Chomp!
July 19, 2013
By Ron Aiken
July 19, 2013
A Few Words About Crust(s)
Last week, Chomp! revealed his strong feelings against bad pizza crusts, demonic breadsticks and basically the utter pathos of any amalgamation of bulbous dough topped with sprinkled somethings and packaged as a legitimate food item.
Chomp! was wrong.
What turned Chomp!’s world upside down and his opinions right-side out was a visit to Crust Bakehouse at 2701B Rosewood Drive.
Here’s what happened.
After a particularly vigorous afternoon last week, Chomp! was at Gibson’s Jewelers taking care of some thangs and had a coupla minutes to kill. Badly needing caffeine, Chomp! walked one door down to Crust Bakery, which had been recommended to him by the young lady in Gibson’s.
Walking in the door and seeing the owners, Mark and Angie Lowery, hard at work, Chomp! figured this place might just be kinda special. A coffee was ordered, and some conversation began with Angie about the store in general. It opened in Thanksgiving of 2012 (I don’t know if we were brave or crazy, she said. For the record, Chomp! says ‘brave’). The name came (at least in part) from the English poet Robert Browning, whose quote is featured on the back of their business cards and on the website: If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.
A list of the breads available at Crust Bakehouse last week.
At this point, Chomp! was ready to concede no such thing. If anything, he’d go down scrapping for the other side. But, after seeing with his own eyes the care that was going into the work, the long hours (Mike said he’d been up since 3, and Angie right alongside), Chomp! figured he owed it to them and himself to taste some of their handiwork.
Chomp! is oh, so glad he did.
Chomp! purchased two scones, a Cheddar Cheese & Rosemary and a Sundried Tomato Romano.
First, the Cheddar Cheese & Rosemary. Chomp! has had his share of scones before from different places, some good, some truly awful, and can now say this with conviction that this one screamed, I AM HANDMADE!!! TASTE MY GLORY AND TREMBLE, MORTALS!!!!
The bread was absolutely pillowy and light, far, far removed from the heavy, burdensome chore some commercial scones can be. Besides its stunning outer visual appeal – beautifully browned cheddar cheese on top, the bread itself perfectly golden-brown – the inside was gorgeous as well, like the best buttery biscuit you’ve ever had, only with flecks of the rosemary inside it. It truly was a magical scone…of this Chomp! is certain.
The Cheddar Cheese & Rosemary scone from Crust Bakehouse.
The Sundried Tomato Romano scone was an equal revelation. Not a week after railing on lousy pizza crusts, right here, in my face and inside my mouth, was a tomato and cheese delight I’d have killed someone and claimed a Stand Your Ground defense to put on a pizza for me. Holy cow, go slap a stranger in the face, this is as good as a savory scone gets. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much bread and still wanted more bread, which I think this is about the best thing that it’s possible to say about any bread, anywhere.
The Sundried Tomato and Romano scone from Crust Bakehouse.
And if it if humanly possible by now that you’re not already mentally addicted to Crust’s scones, here’s two more arguments on their behalf. The first is a recent list of their scones on offer: sausage & pepper jack, roasted red pepper & feta, chocolate-cherry and date almond (also that day they had raspberry muffins, molasses cookies, pecan financiers and chocolate chip cookies).
If Crust were to make a pizza, in fact, Chomp! may just have to NEVER HAVE ANY OTHER PIZZA EVER AGAIN. So please, Crust, for the sake of other places’ future Chomp! pizza dollars, don’t go doing that. But, if you do decide to, Chomp! wants the first one. And the second. And all the ones after that.
Crust is open Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. To see what they have up each day, go to Crust’s facebook page, look, and ‘like’! One note: Crust, by choice, does not have a phone, so their facebook page is THE place to go to get in touch. They accept orders via facebook and Twitter (@crustcolumbia), Angie says, so don’t be shy about placing an order for whatever using social media. She also says they don’t yet cater, but that’s only because they haven’t been asked to yet. So, ask already, somebody!
As to Crust’s quality, it is beyond question. Chomp! swears this to you on his very own little life. Find out for yourself soon, and share in the delight that is Crust. BONUS: If you go and send me a picture of yourself eating a Crust product, I’ll print it right here! Email Chomp! at [email protected]!
Angie Lowery of Crust Bakehouse. Go see this woman!
A Few Words About Cola’s
So last Friday night was a bit special. A special friend of Chomp! was celebrating her 40th birthday, and had some plans earlier in the evening that ran a little late. Though we did not have a reservation because we didn’t know what time we’d make it, we had our little hearts set on going to Terra to experience the glory of dining from chef Mike Davis‘ menu.
Since it was almost 10 o’clock by the time we were ready to walk out the door, Chomp! called ahead to make sure we could still get a table. Identifying himself, Chomp! spoke to a kind hostess and commenced to beg, saying he knew the hour and that we’d be there in five minutes. She said she’d be happy to go ask the kitchen and put Chomp! on hold. After a minute or two, a rather gruff youngish male picked the phone back to tell us the kitchen was closed, hung up, and that was that.
Chomp! realizes kitchens like to close at 10. Chomp! knows people like to get home or, on a Friday night, in this case, get to wherever it is they want to go after they close. So, I say that about Terra not to impugn them but only to say this: Massive, massive kudos and thanks are due to the staff and kitchen at Cola’s on Assembly Street. We got there a little after 10, and the restaurant was almost completely empty save about four tables and some folks at the bar.
Our hostess, whose name Chomp! regrets he did not get, was super-nice to us, totally understood our situation and seated us graciously. Our waitress, Lauren Fuller, was a delight. She didn’t once exude anything but kindness and courtesy, even as the evening wore on and other servers cashed-out and left to go about their Friday nights. She was as good and friendly a waitress as Chomp! has had, even more so given the circumstances. Not once did we feel rushed or anything other than valued patrons.
The food was terrific, and many thanks go to the kitchen for maintaining consistent high quality all the way to the last dish of service. Just like our waitress, the food was in no way rushed or anything other than perfect. We started with the Seared Diver Scallops, which were amazing, especially with the absolutely sensational Butternut Squash Hash that came with them. Unbelievably good.
The Seared Diver Scallops at Cola’s.
For our entrees, we ordered the Spice-Rubbed Chicken and the 16 oz. Grilled New York Strip. Though my companion’s came with it, as a side for mine I substituted the Pecan Butter Sweet Potato for the Parmesan Steak Fries, and it was a decision Chomp! Will never regret for as long as he lives, because MY GOD I’VE SOMEHOW DIED AND AM IN HEAVEN NOW AND EVERYTHING LOOKS SO SMALL FROM UP HERE.
Yes, they’re really that good.
My steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare and delicious, and the chicken was phenomenal – a prefect crispy skin with rosemary, thyme (I think) and other spices on top and a beautifully moist inside all the way to the last bite. And man, the braised greens were out of this world to boot.
The New York Strip with marinated mushrooms and the Pecan Butter Sweet Potato.
The Spice-Rubbed Chicken, also with the Pecan Butter Sweet Potato and Braised Greens.
Thank you, Cola’s, for making that night special and warm and treating the last table of the night as graciously as I’m sure you treated the first. Chomp! never forgets such things.
Until next week!
Follow Chomp! on Twitter @RonAiken and on Facebook. Email Chomp! at [email protected]. He even answers his phone sometimes: 803-200-8809. Cheers!
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