Columbia Maryland food - Cravin Food, Victoria Gastro Pub, RegionAle plus G & M

Traveling cross country is tiring, especially when your flight leaves bright and early at 6:30am! Work happened to bring me to the small town of Columbia Maryland. Of course, I was pondering when and where my next meal would be! After checking into the hotel, I peeked at the recommendations from the front desk.

I felt like eating healthier that evening and Cravin' Foods caught my eye. This restaurant specializes in charbroiled chicken. To be honest, I had to look up the cooking method online, but seemed like another way to say chicken on a spit! Hence this:

YUM. I could see the juices dripping into the embers below! The menu has various chicken picks as well as a build your own salad option.

A combo was the way to go! My favorite part had to be the chicken skin, which pulled off easily and contained all the yummy seasonings. The chicken meat wasn't Costco moist (I swear magic is the secret ingredient) but decent for cooked white meat. I barely finished half of my 1/2 chicken! I was quite thrilled to customize my salad (like souplantation) and picked mixed salad greens, a Southwest-themed mix, chopped bell peppers, then mango salsa, etc. You can pick up to 8! To top it off, I chose the deliciously sweet raspberry vinaigrette! I love having things my way! ;)

During the day, I was busy with work so only had time to drop by sandwich shops. These are alll over the place due to all the business parks! I tried aloha chicken from Bi Bi sandwiches (above) as well as a chicken and cheese sandwhich from Jae's Deli. Nothing fancy but these places were relatively cheap and quick plus totally filled me up. And then back to work...

On the third day, it was finally Friday so I drove further for a relaxing lunch. I also craved something more unique, which I found at RegionAle Sandwiches. This *beautiful* beast is a fried pork tenderloin with pickled onions and veggies. I upgraded to a combo for $3 more, worth it because you get house made chips AND awesome drink options. A local company called Tractor was available and their berry drink was berry delicious har har! Jones soda, also available, always has fun flavors.

One of the evenings I decided to hit up a local hotspot called Victoria Gastro Pub. They have happy hour, late night hour, and various weekday specials. I specifically came for the duck fat poutine mentioned online! 

Hello there! The duck meat was tender enough though the fries were only semi-crispy, even the edge pieces. Cheese and gravy were plentiful but I've had better. Still, the bar seemed like a popping place for mid-week!

I felt like trying the iconic Maryland crab while in the area. G & M's, which is famous for their meaty crab cakes, was a littler farther of a drive but no biggie with a rental car and phone GPS! People order these from all over the US! I decided to go all out and order a multi-item broiled plate. The waiter mentioned that my dish only had a 2 ounce crab cake so I was surprised when this dish came out...

Um, wow! Seemed like plenty of crab cake for me! It did seem heavily seasoned for my tastes though. Halfway through the second crab cake, I hit a shell! Oops, this was actually a stuffed oyster! I thought I had gotten two crab cakes! The scallops were tender but needed a touch more salt. The jumbo shrimps were cooked well and lightly salted. The fish was simply seasoned, perhaps a bit too plain. I guess butter is the master seasoning in this plate? Surprisingly I was really digging the garlic mashed potatoes with skins. And did you see that huge broccoli? Steamed and no seasoning but I'll take that healthy hit!

In the mornings I stopped by the hotel's complimentary breakfast. There were options like "Build your own Scramble" bowl... Every day had soft scrambled eggs but the mix-ins changed daily. One day it was pork or veggie sausage, another had turkey sausage, another was a sausage scramble! I especially liked the "Build your own oatmeal" bowl... Add in nuts, etc, and get that healthy start! There were also fresh fruits, waffle mix, several bread options, muffin, Greek or regular yogurt, cereals, milk including soy! And three juices to chose from. Much preferred over donuts or bagels at the office.

I needed to stay around until the following Monday so I was able to visit Washington DC as well as got some Virginia eats in over the weekend. Those posts coming soon to the blog!