G and M Seafood in Linthicum Heights

Are you kidding me? Where do they find the crab for these cakes? They must be mutants from a 1950's movie about the dangers of nuclear energy.

This gem used to be one of Richard Hayman's best kept secrets. You were in the inner sanctum if he took you to lunch at G&M.

I didn't bring my camera to this one, so I had to use the picture from the website, but it doesn't do the crabcake justice. It's huge. Well picked. Not too much spice, filler, or butter. $12.95 gets you a cake and a side.

Service at G&M is not their high-light, nor is the ambiance. The fun started as we sat down. My server first told me they didn't sell sandwiches at night, so I had to order the platter, which is $4.00 more. Not a big deal, but unexpected. When the manager stopped by I asked and she said "Of course we serve the sandwich at night." I asked her to change our order, though we had already eaten the house salad that comes with the platter. This seemed to cause her great consternation. She stopped by to remind us several times that she was removing the salad from our check even though we had eaten it. Hooray! In any event, it's worth stopping in if you're anywhere near BWI Airport. They ship their food also.

G&M Restaurant & Lounge804 Hammonds Ferry Road Linthicum Heights, Maryland 21090410-636-1777 877-554-3723 Fax: (410) 636-2605mailto:info@gandmcrabcakes.com%20

Redwood Restaurant and Bar

Meet Jared Rager. He, and his partner Eli Hengst, are opening Redwood Restaurant and Bar in the new development in Bethesda. They join Le Pan Quotidien from New York and Dolcezza from Georgetown in the development.

Redwood's main focus is top-notch organic foods prepared in a casual setting. Some of the entrees are intended to be ordered for the entire table and shared family-style. As in their other two restaurants, Mendocino and Sonoma, wines will play a major role in the experience. They will be serving wines by the glass, bottle, and taste. I haven't seen the entire finalized menu yet, but it promises to be exciting.

Some high-lights of the newly built property are the windows all along the front of the building that open onto the cobblestone walkway, a large bar/lounge area, a private dining room with it's own bar, some communal tables, and a meat slicer that is hand-operated so it doesn't heat up and ruin the texture of the house-cured meats. The slicer sits behind a "Food Bar" of sorts where charcuterie plates and other edibles will be prepared in front of you.

Last but not least, the bathrooms are unique. The design and construction are original, functional, and well thought out. You'll have to see the entire restaurant when it opens in July.

Once they're in full swing they will be taking reservations via OpenTable. Let them know you read about it on Pleasures of the Table.

Middle aged, and blogging for the first time...be gentle with me

Welcome to the The Pleasures of the Table Blog. This is my first attempt to embrace and be embraced by the blogosphere.

The name Pleasures of the Table came from a company that was supposed to open a restaurant, (a prospective client of mine) but never did. Thank you for the name John.

Food is something we all need to survive, yet there is so much more to it than just surviving. There are many people whose purpose in life is to provide the rest of the world with food. Some do it passionately, some not so much.

I'd like to focus on those who do have passion when they plant, tend, feed, nurture, grow, slaughter, package, prep, cook, serve, and love food as well as the people who support those people and those industries. We've got a wonderful mix of restaurants in the Washington DC-Metro area and I'll be focusing mainly on them, as well as my own cooking, but will also attempt to blog about what I see and who I meet whilst working and travelling.



"The pleasures of the table belong to all ages, to all conditions, to all countries and to every day; they can be associated with all the other pleasures and remain the last to console us for the loss of the rest." Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)