🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <cornell84-260494121952@130.14.40.46>, Andy Baxevanis wrote:
> 
> > We've just moved to Columbia MD, and were wondering if anyone could point
> > us to a few good restaurants (Italian, Chinese, Mexican or any others).
> 
> Ah, Columbia, land of the hidden. It's taken a while, but here's what I've
> found in my first year there that's worth mentioning:
> 
> - LAKESIDE: Clyde's and The Tomato Palace
> 
> - MALL: The American Cafe
> 
> - DOBBIN: Plata Grande (Tex-Mex)
> 
> - SNOWDEN: Hunan Gourmet
> 
> - KINGS CONTRIVANCE: Kings Contrivance (French)
> 
> OK, group, who have I forgotten?
> 
> Andy

Well, Trattoria y Pizzeria da Enrico in the King's Contrivance Village
Center has phenomenal Italian food, reasonably priced.  (Certainly beats
the paste out of The Olive Garden :)

Bangkok Delight on Route 108 near the theaters is delicious Thai.

For lunch, check out Joe's Place, tucked away out of sight off of Snowden
River Parkway near the Loyola College building.  Great sandwiches!

Other than those two (and the King's Contrivance, of course), my wife and
I generally find ourselves going out of Columbia to find good food.
Clyde's is generally overpriced, though the food is good.  The American Cafe
is one of the ubiquitous chains which seem to dominate Columbia -- you can
also experience Bennigan's, TGI Friday's, The Blackeyed Pea, and many others 
in Columbia.  However, these restaurants are passably good if you want to
stay local.

You mentioned "The Tomato Palace".  Where is this?  What type of food do
they offer?  (As you can guess, we do not frequent the Lakefront very
often -- most of the nearby food is too pricy, and Lake Elkhorn makes for a
more reasonable walk.)

However, I must take exception to Plata Grande and Hunan Gourmet.  IMHO,
Plata Grande is some of the nastiest Tex-Mex food I've ever choked down.
Spend the extra 10 minutes and drive down Route 1 to El Torito's in Laurel,
if you must.  Any suggestions for good Tex-Mex in reasonable driving distance
from Columbia?

As for the Hunan Gourmet, I have yet to find consistently good Chinese food
in Columbia.  Hunan makes decent entrees, but their won-ton soup is 
frighteningly inconsistent, and their shrimp toast greasy and flavorless.
The previous owners did a remarkable job, but since the sale some 2-3 years
ago, the food quality has declined.  Lucky's China Inn in the Oakland Mills
Village Center has a delightful lunch buffet which has good variety and is
not top-heavy with fried foods.  Be forewarned, however, Lucky's soups are
usually not very flavorful.  Chung King in Laurel has a Mongolian Stir-Fry
which is quite good, but Bangkok Delight is far and away the best Asian 
food in the Columbia area.

-- Jonathan Crawford