Vacation Time! Eating Out! Nando’s Peri-Peri, Wegmans, Roundz!

Maryland in October and it was time to step out of the kitchen. It was a three-plus weeks visit with my son and we often ate out. Among our favorite spots are Nando's Peri-Peri in an Annapolis mall, Wegmans in Columbia, Red Hot and Blue (in Laurel, I think) and Roundz in Crofton.

An even newer Wegmans just opened Sunday in Crofton, within walking distance of my son's house. Hurricane Sandy was due to open up Sunday too, so I got up before anyone else in the house (my son, my daughter, and my two grands) and headed out to breakfast at Wegmans. Felt like home. All Wegmans do. Even saw and spoke with Dave Orlovsky, Manager of our local Wegmans. Well, he was. He's on his way to Massachusetts to help set up stores there.

After breakfast, I wandered around and except for the size, things are pretty much the same.

Look, it's a Wegmans train! You can even buy them for Christmas gifts. OMG, do I sound like an advertisement for Wegmans. Can't help myself. It's one of my favorite place to shop.

It was a "light" opening. People were hunkering in for Hurricane Sandy and many had done their shopping for water, generators, canned foods when the warnings came out Thursday and Friday.

Fruit, vegetable, salad bars -- there are two of them.

I noticed that Columbia Wegmans and the new Crofton store have "trail mix bars". Wish we had one in Corning. Oh, wait, we do now that the Corning store is being rearranged and updated. Look what I found when I got back from vacation...

Another favorite of mine is Roundz Gourmet Market. It's a comfortable place where the food is delicious, the staff is welcoming and you can sit at the counter and watch them cooking.

I forgot to take a photo before I took a bite! Half a smoked turkey sandwich with cranberry spread left. Those chips were amazing! Homemade from butternut squash.

Can I have dessert with lunch? Of course... loved this bread pudding.


Chef Zachary at Roundz even recommended a couple of excellent books which he had and brought over for me to browse through: Barron's Food Lover's Companion and Food Rules: an Eater's Manual.

Rules 2 of Food Rules ~ "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."

One more mention for Roundz. They're celebrating their first anniversary on November 17. Congratulations to Zach and all the staff at Roundz in Crofton MD.

Nando's Peri-Peri. We have to go there at least once a trip. Son loves the hot sauces!

Not only does Nando's have delicious food, but also they have beautiful decor.

Again I forgot to take a photo before I began eating. What you see here is a grilled chicken sandwich. That's not the chicken on top -- that's Haloumi cheese. Love Haloumi!

And now I'm home again. Time to return to cooking my own foods. Also, need to come up with a cookie recipe for The Great Cookie Swap 2012. I'll be baking and mailing a dozen cookies each to three other food bloggers and blogging about it in November. Stay tuned.

Coming up soon, I'm thinking of Tofu Foo Yung with pasta and mushroom gravy. Also, quiches--one with a rice crust and the other with a mashed potato crust.


******

A bit of a follow-up on the Crofton MD Wegman’s opening Sunday... My son emailed me Monday evening -- one day after the Hurricane Sandy craziness -- “Packed full tonight!”

******