Wednesday, June 7, 2017

bail out


Been wracking (racking? wrecking?) my brain trying to come up with something clever to tie a bunch of stuff together but there’s such a wide diversity of stuff that even my superior literary skills can’t think of anything..  So……. I guess I’ll sort of lapse back to the “This and That” model.

“Coming Soon”
New places opening always fascinate me.  My years of hanging around restaurant people have taught me a lot.  First of all, God love them.  That job is like police and nursing work (e.g., FOJTY and wife), it is wonderful that somebody is called to that profession.  We need them, but it’s not something YOU would want to do kind of thing.   In the case of food service, for the most part you don’t have a life for a long time.  Lunch through dinner service pretty much wrecks any social or family life.  If you’re successful eventually you can train people and then maybe salvage part of that life. 

When reading about a new place, if the piece contains a quote of something like: “I’ve always dreamed of opening my own restaurant” I mentally give them one year at most (case in point: the first reincarnation of “The Willows”).  Bless them for trying, but most eventually successful (independent) restaurants are started by people with learned experience.   Rob Plant has turned the Tides (get it?), The Kelley’s “Ducks” are in line, Laurel Grove’s Michael and Silvia have graduated to the Cow and the Fish, Jeff Lewis has made the Front Porch hugely better (Leo, I still miss ya!). 

One enigma still remains in Leonardtown, the evolution of La Rive Breton.   The Owners/Managers/Chef/Staff certainly have a pedigree that would suggest that they could succeed in winning over the “empire” that Loic built.  Although I am certainly not on the “inside”, it appears that they have kind of had a tough time bringing their experience and vision align with the Leonardtown demographic (whatever that is).  Plus, the space on the other corner remains dark.  My experience is that the food is always great, and that is an anchor for success.   And before I leave Leonardtown, Jessie’s Kitchen seems to have a growing and large following.  BBQ? Not so much.



“Been there forever” 
And I won’t wander far from Leonardtown to (cautiously) interject a little note about the venerable Olde Breton Inn, home of the Bailey’s and its patriarch Eddy.   They certainly are part of the fabric of Southern Maryland, helping with innumerable events with tents and catering.  The building is a lovely setting for various dinners and functions.   My association with many organizations and societies brought me to the OBI on more occasions than I could count.   And if I may don my Feeder hat for a moment, I think I’ve had the same buffet every time I’ve been there.   Maybe a subtle nuance here and there like switching between Chicken Cordon Bleu and Chicken Chesapeake, but generally you get the same stuff, in the same order on the buffet.


Steamed vegetables, some sort of squash/veggie mélange, gravy, smashed potatoes,

then fried (baked?) stuffed chicken du jour; fried oysters, rolls, (maybe a green salad), and the traditional, omnipresent “steamship round”.
My plate at the end of the line (I skipped a few chafing dishes)

The Oysters are always good, but you look odd if you go back to your table with just a plate full of Oysters..  I just keep my mouth shut, nibble here and there, and enjoy the company of people who have eaten (and enjoyed) with Eddy for years.  Tradition.  You certainly get what you expect.

"More Links in the..."
Okay, let’s journey across the peninsula to the land of Chains: Lexington Park.  As you might remember, I hang out with a couple of gents who are part of the “just right” team.  We try to search out “just right” (lunch) places in the county (Courtney’s, etc.).   Well, through a recent DC “gig” (we would say "job") one of our group got a gift card for Five Guys.   Turns out he worked a Five Guys corporate event and all the working “Guys” (ha ha) received gift cards, which he generously shared, enough to feed all three of us.  So we decided to call our “just right” meeting at the Five Guys place in California (Maryland) which seems to be called “South Plaza”, which I had never heard before.  It’s across from Red Robin, Olive Garden, Texas this and that, etc.. Sometime I’ll relate the story of how my friend and Jerry Murrell  (founder of 5G) met.   

Also, and I don’t know if you saw it, but somebody’s (nationwide) poll of “Best (my favorite word) Burger” resulted in the perennial “champion” In and Out Burger being dethroned by 5G.   So after we all gathered, in we went, squinted at the menu on the wall



And made our choices.   “Burgers” offered are: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Bacon Burger, Bacon Cheeseburger, (three things (bacon, burger, cheese) in all permutations) or they offer “Little” versions of same, meaning one beef patty in lieu of two.  Which seems to me kind of demeaning: ”are you a MAN or are you going to get your sissy, eensy “little” burger?”.  Well of course I bailed and got a "Little" Cheeseburger (with no visible snickering from the staff behind the glaring red and white counter), fries (which are cooked in Peanut Oil, incidentally) and a Soda.  They have the order here, pay there, model: you stammer out your order, and then do a Soup Nazi side step down the counter to pay for your order.   Then hang about a bit until a shrill (Number thirty-two!!!) summons you to your sack. 

They also have sacks of “in the shell” peanuts (more nut allergy hazards) laying around for you to help yourself while waiting or eating.  For those of you “old timers” of Lexington Park, remember when Lone Star did the same, and you had to wade through a floor full of shells to get anywhere?   The 5G staff does a pretty good job of eliminating the threat of taking a header, so munching is okay.

Anyway, “less is more” is definitely NOT 5G policy.  More like “more isn’t enough”.  This is my “Little” burger and a cup ‘o fries.



I didn’t include anything to give you a sense of scale but the burger is somewhere between a tennis and softball, and see those grease stains on the bag?  That’s because the whole bottom third of the bag is composed of more (loose) fries.  Anyway, you open the foil wrapped food item and even with the “little” burger, eating it is a challenge.  With all the “toppings” (mayo, grilled onions, pickles, lettuce, etc.)  it is drippy, tends to separate and getting your mouth around it is difficult.  Hence you wind up with messy hands (reason for no shot of the unwrapped item).

I guess it was okay, just seemed like a ball of grease, lettuce falling out, mayo dripping, but maybe it was just me.  If you’re going for a BURGER you can wallow in this one..

"Teaser"
Well, I had a couple more things to cover, but I suppose you’re as weary of me as I am of typing, so we’ll just give a tease about what’s coming up.



And something I had no control over for lunch


Meanwhile wash the grease off your hands and go

DFD

PS, our morning visitor today... they just appear in the night







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