Magic Words at Enchanted Forest

Hold everything! New HoCoLocal restaurant brings back a local favorite!

This glowing testimonial comes from the Howard County Eats FB Group:

We went to Tony's of NY in Ellicott City tonight and everything was great!!! We had garlic knots, Caesar salad, mozzarella logs, pepperoni and cheese New York style pizza!!! We will be back again.

Yes, community foodies have been abuzz with word of the opening of Tony’s, more officially known as Tony’s of New York, Ellicott City. They’re located in the Enchanted Forest Shopping Center.

Image from Google Maps

Here’s a reel from their Instagram that gives you a glimpse of today’s magic words.

“All You Need” Tony’s of NY EC

Have you guessed yet? No?

It’s “garlic knots”.

Long time hocolocals may remember the outcry that arose when the Tomato Palace at the Lakefront took garlic knots off their menu. The outrage! The laments! And it wasn’t just a brief objection - - people mourned the loss. It was ongoing.

Some folks even went so far as to suggest that it led to the eventual demise of the establishment itself.

Knot a Rumor, Village Green/Town², 7/6/2017

If you don't know the story of the garlic knots, let me know, and I'll tell you. Or ask someone who has lived here a long time. Suffice it to say that the garlic knots were right up there with the Poinsettia Tree in the third rail of Columbia essentials. How important were they?

Well, before I went to bed last night I spotted this response on social media:

"That's too bad. I used to go there all the time but I stopped when they got rid of the garlic knots."

Honestly, the Tomato Palace garlic knots are as legendary in local history as the nice little cheese shop in Wilde Lake.

I’m sure that Tony’s has plenty of other appealing things on their menu. When the initial opening frenzy dies down we will probably pay them a visit. But, when I saw those two words on HoCo Eats, they leapt off the screen like a front page news story.

“Extra, Extra! Read all about it! Garlic knots return!”

If you (or someone you know) are amongst the hordes of grieving garlic knot fanciers - - perhaps a trip to Tony’s is in your future. Or, if you are new to the whole thing, just imagine the culinary discoveries ahead.

Still, it won’t be long before someone says, “But they’re not like the ones at the old Tomato Palace…”

Village Green/Town² Comments

Comments

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...

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...

Columbia Chance Connection

Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!” We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog