Frederick MD Community Bridge
Oct 1st, 2015, 10:03 AM
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Frederick MD Community Bridge
We chose Frederick MD this year for our annual getaway of just a few days. Since it was about 8 1/2 hours to drive there from NH, it might have been smarter to fly into Baltimore but we have never done really well at trip planning. In fact, we were only going because I wanted to see The Community Bridge and C's sister now lived in Frederick and was willing to let us stay at her house. As planning progressed I added "eat real crabs" to the list of what we should do while the others remained only slightly more than comatose about the whole subject. We planned to avoid traffic by driving over to VT, going down I91 thru Western MA with a quick stop in CT to pick up C. We carried along a few snacks although C's sister said she had a light supper waiting for us.
It was very fortunate for us that C's sister, M loves organizing people so she had a list of places we could go. I had added the Uzbekistan restaurant to the list since it was recommend by a fodorite. Silk Road is in Gaithersburg MD which made it a convenient meeting spot for M's DD and GD to join us. More on that later.
The weather forecast was not appealing so we decided to visit the Community Bridge on Monday after lunch. M prepared a nice breakfast for us and discussed our options before adding "drop M's car off at the body shop" to our to do list. Then a stop at MOM's an organic grocery store next door to Plow and Hearth. And she recommended we watch the short video at the Frederick Visitor's Center after we stopped at McCuthceon's for ciders, jams and other goodies and our early lunch was at Asye Meze Lounge. The Greek restaurant was a fun place where we were able to order a dip/spread sampler that was plenty for the 5 of us. We also shared tastes from whatever we ordered: the cheese that is set on fire, roasted Brussels sprouts, and things we had never eaten before.
The visitors center is a wonderful first stop to discovering the many things Frederick has to offer. The Community Bridge project was an ugly concrete bridge over a canal that was painted in the trompe l'oeil style to look like an elegant bridge. One needs to visit both sides to see the different elements that look so real at first. Take a look at the website for information on how the bridge was key to rehabilitating this downtown area. It is now a place of festivals or just quiet contemplation as you stroll past beautiful water lilies, ducks and huge carp. From there we visited the Delaplaine Art Center which has beautiful handmade items for sale as well as a window that looks out on the bridge and allows one a different perspective of anamorphic projection.
Check open hours for any of the local shops (Everedy Square and Shab Row) you want to visit. Some are closed on Mondays, others on Tuesday. The candy store was not closed, neither was the shop that stocked many varieties of unusual sodas (Moxie, anyone?). Two of us got peach green tea ice cream. Another delightful small shop was the Pasta Palette. There is a Talbot's but don't expect to find chain stores in this area of the city.
Dinner that night was about 35 minutes away in Gaithersburg MD at Silk Road Choyhona, a Uzbekistan restaurant. It was a good half way point for two people who wanted to join us for dinner. The gps gadget was not accurate enough for us to find this restaurant which is tucked among other stores and restaurants in a small shopping plaza. Fortunately, there were some guys standing outside a car dealership who could give us better directions once I convinced my friends to stop and ask. Read the YELP reviews which range from bizarre experience to 5 star great food. The food was great IF they had it. We, too, got "we just ran out" and then "another table just got the last serving".
Day Two was another dining experience to check off the bucket list - crabs! Both a Fodorite and M agreed May's was the place to go. It's a roadside local place where the waitress is happy to sit down to provide explicit directions on how to get meat out of a whole crab. Yes, the table is spread with protective paper. Estimate at least 1.45 hours to get through one serving of crabs while your patient friends critique your ability with a wooden mallet. I got the all you can eat special that day but one serving was plenty. We took a drive out to Linganore winery in Mt. Airy which also has beer tastings at certain times. Wine tastings are available most days, check for times. Cost is $5 for 12 tastings, your choice of dry or sweet. With our group, sweet was the most popular but the server was willing to let us have a 13th taste for the dry wine one found very good. Since these wines are available in stores, M did not buy any that day. I came home with two sangrias to enjoy hopefully when we have some Indian summer weather. We relaxed with Wegman's supermarket take-out after being unnerved by weather reports and steadily worsening rain and wind. The beautiful full moon on Sunday night became covered with clouds just as the eclipse was supposed to start.
The next day we got up at o'dark thirty to find there was only a light mist and a chance of driving 11 hours back to NH. C claimed to have an app that would identify restaurants at each highway exit. The internet did help us identify a great Italian restaurant, Cascarino's, at exit 5 off I84 in NY which was a delightful discovery with very reasonable prices. Mostly a pizza/sandwich shop but a variety of pasta dishes were also available.
C was making notes to visit breweries on her next visit when her husband would be with her. The rural area of the winery was lovely and there are many historic places to explore. I bet my dil and gcs would love visiting the fire museum. C told us the Civil War Museum of Medicine was fascinating. Before our trip, MG's sister made fun of our choice because she had never heard of Frederick MD. If it had not been for hearing about the bridge several years ago, I would never have heard of Frederick, either, but would recommend it as a great weekend destination.
It was very fortunate for us that C's sister, M loves organizing people so she had a list of places we could go. I had added the Uzbekistan restaurant to the list since it was recommend by a fodorite. Silk Road is in Gaithersburg MD which made it a convenient meeting spot for M's DD and GD to join us. More on that later.
The weather forecast was not appealing so we decided to visit the Community Bridge on Monday after lunch. M prepared a nice breakfast for us and discussed our options before adding "drop M's car off at the body shop" to our to do list. Then a stop at MOM's an organic grocery store next door to Plow and Hearth. And she recommended we watch the short video at the Frederick Visitor's Center after we stopped at McCuthceon's for ciders, jams and other goodies and our early lunch was at Asye Meze Lounge. The Greek restaurant was a fun place where we were able to order a dip/spread sampler that was plenty for the 5 of us. We also shared tastes from whatever we ordered: the cheese that is set on fire, roasted Brussels sprouts, and things we had never eaten before.
The visitors center is a wonderful first stop to discovering the many things Frederick has to offer. The Community Bridge project was an ugly concrete bridge over a canal that was painted in the trompe l'oeil style to look like an elegant bridge. One needs to visit both sides to see the different elements that look so real at first. Take a look at the website for information on how the bridge was key to rehabilitating this downtown area. It is now a place of festivals or just quiet contemplation as you stroll past beautiful water lilies, ducks and huge carp. From there we visited the Delaplaine Art Center which has beautiful handmade items for sale as well as a window that looks out on the bridge and allows one a different perspective of anamorphic projection.
Check open hours for any of the local shops (Everedy Square and Shab Row) you want to visit. Some are closed on Mondays, others on Tuesday. The candy store was not closed, neither was the shop that stocked many varieties of unusual sodas (Moxie, anyone?). Two of us got peach green tea ice cream. Another delightful small shop was the Pasta Palette. There is a Talbot's but don't expect to find chain stores in this area of the city.
Dinner that night was about 35 minutes away in Gaithersburg MD at Silk Road Choyhona, a Uzbekistan restaurant. It was a good half way point for two people who wanted to join us for dinner. The gps gadget was not accurate enough for us to find this restaurant which is tucked among other stores and restaurants in a small shopping plaza. Fortunately, there were some guys standing outside a car dealership who could give us better directions once I convinced my friends to stop and ask. Read the YELP reviews which range from bizarre experience to 5 star great food. The food was great IF they had it. We, too, got "we just ran out" and then "another table just got the last serving".
Day Two was another dining experience to check off the bucket list - crabs! Both a Fodorite and M agreed May's was the place to go. It's a roadside local place where the waitress is happy to sit down to provide explicit directions on how to get meat out of a whole crab. Yes, the table is spread with protective paper. Estimate at least 1.45 hours to get through one serving of crabs while your patient friends critique your ability with a wooden mallet. I got the all you can eat special that day but one serving was plenty. We took a drive out to Linganore winery in Mt. Airy which also has beer tastings at certain times. Wine tastings are available most days, check for times. Cost is $5 for 12 tastings, your choice of dry or sweet. With our group, sweet was the most popular but the server was willing to let us have a 13th taste for the dry wine one found very good. Since these wines are available in stores, M did not buy any that day. I came home with two sangrias to enjoy hopefully when we have some Indian summer weather. We relaxed with Wegman's supermarket take-out after being unnerved by weather reports and steadily worsening rain and wind. The beautiful full moon on Sunday night became covered with clouds just as the eclipse was supposed to start.
The next day we got up at o'dark thirty to find there was only a light mist and a chance of driving 11 hours back to NH. C claimed to have an app that would identify restaurants at each highway exit. The internet did help us identify a great Italian restaurant, Cascarino's, at exit 5 off I84 in NY which was a delightful discovery with very reasonable prices. Mostly a pizza/sandwich shop but a variety of pasta dishes were also available.
C was making notes to visit breweries on her next visit when her husband would be with her. The rural area of the winery was lovely and there are many historic places to explore. I bet my dil and gcs would love visiting the fire museum. C told us the Civil War Museum of Medicine was fascinating. Before our trip, MG's sister made fun of our choice because she had never heard of Frederick MD. If it had not been for hearing about the bridge several years ago, I would never have heard of Frederick, either, but would recommend it as a great weekend destination.
Oct 1st, 2015, 05:35 PM
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The bridge sounds really interesting, dfrostNH, as does the rest of your trip.
Was there any explaination of how they plan to mantain it? It seems that it would be challenging to keep such intricate artwork looking good when exposed to the elements.
Was there any explaination of how they plan to mantain it? It seems that it would be challenging to keep such intricate artwork looking good when exposed to the elements.
Oct 1st, 2015, 07:32 PM
#4
I am so sorry that The Silken Road was out of everything that you wanted - I feel responsible. Did you eat there at all?
We love Frederick and since it is not too far, we visit fairly often - there are a goodly number of interesting specialty shops and some very good restaurants including one that serves GD's favorite pizza. I must admit that it is pretty good. There is also a good Cuban restaurant there where we all gathered for Mother's Day. And the Civil War Medical Museum is as you say, fascinating.
We love Frederick and since it is not too far, we visit fairly often - there are a goodly number of interesting specialty shops and some very good restaurants including one that serves GD's favorite pizza. I must admit that it is pretty good. There is also a good Cuban restaurant there where we all gathered for Mother's Day. And the Civil War Medical Museum is as you say, fascinating.
Oct 2nd, 2015, 04:35 AM
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Basingstroke2, our group enjoyed the restaurant and the local ones would go again. Because we had so much talking to do, waiting wasn't the problem it could have been for others. It must have been your post that made me put Silk Road on our to do list. Even though they were out of two things in a row that J wanted, she and C ended up sharing a mammoth bowl of stew. None of us were familiar with any of the food so it wasn't too bad to have to get a second or third choice. It's very good but it would have been nice if we could have had some Plov. No one rushed us but we were there a long time and still had to ask for the check. Someone thought that perhaps the restaurant staff considered it bad manners to give a table their check before they asked for it. Do you know? I got a cabbage salad with some beef in it that was delicious and large enough to pass around the table for sampling. I got the steamed buns with pumpkin/squash stuffing. Plus ate samples from others' plates. We were given a pitcher of their fruit punch as an apology for being out of things.
Elberko, M, the local, said the paint was from Germany and made to withstand the elements. There is one small area of the bridge that is damaged and hasn't been fixed in months. I don't think it's very noticeable though. I did wonder about how many people touched the paintings because I myself did so as I marveled over being fooled. The designer was a speaker at a convention I attended sometime during its early years, so long ago that I've forgotten most of the story. There is another section of the canal that is being landscaped for use. M said the plants and fish we saw were in a top layer, that there's a real canal underneath. There are some other beautiful bridges, each a different design.
Toucan, I thought we had three full days there but had gotten my dates mixed up. Since the 4 of us rarely see each other during the rest of the year, the long drive was more time to talk and discuss the facts of life. We had a big problem planning dates this year because I couldn't go until Sunday and J needed to be home by Wed night. I thought originally we planned to stay until Friday and then had to cut back a day because of J's schedule change. I think more than 2 days is needed to visit the area. It could easily be a week based on what we saw on the visitors center video.
Elberko, M, the local, said the paint was from Germany and made to withstand the elements. There is one small area of the bridge that is damaged and hasn't been fixed in months. I don't think it's very noticeable though. I did wonder about how many people touched the paintings because I myself did so as I marveled over being fooled. The designer was a speaker at a convention I attended sometime during its early years, so long ago that I've forgotten most of the story. There is another section of the canal that is being landscaped for use. M said the plants and fish we saw were in a top layer, that there's a real canal underneath. There are some other beautiful bridges, each a different design.
Toucan, I thought we had three full days there but had gotten my dates mixed up. Since the 4 of us rarely see each other during the rest of the year, the long drive was more time to talk and discuss the facts of life. We had a big problem planning dates this year because I couldn't go until Sunday and J needed to be home by Wed night. I thought originally we planned to stay until Friday and then had to cut back a day because of J's schedule change. I think more than 2 days is needed to visit the area. It could easily be a week based on what we saw on the visitors center video.
Oct 2nd, 2015, 04:59 AM
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Great TR, dfrosty! I'm glad you got to see the bridge. It is an amazing community project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht55NnOr7m4 I wasn't aware of it until you told me and I live about 2 hours away.
Oct 2nd, 2015, 07:45 AM
#7
dfrost - yes, it was me that touted the place. We eat there every time we visit DS#2, so that has been adding up. It is my son and DIL's favorite place and they go there even when dad is not picking up the check. I am sorry that your first choices were not available, but I know what you had and we have ordered that large platter several times usually shared by 3 of us. I particularly like the soups there - the borscht is my favorite, it is better than my grandmother used to make and that is saying a lot. The shurpa soup is a lamb soup that is also wonderful on a cool rainy night. That fruit punch is actually a fruit compote (the compote on the bottom) - we order it every time. They also serve excellent Turkish coffee and baklava so I hope some of you tried that . The baklava is not overly sweet, but just right.
As far as waiting for the check, they serve European style, i.e., no check until you ask. You could have the table all night if you want. We are usually there for several hours. I have seen tables that were occupied when we arrived with the same people there when we leave.
As far as waiting for the check, they serve European style, i.e., no check until you ask. You could have the table all night if you want. We are usually there for several hours. I have seen tables that were occupied when we arrived with the same people there when we leave.
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