I've enjoyed food at The Tides, 46580 Expedition Drive, Lexington Park twice this month.
The warm bread accompanied by your very own oil and balsamic mixture with a twist of freshly ground black pepper is wonderful with a glass of red wine. Salads are fresh and contain a variety of greens. Dressing options require that you stretch beyond the bottles in your frig door - the balsamic options are very good so relax and enjoy!
I had crab cake during one outing and it was delicious - lots of crab meat and the aioli sauce was very good. Use the aioli judiciously so as not to overwhelm the crab cake flavor.
I had duck during my second outing - a thigh and leg along with breast medallions. The duck was delicious and I've only had better during a cooking class at Quality Street. The Tides duck dish had just a touch of orange sauce, enough to complement the entree. Make sure to order duck medium - there's a tendency to over cook duck and that just makes it tough. Also - this is not your daddy's wild duck - no gamey taste. I promise you, if you try it you'll be hooked.
I also traded a taste of duck for a taste of the ribeye steak with a dinner friend. The ribeye had a slightly sweet, slightly smokey flavor. I guess my friend read the description before ordering - he said it was bourbon marinated or glazed. Very tasty.
I was intrigued by the offer of a side of seaweed. We asked the server, Brennan, for a "taste" to decide whether or not to order it. He brought a small container (same size as the aioli or dressing container). We passed the cup and each took a taste - crunchy, tangy, sweet. Brennan said that the seaweed had a soy vinigarette dressing - not drippy so well-drained or else the seaweed absorbs it. I've only built a seaweed side dish once and it was unpalatable. I may have to experiment with seaweed again!
Vodka and tonic is my summer drink of choice and The Tides was having trouble with their soda dispenser - my drink tasted like vodka and water - yuck! They tried again with a bottle of tonic but it was somewhat flat. The restaurant is switching to another product line tomorrow - just my luck! Oh well, I didn't have a designated driver for the night so perhaps it was for the best. (Lesson learned - I should have stuck with ordering red wine that I know is fabulous with the bread and would have been good with the duck as well.) At least I didn't go through the agony of being carded to get a drink - I'm almost 60 and, believe me, I can't pass for anything close to 21. We had quite the conversation about going to chain restaurants that insist on seeing your ID before serving alcohol.
Service at The Tides on both occasions was very good. The restaurant was loud on Thursday evening - no way to tame the noise from the happy hour crowd at the bar.
I promise to become more bold and start photographing the food. In the meantime, eat up and enjoy! Life is too short to diet. ;-D
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