ONTO OXFORD

The town of Oxford was our next destination. Laurie set the GPS to the address of the Oxford Museum, located at 100 S. Morris Street.  Morris Street is one of the main strips.  Coming from St. Michaels it would be easy to take the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry.  The problem is that the GPS did not know that the ferry was not operating.  We had to go alongside Easton and then find route 333 taking us onto Morris Street.

They had to find a place to store a collection of more than 2,500 artifacts, but not all are on display as the exhibits run a gamut of cultural, historic and economic evolution of Oxford.  This town is one of the country's earliest colonial ports through the American Revolution, the Civil War, days of the railroads, oysters and watermen.  More info is available through their literature and website www.oxfordmuseum.org

 

The rubber chickens must have been there as I found a photo of them posing with Executive Director, Ellen Anderson and one of many volunteers.

Sunday Brunch at Latitude 38 Bistro and Spirits.  We met owner Wendy Palmer.  Love the wood decor and paintings in this restaurant and more so, the food.  Slices of perfectly soft and cinnamon-sugar topped coffee cake are placed on the table, rather than bread. They make their own fresh lemonade and being a brunch, I had to try the Bloody Mary that is rimmed topped with Old Bay seasoning.

I ordered the Tuscan Spinach Salad topped with grilled shrimp, grilled vegetables, shaved parmesan, with grilled Naan bread and a basil vinaigrette.

Rather than the traditional Eggs Benedict I opted for the Crispy Fried Oyster Benedict with poached eggs and a creamy Hollandaise that came with slices of melon and hashed red potatoes.

Laurie chose the Crispy Fried Oysters on a large Caesar Salad.

Mystery Loves Company is the name of a bookstore selling mostly mystery books.  Kathy Harig is the owner of this most charming store that has a history of being a bank.  In fact, the safe is still there. They offer books on the Eastern Shore's history, fiction for all ages, and of course, mystery.  You'll find both new and gently used books including new authors. 

,

Check out Sister In Crime, an organization to promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve equality in the industry.

I don't just scream for ice cream especially when finding a local creamery and hand made.  This one is called Scottish Highland Creamery, located on Tilghman Street, next to a boat launch.  Victor Barlow grew up in Scotland and lived above an Italian ice cream parlor.  That's where he worked and learned how to make both ice cream and gelato. Victor and is wife Susan run this ice cream-to-go venue that has some outdoor seating. 

Although they have about 600 flavors, only about a dozen are presented for hand scooping and some uncommon flavors. I couldn't decide on one flavor so I had: Chocolate Cherry Muffin, Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint, Double Belgian Chocolate and Strawberry Sorbet gelato.

People tend to walk their dogs and treat them to ice cream.  I don't blame them as although dogs don't seem to have a problem eating "anything", a special ice cream is set aside for dogs using soy milk. 

As if we didn't have enough to eat Afternoon Tea was a treat at Robert Morris Inn that holds a long history and why the main street of Oxford is named after him.  Although it might be historically of interest to many, I was most interested in the "Tea".  We chose the Celebration Tea so that I might taste it all.  It consisted of three tiers at which the bottom held "tea sandwiches" of: egg salad with arugula; smoked salmon with lemon and cucumber; and roast beef with horseradish, lettuce and tomato.  The middle layer had cookies, scones, house-made Smith Island cake, meringue filled with Chantilly cream. The top layer held the whipped cream, lemon curd and strawberry preserves to pair with the scones.  As for the tea, I was surprised to see a selection of tea bags. Due to tea being offered to guests of the inn during the afternoon they cannot accommodate the use of loose tea and the pots that they are brewed in.  There is a private room used for this Afternoon Tea vs where the guests are having tea and scones.

,

ST. MICHAELS, THE NEXT TOWN

The town of St. Michaels is West of Easton along Route 33.

We turned right on Watkins Lane to the Inn at Perry Cabin to have breakfast with a view of the Miles River.  I had a omelet with lump crab meat, spinach and shiitaki mushrooms along with yukon potatoes.  Rather than a fruit juice I opted for a bowl of fresh berries.

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is located "just around the corner", situated on 18 waterfront acres. We did a guided tour. www.cbmm.org

The skipjack Rosie Parks is being restored.  There is a great family story that surrounds this skipjack.

There is an opportunity to engage in ship building.

Check out the Hooper Strait Lighthouse moved from the treacherous waters of Hooper Strait.  Great view, too.

Point Lookout Tower is not open to the public. It was once used to guide vessels into the Potomac River.

Over at the Waterman's Wharf, we were able to catch oysters using the oyster nippers or tongs.  There were eel pots and the opportunity to catch some blue crabs.  None were for the eating...just to see how it's done.

Many other buildings to explore including a small boat shed recreating a carb picking plant and another that gave a history of how the Bay has changed over the last 100 years.

The museum, Crab Claw restaurant and tour boat called The Patriot are all in the same area.  Before boarding the Patriot we had lunch at Crab Claw.  We both indulged in a half dozen of raw oysters as the season was just ending.  That was followed by a cup of the Maryland Crab Soup.  My main course was the Maryland Crab Cake on a bun with freshly made cole slaw.

Back to route 33, better known as Talbot Street, for a wine tasting at St. Michaels Winery.  The building houses a wine tasting room where you can either side up to one of two copper wine bars or one of about a half dozen barrels.  A server will present a list of wine flights with dry whites, dry reds and sweet wines. One interesting one was a Chocolate Zinfandel.  I noticed some rubber chickens checking out the wine bottles.

We then checked into the Old Brick Inn.  There is the main Jones House, and Carriage House in one location.  A few blocks away is the Kemp House, where we stayed.  My room was called the Bay Hundred, located on the second floor.  It had a queen sized bed and a day bed.  The oddity was that there was no chair or table but I managed to hang out on the day bed to do my writing.  Having a shower rather than a tub was best for my arthritic hip.  We stayed here for two nights.

Dinner was at Ava's Pizzeria and Wine Bar, also on Talbot Street.  Busy place.  Although they are known for having great pizza I scanned the menu for other options.  I had a fennel and arugula salad followed by a special of sauteed sea scallops.  For an entree it was the Boneless Short Ribs with glazed carrots and a puree of parsnips and potatoes.  Laurie went for the Chicken Marsala with baby bella mushrooms, spaghetti and green beans.  Laurie hates mushrooms but rather than pass on having it on the plate, I got it passed to my plate.  They went perfect with the ribs. Too full for dessert.

ROAD TRIPPING TO TALBOT COUNTY, MARYLAND

I love to explore areas that are not usually visited and written about.  They become "gems".   Laurie and I decided on a road trip to Talbot County in Maryland, located around the Chesapeake Bay.  We traveled from New York City going through New Jersey and Delaware and using a GPS.

Although the trip could have been done without a stop we thought it better to get out an stretch after about two hours. It is both good for both the driver as well as passengers for blood circulation, even if you don't require the use of a restroom.  Keeping hydrated in a car may not be as important as in an airplane, so pack bottles of water to keep from buying more expensive at the rest stops.

Talbot County has special towns, each with their own ambiance and things to do.  Easton is the heart of the county and the location of the main tourism office.  That is where we headed to.

It was getting to a bit past lunchtime and found a place called Oxford Greens Homestore and Market Restaurant at 124 Aurora Street. From the outside you would never tell that the decor has lots of antiques.  Laurie bought a sandwich.  I tried one of the desserts...tiramisu....yummy.  The owner is a chef. 

The tourism office is located on Harrison Street, one of the main strips of Easton.  Just outside the office sat a bus, owned by the group called The Grascals, a Bluegrass group.   We would later be attending the show at the Avalon Theatre, located on Dover Street, just caddy corner from The Tidewater Inn, where we would be staying overnight.

Being the first Friday of the month, Easton does an Art Walk. However, this will change beginning in June of 2013 moving it to the first Saturday.  Easton is known for having lots of art galleries as well as the Academy Art Museum on South Street.  We took some of the walk spending some time at Troika Gallery, just next door to the visitor center.  Two of the three owners were present, Laura Era and Jennifer Heyd, each having their own style of art work. 

Most intriguing was a piece of art that Laura (in the back) was commissioned to paint.  It appears that Anna Ella Carroll was much a part of the Abe Lincoln/Civil War era without getting her due credit in a painting.  The Francis B. Carpenter's famous 1864 painting, "First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln" depicts an empty chair draped with a red shawl, along with maps and notes similar to those Carroll carried, an attempt to recognize Carroll.  Thanks to Laura, Anna is now in the painting entitled "Maryland's Version of First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation".

We stopped into one store, that was not an art gallery, where they were having a wine tasting.  The wines were from Maryland but in the abutting county of Dorchester.  Many of the galleries offer some food or refreshment. Here are other photos of our walk.

Dinner was at the Bartlett Pear Inn.  Jordan and Alice Lloyd are the owners with Jordan as the Executive Chef.  I would characterize it as "local finest dining cuisine".  Jordan not only makes it a point to use local foods, you can just see the amount of work done to complete each dish, even beyond the art work itself.
Being the name of Barlett Pear, I had to have a pear drink.  It was a pear liquor mixed with a pear puree.  Boy do they make a great pear!

I should have take a photo of the bread and butter.  The bread is made in the kitchen, the butter is coming from a local creamery called Nice Farms Creamery.  Best butter I've had in years!!!  Turned down the butter at every other restaurant. 

Here is the info given to me by Jordan regarding the food being local. Salad The salad greens are from Turtle Boy Farms. Turtle Boy's name is Will.  He picks the greens daily upon request. Timely service is his specialty.  His farm is 2 years old, in Ridgely. The greens are a mixture of tatsoi, arugula and mizuna.  Sliced cucumbers and a 300 year old aged balsamic.  We always have an array of pickled vegetables. Right now we are using a raspberry vinaigrette. For a bit of crunch, we make a thin crisp savory cookie, spiced with black peppercorn.

Rabbit The rabbit is from Nibble Green Farm (Hagerstown).  The specialty behind this dish is that we make a natural French jus from the bones of the creature. Reduced, it is the texture of jello. This is the filling for the ravioli.. When the ravioli is broken, the sauce is received. The shape comes from a classic french method called ballotine.  The rabbit is deboned, pounded thin and then rolled around a julienne of carrots.  This is our little way showing what the rabbit may have eaten.  It is then seared, sliced and presented.

Fluke The vegetable barrel is stolen from Marco Pierre White. Beautiful technique.  Beurre Blanc, a constant somewhere on our menu.  The fluke is coming from North carolina and is steamed.  Steaming is the cleanest way to present the simple nuances of a delicate fish.  House cured pork belly (bacon) are cooked until crisp and strewn about the dish.

Bass English Peas are the most exciting ingredient.  I took them early this year from a place I was unawre of.  Teddy Bear Produce is my produce company.  They always give me quality.  Shamefully I didn't ask where they came from, I just used them knowing they were not from my immediate area. We should have ours soon. The bass is coated very simply with a sauce called "Vierge". I choose a English Pea Vierge.  English Peas-Nicoise Olives - Lemon Segments- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lemon Juice, capers and fresh herbs.  Garlic Confit also garnishes the plate as smooth puree.

The chocolate cake is made by a baker on the premises.  Chocolate itself comes from a local company called Sibu Sura of which they start from the cocoa beans from Peru.  Ice cream is made in the kitchen.

Dinner ending, it was time to walk over to the Avalon Theatre to see the Grascals. This Bluegrass group consists of:  Danny Roberts on the mandolin, fiddler Jeremny Abshire, Jamie Johson and Terry Eldredge with their guitars, Terry Smith on the bass and an extremely talented Kristin Scott Benson plucking the banjo.