Cup o' Joe

Food, travel, and news on the Chesapeake Bay

Sitting here drinking a cup of shade-grown Sumatra and thinking about the nice dinner I had last night in Millington, Md., of all places. Never heard of Millington? It’s a tiny town of 400-plus that straddles the Kent and Queen Anne county lines. It does have its very own exit sign along Route 301, just south of the Delaware-Maryland border. And a new Food Lion supermarket, too.

But it also has the Two Tree Restaurant, which opened about a year ago. The owner, Dennis Hager, is also the town pharmacist, former mayor, a recreational gardener, and outspoken town booster. He opened his restaurant, he says, because at every place to eat in Millington, “you leave smelling like onion rings.” We agreed that smelling like onion rings is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s better to have the choice not to.

Two Tree’s menu ranges from nightly “blue plate specials” of Shepherd’s Pie and Prime Rib to shrimp with sausage, tasso gravy and grits. Plus, I’d wager it’s the only place in Kent or Queen Anne’s county to find fresh ceviche. Yes, ceviche in downtown Millington.

Behind the burners at the restaurant is the husband-wife duo of Michael and Eileen Jacobson, a couple of kitchen veterans from the Charleston, S.C., restaurant scene, whose last gig was doing the catering for one of Circe du Soleil’s traveling shows. As a side project, the pair has recently launched a series of multicourse, gourmet wine dinners prepared with locally sourced ingredients. Even better: all profits from the $80 tickets go to charity. The next one is coming up sometime in May; check their Web site for more info.

So next time you’re in Millington (or, more likely, whizzing by on Route 301), stop by Two Tree for lunch or dinner: you won’t leave smelling like onion rings.

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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/03/09 at 10:25 AM

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