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Tilghman Island Inn
On beyond the expanding Easton, on beyond the
famously quaint St. Michaels, people still wait for the drawbridge to let the boats by on Tilghman Island on Maryland’s
Eastern Shore. That’s where you’ll find the Tilghman Island Inn, Isabel’s, and some simply amazing dining.
It’s sunset at the Tilghman Island Inn. Out at the deck by the water, someone tosses a ball lazily to a large
black poodle. The boats cruise by on the Knapps Narrows to the Chesapeake Bay, or head back in for the night. Several boats
dock and folks make their way to the outdoor bar, or, if they’re sensible, to the very fine restaurant inside.
Isabel’s is the restaurant at the Tilghman Island Inn, named after
the famous hurricane that swamped it in 2003. Executive chef David McCallum and his partner, Jack Redmon, built the Inn 18
years ago, and as David puts it, “Isabel was a good reason to redecorate.
But don’t let the surroundings distract
you. This is about the fabulous food. David grew up on a truck farm in South Carolina and was literally raised in the kitchen.
That’s where he developed his appreciation of how truly tied to the earth we are, especially for our meals. You see that connection reflected in the menu today — seasonal, local,
fresh, a hint of Southern, and some superb produce. “But that’s simply how we lived,” he explains. “If
there was going to be chicken on the table at dinner, somebody had to be out in the yard in the morning getting one.” As we sit at the outdoor bar to talk, a friend of David’s, Lisa Jones, stops by for a quick chat. The owners of nearby Dogwood Farm, she and her husband Raymond supply a great deal of fresh produce for the kitchen.
I’d met both Lisa Jones and David McCallum earlier this year,
when they stood up together to speak at a “Farm to Restaurant” event in Talbot County, designed to bring local
producers (land and water) together with chefs in direct dialogue. The object – fresh food, fewer middlemen, and ingredients
made for the kitchen.
Dogwood Farm and Tilghman Island Inn have had just that relationship for
years. Lisa even worked briefly in the kitchen at Isabel’s. Today, she invites us over to the farm to see the produce
they supply. So we took a quick detour from the Inn. Literally a mile detour to the farm just on the other side of Knapps
Narrows. Food doesn’t get much fresher than that.
Today’s Appetizer:
Dogwood Farm
Now, this is a farm. Chickens, ducks, and rows of produce: Thai eggplants, pumpkins, squash blossoms and baby squash, 30 varieties of greens in the spring — and 23 kinds of heirloom tomatoes on the vine right now. Apparently, we’re not the only ones who think this is the real McCoy. In 2003, Dogwood Farms earned the “Small Farm of the Year” award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And oh, the tomatoes. Lisa walks up and down the rows, naming each variety. White Tomesol, Italian Oxhearts, Golden Jubilee, German Stripe, Sun Sugar (a small cherry tomato with a sugar rating of 10 Brix, the same rating scale they use for grapes), Peach tomatoes (they’re fuzzy!), Green Zebra…The corn, a supersweet white called Argent, will be used at the Inn tonight in a fabulous Edamame & Fresh Corn Succotash with a luscious cream sauce.
An Entrée into the
Restaurant People begin arriving in earnest for dinner. On David’s menu tonight: Starters and small plates including Black-eyed Peacakes, Salmon Tartar and Smoked Duck Burritos. Entrées include Chesapeake Rockfish (served with the succotash), Filet Mignon stacked on polenta with Lisa’s heirloom tomatoes, and Oysters Choptank. The oysters, from a local oyster farm) are poached in a “Pernod-scented Champagne Cream, and served with Fresh Spinach.” In the kitchen, the work is well underway. William Dickey, the Chef de Cuisine, and Rachel Smoot, the Chef Garde-Manger,
swing into action. It is a beautiful thing to watch; they work together in a friendly and smooth way, proudly talking about
their cuisine as they work. (The sous-chef, Rob Brown, has the night off.
William arrived four months ago from Pittsburgh, at
the St. Clair Country Club and the Century Inn. Rachel is studying at the CIA in New York; this is her second season at the
Inn. They enjoy the relationship they have with David, meeting early in the week to set the menu based on what’s in
season and available.
“We’re a good, established team,” says Dickey. Rachel
nods. On a busy night in the summer, half the diners will be folks visiting, half will be staying at the Inn. Sometimes a
boat pulls up at the dock and fifteen people will walk into the restaurant. “That’s when it gets really interesting,”
says Dickey.
That would be the way to do it, we muse. Pull up the boat and stroll inside for Peach Stuffed Quail or Almond Crusted Calamari. Mmm….
Daydreams aside, take time at least
once this summer for an Island getaway, and enjoy some of the best of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It might be one of the
few times you’ll actually raise a glass to Isabel.
Want the recipe for the Bronzed Rockfish with Edamame
and Corn Succotash? Yes, you do! click here:
Tilghman Island Inn at a Glance:
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