An Loi

We made a trip out to Columbia because I had a Groupon from last year for an awesome 90 Minute Massage (If I were reviewing massage places on this blog, Awaken Wellness Spa would have gotten 5 stars, two thumbs up, or whatever, because it was awesome).


While I was relaxing on a table, Dave drove around browsing and stumbled across this cute little Vietnamese place. Neither of us have ever had this type of food, and we haven't reviewed anything in a long time because of the house hunt, so we stepped in.


It's small and cozy--your typical Asian-Restaurant-in-a-strip-mall-looking kinda place but the menu is amazing. Once you get over not being able to pronounce anything, the descriptions of every dish is so mouth watering that it was difficult to make a decision.


We started with apps, Spring and Summer rolls. Stuffed full of crisp veggies, they were fresh hot and very very good. The cabbage was absolutely perfect. Everything was so fresh it wasn't hard to imagine them being rolled by hand and steamed mere moments before they hit the table. They came with two dipping sauces, one was peanut, mildly sweet and a little tangy salty flavor, and the other was kind of sweet, chilled, and almost more of a broth. They amplified the flavors of the rolls. Perfect start to a great meal.

Dave went with a traditional soup dish, Pho (An Loi flavor, had everything in it). When it arrived it was a giant white bowl of steaming goodness with big chunks of beef and tons of noodles and a plate of vegetables (bean sprouts, seaweed and other greens) that he dumped in. Portion size? Let's put it this way: I've never seen Dave not finish a bowl of soup. I'd say he managed to get a third of the way through it before he had to surrender. It was tough putting down the chopsticks though because it was fabulous. The meat was really tender and melted in your mouth, noodles cooked perfectly and everything so nicely seasoned. I did have to tease him a bit for ordering something that contained "tripe" and when he looked at me confused I whispered "Intestines". It didn't shy him away though, I'm proud to say.

I went with Mieng Xiao, which is a noodle dish that had rice noodles, egg, chicken and all blended with a delicious sauce. It was a heaping portion and I ended up taking half of it home (and I'm happy to say it reheats well, tasted just as delicious a day and a half later as it did fresh at the restaurant). The dish was savory, just shy of sweet and mild but not bland.

The service was impeccable. Our glasses never went empty, everyone was welcoming, courteous and easy to understand (which is a bonus because when you go into one of these very traditional type places often the English isn't so good, which is fine, just makes ordering a little more difficult)

This place definitely gets 5 Noms. Not only for their amazing food and great service, but their menu offers such a variety that anyone would be able to eat here. They have several vegetarian options, I was able to find several Crohn's Friendly options myself and they do have some vegan options as well. Also, it's cheap! It's so inexpensive and you get so much food. They also offer carry-out. Now hurry! Expand your horizons and get some An Loi.

Hibachi & Sushi Supreme Buffet

I was unaware we were reviewing this place. Hm. Ok. I thought we were just being fatties after we dropped our foster kittens off at their adoption event. From the outside this place looks like your typical strip mall Asian Buffet. On the inside, it was a wonderland of tasty delights. Yes, tasty delights.

This restaurant is huge. Several buffet stands full of food (everything from your expected sesame chicken to RIBS and mashed potatoes with gravy, oh yeah, and sushi). We were a little overwhelmed at first.

I asked Dave what our criteria would be for rating this place, and this is what we decided on.

• 
  
  Quality of food (like did the chicken wings have chicken hair on them)
• 
  
  Taste of food
• 
  
  Age of food
• 
  
  Americana buffet (do they have it just to have or does someone back there know how to make ribs)

In the end, everything was so delicious that our rating system was pretty much moot (by the way, someone back there DOES know how to make ribs and they are fall off the bone goooooood). The only thing that I tasted and did not like was the crabcake. Sesame chicken: good. Stuffed Scallops on a half shell: delicious. Lo Mein: soooo good and so on and so on.

It was all pretty fresh. Nothing had been sitting out for too long. It was all flavored wonderfully and was just great. The staff was friendly and quick. We had a great time. In fact, this will probably be a Drop Off The Foster Cats and Eat at the Buffet ritual.

5 noms

Dave's 2Cents:

As my wife had mentioned, this place looked like every other buffet around the country. A big sign promising greatness, in a strip mall with a at least a dry cleaner and possibly a nail salon.

Walking out of the pet store, I pointed the buffet out to Jenn. She looked at me in question as I said, "...but the sign says Supreme Buffet. We've never been to one of those before."

So she agreed and we went in.

This place is very nice inside. I am unsure if it used to be a steakhouse, but it had that feel. Lots of wood, lots of light. (I didn't see any burnt out bulbs either).

The 1st food item i saw was the seafood section. Crawfish, Clams on the shell, full sized crab... GOOD LORD SUPREME GOODNESS!

I then looked for the sushi. In the back was a 20+foot bar of about 15-18 different styles of sushi and shashimi. Next to the sushi bar was the hibachi grill. Definitely a lot smaller than Columbia's Mongolian buffet, they still had a lot of the basics there. I would also like to note that the raw meat was beautiful. The Beef was steak, still in steak shape, as were the chicken breasts. The scallops were huge as well. I enjoy seeing what my food looks like before chopped up into little bits.

Walking to the salad bar i noted on the back wall jugs of soup. On further inspection, it was a soup buffet! NOM!

For the non Asian loving eaters in the family, there is also an American buffet. Beef roast, pork ribs, mac'n'cheese, mash taters, etc...

Someone in the back knows how to do ribs. They were fall off the bone, luscious.

I defiantly give this place 5 noms. If I had to say something negative about 1 thing, it would be the seating. It looks like someone came in and slashed almost all the booth bench seat. Weird.

Yuki Sushi

We spent Saturday in Owings Mills because our foster kittens were at the PetCo at an adoption event. Remembering the Restaurant.com certificate we bought for a sushi place there, we headed to Yuki Sushi for lunch.

On a side note, our Westie's name is Yuki which translates to "snow" in Japanese, or "snowflake" if you want to tease Dave about 1. buying a tiny white dog and 2. naming said tiny white dog officially "Hana tusu yuki" which means "snow that is like flowers". So, we bought the certificate because the place was named after our dog.

We always have such high hopes for sushi. It so easy to make, and so easy to screw up. Well, ok it's not easy to make exactly, actually it's pretty effing hard. It's easy to throw together the flavors in it to make it taste GOOD I should say. Unless you're using rotten fish or something, in which case your sushi will taste like rotten fish.

It took us awhile to figure out what we wanted because we didn't get a check off sushi menu so we had to remember what we wanted. The prices here were pretty standard for the Baltimore area, the more "plain" rolls were actually pretty inexpensive (ranging from $5-$7) and then the specialty rolls racking up to $15 which is the norm. I went with a Raven Roll (shrimp, mayo, cucumber and topped with avocado) and a Boston Roll (shrimp, mayo, lettuce). Dave ordered a Dynamite roll (salmon, asparagus, crab mix, deep fried) and hibachi steak and shrimp.

Dave started to pick up on some "abruptness" from our waitress early on, but it took me a bit longer to notice it. Then when I asked if they happened to have shrimp sauce or "yum yum" sauce (not every place in this area has it, but a few rare gems have so I always ask) she gave me this look that was like "WTF are you talking about?" said "HUH?!" then stared at me until I said "I was just checking. Nevermind." and then she shook her head and walked away. Then she started slamming cokes onto our table and I'm actually quite surprised Dave was able to finish his meal. He was really disappointed that she said he couldn't use the certificate towards the lunch boxes (bento box lunch specials) even though it didn't say any such thing on the certificate according to him, but he relented and chose the hibachi meal instead.

As for the food, it was good. The sushi was really tasty, fresh seafood, it was made really well so the insides weren't coming out (I really hate that when it's rolled too loosely and all the goodness flops out onto the plate). The flavors of the Raven roll especially worked really well together. The Boston roll was alright, definitely get this as a starter roll to share. It's really kind of bland to just eat the whole thing. Dave hibachi meal was really good. Plump shrimp, tender pieces of beef wrapped up in warm noodles. I was satisfied with the food portion of our experience.

I give it 3 noms.

Dave Says: It's amazing how much the service influences the whole dining experience. I wish I could contact the owner and let them know, but I doubt they care. She's probably their daughter/niece, anyway.

Mongolian Grill

The Mongolian Grill Of Columbia

8865 Stanford Boulevard, Suite 107 Columbia, MD 21045-5420

Call: (410)290-0690 for reservations of six or more people.

Click here for FREE COUPONS!

http://www.mongoliangrillcolumbia.com/
Lunch Hours: Monday – Friday, 11:30am-2:30pm

Dinner Hours: Monday – Thursday, 5:00pm-9:00pm Friday, 5:00pm-10:00pm

Weekend Hours: Saturday, 12:00pm-10:00pm Sunday, 12:00pm-9:00pm

Now, if it's one thing Dave likes other than hotdogs, it's Mongolian BBQ. He's always seeking out

Mongolian places. While living in Fernandina Beach, Florida there was one that he would go to every year for his birthday and on our most recent trip he found out it closed. Sad face.

As far as we know, this is the only Mongolian place in a 45 minute radius (possibly more than that we haven't looked any further than 45 minutes away). As a bonus, they have coupons on their website that gives you $5 a $25 purchase and $10 off a $50 purchase. (coupon available at the top of this blog post)

It's set in a little strip mall tucked away as everything in Columbia is. Walking in we noticed a well stocked bar and then a little nook of knick-knacks for sale. We were there for dinner, early dinner but dinner, so we had full access to the Mongolian bar and the salad bar. While everything on the salad bar certainly looked appealing, fresh and delicious, I spent all my food space at the Mongolian bar.

Their options vary depending on what they have in stock but their staples are pork, chicken, beef, fish, shrimp, scallops, rice, noodles, eggs, and cabbage. They usually have zucchini, carrots, bean sprouts and water chestnuts as well. You start by grabbing a bowl, a bowl tray, your token with your number on it, then you fill your bowl with the rice or noodle, veg. and then meat of your choice. You can season it however you want, they put out tons of spices, garlic, green onion for you, then you dump on your sauces.

They make it really easy for first timers suggesting you create your own and then offering handy little menus for the gun-shy that teach you how to make certain ones. I went with the Child's sauce which was peanut, sesame oil, teriyaki, and mongolian sauce. I sprinkled on some garlic and took my bowl up to the grill then sat down to await what sorts of lovely flavors I'd end up with. In my bowl was also some noodles, an egg, beef, shrimp, water chestnuts, zucchini, carrots, onion, and green onion.

I wasn't disappointed. Everything blended together so well and it was soooo good that I ended up having another heaping bowl of it. My 2nd time up I changed my sauce a bit and just splashed some stuff together. I went with sesame oil, teriyaki, a touch of lemon water, peanut sauce, house sauce, mongolian sauce, and garlic. This time my sauce was just a big more tangy than it was previously. The first time up it was a tad sweet and nutty.

Mmmm mmmm mmmm.

5 noms.

Dave's 2 Cents:

Even though this place is a little out of Baltimore's city limits, it definitly is a place to mention. It's a perfect place to take the family or a large group of friends, and GO HUNGRY! With over 6 meats and 25 sauces to mix and match, the only thing that can go wrong is you getting full before trying everything. I know this is a place I will be taking friends and family for years to come.

Just remember to take your token up to the cook with your food, and remember what number you are, or you'll end up eating someone else's creation!

Ra Sushi

Ra Sushi Bar Restaurant
1390 Lancaster Street
Baltimore MD 21231
410-522-3200
Happy Hour 3-7 p.m. daily

"Best Sushi in Baltimore's Harbor Area" - CharmcityNoms

Now, we know that we said that we were going to avoid reviewing chain places, but Ra had to go on the blog because we just love it so much. This place offers a great happy hour with 1/2 off a good selection of sushi rolls, some sashimi and apps, as well as steep discounts on well drinks. This is an excellent place to go after work. We admit, the music is a little loud but the waitstaff is always accommodating when you ask for a "quiet" booth or table.

Our favorite rolls here are the Viva Las Vegas roll, Tootsy Maki, California, Spicy Tuna and the Shrimp Tempura roll. These also happen to be on the 1/2 off list for happy hour.

I'm also a huge fan of the Lobster Spring Rolls, which are crispy on the outside, gooey melty and flavorful on the inside with just a hint of sweet. Stuffed with hunks of lobster, cream cheese, red pepper and mango, the flavors all blend together so well, and the mango dipping sauce is a wonderful complement as its somehow very bland on its own but when paired with the spring rolls just brings out the best flavors of both.

The food is always so effing pretty. It comes to your table with fanfare and flourish, and at first there is a pang of guilt for disrupting the perfect harmony of the plate. It's easy to get over that, though, and then you're face deep in sushi and really, is there anything better?

The Viva Las Vegas roll has a tiny kick to it, so if you can't do spicy then stay away. The Spicy Tuna roll is the same (obvs, it has "spicy" in the title). If you're mild tummy-ed like me, stick to the California, Tootsy Maki and Shrimp Tempura, they'll be gentle. These have milder flavors to them, but a calm creaminess as well.

Here, the waitresses have always been great. Of the several times we've been we've never gotten bad service. The sushi comes out quick, and rarely all at the same time, it arrives as it's finished so if you're really polite and want to wait, it can be difficult.

As with most sushi places the kitchen and the sushi bar run independently of each other so kitchen food and sushi will not arrive simultaneously. This can bother some people but we're the laid back type.

Also for dessert you have to try their fried ice cream. It's like baby Jesus on a plate. Cinnamony sweet, creamy and crunchy and drizzled with all sorts of sugary goodness.

Just look at the pictures. How can you not want to go?

5 NOMS

Dave's 2 Cents:

yea yea, I know. No chain restaurants. But here's the thing, I couldn't tell it was a chain! I was super surprised when I found out yesterday. Well, not a typical chain (100s-1000s of stores), but it does one store per major city.

I am not going to bore you with semantics. All I will say is, if you love sushi and are in the Inner harbor area, go here. Period.