Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Gimme a "C"; Gimme a "D"! Kind of....



Been a while since I’ve had a chance to “review” a place.   Last Sunday night we joined some friends for dinner at CD Café on the Solomons.  It’s been a long time since I’ve been there, especially for “dinner” so felt it kind of qualified for fresh look.   As an aside, they serve until after Nine on Sunday’s which is kind of unique (and convenient).  Plus, nowadays I have to try to find places without steps, not humungous thresholds, etc.  So we decided that CD fulfilled those filters and although they still don’t take reservations, which I would prefer, I’ve come to understand why that’s a reasonable policy for a limited table restaurant. 

CD has had a presence on the Solomons for almost ever, and originally had some affiliation with the “old” Dry Dock.  There have been quite a few changes over the years, but they have maintained a reputation for excellent food, and I honestly don’t know if one of the originals, “Deb” (I think the “D” in the name) is still involved other than to have her name on a menu item (“Deb’s Personal Choice” chicken dish which has been a fixture forever).

Their website proclaims they are: “the Best Restaurant in Southern Maryland”; which to be fair may have resulted from one of those hokey “reader polls”.  They also say they have “Southern Maryland’s Most Creative Cuisine”.  Which I also understand being on their site, but I would say while they are certainly in the top tier, I would disagree with both statements.

The menu is wide ranging with seven categories (Apps, soups, salads, etc.) and with “add ons and Sides” it affords a bewildering 53 options, and then there are daily “specials” on top of that.  If you can’t find something you might enjoy it’s your fault.  On to our experience…

First here’s a short quiz for you (and I realize there are varying opinions); which of the following statements would you like to hear from the server when very first approaching your table?
       1.     Hi, welcome to (CD) Café
       2.     I’m (so and so) and I’ll be taking care of you tonight
       3.     Can I get you something to drink?
       4.     Would you like to hear tonight’s specials?
       5.     Here are tonight’s specials (proceeding to recite                     them without waiting)
       6.     Would you like a minute to get settled?

Probably coming as no surprise to anyone, the Feeder would very much like 3, maybe coupled with number 1.  Last night we got number 5.  After diverting to number 3, the process went smoothly (although the wine list was removed after the ladies ordered wine for cocktails) and “up” here is like Cow and Fish, a stemless, but tapered glass, but I must admit we were not badgered to order food.

As far as food went, I settled on the Steak au Poivre (no added salt please – which I’m not sure made it to the kitchen); both ladies had the Pad Thai (with pork tenderloin) and the other dish was the Honey Glazed Salmon.  With about the right timing, my steak showed up.



So of course I did

-19
The menu description of the dish is:

steak au poivre
$27 • 8oz tenderloin • mushrooms • garlic • shallot • peppercorn brandy sauce • vegetable medley • garlic mashed potatoes

And indeed, all those ingredients are present.  In my opinion, the presentation verges on everything being “glopped” together, resulting in a not very pleasing dish. Doesn’t make a very good picture.  Everything tasted okay, you just had to kind of fish around to get one of the items, which came with bits of the others.  The cut of beef was confusing; it was more a “hunk” than the standard filet cut (hockey puck – GO BLUES!).  Everyone else enjoyed their selections with Mr. Salmon referring to another menu item labeled “Healthy Salmon” wondering if his was by inference: “Un-Healthy”.

Service remained attentive, but not intrusive.

All in all a pleasant experience with nicely prepared food, and I would certainly return to explore other (no added salt, please) options..

Next: in the wings:
“waiter, there’s gold in my pancakes”; an exploration into using Gold in culinary applications such as:


Thanks to a good friend, I am Mis en Place with the special metal



And one of the two favorite Wednesday’s of the year!
The Spring Dining Guide to explore!

Meanwhile, continue to
DFD
And destroy all Mason Jars

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