Restaurant Review - B.Doughnut

Instagram is a great place to find new things to eat and small specialty shops. Going through my feed I found a place I had never heard of before located in Baltimore in the Hampden area. The photos looked great but I wasn't sure I wanted to try and make the trip, especially without a guarantee to even get to taste all of the varieties that I I wanted. I took the trip anyway and it was well worth it.

The place is a small little store front just off of the main drag of Hampden, and midway down the block you could possibly miss it, the sign and front is so small. They are only open 730am to 1pm Wednesday through Sunday so I can imagine the weekends are crazy hectic. The area where you go in to purchase is tiny, smaller than your local every day coffee shop. They display the donuts on the counter on a tray so you can see what varieties are available. You can also see the menu for the week on their social media pages and they also have their own version of 'cronuts' on the weekends.

I ordered a wide variety, chocolate creme, vanilla creme, strawberry cheesecake, coffee creme and walnut, cinnamon and sugar, lemon creme, and the Homer which looks a lot like the doughnut eaten by the infamous cartoon character from the Simpsons. They all look pretty much the same except for the small bit of filling that sticks out of the pastries. None of their doughnuts have holes either, including the glazed and chocolate covered which I didn't get on this visit.

The best doughnut, Vanilla Creme which is soft and fluffy. A filling that has good balance and sweetness although my wife wanted even more inside. It's the same thing for the chocolate creme and lemon filled. The creme has the flavor you expect, and it isn't artificial at all. The coffee creme with walnut is also good and it's cool because it's a straight coffee flavor, and the sweetness from one's sugar or cream come from the doughnut itself and the walnuts are a nice little touch. The strawberry cheesecake is pretty good as well. Now the non filled doughnuts didn't wow me as much but maybe warmed up they would shine even more.


I was slightly worried that I would waste my time driving into Hampden to get doughnuts which can be hit or miss often times. I was very surprised at the fact these doughnuts were this good. Very fresh (you can really taste that in the dough) with great high quality fillings it is worth the trip if you have the time to get over there. They are opening soon in Virginia as well so they will be lucky to have a place this good and be accessible.

Rating: 4.5/5

Read More

Restaurant Review - Phoebe's Coffee & Bakery

Phoebe's is an independent coffee shop that is in Montgomery County. I stopped in trying to avoid the chain addiction which is Dunkin Donuts. While I just went in for some coffee and a pastry, Phoebe's also offers a wide array of sandwiches and some salads for your morning, lunch, and early afternoon desires.

The coffee prices aren't bad for this kind of shop and it has a good taste, although I didn't feel like the caffeine hit me the same way as Dunkin Coffee tends to do and I am not sure as to why that seems to happen when I visit the smaller coffee shops. They do have a nice looking selection of sweets and I ended up trying a couple of their small cheesecakes and macaroons which I was very surprised to see.

Let's talk about the macaroons, they are a nice size, and about average in price and have some decent original flavors. I tried both the Smores Macaroon and the Fruity Pebbles. The Smores could have had slightly more marshmallow taste and I would have liked to had some graham flavor instead of just chocolate and vanilla. There is also a nice little bit of straight up chocolate in the middle. The Fruity pebbles is a little more dividing. No one else in my house liked them which I thought they would, though I did enjoy it. There is a nice burst of different flavors like the cereal but there is an odd little graininess to it. I would still eat it again.

The mini cheesecake's which I tried were Red Velvet Cheesecake and Key Lime. They were alright, I was slightly underwhelmed by the red velvet though the cheesecake itself is fine. The Key lime had good lime flavor but was topped with coconut which I am against personally. They were cool though but I was more impressed by the macaroons.

This is a nice little spot to stop into and grab coffee and nice little bite to eat. The prices aren't too bad at all and the feel of the place is really nice. I'm going to go back and try some of their sandwiches in the future.


Rating: 3.5/5

Read More

Restaurant Review- Jersey Mike's Subs

The battle of the sub shops seems to be constantly on new ground here in Maryland and a spot that has been here for a couple of years now though I am just getting around to them is Jersey Mike's Subs, an East Coast chain that has a mix of hot and cold subs. I guess the idea is that this is your local sub shop on a chain scale so you will always know where the 'good' sub shop is without the local guesswork.

In a rush with the kids we stopped in in lieu of McDonalds. My son devoured his Ham and Provolone without complaint. Myself, I had the Turkey and Provolone while my daughter got a cheese steak- pretty much plain. Now as far as chain cheese steaks go. I'm totally against. They are always missing the flavor of a good seasoned off the grid grill and they are so pre-measured it never even looks like a cheesesteak. The other main problem was it took a long time for them to get started and it wasn't busy.

Now my turkey and provolone is just that. A Turkey and provolone sandwich. Shredded lettuce is cool i guess, it was crisp. the fact the meat is sliced right there is the big thing? It looks decent but the deli meat that is sliced seems to be the lamest and most generic you can get. It tastes fine but I'm used to the local markets which has better flavor and seems to be of a higher quality.


Jersey Mike's isn't the worst place to grab a quick bite but it isn't the best either. If it's the only familiar thing in the area or you just want a sub it's fine but I wouldn't go out of my way to find one for the food. It's only an average place.


Rating: 2.5/5

Read More

Restaurant Review- Wingstop

I don't think I have ever written up about Wingstop before though I have tried them once. I decided to go back to the spot name dropped by rapper Rick Ross on many occasions and give their limited edition Smoke 9 flavor a try and see if my earlier experience was the real thing.

I must say I have had Wingstop 3 times and been totally underwhelmed. I know Buffalo Wild Wings doesn't have the best reputation but I will say that their flavors are more interesting and tasty, while they sometimes struggle with consistency. Wing stop has always had solid, crispy wings.

Let me break this down, two weeks ago I stopped in and got some garlic parmesan wings and the main problem is their sauce has little garlic, a bunch of oil and just cheese sprinkled on the top. This time I got some boneless wings aka tenders, with the Hickory Smoked BBQ flavor and the Smoked 9 special flavor.

These joints were hot, I appreciate that but maybe thats part of the problem, they don't drain their products enough before they get them to you and they all come out with a pool of grease beneath them. Even the Hickory BBQ wings which were so basic and average, yet they were better than the smoke 9 which had no real flavor to me. Is it supposed to be like southern BBQ? It has a little bit of smokiness, a little bit of salt but that was it. I wasn't even sure if the liquid at the bottom was supposed to be flavor or if it was just grease.

The only thing that was worth it for me was the fries which were excellent, less burnt than Five Guys but just as fresh and good. In total, the price and quality of the food didn't match up. I'd rather eat the gas and heartburn inducing mighty wings they occasionally serve at McDonald's than these at the end of the day.


Rating: 2/5

Read More

Taste Test- Fatty Sundays

Fatty Sundays pretzels were a brand I was interested in taking a look at. This company has been featured in both magazines and on TV with their inventive covered pretzels. It's not the most glamorous item right, but look at their packaging and it screams out "buy me".

Honestly, I can't say much except I think that the pretzels might be too salty.even when combined with the sweet coverings and flavors. I tried both Birthday cake and Cookies and cream. The pretzels are very crispy and the coatings seemed to be a little bit underwhelming but it might be because the salt is so strong on the pretzels. The pretzels aren't the "best" I've ever had, and yes there are differences between hard pretzels, but it's alright.

The packaging and marketing however are great with Fatty Sundays and their selection and website are winners. Sometimes, that's just what it takes.


Review: 3/5

Read More

Taste Test - MagPies and Fluffed Up Desserts

So in my next post recapping my weekend at the Emporiyum I'd like to focus on two brands that I identified before I attended that I knew that I had to try and I would like to say I was not disappointed at all. So let's get into it.

First off the Magpies are pretty much an upscale, higher quality version of pop tarts. As I sit here writing this I am eating one that got beat up a little bit and is crumbling and falling apart but that is a good thing and I'll tell you why. As you look into the package and see it crumbled in my case, you can see the real ingredients. Munching on this Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Magpie, the crust is soft and has a wonderful flaky butteriness to it. This dough that they use is so perfect. The filling is good and not too much. Strawberry is also delicious and has a bright fresh flavor you just can't get from tarts made by Kelloggs. I compared these to the mini ones from Iron Rooster and Megpies has them beat.

If you live in the New York area, there are several places to get your fix and elsewhere you will have to order online. Check out their website here MagPies NYC for more information. A 6 count box is a little pricey, but this is a small company and the quality is very high. The only thing is that the tarts are a little on the small side for a greedy person like myself.

Rating: 4.5/5

Fluffed Up Desserts  aka  F.U.D. is a company that makes mini-smores packs in the DC area. These desserts  are awesome, a great little bite of graham cracker, marshmallow, and flavor. Each bite sized dessert is about the size of that picture right above and a package contains 6 of the 60 calorie bites. Biting into it, the marshmallow is fluffy with the right amount of give and chewiness. The cracker could use a little bit more flavor to it possibly but it's hard to find a fault with these other than they are so small you're likely to run through the package by accident.

Rating: 4/5

Read More

Taste Test- Bmore Tasteful Pies

Dangerously delicious isn't the only pie shop in Baltimore. Though they might be the most famous due to the personality of their owner and the pies of the Baltimore Orioles' Adam Jones and his post-game celebrations, they are not alone when looking at the city's growing foodie scene. B'More Tasteful was something I got this past weekend at The Emporiyum after tasting the lemon chess pie and my wife tasting the sweet potato. We just had to get some to take home so we purchased more of the sweet potato and I grabbed the chocolate peanut butter chess pie to give a whirl in the confines of my own home.


Let me tell you, forget Pattie Pies because these mini sweet potato pies are delicious. I ate mine straight out of the fridge. The crust is regular pie crust, but the filling was awesome. On the whole it had a good balance and taste and because of this it didn't last but for 3 minutes before it was gone.

I also ate the chocolate peanut butter chess pie which is like eating a Reese's Cup. The peanut butter also has crunchy peanut bits to brings a little extra to it. I liked that part actually. I wasn't so crazy about the normal pie crust, but I don't see any other way of doing this off hand where you wouldn't overload the senses with sweetness so it works as what it is, a base for the other flavors.

I plan on getting something for the holidays from or at any point I see them at an event posted up somewhere. You can order from them at http://www.bmoretasteful.com .

Rating: 4/5

Read More

The Emporiyum

This doesn't really have a category but my wife and I went to an event called The Emporiyum here in Baltimore. This is a marketplace event for a bunch of food vendors to come together in one place to be sampled and offer up their items for sale.This is the first time we have attended such an event and I for one had a great time. It was so great I told my mother and she had me take her on Sunday along with my son who didn't go on Saturday.

Held in the old Best Buy at the inner harbor, the venue was cool, and the decorations were there but not really needed when you took a break from the sampling to get a view of the inner harbor through the windows. It was fairly crowded on both days with a line to get in at your appointed entry time but things flowed very quickly and the scanning of tickets on the smartphones went really fast considering how those things can sometimes work.

It was a great joy to see so many independent and local brands on display and just about everyone had somethings that was good to great. The independent food scene is popping, alive and well. I'll be doing some special more thorough and singled out reviews on some of the items I purchased but I needed to make sure I shouted out the entire event as a whole.

A couple of my favorite items, The Hot Chocolate from Max Brenner which was crazily rich, yet smooth and creamy. My wife and mother both enjoyed Hoop Tea which is a brand from Ocean City, MD of "hard tea" that doesn't have a strong kick to it from what I was told. Bmore Tasteful pies are also worth seeking out for the Sweet Potato Pie. If you went out looking for a Pattie Pie then you need to get at Bmore Tasteful honestly. Finishing up my over view is the candied bacon from Iron Rooster which is sweet, salty, and has the perfect hit of spicy kick to it at the end. It's wildly delicious and a treat.

The Emporiyum, if you get the chance, you just have to go. Now I just have to figure if I'm going to drive to DC for the next one.

Rating: 5/5

Read More

Taste Test- Pepsi 1893

Pepsi has 2 new beverages for people to try made with 'better' and more 'natural' ingredients for a throwback taste. They are 1893 Cola and Ginger Cola. These aren't in 2 liters or 6 packs but slimmer 12 ounce cans with new modern graphics in an attempt to be a cool throwback drink.

Retro-cool graphics aside, the drinks are interesting to say the least. Made with real sugar you taste it immediately and it's amazing the difference that it has from corn syrup. The other thing that you can taste which is present in both drinks is the kola nut which is the main flavor profile of both drinks. The original cola is smooth and doesn't have the sharpness or bite of the regular Pepsi we drink today. I preferred that over the added Ginger flavor from the Ginger Cola. For me it was slightly odd and off-putting although my mother whom is a huge ginger fan loved the taste. It's not something I would drink again.

Overall these are some unique flavors and there is a group of people who have more sophisticated palettes who will enjoy these drinks more than I did. The Original Cola I would drink again but I wouldn't go out of my way to get or find it in order to do so.

Original Cola
Rating: 3/5

Ginger Cola
Rating: 2/5

Read More

Taste Test- Pepperidge Farm Smores cookies

Pepperidge Farm has a new cookie out for the spring season and it is marketed to the summer smores season. The thing I like about PF cookies is that they are a decent size, high quality and soft. I took a shot on these and the pack I got somehow was broken up which I don't expect from PF cookies, even the Milanos.

The cookies themselves are decent, not great and I think I was disappointed in the taste. The cookie itself is bland even though it is supposed to have bits of graham crackers inside it. They would have been better off making a graham base and adding chunks of chocolate and marshmallows. As far as marshmllow I didn't taste very much and the chocolate was too sweet, just blending in with everything else. With the cookie being mostly sugar, the chocolate would have been better off being darker and more bitter in order to make it stand out more.

While I was let down by this cookie, my kids devoured them so if you're in one of those households, they might need bags to themselves because it was empty this morning when I went to go and get the bag and a cookie for this post.

Rating: 1.5.5

Read More

Taste Test- Mission BBQ Salmon

So this is kind of late because Lent is pretty much over but I might as well get this in. Like many places, Mission provides an alternative for many people who give up on certain types of meat for religious reasons. Mission does a grilled/smoked salmon dish and I decided to take the chance on what they call the "back plate" special.

The Salmon itself has a decent flavor, it was cooked right and the seasoning blend is a good complement. now I'm not normally a huge fan of remoulade sauces because I'm iffy on lemonwith savory dishes, but this sauce was great. It made the fish so much better and it's a great thing to get from a fast casual place like Mission. I also opted to get the seasonal baked sweet potato with Honey Butter and Caramel Bread Pudding as well.

The Sweet potato was normal, I mean nothing much you can do with that, however, the honey butter that came with it was one of the best and most addictive things I have ever tasted. If they boxed that up and sold it I would have it every week and I have had some from say Land O lakes before and this was far superior. The bread pudding was pretty good with nice crispy bits and a good balance of caramel. I just don't know If I can be a full fan of bread pudding because it ends up so goupy. The flavor was good I just had texture issues with it.

Overall, the items that came with the main entrees made the food so much better and thats what they are supposed to do. Mission is one of the more solid places to eat at any point especially if you're a fan of Barbecue. Now this isn't to say smaller locals wouldn't blow them out of the water but for a fast casual chain, you can do much worse in my opinion.




Rating: 3.5/5

Read More

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

Read More

Taste Test - Wicked Whoopies

The Food Network and it's partner channels have a bevy of shows that showcase unique foods from all around the country and one of the newest shows is called Unique Sweets. It was watching that show where I first saw Wicked whoopies and knew that I needed to taste their pies. luckily for me, Wicked Whoopies has a solid online ordering option where you can pick out your own dozen whoopie pies for home delivery.


I ordered on a Friday evening and the pies came on Wednesday of the following week in a nice sturdy box great for shipping so points for that one. My flavor combination included Strawberry, Maple, Vanilla, Classic original, Red Velvet, Banana, Lemon, and Oatmeal. I tried to make sure I got a variety to see what the strong point were and what the weak points might be.

All of these had the same cream which is light and fluffy, and it also has a good balance of sweetness. It is very much a great filling which would be key for a whoopie pie of any type, no matter what different flavors you may have around them. My daughter enjoyed the red velvet and my son demolished the original chocolate whoopie pies which were moist yet light and not overly heavy with the chocolate. it was a little less than the classic chocolate cake but it wasn't watered down by any means.


My favorite might just be the oatmeal cream pie because it's not really a cake but a thick, chewy oatmeal cookie that is of course more filling than a Little Debbie and also just fresher and better tasting. Banana was also a good one, not as artificial tasting as the banana twins that Little Debbie makes. There were two flavors I wasn't so bullish on and those were strawberry and lemon. In both of these varieties, there wasn't enough full flavor to offset the dough and the cream. Neither of these is enough to make me say they were bad, but I wouldn't focus on these, and you may like them but I think some of the other offerings were better.

Overall I was happy with the way this online experience went. The whoopie pies delivered on their end the vast majority of the time. We will be ordering from them again.

Rating: 5/5

Read More

Taste Test - B'More Organic Skyr Smoothie

The protein packed 'dairy' snacks and beverages segment is highly competitive and growing. Regular yogurt isn't good enough these days and as companies search for the next new thing, we are introduced to new products and types of 'snacks' and beverages. Today I have a local company B'More Organic which has a line of Skyr beverages for consumption.


Now Skyr is a type of Scandinavian style yogurt that is supposed to be like Greek Style yogurt only with the northern European twist I guess. So if you're a fan of the Greek stuff- I'm not, you will probably have a better experience with this than I did.


The color is of course natural so it isn't vibrant and 'pleasing' as it may be but it does look ti be natural. The taste is definitely tangy and the strawberry flavor is natural and present. You can tell there aren't any added sugars or any of the things yoplait or some of the other yogurt/smoothie makers use to make things more palatable to the mass market. It goes down pretty smooth and it isn't bad, but it doesn't fit the flavor profile that I find enjoyable. I don't like the tang and it exists. If that's your thing I think you will be able to enjoy this and I havent't seen Greek yogurt smoothies in the market. Also, if this process to make is less destructive than the Greek yogurt, it might be worth it to make this at least an occasional change of pace item in your repetoire.

Rating: 3/5 (from a non-Greek yogurt fan)

Read More

Taste Test- Thums Up

My uncle has to travel for work and this visit he brought back some items for us to try. First was some of the Oreos that they have over in India. So my family and I tried both strawberry creme and orange creme. These cookies on the outside seem like they would be the same but once you open the pack (it says Cadbury on the outside and not Nabisco) the cookies all seem to be slightly thinner and have less cream in them.

Both varieties have a strong scent of flavoring to them and strong coloring. The taste of the strawberry isn't bad, very strong but yet artificial. The orange, while initially a little off-putting is actually not bad. The wafer cookies are a little crispy and more difficult to bite on. The flavor is different, not quite as robust in my opinion but they aren't bad. I prefer the domestic versions better.


Now Thums Up soda was the big thing to try once I got it. It's a Coca-Cola product that comes in a blue can with a red logo. Remind you of anything? To me the taste is sort of between that of a Coke and their chief rival. Sort of like "New Coke" slightly sweeter and not quite as heavy as our sodas here. The caffeine content seems to be strong though or maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me because I felt like it was more of an effect on me in the evening.  Overall this was interesting to taste common products from another place.

Read More

Taste Test- Betty Crocker Krispy Kreme Cake Mix

So this was something that you don't see everyday and it immediately caught my eye. Spring and the Easter time frame is always a period where you can find some brand new baked goods and ideas from companies. This has to be one of them and I couldn't believe it.

I can tell you the fear that I had of this cake mix was that it would just be a plain yellow cake with some special icing on it, or even worse, not very special icing. Happily, I was wrong. Even when you are mixing this cake together you can smell the batter and it is different. While baking it comes out even more and it was a great surprise and feeling knowing that there was effort put into this mix.

The icing itself is also unique but I'm not sure it really tastes like a Krispy Kreme doughnut. When applied to the top of the cake and eaten though it is a nice unique taste. It is truly a cross between what a normal Krispy Kreme tastes like and a cake doughnut, because this is literally a cake. It's very good but I don't think I would enjoy this on a regular basis but as a special item it would be great. Even better that as a bundt cake like I made, would be cup cakes.

Rating: 4.5/5

Read More