Tag: coffee drink

Caffe Bene – Ellicott City

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Today is going to be a hot one (mid 90s), so I wanted to get out early and run some errands before the heat came. I went to Caffe Bene and had a Mocha Frappe. They use espresso shots, so this had a nice, bold flavor to it. This is a thick drink, but it’s not too icy. Since they also have boba drinks, this came with a thick straw, which works well with the thicker blend. I usually go here 3 or 4 times per year, so it was a nice little treat and good to have the thicker drink on a day with hot weather. I was able to run a couple of errands afterwards. I did some shopping at H Mart and some shopping at Sprouts, and the drink was still nice and thick, which was a plus.

Caffe Bene has a signature drink, Misugaru, which is a multi-grain drink. I did not get it this morning, but I’ve had it in the past in frappe form. It has an earthy, malt-type flavor which is good. Not something my tastebuds would normally enjoy, but good nonetheless.

When Caffe Bene opened up in Ellicott City, I was a happy camper. It reminded me of my time in California. When my sister and I first started going on our walks/runs, one of the routes we would take would have us going to Seattle’s Best Coffee on the final leg of our run. The store had really good coffee and good seasonal options. Their sweets were great, especially their pumpkin loaf (with icing) and chocolate peppermint loaf bread with peppermint icing. When I really wanted to indulge, I would get their espresso shake. Fresh brewed espresso mixed with ice cream into a thick, creamy milkshake. Not something I could have all the time, but definitely worth it when I ordered it. The staff that worked there was fantastic. I still remember Molly, Lola, Alice, Liz, and Valerie, to name a few. They made the experience even better with our conversations. We were regulars there and they all made us feel welcome, even if we had just finished up a 6 or 7 mile run in hot weather. Watching Alice make coffee drinks was magical for me. She was very systematic and methodical, which I really appreciate. Everyone there had a fun time and enjoyed what they were doing.

When Seattle’s Best stores closed, I was sad (they also had locations inside Border’s Books, which went out of business a number of years ago). At the particular location where my sister and I used to go after our runs, the location switched over to a Caffe Bene. I was hesitant at first, since I had a loyalty to Seattle’s Best and the people who worked at that location. But it wasn’t the fault of Caffe Bene that it shut down, so we gave it a try. We were able to go there a few times before I moved away, so being able to go to Caffe Bene here in Maryland makes me feel a connection to the times we had in California. It brings back happy thoughts and positive memories, which helps me have a good start to the day.

Kismet Cafe – Eldersburg, MD

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This morning I took a short drive to another place that I frequent, Kismet Cafe. I have always just gone there for a coffee drink, but today I decided to try one of their bagels as well. The last couple of times I went there, I noticed some of their cream cheese flavors, which is what made me decide to try them.

I’m not the biggest fan of bagels. I will get them every so often, but it’s not normally a food I crave. When I walked into Kismet Cafe this morning, I knew the coffee drink I would be getting: Pumpkin Spice Kismeccino Frozen Coffee. I perused the bagel options and one definitely stood out for me: Challah bagel. So I ordered that, toasted and then had to decide on the cream cheese. There were some good options, but it was ultimately between garlic herb and bacon horseradish scallion. I opted for the garlic herb today, but might try the other one in the future.

The Kismeccino was a good coffee drink. The flavor blend of the pumpkin was nice and the overall consistency was good, with just a little iciness to it. The bagel was really good. The outside had a nice crispness to it, and the inside was very light and not too chewy. It was not like the bagels that I’m used to eating. The garlic herb cream cheese was also really good. There was a definite flavor explosion, but it was not so overpowering that I couldn’t enjoy the bagel. I will get this cream cheese again, but I will also try the bacon horseradish scallion (if they have it).

I didn’t realize it until it was too late, but they have also started baking pumpkin bagels. I might try one of those in the near future. I already know which specialty cream cheese will be a great complement: honey walnut. So I’ll take a future trip here and know that the food will be worth it. I already knew the coffee drinks were worth the visit, but it’s good to know that I can enjoy their bagels as well.

Stay positive and enjoy the day!

Enjoying New Freedom, and Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania

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Earlier in the week, I thought about a possible destination for Saturday, and I followed through with it. I took a scenic drive up to New Freedom, Pennsylvania. The drive was beautiful. I passed by some cows and some horses, which were so close that I would have been able to pet them if I was walking next to the road. I took the long way, so there were some parts of the trip where there was only 1 1/2 lanes, so I was fortunate that I was the only one on the road. There were also some spots of gorgeous scenery.

There was one part of the drive where the road was winding quite a bit, but then there was a curve to the right and it was the perfect visual spot. The road opened up a bit and there was a slight valley and then a low mountain full of trees. Seeing those trees along my sightline made my eyes happy. I was fortunate enough to drive through some small towns and very out of the way places.

My first destination was New Freedom, PA. I planned on going to the New Freedom Rail Trail Cafe. The last time I was there was about 2 1/2 years ago, when I was looking for houses (ended up getting one in Maryland, but there were some in Southern Pennsylvania that almost won me over). When I arrived at the cafe, there was a lot of hubbub going on. The town was setting up for their Fall Fest. I got there too early to stick around and see it, but I did go to the cafe.

I had wanted to get the Boxcar Tourist, but they had a special menu for Fall Fest, so I had to improvise. I’ve had the Boxcar Tourist before, and it was really good. It’s sausage gravy on biscuits with a fried egg. I ended up getting a pumpkin spice muffin and a hazelnut/chocolate coffee drink. The muffin was good. It was a bit heavier due to the pumpkin and had a slight spice flavor. I enjoyed it, but would have liked a little more nutmeg or cinnamon in there. The coffee drink was really good. I know I’ve been getting the pumpkin drinks everywhere, but I had a Nutella type coffee drink on my mind, so that’s what I went with. I ended up heading out after I was done, since I didn’t want to wait another hour or so for the Fall Fest to start. It looked like it was going to be pretty fun, though, just based on all the setup they were doing.

My next destination was The Markets at Shrewsbury. This is another Amish Farmer’s Market that is only open Thursday through Saturday, which is why this was on my agenda for today. This Farmer’s Market is huge. It looks bigger than the one in Annapolis. Although there are some similarities with the products, there are some distinct differences. I did enjoy visiting and plan on coming back again. I bought some items at the bakery, and will go back for more when the weather is cooler and the food that needs to stay cool will make the 1 hour drive back home.

I know that this picture isn’t clear, but I’m okay with that. It’s a huge building and I couldn’t capture everything at once. But I like how the sun is shining on top and the rays are coming down over the building.

These are some pictures from inside the building. The first one is just to show how deep this market goes. The other two are pictures I took at the bakery. I was tempted to buy some donuts, but was already full from the pumpkin muffin and had some other desserts in mind for purchase. There are a lot of vendors to choose from, which is why I plan on visiting again. Now, onto the bakery treats.

This first one is called Angel Food Flips. My pictures don’t do it justice, but it definitely tastes better than it looks. You’ve got the nice texture and consistency of the Angel Food cake in a taco shape, with what I believe is a whoopee pie filling on the inside and then drizzled with chocolate. This was something I haven’t seen before, so it was definitely worth the trip.

Next up is a Homemade Butter Cake. I’ve had Butter Cakes before, and they can be hit or miss. I’m not just saying this because they don’t have chocolate in them. 🙂 This Butter Cake was fantastic. The bottom layer was cooked perfectly and the top layer was a little gooey, but not so sticky that you couldn’t enjoy the bite. There was also a slight brown butter taste to it, which helped make it a more well rounded taste. Sweet, but not too sweet.

The last thing I got was a Chocolate Coffee Cake. They had several options for coffee cake, but I wanted to try this one. Sometimes a chocolate coffee cake can be too dry, especially on the chocolate layer. And when you have a huge amount of crumb topping like this one had, there is a tendency for the crumb to dry things out. This was not the case with this treat. The chocolate cake layer was moist. The crumb layer was nice and crisp on top, but it maintained it’s moisture underneath. I was able to bite through the entire coffee cake, instead of having to crunch through the top and have a crumb disintegration issue. Hopefully, you’ll understand what I’m trying to convey.

Today involved a lot of eating, but I’m okay with that. It was good food, good scenery, and good people. And as an added bonus for me, when I was driving up in the morning, “Always” by Atlantic Starr was playing. It’s been a while since I heard that song, so I was quite happy to sing along to it. And since it was a 1 1/2 lane road and I was the only one on it, it’s better that there was no one around to hear or see me while I was enjoying the music and enjoying the ride.

There are days when I get to just drive around, and I really enjoy them. I get to see places and scenery that not everyone else has a chance to see. I get to eat things and try things that others might not be able to experience. So I appreciate and enjoy these opportunities while I still have them. Stay positive!

Saturday Morning in Westminster, MD

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I decided to head over to Westminster this morning. The main goal was to visit Furnace Hills Coffee, but I also wanted to check out a place that I hadn’t visited before – Jeannie Bird Baking Company. I also had plans on going to the Downtown Westminster Farmer’s Market. I was able to visit all three, so I had a fun packed morning and was able to be on my way before the rain hit.

I started my morning at Jeannie Bird Baking Company. I had walked by it several times, but never took the time to step in. I read up on it and there were quite a few things about it that intrigued me. One thing that caught my eye was that they make their own English Muffins. I do enjoy a good English Muffin breakfast sandwich from time to time, so that was my main goal. When I got to the store, it was already pretty busy. I was waiting in line and could hear people behind me who knew some of the people in front of me. This was something that happened time and again, so it really had a nice, hometown type of feel to it. The employees seemed to know almost everyone as well, which added a comforting feeling to being there. I looked at all the different pastries and there were a few options that I was thinking about, but I wanted to stick with the breakfast sandwich. The English Muffins are not the same as what I’m used to from the grocery stores. They were a little smaller in diameter, but much thicker. So when I ate the sandwich, I was able to enjoy more of the muffin. I would normally order a meat as part of the sandwich, but I wanted to make sure I was able to taste the English Muffin, since meats sometimes become the primary flavor and minimize the other flavors in the muffin sandwiches. I was able to taste the English Muffin, and I enjoyed it. The outside was crispy, but the inside had that nice softness that you usually get. Since it was thicker than I am used to, I was able to really taste the bread and the enjoy the texture. By the time I was finished eating, the line was out the door. It is definitely a happening place. I will be going back, since they have so many other options that I plan on trying on future visits.

After I finished my breakfast, I walked over to Furnace Hills Coffee. They won’t be starting on the pumpkin drinks until October, so I decided to go with a Peanut Brittle blended coffee drink. The drink has caramel and peanut butter flavors. The first sip had a strong peanut brittle flavor, which was pretty neat. The consistency was good and the staff is great. Here is a not so great picture I took of their specialty drink menu.

I walked over to the Downtown Westminster Farmer’s Market while drinking my coffee drink. It was a small Farmer’s Market, but there were some good options there, which I will look into more the next time I visit there.

I bought two bags of coffee at Furnace Hills Coffee for my sister. One is called “Buddy Walk” and for every pound of coffee they sell, they donate $5 to the National Down Syndrome Society’s Buddy Walk. That is reason enough for me to get it, but the flavor of it is also good. I also got Erin’s Blend, named for their Chief Roaster.

Although my sister won’t get to enjoy these for a while, I will get to enjoy the aromas that are emanating from these bags. Even though I don’t enjoy straight coffee, but instead prefer the ice blended Frappuccino type drinks, I still like the smell of fresh coffee. Go figure on that one. I like and appreciate what Furnace Hills Coffee does. They not only make good coffee drinks and good roasted beans, but they do things for what I think is a good and honorable cause. You can’t get much better than that on a Saturday morning…

Krispy Kreme – Pumpkin

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I decided to go to Krispy Kreme to try some of their pumpkin offerings. I was unfortunately a few days late to the pumpkin spice stuffed donuts party (it ran from 9/2-9/8), but I was still able to get their Pumpkin Spice Cake Donut and their Pumpkin Spice Frozen Latte. I added in an original glazed donut just because I could.

I started off with the original and devoured it in three bites, which is easy to do when it’s nice and warm (having a big mouth helps as well). I then went on to the pumpkin spice cake donut. The glaze was on the top but not on the bottom of the donut, but that didn’t really matter. The donut had a nice texture to it and the flavor of the spices were not overwhelming. It was a very good cake donut. The coffee drink was an interesting one for me. It was a bit too thick to start and very heavy on the pumpkin flavor. I was not a fan of my first few sips. After I gave it a couple of minutes, the consistency got better, and I was able to stir in some of the cinnamon that was sprinkled on top of the whipped cream. Once this happened, the drink was the perfect thickness and the cinnamon perfectly complemented the pumpkin flavor. This ended up being a very good frozen coffee drink, much to my pleasant surprise.

Driving in a Generally Southern Direction

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On September 8th, I drove South, which included driving on the New Jersey Turnpike, crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge and driving on the 95 and 695 in Maryland. The scenery was once again great. I took a few stops along the way, and wanted to highlight just a couple of them.

The first stop I made was while I was on the New Jersey Turnpike. I stopped at the Thomas Edison Travel Plaza (Woodbridge, NJ). This had been closed for quite awhile, but was now re-opened. After having been there in the past and seeing it now, I must admit that I am very impressed. They have completely redone the interior and it is much cleaner and open than it was before. If they continue to make over the other Travel Plaza’s along the New Jersey Turnpike, I will look forward to making extra stops to see the differences. While I was at the Travel Plaza, I decided to stop in Pret a Manger. They had little brownie bites, so I purchased one with the expectation that I would be eating it later on after lunch. I did wait on it, and the wait was worth it. I have had these brownie bites before, and they still taste really good. It’s a two bite brownie for me (maybe four bites for some people), and it is a nice little treat.

I already knew where I was going to be eating lunch. When I got into Maryland, I stopped at the Chesapeake House Travel Plaza (North East, MD). I went to Earl of Sandwich and got the Original 1762. Roast Beef, Cheddar and Horseradish sauce on their special bread. The roast beef was nice and easy to bite through, the cheddar was the perfect amount and the horseradish sauce was not overpowering and the combination of flavors made for a delicious sandwich. I look forward to going back around Thanksgiving time, when they will have their Holiday Sandwich.

I also went to Peet’s coffee to get a seasonal coffee drink. Their specialty drink was billed as pumpkin chai, and so I ordered the Pumpkin Chai Ice Blended Javiva. Unfortunately for me, I had Pumpkin Spice in my head, so the first couple of sips were a bit too much. When it clicked that I was getting a pumpkin chai instead of pumpkin spice, I focused on the flavors that I ordered. It was a good drink. The flavors for the pumpkin and the chai seasonings work well together. If you were expecting chai, you would think there was too much pumpkin. If you were expecting pumpkin, you would think there was too much chai flavor. But as a pumpkin chai drink, the flavors worked well. They have some other specialty drinks that I might try instead the next time, but I definitely didn’t mind giving it a try.

I ended up having a very nice drive. It took about 6 hours, but I had my playlist and the weather was pretty nice most of the way. It was only the last hour or so where the weather creeped into the mid to upper 80s. I’ve definitely been a road warrior these last 10 months or so, and I’m happy to share some of my experiences with you moving forward as I continue on the road.

Happy Sweet Tooth

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September 7th was a day of many goodies and sweets, and my sweet tooth (more like teeth in my case) was very happy. I started the day by picking up some treats at La Bonne Boulangerie in East Norwich. I got some Chocolate Rugelach for breakfast and a chocolate iced brownie for later on. This bakery is a go-to place for me when I’m in the area. I get their Chocolate Rugelach most often, but they also have other assorted pastries, cakes, cookies and treats that are also good. This day was no different. It started with some fantastic Chocolate Rugelach and ended with a delicious brownie. What I enjoy most about the rugelach is how soft and moist it is. Some rugelach can be a bit dry or overly flaky, but theirs is always really good.

We went over to Roosevelt Field in Garden City later on. My main reason was to go to the Nordstrom Ebar. I go to the Ebar from time to time, but wanted to make this stop since it is time for the pumpkin flavors. I ordered myself a medium Pumpkin Spice Ice Storm and it did not disappoint. One thing that stands out with their pumpkin drink is that they use a scoop of pumpkin pie mix. This not only helps with the flavor, but it also helps with the consistency of the Ice Storm. This is one of the places where I will get a pumpkin frappe multiple times while it’s available.

We also took a stop over at Carvel in Syosset for some ice cream. I know that we went on a Saturday, which is contrary to the Wednesday is Sundae, but I had a craving, so we went. Carvel is another place that brings up fond family memories. There used to be a shop right across the street from my dentist’s office. So we would go to the dentist and then walk to Carvel afterwards for a treat. When family is in town, we tend to go on Wednesdays, since that is when Carvel has their buy one, get one free promotion for soft serve sundaes. Carvel does soft serve ice cream really well. When we got there on the 7th, I decided to order their special flavor: Kit Kat. I had it topped with hot fudge and whipped cream, and it made for a very tasty sundae. The Kit Kat soft serve has a chocolaty base with some finely ground pieces of cookie in there.

I did actually eat real food in between all the sweets, but these sugary treats were definitely the highlight of the day!

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 9.5.19

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I’m catching up on some writings and wanted to start with my visit to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Pikesville, MD on September 5, 2019. Continuing with my seasonal flavors, I decided to go for the Pumpkin Spice Ice blended. This was a definite favorite of mine. The flavors were on point and the consistency was fantastic.

I have a bit of a bias when it comes to The Coffee Bean, though. When I lived in California, this was one of my favorite coffee places to go to on a regular basis. I would go on a walk or run with one of my sisters on the weekends and this would be one of the places we would stop at, depending on our route. So this has sentimental value, since I associate The Coffee Bean with seeing my sister and her family. And stopping for an ice blended drink after running or walking for 3+ miles felt pretty good, especially in the hotter months.

There are a couple of other reasons I’m a fan of The Coffee Bean. They tend to have specialty drinks more frequently than other places, so there is always a chance for something different or new. I also enjoy the way they make their ice blended drinks. The ice is crushed more finely, so there is less of a chance of getting pieces of ice coming up the straw. This makes it a much more enjoyable experience for me.

There was a store inside a hotel in Baltimore, but it was not a full store and had a limited menu. It was still good, but not the complete experience. I was very happy to learn about the store that opened in Pikesville. I’ve been there quite a few times over the past year or so (maybe once every couple of months). It is nice to go into a store and have the people recognize you, even if you haven’t been there for a couple of months.

This was an overall nice experience. I enjoyed the Ice Blended Pumpkin and would definitely get it again while it’s still out. I’ll look forward to the next batch of specialty flavors, and I’m sure I’ll be writing about that as well.

Labor Day

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Today has been a pretty good Labor Day. I had an early start to the day and decided to head out early for a coffee drink. My plan was to go to Westminster for a very specific coffee place, but I got there more than an hour before it usually opens, and I wasn’t even sure it would be open today. So I had to improvise and go to Wawa’s. I’ve been there a number of times for their coffee drinks and continue to be impressed at how good they are at their job. Since I am still going on the seasonal theme, I decided to go for a Pumpkin Spice Frozen Cappuccino. The dangerous part of this is that Wawa is currently running their Siptopia promotion. This means that a 24 ounce drink is only $3 and a 16 ounce drink is only $2. A lot of temptation and I felt that I should go for the 24 ounce drink. The drink itself was good. Mainly the pumpkin spice flavor, and no issues with too much ice. It’s a larger drink than I usually have, but the consistency lasted and didn’t melt to pure liquid, which is another plus. I also decided to get an apple cider donut. The flavor was good, but the donut was not as moist as I would prefer.

The coffee place I was going to visit (and will be visiting in the next month or so) is called Furnace Hills Coffee (www.furnacehillscoffee.com). I’ve had their coffee drinks before and they do a good job. I’ve also gotten coffee beans for family, and they have gotten positive reviews. The thing I like about this place is their mission. It is Special Coffee roasted by Special People. And that will have me continuing to back there as long as I can.

The rest of the day went well. I tried the new Mountain Dew flavor (Voo Dew). It is a mystery flavor, so I won’t even try to guess. My favorites are still Baja Blast, Pitch Black, Livewire and Code Red, but it’s nice to have something a little different for a change. I grilled myself a cheeseburger and had some beans on the side, so I think it is fair for me to say that this has been a successful Labor Day!

Enjoying a Quiet Sunday

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Today got off to quite a good start. I decided to make my way over to Harvest Inn – located in Eldersburg/Sykesville – for some good, old-fashioned diner food. I grabbed a seat at the counter and ordered biscuits and gravy (sausage gravy) with home fries on the side. The picture is below. The biscuits and gravy is a Sunday only treat, so I felt this would be an opportune time to order it. It did not disappoint. It was as good as usual. The gravy has a nice flavor to it. There are some chunky sausage pieces and the gravy is nice and thick. The biscuits are the right size for the amount of gravy. And the home fries help put it all together nicely (especially when combined with a little of the gravy). The staff that works there is great. They have a real connection with each other as well as with the patrons. The back and forth between them and some of the “regulars” enhances the experience even more.

After that meal, I decided to stop by Starbucks to get the pumpkin Frappuccino. I admit I’m not the biggest Starbucks fan, but enjoy trying their seasonal drinks. There was a little more ice than I prefer, but there was a nice pumpkin flavor to the drink with hints of the spices. The pumpkin flavor wasn’t too overbearing, and the shake of cinnamon on top helped round out the flavors. All in all, it was a good drink. Not the best I’ve had, but still worth it for the season.

A little bit later in the morning, I decided to head over to the Sykesville Farmer’s Market. I enjoy Farmer’s Market season, so I still have a couple of months to go out and have some fun. The Sykesville Farmer’s Market had some nice options. There were 15 or so vendors, some local, some a little more spread out. There was a Mexican grill that was doing fresh breakfast and lunch options. There were a couple of baked goods places, a few fruit and vegetable stands and some liquor booths. Even though I was in and out of there in about 10 minutes, it’s still nice just to experience and see the people.

I’m not sure what the rest of the day has planned for me, but when you get a good start to the day, it helps the time go by in a more enjoyable way.