True Chesapeake Oyster Co

Full disclosure: I have been acquainted with one of the investors in True Chesapeake Oyster Company since the late 1980s. Also, Chef Zack Mills has long been a favorite person in Baltimore's rather small culinary world. He was very helpful with providing recipes for our third book, Maryland's Chesapeake, and is just an all-around good guy.

Sometime in the second half of 2018, I became aware that True Chesapeake Oyster Company, based in St Mary's County, was planning to open a restaurant in Baltimore, that Zack Mills, who had most recently been executive chef at Wit & Wisdom in the Four Seasons, was involved in the project, and the restaurant would be housed in the as-yet-to-be-redeveloped Whitehall Mill complex on Clipper Mill Road. The Local Oyster, a popular raw bar in Mt Vernon Marketplace, had also signed onto the project. I'm not sure there could be a better trifecta of concept-chef-location, especially not in Baltimore. The resurgence of the region's oyster population, due to the recent boom in oyster farming, has made everyone's favorite bivalve more popular than ever. Maryland native Mills was known for his ways with local seafood. And opening a restaurant along the banks of the Jones Falls has been a recent success story for several restaurateurs (see: Birroteca, La Cuchara, Gypsy's Truckstaurant, and Cosima).

The wait for True Chesapeake the Restaurant (as opposed to the Oyster Farm) seemed interminable, but it finally opened its doors in October of 2019. Mr Minx and I hit them up fairly early, not always a fair thing to do to a new restaurant, but we were eager to experience the food. We weren't the only ones; on our first visit, there seemed to be a pretty good crowd, which included local seafood expert John Shields and his husband John Gilligan, owners of Gertrude's at the BMA.

roasted half-shell oysters, Zack's crab soup

The high-ceilinged restaurant is rustically beautiful, decorated with large globe lamps wrapped in fishing nets, photographs by Maryland photographer Jay Fleming (who provided some of the photos in Maryland's Chesapeake), and lots of exposed brick and beams. There is a large bar that exists both in the front bar area of the restaurant and in the dining room, accommodating both casual and fine dining. Despite the clear separation between bar and dining room, the overall vibe of the restaurant is not formal. However, the food is serious.

the fish stick: fried blue catfish, mayo, capers, cornichons

Ingredients are sourced as locally as possible. Most of the oysters come from True Chesapeake's farm on St Jerome Creek in Southern Maryland, but the restaurant also offers those from other Chesapeake-region growers. Blue catfish and snakehead can also be found on the menu. Though they are damaging the ecosystem and consuming native fauna like rockfish, these invasive species are delicious. Eating them seems like the best way to eradicate them, after all, it worked for local shad and terrapin, which are still struggling to make a comeback in the Chesapeake area.

mushroom toast, crispy horseradish, tarragon, creme fraiche

Non-seafood dishes like the mushroom toast (above) and a regular vegetable-based entree, such as the one with roasted squash and turnips offered earlier this year, will please vegetarians. There are meat dishes too, including a classic burger topped with Hagerstown's Palmyra cheddar, for those folks who go to a seafood restaurant but don't like seafood. (Yes, I know they exist. I just don't understand them.)

crab cake, golden beet puree, creamed leeks, fennel salad

semolina fried oysters, braised swiss chard, caper hollandaise

spaghetti with clams

One of my favorite dishes at True Chesapeake is the house-made spaghetti with middleneck clams and bacon. The portion is app-sized, and fine to share if ordered with a few other apps. Honestly though, they should offer an entree-sized portion. It's one of the best pasta dishes in town.

panfried snakehead, cauliflower, beluga lentils, romesco

It was hard to find fault with anything on our two visits to True Chesapeake. Everything we tried was excellent, from the raw oysters to the duck fat-roasted monkfish. I will quibble, however, that the yogurt panna cotta dessert didn't contain enough gelatin to be an actual panna cotta, and the ice cream sundae dessert may have been a bit on the enormous side. (They were both delicious, though.)

panna cotta

I would be remiss not to mention the bar program, which is in the hands of Chelsea Gregoire. We were fans of her inventive beverages during her time at the Hotel Revival; True Chesapeake also benefits from her creativity. The restaurant got a boost when Gregoire was named Esquire Magazine's Beverage Director of the Year, which is rather a Big Thing and so well deserved. Congrats to Chelsea!

True Chesapeake Oyster Company
Historic Whitehall Mill
3300 Clipper Mill Road
410.913.6374
https://truechesapeake.com/pages/restaurant

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Fork & Cork 2.0

Last year, Wit & Wisdom, Aggio, and Fleet Street Kitchen combined forces in a series of spectacular wine dinners. Both chefs and sommeliers participated, which meant diners were not only enjoying the food of Zack Mills, but also of Chris Becker and Bryan Voltaggio, while drinking wines selected by Julie Dalton, Chris Coker, and Tim Riley--all in the same meal. This year, they've added a fourth restaurant; Chef Ben Lefenfeld and somm Greg Schwab of La Cuchara will be joining the others in both the kitchen and the wine cellar.

The chefs have fun cooking together, the sommeliers enjoy a bit of friendly one-upmanship as they choose the right beverage for each dish, and diners get to sit back and experience the talents of four of the best-regarded restaurants in Baltimore. A win-win for all involved.

This year, Fork & Cork starts off at Aggio on August 16th. The next dinner will be at La Cuchara on September 13th, followed by Fleet Street Kitchen on October 18, and Wit & Wisdom on November 15th. Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite. There's a big bonus for folks who buy tickets to all four events - they will receive a $20 gift card for each participating restaurant, plus they have the chance to win dinner for two at all of them.

Will you be joining us at Fork & Cork this year?



Posted on Minxeats.com.

#givingtuesday at Wit & Wisdom

Executive Chef Zack Mills of Wit & Wisdom is partnering with Chef Tim Dyson of Dooby’s and Chef Cyrus Keefer of 13.5%Wine Bar to host an “evening in Thailand” complete with a Thai-influenced menu and drinks on #GivingTuesday in support of nonprofit Urban Light.

The chefs will prepare an intimate, private four-course menu to be served alongside wine pairings from Wit & Wisdom’s lead sommelier, Julie Dalton.

Founded by Baltimorean Alezandra Russell, Urban Light is dedicated to shedding light on the overlooked and ignored homeless population of boys in Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai, who are vulnerable and at risk of exploitation and trafficking.

“I’m thrilled to collaborate with some of the most creative chefs in Charm City on this dinner— Thai is a style of cuisine I trained for in the early stages of my career,” said Chef Mills. “#GivingTuesday is a powerful movement that I’m honored to harness in support of Urban Light’s cause to uplift and empower boys in Thailand.”

Wit & Wisdom, A Tavern by Michael Mina
Private Dining Room
Four Seasons Hotel
200 International Drive
Baltimore, MD 21202

Tuesday, December 1, 7pm

$100 per person ++ (plus tax and gratuity plus Eventbrite fee), all proceeds benefit Urban Light. $100 of the cost is tax-deductible.

Reserve your ticket now - there are only 36 seats, and they will go fast!
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/wit-wisdom-x-urban-light-x-givingtuesday-four-course-thai-dinner-prepared-by-chef-zack-mills-tim-tickets-19362749505



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Shuck It, Shake It, Smoke It @Wit on the Water

If you've never been to Wit & Wisdom in the warmer months, they have a terrific 85-seat patio overlooking the Harbor. Chef Zack Mills and lead bartender Aaron Joseph have combined their considerable forces in creating a special Wit on the Water menu featuring the three things we enjoy most in the summer: shellfish; barbecue; and cocktails. "Shuck it, smoke it, shake it," as the menu is titled.

We were there recently and tried a number of things. We'll start with the shellfish, which included:
--Blue Crab Cocktails, Flying Dog orange ale vinaigrette, avocado
--Scallop Ceviche, citrus & horseradish vinaigrette
--Steamed & Chilled Half Maine Lobster, yuzu creme fraiche
--Court Bouillon Poached Shrimp, Old Bay Cocktail Sauce

Foreground: crab salad; Right: ceviche; scattered elsewhere: lobster and shrimp

From the "smoke it" portion of the menu, we tried:
--Oak Wood Smoke Catoctin Mountain Pulled Pork, House-made Barbecue sauce, corn bread
--Smoked War Shore Oysters, Herb & Old Bay butter
--Grilled Half Maine Lobster, drawn butter

We also tried several cocktails, including:
--Orchid Punch: Clyde May's whiskey, white orchid tea, apple-citrus syrup, lime
--Charm Peace: roasted tomato-infused Stoli Elite with basil-infused Dolin Blanc dry Vermouth
--Hon Punch: reposado tequila, lime juice, lavender mint tea, and kumquat sacrum
--Country Ride: roasted sweet corn-infused Blanco Tequila, lemon juice, and agave syrup with Old Bay rim and cilantro garnish
--Honeydew and Cantaloupe "boozy pops,"

Hon Punch, Orchid Punch

Country Ride

Charm Peace

Boozy Pops

The grilled items were our favorites. Somehow lobster is more lobster-y when it's grilled, and the grilled oysters topped with a slick of Old Bay-flavored butter were delish. In fact, we demurred at the idea of oysters to begin with, as we had dozens of them at home. But I'm glad we tasted the War Shores. Now I know how to treat oysters on the half shell next time we have some. The pulled pork, in a lightly sweet, very tomatoey sauce, was excellent, but my favorite part of that dish was the lightly lemony cornbread. Citrus was an unexpected touch that made it unique.

The seafood was all impeccably fresh and perfectly prepared. The scallop ceviche was tender and tasted like more, and the poached shrimp was some of the best I've eaten. As for the cocktails, they were full of innovative ideas, like corn-infused tequila. My favorite was the Charm Peace, which was like a Caprese salad in a glass...all it needed was a little ball of mozzarella....

It didn't hurt that we had the most gorgeous early summer day to enjoy the patio, that, coupled with good company and fine food made for an enjoyable evening outdoors. The only regrettable thing was not being there on the weekend and missing whole pig roasted on the new la caja china roaster. Next time....



Posted on Minxeats.com.