Cup o' Joe
Food, travel, and news on the Chesapeake Bay
Wayne Gilchrest Speaks His Mind
I had breakfast last week with former Republican congressman Wayne Gilchrest at The Village Bakery in Chestertown. (He had two eggs over light with rye toast and a side of home fries, if you must know.) In a wide-ranging—and extremely candid—interview that will appear in our fall issue, Gilchrest talked about everything from getting shot in Vietnam to working at a chicken slaughterhouse to his disdain for campaigning. He also had a lot to say about the war in Iraq, Congressional dysfunction, and the Gulf Coast oil spill. As a long-time environmentalist, Gilchrest is particularly horrified by the spill—and blames many of the Gulf Coast’s lawmakers for for their anti-environmental stance:
“Every Gulf Coast Republican is the biggest anti-environmentalist you can imagine. And these Gulf Coast Republicans—and to some extent Gulf Coast Democrats, too—these Gulf Coast Republicans voted to eliminate the Endangered Species Act. They voted for the ‘Dirty Water Act in 1995, [a bill to weaken the Clean Water Act]. Every time we tried to bring in some really good environmental policy—whether it was fisheries or clean air or preserving wetlands or managing the oceans or whatever it was—they voted against it. They brought in big oil and now they’re all crying foul: ‘All of the fishermen are out of work. The oil is killing our marshes.’ Well, no kiddin’! Look what you did for 30 years.”
He’s also doubts that its long-term environmental impact is getting through to people: “I listen to the people who own charter boats or fourth-generation fishermen or people who own hotels and I don’t hear them saying that we’ve exploited nature far too long. I don’t hear them saying that. I hear them saying, ‘I wanna get paid by BP.’ They don’t understand that they’ve been a part of this—whether they’re oil men or hotel owners or fishermen—that they’ve contributed to this because of their activity to the degradation of the local ecology.”
As you can see, Gilchrest still isn’t afraid to speak his mind. (Likely one of the reasons why he lost the Republican primary to Andy Harris in 2008.) You’ll be able to read a lot more of my interview with the Kent County resident in our Fall 2010 issue, due out in late August.
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/28/10 at 02:01 PM
So did you read that the state of Maryland is laying out $50 million to purchase 1,000 slot machines for a casino in Cecil County? The article in The Sun states that payment works out to $46,542 per video terminal. The article also quotes an industry expert who thinks that figure is about $36,000 too high. Meanwhile, a state lottery spokeswoman claims that the $50 million purchase price is skewed because some of the complicated machines cost significantly more—for instance something called the “Shuffle Master” costs taxpayers $116,000 per machine.
I can’t say I’m overly familiar with slot machine technology but doesn’t $116,000 seem like an awful lot of money for something that doesn’t appear that much more complicated than a Nintendo system with flashing lights and an arm to pull? Is the technology in the Shuffle Master more complicated—and more expensive—than that in a car? Or a boat? Heck, I could even buy a small airplane for $116,000. I’m sorry, but I can’t see spending $116,000 on anything I can’t either drive or live in.
A couple years back we did a story about the refurbished Japanese slot machines sold by Great Gatherings in Annapolis Towne Centre. These flashing and blinking beauties look like great fun and can be purchased from the store for a measly 329 bucks each. So here’s an idea: How about the state brings their $50 million check to Great Gatherings and gets in return—by my calculations—151,976 slot machines. That should cover the Cecil County casino, plus enough left over for every man, woman, and child in Annapolis to open their own little gaming parlors in their living rooms. Really, just imagine the tax revenues…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/11/10 at 10:13 AM
I recently returned from scouting new shops and restaurants at the Delaware beaches. (I suppose someone has to!) You’ll be able to read the full feature here in about two weeks, but I thought I’d give a little preview of what I think will be the hot new places this season:
1. Henlopen City Oyster House. This Rehoboth Beach oyster bar replaces the popular Celsius restaurant along Wilmington Avenue. It’s a handsome space, all right, done up in sophisticated, oyster-y grays and whites with big picture windows overlooking the street. Hasn’t Rehoboth Beach always needed a real raw bar? Henlopen City delivers by offering a half-dozen different types of oysters on the half shell, and a great selection of mircobrews and wines from boutique producers.
2. Conch Island Key West Bar and Grill. They’re already calling this boisterous Rehoboth restaurant/bar “Starboard North,” after the famous Dewey Beach bar. The vibe is definitely a little more mature than the Starboard, but with live bands on Saturday night and all-day happy hours on Sunday, the party spills out onto the sidewalk. Local opinion is definitely divided.
3. Betty’s Pure and Simple. Most things owner Matt Haley (Fish On! Bluecoast, Northeast Seafood Kitchen, Catch 54) touches turns to gold, so I expect this place will do well, too. The menu features sophisticated takes on standard comfort food (mac ‘n’ cheese, meatloaf, etc.) and most entrees cost less than 20 bucks. Unfortunately, both our meals were WAY over salted. Ease up, chef. The dishes may hearken back to the ‘70s, but the sodium content doesn’t have to.
4. Nicola Pizza on the Avenue. It only took 39 years, but Nicola Pizza finally opened another (much larger) location. The new bi-level restaurant features the Upper Deck, a hoppin’ sports bar on the second floor. Menus are the same throughout.Maybe now you won’t have to wait more than an hour at the old location to get a table!
Remember, check back on our home page in two weeks for the full story.
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/09/10 at 01:50 PM
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