Roadside Restaurants — Part 1
There is nothing so fine as to enjoy a dinner that doesn’t try to be pretentious while avoiding the many ‘chain’ restaurants that fill the cities and line the highways of our nation. Not for me are the many fast-food joints that flood the cities and towns. Not for me are the bistros and cafés that reside by the dozens around the states. In fact, while I enjoy their food, even the places that carry a limited number of ‘franchises’ truly interest me. There’s no variety in them. You go into one, you’ve been in them all.
However, Guy Fieri has beaten me to the idea of finding those out of the way spots that somehow serve gourmet food in a home-town style. His TV show and the followup book “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” covers them very well. But what about the true family restaurant? What about that roadside place that’s been in one location for decades? Every city has them; every town has at least two. Most have more. Nice, tasty, home style food just like Mom used to make (or better in some cases.) Today I’m going to start discussing some of the roadside restaurants that I’ve visited. Maybe you’ll recognize one. Hopefully the few I haven’t visited in a while still stand. And of course, if I find a new one, I’ll tell about it here.
I’m starting this list with a restaurant I visited today; Baker’s Restaurant on MD route 213 between Chesapeake City, MD and Elkton. (http://www.bakersrestaurant.net/) I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve driven past this restaurant, always seeing the parking lot absolutely packed with cars. This isn’t a small restaurant, either… well, not like some I’m sure you’ve seen. Now over fifty years old, Baker’s has expanded three times since its founding and often looks like it needs to expand again.
On sighting the restaurant, the landscaping is unpretentious yet elegant, flowering plants and greenery topping a low brick wall all across the front just below the windows while dark red awnings hang low to block the morning glare and keep the place homey. A kind of patio surrounds the front door, open to the air but covered to protect you from the sun if you need to wait for a table. Benches line the perimeter of this patio so you don’t have to stand as you wait. Passing through the weather room, you enter a wide foyer, fronted by a full desk, almost looking like the entrance to an old-style Inn rather than a restaurant. The hostess greets you with a smile and if there’s no wait, guides you straight to a spacious booth or table for almost any size party. Inside, the decor is friendly, expanding on that Inn-like quality with simple decorations that don’t look like clutter, but truly like a well-kept home. You’re already comfortable.
The menu takes up several pages, but they’re not crowded and overwhelming. If you have some idea of what you want–chicken, beef, seafood, sandwiches, whatever–it has its own page and the selection is simple and understandable. In my own case, I went straight to the Pepperjack Chicken: “Two grilled checken breasts topped with mom’s homemade bbq sauce, bacon & pepper jack cheese.“ My wife chose the Seafood Catch of the Day, spiced with blackening seasonings. The dinners come with a choice of two vegetables or a salad and one vegetable. I went simple with applesauce and mashed potato with gravy while she chose pickled beets and cut red potatoes with dill sauce. She absolutely loved both, discovering the beets were not canned fare but home-styled while the sauce on the potatoes reminded her of a cream sauce she makes herself for broiling fish. In other words, very good.
The service was just as good. We never had to wait for a refill of our drinks, nor did we have to wait to place our orders. The waitress checked back quite frequently to make sure we were satisfied, but never became annoying by asking too often.
I guess the one way you can really tell it’s a good family restaurant is to look at the other patrons. On entering Baker’s, the first thing I noticed was that many of the tables were occupied by older couples, some up easily into their 70s or later. At the same time, the booth behind me was occupied mere minutes later by five young people in their 20’s. Everyone seemed to know what to expect and everyone seemed to enjoy their food.
I know I did.
Related posts:
