Outback Steakhouse, Everywhere USA

What is it with me and Chains lately? I slightly hate myself for going to so many in such a short period of time. I have a huge list of restaurants in my Google Documents of places I want to go to and I end up.....here. Unfortunately, there is a perfectly good reason to that-- most of the places listed are expensive. Oh well....one day I'll finish my list.

OK. self loathing over....let me continue with the review.

I was still sickly when I went here so I decided to take it easy and chose the French Onion Soup and the Queensland Salad (Fresh chicken breast salad on a bed of mixed greens with Monterey Jack and Cheddar, diced egg, tomatoes and toasted almonds). It basically tasted like the crispy chicken salad from Friendly's that I used to love with all of my heart (until I realized that Friendly's is kind of gross). The French Onion soup was actually rich and flavorful. Probably not the best I've ever had, but from a Chain "Australian" restaurant...I was happy with it. The salad was good- you can't really go wrong with a salad like that, but I do have to say that all the ingredients were fresh. Probably not local though.

My choices in food probably don't reflect what most people come here for, but I still thought I should blog!

Outback Steakhouse
134 Shawan Rd
Hunt Valley MD 21031
(410) 527-1540
www.outback.com

Cheesecake Factory, Everywhere USA

Look, I don't mind eating at Cheesecake Factory, but I don't understand why this place is ALWAYS so crowded. There are a lot of good restaurants around these chains and yet for some reason people still resort to waiting for 2 hours at the Cheesecake table. I don't get it. When this particular Cheesecake Factory opened near me, I, like many other people, waited for hours to eat here. Why? The meals are the same everywhere and we know what we are going to get. What is the excitement? I have no idea....but I still was involved! Good marketing team over there!

So I've been here twice now since it's opened near me (and countless other times outside of that), so let me quickly tell you what I got.

First Visit:
The Factory Appetizer Favorites was an AWESOME way for a table to sample all the delicious appetizer items they have. I love appetizers a lot, so this was such a special treat. My favorite were definitely the tamale corn cakes; spinach and cheese dip; and summer rolls. After that, I was actually really stuffed even though we had five people splitting appetizers! I ordered the Fresh Fish Tacos which were good, and very healthful tasting (good after the appetizer!) I ended up not being able to eat a lot and took some home. Let me tell you-- they don't heat up well the second time around, so I would advise you to eat the whole dish. I then ordered (please don't ask me how I had room for this) the carrot cake, which was HUGE (again, i took most of it home) and was good, but still not as good as my favorite carrot cake EVER from Wegman's (their Ultimate Carrot Cake and their Ultimate Chocolate Cake are two of the best cakes you will ever eat in your life).

Second Visit:
I ordered the appetizer salad (which size is good enough for a normal portioned salad) for my dinner, the French Country Salad (Mixed Greens, Grilled Asparagus, Fresh Beets, Goat Cheese and Candied Pecans). Doesn't that sound delicious? It wasn't. Ok, ok, I'll be fair, it was.....Ok. They forgot the pecans so we had to specially ask for it, which was strike one. But also, the taste was just incredibly bland. I was expecting taste explosions in my mouth and it didn't happen. I was bummed. To treat myself, I decided to go for dessert, as I often do. I chose the carrot cake cheesecake which was yummy. I think I preferred the carrot cake cheesecake over the carrot cake.

Overall, I still don't get they hype over this place other than the huge selection of meals. But, you won't hear me complaining if we end up going here......

Cheesecake Factory, Towson Town Center,
825 Dulaney Valley Road,
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 337-7411
www.thecheesecakefactory.com

Chili's, Everywhere USA

This post is past due. I've been here a million and one times because it's Dan favorite restaurant. I've been trying to avoid posting on a place like Chili's because it's almost like blogging about Starbuck's-- it's the same everywhere, and everyone already has an opinion on it.

But as I said, I've been here so many times I might as well quickly write something. For starters, their Presidente Margaritas are delicious and at $6 are a great addition to a meal. You get a shaker (not to keep) and there are about 3 margaritas in that shaker. As I said, great addition. I like to get the fajitas so that I control what I put in my stomach (aka no green peppers), and because I actually like the steak they have. I've had their Guiltless Chicken Sandwich before and that's a good option if your husband drags you here and you still want to be healthy. One thing I've had that I would NOT recommend are their Chicken Tacos, surprisingly. They were WAY too soggy and just not appetizing overall. I was very surprised, especially with something as easy as Tacos. Also, I got them at lunch and I was disappointed that there was no lunch menu. They have one lunch feature- their bottomless chips, soups and salad choice...but other than that, no price changes for lunch. I don't appreciate that from a big chain like Chili's.

Oh well, that's my two cents.

Chili's Bar & Grill
9615 Deereco Road
Timonium, MD 21093
410-308-8740

Fractured Prune, Towson

The Fractured Prune is literally right next to Pei Wei (My entry) so we skipped over there after our (terrible) meal. I ended up not ordering anything because I was strangely full enough, and I was excited to go back to my friend's house and eat all of her homemade saltine toffee candy anyway. However, Dan ordered the OC Sand (honey glaze, cinnamon sugar) and the French Toast (maple glaze, cinnamon sugar) so I knew that I would have a couple of bites :)

Both were extremely delicious, I must admit. I felt extremely unhealthy from eating only a couple of bites (somehow the Saltine toffee don't make me feel that way!), so I can't imagine ever getting more than one. It was superb with a nice cold glass of milk. Definitely a special treat! My friends really enjoy others with crazy toppings, especially the Reese Cup (peanut butter glaze, mini chocolate chips) but I am not a fan of the peanut butter/chocolate combination so it didn't appeal to me.

Bubba's Breakaway, Towson

We ordered from here one Game Night ago and I decided to get some hummus under the recommendation of a friend. For $5 a big tub of hummus came my way with some coldish pita bread. The hummus was not what I was hoping for. It was extremely runny and WAY too garlicky. I ended up eating most of Dan's fries (yummy) instead. I think I am spoiled by the Sabra brand of hummus. I think that has got to be the best hummus ever, and I really love hummus so I must know.
Do you guys know of any restaurant that has good hummus? I love getting it for an appetizer.

Bubba's Breakaway
905 York Rd
Towson, MD 21204
(410) 296-4080

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/

Wegman's, Hunt Valley PART TWO

This entry almost hurts my heart to write because I love Wegman's so much. Unfortunately, this must be written.

I have tried something from here that I did not love.

I was sickly so I was in the mood for some soup. I also wanted to walk around and chose Wegman's as my destination for my soup and gander. I chose the quintessential "sick" soup- Chicken Noodle. Unfortunately what I ended up getting was more like Pepper Noodle Soup. I had one piece of chicken in the medium size container. It also had the most pepper I've ever known. Now, knowing that people turn to Chicken Noodle Soup as their Soup Savior when they are sick-- why would you laden it with pepper? It was too spicy to ingest. What a disappointment. I counted on you, Wegman's :o(

Wegman's, Hunt Valley Towne Centre
www.wegmans.com
122 Shawan Rd, Cockeysville
(410) 773-3900

Boheme Cafe, Inner Harbor

I had a FABULOUS lunch friday from Boheme Café. I got a bowl size of their turkey chili for $5 and a fabulous looking almond Danish for $1 (pastries and cookies are half off because they want to sell out before the weekend). The chili was amazing! It's sweet and spicy and very meaty which makes me happy. My friend, Leah, very nicely gave me a chocolate chip walnut cookie they had and ate it in delight! The cookie was so soft and the chips were slightly melted. Oh it was just a perfect cookie. I really really love this place and will be sure to come back again. I've had a sandwich from there before that I really enjoyed. They have a lot of vegetarian options and are committed to the local food scene which I admire. They also serve fair trade coffee. Overall, this sounds like a café I wouldn't mind going to every once in a while for lunch. Be sure to check it out, but be aware- there is no indoor seating, so I hope you don't mind carrying it back to your desk!

Boheme Café
(410) 347-9898
400 E Pratt StBaltimore, MD21202
www.bohemecafe.com/index.html

Baltimore Farmer's Market, Baltimore City

I went to visit the Baltimore Farmer's Market under the JFX on Sunday after Thanksgiving.  It was very rainy and cold and hardly anyone was there, so luckily for us parking was a breeze.  We also knew that a lot of the stands would have gone since it is pushing Winter-- but we were still tempted to see what was offered.  OK, fine, we were actually tempted by the amazing mini donuts and the crepe stand.  Let's first talk about the donut stand because those are THE BEST DONUTS EVER.  I love them so incredibly much.  A large bag is $4 and they may be one of the best uses of $4 in this city.  The dough is fresh and hot, and you can pour your own sugar on it.  Oh they just melt in your mouth.  The crepes were really delicious too-- you can make your own egg, cheese, meat combination but they are pretty hefty at $6 for one singular crepe.  If you get anything fancier, some may cost you $8-9.  I don't know about you, but when I go to the Farmer's Market, I expect things to be cheap...but I guess the prepared food isn't.  However, the produce IS!  I got a quart of turnips for $1!  We also got a bag of four huge Organic chocolate chip cookies that were great.  Basically, we went there to eat and we were so happy!  I would recommend going to the Farmer's markets any day.  Everyone there is so helpful and friendly!  And the food, both the prepared and produce kind are delicious.

Thanks, Baltimore!

Hightopps Backstage Grille, Timonium

Have I ever told you about how horrendous the food is at Hightopps? I haven't!?!?! Well shame on me because it's terrible. It's a darn shame too because I go here every Tuesday night for Charm City Trivia and it would be nice to order something delicious while I work my brain. Recently, I went there to watch the Ravens game and had a lot of fun but had terrible (shocker) nachos. Nachos! How can any place mess up nachos! ESPECIALLY a bar! I ordered the chicken nachos for about $12 which is pretty expensive for nachos, not to mention really crappy nachos. THe chicken was cooked too much and was excessively chewy, the nachos themselves were practically burnt to a crisp and the cheese wasn't gooey but a solid overcooked mess. It was terrible, but I ate it because I was hungry. My husband has ordered a chicken sandwich from here and received raw chicken, that same time he ordered wings which had a feather still attached. Totally gross. Basically, come here for a cool bar, but do NOT order any food. Seriously.

EDIT 8/10/09: Thanks to the commenters, it seems like Hightopps has changed chefs- so this review may be out of date.....but I still need to go there to check! Thank you again Jessica and my anonymous friend for giving me the scoop!!!! -- Nakiya