I have grown up with Ledo Pizza. It actually hasn't been too long that I've realized that it's a pretty big franchise and not just a local, Ocean City thing. I've always loved their crispy crust and the square slices. I ever got to eat at the original Ledo near UMD when I was there. My favorite pizza there has been the buffalo chicken pizza for a while now. We decided to get take-out a few nights ago and decided to get Ledo from Federal Hill. But here was the dilemma: I have been doing the South Beach diet for almost a week now and Phase 1 means no carbs. Which means no pizza.
So while G went ahead and got the delicious buffalo chicken pizza, I decided to get the buffalo chicken salad with grilled chicken and a cup of minestrone (which I picked around to keep SB friendly). Happily, I was very pleased with my huge salad with awesome toppings. It might not have had the awesome crust (I'm drooling thinking about it now), but it still had the components that I love. I'm very happy to say that our new local Ledo Pizza is just as awesome as all of the other ones that we've tried. I just can't wait until I can have the pizza again...
My blog is sort of changing, if you haven't noticed. I haven't been too much in the mood to photo journal my eats, but I have been really excited to write about the restaurants that I have been able to try out. Case in point:
Last weekend, I looked for a restaurant where we could all go out to breakfast while my parents were visiting. I saw some pretty awesome reviews for The Breakfast Shoppe in Severna Park, so we loaded in the car and headed down there.
It was a little bit of a trek for breakfast, but the reviews were raving, so why not? The place is in a strip mall (always a good sign for me) and was fairly small. The wait wasn't too bad for a Sunday breakfast, maybe 30 minutes? We could read the daily specials on a TV screen and they all sounded amazing.
One of those specials was the berry and banana belgian waffle, which G and I both ordered. It was piled with fruit and fresh whipped cream and was really delicious. My parents both got omelets. They said that they were good. I tried their potatoes and they were really yummy.
I don't know if it was the best breakfast place (I'd rather take company to somewhere like Blue Moon Cafe), but it was really good quality breakfast. Definitely a go if you're in the Severna Park area!
My parents came up to visit over the weekend and we wanted to show them a good, fun, Baltimore time while they were here. We're still learning more about the city ourselves, and one of the restaurants that we had been dieing to try was The Helmand.
The Helmand is located on Charles Street in Mount Vernon, right next to the Washington monument. It was a chilly night, and they have a public lot right next door (hooray!). The restaturant itself had a really cozy atmosphere. It felt nice, without being snobby.
I had heard so much about the pumpkin appetizer (kaddo borawni)at this place that I knew I was definitely getting it. I was not disappointed! It was so amazingly delicious; all of the flavors came together so nicely. Who knew that pumpkin, sugar, garlic, and yogurt could be so good together? My mom got bowlawni ("Pan-fried twin pastry shells filled with leeks and spiced potatoes. Garnished with yogurt and mint."). These were also amazing. We also had the bread that was perfectly crispy and definitely toasted in the giant wood burning oven behind the bar.
For dinner, my mom and I split a vegetarian platter ("Combination of fresh vegetables cooked with our special spices and herbs. Served with challow.") and a chicken special that I can't recall and isn't on their website. I liked the chicken better, and from tasting my boyfriend's chicken kabob, I think that it was probably the best dish we had. The chicken was so well cooked and not dried out like some places can do. All of the vegetables and rice were amazing, as well.
All in all, we loved The Helmand. It was moderately priced and had amazing food! I would definitely recommend it!
We went to Woodberry Kitchen for pre-Valentine’s Day dinner last Friday. I was so excited to get to this restaurant because I had read really great things about it. It was rated as one of the best new restaurants by Bon Appetit! The building was really cool and gave the whole experience a rustic feel. The waitresses were all dressed like they stepped out of Anthropologie and were adorable. We made a 7pm reservation and were seated as soon as we got in (I would definitely recommend making reservations).
To start, we got a flatbread that had cheese and cracked pepper on it (sorry, I’m blanking on what it was called) and deviled eggs. The eggs weren’t as great as I expected, especially since they were on the Baltimore 100 list. The flatbread was good and had some interesting textures.
For dinner, I got the Brick Oven Chicken n’ Biscuit, which came with carrots and kale. The main dish was really good. I was really impressed with the maple pan sauce and how well those flavors melded together. I thought that the veggies were a little over-seasoned, but still good. G got a baked rigatoni and meatballs dish, which I thought was amazing. The meatballs were so delicious!
For dessert, we split the CMP and the apple pie sundae. The CMP was one of the things that I was majorly looking forward to because my mom had told me she saw it on The Best Thing I Ever Ate as Chef Duff’s favorite. It had malt ice cream, chocolate syrup, marshmallow fluff (too much of it) and wet peanuts. There was a candy shell on top that you had to break through. And it was nowhere near the best sundae I’ve ever eaten. Maybe I’m partial because I worked in a sundae shop for five years, but it just wasn’t that great. The apple pie sundae, with cider sorbet, vanilla ice cream, cinnamon streusel, and caramel sauce was far better. I’m not sure what Chef Duff was thinking.
At the end of our meal, we got homemade peanut butter marshmallows and brandy gumdrops, which were interesting. All in all, it was a good meal, but I’m not sure if it was worth the price. A nice and fun place to go, but not going on my list of favorites.
Hey all! Sorry for the complete lack of postage in the past few days. Being snowed in started out really nice and cozy, but then quickly became a mess. I have barely left my apartment since last Thursday except to walk to a few places in the snow. And remember when I said I wasn't binging and boredom-eating... well, that went south. Let's just say I didn't take any pictures this week. It was bad. But I am getting back on track! Next week will have to be a detox of sorts. I can't wait to go grocery shopping!
I did want to do a little review, even though I didn't get pictures. We went out for lunch yesterday in Fell's Point (because if we hadn't I would have gone nuts!). We chose to go to Kooper's Tavern because I have been wanting to try their Burger Wagon for a while now, but I always miss it.
All in all, they were pretty good burgers. I liked that they had a nice char to them. But in comparison to the Abbey? Really nothing special. I guess it's a good burger and they have a long beer list, but I probably wouldn't go again.
On the way back I did, however, have an awesome Chai latte from Teavolve. I have been wanting to go in there forever! It looked so laid back and chill inside and the staff seemed very friendly. And my Chai was perfection! The pastries looked yummy, but I was full. I would love to try their full menu.
We're going out tonight for a pre-Valentine's night out and I am really excited! I hope everyone is thawing out from all of the snow! Have any big weekend/V-Day plans?
I am amazingly not going completely stir-crazy right now. I haven't been out of our apartment since Thursday, but I've been getting a lot done and watching movies (Anyone seen Food Inc. or Rachel Getting Married? I liked both.). We've gotten a little bit bored, and done things like tried to see what the dog looks like with glasses:
But other than that I've been pretty good. I'm actually proud of myself that I haven't eaten constantly. I'm not the best at controlling myself when I'm bored. I've been trying to drink a lot of water instead and that seems to work.
I had some leftover meatballs and marinara for lunch yesterday with bowties. Gotta eat all the leftovers! Nothing can go to waste!
And I'm still working on the pumpkin flax bread. I don't think that G has been eating it at all.
Dinner was a tomato. mozzarella, pesto panini and a cup of tomato soup. I was amazed at how good the mozzarella and pesto were. I love when you can get good flavors like that at home.
I also had a brownie last night, but I figured your sick of seeing them ;)
Breakfast was the ULTIMATE snowed in Sunday meal-- banana pancakes. These got some Smart Balance and syrup, of course.
My roads are still covered in snow so it looks like we're not going anywhere for a while. Hopefully they'll be cleared today because I'm on call tomorrow! Plus I'd really like to go grocery shopping at some point.
Oh yeah isn't there some big football game on today? It's crazy how much people have not been talking about it because of the snow. I think a lot of restaurants will be losing a lot of business, either because they aren't opening or people aren't leaving the house. What are your plans for the big game? We're probably watching the Puppy Bowl.
We woke up to about 20" of snow this morning and it's still coming down hard! I have never seen anything like this. It's definitely interesting with the puppy. He loves it!
Yesterday I had some yogurt flakes cereal as a snack.
And a Powerhouse Salad with my champagne and pear dressing instead of the one that it comes with.
And did you know that yesterday was National Nutella Day? It was a great excuse for an afternoon snack of a mini bagel with Nutella. Mmmm.
And then I got a little bit adventurous for dinner. I had seen a lot of magazine and blog features on polenta lately, and I really wanted to try something with it! I wanted to play it a little safe in case we didn't like it. I made some marinara sauce with this recipe (I used more garlic and added 1T of brown sugar). Then I made some turkey meatballs and grilled the polenta for about 5 min on each side (I used the kind in tube form from TJ"s). Topped with parmesan and it looked like this:
This was so yummy! And it was a really great alternative for pasta (only 70 cals per serving). I have a lot of polenta left so you'll probably be seeing it again!
My wonderful brownie for dessert.
I wanted something comforting for breakfast, so I made Cream of Wheat with brown sugar, vanilla, flax, and cinnamon. Plus a little bit of Smart Balance on top.
And I just had a blueberry wheat bran muffin from TJ's.
G thinks that we don't have any food in the house and that we need to go to McDonald's or 7-11 for lunch. I disagree. We have a ton of food for today. Maybe tomorrow, but I still doubt it. Maybe I can get some snow pics for later.
Question: I'm thinking about getting a smart phone. Anyone have one? I'm a little concerned about the data plan and don't know if it's worth it.
