Meteornotes

Yes, that's right, TPR peeps, today you get not one but TWO updates! Can you stand the excitement?!? Well, I hope so, as we're now going to take a look at one of Baltimore's best restaurants...PAZO! Besides sushi, I think my favorite way to enjoy food is tapas style. I think it's because I have no attention span, and the little plates of food means I don't have to concentrate and decide what I might want to eat, and can just sample a bunch of stuff. It seems like a good theory, anyway. So Pazo is in the Fells Point section of Baltimore, and is know for the tapas. Every time I go in the place the menu is different, and they now have THREE PAGES of tapas items! The food quality is excellent, and this place is constantly rated among the best restaurants in Baltimore (once again making the top ten on this year's list in Baltimore Magazine). I would personally rank this among my top ten restaurants of all time. The following are some pictures of random tapas items. I apologize in advance for the picture quality, but Pazo is REALLY dark, and I didn't want to use the flash and annoy other patrons. Anyway, enough of my yammering, let's go to the visuals! dt Pazo is amazing, and I can't wait to go back! Thus concludes this update! Stay tuned for next time, when I go ON THE ROAD for the first time this year! But where am I going? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned to find out! Until then, try not to get eaten by rabid bears... And while it's a bit hard to see in this picture, this is their take on an ice cream sandwich, with espresso ice cream between two italian cookies. So good! Seared scallops! I can't eat a lot of scallops, as I find them overwhelming after awhile, so a serving this size is perfect. Mushroom soup! So good you'll want to lick the bowl. Meat on a stick is always awesome. This pork is something I order every time I visit. Seared tuna! One of my favorite dishes anywhere. I almost ate it before I took a picture. But I managed to let it sit long enough to photograph before devouring it. Another thing you can't skip at Pazo is the croquetas, little fried balls of potato goodness! Kobe beef! This is one of those things that I've always wanted to try, and was happy to see it It show up on the menu. It did not disappoint, as the meat quality was amazing, and oh so smooth. When having tapas, you cannot skip out on the spicy pork empanadas. Some of the best I've ever had. Let's start with some salmon tartare. I love fish, and rare fish is even better when it's prepare right. And this was indeed prepared in a most awesome manner!

^Not sure how you missed it, but good that you found it! And the wings place in Bel Air has some of the best wings I've ever had. I will have to go over there eventually with the camera...AND ICE BAT! Some business to take care of before today's update: And way less creepy Paula Deen!!! You are correct, sir! You have won a prize from my office. If you PM me your address, I'll send you something. Of course, since it's from my office, you may not actually want it, but still, it's free! OK, enough nonsense, time for an update! Today we'll be looking at GINZA, a Japanese steakhouse in Cockeysville, MD. In fact, Ginza is in the same complex as the Dollar Store! And not only does it share its location with the amazing Dollar Store, but the restaurant also has excellent food - including sushi! I took Colin here before he left to continue on his journey, and he agreed that Ginza is a great restaurant. Anyway, enough of my yammering, let's go to the visuals! dt Trust me, the restaurant is better than the sign. Ginza rocks, and is worht a visit if you're in the area. Thus concludes this update! Stay tuned for another one, featuring one of Baltimore's best restaurants! Colin agrees! And finally some chicken! This is quite the meal. And then add some even tastier shrimp! Let's add some tasty veggies to the rice. It's time for the always entertaining onion volcano, which means...MORE FIRE! Colin and I enjoyed some sushi. We had unagi (eel), tempura shrimp roll, and a spicy tuna roll. The sushi here is REALLY good, some of the best in Baltimore. The fire results in some tasty fried rice! FIRE. RULES. And so does Diet Coke! As always, you start off with some miso soup and salad.

Music please. Even if it's not awesome death metal... dt

^No, the wings place is in Bel Air, where we used to live. I'll have to photograph that place at some point, as I still occasionally go over there. The wings are still awesome! dt

I greatly prefer the "expedition" discs, and almost never watch the footage discs. I'm not a fan of POV (I'd rather just ride, and don't feel the need to memorize every millimeter of a ride before I experience it). Though I do enjoy random dark rides, especially stuff like Musical Circus. So a disc of stuff like that would be awesome. dt

^This is one of the many reasons why you should come visit me. I could take you to all sorts of interesting places! dt

Well, I can tell you that Colin was here in Baltimore this week, and he got to eat at some fine restaurants (currently being documented in "Dave's Restaurant & Food Thread", found on this very board!). And got to have his picture taken with a very famous icon...ICE BAT!!! dt Colin, Norm, and Ice Bat! All in my awesome driveway.

Good to see that people are entertained by this. And before I begin today's installment, I have to say that something can be too "buttery" when the taste of butter is overwhelming in the dish. Like it was in that pasta dish. It was still good, they just needed to dial back the butter a bit, that's all. Anyway, today's update is THE CORNER STABLE, in ever-awesome Cockeysville, MD. I know some of you are saying to yourselves, "Hmm, I have heard of this city, but I can't remember where". Well, it is true that there is something awesome there that you may have heard of before (especially if you've been on a TPR trip), but instead of just telling you, I think I'll make it a contest! So the first person to post what other "awesome" thing is in Cockeysville, MD, will win a prize from my office! Good luck! Anyway, The Corner Stable is known for its BBQ and especially the ribs. And it is amazingly good. It's a pretty dumpy place, but the food is awesome. So I highly recommend this place if you're in the area and like BBQ. Anyway, enough of my yammering, let's go to the visuals! dt The Corner Stable rules! That's it for today! Join us next time when we visit another area restuarant! Until then, stay safe from gator attacks! And as promised, here's our special TPR guest...COLIN! He stopped here on his journey across the US, and I had to take him to some of Baltimore's better restaurants! ...YOU COME FOR THE BBQ!!! Here we have BBQ chicken, ribs, and fried shrimp.l Just amazing, and some of the best BBQ anywhere. For an appetizer, how about some crab balls? Crab dishes are hugely popular in MD. These are very tasty. The crab cakes here are also very good, but that's not why you come to this place... This place can get crazy busy, so it's cool they have this sign in the window. And we did get immediate seating! Kickass! This sign does not lie.

Happy birthday Elissa! I bought you something at the store today! See you soon... dt

For today's update, it was time to check out one of the new restaurants in town. But it's one that you have seen in other places - CHEESECAKE FACTORY! Yes, I know, I said I pretty much hate chain restaurants. And I still do. But occasionally there are ones that don't suck, and this is one of them. It helps that the menu is the size of a small novel, and contains a vast variety of food, so it's easy to go there and not get the same thing all the time. And I have found the food there to be pretty good, though some things are better than others. This location is in action-packed Towson, MD. The closest location to me before this was in downtown Baltimore, which is somewhere I rarely go because I hate driving and parking down there. So I'm happy to have a location a bit closer to me. This isn't somewhere I'll be going all the time, as there is a wealth of great restaurants around here, but I do enjoy the place and will be returning. Enough of my yammering, let's go to the visuals! dt Cheesecake Factory is Ice Bat approved! That's it for today! Stay tuned for next time, when we will have a VERY SPECIAL TPR GUEST! Until then, stay away from giant carnivorous bees! My main course was the chicken piccata. It was good, but a little too buttery. It's also not as good as the one I make at home, but since that's usually and all day project and I am incredibly lazy, this is a good substitute. For my appetizer, I had the tuna tartare. It was exceptionally tasty, and I really liked the fried wontons. One of the things I love about rare/raw tuna dishes is that every restaurant prepares them in a totally different way. This is something I'd order every visit. New location in Towson, MD! It's attached to the mall, so you can shop for all sorts of useless crap before or after your meal.

There is indeed a Favorite Element thread. That's probably the best place to continue this discussion. Thanks! dt

Isn't Fun Spot one of those places that various enthusiasts have reported about over the years that when they tried to visit it during posted operating hours, they found it closed? Much like Miracle Strip, another place that's no longer around. Hardly a way to run a business. Have to agree with Robb here, "the economy" is a convenient excuse for some of these places that have had crap business plans for years, and have just been coasting along. Some times you really need to be more aggressive with your marketing and improvements or you'll just not survive, bad economy or not. dt

Glad people are enjoying this. For today's update, it's time for a visit to BAGEL WORKS, also in lovely and action-packed Timonium, MD. This place has the best bagels in the area (voted the winner in this category several times in Baltimore Magazine), and has a decent menu of breakfast and lunch items. On this particular day it was time for lunch, and one of the best things there is the chicken salad, which I always get on a wheat bagel. They make the chicken salad there, and it is damn tasty. This obviously isn't the sort of place you travel out of your way for, but for a neighborhood place it's really good, and it's one of the better places around here when you want a good, fast, and cheap lunch. Here are a couple of pics of chicken salad bagel awesomeness. Stay tuned for next time, when I visit one of the new yet not new restaurants in the area... dt Lots of chicken salad! It's usually piled high, but I'm guessing that there was even more on this particular day as I went in about an hour before they closed, and they wanted to use it up. That's it for today! Thanks for playing! Awesome chicken salad on a wheat bagel. Mmmmmmm...

As someone that lived there for eleven years, I can tell you some of the reasons why I would not move back: Traffic (some of the worst, if not the worst, in the US) Housing Prices (seriously, houses are insanely overvalued there) General Cost Of Living (Food, gas, everything is more expensive) Shallow, Horrible People (granted I worked in the entertainment industry which is full of worthless humans, but still, I've always said SoCal would be a great place if almost no one lived there. Way too many people that think they're "cool" simply because they work in entertainment and/or just because they live in LA). Are there positives? Sure, the weather is nice most of the time, you have easy access to all sorts of entertainment, there's a lot of fun outdoor stuff to do...but in general, I really don't think I could deal with living there again. Maybe if I was very rich and could afford to have someone drive me everywhere. Maybe. dt

ZO2 - Everywhere dt

^^I think we all know that I suck at photography! I never got any sushi in Japan. I do remember one night walking around with someone (Robb?) but we couldn't find a place. I do think a lot of us ended up eating our weight in those awesome curry pork cutlets you can get almost everywhere. dt

So here's the deal: I am traveling a LOT over the rest of the year (I don't think I'm spending a full month at home until maybe December). As I am always trying to think of ways to amuse and entertain the fine residents of TPR, I figured, well, what could be a better way to do that then to document the various places I eat at while traveling?!? Yes, OK, I know, there are probably a lot better ways to entertain and amuse you, but this is what I have for today, so, um, go with it! Anyway, in this thread I'll be documenting various restaurants and the tasty (or not so tasty) items I end up eating. I will fully admit up front that I am somewhat of a food snob, and generally hate chain restaurants and such. So anyone coming in here thinking I'm going to be discussing the amazing culinary offerings at Chili's is likely to be very disappointed. I will likely only be documenting what I eat when not at home, as my regular diet at home consists of exciting things like yogurt, toast, and soup. I am horribly lazy, and often only eat very minimal things as cooking would take away from valuable time tormenting people on the internet. Just so you know. As always, my "awesome" photography skills will be on display. And there may be guest appearances by a certain character...so anyway, with that massive preamble, let's begin! First up is YAMATO SUSHI, located in action-packed Timonium, MD. I had never been to this place before, but had heard that it was pretty good, and since it's close to my house, I decided to check it out last week. It ended up being pretty good. Not the best sushi ever (that place might get documented this summer...oooooh, FORESHADOWING!), but it was certainly very good, and the roll selection is insane. They had two pages of special rolls, plus another giant list of rolls they make on a regular basis. Add all this to the regular sushi, tempura, and all the other food you'd expect at a Japanese restaurant, and you have quite the extensive menu of tasty treats! It's not a big place, so I'd advise going at off times if you're thinking of visiting, as it was very busy when I went on a Tuesday night. So I do recommend Yamato Sushi if you're in the area. Anyway, enough of my yammering, let's go to the visuals! dt Overall, Yamato Sushi was an excellent evening out, and it is Ice Bat approved! Hope you enjoyed this! Stayed tuned for our next installment, when I grab a quick lunch at another local restaurant. Until then, have a shark attack-free day! And this is a Dynamite Roll, though honestly it doesn't look like a roll. Spicy tuna, cooked eel, cucumber and some rice. Also tasty! And here are some rolls: From the bottom, we have a Philadelphia Roll (salmon and cream cheese), a Rock & Roll (tuna, eel and avocado), and a Black Dragon Roll (tempura shrimp, eel and avocado). Of the three, I liked the Philadelphia the best, but all three were very good. And like I said before, they had a HUGE variety of these available, which makes it cool to return and get totally different stuff. But this is what I came for: SUSHI! Here we have some yellowtail, and some Unagi, also known as eel. This is my favorite type of sushi, and is what I will always order to compare with other sushi places. This was very good, not the best I've had, and not even the best I've had in Baltimore, but still very tasty. So first up, some appetizers. Crab and cheese wantons (which were good, but very rich and almost overwhelming to the point that two of them were enough), and fried dough that had some sort of filling. Here it a shot of the place from the parking lot. You should be excited to know the place shares its space in the complex with other fine establishments like Petco and Superfresh. I was careful to not get any shots of the grocery store, just in case the anti-grocery store photography snipers might have been out, making sure no one photographs snickers bars without their permission.

^^Change that last number to .66 and you might be onto something... dt

^Hollywood Tour > than anything else at Phantasialand. Or anywhere else. Except Dinosaur. dt

Wes is god. dt

Fixed! Seriously, this needs to be posted. It might be the greatest onride video ever. dt

Having stayed both on property and off at Tokyo, I HIGHLY recommend staying at the resort. While the train ride was not super long from where we stayed in Tokyo, making that giant walk both ways in Tokyo Train Station every day for four days was not something I missed this time around. And while I happen to LOVE the Shinagawa Prince hotel, I totally found it far more convenient to stay at the resort. Plus I thought the rooms were very nice, large (easily the biggest hotel room I have ever had in Japan), and the ease of being able to easily get to and from the hotel to the parks cannot be beat. Like Elissa said, when you compare the prices to other Tokyo hotels, it's not that bad. And the rooms are as nice or nicer than a lot of the rooms I've stayed at when visiting Disney in Orlando. So I'd definitely choose to stay at the resort whenever I go back to Tokyo. Oh, and for the record, I think TDL destroys all other Disney parks. Except DisneySea, which really cannot be compared to anything else on the planet. It's that good. dt

Happy Birthday Kristen! Hopefully someone will buy you a drum set, because Elissa would really love to hear you play it for hours on end... dt

Dokken - Mirror Mirror dt

Looked great, played fine, loaded fast. dt