Shannon's Saloon & Restaurant

The luck of the Irish

My family and I celebrated Saint Patrick's Day at Shannon's Saloon & Restaurant, located in a shopping center on Route 40 West across the street from the Shanty Grille. According to Shannon's  website, the restaurant has been in business for over 30 years.

From tiny babies to senior citizens, the pub was filled with lots of happy people decked out in their green finery. My family and I decided to join the fun.

My mother ordered the potato leek soup. Served stemming hot, the creamy soup was tasty with large chunks of potatoes Everyone thought it was really cool that the soup was colored green in honor of Saint Patrick's Day.

We all shared an order of Buffalo Wings with blue cheese dressing. The moderately sized portion of wings was tender inside, a little crispy on the outside and packed a secret kick from the sauce. If you love mildly spicy wings, then this dish is for you. However, be sure to have a tall glass of water nearby to handle the zesty flavor.

Some of us chose the corned beef and cabbage entree as their main course. This meal is an authentic Saint Patrick's Day tradition. The fork tender corn beef was presented on a bed of marinated cabbage and served with cooked carrots, red potatoes, and a slice of Irish soda bread. This is a large serving and my father felt that it was enough for two people.














 I selected the Corned Beef sandwich on rye bread with a side of french fries. The beef, moist and thinly sliced, was stacked upon layers of more beef. I asked for a side of mustard to compliment  the taste. This was certainly a very large sandwich and I took half home for lunch the next day.

ERIN GO BRAGH!

-Thomas

hocofood @@@

T-Bonz Grille & Taphouse - Ellicott City

As a devoted BBQ fan, Im always on the look out for some finger-liking good BBQ restaurants.


My brother Charles and I first tasted T-Bonz Grille & Taphouse's food when they brought their catering truck to our summer swim and tennis club for restaurant night. I was intrigued by the powers of their BBQ pulled-pork sandwich. We loved the catering so much, I told my grandfather about it, who is also another BBQ loving fan. So we ventured to T-Bonz and ordered take out.

The decorations include these
colorful beer tabs in the
ceiling. 

Multiple large screen TV's and sports memorabilia make T-Bonz a fun sports restaurant!

 The BBQ pulled-pork sandwich came with a side of fries and BBQ sauce. The sandwich was big on taste and loaded with meat - and true to every pulled pork sandwich... a bit sloppy.  Every bite was tender, seasoned meat with sweet BBQ sauce.

In addition to his BBQ pulled pork sandwich, my grandfather wanted to try the Reuben sandwich. He ordered one with a side of mac & cheese that we all sampled. He said "it was a good sized sandwich, very tasty, and dense with meat".

My grandmother ordered the BBQ chicken salad. The quantity was amazing, not too little or too much. The BBQ chicken was tender, tasty, and had just the right amount of of sweet BBQ flavor. She really enjoyed it. 

Check out T-Bonz's great daily specials! 

Note: T-Bonz is a little tricky to find. It is located at 4910 Waterloo Rd, Ellicott City, MD, in the back of a strip shopping center. Don't be confused by the address. It says Waterloo Rd, but the entrance to the shopping center is really on Montgomery Rd. Here is an aerial view of what I mean: click here

-Thomas

hocofood @@@

Tersiguel's French Country - Historic Ellicott City

Located in historic Ellicott City, Tersiguel's French Country Restaurant is well-known locally and throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area. 

For many years, my school's music department has partnered with Tersiguel's Restaurant for a fundraiser event filled with terrific music and great French food. Throughout the evening, student musicians performed solo and ensemble pieces for the customers who were mainly family members and friends. The restaurant was filled to capacity.

My family sat with some of my band friends and their parents in the Church Room (photos above). Each room in this multi-floor restaurant has a different theme. 

 As a percussionist, I performed a solo version of  "Clocks" by Coldplay on the bells. Student performances included vocals, instrumentals, and strings.

 As soon as my friends and I were seated together, we were welcomed with Shirley Temples and a fresh bread basket which was refilled many times during the course of the evening.

 The multi-course menu started with an appetizer plate of cheese, meat, and vegetables including pate and olives.
  




For our entrees, we could chose from either the salmon or the beef bourguignon.

I decided to order the salmon instead of the beef bourguignon. The salmon was topped with a light cream sauce with herbs. It was fork-tender and quite tasty. Not only was the salmon fork-tender, but all the vegetables and potatoes were too.

 I had the beef bourguignon last year. I remember that it was very succulent, juicy, and delicious.

 For dessert, we all enjoyed a glass of chocolate mousse. It was a good sized portion that had me mining the bottom of the glass for more.

  Here I am taking a picture with the owner, Fernand Tersiguel.
What a terrific fun-filled night at his restaurant.

-Thomas
hocofood @@@

The Capital Grille - Washington, D.C.

The Capital Grille

The entrance has this cool lion statue

 Centrally located near the Smithsonian museums, The Capital Grille is a great place to eat in Washington, D.C. In fact, its Pennsylvania Avenue address gives customers a birds eye view of U.S. Capitol and the Newseum (which I highly recommend). 

The restaurant is renown for being a fantastic steakhouse.  This was apparent when the first thing we saw walking into the restaurant was a refrigerated glass room that stores the aged beef.  

There were deer and buffalo heads sticking out of some
 of the walls. HOW COOL IS THAT!?

Aged beef storage room 

The first thing served to us was a complimentary basket of assorted breads with butter creatively placed on a small dish.

 My brother ordered the Grille's Cheeseburger -  a blend of chopped sirloin, smoked bacon and sweet onion with garlic fries. Normally burgers aren't presented in such a fashionable way- with condiments each in its own dish, and the garlic fries arranged in a raised basket wrapped in wax paper. The presentation really had a "wow" factor when they served it.  The large portion burger was made of tender, juicy flavorful meat topped with melted provolone cheese that gave the burger a little kick. My brother was in burger heaven.

My parents and I ordered the Dry Aged Sirloin with Roasted Peppers, Fresh Mozzarella and Arugula Salad. In all honesty, it was the best salad I had ever ate. My parents loved it too.  The sirloin steak was cooked just right and neatly chopped up into four pieces paired with a sliced hard boiled egg and avocado and drizzled with a slightly sweet champagne vinegar dressing.  All of these different textures and tastes made one scrumptious and mouth-watering salad.

In general, steakhouses are usually known for being fancy and expensive, not necessarily where you would take a family for a casual lunch. Although the Capital Grille was more on the fancy side than say Hard Rock Cafe around the corner, it wasn't so fancy that my brother and I felt uncomfortable. In fact, it was a very nice relaxing atmosphere after sightseeing in D.C. Plus you'll probably be surprised to learn that the cost of a burger at Hard Rock and Capital Grille is similar.

-Charles

Super Bowl 47 = Mamma Lucia time

It's that time again, SUPERBOWL 47!!!

 Today, the San Francisco 49'ers will face my favorite team The Baltimore Ravens.

If you're looking for a restaurant to view the Superbowl game or last minute supplies look no further. Mama Lucia restaurant has some delicious Superbowl specials! 

- Thomas 

Mastoris Diner and Restaurant - New Jersey

My family and I  usually stop at Mastoris Diner and Restaurant in Bordentown, New Jersey on our way to or from the New York/New Jersey area. The restaurant is conveniently located off the New Jersey Turnpike at Exit 7. This place is mammoth but doesn't feel like it inside because it's divided up into small diner-like spaces, medium size lounges and catering areas.

We learned about it from the Food Network that featured Mastoris on Al Roker's Diner Destinations show. Their veal and mushroom recipe even appears on the Food Network website.

Open 7 days a week except Christmas, Mastoris is famous for it's superb food, fresh ingredients and for the Mastoris family who have been serving up terrific meals in New Jersey since 1927. In fact, it's so well known that even famous people like the Governor stop by. This fall, NJ Governor Chris Christie visited Mastoris Diner and Restaurant to help then U.S. Senator Joseph Kyrillos on his campaign stop there.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and then U.S. Senator Joseph
Kyrillos at Mastoris

My brother and I outside Mastoris

Complimentary freshly baked cheese and cinnamon breads

Once seated at our table, we were handed a huge menu filled with everything in the world you could think of ordering. As we looked over the menu, a plate of complimentary warm cinnamon and cheese bread was delivered to our table. Mastoris has it's own bakery that enables them to bake fresh sweets like these delicious breads every day. 

Most lunch specials come with either a soup or salad, which is typical in most diners.
These were no ordinary salads.  Each one was large enough to be an entree and tasted like a gourmet salad.   

Greek salad

Ceasar salad

Our lunch special entrees included...

 My mom ordered the Tilapia topped with an olive tapenade and a side of Italian-style eggplant. She could barely finish it all.  The eggplant was melt-in-your mouth tender with lots of sweet tomato sauce. The fish was cooked perfect and combined with the sweet and salty olive tapenade, it made a great dish. 

Also from the lunch specials menu, my dad and brother selected the Vermont turkey with stuffing. Charles said that the cranberry sauce really put a kick into this Thanksgiving-like entree. 

 I selected the Mastoris Lounge Club triple decker sandwich from the regular menu: - sliced turkey, canadian bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomato on whole grain bread with a side of fries, cole slaw, and a pickle.   The humungous sandwich was a little hard to grasp in my hands, but that didn't stop me from eating the whole thing. Soft, tender, and big on taste!

The lunch special entrees included dessert. The waitress brought this huge dessert tray for us to choose from.

 Mom chose a slice of Pumpkin cheesecake (upper-left photo). Charles ordered the Peach Cobbler (above).

My dad and I split the Banana Split cake (pun intended). The yellow cake layers had a hint of banana flavor while the icing contained little strawberry pieces. Combined with the dizzle of chocolate on the top and sides of the cake, it really tasted like a banana spilt. 

On our way out, we noticed a bakery section for carry out. They offer a variety of homemade pastries, cakes, pies, muffins, donuts, cupcakes, cookies, and of course their famous cheese & cinnamon breads. Here's a look at some of their fabulous baked goods...  

If you are ever near Exit 7 on the New Jersey Turnpike, swing by Mastoris.  You won't be disappointed.  Remember it's Al Roker, Food Network and 2 Dudes recommended. 

- Thomas