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the BLUE HERON CAFE Reviewed by Danielle Hanscom, November 2007
The Blue Heron Cafe has been the most consistently good restaurant in Chestertown. Don't be fooled by the casual atmosphere, the food is inovative, elegant and delicious. The service excellent. The oyster fritter served with a lemon butter sauce is my favorite appetizer or lunch treat. The crab cakes are a treat to remember.
Open Monday through Saturday with the exception of Thanksgivings Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day it has been a favorite with our guests for years.
The Front Room at the Imperial Hotel
Reviewed by Liz Janega, October, 2006
The Imperial Hotel on High Street in Chestertown is under new ownership, and its restaurant has been renamed “The Front Room.” The new executive chef, Tom Pizzica, is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy. Most recently he worked with Wolfgang Puck at Postrio in San Francisco. Danielle and I had heard rave reviews about the new restaurant’s brunch, so we decided to make reservations for dinner. For a starter, I had the Sautéed Crab Cake, and it was wonderful – a generous portion of large chunks of moist crab meat on a bed of angel hair and pesto. Danielle had the Local Beet Salad with honeydew melon, goat cheese and a citrus vinaigrette dressing. The beets were fresh out of the garden, but the melon could have been riper.
For our main course, I chose the Butter Poached Scallops with roasted garlic, basil salad, and reduced balsamic sauce. The scallops were enormous and quite tasty, but I would have preferred more of a seared exterior, even though that is not the current trend. Danielle had the Chorizo-Stuffed Quail with mustard spaetzle and garlic jus. She reported that the meat was tender and tasty, but the spaetzle too mustardy.
Dessert was one of the highlights of the meal. My crème brulee had the requisite almost impervious sugary shell (tap – tap – shatter!) that after being cracked revealed a light and creamy custard. Danielle had the apple tart with ice cream which she liked so much that she said the next time she would skip the ice cream and just have the apple tart!
Our reservations were on a Thursday night, and though it was quite busy, we did not have to wait for a table. The service was attentive but not obtrusive. Our water glasses were filled whenever they were close to empty, and it was never difficult to find a server if we needed one.
Main courses average between $24 and $32. There is an extensive wine list and a nice selection of beers for a reasonable $4 each. The Front Room is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, and serves brunch on Sunday.
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