We traveled down to Talbot County yesterday, in search of collectibles and food. We like to go to Foxwell's occasionally, Kevin looking for copper pans and old cooking utensils and cast iron; I'm looking for different wine glasses or brass candlesticks or Depression glass. We just like to poke around and see what's there. We used to really enjoy Featherstone Mall, of the same ilk, across the Bay, but it is now closed and has not been replaced in our repertoire, unfortunately...
Afterwards we begin our rounds of the Easton dining scene. Last night things were pretty quiet down there. We began with a cocktail and some James River oysters at the bar at Restaurant Local in the Tidewater Inn. The bartender said they would be salty, and while she was mistaken about that, they were very tasty, with nice oyster flavor, served icy cold. The restaurant had no customers while we were there, but it was early. Still, it didn't look like it was going to be a very busy Sunday. (And on a side note, it was a bit shocking to see the Rock Rabbit Sauvignon Blanc listed on their wine list for $35 a bottle...the very same wine we offer for $19! That is really an outrageous mark-up, and frankly is an example of why people don't want to order wine in restaurants.)
From there we hiked over to Scossa - Kevin wanted some of their polenta. Again, we sat at the bar, a glamorous marble (or is it granite?) affair with comfortable stools, albeit a bit of a height problem aka the KI Bar syndrome. You feel like a little kid sitting at the grown-up table, with the too short stools or is it the too high bar? I had a glass of Tocai from the wine list and we shared a bottle of mineral water while eating the aforementioned polenta which was served soft and accompanied by two bacala and potato croquettes and crushed pistachios. He liked it. I had their spinach salad which was dressed very lightly (and appropriately) and garnished with several slices of speck and crumbles of Gorgonzola cheese. This was a very, very good salad - the ham was salty and sweet, the way it can be, and there was a generous amount of that luscious Italian blue cheese to pair with the spinach and ham. They also brought us bread and bread sticks; the bread had been lightly toasted which made it very tasty.
From there we headed out to our main destination - Mason's. We've enjoyed the food there several times and we were looking forward to perching at their bar and indulging in a few more small plates, the Duo of Moularde Duck being my first choice. Why we didn't check out their hours before setting our minds to it, I don't know. Closed. Dark. Empty. As was Out of the Fire, another fine choice on perhaps another night. And as slow as the other two restaurants we had already visited seemed to be, as well as the fact that there was literally no one but us out on the streets, perhaps being closed on Sunday nights in February is a wise business move. There was a new place down from Scossa's which perhaps we should have checked out - Martini's - but instead we ventured in to General Tanuki's, across the street from OotF. At least we knew the calamari would be good there. And it was. We also had their fish taco, which was more like a fish salad wrap than any taco, fish or otherwise, that I've ever had before, let alone a "San Diego" fish taco, as it is billed on the menu... Edible but not at all what we expected. The restaurant was pretty much empty, except for a few drinkers and a table or two in the bar area. After another glass of wine, this one the Terra Andina sauvignon blanc from Chile, and a Guinness for Kevin, we called it a night and headed up the road.
Easton was essentially "dead". Hopefully all of the businesses had had a bang up Saturday. We did our best to help with their local economy, and we look forward to returning - next trip we want to head a little further down the shore to check out Mitchum's in Trappe. We've heard good things.
Afterwards we begin our rounds of the Easton dining scene. Last night things were pretty quiet down there. We began with a cocktail and some James River oysters at the bar at Restaurant Local in the Tidewater Inn. The bartender said they would be salty, and while she was mistaken about that, they were very tasty, with nice oyster flavor, served icy cold. The restaurant had no customers while we were there, but it was early. Still, it didn't look like it was going to be a very busy Sunday. (And on a side note, it was a bit shocking to see the Rock Rabbit Sauvignon Blanc listed on their wine list for $35 a bottle...the very same wine we offer for $19! That is really an outrageous mark-up, and frankly is an example of why people don't want to order wine in restaurants.)
From there we hiked over to Scossa - Kevin wanted some of their polenta. Again, we sat at the bar, a glamorous marble (or is it granite?) affair with comfortable stools, albeit a bit of a height problem aka the KI Bar syndrome. You feel like a little kid sitting at the grown-up table, with the too short stools or is it the too high bar? I had a glass of Tocai from the wine list and we shared a bottle of mineral water while eating the aforementioned polenta which was served soft and accompanied by two bacala and potato croquettes and crushed pistachios. He liked it. I had their spinach salad which was dressed very lightly (and appropriately) and garnished with several slices of speck and crumbles of Gorgonzola cheese. This was a very, very good salad - the ham was salty and sweet, the way it can be, and there was a generous amount of that luscious Italian blue cheese to pair with the spinach and ham. They also brought us bread and bread sticks; the bread had been lightly toasted which made it very tasty.
From there we headed out to our main destination - Mason's. We've enjoyed the food there several times and we were looking forward to perching at their bar and indulging in a few more small plates, the Duo of Moularde Duck being my first choice. Why we didn't check out their hours before setting our minds to it, I don't know. Closed. Dark. Empty. As was Out of the Fire, another fine choice on perhaps another night. And as slow as the other two restaurants we had already visited seemed to be, as well as the fact that there was literally no one but us out on the streets, perhaps being closed on Sunday nights in February is a wise business move. There was a new place down from Scossa's which perhaps we should have checked out - Martini's - but instead we ventured in to General Tanuki's, across the street from OotF. At least we knew the calamari would be good there. And it was. We also had their fish taco, which was more like a fish salad wrap than any taco, fish or otherwise, that I've ever had before, let alone a "San Diego" fish taco, as it is billed on the menu... Edible but not at all what we expected. The restaurant was pretty much empty, except for a few drinkers and a table or two in the bar area. After another glass of wine, this one the Terra Andina sauvignon blanc from Chile, and a Guinness for Kevin, we called it a night and headed up the road.
Easton was essentially "dead". Hopefully all of the businesses had had a bang up Saturday. We did our best to help with their local economy, and we look forward to returning - next trip we want to head a little further down the shore to check out Mitchum's in Trappe. We've heard good things.
FYI...Marble is a form of granite. Learned that on Discovery Channel.
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