Tag: Pumpkin

Driving in a Generally Southern Direction

On By Rob GIn Going PlacesLeave a comment

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

On By Rob GIn Going PlacesLeave a comment

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

On By Rob GIn Going PlacesLeave a comment

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

On By Rob GIn Going PlacesLeave a comment

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!

Annapolis Morning Fun Part I

On By Rob GIn Going PlacesLeave a comment

I decided to take a few hours this morning to head over to Annapolis. A 40 mile drive that took a couple of hours due to some heavy traffic. Fortunately for me, I was able to listen to my Mike Patton mix while enjoying the scenery along the 97. Traffic may have been dragging, but I had some tunes and some views to keep my mind in a happy place.

I started the morning off in Annapolis Town Centre. I visited Baltimore Coffee and Tea for a coffee drink and then did a little walking around Whole Foods. I’ve been to Baltimore Coffee and Tea quite a few times and have enjoyed their nice variety of drinks. I decided to continue with the seasonal drinks and ordered a Frozen Pumpkin Spice coffee drink. The texture of this was very good. Not icy at all, which is a plus. It had nice flavor, but it was heavier on the pumpkin spice and lighter on the pumpkin flavor. I would get it again, for sure.

One of the things I enjoy about trying all these different frappes is that the same drink name can have so many different tastes. My preference is for a nice balance between the pumpkin flavor and the spice flavor, but sometimes they are heavier on one or the other. The coffee that is used also has an effect on the flavor, as well as the powder or base (depends on the company).

The same can be true of most things. Chocolate chip cookies can taste very different, depending on where you get them. Even when making them, the batches can always be slightly different. Sometimes it’s the chocolate chips, sometimes the cookies are flatter, sometimes the cookies are a bit softer, etc. But if the flavor is still good, the slight variations make for an overall enjoyable experience. It’s always something new, even if it seems like it’s the same.