Jimmy John's $1 subs Nationwide - TODAY ONLY

TODAY ONLY

Thursday, April 21

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Jimmy John's Sandwiches is thanking its fans by hosting a Nationwide Customer Appreciation Day.

For more about Jimmy John's check out our 2013 blog post here 

Offer applies to sandwiches #1 through #6, JJBLT and Slims only (see below)

$1 subs are limited to one per person at check out….BUT you can go through the line as many times as you want. 

Famous Dave's new menu item - Columbia, MD

Famous Dave's restaurant is known for its barbecue, but can a new menu item gain just as much popularity? Famous Dave’s just added fried chicken to the menu courtesy of a homemade recipe from none other than the restaurant's owner Dave Anderson.




The entrée will be sold at select Famous Dave’s locations in Maryland every Sunday from November 15th through January 31st. I was invited to the Columbia, Maryland Famous Dave's for a taste.

Chicken wing and breast meat with corn bread muffin and 
garlic red-skin mashed potatoes

The new entree deal includes two choices: a fried half chicken dinner (four pieces of chicken served with one side and a corn bread muffin) for $9.99 or a fried chicken-n-meat combo (fried chicken paired with your choice of one meat, corn-on-the-cob, choice of two sides and a corn bread muffin) for $16.29.

I took my mom with me to the tasting. We both received a piece of fried chicken, a corn bread muffin, and two sides. The fried chicken was crispy, but not as crispy or oily like the fried chicken made at KFC or Popeyes.

It reminded me more of a homemade recipe. The seasoning was interesting- slightly peppery that packed a mild kick after a couple of bites. At first, it caught me off guard but with my big glass of cold water it worked out perfectly.






While Famous Dave's has an eclectic variety of sauces to douse on any entree ranging in spiciness from rich & sassy to devil's spit and everything in between, if the fried chicken's peppery undertone isn't enough to spice up your meal, the restaurant has you covered with three new sauces: white BBQ, buffalo with honey (mild), and Wilbur’s revenge with honey (hot).

Chicken thigh with a corn bread muffin and sweet corn

The corn bread muffin was just amazing - warm, sweet, buttery melt-in-your-mouth goodness. My mother and I are so enamored with this sweet muffin that we will be purchasing some via carry out for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Wilbur beans and potato salad

For our sides, we decided to try four different items - the Wilbur beans, potato salad, sweet corn, and garlic red-skin mashed potatoes. If I had to pick just one (like in the "fried half chicken dinner"), I would go with the sweet corn or the mashed potatoes. While I enjoyed the beans, mash and corn, we weren't crazy about the potato salad as the dressing was a little bland.

Thomas and the Columbia, Maryland Famous Dave's manager. He's a really cool guy who made us feel like family

Although we were invited to taste the new fried chicken, the manager offered us a taste of the famous ribs. I couldn't resist. 

Yes, the ribs tasted just as good as they look above. Finger licking, packed full of tender meat, good. Fried chicken and ribs -what a classic combo. I was a happy man. 

I'd definitely give the new fried chicken a try. Let us know how you liked it. 

Thanks for the invite Famous Dave's!!!!

-Thomas Regnante

H Mart - Catonsville, Maryland

 Located on the corner of Rolling Road & Rt. 40 in Catonsville, Maryland, H Mart is an Asian inspired grocery store that according to its web site takes pride in offering customers "the freshest ingredients" with the "best value".

Since opening in Queens, New York in 1982, H Mart has grown to 40 locations in the US, Canada and recently London, England. 

H Mart (short for Han Ah Reum, a Korean phrase meaning "arm full of groceries") carries a wide selection of fresh produce, seafood and asian products. Surprisingly, it also has a Hispanic food section too. 

Hidden on the far right side of the store, tucked away in a corner, we discovered a sit-in eatery and sushi counter. 

Charles, Grandpa and me 

A row of large flatscreens displayed the eatery menu items identified by photo, numbers and dish name.

The eatery is small with about five tables and counter seating. Although a half-wall partisan separates the eatery from the supermarket, I could still easily see and hear the shoppers - which we thought was cool.

After we selected our dishes, we placed our order at the cash register.


Once our meals were ready, the nice lady at the cash register called us up to the counter to retrieve the entrees. Our meals came with a complimentary bowl of white rice, kimchi, and miso soup. The rice  and kimchi was given to us with our entree, however, we were told the soup was self serve from a large hot caldron (that was fun to do).

Apparently there are people who forget the miso soup is only complimentary with a entree, because there was a huge "Not Free $1.00" sign posted on the pot.

I selected the KanPoongGi (#21). Although the chicken was moist and plentiful, the "garlic and pepper sauce" was a little too spicy for my liking. One  bite wasn't inherently spicy, but after a couple of mouthfuls, I was grateful for my water bottle. However, my grandpa, who likes spicy cuisine, thought the dish was great! I'd say this dish resembles Sesame Chicken but with a giant kick.

My brother Charles ordered the Chicken Broccoli (#52). The best part of the dish was the fresh broccoli. The bad part was the rest of the dish - the chicken was rubbery, bland, and chewy with a monotonous brown "special sauce".  Charles was quite surprised since the dish looked so good on the menu board photo and on the actual plate.  After my Grandpa and I tried a bite of his dish, we both concurred with his assessment. We left most of his dish untouched.

In addition to the hot food in the cafe, there is a sushi section run by a few men who were busy making sushi to order. While we didn't try the sushi on this visit, it looked terrific - and most importantly it looked very fresh. The prices for the sushi carry-out items seemed less expensive than other grocery stores like Giant and Safeway. For example, a California Roll was priced at $3.50.

Although our voyage to the H Mart eatery wasn't all that great, we would still consider returning to try other dishes. Plus, we'd like to spend more time exploring the grocery part of the store.



-Thomas Regnante

We're in Catonsville Life Magazine

Catonsville Life Magazine 

Check out our review of Grilled Cheese & Company in Catonsville Life Magazine.  

The magazine asked us to review more Catonsville restaurants.  So, we'll be visiting more restaurants and eateries there.  

Let us know if you have any favorite Catonsville spots for us to visit.  

- Thomas 

hocofood@@@

Grilled Cheese and Co. - Catonsville, Maryland.

Who doesn't like a grilled Cheese sandwich, right? That's why we decided to try Grilled Cheese & Co. in Catonsville with our family.











The cool thing about the restaurant is that when you walk in, the menu is prominently painted on the wall.

The restaurant's interior consists of about nine small tables and a counter to place your orders. Although the inside of the restaurant is small, don't let it fool you.  Great things come out of the kitchen.

The ordering counter

Cream of tomato basil soup  

While there were soup and salad options, the majority of our family ordered the Grill Cheese and Co.  namesake that comes in more than 10 varieties including the Crabby Melt (the most popular), Smashed Meatballs, Blue Ox and Sweetest Thing.

However, my grandfather ordered a cup of the home-made cream of tomato basil soup as an appetizer. The soup was presented with a mountain of parmesan cheese and crouton toppings which made an excellent presentation. My grandfather liked the soup, especially the heavy hint of basil.

We ordered a variety of sandwiches, each one was a large portion and grilled to a light brown crisp.  

Veggie Delight 

The Fresco

My grandmother enjoyed the Fresco -  fresh mozzarella, provolone cheese, fire roasted red peppers, basil pesto & finished with balsamic glaze.

Kick'n BBQ Chicken 

White and sweet potato shoestring fries were 
terrific 

I'm a big fan of BBQ, so I tried the Kick'n BBQ
 chicken grilled cheese.  I didn't disappoint. All the
gooey goodness of the pepper jack cheese,
diced onions and sweet BBQ sauce. It was
Kick'n ...good.

Cordon Blue Swiss 

The veggie delight sandwich has havarti cheese with a medley of roasted veggies, olive tapenade finished with a rosemary black pepper aioli grilled up on harvest whole grain bread.

My mom said it was packed with flavor. She loved the way the  roasted veggies infused with the black pepper aioli.

Charles and my grandfather ordered the Cordon Bleu Swiss, smoked ham, swiss cheese & grilled chicken finished with dijon mustard sauce. This too was a clever combination that sent their taste buds on a one-way train to pleasure town. 

Grilled Cheese and Co. has three other locations - Federal Hill, Eldersburg, and Waugh Chapel. The parking lot in the Catonsville location mirrors the size of the restaurant, and it was hard for Charles, a new driver, to maneuver into a parking spot.

We'd definitely go back and try a few more grilled cheese sandwiches, especially their popular Crabby Melt.

- Thomas
hocofood@@@

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