Rod ‘N' Reel Restaurant
Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa

Rod ‘N' Reel's take on clams casino—served fresh with crisp bacon

4165 Mears Avenue
Chesapeake Beach , MD 20732

(410) 257-2735

www.chesapeakebeachresortspa.com

By Gilles and Kathy Syglowski

When to Enjoy:

Mon.–Fri., 11 a.m.–10 p.m.

Sat., 8 a.m.–10 p.m.

Sun., 8 a.m.–9 p.m.

Expect to Pay:

Appetizers, soups, and salads: $4.50–23

Lunch entrees and sandwiches: $9–19

Dinner entrees: $17–35

Dessert: $6

Specialty Drinks: $7.25

“The rockfish was moist and flaky, topped with seasoned jumbo lump crab, just the way it should be.”—Gilles Syglowski

By land or sea, the Rod ‘N' Reel restaurant, located at the Chesapeake Beach Resort, defines destination dining: be it a day trip, a weekend, or perhaps longer. Alongside excellent dining are amenities and attractions for the entire family. It's a nearby resort with a complete marina, hotel, gaming, fishing, amusement park (water park) in town, and even history. A railroad museum will educate you on the fundamental history of Chesapeake Beach and more particularly, the Rod ‘N' Reel. Chesapeake Beach was originally founded by the Washington and Chesapeake Bay Railway Company in 1894 and grew to a resort destination around 1900. The town was then also a convenient port to transport goods across the bay by boat.

Three generations ago, in 1946, Mr. Stinnett (formerly of Stinnett Restaurant), who provided fishing charters and a bite to eat for fishermen, founded the Rod ‘N' Reel and in time revived the resort aspect of the complex. Subsequent generations followed the path paved by Mr. Stinnett and continued the resort's growth. The present owners are now the Donovan family who have modernized and largely expanded the complex, especially with the beautiful hotel that opened about 5 years ago.

We decided to make the restaurant and resort a weekend getaway by boat. We arrived mid-day on a bright Saturday and took advantage of the marina's accommodating facilities. We then sought out and enjoyed a pleasant lunch at the bar side of the Rod ‘N' Reel restaurant. Kathy enjoyed a delicious lobster salad sandwich and I chose the lighter side of the menu with an incredible crab soup and a scrumptious roasted red beet salad with walnuts and blue cheese in balsamic vinaigrette. We saved our appetites for dinner, which was looking very promising after sampling lunch.

A few hours later it was time for the “reel” deal. Seated by the window with a view overlooking the beach and Chesapeake Bay , we witnessed a wedding while waiting through our service: lovely. Amber was our waitress this evening, was gracious, and did not miss a beat.

Being curious, I tried the fried asparagus with aioli sauce appetizer, since I've never had something like that before. I was pleasantly surprised: the asparagus were fresh, crisp, and gently breaded with a touch of Parmesan cheese, and the aioli was tasty and creamy. It was a lot of fun to eat. Kathy could not pass on a set of clams casino, which were traditionally prepared, appeared and tasted fresh, and were nicely flavored by the bacon. To follow, we shared the imperial stuffed rockfish and a T-bone steak. The rockfish was moist and flaky, topped with seasoned jumbo lump crab, just the way it should be. The T-bone was cooked as per my request (medium), and gently laced in a demi glace. The vegetables served with our entrees were perfectly prepared as well.

We capped our fine dinner by sharing a wonderful, creamy homemade crème brulee. Overall, the menu is exactly what to expect in a Chesapeake Bay waterfront restaurant: it features specialties from the region. Chef William Bednar, a Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park graduate and previously from the Hogates restaurant in D.C., is doing a fantastic job maintaining a quality product, especially considering high seasonal demand and volume. Ted Cleary is the restaurant Manager. Per our request, he sat down with us and with utmost care and concern, gave us the aforementioned history and answered all our questions thoroughly. Cleary is a Maryland native who lived and operated a restaurant in North Carolina for many years before deciding to make Maryland the home of his family again. What a gentleman!

After an agreeably wonderful dinner, we took a nice walk on the docks before heading back on the boat to enjoy the sunset. What a perfect experience.

Gilles Syglowski is a chef, culinary instructor, and food service consultant. He is a graduate of the Lycee d'Enseignement Professional Hotelier in Metz , France . He currently works as the General Manager of the Woman's National Democratic Club in Washington , D.C. He and his wife, Kathy, a member of the International Wine Society, have more than 50 years' experience in the restaurant industry.

What's the Dish?

By Stephanie Adams

Sautéed salmon in lemon butter sauce with capellini.

Allison's

2207 Defense Hwy. , Crofton , MD 21114

www.allisonsrestaurant.net, (410) 721-0331

This month's What's the Dish? recipe, sautéed salmon in lemon butter sauce, was contributed by Chef Jim Hamrock of Allison's Restaurant in Crofton. We recently had the pleasure of asking the chef a few questions, witnessing the preparation of his dish, and tasting the finished product. Bon appetit!

What's Up? Magazine : How did your culinary career begin?

Chef Hamrock: I started washing dishes when I was 14 ¾ I think everybody did that. But my cooking career really started when I was 17, when I went to work for Phillip's Crab House in Ocean City . I worked in the kitchen there for four summers.

Describe the culinary influences on your dishes.

I cooked at an Italian restaurant, Pulcinella, in McLean , Virginia , for 20 years, and there are definitely Italian influences. A lot of the menu is made up of American dishes that came from my brother, Bill's, restaurant, Portabella, in Arlington . So, our cuisine is Italian-American. I think it's a nice mix.

I went to L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda and Bill went to the Culinary Institute of America. My brother's my partner here.

How did you come to work at and open this restaurant?

When I met my wife, Chona, I lived in Virginia and she lived in D.C.; when we got married she wanted to move to Crofton. She got a job in Annapolis and I would still drive to McLean every day. I got tired of the commute, around the beltway 45 minutes each way, for 12 years!

I just felt it was time for a change. My brother wanted to do something with me here, and we found this spot. It used to be Lucky Luciano's.

What do you like most about your job?

I like it now that I'm close to home! I've always enjoyed being in the kitchen ¾ it's in my blood, I guess. I don't mind the long, hard days, and it's always fun to do new things and try to learn new things.

What makes this dish special to you?

We basically do a different special every night of the week. I decided to try something new to replace the trout that we were featuring on Tuesday nights. I tried this, and it began to sell very well. People come in and ask for it. It's still our Tuesday night special, but it's available anytime for those who want it. I used to make a variation of it at Pulcinella's.

Are there any special cooking techniques used for this dish? How difficult is it to prepare at home?

All you need is a sauté pan, a pasta pot, a knife, and a pair of tongs. All stuff you probably have in your home. I chose this recipe because I wanted people to be able to try it at home. It's fairly easy ¾ even my wife could do it!

Is this recipe a traditional recipe or have you modified it?

I've modified the recipe a little bit here from the way I used to make it but it's a very basic recipe.

Is there a particular wine that goes well with this dish?

I use Chardonnay in the recipe, so California Chardonnays will go well with it. Even a Sauvignon Blanc complements it nicely.

Sautéed Salmon in Lemon Butter Sauce with Capellini

One serving

Salmon

6–7 ounce portion of salmon

2 ounces oil, vegetable or canola

flour

garlic, chopped (one clove divided between the salmon and pasta preparation)

1/2 ounce butter

juice from 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper

basil

2 ounces white wine

Pasta

4 ounces capellini pasta

1 ounce olive oil

garlic, chopped

salt and pepper

basil

1/4 cup t omatoes, chopped

red pepper flakes

3 stalks of asparagus

Preheat oven to 400° F. Heat 2 ounces of oil in a preheated sauté pan. Roll the salmon in flour, then sear in pan for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove salmon from the sauté pan and place in a different pan. Drain most of the oil, add garlic, and brown. Deglaze the pan (dissolve the remaining bits of sautéed items), add Chardonnay, and reduce (boil in an uncovered pan to evaporate surplus liquid). Add butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and basil and thicken slightly with flour.

Cook 4 ounces of capellini pasta for 2 minutes in boiling, salted water. In a separate pan, sauté 1 ounce olive oil and chopped garlic until garlic is browned. Add tomatoes and cook for approximately 1 minute. Add salt and pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauté pan. Cook for about 10 seconds, adding a little of the pasta water.

Boil 3 stalks of asparagus and then grill them for 1 minute with salt and pepper.

Plate the pasta first, with the asparagus in the middle, and the salmon on top. Pour lemon butter sauce over dish.

The Wine Column: Wines & Vines

By Laurie Forster, The Wine Coach

Oktoberfest:
A Wedding, a Festival and a Beer!

What began as a wedding celebration in Germany , Oktoberfest has become one of the longest running and largest festivals in the world, drawing close to 6.5 million visitors in 2006. Now that's an amazing wedding reception! In 1810 Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese in the Bavarian capital city of Munich . To celebrate the occasion a great horse race was organized for all of the townspeople in honor of the newly married couple. This began a yearly celebration and in 1819 the town fathers of Munich decreed that the holiday should be celebrated every year without interruption.

These days the horse races are gone—replaced by beer tents, food vendors, amusements, and live music. The modern day festival begins on September 22 and runs till the first Sunday in October, guaranteeing perfect weather almost every year. To kick off the festival the Mayor of Munich taps the first keg and declares a hearty “O'zapft is!” which translates to “the keg is tapped.”

During the festival mass quantities of Märzen or Oktoberfest style lagers are enjoyed. Märzen means March in German because these beers were traditionally made in the early spring and then stored or “lagered” in cool caves for the summer. By September they are ready to be enjoyed as part of spirited celebrations like Oktoberfest. Copper red to orange in color, these lagers are medium to full bodied with flavors of sweet maltiness and a dry finish.

Munich is referred to as Munchen in Germany , which means “monks.” In fact, the monks who settled the area are responsible for the brewing innovations we all enjoy in our mugs today. Just north of Munich there is a brewery that claims to be the oldest in existence having been established in 1040 A.D. and there are still several breweries in Bavaria that are run by monasteries.

Inspired by the Germans, many craft breweries in the United States now make a seasonal Oktoberfest or Märzen style beer and some produce this style year round. The domestic versions of this old world tradition tend to be a bit fuller and some have a hoppier finish. Fordham Brewery in Dover , Delaware (first established in Annapolis ) makes an Oktoberfest seasonal that uses all German ingredients including a special German strain of yeast for fermentation. Fordham's head brewmaster, Walter Trifari, notes that his Oktoberfest beer is his top-selling seasonal. Clipper City Brewery in Baltimore also makes a great Märzen style beer all year round called “BaltoMärzHon.” In 2006 it won a silver medal in the Vienna Style Lager category at the Great America Beer Festival in Denver . It was also voted favorite local Oktoberfest Style beer by the Baltimore Sun . “Nothing says fall for me like having a little chill in the air, pulling a sausage off the grill, and cracking one of our ‘ BaltoMärzHon' beers,” said Clipper City Brewing Company's Hugh Sisson. “Whether it's Munich or just a local tailgate, for me that spells good times!”

While we can't all take off for a 3-week party in Munich , we can enjoy Oktoberfest style beers with great friends right here in Maryland . Pick up some fine Oktoberfest brews from Germany or one of our local breweries. I can't think of a better way to usher in the fall season. Cheers or as they say in Germany , “ Prost!”

Try these locally made Oktoberfest style brews:

Fordham Oktoberfest, Dover , DE – Available in stores early September

Deep copper in color, this full-bodied lager is as traditional as an American Oktoberfest beer can be. Take a sip of this rich lager with complex malt flavors and you might feel like you've been temporarily transported to Munich . When making this Oktoberfest, Fordham adheres to the German Purity Law which was passed in 1516 to ensure that only all natural ingredients are allowed in production of quality beer, which includes malted barley or wheat, water, hops, and yeast. Rams Head locations will begin serving the Fordham Ocktoberfest beer on draft beginning October 6 at 4 p.m. www.fordhambrewing.com

Clipper City “BaltoMärzHon ,” Baltimore , MD – Available year round

Poking fun at Baltimore 's special “Hon” dialect, Clipper City has succeeded in creating an authentic Märzen style beer. This amber brew has rich flavors of toasted malt with such a clean finish that it instantly makes you want another sip. Pick up some “BaltoMärzHon” at your local retailer or visit the Clipper City brewery in Baltimore for a tour and a tasting. www.clippercitybeer.com

DuClaw Mad Bishop , Abingdon, MD – Released October 17

This traditional Oktoberfest-style beer is made using German hops and is brewed just north of Baltimore in Abingdon. It is a medium bodied amber ale with rich flavors of malt and the perfect amount of sweetness on the finish. You can sample the Mad Bishop at one of DuClaw's four local locations: Bowie, Fells Point, Bel Air, or Arundel Mills. Ask about a growler full of the Mad Bishop to take home. www.duclaw.com

Professional wine coach, Laurie Forster, studied with the American Sommelier Association in Manhattan and earned a certificate in Viticulture and Vinification. Ms. Forster now works with private and corporate clients to create events and tours that demystify wine one glass at a time. For more information on Ms. Forster visit www.thewinecoach.com.

Taste

Yellowfin Steak & Fish House

2849 Solomons Island Road

Edgewater

(410) 573-1333

www.yellowfinrestaurant.com

Fun. Lively. Comfortable. These are all good words to describe a visit to Yellowfin Steak & Fish House. Located just before the South River Bridge , off Route 2, the restaurant offers an expansive view of the water with picture windows on three sides of the building. It's a great place to watch the sun set.

As evidenced by the name Yellowfin, the emphasis is heavy on seafood with lots to choose from on the menu that dazzles the eye with one page solely devoted to appetizers—from maki rolls and sushi, to various hot hors d'eourves, soup and salads.

This is the kind of restaurant where you can easily choose to graze, selecting a number of small plates to sample. Every weekday evening, they offer a Happy Hour special in the Lounge area from 4–7 p.m. and weekends from 2–6 p.m. All appetizers, not including soups and salads, are available half price. It's hard to find a parking space if you arrive at 6:30 or even harder to try making your way through the crowd on a Friday evening. Each item listed under starters—seafood tempura served over mixed green with a ginger soy sauce; beef Carpaccio featuring filet mignon thinly sliced with baby arugula; capers, crostinis, and shaved parmesan; crab pizza with jumbo lump crab, cream of crab sauce, and basil chiffonade, to name a few—all sound like a small meal. As to be expected, business is brisk.

For a more leisurely dinner, make your way to the dining area where tables are covered with crisp white cloths, and topped with fresh flowers inside bottle vases of deep cobalt blue. The playful fish motif is repeated in the architectural ornaments both outside and inside and the colors of yellow and gold provide strong accents to a palette of charcoal gray and white.

At the top of the entrée listings is a box labeled “Daily Selections & Fresh Fish.” On a recent visit to the popular restaurant we talked with our waiter, Dusty, who has been working at Yellowfin for about a year. Selections are adjusted every few weeks as various dishes are added and subtracted, he explained, depending on the season. On this particular visit, my husband Peter opted for Canadian Salmon blackened and pan seared and then served over spinach and roasted garlic ravioli tossed in lobster cream sauce with grilled asparagus. Topped with miniature lobster tails, this special was quite reasonably priced at $24. I was tempted to order a wonderful special I've had in the past, Yellowfin Tuna ($23), wich is encrusted with black pepper and coriander and grilled rare. It is served over goma wakame with an assorted trio of maki rolls and then drizzled with ginger soy glaze and wasabi cream, making for a great dish. This time, however, I decided to order from the part of the menu labeled Seafood and took Dusty's suggestion to try the Cioppino ($25), which was wonderful. Hot and fragrant, lobster, shrimp, mussels, scallops, clams, and fresh fish were served in a saffron tomato broth accompanied by garlic crostinis and rice.

Optional additions for the hungry diner include side dishes such as steak cut onion rings ($6), lobster macaroni ($8), and steamed broccolini ($6). On the other end of the spectrum are entrée dinner salads—Nicoise ($17), steak ($18), and crab cake ($18)—that sounded good if you want something light. If you go for the beef, Yellowfin char-broils their meat using an 1800 degree Montague (trademark) oven and serves certified Angus Beef (trademark). There's the filet Mignon 8 ounce ($30) or 12 ounce ($39) steak, served with grilled asparagus and garlic chive mashed potatoes, and the bone-in Rib Eye weighing 1 1/4 pounds ($34) and served with horseradish cream sauce, a jumbo salted baked potato, and sautéed baby carrots. There are plenty of dessert choices from apple gooey cake ($6) to Key Lime pie (serves 2 for $8). An exotic drink menu, extensive wine list, and specialty coffee drinks are available. There's a lot to choose from when you arrive at Yellowfin. The main dining room is open Mon.–Sat., 5–11 p.m., and on Sun. 2–9 p.m. Sunday brunch is served 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

--Nadja Maril