GAMBRILL MOUNTAIN FOOD CO

Battling a busy signal, in the hopes of one day obtaining a storied Banh mi (filled with roast pork, Asian pickled veggies, enoki mushrooms, crispy garlic, chili mayo and more) or an over-the-top Philly cheesesteak (with shaved ribeye, house Cheez Whiz, caramelized onions and sweet peppers) was a sign of COVID times for many in Frederick. Gambrill Mt. Food Co., which had graduated from its food truck glory into an actual, real-life restaurant space on East Street in March 2020, remained so busy, it actually had to sometimes turn hungry customers away.

Now the popular innovative Frederick foodie favorite has new digs, with plenty of space to seat many more patrons than ever before along two bars (traditional and whiskey-focused), or at tables. The new space, renovated and transformed from its former life, opened in early fall on Bentz Street, much to the delight of goat cheese fritter fans everywhere.

Co-owners Jasmin Tregoning and chef Benjamin Cohen, who studied at the L’Academie de Cuisine and worked at several restaurants before becoming head chef at Cafe Nola and later the executive chef at the Wine Kitchen in Virginia, opened their food truck in 2018. After two years, the duo dove into a full-time brick-and-mortar location in Frederick, where Tregoning was born and raised.

Now, the successful restaurant has big things planned for its larger location.

Expanded menu options include brunch, lunch and dinner, sandwiches, salads, snacks, soups and dessert, as well as a full beer and wine menu and an interesting line of specialty cocktails.

The fall batch includes the Mule Bird (Doctor Bird Jamaican Rum, apricot liqueur, orgeat, and ginger beer) and the Autumn Sour (Tenth Ward corn whiskey and autumn liqueur, Disaronno, maple syrup, and black walnut bitters), as well as the Mountain Pie, which tastes just like Grandma’s apple pie, but in drink form.

If you’re hungry for a night filled with great ambience, delicious drinks and out-of-this-world flavors, head over to Gambrill Mt.’s new space on Bentz Street. They’ve got room for you.

Gambrill Mt. Food Co 6 S. Bentz St., Frederick 240.439.4103 F facebook.com/gambrillmtfoodco d @gambrillmtfoodco

Healing Power of

Nature

Jefferson’s Fox Haven farm offers bounty of serenity.

Words and Photos by Ty Unglebower

The herb garden at Fox Haven

contains nearly 200 varieties of herbs. And most of them can be used for more than one purpose. So, the potential cures, relief and natural wellness possibilities within that one stretch of grassy land on a soft hill just outside Jefferson could not possibly be fully covered in a single article.

Then again, neither could Fox Haven itself. Its mission, and the activities and programs it offers pursuant to same, are as allencompassing and sprawling as the secluded Frederick County farmland on which it sits.

Does your group require a peaceful setting for an overnight retreat? Interested in a cooking class? Or perhaps you prefer to learn about foraging for your own food in the wilderness. Yoga may be calling to you, or you might have recently decided to reduce your personal carbon imprint by working with, as opposed to against, the land. You might even be curious about a little dairy science. Or tea brewing. In one form or another, programs built around these activities are available at Fox Haven.

And those represent a mere percentage of what is on offer yearround at this local nonprofit.

So yes, myriad options.

However, just as all those herbs in the garden share certain components in common such as sunshine, rain and nutrient-rich soil, the activities and mission of the entire Fox Haven community also have their universals — namely, a connectivity, or perhaps even a communion with the natural world.

My guide during a recent visit, Alecks Ferguson, put it far better than I could when she told me: “Fox Haven has a lot to offer ... connecting people to nature and experiencing it for themselves in real time.”

It requires little effort to feel at one with nature on the

Fox Haven campus. Not even the slightest trace of the increasing Jefferson housing development and constant roadwork can be detected here, despite being a mere five minutes away. The winding, still-dirt Poffenberger Road provides the only access to the facility. Driving on it (go slowly!) I felt as though I’d left Southern Frederick County entirely.

Signs indicating that Fox Haven owns the land can be found at regular intervals before one even reaches the entrance. This land, and miles around it, are kept in trust and are hence, for the foreseeable future, immunized from development. Founded more than 40 years ago by environmentally conscious Harriet Crosby, who purchased the land for that very reason, the farm now consists of 750 acres of protected land.

This protection, Alecks told me, is what she considers the most important service provided by Fox Haven overall.

The farm owns and operates several facilities available for retreats, reunions and other overnight group endeavors. Though some of these were occupied during my visit, I was given a tour of Chestnut House, arguably the centerpiece of the hosting aspects of Fox Haven.

The oldest parts of the house date back to the 1700s, with additions taking place in both the 1800s and early 1900s. It can sleep about a dozen people comfortably, with its many rooms and crannies. A cozy meeting room, complete with fireplace offers excellent views of the grounds.

Education is the backbone of Fox Haven. (I learned, while

there, that a teaspoon of locally grown honey is believed to lessen the impact of one’s allergies for an entire season.) To that end, interns play a large part in the daily operations. During my visit I met up with three of them as they were climbing the hill from the nearby orchard after a session of picking and gathering flowers.

One, named Reese, explained to me how much she got out of just arriving at Fox Haven any given day: “Sometimes you kind of forget to stop, so twice I week I have to stop and be part of earth… Even when we're doing something too arduous, and I'm feeling, ‘I'm too tired for this,’ I just look around. And then it goes away.”

“Joy is about connection,” is how Carly, another intern described it. “Fox Haven is just all about connection …through our connection to the natural world. What it means to be stewards.”

It would be dishonest of me to claim that I, during my brief visit, felt the full scope of the natural connection and oneness with the earth that Fox Haven seeks to nurture in every visitor. I was there to accomplish a specific job-oriented task after all. Yet the sincerity of those I met, was palpable. (If something can be described as “palpable” in such a peaceful setting.) Anyone contemplating a visit should rest assured that the Fox Haven commitment to the cause of presence and unity with Mother Earth.

But I’ll let the words of its own website serve as an invitation:

“Come visit Fox Haven, slow down, come back to your senses, feel the healing power of nature, learn something new, become part of something greater than yourself, and participate in solving global problems.”

Find out more Foxhavenfarm.orgunamiinfrederick

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History and Holidays at Catoctin Furnace

Museum of the Ironworker

Open Saturdays and Sundays, 10am-2pm and by appointment Learn about the diverse workers who built the historic village and powered the Catoctin Furnace! Exhibits include amazing forensic facial reconstructions of two enslaved workers; an innovative “under the floorboards” archaeology exhibit; fascinating interpretive panels, rare historic clothing found during the excavation of the Forgeman’s House; Catoctin Furnace’s famous cast iron stoves; hundreds of iron artifacts and more! Suggested donation $5/person.

Hike the Catoctin Furnace African American Cemetery Trail

and visit the historic kitchen and pollinator gardens while in the village!

Traditional Village Christmas Saturday December 4, 2021 10am-4pm

Free European style Christmas Market complete with artisans, traditional holiday bake table, children’s activities, wreath decorating, and a visit from Belsnickel. Unique holiday gifts suitable for the entire family.

Catoctin Furnace Historical Society, Inc.

12610 Catoctin Furnace Rd | Thurmont, MD 21788 | catoctinfurnace.org info@catoctinfurnace.org | 240-288-7396