Dinner at the bar area of The Front Porch. The Front Porch is known locally as the Sterling House. It was built in the 1850s, purchased in 1911 by Linwood and Ruth Sterling who added to the home size to accommodate their 17 children (can you imagine!). The home received a facelift in 2006 when it was purchased to be converted to a restaurant. Many artifacts found during the restoration are on display at The Front Porch.
I asked the bar tender what the specialty drink of the week was (every bar or bar tender should have a specialty - sometimes they look at me like I'm crazy). He recommended the Mother's Delight which was the special for Mothers' Day and got such good reviews that they want to put it on the menu permanently. He said they needed to come up with a name for the drink and a few folks had ideas - fuzzy slipper being one (seriously?). I suggested the drink be named The Sterling House Cocktail in honor of the home; discussion among several of us in the bar area whittled it down to The Sterling - I hope it sticks! The cocktail is equal parts cranberry juice, pineapple juice, vodka, a splash of triple sec, shaken with ice and strained into a martini glass with a twist of lime on the rim.
I ordered roasted red pepper soup and quiche of the day. They were out of the quiche (must have been a good lunch crowd) so I ordered the crab cake sandwich to accompany my soup. I really like this soup, have had it at The Front Porch several times, and it is always pleasantly flavored and full bodied. The crab cake was fabulous! I left the top half of the bun on the plate and cut the crab cake and bottom bun into bite-sized pieces as I dined. There wasn't much filler, just enough to hold the cake together. This crab cake wasn't highly seasoned either - you could really taste the lump crabmeat. I experimented with varying doses of the dipping sauce provided on the side. Chef Jeff said that it consisted of garlic and mango chutney, pureed, along with spices (he wouldn't tell). It was addictive.
Hubby got the 1/2 pound Angus burger with fries. The burger was fairly well done instead of medium which disappointed him but he said that it had good flavor. He was enjoying his favorite Irish whiskey (Bushmills - not stocked by every location in SOMD) but wanted a cold beer to accompany his burger. The bottle was slightly cooler than room temperature so that drink was disappointing.
Oh well, still a nice evening at the bar area - a Monday night and few places are open. I was happy to relax with a drink and a nice meal.
The downside - just one of my many peeves. The routine response from some 25-to-35 year olds these days is "not a problem" - someone serves me a drink, I say "thank you," and he responds, "not a problem." The server delivers a plate of food, I say "thank you" and he again responds "not a problem." I hope it's not a problem - it's their job! This is one instance where I really, really like Chick-Fil-A training - "my pleasure" is an absolutely wonderful response. When I hear that, I think the person is happy to serve me and s/he enjoys what s/he is doing (even if s/he doesn't). If they can't squeak that out, perhaps a simple "you're welcome" can be achieved.
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