Downtown Annapolis can be a really nice place to be especially in the spring. On this night this past April 17th, it was breezy and had a slight chill. Much like the weather on the night of our wedding. the stage was set.

Our 16th wedding anniversary April 17th 1994. This past Saturday the 17th was as good a day as I can remember. The Chart house has been a long time staple for Tami and I. Special events are celebrated here for us. 
First off, we were seated in a nice window location, and the server we had was very upbeat and a professional from start to finish. I started with the Seared Ahi Tuna, which was at best ok. It was presented pretty bland, and the taste was not something fit for this setting.

Next was the Spinach salad with warm bacon vinaigrette dressing. The set up and presentation was excellent. It came out all in a Chiffonade fashion, lined up neatly, and the server actually tossed together the ingredients table side. The way in which everything was cut made it very easy to eat and enjoy. The bacon was in thick crisp chunks, so the hickory flavors came through very nice, and all of the accompaniments were too properly channeled into this dish. An A+. In fact this could have been an entree and been a success.

Finally, the Prime Rib entree. I had the smaller cut, and the rib was cooked as asked, to medium, and was as tender and flavorful as any I could remember.
The Steamed Asparagus with Shallot Buerre was as well, tender, and full of flavor.  Tami, had the Cocktail shrimp, which after a small mixup in the making of the sauce for it, was quickly remedied, however i was shocked to taste that they actually put straight ketchup for the sauce to begin with. I mean, who's watching what goes out here?? We actually had to show and explain it? It was truly straight ketchup, nothing else.

This of course was soon addressed, and Tami's Salad, was crisp, and was very enjoyable.
We finished off the evening with the Chart houses Mud pie, and coffee, which is always a winner.
I go to the Chart house mainly for the company in which I keep here. Tami. She enjoy's this place tremendously. I give the chart house kudos for the location of course (can't lose) and service which on this night, our server was top notch. The culinary side of it, always has it's share of up's and downs though. Rarely is it consistent. And that is a problem for a place that is as pricey as the Chart house. Needless to say, the food is not the first reason I come here. 

However, if this was addressed, and was consistent, this place would be perfect. It is of course a destination point for travelers and many locals simply because of it's location and tenure on the docks. A nice spot for a romantic evening to begin.

'm a tech gadget junkie by nature, and the Metro diner goes a step in fulfilling a service expectation for me, while being mildly entertained. You walk in, and immediately are faced with flat panel monitors loaded with menu items. You walk up to a touch screen order guide to set up your order and grab a table number (electronic) card. Then you go to an open booth or seat of your choice.
You have yet to be greeted by anyone. If you are slow to understand the system, a manager can help you, and this is where the system needs work. For many folks over the age of 40 or so (me included) this may be initially a roadblock.That said, your order placed, and or any changes made, a server brings your cups and "you" go to get your drink.  Within minutes after you have plugged your card w/ table number into the little box on your table, they now know where you are seated and within minutes the meals are brought to you, and in our case with little fuss. The system is intelligent but with flaws. Given the enormous investment in one of these types of businesses, it seems they missed the mark on upselling.With a little flat panel monitor at the table they could upsell desserts or other drinks and so on. Which of course you would have to go back and order at the main monitors up front, but what if you could do this at your table?? They have your credit/card info already, and now they made a sale with no server having to take an order twice?? the up front investment would likely pay off big in my eyes.
The food my sliders were dry and generally of little flavor. Most places miss the mark on sliders simply because the portions are very small to begin with, and leaner beef of course cooks/dries out very quickly, a higher fat content could help this easily, and some seasoning would be s good afterthought as well. Flavor always helps.
As for my fries, slaw, and veggie chips Tami and I split, those were good. Tami had a Patty melt of sorts, which was made with a Chiabatta roll, and honestly was not a patty melt at all. More like a hot sandwich at best. the corned beef was good, but it kinda missed the mark.This place has potential, but from what I saw was dead slow on an early evening, on a Saturday! Maybe lunch is where they make up the money here. I don't know. Again, I like the concept, however for the older crowd whom are accustomed to service, this may be a bit to swallow. The food does get to your table pretty fast though, if you understand the system, and with a little work, the food could be excellent. Maybe a real Cook in the kitchen??  Not just an hourly. Just my opinion.

Located in,7101 Brookville Rd Chevy Chase, MD 20815. The facade of this cozy location is one that really makes you feel like this should be a regular place to haunt..

I dined with a client this past Friday the 26th of March, at this location. Lunch had just began and we were some of the first to arrive. The place was quickly bustling with customers though.  The place takes me back to a time in the 1980's where this type of Heavy French style cooking was at the peak of it's popularity. The waiters were mostly older men whom have likely worked at this place forever. The crowd is generally a 50's aged an up crowd.

The locals likely dine here frequently, seeing as this is located in a very affluent section of Chevy Chase MD.  For starters my salad was pretty good but nothing memorable. The wait service was on time, and pleasant. My Pate appetizer was what killed this place for me. The taste and look was definitely  of something store bought, and my opinion quickly went south from here. After a brief wait in between appetizers, the entrees were served hot, however I do believe they had sat for awhile before being delivered.

I had the Grilled chicken with Mushroom risotto entree. the Risotto was a paste lined with strips of pimiento (very poor presentation) and the chicken was basically dry and over cooked. I could not even get through a 1/3rd of it.  Given the china, silverware service and atmosphere, one would expect nothing but the finest french cuisine, but nothing could be further from the truth. 

The Chocolate souffle I had split with the client was by far the best thing they had there, and was timed ok too. It was very light and flavorful. By far one of the better souffle's I had, eaten in some time. 

Restaurants like these have their place, but cooking and presenting food correctly regardless of price is a must. Outside of the chocolate souffle, La Ferme failed miserably this day. If you are going to charge top dollar, you gotta serve top dollar food that is "up to date" as well.

It appears that they rely too much on their history and looks, to pay good enough attention to the food.  The place is a very quaint location, and cozy all the way around. I would like to try again, but on this visit, a let down.

At best, 2 out of 5 stars.

Located in the Annapolis Town Center at 307 Sail Place Annapolis, MD 21405.

Sunday night March 28th, and the place is packed. In the Annapolis towne center on a rainy sunday this place was one of a very few that boasted this many patrons. While PF Changs is pretty big a chain restaurant, on this day you'd have thought they had cornered the market on Food, flavor, presentation and ultimately service!!!
From start to finish. We waited roughly 3-4 minutes when we were told we may have to wait about 15 minutes. 
We were quickly seated, and shown menus. Our waitress was a young lady, smiled alot and had a great sense of humor. She took our picture to remember the evening, and we just sat back in a big comfy booth to await the beginning of what was to be one of the better meals I had served to me in quite awhile. We were quickly served our water with Lemon, no ice, and for me an extra treat,, I rarely can find a restaurant that serves anything but Odoules non alcoholic beer. generally because most restaurants do not respect non drinkers ( in my opinion)
Here at PF Changs, the serve Kaliber which was icy cold and fantastic, served in a chilled Tall glass.

Our appetizers were the Lettuce wraps ( a tradition at PF Changs) and the seared Ahi Tuna. Our waitress served this with some condiments of blended dipping sauces which she explained excellently.

The appetizers were crisp, fresh and just all around great.  Full of flavor, and presented with care. Timing between courses was as good as I have seen. Water service was on time, and no hovering over the table asking how was everything. She did this only twice throughout the entire meal, and it was timely, as well she did so with cordial confidence. In other words "she sold it" all the time. For how young she must have been, she came off as a server far beyond her years, wise, yet attentive, humble, and worked hard, i.e. I saw her sweeping floors and doing buswork (yes they do have busboys there too) 
The Entree, we split, as Tami had her Wraps as an entree, oh and I almost forgot to mention. they brought us a free "order" of Calamari, wether a mistake or not, this was a nice touch and for sure gave off the we "do not throw out anything" even if it was a mistake order for someone else. And rather than feed the staff more,, they decide to make their customers happier!!
I thought this was too cool! And yes the Calamari too was fresh and the sea salt mix made it just another thing to brag about!!

The VIP Duck came out with extra large portions of Fresh wok cooked spinach which was wilted just right, as well with some Asparagus seasoned just right with seared onions, and was just the right blend of flavors. Cooked al dente, and hot!!
The duck was tender and as good as I could have hoped for. the crisp homemade Grilled Chive tortillas were a great accompaniment to the duck as well.

Tami and I were both comfortably full!! When our waitress described the desserts we decided to do a take home of a Crispy Banana eggroll dessert with a homemade coconut, vanilla mango like ice cream, with caramel. It held up well for the ride home as our great server said it would!! It was the topper to an evening that likely could not have gotten better to that point. We were both very Happily filled to the brim, and will definitely be coming back soon. 

I am sure this place has good and bad days, but the service here far outweighed how well everything else was, even though it was all good.  This server was very very well trained, and our service was unforgettable on this night. 5 out of 5 stars!!

This evening I had the lazy experience of not leaving the house after coming home from work and having my Sushi delivered to me.  A reasonably new location in Bowie MD the East Moon, does carry out, and delivery, if you are so fortunate to live within a 5 mile radius.Let me say, first and formost, the young lady taking the order was courteous and took my order without problem. Quick and efficient. She even upsold me on a Shrimp Tempura dinner (my only mistake by the way).

The food arrived, a little sooner than promised, "40 minutes" and the sushi was quite good and good portions for price paid. The delivery guy was courteous, and was quick as well.

Again, the sushi, Unagi, Spicy Tuna Roll, Salmon Roll, and some Edamame were nice and (the edamame was nicely salted and hot!)  cold, with plenty of wasabi and were excellent.  However, the moral of this tale is, do not order Tempura delivered. I should know better. Common sense dictates, this stuff sits in a styro box for more than 5 minutes, it sweats and gets soggy pretty fast. While they may have delivered it fast, they still had to drive at least 4.5 miles to my house with several dozen stop lights, and likely more than just my delivery. I won't make that mistake again.

That said, the overall I would certainnly reccomend for delivery if you cannot go out. They deliver what they say, it is very good ( leave the Tempura for dining at the location) and certainly I will likely try the dining in option soon.  This is a new location and I wish them well. Good service and good food are hard to come by in Bowie, in any amount of consistency.  So an ok, to good start for East Moon!!

They are located on 6107 Highbridge road, Bowie, MD 20720,  301-805-4988.