Lil Bill's Bar & Grill, Glen Burnie Plaza, 7400 Ritchie Hwy., Glen Burnie

We visited Lil Bill's on Friday afternoon, just as the "big snow" was starting to fall. My immediate impression was that the "grill" was out of commission. The bar side was full and noisy, but the dining room had not a single guest. The pool tables located at the far back of the dining room were in active use. We stood for a few moments and with no hostess in sight, considered leaving, but we decided to seat ourselves and hope for the best. Just as we were settling on a table by the four-sided fireplace, the server emerged, gave us menus and took our tea and soda orders. I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall, but alas, here is another place with a bar that could offer fruit-flavored iced tea. She did offer pre-sweetened green tea and the run-of-the-mill wretched raspberry stuff from the soda fountain. I opted for unsweetened fresh iced tea.

The menu was surprisingly overpriced. Most sandwiches were around $12-$15 and dinner entrees of pasta, seafood, and the like were mostly over $20 -- more than one would expect in an establishment that clearly gives more attention to the bar than the grill. So, when our server, Linda, suggested the $9.99 Lasagna Special, with salad and bread sticks included, we were an easy sell.



The salad was pure basic: Iceberg lettuce with a few slices of cucumber, a couple tomato pieces, a few strips of onion, and some croutons tossed on top. The veggies were fresh and crisp. But I only ate one crouton, for fear of breaking a tooth. Hardest crouton I have ever had!

The Lasagna arrived and it was evident that the kitchen had made a decent attempt at a nice presentation. However, the energy would have been better spent on the preparation. As nice as it looked, at the first touch of the fork, the lasagna collapsed into a mushy pile. The pasta was limp and flavorless and the meat was scarce compared to the abundance of sauce that obviously came from a jar or can. Although there was a nice layer of fluffy ricotta, I was surprised that it contained no mozzarella or parmesan -- vital ingredients for traditional lasagna in every recipe I've ever tried. And the bread sticks weren't actually sticks at all, but slices.

With lasagna being prepared without mozzarella and parmesan, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that Hunny's silverware setting contained a seafood fork instead of a dinner fork. Yet, we found it surprising and pathetically amusing. We're just glad that our meal was on special because if this meal had been ordered from the overpriced menu, we would have left after the first bite. Lil Bill's "grill" needs to realize that you can't charge Carrabba's-level prices and serve tv-dinner quality food. Maybe that explains why the dining room was empty, save for us.

From Our Own Kitchen -- Spaghetti Squash My Way

You know, sometimes you crave a certain food and want it a certain way, so you realize the best thing to do is make it yourself. That's how I was feeling when I made this dish for supper tonight. If you've never had spaghetti squash, you really owe it to yourself to give it a try -- unless you're one of those squash-phobic people that totally puzzle me. As the name implies, spaghetti squash resembles the famous pasta when it's cooked and is perfectly delicious served with a tomato-based or alfredo sauce just like "real" spaghetti.  We really love it like this, though -- simple to prepare and it allows the flavor of the veggie to shine through.

If you don't even know what to look for in the produce market, spaghetti squash looks like a small watermelon, but it's beautiful sunflower yellow and hard. Choose one with no obvious bruises and that has a fresh appearance. I start by turning the oven to 350F so it can preheat while I do the prep work. Next, rinse the squash off well, then slice it lengthwise, starting on one side of the stem and going around to the other side. Once you've cut all the way around, just open it up and break it apart at the stem. That's really easier to do that trying to cut off the stem -- these babies are tough!

Having split it in two, scoop out all the seeds and stringy, pithy stuff, rinse, and season as desired. You can stick with good ol' salt and pepper, or go a bit more adventurous. I use a spice mixture similar to Montreal Steak seasoning. Next, place the halves, cut side up, in an appropriately sized baking dish (I used a 13 x 9 x 3 Pyrex dish) with about an inch of water in it. Cover with aluminum foil and crimp it around the edges of the dish to seal it. Bake on the middle oven rack for about 45 minutes, more or less, depending on the size of the squash. Don't overcook it -- overcooked spaghetti squash is just as unappealing as overcooked pasta. It's ready when you can stick a fork into the flesh of the squash and pull some of it away from the shell.

Which leads us to the next step. Remove the halves from the dish and let them cool just enough to be able to handle them. While they cool, heat a skillet or wok with a couple tablespoons of butter or olive oil. Then, use a fork to pull away the bits of flesh from the shell, which will break into pieces resembling, you guessed it, spaghetti. As you accumulate a little mound of the "spaghetti," put it in the skillet/wok and continue to scrape out the shell until you've removed as much as you can. Stir-fry your "spaghetti" for about 5 minutes. Serve with a dash of garlic powder and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if desired. I left mine with just the pre-baking seasoning and butter and it was delicious.

If you decide to make this your first spaghetti squash dish, please leave me a note in the comment box and let me know how you liked it.

T.G.I. Friday's at Arundel Mills, 7655 Arundel Mills Blvd., Hanover

We've only been to T.G.I. Friday's a couple of times, so we decided to try them again after seeing their ads for the 3 for $12.99 promotion. If you've seen Friday's lively, high-energy commercials, you have a pretty accurate picture of their atmosphere -- fast-paced and invigorating. The decor is best described as retro-eclectic, with wall hangings varying from Beatles' posters to antique toys, motorcycle parts to neon lights.

We were greeted by a very friendly hostess who seated us right away. Our server, Brittany, wasted no time in getting our orders for iced tea and soda. Alas, like Glory Days Grill, Friday's hasn't yet figured out that they could easily offer iced tea flavored with fruit syrup from the bar but, instead, the only option for fruit tea is that dreaded raspberry faux tea from the soda fountain. I settled for unsweetened fresh iced tea.
The 3 for $12.99 special includes an appetizer, entree and dessert, chosen from the promotional list. (We opted do 3 for $16.99 to have a greater range of choices in entrees.)


For starters, I picked the new Italian Wedge Salad. I'm fond of simple lettuce-based salads, but the toppings on this were lacking in flavor and just not very impressive. I suggested that Hunny try the Crispy Green Bean Fries. Although he's not a big fan of green beans, I thought he might enjoy something different, since everything else on the list of choices were versions of appetizers he has tried before.

I should have followed my own advice -- I tried a few of his and they were deliciously crispy and crunchy, and less greasy than I expected. I especially liked the Cucumber-Wasabi Ranch Dip that accompanied them. After Hunny gently pushed my hand away, I grudgingly went back to my wedge salad.


For our entrees, I fared much better. I selected the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron Steak with Sweet Potato Fries and Cole Slaw. First, the minor details: The cole slaw was very good and crispy, with a light dressing -- probably vinegar-based, but not strong at all, and with no hint of mayonnaise. The sweet potatoes were good. Ah, now for the star of the show....



This steak was far better than I anticipated. For the price, it was one of the tastiest steaks I've had in a while. The Jack Daniel's glaze gave it just the right seasoning and created a fine caramelized crustiness that showcased the perfectly prepared medium-well tenderness of the steak. Well-trimmed, too, without a trace of fat or gristle. Remarkably good!




 It was Hunny's turn to get the short end of the stick. His Honey-Pecan Salmon was a real disappointment. It was generally overcooked and dry and the way it was cut contributed to the problem -- one side was extremely thin and ended up excessively dry and charred along the edge. Aside from being overcooked, I found the flavor disagreeable -- it had that taste that indicates it was either not fresh or was farmed instead of wild. The Honey Pecan topping was overly sweet and the rice was bland. Oh, well, at least the sizable portion of broccoli was prepared well.

The third part of our "three-fer" deal was, of course, the dessert. We purposely chose different selections so we could share and enjoy double-the-tastes. Hunny ordered the Brownie Obsession and I picked the Vanilla Bean Cheesecake. The score at this point in the game became Hunny 2, Me 1. I may have won in the entree category, but he seriously outscored me on the appetizer and dessert. The cheesecake was rather pretentiously presented on a plate about a foot long with a squiggle of chocolate sauce. It would have been better without the top layer which wasn't cheesecake, but some soft and melty stuff that seemed like a cross between whipped cream and ice cream, and topped with flavorless dried coconut. The actual cheesecake layer was tasty, but overwhelmed by the other stuff. On the other hand, the Brownie Obsession is a big, delightfully moist brownie topped with Ghirardelli brand chocolate-fudge sauce, vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and pecans. It is decadently rich and gooey and it is so appropriately named.


Our T.G.I. Friday's experience certainly was not the best we've ever had. Of course, we've had worse, too, but when you consider that 3 out of the 6 courses we ordered weren't very good, that's a score of 50%, which in any standard grading system equals "F." The quality of service was just about average -- a "C' -- which isn't nearly high enough to balance the failing grade of the food. After all, it's not that hard to find a good steak and a gooey brownie sundae.

Ruby Tuesday, Marley Station Mall, 7900 Governor Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie MD

Located just inside the rear entrance of Marley Station Mall, Ruby Tuesday is one of our favorite eateries because, over the years that we've been dining there, we have always enjoyed consistently good food and service. Their atmosphere is relaxing with an uncluttered decor, comfortable, spacious  seating, and pleasant music. It's usually relatively quiet although, like any restaurant, it can get pretty chatter-heavy when they're packed out with customers.
There are a lot of things we like about Ruby Tuesday, but a couple are especially significant, one being that they frequently update their menu. They have some standard goodies that stick around, but they're not afraid to add something new to their repertoire, and we appreciate the variety. On this visit we tried two of their four new Mini Combinations and we're SO glad we did, because they were fantastic! All of RT's Mini Combos are served with "endless" fries and come with your choice of fresh-made soup or endless fresh garden bar. We both chose the garden bar.

Speaking of the Fresh Garden Bar, it's the other significant thing we like about Ruby Tuesday. They're one of the very few full-service restaurants with a complete salad bar. I can't give you an exhaustive list of their offerings, but be assured that their selection is excellent and they keep it well stocked with fresh items. One of my personal favorites is edamame -- a truly good-tasting and good-for-you veggie that, unfortunately, I rarely find at other salad bars, not even the all-you-can-eat buffets.

RT has a great balance of choices, with plenty of fresh, crisp "standard" garden-salad ingredients (starting with four types of greens), several tasty kinds of pasta salad, a selection of fruits, including Waldorf salad, plus plenty of dressings and toppings. 

Hunny, salmon lover that he is, had the new Salmon Cake Minis. These babies are scrumptious -- grilled golden brown and served with fresh lettuce, tomato and sweet-spicy chili sauce. We were both impressed with the size of these "mini" masterpieces -- as you can see from the photo, they were hanging over the sides of their little buns. He really liked these!


That's not to imply that he was any happier with his choice than I was with mine. I picked the new Pimento Cheese Minis. 


I happen to adore pimento cheese, but I've found that the quality difference between brands ranges dramatically. Let me tell you, this was the second-best pimento cheese I have ever eaten. The only one who's done it better was my late Aunt Lilly, who made it from scratch. This was so near to the quality of hers, though, that I felt compelled to ask the manager, Melissa, if it was made on premises. Surprisingly, she said they get it ready-made from a supplier. In retrospect, I should have asked the name of the supplier -- it's that good! The Pimento Cheese Minis are served with fresh lettuce, tomato, a pickle and Ruby's mayonnaise, but it's so creamy, the mayonnaise really isn't necessary.

If you've read my previous posts, you know that I'm a big fan of fruit-flavored iced tea. Well, no place does that better than Ruby Tuesday. On this visit, I ordered my "usual," the Ruby Red made with pomegranate juice, one of those superfoods that is so good for you, you should drink some every day. That said, I admit that I've tried other flavors once or twice. Served in elegant, tall glasses similar to pilsners, RT uses real fruit and fruit juice -- the peach and mango are infused with luscious bits of fruit that make them delicious and beautiful.

Oh, the manager I mentioned earlier, Melissa -- yeah, she stopped by our table a few times to make sure everything was to our liking. Happily, our server, Jackie, was taking excellent care of us, but we really appreciate it when management is fully engaged with the customers and aware of what's happening, and Melissa makes it her business to do that. She's also a great seller -- despite the fact that we had already decided against dessert, Melissa's description of another new addition to the menu, the Italian Cream Cake, convinced us to share a slice. It was the first time either of us had ever tried this type of cake, but even without other versions to compare it to, we both found it delectable. I love carrot cake, and the Italian Cream Cake, to me, seemed like carrot cake made with coconut instead of carrots, with a very similar texture and cream cheese frosting, but a lighter, less "spiced" flavor. It was so good, in fact, that I completely forgot to take a photo! Oh, well, I guess that means I'll just have to have it again soon. I mean, my readers do need to know what it looks like. At least, that's as good an excuse as I need! After a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours, terrific food and service, and a tab of just $32 and change, we left feeling happy and satisfied.

Giant Leads in Grocery Technology!

Today I visited the Giant Food at Park 97 at 7940 Crain Highway and used their "Scan It" system that allows you to scan and bag your items as you shop. I absolutely LOVE this shopping tool. It's so easy to use and makes shopping so much faster. My two favorite features are being able to see a running total of my spending while I shop and being able to bag as I go. I'm really kind of persnickety about how my groceries are bagged, and by doing it myself, I know it's done right. When I shop, I carefully place my items on the checkout belt in the order that I want them bagged, grouping all the cold/frozen items together. When I get home, I put away the refrigerated and frozen foods first (of course), so I really dislike finding that the employee has mixed them in with the other items so that I have to look through every bag to find all the cold stuff first. This system totally solves that issue for me. I've done the self-checkout before at Giant and at Superfresh, and it's okay, but I'm not crazy about it because the belt ususally gets backed up before I've finished scanning, so I have to keep stopping to bag some items, then return to scanning. This is such a step forward, I can't even tell you how much I liked it! Once I was finished, all I had to do was go to the self-checkout, run my hand-held scanner through, swipe my Giant card and my credit card and I was ready to go -- groceries already bagged and in the cart!

I didn't purchase any produce with the system today, so I'll have to see how well it works with that, but I did purchase a few items from the service deli and some fresh bagels, and it was a breeze. The glass doors of the bagel bins have bar-coded stickers to scan with the hand-held, so you can either scan the pre-made label for a dozen bagels, if that's how many you're purchasing or, you can scan it once for each bagel if you're buying fewer. I'm hoping the produce works the same way.... but I'm kind of wondering about the items sold by the pound. I'll be going back later this week or the first of next week, so I'll give an update and post some photos with it.

Glory Days Grill, Southdale Center, 7939 Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie/Pasadena

Glory Days Grill at Southdale has a typical sports bar and grill atmosphere, including lots of television screens -- 13 within direct view of our table, not counting the two gianormous big screens -- sports memorabilia covering the walls, a couple of video games near the bar, and waitstaff attired in sports jerseys. It's lively, loud, bright and offers plenty of distractions for the attention-deficient. The menu is the kind of fare you would expect -- lots of burgers, some steaks and ribs, the ubiquitous wings, nachos, fries and so forth.

We  visited Glory Days Grill to take advantage of their Monday $5 Burgers deal. Most likely due to the holiday, we found it busier than usual, especially for the three-thirty hour. With a lot of the main dining area occupied, we elected to take a table in the bar area. To our pleasant surprise, it was less noisy on that side than we normally experience on the other side. Too bad that our tabletop speaker box had a dead battery, so we were unable to hear any of the TV audio. When we brought it to the waiter's attention, he set the dead box on the next table, but didn't give us a working one. Other than that, the service was adequate -- not stellar, but no serious problems. On the plus side, our burgers arrived in just fifteen minutes, and our tea and soda glasses were kept full. Since Glory Days has a bar, I find it disappointing that they don't offer to flavor their iced tea with fruit syrup. A request for fruit-flavored tea will only get you the raspberry faux tea from the soda fountain.

Hunny ordered the Bleu Cheese & Caramelized Onion burger, opting for sweet potato fries as a side. It looked impressive when it arrived but, unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be as good as it looked. We puzzled over the "mystery sauce" that accompanied it, since there was no mention of it on the menu. Despite being ordered well done, he found several pink spots in the meat, and the caramelized onions were excessively greasy. The bleu cheese turned out to be less than ideal as a topping -- applied unevenly, some bites were overpowered with the flavor while others had none. At least the sweet potato fries were good.

I selected the Glory Burger, a super thick patty sitting atop BBQ sauce and onion straws and topped with bacon, cheddar cheese and a fried egg. I chose the parsley red potatoes as my side dish. Also ordered well done, my burger was extra browned, just the way I like it, and thoroughly cooked throughout. Be warned that this thing is impossible to eat with two hands, like a normal burger. In fact, even after I cut it in half, it was such a sloppy mess that I ended up cutting it in pieces and eating it with a fork. The flavor of the burger itself was quite good, and I think the bacon and cheese added to the flavor, but the BBQ sauce, onion straws and fried egg didn't add much more than additional fat and calories. Next time, I think I'll opt for a less-dressed version. The potatoes were nicely seasoned and well prepared.

Both of the burgers came with a a crisp pickle spear and a nice portion of fresh tomato and red onion, but the lettuce looked a bit past its peak. Speaking of onion, we have to wonder why Glory Days chooses to add a thick slice of raw red onion to these particular burgers, as they feature plenty of cooked onions. The other puzzler of the evening was the fact that members of the management team walked by our table a number of times, but never so much as made eye contact with us. That isn't good business any time, but when a customer is making notes and taking photos of the food, one would think that just might result in some minimal acknowledgement from management. But then, their web page still contains an announcement for an event from October -- which also says something about how the business is run.

The best part of the meal was the tab, totaling under $17 (before tip), thanks to the Monday special. Overall, the experience was generally disappointing. Admittedly, we normally enjoy the lively atmosphere and on previous visits we've experienced better quality food and service, so we'll likely return eventually.

Cheeseburger in Paradise, The Horizons, 8026 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena, MD

Walking through the door of Cheeseburger in Paradise is like stepping off a boat onto the shore of a tropical island, yes, paradise. Really. Staff in casual attire greet you with a friendly welcome and usher you to the seating space of your choice -- patio chairs on the front deck, a booth under the coconut thatch, or a table with its top covered by an aerial island photograph, where you'll be cheefully served by your "islander." It was Jimmy Buffet's vision to blend his beloved beach atmosphere with the availability of truly great cheeseburgers -- not your typical island fare -- and while he certainly succeeded there, you'll find the menu contains an ample selection of traditional tropical dishes. Spend a couple of hours having a meal here and you'll feel like you've been on a mini-vacation, which is especially welcome on a chilly Friday evening.


Hunny and I started with one of the house specialties for our appetizer -- fried pickles. Thinly sliced dill pickles with a light cornmeal batter, deep fried to crunchy perfection, and served with a sweet horseradish dipping sauce. The sour, salty, zesty, sweet tastes combine with the light breading to create a flavor explosion that can't be compared to any other dish we've ever tried. Yum!


For the entree, I chose the Calypso Chicken Salad, but elected to substitute Blackened Shrimp for the chicken. At $10.99, plus $1.99 extra for the shrimp substitution, my expectations were high for the exotic-sounding salad. The mixed field greens were fresh and crisp, gleaming with just the right amount of Citrus Vinaigrette dressing. The shrimp were well seasoned and nicely blackened with a fresh, light texture. Firm but ripe sliced strawberries and juicy segments of mandarin orange were mixed with the right balance of tartly sweet pineapple bits, crunchy pieces of apple, and thin rings of red onion. The candied almond slivers added an unexpected but welcome texture and flavor. If not done properly, this variety of flavors could amount to a confused mish-mash, but at Cheeseburger in Paradise, it's done precisely right. The result is delightful reminder of savory summertime tastes that work together to make this salad worth the $13 price.


Parrot Island Salmon was Hunny's entree choice. It's billed on the menu as "grilled" but it was more on the seared side and could even pass for blackened. Being the salmon-lover that he is, he found it a bit more browned than he's used to, but was nonetheless quite happy with it. I'm not as fond of salmon as he is -- in fact, I consider salmon inedible if it isn't cooked to my exact liking. But, the couple of bites he was willing to share with me were very tasty. Most important, in my view, was the pleasantly mild flavor that signifies freshness. Odd as it may sound, I don't want my fish to taste "fishy." The accompanying Island Rice was nicely seasonedd. The Teriyaki Broccoli was tender-crisp with a slightly sweet taste. Hunny thought the BBQ sauce was a bit too sweet. Fortunately, he had accepted our server-Islander's thoughtful offer to have it on the side. I thought the salmon held its own with no need for any kind of sauce -- not something I'm apt to say often about salmon.

We shared a side order of another of our CiP favorites, Sweet Potato Chips. We've had these at a few different places, and Cheeseburger in Paradise does a good job. They're thin and crispy, not greasy, and just lightly salted, so that the sweet potato flavor comes through. A tastier and healthier alternative to french fries.

A truly satisfying dining experience requires both good food and good service, and here again Cheeseburger in Paradise delivers. We typically visit on Friday evenings (as we did this time) or during other high-volume times, but we've never been disappointed with our service (or food). On this visit, Shannon supplied the friendly and attentive care that we've become accustomed to at CiP. Our entrees arrived quickly, before we had finished our appetizer, and she graciously offered to hold our meal in the back, but we were ready to dig in. We expect our servers to keep our beverage refills coming, as Shannon did, but we especially appreciated that, as we lingered in conversation, she continuted to offer refills after the tab had been paid -- something servers don't typically do anywhere. Speaking of beverages, if you enjoy fruit-flavored iced tea, as I do, you'll be happy to know that Cheeseburger in Paradise will add any flavor syrup from the bar to your tea, as you like. I prefer blackberry or mango, but there are plenty more to choose from.

Another unexpected bonus was having the proprietor, John Sparkman, check on our table a couple of times over the course of the evening, stopping at one point to introduce himself. We like "hands-on" management and personal concern for customer happiness. With tasty food, attentive service and a relaxing atmosphere, Cheeseburger in Paradise delivered a pleasant winter "getaway" for a tab of less than $40 (sans gratuity).