A Maryland Get Away, The Kimber Effect And Sweet, Sweet Memories

Over the life of Dinner Plan-it, I've given you little insights into various adventures I've enjoyed there with friends and/or family in the great and beautiful state of Maryland. (Okay, sometimes MORE than a little, you know I LOVE the state!) Never has time spent in Maryland NOT been memorable!

Generally, you get snippets of Maryland adventures like last year's vacation in Ocean City and the food and drinks at Hooked or more lengthy tales like a Food With Friends get together in Annapolis or Kimber's and my visits to Fells Point in Baltimore. This time I thought we'd take you along on our long weekend to Ocean City to experience (vicariously) the foods, the sights, the smells, the oddities, the simple pleasure of being at the beach. Are you packed? Let's go!

We start out early, after the dawn but before the morning rush, heading for the turnpike. Eastbound, our first observation is we should have packed more gluten-free foods unless I want to gorge on a selection of salty, oily potato chips from multiple metal racks at the Oakmont rest stop. Fresh GF food? Forget it. Lesson learned. 

Back in the car, we cruise straight to Bob Evans in Breezewood to simply fill the holes in our bellies. That we did, then back on the road with images of glistening waves, squawking  seagulls and glittering sand luring us on. The beach is our quest.

As we drive, we talk about Ocean City beach trips of the past and the many interesting weather events we've encountered over the decades. Hurricanes and Nor'easters are no strangers to our OC beach vacations. In fact, we realized that when Kimber is along, storms are the norm! We simply face the fact that Kimber is a magnet for - well, let's just call it less than satisfactory beach weather. 

There was one particularly memorable storm - I think it was Hurricane Emily - when Kimber was in high school that winds whipped up the seas into giant mounds of seafoam against the dunes and sand felt like it was shot from a sandblaster against our faces. Our windbreakers sounded like a platoon of helicopters landing! Why were we out there (along with one of her friends) in that kind of weather? Why wouldn't we be?! Type A tendencies, you know.

Making great time, we are! We crossed the beautiful Bay Bridge, dazzled by the ships and boats and familiar crab pots bobbing in the bay and we drew closer to OC with the temp at 81 and glorious skies all around.  Into farming country, we make note of the multitudinous farmstands on the westbound side of Rte. 50 to make our last-of-the-season produce purchases more efficient on the way home. Good plan.

And then, in the distance, we see the familiar signs and businesses that welcome us to our happiest place. (I've been going here since I was 5 years old with parents, grandparents, uncles and many, many friends. Many, many sweet, sweet memories.) 

Yeah, we could have gone that fast way that takes us north of downtown Ocean City, but that sucks the life out of all the years of recollections - that first smell of the ocean that wafts through the open windows and sunroof as we cross the drawbridge, the perennial line of placid seagulls grabbing for dear life to the roofline of M. R. Ducks on the righthand side, looking for (and saying hello to) the Boardwalk, the spot where the real yellow Volkswagon VW Bug used to be perched high on a pole above the Paddock (Eek! It's a country/western bar now.), Fish Tales (hello!), Macky's (hiya!), Seacrets (guilty pleasure still at my age). 

I forgot something in all my excitement. As we approached the bridge, the clouds gathered, the temperature dropped from 81 to 74 and the winds kicked up. Significantly. Yep, The Kimber Effect still holds. Comforting to know there are constants in life. We always prepare for the not so positive ones and enjoy the moments we're given as they're given. So our first stop was Hooked for lunch and a well-crafted cocktail. We earned it. The Kimber Effect worked to our advantage this time!

Nice and spicy with a house pickled jalapeno and pickled tomato to boot!

While we sat at the bar, ate a wonderful crabby lunch and chatted up the staff, the rain came, the rain cleared, the sun came out and we were on our way to check into the hotel. 

Mmmhmmm...the first of many crab dishes to ensue. Real Maryland crab dip and fresh made chips at Hooked.
(Hooked participates in the Maryland True Blue Crab program. 
You KNOW its real!)

As if we needed evidence that the Kimber Effect had cleared, we checked in only to be queried whether we might be interested in exchanging our King Suite room with the pull out sofa (only room available when we made the res - SunFest weekend, you know) for a room with 2 queens? Oh, and the 2nd night would be free. BOOM! The Kimber Effect dissipated in grand style before our very eyes. Done. Deal.

View from our balcony towards the Big Assawoman Bay - Kimber Effect on the way out.

View from our balcony towards the Atlantic - Kimber Effect banished!!!

First thing on tap? A walk on the beach! This is, of course, the reason we drove 7 hours to begin with.

So maybe the windy part of the Kimber Effect remained. The beautiful part!

Not yet ready for dinner - since we'd packed in such a late lunch - we decided to head north to Delaware. On a booze quest. Always fun to peruse the shelves of distant states to see what interesting rums, bourbons, liqueurs and unknowns might be lurking in unfamiliar territory. 

Our first stop was Lighthouse Liquors in Fenwick - nice selection in a relatively small store! Here we picked up Dogfish Head Brown Honey Rum. Yes. THAT Dogfish Head. We also found Abuelo 12 Year, a Panamanian rum I'd been searching for since we sampled its delights at Porco Tiki Lounge in Cleveland almost a year ago. Grabbed that one, too! Although they didn't carry some of the items on our list, they were kind enough to tell us about this place up in Rehoboth...at the outlet mall! Be still my heart.

Scores at Lighthouse Liquors in Fenwick.

Yes folks, raised stage, LIVE beach music AND outlet-priced discount liquors! Outlet store nirvana.

Well, you see the picture above. You can just image our reaction. Oh, and did we shop! Pusser's, Appleton Estate V/X and Wray & Nephew rums; my no-longer-carried-in-PA and long-lamented 360 Double Chocolate vodka - TWO bottles; Dolin's vermouth - both dry and sweet, nicely priced (relatively) Grand Marnier, and even some rhubarb and cranberry bitters thrown in for good measure filled our cart. A most successful trip already, yes? I'm already making a list for our next trip to Outlet Discount Liquors in Rehoboth!

After a thwarted attempt for dinner at Dogfish Head, we meandered back down Coastal Highway just in time for a prime spot at the Crab Bag. Yes, the second crab meal of the day.

Fat. Hot. Heavy. Just the way they should be.

The rest of the evening saw lots of shopping (LOTS!), leather jackets at end-of-the-season prices, Dolle's candies, frozen yogurt, stops in all of the surf shops - some more than once - and especially at our favorite open-late shop, Endless Summer where I picked up this little tiki number...for the bar, of course.

This little tiki surfer dude obviously catches only the fiercest of waves! 

Yawn. This was a long, productive day starting in PA this morning, to MD, DE and back to our room. Nitey nite. Another awesome day ahead!

Hmmm...what's with all the clouds?

First peak from the balcony. It will burn off!

So off to breakfast we go. Bloodies and Benedicts, please.

The brand new Barn 34 (where the Christmas shoppe used to be) is serving up some kickass food! The GF (no muffin) Benedict with fresh spinach, FRESH crab(!!), Canadian bacon, poached egg and homemade hollandaise was simply amazing. Pretty decent Bloody Mary, too!

Still cloudy. Let's head to the inlet before the crowds get there for SunFest. Nice time to stroll the beach, reflect on the past year and think about how much Mark would have loved this trip. Except for the shopping. He would have taken a little salt water taffy to the beach to enjoy with his beer while we hit the stores!

Thoughts

Time to hit the beach for REAL!

Hmmm...it will burn off.

Okaaaayyyy...sunning(ish) in the sand with a favorite beverage will brighten things up!

And it did.
(Sailor Jerry and ginger for Kimber (L) and Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, lime and Diet Coke for me (R). Don't judge. It was vacation.

And the clouds and wind rolled in again. No problem! We'd been wanting to check out Ocean City Brewing Company!

A light lunch, picklebacks and a flight of some pretty amazing beers at OCBC were just what the weatherman ordered! (So did we.)

More shopping, a late dinner and an early turn in were in order. Busy 2 days! Seems like more, doesn't it?

Sunday. Time to get up and check the skies to see whether we're sticking around to enjoy one last (crab) breakfast or hitting the road.

This view certainly made the decision easier.

This confirmed it.

And so, we bid adieu to the rain, drove back down Coastal Highway for one last time while saying our silent farewells. It was sweet. It was just what we needed to relax and refresh until next year. Reservations are already being made for August 2015!

Across the drawbridge, the rain eventually clears, we stop for pumpkins and apples and late tomatoes at one of the stands we'd reconnoitered just a few days earlier. Not interested in breakfast, we crossed back over the Bay Bridge watching the Eastern Shore fade into our rearview mirror. Until next year, you great big beautiful bridge!

While driving, we decided we'd stop at Wegman's (my standard fix when in Maryland!) for MD crabmeat by the pound and lunch at Brian Voltaggio's Family Meal. We stopped, spent hours in the Wegman's aisles - and the money to prove it - and then hit Family Meal. 

Our timing was spot on. Two prime spots right at the end of the counter opened up and we sailed past families and parties of 3 or more to our comfy perch. Knowing us by now, you also know we struck up a conversation with the men to our left and, of course, the staff. I think we convinced our countermates to visit Pittsburgh after telling them about the dining, cocktail and brewery scenes in town!

So lunch. The menu is classic diner and comfort food interpreted to the nines. But casual, friendly, family like and NO pretensions. The no pretensions thing at Volt was what I appreciated so much the times we've dined there.  

I started with cool, creamy perfectly seasoned deviled eggs generously dusted with crumbles of crisp bacon and I followed that with a bowl of cauliflower soup drizzled with basil oil and topped with a Parmesan crisp. Kimber and I shared duck fat fries with truffle oil, surrounded with 3 dipping sauces. Hands down our favorite was the onion dip one! Brought back memories of the 50's sitting around the black and white RCA, munching Ruffles with Lipton's California onion dip. Only in spades. 

Kimber chose the classic Reuben - so jealous I couldn't taste it and she crushed it before I got a pic!

Foreground - cauliflower soup, middle - deviled eggs, rear - duck fat fries with the magnificent onion dip!

For dessert - yes, we indulged - I chose the Banana Pudding with caramel and whipped cream, while lucky Kimber went the traditional MD route with a Smith Island Roll. Heaven

Sweet endings.

 Did I say endings? Not quite. A good cuppa Joe took that honor.

Having left Family Meal, we jumped back on Rte. 70, hit the Turnpike and were home in no time with nothing but sweet dreams of our all too short long weekend firmly planted in our brains. Well, that and the can of Fisher's Caramel Corn to make those remembrances even sweeter!

Ahhhh...home sweet - caramel-y sweet - home!

Thanks for joining us on our too short vacation. Hope you weren't bored! In my book, a Maryland visit is just what the doctor ordered. Anytime. I'm thinking a return to Fell's Point might just be the prescription next time!

An Evening to Remember at Table 21 - VOLT

Occasionally I enjoy a particular dish on an evening of dining out only to return home to recreate it. Why? It might be I'm intrigued by the components of the dish or by a technique or even because I know I make it better!  Well, THAT'S most certainly not gonna happen this time! 

There are experiences that cannot be recreated. Nor should they be. Such was the stellar dining extravaganza that occurred at VOLT Restaurant in Frederick, Maryland with Marti, one of my closest friends and definitely my BFF. Best Foodie Friend, that is.
 
A year ago or so I had the pleasure of being a gastronomic traveler through the adventurous menu at VOLT. But that was for lunch and this, THIS was for dinner at the respected Table 21. Yes, the Chefs' Table featuring 21 (count 'em), TWENTY-ONE courses! I told you it was extravagant!  

Just getting a reservation for the Table was a coup in itself. As Webster defines it, a coup is "A notable or successful stroke or move." Reservations for Table 21 are taken exactly 30 days before. If you wanted a reservation for March 15, you had to be quick to the phone on February 15..and we were. Success! We scored two precious spots out of only eight available seats at Table 21.


Days passed slowly, the anticipation grew, until finally there we were in Frederick almost giddily climbing the stairs to what promised to be an epicurean evening as never before. After a lovely cocktail in the small bar across the hall from our dining area, we were soon seated.

 


Wine pairings were ordered by some, cocktail pairings ordered by others. A choice of still or sparkling water filled our water goblets. We made small talk with two diners to our left and the two couples to our right. It felt like the quiet in the theater just before the curtain rises. The first course was served.  

The meal was kind of like fireworks starting with a simple, but elegant pile of light, airy and crisp lobster chips to dip into a pool of potato, sour cream and chive oil. There was even a tiny little mound of caviar. This twist on chips and dip elicited oohs and aahs from the cozy table of eight overlooking the kitchen! 

Chips and Dip Lobster

We progressed from cold beginnings through a mind boggling selection of exotic ingredients as each empty plate was cleared and each new course presented. Not just exotic items tickled our palates (sometimes literally). Simple, ordinary, everyday items like carrots, celery, beets or tuna became far more than I ever imagined they could be.

Red and Golden Beets, Goat Cheese Mousse, Orange and Sherry

The dessert courses? Like a fireworks grand finale. Contrasts of smooth and cold, crunchy and velvety, powdery and hard, sweet and tart and even bitter teased until the very end in a cacophony of sensations. Textures, temperatures and tastes exploded one after the other until the meal ended with quiet calmness. Really, we should have burst into applause. Hindsight, you know.   

Chocolate Textures and Caramel

As the checks were distributed, so were rolled and tied copies of the night's menu along with beribboned boxes of small dessert treasures to help remember the night's delights.

By the end of the evening, strangers around a kitchen table became friends. Host, servers, chefs, bartenders and diners said warm goodbyes and even hugs were exchanged. After all, sharing food, fun, wine, laughs and eventually even friendship makes for not just a meal to remember, but a dining adventure never to forget.  

  
Special moments:
* I was never made to feel "different" when substitutions were made because of the gluten issue. Frank, our warm, wonderful host, after announcing the components of each course then described to me quietly what was different on my plate. In some cases, I think I got the better dish! 


*In talking with the group of four on our right, exchanging where we were from we discovered not only do they know my goddaughter and her husband, their kids play together. Yes folks, it is definitely a very small world. 


*My first sweetbreads! And I LOVED them! Crispy on the outside, smooth and flavorful on the inside, accompanied by bacon, Swiss chard and parsnip - they were one of my favorite parts of the meal! 

Delicious Sweetbreads!

*A bright green foam described as wasabi-infused (I missed the rest of the description) was the palate tickler I referred to above. Tiny little pops exploded with surprising flavor with each bite. The "pops" were tabiko fish roe that were more like champagne bubbles than anything else I can compare them to. The yellowfin tuna, avocado mousse and jasmine rice were the perfect complement.

See the bright green bubbly foam? Wasabi-infused Tabiko Roe!

 

*Candied Buddha's Hand whipped with cream and butter - spread on the bottom of a plate with seared kampachi (fish), chives, green apple and ginger had us teasing Celeste that we were going to run off with the whole container of the butter!   
 
*The pork belly. Oh the pork belly! No more need be said. Enjoy the pic!

Pork Belly with Stinging Nettle (it didn't), yellowfoot Chanterelle & Pearl Onion

  
*Probably the most special moment of all wasn't a moment. It lasted the entire evening. The completely professional, yet very warm and friendly service, from the moment we arrived to the moment we left, from every single member of the Volt staff family, made the night complete. Thank you Frank, Katie, Celeste and every member of the Volt family.

NOTE: My apologies for the quality of the photos. I didn't want to be "that" person with the camera and ruin the other guests experience at Table 21 so I used my phone. Thank you Volt for allowing us all to "take all the pictures you want!" 

VOLT Restaurant - Chef Bryan Voltaggio of Top Chef



Little Parting Gift of VOLT Granola!

 Housed in a sturdy brick, elegantly arched old mansion, we climbed the stairs to enter a massive center hall and were greeted by a smiling hostess.  The reception area, lounge and dining room were basically white - all the better to highlight the plates of food which could easily have moonlighted as artwork.  The service was equisite! That tiara day I talked about earlier?  Here it is!  We were treated like royalty - but with a smile.

Okay, enough about all that....on to the important part....the food!  We each opted for the $25 3-course prix fixe lunch.  The choices!  Kimber and I each decided on different 1st courses - she the autumn garden plate of beets, radishes, coffee "soil" and chevre mousse.  It was gorgeous!  I had the composition of market veggies - delish shaved fennel and carrots with an ouzo vinaigrette amid spring greens. 

We ordered different 2nd courses, too.  The better to taste more dishes!  All the cooking shows seem to be making bronzini these days...I've never tried it, so that was my choice.  Well, it turns out I HAVE had bronzini....it's another name for sea bass...who knew?! It came with pee wee potatoes, tiny sunchokes, Brussels sprouts  the size of pearls and green garlic.  Finally, I'm now a fan of Brussels sprouts...I've been converted by VOLT!  And that crispy fish skin the judges swoon over on all the cooking competition shows on Bravo and Food Network....I'm swooning now, too.  Yum.

Kimber ordered the Snake River Farm pork ossobucco with salsify, mushrooms, carrots and gremolata.  I don't know whose dish I enjoyed the most.  Succulent. 

For our 3rd course, however, we BOTH went for the Textures of Chocolate.  Oooooo....chocolate....textures.  Cold and smooth caramel-y white chocolate, crisp and crunchy cocoa caramel shards, powdery and fine milk chocolate dust, liquidy dots of dark chocolate ganache and a gorgeous little quenelle of milk chocolate-looking, ice cold, deep dark chocolate-tasting gelato....every taste and texture a little bit of chocolate heaven. 

Not wanting to be "that" woman taking pics of everything and annoying other diners, I opted not to take pics - mistake!  After we'd thoroughly enjoyed each and every bite, camera phones started flashing all over the place.  Lesson learned.  All I got a picture of was the cute little packet of granola with the VOLT name.  We might not have the pics, but we have the lingering memories to last a lifetime. 

 

What to Do While Waiting for VOLT to Open...Shopping!

So….BEFORE we got to Baltimore, along the way we made a long awaited visit to Frederick, MD.  Why go to Frederick you ask?  Isn’t that where old Barbara Frietchie  once waved the Union flag from her window taunting the Rebs with, “Shoot if you must this old grey head, but spare our country’s flag!?”  Ballsy chick for a 94-year old in the Civil War days…heck for these days!  But I digress.  We planned way ahead and made reservations months ago at VOLT Restaurant – yep, Top Chef finalist, Bryan Voltaggio’s place! 

Our reservations were for noon so we had about an hour to explore the town before lunch.  I haven't been there since the 70's...WOW...has old Frederick ever changed!  Being a bedroom community of DC now, there are trendy restaurants and boutiques, chocolate shoppes, specialty cutlery stores, antique stores and even a pawn shop! 

Lebherz was the name of one cute little place with tall, gleaming, chrome-ish containers of infused olive oils and vinegars - over 40 varieties.  After tasting, take some home in whatever size bottle you wish. 

Vibrant Artwear was my bargain find store of the day!  Filled with unique creations at rock bottom prices, I found 80% cashmere/20% silk pashminas in beautifully colorful patterns - soft as, well, cashmere...duh.  I bought 3 -  red/wine hues, forest/spring green hues and purple/gold hues.  They were $5.99 each!  On top of that, I checked in on Yelp! and got a free pair of stud earrings to boot.  Score!

Vibrant Artwear Bargain Pashminas!

Kimber and I poked our noses into Retro-Metro where Kimber bought a brass knuckles meat tenderizer...handy for tenderizing meat and for self defense, lol.  I think she's going to tell you more about this one herself!

Tiara Day (and frankly, don't we ALL need a tiara day?!) was an interesting assortment of retro clothing with a HUGE collection of vintage jewelry and other gift items.  Fun owner, too!  We stopped at a few other places and....wait a minute!  It's time for lunch!  We hoofed it on over to VOLT.  Woo-hoo!