Tag Archives: hoco loco

West County – Lunch in Lisbon at the Grill

Posted on March 10, 2012 by AnnieRie

Today we headed out for a short trip to accomplish three things. Pick up cheese and meat from TLV, check out chicken coops at Myers MiniBarns, and have lunch at the Town Grill.

OK, we lived here seven years. Never stopped at the Grill. It is always crowded when we drive past, but today we decided to brave the rush and get pulled pork. This place smells so good when you drive up.

This would be why. Smoking the meats right in the lot in front of the Grill. All sorts of good stuff including salmon and trout for the fish lovers among us. Definitely small inside, but you can get a place to sit if you wait a few minutes. People are coming and going constantly and it is a mix of locals, bike riders, workers, passers by, and people who just love pit beef.

I did not want to be as geeky as I usually am, and take pics of the food, but I had a BBQ sundae, which is cornbread topped with pulled pork, cole slaw and a deep fried pickle. My hubby had a pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries. They did not disappoint as the smoky intensity is what makes their pulled pork so good. And, it is chunky, not all mushy like some BBQ sandwiches are.

Definitely we will be coming back, maybe even for an occasional Thursday night dinner. They just recently started these.

It puts a whole new meaning on the term Gas and Go. Now, as we also love R&R Taqueria we are becoming gas station food afficianados. Not a bad thing, by any means.

As for other reviews that support how great the food is, check out HowChow and Wordbones.

As for the rest of our trip, we got a brochure and an idea of what the Taj Mahal of chicken coops cost. Trying to decide if we get chickens in the next year, do we build our own coop and spend a fortune on materials, etc. or buy a ready made chicken tractor.

Dreaming and planning. That’s what makes it fun out here. And, yes, we got to TLV for kielbasa and a promise to have a brisket saved when they next butcher a steer, and some Bowling Green Cheese. All in all, a good Saturday morning.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Community, Day Trips, Food, Hobbies, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Restaurants, West HoCo and tagged day trips, Food, hoco loco, hocoblogging, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Why I Love Boarman’s

Posted on February 18, 2012 by AnnieRie

Living in West HoCo, I have come to realize that it is the family businesses that make it so special. Boarman’s is one of my favorite places to shop in Howard County.

Where else do they grab all your bags and take them to your car and make sure they are securely stored? Where else do they take special orders for things like osso bucco or crown roasts, for the exact amount you need? And, their bacon and sausages. They are so good. Plus, ask HowChow about their crabcakes! Yum! Put those crabcakes on portabellas and place on the grill. Summer can’t come fast enough.

Friday I needed to go to Columbia for a doctor’s appointment. It took longer than usual for whatever reasons and I needed to run to the store before returning home. Do I venture into the 5 pm crowds at Safeway or Giant, or do I run up the road to Boarman’s?

I needed deli, milk, bread and fruit. Boarman’s certainly delivers. Canela sourdough rolls to serve with soup, made in Baltimore. Smoked turkey for less than Giant charges, and I am getting Dietz and Watson. Homemade sausage. Two in one pack, four in another, all freezer wrapped. This is what a butcher did for us years ago.

Sam Adams $6.99 a six pack. Boarman’s sells beer and wine and liquor for good prices. They have a liquor license because they have been a general store in Howard County since the 1950’s. They have been in Maryland since 1933, and before that their family had a grocery in DC. They live in HoCo. George Boarman is there all the time and will ask how things are, and what do you want to see in the store.

They have their branded coffee made for them by Orinoco.

I got my bread, milk, deli and fruit. I also picked up some sausage.

For the past two nights, I have been crock pot cooking so I would have soups for the week.

Last night it was beef soup with Boarman’s beef ribs, and tonight it was sausage and kale Tuscan bean soup with their hot Italian sausage. Two nice dinners, plus lots for the freezer and fridge. During the week it is easy to throw them in a pan and heat up.

Beef soup

Tuscan bean soup

My CSA makes it easy to have fresh veggies and Boarman’s delivers on all other levels.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in Food, Howard County, Local Businesses and tagged Food, hoco loco, Howard County, local businesses. Bookmark the permalink.

Out of the Ground at 4 …

Posted on February 17, 2012 by AnnieRie

… on the table by 6.

Micro-greens from Sharp’s at Waterford Farm. A wonderful place in southwest HoCo. Denise Sharp gives talks about farming and takes visitors on a tour with a history lesson. Worth the time to do, if you get the chance. I was there helping a friend set up lunch for the Howard Legacy Leadership Institute of the Environment (HoLLIE).

I buy plants from the farm. My chrysanthemums came from there. In the fall, we go there to get pumpkins. They sell plants commercially and at the greenhouses in the spring and fall. The greens are from their new high tunnel, and since it never stayed cold long enough, they never died back. She encouraged us to take some home since they would be dug up soon to put in the spring seeds. I certainly enjoyed these for dinner that night with honey mustard dressing.

Also at the farm, the Howard Bird Club gets permission to hike there on a Sunday to find waterfowl, eagles, migrating birds, and owls. Last year we found two northern bob whites walking down the dirt road next to the tall grasses. It had been years since anyone saw them wild in this area.

Kevin Heffernan took this picture which is now featured on the Howard Bird Club photo pages. His three bob white pictures featured there are the only recorded pictures the club has published in their photos taken on field trips by members.

This week the group with Denise walked back one of the old dirt roads and learned some of the history of the farm. The lovely old house on the hill, which is one of those farmhouses around here that just kept growing and adapting to the family’s needs is the sort of place that brings back memories to me, memories of my great grandparents farm beyond the Liberty Reservoir, where they farmed from the end of the 19th century until they had to sell and move in with my great aunt and her family.

When the greenhouses open in April I will be there looking for some heirloom tomato plants. For those who live in Howard County, this farm is one of the really interesting places to visit. If not in the spring, the corn maze and pumpkin patches in the fall are worth the trip down Route 97 to Jennings Chapel Road.

hocoblogs@@@

Wine and Chocolate

Posted on February 16, 2012 by AnnieRie

Valentine’s Day is an interesting holiday. The cynical side of me considers it a Hallmark holiday, where much money is spent on cards. We don’t do cards. Just like the advent of digital cameras impacted film, and the progression to ebooks is affecting book stores, and newspapers and magazines fall one after another, it is only a matter of time until cards in the mail disappear as well.

But the point of this post is “What did we do for Valentine’s Day?”

Wine and chocolate.

More of the first and less of the last. I try to limit the amount of chocolate in the house, so just a taste is what I want. Not a box full of empty calories.

This fit the bill. Just enough to enjoy, and the wine lasted two nights. 15.9% alcohol will make it last more than one sitting. I have to thank Les Amis du Vin, the predecessor of Taster’s Guild, for introducing us to Biale Zins. Big Zins. With interesting names like Black Chicken. For a trip down memory lane, we reminisced about Yogi Barrett and the wine tastings at the old Chez Fernand, where we first tasted Biale wines. A piece of HoCo loco trivia. The names of the restaurants where Fernand worked. Where was Papillon? Chez Fernand? It also had us to trying to remember the name of the restaurant when he was in Baltimore after the fire in Ellicott City. Then returning to Ellicott City with Tersiquels.

This wine is from 2002. It is a Lodi appellation, from Spenker Vineyard. High in alcohol yet not with that burn that high alcohol wines sometimes contain. Perfect with a chili infused dark chocolate.

hocoblogs@@@

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Posted in Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Restaurants, Wine and tagged Food, hoco loco, holidays, wine. Bookmark the permalink.