Tag: small town living

Smoky’s BBQ – Eldersburg, MD – 9.17.19

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Smoky’s BBQ is another local place that I frequently visit. I went there today and decided to get the Pit Beef Sandwich with a side of Macaroni and Cheese. I added horseradish and barbecue sauce.

I enjoy all types of barbecue. When I came back to Maryland in 2015, it was the first time I really paid attention to Pit barbecue. It’s a big thing in the Baltimore area, which is probably the reason why I started noticing (I moved about 15 miles West of Baltimore). I’ve been to quite a few Pit barbecue places and will most likely be doing write ups of them at some point. Smoky’s BBQ is close to where I live now, which makes it easier to frequent. They have many different menu items that I’ve tried and enjoyed, so it will be fun to write about the different options. In the Pit barbecue places I’ve been, the meat is cooked over an open pit. With the beef, you have the option of doneness, which is nice. With ham and turkey, you get that nice smoky flavor with the meat.

As far as today’s meal, I decided to order the pit beef sandwich, medium rare, with horseradish and barbecue sauce. I went up to the counter, the asked me what I wanted and how I wanted the meat, and then took the meat off the pit and started slicing. This is a very fresh sandwich. The meat was cooked perfectly. The flavors of the meat and the toppings work perfectly for me. But the thing that makes this sandwich really enjoyable for me is the texture of the beef. I’ve had sliced beef before (pit beef, roast beef, or some variation) and it can be very tough and chewy. This was not the case with today’s sandwich. The meat was easy to bite through, so I didn’t have to pull huge chunks of meat in each bite, and I wasn’t hurting my teeth or jaw to actually chew through the meat. As far as the characteristics I would look for in a good pit beef sandwich, this sandwich met them all.

The macaroni and cheese was a nice side dish. Elbow macaroni with a cheese sauce that was the right consistency and amount. Sometimes you can get too much cheese sauce, where it’s just swimming. Sometimes you can get too little cheese sauce, where it is drier than it should be. Sometimes you can get a cheese sauce that has been cooked at too high a temperature and separated. There are things that can go wrong with macaroni and cheese, but that didn’t happen here. If I were to only order the macaroni and cheese, it would need something extra (tiger sauce, bbq meat, etc.), but as a side it worked well with the pit beef sandwich.

It was an overall pleasant experience and one that I look forward to duplicating again soon.

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…

Fresh Bakery – Owings Mills, MD 9.12.19

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I first found Fresh Bakery when I was driving around during lunch when I was working up in the Owings Mills area. I enjoyed the different products (cakes, cookies, cupcakes, brownies), so it was only a matter of time before I would head back up there. A bit more of a drive than it used to be, but it was still worth it.

I started with the Banana Cake. They make their cakes square, and I think it works for these slices. I enjoy a traditional cake, but when eating a slice over multiple days, this one at least gives a better chance of having equal portions. Something that I do when making a cake is adding a thin layer of frosting on the bottom of the container. They do the same thing with theirs, so you get a slight layer of frosting on the bottom. The cake itself was nice and moist, but did not have a strong banana flavor. The buttercream frosting was portioned properly, so there wasn’t too much of one or the other in the bites. I enjoyed this cake, but would have preferred a little more of a banana flavor.

The next dessert I got was their Decadent Chocolate Mousse. This was a very large portion (more than one serving, even for me). The chocolate mousse had a nice flavor to it. It wasn’t an overly indulgent chocolate and it wasn’t too heavy on the sweet. The chocolate crumb was layered throughout the mousse, which I thought worked better with this than traditional layers. Some bites were more heavy on mousse than on the chocolate crumb, others were the opposite. The whipped topping was a nice final touch. The bites with all three were the kind of things you would expect from a special mousse dessert. I will be getting this again, but might have to try their banana pudding first.

It took me some time to finish both, so this wasn’t one big dessert for me. When I was younger, I might have been able to do it, but not anymore. Since I have a big sweet tooth, I like to try different bakeries here and there. If they are a small, local bakery, even better. I’ve still got plenty more to visit, but will still take the time to have my return visits here.

Big Belly Deli – Sykesville, MD. 9.10.19

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I am going to start with a disclaimer. I really enjoy Big Belly Deli. I will sometimes go there multiple times a week. Sometimes I will get food. Other times I will just go in to see if there are any special desserts that look good. This is a local place in Sykesville, MD and it is not visible from a major road, but gets quite a few visitors, including regulars. The staff is really nice and friendly. There aren’t long wait times. And you get a lot of food for the price you pay.

I check in the mornings and lunch time to see if there are any specials for breakfast or lunch. I’ve gone through most of the sandwich items on the menu and will most likely go through them again, so there will be multiple posts from Big Belly Deli on my site.

Tuesday morning, they posted that the special was going to be Sloppy Joe’s. My taste buds let me know that I had to go and get it for lunch. It also turned out to be dinner, since the portions were so huge. The bread was a homemade bread. It was very light and fluffy, and had a slight sweetness to it. The sweetness was a good balance for the meat mixture. This was not a canned mixture or a pre-packaged mixture. There were some good sized peppers and onions in there with the meat, and the sauce had a nice flavor as well. Not too spicy, but the seasoning worked well and made this a very good sandwich. To be fair, I was not able to eat this with my hands, but it was worth every bite.

I didn’t just stop with lunch. I also checked out the sweets they had, and there was a chocolate peanut butter cake that was calling my name. The cake itself was very moist. There was a nice layer of frosting in between the layers. The glaze that was surrounding the cake on top and two of the sides added an additional sweetness and the Reese’s pieces toppings completed the assemblage of a culinary piece of art. I apologize that my picture won’t do it justice, but it was a two dessert slice of cake that was worth every bite.

Big Belly Deli really does homemade food well. Their sandwiches are exceptional, and having daily specials and special desserts and treats really take it to another level. This is a place I’ve gone to again and again and will continue to do so. I still haven’t had a bad experience there, so this is definitely one of those happy places for me.

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.

Annapolis Morning Fun Part II

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A short distance away from the Annapolis Town Centre is the Annapolis Harbour Centre. I’ve been here quite a few times and will continue to go.

I started off by visiting The Fresh Market. I didn’t buy anything there today, but there is always next time. They have some nice baked goods and some nice specialty items. I always have fun when I have the opportunity to walk through a grocery store.

After that short visit, I decided to walk over to Pennsylvania Dutch Farmer’s Market. This is an Amish Market that is only open with limited hours Thursdays through Saturdays. This is an experience that I truly enjoy and would recommend for people who enjoy something out of the norm.

They have a nice selection of herbs and spices, baking products, candies, deli style foods, chocolates, bakery items, meats, fruits and vegetables, and more. On more than one occasion, I’ve gone there just to watch them work. There is an area where you can watch them making pretzels or pretzel rolls, and it is really fun to see how smooth the operation is. They have tasks and are really good at it. There is another station by the bakery where you can see them making all sorts of goodies. On a number of occasions, I’ve stood and watched as they’ve made cinnamon rolls. This isn’t a standard square dough that gets filled and rolled and cut. This is a 20 foot long roll of dough that gets worked on and built into cinnamon rolls (or caramel pecan).

The last time I visited, they were making something called Peanut Butter Temptations, but they were only in the process of making them and there weren’t any on display. Fortunately, they had some today. They also had some mint chocolate brownies, which I’ve had in the past. So those two things were purchased. The Peanut Butter Temptations are sort of like mini oat bites with a chocolate peanut butter cup in the center. Absolutely delicious. The flavor of the mint frosting goes perfectly with the brownies and those are always top notch. I also decided to buy myself a glazed apple cider donut. Again, it is that time of season. The donut was really good. It was very moist and the flavor was not overbearing, but the spices went really well with the donut. The glaze added another layer of sweetness which accompanied the apple cider and spice flavor very well.

Overall, this was a very productive day. And with only a few hours taken out of my morning, it still gives me plenty of time to sit back and reflect on the nice moments that I had to begin my day.

Annapolis Morning Fun Part I

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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.

8.28.19 Seasonality

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Although we aren’t hitting Autumn for another month and we definitely aren’t feeling the joy of cool weather quite yet, it is pumpkin flavor time at the main coffee places. I enjoy getting the drinks during this season. Some flavors are better than others. I don’t mind that it’s still August and I’m getting pumpkin drinks, in the same way that I won’t mind getting peppermint drinks in months other than December.

I went to French Twist Cafe this morning and got myself their Pumpkin frappe. I go to French Twist Cafe quite often. It’s local to me and it is very good. I’ve had a couple of their crepes and some of their pastries as well. I didn’t get either of those today, but the next time I order any of them, I will be writing about them.

The frappe was made perfectly. I am not saying that out of duty. I’m saying it because it’s true. There are some places that have frappes that are a bit icy or a bit liquidy or a bit too thick. That was not the case today. The pumpkin flavor was solid and steady from start to finish. The texture and consistency of the drink remained from start to finish as well. These are qualities that aren’t just because of where it was purchased, but they are due to the good job done by the person making the drink.

Having good conversation and a good coffee drink are great ways to start the day. Today was no exception. I look forward to the many more times I’ll be heading back.

8.27.19. WFVFD Food Truck Fun

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The nice thing about living in a small town is exploring and finding the different things that are not quite local, but not quite too far. It’s not like living in a big city where you can find something on almost every corner (especially in downtown areas).

I decided to make the trek over to the West Friendship Volunteer Fire Department Food Truck Tuesday event. There were plenty of Food Trucks to choose from, and today I decided that I wanted to try a new Food Truck and went with Bebo’s Mac Shack (https://bebosmacshack.com/). They have some barbecue and some grill options which all sounded good, but they have Mac in their name, so I had to go with the Mac and cheese.

I decided on the Bebos Mac Sampler, which allows you to choose three from their Mac and cheese menu. I went with the Mac Shack Original, Bebos Top Seller and Brisket Mac.

The Original was pretty good. It was a basic Mac and cheese without too much extra added in. Very mild flavor and it is better as a complimentary than a stand alone.

The Brisket Mac had some nice flavor to it. The flavor of the Brisket was solid and the Pico de Gallo had some nice flavors, so it was definitely my second favorite.

That leaves Bebos Top Seller. This was the standout. The pulled pork and bacon went well with the Mac and cheese, and the secret sauce rounded things out nicely.

If I had more room to eat, I would have tried some of the other trucks, but that will be saved for another day. The key question I like to ask myself is whether or not I would try this Food Truck again. The answer is a definite yes. I would try other Food Trucks if they are at the same event first, but it is a place I would want to visit again in the future.

The Littlest Things

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Just a few (or many) words about myself and this space. I live in a small town. I’ve lived in suburbs most of my life and worked in small cities and big cities. I’ve seen the advantages of having everything within walking distance, but I’ve also seen the advantages of being away from the fast pace.

For some people, being in the hustle and bustle of a big city is the dream. They live it, they love it, they can never see themselves anywhere else. I like to have some time in crowds, but mostly enjoy being away from all the stress and pressure that come with the city life. I get enjoyment out of driving past some deer on the side of the road, or seeing some horses or cows or sheep on someone’s farm as I drive by.

I am a lover of food. I like to create sometimes, but right now I mainly like to go out and try different things. It may be a place that is within a mile of me that I’ll go to at least once a week. It may be a fast food place that has new menu items to enjoy. It may be some hole in the wall place or some established place that is a good 30-45 minute (or more) drive away. If I have a chance to go out for a scenic drive and get something good to eat or drink along the way, then it’s been a successful day.

I’m writing this blog because I do enjoy these little things and want to share them with others who might want to find those little nuggets of goodness along the way.