The Nagles say “Great food and great wines at a great value!”
We sat on a cozy little love seat enjoying the beautiful view of Clark’s Farm and the rolling countryside outside the window, and quickly learned why this is a favorite among many of our friends. As you look up at the ceiling, which is interestingly enough painted in a color called “roasted pepper,” you only think “red”—but you need to think white and rose as well! This is because many of the walls leading up to the ceiling are beautifully stacked with bottles of nectar—OK, wine to most people.
Even though there are more than 300 wines to choose from, the staff is very knowledgeable about the wines. The Dining Room Manager, Vince Culotta (a/k/a the “Italian Wine Guy”), listened to our descriptions of the type of wine we like and brought out 3 choices. After discussing the qualities of each wine, we chose one and it quickly became one of our favorite wines. In fact, we ordered two cases! (We would tell you what it is, but it is a small batch wine, so we’ll tell you after we get ours.) There are 299 other wines to choose from, so you can certainly find a new favorite, too. The wines are reasonably priced and you can order a bottle off the wine list or browse the shelves and pick a bottle to enjoy there (for a $10.00 corkage fee) or take it home to drink. Thursday night they even waive the corkage fee. Thursday is also Cheese and Wine Flight Night with 3 cheeses and 3 tastes of wine to compliment them—all for $20.09.
Iron Bridge also has two of its own label wines bottled by Monticello Vineyards, in California. The first is called “A Nice Merlot” due to that question being asked by so many customers: “Can you recommend “a nice merlot”? This is a very palatable wine, full bodied and smooth. We also tried the house “Thoroughbred Chardonnay” which was light, fruity and refreshing. The story behind this wine is funny. When Iron Bridge first opened, replacing the rather seedy bar that previously occupied the space, a naysayer said “They can try to make a thoroughbred out of a jackass, but it won’t work.” To celebrate the success of Iron Bridge the owners dedicated the wine to that poor soul who obviously underestimated both management and the discriminating people of Howard County!
It was interesting to observe the crowd at Iron Bridge. Although most are couples or a group of friends, we observed several people who seemed to be regulars who just sat alone at the bar reading their novels and enjoying some wine and food. That indicates to us that the owners Rob and Steve Wecker have achieved their goal of having a restaurant that is casual fine dining but still comfortable and friendly, not stuffy and pretentious. The fact that in only six years of business they have gone through 3 sets of bar stools should say something. The wait staff was very efficient and attentive and we were lucky enough to have Valerie who took very good care of us and made sure our wine glasses were never empty—we like that!
A penchant for whimsy and attention to detail we noticed right off the bat, as we were poured chilled water from a wine bottle and were given home-baked foccacia bread out of a basket which reminds one of a picnic basket, complete with the oversized napkin.
Restaurant Weeks dinner consists of an appetizer, entrée and dessert for only $30.09. This special is however always offered on Wednesday for dinner and Sundays from noon to 9. The 3-course lunch special for $20.09 is only for Restaurant Weeks.
For the appetizer, we shared the Soup du Jour which was Italian Vegetable (made with lots of fresh veggies in chicken broth) and a Roasted Veggie Pizza of roasted red peppers, preserved yellow tomatoes, marinated artichokes, roasted garlic and ricotta. The soup was delicious, however, we both went crazy over the pizza which was extremely flavorful and very garlicky. Wow!
Next we shared the Pan Seared Duck Breast with shitake mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, ginger scented jasmine rice and black bean sauce (Nice!) as well as the lamb chops with Yukon gold potatoes, sage demi-glaze and garlicky haricot verts. Both dishes were very well seasoned, made a nice presentation and were very satisfying. The Chef, Adam Snyder, uses as much local produce as he can. He purchases from Fire Fly Farms and Clark’s Farm right across Route 108. Adam loves working at Iron Bridge so much that he travels to and fro every day from York, Pennsylvania! It was interesting to learn that although he attended the Baltimore International College to learn his culinary skills, he says he uses only 1 to 2 percent of that education in the kitchen. His real knowledge and expertise comes from more than 20 years working in the kitchens of places like McCormick and Schmick. Adam believes in finding “balance” in his cooking with “broken” sauces which convey two separate tastes. He shared with us a kitchen secret that there is a very fine line between perfect caramelization (bringing out the most flavor in the food) and burning the food.
OK, let’s talk about dessert. We don’t want to discount the appetizers and entrees, but dessert knocked our socks off!!! Debbie’s favorite—bread pudding—was on the menu, Cinnamon Vanilla Bread Pudding, to be exact. And, it was delicious. However, Michael ordered Debbie’s second favorite dessert—crème brûlée, but this one was not like any we had ever had. We wondered when it was served in a crock considerably deeper than the dish usually reserved for this dessert. We quickly discovered that it combined the traditional vanilla crème brûlée with a generous layer of chocolate ganache on the bottom. After trading off to taste each other’s dessert, Michael never got his dish back and Debbie had to be restrained from licking the bowl. What a terrific combination of creamy, cool, vanilla and rich chocolate. We don’t know why someone has not thought of this before, but we are so glad Chef Adam did and that we now know where to get it!
Every Monday evening, the Italian Wine Guy, Vince, has a small class in wine education about different regional wines. The cost is $25.00 including tax and gratuity and this includes a taste of 4 to 6 wines as well as a snack. Mondays are also Gourmet Burger Night, Tuesdays are Steak Night and Fridays are Foie Gras Friday—protesters to the contrary notwithstanding.
Here’s a great tip—Iron Bridge now takes reservations on www.ironbridgewines.com or call 410-997-3456 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can also book on Open Table but not for a party of 4 or more.
Adam shared the following recipe with us for Pork Belly Appetizer:
1.5-2 pounds pork belly, skin removed
1 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
fresh thyme sprigs
2 vanilla pods
1 can Guinness draught
any wild or earthy mushroom. We use maitake or hen of the wood salt and pepper to taste
Begin by scoring the pork with a sharp knife. Score deeply with a sharp knife. The more cuts you make, the more the fat will render and the crispier the final product will be. Since the perfect piece is a nice balance of crispy and soft fat, it really is up to you how you like it.
It's like bacon; Some like it soft, some like it burnt.
Begin by making the marinade. Split and scrape vanilla pods, and put in a small saucepan with the chili flakes, thyme and vinegar. Reduce until almost a syrup, being careful not to let the marinade burn, as it has a good amount of sugar in it. When it is finished, it should smell like marshmallows. Marinate the pork in this syrup for at least 4 hours, but the longer, the better. We do it overnight at the restaurant.
In a thick bottomed pan or, preferably, a cast iron skillet, slowly sear the pork belly, scored side down, rendering and browning the fat. Be very careful not to burn at this stage.
Place the pork in a pan for braising, scored side up and deglaze the skillet with the Guinness. Add this to the braising pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Braise in a 325 degree oven until tender, about 2 hours. If doing a small piece, you may have to add some water halfway through, in case all the liquid evaporates. Remove and let cool.
Remove as much fat as possible from the braising liquid and set aside.
After pork has cooled, cut into thick slices, resembling thick bacon.
Sear quickly and add mushrooms. Remove pork from pan and plate. Sauté mushrooms until browned and add Guinness reduction. At this point it would also be nice to add a whole grain mustard, if you want; I would. Season to taste. Serve by arranging the pork and mushrooms on a plate however you wish and finish pork with Guinness glaze. Enjoy!
