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By Christine Fillat
With its expansive menu and various structures, The Blackwall Barn & Lodge is in the business of catering to large groups. The decor follows the same basic formula designer Bonnie Knock established in the other Blackwall restaurants, but this time on a larger scale: the establishment seeks to wow you with the simple expanse of the space and its limited color scheme. The rooms, however, look a bit commonplace and could be cozier, with noise levels so high that any ambient music is undetectable. There are a lot of hard surfaces with nothing built-in to amend the sound.
The most notable feature is the sheer volume of people who walk through the doors, looking for a communal experience in this remote part of Anne Arundel County. You won’t get fine dining here. It is rather more casual, pub-like in its environs. I am reminded of a hotel dining room that caters to large groups of tourists fresh off of the bus. There is nothing wrong with that; just be prepared for this sort of experience.
The cocktails are lovely, revealing a top-notch beverage program. A watermelon mojito is filled with luscious chunks of watermelon. A cucumber gimlet is made with ribbons of cucumber. Both are completely refreshing and perfect. Fried green tomatoes are a winner, coming to the table piping hot and with a beautiful crust, resting on top of a classic remoulade. We wish the rest of the meal was as good as the cocktails and fried green tomatoes. What was the point of an anemic spoonful of chicken soup as an amuse-bouche? It seemed like chicken stock leftovers with very overcooked bits of chicken.
The watermelon gazpacho was not very interesting either. With watermelon, strawberries, and tomato, the soup promised to be something special. Nothing elevated the soup beyond its little porcelain cup. A gazpacho I had gotten from Rutabaga Juice Bar in West Annapolis the day before was far superior, with fresh flavors and spice. The Blackwall gazpacho is going to have to try harder to be as good. At about this point in the meal, our server lost interest in us. Though she hustled past us often, she didn’t look our way or come to see if we wanted anything. She disappeared for lengthy amounts of time when we desperately wanted to order our entrées. A large table in the corner seemed to captivate her attention. This is a management issue; perhaps they needed more servers to handle the crowd.
We missed the opportunity to try the prime rib. (The kitchen ran out). So we tried the short ribs. Hearty, and served over mashed potatoes, the tender meat was what one would expect from well-cooked short ribs. This is true comfort food.
Rockfish is a local fish. There is no excuse for it to be anything but the freshest thing on the menu. Not here. The Rockfish was served super salty, and buried in an overly rich risotto, far too heavy for this time of year. It was disappointing.
What about the desserts? A chocolate bread pudding is very, very sweet. If you like maraschino cherries, whipped cream that tastes like from a can and dense chocolate, by all means, try the chocolate bread pudding. The fruit cobbler is all crust and very little fruit at all. If you’re expecting a dessert with fruit in it, see if the kitchen still has any apple pie. They ran out of the apple pie the night we were there. At this juncture, we have to ask ourselves what we are doing here, other than the fact that it is a relatively new restaurant in the area. With middle-of-the-road food and so-so service, why travel and spend your money to visit this establishment? Sometimes simply a meal out is what we want. One will definitely get that here. Just don’t have high expectations. Plus, patrons who live in Gambrills will surely enjoy the opportunity to have an eating establishment nearby to visit.
Christine Fillat lives on the Magothy River and is an aficionado of Chesapeake Bay cooking and living.
The Blackwall Barn & Lodge:
329 Gambrills Road, Gambrills, MD, 21054
barnandlodge.com | 410.317.2276
HOURS: Mon – Fri, 11:00AM to 1:30AM | Sat & Sun 10:00AM to 1:30AM
Annapolis Home Magazine
Vol. 10, No. 4 2019