Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, Annapolis
“I’ve been going to Jimmy’s Grille in Bridgeville for years and years and years. I like his fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and lima beans with dumplings. The food is excellent and plentiful. The prices are good, and the service is quick. And the ambience is all about the people: typical Eastern Shore. The workers are always polite, work hard, serve the food quickly—and I’ll bet they are nice people to work with.”
Andrea Farnum, co-host of John Shields’ Coastal Cooking; partner, Full Bloom Strategic Marketing and Events, Silver Spring, Md.
“My favorite place is a joint called Doumar’s Cones & Barbeque in Norfolk. It’s totally retro, and you can ‘dine in’ or have curb service. The barbecue is great, but the ice cream is the real star. The original owner [claimed to have] invented the ice cream cone, and the actual machine that made them is still there and still in use. His son now runs the place, and you can see him almost every time you go in—wearing his red suspenders. He’s about eighty.”
Martin Q. Blank, disc jockey, WKHS 90.5 FM, Worton, Md.
“I like Jammin’ Jesse’s in Chestertown because it’s so unpretentious. It’s a sub shop with simple, good food, but the people are really nice there; you wait in line for your cheesesteak, and someone always talks to you. And Chuck (the owner) always has WKHS on the radio on Friday nights.”
Mary Madison, editor, Maryland Waterman’s Gazette, Annapolis
“The Cambridge Diner is a little tucked-away, inexpensive spot I go to and where the fishermen go instead of the pricey restaurants in the area. It’s not high class, but you get amazing food at amazing prices. It’s family-owned and they serve everything—steaks, seafood, eggs, pasta—even liver and onions. A waterman I know had the prime rib there recently and said he’s never had a better steak in his life. It’s a must-stop, and it’s right off Route 50.”
Peter Finkelstein, general manager, Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits, Annapolis
“There’s the brunch at Annie’s [Paramount] on Kent Island. It’s $20, and they have every kind of dish under the sun. There’s an omelet station, and there’s waffles and pancakes, and the waffles are so light! They have four or five meat dishes and a couple of chicken dishes and then three or four seafood dishes. They have breads and pastries up the wazoo. My wife and I just wanted to go for a drive over the bridge, and we found this place. We looked at each other and said, ‘Whoa, what did we stumble onto?’”
Hugh Sisson, managing partner, Clipper City Brewery, Baltimore
“When I go down to the beach, we always have a meal at the Georgia House near Fenwick Island. It’s in an old gas station; they still have the pull-up doors, and you’re sitting where the cars used to be worked on. It’s basically a home cookin’ kind of joint with lots of locals and a few tourists. They serve big ol’ pork chops, ribs, and I always have pretzel salad (a green Jell-O-based salad with pretzels). I usually don’t like that kind of thing, and it’s pretty sweet, but it’s also pretty interesting. You just don’t see that stuff anymore.”
Margo Bailey, mayor, Chestertown, Md.
“I always recommend Play it Again Sam on Cross Street in Chestertown. It’s an old-fashioned coffee shop with homemade muffins and great sandwiches like the ‘Tuscan,’ with prosciutto and Italian meats—oh, everything in the world’s on it. Or the ‘Norwegian,’ with smoked salmon and capers. They also bake fresh dog biscuits because it seems everyone has a dog. The food’s a little upscale, but it has real local atmosphere.”
John Hickman, director, Small Business Development Center, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Md.
“The Beach to Bay Seafood Market in Princess Anne has the best crab cakes anywhere. It’s one of those unassuming places where you don’t think you’re going to get as good a meal as you actually get. It’s primarily a seafood market, but they have prepared food, very fresh fish, sandwiches, and platters. I’ve ordered the fish, but I usually order the crab cakes. They’re just great. Or if you’re in Crisfield for breakfast, you have to go to Gordon’s Confectionary. It’s one of those places that’s full of regulars. Most of the customers don’t even order; there’s no exchange of words. But when their breakfast comes, you know it’s the right stuff. They have a huge griddle, and I usually order scrapple.”
Sarah Lyle, administrative assistant, Queen Anne’s County Arts Council, Centreville, Md.
“On the way to the beach on weekends, driving down Route 404, near Denton, there are often barbecue chicken stands run by local Rotary or Kiwanis clubs. For less than $10, they offer great, crispy grilled chicken with sides of slaw, applesauce, and rolls. It’s a great road meal.”
Capt. Marston Jones, charter boat captain, Sea Wolf Charters, Ocean City, Md.
“The Marlin Moon Grille in the Francis Scott Key motel is really, really good. They’re only open for dinner. The watermen go there, and my wife and I had our wedding reception there. We like Mom’s shrimp and garlic sauce, and the tuna is always fresh. They get their fish locally when they can. It used to be if you caught a fish, you could bring it in and they’d cook it up for you.”
David Gadsby, doctoral student in archaeology, Baltimore
“When I lived in Southern Maryland, I’d go to Courtney’s and Scheibel’s, two marina restaurants near Ridge, Md., south of St. Mary’s City and north of Point Lookout. They both serve fresh-caught seafood, Southern Maryland-style, which usually means fried. Courtney’s has wood paneling and posters of fish on the walls, and there’s almost always someone at the bar nursing a beer. Scheibel’s has this crazy mural on one of the walls. It’s a view of above and below water. It’s got fish, but it also has flecks of red paint that are supposed to be chum—very strange.”
Rob Kasper, food columnist, The Sun, Baltimore
“I like the Hebron Family Restaurant in Hebron. They do great lunches and breakfasts. Pretty much everything is made from scratch and their dumplings are excellent. Their homemade pies are pretty good, too— especially the coconut cream.”
Joe Fehrer, custom woodworker, Snow Hill, Md.
“The place for home cooking in southern Worcester County is The Legacy. It used to be a nightclub in the seventies and early eighties, and the Purnell family still owns it. It’s buffet-style, and the restaurant is open Thursday through Saturday and every third Sunday. They offer specials like meatloaf, beef liver, and pork barbecue. They’re famous for their fried chicken, and chicken and dumplings are on special every third Sunday. Fridays are fish night. It’s a real nice family and really nice food.”
Betsy Rork, president and co-owner, The Town Dock, St. Michaels, Md.
“There’s a place called Sting-Ray’s right before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia. It’s a gas station, but it’s also a restaurant, and they say that the fish comes in through the back door. I’ve had fresh croakers there that tasted really good, and I love their fresh fruit pies.”
Lisa Bales, owner/sommelier, The Crossing at Casey Jones, La Plata, Md.
“Johnny Boy’s [Ribs] is a classic rib shack here in Charles County. It’s literally a roadside stand, and it’s the place to go to if you want to have good ribs. It’s a stripped-down kind of place with picnic tables and umbrellas, so you can eat outside. And it’s right on Route 301, so if you’re taking a day trip to visit Chapel Point overlooking the Port Tobacco River, it’s a great place to stop.”
Joey Helsel, client services and advertising manager, Aberdeen Ironbirds, Aberdeen, Md.
“I like the Nauti-Goose Saloon in North East. They have a great location, and the view overlooks the North East River. I like the tuna steak sandwich, the crab cakes, and the Maryland crab soup, and if you’re out on your boat, it’s really easy just to stop in and have a bite.”
Irma Phillips, retired Baltimore County teacher, Chase, Md.
“Eastern Baltimore County has so many hidden treasures. Dock of the Bay on Miller’s Island is one of my very favorite places, because the food is so good and you can sit right on the water. But By the Dock in Chase has absolutely the finest crab cakes in the area. It doesn’t get any better unless if you make them yourself. The Landing Strip in Chase is basically a bar that serves food. It’s a funny place—there’s an airplane on the roof, and the décor is all pictures of Glenn L. Martin’s planes.”
Joan Courpas, retired Harford County pharmacist, Perryville, Md.
“The Ballpark Restaurant on Route 1 between Bel Air and Conowingo has a lot of character; it’s been remodeled to look like a ballpark. It’s mostly sandwiches and burgers, and they have an old-time soda fountain. The tables are so close together, you end up bumping into whoever’s sitting next to you. I also like Pier 1 in North East. It’s a family place that’s been there a long time, and people line up outside to get in for breakfast.”
Ernest Green, music director, Annapolis Chorale, Annapolis
“The Breakfast Shop on Ritchie Highway is a great place. It’s a wonderful little storefront where they just serve breakfast. Their omelets are great, and everything is so fresh. I also like The Big Bean, a little coffee shop in Severna Park. I pop in as often as I can for a coffee and something sweet.”
Whitney Dollar, project manager for Med-IQ, Queenstown, Md.
“I like Pizza Palace in Cambridge. It’s greasy, good food, and they give you healthy portions of not-so-healthy food. I get a cheesesteak sub and a large Coke. The fries are totally greasy—and good. I also like Bob’s Mini-Mart in Queenstown. You’ll hear some local gossip there for sure. They have good coffee and the best darn breakfast sandwiches around: egg, cheese, and scrapple on a bagel. They also have really good French fries. It’s really friendly, local place.”
Jimmy’s Grille, Bridgeville, Del.
When Jimmy Tennefoss opened his restaurant in 1993 in Bridgeville (home of RAPA scrapple and two traffic lights), it was a fifty-nine-seat eatery housed in an old pizza parlor. The former butcher did all the cooking himself for the first five years. “I had no idea back then that it was going to be as big as it is now,” says Marboline Mullen, a cook at Jimmy’s since he opened (she’s now responsible for baking the famed six-inch-high banana walnut cakes.) “He was the mastermind. He trained all of the cooks, and most of the recipes were his doing.” Today, Jimmy’s seats 300 and is distinguishable by royal blue awnings and a convention hall-size parking lot, which spans the pie-shaped lot between routes 13 and 404. (It’s usually full.) Patrons, a mix of loyal locals and beach-bound tourists, slide into seafoam-green vinyl booths, lured by the old-fashioned home-cooked delights on the 114-item menu. Hand-painted signs on the walls tout Maxwell House Coffee, Jimmy’s “secret recipe” pancakes, and even a warning: No credit cards, please. Specialties of the house include the jumbo seafood platter (scallops, fried shrimp, flounder, crab cakes, and oysters), pan-fried chicken, and twenty-five vegetable side dishes, such as sweet potato soufflé, corn fritters, and scalloped apples. More unique offerings include the pretzel salad (a sinful mélange of strawberry Jell-O, cream cheese, whipped cream, and crumbled pretzel bits). Of course, Jimmy uses only real whipped cream in his desserts. “I only put what I personally like on the menu. And I don’t like Cool Whip or lamb, so I don’t serve them.” Says Jimmy, a slender fifty-four-year-old, who admits to picking “all day long” in the kitchen, “People never walk out of here hungry.” 18541 S. Main St., Bridgeville, Del. 302-337-7575. —Kessler Burnett
Holly’s Restaurant & Motel, Grasonville, Md.
Could there be a more prototypical road food restaurant than Holly’s? For three generations, it’s been feeding passers-by hungry for its fried chicken and vegetable crab soup, touted as the “best on the Eastern Shore.” This is an equal-opportunity eatery, attracting truckers, beachgoers, hunters, and locals cruising Route 50 through Grasonville. In the parking lot, you’ll see Mercedes with bike racks parked next to pick-ups with gun racks. It’s that kind of place.
Walk inside and everything just seems so familiar. The green-and-white tile floor. The wood-paneled walls. The paper placemats that ask diners to identify every state and its capital. (Even though it gives the first letter of each, how come we always forget that Montpelier is the capital of Vermont?) Behind the Formica countertop and thirteen swivel chairs, you’ll usually find owner Kay Ewing Maloney (aka Ms. Kay), a blur of blond hair and friendly hello’s. She’s been running the place since her husband Thomas’s death in 1987. Today, her son and grandsons work right by her side. This is clearly a family operation—and Ewing Maloney considers many of her customers part of the clan. “We have two types of customers,” she says. “The locals and what I call the traveling locals—the people who have been stopping by on the way to and from the beach for years. We’ve seen three generations of them.” Not much has changed at Holly’s since Thomas and Mary Ewing opened the restaurant in 1955 and named it after their youngest daughter. It was open twenty-four hours a day back then, but the seventies gas crunch—and its ensuing drop-off in traffic—effectively closed the midnight shift; now it’s just open from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. All the food is still made on the premises, from its fried chicken to the ice cream in its legendary milkshakes. And if they do make any alterations, the regulars let Mrs. Kay know about it. “They always say, ‘What are you doing? Why did you change? We want it to be like home.’"108 Jackson Creek Rd., Grasonville, Md. 410-827-8711 or http://www.hollysrest.com. —Joe Sugarman
Sting-Ray’s, Cape Charles, Va.
From Pennzoil to Poully Fuisse, there isn’t much that Sting-Ray’s doesn’t sell. Combination gas station/down-home restaurant, this roadside joint was originally a truck stop, garage, and convenience store before it was bought and spruced up by former owner Ray Hainey in 1990. “It was always a one-stop for everything and it pretty much still is,” says general manager Russell Moore. “You can fill up your car with gas and fill up on lunch.” Today, Sting-Ray’s, located five miles north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, offers road-trippers snackable staples (chips, soda, candy, beef jerky—even country ham) in the front-of-the-house section. In the back, big-rig drivers chow down alongside landed gentry in the linoleum-floored 100-seat restaurant, where head chef Nat Bannister works his magic seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Taxidermied sting rays, flounder, and marlin grace the wood-paneled walls, as do photos of famous patrons, from Redskin Bruce Smith to actress Georgia Engel. The extensive menu and daily specials are hand-written above the steel counter, where patrons place and pick up their orders (table service on weekends only). Specialties of the house include stuffed shrimp with crab imperial, broiled crab cakes, and chicken and dumplings. The joint has become so renowned that there’s even a section in the front dedicated to Sting-Ray-emblazoned souvenirs, from T-shirts and baseball caps to shot glasses and even barbecue sauce. “I’ve been in Florida and seen someone wearing a Sting-Ray’s T-shirt,” says Moore. “We’re famous.” 26507 Lankford Hwy., Cape Charles, Va. 757-331-2505 or http://www.sting-raysrestaurant.com. —Kessler Burnett
St. Mary’s Landing, Charlotte Hall, Md.
You can’t take a road trip through Southern Maryland without tripping over the local delicacy: stuffed ham. The traditional dish—corned ham stuffed with kale, cabbage, onions, and spices—is the specialty of the house at church suppers and roadside eateries and especially at St. Mary’s Landing, where it’s served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. “We make it at least two or three times a week,” says owner Billy Hill. “The key to stuffed ham is to buy it fresh and keep it fresh. The fresher it is, the better it tastes.” And at St. Mary’s Landing, the stuffed ham tastes pretty good. It’s served as a sandwich or as a platter or with a breakfast of two eggs and a potato cake. The recipe is a holdover from Hill’s Halfway House, a Mechanicsville landmark until the late 1990s, when Hill sold it and purchased St. Mary’s Landing. The current building had housed a popular rib joint and before that, a steakhouse. (Consider St. Mary’s Landing a “cumulative Hall of Famer.") These days, the restaurant fills with a post-church crowd on Sundays hungry for the all-you-can- eat breakfast buffet or the country breakfast of three eggs, hash browns, and real St. Mary’s County sausage, cooked in boiling water. ("You don’t put real country sausage in the broiler or fryer,” notes Hill.) Fried chicken, oysters, and ribs round out the hearty lunch and dinner menus. Like the best roadhouses, the restaurant itself is not much to look at—it’s poorly lit, half of it’s a tavern, and suspended TVs broadcast an endless string of Keno games in its two dining rooms—but it’s the food and wait staff that keep people coming back. “I’ve got a lot of kin in these parts,” says Hill, and three of them, all first cousins—Sharon, Delores, and Beverly—have more than fifty years waitressing experience between them. How many stuffed hams they’ve served in that time we can hardly imagine. 29935 Three Notch Rd. (Route 5), Charlotte Hall, Md. 301-884-3287. —Joe Sugarman
Mary K. Zajac writes from Baltimore, but loves to eat crab cakes and fried oysters at Dock of the Bay on Miller’s Island.
