Tea and Oxyura Jamaicensis...

Tea for Two (er, one)

Lunch seems to be the order of the day, and I partook of another yesterday, at the Tea Room in Leonardtown. I had not been there in years (previous experience was a wine dinner as I recall), so I gladly accepted a chance to go there for lunch yesterday. As locals will recall, it is part of the “Antique Center” near Leonardtown, Md. The association is apt, as the Tea Room is somewhat of an antique itself. They are in the process of sprucing up the outside which is sorely needed. Once inside, you enter a Victorian style set of rooms with frilly stuff around, along with (guess what?) antique style furniture. There are a couple of main eating areas and a small bar. Although it was offered, we remained at a smallish two top in the first room, which had two other tables occupied, one by a “ladies who lunch”, and the other with an extended family of some sort with at least three generations represented. You’re presented with two menus, one for the food and one for the tea. An extensive list of teas are available, both “regular” with all those goofy names, and some selection of herbal ones. When asked what we would like to drink, my companion (who had just had issues with keys and car) ordered a soothing herbal tea, and after staring longingly at the wines in the bar through the little window lattice, I sighed and said “water, please”. The gimmick with the tea is that you must select your own teacup from a hutch like affair, and then a pot is brought to the table. It’s a good size pot, probably almost antique or at least a replica.

The tea/water arrived at the table in short order, and we were asked if we were ready to order (we didn’t get the “hi I’m….” by the way). No thank you. We were still in the “catching up” stage of conversation and had not even cracked the menu. Conversation continued despite several polite queries as to whether or not we were ready to order. A better read of the table would have been appreciated. I was also asked if I wanted more water yet, which struck me as a bit odd. After finally turning to the food menu encased in plastic, you find a selection of soups (including that favorite, du jour), salads (including a Caesar – no mention of anchovy options), and sandwiches (including a crab cake). I didn’t see any watercress options for sandwiches (the tea room staple). There is also a quiche of the day. At any rate when we were finally bullied into ordering, I selected a ham sandwich (which choice of bread) with cole slaw, and my companion took a vegetarian wrap with “vegetarian bacon” (which could not be described by the server) and other vegetables were ordered. When they materialized at the table, it was mostly that. Plunk,there they were. My sandwich was encased in obviously store bought rye, rather thin, and the lower layer further compressed by cutting the sandwich, but it did contain a fairly nice portion of ham, and it was not lunch meat. The slices were so uniform that the must have been made that way, but it was thick enough and fairly tasty. There was a toothpick stuck in each half, through a couple of grapes. The vegetarian wrap was enjoyed, although we never did figure out the bacon thing.

It’s another option to Lunch in Leonardtown, and perhaps has a niche for a quiet, kind of secluded lingering lunch (once you finally order and are left to your conversations). No panache, not overly cutesy, but probably fairly reliable. They’ve been there long enough. Next time, though, I might inquire about that glass of Pinot Grigio..and keep track of your car keys!!

Oxyura Jamaicensis

After an intervening trip to the dentist to have a crown affixed in the feeders chops, MFO and I trekked over a surprisingly traffic free bridge to the Solomons to attend a social event comprised of the Southern Maryland Rotary Clubs. It was held at the Ruddy Duck, the newish (~3 months) Brew Pub near at Dowell Road. We have not been there yet on an official feeder visit, but this was a good chance to look in again. Our group occupied the raised bar area and smallish room to the side where the appetizers were being served. The overall space is rather large, and provides a view of the open kitchen which is there, but doesn’t dominate. Somehow my eye was always aware of the Pizza Oven which has a geyser of flame visible. Recently installed acoustic baffles were judged by the owner to be quite effective. That has been the main complaint I’ve received from those who have been there, so things are developing. As most folks, know, the Kelleys from Brome Howard Inn are part of the team there, and their deft hand and experience is showing. All the servers we encountered were friendly, used direct eye contact, and got your order fairly efficiently (in our case a couple of glasses of chardonnay – yes I know it’s a brew pub). The appetizers served were almost a complete run through of the appetizer items on the menu, and all that I sampled were very good. Having sort of a sports bar atmosphere, you would expect a lot of them, and there are. There were the “standard” offerings, such as the hearty Nachos, chicken wings, skins, artichoke spinach dip, which were all executed well, but also some nuances like the “Duck a Dilla”, some great calamari, and a nice find for the Feeder, the Argentinean cheese balls, dubbed “Chipas a la Carlos” in honor of the other owner. They look almost like golf balls (no dimples), but turn out to be an intriguing little package of dough (?) surrounding some very tasty mild cheese which might be goat, but that’s just a guess. The supply of appetizers was ample, kept fresh, and all were “done right”, which is exactly what you should expect from that team.

As I have mentioned before, there are some very interesting beers out there, and although I only sampled the Sandbar IPA, which was an excellent representation of that variety, copper colored, really hoppy (although I did think I got some citrus notes – sorry a wine term), and quite refreshing. I noted that it’s “Bitterness” was characterized at “60 BU’s”. One is tempted to guess that “BU’s” are Bitterness Units, but who knows. I guess if Parker has his 100 points, beers can have their BU’s. Wonder if 100 (?) is the end of their scale. As an aside, the feeder is considering getting of his wine box and start exploring the world of non-megalopolis beers. There seems to be nuances out there that are worth pursuing.

Despite heavy grazing on the appetizers, we did a “take out” Pizza for later snacking. Staying between the lines, we did the “Classic Pepperoni and Cheese”. After a relaxing cocktail on our porch the re-heated pizza on the stone was excellent. The pepperoni was spicy, tasty and not just “there” such as you get at the other pizza outlets available. Crunchy crust and snappy cheese. Nice. Wonder if they deliver…..

While sometimes a group setting such as we experienced is not representative of a single table visit, there was nothing there to indicate that. We’ll be visiting soon to explore other portions of their menu. And yes, although it was appetizers, we were.....

DFD