Fresh Dates - Like On The Stem -- At Nazar

Fresh dates at Nazar Market

Grab for the season by trying fresh dates on Nazar Market in Columbia.

Fresh dates like dates just harvested and sold still on the stem. They're firm and golden, nothing like the soft brown dates that I normally buy. But they're ripe, and you eat the skin and all.

It's a fresh flavor, the full flavor of the date but less sugary. The skin reminds me of an Asian pear. You crunch through flesh like an apple -- slightly astringent at the skin, but then the flavor that is surprisingly rich with honey.

Based on exhaustive minutes of on-line research, these appear to be Mariani dates picked at the "khalal" stage. The LA Times describes them as the "flavor of coconut, sugarcane and cinnamon." I wish that I has thought of that because it's a nice description, much better than "full flavor of the date."

Nazar is a market with a halal butcher in the shops at Snowden River Parkway and Oakland Park Boulevard. You enter from Oakland Park, and Nazar faces across the parking lot at Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery. Nazar sells lots of Turkish goods -- including candies, juices, sodas, grains, spices and the perfect ground lamb. Ground lamb was one of the stars of 2010's Grilling Week.

How Big Do Those Cups Need To Be?

The cup at Mangoberry is human-sized

Great moment at Tutti Frutti in Fulton: A woman chastises her three boys for ignoring her instruction to get the smallest cups, only to round the corner and realize that the giant bowls in their hands are the smallest available.

How big do yogurt cups need to be?

The by-the-ounce yogurt trend has been great fun for me. I like the sour and fruity yogurts, and I love topping off with mochi and the little round balls that burst when you bite them. (Occasionally, I need to ignore the fact that those balls look like a 1970s fishing bait that was some a troublingly-similar type of fish egg that you slid on the hook.)

But the bowls are ridiculous. They run from huge to huger to hugest. I have eaten a perfectly fine dessert that barely covered the bottom on a bowl.

Mangoberry in Clarksville has a plastic cup. It's still a big cup, but you can layer nicely. Yogurt - toppings - yogurt - toppings - yogurt. That's a cool innovation -- although the Rita's folks would say that they have been layering Italian ice and custard forever.

Last Chance For Original Soft Stuff

Take your last chance to eat soft serve on the side of Rte 40.

The Soft Stuff stand has been an Ellicott City institution, and it will close some time in October. Go now. They're already starting the construction that will replace a motel and diner with a modern commercial development. But you can get your cones and enjoy one final night eating ice cream next to your car.

We went Saturday night after a Korean dinner. People were rolling up at a steady pace. The woman working there said they'll stay open until October. They didn't know an exact date yet.

Soft serve is soft serve. I'm not sending you for a gourmet sweet. I'm sending you because the ice cream parlor that will replace Soft Stuff will be like so many other ice cream parlors around. The current stand is a window back in time, and the memory will be as delicious as the dessert.
Soft Stuff
10021 Baltimore Pike
Ellicott City, MD
410-465-2090

NEAR: Soft Serve is attached to the last remnant of the Forest Motel. It is on the south side of Rte 40 west of Rte 29 across from the Enchanted

Beef Soup At Han Sung Restaurant

Yuk gae jung with age tofu and chapchae in the back

The cold is coming, and you should start looking for warm dinners to get you through.

Yuk gae jang is a Korean beef soup perfect for your winter, and Han Sung Restaurant in Ellicott City will ladle it out for you.

Han Sung is a small casual restaurant just south of Rte 40. Many of the people coming through were eating sushi or tempura. But there is a small variety of homestyle Korean food, and I'm looking to eat beyond the barbecue and the Korean-Chinese noodles that I love.

Yuk gae jang is a bowl thick with shredded flank steak, scallions and noodles in a red-tinged broth. The soup has a spicy zest, but it's not the fiery flavor that you can get in some Korean dishes. It's a filling dish. The beef cooked tender. The noodles soak up the broth. On the side you get a metal container of rice, which you spoon into the bowl and adds a nice heartiness.

Han Sung doesn't have the panache of Shin Chon Garden, which is our repeat joint for Korean. But we're trying new spots, and I directed us to Han Sung -- and to yuk gae jung -- based on a Yelp review by Ji K. They put out a nice table of vegetable panchan, and it seems like the right place for a dinner of soup and sushi.

One note: Ask for the main dish serving of yuk gae jung ($11). It's in English on the takeout menu, but the regular menu lists the main dish soups only in Korean. Next time, we'll try the mandu gook -- dumplings in a beef broth -- or the seafood pancakes. Anyone else suggest dishes at Han Sung?

Han Sung Restaurant
3570 St. Johns Lane
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-750-3836

NEAR: Han Sung is in a small commercial development on St. Johns Lane south of Rte 29. You drive past a cemetery on the right, and then turn right into a brick commercial building just before the next intersection with Frederick Road. Han Sung is around the corner and faces Frederick Road.

Takeout From Facci - Available Now (Sort Of)

I love a woman who quotes the Godfather.

As Nora Ephron so sagely noted, the Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question. At least for many boys.

Facci Ristorante famously hasn't offered takeout. They'll oblige once their current expansion is done. But Mrs. HowChow got takeout from Facci last month by confiding to our waiter that she was too stuffed to eat dessert at the table, but would love a cannoli to take home.

Facci makes the cream in house, and they're absolutely delicious -- although they're being caught by Facci's expanding dessert menu that included a real success of lemon gelato wrapped around a limoncello cream.

We had a delicious dinner at Facci with family. The waiter discretely delivered Mrs. HowChow's package, and she ordered us out the door and towards the fork that she knew she would find in our kitchen.

"Leave the gun," she said. "Take the cannoli."

Tea-Smoked Duck At Red Pearl In Columbia

The beauty of friends is that you can split a meal that might be too much for you alone.

Red Pearl in Columbia has become one of our favorite places, and I was jazzed by Todd Kliman's review in the Washingtonian because he highlighted new dishes, including a tea-smoked duck that he described as "rich and juicy as the best spare ribs."

Problem: Mrs. HowChow doesn't eat duck.

Solution: Dinner with the '34 Act Gourmet and his wife. As a foursome, we ordered a table of food headlined by that tea-smoked duck. I have to admit that I didn't realize that neither woman liked duck until I tried to offer pieces around.

It became a two-man job. The bone-in meat is rich and flavorful on its own, but set against a layer of fat and a crispy skin. You can see Red Pearl's ambition in the way that they turned out such an unusual dish. The meat was firm but still moist. Slightly-sweet steamed buns peeled open so that we tucked meat inside and ate them as sandwiches. I couldn't eat a plate on my own, but we dented the pile as a team -- and it made perfectly fine leftovers as well.

Check out Kliman's review, which mentions a lobster dish and a hot pot that sound spectacular. Red Pearl serves up all the classics of an American Chinese restaurant, but it pushes into dishes that are more unusual, more nuanced, more exciting. With my favorite Grace Garden, these are Chinese kitchens competing with the best food around.

Red Pearl's dim sum has become our go-to spot to take houseguests for brunch. It's great food -- and easy to please everyone because you can order an array of items. Roast duck appears on the carts, but it was not the same tea-smoked dish. Okay, but I prefer the roast pork and the dumplings.

Extend Your Cinco De Mayo In Elkridge

You can enjoy a day of Mexican food and music tomorrow at El Nayar in Elkridge.

The Mexican restaurant just off U.S. 1 plans a day of games for outdoor grilling, kids, music and "Comida Rifa."

(You might spend a while trying to translate "Comida Rifa" from El Nayar's sign. Rich food? Party food? Neither your college Spanish nor Google would understand. Only then would you would realize that it was two words -- food and raffles. Whoops!)

I actually stopped at El Nayar last weekend. We ordered tamales and a plate of tacos that we split with my parents. I'm not a huge side dish fan at most Mexican restaurants. Just order tacos because the beans and rice are often pedestrian. El Nayar's tacos are delicious, especially served with chips and the homemade salsa.

The party is Saturday, May 7, but the sign didn't actually say when. I think all day, but call to confirm. Thanks to Thierry for the nudge. I had the photo last weekend, but I had forgotten until he emailed.