Cracker Barrel Eastern Shore

We have been wishing for a Cracker Barrel within 30-45 minutes drive.  Since the billboard announcement of the opening for Fall 2008, we have been patiently waiting for the day.  After a long time, they opened November 18, 2008.  We had dinner there last weekend and they were packed! Thankfully, we were seated right away.

Service was good but just like any other newly opened restaurant, it takes sometime for the whole crew to be in tip top running condition.  We are used to the very fast Cracker Barrel service and 15 minutes wait for the food seemed longer.  I’m sure they’ll be fine after a while.

The new location is: 115 Blue Jay Court, Stevensville, MD 21666   Phone: (410) 643-3841.   Do be careful though after taking exit 38A because the new round about is very tiny.

They are doing very well since they opened.  I do expect this location will be extremely busy during the peak beach season.

Exotic Delicious Mango Smoothie

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I have been making smoothies in the past months for my 5 year daughter. It’s a short cut to get her to eat her fruit(vitamin C and fiber), yogurt(calcium and friendly bacteria) and drink her milk(calcium, Vitamin A & D) with one slurp. She doesn’t like the yogurt which comes with the fruit at the bottom because she says it’s eeeky. I have to agree with her because I’m grossed out with the sticky syrup and I find them too sweet. She also found out that the sweetener is corn syrup and gave her another excuse not to like the yogurt.

So I started making smoothies with fruits that are in season. Coming from a tropical country, I enjoy mangoes. A certain variety of mangoes are imported from Mexico but they originated from the Philippines so they are also being called Manila mangoes. I do prefer this variety because they are not stringy. They also have the right balance of tartness and sweetness that I love for the flavor of the smoothies. They usually show up in Asian stores(we go to H-Mart) around March to end of July. They come in boxes with 16 pieces for $12.99, some stores may sell them per piece but at a higher price. For a delicious and nutritious drink: [Read more...]

Hunan Manor in Columbia, Maryland

chinese6.jpg I’ve been meaning to set-up a food blog but I decided to put it in this blog since maintaining different blogs is a full time deal. My husband and I are usually frugal with alot of things by average working American standards but when it comes to food we look for high quality with reasonable prices. We enjoy all sorts of dishes brought from all over the world to our highly diverse area.

One of our favorite restaurants is Hunan Manor in Columbia, Maryland(about 20 minutes drive), they have excellent food and have very attentive wait staff. Very comfortable and welcoming ambiance completes a wonderful dining experience. An added bonus for the kids: a huge salt-water aquarium. We couldn’t ask for more for the reasonable prices they offer. We recently took a family friend for a long overdue birthday treat.

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