Cup o' Joe

Food, travel, and news on the Chesapeake Bay

Isn’t it good to see life return to the old Inn at Easton site?

I had dinner at the new Bartlett Pear Inn last week, and if the busy Wednesday night crowd is any indication, this will be the place to eat in the coming months. The small, eggplant-colored lounge area, decorated with votive candles floating in water-filled martini glasses and dangling halogen lamps, was positively hopping with a pre-dinner throng. You can order a few appetizers here—truffle parmesan Pop Secret, anyone?—or relax with a glass of wine from the predominantly French list.

Owners Jordan and Alice Lloyd have done a nice job keeping things “elegantly casual” in the small dining room. Jordan trained under such culinary luminaries as Michel Richard, Thomas Keller, and Christian Delouvrier, and his skill with traditional French cuisine is apparent. I enjoyed a fresh-tasting house-made pate, extremely tender steak au poivre, and a lovely poached pear for dessert. The chocolate soufflé, served with an unusual—but tasty—basil sauce, was a decadent treat. Entree prices mainly hover in the mid-20’s.

Each of the inn’s seven guest rooms are named after varieties of pears and run $125 to $285 per night. The Lloyds, Easton natives who met at Mason’s 10 years ago, will likely offer some kid-friendly activities at the inn as well. Look for possible “movie nights,” during which parents can leave their children to watch a movie in the inn’s rear room and have a grown-up dinner at the restaurant. Cheaper than a babysitter… 

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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/27/09 at 10:34 AM

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No, it’s not the upmarket Sobo’s Winebeerstro or well-regarded Ikebana sushi. Actually, the No. 1 rated restaurant according to TripAdvisor.com is the tiny deli/bakery, Acorn Market. I received this tip from a reader and had to check the place out.

Owner Jill Myslinski greeted me at her small shop behind The Country House complex with a couple of her famous sweet potato biscuits. (“Oprah has eaten them,” Myslinski told me.) She said people go crazy for the moist little morsels and that she usually sells out daily.

I found Acorn Market’s appeal obvious: this is a cozy little place with farmhouse tables and huge photos of farm animals on the walls in the small dining room. Out front, there’s a fantastic bakery case of just-baked goodies and a sandwich board with interesting choices, including something called “The Pilgrim,” which turns out to be turkey and cranberry sauce on “homemade stuffing bread”—all for $6.49. Myslinski says the lunch line usually starts forming by 11:30 and doesn’t let up until well after 1 p.m.

I have to say I found the sweet potato biscuits a little rubbery, but the baked buttermilk doughnuts, chocolate-chip cookies, and especially, the “famous” fudge brownies were all outstanding. The sandwiches all looked fresh and healthy, too.

No. 1 ranking, indeed. 

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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/07/09 at 11:30 AM

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