Bare Bones Grill & Brewery

Bare Bones is built on ribs and beer, and they do a pretty good job with both. The ribs, pulled pork and barbeque sauce are smoky sweet. The onion loaf is sinful. Across the board the food is big, indulgent, and guaranteed to fill you up. The quality is a little up and down sometimes, but that doesn't seem to deter the crowds that often fill the place.

The eight or so local microbrew selections are a welcome alternative to the regular national brands. The bar is a major attraction at Bare Bones, and though it can get crowded and noisy with its own scene, it is walled off separate from the dining room. Bare Bones also has a take out counter if you don't want to brave the crowd.

Howard Magazine Best Foodie Places 2008

The Howard Magazine December issue includes results of their "2008 Best of" survey for a large range of Howard County services and merchants. I still can't find this magazine or its lists anywhere online, so here is an excerpt of the winners in several food categories. Congratulations to all!

Best Bakery: Touche Touchet Bakery & Pastry Shoppe
Honorable mention: Panera Bread, Great Harvest Bread Co., The Breadery

Caterer: Putting on the Ritz Catering
Honorable mention: Bun Penny Food & Wine, Elkridge Furnace Inn, Rehm's Catering

Place to Buy Dessert: The Cheesecake Factory
Honorable mention: Touche Touchet Bakery & Pastry Shoppe, Rita's Ice, La Madeleine Bakery & Cafe, Maggie Moo's

Place for a First Date: Clyde's
Honorable mention: Lakefront activities, The Melting Pot, Iron Bridge Wine Company, AMC Theatres Columbia

Place to Buy Health Food/Supplements: David's Natural Market
Honorable mention: Roots Market, Trader Joe's, MOM - My Organic Market

Meal Assembly Store: Let's Dish
Honorable mention: Let's Eat

Place to Buy Seafood: Today's Catch
Honorable mention: Frank's Seafood Wholesale Market, Crab Shanty/Sea King, Harris Teeter

Place to Buy Wine: Decanter Fine Wines
Honorable mention: i.m. Wine, Iron Bridge Wine Company, Vintage Cellars


See the Howard Magazine List of 2008 Best Dining survey winners, as well as my own list of Best Restaurants and Nearly Best Restaurants in Howard County.

p.s. A special thank you to Patuxent Publishing and my local carrier for special delivering the December issue of the magazine to my driveway. There's hope for you yet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Just in case you're still looking for a place to dine, check out our list of local Thanksgiving restaurant specials.

Best wishes, and eat well!

Shin Chon Garden

The Shin Chon Garden restaurant was Howard County's first Korean barbeque spot when it opened about five years ago. It was closed for a few months earlier this year to remodel, but it reopened in June and is now prettier and seemingly busier than ever, with more tables available for barbeque. We stopped in on a recent Saturday night and had to wait a while, but once we got a table the food came quickly and was very enjoyable.

I'm no expert on Korean cuisine, but I like the adventure and new tastes, especially the array of small dishes or banchan that accompany each meal. The assortment we received was plentiful and tasty, but had few real standouts -- several variants of kimchee, namul and a scoop of potato salad that seemed to wander in from Costco. We played it safe with the entrees, going with beef brisket and marinated bulgogi, and they were fine. It's fun to cook them on the table top "grill" (more of a steamer, really, but it does the job) and wrap the results and condiments in lettuce leaves or have them with rice. Toward the end of the meal a steamed egg dish and a hot soup arrived, both of which were big hits with us.

Next time I'll want to branch out or bring friends. The galbi, or ribs, and spicy marinated pork barbeque both looked good. And there's a large selection of non-barbeque rice and noodle dishes that were very appealing. The largely Korean clientele like to bring large groups and linger over a variety of dishes; that's clearly the way to go. Lunch is also a good time to try the non-barbeque dishes or even some of the Japanese bento or sushi items.

The Shin Chon Garden does not appear to have a website. It's located in the Lotte Plaza or Golden Triangle shopping center at Rt. 40 and 29.

Shin Chon Garden

8801 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD
410-461-3280

HowChow has a good review of Shin Chon from earlier this year. So does Elizabeth Large at the Baltimore Sun. There are also some helpful reviews of Shin Chon Garden on Yelp.

oZ Owner's Email: Rumors of Closing Untrue

The owner of oZ Chophouse in Maple Lawn, Katie Buscher, found it necessary to send a special email to patrons today. The gist of it is here:

I have been receiving several phone calls asking if oZ. is closing it's doors soon. This is disheartening to me and concerns me greatly. As the owner of oZ. I wanted to let everyone know that what has been said is completely untrue. All of us at oZ. are working hard to make it through these tough economic times and I am confident that oZ. will survive it. Everyday we are trying to come up with new ideas for our guests so that we can keep all of you coming back. We have started new specials and promotions and we just put a coupon out in the Smart Shopper Magazine. We realize that these times are hard on everyone and we are working on "economizing" our menu so that our guests feel more comfortable coming here for a night out. We will be releasing a revised menu after the first of the year.

The restaurant business is rough even in the best of times. In today's economy it's especially hazardous. We've already lost some favorite local restaurants in recent months, including oZ's neighbor, Trapeze. Last night I happened to read Columbia Compass's elegy to the Rocky Run Tap & Grill and all the comments to it. It's a reminder of the sense of community a good restaurant can foster, and how much wider is the loss when one closes.

I'm glad that oZ Chophouse appears healthy, and I especially applaud the concept of a revised, more economical menu in the works. The looming storm will be difficult for everyone, but I like the idea of a restaurant being willing to meet its customers halfway. An innovative menu of smaller items, lower priced but still well prepared, would be welcome. Goodness knows, Americans can afford to lose a few calories off the plates when they go out. But it's also important that folks still find a reason and the will to go out and spend some money from time to time. We have precious few quality restaurants in the county and we don't want to lose any more.

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

The Pink Cabbage

Here's a unique little shop for those on the lookout for antiques, accessories and home decor for the holidays or every day. The Pink Cabbage is actually home to 12 shops within the shop, ranging from stained glass to vintage clothes to jewelry to all sorts of decorations and gifts. There's even a little foodie section.

The Pink Cabbage has multiple online personalities. There's a website that gives an overview of the shop, a blog that has more detail and lots of pictures, and a new online store that's just getting started.

The Pink Cabbage is at 11707 Frederick Road, at the corner of Rt. 144 and Triadelphia Rd.

The Pink Cabbage is hosting a Wine and Cheese Open House on Sunday, December 7 from 9:00 am - 8:00 pm.

The Pink Cabbage is running a Toys for Tots promotion: bring in a new toy and receive 15% off one regularly priced item through December 21.

Mangia Morphs into Waverly Grill

Another restaurant in transition (see our post on the Ten Oaks Tavern) is the Waverly Grill, formerly Mangia Italian Grill in the Waverly Woods shopping center in Woodstock. The signs outside still say Mangia, but the menu is new and the identity change is ongoing. I stopped in for lunch recently and found a full slate of burgers, sandwiches, pizza, pasta and bar food appetizers. The fajita wrap I had was tasty and served with home-made crab chips that were thick, crunchy and progressively addictive.

The Waverly Grill has a large dining room, bar and covered patio. The bar and dining room boast a bunch of TVs, making it a good spot to follow your favorite sport. The rest of the decor is a little bare at the moment, but that may hopefully change as the identity transition progresses. The Waverly Grill also hosts live music and other events from time to time, including The Kelly Bell Band on Thanksgiving evening, in case you want to work off that turkey dinner.

Thanksgiving Restaurant Specials

If you haven't already made plans for Thanksgiving, you may want to consider one of the following local restaurants for their special holiday offerings. Check for reservations and availability.

Victoria Gastro Pub special Thanksgiving dinner menu served from noon until 8:00 pm (bar stays open until 2:00 am).

The King's Contrivance special Thanksgiving menu served from noon to 7:00 pm.

Jordan's Steakhouse features a locally raised free-range turkey dinner with all the trimmings, in addition to their regular menu.

Tersiguel's offers a Traditional Thanksgiving dinner along with a limited a la carte menu from 11:30 am to 7:30 pm.

Clyde's of Columbia offers a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

Ram's Head Tavern in Savage Mill is offering a choice of Thanksgiving turkey preparations: traditional, "Shore Thang" (oyster stuffing), and deep fried.

Take-Home Thanksgiving Dinner packages with all the trimmings are available from the following restaurants, but you may have to hurry to place an order. Call for details: Bistro Blanc, Elkridge Furnace Inn,