The weekends are about the only time where I can get out and about, so I try to take advantage. I did not do as much as I normally would, since I was trying to minimize interactions. Hopefully I’ll be able to go out next weekend, but we’ll see how things continue this week.
I decided to try a new place – Touche Touchet Bakery and Pastry Shoppe in Columbia, Maryland.
While I was driving, I kept seeing white blooms along the road, which tells me that Spring is definitely close. When I got to Touche Touchet, there were a couple of trees that had these.
After looking at the various options, I decided on two desserts, a Triple Chocolate Cookie and a slice of Boston Creme Cake.
I started with the Triple Chocolate Cookie. The flavor of this was good. The outer edge was crunchy, but the inside portion was nice and soft. This was a good cookie and just the right size for a dessert.
The Boston Creme Cake was up next. I did not eat these at the same time. I probably could have, but some days I am okay with portion control. The cake portion was light and moist. It had a nice, mild flavor. The filling had a nice flavor to it, and I would have enjoyed more of it. The chocolate frosting was a nice finishing touch. It had good flavor and consistency. When I ate everything at once, the portions of everything worked out really well. The filling, cake, and frosting all worked well collectively, and they were each good individually, so this was a definite plus for me.
It was fun for me to go a little bit more out of the way to try a new place, and I hope that I’ll get a chance to head back down there in the future. They had some nice looking cupcakes, some other cookies that looked good, and a lot of other treats that looked like they would be tasty. Eating well and staying positive!
There are times when I have dessert cravings, and I don’t have time to stray too far from home. Fortunately, Dandelion Bakery checks off both of those boxes. I decided to make my way back there earlier this week. I looked through the many different offerings, and decided on slices of two different desserts: Tres Leches and Peanut Butter Pie.
The first dessert I ate was the Tres Leches. In general, Tres Leches is a dessert that I would only opt for every so often (something with chocolate is my usual preference). I’m glad I tried this one, though, because it was really good. The cake itself was nice and light, but very moist. The meringue topping was delicate and provided a nice balance to the cake. A whole bunch of sweetness in every bite, but that’s what desserts are usually about (for me, at least). I ate every last bite and was happy with the experience. Something I would definitely get again.
The next dessert I ate was the Peanut Butter Pie. I did not eat both of these at the same time, although I could see myself doing that on certain days. The majority of the bites was the peanut butter filling. Slightly dense, very sweet, and bursting with peanut butter flavor. The chocolate cookie crust had some nice flavor and texture, and I would have wanted to have even more with this. Having this topped with chocolate chips and chocolate sauce made it even better. The crust and the topping provided a nice balance of flavor and texture, which made those bites truly wonderful. This was another great dessert and I’m looking forward to going back for more!
Easy to keep happy and positive thoughts when eating this well!
Ah, March. Great time of year. There were some great people born in the month of March, as well as some so-so people. Nod and a wink on that one. But for me, March is the time for Shamrock shakes and for corned beef. Sometimes in Sandwich form, sometimes with Cabbage, and sometimes in some other extraordinary way.
I am a fan of French Twist Cafe. Not just because it’s close to me, but because the coffee drinks and food are really good. I had the Reuben Crepe last year, so seeing that it was back for March, I knew I was going to order it again.
The Reuben Crepe comes with Corned Beef, Sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, caraway seeds, and Thousand Island dressing. I’m not the biggest fan of sauerkraut, but I can take it in small portions from time to time. This is one of those occasions.
I’ll start by saying how much fun it is to watch them making the crepes right there. Seeing them layer the food on, and then watching as they put on the finishing touches for the presentation.
As nice as it is to look at, it’s even better to eat. The crepes on their own are very good. There is the perfect bite through texture in the middle, and the nice crispness (without being too crispy or crunchy) on the outer edges. This was easy to cut through, which meant that the corned beef was not tough. The sauerkraut was not overbearing at all. It provided a nice textural accompaniment, but the flavor blended well with the corned beef, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island, caraway seeds and the crepe. I enjoyed eating this crepe, and look forward to getting it again if it’s available next March.
Good food and a happy stomach makes it easy to try and stay in a positive frame of mind.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
Today has been a good day so far, and it’s not quite over. I had a plan for some things that I wanted to do, and I accomplished them (for the most part).
Now that I have a new job, my day to day has changed. When I was a freelance consultant, I had work coming at me sporadically, so my work was not a 9-5 job. I could do some work early in the morning or late at night. This provided me with some great opportunities to go out and about and try a bunch of different places and experiences on any day of the week. Now that I’m working full time, I have to adjust. From 8-5 (or 7:30ish to 6:30ish) I’m focused throughout the day on my work and doing what I can to be successful for myself and my new employer. This means that during the week, I’m at my home office and only thinking about work. So the weekends give me an opportunity to branch out, as does traveling to the home office in Pittsburgh.
Last weekend was a bit rough. It was a three day weekend, but I was iced in on Saturday and wasn’t able to do as much as I would have liked. I did enjoy my Sunday and Monday, though. Last night, I decided to make a quick dash out of the house around 6PM. I don’t usually like going out after it’s dark, but I made an exception. I had 10 straight lunches and dinners that consisted of the baby back ribs that I made last weekend. They were great meals, but I needed something else. I went out and got myself a “salad” at Qdoba. Not the healthiest, but at least it was a change of pace. I also picked up some dessert from Big Belly Deli, so that was a win. I knew there was heavy rain in the forecast, which is why I wanted to go out quickly and get back before it started. We were expecting 1 1/2 – 2 inches of rain overnight, so I was glad to get home before the rain hit.
When I woke up this morning, there were a couple of things that I wanted to do. Part of this involved heading over the The Mall in Columbia. I wasn’t sure what I was going to have for breakfast, but I knew I wanted to get a coffee drink at Nordstrom’s Bar. I arrived at the mall area a little after 9:00AM, and I was hungry. I decided to stop at Corner Bakery. When I lived in California, one of my occasional guilty pleasures was the Cinnamon Creme Cake from there.
It has definitely been too long since I’ve enjoyed this. When I worked in Baltimore, I was in walking distance to a Corner Bakery. I always had breakfast before I went in to work, so I would only go there for lunch (which is also good). But the Cinnamon Creme Cake is fantastic. The coffee cake is moist, and the cinnamon swirl along with the crumb topping just round it out to make it something nice to eat every so often. Not every day or every week, but maybe once every month or so. It’s been close to 5 years since I last had this, and I still enjoy it. It brought back good memories of living in California and the times I would go there for a breakfast treat.
The Corner Bakery is not actually inside the mall, but is among some stores that are along the outside. So once I finished eating, I went into the mall. I got my coffee drink from Ebar, and tried an Italian Mocha Ice Storm. That was delicious, and something I would try again if they don’t have any specialty drinks (holidays are over, so no more peppermint). I went to Lolli and Pops and got some candies that I was looking for. I got a really nice massage. And I got a really good light lunch at Ssong’s Hotdog. I’ll write about this in a separate post.
Once I was done at the mall, I decided to head over to Sugar Baker’s Cakes in Catonsville. I ordered a couple of things from there, but won’t write about it until I’ve tried them both (probably later tonight or tomorrow). My final stop was at the Common Kitchen in Clarksville. I’ve written about a couple of places within the kitchen collective in the past. Today, I wanted to see if there was anything new, and there was. There is a West African food place (Foodricana) and a Paraguayan food place (Tasty Empanadas). Both looked good and sound good to me, so I know I’ll make my way back for a visit.
When I was driving back to my house, I decided to listen to my playlist (on random). That got me in an even better mood. There were a few songs that I started singing loudly to once they played, and I didn’t even know what to expect (random playlist of more than 1000 songs). Darling Cruel (Star Collector) – it’s been a long time since I heard that and I might have to write a blog about that group. Thirty Seconds to Mars (The Kill) – I replayed that song three times and was wrecking my vocal cords loudly singing along. Debby Boone (You Light Up My Life) – I’ve mentioned this one before – it was my first favorite song and I still enjoy it every time I hear it.
Overall, this has been a very good day. And it’s not even done yet. I’ve been able to get out and about, I’ve been able to eat some good food, and I’ve listened to (and sing along to) some great music. It’s easy to stay positive with a day like today!
The Cannoli Crepe is my favorite crepe at The French Twist in Sykesville, MD. Earlier this week, when I saw that they were featuring it again, I knew that would be a destination breakfast for me.
I’m already a fan of The French Twist, and enjoy many of their crepes, but this one is something special. The outside is a traditional crepe, so you get the good flavor of the crepe and the crepe texture as well. The inside is a cannoli cream with chocolate chips, so when you bite into this, it’s like biting into a huge cannoli, but without the hard crunch. The flavor of the cream is very rich and sweet. The chocolate and powdered sugar topping (and the side of whipped cream) add to the sweetness. This would make a great dessert, but I’m okay with sugar at any meal, so I had it for breakfast. The size of this crepe is tremendous. It would be good as a shareable meal, but I was able to devour this on my own.
I had a mocha frappe to go with it, so I really loaded up on the sweets and the calories for breakfast, but I am okay with that. The French Twist always does a great job with their frappes, as well as their crepes. It’s easy to have a positive day when you start the morning with something as delicious as this meal.
Noninsightfulness 