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.


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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!”

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October in Maryland and DC

I’m back in Maryland and D.C. for the third time this year! One of the reasons I love visiting my son is because we love eating out.

Find out about foods on my previous visits by visiting my February and July posts …

EATING OUT ~ February 2012


VACATION MEANS EATING OUT ~ July 2012


STILL TESTING FOODS OF MARYLAND ~ July 2012


So far this time, we’ve (my son and I) eaten twice at Wegmans, Columbia. Huge food bar section ~ a heavenly buffet. We (my son, my brother and his wife) dined at Red, Hot and Blue in Laurel MD. Love that place with its “pulled” meats and blues music.


Today I took a short walk to Roundz, a homey, yet classy café, market and catering establishment, less than a mile from son’s house. If you’re ever in Gambrills MD, please stop in to sample their gourmet fare and tell them you heard it from me. A new Wegmans is opening just across the highway October 28. What a great combo ~ Roundz and Wegmans!

Roundz food is yummy and inventive. For instance, most of their sweets are cut into individual pieces ~ round, of course!

Today’s coffee was 100% Columbian.

Entrees…

Vegetables…

She had something brewing on the stove AND was mixing up brownies.

I want one of those hand-operated slicers. Look how it curls the slices of squash for chips!

Employees at Roundz always enjoy their work and are very welcoming to their patrons.

Mini pumpkins and Indian corn welcome the fall season. The plan is to cut out the center out of some of the pumpkins to allow for insertion of tea light candles for an upcoming “Dinner after Dark”.

Vacation Means Eating Out ~ A Lot!

I’m vacationing in Maryland again and now I’m here to tell you about the delicious foods I’m experiencing. It’s vacation time, people, and I’m not cooking, except maybe to pop something in the microwave.

Luckily, both son and I love – absolutely love – to eat out. We search out treasures from small establishments featuring down-home cooking to larger places that offer a variety of foods from other countries.

In the past week, we have eaten at Wegmans, Red Hot and Blue, Lenny’s Deli, Royal Taj and Ava’s Pizzeria. The list would have been longer if I hadn’t chosen to stay in on those really hot days, when son, daughter and her kids rode the Metro to D.C. and tried out some new (to them) places.


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I can eat Indian food any time, any day (every day?). We have Thali of India here in Corning NY (USA) and it’s my choice of places to eat out along with Wegmans in Corning.


ROYAL TAJ

Royal Taj is located in a small shopping mall on McGaw Street in Columbia MD, right across the street from Wegmans. (I'll cover this new Wegmans in another post.)

We dressed casually (for me, that was jeans and a blouse). Next time I’ll dress up a bit more. The place deserved it. Clean and neat, attractively decorated. Cloth tablecloths and napkins. Lots of well-dressed, attractive Indian waiters. Hot dishes sizzling as they were delivered to nearby tables. Delicious smells wafting throughout our entire meal added to the appeal.

I was truly in food heaven with the basket of Papadam, “thin pieces of crisp lentil bread” speckled with whole cumin seeds. How many did I consume? Too many.

Son ordered my favorite, Chicken Tikka Masala, “Chicken breast tenders marinated in space and yogurt, baked in a tandoor oven and cooked in a tomato based cream sauce.” He prefers medium heat with his foods. It was a beautifully prepared dish with lots of meat, and the bite he shared had me grabbing the water glass for a moment. Royal Taj’s Chicken Tikka Masala is just as good, if not better, than what I’m used to.

In the mood for vegetables, I ordered Vegetable Jalfrezi, “Fresh vegetables and cheese cooked with mild spice and butter.” That description is an under-statement. Vegetable Jalfrezi is a rich dish packed with cauliflower, broccoli, red and green bell peppers, lima beans, green string beans, onions, carrots, peas and corn! I ate a hefty portion of it, mildly seasoned (meaning not too spicy hot, but superbly seasoned), served on long-grain white rice. I also brought home enough for two more sizeable meals.

My house wine, a White Zinfandel, was very good. So good I had a second glass, compliments of Royal Taj’s owner. At the end of the meal we were each presented with one Gulab Jamun, a sweet but not too sweet deep fried cottage cheese ball. You’d think the honey and sugar syrup poured over it would make it too sweet. It didn’t. A great way to finish a meal.

I was truly full and satisfied. Definitely going back!

(Thanks to my son for taking some of the photos with his cell phone.)


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While my daughter and her two boys were still here, we spent at day at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor…

IT’SUGAR

I keep wanting to call this candy store It’Sweet ‘cause it is! I know it’s not a dining establishment, but it definitely is all about the pleasures of eating. I mean, who doesn’t like candy?!

Rock candy… CHOCOLATE Rock Candy, just for you, Chocolate Chip Uru!


LUNCH AT LENNY’S DELI

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RED HOT AND BLUE

We all went to Red Hot and Blue when daughter was still here. Items ordered from the kids’ menu were more than enough, even for a hungry 9-year old. I ordered a cup of Brunswick Stew which was all meat and I missed the veggies. I suggested Hush Puppies. The boys ate theirs plain and my vegetarian daughter dipped hers in the bleu cheese dressing from her salad. However, when the waitress brought the honey I asked for, we all decided that was the best addition to the Hush Puppies.

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AVA’S PIZZERIA AND WINE BAR

Son suggested a scenic drive yesterday and we ended up driving to the town of St. Michaels near Chesapeake Bay and had lunch at Ava's Pizzeria and Wine Bar.

Our appetizer was Fried Green Tomatoes. I lunched on an arugula-fennel salad with goats cheese and a light vinaigrette. Son loved his white pizza with sausage and mushrooms.