A Country Lodge Gem
Blackwall Barn and Lodge
329 Gambrills Road, Gambrills | 410-317-2276 | barnandlodge.com
As we pulled into the Blackwell Barn and Lodge, its classic rural architecture welcomed us. It featured fresh white clapboard along with board-and-batten siding complementing stacked stone lit with oversized lanterns and chandeliers. Our sense of hospitality continued with a host staff that was eager to show us around. They offered us a variety of seating options within either of their fireplace dining rooms.
We opted for the choice seat of the house with the four wing-back chairs cozying up to a round table by the main dining room fireplace....but it was a tough choice, given the very different and pretty winter white decor by the other fireplace, complete with delightful faux fur wraps and blankets for chilly nights. Design continues for the table tops as many food items are served on their respective wooden platters or earthy pottery plates and bowls.
What could be more appropriate at fireside than a classic cocktail, like my companion’s choice: an Old Fashioned. It had a new twist: smoked sugar cubes and a skewer of dark cherries with Bulleit bourbon and sour cherry bitters. But I’m getting ahead of myself about that choice, as there were many to consider, including a nice menu of au courant cocktails such as a Maple Nut Manhattan with Knob Creek Smoked Maple Bourbon, a dirty martini with cherry pepper hot sauce and stuffed olives, as well as several refreshing-sounding fruit drinks. There also was a page of adult hot chocolate variations with a bar of chocolate melted in the milk and a connoisseur’s selection of the unique ole smoky moonshine pours. The drink menu also featured an impressive list of draught beers and a very pleasing range of domestic and imported wines by the glass and bottle. The drinks were more than inviting for happy hour, dinner, dessert, and after-dinner drinks.
Our server, Ryan, was engaging, humorous, and responsive to our many questions, returning promptly with Chef Michael Wagner’s input if he was unsure of an ingredient or prep technique we inquired about. Ryan knew just how to be attentive throughout our meal, even as the dining room became busier.
The young, yet accomplished, Wagner (a Culinary Institute of America graduate) is on a quest to support local farms and convey them as partners, giving us the benefit of knowing where our food originates. His contemporary concepts also satisfy with everything being made from scratch—biscuits, chive butter, salad dressings, soups, desserts and foods to share around the table for a sense of community. Customary dishes fill the menu along with novel twists: sinfully rich crab dip served in a crab-shaped crock with a finish of flambéed cognac; southern fried Quail starter with hickory-smoked butter; a take on the currently popular chicken waffle; and even pulled pork mac and cheese. The menu items also lend a sense of rustic comfort as you would find in a lodge: a single meatball that is a classic eight ounces veal, pork, and beef cooked slowly in marinara or beef short rib pot roast.
We browsed the very sizable array of starter choices, including soups, several salads, and options like mussels, crab dip, and other temptations. We gave strong thought to the Domestic Charcuterie plate, which is a mix of three cured meats alongside swiss, blue, and a local cheddar cheeses with dried fruits, nuts, and crostini, on the main starter menu. The novel toasts and flatbread choices all sounded intriguing. One example is the mushroom toast with buttery garlic wild mushrooms, thyme and herbed ricotta spread. But we opted to split the Kale and grilled salmon entrée salad. It was excellent. The accompanying roasted beets, mango, candied walnuts, and lemon-poppyseed vinaigrette were a perfect combo.
Lighter eaters might wish to choose from the “handheld” menu selections of burgers and other meat or fish choices, like mahi-mahi tacos and crab cake sandwiches. We zeroed in on the main entrees. The Branzino I ordered arrived wrapped in the crinkly roasted parchment package that it was baked in. It was a treat to open the present and see a long thin fish filet on a visually styled vegetable bed of carrots, zucchini, new potatoes, and white wine chive butter.
My companion chose the Beef Short Rib Pot Roast with Butternut Squash Purée, roasted farmers market vegetables, and fresh herbs. Our server Ryan called it the perfect Sunday dinner. It was. It can be hard to find truly meaty tender short ribs these days. These, however, were delightful, in presentation and flavor. Served in a wide homey pottery bowl, the fragrance alone promised satisfaction. The meat had that deep beefy taste we all long for in a just-right sauce. It was not a thick flour-like gravy that others pass off as a worthy sauce. The farm-fresh vegetables are much more than an after-thought. The butternut squash purée gave a light, colorful touch along with mushrooms full of the meat sauce flavor, and, the roasted baby carrots.
We couldn’t wait to look over the dessert selections, albeit we were nicely full. We split the dark cherry chocolate bread pudding. Now, bread pudding is fairly common, but this was creative. A large square of delicious chocolate with the perfect balance between crusty edges and mousse-like custard interior, swathed with excellent cherries and cream.
We capped the meal with a classic Irish coffee. Wow! Almost a thermos full! It was easy to declare it capable of warming you to the toes even miles from the fire.
