Daytripping and dining in Lutherville

Photo courtesy from Peppermill Restaurant.

It’s my belief many of you are looking for excuses to get out of the house. So to remedy that we’re going on a three-stop trip, two of which involves eating. So put on a comfortable pair of shoes and I’ll meet you in Lutherville.

So here we are at Peppermill Restaurant, 1301 York Road. So many people I know that been here so I thought it was time to take a look. It’s open seven days for lunch and dinner, plenty of parking, a bar with TV’s, a private room, some staff that has been here since opening, recently remodeled, and locally owned.

They are currently operating at 50% capacity. For that reason, I might suggest a reservation, especially weekends, not so much for lunch. When operating at full strength they can accommodate about 240 people, yes it was bigger than I thought.

The menu is filled with appetizers to dessert. Here are a few examples from each category. For appetizers, you can try the buffalo wings, steamed shrimp, clams casino or the lamb lollipops (my choice). For salads, there’s the tossed, wedge, Caesar, or beet.

For sandwiches, the selection includes shrimp salad, Reuben, turkey club, and steak sub. Moving to the entrees there’s the crab cake (my choice), chicken parm, salmon Florentine, chicken Baltimore, baby back ribs, crab imperial, meatloaf, and orange roughy. They even offer oysters, like stewed, on the half shell and fried.

The Peppermill Restaurant has a stellar and well-earned reputation. Reach them at 410-583-1107 or pepmill.com.

Okay, let’s take a food break and head to Frederick Maryland, and visit the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 48 East Patrick Street. I didn’t know this even existed until a friend recommended it. It was established in 1990.

Its purpose is to focus on the medical, surgical, and nursing practices during the Civil War (1861-1865).

It was originally proposed by Dr. Gordon Damman, a private collector of Civil War-era medical artifacts. The current location is a three-story 19th-century brick building that at one time served as a place to make furniture.

It is 7,000 square feet consisting of five exhibits that recreate aspects of Civil War medical issues, like life in an Army camp and a field dressing station. There are also surviving tools and equipment from the war, including the only known surviving Civil War surgeon’s tent.

In 2014 the museum opened the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office in Washington. The museum will re-open on February 1 by appointment only. For more info 301-695-1864.

I suspect after that long drive out 70 you’ll in need of more food. Not to worry. We’re now on our way to the quaint village of Mt. Washington and a stop at Abbey Burger, 1604 Kelly Avenue. Open seven days and serving dinner only with lunch on weekends (currently no inside dining). So don’t overlook carry out and curbside.

Locally owned, with seating for 120 and a bar (during normal times), plenty of parking, open seven days, and really good burgers.

I was ready to order my old standby, a veggie burger,  but Marigot, the owner, said hey wait a minute try something different, like our blackened shrimp burger. So I did. Very good. Basically a patty of shrimp. What’s so bad about that?

As for some menu items, for starters we have fried pickles and waffle fry nachos; for sandwiches the crab cake and spiced double BLT; and the specialty of the house, burgers. Okay how about the Baltimore burger (Angus beef, crab dip, applewood

bacon and cheddar), the southern chicken burger (ground chuck burger, pimento cheese, slaw, and spicy pickles), and the SW bison burger.

They also have locations in Federal Hill and Fells Point with a new location coming soon in Havre de Grace.

Reach them at 443-449-5799 or go to abbeyburger.com.