September 9th, 2009
Another Restaurant Review?…Yes, but this is….The Grove Market in Bishopville, Maryland….You be the Judge.
Getting background information on this restaurant has been a quest and it got me nowhere.
The Grove Market is located on 12402 Saint Martins Neck Rd., Bishopville, Maryland, 21813. Tel. 410-352-5055. Just outside of Ocean City, Maryland, and really, you can drive to it from any of my beach towns.
I heard the owner used to be part owner of the Talbot Street Cafe, in Ocean City. The restaurant is not a grove, but some time ago was a fish market. They, apparently, even used to sell pizza at the restaurant; there is a pizza sign on the window. It makes you go hmm? I believe that the breadsticks served at dinner came from the recipe for the pizza dough once used to make the pizza. That is all I could get.
I decided to go on different search engines and look for reviews. I have gone to the Grove before, plenty of times, through the years, and these reviews were not changing my mind. Everything I read, and I mean everything, was either they loved it and could not wait to go back or the food was really good, but the people were upitty, not friendly, and the hassle to get a reservation was a disappointment.
In my opinion, there are 5 key ingredients for a good restaurant; quality of ingredients, culinary competence, service, ambiance, and price.
If the restaurant has money, then you can and should buy the best ingredients money can buy. Culinary competence, and this is where I mention the chef, is that he or she has the responsibility to make these ingredients come alive and make the restaurant a success. The service should be prompt, not intrusive, always anticipating what the customer needs. The ambiance should be tranquil and relaxing and the prices should be reasonable for what you are getting.
With that in mind, I am reviewing the Grove Market on a particular night, at the beginning of the summer season with good friends.
We chose the Grove because it is really different and good. There were calls back and forth because we did not know when we would get the reservation. That is what people mention is disappointing. You call the above number, but rarely get someone on the phone. You are asked to leave your information and good luck if you have a time frame in mind. You might not get a call for days. If you do, they will give you the times available and you either take it or leave it, just like that. Some people never get a call back. Now, in deference to you, as a customer, a call should be returned. Make sure you call back to confirm if you have a reservation already made.
As you drive into their crushed seashells parking lot, you might even think it is a joke. It looks like a somewhat dilapidated house that someone forgot some time ago. It is very small and years ago the food was served on paper plates and plastic forks and knives. You have the real thing now. Still, the plastic chairs, though.
On this particular night the food was excellent. Not heavy but appealing to your senses. The chef was John from Rehoboth Beach. Well known for his culinary expertise.
There were 6 of us and we all had different things. There was no menu and no prices were mentioned. The server was no nonsense and she told us what was available for dinner. She, actually, did smile and made some conversation because we had locals with us. There was a lot to choose from for being such a small restaurant. The wine was chosen along with bottled water. No Pellegrino or Perrier here, though.
For my salad I had a beet salad with arugula and cheese; very good. Other appetizers were mussels, a salmon pate, and crab dip. For my entree I had the best scallops; cooked to perfection. Other entrees were rack of lamb, fillet, Wahoo, and the house flounder. Everyone was extremely pleased.
The desserts were good but not to die for. The blueberry pie, in my opinion, was the best one.
I spoke to the owner about gluten allergy awareness and she explained that, someone that night had the allergy and had found something to eat on the menu. John, the chef, told me that upon making a reservation, tell them, but then, really, tell your server so that he or she can alert the chef.
They run a tight ship, so get there on time, not early, otherwise you will have to wait outside, enjoy your meal and then it’s time to go because someone else is coming in.
It is cash only and personal checks are accepted. No computers here and the bill will be written out on a receipt.
Is it worth it? Again, you be the judge.
Note: Do you remember the episode on the show Seinfeld with the Soup Nazi? Not to that extreme, though, but it reminded me of it for some reason. And, I have been to the International Soup Kitchen in N.Y., which was the basis for that episode.
Now, I wonder if I will be able to get a reservation. Time will tell.
Tags: Gluten free awareness, Maryland, Ocean City, Restaurant, Restaurants, Reviews
