Catonsville Gourmet

Catonsville Gourmet
829 Frederick Road
Catonsville, MD 21228
(410) 788-0005

Catonsville Gourmet was the third is a series of restaurants I visited while my friend from Colorado was in town.  I picked three places that I've never been, and I wasn't disappointed by any of them.

Catonsville Gourmet is located right down in beautiful downtown Catonsville in the ritzy section.  We required no reservation, but the restaurant seemed busy enough.  They do not serve alcohol, which immediately makes one wonder how they stay in business.  But they do allow you to BYOB.  Fortunately for us, there was a liquor store across the street, so we BYOW.  We bought a bottle of Aveleda Alvarinho wine.

Catonsville Gourmet Seafood

We started with some appetizers.  My wife never lets me get an appetizer when we go out, so when she's not around it's all about the appetizers.  Catonsville Gourmet is supposedly known for the seafood, especially their oysters.  They had 6 or 7 different varieties from which to choose.  I was like a kid in a candy store.  "Which one?  Which one???"  I got the ones from Chincoteague, which were briny, but very good.  I told another friend about my dinner and he asked why I didn't just get one of each?  Dolt!!!  And is it just me, or does it seem like a rip-off that 6 oysters cost $12???  My friend got the fried green tomatoes with bacon.  He said they were good, but he expected them to be a bit saltier.  "How can they not be saltier when they have bacon on them???"

For dinner I selected one of the specials, the macadamia nut crusted halibut.  It was served over a bed of asparagus and potatoes with some carrots and chives.  I thought the asparagus were a bit like small logs and they even tasted a bit woody.  Normally asparagus is best when they thin and tender.  The fish was magnificent.  The potatoes were salty and crispy on the outside, just like I like them.



Since my wife wasn't there, I also knew that I was getting dessert.  My friend that recommended the restaurant also recommended the Smith Island cake, which comes from Sugar Bakers.  My friend didn't know what he wanted, so he went and checked out the dessert counter and came back with this amazing photo.  I feel like I can lick it and taste them now.

Believe it or not, this was the first time in my life that I've ever had a Smith Island cake.  Crazy, right?  Lived in Maryland for 40 years of my life and never had a slice of the official state cake.  It was sooooo good.  Sweet, dense.  I was full about 1/3 of the way into it, but that minor inconvenience wasn't going to stop me.  It was too good.

My friend got the Chocolate Peanut Butter sponge cake.  I took liberties with it and took a chunk.  It tasted as good as it looks.  It's hard to go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter.

Catonsville Gourmet is a nice restaurant.  The dining area is open and light.  The staff are all attractive, which made me suspicious.  Seriously, all of the girls were pretty and the men were handsome.  That's just not normal.

The total bill came to $114.  That was for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts.  Our drinks were from across the street and that included a second bottle that I bought after the appetizers when we discovered that the first bottle was mysteriously empty.  So 2 bottles at about $12 each.  That is what I would expect to pay for a nice restaurant.

So if you're in Catonsville, or even if you're not, make it a destination.  You'll like Catonsville Gourmet.

Taste of Aloha

Taste of Aloha
1405 Sulphur Spring Road
Arbutus, MD 21227
(410) 501-3030

I found Taste of Aloha by accident.  I was looking on Google trying to find a quick way to get from I-95 to UMBC.  As I was scrolling around the map, I found a restaurant called Taste of Aloha.  I went to the website and I liked what I saw.  Having been to Hawaii a couple of years ago, I had a yearning for some Polynesian food.

My daughter had an appointment at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore the next day, so I asked my wife is she wanted to stop here.  She liked what she saw, so we made a plan.

We found the restaurant, but by then had accidentally drove right past it.  It's on one end of an older red building.  We quickly circled back and parked.

At Taste of Aloha, you order first at the counter, then they bring it to you.  They have what you would expect in Hawaii.  Kalua Pig, Chicken Katsu, Spam....  My daughter ordered a Hamburger, which came with a slice of grilled pineapple and fries with Old Bay.  Not sure that the Old Bay is very Polynesian.  My wife ordered the Chicken Katsu with rice, and I ordered the Kalua Pig with Kimchi.

The meals came out in about 5 minutes.  The Kalua Pig was amazing! It was bursting with flavor and juices.  It was so good I couldn't stand it.  I wasn't sure if I had Kimchi previously, but I think I have.  It was served cold and it was fairly spicy.  I finished it quickly but I wasn't full.

My wife really enjoyed the chicken Katsu.  However, she didn't share it with me.  Booo!!!  My daughter loved the hamburger with cheddar cheese.  It really did look good, though she gave me the grilled pineapple.

The dining area is small.  There are probably 6 tables total.  There was a gaggle of deaf seniors that had escaped from the local senior center staging a sit-in.  It was difficult to have a conversation at our table as they were drowning us out.  However, we really loved the food.  As you can see the prices are reasonable.

We'll definitely be going back to Taste of Aloha!