Number One
The Willows (at the junction of Routes 4 and 235) has been dark for well over a year (?). My last memory of it was that it had been little more than a biker bar (including smoke) that also served food. A while ago there was some buzz about “returning it to its original glory” what and whenever that may have been. That never seemed to materialize, and a few months ago signs sprouted in the parking lot claiming that it was “under new management” and would be “opening soon”. On the occasional times I went past within the last couple of months there had indeed been cars and contractor trucks in the parking lot. Nothing that I could discern had changed outside at least. Inquiries to my network revealed nothing of its intent. So earlier this week I was notified of a new sign so I checked it out.
So tomorrow (or today depending on when you see this) it will apparently be open. The fact that the sign is on a “Bud Light” banner (no doubt supplied by a distributor) does not lead me to believe that it will be anything more than what it was. But, I am jumping to conclusions and will wait to see the reality. Depending on my First Friday plans, I may stick my head in for a peek.
Number two....
Readers may remember that the “Tea Room” at our Antiques Center (in Leonardtown) has undergone a couple of changes, the last being Cahil’s Café, a scant few months ago with the usual hype about “turning things around”, excited about “new opportunities” etc. Well, guess what. All of a sudden (yes, on Facebook) I saw a notice about Lynn’s Café opening in Leonardtown; an extension of Lynn’s Catering in Mechanicsville. This was surprising to me since Cahil’s had only had a cup of tea (pun intended). So, I made a research trip over there, and sure enough, place looked vacant, with no signage indications of occupancy by Lynn’s.
But, sleuth that I am, I snuck around back and sure enough there was a catering truck.
And, a day later or so I saw a posting on Facebook that somebody had eaten there, so apparently despite nothing on the outside, something was going on in the inside. So today I was going to meet somebody for a meeting at eleven, so we decided to check it out after that. As I have told you all many times, visiting/reviewing a new restaurant within 120 days of opening (a kind of rule of thumb) is unfair as “kinks” need to be worked out and rough edges smoothed, kitchens tuned, servers getting used to stuff and so on.
So this was no more than an interesting chance to see if anything appeared different or some indications of future performance. Upon entering you wouldn’t know you weren’t in any of the versions of “the Tea Room”, (apparently) same linens, the rack of tea pots may have been moved but still visible, the cute little bar (which I have never enjoyed) and the front and back rooms. We chose to sit in the “back room” seeking a little less public and visible table. So we were seated in the back corner. A server who announced only her name (thank goodness) gave us the menus and asked if we would like anything to drink. Knowing they had a liquor license we asked about what wines were available. Not sure. Well, if you have chardonnay that would be nice. Off to check, and upon returning said they’d only had said license a few days, and only had a Savignon something, both red and white. Sauvignon Blanc? Yes! That’s it.
While she was getting that we looked at the menu and decided it was very close to Cahil’s, pretty much same selections of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrées, and so forth. Some of the wording I believe was exact. Well, okay, being open a few days, you might expect that. A few words had been changed, such as now “Lynn’s famous crab dip” and stuff like that. The glasses of wine arrived along with an explanation that her age prevented her from pouring so it took a bit longer.
As usual, we weren’t ready to order so she left and we talked about important things and events for a bit before choosing. Upon presenting the menus, when asked if there were specials, she replied no, but everything was really good, and she was as "picky an eater you will ever meet". Really.. Finally we decided on a lighter lunch so ordered an order of Spanakopita, the cheeseburger sliders (4), and I got my second favorite salad the iceberg wedge, with the usual description of crumbled blue cheese, bacon and tomato bits and blue cheese dressing.
Conversation sort of blurred how long it took to get served, but it wasn’t to the point of craning your neck toward the kitchen kind of thing. All dishes were served at once which was fine for us. The sliders had good taste, but weren’t warm enough to melt the cheese. The spanakopita was fairly tasty and filled with spinach and feta cheese in a light phyllo dough with grated cheese on top. Then, there was the wedge. A wedge it was, maybe a third of the head, pretty large. The crumbles of cheese on it were white, and the “side” cups of dressing had that tell tale specks of green in it. A quick taste confirmed it was Ranch (one of my LEAST favorite) dressings, and the cheese was Feta. Tomatoes were slices of roma tomatoes. But, what the heck, we started eating and enjoyed the burgers and the spanakopita. About that time she stopped by with the “is everything okay?”. Well, no. ranch dressing and feta. She apologized and took the dish back to the kitchen. Same dish came back with blue cheese dressing in the little cups, but still feta. Oh well.
Other dishes we saw looked okay. I don’t remember Cahil’s menu exactly but these people seem enamored of sweet potato fries, they appear quite often, and indeed are a part of a dish called “a trio of fries” which we saw delivered as a pile of “regular” fries, those orangey Sweet Potato version, and the waffle fries. Sandwiches are offered on either Kaiser or hoagie rolls. What’s wrong with bread?
Anyway, this first visit was probably too early, and results were about what might be expected. I wish them well, go take a look, tell them where improvements might be made, they really need and want to know.
So two places fulfilled the first tenant of going bankrupt (I really don’t know why they originally closed), but it’s interesting that two fledgling restaurateurs don’t believe it. Good on them..
DFL
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