Training Week in Pittsburgh, PA

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Last week was a week of training for me. That meant another trip to Pittsburgh, which I was looking forward to. I was able to go to some training sessions provided by my new employer, so I consider myself fortunate to have been provided that opportunity. Being in Pittsburgh for a week meant that there would be a lot of opportunities to eat, and I did just that. I’ll be writing quite a few short postings about the different food places in the next few days or so, so I will apologize in advance for all of the emails some of you will be getting.

My week started with me heading to the Wawa’s near me. I ordered a Salted Caramel Mocha Frozen Cappuccino. Try and say that five times fast. It was another good frappe from Wawa’s. The consistency was perfect. The flavor was really nice. The combination of the salted caramel and the mocha worked quite nicely. The fact that it was topped with chocolate whipped cream and chocolate chips made it even better. When I leave early on a Sunday for a 4+ hour drive, I need some sugar and caffeine to get my day started, and this helped kick-start my morning.

The trainings were going to be in the Hyatt House, so I decided to stay there this time instead of the Holiday Inn Express. The Hyatt House is a really nice hotel, and it is in a fancy part of town called SouthSide Works. I arrived around 2PM and hadn’t had any lunch, so I was hungry. I got a couple of recommendations, and decided on Hofbrauhaus, which I will write about separately. I did some walking around and picked up some treats from Bartram House Bakery afterward.

Since the trainings were running from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (plus extra time if needed), I knew that I would need to get some walking done in the mornings. Monday morning was a bit rainy, but I was able to get in a good 30 minutes of walking. I went to a place called Big Dog Coffee for my morning coffee drink. The first day of training was for Google Analytics 101. Very good training. I learned a lot of new things. A lot of information was going into my brain, but it was good and it was an enjoyable session. Lunch was catered, so we were able to have an hour break. I ate quickly and then took the stairs up to my room. This gave me an opportunity to get in some walking, including going up four flights of stairs. This was something I repeated every day that I had trainings, and it was good to get in the little bits of exercise. I decided to go to dinner at Nadine’s, which was one of the places that was recommended to me. I went back to Bartram House Bakery for dessert and called it a night.

Tuesday morning was a really nice one. I walked for about 45 minutes. Part of the reason I needed to do some more walking was because I ate a lot of food at Nadine’s, and felt like I needed the exercise. I got a coffee drink at Cup-Ka-Joe and then took a half slice of a breakfast loaf at the hotel. I wasn’t hungry, so it was a nice, light breakfast. Day two of training was Google Analytics 201. A lot more data going into my brain. All new things to me. The training was done really well and I felt good about learning so many new things. Some co-workers were going to be meeting up for dinner, but by the time they needed to set the reservations, I was still feeling full from my previous night of overeating. When the training was done, I decided to get in a lot of walking. I made my way to a Record/DVD/Video Game store and was able to procure a DVD that I had been trying to find for a long time. Needless to say, I was a very happy camper. I decided on trying another recommendation for dinner, the Double Wide Grill. I finished the evening with a chocolate chip cookie from Big Dog Coffee (I had gotten one the first time I went and really liked it).

Wednesday morning arrived and I was feeling pretty good. I went on a 50 minute walk. I went to Crazy Mocha Coffee Company for a coffee drink and a chocolate chip muffin. Training on that day was for Data Studio. That was a lot more data going into my brain and I was struggling to keep up in the beginning. Nothing to do with the training, just with my brain being on overload. But after I had time to clear my head after lunch, it all went smoothly. I was able to connect the dots from earlier in the day, so things really started to come together and it made a lot more sense. I learned a lot of cool things about Data Visualization that I never knew before. That night, the temperature dropped a little and there was some snow, and then some light rain. I walked quite a bit, trying to decide what to eat. I almost went to a place called The Columbian Spot, but I was drenched and didn’t want to walk in a restaurant like that. I ended up going to The Pita Pit, which turned out to be a very good meal.

Thursday morning came and there was a little rain, but I was still able to get in a 50 minute walk. I went back to Big Dog Coffee for a coffee drink and some banana bread. Training on that day was Search 101. My comfort zone is on the Display side with Campaign Manager and Display and Video 360, but Search is not something I’ve had much experience with regarding the platforms. It was nice to have this training, since this is part of the team I’m on. I was talking with the trainer and one of my co-workers, and they apparently went to The Colombian Spot the previous night. I might have seen them if I went in, instead of walking past because I was drenched. The training went really well and I was happy to learn and see the Google Ads interface. Much more of a hands on experience than I’ve had, so it was good to get a better understanding of how it all works. I decided to go to The Colombian Spot for dinner, and it was good. I got a milkshake at Fudge Farm to finish the night.

Friday morning was cold. And I mean COLD. There was no training that day, so I was going to be walking over to the office, which was about 1 mile away. I still wanted to get in some early morning walking, though. I only walked for about 20 minutes. It was just under 20 degrees outside, but the wind chill made it feel like the single digits. I can usually go without gloves once it’s 30 degrees and up, but my fingers were struggling even with gloves on. I went to Crazy Mocha Coffee for a coffee drink (it was the closest in proximity). and then had breakfast at Hyatt House.

They had an omelet bar, so I asked if they could make me a small one with ham and cheese. It went perfectly with the toasted English muffin, and then I added a side of potatoes. This was a really good breakfast. I was definitely happy with this, and I felt I needed something hearty since I would have to brave the cold for a one mile walk to work. Being in the office was great. I got to see my teammates in person, as well as the other people I interact with during a usual week. Lunch was catered by work, and there was a get together/new employee celebration at the end of the day. I made my way back, and decided to head over to Hello Bistro for dinner. I stopped at Bartram House Bakery for a final dessert and then called it a night (it was getting colder as it got dark).

Saturday, it was time for me to head back. Since I would be driving quite a bit, I knew I wanted to get a little walking in. When I got outside, it was only 10 degrees out and felt a lot colder. So I went to the closest place for a coffee drink, which was Crazy Mocha.

When I was heading back to the hotel, I saw the Planters Nut-mobile. This is not something that I have seen before, so I had to take a picture. I thought it was really cool. I made my way back to the hotel and picked up a couple of cinnamon mini-donuts for breakfast. I wanted something light, since I had plans for food on the way home. I made it over to Twistedoughs in West Virginia and wanted to have a cinnamon roll. They were still cooking, so I had to choose between waiting for 25 minutes, or picking something else. I decided to wait and it was worth it. I walked around the inside Market House for awhile, walked around the outside for awhile, and then got my food. It was a great way to round out my trip to Pittsburgh.

It was a busy week for me. I learned a lot, I walked a lot, I ate a lot. But I got to see a different part of town than the last time, so I had a lot of new experiences. This was a great week and I am happy that I had the opportunity. I hope that I will be able to lead some trainings of my own down the road, but time will tell. I also look forward to the next time I’ll be in town and will be able to try some new things. Definitely a positive stay in Pittsburgh!

Dandelion Bakery – Sykesville, MD

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When I first saw that Dandelion Bakery was going to be opening in Downtown Sykesville, I was pretty excited. When it was finally scheduled to open, I was getting ready to go on my Disney Cruise. So, I knew it would be awhile before I got to actually try it out.

I first made my way over there a few weeks ago. I got a chocolate chip cookie, but the other items they had looked really good.

I wanted to start with a chocolate chip cookie because I wanted to see if they were able to do it justice. This was a really good chocolate chip cookie. It tasted fresh, not generic at all. The nice crunch on the outside and the chewiness on the inside went well with the melty chocolate chips. Knowing that they could make a good chocolate chip cookie made me want to try more of their items.

They had some really good offerings, but it took me until this weekend to make my way back. I decided on two things: Flourless Torte slice and Oreo Mousse Cake.

I decided to start with the Oreo Mousse Cake. The mousse was nice and smooth, not grainy at all. There were plenty of Oreo pieces in there, and they had a soft consistency. The cookie crust also had a really good consistency. This was a delicious piece of cake. Sweet, but not too sweet. A nice balance of chocolate and the mousse. I was a fan of this one and will order it again.

The flourless torte was the next one I tried. This was all different types of chocolatey goodness. The torte was thick, and had very rich flavor. The icing on the top was a nice addition to these bites. The flavor of the cake was really good. This is an indulgent treat, but well worth it. The toughest thing for me was to decide which of these two treats were my favorite. To be honest, I don’t really know. They each had a lot of positives without any negatives. I’ll probably just have to buy them both again and try to make a choice again. 🙂

When you eat this well, you can’t help but stay positive!

Mad City Coffee – Columbia, Maryland

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When I planned out my morning, I had two things in mind. First was to get breakfast at Rise, which I did. Second was to get a coffee drink at Mad City Coffee in Columbia, Maryland. I used to make my way to Mad City Coffee every few weeks when I lived in Ellicott City, but I haven’t been there as much since I moved into my house. They offer plenty of food and sweets, but I just haven’t tried them yet. I’ve only gone there for coffee. Their coffee is good, so I’m sure their food is good as well (and they always have a lot of people in there eating, so I am sure it’s good). Maybe one day I will just have it as a goal to eat there as well.

As you could see by the first picture, they take pride in roasting their beans in house. They have a nice, large roaster, and I’ve been there a couple of times when they were in the process of roasting.

They have quite a few offerings in terms of flavors. There are more than just these pictures, but I thought I would share some.

When it came time to order, I went with an old standard, the Mocha Frappe. They do a good job with this drink. The straw is a little skinnier than I’m used to, but there was no problem drinking the frappe. There was no iciness, so it had a nice, smooth consistency. This is made with espresso, and I could taste hints of the roasted flavor. One of the reasons I like my coffee drinks with espresso is because the flavor of the espresso provides a nice balance to the sweetness of the added flavors. I’m on my third punch card here, so this is a place I will continue to go back and visit from time to time. Definitely an easy way to continue to have a very Positive Day!

Back to Rise – February 2020

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It took me a couple of months to make it back to Rise in Columbia, but I’m glad I did.

I started with a Creme Brûlée donut. I had my eye on these the last time I was there, but decided to go ahead and order it this morning. The donut itself had nice flavor. It was a light and fluffy dough. The filling was nice and thick, but not overly sweet. The top of the donut was caramelized, which gave it the Creme Brûlée touch. This was a surprisingly good treat.

I finished it up with some biscuits and gravy. I love sausage gravy, but this was meat free and I wanted to give it a try. I decided to go with a cheddar biscuit instead of buttermilk. The biscuit was topped with the creamy gravy, cheddar cheese and green onions. Not the combination I’m used to, but it’s always good to try something different. Starting with the biscuit, it had a nice texture, but I couldn’t really tell it was a cheddar biscuit since it had all the toppings on it. I will have to go back to Rise again just to try their cheddar biscuits. The gravy had the perfect consistency. It was seasoned well and had a very smooth flavor. The cheddar cheese was a nice addition. There were some bites that were really melty, which was a nice change of pace to biscuits and gravy. The green onions were more than I would have preferred, but they did add an additional layer of flavor and texture. Overall, I would say that this was a good biscuits and gravy. I’d still prefer the traditional sausage gravy, but the flavor combinations and textures were really nice. I could definitely see myself ordering this again along with a donut in the future. The combination of the two is the right amount of food for me for breakfast.

Since this was my second visit, I could see this as something that goes into a regular rotation for me. Maybe every 2-3 months, depending on my cravings. They also have lunch items on their menu, so I would not mind expanding out and trying additional offerings. The staff was different for each of my visits, and on both occasions the staff was nice and friendly, and the wait time for my food was not too long. Eating at Rise is definitely a good way to start the day!

Homemade Sourdough Bierocks

On By Rob GIn Close to Home, RecipeLeave a comment

For the past few years, I’ve tried to make foods that have components of both teams in the Super Bowl. This year’s teams are San Francisco and Kansas City. I could have gone the easy way and had a steak sandwich on sourdough bread, but I wanted to try something a little bit different. Something that would let me test my cooking skills. I saw that the Kansas City regions (both Kansas and Missouri) have something called bierocks as a popular local dish. They are a yeast dough pastry pocket sandwich filled with savory foods.

Since this was a bread dish, I thought that sourdough would be a good match, since sourdough bread is one of those things I think about when it comes to San Francisco. I looked for raw sourdough bread, but was not able to find any in the grocery stores, so I decided to make my own sourdough starter, which I wrote about yesterday.

One of the tough things with sourdough bread is that it can have a very hard crust. I didn’t think a hard crust would be a good fit for the bierocks, so I had to make adjustments.

Last night, I mixed up 2 cups of my sourdough starter, 3 cups of flour, 1 1/4 cups of water and a pinch of salt. It was a better consistency than my first effort, and I covered it loosely and let it sit on a cookie sheet over night.

I thought about the timing of the food and how it would best be prepared. I had to make the filling and provide it with enough time to cool, so that was the next thing I worked on.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef

1/2 head cabbage

1/2 large white onion

dash of salt

dash of pepper

Step one was to chop 1/2 head of cabbage and 1/2 of a large white onion.

Next, I browned the ground beef. I used an 85/15 split, so there was some fat but not too much. I added the salt and pepper right before it was all browned.

Next, I added the chopped cabbage and onion and reduced the heat to medium low. I covered with a lid and cooked for 25 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes.

I took off the lid, turned the heat up to medium, and cooked for another five minutes. I then set it aside to let it cool. I tried a couple of bites, and it tasted much better than expected.

While the mixture was cooling, it was time to turn my attention to the sourdough. After about 15 hours of sitting, it expanded and got flat. I put some flour on a wooden board and worked the dough a bit.

I could have stopped here and made a bread bowl, but I wanted to make those bierocks. I rolled the dough until it was about two inches around, and then took off two inch portions and made round balls.

They didn’t keep their shape, but that was okay. This batch made 19 dough balls. I let those sit for about 15 minutes, which also gave the filling more time to cool. I didn’t want the filling to be too hot, since it was going to be surrounded by dough.

It was now time to make these stuffed sandwiches. I flattened out the dough balls.

Next, I added in a spoonful of filling.

I sealed it up at the top, and then I rolled it around in my hands to be more rounded.

This is one of the trays. They didn’t keep a round shape, but they still looked good. There were a couple of spots where there was too much filling and it tore through the dough, but I wasn’t looking for perfection. The meat mixture was about twice as much as I needed. I don’t mind the leftovers, since I can use them in the next few days. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. I did this to let the dough have some more time to rest before getting baked.

I cooked them for 15 minutes, rotated, and then another 16 minutes, and they were done.

It was now time to eat. I know that I made this well before the Super Bowl started, but there was no way I could wait until 6:30 PM to eat food. And prep time would take away from watching the game (and the commercials). Biting into this stuffed sandwich was pretty nice. The top was easy to bite through and was not crunchy like a normal sourdough bread. The bottom was a little more crisp, but still easy to bite through. I think this would be better with the traditional dough, which would be softer and a little more sweet, but this was still good.

The meat mixture had some good flavor to it. I’m not always a big fan of cabbage, but it had a nice consistency to it and it absorbed the flavors of the meat and onions really well. I had one bite that was just cabbage, and it had a velvety consistency and a smooth flavor that pleasantly surprised me. I really enjoyed this meal. It would have been better to have people to share it with, but at least I already have my lunch and dinners prepared for the next week. It’s easy to stay positive when the food you spend time to prepare works out. No matter what happens in the Super Bowl, this has been a great day. Enjoy!

The Habit Burger Grill – Rockville, MD

On By Rob GIn Going Places1 Comment

I had a plan to go to The Habit Burger down in Rockville, Maryland for a few weeks. This was the weekend that the timing worked out the best.

The Habit has been in the news recently, since it was bought by Yum! Brands. I used to work for Yum! Brands at the Taco Bell Corporate office in California, but my opinions for this are my own. I’m not sure if I’m happy about the change in ownership. I was working for Yum! Brands when they took over A&W and Long John Silver’s, and I don’t think they did things right. I’m hoping that they can sit back and let The Habit do what it does best, and not get too mired into trying to change the way they do things to the “Yum” way. If they support them in the background, it could be a mutually beneficial deal for both sides.

The first time I heard of The Habit was about 15 years ago. We used to visit my uncle and grandmother in Goleta, and I remember one time my uncle was talking about liking to go over on Hollister Street at a hamburger joint called the Habit. I never thought too much about it, but looking back, I wish that I would have recommended going there with him at least once.

It wasn’t until a few years later that The Habit started popping up in Orange County, and I enjoyed it. If you haven’t been there, think more along the lines of Five Guys or SmashBurger, not McDonald’s or Burger King.

Now that I live in Maryland, it’s not a place I can go to whenever I feel like It. I have to take the time to plan a day to go there. When I was in California, I could have driven by one of their restaurants any day of the week on my way to or from work, or visiting with family.

As far as the Rockville location goes, it’s right on Rockville Pike, but if you blink you might miss it. I’ve been there a few times, since it’s one of those places that reminds me of California. It’s close to CostPlus World Market, so if I time things right, I can get there right at lunch time.

They’ve got some paintings up, which pay homage to their roots. I think that’s pretty cool.

I decided to go with the Double Char with Cheese combo, which includes fries and a drink. The Double Charburger has two Chargrilled burger patties, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, mayo, and caramelized onions on a toasted bun (and I got it with cheese as well). I ordered mine without the pickles and forgot to order without tomato. The buns had good flavor and held the sandwich together well. They didn’t get mushy and didn’t break apart. They were intact down to the last bite. The burgers had a nice, juicy flavor with the right amount of seasoning. The caramelized onions gave an extra layer of flavor that really elevated the overall experience. No ketchup needed for this burger at all. Everything in there worked perfectly. The fries were nice and crispy, but I should have asked for light salt. These didn’t have too much salt on them, I just prefer to have little to no salt on my fries. Compared to fries you can get in other places, these were still good. They were a nice complement to the burger. The bonus was that they have Mr. Pibb, so I had a complete meal.

This was a very good experience. The burgers are made fresh, but it wasn’t a long wait. It helped that I got there right at 11AM, but even when it got busy, there was still a good flow to the other customers getting their food.

I was happy to eat at The Habit Burger Grill today. The food was really good. It also brought back nice memories of California. It made me think of my uncle. Although he’s not here anymore, having these little reminders of the good conversations we used to have makes it easier to focus on the positive side of things.

Homemade Sourdough Bread (Including Starter)

On By Rob GIn Close to Home, RecipeLeave a comment

This has been a fun week for me. In preparation for some food that I want to make tomorrow, I decided that I would try my hand at making fresh sourdough bread. This is mainly because I could not find any raw sourdough bread in the grocery stores, so this ended up working out for me. I tried to find if there was a standard recipe for a starter, but there are many variations (some called for a thinner starter, some called for a thicker starter). Some required very precise measurements. When I cook, I am not usually precise, but when I bake, I try to be precise with the main ingredients. Since there were so many variations, I tried to do my best and see what happened.

I started this on Sunday, since most recipes said it would take about 5 or 6 days for the starter to be ready. I used just over 3/4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of water. Mixed it up, put it in a bowl and loosely covered it with plastic wrap. It seemed to be a bit thick, but I didn’t want to overthink things.

Monday night came and I was ready for phase two. It had set for 24 hours and did not look as thick. There was a little moisture around the outside edges, so my first thought was that I didn’t mix it all the way, but I think this was more just the natural process.

It was feeding time, so I mixed in the same amounts of flour and water as the first day, covered loosely with plastic wrap and let it be.

Tuesday night arrived, and it was looking a little thinner, but there weren’t any bubbles or anything. This is when I was starting to question if I had done it right. Even though the recipes said it could take a couple of days to start seeing bubbles, I had doubt. The recipes also said it should be kept at a temperature of 70-75 degrees. I keep my house between 60-65, and I had it in a glass bowl, which felt even colder. So I was questioning whether or not this would work.

I did another feeding, and had my fingers crossed that something – anything – would happen.

Wednesday evening came along and I was happy. There were a couple of bubbles in there. Not many, but at least some. I had some optimism. It didn’t taste any different, though (I took little tastes every night, just because I’m weird like that).

It was time to feed it again. I had not factored in all of the days I would be adding flour and water, so the original bowl I started with got to be too small. I had to upgrade to a larger bowl (which happened to be plastic). Loosely covered it, and let it go.

Thursday night arrived and I was happy with what I saw. There were quite a few bubbles, and it started to have an “aroma” to it.

I did my evening feeding and let it be for another day.

Friday night came and then came the words. “Feed me, Seymour!”. This was really odd, since my name is not Seymour, and I did not name this Audrey II. For those of you who get the reference, thank you for rolling your eyes. For those of you who did not get the reference, you can roll your eyes later. The aroma had definitely become more distinct. I now understood why they call it sourdough.

I wanted to try to do a test run on Saturday, so I decided to take some of the starter aside. I fed the starter base and let it sit.

I took out one cup of the starter.

I added 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt. I mixed it all together, put a light layer of oil on the top, covered it loosely with plastic wrap, and let it stay in the bowl to sit overnight. It was still a bit sticky, which I think was a mistake on my part.

When I woke up in the morning, there was not much of a change to the dough. I added a little flour to it and turned the oven on to 400.

I put a little bit of flour on a baking sheet and placed the bread on top of it. I then gave it an “X” on the top. There was still another 10 minutes before the oven was ready, and it started to rise a little within that time. That let me know I messed up with how I put this all together. No matter, I put it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

The house had a nice sourdough bread smell to it, so I was a happy camper. I checked the temperature with a thermometer (it should be around 210 in the center), and it was ready to cool.

I learned quite a few things with this test run. I should have made the dough a better consistency. It was too sticky, which meant it needed more flour. I think that the additional flour might have helped with the rising. I’m no food scientist, so I could be wrong. Once I had it at the right consistency, I should have given it more time to rise. I also should have baked it on parchment paper or used some cooking spray. It stuck to the pan in a couple of places, and it was not fun when it was time to clean the pan.

As far as the flavor goes, I was happy. The outer crust was hard, but not overly chewy, which is one of the things I don’t really like about sourdough bread. The inner part of the bread had the familiar flavor. Biting into it reminded me of the flavors that I’m used to. It was a bit dense, but that was probably because I did not let it rise properly.

So what I have is a gassy, dense sourdough starter and sourdough bread. Gassy and Dense – just like its dad. Awww. I’m glad that this first batch did not turn out perfectly. I got some of the basics down, but I need to learn. I’ve made different types of bread before and they all worked out. This will just take me some more practice. Trying and failing is better than not trying and regretting. Stay positive!

Creamed Chipped Beef over Toast – Mo’s Cafe – Eldersburg, MD

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I continued my weekend of good eating with a nice breakfast at Mo’s Cafe in Eldersburg, Maryland. I’ve been there a few times, and I’ve gotten the Creamed Chipped Beef over Toast with a side of Home fries before, so I already knew that I would be getting some good food.

Eating this dish brings me back to my younger days. My dad would make us creamed chipped beef on toast every so often, and it was always good. I remember being at the grocery store with my mom and sisters and seeing those glass jars of chipped beef. So having a meal that brings back fond memories is always a positive for me.

The toast was really good. It was very light and almost fluffy. It wasn’t a dry, rough toast. It had a nice crunch to the outside, but in between there was a light texture with really good flavor. The chipped beef was really good. Not all chipped beef is the same. Some have more of a jerky like texture. This had more flavor to it and a softer texture. It was a more tender chipped beef than I’m used to, and I enjoyed it. The sauce had a nice consistency and was seasoned well. I could see the specks of pepper in there, but it wasn’t overwhelming. It actually provided a nice balance to the cream sauce. The home fries were also good. They had a nice texture and good flavor, but they were definitely the side dish.

This dish will fill you up, and it is worth it. The flavors stayed with me for a couple of hours, and I was still in a happy place with the satisfaction of eating this meal. Staying positive is always easy when you eat this well!

Sugar Bakers Cakes – Catonsville, MD

On By Rob GIn Going Places2 Comments

During my time out and about yesterday, I visited Sugar Bakers Cakes. I’ve been here quite a few times before, but it has been awhile, so I wanted to post about it.

Sugar Bakers Cakes won on an episode of Cake Hunters on Cooking Channel. They have some incredible cake designs and creations, but they do more than just wedding cakes and special event cakes.

I know that these aren’t the greatest pictures, but I do like how the reflection of the sign comes through on the glass.

I bought two different slices of cake. One slice of Smith Island Cake, and one slice of Chocolate Mousse Cake.

Smith Island Cake is the official Dessert of the state of Maryland. It is a multi-tiered cake whose history goes back more than 200 years. The one I purchased at Sugar Bakers Cakes is a yellow cake with fudge icing and peanut butter cups. This is a very sweet cake, but well worth it. The cake itself is moist and has a traditional yellow cake flavor to it. The icing is set chocolatey goodness, and those bits of peanut butter cups add a really nice layer of flavor to this cake. The portion of this cake is huge. When I was younger, I would have been able to eat this in one sitting, but now, it’s a two to three sitting dessert for me.

The other cake that I got was a Chocolate Mousse Cake. This is a four layer cake, so not another variety of the Smith Island cake. This is a Devil’s Food Cake with layers of Chocolate Mousse and surrounded with a buttercream icing. The cake itself is very good. Another moist cake, and a solid chocolate flavor. The chocolate mousse has a very light, delicate consistency, and a really good flavor. The icing on the cake is the buttercream icing (it’s okay to roll your eyes). The icing adds another layer of sweetness to the cake. It provides a nice balance to the chocolate layers (cake and mousse). My favorite of the two was the Smith Island Cake, but I would still be happy to eat more of this one as well.

When you eat as well as I did yesterday, it’s easy to stay in a positive frame of mind. Enjoy!

Ssong’s Hotdog – The Mall in Columbia – Columbia, MD

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Today, I had lunch at Ssong’s Hotdog in The Mall in Columbia. I had passed by it on previous visits to the mall, but hadn’t actually stopped and ordered anything.

This isn’t located in the food court. It’s on the second floor, a little off the main track. Across from a Starbucks, so at least people will see it (there’s always people at a Starbucks). I decided to order the basic Ssong’s Hotdog. They had some other good options, but I figured that I may as well start with the basics.

They start by coating it in the batter.

Next, they dip it in panko bread crumbs. Then they fry it. Since they are making it fresh, it takes about 5 minutes. Once it’s done, you have the option to have it rolled in sugar (I was okay with that, since that is how they normally do it).

It looks great, and tasted even better. The batter really plumped up. The sugar added a nice flavor balance to the hot dog, batter coating, and bread crumbs. The seasoning is really nice, so these are some really flavorful bites. When first biting into this, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought the outer shell might be hard and crunchy, but it had a nice bite consistency. It was easy to bite through. There was a crunch from the bread crumbs, but then you got the soft fried batter, followed by the hot dog. The flavors worked really well together, as did the textures.

They had some non-traditional condiments to choose from, and I went with a Sweet Thai Chili sauce. That was another dimension of flavor that I really enjoyed. I would order this again.

I enjoy a corn dog every now and again, but it’s something that I rarely eat. I had more when I was in California, since Hot Dog on a Stick and Wienerschnitzel were always close by. But this takes it to a different level, and it is definitely worth it. I could see myself trying some of their other offerings, such as a rice cake hotdog or mozz-sausage hotdog. This was a great part of what has been a great day!