The Tides, 46580 Expedition Drive, Lexington Park, MD

Our adventure at The Tides this evening (Saturday, 14 July) was a 9.5!  Take advantage of this well situated restaurant (46580 Expedition Drive, Lexingron Park) for a great meal for your next special occasion.  Reservations are recommended - 301.862.5303. 
We enjoyed a nice bottle of California Cabernet with the warm bread and olive oil / balsamic vinegar dip.  Two in our party had the soup of the day, a split pea, that was not the traditional thick pea soup but was light and aromatic, fragrant with parmesan.  They both agreed that is was delicious.

Dinner entrees enjoyed by our group included pan seared duck breast with blackberry gastrique, bacon wrapped filet mignon with blackberry port sauce, Chicken Chesapeake - pan seared chicken breast with jumbo lump crab and sherry cream sauce, and special of the day Seafood Medley - soft crab, shrimp, and scallops.  The duck diner said that the dish was delicious and he cleaned his plate.  I enjoyed the filet mignon and was absolutely delighted by the perfectly cooked tender filet (medium rare).  I asked the other filet mignon diner for a numerical rating and he said 9.5 - I had to agree.  It was one of the best pieces of beef that I've had in a long time.  The sauce and scattered blackberries contributed to the flavor experience.  The chicken diners agreed that their dinner was delicious - they both ate their crab and half of the chicken breast, taking the other half home for lunch tomorrow.  The Seafood Medley diner said that his dinner was tasty and ample.

Sides selected by our diners were asparagas, snow peas, garlic mashed potatoes, and crab risotto.  Being an asparagas lover, I would have enjoyed more than the three little spears but it was an adequate serving.  The crab risotto was another fabulous dish that several diners raved about.  That was also one of my selections and it was indeed enjoyable, creamy and flavorful.

We really indulged this evening and several of us had dessert and coffee.  Our selections ranged from Baked Alaska to  Chocolate Cream Pie, to Blueberry Cheesecake.  The Baked Alaska was made with orange sherbert and was okay - more sherbert would have enhanced the taste.  The cake and meringue were just a little too sweet while the sherbert lent a tang to the dish but it was a melted puddle in the bottom of the bowl.  The Chocolate Cream Pie served in a ramekin was decadent - rich, creamy, chocolatey - who could ask for more in a chocolate dessert?!  The Blueberry Cheesecake was dry.  It had a slightly tangy taste which I didn't mind - reminded me of yogurt - but it formed a paste in the mouth that required coffee or water to wash down - gross! 

Put this treasure on your list of places to have a wonderful meal.  I don't often find myself back in Lexington Park once the work week is done.  I have enjoyed some delicious and affordable lunches at The Tides, but it's now at the top of my dinner recommendations as of this very evening.  Enjoy!

The Birchmere Music Hall, Alexandria, VA

The Birchmere Music Hall is a great place to hear live music of all kinds - check out the website at http://www.birchmere.com/ and make the trip soon.  It's only about 1.5 hours from Lexington Park for an evening of great entertainment.  We went on 29 June to hear The Flatlanders - a TX group with an entertaining background and unique sound.  But ... this is a food blog.

I had the Mexican Chicken Tostada, chicken layered with black beans, a tostada, and diced tomatoes in a casserole dish with monetery jack cheese melted on top, served with a side of mango slaw.  Hubby had the prime rib sandwich au jus with spud of the day, sweet potato chips.  I've never been impressed with The Birchmere food.  They have a captive audience - if you want a good seat for the show, you need to arrive early to get a seat when the doors open about an hour and a half before the performance.  I wasn't surprised by the ordinary dinner - a solid 7 on this recent evening.

The service was excellent and it usually is at The Birchmere.  The servers are adept at coordinating multiple orders and check frequently for beverage refills.  The Birchmere no longer serves pitchers of water.  Now you have to pay $2 for a bottle of water.  At least they threw in the glass with ice.

Dempsey's Brew Pub and Restaurant, Camden Yards

Here's the deal - rather than balance a dog or nachos on your lap during the game, get to Camden Yards early and enjoy lunch or dinner at Dempsey's.  It's bustling but cool (temperature wise) and deco wise as well - lots of great photos of Orioles legends decorating the walls. 
I had the mixed greens salad with a tasty vinaigrette.  The salad had walnuts, apple wedges, and I opted for crabmeat to top it off.  You want to know what little bit 4 oz of crab meat is - about a tablespoon!  Oh well, the salad was fresh and delicious and I swiped a few nachos from my son's plate for some crunch.  Others ordered loaded nachos which looked great and from the taste that I got with the occasional sneak, was great - fresh salsa; foccacia pizza presented well on a wooden board; and the crab cake sandwich looked tasty and was rated okay.  Overall, this experience was higher than middle of the road, perhaps as high as 7.  It's just a lot better than the balancing act while squished into a ballpark seat with cheering fans on either side.  The Orioles won so that made my day!