A couple of second visits last week. One was a fairly quick return to La Rive in
Leonardtown, and the second was a return to an older place with a new occupant which is not new...
La Rive
The redux for La Rive was to honor FOJTE’s birthday, and
hey! I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if we
celebrated his day by his parents going out to dinner.. we did….
I was pleased to see the menu had been expanded and a few new dishes
added or modified. I think that’s a good
sign. Although one friend is not a fan
of their décor, For some reason,I especially like the bar (including the expanded selection of Gins)
It reminds me of bars seen in France.
I was somewhat confounded by the starters, nothing shouted at me, so I decided to try the French onion. I am not particularly a fan of that dish, mostly because it’s so darn hard (for me) to
eat.
I tend not to be a delicate eater, but I always find myself beset
with “strings” of cheese from the bowl to my mouth, twisting helps but then you
have a glob. That fact probably says it is well made, and it did have good flavor. Invariably after wrestling with it, I end up with clothes that head for the cleaners next day. MFO had the beet salad.
We had main courses of the short ribs and Arctic Char.
I noted that the fish was served skin side up, as we found
in many European restaurants. I liked
the rib, and it was “sans” rib. It
did have good beef flavor, with no excess fat. An
interesting aside about the short rib. I
had a stringer report from a friend on a visit to La Rive who did not like the
fact that a “Short Rib” was served without the bone. Indeed most recipes do include keeping the
bone, personally, I don’t mind that. I
would hope the bone was included in the preparation to add to the flavor.
Anyway, we enjoyed celebrating FOJTE’s special day in
absentia
The old is new again….
Maybe Just Right???
As most locals know, Kevin’s K/Corner K/Café has pulled up
stakes in Leonardtown to slide down the hill and into the old “Willows”
building. It has sat fallow for many
years, housing one failed attempt (“I’ve always dreamed of opening a restaurant!”)
and, as I recall, predictions of a “Pub” type opening (which never materialized). Not knowing
the business situation that existed up the hill, the only reason I have heard
for the move is “parking”. We didn’t go
there often enough to remember the situation, but there seems to be more parking spaces
available in the new place, although a four wheel capability might be useful if
you plan to attend, as said parking is in a field or a non paved
workplace. Plus entry and exit to the
place does pose some problems with our county traffic.
Anyway, a friend and I decided to try it for lunch last
week. Gone is the interesting iron work that
used to adorn the exterior which is now replaced by
Well, if you didn’t know there was a pretty large time warp
between Willows, and now, you wouldn’t notice much has
changed.
Same entryway, same (watch your) step up, same bar protruding into the room
(with catchy signs) and brighter stools, and as far as I know, the same
layout. Dark chairs, lighter tabletops
(no linens at lunch) various nautical things adorn the walls. The only thing that was missing from previous
visits was (thank goodness) the permeating cigarette smoke odor.
Given the history of the place, it certainly might be a
candidate for “just right”, and newer occupants kind of fit right in bringing
all the expected trappings like tri fold plastic menu
With the time honored practice of making you hunt for
sides. It is of course leaning toward
seafood, although burgers and subs find their niche.
6455
Servers are also appropriate and of the right generation,
with terms of “honey” and “sweetie” floating around. Gracious and friendly, no “Hi I’m… speeches”
Besides the menu items there were “specials” one of which was
a Lobster Mac and Cheese. We each
ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio which came in a large water glass. No need for two! My friend opted for the Mac and Cheese, and
out of curiosity I took the (broiled) crab cake sandwich. “And which side would you like with that sir?” flipping pages, finally spotted a little box on another
page down in the corner… “Fries, Please”;
My friend got a side salad and also a cup of their seafood chowder.
By then, the place was pretty well full (we arrived at
11:30) with what I kind of thought were retirees who enjoy lunch out of a
day. Most were of my generation, and a
lot of them knew each other. There were
a couple of tables of working folk, and a state trooper came in to sit with
(assumed) mom and dad.
The food (which is brought out from the kitchen and set on a
little cart for pickup, I guess no “pass through”) was brought over to the
table.
The Mac and cheese was generous and seemed to contain a lot
of Lobster, which my friend pretty much demolished despite thinking he would
have left overs. His "chowder" did a have a few bits of something in it, deemed not a memorable cup o'chowdah.
And turning to my dish, one of the mysteries of the world is the thing called “crab
cake sandwich”. Have you EVER seen
anybody pick up the thing and eat it as a sandwich? I never have, seems like it is the universal
way of getting one crab cake (market price) instead of an entrée portion of
two. Anyway, here is what I was served as their (broiled) crab cake sandwich
I kind of questioned the “broiled” part, but forked it up anyway. There were no indications of lumps, just all homogenous
shredded crab meat. It did have some
taste, but not overwhelming. The fries
were just as they looked. Sometimes the
kitchen will add a lettuce leaf and an out of season tomato, but probably tire
of seeing it comeback because nobody eats it as a sandwich. As I recall, “market price” equated to 21
bucks. Suspect there is a healthy margin
there..
We eschewed dessert, gathered our stuff and left. My friend asked about evening meals, and
apparently they have “nights”, like Lobster, steak, and so forth. I think I heard “all you can eat” in the
description.
I am in kind of a quandary as to whether or not to add them
to a “just right” list. Certainly the
building qualifies, largely unchanged for decades, but I’m not yet sure how the
seafood component fits. Let’s wait a
while before deciding. Somehow, the
whole space made me uneasy. Just not
comfy or welcoming.. Maybe the ghost of
John Nucci
And if you go, I wouldn’t worry about
DFD
oh, i did get a few readers telling me that in fact Bluecoat Gin was among their favorites!
and a quick note to the white balance police... the crab cake and the soup shot got away from me
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