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Kaufmann's Tavern329 Gambrills Road, Gambrills, MD 21054
410-923-2005
www.kaufmannsrestaurant.com
By Gilles and Kathy Syglowski
An evening at Kaufmann's, in many respects, is a journey back in time. The Gambrills landmark restaurant built in 1937 still boasts décor original to the era and exudes an atmosphere of family hospitality. Hanging on the walls are lithographs of popular 1950s, '60s and '70s entertainers: De Niro and Pacino along with the Rat Pack greats. One guest, Ms. Elaine, dines at Kaufmann's daily at four, always at the same table, before her bingo game. She started dining at Kaufmann's 45 years ago, about the same time the lithographs on the wall would have been in vogue. The staff can set their clocks by her arrival.
But time does not stand still. A number of physical enhancements have added to the charm of this local establishment since it changed hands in 2002. There's a new garden terrace with water walls plus a bank of televisions adjacent to and behind the bar. Owners James King and Gregg Casten (Tony & Joe's in D.C.) anticipate the bar will be an attractive hangout for football fans as the season approaches.
Kaufman's is the kind of place where you get to know everyone quickly, as we did the guests seated next to us, the Barnes and Taylor who came from Baltimore to celebrate a birthday with all-you-can-eat crabs. The menu offers crabs in a range of sizes and prices. The crab feast is offered every day; it includes corn on the cob and crab soup and runs $32 per person. Chef Ben Barnet has been with Kaufmann's for 2 years and has maintained the traditional menu, which keeps many longtime patrons returning again and again. Manager Eric Mansfield took time out of his busy evening to give us a personal tour and informed us we had just missed meeting Eddie Murray, former Orioles player, who passed over Obreckies and Bo Brooks to enjoy the delicious crabs served at Kaufmann's.
On this particular evening we were joined by our devoted friends Has and Cathy, to help us sample more menu items. We started out with a simply prepared tossed house salad followed by a pleasant Mexican crab dip. Of course we all shared, and although quite simply prepared, both items were pleasing.
Our favorite entrees were the Imperial crab prepared in a Maryland classic way, perfectly laced in its sauce, graciously seasoned, leaving room for the flavor of this beautiful jumbo lump crab. It was absolutely perfect. The prime rib was prepared with the same standard of excellence. It was exactly cooked as prime rib should be and the result was meat that was moist and tasty and melted in your mouth.
Other worthy dishes we sampled were Has's favorite, the crab cakes, stuffed jumbo shrimp, and the crispy fried butterfly shrimp. The moderately priced wine list features local wines as well as the usual favorites to fit everyone's taste.
We ended our experience with a delectable dessert, chocolate ganache a la mode, and a super-delicious key lime pie.
Priced to suit a family's budget, Kaufmann's serves consistently good food in a convivial setting. Our waitress Jennifer provided excellent service with a good sense of humor. If you enjoy laughing, one Thursday per month is Comedy Night. The next one is October 22 at 7:30 p.m. Other specials include Sunday Jazz Brunch 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday $15.00 lobster & baked potato special, Tuesday kids eat half price with a paying adult, and live entertainment Thursday through Saturday.
Gilles Syglowski is a chef, culinary instructor, and food services consultant. He is a graduate of the Lycie d'Eseignement Professional Hotelier in Metz, France. He and his wife, Kathy, a member of the International Wine Society, have more than 45 years' experience in the restaurant industry.
What's The DISH?
Delectable Little Plates at Breeze
By Nadja Maril
We've all had the experience of going to a restaurant and seeing several entrees on the menu we'd like to try, but knowing we need to narrow our choice down to one. What if ordering multiple dishes didn't mean stretching out our stomachs? What if you could order several dishes reduced to smaller sizes? That's where the idea of little plates comes from.
One full section of the menu at Breeze, located in Loews Annapolis Hotel at 126 West Street, as you approach the Inner West Street corridor, is devoted to an offering of various small plate choices.
"We started out about a year ago," says Reggie Stephens, the director of food and beverage at Loews Annapolis Hotel. "The little plates make dinner more of a social dining experience. If you want, you can have one, or have them all and get more bang for your buck."
All the descriptions of the little plates sound tempting: Ahi tuna tempura with wasabi butter and pickled ginger, Hawaiian sugar cured filet mignon with grilled pineapple salsa. Each little plate also has a wine accompaniment suggestion: a Pinot Gris is recommended with the tuna, and a Cabernet Sauvignon is paired with the filet mignon.
The menu also contains favorite traditional entrees, such as roast chicken, steak, backfin crab cakes, and elegant, silky smooth cream of crab soup, but the little plates are definitely a popular choice, as appetizers or full meals.
The Spanish term tapas is frequently used to describe the concept of little plates. The word tapa means cover in Spanish and its use is said to have evolved from the practice of placing a piece of bread and cheese over the top of open jugs and carafes of wine to protect the wine from insects. When the wine was consumed, the bread and cheese were eaten as well, along with small portions of items that might include olives, anchovies, garlic potatoes, or empanadilla (small Spanish turnovers with a variety of fillings).
Today, with the popularity of fusion cuisine, tapas, or little plates, can include any ingredients, as long as the portions are small. "There is a lot more interest in ethnic and local cuisine," says Stephens, "and the little plates give us the opportunity to offer our customers a variety of choices."
Operating as a restaurant within a hotel has its challenges. "Although many great restaurants are located within hotels," says Stephens, "creating an identity takes some creative thinking." Breeze strives to always provide a selection of "comfort food" to suit the tastes of their international guests, as well as to serve gourmet cuisine to entice a loyal local clientele. On the edge of the Historic District, they offer free valet parking with validation and easy walking access to downtown Annapolis.
Executive Chef Andrew Saba was born in Britain and has traveled all over the world. He began studying cooking while still in high school and quickly discovered his love for the hospitality industry. Initially working in London, he landed in Scotland and developed an appreciation of native game and produce. "I'd see the fishermen's boats coming into St. Andrews. They'd be unloading lobsters, haddock, whiting, fresh eels, and it all looked so beautiful. I grew accustomed to working with fresh local ingredients," says Saba.
An opportunity to transfer across the ocean to the Watergate in Washington, D.C., enabled him to work under famous Executive Chef Jean Louis Palladin. "He'd bring things in from all over the United States, the best shrimp, best asparagus, he only wanted to work with the best ingredients," says Saba. "Here in the Annapolis area there is a tremendous wealth of things we can get locally. In the supermarket these days, you see all kinds of items you haven't seen before. Food choices are always getting better."
The menu at Breeze is changed four times a year, which enables Saba to take advantage of seasonal ingredients. "I try to utilize local produce as much as I can," he explains. One of his favorite North American meats is bison. "It's a great fall item, practically cholesterol free, very lean and a beautiful plum color. It's a good steak," says Saba. Appropriately, the little plate recipe Chef Saba shares with readers pairs bison with a North American liquor, tequila, native to Mexico.
Maryland is known for its meaty blue crabs. Using this local seafood delicacy, Saba pairs the pungent and spicy tastes of papaya, red curry, and yuzu juice to dazzle the taste buds with crab cakes made primarily from tender morsels of backfin.
The following two recipes, courtesy of Executive Chef Saba, are from the fall menu at Breeze. Prepare them at home to share with friends, along with a several bottles of wine, and enjoy!
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Four Orders |
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Ingredients:
Preparation: |
Simmer all ingredients together. |
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Four Orders |
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Ingredients:
Preparation: |
Combine all together in a bowl and let sit to marinate till plating. |
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Ingredients:
Beat together curry paste, shallot, yuzu juice, salt, and pepper, and slowly add oil till emulsified. |
Taste
Cantler's Riverside Inn
458 Forest Beach Rd., Annapolis
410-757-1311
By j.s. houck
Long known (31 years!) as a restaurant par-excellence for crab-picking know-it-alls and novices, Cantler's Riverside Inn continues to offer an authentic Maryland seafood experience. Finding the restaurant is a bit of trick, making the find that much more rewarding. Bob along Rt. 179 in the St. Margaret's area, then fork right onto Brown's Woods Rd. before making another right onto Forest Beach Rd. Weave your way to the road's end and you're there. Cantler's is definitely destination dining.
On an Indian-summer evening, your best bet is to eschew indoor seating in favor of outdoor-preferably a picnic bench that overlooks Whitehall Creek. The atmosphere of the deck is casual, lively, and family friendly. Ice-cold cans of beer (draft beer is a no-show here) make for good conversation starters. Service was on-point during a recent visit, so the waiting game was non-existent. A bucket of steamed mussels($7) was satisfying, aptly serving two. Drawn butter and Cantler's saltier take on Bay seasoning complemented the delicate morsels, uniform in size (a touch on the larger side)-a simple yet rich beginning. Steamed shrimp, smoked Chesapeake bluefish (a daily special), and the "local favorite," soft-shell clams, are worthy candidates as appetizers as well. Cantler's cream of crab soup is thick in texture and plentiful in meat, shouting béchamel, the classic white sauce, with a hint of sherry. It's best taken as a cup ($4) if you want to leave room for your main course. As a full bowl it could be a standalone meal.
If you don't order crabs by the dozen (sizes and prices subject to availability), you'll wonder why you did not when you see plenty of others happily cracking away. The draw of the hard-shells, besides their obvious appeal as a flavorful Chesapeake delicacy, is the near guarantee that each crab will be full of meat. Cantler's shies from serving lightweights, and it shows. On past visits and most recently, one dozen large crabs ($45 this visit) were more than enough for two. For a quicker take of the Cantler's experience, opt for a seafood platter in lieu of laborious crab picking. Captain Lou's Seafood platter ($26) features one fried crab cake, one soft-shell crab, and a rockfish fillet, while Jimmy's Steamed platter ($24) offers mussels, cherrystone clams, steamer clams, and shrimp. Both boast complementary flavors and are very filling. Be sure to review the daily specials before deciding, however, as the kitchen's more refined culinary skills are often on display. Peppered rockfish ($22) with a honey soy glaze and fresh clam and lobster tail skewers ($26), grilled with a mango glaze over chili orzo, were among the daily additions. And yes, Cantler's does offer a full menu, with steaks, burgers, sandwiches, chicken, and kid-friendly items making appearances (pizza was popular among the youngsters dining next to us).
For a refreshing ending, you can't beat the sweet 'n' tart tingle of Cantler's key lime pie-a winner every time. Before making your way to the car, walk off a few calories by taking a trip to the docks below. There you'll find holding tanks for crabs and skates (bait) worth a peer-wide-eyed fun for kids and adults alike, which pretty much sums the Cantler's experience.
Annapolis Spirits
Celebrate Oktoberfest With a Frosty Mug of Beer
by Wendi Winters
Oktoberfest wouldn't be as popular without beer, a German's favorite libation. One survey reports 79% of German adults drink beer regularly, with 91% of German men and 67% of the women lifting the suds at least once a month.
The golden nectar has been brewing since the Sumerians got things fermenting 6,000 years ago, about the same time bread-making began. Beer and bread contain similar elements and their history is intertwined.
Ancient Germans, the Teutons, offered a form of beer up to their gods in 800 B.C., but it was the medieval monks who cooked up the liquid now familiar the world over.
Since 1516, many German brewers have operated under the Reinheitsgebot-voluntary rules of purity for beer, limiting beer ingredients to malt, water, and hops fermented with yeast. It produced a uniform standard of what a consumer could expect to find in a tankard and is considered the oldest food hygiene law still in use. The rules favor the production of pilsners, the most popular type of beer among Germans.
The rules have loosened somewhat under the Provisional German Beer Law and European Union guidelines, allowing fruit, spice flavored beers, ancient black beers, and even ham-flavored beers to be brewed again.
Brewers in England, the United States, and elsewhere, not constrained by Reinheitsgebot, have produced a wide variety of beers.
Whatever you reach for during Oktoberfest, whether it is a pilsner, a lager, an ale, or a bock; top- or bottom-brewed; and from a mega-brewery like Anheuser-Busch or a microbrewery like Samuel Adams or Fordham, it will prepare your palate for the cornucopia of German foods that follow.
Conventional wisdom dictates that if you are holding a beer in one hand during Oktoberfest, the other one is grasping a wurst or a sausage. Granted, they make a culinary team, but other foods are certainly available-barbecued pork, grilled chicken, marinated steak, hotdogs and hamburgers, or more vegetarian fare, like slabs of roasted vegetables, fresh walnut and apple salads, or a hearty carrot soup made with an all-vegetable stock.
Create your own homegrown Oktoberfest tradition. Gather three or four different varieties of beer for your guests to sample in small glasses. Designated drivers should stick with nonalcoholic beer brands.
For exotic German beers, we suggest a visit to Old Stein Inn, which carries several unique German brews, Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis, and Rams Head Roadhouse, Crownsville, for their roster of interesting micro-brews from Fordham Brewery of Maryland. Ledo's Pizza in Annapolis, Edgewater, and Severna Park will also be carrying a special Ledo's Beer brewed by Fordham. Australian and Japanese beers would require a whole new story.
My husband, Tod, and I tested a few beers from light to dark, just to get you started.
Budweiser by Anheuser Busch, domestic, the least expensive of the five tested at $3.99, in "pony long neck" 7 ounce size. All the other brands were 12 oz. size. Bud is considered an American Premium Lager. It has a pale, lemony color, high carbonation, minimal head with watery foam, medium body, and almost no finish. It is a great beer after you mow the lawn, when you need a cold, icy beer.
St. Pauli Girl by St. Pauli Brauerei, imported from Bremen, Germany, six 12 oz. bottles for $7.49. It's a golden-colored lager with a very strong hops bouquet, mild taste, and smooth finish. Typical of German beers, it is just a little more full-bodied than most American beers. It's a good introduction to German beer, and a great way to keep abreast of a very mild one.
Heineken by Heineken Brewers, imported from Zoeterwoude, Holland, six 12 oz. bottles for $7.59, was the first beer imported into the U.S., a mere 3 days after Prohibition ended. It has a dark golden hue, minimal foam, and a sweet hops smell. It is full-bodied and crisp, with a mildly bitter taste and smooth finish, one of my favorites.
Samuel Adams Boston Ale, a domestic beer from Boston with an All-American back story, six 12 oz. bottles for $7.49, no cheaper than the imports. It is caramel-deep reddish-brown-in color and has an incredibly big, creamy, long-lasting head but not an especially creamy taste. It is sweet and smooth on the tongue with a bitter aftertaste.
Beck's Dark, Brauerie Beck & Company, imported by Beck's North America, Norwalk, Connecticut, six 12 oz. bottles for $7.49. It is a lager with a strong hops taste, smooth texture, and strong finish. Though the color is very dark and the aftertaste lingering, the aroma is subtle. It's hard to find a better dark beer.
Once you've opened up your beer, start things off with a CD of oompah band music. Put out bowls of large homemade or store-bought pretzels and wedges of German cheeses.
A casual menu might include easy-to-prepare sandwiches brimming with brats, grilled or boiled in beer and smothered with sauerkraut, a hearty German potato salad, pickled beets, and an apple cake with cream cheese frosting.
Or if you're ready to tackle more of a challenge, consider a menu that includes Bavarian Sauerbraten, spaetzle- a small dumpling-braised red cabbage, buttered beets, pumpernickel and rye breads, and a moist Black Forest cake.
Oktoberfest commemorates the 1810 wedding celebration of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and his fiancé, Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, so don't forget to toast the bride and groom!