Savor the Chesapeake

Restaurant news and culinary trends throughout the Chesapeake Bay region

By Megan Kotelchuck

The season of love is here, well at least the month of love. Halfway through February we celebrate and spoil the people we love, whether that is our significant others, children, parents, siblings, or friends. Show them how much you love them by taking them to some of the new restaurants and microbreweries in our area!

On the Dining Scene...

The Eastern Shore is well known for it’s local microbreweries, and now your options are growing. Many new brewing companies are opening on the Eastern Shore for you to check out including:

Cypress Roots Brewing Co. in Pocomoke City – This is the first brewery in Pocomoke City and is opening in 2023.

The Other One Brewing Co. in Ocean City – The Other One announced a summer 2022 opening, which was pushed back to winter 2022. We can’t wait to try it out soon!

Across the bridge in Annapolis, there’s a new live music venue to enjoy, Vibe. Vibe opened this past November in the Annapolis Town Center where Union Jacks used to reside. It features two bars and a menu with sharable appetizers, tacos, flatbreads, and sliders. Vibe was founded by Fivestar Restaurant Development & Consulting who also own several Italian restaurants throughout the state. There will be live band performances at 7 p.m. every Thursday through Saturday, and Latin Night on Sundays. Find a full menu and list of shows at vibeannapolis.com.

We always want to bring our furry friends everywhere we go, and now we can add one more place to the list of where we can take them. Bark Social is opening a new location in Downtown Columbia. This bar and dog park will move into a 5,000 square-foot location across the street from Merriweather Post Pavilion. Back Social is a ‘clean, monitored, and gated dog park that serves coffee and breakfast items in the morning and beer, wine, and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and lunch items in the afternoon and evening. They also have doggy ice cream, pupsicles, and more. Check out Bark Social’s other locations in Bethesda and Canton.

Looking for a new fast-casual restaurant? Honeygrow is opening a dozen new locations in Maryland in 2023. Honeygrow offers stirfry, salads, and more made with high quality ingredients. The first location to open will be in early 2023 in Hanover, followed by Owings Mills, Columbia, Annapolis, and Timonium. Keep an eye out for when these new locations will open.

Shipley Do-Nuts is opening their first Maryland location in Odenton. The business will be located at 1099 Annapolis Road and will serve more than 60 flavors of breakfast pastries made fresh daily. The bakery will include classic donuts as well as new creations like the “white iced with coconut.” Renovations are underway with plans to open soon.

Drink Up…

Plan a date night at home with some of these sweet and romantic martinis. Play some music, enjoy a nice, home cooked dinner, and enjoy a drink this Valentine’s Day!

Queen of Hearts

INGREDIENTS

1.5 oz. gin

3/4 oz. hibiscus syrup

3/4 oz. lemon juice

2 oz. sparkling wine

Optional: edible flower

Instructions

Shake gin, hibiscus syrup, and lemon juice. Pour into a wine glass and top with sparkling wine.

Raspberry Chocolate Martini

A Reminder…

The holidays are over, but it is always the season of giving. As we have all noticed, prices of everything have gone up, including food. Because of this, local food banks were not receiving the same level of donations they normally do during this holiday season. For example, this past Thanksgiving, Anne Arundel County Food Bank requested 4,000 frozen turkeys or chicken items, but only received 2,000. We know times are hard for everyone, but remember your local food banks this spring too, including the Maryland Food Bank-Eastern Shore Branch

INGREDIENTS

1.5 oz. raspberry liqueur

1.5 oz. RumChata

1 oz. heavy cream

Dark chocolate shavings

Fresh raspberries

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except the chocolate and raspberries into a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a martini glass. Sprinkle dark chocolate shavings and add raspberries to garnish.

Have culinary news to share? Send an email to the editor at editor@whatsupmag.com.