I admit I was a little sad when I heard that Bliss, the wine bar on Route 7, was closing its doors. Although I had only eaten there a couple of times and the food was hit or miss, the venue was very charming and even boasted a small outdoor patio. Last Spring, it was reopened under new ownership as Riverside Pub & Grille.
The place seems to have an identity crisis – is it a great place to take a date or to watch sports on one of their many flatscreen TV’s? Personally, I think the décor works just fine (other than the folding tables that have been added to accommodate additional seating). During my most recent visit, plenty of men were watching Ravens football while pretending to be engaged in conversation with their dining companion. The ladies appeared to be content sipping their wine and enjoying one of their many appetizers. And those ladies who were getting bored were busy chatting up the waitstaff. So all in all, a very nice atmosphere on a dismal rainy evening.
On this particular night, I was trying to stick to my diet and ordered the grilled salmon which was served with green beans. I informed the waitress that I am not a huge fan of green beans but would order the salmon anyway. Unbeknownst to me, she asked the chef if he had any other vegetables on hand. The next thing I know, here comes a beautiful piece of salmon perfectly grilled with a side of freshly sautéed squash and red peppers in place of the beans. Now THAT is service!
Although I warned him not to, my husband ordered the Po’ Boy and as usual, I was right. In their defense, my husband is from New Orleans which is Po’ Boy Country. It would be like me traveling to North Dakota and ordering a crab cake. The sandwich was pretty dry and tasteless even with the remoulade sauce. The sandwich came with a side of crisp, hot, perfectly seasoned French fries.
The Almond Shrimp is another dish which needs a little tweaking. It is half a dozen nice sized butterflied shrimp, deep fried in batter and then completely covered in almond slivers. It makes for a pretty presentation on the plate, but the almonds overwhelmed the shrimp. It was served with your choice of 2 sides, one of which was Macaroni & Cheese. It’s pretty hard to mess up Mac & Cheese but somehow they managed to get it wrong – very dry and lackluster. The side salad was a simple mix of greens, tomatoes and cucumber. Restaurants oftentimes have no conscience when it comes to serving tasteless tomatoes right smack dab in the middle of tomato season. These tomatoes, however, tasted like they came from a local produce stand.
No worries on these missteps because the menu is seemingly endless and the items were priced right. The appetizers alone take up a page and a half of their menu. The service was flawless, the bathrooms clean. The waitress was kind enough to mention that she only had one piece of the dessert du jour left (a creamy peanut butter cheesecake) so we snatched it up. Well worth blowing a diet over and I’m not even a big fan of cheesecake. I have no idea if it was housemade or store bought, but I do know that it was YUMMY!
And as far as the folding tables are concerned, I’m happy to see that the business at Riverside Pub & Grille is brisk enough to warrant additional seating, especially at a non-chain establishment.
went there the first week it was open, was not impessed at all. asked for a simple black n blu burger and got a regular cheeseburger, fries were bland, had the tuna appertizer that was pretty good.
have not been back since
Was black and blu burger on the menu?
Too bad opinions seem negative. However, I believe food experience will not disappoint you if you travel just a little further down Rt 543 to Riverside Pizzeria in the Klein strip center. Good food, excellent variety. They have been there a very long time and so has the staff and ownership. Nice people.
Finally, something to talk about on here other than Wegman’s. (Which I love and is the best grocery store this side of Hunt Valley.) Where have you been? I’m on my way to Riverside but I think I will go during the week when the TV sports crowd is doing something else. Maybe lunch. Please share the details of your diet with all of us. I’m looking real hard for a diet that includes any kind of cheesecake. :O)
Keesha – let us know how your experience was so we can compare notes. As far as the diet, I’ve been trying to do the paleolithic diet which is better known as the caveman diet. It’s essentially meats, nuts, vegetables, no grains or processed foods, no soda, etc.
To be honest, I haven’t had anything close to creole and cajun foods here. Those foods have flavors dancing on your tongue. Take the remoulade sauce off and add Tony Chachere’s. I had the privilege of growing up with finest foods in the world. It’s a wonder I don’ t weigh 500 lbs.
If we’re talking about food, we can’t even get a decent pork roll, egg and cheese on a hard roll down here.
Pork roll, egg & cheese? What is that? I’ve never heard of it.
I’m guessing that it’s a local specialty wherever BRAC Family came from. If so, it’s silly to expect to find it here.
Yes, it is a local Jersey food. And you know what if you don’t like it go back to New Jersey.
I am tired of all these Jersey people complaining, if you don’t like it go home, we didn’t ask for ya’ll to come down here.
We didn’t ask to come down here either!
You are more the welcome to go back north.
Pi**ed with the government,
Actually we did ask for them to come down here. I know you didn’t and I, had I been asked, wouldn’t have invited them. But our elected leaders like Mikulski, Cardin, et al worked their butts off to get the Base Realignment and Closure Commission BRAC to favor Maryland with this gig. Local pols were fairly happy with it too, at least in the beginning.
While they were doing that the country was and is going down the tubes because they won’t control spending. Not can’t, won’t. Refuse to do it. Absolutely refuse. Only interest is in raising taxes and spending more money.
Now that we have these folks I’m not surprised, and neither are you, that they are looking for the food they like. If you and I were transferred to Iowa (may the Lord forbid) we would be complaining about lousy crabcakes or probably no crabcakes.
What they have to realize is that they are here because the current government played politics with their lives. Are they going to help us get rid of the current bums? Or not?
I thought that the local community would be welcoming the BRAC families. Instead, all we got so far is crab cakes and the Baltimore Ravens. I’ve seen more people flying a Ravens flag than the American flag. Something wrong with that picture.
@BRAC Family – APG has had people from all over the country moving here for years. You NJ folks are not the first nor the last. It’s your job to fit in and not our job to fit with you. I did it when I moved here so you can too.
Please stop feeding the troll!
At this point, BRAC FAMILY is just a sh!t stirrer and shouldn’t be considered a representative of “you NJ folks”
@BRAC Family: First I’d like to welcome you to the area. Second, I’m sorry you find yourself in the unique position of being transferred somewhere you didn’t want to go… but please, feel free to continue taking it out on all of us. As far as crab cakes, I’d rather have the crab. As for the Ravens, I’ve lost any interest in supporting one group of genetic abnormalities over another.
Brac Family,
You said you thought the local community would be welcoming BRAC familes and all you have gotten are crabcakes and the Ravens? Sorry, that’s the best we have. What did you expect? A governor like Chris Christie? I only wish.
A lot of us are not ecstatic with the current state of affairs here in Absurdistan. Why in the world would you think it would be better than where you came from? Oh, you mean because we call it “The Land of Pleasant Living”? Ha ha! Gotcha! We really just wanted some more people with jobs to help spread the enormous tax burden. Pony up!
Its better than crab cakes!
Brac Family
ignore the heathens. while you can’t buy a good pork roll sandwich around here, all the fixings are readily available in any grocery store (Taylor Pork Roll) or BJ’s (5 LB Trenton Pork Roll). Indulge yourself…another regional treat best appreciated by those in the know. Everyone else has no clue what they’re missing.
Vancherie’s in Havre de Grace has pork roll sandwich.
I’m a MD girl, but I love Taylor’s Pork Roll! Got hooked on it while visiting Wildwood, NJ, years ago. That was their “crab cake”! When in Rome…….
Wow, who would have expected a pork roll, egg & cheese sandwich to cause such a fuss? I have been enjoying that at BagelWorks in Bel Air for years! Yummmmm!
We hosted our combined NMTC (Northeastern MD Tech Council) YAH (you after hours)with the WID (Women In Defense) monthly networking event their and it was great. The atmosphere and off to the side area (yes the folding tables) are perfect for our evening socializing.
The staff offered complimentaty lite fare which was more than plentiful and delicious, a good reason why to have a meal there.
We plan on coming back each month and our first group of 25 will now surely grow. The YAH is open to all local businesses interestd in technology and growing our local economy.
BRAC already grew the economy – you guys are set for life down here now. $2.0 Billion + investment in the new C4ISR campus building alone, not counting the mega millions more in civilian and contractor salaries flowing into the local economy. I’m serious – you guys don’t need to spend any money on business meetings to have a successful economy.
I tried the Riverside Pub and Grille and I have to say I am very happy with the place. The place has a great atmosphere and was very clean. Happy hour prices were awesome. Appetizers were decent. I didnt have a full meal, but I will be having one there soon after my first experience.
Prost German restaraunt in Aberdeen is the best restaraunt find in the county. Sorry Riverside Pub (havent been there). But for a different and amazing dining experience I will travel a bit further to Prost. I know they welcome the BRAC familys and instead of a Pork Roll(?), try a pork schnitzel!
Chris – thanks for the tip!
Jennifer- If you plan on going there.. you might want to make a reservation first. It’s very small with about only 8 tables. I’ve seen many people get turned away at the door.
Make sure you reserve about a month in advance too.
We got in once, but the other tries have been unsuccessful even when calling to try and reserve.
Screw that place. I may go back if they ever make it into a bigger establishment or expand.
Thanks, yes, I did see that on the web when I started doing a little research. My grandparents were German but I actually don’t know how to cook authentic food. So this should be a treat.
Chris;
I also like Prost very much and am willing to drive the 22 miles to get there. I have heard that the owners were trying to move into the old Tuscani’s restaurant but that the city of Aberdeen refused to even consider any assistance. According to my rumor mill they are now looking for a place in Cecil County and will leave Aberdeen all together. For everyone on your side of the river that is a real shame. It is especially saddening for the real citizens of Aberdeen because that means the loss of two businesses. I see elsewhere on this site that the Mayor and Council are supposed to have done a rel good job these last four years. This is a perfect example of just how good that job is. What happened at Prost? Did they fail to give Art and his minion what they wanted?
Arturo,
You are exactly right! Finally Aberdeen has a successful business and they are chasing them right out of town. Guess since Helton didnt think it or own it, its not worth keeping. I know the owners had big plans for putting Aberdeen on the map and bringing Octoberfeast and Christmas events right to Festival Park.
The reservation list isnt really a month long. If you call tomorrow you can still get a reservation for this weekend. Be open for available time slot and you will have no problem.
Jennifer,
Missed you on WAMD this morning. When are you next scheduled?
Also, amen to the ‘curbing your language’ comment. At least one of my younger relatives likes to read this site and there is no need for objectionable langauge. Morons!
Hey there Keesha! Yes, sorry, I was supposed to be on this morning with Cindy and Maynard but then there was a scheduling conflict at the station. So stay tuned, I will definitely be on next week, date and time still to be determined. Cindy will send out a tweet once we firm up the date. Thanks for listening! It’s always appreciated.
We dined there the other night. While the food was good, the service left much to be desired. There was two waitresses, and maybe 4 tables of diners in addition to us. Both waitresses were more interested in chatting with their friend than even looking over to the dining room.
Just for the record, before you start blasting that BRAC family that wanted a “Pork Roll Sandwich”, in fact such a thing did exist in Maryland for years. Esskay used to have a luncheon meat that was a Pork Roll called “Country Style Bologna.” It was available up till about 1967 or 1968. Although people “up north” ate it for breakfast, in the south Richmond south, other brands, not Esskay, were eaten as a regional cold sandwich with mayonnaise and tomato on fresh Sunbeam White Bread.