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Archive for the ‘Restaurant Reviews’ Category

Word has it from Twitter @ChesBeachResort that the Easter Bunny is making a local appearance from 9:00 – 12:00 and 3:00 to 7:00 on Easter Day at the Rod N Reel Restaurant, Chesapeake Beach, MD.

We visited the Killarney House twice in one month. The food and the service at the Killarney House is simply outstanding. Over the years we have visited this establishment many times and have never been disappointed.

Each time we go back we see many of the same faces and speaks very highly of the management of the Killarney House. Linda, and Melissa just to name two have always made our visits special.

Located on West Central a very short distance from Davidsonville Rd at 584 West Central Avenue, Davidsonville, MD 21035 (410) 798-8700 the Killarney House serves special Irish faire. The corn beef and cabbage is superb, the Irish mixed grill a treat and a half. Even the crab cakes will have your mouth watering.

The restaurant’s pub serves a variety of Irish and UK beers. Bar food is part of the service just like it is in Ireland. The bar folks make a show out of their skills. The walls are filled with farming antiques, Celtic K’iche, and photographs of Ireland.

The dining room is a family place. It is visually pleasing with its giant stone fireplace, colorful windows, great photographs, and attractive decor. The food is as authentic as any we had when visiting the UK and Ireland.

It can get a little noisy in this busy place. We like to time our visits so we are ahead of the crowd. Others that like a busier ambiance will appreciate the restaurant during evenings when musical entertainment is available. Visiting their website is a must.  At the website you will find, menus, beverage lists, entertainment schedules, and even catering details and copies of newspaper restaurant reviews over the years.

I like the Killarney House because the manager is present. He is watching over the place, visiting with customers, delivering meals to tables, and making sure your dining experience is the best he can muster. You can tell the wait staff enjoy working at the Killarney House. We have never encountered a sour mood and each of the staff knows the menu well. Customers are VALUED at the Killarney House. That is obvious. The Killarney House is one of the few restaurants we have been to where everything on the menu tastes wonderful. It just is. The wait staff knows it. When the wait staff say that everything on the menu is delicious they mean it. Not one of them has ever said, “Stay away from this or that.” Good food is part of the Killarney House culture.

The restaurant is owned by the Irish Restaurant Company. A link to other restaurants owned by the company is at the Killarney House website.

The food here has a special touch that makes it very special indeed. The Killarney House is one of our five out of five restaurants for food and for service.

I just couldn’t pass this up when I saw it on Twitter. Calvert’s own Rod N Reel!

Rod ‘N’ Reel is hosting a Luck o’the Irish MURDER MYSTERY dinner & show on Saturday, March 21! Hotel packages available. Call 410-257-5596.

Sounds like a great time!

Call them!

Eileen and I have not written a review of the Rod N Reel yet but we have been there umpteen gazillion times and we held our wedding reception there 21 years ago. We have kind of a personal attachment to Mr. Donavan’s restaurant you see. We HIGHLY recommend the Rod N Reel.

(022609 – Lexington Park, MD) – Do you appreciate good Indian food as much as I do? Then you need to, no you MUST visit Bombay Garden, 21736 Great Mills Rd, Lexington Park, MD 20653 (301-866-0444.) The Sondh family has a winner here.

In my networking pursuits I like to meet with people that can help me find the right avenue toward a better job. My contact that I visited today suggested the new Indian restaurant in the old Roost. Old Lexingtonparkians will remember the old white building on Great Mills Parkway as the home of the old Roo’s Roost.

When we went inside we were immediately impressed with the decor and incredibly drawn toward the lunch buffet. There was a menu but my senses were drawn to smells I had not sensed since leaving the San Francisco Bay area in 2001.

The Tandoori Chicken was mouth watering and the other Indian dishes were as spicy and tasty as I remembered them. The service at the restaurant was excellent. Our water glasses were always full and the waiter understood my friend and I were in a conversation we did not want interrupted. You get the impression you are in a five star restaurant in the big city. These folks know the restaurant business.

The Bombay Garden is exactly the place to take a business contact, a friend, or your significant other. The atmosphere is pleasant, the music is authentic, the wait staff and the owners are top notch. The meal – I’m home now and I have the urge to return for dinner. The meal was superb. I still remember the flavors. Oh and the price will not scare you. Don’t let the Sondhs know their prices are too low!

Put the Bombay Gardens on your list of restaurants to try. You cannot go wrong at the Bombay Garden. I give it a five on my scale of favorite spots.

The old Topside restaurant is history; however, a new restaurateur is opening a new business at the same location. Port Side Restaurant opens on March 6 according to DougWeb reader, Sonny. There will be casual dining downstairs and a fun upstairs deck bar with a Key West flair.

That building is a favorite location of mine and I hope you can still get a meal on the deck during great weather! See you there.

This blog by Dr. Doug Powell, Associate Professor, Food Safety, at Kansas State University will amuse and bemuse you. It certainly gets you thinking about food safety.

BarfBlog covers the restaurant industry in perhaps a way no one else ever really has.

What can a restaurant do to compensate for poor service? What should the restaurant do for an unhappy customer?

Keep in mind I am writing this from the point of view of a customer, but a customer that has been in various service related businesses my entire career. The suggestions and impressions regarding service I have are ones that most restaurants could consider.

A manager (with a manager’s name tag) should immediately be made aware of a service related complaint and respond personally UNLESS wait staff have been trained to respond immediately and effectively. When the wait staff does satisfy a complaint the manager should be made aware of the complaint and the steps taken to satisfy the customer. The Manager should follow up in person with the customer at the end of the meal. When managers are managers it makes me feel like someone is in charge and the restaurant truly cares whether or not I have a pleasant meal.

There are reasonable and unreasonable customers. The customer is not always right. A belligerent customer, in my view, cannot be helped, does not want to be satisfied, but is so narcissistic and so impressed with himself and his performance that whatever the restaurant does it will never serve to resolve the complaint. Customers should always pursue reasonableness to allow a manager to deal effectively and to the customer’s satisfaction. The level of misbehavior by an unhappy customer should trigger an appropriate response from a pleasant respectful assurance to a call to 911. Businesses do not want jerks as customers nor do customers want to patronize jerks.

There are professional unhappy customers out to scam service related business every day. It is up to the customer to be truthful and sincere so that the wait staff or manager will take them at their word. I believe most good business people can tell a scam from the real thing. Managers of any business have a right to argue with and not respond to unreasonable requests when explanations have been offered in good faith.

What a restaurant can do to resolve a poor service complaint is entirely up to the owner and should be based on the severity of the perceived slight. The owner should sit down with managers and plan for such situations. That planning process does not imply you will receive lots of complaints, no on the other hand that planning keeps quality service in the minds of every employee and fewer complaints result. When the manager affirms there was a level of service not meeting management’s expectations or restaurant standards the manager should be pleasant, sincere, and truthful in his response.

The restaurant is NOT required to give away the store.

I can tell you the best places empower wait staff to resolve issues instantly by re-cooking, warming, or replacing food or table items, moving a customer to a different table. A good customer recognizes the staff that wait on him are the ones that resolve the little annoyances that to others might not even be a complaint. The best waiter or waitress is one that is an exceedingly good diplomat for the restaurant.

When a customer feels like he has to speak with a manager the customer should do so politely. The customer should give the manager time to investigate the complaint and speak to the wait staff. We are talking minutes here.

Restaurants can offer a credit toward the meal, a second drink, a replacement meal, a better table. In some cases customers simply want the manager to watch their table the rest of the night to make sure the rest of evening goes as planned and mistakes do not happen again. Reasonable customers understand that new wait staff have to be trained.

Many years ago Eileen and I went to a well known national steak place. It was just the two of us. We did not have reservations as this restaurant did not take reservations. We were issued a flashing pager commonly used by popular dinner spots. We went inside to have a good time and a pleasant meal. We waited almost an hour to be seated. During that wait we watched group after group go in ahead of us. It was obvious that the restaurant was seating groups of four or more first. Those groups didn’t have reservations either. By the time we were seated some of those groups were already well into their meal. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t say anything because I did not want to spoil a night out with a complaint. Restaurant managers need to know that many good customers actually over look some things just to manage the quality of their own evening regardless of the service.

I ordered steak and as I recall Eileen ordered seafood. We ordered an appetizer and before dinner drinks as well. Eileen had coffee and I had wine. Again we waited and waited. The folks in larger groups got great attention but there we sat. Some time later the drinks and appetizers arrived. No apology. We still didn’t say anything about the wait. Our meal order was taken.

The meal came at about the right moment I could not wait to get my medium-cooked steak. Huh? This is cooked rare! I thought, “Excuse me. I’m paying a PREMIUM at a famous steak restaurant, I have endured long waits for this meal and I want it to be right.” By this time even my patient partner was also a little annoyed. This is where I asked the waitress for help.

I had the immediate feeling she was either not fully empowered or improperly trained to resolve a simple problem but she gave it a shot. The steak was sent back for cooking. My spouse all but finished her meal and I was still waiting on my steak some fifteen to twenty minutes later. When the steak finally came it was cooked to specification. I did comment I thought the wait was improper and that a steak restaurant should cook everything right the first time. As I recall the waitress muttered an acknowledgment and walked off. Right about this point is where I kind of expected a manager to visit the table. (Imagine the quiet sound of crickets in the field at this point.) I’m still feeling reasonable so I say nothing more and finish my meal. We waited again for the check.

Our experience at this famous steak place was less than satisfactory as well as way too expensive. On the way out I saw a person with a manger tag and quietly asked to speak with him. I have never seen eyes glaze over so fast. I politely explained the level of service and quality of food we received. What I got was, “I’m sorry you had that experience. We will do better next time.” The end. That was it. He had to seat another large group. We politely left the restaurant. This happened in California way back in 1996 I think. We have never been back to a restaurant in that chain. Service like this is systemic. It is based on restaurant policy. Unless I was taken as a guest I was never going back no matter how cute the commercials were. My perception was that this chains policies probably caused the behaviors we experienced so they didn’t deserve my business.

What should have happened? The manager should have been all over my my issues with thoughtful sincerity. He should have asked for an opportunity to speak with the wait staff. When he found substabnce to my complaint he should have offered us a coupon to use during a return visit. He could have also shaved some of the cost from the night’s tab. In my case I would have been happy that he simply acknowledged the poor service without glazing over.

Customers shouldn’t make a scene in a restaurant and restaurant manager should do everything within their power to make corrections, empower employees, and assuage bad feelings that might affect return business. All too often the bigger chains just write off the customers because after all there are more of those out there. Truth be told however, I have had plenty of times since 1996 to tell my restaurant story. There are plenty of better stake places.

This great spot was written about in May at SOMD.COM in an article entitled “Café offers coffee, treats in Prince Frederick.” We stopped in for coffee this morning and hope to be back for a breakfast croissant or a lunch wrap. What a great spot!

Located on Main Street within walking distance of every county and state building the Main Street Cafe is a superb location for friends to meet or to just sit and watch the world go by. The coffee is excellent and the folks running this spot do it with conviction and excellent taste. The customer service is tops and the coffee is even better. Next time you are in Prince Frederick and thinking coffee think Main Street Cafe, 132 Main Street. Definitely a four on our scale. (Not open on weekends.)

I am very fond of breakfast buffet’s. Perhaps it’s because I can have seconds of scrambled eggs or maybe it’s just the seconds. The Captain’s Table has a superb breakfast buffet. My spouse described it as typical but I think it is more “American breakfast” southern style with biscuits and gravy, pancakes, candied fruit, fresh fruit, bacon, corn beef hash, scrambled eggs, multiple types of potatoes and on and on. Yum. The coffee is excellent.

This morning we dropped in before church at 8:30 AM. Captain’s Table opens at 7:00 AM. Now that’s breakfast. The waitresses are excellent. Attentive, polite, experts. We were shown to our table and walked directly to the buffet. We were able to eat and get our bill paid within thirty minutes.

The ambiance is “local marina.” After you have successfully found the Captains Table you are offered views of the marina, marine paintings by a well known local painter sold right off the walls of the restaurant. The restaurant is behind the Solomon’s Comfort Inn. Allow extra time to find the place your first and second time. Finding the restaurant is worth the effort.

We have been to the Captain’s Table twice for breakfast. We have ordered from the menu and used the breakfast bar. The restaurant is open until 9:00 PM and I am told it is a resoundingly successful night spot for evening meals. The Captain’s Table is on my list of older, quaint, and colloquially local restaurants. The building and the crew have character. The step down into the harbor water-front view table area always gets you a polite, “Watch your step!” You can tell from the bar patrons and customers that almost everybody has been there before. It’s a place where you just get that warm and fuzzy home-cooked feeling and one where everyone is welcome. Very few restaurants actually achieve giving the patrons the feeling they are taking a meal and entertainment in the owner’s water-front rec room or home. This restaurant does. We were properly greeted and even thanked for coming by more than one employee. The Captain’s Table is a great place to start your day. We heartily recommend it as a four on our scale of regularly visited eating establishments. It’s one awesome local spot you might otherwise miss if you were not looking for it. The local folks all know where it is.

The Captain’s Table is located at 275 Love Rd., Solomon’s Island, Maryland. 410-326-2772.

It is a consumer’s right. Oprah’s program yesterday 10/15/08 was focused on rudeness. One of her guests was the Waiter from WaiterRant.net. I heard some some things from the Waiter that just did not ring true. After listening to the rant I was left with the distinct impression that he as a waiter wants control over the service experience when I visit for a meal at his restaurant.  I will be rude if I make a special request, ask to see a manager, complain about food quality, ask for special seating, or just exercise my rights as a consumer.

Hogwash.

The quality of service I receive at a restaurant sets that restaurant apart from all the others. The waiter’s service determines whether or not my restaurant experience is a happy one just as the quality of the food does. The waiter that does his or her best to exceed my expectations makes me feel welcome and appreciated as a customer.  After my visit to a good to exceptional restaurant I go out of my way to tell my friends. Exceptional service also encourages me to return.

A restaurant belongs to the restaurant owner. It does not belong to the waiter. When a waiter is unhappy about working conditions, the distribution of tips and wages then he or she has a decision to make about where he or she wants to work. That right is exercised just as the consumer exercises his or her right to object to poor service and perhaps never return to a bad restaurant.

As a consumer I am not responsible for your income even when you deliver shoddy service. It is not the customer’s responsibility to properly compensate the waiter. It shouldn’t be anyway. A restaurant owner should be worrying about the restaurant’s reputation and should compensate employees fairly. An employees contribution to the bottom line is reflected in good tips. Owners need to balance their need for survival while considering the need to attract good people to work in their restaurants.  When an owner cannot attract good people because he insists that wait staff take all of their income from tips that owner probably shouldn’t be in business.

There is no question that some big shots walk into restaurants and retail establishments and treat service workers like dirt. These people are insensitive dolts. You generally do not want these customers to return. There is little if any merit to satisfying someone that can’t or won’t be satisfied. A restaurant owner and his service employees should want to know about poor service or food quality that drives good customers away however. The best waiters and restaurant owners can tell the difference between a good customer and a bad customer. Managers should deal personally with the bad customers and allow the wait staff to continue excelling with the good customers.  Good managers do not run from any customer as one admitted to doing on the Oprah Show.

Good customers rarely have issues but most of us do have expectations that we assume good owners and good employees also have in mind. These are a few examples:

1. When I go to a steak restaurant the expectation is that the steak delivered to my table is cooked correctly the first time, not the second time.

2. When I go to any restaurant I expect it to be staffed appropriately so that the wait for service is reasonable and not excessive.

3. The final charge for the meal is consistent with the food quality and service delivered.

4. The restaurant is clean. Employees wash their hands and avoid personal behaviors that offend customers.

5. The wait staff are attentive to customer needs and do their very best to anticipate customer requirements.

6. The wait staff are happy to take a complaint to a manager or to respond appropriately to a complaint if already empowered to do so. Keep in mind not every good customer wants to complain. I think many good customers do not want a scene and avoid confrontation particularly if the behaviors encountered are really inappropriate. Good restaurant managers are on the floor watching for good service and poor service so that customers are not required to complain. I like to see a manager on the floor chatting with his or her customers.

7. Good restaurants have clean restrooms.

8. Good restaurants control the behavior of bad customers.

9. As a customer I should be able to ask for something special and expect a polite negotiation or a reasonable explanation if the service request cannot be met.

The last thing I want to see or hear is attitude from the wait staff directed at issues outside of my control as a consumer.  When this happens it is an indication to me that the wait staff need to look for other occupations, a better restaurant to work for, or require service training.

Lastly when I do not leave a tip, it is because my experience in the restaurant was unacceptable It isn’t rude. The waiter may not like it, but it isn’t rude.

What attracted us were the street signs that George Washington had eaten at Gadsby’s. According to the history written in the menu Dr. Gadsby’s tavern was the center of political entertainment form many years in Washington. The tavern has an annual birthday party for George Washington. President Washington actually attended with Martha in 1798 and 1799. President Thomas Jefferson held his inaugural here in 1801.

The restaurant was an easy walk from our hotel. It was just off King St behind the PNC bank. When we arrived the restaurant had been open for dinner for about thirty minutes. We contacted a very nice fellow at the front desk. Smiles and no pointing! My wife wanted to know if there was outdoor seating since she had been inside all day. These folks had not planned to open their back patio but did so just for us.

We were escorted through the dark early colonial restaurant to a beautifully decorated back patio. The restaurant was playing classical music from the local 90.9 FM radio station which went a long way toward masking the sound of a large air conditioner on the roof and the jets from Reagan International flying over head after take off.

Eileen ordered the Seafood Newburg and I ordered the Mixed Grill and Peanut Soup. Kyle, our waiter helped us make the choices. Kyle knew the history of the place as well as the food. He was several notches up in experience and service from your average waiter. The menu starts at $20 and went to $36 for entre’s, appetizers start at $8. We left the place after tip very much enjoying our evening for just above $100. I have to tell you the quality of the food was excellent. Plenty to eat and a real taste treat. Kyle took exceptional care of us.

We had an absolutely wonderful meal and I made a point of sharing that with Kyle and his manager. On our rating scale we give the restaurant a five out of five. Gadsby’s Tavern is a genuine eating establishment! When visiting Alexandria, VA take the time to visit.

This Flickr slide show shows three shots of typical Alexandria and then several shots of the back patio for the Gadsby Tavern.

This week I was in old-town Alexandria, VA with my wife. After dropping her off at a class she was taking I checked us in at our hotel. After paying $18 a day for parking in addition to a hefty room rate and $9.99 for 24 hours of WiFi I went to their restaurant for breakfast making it just ahead of the 10:30 deadline. (Bottled water in the rooms is $3.50. The hotel is a marketing and sales paradise.)

There was one couple in the entire place. Quiet, not busy. I walked up to the check in desk. Two restaurant employees were standing together chatting but did not acknowledge me. Truly I had the feeling I was invisible or had walked up to the wrong desk. I had to ask, “Am I on time for the buffet?” Silence for a good 30 seconds. Some conversation was exchanged in a foreign language between the ladies and then one said, “Sure.” She walked me to a table and pointed to it. What is with the pointing thing in restaurants? She asked if I wanted coffee I said yes and walked to the buffet.

The distinct impression left with me was that this place was a “pretendaurant.” An open space in a building pretending to be a restaurant. It was a heck of a surprise since this was a Sheraton Hotel. Actually I think I was a little shocked. The food was average. As buffets go it was nothing special. Imagine my disbelief when I paid some $16 for what amounted to a $6.99 meal. They did give me an opportunity to rush back for more food before it was all taken away but I declined. “Wouldn’t want to put you out,” I thought to myself. On the way out I stopped at the lobby coffee area to take a cup to my room leaving half a cup at the table. The regular coffee in the dispenser was empty! Rats. Looking back at my table I watched my coffee cup head back to the kitchen with a waitress.

This was a pretendaurant. Expensive, impersonal, not really a restaurant and definitely a two on our scale. Service was unimportant. Customers are an inconvenience and the employees had other things to do. I’m going to hoof it away from the Hoof and Fin.

Eileen and I met after work one Thursday afternoon at Solomon’s Pier Restaurant in Solomon’s Island Maryland. We have eaten here many times over the years and keep coming back. Perhaps we take the spot for granted. This time I paid closer attention to the things I like and don’t like about restaurants.

We loved it! I couldn’t wait to say it. Our waitress was Megan. Megan ROCKS! The panoramic view of the Patuxent River at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay is awesome. Views from inside and outside the restaurant made this a preferred destination for us. The good news is that this restaurant is a great place to eat as well as one with ambiance and scenic views.

When we came in the front door an attentive hostess was there to greet us. No waiting or wondering just a pleasant greeting and NO pointing! We asked for a table outdoors since the weather was beautiful. Within a few minutes lovely Megan was there getting our drink order. Megan has this waitress thing down. She is attentive but not smothering, polite, positive, sure of herself and she knew the menu. Eileen always asks a difficult question about the menu. In many places what we get are blank stares but Megan gave my wife a direct answer. We observed that all of the staff at Solomon’s Pier enjoyed their work.

Eileen and I enjoyed the weather under a deck umbrella. We watched the boats and osprey and listened to the water lap on the piling below. You could hear yourself think. There was music from the bar on the deck but it wasn’t annoying. We also got a surprising benefit. The Patuxent Naval Air Station is on the other side of the river. Navy aircraft of all shapes and sizes land at the base. I enjoy observing military aircraft in flight. The vantage point at Solomon’s Pier allowed us to watch these great aircraft landing and taking off. Wow! Our own air show. It wasn’t too loud but I could understand how some who do not appreciate planes as I do might find the occasional passing roar an annoyance. No worse, and a lot less annoying than the roar of a diesel speed boat at Stoney’s up the road however.

I ordered the Pier Salad. Super presentation, meat cooked to specification, and fresh garden greens. The salad was served in a large red salad bowl dressing on the side. There was plenty in the bowl to eat. No skimping. No sir. It was more than a salad. It really was a great meal. Eileen had a crab cake and a house salad. I could tell she was absorbed in the flavor. The Solomon’s Pier is just a pleasant place to share an afternoon or evening and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. We got more than our money’s worth. Part of the formula for running a great restaurant must be that you want the customer to take away good memories. We have always thought the Solomon’s Pier does just that.

Parking was plentiful near the restaurant. Set aside the time to walk through Solomon’s enjoying the sights and the shops. Take in the Calvert Marine Museum if its open. This little town also has some other exciting eating establishments. You will want to come back. You can’t go wrong at Solomon’s Pier.

My wife and I visited Harrison’s Chesapeake House while spending a B&B weekend on Tilghman Island, MD the weekend of August 17. We rated Harrison’s a 3 – These folks are having a bad day and we might choose to go back again someday. Eileen truly enjoyed her meal but as for me I intend to steer clear.

We arrived between 1:00 o’clock and 1:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon to have lunch. The first thing I saw was an entertaining sign about service just outside the front door. Maybe they believe it. We went inside and were greeted by five employees all sitting down enjoying a smoke. The ash trays were (yuk) full, and the place wreaked. One asked, “Would you like inside or out.” We asked for outside. The employee pointed – “Go that way.” What’s with the pointing thing? This is the second place we have been to where staff point.

We pointed ourselves in the same direction and walked around a hall corner finding ourselves in a maintenance corridor. At the end of the corridor near the exterior door we were apparently supposed to exit were two non-uniformed employees. The one to the right was holding up the wall behind him and the one on the left was reclining in a dirty linen basket just outside the washroom. Honestly it was like running customer-no-service gauntlet. Pushing open the door we found ourselves outside. It was not immediately clear where we were or where we were supposed to go. At this point I was ready to leave. I had a suspicion I was going to pay a premium for lunch but I really didn’t want to pay these people.

We came to the back of the structure and lo and behold there was the outdoor seafood-crab porch alongside the harbor that we had heard about. We walked up to the entrance and waited. There was no response to our presence so we assumed it was informal and found a place to sit. We then waited, and waited some more. About ten minutes went buy and someone finally said they would be with us in a few minutes. About ten minutes later sure enough. A drink order was taken and about ten minutes later we had our drinks and ordered a meal. About fifteen or twenty minutes later our meal was served.

My wife loved her shrimp. I ordered the Maui Fish Sandwich which was two pieces of fried fish on a white hamburger bun served with french fries. Nothing special and not worth the wait or the price. I had also ordered cheese and pickles as a side. The side dish didn’t show up until I had eaten the fish. The clincher for me was when the drink refill never came. As the waitress gave us the check she suddenly remembered the drink. “Don’t bother,” I said.

Now my wife is much more forgiving. In her view the two waitresses were very busy and the long wait for food was forgivable. She tipped the waitress after I had paid the exact amount of the bill. When “to insure promptness” doesn’t happen I believe in no tipping. Appreciate my predicament. We’re here celebrating our anniversary. The waitress got her tip and I paid sixteen dollars each for a lunch one might expect to purchase from a sidewalk vendor at a fisherman’s wharf. Pricey and not worth my time.

This outdoor facility is a very small part of the total business at Harrisons. I might go back some evening to see if formal dining is better than informal dining. My spouse certainly will. I did write the owner an email before I wrote the review and I would be very interested in hearing the experience of others.

Breezy Point Grill, Wine and Spirits

This is one of our neighborhood’s best kept secrets, revealed first to DougWeb readers. Every neighborhood needs one of these establishments. Mr. Tucker opened the place a few years ago and has steadily made improvements. Mr. Tucker’s family once owned the famous Tucker’s Restaurant up on Highway 4 near Wayson’s Corner. The Breezy Point Grill and Store is a very classy neighborhood restaurant. The store is also a place to buy fine wine’s and many designer beers, sodas, and mixers. There are the typical food and necessity items found in most corner stores.

What sets Mr. Tucker’s place apart from the rest is the deli and the restaurant. My wife and I enjoy Sunday morning breakfast at the Breezy Point. We both usually order the Western Omelet. Yum! The cooks at the Breezy Point Grill know how to make breakfast. Two slices of wheat toast, home fries, and an omlette that will make your eyes pop. And it is GOOD! Last Sunday when we went we even saw Mr. Tucker there and got  a chance to thank him for the great meal.

Life just doesn’t get any better than having a quaint neighborhood eating establishment just a few miles from home. Especially when we have to travel at least seven miles to get anywhere else! But mind you the Breezy Point Grill is a hopping place. When we arrived there was a line at the register with people ordering breakfast to go. You go in and find a table and order breakfast at the cash register. We had a couple of cups of Seattle’s Best coffee to wash it down.

This is the kind of place you are apt to meet friends and acquaintances from the neighnborhood. You might even make new friends.  All of the employees of the place make it what it is. Bob sells the luckiest lottery tickets and Jason makes a dynamite pizza. Oh yes, you can call in and pick up sandwiches and pizza.

I don’t do the place justice. This is one spot you have to experience. The Breezy Point Grill is located on Breezy Point Rd, just off Route 261 on the road to Breezy Point Marina.

Breezy Point Grill sign and Boars Head Meat delivery truck.

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Eileen and I took in the 20th Annual Cardboard Boat Race this afternoon Saturday June 21, 2008. Proceeds to this event went to the Special Olympics.  What a turn out and great fun.

Afterward we went for a brief lunch at the Schooner’s Landing, 14 Tilghman St, Oxford, MD, 21654, 410-226-0160. We had never been to Oxford and never been to Schooner’s Landing.

We had parked our car in the small municipal parking lot next to the restaurant.  Parking in Oxford and later for us in St. Michael’s was a REAL HASSLE.  I would equate it with trying to park a car on Main Street in Disneyland. It was hot, the town was crowded, but we got in early and were seated by Lee. That’s her name. Not really sure of the spelling. Lee made the whole experience FUN and worthwhile.

We were seated in outdoor section of restaurant. Eileen ordered a crab cake salad and I ordered a cheeseburger cooked medium. Our table was across from the bar and at the table adjoining a larger multi-family group having a great time. We offered to share our table with the group when more folks arrived. It was a big family day in Oxford after all!

Eileen ordered a crab cake salad and enjoyed it. “It was OK.” I had a cheeseburger ordered medium. My cheeseburger arrived medium rare and the bun was the type that turned to mush when it hugged a tomato and juicy piece of meat so I ended up eating it with a fork. It was served with a pickle and few chips. Lunch was served in blue plastic baskets lined with paper. The wait was average to almost a bit long. I thought the cheeseburger was a bit expensive especially when I got it medium rare. Great hamburgers also need a great bun and if a lunch is going to be served in a basket and the chef is going to make mistakes it shouldn’t be $8.99.

But we really didn’t care and I later told the manager we were very pleased. That was BECAUSE waitress Lee was SUPERB. She was an ambassador for Oxford, the Eastern Shore, and made our lunch fun. She was there when we needed a waitress and wasn’t hovering over us when we didn’t want one. She also went out of her way to find a local map for us so we could find our way around. So given where we were, the crowded busy atmosphere everywhere including the restaurant, that it was lunch not dinner, and that LEE ROCKS we give our experience a 4 out of 5.

After lunch we took the ferry across the creek and drove to St. Michael’s for the afternoon. We took in the Chesapeake bay Museum at $13 a head and managed to FINALLY find a parking place near a designer coffee place later in the afternoon. We are going back to St. Michaels to try again but it was over crowded. Parking was impossible, drivers were dangerous on city streets and the absence of police to deal with it was the elephant in the room.

Give the Schooner’s Landing a shot. The manager was a good sport and the young people waiting tables REALLY care about their customers. That’s a good combination regardless of whether the chef had a bad hamburger day.

(At least since September 2008 we had heard that Topside closed. The latest word as of February 9 is that a new restaurant and bar will be reopening March 6 under new management and with a new name. Port Side Restaurant is casual dining down stairs and a fun upstairs deck bar with a key west flair.)

My wife and I took my sister to the Topside Inn and Restaurant, across the street from the famous Pirates Cove restaurant in Galesville, MD on Saturday May 26 during the long Memorial Day weekend. It was Linda’s 50th birthday.

I wanted a place that was unique to Southern Maryland and I wanted to eat outside. It was a glorious day. The Topside is in a very old structure. Parking is a bit tough after hours but this afternoon we found a spot in front. Walking in the front door you negotiate floors and steps that leave you wondering if you actually had learned to walk. I suppose the building’s age adds character to the experience, but please watch your step!

We were greeted immediately by a smiling waitress ready to seat us in the dark restaurant and TV bar on the first floor. I asked if there was a seat upstairs. Much to my amazement the waitress seemed discouraged and handed the menus to my sister who had walked in ahead of me and said,”Take these upstairs and they will seat you up there.” The waitress shrugged and pointed saying, “Go go that way. Around the corner.” A tall young man also working in the restaurant responded to the confusion. He took the menus and walked us upstairs. He turned us over to Sarah.

Sarah seated us in the outside deck area with a view of the water between Galesville and Shadyside. At that point the experience improved and we relaxed. Sarah took extraordinary care of us during our lunch at the Topside. I’d recommend it to anyone. We had a chance to observe the other wait staff upstairs and were very impressed at the way they kept customers happy.

My wife and sister had soups and large seafood salads. These were not tiny little salads with a few pieces of fish or crab. These were BIG salads. Each of my guests were very satisfied with their meal. I had the corn beef Reuben with optional onion rings. My sandwich was a little wanting on the corn beef and a tiny bit too oily for my taste but it was good. I’d give it a B. The onion rings were an A+ so the experience averaged out well. We completed the meal celebrating with vanilla ice cream sundaes smothered in butterscotch sauce. Sarah took the obligatory fiftieth birthday pictures.

The restaurant wasn’t crowed since we arrived well before the regular dinner rush. A few minutes before we left a guitar player/singer arrived to entertain everyone. We were not sure what he was playing just that it was rather depressing music and a little loud for us. We did in all fairness tell him when he asked that we had an open mind as to our taste in music, Well almost anything.

We didn’t order alcohol with the meal. The meal before tip was in around $65. A shade more that you you pay at the new Pantera Bread in Prince Frederick with a whole lot more ambiance. On a scale of one to five the Topside gets a four for lunch and we will be back for dinner someday and ask for Sarah. Sarah rocks.

Topside Inn And Restaurant
1004 Galesville Rd
Galesville, MD 20765
Phone: (410) 867-1321