With its $15 martinis and edgy attitude, Ixia was a polarizing restaurant. Some people hated it, some loved it. If you were one of the latter, look for the restaurant's cookbook, due out this fall. It sounds as if it will be as much a coffee table design book as recipe source.
Annapolis additions If you had to pick a couple of restaurant concepts that were sure bets for Annapolis in this economy, what would they be?
I'm guessing you said a) a seafood restaurant and b) a steakhouse.
Michigan-based Mainstream Ventures Inc. agrees with you. It's just opened the Real Seafood Company Restaurant and Sushi Bar and, right above it in the Annapolis Towne Centre, the Chop House.
The Chop House is a classic upscale chain steakhouse with a couple of interesting differences on the menu like beef Wellington (I haven't seen that in years) and a roasted rack of venison. Entrees top out at $43.95 for a Kobe rib eye.
The Real Seafood Company is a bit more moderately priced, with most of the seafood dishes under $25. The parent company may be Michigan-based, but, of course, there's a Maryland crab cake on the menu.
The Chop House is modeled after a 1940s hotel dining room, while Real Seafood is going for a more contemporary look, with terrazzo floors, an interior waterfall, and suspended wall dividers.
Reservations can be made at the same number for both restaurants: 888-456-3463.
Real Seafood is open 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, till 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
The Chop House is open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, till 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Quiet closure I found out by accident that Mealey's in New Market closed quietly a couple of months ago. It was a favorite place for antique-hunters and daytrippers. The cozy dining room in a former inn had a lot of old-fashioned charm, a good crab cake and a nice Sunday brunch.
Mealey's, which had been around since the early 1900s, was about as close as Frederick County came to having an iconic restaurant.
Deal of the Week
The Deal: Mini-burgers and Buffalo chicken sliders for $1, S'mores for $2
Where: Birches, in the bar or outdoors
641 S. Montford Ave., Canton
When: Monday through Thursday
Call: 410-732-3000
