Towson Town Center's Restaurants

I was invited* to Towson Town Center to take a "tour" of some of their major eateries: TGIF's, P.F. Chang's, Stoney River and The Cheesecake Factory.  Below are some of my thoughts on each place.


Also, Towson Town Center has been having some special events this month, including one on Saturday March 24th from 1-3PM: Cooking Demo and Wine-Pairing Seminar

• Local food and wine expert, Laurie Forster "The Wine Coach," will host a cooking demonstration and wine-pairing seminar.
• Seminars will be held at 1PM, 2PM and 3PM in the Level 1 Grand Court
• Seminars will include table-side sampling (SAMPLES!!!!!), fun raffles, giveaways and retailer offers.

Follow Towson Town on Facebook to keep up with more events.

P.F. Chang's
(Check out my last review of P.F.Chang's from 2009 here)

At P.F.Chang's we were given some items from their Happy Hour menu to try.  Their Happy Hour is Mon-Fri, 3-6pm.  The prices I have included in this section are from that menu.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps 

I hadn't been to a PFC in a while, so I have to admit that I was excited about trying the Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($6) again.  They are still so good.  The chicken concoction mixed with mushrooms and water chestnuts are good alone, but even better when made into a wrap with crisp lettuce.  Yes, of course you can make this at home, but if you're at the mall shopping - this is definitely a nice appetizer to order while sitting at the bar.

Talking about the bar, we tried two specialty cocktails, an Asian Pear Mojito ($6) and a PFX ($6).  The mojito tasted very similar to the regular, but with a slight hint of the pear.  It was nice and crisp.  The PFX is flavored with passionfruit and hardly tasted like there was any alcohol in it, though I am assuming that is a good and bad thing :)  It is supposed to be modeled after the cosmo.  I liked both!

 Crab Wontons

Dan was fan of their Crab Wontons ($5), which are made with a cream cheesy crab filling and served with a plus sauce.  He remarked on how much crab there was in the wontons, and how well they went with the sauce.  If you feel like something fried, and are tired of the ubiquitous eggroll, these might be the thing for you! 

Stoney River

Stoney River also introduced us to some items from their Happy Hour, which takes place from 4-7pm everyday.  There are some seriously good deals:

This menu is solid, especially because it  lasts until 7pm!  It would be so easy to come here for dinner and make a good meal out of these offerings, not to mention with some nice cheap cocktails!  For a drink, ask the bartender to make you a Lemon Iced Tea Cocktail, which is made with Bacardi Limon, lime, sour mix and some iced tea.  If you like Arnold Palmers, this is the drink for you. If you like tea (me), this is for you (me).

We tried and LOVED the Jack Daniel Whiskey Shrimp ($6).  It was so good and SO buttery.  The sauce is made with Jack Daniel's (obv.) and mustard and oh my the little slices of baguettes were just loaded with butter and the sauce and a jumbo shrimp.  Yes please!

We also tried the mountain of Bleu Cheese Chips ($6), and it really was a mountain (though it's hard to tell from this picture). Though blue cheese is not my favorite kind of cheese, once melted it has a mild flavor to it, so I surprisingly didn't mind this at all.  If you love blue cheese, it would be right up your alley, especially because the chips were perfectly crisp and salted. It would be nice if they had other flavors for the non blue cheese lovers.

The Crunchy Ahu Tuna Roll ($7) was also quite tasty, especially when dipped in the accompanying soy ginger sauce.  Sesame seeds and breadcrumbs give the roll its crunchiness.



TGI Friday's

Guinness Stout Milkshake from TGIF (sample size)

There are two new drinks for St. Patrick's Day: the Irish Rita (made with whiskey, sour apple, midori and margarita mix) and the Guinness Stout Milkshake (Guinness with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup).  Their Irish Rita was way too sour for my liking, but the Guinness Milkshake was surprisingly tasty, and I don't even like Guinness!

All in all, I am simply not a fan of this place.  The dishes were dirty, the food tasted unhealthy and it's really just not my kind of atmosphere for a restaurant.

Cheesecake Factory
(Check out my review of the Cheesecake Factory in 2008 here)

I am not going to lie, I tried bites of about 12-15 different types of cheesecakes.  This sounds amazing, but after a while I got a bit sick.  THAT'S A LOT OF DAIRY, YOU GUYS!!!!

My personal favorite from the Cheesecake Factory is the Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake, but of all the ones I tried from that day, I really enjoyed:

• Vanilla Bean cheesecake (layers of vanilla bean cheesecake, vanilla mousse and whipped cream) 
• I liked the simplicity of this, plus it felt light because of the mousse.
• Godiva Chocolate cheesecake (Godiva chocolate cake + Godiva chocolate cheesecake + Chocolate mousse) 
• The addition of cake and mousse in this cheesecake took away the usual heaviness from a chocolate cheesecake.  I loved the rich and dark taste of the chocolate.  
• Dutch Caramel Apple Streusel Cheesecake, pictured (terribly) below (original cheesecake with a TON of baked apples and then topped with some delicious brown sugar walnut streusel topping)  
• I loved this because it was so different.  It tasted more like an apple pie with a little layer of cheesecake.  There's a lot more filling than you would think, which is what really made this cheesecake stand out for me.

The problem is that to get a slice of cheesecake, you have to deal with the outrageous wait for a table because that place is packed ALL THE TIME.  What is up with that?

SUMMARY
The mall is definitely not a place I visit very often, but it was fun to take a tour like this to see the food beyond the food court.  Overall, I loved Stoney River.  Their Happy Hour menu was fun, well-priced and enticing!  I would definitely go back there again! P.F. Chang's happy hour menu was also a great deal, and I especially liked their drinks.  There is no need for me to talk about the appeal of  The Cheesecake Factory, because it's already got that in spades.  TGI Fridays didn't do it for me at all, but you can't win them all!

* I was invited by Towson Town Center, but I was not asked to review, nor was I told what to write.  All opinions are my own (and Dan's!)

Teaism, Penn Quarter, Washington DC

My book club planned to meet at Teaism, a casual self-seating restaurant that has an Asian flare, in DC’s Penn Quarter one Sunday afternoon, which made me very excited about the prospect of having afternoon tea (we all know how much I love those!!!).

Everyday from 2:30-5:30pm, Teaism has the option of ordering the following afternoon teas:

Traditional Menu 20.00
Tea sandwiches, ginger scone, cookies, lime curd tartlets, chocolate truffles, and a pot of tea

Asian Menu 20.00
Rice balls with pickle & sesame, tea cured salmon & nori, tofu with ginger, green tea ice cream, mochi, chocolate truffles, and a pot of tea

Because I am a sucker for tea sandwiches and scones, I had to go with the traditional menu.  In fact, I ended up splitting it with a friend of mine, and we just ordered another pot of tea (I ordered a Keemun black tea, since I know I love that) since the menu only comes with one pot. Sharing was such a great idea since I felt very satiated from my half.

The best part of the menu was their ginger scone, hands down (get the recipe here). If you like ginger, you will love these sweet scones, especially with a little bit of the marmalade. 

I really enjoyed their cucumber sandwiches that were made with rice vinegar.  Their cookies (on the bottom tier) were OK, but I LOVED the mini tart.  

 The truffle tasted like a matcha white chocolate truffle that I was NOT a fan of.  I didn't like the fudgy consistency and I didn't like the super sweet taste either.  The fact that it was green didn't help :)

Some mores notes:

- This is not a traditional tea room, so don't expect unlimited tea or table service like normal.  In fact, don't expect many other people ordering the afternoon tea....
- They don't have descriptions of teas on their menu!  This always bothers me!  I don't know what "Now and Zen" is or "World Peace," for example.
- If you are ordering tea from the small selection on the menu, don't forget to look at the chalkboard around the register - there are more listed there.

Overall, though I enjoyed everything I ate, it really is just the wrong atmosphere for a two-tiered afternoon tea.  I am glad I tried it, but I think next time I would order a pot of tea, some ginger scones and something savory since all the other items that my friends chose looked really good.

Umi Sake, Timonium

Yuzu Seared Tuna Roll

I love Umi Sake.  I have gone so many times, it is outrageous to me that I've never reviewed this place!  I go here when I'm in the mood for some specialty sushi rolls or when I'm in the mood for some Yaki Bop, or when I'm generally just in the mood for some good Asian food.

I've gone a number of times with a big group, and the service is just as flawless as when I go with just another person.

Yaki Bop with Beef ($11.95) - Korean-style rice dish served in a hot bowl with beef, green beans, bean sprouts, other veggies and an egg on top!  If you've never tried this dish, I urge you to give this a go!  First of all, this is a TON of food, so be prepared for leftovers!  The beef is in a slightly sweet brown sauce, the vegetables are crunchy, and the egg is the perfect topping.  Great dish!

Yuzu Seared Tuna Roll ($12.50) - Seared tuna on the inside of the roll, topped with avocado, white tuna, crispy onions and yuzu sauce. This was incredible - and what a beautiful presentation!  Everything tasted fresh and I loved that the crispy onions were a legitimate part of the meal instead of a garnish.  I really really enjoyed this.  To be honest though, I am always impressed, regardless of whether I order a specialty roll like this one or a California Roll!

Crispy Eggplant Stuffed with Shrimp ($11.95) - Served in a honey glaze sauce. This is probably my least favorite dish I've had at Umi Sake, but by no means does that mean bad.  I loved the crispy eggplant/shrimp itself, I just felt that there was WAY too much sauce, so the crispiness turned into sogginess.  This would definitely appeal to people who love to order Crispy Honey Chicken or Crispy Honey Shrimp at Asian restaurants.  I would just ask for them to bring the sauce on the side!

p.s. I've heard their Brunch is fantastic!

Jasmine Asian Bistro, Timonium

I went to Jasmine Asian Bistro in Timonium recently, and it was a lovely experience - the service was impeccable and the food was super tasty. 

I ordered the Malaysian Tamarind Entree with Shrimp ($14).  The sauce was wonderfully savory and went well with the vegetables.  The shrimp were plentiful and I managed to gobble all those up.  Unfortunately, my drink, the Singapore Slinger, was not so pleasant but very sour instead.  Next time, I will just stick to my usual gin and tonic, and not stray from anything else. 

Dan ordered the Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken ($14) (pictured) and it was delicious!  It had a good breading to chicken ratio, and the sauce, though sweet, wasn't overly so.  I liked this a lot and would definitely consider getting this again.

Now, it needs to be said that the prices are high, especially compared to other places in the area, but you won't be disappointed with the excellent service and high quality of food. 

Szechuan House, Lutherville

I don't eat a lot of Chinese food. This bothers me because I love it.  I think I am always really nervous about the calories, so I opt for a Chipotle burrito or a burger and fries instead :)

Clockwise: General Tso's Chicken, Lo Mein, Chicken with Eggplant in Garlic Sauce, Rice :)

Yesterday, however, we got some Chinese food from Szechuan House and it was great!  Lucky for us, it's super close to our house and they deliver (I refuse to do carry out because it's literally RIGHT next to my gym and I don't feel like being overwrought with guilt before dinner).

We got Chicken with Eggplant and Garlic Sauce, General Tso's Chicken and Mixed Meat Lo Mein.  We also got Sweet and Sour Soup and Wonton Soup (both $1.25 for a pint!!!!!!!!!!!!)  I am not a fan of these soups in general, so I don't need to comment on them.  If you like them - I heard they were delicious :)

My absolute favorite item was the Chicken with Egglant and Garlic Sauce (Large: $7.50 and it was seriously huge).  The eggplant was almost caramelized and I loved the flavor of the sweet garlic sauce. I would definitely order this again.  In fact, this is probably going to be my go-to dish.

The General Tso's (Large: $8.50) was good - but I couldn't eatmore than three pieces since the sauce was so sweet, however, I did like that there was a good ratio between the breading and chicken.  Dan thought it was excellent and he finished it off happily.

The Lo Mein with mixed meat (beef, chicken and shrimp) (Small: $4.50) was also good, and surprisingly not at all oily.  I usually like more vegetables in my Lo Mein, but since Dan ordered this one - he was thrilled to see so much meat.

The selection at this restaurant is fabulous and so are the prices.  We ordered all this food for 4 people, and there was so much leftover!  If you're in the area - definitely check out the Szechuan House!

Green Leaf Restaurant, Hunt Valley

Green Leaf, an Asian (including Thai and Japanese specialties) BYOB restaurant in Hunt Valley, was such a nice little place to go to dinner one night.  It's intimate, yet large enough to be comfortable, and full with regulars on a Friday night (always a good sign!) How do I know they were regulars?  Well, judging from their location, in the corner of a shopping center away from the main Town Center, it's not going to capture many visitors to the area, which is a shame.

We ordered 2 appetizers: the steamed shrimp shumai ($4.95) and the crispy wontons ($4.95), filled with crab and cream cheese. Both were yummy, and a pleasant starter to the meal.  I would probably get the shumai again, but that's because I loooooooooooove shumai.

I ordered a salmon avocado roll  ($5.50) and the yellowtail roll ($5.50), which I thoroughly enjoyed. Also pictured is my mango iced tea, which contained real mango pulp, though no taste of tea.  It was lovely and refreshing (and made up for the fact that I didn't know it was BYOB!)

Dan ordered the Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken ($11.95) and though it wasn't as crispy as usual, he still thoroughly enjoyed the sweetness of the sauce.  Besides, we both agreed that less crispy is better than overly crispy.  The portion of rice was a tad too small, but you can order more.

My friend ordered the chicken dish pictured above (I think it was the Japanese Pan Noodles,$14.95, my bad...I completely forgot!!!!)  The nest of noodles was a lovely presentation, but not so delightful to eat, though the actual chicken + veggies were good by themselves. 



Overall, this place is a nice BYOB Asian restaurant in the Hunt Valley area, with plenty of health options (in fact, they have a whole section of their menu devoted to healthy options called Green Leaf Spa Cuisine) and very attentive and friendly staff. However, is it worth it driving from the city to the 'burbs....not really, but if you're in the area, it's definitely worth seeking out. 

Ginza Japanese Steakhouse, Cockeysville

I love Japanese Steakhouses - the kind where chefs come and cook your meal right in front of you, providing you with endless entertainment of flying shrimp, onion volcanoes and knife throwing.

My favorite place to go is Ginza Japanese Steakhouse.  This place is neatly tucked into a strip mall in Cockeysville and faces strong competition from the well known chain Sakura just a couple of miles down the road.  I would choose Ginza over Sakura any day.  It's a smaller restaurant, and perhaps a little more worn but it has much more charm.  The hosts and chefs are incredibly pleasant and always willing to accomodate. 

Recently, I organized a dinner for about 13 of us for a friend's birthday and they brought out complimentary spring rolls and two tempura ice cream plates to share.  You choose the meat you like and then the meal comes with a light broth, salad with a creamy sauce, a couple of shrimp, fried rice, vegetables, and an orange for dessert!  All this for around $24 is a great deal (i *think* that's how much it was......my bad!)

If you don't want anything from the grill, sushi and other entrees are also an option.  I've never ordered anything other than from the grill, because I LOVE their fried rice and crispy vegetables, and the meat is always cooked to perfection.  This place is great, and really fun for a group!

Hunan Manor, Columbia

House Pan-Fried Noodles (note the portion size, woh!)

Remember when your mum used to tell you "just because it's popular does not mean it's good" in high school? Well, I'm going to say it again - but I'm not talking about the popular crowd and all their naughty ways....I'm talking about Hunan Manor in Columbia. It is crowded, it seems very popular, it is NOT good.

OK, so I went with a group of about 15 and most of us thought our meal was just OK and sat there in confusion as to why this large restaurant was quite full. We felt like there may have been a secret menu we were not privvy to!

General Tso's Chicken

Dan and I chose to split our meals so we could share - General Tso's chicken and the House Pan Fried Noodles. I took a couple of bites of the General Tso's chicken and immediately wanted nothing to do with it - there were too many of the overly crispy bits and not enough chicken, plus the sauce wasn't tasty. The House Pan Fried Noodles weren't delicious either. The mushrooms were too chewy and the beef was too soft. You know what I'm talking about - it was really similar to the kind of beef you get in Lean Cuisines where the ingredient list says its "Beef Product." Beef is not naturally that soft.

That being said, my vegetarian friends were greatly satisfied with their meals, and so I decided to try theirs, most notably the Meatless Sweet and Sour dish. I had to agree it was MUCH better than any of the other dishes - the meatless stuff was so fried and covered in sauce you could hardly tell you weren't eating chicken. And in general it was pretty tasty.

One thing I MUST say is that the portions sizes were HUGE HUGE HUGE. Normally that would have been so exciting for me because I would have eaten leftovers for lunch and dinner the next home, but I didn't want any of the leftovers. Now you know it's bad when I don't even want to take stuff home ..... :o/

Overall, I did not have a great meal and I will not be going back.....but I can tell that a lot of people do - someone please tell me what I am missing. Are there secret dishes we should have ordered? It can't have been the duck because someone from my party ate that and he said it was just OK. It probably wasn't a lamb dish because I tried that and didn't like it either. Oh well.... perhaps everyone's just ordering the vegetarian dishes!

p.s. I am hosting a $25 Gift certificate giveaway to McCormick and Schmick's. Check out the details here.

Yamato Sushi, Timonium

We get carry out from Yamato Sushi, so thought I would write a quick note about them.

They are delicious! I love their shrimp tempura, their salmon and avocado and their california roll.

Also, it's nice to note that every time my husband picks up an order, he always comments on how pleasant and friendly all the employees are.

The restaurant itself has plenty of other dishes to try, plus they are a BYOB with no corkage fee.

Thanks, Yamato Sushi, for making delicious meals for me to eat in front of my TV :)

P.F.Chang's, Towson

I went to P.F.Chang’s the other day for lunch and was happily surprised that they offer a couple of their dinner entrees as lunch bowls, and therefore for a cheaper price. The bowls also come with a bowl of soup (egg drop or sweet and sour) and white or brown rice. I ordered the egg drop soup which was pleasant and tasty (there’s not really much you can say about a soup that is essentially broth) and for my entree I chose the Moo Goo Gai Pan lunch $8.95. Moo Goo Gai Pan comes with chicken and shrimp and miscellaneous vegetables in a light sauce. I chose to get it with the brown rice and it turned out to be an excellent and apparently a healthy (or healthier than everything else) choice! The portion size is large, especially considering this was for lunch and I had enough to take home for another 2 meals (apparently this may not be normal though).

Dan chose the Sesame chicken for about $7.95 and his meal was also a huge portion. The sesame chicken is like any Chinese store- but here it wasn’t as fried as I’ve had before and that makes me feel a bit better.

Overall, I was happy with the food and I liked that a big chain offered me lunch options that are actually worth it. I also liked that it didn’t take long at all for my food to come out.

One thing I didn’t like, however, was their coffee! It cost $2.25 and it was terrible! I tasted a bit of hazelnut, and that turns me off. Plain coffees should never be flavored, and for $2.25, well let’s be honest- I yearned for a cup of sweet DD instead!

P.F.Chang's China Bistro
825 Dulaney Valley Rd, Towson
410) 372-5250

Pei Wei, Towson

Pei Wei is owned by P.F. Chang's, so I don't understand why I don't love it like I love P.F. This time around I ordered the Pad Thai because that's an easy dish to get right and because I love it so much. Well, not only did my order come out MUCH later than everyone else in my party but I didn't like it at all! I can't describe why, I just think it doesn't compare to the Pad Thai at Fuji San (in Cockeysville…I need to eat there soon so I can review them again). It didn't have that hint of sweetness that most Pad Thai's have. It was also too spicy and had random bits of tofu in my dish (even though I asked for chicken). Actually, a couple of people at the table had the random tofu slices in their meal. That's just plain weird and makes me feel kinda icky that either things don't get cleaned out well or everything is just a hodge podge in the kitchen. Dan did like my Pad Thai though, so I should mention that. However, he HATED his lo mein. He said that he thinks they forgot to add any sort of sauce , so it was just greasy noodles. I tried them and thought they were gross too. Basically, if you're going to fail at Pad Thai and Lo Mein…..that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the dishes.

Pei Wei Asian Diner
6302 York Rd
Baltimore, MD21212
(410) 435-3290
http://www.peiwei.com/