My Meal At Maiwand
Maiwand Kabob
http://maiwandkabob.com/en/page/48
839 Elkridge Landing Rd # 110
Linthicum Hts, MD
(410) 850-0273
A Quick Personal Bio:
Greetings UMBC Eats, my name is Adam Brown and I am a junior here at UMBC. I plan on graduating Spring 2014 with a BA in Management of Aging Services. My vast list of qualifications includes my love for food and passing English 100. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about cooking, but I really know how to eat out. I won’t review restaurants (that would imply that I have actual culinary knowledge), but rather, I will give my opinion – honest and unfiltered.
First Impressions:
I’m going to start this entry by stating that I’ve waited up to 45 minutes for my food to be ready. Maiwand is always crowded (which is typically a good sign), however, the management hasn’t made any effort to figure out how to cope with the large crowds. That being said, the food is so delicious, I find it hard to complain about the wait. I went to their Linthicum Heights Location, which is near the BWI hotel park. The Afghanistani hole-in-the-wall doesn’t look like much from the outside. To be honest, it doesn’t look like much on the inside either – aside from a few bland pictures on the wall that vaguely remind me of the paintings you’d find in a Taco Bell, there’s pretty much no real sense of atmosphere. Despite the virtual lack of any ambience, the restaurant is always kept clean.
The Food:
Entrées range from around 8-12$ and appetizers and desserts will run you about 5$. I usually end up spending about 15$ every time I go to Maiwand Kabob. I always get the ‘Chicken Kabob’ entrée and I usually split an order of ‘Samosas’ with a friend. Most entrées come with the kabob, rice, a small salad, and a plate-sized piece of ‘Tandori Bread’. Each part of the meal is delicious in its own right: the rice is flavored nicely; the salad is plain yet refreshing with its vinaigrette dressing; the meat is tender and spiced perfectly; and the bread is always made fresh. I always leave Maiwand pleasantly full – and that’s impressive, considering I eat almost twice as much as the average restaurant go-er.
Would I go back?
Definitely. I love Maiwand Kabob: it’s a delicious, healthy dining option that’s relatively close to campus. At 15$, Maiwand is not somewhere I can afford every week, so when I go, its always a treat. Though the service isn’t always great, the amazing food makes up for it.
Platter Halal Food Stand- Get there!
Throughout my four years here at UMBC, I have been told about a legendary Halal food stand in the middle of Baltimore City near 1st Mariner Arena. Many of my friends, who had conquered the quest, told great stories of their spicy chicken gyros, warm lamb platters, and cheap prices. I was hesitant to go, mainly because I was not the best city driver in the world and I wasn’t about to hail a cab to go there.
However my fellow foodies, hailing a cab to get to Platter Halal Food Stand in Baltimore is worth every penny. This past weekend I sucked up my fears and drove a couple of avid goers and myself to E Baltimore Street right in-between1st Mariner Arena and the PNC bank. As soon as we stepped out of the car, the smell of slow cooked and well-marinated meat surrounded our every thought. My friends gave their orders with no hesitation as they have done on their previous visits to Platters, but I carefully stand in the back of the long lunch line and chose the combination Platter which had a mixture of Spicy Chicken, Lamb Kebob, a salad, white sauce, and hot sauce, all laying over a bed of well-seasoned rice. The spicy Chicken does have some kick to it, but I would have to say my favorite was the lamb kebob. The Lamb was everything you dream of meat being; soft, tender, juicy, and well-seasoned. However, what made this dish perfect was not only the cheap price of $6.00 for a platter, but the great suggestion my friend had given me to add in extra white sauce. The white sauce really made the dish come together.
The Halal stand also offers chicken and lamb gyros, salad, and hot dogs. Though it is not listed on their menu, you can substitute the meat in for seasoned pita bread, which is equally delicious.
The only con I can think of for this place it the lack of parking. The parking is far away down the road and the street right next to the stand is a tow away zone. There are some parallel parking nearby. There isn’t much of a place to sit and eat either, so we drove back to UMBC and ate our food under the great weather in the Harbor Courtyard.
I highly recommend trying out Platters as much as my friends had suggested it to me. We met UMBC students there and we saw UMBC students in Harbor Courtyard eating food from platters when we had come back to campus.
I only wished I faced my fear of driving in Baltimore city sooner, so that I could have experienced Platters Halal Food Cart before my last year here in UMBC.
Midnight Dessert-ed Island
This Friday (May 11th) at 11pm, come to True Grit’s Dining Hall for the annual Midnight Dessert. This event is always hosted on the last day of classes, the eve of Study Day, and this year’s theme is a dessert-ed island. Escape to a remote oasis of relaxation where stress is blown away by the refreshing breeze. Past menus have included various flavors of ice cream, cookies, and brownies, all paired with a plethora of toppings to choose from.
All residential students are invited to attend for free! Just bring your Residential ID card for admission into True Grit’s Dining Hall. The festivities will continue until 1am! Start your finals week right with this sweet celebration of the last day of classes. Sponsored by RSA.
Eat a Burger, Win a Prize
Most of the time you don’t receive a prize for eating a burger, because as most of us know, eating a burger is usually its own prize. However, this last Tuesday Chartwells had the wonderful idea of promoting their new veggie burgers by awarding you with a prize for trying one. While I know the idea of a veggie burger might be hard for some of you “red-blooded Americans” to swallow, pun intended, these are not your traditional veggie patties. When I think of a veggie burger I think of some terrible soy concoction with next to nothing appetizing in it trying to pose as the burger I know and love. With Chartwells’ new choices, this is not the case.
Choosing from two varieties, I took the one with guacamole over the other with two types of cheese on it, I bit into this burger expecting the worst but receiving the best. The patty was not overly processed and in my quarter of the burger I saw and tasted both green peppers and onions. This is not a veggie burger posing as a meat patty, but rather one that is not ashamed to show off how delicious veggies can be. Admittedly, those who are not enticed by vegetables in the first place will not be big fans, but if that’s the case you weren’t even going to try it anyway. While I was almost convinced that eating a free fourth of a burger was my prize, I afterwards spun a wheel and walked off with a free t-shirt as well.
Honestly, if the veggie burgers they serve at the grill are as good as those that I tasted today, then I will be making my first stop there in a long time very shortly. Hopefully they will be trying out new ideas like at other food establishments in The Commons; I’m looking at you, Famiglia’s.
National Pretzel Day
On Thursday, April 26th, True Grits will be serving the best pretzels on campus in honor of the prestigious Pretzel Day that snackers hold so dearly to their hearts.
This day started in 2003 when Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell wanted to “acknowledge the importance of the pretzel to the state’s history and economy.” Pennsylvania isn’t just known for its cheese steak. Pretzels have played a key role in developing the economy and providing a salty snack for people ever since they were first developed in 610 AD (According to The History of Science and Technology by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans). There is even a Pretzel Museum in Philadelphia!
What kind of pretzel do you like? There are hard pretzels, soft pretzels, cheese pretzels, sweet pretzels, twisted pretzels, pretzel sticks, pretzel M&M’s, and more! This very simple snack has been adapted and reinvented to suite a wide array of tastes and preferences.
Join True Grits during their lunch hours on April 26th for a delicious hot pretzel complete with toppings from the toppings bar! With all the possibilities, there’s bound to be a pretzel you can enjoy.
QuadMania 2012 Eating Guide
This year’s QuadMania is shaping up to be a great place to try some awesome food! With a ton of help from Stefanie Mavronis, I’ve put together the Official QuadMania 2012 Eating Guide for the Casual UMBC Foodie. Or as I like to call, the OQM2012EGFTCUMBCF. These vendors will be supplying the main source of sustenance throughout the day. Bring some cash for these guys.
Baltimore Polytechnical Institute Smoothie Booth
Come try a freshly blended smoothie made right in front of you with your choice of ingredients. This booth will be using funds collected at QuadMania to help put together the 10 year high school reunion for the 2003 graduation class. Your support would be greatly appreciated!
This BBQ truck features locally sourced and made-from-scratch food. They will be serving up pulled pork and beef brisket along with some homemade BBQ sauces.
Tweet @carnbbq
While on the road with The Glenmont Popes, founder Rodney slung slices and hocked pies at his merchandise table, in shows’ parking lots, and traded pie for lodging so the band could tour, and thus, PIE AND ROCK AND ROLL was born! Each pie is handmade from scratch with no additives or preservatives. Dangerously Delicious offers a full line of sweet and savory pies.
Tweet @dangerouspies
Hailing from Washington DC, Grids Waffles offers delicious savory and sweet wrapped waffles. Try the best-selling Nutella waffle (“Nitty Griddy”) or the delicious pizza waffle! Another tasty-sounding concoction is the Grids S’mores Waffle which features chocolate chips, marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, and whipped cream. You haven’t had your favorite breakfast entree like this yet!
Tweet @GridsWaffles
This big orange truck uses high-end and locally sourced ingredients to transform the familiar hot dog into a Top Dog. Top Dog specializes in two types of dogs: The Sonoran, hailing from Tucson, Arizona, a bacon-wrapped all beef dog served on a buttery brioche bun with great toppings; The Boss, a Hungarian debreziner sausage – a caraway seed, red pepper, pork artisan sausage – served on a brioche bun; and finally some love to the vegetarians – the Not Dog.
Tweet @topdogtruck
Be sure to try all of these options at QuadMania on Saturday, April 21st on the Quad from 12noon – 10pm. I’d like to give a huge shout out to Stefanie Mavronis for co-writing this post!
A COOL Dessert
This winter has felt a LOT like spring, so I am going to share with you my favorite COOL dessert.
And yes, it involves Cool Whip (or yogurt)
With this desert, you can pretty much add anything that you want. What I mixed in:
• Dried fruits ( papaya and banana)
• Mixed nuts (almonds and walnuts)
• Fruits (strawberries and blueberries)
• A splash of a fruity drink ( orange or pineapple)
• Crushed Graham Crackers
Chill for 15 minutes before serving.
