Down Home Cookin’ Done Well

The Buttersburg Inn
9 N. Main St.
Union Bridge, MD 21791
Phone: 410-775-9939
Email: buttersburg@verizon.net

http://thebuttersburginn.com/

The Buttersburg is one of those places that Debbie and I have been to many times over the years but too often forget to visit more regularly, perhaps because it specializes in comfort foods that Debbie is quite accomplished at in making for our at-home dinners.

Sometime you just need a night out though and the Buttersburg is a local gem, I only wish we had a similar restaurant in Finksburg. The folks that live in Union Bridge and nearby New Windsor are lucky to have the daily convenience of this restaurant which is locally owned and operated hands-on by hosts Frank Tunzi and Jim Rowe .

No matter how homey some franchise restaurants try to make their image they can’t compete with places like the Buttersburg. In fact, I swear some of the “down-home cookin” style franchised restaurants I have eaten in don’t have a stove in their kitchen. These cookie-cutter places put up a huge American Flag, use Early American - looking furnishings, hang quaint local pictures on the walls and then prepare their pre-pared foods in a battery of microwave ovens.

We were met at the door by Jim and he ushered us to a table. Our server quickly gave us menus and explained the night’s special. Those specials are pretty special at this restaurant as I will explain momentarily.

One thing that makes this place special for us is that they allow you to bring your own bottle of wine. I don’t think a lot of diners at the Buttersburg do the BYOB thing but it is great for those of us winos who enjoy wine with almost every meal – and here you can do it without the inflated cost of “restaurant priced wine” which is often double or triple the retail cost at a wine merchant.

Neither of my parents thought much of wine except when they would go to Maria’s 300 in Little Italy where they would order a very inexpensive bottle of the house made, chianti-like, red wine. I have often thought of my Irish Grandfather as a teetotaler but he did insist on a very small glass of Mogen David or Manischewitz fruit wine with his meal (the old ads proclaimed, “Man-O-Manischewitz!”). On seeing that we brought our own wine, our waitress immediately offered us a wine opener and glasses (Carroll County Wine Festival glasses!)

 

Me, I can always find a wine to compliment a pizza, hamburgers or even hot dogs.

I have to admit that I had fried chicken on my brain when I announced to Debbie that she was going to have a night off from the galley; however, one of the night’s special was soft crabs. Ok, so I talked Debbie into getting the Fried Chicken so I could get my favoritest food in the world (I knew I’d get at least a chicken wing off her plate). But first I had to try a cup of the home-made chicken corn soup. It was terrific with huge hunks of chicken, loads of corn and carrots in a great broth. My entrée came with two sides but I only cared for one. Without my suggesting it, the waitress offered me a side-salad. That was certainly unnecessary but appreciated.

My soft crab platter came out hot with two whale sized softies that were lightly battered, fried to perfection and accompanied by a large side of fresh, kitchen-cut fried potatoes.  A little mustard on my crabs and I was off to Maryland Seafood Heaven.

Debbie’s fried chicken was done to perfection. In a world of franchise restaurant and grocery store prepared fried chicken, what stands out as the real deal is what you will find in Union Bridge.

Now about those specials. Until last evening I did not know the Buttersburg Inn had regular “special” days. Where else in this or any neighboring County are you going to find Fried Rabbit (every 4^th weekend), Liver & Onions night (Tuesdays), Prime Rib (every weekend), Stuffed Pork Chops (Friday nights) and on every third weekend of the month a real treat for  culinary adventurous types, Hog Maws. Yep, you heard it here first. I hope that last special doesn’t create a rush on the Inn from all you stuffed Hog Maw lovers.

By the way, the standard of standards for comfort food is at The Buttersburg  too, open faced hot roast beef sandwiches with fries, all smothered in gravy. While I don’t know if it is available every weekend I do know they have some weekend nights when they cook up a mess of turkeys and have a real traditional meal complete with stuffing and cranberry sauce.

As if the entrees aren’t  good enough, The Buttersburg is famous for the cakes and pies they bake right there. I really didn’t have room for desert and seldom do but Debbie always leaves room for a chocolate sundae. At the Inn, her sundae was laced with fresh brownie. The Hummingbird Cake was recommended and the Three Fruit Rhubarb Pie sounded awful good; maybe I’ll give one of them a go next time we are out that way. All of the fresh baked desserts are listed on a chalk board at the back of the dining room.

The Buttersburg Inn captures the essence of Carroll County. It is an unpretentious setting for good food. They don’t make restaurants like this anymore, they just make franchise joints that try to capture their folksy style with “chefs” who don’t know how to cook an egg much less stuff a pork chop that didn’t come off the food service truck that way.  

Be sure to tell Frank and Jim that the Hungry Man sent you.

 

 

 

A Whole Lotta Smokin’ Going On

 Famous Dave’s Barbecue

10500 Owings Mills Blvd.
Owings Mills, MD 21117
410-998-9577
www.famousdaves.com

 When the urge for spare ribs hits me I usually head off to Annapolis to visit the Red, Hot & Blue (RH&B) off Rt. 50. It’s worth the drive and I have even blazed my was through a blizzard with a buddy to pick up full racks of their ribs to bring home for a party – a trip that ended up taking five hours instead of the usual two.

The irrepressible urge hit last week and I called up some fellow barbecue lovin’ friends to make the trip but my friend insisted that we save the long drive and go to one of their favorites, Famous Dave’s, just a short hop down I 795 to Owings Mills. I caved in and off we went on a very wet evening, hoping the line to get in wouldn’t be too long - for apparently I am the last barbecue lover in Maryland to know about Famous Dave’s.

This is a franchise restaurant that certainly doesn’t need a review to perk up business. The joint really is famous and they do what they do very well – for lots of diners who don’t mind getting their fingers greasy. One of the reasons I have gone to RH&B in Annapolis is because they offer spareribs without the sloppy sauce that so many people crave. I like my ribs naked and by golly Dave’s offers them that way along with the traditional sauce glazed version.

The dining area is huge with many coveted booths and it is not as noisy as one would expect because everyone is concentrating on their dinners. Chicken wing and spareribs are piled high on almost every table. 'Que eaters of every sort are busy munching down on many menu choices (see web site for menu).

I insisted we order an appetizer to share and went for the Not’cho Ordinary Nachos Grande, one that was new to my friends and quite well received. Instead of the messy plate of nachos that become soggy after 5 minutes, this serving is quite different and absolutely fabulous – it really is a meal in itself with nacho chips layered with beans, chili, jalapenos and –here’s a twist- chopped pork with a squirt of sour cream on top. There was almost a fight over it and the huge serving completely disappeared.

Unlike RH&B, the food comes out very quickly at Dave’s. I should mention here that they have a big selection of beers and cocktails at Dave’s and the beer is plenty cold. There’s just something about ribs and beer.

Two of our group ordered the Georgia Pulled Pork Platter which includes two sides from a large selection of choices. The sandwich is so large that Debbie took half of hers home. The pork is tender and not soggy with sauce. Another chose the True Bleu Cheeseburger which arrived with a very large portion of bleu cheese atop a huge burger with lettuce, tomato and red onions. It is quite a monument of burger that won’t leave anyone hungry.

Yes, I got my naked rack of baby back ribs and they were terrific. The seasoning is not the same as the dry rub at RH&B but they are very meaty and tasty. Did you know that the reason they are called "baby" ribs is because they come off a smaller, young hog that might weigh as much as 300 pounds, rather that an older, larger and most likely tougher hog weighing better than 500 pounds?

Amazingly, one of the group wanted dessert  because I think they really only came along to get some of the bread pudding, which I have to admit looked pretty exceptional.  With a little help from a friend the huge serving disappeared silently and quickly.

Dave’s is not a place for the calorie conscious but for those who appreciate all sorts of barbecue joint food I assure you that you won’t be disappointed in taking the short drive to Owings Mills for some good eats.

The really good news about Dave’s is that the entire menu can be ordered to-go in case you just want to chow down at home and avoid any of the possible wait to get in the joint. The food will still be plenty hot when you get home with such a short drive, even in a blizzard.