Category: Food

Maryland Fried Chicken

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 30, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. As I continue to settle into my new region of Florida here in Highlands County – I’ll keep on finding interesting places to see – and eat. After all – eating is an integral part of any travel experience. Eating is one of my favorite hobbies !

If you know me personally, or if you’ve been reading my blog for awhile – then you may know that I’m originally from Maryland – Prince Georges County Maryland to be specific. (It borders Washington D.C.) For 11+ years (1969-1980) as a kid I lived in Greenbelt, Bowie, and Lanham. I had some great childhood memories back then, and some not-so-great ones as well. My grandparents, and nearly all of my uncles, aunts, and cousins lived within a few miles of each other back then.

During my entire time as a kid growing up in Maryland (and also adjacent Fairfax County Virginia) I’d never heard of Maryland Fried Chicken – either the restaurant or the mere concept. Chesapeake Bay Crabs – definitely. Scrapple – of course. Fried Chicken – negative. Fried Chicken comes from Kentucky. Everyone knows that.

Looks like there are 14 locations of Maryland Friend Chicken in Florida, Georgia, and 1 in South Carolina. Most of them (9) are concentrated across Central Florida – including 2 within a few miles of my new home. They don’t have a presence on social media; although, a few of the local locations have their own web sites. There’s actually a WordPress-created web page at marylandfriedchicken.net that reveals its 60+ year history and origins in the Orlando Florida area.

My local Sebring location has their own web site at marylandfriedchickenofsebring.com.

I went to my local neighborhood Maryland Fried Chicken for Lunch on St. Patrick’s Day. I was greeted by two friendly workers. One took my order, and I struck up a conversation with both of them. I told them that it was my very first visit there. They asked me where I was from. I told them “Maryland !”. I added that I’d never heard of Maryland Fried Chicken, and that I’m looking forward to enjoying it.

I ordered the 2-piece chicken dinner (all breast). That comes with 2 sides. I got it with fries and homemade macaroni salad. I took it home and I enjoyed it. It was very good. The fried chicken has a distinctive flavor to it that kind of reminds me of my childhood, and that’s really strange because the only fried chicken that we ate when I was a kid came from #KFC. My elementary school cafeteria may have served fried chicken every so often, so maybe it brought back memories of that taste. It’s hard to explain its unique flavor – perhaps very juicy ?

I’ll obviously have to go back again this weekend to pick-up some more Maryland Fried Chicken.

One Maryland Fried Chicken location in Winter Garden Florida is going out-of-business after 57 years. Read that article here.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll write about my new neighborhood, and I’ll even share a picture or two. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Chicken, Maryland

Blogging Food Geography Shopping Travel

My Carnival Celebration Vacation 2023

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date February 16, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my day visiting Castillo San Cristóbal y Castillo San Felipe del Morro en Viejo San Juan Puerto Rico. That was Day 4 of my 7-day cruise aboard the Carnival Celebration from Sunday January 08TH 2023 to Sunday January 15TH 2023.

This week it’s on to Day 5 – and the 3RD and final port-of-call in Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas U.S.V.I.

But First: It was another day of full-use of my cell phone (iPhone) without any extra International “roaming” charges, so I got all caught-up (again) on the Interwebs. (I rarely use my iPhone as a phone. I use it mostly as a little computer that fits in the palm of my hand.)

Before the cruise when I was researching and purchasing shore excursions to do on the islands – I didn’t really see anything that I was interested in on St. Thomas. I could go back to the top of the mountain (1,500 feet above sea level) to that big gift shop / liquor store (Mountain Top), and take-in the views from up there. But every good cruise has a fun and relaxing day on the ship when there’s not that many other people around, and I decided that St. Thomas Day would be my personal “Fun Day On Ship”.

Well – a lot of people on the ship had the same idea as me. Of the approximate 6,000 passengers – perhaps 2 out of 3 went ashore (just a rough estimate). That means 1 out of 3 stayed onboard – or 2,000 out of 6,000. The Carnival Celebration – after all – is a very nice and beautiful and modern and huge cruise ship – the biggest and brightest that Carnival has to offer.

I actually did get off the ship for about 90 minutes of walking around the strip shopping center that sits adjacent to the port. I wasn’t planning on buying anything – just browsing – and getting some exercise in.

That was the first part of my Breakfast – courtesy of Emeril Lagasse. (He has a bistro on the ship.) The second part consisted of a half-dozen powdered beignets with strawberry sauce and chocolate sauce. (That’s why I needed those 90 minutes of walking off the ship.)

After that it was back on the ship to resume my “Fun Day On Ship” and explore portions of the ship that I had not previously seen. Oh – and it was time to eat again.

Next #TravelThursday I’ll wrap-up my cruise review of the Carnival Celebration with some final thoughts, and then I’ll reveal my plans for my next (25TH) cruise. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Caribbean, Carnival, Celebration, Cruise, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Blogging Food Geography Travel

My Carnival Celebration Vacation 2023

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 26, 2023

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I embarked on my multi-part series of my 7-day sailing of the brand-new Carnival Celebration from Sunday January 08TH 2023 to Sunday January 15TH 2023. This was its 9TH cruise (with passengers) ever. It was my 16TH on Carnival in a little over 23 years, and my 24TH overall (all cruise lines) in a little over 31 years.

Fun Fact: I shared a large (assigned) dinner table every night in the main dining room with other solo cruisers and a couple (husband and wife) who have all been on far more cruises than I can ever imagine. In their eyes – I was the cruise “newbie”. I was also the youngest at our table. We mostly talked about cruising each night at dinner. They were a fun group. Lots of laughs !

This week I’ll share more thoughts about the cruise.

FOOD (“B”) – Most people who choose Carnival do so for its affordability, its accessibility (at many ports), and its overall vibe (lots of fun activities for all ages from early in the morning to early the next morning). Those are my main reasons for my continued loyalty to Carnival since the late-1990s. The food is good. It’s not great. It’s better than anything I eat at home. It’s better than anything I eat out in my hometown. Could it be better ? Sure. Has it been better in the past ? Sure. But I don’t really choose Carnival for its food. It’s not what they specialize in as a cruise line. They specialize in fun. I like fun. Having said that there are so many different places to eat on the Carnival Celebration – more than any other Carnival cruise ship – aside from its nearly identical sister ship – Mardi Gras. Most of the food at the various venues is part of the overall cruise fare. Some of it costs extra. I enjoyed some really delicious beignets with strawberry sauce and chocolate sauce at Emeril’s Bistro on a couple of mornings. #BAM

SERVICE (“C”) – Customer service was generally lacking a little bit on this ship compared with many of my previous cruises. That includes the cabin areas, the main dining room, and the restaurants. There seemed to be a lack of enthusiasm (and speed) overall for such a brand-new cruise ship and the current flagship of Carnival Cruise Lines. It wasn’t necessarily bad service – just unimpressive (and slow) service compared with what I’m accustomed to at sea. I’ve felt that customer service on Carnival has been superior to the other 3 cruise lines that I’ve sailed on, but not really so much on this particular cruise.

ENTERTAINMENT (“A”) – This was definitely the best part of my cruise. Carnival has done a major upgrade in this area for their brand-new cruise ships – taking full advantage of modern 2020s electronic technology. They had nice Broadway-like shows, stand-up comedy shows in 3 different venues including matinees in the afternoons on sea days, and nice random “pop-up” video shows during the early-evening hours in-between the bigger shows. Even their game shows were modernized. I was mesmerized by these events. It’s the future of Carnival unlike anything I had ever seen before, and I liked it a lot !

CRUISE DIRECTOR (“A”) – Our Cruise Director – Mike from South Jersey – was actually substituting (last-minute) for the real Cruise Director of the ship – Lee – who was nursing laryngitis out-of-sight from the passengers. He eventually recovered, and he finally made a grand entrance (complete with standing ovation) early on the 5TH night of the cruise. Some passengers booked the cruise ship because of Lee, so they were finally glad to see him in action. From that point forth he and Mike shared Cruise Director duties and responsibilities. It was the first time that Mike had ever been a Cruise Director, and he did a great job. He’s a future Cruise Director for sure. Lee has been with Carnival as a Cruise Director for just over 6 years on 12 different ships. Here’s his story – as well as the story of the Carnival Celebration:

Next #TravelThursday I’ll tell you all about the first port-of-call – Amber Cove on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. I participated in perhaps one of my greatest shore excursions ever – from sea level to nearly 2,600 feet above. Let’s keep traveling together.