Rumors/Updates
2009 October 17
*Apparently El Ranchero is open in the old El Paso location on Rte.85.
*The old Lonestar restaurant location at FSK mall has a sign on the door saying a Chinese Buffet is coming soon.
*Cameron’s Seafood may not be open yet, but they apparently have a refrigerated container/trailer from which they are selling seafood. Has anyone checked it out?
*In case you missed it, the Braddock Inn website is up now.
*Ledo Pizza in Urbana is now open.
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This is the kind of rumor I can really sink my teeth into. Har har!
Cameren’s got good reviews from some of the women in my mommy group (Frederick Mommies). Some info: the truck is open from 12-7 6 days a week and 12-6 on Sundays.
They have a limited menu now, but do have fries, steamed shrimp, and several platters (like tilapia). Crab balls… crab cakes, scallops…
The number for the portable unit if you want to check prices/availability -is – 301-717-2264.
It looks like China Taste, the restaurant next to Ledo’s in Urbana is open, as well (at least I saw the OPEN sign lit up in the window when I drove by the other day).
Yaaay, another option for Chinese carryout on the way home after OT at work.
Well, thanks to pojama, who showed me the Cameron’s menu tonight, I haven’t been able to stop drooling all evening! I have to say, the prices are very reasonable on the menu. Hopefully they live up to the pictures on their menu. Apparently they are opening the shop in 2 weeks.
Where exactly is Cameron’s going to be? and where is the temporary location where I can go now? Please.
Thanks!
It’s going in the old Deli Plus location at the corner of Guilford and Rte. 85. That’s the plaza with Burger King, The Common Market, Gold’s Gym and others. The trailer is in the parking lot at the same location.
Just FYI, Moxie – the Cafe by Cakes for Cause – is now open on North Market, between 6th and 7th:
http://www.moxiedesserts.com/
Good mention. My husband and I had lunch there last weekend and it was delicious! The butternut squash soup is to die for. I highly recommend that you check it out. This is exactly what North Market St. needed.
I took my daughter to El Ranchero yesterday. This is the daughter who was pretty upset when El Paso closed so I wasn’t even sure if she’d want to try El Ranchero. She was happy to do it though and even happier when she saw the salsa and chips. She liked the thick tortilla chips (I like them a little thinner and crispier) and the salsa was pretty similar in consistency to El Paso’s. She also loved the rice and her chicken burrito. I got the carnitas, large chunks of roasted pork served with refried beans and rice. I was disappointed it came with flour tortillas and not the soft corn ones I’ve had before with pork carnitas. The rest of the dish was delicious and I just finished the rest for lunch today (minus the flour tortillas…I’m not a fan of those!).
The restaurant itself is very inviting. It looks like they gutted and redecorated the entire place. It’s clean and bright and the staff yesterday was very friendly and attentive. We’ll be back!
That sounds promising about El Ranchero. I must admit the one time I ate at El Paso, I didn’t love it.. It was so dingy inside too and later I heard a rumor that it was rat infested, which I couldn’t help but believe. I’m pretty happy going to Mexicali Cantina whenever I want Mexican around here, but I’ll certainly try El Ranchero since you say it’s good.
I also noticed that the old Village Lanes bowling alley location on East Street is now a dollar store (Dollar General I believe it’s called). Not sure if it’s open but the sign is up.
Sean tipped me to this bit:
It’s in reference to the Westview Promenade, must be an old image since I can’t think of a space that would fit another restaurant over there.
Westview Corner is the one with Baltimore Coffee and Tea:
http://www.jbgr.com/propertyDetail.cfm?propertyID=104
Westview Village is the new one behind the promenade with Firehouse and WOW wingery. This appears to be at Westview Corner, although nothing is mentioned on the developer’s website.
Maggiano’s is a higher end italian restauraunt, but it is probably a mistake to be on there. They probably meant to list Romano’s Macaroni Grill.
Love Maggiano’s and wish it were true, but at this point, I agree that it was probably a mistake. Hate driving to DC and VA for some Magg. Plus, hate the 10% tax in DC since its just over the line.
I called over to Camerons to see if they were going to open their mobile truck so I could get some of those $35 crab bushels last week and they said the County closed them down, but they would be open in a week anyway so watch for them to open any day now.
Stopped by the old Venus on the Half Shell on North Market St last night (Right next to the old Brittish Goods store location) The new place is called Accesories of Old. http://www.accessoriesofold.com Interesting store. They have all types of lace and ribbon, buttons and the like. The owner is from South Africa and used to have a store in Bethesda by the same name. The store is not compleley finished yet, but it was great to see something in that store since Jennifer moved over to Patrick Street. Bought a really nice piece of floral lace to hang all my dragonfly pins on. I hope they do well.
It looks so cool. I can’t wait to check it out.
We stopped by as well. A lot of neat lace, ribbons, buttons etc. Makes me want to be crafty. I’m glad it’s not just another shop full of antiques. This is worth checking out.
We went to Cameron’s over the weekend and I’m sorry to say we were very disappointed. We will give it another try, but if you are a regular reader here, you know that I have been looking for a good fish fry/fried fish sandwich for many years now. I ordered the perch fried sandwich. It came with a way too large order of fries (too large for the two packets of ketchup given to share between us) and some mediocre cole slaw. The sandwich itself was large, with two perch filets. It came with a very small smear of tartar sauce (really it was barely there) with lettuce and a sad tomato slice on the side. Yeah, I know there are no good tomato slices this time of year. The first couple bites of the sandwich were too hot to eat (we ate in the the truck, since there is no seating inside), or should I say too hot to notice how horribly fishy the fish was. Once it cooled a bit, it was inedible. The smell of the fishiness was unbearable and I threw it out after 3 or 4 bites.
Jim got the whiting fried fish platter, which was not fishy smelling at all. There were 3 large filets and he says it “wasn’t bad”. He’s the condiment lover in our family and he was disappointed in the lack of tartar/ketchup supplied.
We ate in the car because we both ordered fried fish and the 15 minutes or so to get home would have ruined the meal, plus we were on our way somewhere else. As much as I want to get a good fish fry, until they get tables at which to eat, I won’t get fried food at Cameron’s. Next time, we will try the oysters.
That’s too bad. I was looking forward to giving it a try. I know that, from reading Anthony Bourdain’s books, seafood in markets and restaurants should only be ordered Fri, Sat, and Sun as all of the fresh shipments arrive on Fridays. I’ve always found that to be very true and get the freshest fish at Giant Eagle on Friday afternoons. They’ve even told me, especially when I was looking at Chilean Sea Bass on a weekday, to come back on Friday. That’s a pricey fish to waste money on by buying old stuff. Buying your sandwich over the weekend should have been a safe bet, unless they are holding over the prior week’s shipment because it didn’t sell. Grocery stores will “cover up” the old stuff by packaging up old fish as over seasoned things like stuffed salmon or stuffed tilapia, etc. Another trick is to soak the raw fish in milk to try to get rid of the “fishy” taste. Old fish is old fish. Period.
I have NEVER had a problem with any of the seafood from Giant Eagle. In fact, about 3 years ago I met a marine biologist who did some work on fishing boats and claimed to know the origin of most of the fish in markets in the area. She claimed that Giant Eagle was the best place in town to go for fresh seafood. She said that it was the freshest and came from the most reputable suppliers of seafood around. She also mentioned the Jumbo Seafood stand at the Exxon station in VA over the 340 bridge. Living out that way, I go there alot for seafood and have never had a problem with their seafood as well. Selection tends to vary from weekend to weekend, but the food is always fresh and Les and Ali are always quick to give you a great new way to cook just about anything. The same can be said for the fish mongers at the Giant Eagle. They are knowledgeable and not just counter help.
Oh I agree. I always use Giant Eagle for seafood purchases. But I have been there looking at certain types, like the sea bass, on a mid-week day and have had them tell me to come back Friday when they get their fresh shipment.
Thats a sign of a good fish guy or girl…..
All well and good if you want to cook it yourself. I was excited for a decent fish fry in Frederick. Sadly, still looking.
Haven’t been there in a long time, but what about Jug Bridge Seafood on East Patrick across from Spring Ridge? Their current on-line menu shows a lot of fried fish choices. My only complaint at the time we went (and this was at least 5 or 6 years ago) was that for the prices I expect my food to be on real plates, not in plastic baskets like a road-side take-out place. That may have changed.
That’s about how long ago I went there. I remember it was summer and it was so hot in there that I couldn’t eat. They didn’t have any air conditioning. Maybe I’ll try them again.