Salsarita's Fresh Cantina

324 West Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-8270

I won tickets to see the Baltimore Blast play in a semi-final game on Monday. For those of you not familiar with Baltimore (or sports), the Blast are an indoor soccer team. They were playing La Raza de Monterrey.

The game started at 7:30, I got home at 4:30, and I had to decide between getting a cheap good parking spot and battling traffic or getting a bad expensive parking spot and battling no traffic. I chose the good parking spot.

When my 8 year old son and I arrived at the garage, I scouted a couple of places to eat. I am definitely more adventurous when it comes to eating than your typical 8 year old, so I decided to narrow my choices down to something that wasn't fast food and something that didn't look too ghetto. In Baltimore City, A LOT looks ghetto. To top it off, there was a ghetto McDonald's at the end of the street.

We decided on Salsaritas Fresh Cantina less than a block away from the fabulous 1st Mariner Arena. The restaurant was situated in a renovated building probably built in the late 19th or early 20th century. It was very architecturally pleasing.


Inside we found a clean, modern, quiet, interesting restaurant. Like its cousins Qdoba and Chipotles, you order your food at the counter, they make it right there in front of you and you take it to your seat and eat it.

My son wasn't interested in the kids' menu. It had a cheese quesadilla or a taco. Instead he wanted a steak burrito that cost $6.99. Whatever. We were there to have fun. He got his burrito with only cheese and the corn salsa.

I did notice that they had veggie burritos and a veggie pizza, so for those of you that are anti-meat (God bless the anti-meat crowd - that leaves more for me!) you do have options.

I ordered the white shrimp and cilantro Pizza. Their service was quick and the lady behind the counter was pleasant. With 2 drinks our order came to about $15. I filled up my cup with lemonade and tea before I noticed that they have Mr. Pibb, my favorite soda. So I made that my 2nd drink. My son got the exciting Sprite with no ice.


The pizza shell was basically a burrito wrap. It was very thin and crispy, but did not have much taste on its own. The shrimp were very good and a decent size. The white cheese sauce was just average and there was not much zest to the food. Just not a whole lot of flavor. And with such a thin crust it definitely did not fill me up. Thank goodness for....

As expected, my son couldn't finish his burrito, so my bottomless stomach came to the rescue. I can't throw food out. Even though I'm 37 I lived through the Great Depression. His burrito was fairly small, but the steak was good. However, it was not hot at all and the cheese hadn't melted. This is after it had been in the wrap (which was heated) for at least 15 minutes.

It was definitely interesting eating at Salsaritas. I think the place has potential, but due to the cold burrito and lack of flavor on the pizza, I am not too enthusiastic to return. If given the choice I wouldn't definitely visit the cousins - Qdoba or Chipotle instead.

Nordstrom Cafe

I was recently in Columbia, Maryland for a 2 part seminar. I'm not a big fan of Columbia, Maryland. It's a planned community and everything is hidden so that you can't find it. Then they import traffic so that while you're looking for things that you can't find there are hundreds of cars there to cut you off and distract you. It's a well-planned conspiracy.

Fortunately, my seminar was being held at hotel right across the street from The Mall in Columbia. If worse came to worse I could always eat at the Chick-fil-a in the eatery. However, when I got to the mall I remembered that the Nordstrom's had a cafe that's really good. So I stopped there.

Packed full of stay-at-home mom's and ladies' groups, I think I was the only male patron in the restaurant. Being outnumbered in that respect is usually not a bad thing. The gaggle of side-cheek kissing women in front of me let me go ahead of them, so I graciously accepted there pass and ordered the Italian Ciabatta and a drink. I figured it would be quick and easy.

I paid for my meal, quick and easy, and headed to a small table and broke out my book, Going Rogue by Sarah Palin (but that's a different blog). I wasn't there but a couple of minutes when a splendidly nice hostess (?) came by and asked if I needed anything before my meal was served.

Within a few more minutes my Ciabatta was served and let me tell you it was good! The bread so crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. The meats and cheese were fresh and delicious and a bit spicy, as they should be.

It was a perfectly tasting meal for a lunch break. At about $12, it was a little more than I would have spent on a chicken sandwich at the eatery, but let me tell you it was well worth the price. Additionally, the hostess (what is her official title???) approached me several times to make sure everything was okay. At the end of my meal she took my plate and gave me 2 of those delicious chocolate mint sticks. So yummy! I'd go there just for the chocolate mint sticks!

So if you are ever in the Columbia, Maryland area for lunch, check out the Nordstrom Cafe. Located right next to the women's lingerie section (hubba-hubba), it's the perfect place to get a great tasting meal and watch gaggles of women.

Asian Kitchen

9351 Lakeside Boulevard
Owings Mills, MD 21117-5063
(443) 394-2650

Located in the Brookside Center in Owings Mills off of Lakeside Boulevard, this is easily my favorite Asian restaurant in the world. Not only is the food fantastic, the prices are cheap. This is a common place for coworkers to meet for cheap good eats.

I recently went there with 7 coworkers. I like to try different entrees every time I eat there. But I ALWAYS get the Hot and Sour soup. This time I ordered the Hunan Chicken.

As always, the meals are quickly served. It's like they know what we want and have it ready for us. I understand that they probably have most of it premade. but when it's served it's always nice and hot and the portions are bountiful!!!

I was first served my cup (more like a bowl) of Hot and Sour soup. Easily the BEST Hot & Sour soup I've ever had. It's filled with hearty portions of mushrooms, tofu, and bamboo shoots. And it's spicy. Not so spicy that you can't eat it, but just right!!!

Our meals arrived soon after the soups. The Hunan Chicken was piled high. And it was so tasty. Spicy and tasty. And good. And spicy. And tasty!!! There was no way I was going to be able to eat all of it. Julianne-style strips of chicken, mushrooms, and carrots were piled atop a mound of fried rice. Additionally, a fat hot and juicy spring roll was served on the side.

I could only finish half of my meal, which is fine with my wife since I bring it home for her to finish. Everyone at our table loved our meal. I think my portion came to about $6. How can you beat that for a fantastic meal?

So the next time you're in the Owings Mills area for lunch, stop by the Asian Kitchen. You will not be disappointed.

Yuki Sushi

I love sushi. When it's not volume that I want, but rather quality, then I will head to Yuki Sushi in Owings Mills. I'm not sure if it is pronounced "yuck-ee sushi" or "yook-ee sushi", but believe me, their sushi is not yucky.

I took a friend there this week. It is located 9419 Common Brook Rd, Suite 101 in the Common Brook shopping center just off of Lakeside Boulevard. The atmosphere is quiet and I don't think I've ever been there when there were more than 4 0r 5 tables occupied of the 10 or so tables available.

My friend and I were quickly seated and led past a busted Asian privacy screen. I found it odd that they would keep that near the front of the restaurant. We were seated in the rear corner, which I like because it allows me to scan the restaurant. You never know when you'll have to duck and run.

I ordered the lunch special of 3 rolls for $11.99. I got spicy tuna, spicy salmon, and crunch eel, though I think that is one that got lost in translation. I think it should be called crunchy eel. My friend the 2 roll special for $8.99 and got the Boston roll and the shrimp tempura. We both got the Miso soup. He ordered water and I got hot tea.

The drinks were quickly served and the hot tea was scalding hot. I couldn't even hold the ceramic/porcelain cup that it was in. The soup quickly followed and for Miso soup actually isn't that bad.

The rolls finally arrived in a reasonable amount of time. Presentation if very good at Yuki. The spicy rolls were definitely spicy, especially when combined with the wasabi and soy sauce. The crunch eel roll was a bit bland. My friend really liked his rolls. He ate a reasonable pace while I inhaled mine in the first two minutes. All in all - good food!

When we finally finished the waitress quickly cleared the table and brought our bill. I was a bit surprised to find that my small cup of hot tea cost $2. Most Asian restaurants do not charge for hot tea. We each offered our credit cards to split the bill. I don't think she liked that. She swiped the book from our table and tossed it onto another table making a loud thump and both of our cards went flying onto the floor. She cleared off an adjacent table and picked up the book and my friend's card, but left mine on the floor. I watched her go the front register and she again threw the book on the table creating a loud and noticeable "I'm irritated" sound. I then picked up my credit card and walked it up to her. She took it with unkind pleasantries.

She finally returned with the 2 receipts and gave us a very insincere 'thank you'. I will have to say that I was not too pleased with her behavior. It may be a while before I return to Yuki Sushi. I like good sushi, but do not have to tolerate bad manners.

China Best

As I mentioned in the Dave's Famous BBQ post, I asked my daughter what she wanted this week and the other was to eat sushi. She's never had sushi, though she thinks that California rolls are sushi, which they are not.

Not ever having real sushi, I thought it best to take her somewhere that serves a variety of food choices including several different kinds of sushi and some Chinese food. This led me to China Best in the St. Thomas Shopping Plaza in Owings Mills.

China Best has an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet, which in sushi world means crap sushi. It's not really crap, but it's not super great either. There were about 15-20 different kinds of sushi to choose, including several salmon, tuna, and white fish. There was one trey of shrimp sushi and one with octopus. However, about half of the choices were either shredded fake crab meat or whole fake crab meat. Most of the rolls included cream cheese or avocado. One tray had some hot melted sauce on top. I'm not sure what it was, but it was tangy, like a Thousand Island dressing, but at the same time slightly salty like a cheese.

My biggest complaint about the sushi is the size. These rolls are huge. I have a difficult time getting them in my mouth. My daughter didn't even try to get them in her mouth. She had to cut them in half. I've had sushi at several other restaurants and they are always smaller. But for some reason China Best seems to think they need to be the size of McDonald's hamburgers.

In addition to the sushi, we also had a cup of Hot and Sour soup. It wasn't too bad. I've had it before at China Best and it tasted like ass, meaning it was probably from the bottom of the 5-day old pot and slightly watered down. However, this time it was plenty hot and contained generous portions of mushrooms and tofu.

We finished the meal with our orange-flavored fortune cookie. Mine read, "Help, I'm being held captive in a fortune cookie factory."

The decor of the restaurant is old. I don't think it's been updated in 20 years. Maybe 30 years. It's very dark. The buffet is about $8 per person. Since it is close to work, we use China Best as the 'I'm hungry and want a ton of sushi' choice. On the other hand, if we want quality sushi, we will go to either Edo Sushi or Yuki sushi.

My daughter liked the sushi, so the next time we will try one of the other places.

Dave's Famous BBQ

With my kids off from work this week, I decided to take off. When asked what they want to do, my daughter said that she wanted to go to Famous Dave's restaurant. So there we went.

Located in Owings Mills near the Best Buy and a host of other restaurants like Qdoba, Noodles & Company, Tahinas, and Chick-fil-A, Famous Dave's serves a wide variety of meat. Non-meat - not so much.

Adorned with the southern BBQ pit motif, there are paper towel racks on the table along with a half dozen bottles of assorted barbecue sauces.

My daughter and I both chose the lunch combo platter. Our choices were St. Louis style ribs, BBQ chicken, sweet water catfish, Texas beef brisket, Georgia chopped pork, hot link sausage, and rib tips. I chose the Georgia chopped pork and the rib tips and my daughter got the St. Louis style ribs and Texas beef brisket. Each meal comes with a freshly baked cornbread muffin, a half ear of corn, and a sides. My daughter chose french fries and I chose spicy Wilbur beans.

Additionally we got an appetizer of sweet water catfish. For drinks I got iced tea and my daughter got root beer. I couldn't be drinking as we were going bowling afterward and who can bowl a good game after a brew?

After we ordered my daughter slyly asked, "What's better than ribs?" "Nothing!" I proudly retorted. "Wrong!", she exclaimed. "More ribs!"

The appetizer was quickly brought to the table with the drinks as if they knew we were going to order them. And they were GOOD. Hot, spicy, and good. And did I mention good?

Not long after that the main meal arrived. Served on a large round platter-sized plate, it was stacked high. The meat sat on a soggy piece of toast and my beans in a side dish. The corn was mushy, but sweet. The beans tasty, but still beans. Both of my meats were juicy and sticky and hot. My daughter loved hers.

Meanwhile, the waitress was very attractive. Why would I mention this? Because I said that she would be even prettier if she smiled now and then. My daughter then said that she wouldn't smile if she worked there because it would be torture to serve all that food and not be able to eat it.

Half way through the meal it was like an episode of Man Vs. Food. We hit that proverbial wall. We could eat no more. Our finely tanned waitress brought us a to-go box. And man did we stuff that thing with a lot of food. We probably should have had two boxes. And let me tell you it was just as good on the second day, if not better.

All in all, a good meal. Famous Dave's is not a place for vegetarians and I would have to say that the only non-vegetarian option is the Classic Caesar Salad. And that's not vegan.

So if you're in Owings Mills, check out Famous Dave's. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Nino Taco

I love me some good Mexican food. Or is it Texican? It really doesn't matter to me.

Recently, a couple friends of mine and I went to the Nino Taco in Owings Mills for lunch. The restaurant is located in a stripmall near Stephenson University Owings Mills campus, just off of Owings Mills Boulevard. Also in the same center are Bonefish and Outback Steakhouse.

The restaurant is a bit small. If you arrive late (post-noon) or any time on a Friday, you will have a hard time finding a seat. There are probably only about 30 seats in the entire restaurant.

The décor is Tex-Americana. There are colorful Spanish tiles and posters of Ravens players.

The menu is limited and printed on a laminated placemat. There are several meal deals, but nothing fancy. You can get meals like tacos, quesadillas, burritos, nachos, and enchiladas. Nothing fancy.

I ordered the chicken fajita quesadillas and a diet drink. One of my friends ordered a diet drink, the 3 tacos, no cheese, and an order of nachos with cheese. Yeah, don't ask. My other friend ordered the burrito, with a side of refried beans and a diet drink. Yes, we're all in our mid-to-late 30's and we think we are fat. We need to get ready for bathing suit weather. Who am I kidding? We're all married and our wives are stuck with us, but I digress.

There were 2 servers working the whole restaurant and perhaps 2 working in the kitchen. Needless to say they were all very busy, especially when you factor in the take-out counter. The drinks were promptly served. The meal took about as long as you would expect during a lunch rush, not extremely quick, but not long enough to get me upset.

The meal is served a-la-picnic style - paper plates and plastic utensils. My meal was hot. And BIG. The quesadillas were fat with chicken and tons of cheese, which I love, and were served with a side of salsa. Too hot to eat with my hands, and perhaps a bit too messy, I cut it up with my fancy plastic knife. The taste was incredible! So good. Just salty enough and the chicken was tender, not dry. The tortilla wrap was just crispy enough, but not to the point where it was flaking apart.

My friends enjoyed their meals, as well. One was eating there for the first time and he was thoroughly impressed. He said he would definitely come back again.

The only downfall of the experience was the time it took to get someone to refill our drinks. We only got one refill, which should be enough for a normal person, but no one ever said I was normal. I would have liked a third serving of the carbonated diet corn syrup. However, based on how quickly the 2 servers were moving, I cannot blame them for poor service. They were plenty busy. The restaurant could use a third server during the busy lunch period.

The fair is fairly priced, ranging about $6 - $15. I think the quesadillas were about $8, are great bargain. Our meal for 3 came to about $30.

I give Nino Taco high praise for their food and look forward to dining there again. Unfortunately they do not have a website, which means there is no online menu. That would be nice.

New Town Diner

11316 Reisterstown Rd
Owings Mills, MD 21117
(410) 654-0066

Legend has it that there exists a place where no man dares to go. Only blind fools and weary travelers venture into the darken spaces of their inner walls. Unfortunately, on Wednesday I fell victim to one of these places. I'd like to think of myself as the weary traveler.

On Wednesday I went to the New Town Diner in Owings Mills on Reisterstown Road with two of my friends. You see - I had a coupon. You know the coupon - the scourge of mentally deficient cashiers. But this one seemed straight-forward. If I purchased one meal at the regular price the second meal was free. Sounds simple enough, right?

We arrived at 12:15 and were immediately seated at a booth next to the front window. As we were being seated the hostess and one of the waitresses began to bicker. They didn't try to hide the fact that they were mad at each other. If I'm not mistaken, the waitress cast no shadow. This should have been my first sign.

Another waitress came and took our drink orders quite quickly. Coke, Diet Coke, and ginger ale. She returned in a quick moment and took our orders. My friend requested the egg salad sandwich on a Kaiser roll, I got the open-faced ham and Swiss sandwich with fries, and my other friend got an Italian hogie and an order of fries.

My hogie friend quickly realized that his ginger ale was flat. The waitress took it and replaced it with Sprite. At this time I begin to scout out the restaurant. There are not many people there. Perhaps 6 tables are occupied out of the 20 or so. I recall that the diner used to be a lot more crowded for lunch.

Our conversation is animated as we discuss our plans for Black Friday shopping. IPods and plasma screen TV's for one, digital gadgets for the other, and pretty much nothing for me since I can no longer afford to purchase anything beyond food and gas.

15 minutes have now passed and we are REALLY hungry. We start looking for the waitress. She has disappeared. 20 minutes have passed. 25 minutes. This is getting ridiculous. Everyone else now seems to have been served. Finally, a little past 30 minutes from arriving our food is finally brought to us. We are famished. It is now 12:45.

My friend begins to eat his egg salad sandwich. He says it's okay. Not bad, but nothing special. Hogie guy likes his sandwich.

I look at my open-faced sandwich. It's a foot long toasted sub roll with 3 slices of deli ham and a slice of cheese. Are you kidding me? The bread has been toasted to the point where it has no moisture and is like eating an over-sized Saltine cracker. After 3 bites I surrender 2/3 the bread and put the whopping 3 slices of ham on what would be the size of a dinner roll. My fries? I think they were cooked in yesterday morning's sausage grease. They are an orange-ish-brown color and lack something called flavor, unless you consider burnt fat a flavor. But I'm so darn hungry that it doesn't matter.

Plus - there's that rule - never send any food back. You know they're going to take a dump on it or something. So I complacently ate my giant saltine and ham and cheese.

Since we had about 5 minutes left for our lunch break we practically had to swallow our food and run out. I presented the coupon to the cashier. He was an older man. He read it and said, "I'll have to get someone else to take care of this." What? Is this something new?

I glance around the counter and there are signs everywhere about using said coupon. So obviously this is not a new coupon. I even noticed a sign that says, "Give us your buissness card and you can win a free meal." You read that correctly. Buissness. How do you stay in buissness when you can't spell business? I really wanted to give them the buissness.

Another cashier comes and reads the coupon. She reads it over and over. "I guess one of the meals is free?" she asks. "Yeah, I guess so." I'll give you one guess as to why she's not a rocket scientist.

So - overall - the atmosphere of the restaurant - gloomy. A lot of unprofessional hand-written signs on the wall. With misspellings. The service - the waitress was really nice, but the wait time was totally unacceptable. The food - my friends said their food was fine, but they are not writing this blog , so I'll say the food was abysmal. For $9 I got 3 slices of ham and a slice of cheese on an over-toasted foot-long sub roll. Who wants that? I sure don't.

I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. Avoid this place at all costs. It's a waste of your money, a waste of your time, and a slap in the face of your intelligence. The best thing that could happen to this place is a meteor shower hits it in the middle of the night and totally destroys it and the employees find jobs outside of customer service. Grade - F.

Sotto Sopra

Certainly not a planned visit, my daughter and I decided to have lunch at Sotto Sopra because of its proximity to the Walters Art Gallery, which we visited on Thursday, August 14th.

The outside is cute with a canvas canopy overhanging what could be a sidewalk cafe. Inside we were greeted with a very artistic room full of painted walls, tall ceilings, and mirrors. The building appeared to be mid to late 19th century in age and was very interesting. The tables were close together giving us adequate access to conversations on both sides of us. And one of our neighbors must have thought that everyone in the restaurant wanted to know about his life in the theater and music industry.

We were quickly seated by an extremely sweaty waiter with wet arm pits. This helped to quell my hunger a bit. The restaurant was fairly crowded and it appeared that only 2 waiters were working the entire floor.

After viewing the lunch specials, we decided on our meal. My daughter chose the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with prosciutto, mozzarella, sautéed mushrooms, fresh herbs, and lemon aioli with a mixed salad. I picked the Cappellini al Pomodoro fresca, which is Italian angel hair pasta with roasted tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and garlic. My daughter asked for water and since I was driving my child, I chose a water, too.

The food took about 15 minutes, a bit longer than I would have hoped. We were really hungry. And thirsty as they didn't refill our water glasses as regularly as would be expected. Perhaps they poo-poo water drinkers. I do tip as if I had purchased a soda.

When our food was served it was definitely hot. My pasta was decent. It definitely tasted like fresh homemade pasta, but the flavor of the overall dish was somewhat bland. The portion was not that great, either. I was definitely still hungry when I finished.

My daughter's meal was a decent portion, but she said that the chicken was dry. Additionally, the mixed salad was somewhat on the bitter side. At meal's end she said it was okay, but knowing my daughter she was just being polite.

Overall, I was not impressed with our experience. The bill totaled about $35, which is fine, but I want to come out of a restaurant either full or satisfied with a good tasting meal. This time, neither of my hopes were fulfilled. Perhaps you can have a better experience with dinner. I would not recommend having lunch there.

Lebanese Taverna

719 S. President St
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 244-5533

This is the second time I've visited the Lebanese Taverna in Harbor East. One of the most striking things about this restaurant is its very modern, sleek and ethnic décor. You instantly feel hip when you walk through the doors.

My friend and I sat at the bar for awhile waiting on our other friend and I have to say, I would definitely come back here just to meet friends for a drink. I love the atmosphere. It also helps that the staff is incredibly nice and attentive. They offer a variety of flavored mojitos (I love a good mojito) and I decided to try a melon mojito. Delish! My friend got a raspberry mojito and it was also delicious (but I'd recommend the melon!).

Once our friend arrived, we were quickly seated for dinner. I wouldn't necessarily say that the server was fabulous but she wasn't awful. She brought out some fantastic bread with olive oil. A friend complained that the bread wasn't served warmly and I have to sort of agree here. We were served warm bread AT THE BAR.


One thing I love about this place is that wide variety of menu options. They have your meats, seafood and vegetarian entrees. I ordered the FATTEH BEL BATHENJAN - eggplant and chickpeas, topped with toasted lebanese bread, smothered with warm yogurt and sauteed pine nuts garnished with pomegranate seeds, when in season ($14).


It was good although a little too creamy for my palate.

My friend ordered the FATTEH BEL DJAJE - seasoned chunks of chicken breast layered over chickpeas toasted pita, smothered with warm yogurt sauce, pine nuts and garlic garnished with pomegranate seeds, when in season ($15).


I think she liked it? I didn't hear any complaints!

My other friend decided to order some tapas for variety. She got the FALAFEL - chickpea and fava bean fritters served with tahini ($6), BABA GHANNOUGE - eggplant puree with tahini, lemon juice and garlic with olive oil ($6) and (I think) the KIBBEH YOGHURTLIEH - small kibbeh balls topped with pita, yogurt, butter & pine nuts ($6).


I sampled some of the bab ghannouge and it was fabulous. She also seemed to enjoy her meal very much.

Overall - I'd recommend this restaurant. It's located in the uber hip Harbor East so parking may be somewhat of an issue but they offer valet! Even if you don't want to stop here for dinner, it would be a great start point for drinks and there are plenty of other restaurants in the area.

I do feel it necessary to mention, however, that my husband wasn't a big fan of this place the first time we tried it. I do have to agree that the food doesn't match the ambience but I still think it's worth checking out if you're in the area.