Places - Blaze Pizza

There are so many new Quick Service Fast Casual Restaurants popping up all over the place it can be hard to keep up. One of the newest concepts you will see popping up everywhere is the on demand pizza model. I previously visited Pie 5 as one is close to me and the family enjoys it. For lunch this past week I visited another version of the idea, Blaze Pizza which is similar but it does definitely have some major differences.


First off the Blaze Pizza is bigger than the Pie 5 and where Pie 5 uses a dough that they have lined up in pans for baking in their conveyor belt oven, Blaze keeps the dough balls waiting until you arrive and press them right there. The ordering is little bit different as well, they have a variety of specialty pizzas and a make your own option which for the price and the variety can be beneficial if you can't make up your mind like me.  So you pick your toppings and they write them on the menu sheet which sits in front of them, which has to be helpful for prep, and put it into their more traditional style oven and it gets turned and cooked in under 5 minutes.

The one thing I have to say is that when it's crowded this area has to get hectic as the cook has to keep up and rotate the pizzas, this particular location in laurel could probably use more space between the oven and register from what I saw. Onto the pizza itself, I got two specialties put together, the Meat Lovers and White Pizza.

The ingredients are very fresh and it's amazing how much of that you can taste and tell. I did read reviews that the pepperonis didn't quite have enough spice to them and they were a bit mild maybe, but it could be from not aging and being processed as much as some other places. The sauce, while fresh had a lack of flavor, I mean it wasn't very tomato tasting nor was it really flavorful. They do offer a spicy red sauce as well so you might want to give that a try. The Meatballs on the meat lovers side were pretty good though.

The white pizza side the sauce was still slightly underwhelming. It could have used a little bit more salt and they sprinkle garlic over the top instead of having more of it in the sauce itself which would have been better so that it gets distributed more. It also has bacon on it which is cool but my preparer left off my arugula which I'm sure would have added some more contrast. it was fine though. My big issue is with a place like this the crust needs to be a star and it wasn't. It was very underwhelming and plain. I contrast with Pie 5 whose crust is very distinctive and worth eating on it's own this was the biggest disappointment for me.

Overall it wasn't a bad experience and the pizza isn't bad, it just doesn't make me scream out we have to go back. There are little tweaks they could make and the size and value are there for the price compared to pie 5 and so that is what makes it a more difficult decision, but if it's based on taste alone I'd choose Pie 5 personally. I almost forgot, I did get a heated SMore's cookie and it was good. I mean the cookie/cracker wasn't overly sweet but the entire composition was still tasty.






Rating: 3/5

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Places - Jasons Deli

Jasons Deli is a place I had never heard of before but apparently it's a decent sandwich, salad, and soup franchise that is growing and makes it's case on being healthy and a little bit upscale. They have plenty of unique sandwich offerings as well as a soup and salad bar which you can get and eat your fill of if you're dining in so that's cool.

Today I decided to have a salad, Caesar, with Salmon for my lunch. I took time to look at the menu well in advance because they have quite a few options overall. Now while waiting this location in Columbia got bogged down because they didn't really have enough staff on hand. It was just after major lunch time so they should have been better prepared for a large crowd. Then the menu complexity made things slow in the ordering phase and also when putting things together. They need to aim to be more like Panera and get a slightly larger staff.




My salad was a nice size and it also came with herb toast, which wasn't really as toasted as it could have been. It was alright, the herb flavors weren't my favorite but the bread was soft and tender so it was fine. The Salmon didn't look that appealing and it's obvious that it was microwaved. It was warm in the middle but the outside was colder and had the congealed fat that you get from a cooked piece of the fish. The greens were crisp, cheese was right and salty and the croutons were decent. The dressing wasn't really creamy enough for my liking when it says creamy. It was a hybrid between regular caesar and creamy and it wasn't bad but maybe a bit more garlic than I like to have without the creaminess to balance it out. It was a decent salad bt it didn't blow me away. The Salmon looks seasoned but didn't even have salt or pepper which are basics.

I think I will try Jason's Deli again to see how their sandwiches are. The salad was fine but not anything special and the ones at Panera Bread are much better.




Rating: 3/5

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Restaurant review The Burger Joint

Burgers have made a resurgence in popularity and there are always new burger style chains as we fall in love with classic Americana all over again. A stone's throw away from a Five Guys in Columbia, Maryland I decided to give this spot a try even though the Yelp reviews (you can follow me there too!) were a bit spotty. I took the chance anyway.

The Burger Joint is actually pretty small and simple in the design. The dining room had a few patrons there which was cool being as though it isn't that crowded which means people like to sit and eat in. But the walls were corny with popular 80's classic pop album covers on the walls. They weren't original sleeves, but reproductions specifically to go on the walls. It wouldn't be bad if they were original or unique but they were so generic and run of the mill it took away from the dining room to me. The menu is pretty decent and there are a good amount of options including specialties like their Ahi Tuna Burger. They also have milkshakes but at 4.99 each they are well on the high side of the price scale.




I ordered a regular cheeseburger with bacon and lettuce which I threw away because it was vanity that made me order it to begin with. They give you a buzzer like they use at the Olive Garden to let you know when your food is ready. It keeps them from yelling I guess. to the burger, I am a well done man and the burger was cooked perfectly. It was think and still juicy and fully cooked. The bacon was crispy but the bun oddly had a bunch of sesame seeds on only one side. The flavor was different. It was smoky like freshly grilled and thick. This is part of their appeal or niche, fresh ground burgers made from aged beef and grilled over an open flame, not flattened and fried like at a Five Guys or Wendys.

Looking at their website, starting in Philly, these burgers did remind me of the Philly Gourmet variety that you can get from the frozen food section at the market. I'm not generally a fan of these thick style burgers but this one, while having that consistency that I personally don't like, was good and flavorful. I could see easily how some might slather these up in steak sauce before eating. I also got cheddar on my burger but the flavor was drowned out by the burger though the applewood smoked bacon brought a good amount of saltiness to the meat.

I also got some fries and I wasn't impressed at first glance. They looked like thick frozen fries but they were actually cooked perfectly. I like crispy exteriors and these were almost like potato chip crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. Pretty much perfect.

Overall BGR, The Burger Joint is pretty good but for me the price was a bit high. The burger was good but not my favorite ever though the fries made up for any personal shortcomings I had with the sandwich itself.

Rating: 3/5

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Welcome to Chow With Me!

This blog is going to be about food. If there are things that I am passionate about, food would rank within the top 5. I love to cook and try new recipes and new foods. What you will get here are reviews of recipes I have made as well as some of my own, and new items that you can find in stores and try out yourselves. Hopefully you will enjoy these things as much as I do.

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