Ledo Pizza

20110310:
I had a Shock Top.

Left: Pepperoni and pineapple. Right: Anchovies and mushroom. (20110322)

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20110322:
We got two pizzas today. One with pepperoni and pineapple and another with anchovies and mushroom.

[20110829]

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20110426:
We got two pizzas today. The first was a pepperoni and pineapple pizza. The second was probably a cheese pizza.

Pepperoni and pineapple. (20110901)

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20110901 6:30pm:
Taking a break from moving. Pizza for everyone. For future reference: moving shit in multiple trips with a pick-up truck is a bad idea.

The pepperoni and pineapple pizza is a definite favorite of mine. The pepperonis at Ledo Pizza are nice and thick. They're a bit oily too, but soak up the oil with a napkin and you're good to go.

(20140515)

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20110908:
V. L. and I wanted to get food and watch the Saints vs. Packers game. There weren't any seats at CVP (Charles Village Pub), and so we came to Ledo Pizza. See also Drink Samuel Adams Boston Lager.

Mozzarella sticks. (20110908)

I recall thinking these mozzarella sticks were at least decent - unlike the ones I had from Paper Moon a couple days later.

Behold, the sausage and jalepeno pizza. It's pretty good. I don't seek spicy foods, but I enjoy a little spiciness from time to time.

Sausage and jalepenos. (20110908)

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20111106:
There's three of us watching football. V.L., C.K., and I. A little before half-time we order the pizza. One half is our standard half with pepperoni and pineapple. The other half is ham and jalapenos. Yum. I don't know why I haven't said so before, but I like how every slice has it's own set of toppings. I guess I like the idea of a uniform distribution.

Top: Pepperoni and pineapple. | Bottom: Ham and jalepenos.

20120122:
Today, I order a little 3-by-3 pizza. I also keep the toppings simple and easy: sausage and pepperoni.

I also got chicken strips and fries. They're nothing special. In fact, I recall not enjoying the fries.

Sausage and pepperoni (20140514)

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20120205:
It's Super Bowl Sunday and my roommate and I have quite a number of friends over. Though we were at a seating capacity, I think the seating arrangement could have been improved. In any case, I originally wanted to make food, but I didn't have the necessary ingredients. Furthermore, the nearest market to my apartment, Eddie's Market, had closed about ten minutes before I got there. As such, we just ordered a bacon and pineapple pizza from Ledo Pizza.

Bacon, sausage, and pepperoni. (20120311)

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20120311:
I got a huge pizza and packed the leftovers for the math conference trip. I had plenty to share, so I gave a sandwich bag full to Arash.

An upgrade from the bacon and sausage pizza on 20110901, this pizza also had pepperoni.

Four cheese ravioli with meat sauce (20140309)

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20120411:
I wrote: "I was asked if I wanted regular or precooked bacon and I had this confused look on my face. I asked, 'Excuse me?' The cashier roughly explained that precooked bacon is the little sprinkled crap and regular bacon is the bacon that comes in strips. I undoubtedly went with the regular bacon." 9:21 PM

Bacon, sausage, and pineapple. (20120411)

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20120507:
I wrote: "Pineapple dominates the burger meat, the burger meat dominates the mushroom. I love the pineapple. For the other pizza, the jalapeno dominates the bacon and the bacon dominates the spinach. I thought it would be spicy, but it's not really spicy. It was important to let both cool first." 9:39 PM

Left: jalapeno, bacon, and spinach. | Right: pineapple, burger meat, and mushroom.

[20120610]

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20120516:
Ordered a pizza with sausage, pineapple, and artichoke hearts.

[20120619]

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20120830:
Today I got a medium (20 pieces) with (cooked) bacon, pepperoni, and artichoke hearts. The pepperoni as always is oily. Of course, this makes it really delicious.

Bacon, pepperoni, and artichoke hearts. (20120830)

Eating less recently, I comfortably ate seven pieces and ended up eating an eighth that felt like too much.

[20120830][20150125 Edit]

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20120831:
At the end of the Baltimore Bike Party, Sven and I were tired and hungry. Actually, I was mostly tired and Sven was mostly hungry.

Sausage, pineapple, and artichoke hearts. (20120516)

Regardless, we decided to wait in line at the park for the food truck, but the line was moving too slowly. So we ditched the line and went to Ledo Pizza. As expected, there was plenty of tables available, so we sat ourselves, ordered a Shock Top, and then ordered a pizza. We decided on getting a craft pizza called The WHOLE EnchiLEDO.

The WHOLE EnchiLEDO (20120831)

Menu Description:
The WHOLE EnchiLEDO Chile lime meat sauce, sharp Cheddar cheese, Roma tomatoes, sweet red onions, green peppers, and jalapeños. 8 inch 8.24, 14 inch 12.74, 18 inch 19.24

Ravioli (20140327)

The pizza was delicious, though you might not like it if you don't like a bit of spiciness in your food. I do, however, enjoy eating jalapeños from time to time. As such, we each scarfed up half of a medium pizza (20 pieces). From what I can recall, it's the first craft pizza I've had here at Ledo Pizza. Having enjoyed it so, I'll have to remember to try their other craft pizzas.

Meatball and pineapple pizza (20140309)

[20120901]

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20140309:
I came to Ledo Pizza today with Harry and we got a meatball and pineapple pizza. While I thought it was pretty tasty, I mostly just tasted the cheese. In addition to the pizza, we also got the four cheese ravioli with meat sauce. It was good, but nothing special. The plate came with two slices of garlic bread. 10:24PM ET

Four cheese ravioli with meat sauce (20140309)

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20140327:
Today we came and wanted to get an appetizer but with the chicken part of it on the side. Unfortunately they said they don't do that and instead we got the ravioli appetizer.

I wrote: "The Italian chicken sausage and jalapeño combination is really tasty." 10:39PM ET

Mushroom and olives. (20140327)

I also wrote: "The other half, mushroom and olives, was alright. I like the meat half a lot more than the veggie half." 10:46PM ET

In the end, the one appetizer and one large pizza was just enough to feed three people (two guys and a girl who were hungry after tango class).

(20140708)

[20140405]

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20140331:
While service here at Ledo Pizza is quite slow, today was probably the slowest service I had ever encountered. In particular, the server couldn't remember more than eight objects (two appetizers and six toppings) and yet doesn't carry a pen-and-paper. Actually, the server even had some trouble remembering five objects (one object and four toppings, 20140327).

Italian chicken sausage and jalapeno. (20140327)

I wrote: "The spinach and artichoke dip is good. The chicken fingers are also good, but the criss- cross fries that come with them aren't. In general, the appetizers probably aren't worth their value."
I also wrote: "We split the large pizza into two halves. One half had mushroom, chicken, and Italian chicken sausage. The other half had ham, jalapeño, and goat cheese. I like the half with mushroom much more." 9:56PM ET

 Mushroom, chicken, and Italian chicken sausage. (20140331)

In the end, the two appetizers and one large pizza was too much for three people (three guys who were hungry after rock climbing).

Yelp Review: (***..)

I've come here quite frequently. It's close to where I live here and I actually like it. There might exists better pizza places, but I'm definitely satisfied. I love getting the cooked bacon from here. The pepperoni is oily, but as often the case, oily foods seem delicious. The beer choice here is standard and I typically pass. They have Stella Artois, Shock Top, Natty Boh, Yuengling, Sam Adams, and Miller Lite on draft.

Chicken fingers and criss-cross fries (20140331)

Personally I don't enjoy the french fries here, but everybody likes their french fries prepared differently.

The place has several televisions and serves as a less crowded alternative to CVP (Charles Village Pub) when trying to catch a sports game.

I keep a running list of all the food (dominantly just pizza) I've gotten from Ledo Pizza in a blog post: http://www.supertran.net/2011/04/food-ledo-pizza.html

Cheese and Onion. The veggie pizza. (20110901)

[20140405]

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Ledo Pizza

Bacon and sausage. The meat only pizza. (20110901)

Relevant Links:
Ledo Pizza Website
Ledo Pizza - Charles Village - Baltimore, MD (Yelp.com)

Niwana

201005## Lunch:
I ordered the salmon teriyaki (lunch) bento box. It comes with miso soup, which had tofu, but I was able to eat it without much fuss. Either I beginning to readjust myself to the proteins that I used to have trouble handling (peanuts, tofu, and peas) or food is changing in general. Since there wasn't much fuss, I would say the soup was good.

Seafood Dolcot with a fried egg (20140203)

Menu Description:
Lunch Bento Box Salmon Teriyaki A fresh salmon fillet broiled and doused with our teriyaki sauce. 9

The salmon portion of the bento box was delicious. Though perhaps anything in teriyaki sauce is delicious. The salad, California roll, and oranges were also good, but nothing special.

Miso soup with mushroom (20140319)

I think they bring out two appetizer dishes for each person, and so the more people you come with, the more different little things you get to have. There's kim chi, pickled cucumbers, and various other little things. I'll have to remember to write down the different things they serve. The dishes are just about the size of my palm, but definitely enough to go around as far as something to chew on while you wait for your food. At least normally. Just remember to get your chopsticks when you get the little dishes.

(20100911)

[20160629 Edit]

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20100911:
I was walking by and saw some friends sitting at the tables outside Niwana. I don't remember what my plans originally were, but I know I ended up joining them for dinner. They had already ordered, so when their food came out, I shared some of theirs while I waited for my order.

I remember trying beef, other sushi, and a rice bowl.

(20140319)

[20110428]

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20110423:
There was a lot of food to share and enjoy. In particular, I shared a salad which includes a tasty ginger sauce dressing. It wouldn't surprise me if such a ginger dressing was common in either Korean or Japanese cuisine. In any case, I should do some research and try duplicating it.

Niwana Roll (20110423)

I had the Niwana Roll. The menu says:

A tuna, avocado, cucumber, and scallion roll topped with yellowtail and our spicy crab salad. 8.95

It tasted alright. The salad sits loosely on top, which restricts dipping each piece only upright into the soy sauce and wasabi.

Alaskan salmon roll (20140324)

While waiting for my dessert, I had my share of two different cake pieces going around. There was a red velvet and some sort of rich tasting chocolate cake.

I ordered the Tempura Ice Cream. The menu says:

Take ice cream, dip it in a special batter, and deep fry it. This dessert is then drizzled with chocolate and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. 4.95

(20111121)

[20110428]

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20111005:
Today I had a salmon teriyaki bento box.

[20111214]

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20111121:
I had a sushi roll and a Cosmo Pearl.

[20120102]

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20110427:
The salmon teriyaki bento box is one of my favorite meals to order here at Niwana.

Salmon Teriyaki Bento Box (20110427)

[20120531]

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20121211:
I went with three friends and we split a platter of 60 sashimi for lunch. It was a good amount for four graduate male students (perhaps one should also take into account that my three friends each had a bowl of miso soup).

I had the following opinions:
Tuna: Mushy. Interestingly I started the meal with a piece of tuna and ended the meal with a second piece of tuna. I don't like the soft mushy texture.

Sushi Platter (20121211)

Octopus: Yummy. As no one really liked the chewiness of the octopus, I happily ate several pieces. In total, I had about five pieces of octopus. Octopus is similar to squid in texture and flavor.

Unknown: Good. Yum. I had a second piece later during the meal and thought it tasted better the second time around.

Clam: Okay.

Unagi roll and Salmon roll. (20140417)

Unknown on the right: Was a little tough.

Unknown on the left: Much sweeter than the unknown on the right. I like it much more. In fact, it was my favorite type of sashimi included in the platter.

Salmon: Okay.

(20140226)

[20121214]

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20140203:
Today I had a seafood dolcot with a fried egg (possibly for the first time).

[20150125]

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20140205:
I had some sort of bento box today.

(20140510)

[20150125]

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20140226:
Today I tried the pork katsu dish here at Niwana for the first time and overall I thought it was good. For the most part, however, the dish was simple. The dish is prepared by frying a slice of pork, placing it on top of a mound of vegetable (seemed like some sort of bitter, slightly pickled cabbage), and drizzling a bit of sauce (teriyaki or soy-based sauce). Thus, while it was good, it was not worth its price.

Seafood Dolcot with a fried egg (20140304)

[20140309]

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20140304:
Today, for the entree, I had the seafood dolcot, a rice dish with a variety of seafood (I recall mussel, squid, imitation crab, and possibly baby clam). For an appetizer, my friend and I split a plate of kani tempura, fried crab sticks.

(20140512)

I wrote: "Seafood dolcot. I asked for it to be made without sesame seeds on top and the waiter informed me that its usually made with sesame oil and so I asked for it without. On a different note, the dish stays warm due to the bowl in which its contained. Eating from the middle towards the edge seems to be the best strategy. Overall, there's a good variety of seafood and it all tastes more or less as seafood should." 9:26PM ET

Chef's choice of 8 pieces and a tuna roll (20140428)

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20140324:
I wrote: "Spinach miso, great. Alaskan salmon roll." 9:35PM ET

Of the salmon roll I wrote: "The cucumber wasn't evenly spread throughout the roll and sometimes there was too much and sometimes there was too little. Overall, the sushi roll was just alright." 9:50PM ET

(20140510)

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Niwana

Salmon Teriyaki Bento Box (20111005)

Relevant Links:
Niwana Website
Niwana Restaurant - Charles Village - Baltimore, MD (Yelp.com)

Talara

-- CLOSED --

20110423:
At first I just came with friends to socialize. But all the food looked so good and eventually I caved in and ordered the Cuban Sushi Roll.

Menu Description:
CUBAN SUSHI ROLL Salmon, calabaza, jicama and avocado rolled inside out, topped with spicy tuna, Sriracha mayo, ponzu sauce, and malanga straws

Prior to that, I had a taste of a friend's Shrimp and Grits. It was really delicious. If I ever went back to Talara, I would definitely order the Shrimp and Grits. The menu says:

Menu Description:
SHRIMP AND GRITS Spicy butter sauce with bacon, served over roasted corn and goat cheese polenta

Talara Sangria

Prior to that, I had some sangria from a pitcher. I don't remember the taste, but it was tasty enough to enjoy a second glass. I assume it was the Talara Sangria.

Menu Description:
TALARA SANGRIA Ask your server for this daily changing concoction of wine, seasonal fruit and rum

[20110426]

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Talara

Cuban Sushi Roll

Relevant Links:
Talara Website
Talara - Inner Harbor - Baltimore, MD (Yelp.com)*

*This restaurant closed on February 7, 2015.

Petit Louis Bistro

20110422:
This is my first time going to this restaurant. It's a really nice place.

I had the GIGOT D'AGNEAU. It's menu description is "Lamb Leg Steak, Pommes Frites, Beurre Maitre d'Hotel." This is leg of lamb, fries, and parsley butter.

I had the leg done as recommended, medium.

I don't really know much about what makes great tasting food. I generally look for juiciness, a general pleasure on my tongue, and a nice texture. The leg of lamb definitely met all those requirements. The butter certainly boosted the flavor up a notch. The fries were also delicious.

It certainly helped that I had built up an appetite.

I had two scoops of espresso ice cream. Oh so delicious.

[20110424]

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20111113:
I had the STEAK à la MOELLE. The menu description reads "Bistro Steak, Pommes Purées, Marrow Butter." Lately at restaurants, when asked how I like my meat cooked, I ask for the recommendation, and since today the recommendation was medium rare or medium, I asked for medium rare. The plate comes with butter which I happily and unhealthily spread over my steak and mashed potatoes.

I wrote: "Bistro Steak. Recommendation is medium rare or medium. I went with med rare." 6:20 PM

We had the 2009 Laurent Martray Brouilly Vieilles Vignes.

Afraid to use flash, I only have the following picture of my dish. Before automatic adjustment of lighting, the picture was unbelievably dark.

[20111127]

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Petit Louis Bistro

Relevant Links:
Petit Louis Website
Petit Loius Bistro - Baltimore, MD (Yelp.com)

Spring Fair 2011

20110415,17:
Ah... Spring Fair. This is my third JHU Spring Fair. This year, it rained heavy on Saturday, and as a result, Spring Fair was two instead of three days. I can't remember last year's weather. Like last year, I went to go see the fireworks Thursday night. Unlike last year, I didn't have as much root beer. I'll have to remember to take a picture of all my Wild Bill's root beer mugs. I enjoyed the Beer Garden a little more this year than I did last year. I missed the physics fair this year.

Pictured above: Pulled pork from Big Bad Wolf. The meat was plain. The sauce made it taste good, but that just gets poured on, so I don't think it counts.
Pictured below: Sausage with sauerkraut and a strip of mustard. I don't remember what kind of sausage. This too wasn't that great. Oh well.

Not pictured: Chicken on a stick from Thai Thai. Delicious.
Not pictured: Turkey on a stick. Unlike last year's turkey on a stick which was dry, this year's turkey on a stick was pretty good. I got the bigger size for $8. I ate most of it, but there was some which I wrapped up and put in the fridge. I don't plan to finish it, but will take a picture of the length of the bone!

Pictured above: Funnel cake. Apple and caramel. Yum...

Pictured below: Fried Oreos. Four of them! My first time eating fried Oreos. The cookie becomes soft, so if you like the taste of soft Oreos, i.e., dunking them into milk, then fried Oreos might appeal to you.

[20110419]