Bonjour French Bakery and Cafe, Mt. Washington

Bonjour French Bakery and Cafe in Mt. Washington is a special place.

Full size and fun size desserts! (pics from Bonjour's website)

It's a place to take out-of-town folks when you have time to sit and chat over a pastry and coffee.  It's a place you come with a friend to gab about life while sharing a small cake.  This is a place where you come to get a special breakfast.  AND on Thursday nights from 5-8PM, it's a place to get some crepes!  Check out their Facebook page for more information about their casual crepe night.

If I am just quickly stopping in, I'll grab an almond pastry to go.  What's not to love about a place that makes their croissants from scratch and fills it with a luxurious almond paste?  There have also been plenty of times when I come, sit down with a cup of coffee, and select one of their mouth-watering mini desserts.

As well as the delectable treats offered at the store, they also do catering for events.  Definitely check them out if you're interested in getting a Croquembouche for your wedding! 

 Croquembouche (pic taken from Bonjour's website)

One recent morning I decided to pop in for something savory.  I ordered a mocha latte ($3+) and a turkey and cheese croissant ($5) for breakfast.  This ended up being an expensive breakfast, yes, but wow was it a special one.

Yes, you are right, that IS a terrible picture of my breakfast

The mocha wasn't too sweet and since it was probably made with some type of French Roast bean, it was quite dark and smoky - I liked it a lot.  The warm (I asked for it to be heated) croissant sandwich was rich, buttery and flaky, and that was just the croissant!  I'm not sure what the cheese was, perhaps gruyere?  But it had gloriously melted over the turkey.  I have never been so full from a breakfast sandwich before!  I could tell that this croissant was made from scratch - it just seemed richer and, well, more calorie-ridden :)  It was great!

I can't say enough about this charming little cafe.  Oh wait, yes I can.

They make their own macarons.

Graul's Cafe, Timonium

 California Tuna Sandwich

If you're a 9-5er like me, it's a weird feeling to be off during the week, isn't it?  I had an appointment in the morning so I decided to take off half a day and do some errands before going back to work.  I was expecting everywhere to be really quiet, but so many people were wandering around Target and the bank and Home Depot (these were very important errands!) with me.  Anyway, I started daydreaming about the places I would eat if I worked from home - Andy Nelson's?  Wegman's?  A weekly splurge at Bluestone? Or maybe I would just grab a quick bite at somewhere convenient like the newly remodeled Graul's Cafe. 

I had been in before and tried the Low Fat Breakfast Special ($3.99) - Scrambled egg whites, hot fresh turkey breast, low-fat swiss cheese melted on either a bagel or English Muffin.  I chose the English Muffin.  For being a low fat breakfast, this was surprisingly good and filling.  I would definitely order it again.

This time I was going for lunch, so I debated between a burger made with Roseda beef or some tuna.  Tuna won.  Tuna ALWAYS wins in my world.  I chose the California Tuna Sandwich ($6.99) - All white tuna (and dolphin safe!) with guacamole, bean sprouts, sun-dried tomatoes and sunflower seeds on health bread.  OK, so the sun-dried tomatoes were actually a paste and the bean sprouts were actually alfalfa sprouts and the sunflower seeds were part of the health bread.  Now that we've cleared that up, it's also important to note that this IS a mayo-based tuna salad, which at first I wasn't sure of when I read the description.  It's a good sandwich, nothing too exciting, which is a shame because I thought it would have been.  The guacamole was hardly noticeable, unfortunately.  The bread was hearty and a bit tough, which was good because it help up to the creamy filling.  The homemade chips and pickle was nice as well. 

I am sure I will go again considering this place is so close to me, besides, their sandwich selection beckons me.  Next time I'll go with my first instinct and get a burger - either a Roseda burger or a Gunpowder bison burger.  Or I'll try their chicken salad sandwich, which they call Baltimore's Best Chicken Salad Sandwich.  Now that is quite a statement right there.  I should have taken them up on that challenge. 

Chocolatea Cafe and Tea Lounge, North Baltimore

Chocolatea Cafe and Lounge.  ChocolaTea. 

Ahhhhh the sweet combination of two of my favorite things!

My friend, Cecilia, and I went out for breakfast and we settled on this wonderful sounding place! 



I ordered a cold chocolate (it doesn't really sound right, does it?  I feel like I have to say cold hot chocolate for it to really make sense), or Coco-Lattes, as they call them.

I ordered the Original made with dark chocolate and ordered it cold.  Cecilia ordered the Mayan - dark chocolate, chipotle pepper and cinnamon, and ordered it hot (I don't remember how much they were.....I think a little less than $4).  Both were quite divine, and quite sizeable too!  (Making a mental note to go here again to add to my Hot Chocolate Quest).  They were creamy (thanks to the full fat milk, of course!) and tasted real and non-syrupy, which makes sense because their Choco-Lattes are made with real melted chocolate!  I loved the Mayan, the spice is perfect and would really be welcome in the cold winter months. 

For my meal I ordered the Blueberry Pancakes with warm Butter-Tea syrup ($7).  I think Maine ruined all my chances of ever loving another Blueberry Pancake.....honestly, nothing can compare to the ones I had at Two Cats.  These were fluffy with a decent amount of blueberries (though you can't tell that from the picture), but they weren't really anything special.  The Butter-Tea syrup was interesting, a bit thin and smokey, but with a nice flavor.  I probably wouldn't order them again, but that's because I am never ordering blueberry pancakes anywhere ever again unless I am in Maine. Done.

So why is it called ChocolaTea?  Well, in additional to their extensive Coco-Latte menu, they also serve truffles!  And they have plenty of Tea varieties to sip and savor!  Their breakfast food is standard American (with a couple of specials), while they serve Asian delights for lunch.

So would I go back?  Oh, for sure.  It was a perfect meeting place with a friend to catch up.  I would DEFINITELY order a hot chocolate next time, and wouldn't mind trying any other meal.  As for the atmosphere, I know they are going for the "intimate" look...but I think it's more like dingy-cozy.  Oh well, it definitely didn't ruin my morning, and it didn't seem to have an effect on any of the other patrons!

Miss Shirley's, Roland Park Part Two

Miss Shirley's is seriously THE place for breakfast or brunch in Baltimore.  It really is - you can tell by the wait and the crowd in that restaurant every.single.weekend.  The thing is, it's really really incredibly deserved.  Their menu literally has something for everyone, I know that is terribly cliche - but it's true! 

The last time I had gone to Miss Shirley's was about 2 years ago, which is NOT RIGHT.  Here is my post about that time. 

I expected to go to the restaurant and immediately order the coconut-cream stuffed french toast again, but I surprised myself and wanted something savory instead.  I settled on the Southern Slammer Sandwich ($8.99) - Fried Green Tomato, Applewood-Smoked Bacon, avocado, cheddar cheese and egg on pumpernickel. Now, for some reason I was expecting this to be healthier than it turned out to be.  Don't ask me why - it clearly said all those ingredients on the menu I read...but still, it was a bit of a surprise.  Overall the flavors were fabulous, and it was SUCH a filling sandwich, but I didn't think the pumpernickel bread really worked - it was too crispy and therefore made it feel even more fried and unhealthy.  It was tasty, but I probably wouldn't order it again.

Dan went all out and ordered The Shore Thing Omelette ($17.99) - Smoked Ham, jumbo lump crab, shrimp and swiss, dusted with old bay.  He said it was amazing, and loved the biscuit.  I still feel that $18 is a crazy amount to spend on breakfast, but understandably it's priced that way because of all the seafood. At least it was delicious!

My friends at the table also ordered their Funky Monkey Bread ($9.99) - Cinnamon-y bread/dough, with bananas, chocolate and pecans.  This looks like something I would be into, but I am really not a fan of heavily cinnamon flavored things.  However, I am in the minority, because everybody was practically writing odes to the monkey bread the entire time it was on the table.  Do you like cinnamon rolls and bananas and chocolate?  You will love this.  Trust me.  Or actually, trust my friends.

Recipe: Overnight Oats (aka the best breakfast in the entire world and beyond)

(oats never look good in pictures, please don't judge!)

OK, I kept hearing about Overnight Oats on the blogosphere and so I decided to check them out and make them for breakfast.  Basically, you whip up some oatmeal in the evening and then in the morning you partake in some epically delicious cold oatmeal.  This weirded me out for a second, but seriously, I got over that fast. 

Here is how I make mine:

Ingredients:
1 banana
1 tsp of ground flax seed
1 heaped tsp of almond butter (or to taste)
1/3 cup rolled oats (NOT quick cooking kind)
2/3 cup milk

Directions:
Mash up the banana (I use my awesome immersion blender tool) but make sure there are some nice chunks in there.  Add the flax seed, almond butter, oats and milk.  Stir.  Put in fridge overnight.  In the morning take it out, mix it a bit and EAT. 

SOOOO GOOD OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.  Also, it's totally healthy and keeps me full for a REALLY long time.

p.s. My bread + butter + jam breakfast still has a piece of my heart.

Stone Mill Bakery, Lutherville

One morning, my mum and I were going to meet for breakfast.  We wanted a nice place, but nothing too fancy, so I decided on Stone Mill Bakery in Greenspring Station.  I have already forayed into their world of Hot Chocolate, and was transported to heaven, so needless to say I had high hopes for breakfast. 

 

For some reason I decided to order their house made artisan bread with butter and red raspberry jam ($3.59).  I still do not understand why I ordered this since I literally have this for breakfast EVERYDAY at my own house.  But I have it everyday because I love it so......right.  The bread was great, quite soft and chock full of grains.  I thought this was great, even if I do have it all the time at my own house :) I also ordered an iced coffee and a blueberry muffin to go (for Dan!  I like to buy him delicious surprises!)  They don't carry simple syrup (which surprised me) so I asked to have the iced coffee plain, and was happy to find out that it had such a great flavor that I really didn't need to mask it with sugar or cream. The blueberry muffin was huge and yum, with a lovely crumb topping. 

 

My mum ordered the fruit tart and a freshly squeezed orange juice (which was a VERY good size). My mum really enjoyed the fruit tart (which is much bigger than the picture makes it seem).  I tried it and loved it, as I usually do these sorts of things.

Now here is where I have my gripes.  This entire order cost $20, including tax. I have no idea what anything cost, except my $3.59 toast.  Why isn't the iced coffee or orange juice price listed on their menu?  I realize that the fruit tart probably isn't always a menu item, but at least there could have been a sign on the case.  I didn't mind paying for it , but when places don't list the price of things, it really bothers me.

Anyway, that being said, this bakery is a really sweet place to go if you just want to pop out for a nice and quick breakfast.  The employees were incredibly friendly, especially the man who took my order.  He seemed so genuinely excited about all the menu items, that it was hard not to feed off his energy.  I would definitely come back, and hopefully order something different!  But I'll get the iced coffee again, for sure. 

Bel-Loc Diner, Parkville

I don’t usually go to diners because:
#1 I can make breakfast food at home, for much cheaper
#2 If I don’t get breakfast food, I usually get something TERRIBLE for my health, like potato skins or cheese fries or some kind of craziness like that.

However, recently I heard that the Bel Loc Diner had amazing pancakes, so a date was set for a breakfast rendezvous with a couple of friends for some delicious pancakes. Plus, I had never been to the Bel-Loc, so I was excited to check it out.

Of course, when I get there I didn’t feel like pancakes so I chose eggs instead. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Dan’s pancakes were GREAT. Very fluffy and soft, and there wasn’t a need for a ton of syrup.

Meanwhile, my eggs came out sunny side up, even though I ordered them sunny side down. I didn’t receive my bread until I had to ask for it, and even then I got white toast instead of wheat. Seriously? Two mistakes in one simple breakfast order? This is why things need to be written down.

Overall, though the pancakes were YUM, everything else was normal diner food and not special enough for me to start going to diners again. Plus, I am still kind of annoyed that my order was messed up.

Victoria Gastro Pub, Columbia

This sunday I met a couple of friends at Victoria Gastro Pub for brunch. I've been excited to come here for a while since it's been getting such great reviews! The space was much larger than I expected it to be, and yet quite cozy. It was a great place to choose for a group meal since there's so much space and voices don't seem to carry. We got there around 11am and it wasn't full at all, but by Noon there was a steady stream of people.

I was lucky enough to catch Howard County Restaurant Week, so I chose some items off the $12.50 Lunch Restaurant Week menu (WOW what a deal!). For starters I chose the Sierra Nevada Porter Onion Soup and for my main course I tried the Rosti (shredded potato cakes) topped with egg, smoked salmon, creme fraiche and dill.

The Sierra Nevada Porter Onion Soup (as pictured above) was fabulous (usually $6). It was cheesy, chock full of onions and not at all beery-y. This was a great starter and I was very pleased. The broth was savory and pleasant, and my appetite was quite satiated with one small bowl.

For my second course, the Rosti (pictured above and usually $9) was perfect. At first I thought it was quite a small portion, and then I realized that it was the perfect amount to serve. The Rosti wasn't as crispy as I usually like potato pancakes, but still quite flavorful. The eggs were cooked well, and the salmon tasted great with each bite. I REALLY liked this.

I couldn't have been happier with my experience here. We stayed chatting for a long time, and we never once felt rushed by our waitress, who was very pleasant and attentive.

After surveying the menu, I am 100% sure I would come back again, and it wouldn't need to be for a Restaurant Week menu! There are so many things here I want to try, especially for dinner. What a great addition to Columbia!

p.s. the grits were fabulous- very creamy, cheesy, and full of corn! Delicious!

p.p.s Thank you Royela for your fabulous picture-taking!

p.p.p.s Howard County Restaurant Week is going from January 18th-31st and menus can range from $10-40, so double check the website for each restaurant.

Panera Bread, Timonium

Isn't it lovely when you wake up on a weekend morning and go out for breakfast? I don't know what it is about going out for breakfast, but it seems like such a wonderful treat, especially if it's a lazy breakfast with coffee and lots of conversation.

Well, recently we decided to meet my parents at Panera Bread in Timonium for just that - and unfortunately, everyone else in the area had the same idea. It was almost chaotic at 10:30am!

What makes it worse is that Panera's pick-up system is RIDICULOUS. Even though you order everything from the same register, you pick your pastries (BEAR CLAW) at the pastry counter, your coffee at the coffee counter, and your sandwiches all the way down the other end.

This makes for a confusing breakfast, especially when you are trying to figure out four people's meals. In the end it all worked out OK, sure, although I received bacon on a sandwich when I didn't want any and we got 2 orange juices instead of 1 - we still left hungry and satisfied. However, this was enough of an annoyance that would make me question coming back here again.

Now, onto the food:

I ordered the egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on ciabatta bread - pretty yummy and hearty, I must say.

Dan ordered the four cheese egg souffle (only because the turkey sausage and potato one was already sold out!) and he enjoyed it. I found the pastry to be a bit sweet, which I don't like because it's meant to be savory!

I also ordered the Pumpkin Spiced Latte, reviewed here

My parents swear by their Bear Claw - an almond paste-filled pastry. This is sooo delicious, and quite big too!

Overall I enjoy Panera's food - but they just HAVE to get a bit more organized or they are going to start losing customer's!

Bagel Works, Cockeysville

Bagel Works is one of those places that everyone in the immediate area knows about.  You come in and seat yourself for a cheap breakfast or lunch.  They make their bagels themselves and they are always fresh and excellent may I add.  When I go there I usually get an omelette because they also come with homefries and a bagel. Excellent deal for under $7 if you ask me!!!  I've had the Lord Baltimore before which I enjoy- cheese, a choice of meat and homefries are mixed into the omelette.  Get this if you really enjoy homefries!  I also like the meat, egg, cheese, and homefries wrap.  My favorite bagel is the cinnamon raisin and I splurge for the walnut raisin cream cheese, which makes the bagel $2.75, which is pretty hefty for a bagel with cream cheese if you ask me.  Overall, this place is definitely delicious but not something you should drive out of your way for.  I'm sure you can find plenty of places like this all over Baltimore.  But for people in the Timonium/Cockeysville/Hunt Valley area- it's a household name!

Bagel Works

11209 York Rd
Cockeysville, MD 21030

Also a location in Towson
(410) 785-0811

Grauls Cafe, Timonium

Once again....I'm writing about a supermarket's cafe. I can't help it-- this one is literally behind my house. It does have some odd hours, and is often frequented by people at least 50 times older than me, but I still like it (and it is not because I am secretly hoping to run into John Locke and have another conversation again!!!).

I usually come here for coffee when I am in the mood for something quick and frothy. It is also the first stop before Dan and I go on any long road trips-- a mocha latte for me, some juice for him and pastries for the both of us! What I like about their mocha lattes are they are never too sweet. This is a good thing. There's only so much chocolate milk flavor you can handle when you are actually hoping for some caffeine as well.

Their pastries are varied and yummy. Their chocolate croissants are heavenly and ALWAYS have a LOT of chocolate in the middle (see- what you lack from the coffee, you make up in the pastry). Dan really likes their muffins.

In general, this is a great quick stop in the area, but definitely not worth coming to check out if you're further away than Towson (or maybe even Cockeysville since there are a bunch of cute coffee shops there too).

While we are talking about their cafe, let me quickly say something about the grocery store itself. Grauls gives out A LOT of samples on the weekends and they are always great! Their employees behind the deli are usually in a foul mood, but the rest of the peeps are great. They have really delicious carrot cake, brownies, pastries, fruit tarts etc etc. They make their sushi in-store, and I've seen the same sushi chef for YEARS (he does a great job).

That being said, if I wanted to pick milk up fast, or get some deli meat (Shopper's deli meat ALWAYS gets slimy on me before the end of the week), or maybe pick up some unusual cheese and don't feel like going to Wegman's-- then this is the place for me. Other than that, the main groceries get done at either Sam's Club (don't judge me) or Shopper's.

Miss Shirley's, Roland Park

I really love Miss Shirley's. I love the location. I love the atmosphere. I love how I feel when I know I am going. I love the menu. I love THE FOOD.

I discovered Miss Shirley's a couple of years ago when it was in its old location across the street. I remember getting lunch but wishing in my mind that I had ordered breakfast instead. In fact, there was one menu item in particular I wished I had ordered: Coconut cream stuff french toast with bruleed bananas. I mean, seriously? If you've been reading this blog long enough, or if you know me well enough (and the two people that read this blog do) you know that I love sweets. But I digress. The appetizer that I really enjoy are the sweet potato fries with mango ketchup and lemon aioli on the side ($4.25). The mango ketchup is by far the more superior dip, and I also like the fact that anyone can make it. I bet it's pretty much mango puree (buy it in a can) and ketchup mixed together. I can't distinguish any other flavors other than those two, which is fine with me. The fries themselves are soft and perfectly salted. I also really like the presentation.



I, of course, ordered the French toast ($11) and cut into it with moans and sighs of pure love. The serving is ridiculously huge and I can never eat all of it, so if you eat with me at Miss Shirley's, you will probably have half of this meal. I LOVE the creamy middle of the french toast and I love pairing that with the soft bread and strawberries on the side. The bruleed bananas are sugared perfection- really crispy and not burnt at all. I really love everything about this dish, other than the fact that I probably consume 5 million calories in 20 minutes (ok fine, 10).


The one disappointment was Dan's Seafood salad for $17. It was caesar salad with a horseradish caesar dressing, crab, shrimp and a ton of old bay. It didn't appeal to me, and unfortunately it didn't appeal to Dan either when he tried it. The horseradish sauce completed overwhelmed the dish, the old bay didn't seem to fit with the dressing, and the grilled shrimp were cold. There wasn't anything to complain about to the kitchen, I think this was purely something that had to do with taste.

What I felt promising though was even though Dan disliked his main dish, he still really loved the place. He enjoyed the sweet potato fries and he loved my dish (who wouldn't!!!) and he said he would happily come again. Considering that he hated his main dish-- that's pretty impressive!

If I come again, I would probably try and convince someone to split the french toast and a savory dish with me-- they all looked so great!

Miss Shirley's
www.missshirleys.com
513 W Cold Spring Ln
Baltimore, MD 21210
(410) 889-5272

Cosi, Everywhere USA

Simply good taste if you don't get the salad

Cosi is at the foot of my building, and what I have to pass everyday morning and evening. Let’s just be honest here and say that most of the employees know and wave to me when I see them. I really love it for their breakfasts. I like to order the breakfast bundle which is a bagel and medium mocha latte (or medium house coffee) for around $4.80. Considering that a medium mocha latte is already in the $4.50—this is a good deal. Their cranberry orange bagel is HEAVENLY when toasted with a bit of the plain cream cheese (don’t be tempted to get the fruit trio cream cheese, this bagel is sweet enough).

However, I’ve had their lunch a couple of times and have been disappointed 2 out of 3 times. Their Alaskan salmon salad is pretty terrible because the salmon is cold. They say chilled in the description, but really it’s cold and therefore has no flavor. The salad would be ten times better if they just heated up the salmon.

I also just tried the Seasonal Fruit and Mozzarella Salad. This was equally terrible. First of all they describe the dressing as a “light citrus dressing” but whatever it was, it was citrus-ly disgusting, which really surprises me because I like those types of dressings on my salad….but it was just off. The mozzarella were TINY little cubes of some white stuff that had no taste. And I mean tiny. Smaller than a pinkie fingernail tiny. The fruit itself, which consisted of strawberries, cantaloupe and pineapple, was good but I didn’t need to spend $8 on a crappy salad just to eat some fruit—that’s what farm stands are for!

To make up for this review, however, I will say that I do like their Bombay Chicken salad and sandwich. That’s the one thing they do right. Oh, and their bread. Their amazing bread. Yes, they do that right too.

www.getcosi.com

Spoons Coffeehouse and Roastery, Federal Hill

This was the first Green Certified restaurant in Maryland!!!! They are 100% wind powered, have solar panels on their roof, and provide sustainable wine and beer (and smoothies that I want to try. Oh yes, and they are delicious, I guess I should mention that as well.

This really cute coffeehouse in Federal Hill is near the Cross Street market. It has a spunk-y vibe to it that I really liked, even at 8am. We decided to order breakfast, and like usual I had to get the craziest things on the menu, not something normal and guaranteed delicious.

I ordered the Raven's Nest which was like the V for Vendetta meal-- egg in the middle of toast, which came with home fries and turkey sausage (out of the choice of bacon, ham etc). I also tried the broiled grapefruit half covered with vanilla-ginger sugar. How amazing does that sound!!! And it tastes just as great too. What's also great about that, is that you could DEFINITELY make it at home. As for the Raven's Nest, the egg was yummy, but I found the toast a little too buttery. I hardly ate that part, but just the egg (runny!) with the home fries and sausage. I LOVED the home fries! They were seasoned with rosemary and other stuff I couldn't place (but oh how I tried).

Dan ordered the French Toast which was excellent. It was really moist and fluffy, and as you can see, a great portion. Of course, he polished that up in a second.

Overall, this is a really great place for breakfast or lunch. There's such a laid back vibe, and because they're such a green restaurant I felt so happy eating here. I love places like that! All I wanted to do was talk to people about sustainability etc. I didn't though.

Please try this place!

Spoon's Coffeehouse and Roastery
24 E. Cross St
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-539-6751