Tag Archives: spinach

Wegmans, A Place For Friends

Posted in cheese, friends, fun, pals, pepperoni, pizza, salad, sandwich, soup, sushi by

wegmans

Or maybe a place for pals, if that’s more to your liking.  I sure do love Wegmans.   I think I visited my first one, when it opened up in Hunt Valley, MD about 10 years ago.  Originating nearly 100 years ago from Rochester, New York, they are growing in popularity and locations.   If you’ve been inside, you know it’s like the Disney World of food stores.  But, It’s more than just that.  It’s a place of joy, inspiration, and happiness.  And of course it’s a place where plenty of wonderful things can be purchased.   Let me not get too carried away here.  The heck with it, let’s have fun. It’s time to evoke emotions.

Anything you want to go, is here; from sandwiches, sushi, salad, soup and of course the hot bar with international foods from all over this wonderful planet.  But this is a pizza blog.  Time to make moves.

I must say, I love their cheese, white, and pepperoni pizza.  Perhaps in the future I will review those.  I will just say they are great.   And there will be more posts regarding Wegmans pies soon.

The specific store I visited for this installment was at Boulevard At Box Hill in Abingdon, MD.

This post will be about the Chef’s Creations, and they are constantly changing :

Slice #1 : The Bacon Cheese Blue Cheeseburger (pictured at the top of this post, on the left) : Oh my goodness.  This was heavenly.   I find their pizza dough to be exquisite.  It’s cooked in their ovens to perfection.  It wasn’t too crunchy nor too soft either.  It tasted like I was eating a naan or pita bread.  And that’s how their dough has resonated with me.  And the mozzarella and blue cheese melted together, with the bacon and hamburger meat is an incredible combination.   Phenomenal stuff.

Slice #2 : The Spinach Ricotta (pictured on the right) : Well something went wrong here.   I could tell it was siting on the tray for a while, as it was starting to look a bit old.  The pizza tasted great, but the crust was too crunchy.  The ingredients were great but needn’t have been out this long. I won’t fault the store, but I will fault time.  It just felt like eating potato chips.

But this will not discourage me from coming back.  In my opinion, they have some underrated pizza.  Maybe because it’s a grocery store and not a specific place to get an amazing slice or pie.  I will be returning and hope to bring another inspirational take on the Wegmans experience.  And with more pictures.

Best,

Ideen

Matthew’s – Making Moves?

Posted in Baltimore, dogma, garlic, Highlandtown, pizza, spinach, tomatoes by

Matthews

One of the staples and favorites, of the Highlandtown neighborhood of Baltimore, is Matthew’s.

Before I ever ate here, the amount of times I was suggested to go here was aplenty.   Even though I have heard mainly positive reviews, the negative opinions were also frequent.  I didn’t hear much of a grey area on this.  Perhaps people are sick of hearing about where they should go, because everyone else loves it.  Or because all your friends are going, maybe I should go to.  It’s easy to get caught up in the dogma.  I have been guilty of it myself.

With that being said, the first time I ate here I thought it was pretty good.  It was a few years ago.  I can’t quite remember what I had, but knowing me, it was probably a White pizza.

The last time I went, which was over a year ago, I had the Margherita, and I loved it.   The combination of basil, extra virgin olive oil, and the tomatoes I love so much, was the perfect medley.    I felt good eating it and enjoyed every moment.

This go around, I ordered the Spinach, with some garlic added.   I really wanted to like it, but something felt off.  It was but the mozzarella cheese didn’t taste as good as I remembered.   The crust is really good.  It’s thicker than what you will find elsewhere, but it just didn’t mesh well with the cheese.  But the dough is a winner. The spinach and garlic were great.  But the whole wasn’t as great as the sum of it’s parts, if you will.

I do like the basic way it’s packaged, when ordering to go.   I like the old school packaging paper, taped up, protecting the pizza served on a paper plate.

ToGoMoves

Like I was saying, I really wanted to like my pie, but it didn’t work out tonight.  The way it came out, didn’t look all that appealing either :

Spinach

But we all have our preferences and opinions.   One isn’t better than the other.  I will gladly be back at Matthew’s again, expecting the great tasting pizza we all hear about in Baltimore.  On this visit, it just wasn’t the case.

It’s good to hear the here the opinions and suggestions of others, while still formulating your own.

Take good care.

Best,

Ideen

Toss

Posted in pizza by

Toss

Further on up the road, just past the Baltimore City Line, we have Toss.

I learned about this pizzeria from friends who work or live nearby in Towson.  The majority have said it’s a solid to good place.  I checked it out last fall, and though the vibe, for me, wasn’t as positive as some said, I found my pie to be superb.   Something about the energy, is not as what I envisioned.  It’s hard to put my finger on it.

A few months back, I ordered the Portabella Mushroom.   My oh my what a choice.  The dough tasted so fresh, right out of the oven.  It was easy to eat.  I could have eaten the bread on it’s own and been happy.  It broke apart so easily, but in a good way.  So delectable.  The combination of mozzarella, mushrooms, red peppers, spinach, and feta  cheese rocked my world.   An inspiring creation.  The garlic herb sauce was the perfect complement to order.   I wish I had been doing this blog then, as I could write about that one for a while.

This week’s selection, as pictured at the top, is the Satchma’s Spicy Chicken.    I have repeatedly spoken of my love for tomatoes, so that’s some of the reasoning for the order.   In addition, I have been vocal about loving veggies on my pies, so this did not disappoint.  The red onions, mushrooms (which I love so much), the red pepper sauce, the aforementioned tomatoes, and of course, the mozzarella cheese, give this chicken pizza a great taste.   It was very good, but maybe I expected this to be along the line’s of the Portabella choice.

The location, which is easy to drive past, if you didn’t know where it already was, is one of the fun parts about it.   Settled right on York Rd. in Baltimore, makes it easy to go in and out, for carry out or dine in orders.   I do recommend trying it as I will again.   Perhaps I will get another choice heavy on the vegetables.

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen