Have recently discovered Mia Carolina in Glyndon (Santoni's Shopping Center) on Butler Road. Favorites include the Involtino di Prosciutto di Parma, Tortellini Formaggio con Gamberi and Funghi e Formaggio Pizza. Am there at least once a week and I live in Homeland!

-- AND I BLAME YOU, OWL MEAT

Civilization is overrated.

The CP is just jealous of you EL. They know they can't muster up anything this cool on their own. And they're supposed to be the hipsters. Bah! I'll bet Russ Smith is spinning in his grave.

I will stipulate that you are entirely civilized. And gracious as well.

Orchard Market Café!

Top ten places to get wings. The place in Cross St. Market wins the city paper award every year. I am a big fan of $9.49 all you can eat wings at Bill Bateman's in Towson on Monday nights. Then I hear from some that Kislings is the place to go. Since there are countless bars that serve wings in this town, coming up with ten should not be hard.

Italian cold cut subs (or just Italian deli)...c'mon EL....(obnoxious whining) you said..............

This is so true. I promised. And I keep forgetting. Top 10 Italian delis. Soon. EL

Oh, right. You encourage barbarism and then whine when you don't get a good citizen's medal. Boo hoo. Well the Nobel committ ... wait, I mean the Pulitzer ... doh! I mean the whozit ... city paper? (Wow, what an honor!!!) would know about civilization, no question about that. And I'm shocked, shocked!, that it allowed blind envy and one (granted, extremely civilized) martini video to sway them. I've a good mind to pay them a visit and lay a proper tweak on their hand-knotted bow ties. Call us uncivilized? Pfffffffffffffffffffft.

I feel conflicted about disclosing Asean Bistro. It is my favorite restaurant (and Zagat rated), and due to its strip-mall location out of the main rumble in Columbia, I always get a table on a Saturday night.

But, Asean Bistro. Amazing vietnamese spring rolls, satay, and the best california rolls I've had. My fav dish is Cleopatra Chicken.

They used to have crazy presentation with veggies carved into flowers, but they stopped doing it. I miss it :(

Wings. Becks. Sykesville.

Civilization ... hmmm. I have to say that, metaphorically speaking, my business goes up as one wave of civilization crashes on the beach of history, only to await the ameliorating influence of the rise of another wave. It's been that way since Contstantine. (Take that, CP!)

My vote: Scotto's in Bel Air South Plaza off Route 24. Better (and lighter) than most neighborhood Italian places, and I love the huge windows with blinds bottom up to block the views of acres of parked cars.

I know I suggested strip malls at one point, but I'm not sure I can claim primacy. I like wings though too (but who doesn't).

I don't want to do wings so soon after dive bars, but I'd like to have one in the can for when I go on vacation soon. And I'm not forgetting Italian delis. EL

How about places with the best Football specials - (food and drink)???

Cynthia's in Severna Park.

Definitely Asean Bistro in Columbia. Hell, they're on my cell phone speed dial.

Also in that neck of the woods, Aida. Tough to find, but worth it.

Continuing on the theme, House of India on Snowden River Parkway.

Hmmm...seems all the good places in HoCo are in strip malls! There may be a correlation there...:-)

Smokey's in Eldersberg. Granny's in Owings Mills. Would Red Brick Station qualify?

I hate wings.

I had a party for my staff at a German bar/restaurant in Cambridge once and they were allowed to order anything they wanted from the bar and the "lite" fare menu (ooooo "lite" irks my gherkin!) Except I forbid the server to let them get wings. (Sorry my English is slipping.) And all they did was complain. Ungrateful dogs. I eventually gave in because I am so kind, but then I outsourced their jobs to India did a little dance because I have no soul and the wanton infliction of random pain on people who trust me is the only way I can feel. Sure lives were ruined but that will teach them to order wings. No means no. Unless you're on a date, then no means buy me another appletini first.

I had a girlfriend in San Juan who ordered wings once and I broke up with her on the spot. Hit the bricks and take your trampoline with you, sister. It was like watching a circus geek at feeding time. Ditto crabs. And hard boiled eggs. And upside down forks. And eating cake with a spoon (Euro-trash Austrians, I'm talking to you). Who put the cranky in my crank this morning?

Oh Weltschmerz - up yours!

Wings I like.

Owl,
Thanks for the laughs, I laughed out loud!
Luckily the boss was out of the office. They don't understand the blog thing down here.

rubes.

Cranky Owl, I don't believe that you are a soulless sociopath. I think you're hiding your gentler self behind all the fireworks. Mmmmm .... here's a big Lemon Girl hug.

Number one restaurant in a strip mall is Grace Garden in Odenton. Number two would be way, way down the list after than one.

During my undergrad days in Boston, we used to go to a spot called Sunset Grill, which boasted hundreds of kinds of beer and atomic, sub-atomic and super-atomic wings. I loved that place. It is the benchmark for all other wings in the world. Mmmmmmm... wings.
No wings in Baltimore have ever come close. Now and then when I must have a fix I head to Alonso's or Bill Bateman's.
Note: Never eat wings on a first date.

While we're off topic, how about a Top 10 of TV shows not about food. List could include: Wings, Cheers, Two Guys A Girl and a Pizza Place.

Maddogg wrote Never eat wings on a first date. Truer words were never uttered.

We've already done foodie movies, but did we include "Mystic Pizza"?

A first date where they serve wings is vey classy. In truth I went on a date a long while ago (Amanda won't let me date since we got married) and displaye my utter indifference to the outcome by eating ribs. Ribs. To honest, I was a lot more into the ribs than into her. It did not go well. But it would have been worse without the ribs. Mmmmm ... riiiiiiiiibs. I remember the ribs but not the girl. Ribs............... (Disclaimer: I'm obligated to not vividly remember any non-Amanda women.)

Maddogg, I remember years ago, my sister and I discussing "deadly first date" foods. I don't even know if there even was such thing as wings yet, but I remember French onion soup (both the breath and the cheese problem) and broccoli (seeds in the teeth) being high on the list.

Top 10 Alert!!!!! EL

Bad first date foods. A great top ten.

Wings- If I saw a woman gnawing on a chicken I would leave by the back door
Ribs- Really VDP?
Crabs
Any long pasta with red sauce - It will always whip sauce onto the white clothing yu are wearing.

I'm tired

For strip mall places: Alberto's, that wonderful Italian restaurant in Glen Burnie, if it's still there.

Bad First Date Foods: Gyros. Very messy, but oh so good.

Bad first date foods. A great top ten.

I'll play --

* Raw onion in your salad. Unless you don't want a second date.

* Asking for "extra special hot" at a Thai restaurant. Crying is rarely a turn-on.

* Owl Meat already mentioned crabs, so I'll add soft-shelled crab sandwiches. Those legs hanging out of your mouth couldn't possibly be a good look.

* And, I'm thinking pulled pork. This could include any stringy meat that ends up wedged between your teeth, needing a well lit mirror and some dental equipment to dislodge it.

Oh, and I forgot to mention black bean soup. (Should be self-explanatory.)

Joyce W--what seeds in broccoli???

But I agree this is fantastic top ten topic.

Pulled pork? Sounds like a great first date to me!

"...If I saw a woman gnawing on a chicken I would leave by the back door"

I am reminded of "Tom Jones"...

ha ha - Dahlink, ok, not seeds but those little green balls in the tree tops. What do you call them anyway?

Good one voodoopork, good one!
ROFL!

Cheese Girl, some of us actually seek out hot and spicy food. We may sweat a bit, but never cry (except sometimes tears of joy at finally getting something really hot). Whe I taste something and say "That's good." my DW knows not to even sniff it. BTW, the way to order "extra special hot" when they ask how hot you want it is to answer "Native Thai."

VDP - Pulled pork? Sounds like a great first date to me!

And I thought Bucky made me laugh hard in the other post. Jesus, I think I'm crying, I'm laughing so hard.

Joyce W.--I have no idea, but I'll bet hmpstd will enlighten us. Are they buds, perhaps?

Speaking of broccoli, why is that that at least three times outr of four the "vegetable du jour" is broccoli? Why do most of the frozen vegetable mixes contain broccoli? Is there some sort of "Broccoli Mafia" around telling restaurants and vegetable packers "Youse better buy more broccoli. Or else youse is gonna be pushin' up broccoli stalks."?

Dahlink -- I think you got it right using buds, at least according to the University of Illinois Extension (and they should know agriculture): "The edible part of broccoli are compact clusters of unopened flower buds and the attached portion of stem."

Query -- should that read "The edible part of broccoli is edible clusters", or is "are" the proper word? Perhaps Mr. McIntyre and/or Owl Meat can enlighten us in this regard. (And, no, I'm not getting into which part(s) of "and/or" should apply to an allusion to both names.)

hmpstd, whatever answer you get will be the opposite if you are using British English. Their treatment of plural nouns is usually the opposite of ours: "The Royal Family is taking vacation at the shore."

RtE -- Don't get me wrong -- I love hot spicy food. I'm just thinking "Native Thai" wouldn't be a stellar pick for a first date. ; )

I'm not a grammarian, hmpstd, but I think the verb goes with "part," which is singular, so "is" it is. But Owl Meat is anything but singular!

I'm a little groggy after my frenzied evening with Bourbon Girl, but let me take a shot. I could be completely wrong. I'm not even sure what day it is. Trampoline!

"The Royal Family is taking vacation at the shore."
Family is singular. It is a group on many elements, but it is one group. So your example would be the same in American, or as I call it, real English.
Family is taking.

"The edible part of broccoli are compact clusters of unopened flower buds and the attached portion of stem."
That's wrong. It should be "is".
The part is X

I don't know the peculiarities of British English. Usually these are problems of logic and not arbitrary rules. It helps to reduce the sentence to a simpler form.

Salad can be an iffy first date choice. You never know if the lettuce leaves are going to be too big and create awkward moments.

I have never been clear on whether it's poor etiquette to cut your salad with a knife. Anyone?

Silly LJ. Just don't eat salad. Men are more impressed by a woman who eats steak. Nobody wants to seduce a wan salad-eater. A man wants to know that a woman has fortutude in case they want to enjoy a Funky Cold Medina later.

Cold coolin at a bar, and I'm lookin for some action
But like Mike Jagger said, I can't get no satisfaction
The girls are all around, but none of them wanna get with me
My threads are fresh and I'm lookin def, yo, what's up with L-o-c?
The girls is all jockin at the other end of the bar
Havin drinks with some no-name chump, when they know that I'm the star
So I got up and strolled over to the other side of the cantina
I asked the guy, Why you so fly? he said, Funky Cold Medina

LJ - it's better etiuette to cut your salad with a knife than to stuff enormous hunks of veggies into your mouth. LOL. Frankly, I don't understand why salad pieces are not served bite sized, but maybe I'm too picky.

Th rule for salad and knives is that they don't meet on your plate. Its why a proper salad fork (by Kirk or Steif) has one flat knife blade like tine. It allows you to cut a piece of salad that the kitchen did not properly prepare. (Thus the Chopped Salad served at Marconi's: get those pieces small.) That being said, the rule came into being long before large leaves and field greens became the standard for salads. Now you have little choice but to take a knife to most salads being served.

Based on hours of C-SPAN, PBS, and NPR's simulcast of the overnight BBC World Service, my understanding is that some British English collective nouns will take plural verbs -- hence, lines such as "The Cabinet are meeting at this hour in emergency session at No. 10 Downing Street."

I also think that British English would actually state that "the Royal Family are taking vacation at the shore." (Either way, it's hard to picture the Royal Family going downy ocean, hon.)

Would the British say, "Why are your fork upside down? And why are your knife touching your salad?"

... it's hard to picture the Royal Family going downy ocean, hon. Whilst that's a wonderful picture generally, consider HRH Phillip carrying a beach umbrella across the sand. But, HRM ER II eating salt water taffy sitting in a low slung beach chain under the umbrella is even better.

Who cares what the pathetic English do? They are irrelevant. They are George Bush's poodles. The dominant language in the (business) world is American English. Twee English English is looked down upon by most business people around the world. Screw them and get out of Northern Ireland you bastards.

The ENGLISH, not the British. When you mean English say freakin' English and stop marginalizing the Scots and Welsh. That really works my gherkin. In many cases you will find that the English add assy pretensions to their lame language because of their severe insecurities and self-hatred. The ENGLISH use language to divide people - that's why there are so many ridiculous accents and near-dialects in a country the size of a crappy imperial craptastic little has-been exploitive country.

Language in general is used in a more democratic way in the U.S. It unites people of wildly diverse origins over an enormous geography. Whereas as in England every neighborhood in London has its own slanguage. Repression!

And stop telling me that the damned street in Fells Point (and the river in CT) is pronounced wrong as THames. That's how it's spelled, that's how we pronounced it here and in Connecticut 300 years ago. The twee wankers in England keep changing pronunciation to keep the upper class pronunciation different from the masses. The original name of the English river was "Tam Es" coming from the Celtic (Keltic) meaning Tam River. Then some time ago the idiotic English started adding pretentious "h"'s to some "t" words for no good reason "(Thomas, eg.) Thus the Tam Es became the Thames and people started pronouncing it differently and WRONG in England, but not so in America.

Ireland for the Irish! The English are a sick example for us to follow. We can be better than that.

Hmmm--maybe OMG really is Mr.McIntyre's evil twin.

RtSO wrote: But, HRM ER II eating salt water taffy sitting in a low slung beach chain under the umbrella is even better.

True, but until that happens, we'll have to content ourselves with watching the Queen deal with ballpark food in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

How about a "Best Places to Watch the Ravens Game" top ten list? You're probably thinking to yourself, "This is a food blog -- not a sports blog." But watching the game is about more than big screen televisions -- it's about good specials, great bar staff, a high octane environment and a fun crowd. I've been trying to get around to new bars this fall (i.e., outside of Fed Hill, Fells and Canton), and I've found some real gems.