Wednesday at the Wine Kitchen

Wednesday was hot. I would even go so far as to say sweltering. Walking outside felt like walking into a swamp, and it was the kind of day where you just don't really feel like doing anything at all. When it's this hot, a lot of times I lose my urge to cook something at home. In the interest of money saving I usually will cook anyway, but on this day we decided to head to Frederick MD, one of our favorite places, to try a restaurant we had not patronized yet. But first, a brief stop at a winery.

 

Springfield Manor Winery and Distillery is located off of Route 15 in Thurmont, MD. It can be seen from the highway and is a gorgeous property. It's a new winery that opened this year and there is an event space attached to the historic house. They are also known for their lavender field, through which you can walk and cut your own. The tasting room is decorated with tons of the stuff and it smells wonderful.

 

Tastings are $6 for about 6 wines or you can pick and choose for a $1 each. We did the full tasting and I was thrilled to find a red wine that I enjoyed, the Farmhouse Red. I'm usually very picky with red wine but this was like drinking grape juice, which could get me in trouble. We were told that it would be a great base for sangria.

 

The staff here was very friendly and it's a place I would definitely like to go back to because they are also working on distilling brandy, something I've never tried but have an interest in.

 

For dinner we stuck with the wine theme and visited the Wine Kitchen, a Firestone's restaurant located on the creek in downtown Frederick. This restaurant is also fairly new and one that we had seen recently while walking around town. As we approached the restaurant we could smell campfire smoke and once we hit the restaurant doors realized they had their own smoker outside. This set the mood and made me think that the food was probably going to be good if they had their own.

 

The inside of the restaurant has a rustic feel with lots of wood and a burgundy, white, and black color palette. The waitstaff is dressed in checkered buttondowns with jeans. 

 

According to our waitress, the Wine Kitchen is known for having rare and hard to find sparkling and white wines. You can purchase these by the bottle, glass, or a taste. They also offer many different flights of wine and whiskey but if those don't interest you there are also cocktails available. I noticed a dessert wine and chocolate flight that I'll have to go back for!

 

Justin chose a whiskey flight called Up the Local Creek, a tasting of three whiskies from Catoctin Creek Distillery, and each comes with their own fanciful description. I chose the sangria, made with red wine and apples and oranges, some of the best I've ever drunk. 

 

For a starter we chose the Philly cheesesteak fries. Served in a mini-cast iron skillet, these were crispy and covered with cheesesteak, melty provolone cheese, thin strips of red peppers and onions, and topped with green onions. These were gone in about 5 minutes.

 

I chose the Roseda Burger French Dip for my entree, served with cheese fries (didn't really think about that at the time, Lord knows I did not need any more french fries). I asked for my burger cooked to medium but ended up with a medium rare which, I have to say, was probably a better choice than my original medium. The burger was topped with mushrooms, caramelized onions, horseradish, and gruyere cheese, dip on the side. This was probably one of the best burgers I have ever had. It was the perfect size and nice and juicy with a lightly toasted bun.

 

Justin chose the Peruvian chicken, served with yucca, plantains, aji amarillo, and braised kale. He said that normally he isn't a huge fan of smoked chicken but he said this was more than enough to change his mind. I had a bite of both the chicken, kale, and yucca. The chicken was tender and the aji amarillo sauce added a nice kick to it. The kale wasn't soggy or overly crunchy and I've always liked yucca, it's like eating a big giant french fry even though apparently it's a root.

Overall, we really enjoyed this place and will be coming back again. Next time I would like to do a wine flight. Everyone seemed to be ordering them around us.