Open on Monday

 

This post turned up last night in the Howard County Eats Facebook Group and I thought it was sweet.

The owner of China Taste asked me to post this information on Facebook. China Taste is a wonderful take out restaurant in the Enchanted Forest Shopping Center. They are usually closed on Mondays but are open on Christmas day. Since Christmas falls on a Monday this year she wanted me to get the word out that they WILL BE OPEN on Christmas Monday. She told me it is one of their busiest days and is afraid people will think they are closed being that it is a Monday. So if your Xmas tradition is Chinese takeout you are in luck. Our family does Chinese takeout on Xmas Eve in order to give Santa's helpers a break before the big day.

I have never been to China Taste. They don’t have a Facebook presence and their website is basic. But this post elicited plenty of praise from group members. The conversation reminded me of a post I wrote some years ago about a tradition which has come to be known as Jewish Christmas.

The Other Holiday Meal, Village Green/Town², 12/26/2015

Chinese food on December 25th is as American as, well, corned beef on rye. It’s the other holiday meal. And the proprietor of China Taste wants to make sure the community knows that they’ll be open and ready to make that happen.  Not everyone celebrates Christmas. And not everyone, every year, will be included in celebratory feasts with family and friends even if they do. 

Sometimes you’re on your own and, honestly, a hot meal that you don’t have to cook yourself could be a gift.  

One last bit of restaurant news. I had an unexpected opportunity to see the inside of the old Hickory Ridge Grill yesterday. As you may already know, the space is slated to reopen as the new home of Ranazul, formerly located in Maple Lawn. I was there to pick up some lovely wooden chairs which owner Chad Price was selling off on Facebook Marketplace to make way for the new Ranazul furnishings. (We needed two extra chairs for Christmas dinner.)

As Price carried the two chairs to my car (nice guy!) we discussed the hard work that restaurant life entailed. He mentioned that it took a while for all the permits to go through. I confessed that I wrote a local blog and asked if he had anything he’d like to share about the new place. He said, “Hang in there! Be patient. It looks like we’ll be open for business in February.” 

My family loved the Hickory Ridge Grill and we definitely miss their food and cozy ambiance. Now we own a small piece of the old place. But I look forward to visiting Ranazul in its new home and seeing what Mr. Price has done with the space. 

Image from Ranazul website. Nice chairs!