There are only a few discrete clues that the steakhouse you’ve just walked into is in rural Maryland rather than New York City. For one, the ceilings are higher, and for another, no Manhattan steak joints have reel-to-reel Robert Mitchum films showing on a large LCD screen in the bar. But the most reliable evidence comes from the wait staff. Rather than a charmingly grumpy and red-coat clad career waiter, a young, and therefore slightly less confident, server arrives at your table to take your meat order.
Other than those modest differences, it’s hard to imagine something more authentic, and yet more oddly placed, than Mitchum’s Steakhouse. Named after one of Talbot County’s well-loved local celebrities, the ruggedly good looking Robert Mitchum, the restaurant dominates, or more accurately is downtown Trappe.
Once settled in, the time-honored ritual of the New York steakhouse is pleasantly upheld. While the menu is, as it should be, devoted to the eating of meat, Mitchum’s pays respect to local seafood with its starter menu and daily specials. In our case, it was the Thai butterfly shrimp that was creatively presented in a sublime curry sauce, a dish more likely found at the legendary pan-Pacific themed Slanted Door in San Francisco than on the Eastern Shore.
The salad choices, while simple (again following steakhouse rules) were fresh and extremely well-prepared. The odd omission was the classic Caesar’s salad, a serious departure from textbook standards. Given how thoughtful the rest of the menu was, this gap could have only been intentional.
It’s important to note that everything out of executive Chef Chris Delaurentiis’ kitchen, again following the great New York City tradition, is made in that kitchen. No cheating here . Every salad dressing, every dish, and even the ladle of sauce (veal stock reduction) on the steak is made in-house and usually takes about three days at a time for one batch of veal stock.
Another relatively new test for a good steakhouse is how they handle seafood. In times past, a steakhouse would offer a few fish dishes to keep the non-meat eaters from starving, in the same way that a Chinese restaurant used to offer “American cuisine” to keep queasy diners comfortable in the 1950’s.
That’s not the case with Mitchum’s. The daily fish is cut fresh every day, and the soft-shell crabs have become an insider’s secret, with the kitchen offering “whale” crabs rather than the standard “jumbos,” each plate enhanced with fresh summer salsa.
But in the end, it comes down to the meat, and in this case, Mitchum’s held true to the best. A carefully prepared filet mignon and an aged New York strip arrived with minimum fuss, with classic side orders available à la carte (french beans, sauteed spinach, french fries, sautéed mushrooms and potato puree for four) at extra cost. Both cuts were delicious.
The modest wine list, while gratefully not the typical 100-pound bible that most NY steak joints proffer, was extraordinarily well-selected. The big and expensive reds were certainly well represented, with such great standards as Opus One and Dunn Vineyards at over $200 a bottle, but so were some fantastic more reasonable Australian and Californian Syrahs at the $30-$36 price point. The whites were equally well covered, with the exception of the Fess Parker Chardonnay. California’s Central Valley is capable of far greater representatives than good old Fess. One possible reason for this odd choice might have been the friendship between Parker and Mitchum.
While there was little time or room for dessert, the daily listing seemed once again out of the play book of the traditional steakhouse, with special emphasis on the rich and decadent. The pastry chef, Jayme Knost, makes a bold version of the classic Crème brûlée and turns such things as the Peanut Butter Bomb, despite its name, into a sophisticated ending for a fine meal. Sadly, the coffee was limited to only drip, which was a disappointment for someone seeking an espresso.
The choice of creating a first-class steakhouse in the middle of a small rural town would seem a tad risky, even for one located in Talbot County. Given all the care the owners, (Brenda Tighe and Douglas Halliday) have made in Trappe, you sometimes wonder if all that good energy might have been better directed to more in vogue cuisine. Nevertheless, by any standard, they have created a restaurant that could easily compete, and compete well, in Manhattan or any major city for that matter.
Of course, hailing a taxi in Trappe after a great dinner isn’t in the cards, so take your car.
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