Food on the Maryland/Delaware Trip 2020

On the way out to the beaches, we stopped at the Ram's Head Shore House. Located on Kent Island just the other side of the Bay Bridge from Annapolis, the restaurant made a convenient stopping point. Bay Bridge traffic was already getting backed up at Thursday's lunchtime. We were glad to have a break from driving.

The restaurant has a large covered seating area out back to be compliant with pandemic lockdown requirements. Inside, there was only one other customer, so we decided to take a socially-distant booth.

Decor on the back of the building

My eldest had his beloved mac and cheese. I had a steak-a-dilla along with Old Rasputin, a Russian Imperial Stout from North Coast Brewing Company. It had a rich, roasted chocolate flavor that I liked a lot.

My beer

For dessert, we traveled another hour or so to Vanderwende's Creamery. My son was a little distressed by the sign.

The sign

Somehow, he only read the bit about milk and cheese and wasn't too enthusiastic about the dessert options.

The building is unassuming and charmingly simple.

The store

Picking out flavors

They had a scattering of tables outside where we enjoyed our very generous scoops. My scoop was Banana Fudge Walnut, which was delightful. I had to help two of the children finish theirs. Oh, the burdens of parenting!

Enjoying ice cream

We saw the cows from a distance.

Cows at the creamery

The business end of the creamery

On the Ocean City boardwalk, there's a million little shops that sell food, clothing, and souvenirs. We bought donuts from The Fractured Prune, a donut shop that makes fresh, customized donuts. The customer can pick the glaze, the topping, and/or sugar. The shop is very popular, so we had to stand in line for a few minutes, even before 9 a.m.

Waiting to order a donut

We ordered off the recommendations: Chocolate-covered cherry (cherry glaze and mini-chocolate chips), Caramel Bliss (caramel glaze with mini-chocolate chips), French Toast (maple glaze and cinnamon sugar), and Blueberry Hill (blueberry glaze and powdered sugar).

Food, glorious food!

Near our rental was an ice cream shop called King Kone. I bought a Jersey Shake in loyalty to my birth state. It was a delicious combination of caramel and vanilla.

My shake

Other shakes were available

We did some take out meals, but nothing too spectacular. We did a lot of cooking at the rental as a way to save money and to provide something satisfactory to all tastes.

Rams Head World Beer Club Update Summer 2019

More beers from the World Beer Club at Rams Head Tavern!

Maui Coconut Hiwa (6.0% alcohol by volume) from Maui Brewing Company. I tried to have the Maui Pineapple beer but they were out. I went with their recommendation, the Maui Coconut Hiwa, a porter with flavors of coconut and mocha. I tasted more of the mocha than the coconut. The porter was the most dominant flavor, overshadowing both the coconut and the mocha. I thought this was just okay, though I am looking forward to the pineapple wheat beer if they get it back in stock.

This is not the beer you are looking for

St. Michael's Amber Ale (5.5% alcohol by volume) from Eastern Shore Brewing. It's a nice amber ale from a (sort of) local brewery. The beer wasn't anything exceptional and I did a bad job of pouring it as the picture below shows.

St. Michael's Amber Ale

Whoops!

Scottish Ale (5.2% alcohol by volume) from Belhaven Brewery. This is a smooth drinking amber ale with flavors of biscuit and nuts. I'm pretty sure I drank this back in the UK days. It is from Scotland and is the brewery's most popular concoction. After 300 years in business, they have definitely perfected this one.

No accidental head here!

See my past adventures:
  Initial Post
  January 2019

  February/March 2019

Rams Head World Beer Club Update for February and March 2019

It's been a slow winter for my beer club drinking. We've had a bunch of other family activities and not enough celebrations to get out to Rams Head Tavern at Savage Mill. Here's what I sampled in the last two months:

#36 is Vienna Lager (5.2% alcohol by volume) from Devil's Backbone. What's a Vienna-style lager? The restaurant lists this beer under the Dark Amber section. It was satisfying and unlike most other lagers. It's not too sweet and not too bitter and yet still distinctive enough. It hasn't become a new favorite but it will definitely get preferential treatment.

Vienna Lager

#51 is Affligem Blonde (6.7% alcohol by volume) from Affligem Global. The brewery goes back to 1074 A.D. when a group of knights became monks and founded a monastery in the town of Affligem. This beer is easy to drink with a fine flavor. The Belgium influence is there--I did detect a nutty flavor. I enjoyed it a lot. Belgium is still my favorite source for beers.

Affligem Blonde

I went out twice for drinks, hopefully Spring will bring more tastings my way.

See my past adventure:
  Initial Post
  January 2019

Rams Head World Beer Club Update for January 2019

I continue to sample the 150 beers on offer from Rams Head Tavern (see the first post here)...

At Rams Head Tavern at Savage Mill, I tried beer #100 Goose 312 (ABV 4.2%, IBU 18), an urban wheat ale from Goose Island Beer Company. The company write-up is this:

Inspired by the city of Chicago and densely populated with flavor, 312's spicy aroma of Cascade hops is followed by a crisp, fruity ale flavor delivered in a smooth, creamy body that's immensely refreshing.

I like wheat ales and this was a tasty rendition. I don't think it replaces Blue Moon or Hoegaarden, but I'm glad I had it and would drink it again. It's your classic cloudy wheat ale. I for one am not snobbish about drinking a beer from a can, though having the glass is nice.

I realize this is a bad showing, especially at the beginning. This shamefully short post is working to make me go more often. Look forward to a more substantial post next month, dear reader...

Rams Head World Beer Club Initial Post

One of our favorite local restaurants is Rams Head Tavern at Savage Mill. Rams Head is a small chain of restaurants mostly in Maryland, though they do have one in Key West, Florida. The local restaurant is near our favorite board game store, and the mill has a great used book store and a chocolate shop. So we visit the mill a lot. I've known about Rams Head's World Beer Club for a couple of years now and have finally decided to take the plunge and sign up.

The World Beer Club is based on a list of 150 beers that the restaurants have available. As patrons work their way through the list, they get various awards for trying 50, 100, and 150 different brews. I started off with two beers:

Brooklyn Brown Ale by Brooklyn Brewery (5.6% alcohol by volume) is a great brown ale that blends a dark bitterness with a smooth flavor and a rich body that makes it satisfying to drink. This was a great start to a 150-beer challenge.

The challenge does not have a time limit on it, just the goal of trying the huge variety of beers available. The beer menu is broken down into categories, letting customers focus on favorites or experiment with new styles. Brown Ales aren't new to me, so I felt this was a safe start. I am a little worried about dipping into the IPA section of the menu!

My second ale was a stout:

Flapjack Maple Milk Stout by Calvert Brewing Company (6.9% alcohol by volume) is a fine beverage with just a hint of maple syrup flavoring along with nice stout robustness. The label claims, 

Flapjack Maple Milk Stout is extra roasty, and just slightly sweet from the addition of non-fermentable milk sugar and real Vermont maple syrup. Don't let the name fool you; this stout is smooth, balanced and drinkable, and always a crowd-pleaser, no matter the time of year.

I have to agree it is a very enjoyable brew, though it is probably better on its own than with a meal.

Two down and only one hundred and forty-eight to go! My plan is to average out one beer a week, so it will take me a little under three years to finish the challenge. We'll see if I can exceed expectations on this challenge!