Coffeeland, Baltimore City

Oh early morning meetings, how I hate you. However, they give me an excuse to treat myself to a delicious coffee! I had a little extra time this morning so I went further up Charles Street to Coffeeland, opposite the Tremont Hotel. I walked in and really wanted to walk right out because there was no ambience WHATSOEVER. And granted, I was going to get my mocha to go...but I still wanted that coffee-shop feel. It's not here. It's dingy and kinda messy. There are no red walls adorned with fancy artwork here. It's just about the coffee and the food. I ordered a medium mocha, and to my luck they give free flavor shots on Wednesdays! My mocha ended up being $3.02 for 16oz, which is a steal for this area. They also have an array of breakfast sandwiches and toppings, as well as pastries that were extremely reasonable. The mocha itself was great! The coffee isn't strong at all, and perhaps it's a liiiiitle too sweet. But I still like it.
Overall, I'm not sure how many times I will make the trek to this place but it's nice to know there's a really reasonable place in this area for a good coffee and a breakfast sandwich (although it is open for lunch as well).

Coffeeland
222 N Charles St
Baltimore, MD 21201

Juice Me Up, Federal HIll

Because today was such an unusually warm November day, I decided to take advantage of it (and try and burn off the Hershey kisses I consumed this morning) and go for a walk. I usually walk east and north of Pratt Street, so I decided to head towards Federal Hill, besides, I was in the mood for a smoothie.  It took me ten minutes to get to Federal Hill!  I was so amazed and annoyed at myself because I had never thought of walking down here.  Now this opens up so many possibilities for my Friday lunch out of the office!
I headed for Cross Street Market and went to Juice Me Up, a place that serves a variety of blended juice smoothies.  Usually I love the yogurt-y smoothies, but I was going for healthy today.  I ordered a 16oz Dango Mango for $4.  It was mango, orange, organic pineapple and banana mixed with ice.  This was a deliciously refreshing juice.  The banana made it really think without making it taste banana-y.  The flavor was definitely an orange mango juice.  I thought that the 16oz, which is the smallest size, was the perfect way to go.  Anything more and I probably would have had a stomach ache.  Overall, I was really happy with my choice, and it has opened me up to the possibility of trying more juice smoothies rather than yogurt smoothies.  I would definitely try this again, although I would probably make my way back again on another warm day.

VOTE

Before treating yourself to a sweet treat,

how about casting a delicious vote

Java Joe's Round Deux, Baltimore City

Remember I had a terrible smoothie from Java Joe's? Well, I decided I would give it another try because they had the most delicious sounding sandwiches. Also, it's relatively new and I like to help out places that have to compete with Starbuck's and Cosi's that surround them.

So, I tried their Mocha latte and was very happy! Usually, you can't go wrong with mocha lattes (although...see Sweet Lela's Market Cafe), but I still really enjoyed this latte. I think the coffee itself isn't as strong as Cosi's so it's more soothing and comforting than it is a jarring wake-up experience. It's $3.30 for a small and $4.48 for a medium which I think is a HUGE difference in price but not enough difference in size to make the medium worth it. I definitely think that whenever I decide to treat myself to lattes (i know it sounds like it is everyday, but it really isn't), I may walk a little further and go to Java Joe's instead of Cosi's.

Or perhaps I will just go there to try more of their sandwiches because I was delighted with the "Thames" which is tuna salad with dill, muenster, tomato and lettuce on sunflower bread. The bread is delicious and hearty. This is such a yummy sandwich, and it made me really excited to try more of their selection (which is quite large if you look at their menu on their website). The tuna salad was made perfectly and I got quite a serving too! I thought it went really well with the creamy muenster cheese. Overall, I was super happy with my choice! I will definitely go back again for lunch.

Java Joe's
8 E Baltimore St
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 727-6647
http://www.javajoesbaltimore.com/

Sweet Lela's Market Cafe, Towson

I've been excited about this place ever since my dad and I stopped by before it first opened. The name seemed promising with "sweet" in the title. I had images of pastries and chocolates dancing around in magical harmony. Finally I decided to go here to get a cup of coffee. I had high expectations because this place is Italian and I had some delicious coffee when I was in Italy (including my first ever espresso!). I asked for a "Moka" as it said on the menu and it was about $4.40 for 16oz which is insanely expensive now that I think about it. It's amazing how much I can spend on coffee and not even flinch. Anyway, the coffee was a HUGE disappointment. I am pretty sure I got the milkiest latte that has ever been made, with the most foam that has ever been scooped on top. It took me about 6 big slurps to even get to the coffee. And when I did get to the "coffee" it was actually steamed milk. Where the crap was the mocha taste? It was nowhere. You can be sure that I'll never get a coffee from this place again. What a disappointment. An expensive disappointment.



Sweet Lela's Market Cafe
3 W Allegheny Ave
Towson, MD21204
(410) 821-5352

Patisserie Poupon, Baltimore City

I FOUND MACARONS IN BALTIMORE!!!!!!

This cute little French bakery is walking distance from my work!!!!!!

Thanks to my wonderful friend who steered me here for Macarons, I ended up buying 1 almond filled croissant (amazing, I need to eat more of these as well), 1 Madeleine (good, a little dry though), 2 almond macarons (I'm pretty sure I shed a tear because of its sheer deliciousness), 1 chocolate macaron (yum), and 1 raspberry macaron (I REALLY liked this as well) all for a little less than $5!!!  Isn't that incredible!!!! I can't even tell you how much money I spent in France when I bought pastries for myself!

So, my dear Baltimore readers (all two of you!), we now know where to get some macarons and other amazing treats!!!!

Patisserie Poupon

820 E Baltimore St
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 332-0390

I AM SO SORRY!

(Photo Taken from Wikipedia)

Let's just put this out there-- it's been a while. But I have a good excuse-- we were on our fabulous honeymoon! Oh I ate SOOOOO much, and documented a lot....but again, this is a Baltimore blog so I'll spare you all the details.

We went to France, Italy and Switzerland.

And yes, I had French Onion Soup; oodles of Pizza and Pasta; and a traditional swiss cheese fondue! I've never eaten so much in my life, and I've never been so happy in my life. It was a glorious trip :O)

One thing I must note is that I became obsessed with Macarons. They are my current obsession....and I don't know what to do now that they aren't in every single shop around me. If you know of any Baltimore places that sell these-- let a desperate girl know!!!

Lots of updates coming soon!!!!!

Cosi, Everywhere USA POST DEUX

I have found a new love. I am sorry Mr. Mocha-Latte-with-Skimmed-Milk-no-whip-and-lots-of-money, you have been replaced by MR. PUMPKIN SPICED LATTE!!!!!!

Oh it's sooooo sweet and soooo perfectly spiced and it reminds me of the Fall, which probably is the biggest draw for me. I just had to let you know that there is a new coffee in my heart. Unfortunately, I know this is temporary. Cosi is sly like that, they get you addicted to all their products and then just take them away each season :O(

But anyway, this is pretty great. It's also stupidly expensive, but that's why you have to save these things as a Monday morning treat and stick to your own tea bags the other weekday mornings :)

Austin, Texas

Sorry that it's been so long since I've blogged. Dan and I visited my sister in Austin, Texas for the labor day weekend and so I've slowly been trying to catch up. Again, seeing as though this is a BALTIMORE blog-- I'm not going to take up a lot of time talking about the restaurants BUT I do want to say that Austin is a little jewel in the middle of Texas. It's extremely liberal (a big plus for me) and very active. It's much greener than I thought Texas could ever be-- and hill country is spectacular. I think everyone should definitely check this place out.

Whenever I go to Austin, there are a couple of places I have to go to everytime:
Jo's: This coffee bar has a couple of locations, but the one I usually go to is on South Congress since it's close to all the other places I love! I love their yummy iced coffee, including something called a Belgian Bomber that's made with mocha and condensed milk-- wonderfully refreshing!

Guero's Taco Bar: I love South Congress Avenue-- it's a really chill place to hang out in Austin and check out the more laidback vibe. This restaurant has delicious tacos and margaritas. My personal favorite is their Al Pastor taco.

Amy's Ice Cream: Their Mexican Vanilla is AMAZING. I can't get enough of this sweet vanilla ice cream that puts all other vanillas to shame. Oh yes, and where else could this be but on South Congress!

The Oasis: This gorgeous restaurant on Lake Travis is a perfect treat for visitors. The view is spectacular- especially at sunset- and their food is delicious as well (not to mention their margaritas!). I tried the fish tacos which I really enjoyed. However, people go there mostly for the view, it's just an added bonus that the food is amazing. Be wary about long waits!

Visit Austin-- you might be happily surprised!!!!

Ding How, Timonium

Ding How, a Chinese restaurant right behind my house, is our neighborhood Chinese take-out restaurant. However, ever since Wegman's came around-- we usually just (shock and horror) get our Chinese food from their Wokery Bar!

Saturday night we decided we wanted something fast-- and thought that Ding How would be the best idea. Instead, we ended up waiting for our carry out order for about 35-40 mins. We probably could have sit down and eaten during the time it took us to get our food. That was hugely disappointing, especially because we heard the lady on the phone tell her delivery orders that it was going to take 25 minutes. I guess we should have stayed at home and called them!

We ordered the General Tso's chicken and Sesame Chicken (healthy eating was not on the menu tonight) and unfortunately they were definitely not up to par. The breading around both of these meals were entirely too much. There was just something off about these meals. Overall, I am pretty disappointed because usually Chinese take-out is satisfying regardless of the meal. I think because we waited SO long for the food that we were expecting it to be amazing, and it really didn't meet those standards.

Ding How
12234 Tullamore Rd,
Timonium MD 21093

(410) 628-0888