Sigh.....

It was a dark and stormy night (well, I don’t exactly remember, but it sounds good) on a cold Friday night in early January of 1998 when MFO and I joined a small party of friends and drove down to try the recently opened restaurant within Brome Howard Inn. The 1840’s house had been relocated from Historic St. Mary’s City, and Michael and Lisa Kelley converted it to a Bed and Breakfast, with a restaurant open to the public a few days a week. At that time, the Tavern at the Village in Wildewood was the only fine dining option around, so we were eager to try the “new place”. Upon entering, we were greeted by a somewhat surprised Lisa, as somehow we were expected the next day, Saturday. No matter, she scrambled and graciously made it work, and we had a fine meal.

That little incident was an indication of what was to become standard for the Brome Howard Inn: great food, a unique fine dining experience, and attention to customers that continued for the last 12 years. So I was saddened to learn that they have ceased operation of the a la carte restaurant, at least during the upcoming hectic catering/wedding/event season. The Kelley’s themselves will continue to be visible with their catering, event creation, and the Ruddy Duck across the river, so they will still be around, but we will miss the option of dining with them. I never had a bad meal at their restaurant, and with Lisa in the front of the house, service was always what it should be. She “get’s it”.

At least their talent for putting on events will still be available. As some know, they created my “retirement” dinner in September of ’09, which was a memorable meal. That lobster bisque still lives in my memory as one of “The Dishes”. Oh, and this was under a tent, in the rain, outdoors.

So, as we see the continuing onslaught of “box stores”, it’s too bad another option for quality food, service, décor, and a great dining experience has been eliminated. I can only hope that it will be resurrected in some form, because we need that. Please do whatever you can to support our locally owned and operated restaurants. As Mr. Dylan reminds us, “You never know what you got till it’s gone”. If I had to use one word for the Kelley’s, I think it might be “uncompromising”. Sigh….

Other..

Well, I started to list “stuff” you could do this weekend (like NOT dining at Brome Howard, damn it), but I was overwhelmed by the amount of things that are going on almost everywhere. Sotterley has a Garden Fair, there’s “Earth Day” in Leonardtown, a half marathon for all you healthy people, a lecture tonight by David Ignatius at the college, theaters of various sorts. Or, you can just pull weeds and install mulch in your garden. Geez, I wish there was something to do in Southern Maryland…

And it goes without saying that whenever we went to Brome Howard, all the diners were

DFD