Coming from san francisco to relocate in southern maryland is no easy fit, a town where there is zero nightlife, backward in so many other life styles i was accustom to in big cities the Tides restaurant and oyster bar was a blessing for me to find out about after an invitation to dinner by an acquaintance of mine.
Okay let me cut to the chase, i arrived at around 7:30pm on a very busy friday night and i was seated at the bar -excuse me! did i say bar? no this was some kind of bar you would find at the BELLAGIO IN LAS VEGAS! The glass WATERFaLL you see by the entrance when coming in is also by the bar going into the gorgeous restrooms with real cloth napkins and it was so clean that for a moment i thougt i was at Micheal Mina's restaurant in san francisco and at the bar i cant help but notice the expensive marble top all over the bar top and seating area. i was told about the small bite and raw bar menu by the bartender whose name i remembered as Torrey but i decided on the dirty-tini since i was there for dinner that night.
I finished my martini as soon as my acquaintance walk in and by that time our table for two was ready, i was seated at one of the booths by the large windows and i can see the chef and his kitchen crew busy pumping out dinners which was marvelous for me because i love to cook and watch an experience professional chef work his crew and assemble the food on the plate or put a final garnish before its presented to the guest.
I ordered foie gras for appetizer and my partner had the porcupine shrimp wrap in kataifi w/orange gastrique reduction i must say the foie gras was prepared perfectly and my partners porcupine shrimp was out of this world. For entree i had the mishima ribeye which was very cheap than what i use to pay for the same cut in San francisco or Las vegas, it came with a side of sauteed mushrooms and fresh garlic sauteed spinach with hint of lemon as i expected it to be prepared, my partner had the dry aged colorado rack of lamb barely medium and so succulent that i started to wonder if i was really in southern maryland, but i was shocked back to reality when i remembered the chef's resume and that he had worked under some of the finest chefs washington DC had to offer and untop of that Jean louis Palladin.
By this time i was going almost through half our bottle of the cake bread wine and surveying the wavy silverware, classy pocelain salt and pepper shakers, wine walls and was jolted from my trance by fire, the maitre d' was flaming bannana fosters at a table next to us which let me repeat for the local southern marylanders is a treat. Dessert was white and dark chocolate mousse for me and a white chocolate and raisin bread pudding for my partner so exquisitely sauce, plated with edible orchid flower and both dessert tasted so heavenly that i came to the conclusion that who ever put a team like this together must have known that there was soon going to be a market for this kind of dining in southern maryland as oppose to these wishy washy fast food chains that so dominate the landscape.
And before i end i must give kudos to our server Ryan for his excellent service and such knowledge about mishima beef "can be cut with a plastic fork."
Okay let me cut to the chase, i arrived at around 7:30pm on a very busy friday night and i was seated at the bar -excuse me! did i say bar? no this was some kind of bar you would find at the BELLAGIO IN LAS VEGAS! The glass WATERFaLL you see by the entrance when coming in is also by the bar going into the gorgeous restrooms with real cloth napkins and it was so clean that for a moment i thougt i was at Micheal Mina's restaurant in san francisco and at the bar i cant help but notice the expensive marble top all over the bar top and seating area. i was told about the small bite and raw bar menu by the bartender whose name i remembered as Torrey but i decided on the dirty-tini since i was there for dinner that night.
I finished my martini as soon as my acquaintance walk in and by that time our table for two was ready, i was seated at one of the booths by the large windows and i can see the chef and his kitchen crew busy pumping out dinners which was marvelous for me because i love to cook and watch an experience professional chef work his crew and assemble the food on the plate or put a final garnish before its presented to the guest.
I ordered foie gras for appetizer and my partner had the porcupine shrimp wrap in kataifi w/orange gastrique reduction i must say the foie gras was prepared perfectly and my partners porcupine shrimp was out of this world. For entree i had the mishima ribeye which was very cheap than what i use to pay for the same cut in San francisco or Las vegas, it came with a side of sauteed mushrooms and fresh garlic sauteed spinach with hint of lemon as i expected it to be prepared, my partner had the dry aged colorado rack of lamb barely medium and so succulent that i started to wonder if i was really in southern maryland, but i was shocked back to reality when i remembered the chef's resume and that he had worked under some of the finest chefs washington DC had to offer and untop of that Jean louis Palladin.
By this time i was going almost through half our bottle of the cake bread wine and surveying the wavy silverware, classy pocelain salt and pepper shakers, wine walls and was jolted from my trance by fire, the maitre d' was flaming bannana fosters at a table next to us which let me repeat for the local southern marylanders is a treat. Dessert was white and dark chocolate mousse for me and a white chocolate and raisin bread pudding for my partner so exquisitely sauce, plated with edible orchid flower and both dessert tasted so heavenly that i came to the conclusion that who ever put a team like this together must have known that there was soon going to be a market for this kind of dining in southern maryland as oppose to these wishy washy fast food chains that so dominate the landscape.
And before i end i must give kudos to our server Ryan for his excellent service and such knowledge about mishima beef "can be cut with a plastic fork."
I have been craving foie gras...
I liked the part about his partner! 
I'm effing dieing! 
