DINING REVIEW
Simple and Supreme Italian Fare
S
By Rita Calvert Photography by Stephen Buchanan
ince 2017, owner Rik Squillari has drawn crowds to his Italian tavern, which is located off the beaten track from the Annapolis dining scene. Harvest Thyme in Davidsonville offers seasonal menus, creative offerings, plus Italian standards, which keep people coming back for cuisine made with effort and care.
Harvest Thyme deserves very high marks for its ambitious adaptation to the challenging COVID months, keeping up with many of its popular traditions like its extensive pizza menu, and also with its more complex offerings like the starter and entrees we chose this night. We also lucked out with exceptionally unusual Fall weather, which extended their highly suitable outdoor dining spread along the petite strip mall’s sidewalks—just the right size tables and overhead lighting. Patio heaters at the ready assure outdoor comfort. Inside, business was brisk too, with tables adequately spread apart.
HARVEST THYME TAVERN
1251 West Central Avenue, Davidsonville 443-203-6846 | harvestthymetavern.com
We laughed at ourselves for stumbling a bit over a restaurant first; pointing our cell phones at the QR (quick response) code pasted on our table to access the menu—a novel safety step to eliminate the risk of disposable or sanitized menu. Don’t forget your reading glasses. Squillari takes pride in his wine offerings, as he should since he spent years in the business. With a unique formula, he offers bottled wine at retail prices, rather than restaurant markup, with a $10 corkage fee. An entire wall of the interior is devoted to wine and bottles are available for purchase as are beers and spirits. The menu sports a simple but very nice selection of both reds and whites by the glass and an extensive list of bottles, which several tables around us were enjoying. My companion chose the Pinot Noir, currently an interesting one from Angels Ink, new on the menu since
116
What’s Up? Annapolis | March 2021 | whatsupmag.com
our last visit. The Angels Ink hails from multiple Central Coast (CA) vineyards and complemented the meal well. It’s on the light side, fruitforward with berries and vanilla and a nice note from its oak aging. (Note that at the time of our visit, there were four other Pinot Noir choices by the bottle, and you can make a purchase in the retail shop, to be opened tableside for the corkage fee.) If you prefer cocktails or beer, don’t miss the options here. There are numerous craft beers, including a flight of draft beers, and creative cocktails, some with ingredients like local cider. We had peeked at the menu before arriving and were ready to go with the evening’s appetizer special; a trio of beautifully plump sea scallops in a lovely fennel, apple brandy cream sauce. Even without a specific seafood focus, Harvest Thyme knows
