Skip to main content

Don’t Leave!



It’s nice when the folks from big-city-Baltimore pay attention to us in the news. I shouldn’t complain. But something got my back up when I read the title of this article in the Baltimore Banner.

The Dish: You don't have to leave Howard County to eat well, Christina Tkacik, Baltimore Banner

Well, well, well. Who is this article aimed at? Howard Countians? I think we know we don’t have to leave town to get a decent meal. Is it to assure the big city folks that it’s not a vast culinary wasteland out here? 

If you get stuck in Howard County around mealtime, don’t panic.

Perhaps we should let them know that you can drink the water here, too.

The article itself is informative and entertaining. I’m a fan of Tkacik’s writing, having discovered her on Twitter while she was working for the Baltimore Sun. I wrote here about her exquisite obituary of Downing Kay and lamented her being furloughed by the Sun.

Fun fact: I was startled to read a particular word in the following announcement, sure that it was a typo:

Cushwa and Rad Pies Tap Room is coming to the former Frisco Tap House at 6695 Dobbin Road in Columbia. It’s the second-ever location for the brewery and pizzeria, both based in Williamsport. Among the offerings: German-style Kölsch and Big Mac pizza with ground beef and animal sauce.

Animal sauce? Is that sauce for animals, or sauce made of animals? Yikes. I was sure it was some odd autocorrect.

Why, no. Animal sauce is a thing and I just didn’t know about it. It’s a specialty of In-and Out Burgers fast food chain. So you’ll be able to get a Big Mac (McDonald’s) pizza with animal (In-and-Out Burger) sauce. Just what I needed to know to reassure me that I don’t have to leave Howard County to eat well.

Yes, I admit that I’m cranky about this. Tkacik very likely did not write the title, so I won’t hold it against her. Don’t let my bad attitude keep you from reading Tkacik’s good article. (I was able to read it without a subscription.)

Included in her rundown of new food places is a bit of an interview with local liquor board chair Harry Evans III. He is, as she suggests, a bit of a character. That tv show she mentions? Learn more here. One particularly Columbia theme that emerges is Evans’ persistent interest in people of his own age group.

In hearings, he holds court, often asking entrepreneurs how they plan to cater to the scores of area seniors like himself, who he feels are an underserved demographic (though he declined to give his own age).

This brought to mind the candidates’ night in Oakland Mills when I was running for CA Rep and an audience member remained to know if I had a “senior agenda”. I countered that I had a “human agenda.” Later a gentleman confronted me saying I was trying to get rid of old people.

It’s all very humorous as I was no spring chicken at the time and now I am teetering ever closer to being “old people” - - cranky enough to be annoyed by title of a news article. 

I’m not going to tell you to “get off my lawn” but, if you’re out there, could you put more birdseed in the feeder? Local birds certainly know you don’t have to leave Howard County to eat well.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more