamari Bowl 

The Calamari Bowl appetizer is one of the top five best we've ever had. Some calamari can be chewy, but this was soft to the bite. It was fried with a light, crispy batter. It came with two sauces - house marinara & remoulade. We loved the remoulade sauce.

California Burger

Basil Chicken Salad

Three of our party members ordered the California burger - 1/2 lb. burger topped with red onion and pepper jack cheese on a brioche roll -  w/guacamole optional. We all agreed the burger was tasty but the bun and the fresh cut potato chips needed improvement.  The bread was chewy, doughy and bland. Plus, we were looking forward to the homemade chips but they were crispy in some parts and soggy in others.

If you want ketchup, mayo, or mustard with your meal, we recommend you ask for it when you order. We had to request it when the burgers we're served, then we had to wait a long time before the condiments came out.

The Basil Chicken Salad sandwich had the same issue as the burger: the chicken salad tasted good but the bread and the chips were not great.

Lastly, we had to try the Crab Cake sandwich because the restaurant is known for this dish.  It didn't disappoint.  While it wasn't the best one we've had, it was well seasoned and full of crab meat. It was served with asparagus and baked potato.

There are a lot of dishes we didn't try that sounded good like the Coca-Cola Ribs, Shanty Cuban, Smoked Carolina BBQ and Coconut Chicken bites.

Let us know if you try any of these dishes or other menu items. 

HowChow goes to Rudy's Mediterranean Grill

This is the coolest thing that has ever happened to us!

The famous Howard County food blogger, HowChow, wrote in his review of Rudy's Mediterranean Grill  that we were the first blog to review the new Columbia restaurant. Read our review here. 

If you haven't visited HowChow yet, you should check it out.  He has reviewed hundreds of restaurants and foods in and around Howard County....since 2008.

Thank you HowChow....you are really awesome!

Tino's Italian Bistro Columbia, MD

Shortly after being seated in one of Tino's cozy booths, our attentive waiter was happy to take our drink orders and give us a basket of warm bread (crunchy crust with soft interior) accompanied with Italian herb infused oil.  Everyone in our party LOVED the oil and bread.

Italian bread with herbed oil dipping sauce

We found out that the owner is Italian American, so we were excited that we might experience some good authentic Italian cuisine. My family ordered several dishes.  Here are some of them:

Charles selected Chicken Alfredo
The chicken was well seasoned and the sauce creamy and buttery. 

Tino's sure does make a fine Chicken Parmesan. We tasted it and instantly liked it. The chicken was in long, breaded, tastey strips with just the right amount of tomato sauce. 

The Steak and Cheese Hoagie wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. Although the tomatoes and cheese were  great, the  lettuce choice was too delicate (it was a bit wilted from the heat of the melted cheese) and the steak wasn't as flavorful as I expected. 

We LOVED this chocolate mousse. If you are wondering why it is shaped like a heart it's because we went to Tino's very close to Valentine's Day. Drizzled in chocolate syrup, the mouse had a soft and creamy texture wrapped in chocolatey goodness.  We were  surprised how much chocolate was packed into this dessert.  

Thomas pointing to the entrance sign about specials.....note "Kids Eat Free on Monday nights."

Tino's  offers many other pasta, chicken, veal and seafood dishes.  We didn't try their meatballs - an old family recipe - but we will next time. 

Crazy Lunch Specials

This month we had a few days off of school so we were able to eat lunch out during the week.  We found some great lunch deals.

Since school will be out soon for Spring Break, we thought we'd profile two of our favorite restaurants that have awesome lunch deals.

The Burger Joint in Columbia has a student box special for only $6.99 (grades 1-12) .  It comes with a regular burger, fries and a soda.  It's available ALL DAY EVERY DAY with a student ID.

If you are a college student or adult, try the weekday lunch special - $8.99 for a burger, fries and soda. 

Here's a weekday special - Trattoria Amore Italian restaurant in Dorsey Search Village Center (4725 Dorsey Hall Drive in Ellicott City).  

They are offering "Crazy Lunch Specials" - for $5 you get a side salad, 1 slice of pizza and a small soda.   You choose the slice from whatever pizza they have made that day. We've seen the following pizza varieties ....cheese, sausage, pepperoni, white pizza with chicken and spinach or  mozzarella, tomato and basil (Caprice) and  they are more.

Our 2nd HoCo blogger party!

Held at the Corner Stable in Kings Contrivance Village Center, HoCoBlogs & Columbia2.0  hosted another great blogger party! We gathered in the restaurant's private dinning room where bloggers chatted with one another and enjoyed free appetizers. A number of famous bloggers were there including  HocoBlogs , Hoco Rising, HoCoMoJo and Columbia2.0.  I represented both "Dudes" since Charles had rehearsals for his school's upcoming production of "Suessical The Musical".

Even though there were complimentary appetizers, I decided to have my own order of BBQ wings (plus one to-go order for Charles) and a Shirley temple. The buffalo wings were great - not too spicy and not to saucy.... just right!  The staff was very friendly and VERY attentive.

A cool thing happened at the party.....

Zaching at the Corner Stable - me  with County Councilman Calvin Ball
along with HoCo school board member Ellen Flynn Giles.

A spontaneous "Zaching" occurred in honor of Zachary Lederer who is battling cancer for the second time. Zach was a student at my middle school when he was first diagnoised with brain cancer. Learn more about Zach click here and here 

Thanks HoCoBlogs and Columbia2.0 for holding a fun blogger party.

How to make super healthy waffles and pancakes video

I learned how to make healthy waffles and pancake in my school's Home Economics class.  I have the best Home Economic teacher, Mrs. Strawitch.  The waffles and pancakes were so delicious that I asked Mrs. Strawitch if she would make a video with me to show how easy it is for kids and adults to make healthy foods.

My friend Chris agreed to be the cameraman for this video.  My mom took over the filming when Chris wanted to taste the pancakes and waffles.

Check out our video on Youtube or watch it below.

Thank you Mrs. Strawitch for helping me make this video!

 Here is the Multi grain Pancakes or Waffles recipe:


1/2 cup-all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup quick-cooking-oats

2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal (any color of cornmeal will do)

11/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup 2% milk (can substitute almond, soy, skim or 1% milk or use a combo of any them)

1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt (can use plain or fruit flavored)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (we used canola oil)

1 large egg

Optional:

2 tablespoons Wheat Germ

Combine the first six ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well. Add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth.

Spoon about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot griddle or nonstick skillet. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Serve with maple syrup, fruit and low-fat granola, if desired. Make 4 servings at a time. For waffles, put the batter in the waffle iron until it is done.

Rudy's Mediterranean Grill - Columbia, MD

2 Dudes and Rudy, the owner.

There's a new restaurant in our town and it's bringing more culture to Howard County...Turkish culture!

Thanks to Rudy's Mediterranean Grill,  we now have more Turkish delicacies to eat in our town. We visited Istanbul, Turkey last year, so we know what good Turkish food tastes like.

As we walked in, we saw the owner Rudy talking to his customers. It's always good to see an owner being friendly. The waiter seated us at a booth and gave us menus. The menu offered a combination of American and Turkish cuisine.

Humus

We couldn't believe how many great Turkish choices there were to choose from! Plus, Rudy and the waiter gave us some pointers on the best dishes! Rudy also informed us that there is one cook solely dedicated to making just the Turkish items- now that's authentic.




We ordered two Turkish appetizers: humus, a  blend of chick peas, herbs, oil and tahini, and patlican salad. My mother makes a similar version of humus, but this one was just a little more on the spicy side. Each humus we try is a little different. The patlican salad consists of smoked eggplant, grilled peppers and tomatoes, lemon and oil. We didn't try it but our parents did. They concluded that it was "good".

Patlican salad 

While the rest of my family ordered Turkish food, I (Thomas) had my own agenda. I was in the mood for a classic American Turkey BLT. It came with home fries. What are home fries? Home fries are kind of like a french fry, but they are smaller and hand-cut into a square shape. The BLT included tomato, lettuce, bacon, mayo, white bread, and a boatload of turkey. It was delicious.

American Turkey BLT

Izgara Kofte- Minced lamb with onion, parsley and Mediterranean spices, cooked over charcoal

Here are the two Turkish dishes we ordered below.

Famous Iskender Kebab- Thinly sliced döner (gyro) over homemade pita bread, dressed with tomato sauce and homemade garlic yogurt sauce.

The meats were tender, seasoned pieces of juicy delicacies. Amazing! The homemade garlic yogurt sauce, salad and rice were great accompaniments to the meats. Really made us feel like we were back in Istanbul.

For dessert, we ordered some Turkish Coffee. It's similar to Italy's espresso but stronger. In fact, it is VERY, VERY STRONG.  

 My family also ordered some homemade Turkish rice pudding.  It had a hard sugary crust then creamy soft rice inside.  It wasn't as thick as its American version but we liked it just the same

 We could definitely tell that everything we ate was made with fresh ingredients. Rudy's is great because with a combination of Turkish and American foods it gives everyone in our family a chance to order something different.  Plus, the owner has a fun personality and was helpful ordering.

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon - Chinese New Year 2012

Happy Chinese New Year

Today, I celebrated Chinese New Year with one of my friends Nick Zou  -whose family comes from China. Nick and his mother Mrs. Zou gave me details about how they celebrate the New Year.  Each Chinese New Year is given an animal symbol.  This year, 2012 is the year of the dragon - which means that this year will be "energetic".  Nick said it is traditional to celebrate with dumplings, Chinese candy, and fireworks.

Here are some of the Chinese candies that the Zou family shared with me. The candy with only Chinese writing was purchased when Nick's family went to China this summer.  The candy that has Chinese and English writing on the wrappers  were purchased from Chinese food stores in Maryland.

Here are Nick and my two favorite Chinese candies. The yellow one tastes like shrimp, and the red one is crispy and tastes like peanut butter. 

  My friend Nick and I holding candy

Learn more about Chinese New Year 

Toyko Seafood Buffet - Hibachi Grill & Sushi Windsor Mill, Maryland

Toyoko Seafood Buffet 

Located in a building attached to Security Mall, Tokyo Seafood Buffet was recommended to our family by a friend in our neighborhood. It is unreal how much food they offer: over 250 items served in  multiple hot and cold buffets, salad bar, plus sushi, hibachi (make-your own) and dessert stations. We call it "Buffet Heaven"...and get this...... it's all-you-can eat for $8.99 during lunch.

True to its name, they offer LOTS of seafood - cooked or raw served a ton of different ways like crayfish (left) and ...












......crabs, shrimp, scallops, fish, calms and even whole lobsters (but the lobsters are extra).

We saw many people eating crabs.  Here's Thomas eating one.

Chinese items included traditional foods such as 4 varities of steamed dumplings (above), fried 

rice, lo mein, sweet & sour pork, spicy shrimp, teriyaki chicken, spring rolls, sauteed greeen beans, BBQ pork ribs and General Tso's chicken.  And not so traditional chinese items like frog legs below.  For the record, we didn't try the frog legs...and not so sure we will on a return visit. 

The buffet had an assortment of American food - fried chicken, mac & cheese, corn bread, spare ribs, french fries, wings, mashed potatoes, crab imperial,  and a variety of soups.

There was also Korean foods like BBQ pork,  Japanese sushi and Italian pastas.







For dessert, there were many choices - cut fruit, cakes, pies, puddings and cookies.

Our favorite dessert was the chocolate fountain where we dipped all kinds of fruit.  

Even after eating all the food and all the dessert we learned they offered  ice creams cups. So we ate that too!

















This new restaurant - opened only a few months ago - is on our "MUST GO" list.  This would be great for a family meal because it has soooo many choices to pick from.  We really liked the opportunity to get our own food from the buffets....and go as many times as we liked. It gave us a chance to try new a couple of dishes that we wouldn't have ordered off a menu.