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.

OpenTable in HoCo up to 16 Restaurants

When I first praised OpenTable for restaurant reservations in Howard County last November (see post), I thought it was pretty good that there were eight participating restaurants.  Just four months later, there are now 16 participating.  

This is a great development for diners in the county, making reservations easy and giving you a chance to earn money-saving OpenTable dining points.  Some restaurants even offer 1,000 bonus points for reservations at less-busy times (a total of 2,000 points earns you $20 off a meal).  Those currently offering bonus times include Jordan's Steakhouse, Donna's, Aida Bistro and Elkridge Furnace Inn.

Here's a list of Howard County restaurants currently participating with OpenTable.  I applaud each one for taking on the cost of providing this useful service to patrons.  I'll repeat myself from the earlier post: if you're not yet using OpenTable, you should. 

• Aida Bistro OpenTable Link
  
• Belmont OpenTable Link
• Cafe de Paris OpenTable Link
• Clyde's of Columbia OpenTable Link
• Diamondback Tavern OpenTable Link
• Donna's Columbia OpenTable Link
• Elkridge Furnace Inn OpenTable Link
• Greystone Grill, Ellicott City OpenTable Link
• Iron Bridge Wine Company OpenTable Link
• Jordan's Steakhouse OpenTable Link
• The Melting Pot, Columbia OpenTable Link
• oZ Chophouse OpenTable Link
• Ranazul OpenTable Link
• The Rumor Mill OpenTable Link
• Tersiguel's OpenTable Link
• Victoria Gastro Pub OpenTable Link

Good Gyros at Hickory Ridge Grill

I had a recommendation recently to try the gyro at the Hickory Ridge Grill, so I did and was pleasantly surprised. The restaurant was busy for a weekday lunch, but service was friendly and quick. And the menu was more extensive than I'd expected, with a wide range of sandwiches, burgers, pastas, kabobs and Greek specialties.

Looking around at the other tables, though, it was clear the Greek Hero (the Yee-roe) was the sandwich of choice. And no wonder. The Hickory Ridge Grill shaves its lamb and beef gyro meat from a proper vertical spit and serves it on a fresh pita with lettuce, tomato, onion and feta cheese. Tzatziki sauce is served on the side, suitable for dipping or spreading. The accompanying fries were also hot and good, and for $8 it made a fine meal.

Based on this limited sample, I'd say the gyro at Hickory Ridge Grill goes to the top of the class in the county, not that there's a whole lot of authentic competition. The gyros at Double T Diner and Solana's come to mind, but the HRG gyro seemed fresher and the restaurant ambiance a good deal friendlier.

You've got plenty of other options at the Hickory Ridge Grill, too, and I hope to make it back soon to try more.



The Hickory Ridge Grill is located in the Hickory Ridge Village Center, off Cedar Lane a mile or so north of Rt. 32. Nearby is the just-opened Maruha Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar, mentioned by HowChow a couple of weeks ago. Two good reasons to head over to Hickory Ridge.

$1 Over Cost at Pine Orchard Wine

The Pine Orchard Wine liquor store is offering an unusual sale today and tomorrow, March 24 and 25. All wine, beer and liquor in the shop will be sold at $1.00 over cost. It's a great excuse to stock up. Cash, checks, or debit cards only for this sale...no credit cards.

Pine Orchard Wine is located on Rt. 40 just west of Centennial and Bethany Lane.

Family Matters

Some family issues are keeping me away from the blog for the moment. I will be back at it in a few days. Thanks for your patience. As always, check out HowChow's excellent blog for local food finds.

Welcome Looney's

The new Looney's Pub in Maple Lawn (or Fulton, take your pick) has its grand opening weekend starting today. Looney's Pubs are well established in Baltimore and Bel Air. They take over the space vacated by the Trapeze restaurant, and we welcome them to Howard County.

Joining in the Grand Opening festivities tonight is the band Love Seed Momma Jump, a six-piece pop rock group from Dewey Beach, DE. They've sold over 100,000 copies of their five CDs, and are the "official band of the Washington Redskins," playing at FedEx Field after every Redskins home game.

On Saturday it's 80's night with The Reagan Years, the "East Coast's premier 80's tribute band." Hosting will be Stash from 98 Rock.

On St. Patty's Day, Tuesday the 17th, Looney's will be going all out from 10:00 am on. Playing will be the bands Starcrush and Crushing Day.

Terrapin Adventures

A comment on the blog tipped me off to an intriguing new business that will be opening next month in Savage Mill. It's Terrapin Adventures and I encourage you to visit their extensive web site to get a sense of what they'll have in store: a mind-boggling array of outdoor and indoor adventures for kids and adults.

Zip lines, a high ropes course, giant swing and Terrapin Tower are available for on-site adventures. Travel locally with Terrapin Adventures on a broad range of day trips built around kayaking, biking, rock climbing, tubing, fishing and more. It's like a vacation without leaving home.

I can see Terrapin Adventures becoming a focal point for birthday parties, school events, corporate outings and summer camps. You can already book outings and summer camp weeks. It seems to be a great idea. Best of luck to Terrapin Adventures, and we'll keep you posted when we learn more.

Restaurant Weeks Recap

During Howard County's Winter Restaurant Weeks I was able to get to several local eateries. Here is my own quick summary. However, I can't hold a candle to the writing skill or gustatory fortitude of Michael and Debbie Nagle who did a terrific blog of their Restaurant Week experiences. By all means, give it a read.

Victoria Gastro Pub: Best dinner item was the fish and chips, only because the chorizo meatloaf and roaster pork tenderloin were only so-so. But the real winner that night was the chocolate praline cake. I'm not usually a big dessert fan, but this was wonderful.

Greystone Grill: The mini Beef Wellingtons were terrific, with a tasty puff pasty, mushrooms and a rich sauce. They should be a regular menu item. But fried parsnips as a vegetable side didn't go over well with anyone at our table.

Cafe de Paris: The Restaurant Week menu was effectively the Cafe's standard "Formule" menu, so in a sense, it's always Restaurant Week at Cafe de Paris. The only problem is the Formule does not include the appetizers we love, especially the escargot or the mussels. So, everyone in our party ended up ordering a la carte. The steak and frites are still the standout for us, but the veal scaloppini was a good runner up.

The good news is that each restaurant had a sizeable crowd the evenings we went. The bad news is the service at all three was close to miserable. It wasn't necessarily the fault of our individual servers, who were mostly attentive, but in each case it took nearly 45 minutes before we got our appetizers and the entire meals took well over two hours. That's too long, and it took some of the fun out of the evenings.

I hope Restaurant Weeks were a success for the Howard County participants, and I hope you got a chance to sample some good meals.