LA TAGLIATELLA -- GERMANTOWN, MD

 Although this restaurant is a chain, I have never heard of it.  Being curious I looked up the translation and found that its namesake is a certain type of egg pasta from the northern region of Italy in the shape of a long flat ribbon.
 

We visited the restaurant on a Friday night with a party of seven and while expecting a wait, they were pretty efficient in getting people seated.  It must be a trend with us lately as we noticed it seems like it takes forever to have the server finally come take our order after being seated but, as I mentioned it was the weekend and they were pretty busy, in addition to it recently opening, so I'll try not to be too critical.   The wait staff was equipped with electronic tablets when they took were order. 

Bread in form of small rolls was served along with an oil dipping concoction.  We added salt, pepper and parmesan to our blend and it was easy to fill up.  The menu showed that you ordered by choosing your style of pasta and sauce which gave you several varieties.   I started with a caesar salad which was unlike any caesar I had ordered before.  It was made with mixed greens instead of romaine and also included tomatoes.  Since I'm not a tomato lover, my husband helped himself and said they were delicious.  The dressing was not typical either, more on the vinegrette side.

I went with the beef ravioli and bolognese sauce.  I was surprised by the portion and size of the pies.  My pasta, in my opinion, was Al dente and while that's not a bad thing, it just not my preference.  I guess I was expecting the typical fare and the food here turned out to be served uniquely which is good to experience occasionally.  The sauce was good having a slight sweetness.

The servings were very plentiful and we tried a variety of dishes.  All in all it was a pleasant family dining experience and I'm sure we'll be returning. 

Visited 2/28/14
LA TAGIATELLA
20630 Seneca Meadows Pkwy 
Suite E-1 
Germantown, MD 20876

OLDE TIME TAVERN - FREDERICK, MD

We're in the Mid-Atlantic where the New World was founded hundreds of years ago.  Thinking of a tavern back then, my thoughts wander to it being a gathering place to get out of the weather, sometimes it included overnight accommodations.  Taverns then were also known as public houses or pubs.  Now you might hear of them as bars, saloons, watering holes, a roadhouse or taproom.

 

While visiting family in Maryland, we decided to take part of the day and visit Frederick. It's a quaint historic town with a lot of quaint shops. It was time for lunch as we passed Olde Town Tavern and we decided to give it a try. There was only one server in the place but it wasn't too busy and she was very attentive. She welcomed us and was helpful when I asked what they had on tap. She also read off the lunch special from her notes instead of relying on her memory.

I went with a cup of chili to warm up from the cutting wind we experienced. I was happy to see that it came with accompaniments of cheese, onion, and sour cream in little plastic cups instead of being dumped on top. It was really thick and meaty. My husband was pretty chilled too and went with their chicken with rice soup which he said was excellent.

I had a chef salad, the way it's suppose to be made with plenty of meat, egg and veggies and a couple of servings of the dressing I had ordered on the side so I could put the perfect amount of myself. Gary had a burger and I always cringe when he does that and bites into it, because he has had several bad experiences lately with it being raw in the middle, even when ordering it well done. This time, however, it was perfect.

We had a nice visit to Frederick and a wonderful lunch.

Visited 2/27/14
OLDE TIME TAVERN
325 North Market Street
Frederick, MD 21701