208 Talbot Review
By Doug and Christine O'Connor
208 North Talbot Street
St. Michaels, MD
Phone: (410) 745-3838
www.208talbot.com
Hours of Operation:
When to Enjoy: Sun-Thu 5:30 –9
Fri, Sat 5:30-10
Closed on Monday
Winter Hours
Wed – Sun 5:30 til ~
Closed Mon & Tue
Expect to Pay: Appetizers $9 - $15
Dinner entrees $30 average
Desserts $ 8 average
Lighter fare available in the lounge
Owners: Brian Fox, General Manager, and Brendan Keegan
Chef: Brendan Keegan
Pastry Chef: Jean Schmidt
We love to visit St. Michaels, a wonderful, scenic town. The main street is lined with interesting shops inviting in customers. The picturesque waterfront is two blocks off of the main street; the town is filled with quaint, colonial style homes, and white picket fences. The pace of life here appears to be casual and laid back unlike the fast paced metropolitan areas of Baltimore or Wilmington.
On this night, we were celebrating our anniversary at 208 Talbot, a restaurant that was recommended many times over by friends in the Chef’s Association. We were not disappointed and now we too can give our endorsement to this fine establishment.
Since we were visiting in mid-October there was plenty of on street parking. We found a spot in front of the restaurant. There is a public parking lot across the street as well. We entered the lounge thru the main door on the side of the building. The room felt very comfortable, there are several tables to the right where dinners can enjoy lighter fare, the bar seats 6-7 and there are four unique cocktail tables made out of wine keg ends, topped with glass table tops giving the guest the sense of being in a wine cellar.
The host greeted us and sat us at a corner table in the largest of four intimate dining rooms (this room had seating for 26). The walls of the room are old brick with white wainscoting; the lighting was soft and indirect, not glaring. The wall sconces cast a warm glow about the room. The tables were dressed with ivory linen tablecloths, stemmed water glasses and attractive silverware.
Our host left us menus and a wine list and told us we would be waited on shortly. The background music was a soft, gentle jazz mix.
Our waiter Dennis arrived, introduced himself and asked us if would like a cocktail while we perused the menu. The left side of the menu has a list of several types of martinis and a wide variety of vodkas, gins, tequilas, whiskies, bourbons and single malt scotches. We both thought this would be a great place to come and participate in a tasting. Christine chose a specialty cocktail called a Venetian, made with Millers Premium Gin, Campari, DiSaronno Amaretto, and dry vermouth served with a twist. Doug selected a Pinot Grigio from the region of Fruili, Italy. The wine list is extensive over 100 bottles with several bottles highlighted as Brian’s favorites.
While we waited for our cocktails, our bus boy served us fresh baked rolls, small corn muffins, and butter and offered us sparkling, bottled, or tap water. The menu was simple yet elegant, there are only two courses listed. The first course is a selection of appetizers and salads, all distinct and original. The second course includes fully plated entrees, again, all original in thought and composition. There is a listing of several a la carte side dishes to accompany your meal. The menu notes the fact that the Chef has prepared each course as a harmonious and coordinated dish and would appreciate if no substitutions were requested.
When Dennis came back with our cocktails we had made our menu decisions. Dennis was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions about serving size, specifics of the dish and could we share our first course and such. We settled on a Roast Duck Confit Piazza with Gorgonzola Cheese, Caramelized Onions and Micro Arugula, drizzled with White Truffle Oil which was making its maiden appearance on the menu that evening and a Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, which came served on a bed of Fennel, roasted Peppers, Oranges, Kalamata Olives and a Mustard Cream. We told Dennis we were not in a rush and would like to think about our entrées a little longer, he was gracious and respected our request, no pushing to rollover the table.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is almost colonial, one of the dining rooms has a brick floor, and one has oak planking. There is at least one small, non-working, fireplace. There is simple yet elegant art on the wall. While waiting for our first course, we noticed several other tables where people appeared to be celebrating occasions. In one of the other dining rooms there were about a dozen people who received passed hors d oeuvres and bottles of wine prior to having their dinner. 208 Talbot obviously was able to coordinate gatherings of many different sizes without affecting service to other guests.
After receiving our first course dish we placed our order for the entree. Christine ordered Pomegranate Marinated Quail, served on a bed of spelt (an ancient grain) prepared using the Farrato cooking method, combined with Beets, Foie Gras Butter, with White Truffle Oil. Doug ordered the Filet Mignon, rare, served with Whipped Yukon Gold Potatoes, sautéed Spinach with Currents and Roasted Pine Nuts, Granny Smith Apples and Pancetta Beurre Blanc. We also selected a side of Sautéed Spinach with toasted Pine Nuts and an order of lightly Tempura battered Fried Cauliflower.
Our first course choices where fabulous! The Piazza was crisp, with ample amounts of Gorgonzola cheese and Duck Confit. The cheese and the caramelized onions were a perfect combination; a taste sensation for the palate and the piazza crust was nice and crispy. The white truffle oil was a perfect finish to the entire dish. The Crab Cake was not your mothers crab cake, filled with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat baked to perfection and served over a small mound of tangy vegetables with Mustard Sauce. This was not like anything else we had recently tasted.
When our second course arrived we were pleasantly surprised, the portion size was perfect, any more food and we would have been overwhelmed. Doug’s filet came lightly seasoned atop a layered bed of Spinach and Whipped Potatoes. It was indeed rare as requested. This steak could have been cut with a fork and the accompaniments were perfect. Christine received a hearty looking plate with a bed of dark burgundy colored Spelt Farrato and two small, semi-boneless Quail flavored with Foie Gras Butter and White Truffle butter. The Quail was succulent and tender. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. Dennis stopped by to see if there where any questions he could answer. It was perfect.
The list of dessert choices looked tempting, but we chose a dessert that would not be rich and heavy. We shared homemade Strawberry Shortcake. Like many of the other dishes we had tasted, this was a little different and was a notch above the ordinary. Instead of a biscuit, the base was Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake. The strawberry topping was a homemade preserve and it was all served with fresh whipped cream.
While we were waiting for dessert we spent a few minutes with one of the owners, Chef Brendan Keegan. Brendan gave us some history on how he and his brother-in-law, Brian Fox, met and got started in the restaurant world. They met in 1995. Brian and his future wife Kate went to Ithaca College, Brendan and Kate’s sister Molly went to Gettysburg College. Brendan received a degree in History and Brian graduated and went to work in the marketing department for a large cell phone company. Brian’s work took him to the west coast for several years where he developed a taste for wine and great food, which helped lead him to the decision to open a restaurant with Brendan who had decided not to follow the path of a History major and had been working in restaurants around Washington D.C. and had even moved to New York where he had trained with one of his mentors, Gabrielle Hamilton, at Prune, a well-known New York City restaurant located in the East Village.
When Brian moved back to Annapolis, he started working restaurants form the bottom up, waiting tables and tending bar. He later advanced to the Director of Operations at O’Leary’s where Brendan was working as a chef. They held these positions until 3 years ago when they left for St. Michaels to re-open 208 Talbot.
He was proud to say that they have been well received by the community and have made a name for themselves. Chef Brendan likes to create daily specials and tries to keep the menu fresh, making changes frequently, based on what is available in the local marketplace.
We hope to come back to 208 Talbot soon and will defiantly keep it on the top of our list when we go out to celebrate special occasions.
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Doug O’Connor has 20+ years of experience as an Executive Chef and a Food and Beverage Director and is involved with the Chesapeake Chef’s Association. He graduated from Johnson and Wales University with degrees in Culinary Arts and Food Service Management. Christine graduated from Johnson and Wales with a degree in Hospitality Management. They currently reside in Cape St. Claire, MD with their 2 children.
208 Talbot
eastern shore
dining-review
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