Before any loco “joy of cooking” types get their water
boiling, a home cooked meal was not an option. We’d both had a long day and a
stressful week. We felt like getting out of the house.
First, before even discussing dinner plans, we decompressed from
the work week with a glass of wine…or two.
And then, before we knew it, it was 7:00 PM and we were
hungry.
You may recall that last Friday night was one of those rare
perfect spring nights; cool but not cold and not a cloud in the sky. We wanted
to eat outside, that much was certain. Cuisine was secondary.
Experience has taught me that it is next to impossible to
get an outside table at a top tier HoCo loco restaurant on an early spring
Friday evening, in Columbia or Ellicott City, without an hours wait…if you’re
lucky. We were too hungry for an hours wait
Our only hope in having an al fresco meal before 8:30 PM lay across
the border, in Catonsville .
“What about the patio at the Candle Light Inn?” Mama
Wordbones suggested. From where we live in Ellicott City
the Candle Light Inn is about as close the Stanford Grill.
“I’ve never eaten on their patio.” I replied. I thought
there was a good chance that it wouldn’t be crowed too. It turns out I was right.
The patio was about half full. We had our pick of tables.
I lived in Catonsville from
the time I was born until I was ten. Summers were spent at the Five Oaks
pool, named after an estate called Five Oaks. Next door to the pool was this
big white house that once served as the manor of the estate but had long been converted to a white table linen restaurant. I seem to recall that there was
even an vintage Rolls Royce parked out front for awhile which only added to its high society mystique. I never ate there as a
kid.
About twenty years ago, the current proprietors began
offering seasonal casual dining with the addition of a covered patio just off
the bar. No white linen here, just plastic chairs and plastic table cloths on brick pavers under a sky
lit roof surrounded by mature trees. It beats a storm water management pond view anyway.
The food choices are just about everything you could ask for
in classic American cuisine, from a crab cake sandwich with French fries to Tournedos
of beef au poivre with potatoes au gratin. They also have a decent selection of
wines. We went with salads…and a glass of wine or two.
