Apologies for late posting - snow/power, etc.
We started retirement by not letting grass grow under our feet (or snow pile up on them, as the case may be) and drove up to Annapolis Friday evening to initiate our annual outing to the Baltimore craft show. To celebrate, we decided to have dinner at
Harry Browne’s. It’s funny about things. Despite many other (probably fine) options in Annapolis and its environs we keep coming back there. Some places you just develop an affinity for despite some flaws here and there. That’s the way we are about Harry Browne’s. The interior is warm and appealing with its fancy deco lighting fixtures, the little raised dining area concealing a few tables in the back where you could meet that discreet “friend”, or sit by the windows and observe the passing scene. With the service bar now moved upstairs (with the only restrooms, one of those flaws we’ve accepted), it’s usually quiet. Tables are always set with white tablecloths, tented napkins, silver, and crystal. Being near the State House by and large the clientele arrives if not dressed for dinner, at least dressed for work which suffices. It does, however tend to increase the amount of cell phone usage as noted on previous notes. We had called ahead because it was Friday, the Academy and legislature were in session and were fearful we wouldn’t be able to book. We allotted about an hour and a half for the journey and told the lady we expected to be there about seven. That proved to be optimistic as we found that our dear Solomon’s bridge was bumper to bumper starting at route four, so about 6:45 when we were at the Lothian traffic circle we called again, fearing the worst, but were told “no problem”. Upon successful navigation to the restaurant, we were glad to see that Valet parking was available and finally arrived at the door maybe 20 minutes late.
We needn’t have been concerned, as there were maybe 5 occupied tables in the whole place (although there was a fair amount of traffic headed upstairs to the bar). We subsequently learned that last week was “restaurant week” in Annapolis, and were told that business usually dropped after that. We were seated on the raised platform at a four top (a nice touch) and the other two set ups were removed. The wine list, the daily special menu list, and the menu were presented and we were glad that the extra space was available as they are fairly unwieldy leather bound things. Despite the bulkiness, I rather like the idea of daily specials being written down so later you don’t have to say, “what sauce did he/she say was on the grouper?”
Another thing we enjoy about Harry Browne’s is that by and large the servers are intelligent, always neatly dressed, despite a few flaws here and there do a reasonable job of serving. We were approached by a young lady who announced that she was (....) and would be (I think a new one), “helping us this evening”. She was quite enthusiastic and remained so throughout the evening, however along with the enthusiasm came the tiring string of “Absolutely!; Perfect!; You got it!” to almost anything we said. This was all bundled with a pleasant enough personality, good eye contact, and we did have a couple of good conversations throughout the evening.
Drinks were requested promptly (another advantage to not having to recite/listen to specials), and we were given the choice of gin (for MFO’s gimlet), and bourbon for the dry manhatten, on the rocks, with a twist. (Bombay and Jim Beam). Because the bar was now upstairs, his required her to go up the steps, obtain the cocktails, come down the steps and deliver the drinks. She claimed that work was now part of her workout. For the record, as it always is, the drinks were correct the first time. She also offered bread for the table which is a nice touch (You got it!). After recovering from white line fever with the aid of the cocktails, we finally considered the menus. I’ve gone over their selections before, but they’re fairly aggressive, with some interesting items (wild boar sausage, “Werthman” salmon, etc.). Most are described as to preparation and sauce, e. g., Pan Roasted Swordfish with Asparagus, Roasted Red Pepper, Tomatoes, Hearts of Palm, Fingerling Potatoes, Little Neck Clams, and Smoky Olive Oil. Prices are healthy, appetizers range from $9 to 13, Salads 9 or 10 (tableside Caesar for two 20), Soups 8 bucks, and (12 on the regular menu) entrees from 24 – 35. As a side note the only poultry on the dinner menu was duck, completely devoid of any chicken offerings.
Anyway we decided on appetizers of Calamari with Imported Tomatoes, Pumpkin Seed Pesto & Smoked Mozzarella over Rosemary Soft Polenta for myself and Crispy Fried Virginia Oysters with Cucumber & Pea Shoot Salad & Tomato Horseradish Aioli for MFO. Without the histrionics I took a braised lamb shank over saffron risotto with a reduction, and MFO took the “famous” crab cakes. Splitting the middle, we chose a Willamette Four Graces Pinot, listed on the wine list as ’04, but appearing as an ’07, and a re-check of the cellar confirmed ’04 was no longer available. To be (somewhat) fair there is a note at the top of the wine list saying that you could check with your sever for price and vintage changes. They provided suitable wine glasses and a taste allowed us to “settle” for the ’07 which was fairly tasty, but as you might expect a bit young. Would like the opportunity to compare it to the ’04. We were gratified that each of our choices were “Splendid” or “Perfect”.
The appetizers soon arrived and in my case proved to be the dish of the meal. You always roll the dice ordering Calamari, risking a mouthful of rubber bands. Not so here, the calamari was tender, flavorful and nestled in a wonderful smoky broth of the mozzarella, pesto and the tomatoes. The polenta with the rosemary provided some textural and aromatic notes. A great dish. The Oysters were also equal to the task were so large they had to be cut (without detriment), a beautiful golden brown set radially around the lovely green cucumber and pea shoot greens, along side a golden dollop of the aioli. Standard description of good oysters applied, a little bite of the sea.. Great dishes.
The main courses were good, but faced a tough task after the opening act. The crab cakes did have great flavor, arriving on a little raft of fried green tomatoes. They were sided by scallion mashed potatoes a little serving of corn and (Smithfield Ham) succotash with a smoky corn sauce. My shank was presented with the bone at 12 o’clock, propped up by the risotto, and riding in the reduction sauce (of which escapes me as of this writing – maybe a telling note). The first few bites of the lamb were that pretty strongly “lamb flavor” but the inner meat was more mildly flavored and was pretty good. Risotto, like crab cakes or chili is a pretty subjective call, but I have to admit this was not well done (by my book), Perhaps intentionally so it wouldn’t dissolve in the reduction, it bordered on “gluey” and was pretty dense. The “spring peas” in it were tough to distinguish from Birdseye. The dish was good, I happily ate it all, but expected just a little more. At that point we were pretty full so just had coffee and drove on up the road. The fact that the restaurant was sparsely populated and we had such a good meal (with a few flaws here and there) will keep it at the top of our Annapolis list (admittedly not vast. I have heard good things about Lewne’s and would like to try that sometime. I daresay you won’t be disappointed going to Harry Browne’s.
Probably your eyes are spinning so i won't bother you with much about
Baltimore Craft Show execept to say that i stand in awe of what some of those people do. Browse and plan to go sometime. take cash
