Dining Out

14442 SOLOMONS ISLAND ROAD 410-394-0236 SOLOMONSKINGFISHER@GMAIL.COM

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Deeply Discounted Food & Drinks All You Can Eat Oysters

Sundays 12-7 ONLY $22

Live Music

Ben Connelly Acoustic Guitar Thursdays & Fridays, 6-9

This month’s Dining Out took us to one of our favorite places in the DMV – Solomons Island, Maryland - and our favorite drinking and dining establishment on the island, Kingfishers Seafood, Bar and Grill. It was nice to have a bit of a sense of “normalcy” as our friends in the hospitality business are emerging from the restrictions due to the pandemic in the last year. It has been a rough ride for sure. It was nice to be able to sit (no standing) at the bar – socially distanced – and have an adult beverage and a meal. Many of you readers know that the Gastronomes are fans of sitting at the bar to dine. We are very social people and the banter at the bar is part of the experience and we think the service is usually a bit faster/ better since your server can’t really escape you.

We have been dining at Kingfisher since it opened in 2003. The inviting décor has remained the same with the waterfront murals and wood carvings of Chesapeake Bay creatures and the large windows offering a waterfront view from the entire length of the dining room. They added fire pit tables on the deck to provide for more seating this winter and they will stay in place for those cool spring days and evenings.

The menu has changed over the years but the ever popular 5 ounce original Stoney’s Crab Cake is still available for you “crab cake aficionados” and the popular Rockfish Bites and Crab Dip are prepared “just right” here! A few other things that stand out on the menu as far as we are concerned include the Steamed Dinner for Two, the Chicken Sandwich and the Diablo Cobb Salad. Snow Crab legs and shrimp - tossed in Old Bay garlic butter if you like – served with your choice of two sides comprise the Dinner for Two. As far as the chicken sandwich is concerned, it is a pretty standard piece of chicken breast (grilled or fried) served on a brioche roll with lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion and mayo on the side; however, every time either of us has ordered it, EVERYTHING is fresh and the chicken is perfect. Not sure exactly what they do but it is worth ordering. The Diablo Cobb has a Romaine lettuce base topped with hardboiled egg, avocado, bacon, corn & black bean salsa, tossed in sweet chili ranch dressing and topped with parmesan cheese croutons. I like the salad just like it is but if you need a bit more protein you can top it off with your choice of chicken, steak, salmon, shrimp, crab cake or seared tuna. Another attractive option on the Kingfisher menu is the “Grilled” offerings. There are 3 steps to ordering these: 1) Choose a protein - chicken, salmon, flat iron steak; 2) Choose a topping - parmesan crust, garlic & herb butter, shrimp alfredo, crab Oscar; 3) Choose 2 sides – mac & cheese, hushpuppies, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, fries, Brussel sprouts. Our favorite dessert here is the Key Lime Pie but they have their popular Chocolate Lava Cake ala Mode for you chocoholics as well as cheesecake and bread pudding. These items are just a peek at what is available to please your palate both for dining in and taking out.

The bar at Kingfisher is like many of the bars in the area – a version of “Cheers”. The locals have a “system” that can be compared to a bar crawl of sorts, but on a regular basis. They seem to start at one end of the island and end up at Kingfisher for the finale. We have been known to follow suit. They have the ever popular Crushes in all sorts of flavors (grapefruit is mine) and a host of craft cocktails but the Painkiller they serve here is the best on the island in our opinion. If you are a beer drinker, there are both domestic and craft on tap and in cans and bottles. The wine list is pretty substantial as well. And….they know how to pour a good drink here.

Treat yourself to a drive down Route 4 South to Solomons Island and take in Annmarie Gardens and the Calvert Marine Museum, check out the shops that are open and stop in at Kingfisher. You won’t be disappointed!