Review: Cornucopia Tuscan Rosemary Ham sandwich

For lunch today I made a trek to the ver edge of downtown Bethesda, MD. 8102 Norfolk Ave to be exact. Cornucopia specialty foods has imported Italian food, cheeses and lots of cookies. The purpose of today's visit was to get a sandwich for lunch so I skipped the plates with cookies piled high on them (this time).

I tried the Tuscan Rosmary Ham sandwich. The ham had a light coating of rosemary on the edge which was very flavorful. It went wonderfully with the balsamic vinegar that they put on the baguette. There was also cheese and tender lettuces on the sandwich. This is a really nice sandwich, fairly simple but with a distinctive flavor that sets it apart from other ham sandwiches I have had. The only downside was that the cheese couldn't compete with the rosmary and balsamic vinegar, I really couldn't taste the cheese at all.

There is limited seating there making this more of a place to pickup lunch and take it with you. It is also closed on Mondays.

Happy Halloween or is it Merry Christmas

It is that time a year again, everyone dresses up and dances around the Christmas tree before going trick-or-treating.

Wait, that isn't supposed to be how it goes. Isn't putting up holiday decorations before Halloween a bit early? It seems like there are only three seasons anymore: Christmas, Back to School, and Other.

There are holiday decorations went up earlier this week in front of the Barnes & Noble on the corner of Woodmont Ave and Bethesda Ave in Bethesda, MD and on Bethesda Lane by Redwood Restaurant. Both places have a Christmas tree and a Menorah so we get the requisite does of bi-holidayism.


Happy Halloween everybody.

Cool construction Stuff

Every now and then I walk by the construction on Woodmont Avenue between Hampden Lane and Elm Street in Bethesda, MD just to see how it is progressing. Sometimes they have some neat pieces of construction equipment, including this one, which I had never seen before. Last week was this unusual scene. There was a big truck of gravel, but instead of dumping the gravel on the ground, it was pouring onto a conveyer belt that was moving really quickly. At the end of the belt, the gravel was thrown off and flying through the air at high speed. It landed about 30 feet away at the bottom of the foundation.
Last month, I saw this concrete pumping truck. Nothing too unusual about it, but I love the name of the company "Grumpy's Concrete Pumping". If I ever start a company, I gotta have Grumpy as part of the name.

You can see the full coverage about this construction project.

Bradley Boulevard improvements planning

Currently in the early planning stage are improvements to Bradley Blvd between Wilson Ln and Goldsboro Rd. The master plan includes on-street bike lanes on Bradley as well as an off-road shared use path. The current study will evaluate connecting the existing sidewalk on Bradley Boulevard east of Goldsboro and an existing sidewalk on Wilson Lane to improve pedestrian safety and provide access to transit stops and the Bethesda central business district.

This project is still in the early planning phase. There will be a public meeting tomorrow October 27 from 7:00 - 9:00pm at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase regional services center, 4805 Edgemoor Ln, Bethesda, MD.

More information about the project is at the county website.

Bethesda Fountains Part 7 (potd)

A number of the office buildings in Bethesda, MD have fountains out front in a public plaza. This one is on the ever so uniquely named "East Lane" between Montgomery Lane and Hampden Lane. Behind the fountain is an abstract mural made with muted colors.

Read all of the Bethesda fountains series.

Candy Corn Construction Cones

I saw a couple of these in Bethesda, MD yesterday. The one in the photo was in front of the Barnes & Noble on Woodmont Avenue. I also saw one on Old Georgetown Road. Somebody has taken some of the orange construction cones and given them a Halloween paint job, turning them into giant yellow, orange, and white candy corn. It's a good thing they did too, it reminds me that Halloween is coming up. I still need to come up with a costume before I go trick-or-treating.

Update October 27th: I saw one of these candy corn traffic cones in Silver Spring yesterday too.


Update October 28th: I read that the responsible part is someone named Diabetik

A crepe from Rita's Crepes

I've had my eye on this crepe stand for a while, just waiting for the right time to give them a try. Today was just the day, nice and warm but not too hot.

Rita's Crepes is a little outdoor stand across Woodmont Avenue from Barnes & Noble in the Bethesda Row section of Bethesda, MD. There isn't any seating there so I went down the Capital Crescent trail to the rest area to eat.

The menu is limited, 4 sweet crepes and only a single savory crepe. Since this was my lunch, I went for the savory: Fresh spinach, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and capers. It was cooked fresh in front of me in a few minutes and wrapped in foil so I could eat it on the go.

The crepe was filling and the cheese was nice and melted. The tomato sauce I was a bit concerned about, but it added a nice flavor to it. The Spinach released a little bit of water that made it to the bottom of the wrap but not nearly as much as I expected. The capers added a salty little surprise now and then. The crepe was good, but not great, it was somehow missing a bit of punch. Because of this and because of the limited selection of savory crepes, I'd recommend trying the sweet crepes, that looks like it is more the strength of this stand.
I wonder if the people of Silver Spring are laughing about this, I can almost hear them saying "Typical Bethesda, trying to be all upscale. A hot dog cart isn't good enough for them, nooo, they have to have crepes".

Hilton Garden Inn hotel now open

The construction of the new Hilton Garden Inn hotel on Waverly Street in Bethesda, MD has been an ongoing affair for quite some time now. It hasn't been without problems either, in May they had issues with the construction causing a blizzard of Styrofoam in the area. At long last, the problems are behind us and the hotel is open. I have been watching the construction for over a year, it started around January of 2008. Here is a retrospective of the building going up.

January 2008

This is almost a 'before' picture. They have put up construction barricades but they haven't started demolishing the pre-existing parking garage.

April 2008

They have pulled the old parking garage down and put up plastic sheeting so cars in the rest of the garage won't get debris from construction on them.

July 2008

This is a view from the remaining parking structure looking down at the bare dirt they are building the hotel on.

October 2008

They have the first 6 or so floors built.

November 2009

Lots of visible progress, 12 floors and they are starting to put on the exterior.

December 2008

The exterior walls are going on and most of the building is covered in what looks like yellow insulation.

May 2009

Looks about done doesn't it. Still months to go before it opens though.

July 2009

There is still a lot of work to be done near the ground.

October 2009
It is done and open.

Bethesda Fountains Part 6 (potd)

This fountain right at the top of the big escalator at Bethesda Metro Station and by the bus bays is arguably part of the last fountain I highlighted. This fountain is noisy, noisy enough to be heard even when there are idling buses around it. Water cascades over small steps all the way down. It is also very wide. The only minor quibbles I have with it are that it looks like it is missing a flagpole and that the water doesn't quite reach all the way to the right side for the top half of the fountain.

Read all of the Bethesda fountains series.

Bethesda Artist Market

The last Bethesda Artist Market for the year is this coming Saturday, October 10th at Bethesda Place Plaza in Downtown Bethesda, MD. It features Jewelry, Photography, Pottery and more from 25 local and regional artists. Bethesda Place Plaza is where the Original Pancake House is, it is bordered by Old Georgetown Road, Wisconsin Avenue, and Woodmont Avenue.