Photography by Stephen Buchanan
Miss Shirley’s Cafe in Annapolis distinguishes itself from other restaurants with its high-quality breakfast and brunch offerings. Count shrimp and grits, called Get Your Grits On, among customer favorites. So is Chicken ’N Cheddar Green Onion Waffles.
“There are not many breakfast, brunch, and lunch places in Annapolis that use all fresh ingredients,” Annapolis Manager Elta Tyler says. “In the last three or four years, I have seen restaurants with a similar concept pop up. But they aren’t Miss Shirley’s. Some people come in looking for something extravagant, which we have.”
Catering to local customers, Miss Shirley’s features seafood dishes on the menu. For example, Skinny Salmon Shirley, Naptown Salmon Salad, and Amy’s Bayou Omelet stand out.
“Annapolis customers tend to lean more toward our seafood items,” Corporate Executive Chef Zuri Coles says. “They love to add crabmeat to anything and everything. They will add crabmeat to a bar drink like our spicy Bloody Mary.”
Miss Shirley’s opened on Annapolis’ West Street near the Westin Hotel in 2011 and has restaurants in Roland Park, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and the BWI Airport.
Monthly specials featuring French toast, pancakes, and sandwiches also highlight the menu, attracting customers.
We recently talked with Tyler and Coles about the restaurant’s most popular dishes, how they keep customers coming back, and what makes the Annapolis Miss Shirley’s distinct.
Photography by Stephen Buchanan
Zuri, what is your top-selling dish?
In Annapolis, I would say our top-selling item is shrimp and grits. It’s also my favorite dish. We don’t serve it in a bowl. We do it Miss Shirley’s style. It comes on a plate. We do a corn-infused sauce on the bottom, fried green tomatoes, and our stone-ground grits with bacon on top, topped with our jumbo shrimp. It tastes amazing. We have the crispy hardness from the fried green tomatoes, the creaminess of the grits, and a little spice with the blackened shrimp.
What else is popular?
Southern-inspired chicken and waffles. We do ours with a cheddar green onion waffle. We do a spicy jalapeno butter that we make inhouse and it’s served with honey mustard. It’s a great crowd favorite, a huge hit. And we can swap out the savory waffles with any of our sweet specialty Belgian waffles.
Tell me about the different type of drinks you offer.
We do some traditional crush drinks—orange, grapefruit, and summer. The summer crush has strawberry lemonade with a house-made strawberry lime and jalapeno jam. It’s made with bourbon and Triple sec. We have our version of a Spicy Shirley and Bloody Mary on the menu.
What ingredients do you like to cook with?
Because we lean toward breakfast, eggs are one of my favorite ingredients to use. They are so versatile. Eggs Benedict are always a special treat. In the egg realm, we also do deviled eggs. We always try to do something super fun with them. Butter is amazing. If I had to choose, I would personally put butter in everything. Bacon also is one of my favorites.
Elta, how do you keep the customers coming back?
The clients we get from out of town will go back to their hometown and tell friends and family, “If you ever visit Annapolis, make sure you stop at Miss Shirley’s.” Everything here is fresh and homemade. Our chefs actually create the recipes themselves. I also think it’s because of our customer service. We are big in allergy awareness. When I started working here eight years ago, we were one of the very few restaurants to accommodate them.
What else attracts customers?
We change our menu twice a year. We have a spring-summer menu and a fall-winter menu. Plus, we have monthly specials. We are always changing things to make it exciting. That way it doesn’t get boring. We also have a loyalty program in which you get a point for every dollar you spend. Those points accumulate into store credits. Most of our regulars are signed up for that. A lot of people who from out of town and may only visit Annapolis yearly or every couple of years. They always like to come back, see what’s new and try the special pancakes or French toast.
Is the restaurant more popular now versus when you first opened?
I think business is about the same. We have always been busy. There’s never really a slow time. We have always maintained a busy shop. I think we are one of the original breakfast and brunch places. I know more and more are popping up. When we first opened, we were one of the very few in Annapolis.
Is lunch overlooked because you are known as a breakfast place?
Not really. We do serve breakfast and lunch all day. Many times, we will get people, say a group of four people, and probably three of them order breakfast and one person lunch. We get a lot of people that come in that are looking for lunch. When somebody comes in, there is always something for them.
Photography by Stephen Buchanan
Southern Slammer Sandwich
Voted Best Breakfast Sandwich in America, Restaurant Hospitality Magazine | Makes 1 Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 slices thick sliced pumpernickel bread
- 2 pieces applewood smoked bacon
- 1 fried egg
- 1/4 avocado, mashed
- 1 slice white cheddar cheese
- 2 fried green tomatoes (see recipe)
In a hot sauté pan cook 2 slices of bacon until browned on both sides. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel. In same pan cook 1 egg over-hard. Remove from pan and place on plate. Butter 1 side of each piece of bread and place in pan butter side down to toast. Add the slice of cheese on top of one piece of bread. Top the cheese with the 2 slices of cooked bacon. Then top with the over-hard egg. Top with 2 fried green tomatoes. Spread mashed avocado on top of remaining slice of pumpernickel. Top sandwich with slice of pumpernickel avocado side down and remove sandwich from pan. Cut in half on a diagonal. Serve immediately.
Fried Green Tomatoes
Breading Ingredients
- 1/8 cup flour
- 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoon Cajun spice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix.
Fried Green Tomatoes
3 to 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 green tomato (about 4/5 slices)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- breading
- Kosher salt to taste
Slice green tomato into quarter inch thick slices. Place tomato slices in large bowl. Mix honey and buttermilk together and pour over tomato slices. Gently toss to coat. Place tomato slices in breading, one at a time to coat both sides. If you do not have a home fryer, prepare nonstick skillet with canola oil. Place slices in nonstick skillet and flip tomatoes after about 2 minutes. Fry until golden brown. Immediately sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt. Serve hot and enjoy!
