oZ Chophouse Sold to Jordan's

oZ Chophouse in Maple Lawn closed its doors August 8 and sold the restaurant to Jordan Naftal, owner of Jordan's Steakhouse in Ellicott City. The sale is confirmed by the oZ website. How Chow via Elizabeth Large reports that the new restaurant in the space will be a joint project between Jordan and Carlos Venegas, owner of Ranazul's, called "Carlos and Jordan's Steakhouse." We were fans of oZ's, as our most recent review in March indicated, but word of mouth even then was turning against the restaurant, not to mention the economy. We will miss oZ but look forward to a collaboration between the owners of Jordan's and Ranazul, targeted for November 2009 according to a tweet from Jordan. Burning questions: will the tree remain in the dining room and will the rocks still be in the bathroom sinks?

Also see our original thumbnail post on oZ Chophouse.

Kloby's Smokehouse

For quite a while, I've been wishing for a respectable local barbeque place, and in Kloby's Smokehouse I've found it. It had taken me a little while to get to Kloby's, partly because I was confused about its location due to the Laurel address (or is it West Laurel, North Laurel, or North Maple Lawn...and what ever became of Scaggsville, anyway? If Scaggsville's been marketed out of existence, someone should change the exit sign on I-95...but I digress). Thanks to positive comments from HowChow and loyal reader John Boyle, I finally made a little effort and was pleasantly surprised by Kloby's convenient location and easy access from Rt. 29, just south of Rt. 32 at the Johns Hopkins Road exit.

Once inside I was even more pleased with the casual, friendly vibe of the place, and it smells great. It's place-your-order counter service, but there are plenty of tables and a couple of TVs in a seating area festooned with NASCAR banners. I liked the separate Hershey's ice cream counter, too.

People get very fussy about ribs, and I'd say Kloby's baby backs are very good -- maybe not lights-out great, but real good and better than the beef ribs. You can choose mild or spicy sauce; both are smoky, and while the spicy is still pretty tame, there are bottles of hot sauce at the ready to make adjustments. The real winner for me was the pulled pork sandwich and the sides. The Carolina-style pulled pork was fresh, moist, and handmade with a tasty dab of cole slaw. The BBQ beans, red-skin potato salad, and boardwalk-style fries were all above average. I haven't had the brisket yet, but it looked good and gets a lot of positive comments. The specialty burgers, loaded up with pulled pork, brisket or other BBQ toppings look positively dangerous. And there's also chicken, turkey, spicy sausage, wings and St. Louis style ribs that will have to wait for future visits.

Kloby's has a good backstory, too. The pitmaster and owner, Steve Klobosits, is a former paramedic/firefighter who shifted to culinary school and put in his time at high volume theme restaurants before opening his own place. Kloby's Smokehouse is well worth seeking out, and you'll probably find it very easy to keep coming back.

Reviews

• Howard County Times article on Kloby's Smokehouse from 4/16/09.
• HowChow has three posts about Kloby's Smokehouse with 5 comments as of 5/22/09.
• Urbanspoon readers give Kloby's Smokehouse a 100/100 rating based on 9 votes, with one review (HowChow's) as of 5/22/09.
  
  
• Yelp readers give Kloby's Smokehouse 3.5/5 stars based on 4 reviews as of 5/22/09.
• TripAdvisor readers give Kloby's Smokehouse 3.5/5 stars based on 2 reviews as of 5/22/09.
  
• Kloby's Smokehouse discussion on Chowhound with 5 replies as of 5/22/09.
  

Location
Kloby's Smokehouse
7500 Montpelier Road
West Laurel, MD 20723
301-362-1510
www.klobysbbq.com


Specials and Other Details

• Kloby's is open for Memorial Day and offering $2 off a full rack of St. Louis ribs or a whole chicken.

Dining Update: oZ Chophouse

We dined at oZ Chophouse recently and frankly I was a little worried because I'd read a few less than stellar comments on some of the local foodie sites (a downside of regularly perusing these sites). I'm happy to report that we had a fine meal and pleasant evening.

The waiter mentioned that they have a new menu, but frankly it looks very similar to what I recall from before and what's still posted on their website. That's not a problem as far as I'm concerned. The menu is still heavy on steaks and grilled selections, balanced with a page of house specialties that offer more variety.

Though I went in thinking of a steak, I was won over by the slow-roasted sea bass with baby clams and spinach in a saffron broth. The resulting dish looked beautiful and the fish was perfectly cooked, with little tempura spring onions over the top to boot. I wish the overall flavor had been a little more assertive, but the dish was mild, succulent and had the virtue of seeming healthy. Not that there was any shortage of calories at the table, mind you. Other diners really enjoyed their filet mignon and a roasted pork dish served with oZ's excellent mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon.

Among the appetizers, a martini glass full of ahi tuna tartare was also excellent -- superbly fresh with a hint of citrus and a slight wasabi kick. It reminded me of comparable dishes in Hawaii. Slightly less successful were the Vidalia onion rings, a prodigous display of thick-cut rings that looked great but had little taste, paired with a creole sauce that was also too timid. That didn't stop us from plowing through them, though.

Service was friendly and efficient throughout the evening, and the ambiance of the restaurant is very pleasant. We found ourselves once again too stuffed for dessert, but we were very pleased to have had a fine evening at oZ's.




See our original thumbnail post on oZ Chophouse.

oZ Chophouse makes our list of Howard County's Best Restaurants.

oZ Chophouse makes our list for Best Steak in Howard County.

oZ Chophouse

oZ Chophouse is now closed.
Below is our capsule review and links, for old times' sake.

oZ Chophouse, Maple Lawn
More great steaks! oZ helped inaugurate the Maple Lawn town center several years ago. It has a modern, comfortable dining room (though I still haven't figured out why the tree's in the middle) and an extensive menu of steaks and other favorites. You can choose styles and sauces to match your taste. oZ has a cool bar and specialty drink menu, too.

oZ Chophouse makes our list of Howard County's Best Restaurants.

Update: oZ Chophouse regularly holds special dining events. Check for them in our Monthly Restaurant Events listings.

Update: See posting oZ Owner's Email: Rumors of Closing Untrue.

Update: oZ Chophouse makes our list for Best Steak in Howard County.

Update: See our Dining Update review of a recent meal at oZ Chophouse.

Ranazul

Ranazul, Maple Lawn
This upscale tapas and wine bar is a welcome addition to the Maple Lawn area. The small plates menu offers plenty of choices for the timid and adventurous. The wine list is extensive and the ambiance and service are usually quite good. Ranazul is a nice place to bring friends to experiment with a variety of flavors and options.

Ranazul makes our list of Howard County's Best Restaurants.