Taste Test - Sunset Raw Acai Bowl and Smoothies

This is a sort of an odd review. It is a hybrid restaurant review, a little bit, and a taste test of the products at this new entry to the eateries in Owings Mills, Maryland's Foundry Row development. Unlike a lot of the shops over at Foundry Row, this is a smaller business that isn't a huge corporation. I was excited to be able to come in and try these bowls because I have seen them on instagram but never had a place to go and actually try one until now.

Sunset Raw is sparse on the interior but it also seems to fit with the healthy concept. There is a bar seating area for ordering and enjoying as well as a few tables and chairs both inside and outside. They also have a cooler for their prepared juices which you can buy to go and looking at their social media pages, they have been successful with that part of the business for sure. Ordering was quick and painless and I chose to try the sunshine acai bowl while my kids both went with mango smoothies.

My son for some reason had a problem with his drink, I wouldn't put much stock in it however because he still drank it. I think it was the idea that dates are in it and he doesn't know what they actually are. My daughter who is the smoothie expert said the smoothie was filling and good, however she still prefers Tropical smoothie cafe and another local place, The Flying Avocado better. I ordered the sunshine acai bowl which comes with bananas, blueberries, strawberries, coconut flakes and granola. I passed on the coconut but had everything else.

It's always a big question when trying something you have never had when you don't know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised by this. The acai berry mixture reminds me of a slightly "grape" flavored strawberry concoction. It tastes good, and just very normal. The granola settled in just underneath the layer of fruit and you get some with every spoonful of acai. It's weird, just because this is pretty much a smoothie, but you're using a spoon. The fruit was fresh and blended well with the 'smoothie' mixture. That's the biggest rub for me, it's kind of hard to eat, especially in this large container. I live maybe 5 minutes away and the melt by the time I got home was a little bit much. There is also no way to really save it for later, I have it in the freezer, but I don't want it to completely freeze. This might be a good item to share with another, especially when coupled with the prices which are a bit high for a smoothie concoction. Acai bowls are about $10-$12 and smoothies are close to 9 bucks starting out. It's not a budget friendly item. However, other than that, everything was solid overall.


Rating: 4/5

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Restaurant Review- Nalley Fresh

Nalley Fresh for all I know is pretty local to Maryland and is in on the locally sourced, more healthy "Panera Bread" style cafe places where you can get a salad, soup or a wrap. While they aren't a bakery, you get that same vibe. Several locations have popped up between the inner harbor and East/Northern Baltimore County but the one in Columbia which recently opened was the first one I had the ability to visit and give a try.

Now the place was kind of dark and I didn't care for the lay out, like the soda fountain was in the middle of the seating area and the line for picking out your options on a choose your own meal just seemed to be an odd spot but it isn't anything major. The line wasn't moving very fast but that may be because the customers might all be unfamiliar with the menu board and options. I opted to purchase my wrap online and it was ready before the prescribed time.

So for my first Nalley Fresh experience, I ordered a Salmon wrap with Romaine lettuce, Purple Slaw, Brown Rice, Black Beans, 'sweet' corn, cheddar, tortilla strips and spicy ranch dressing. The Salmon took the wrap price up by 3 bucks but hey, go hard or go home. The wrap wasn't as big as I thought that it might be but it wasn't a baby, but I did expect just a tad bit more.

The Salmon tasted fine and the ingredients all were definitely fresh, however the tortilla strips I feel like got sogged up too quickly and didn't give me the crunch that I was expecting. The Spicy Ranch dressing has a good heat but also didn't have enough 'Ranchness'. I did feel like t was slightly flat and maybe some pepper or even a hint of vinegar or something slightly more acidic would have helped the overall flavor profile. The corn also didn't add the sweetness it was supposed to bring, but I attribute that to season and the fact that it was indeed very fresh.

Overall, I think it was a bit above average. I like the options and the choices you can make to ensure your food doesn't get too stale when eating there. Having a rotating selection of proteins is cool and also helps with the mission of fresh, local eating. The wrap I had wasn't perfect and I'm not sure if it is the best of their offerings but I see no reason to not go back and try something else from their menu.


Rating: 3/5

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Restaurant Review- Bagby Pizza

Sorry I have been away but I'm back right now with the newest local sensation in the hot segment of on-demand artisan pizzas. I really don't know how Domino's and their kind will keep up as the urban millennial has so many new and unique choices when it comes to something that is as simple as a pizza. This local place, Bagby Pizza, I saw while heading home and I thought it was some sort of national chain based upon the sign until I got there and actually looked the place up as I waited in line.

So just like most of these places, if you're familiar with the ordering style for one you know them all. There are a limited selection of specialties that the staff is trained to make quickly and good for beginners. Then there is the custom option where you can pick your particular toppings and get it made to order in the brick fired oven. Now Bagby also offers a custom salad selection and their toppings bar is very generous and has a lot of variety. And let me not forget, they also have two limited specials as well. Now the toppings bar like I said is pretty big with radishes, capers, edamame, bacon crumbles, meatballs, and several cheeses and greens to choose from in both your salad and on your pizza.

When it comes to the pizza itself, my daughter got the Honey BBQ Chicken, my son got the plain cheese and I made my own with pepperoni and bacon crumbles and the basic red sauce. The Honey BBQ chicken also came adorned with plenty of fresh peppers and the default does not include red onions like so many chains are doing. The sauce is definitely fresh made and the cheese was fine, nothing standout there. The chicken on the BBQ pizza was outstanding and very well seasoned. The pepperoni on my pizza was fresh and new but thats kind of the opposite of what you want because as it sits and ages the tastes become bolder and fit together well. I wouldn't go for bacon and pepperoni together the same way because the salt kind of blends together. The final aspect, the crust is very good, much better than Blaze pizza which is very similar.

The final aspect of this visit was the service, while the staff was nice especially the young lady who took my initial order, the time was somewhat slow. I understand the nature of this model means the pizzas take some time to cook since they go into an oven and someone has to physically turn them and watch them, but this location, much like Blaze pizza has the oven in the worst possible position for the work flow although it is good for customers to watch but there isn't enough space between the counter and the oven and the pick up area to not walk all over one another and it made the employees also seem cramped on the other side. for long term success, fixing this has to be a priority at all restaurants of this type.

Rating: 4/5

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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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