Cuba de Ayer - Burtonsville

Looking for authentic Cuban food? Try Cuba de Ayer Restaurant in Burtonsville.

Both my grandfather and my Godfather have eaten here and thought it was worth a return trip. The latter is of Cuban descent and grew up in Miami.  So, he knows good Cuban food.

Cuba de Ayer is located in a busy strip shopping center that can be a little tricky to find on a street crowded with business and signs.  Here's a google map to help you find it. 

The restaurant's decor made me feel like I was dining in Cuba.  As soon as I opened the door, I was met by fast beat Cuban music. It was nice background music but not too loud to interfere with our conversation. In addition, Cuban pictures and art decorated the walls.

 For appetizers, my grandfather ordered two dishes for us to share.  The Sandwich Cubano and the Croquetas de Jamon
(left). The croquetas were crispy on the outside and field with a tasty ham and mashed potato mixture. Melt in your mouth delicious.  I knew I would love the Sandwich Cubano because it has some of my favorite foods combined- roast pork, baked ham, swiss cheese, mustard and thin sliced pickle all on a hot pressed baguette. I was not disappointed. Yum! 

Sandwich Cubano 

Many of the entrees come with plantains (banana like fruit) and black beans.  We had the choice of  either sweet plananos maduros (sweet plantains) or tostones (fried green plantains) and black beans on the side in a separate bowl or mixed in with the rice. We choose sweet plantains and a bowl of black beans on the side.

My mom's entree was masitas de puerco fritas (fried morsels of pork). This is one of her favorite dishes to order at Cuban restaurants, so she's had it many times. She thought the seasoned pork was moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. I tasted it too and agree. 

I ordered the arroz con pollo (yellow rice, sweet plantains, dark meat chicken served on the bone). This dish also comes in a white meat version. The chicken was crazy moist, fall off the bone tender - just how I like it. The seasoned yellow rice was also tender with a mild spicy taste to complement the chicken. The sweet plantains were soft and a bit sweet. I would have liked the plantains a little sweeter. 

My grandfather selected the Picadillo (Cuban style seasoned ground beef cooked with green olives, raisins, potatoes, and non-spicy spices).

This is one of my Grandfather's favorite Cuban dishes. His best friend growing up in New York was a Cuban boy who's mom was a fantastic cook. So, he's been eating variations of this dish for about 40 years. He thought this Picadillo was very tasty but needed a touch more seasoning. He agreed with me that the plantains could have been a bit sweeter. 

We were so full we didn't order dessert, but the menus had some items I'd like to try the next time we return  including flan and tres leches.

Note - We ate here for lunch on a Saturday.  The menu gives both lunch and dinner prices.  Our waiter didn't tell us that the lunch prices are only for the weekday.  So, it was a big surprise to find out when we got our bill. Ask your waiter before you order which prices apply. 

Cuba de Ayer is located at 15446 Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville, Maryland 20866,  (301) 476-9622.

- Thomas 

Thomas makes news!

My brother Thomas in the news! 

Thomas's teachers Ms. Lavender and Madame Lanz are two of the coolest teachers at Thomas's middle school.  

When they found out Thomas and I were food bloggers, they thought it would be of interest to My-Say.org,  the Maryland on-line newspaper for middle school students.  

The newspaper liked the idea and asked Thomas to write about our blog.  Click here to read the story. 

Way to go Thomas! 

- Charles

hocofood @@@

A Classic Italian Easter Dinner

Easter at Aunt Millie's house

This year on Easter, my family spent the holiday dinner with my relatives in New York. My Aunt Millie hosted the Easter dinner - something she has done for decades.

I come from a very large Italian American family so the meal was a blend of Italian American and American favorites. 

For many Italian Americans, it is a  tradition for the first course of a holiday or special occasion meal to be  pasta. 

 Aunt Mille cooked giant pans of 

manicotti -very large pasta tubes stuffed with rich ricotta and Italian cheeses - served in a homemade tomato sauce or "gravy" as Aunt Millie calls it. 

(Left) Then the second part  of the meal was served. Aunt Millie's meatballs, braciole and spare ribs were cooked in her homemade tomato sauce. Which made both the meat and the sauce unbelievable delicious. 

(Right) Gigantic pieces of broccoli served in a olive oil and garlic sauce. 

Stuffed mushrooms with seasoned bread crumbs, olive oil and parmigiano reggiano cheese. 

(Right) Chicken Parmesean was  tender, seasoned breaded chicken topped with melted mozzarella cheese in a thick tomato sauce. My brother Thomas and I couldn't get enough of this. This was our absolute favorite dish of the night. I'd give it 5 out of 5 stars.


Aunt Millie served both stuffed (above) and oil and garlic roasted artichokes. These always go fast.

The leg of lamb was full of luscious juicy tasting meat that was bombarded with different spices to give it a kick.

Roasted asparagus in oil and garlic sauce sprinkled with  fresh grated parmigiano cheese. 

There was even more food I didn't get pictures of like the succulent roast beef, creamy mashed potatoes, salad and warm semolina bread.  

And I'm really sorry I didn't get any pictures of the dessert table. Yes, an entire table filled with desserts like homemade Uncle Jack's tiramisu and apple tart, Cousin Karen's homemade cream puffs drizzled with chocolate and key lime pie cheese cake ...plus an assortment of more pies, cakes and Italian cookies. 

Let's just say I was too busy eating to take pictures. 

The dinner was a real celebration of our Italian heritage 

Brava Aunt Millie!!! 

- Charles 

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

 When you're looking for a quick bite to eat  try Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches.







The restaurant has a large variety of sandwiches with clever names such as the Vito, Billy Club, Ultimate Porker, Club LuLu, Beach Club and the Pepe.




My brother and I both ordered a Turkey Tom sub in addition to splitting a  bag of chips and a medium soda. The service was fast and friendly.

Then we nestled into one of the comfortable and roomy booths to eat.












  The Turkey Tom is an 8" gourmet sub that is loaded with fresh sliced turkey, mounds of lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cucumbers. This sub is definitely worth the price ($5.15).

Jimmy John's has their own brand of chips called Jimmy chips that come in an assortment of flavors. We decided to try their BBQ flavor, which is my favorite type.

Howard County has three Jimmy John locations - In Ellicott City: 9339 Baltimore National Pike, (410) 750-2010 and in Columbia: 6191 Old Dobbin Lane,  (410) 872-0010 & 8827 Centre Park Dr,
(410) 730-5511

Interesting fact -


 Jimmy John's bathroom held a funny surprise.  My brother noticed a series of signs in the men's bathroom like this one. That's not something we see everyday. However, it was quite entertaining.

By the way, we're not sure if there are signs in the women's bathroom, and we're not going to find out.

-Thomas
 hocofood @@@

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 @@@