We’ve passed over the Forest Diner a lot, I’m afraid. Its neighbor, the Double T diner, is so big and airy and welcoming, and behind the Double T is Honey Pig, which provides Korean bbq at all hours of the day. For a long time, the Forest Diner was a place that we drove by on our way to other places.

We did finally stop in for breakfast (I love diner breakfasts) one Saturday morning. The exterior of the diner is old and worn, and the interior pretty much matches it; lots of scratches on the wood and tiles, very faded fabrics, with a real diner car in front. You feel like you’re going back in time when you walk in there. The woman who worked there was very friendly, and brought us menus right away.

For breakfast I ordered eggs, corned beef hash, and grits. The eggs were nicely done (over easy with runny yolks, just the way I like them) and the grits were buttery and delicious, but the corned beef hash obviously came straight from the can — it was still in a circular shape, and had merely been browned on the outside. Next time I’m getting another type of protein. K, on the other hand, was delighted with his crispy home fries and his creamed chipped beef. People, you have never seen such a huge pile of creamed chipped beef.

It was tasty, too.

We went back another evening to try the fried chicken, which the sign outside proudly proclaims to be the world’s best. I had my doubts, but we ordered the four-piece meal: thighs, legs, and wings with two sides for $10.99. Incredulously, I asked the waitress if we could get any four pieces for that price: say, four thighs? She said we couldn’t get four thighs, but we could get two thighs with a leg and a wing, so we did that.

One of the thighs was a bit shriveled, but the chicken was still wonderfully delicious, with crispy, flavorful skin and moist flesh inside. The dark meat was definitely better than the white meat, which was overcooked and slightly dry. We split the meal between the two of us. It’s a pretty good deal when two people are happily fed for $10.99.

Apparently they’ll only be open for a couple more years, so definitely stop by and try the fried chicken if you can. Just be sure to get the dark meat.

K and I showed up at the new Columbia BGR on opening day. The place was pretty well-attended, both with friendly cashiers and happy diners. Since we’d already been to another BGR location, where I’d tasted (and loved) their classic burger as well as their Cuban, both of us opted for a new experience: the mushroom-and-onion Wellington, with a side of rosemary fries. (We made the cashier’s day, apparently, because he got to push the “repeat order” button.)

I like BGR’s philosophy of cooking the burgers to order, and using beef that is hormone-free and grain-fed. I was disappointed, however, in the Wellington; I can see the appeal of the caramelized onions and the mushrooms, but for me, the blue cheese was so strong that it basically took over the flavor of the meat. Oh well, I’ll try something different next time. (If you like blue cheese, though, then the Wellington is for you!)

We’ll still be back; K wants to try the lobster roll and I’m looking forward to the asparagus fries. The potato fries were delicious: hot, crispy, and fragrant with rosemary. Also, K got to play with the customize-your-own-soda machine, so I’d call it a win.

A note on doneness: BGR’s definition of medium rare was just a bit more red inside than I had been expecting. I’ll eat rare meat (I’ve had tartare), but for a burger, I prefer a bit more in the way of texture. Next time, I’m ordering medium.

We used to go to Pho Dat Thanh for the pho, but now that we have discovered the House Special Thin Egg Noodle Soup (what a mouthful), there’s no going back.

The soup is “C1” on the menu. K was the first one to order it, and neither of us have gotten anything else since. The soup comes with “shrimp, fish balls, squid, barbecue pork and fried shrimp cake.” For the record we haven’t seen the fried shrimp cake on the dish since the first time we ordered it. That’s okay though, because what I’m really there for is not the fish balls, nor the pork, nor the shrimp, nor the (frankly kind of mushy) pieces of artificial crab. No, it’s the slender egg noodles, and the broth.

I have no idea what goes into this broth, but it tastes like my childhood. It’s exactly the type of broth that I remember from my parents’ trips to Chinatown, salty and savory and ever-so-slightly tangy (from what, I don’t know. Garlic? Green onions?). I’ve had this broth served up with Cantonese style wontons, the ones with lots of shrimp and vegetables and a thin, almost transparent skin. Wonton noodle soup is a total comfort food for me, warm and reassuring.

In Columbia, the “house special thin egg noodle soup” is as close as I’ve gotten to classic Cantonese wonton noodle soup. It makes sense that Pho Dat Thanh would offer a soup with Cantonese flavors; I’m told the owners were Cantonese who grew up in Vietnam.

The only downside to impulse soup dinner is that the place apparently does a bustling business on weeknights, and there was a bit of a wait at the door (and then, once we got a table, we had to wait even longer for the waitstaff to notice that no one had taken our orders). Next time I’m ordering carryout. At least the crowds mean that the Columbia restaurant scene is alive and well.

Pho Dat Thanh is on Snowden River Parkway in Columbia. For other menu options there, see HowChow’s review.

K has a long history with Frisco Burrito Grille Taphouse and Brewery. He remembers when they were just a burrito counter. Then they expanded into the space next door, putting in a bar full of microbrews and a lot of tables for patrons, and we started going there regularly. And now that they’ve established themselves in their newest digs just down the street, we drop by frequently for a good meal and a tasty brew.

There are drawbacks, though. The parking situation is atrocious; the side lot is far too small and it fills up quickly, so visitors at peak hours are forced to find parking on side streets and in nearby lots. Also, you used to be able to get a table almost anywhere and keep an eye on the game; now, the TVs are centralized at the bar, so you might not get a good view from your table. Speaking of the television screens, those are also where Frisco keeps their massive microbrew list — and although the list of 50 taps fills two long screens, it’s hard to read from the dining area.

(They have a solution for the smartphone-enabled, though: an electronic beer list.)

(Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale; chips, salsa, and guacamole)

The menu has changed, too. They’ve added corn dogs (good) and beer-battered catfish (not so good), among other things. Also, Frisco’s pizza oven is up and running. We tried the margherita pizza and it was delicious, with fresh tomato and big crispy leaves of basil. The chorizo pizza was good as well, though I hear it’s even more improved by adding bacon. (Well, what isn’t?) Two pizzas turned out to be not quite enough for three people, but they’re fun to share. Someday I’ll get around to trying their “taphouse steak and cheese” pizza, which apparently features bbq steak and avocado.

Returning visitors might notice that the enchiladas are no longer on the menu, but the kitchen will still make one for you if you ask — a fortunate thing, since their enchiladas are delicious. I recommend getting them with chorizo.

Anyway, we remain big fans of Frisco, no matter what they’re calling themselves, and we’ll definitely keep going for the food and the brews. I’ll just have to remember to get there early if I want a parking spot.

Yeah, yeah, we made corned beef and cabbage. There’s nothing easier than corned beef and cabbage. You put the slab of supermarket corned beef in the pot, throw in the spice packet (or some peppercorns and mustard seeds if they weren’t nice enough to give you a spice packet), cover with water, and boil for a couple of hours; take the meat out, throw in some root vegetables and boil for another twenty minutes; throw in some sliced cabbage and boil for another five or so. Done. Serve with soda bread and grainy, smoky mustard. Eat leftovers for the next week or so. We all know how corned beef and cabbage works. It’s a well-loved tradition in the K and k household this time of year.

(I also tried making this chocolate-orange Guinness cake. It turned out flavorful but dry, as if I’d left it in to bake too long, even though I’d yanked the pans out five minutes early. It’ll need some tweaking.)

But anyway, I’m not here to talk about St Patrick’s Day food. I’m here to talk about my local supermarkets.

See, K was poking around this blog and said, “you know, you sound pretty elitist. You don’t talk about the Giant and the Harris Teeter even though you shop there all the time.”

And it’s true! I didn’t mention them at all! I rectified the problem on the Pantry page, but I feel I need to give the Giant and the Teet even more credit. (I first heard “the Teet” from my friend C, and I’ve been uncontrollably repeating it since. It’s so fun to say. “Oh, I picked this up at the Teet…”)

Anyway, the Giant is a smallish village center Giant, and if it weren’t so convenient (thank you, Columbia village designers), I probably wouldn’t be there so often. But it’s less than a mile from our house and it’s there for me whenever I need it. At various times, I’ve raced over there to get butter, baking powder, or heavy cream with a half-finished cake or scone batter still sitting on the counter. I drop by there regularly for orange juice and cheese, and grain-fed chicken eggs during the CSA off-season. (Since the mad cow scare, and the rather disgusting revelation that laying hens were sometimes fed cow brains as protein, I’ve switched to purchasing eggs from solely grain-fed hens.)

And for all its diminutive size, the Giant does a pretty good job with stocking. I was astounded to find creme fraiche at the cheese display near the deli. You can get almond flour and tahini from the “natural goods” isle. It’s really quite astonishing. I lean on the Giant a lot.

Because the Giant is smallish, the produce isn’t as rich or varied as it could be; they don’t have a lot of the more exotic produce, nor do they always have the variety of fresh herbs I’m looking for. That’s why I also go to the Harris Teeter, in the next village center over. The seafood counter at the Harris Teeter is clean, bright, and does a constant business (I like quick turnover in my raw seafood). They also have great specials every week. Harris Teeter has an amazing cheese display too, and they’re great about putting snacking samples out.

I’ll tell you something that neither the Giant nor the Harris Teeter had, though. Neither of them had organic red potatoes. I’m not an organic fanatic or anything; if I want broccoli or asparagus and there’s no organic to be had, I’ll happily buy the non-organic variety. But with potatoes, which are one of the top ten fruits/vegetables to buy organic if possible, I prefer to buy organic. Sadly, though both the Giant and the Teet offered organic potatoes, none of them were red potatoes, which K considered mandatory for the St Patrick’s Day meal.

I am not inflexible. A few pesticides never killed anybody. We bought the bag of non-organic red potatoes and they went wonderfully with the rest of the meal. But when Giant or the Teet stocks red potatoes, I will throw a party.

Oh, and although it’s not really a supermarket, I should still mention the Costco in Elkridge. The $4.99 rotisserie chicken (cheaper than at Giant or the Teet) has been a quick dinner when both of us are running late and don’t have time to cook. We just eat the meat off it (thighs and drumsticks as is; breasts become chicken a la king or chicken salad) and throw the carcass in the freezer to make broth later. The Costco baked goods and meats are fantastic as well.

K is the one who likes scrapple. He’s tried to get me to eat it before, but I’m not really a fan. Even I had to admit, though, that the scrapple at Lantz Restaurant, in the Dutch Country Farmers Market in Laurel, was pretty fabulous.

I think the trick is in the incredibly thin slicing. Because it’s sliced so thinly and fried so well, most of it is just crunchy fried goodness (particularly the edges and corners), and it goes all soft and melty in the center. True, it does taste of organ meat (a downside for me), but it also tastes of wonderful seasoning; the taste of organ meat goes away quickly and the seasoning remains to warm your mouth.

Given that, I still probably won’t order scrapple with my eggs and homefries (or warm, buttery grits) next time we’re out there for breakfast. If K orders scrapple, though, I will nip a little of his.

The rest of the Dutch Country Farmers Market is fantastic as well. I love walking in and being wrapped warmly in the scent of baked goods, fresh from the oven. Then we walk off to the left and smell sausage and fried chicken. Fresh meats and produce can be found in the center, and then as you come up the right aisle, you encounter snacking heaven: cheese samples, bits of sausage, pickles, dips. It’s fabulous. Plus the cheese vendor will grate or shred your purchase if you so desire.

It’s a splendid place. Get there early if you want breakfast, though, as there will almost certainly be a line. We got up a little late and had to wait for the first wave to finish. It was definitely worth the wait.