|
|
|
The Imperial Hotel in Chestertown
The Imperial Hotel in Chestertown Hmm. Was it the Scallop Tacos or the Lamb Loin steak on a cake of Israeli Cous Cous and Porcini Mushroom? Well, then again, it might have been the handmade Spaetzel with Wild Mushrooms and Cream. Paired with the perfect crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Whatever it was, we walked out of the Imperial Hotel somewhat careening with pleasure and definitely sated. Wafting up the brick sidewalks of Chestertown with an almost illegal food buzz on. So, now to the details. We met Joe down in the wine cellar at the Imperial Hotel. Joe
Dolce, a managing partner at the Imperial, has been a sommelier at the Ritz in Naples, and Food and Beverage Director at the
Weber Grill in Chicago.
Tom started out manning the grill at a busy Outback Steakhouse, cooking 500 meals a day. He liked the
action. He tells us about culinary school in San Francisco. Working at the
same time at an Asian fusion restaurant. Handling the grill at Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio. Tom is a graduate of The California Culinary Academy and has worked for the four-star restaurant at The Campton Place
hotel in San Francisco and for Wolfgang Puck at Postrio. He came back to the Philly area, worked for a while there.
And now, he’s in Chestertown at the Imperial Hotel. Out of the fire, into the chafing dish?
Tom takes us to the kitchen. Matthew Whitehair, one of our local guys, has taken over in prep and Tom’s
about to start cooking. Saturday night dinner service will be starting in an hour or so. “What do you want to see?” he asks. Anything. Everything. He whips up a dish of black sea bass, served on a bed of sautéed cabbage flavored with his own cured pork belly (five days in the smoker). “I like to keep the skin on the bass,” he says. “More flavor.” And here’s another tip. “When you have a thin fish fillet like black bass? Cook it on one side for 95% of the cooking time. Flip after that, just for a bit and you’re done.” Next: Istrian Gnocchi, a thick spaetzle-shaped noodle made at the hotel, with wild mushrooms (maitake and portobello)
in cream and grape tomatoes. “With a fresh herb garnish. Don’t forget that, it makes all the difference.”
This was followed by a gorgeous inch-and-a-half thick lamb loin steak with a layer of gremolata
(preserved lemon with parsley and garlic) and served on a fried cake made of couscous and mushroom.
The couscous cake is pretty ingenious. Take dried porcini mushrooms and process them into a powder. Mix the cooked couscous with an egg, the mushroom powder, some seasonings, and form a small round patty that can be fried. One more dish? Wham, bam, scallop taco. A large scallop is seared and sliced, He pulls a small crispy
folded taco out of the fryer and fills it with the scallop, topping it with pickled julienned cucumbers and a basil aioli.
The Front Room changes its menu seasonally, and expanded the number of small plates — a welcome development for those of us who like to taste. The scallop tacos, for example, are 4 dollars each. Fried oysters, 3. The gnocchi, 8 for a small plate, 16 for an entrée size. The bouillabaise is 9 for a smaller bowl, 18 for a larger.
Frankly, we hadn’t known what to expect from the Imperial Hotel. We certainly hadn’t expected
it to be as approachable and enjoyable and rewarding and fun as it was. But it was. Our several visits can be summed up in
this: I asked Tom if he had a particular approach or philosophy about cooking. It’s a dumb question, but I generally
get an interesting answer.
Tom’s reply: “Just keep it good and don’t let your bullsh*t ego get in the way.” This is good advice. I used it next day at my own job. Nothing to do with cooking, but the result turned out just as beautifully.
The Imperial Hotel
Eclectic American Cuisine 208 High Street, Chestertown Maryland www.ImperialChestertown.com 410-778-5000 • 800-295-0014
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
