Café on the Square, 11 South Paca between Baltimore and Redwood, is back under the leadership of the hyperactive John Shin. He can seem gruff at times, but the man serves some tasty soups, salads, and sandwiches. I had to tell him today, when I stopped in for a tuna sandwich, that I hadn't eaten there since he sold the place a couple of years ago and only returned because he had; He seemed happy to hear that.
When I got the sandwich back to my office, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the herby bit in my tuna was part of a branch of fresh thyme.
I almost ordered his pasta salad of the day, Neptune's Delight. I normally don't care much for pasta salad at all, but John's are somehow terrific. I especially like the spinach pasta, made with bi-color fettuccine, spinach, pine nuts, currants, Parmesan cheese, and plenty of sautéed garlic. Yum!
If you haven't tried Café on the Square, and you work on or near the University of Maryland campus, I recommend you stop in and try his lunch offerings.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Desperate People Will Eat Anything
I met my friend Amber for lunch the other day. She was in town for a conference at the Convention Center, so to make things easy, we just went across the street to the Wharf Rat. She's a vegetarian and they have a few veg options, so that was a plus.
The place was packed, but we managed to squeeze into an awkwardly-placed table in a doorway. She got a taco salad with veggie chili, I had a Cobb salad. She didn't complain about her food, and I didn't taste it, so I can't make any comments on the quality of their veg chili. My salad, on the other hand, was fairly dismal. The chicken breast was horribly overcooked to a tough and stringy consistency, and the hardboiled egg sported a nasty green ring-around-the-yolk. At least the greens were fresh. For twelve bucks, I at least want something that tastes good. But the Wharf Rat has a ready-made clientele of convention-goers and pre- and post- ballgame attendees, so they don't really have to try very hard at all. So they don't. Must be nice being one of the only nearby restaurants. California Tortilla is far superior.
(I've eaten at the Wharf Rat a few times in the past and can't say I've had a particularly good or memorable meal there at any point.)
The place was packed, but we managed to squeeze into an awkwardly-placed table in a doorway. She got a taco salad with veggie chili, I had a Cobb salad. She didn't complain about her food, and I didn't taste it, so I can't make any comments on the quality of their veg chili. My salad, on the other hand, was fairly dismal. The chicken breast was horribly overcooked to a tough and stringy consistency, and the hardboiled egg sported a nasty green ring-around-the-yolk. At least the greens were fresh. For twelve bucks, I at least want something that tastes good. But the Wharf Rat has a ready-made clientele of convention-goers and pre- and post- ballgame attendees, so they don't really have to try very hard at all. So they don't. Must be nice being one of the only nearby restaurants. California Tortilla is far superior.
(I've eaten at the Wharf Rat a few times in the past and can't say I've had a particularly good or memorable meal there at any point.)
Guess What I Got in the Mail Last Night?
....a $30 gift card to Jesse Wong's Hong Kong, and a $30 gift card to Asean Bistro. Looks like she *really* wanted to make me happy.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Attack of the Vegetables Week
I love Iron Chef Japan and have probably seen every episode at least twice. It's currently running on the Fine Living Network, and they have a special veggie-themed week coming up for our viewing pleasure. Check out the clip - it's really cute!
I really really wish we got FLN with our basic cable package....
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