alchemywunderkid's Profile
Best destination town on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay?
Thanks to all who replied! Next time, I'm asking for tips earlier than a few days before we leave, looks like I missed some great tips. Anyway, to properly thank all who gave us advice, I figure I owe you all a report on our travels:
St. Michael's was to be our destination. It had come up in some previous browseings and Albinoni's thumbs up sealed the deal. We stayed at the Old Brick Inn, which I highly recommend, though in fairness I have to say they upgraded our room for free, so my luxury to cost ratio might be off. Apparently the time to go to this town is Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon. We very well could have been the only guests at the Inn, and the town was empty. Sweet.
At the advice of the Innkeeper (sorry Chris OC, I had forgotten what you recommended... I plan on buying a pencil and paper at some point in my life :), we headed down Mulberry St. to St. Michael Steak & Crab House for a dozen steamed and a delicious order of Clams Annie (check the website, it tastes as good as it sounds).
For dinner, we had planned on hitting up Bistro St. Michael's, but the latest seating they had was 7:45. Considering we came about this information by phone while exiting the aforementioned Crab House at 6:45, this was not an option. In fact, the only place we found that would be open late enough for us was a brick-oven pizza place a stone's throw from the Bistro. Apparently, this town closes early on Sunday evening.
So dinner was OK... but the next day was better!
Breakfast at the Old Brick Inn was a good notch above your normal B&B fare. However, the best part of our culinary adventure was upcoming. We rented bikes and cruised the area. On the way back into St. Michael's, we pulled our pedal-brakers into to Big Al's Seafood Inc. for a bite to eat. This was by far my favorite part of St. Michael's.
Maybe it was the crabcakes... they were little green-tinged discs of unbreaded-then-deep-fried awesomeness... or maybe it was the extra tarter sauce that the lovely woman at the counter made freshly for me when I looked despondently down at the single quarter-pound plastic cup that was allegedly enough for my fried clams (I loves me the tartar). But in the end maybe it was the fact that our lunch was being fried alongside the lunches of a half-dozen-strong repairman crew who knew the lovely lady behind the counter by name. I am always jazzed when it's a certified local place.
Our only disappointment with the town was Justine's ice cream parlor, though this is only because we were told their milkshake machine was down and their milkshake/smoothie menu looked phenomenal! Oh, and I'm disappointed that we passed on the double-yolked Amish eggs on the way north... d'oh.
Sorry for the wall of text. Thanks much to all who replied!
Best destination town on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay?
Thanks to all for the replies! I figured I'd get a few leads here or there, but this has been amazing.
Not sure exactly where we're going yet, but the one thing I'm upset about is that I'll be missing the cardboard boat race in Oxford by a week (thanks for the link newfie). Something that ridiculous has to be fun!
Bob, thanks for the tip. I think we'll be sticking to the inland side, but it's great to hear about other destinations. Logged for future exploration.
Best destination town on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay?
Thanks albinoni and newfie, I appreciate the feedback.
St. Michael's had popped up in my searching previous to posting and I'll certainly take another look. And once I'm home from work and can spend the time, I'll be checkin' out Oxford, sounds right up my alley.
Any recco's for specific places to eat in Oxford?
Best destination town on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay?
Hey folks!
We're looking for a town somewhere on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay to spend an afternoon and an overnight on the way back to NYC from Virginia.
Our priorities are:
1) Awesome seafood (lunch)
2) Awesome seafood (dinner)
3) Romantic and classy lodgings
4) Awesome seafood (after-dinner snack)
I guess I don't need to mention that the lady-friend and I are looking for a good food town, huh?
I looked around a lot and basically found myself, without knowing the terrain, quite lost. We're up for anything, so fire away! I thank you all in advance for sharing with us your knowledge of your corner of the country.
More and better to all,
alchemywunderkid
LES favorites
It's only worth $0.02, but Little Giant is the tops!
Their cocktails were awesome and the Swine of the Week rocks!
Jellyfish search
If you are looking for anything Chinese that you dare not cook (probably because you don't know where to buy/how to cook it/don't want to cook), you can find it at Congee Bowery or Congee Village. I like the service at Congee Village better.
What do you do with 5-spice powder?
My lunch-time chinese place has a 5-spice eggplant dish. When I had it it was sub-mulligan, but that's because it was over-cooked mush.
Chopped eggplant, stir-fryed with a bit of chopped tofu, the both of them previously sprinkled with 5-spice powder and a dash of Mirin, makes a formidable dish.
Add bean sprouts, shaved ginger, and lime zest to taste.
Ragu Bolognase
As someone who has not had the privilege of enjoying authentic ragu bolognese, I can only grasp at straws reagarding "true" bolognese gravy, but I knows what I likes.
A certain fat, red-headed TV chef did a nice ragu that used a sweated miropoux, equal parts ground beef/pork/turkey, some wine, then just enough tomato to bring the sauce together. The addition of some (not too much) milk at the tail end of the cooking is cited as "a celebration of the lactatiousness" typical to Emilia-romagnian cuisine.
I'll buy it.
Though is the meat traditionally chopped, not ground? Also, what meat(s) is(are) traditional?
What to do with Lots of Mediocre Bordeaux?
I'm gonna agree on the marinade issue here, but add the recommendation of a real tough and gamey meat as the marinee coupled with lots of smokey heat.
Something like a leg of lamb, marinated overnight with lots of wine, onion, garlic, and rosemary will come out phenomenal once cooked over a wood fire without carrying too much of the wine's flavor, but benefiting much from the marinade all the same.
Plus, glugging a liter of wine over a delicious piece of meat has a certain, mixed, primal yet civilized charm.
