Cup o' Joe
Food, travel, and news on the Chesapeake Bay
Cecil County’s Best Restaurant?
Have you been to Elkton’s Fair Hill Inn recently? The inn itself dates to 1764, but the restaurant has been made over in the last few years, and behind the stove are two talented chefs—and passionate foodies—Phil Pyle and Brian Shaw. The team has taken the “locavore” craze to a new level and sources as many ingredients as they can literally from their own backyard garden. Going one step further, the pair makes their own cheeses, cures their own meats, and employs a hive of bees for fresh honey. Their efforts have paid off, as the restaurant has been lauded as a true gourmand’s dining destination.
Fair Hill serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday, but summer diners should take advantage of its Sunday Garden Supper, which includes a four-course meal for an extremely reasonable $30. Every Sunday the dishes change, dictated entirely by what emerges from the garden. “It’s hard to say what we’ll make,” Pyle told me recently. “We see what we have in the dirt, yank it up, and put it on the plate.” (He did mention that all vegetables get a thorough washing first.)
Recent (June) dinners included wild king salmon with cauliflower puree, black truffle butter, and spring peas, and grilled beef medallions with glazed baby carrots and ramp butter risotto. Yum.
Sunday Garden Suppers are served between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. through the growing season. Reservations are suggested. 410-398-4187
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/26/09 at 01:32 PM
I recently received a handwritten letter from Dorchester County resident Jean V. Foxwell. I noticed the letter and envelope contained matching pinks roses, and the return address sticker featured a fat blue crab. It was written neatly in black pen.
One of the things I enjoy most about being editor of Chesapeake Life is receiving mail—especially snail mail. Call me old-fashioned (and people do), but in this world of e-mails and texting, I still think there are few things better than receiving a real, handwritten letter.
But onto the letter’s content. Ms. Foxwell was writing in hopes that I’d publicize the efforts of Dorchester Citizens for Safe Energy, a group that has mobilized against the proposed MAPP (Mid Atlantic Power Pathway), 500-kilovolt transmission lines that may potentially run through 27 miles of Dorchester County, and supply power to customers in Washington, D.C. and New Jersey. Ms. Foxwell wanted me to know the proposed 160-foot-tall towers could “destroy the value of our farms and woodland.” “Not only are the lines an eyesore,” she wrote, “but a health problem as well. I’m sure people do not want to come here to see woodland destroyed or farmland taken out of production. ... Perhaps some of your readers are not aware of these potential changes, but through your efforts they could become more aware of the plans and help put this out of fruition—so our farmers, watermen, and forestry people could continue our way of life in a safe, healthy manner.”
I admit to not being fully aware of the brewing controversy before receiving Ms. Foxwell’s letter. But after checking out the group’s website, http://www.dorchestersafeenergy.com, I am.
So there you have it, Ms. Foxwell. The word is out.
If you share Ms. Foxwell’s opinion—or not—please leave a comment below. Or better yet, write me a letter.
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/08/09 at 11:29 AM
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