Tag Archives: Food

The Mill, Hershey PA – November 22, 2014

Although we had plans for at least the last month and a half to try this place out, we had yet to get there… On a Saturday afternoon, we had been in Hershey, PA with the intention of meeting up with some relatives of mine but those plans fell through – so I needed to feed my sweet tooth with a batch of chocolate chip cookies from Chocolate World before we headed back out. We were starving and decided to take a drive down to Shady Maples Smorgasbord straight from there so we plugged in the info on the GPS. So, following the GPS’s directions, we made a turn off of Hersheypark Drive and at the end of the road, where we were being directed to make a left turn, sat a beautiful brick building with a small sign in front of it labeled The Mill. Located at 810 Old West Chocolate Avenue, Hershey PA 17033.  Surprised to have found it by accident, the decision to veer off and go inside instead was a quick and easy one. This building previously served as the historic Curry Feed Mill, established in the 1880’s. And while it now serves as a restaurant, it still holds onto its old interesting charm with its exposed brick and stone walls, steel bar tops, hardwood floors, wooden beams, aluminum pipe venting, modern track lighting and fireplace.  Also, in keeping with authenticity (in my opinion), the ingredients used here are fresh from local farms, the sauces, etc. are made fresh and the meats are smoked in-house everyday.

IMG_1778.JPGWhen we walked in we were quickly greeted by a hostess who escorted us to the lower level for seating. Our waitress was soft-spoken yet swift and knowledgeable. We got there during their lunch time frame (3:00 pm) which offers a somewhat shortened set of menu options and lighter faire. While studying the menu some and in addition to the water and sodas we ordered, Jonathan and I decided to try a couple drinks from the bar – I had a White Russian and Jonathan tried the Apple Cider Martini. Both were mixed perfectly. Very tasty. We also wanted to try an appetizer or two so I went with the Deviled Eggs. These aren’t the usual white eggs with the yellow deviled yolk.. Theirs is what is usually referred to as a pickled beet egg – dark pink in color and the deviled yolk was somewhat of a lavender color. They were garnished with bits of bacon, micro greens and beets – and off to the side was a spicy honey dipping sauce, or perhaps a drizzle(?). The flavor of the egg was also much more like that of a pickled egg – more vinegary. I like pickled eggs, so I enjoyed them, however I can’t eat very spicy foods so I didn’t use the dip/drizzle. Jonathan chose the steamed Johnny’s Blues Wild Maine Mussels for his appetizer, which also include (for flavor and garnish) red curry, garlic cloves, The Mill’s own house smoked sausage, lemon oil, basil and wontons.

IMG_1779.JPGSince I was still lunch-minded, I went the sandwich route and chose the Mill Standard Burger, which is a Brioche-Certified Angus Beef burger usually topped with Porter Cheddar cheese, bacon, an onion ring, and house-made dijonaise and barbecue sauces. It’s also accompanied by a side of fresh-cut fries. It was SO good, that I literally could not put it down. LOL! Maybe I was extra-hungry, I don’t know but after the first bite, my plate never saw it. 🙂 Jonathan chose the grilled-to-perfection, 6 oz. Chateau Steak which is listed to be served with mushrooms, Mill-cut fries and a red wine reduction sauce, however he chose to substitute his fries with the mashed potatoes. Here I say again, kudos to the grill chef, this steak was perfect! Medium-rare with just the right amount of pink, wonderfully seasoned, already-sliced and presented beautifully with the mushrooms, mashed potatoes and sauce. My daughters love grilled salmon and it happened to be listed on the kids’ menu, so they both chose that, while my youngest chose a garden salad for her side and my oldest chose the mashed potatoes. I had a small bite of the salmon and mashed potatoes and loved both.
We indeed enjoyed everything we tried on this visit! Our compliments to Executive Chef Joe Mishler, Line Cook Frank Hadley and the ladies at the bar on the lower level. For the delicious food, great service, comfortable atmosphere and reasonable price, I’m quite satisfied with our experience here and I’m certain that we’ll be making trips back and bringing others. 😀

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Jasper’s, Largo MD – November 15, 2014

I took the 1-hour, 45 minute trip down to Jasper’s, in Largo, MD for a Saturday night birthday dinner with my relatives that had originally been planned to be held at Maggiano’s, in D.C. but got switched at the last minute. (Please note, to find this restaurant by GPS, you may have to put in Upper Marlboro, MD instead of Largo, MD…GPS does not seem to be able to locate it, using the latter.) Since there had been no reservation made in advance at Jasper’s, the wait for seating was somewhere around an hour. When I walked into Jasper’s, I noticed that it was a pretty large and well-lit place with a fully-stocked, sports-type bar in the middle with large TV’s around the top. From what I understand, not only is this a family restaurant, it sorta doubles as a hang out spot for folks in the 30’s – 40’s age group. That was obvious when I got there. The atmosphere is young, hip and fun, but not teeny-bopper. You’ll see what I mean when/if you try it out.

 While the six of us waited at the bar for our seating, a few of my cousins decided to get appetizers…they had the hot crab dip and the calamari. I did not try any of it, as I wanted to save my appetite for my entrée. But from what they’ve said, they REALLY enjoyed both dishes.

So finally we got seated…Our server must have been new to this type of work, as he didn’t seem to realize that stopping in the middle of taking drink orders (saying “hold on, I’ll be right back”), walking off and not being seen again for about 10 minutes is not a good look. Apparently the lady at the table next to us had asked him to bring her a bowl of broccoli and cheese, but instead of going straight to the kitchen to get it, he came to take our drink orders (she was a bully, by the way – shouting across the room at someone she knew, for not going out of their way to come say hello to her). Either way, my side-eye was ready at this point. Strike one.

After our server had come back with the bully lady’s broccoli and cheese, he resumed taking our drink orders…but took forever (again) to come back with the drinks and take our food orders. All I wanted to drink was water – I wanted to keep things simple. I think everyone else had the same thing in mind; they kept their drink orders simple as well.

We got our drinks and we all placed our orders for food. I ordered a Caesar salad to start. Our server asked me if I wanted to add bacon bits to my salad and I told him yes – knowing I normally never have bacon in my Caesar salad but I was gonna go off the cuff a little bit because he offered it. I should have stayed in line with my “keep it simple” method like I did when I ordered water to drink, as the server brought me my salad without the bacon that he offered me. Instead it had little pieces of red peppers that resembled bacon, sprinkled on it. I didn’t ask for that. BUT, rather than sending the whole salad back and running the risk of having to sit there with a loud growling stomach while everybody else had salad, I sent him back for my bacon…I never got it tho. Strikes two and three for him. *sigh*  

IMG_1705.JPGAnyway, my entrée choice was called the Jasper’s Crab Explosion, which is basically a baked crab cake but the way it’s put together is more like a “pile” of seasoned lump crab meat, rather than being “caked” or pattied together. This usually comes with fries and coleslaw, but I substituted a baked potato for the fries. My entrée was absolutely delicious! The Crab Explosion is somewhat on the spicy side, but it’s not “hot” or overbearing. It’s very flavorful. The baked potato was done perfectly; nice and tender the whole way through. It was excellent. Around the table, I noticed that my cousins ordered the Blackened Tilapia, the Baked Stuffed Shrimp, and the Fried Fisherman’s platter. I didn’t dip my fork in any of their plates though. LOL

Despite my gripes with the server, I do plan to go back and visit this place again because the food is that good and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I hope I end up with a better server next time and it has been duly noted to make reservations first, as their crowd definitely calls for it.

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Bonefish Grill – Camp Hill, PA

Good day, people! It’s been a few months since I’ve given any updates as to places we’ve visited and such, so let’s hop back to it.

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Aaaaah, the Bonefish Grill, located in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania…
Let me first say, that when my family and I visited this place when it was brand new in the summer of 2012 (I mean literally brand new…it was the day after the grand opening), I didn’t really enjoy my experience. The wait was excruciating, then once we got inside, the waiter was clueless, and my appetizer (the only thing I’d felt like ordering) left much to be desired. I wasn’t living for it. My kids and boyfriend all wanted to try it a second time for benefit of the doubt, but I just wasn’t seeing it for the place..I honestly doubted it would last.

Fast forward to January 19, 2014…one of my girlfriends who always likes to try new things for her birthday, invited all of us ladies out for a Sunday Brunch. I never knew Bonefish did a Sunday brunch so I was willing to give this place another shot because of her insistence, and because it was brunch…I could choose a “breakfasty-type” entrée or something more in the lunch/dinner way. So I decided to go the lunch/dinner route.

What I chose was the Grilled Salmon with lemon butter, and sides of Steamed Asparagus and Potatoes Au Gratin, with my drink being a Georgia Peach Martini (two of those, actually). I was pleasantly surprised with everything, I must say! The food was delicious! Even the asparagus was perfect, and I never eat all of my asparagus…I may eat some, but I never finish it. My salmon was darkened and crusty in all the right places and juicy on the inside. It was wonderful. By the end of our sitting, my plate looked washed except for the last bite of potatoes because I just couldn’t force it.

I have to apologize for the lack of pictures here; I ate my food so fast and forgot to take any.  LOL

Since we had a party of 6, but were expecting a party of 8, we had two wait-staff, a guy and a girl (I apologize, I can’t recall their names at this time). They were gracious, but my favorite was the gentleman, who worked my end of the table. My girlfriends and I have a crazy sense of humor and he was able to keep up with us without being on the edge of losing his job. LOL

However, people I must warn you (and this is my ONLY complaint) that we did notice that the floors in the restaurant are quite slick. You must be careful as you walk through this place (heading to the bathroom, etc) as your feet just may surprise you.

Other than that, Bonefish Grill was definitely a hit for me this time around and I’m anxious to go again!

http://www.bonefishgrill.com/Locator/details/camp-hill-pennsylvania

 

Nellie’s Southern Cafe – October 11, 2013

My mother and I had the opportunity to visit Nellie’s Southern Cafe, located in the blossoming Midtown section of Harrisburg, on Reilly St (off 3rd St). This is a brand new, family-run cafe, owned by Tony Tumer, that is open during breakfast and lunch hours. Its small but cozy, with a touch of upscale charm. Our gracious host and server was Tony himself, and in his usual fashion, he was very attentive, swift and generous.

This cafe serves an array of southern-oriented dishes and being from a southern family myself, I was pleased to see one of my favorites, fried fish and grits, which was what I ordered with a side of homefries and a glass of sweet tea. My mother was only in the mood for light faire, so her choice was the eggs, grits, homefries and toast, and a cup of coffee.

I enjoyed my meal; I thought it was pretty good, being such a new place. (Its only been open for 3 weeks now.) Not everyone can make fish & grits to my liking, but I can say that I enjoyed mine here.

We were in and out in under an hour, which is good time for the meals that they serve. I plan to return and try out more items from the menu.

I’d like to congratulate Tony on this new business venture. Its great to see new entrepreneurs bringing new businesses to the area. Please do go ahead and try a meal for yourselves. 😀

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Grand Opening PM Bistro July 23, 2013

Ladies & gentlemen I believe we have a winner!!!
Alonda & myself had the pleasure to attend the offical ribbon cutting ceremony & grand opening at Harrisburg’s newest resturant/night spot PM Bistro. Need we say we love this place!

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With the mayor of Harrisburg The Honorable Linda Thompson officially proclaiming July 23, 2013 PM Bistro day and the cutting of the ribbon Harrisburg officially has its newest upscale-casual dining & 30+ night spot. With an offering of live entertainment, upper level VIP area, 2 full services patios, weekly hand dance classes for on $10, a weekly happy hour from 4:30-7:30 and I’m sure many more events to be announced soon check out the their new website for more info on upcoming events at http://www.pmbistrolive.com
Now you pair that up with the good food/drinks and great staff PM Bistro is poised to be “THE PLACE TO BE” for the mature crowd of the city and surrounding areas.
There is finally a place in the city limits for the grown folks. No longer do we(30+) have to watch the clock while we’re trying to enjoy a night out with our friends, just to avoid the younger crowd. There is now a place just for us to chill! Good food, great staff, wonderful atmosphere with great music and live entertainment. So break out your wallets and pocket books, order yourself a great meal or appetizer.  Buy yourself a nice drink and hey why not buy a round for your friends too. Schedule a meeting or special event and support this new and much needed breath of fresh air this city’s mature adults so desperately longed for. We’ve all been asking for it and FINALLY its here lets all do our part in supporting and help build up PM Bistro by spending our time and yes of course our money in a small locally owned and operated business. Together we help ensure that Harrisburg newest small business is here for us to enjoy for years to come.
-Sonny
♥♥♥♥♥ 5 out of 5

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A New Place To Be in Harrisburg, PA – PM Bistro & Lounge

Sonny, my cousin Rashaad and I popped in to visit the recently opened PM Bistro & Lounge on July 11, 2013 on a whim. By the time we visited, this place had only been in business for maybe 3 weeks and already I believe it’s a hit. If you’re familiar with Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, you’re probably familiar with the location of this lounge that sits right on the edge of the Reservoir Park, formerly operated as the Parkside Cafe. And now we have it, totally (and beautifully) renovated as the PM Bistro & Lounge, owned and operated by two couples of the Harrisburg area.

Off the top, this place touts itself as an upscale lounge, complete with proper dress code and over-35 age limit. Basically, no shenanigans allowed whatsoever, and I totally appreciate that. People in our age group and above have been waiting for a long time for a nice place to go and unwind, away from the younger, less-seasoned crowd. And here it is. Thank goodness.

During the 4th of July week/weekend (while we were on family vacation in SC), I saw lots of posts in my timeline from friends of mine who had visited the Bistro and every comment in regard to the food, the service, the atmosphere, music and overall experience were all complimentary. Sonny and I agreed that we had to try it out as soon as we had the time, once we returned to Harrisburg. So we did… 🙂

“Later for the leftovers, let’s go out! LOL!”: As I stated earlier, this venue is right outside the Reservoir Park, which rings bells in my mind to remind me that parking may be iffy at times. Parking in that area always was tricky from time to time, depending on what was going on. So with that being said, when we arrived, finding a parking spot in the row on the side of the building was a little difficult.

So we parked and entered the building through the tinted-glass revolving door, and nearby on the right was the outdoor seating area with palm trees and outdoor dining tables. It was a nice night for outdoor seating, but Sonny insisted that we eat inside. I was ok with that. Rashaad didn’t care either way. LOL!

When we reached the host station, we were greeted by the host for the evening… I’m not sure if it’s the usual since this was our first visit, but the host station was very dark. There was no light over the host. However, I didn’t look up to see if there had been a light fixture or not. Either way, seeing him was a bit difficult for the time of day, as it was around 8:00 in the evening and the sun was setting.

Our host greeted us and walked us to our seats. On my way to be seated, in my usual fashion, I glanced around the room to take in as much as I could, quickly. By this time so far, I liked what I saw. Patrons seated, having wine and dinner, dressed in either business attire or casual with class. Some were couples, some were friends (or perhaps relatives) getting together. All looked to be the type to fit the venue. The interior of the building has been totally gutted and rebuilt, equipped with beautiful peach and other earth-toned wall colors, flooring, seating, lighting, doors and decor – including live orchids as centerpiece accents on each table. I was enjoying it more by the minute.

Immediately after we were seated, we were greeted by our server, Amy, who was bubbly and friendly, and able to keep up with the sense of humor at our table, which is remarkable. We are people who like to have fun, to say the least. LOL Anyway, she took our drink orders and gave us time to read over the menus. To be a new restaurant, and a bistro at that, I felt like the menu was full of choices. Normally, a bistro’s menu is very limited. This one seems to expand a bit, which is good.

For my drink, I ordered a Bistro Breeze Sangria, in “white”…which was actually peach in color. It arrived in a large (burgundy style) wine glass, and was pretty tasty. At $10 a glass, I had to enjoy it…even enough to order another one. There was only one slight minus here – it didn’t have ice in it. (I like my sangria very cold) I probably should have asked for some ice to put in it myself. But beside that, I loved the flavor. 🙂

For an appetizer, Sonny and I had the Thai Bang Chicken, which were small bites of chicken with a spicy Thai sauce. And for dinner, I ordered the grilled salmon with roasted potatoes and green beans, which were all delicious! The grilled salmon was perfect; very flavorful with a little bit of grilled “crunch” on the outside but nice and tender on the inside. The green beans were not the canned version; these were fresh, French green beans, prepared al dente. And the potatoes were seasoned and roasted nicely. I rarely ever finish my whole plate of food when I dine out, but I ate pretty much all of what I ordered. It was that good.

Rashaad had the chicken & waffles for an appetizer and for dinner, also had the grilled salmon, but paired his with baked macaroni & cheese and asparagus. Sonny had the crab stuffed chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. I tasted everything (small bites, of course 😀 ) and enjoyed it all! LOL!

While we were eating, Amy was attentive enough to keep constant check on us without being overbearing. Which was nice. And what was twice as nice was the fact that the head chef, Frank, came out to meet and greet our table personally. He took extra care to make sure our food presentation was picture-perfect and that we enjoyed our dinner there. I must say, Frank really did out-do himself. Not only did Frank come out to meet us; we were also greeted by two of the establishment owners, Chuck and Quinn.

The PM Bistro is owned and staffed by some really great people. The atmosphere is warm and inviting and the food in my opinion is awesome. I was impressed with pretty much everything and our experience here overall was enjoyable, even with it being so new and still in the process of being tweaked. I highly recommend that you go on and check this place out and see what you think. I bet you’ll enjoy it too. 🙂

– Alonda

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Seafood Academy – July 4, 2013

My family and I recently took a trip to Orangeburg, South Carolina on a vacation over the Independence Day weekend. In the days leading up to the trip, Jonathan (“Sonny”) and I did a little bit of brainstorming on some places we wanted to visit in the Orangeburg area so that we could enjoy some food, then blog about them. We came up with a few, and Seafood Academy was one of the places that made the cut.

Upon our arrival after the 9-hour drive and eventual check-in and settling at the hotel, Sonny and I, plus our 5 family members all decided to head on over to the Seafood Academy, which happened to be right across the highway from where we were staying. We dropped in at the restaurant at 8:15 p.m. and decided to stay even though they were set to close at 9:00.

I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect when we walked in, with a name like Seafood Academy – academy, as in “school”. The outside looked more like a tavern, but the foyer inside looked like an intimate little restaurant. We were greeted by a friendly hostess and seated immediately, as there were no other patrons there, except for one person seated at the bar. Before I sat, I glanced around the room and found that the dining tables were set properly with white linen tablecloths, folded white linen napkins, water goblets and silverware, with burgundy leather-like menus. The bar area was very dimly lit, and equipped with one small television.

Once we were seated, I was able to take things in a little more closely. I noticed that there was a slight musty, “basement” odor coming from somewhere that I couldn’t pinpoint. Some of my silverware had hard-water spots on them and that out of the three aquariums that sat together along a wall, the one that appeared to have been a salt-water aquarium was full of green murky water that resembled lime jello, and fish that were pale and either slow-moving or sitting stationary as if they were in the beginning stages of death. Eeek.

On to the positives: Our waiter arrived at the table to greet us, introduce himself and take our orders. He also was very pleasant, well-mannered as well as gracious and attentive. We placed our orders, which returned in good time in my opinion. Everything on the menu was reasonably priced, and although there wasn’t a ton of items to choose from, I felt like I was able to make a choice easily and be satisfied.

I ordered a Salmon Caesar Salad; Sonny ordered a salad topped with fried shrimp, and my two daughters (both of whom were not pleased with me forcing them to order from the kids’ menu) ordered fried shrimp and french fries. I’m not quite sure what my mother, brother and sister-in-law ordered. Before our entree’s arrived, we were given two baskets of warm sliced french bread and butter. The bread was SO good. LOL!! It was warmed perfectly – not too toasted or crispy, just warm enough. We ate the bread pretty quickly since it we all enjoyed it so much (and I think because we were all hungry from the trip), so the waiter was more than willing to go and get us another two baskets of bread as fast as we had eaten the first. Everyone except Sonny and I had enough sense to stop eating the bread to save room for the real food. We sent for a third basket. LOL!!

Our food arrived and we all enjoyed what we had. I thought my salad was decent. The salmon was broiled nicely – not too dry, not too soggy. And for my daughters to have ordered from the kids menu, they were pleasantly surprised to have received such nice-sized portions of shrimp. I tasted one of my daughter’s shrimp and it was pretty good. Sonny seemed to enjoy his shrimp salad and the rest of the family didn’t complain at all about what they had.

While we were finishing up and the staff was coming to retrieve our plates and other items and bring the bill, our waiter came back to the table with two carry-out containers full of more bread. 😀 This made Sonny happy. LOL!! In all, I think our dining experience here went pretty well. I found it easy to make the best of my time here, even after having been grossed-out by the dirty aquarium, and getting a slight whiff of a musty basement or old water coming from somewhere, from time to time. The polite staff and pretty decent food made up for the minor misses. I wouldn’t call this restaurant a dive, and its by no means upscale. But it did serve the purpose at the time. Out of 5 stars, I’ll give it a 2.5

– Alonda 🙂

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Blue Moon Diner – Baltimore, MD June 9, 2013

After another strong recommendation from my cousin, Jonathan and I, along with my cousin and his girlfriend, dropped in at the Blue Moon Diner in the super-cool Fells Point area of Baltimore for breakfast. This diner has been featured on The Food Channel’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” because their Cap’n Crunch French Toast is such a unique dish and its a hit. My cousin lives in the Baltimore area so he’s quite familiar with plenty good restaurants and their feature dishes. He wanted us to try this diner and taste the french toast, so we did.

I’m told that usually, the wait to get in this diner is very long. But on this particular morning, it wasn’t quite as bad as it could have been. The set up is very quaint…very small and modest, but with eclectic flair. Its no larger than the first floor living room area of a small row home.

I walked in to put my name on the list to reserve a table for four. I was allowed to write my own name on the list, which was a notebook sitting on a counter, not far from food prep. I was quoted a wait time of 45 minutes. It was a nice day outside so the four of us waited outside on benches on the side of the building, along with a few other folks – most of whom were also first-timers at the establishment and visiting out of curiosity due to its growing popularity after having been featured on the show.

We waited for about 55 minutes before a host/waiter came outside and called my name from the list. We were directed inside and pointed toward a small table with 4 seats. (There are no booths. This establishment is not set up that way.) The waiter was very friendly, down to earth, and cheerful, and was the no-notepad type. I like a waiter who can take an order, conversation-style, not write it down, but still get it right.

Anyway, Jonathan and my cousin’s girlfriend ordered the Cap’n Crunch French Toast with turkey sausage.. I ordered a short stack of pancakes, with sausage and two eggs over medium. My cousin ordered what was called the Garden Style Eggs.

While we waited for our food I watched as others received their dishes. Two things caught my eye. And I LOVE bread, so the two things that caught my eye were the home made biscuits and cinnamon rolls… They almost made me drool… I was this close to ordering a biscuit just so I could have it for later. But I didnt. lol

Also, my cousin’s girlfriend and I both needed to take our turns to wash our hands at the bathroom so we went in together. I found that there is only one bathroom… As in, one closet-sized room with a toilet and sink. A co-ed powder room… I guess sometimes folks have trouble with their aim if you get my drift, so I could smell a slight odor of pee. lol

When our food arrived I took notice that the portions were plentiful and the presentation of the dishes was neat and done with thought. I tasted Jonathan’s Cap’n Crunch French Toast and I must agree that it is absolutely delicious! What a unique combination of french toast, sweet cereal, fresh fruit and cream. 🙂 The whole little ensemble went together so well. Kudos to the Blue Moon Diner for stepping outside the box with this.

Also, my pancakes were huge! LOL! They were good but they were heavy. I ate as much as I could before I was full and needed to walk it off. I couldnt finish my two eggs or my sausage.

Over all, we enjoyed our experience here. Of 5 stars, I’ll give this spot a 4. Only because, parking was iffy, seating inside the building was pretty tight due to how small it is, and the bathroom. I’d like to visit again, though. 🙂

– Alonda.

http://bluemoonbaltimore.com/the-food/

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G&M – Baltimore, MD June 8, 2013

We visited this spot after a strong suggestion and good reviews from a relative of mine..my cousin… We had originally planned to visit Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, on Pier 5 at Inner Harbor but we switched plans at the last minute to go to G&M instead. I’m glad we made the switch, as the food was excellent! Mind you, we were forewarned by my cousin that the portions delivered at this family-owned, seafood-centered restaurant are plentiful. So much that most people rarely finish all of their food in one sitting. I kept that thought in mind. But I also kept in mind that when I go places and order crab cakes (which I’m a HUGE fan of, by the way), I usually receive small portions. So I sort of took this advice in regard to the crab cakes with a grain of salt.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we parked in the rear and were allowed to enter through the rear door, which took us through the bar and around to the front. We were seated right away with no waiting at all. The dining area was clean and well-lit. Not too dim, not too bright. And the tables were set properly. There was a “floating host”, who went around with a pitcher of iced water to fill or refill glasses. He arrived at our table and proceeded to reach for and fill our glasses with water. Personally, I’m big on manners. I would have liked it if the floating host would have given us eye contact and greeted us, rather than just going ahead to fill glasses of water for what may have appeared to him to be invisible people. But hey, that’s just me.

Anyway, when we were seated by the main hostess, our menus were placed at the table along with us. We reviewed the menus and immediately took notice that the menu was packed with choices under every category. My boyfriend is indecisive at times, so it took him a while to figure out what he wanted. But I was set on crab cakes…they’re what I had in mind and that’s the first thing that jumped out at me when I opened the menu. After we had reviewed the menu for a while, our regular waiter showed up and asked what we would like to order. My boyfriend Jonathan noticed this time that our waiter didn’t say “my name is….”. But I did at least hear him greet us. I found his name, “Philip” on his name tag. 🙂 I ordered the two-crab cake platter, a side salad and a baked potato. Jonathan ordered what was called the Chicken Chesapeake (which is two pieces of broiled chicken breast, topped with crab meat and Hollandaise sauce), a side salad and mashed potatoes with gravy.

So our orders were in…during our wait, I noticed several of the wait staff traveling back and forth with huge trays of plates for different tables. I thought to myself, my cousin was right. The portions are huge… We received our appetizer. The crab dip, as recommended by the waiter. It was pretty tasty. Very cheesy, but tasty nonetheless. LOTS of lump crab in it. I couldnt finish my half of it though because I wanted to save room for my entree. 🙂 Then our salads came. Mine came with a Greek dressing. I usually really like Greek dressing, but I felt like this one was a bit on the watery side. Too much red wine vinegar. But I ate it. Jonathan ate and seemed to enjoy his salad. Then comes the entrees. I thought I heard the gates of heaven open when my crab cakes were placed in front of me; they were super-sized! They were the size of grapefruits, cut in half and they were excellent! VERY tasty, no filler. However, as good as my baked potato could have been, it would have been delicious had it cooked a little longer. It wasn’t quite done. Jonathan received an equally large portion of crab meat with his Chicken Chesapeake. However, the Hollandaise sauce tasted like it may have had just a little too much mustard in it. But he enjoyed what he ordered. There was no way either of us were going to be able to finish our meals in one sitting. We indeed had to eat a good 1/3 of it, then pack up the rest for later.

Out of five stars, I’ll give this place a 4.5. I have to dock them for the inpersonable water floater, my so-so salad dressing, slightly under-cooked baked potato, and Jonathan’s too-much-mustard Hollandaise sauce.. In the end though, we will certainly return.

-Alonda

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