Two Tree Restaurant
401 Cypress Street ♦ Millington, MD 21651 ♦ 410-928-5887
FAQ's
Q: Where are the two trees?
A: There are no trees. The restaurant is at the corner of Cypress and Sassafras Streets.
Q: Why isn't it Two Trees?
A: It was a simple business decision. We know that grammatically speaking, it should have been Two Trees, but I was in a defiant mood.
Q: What color are the walls in the dining room?
A: Whipped Apricot. If this is the color that you want to use in that special room, be advised that lighting plays a huge part in the effect. I would only advise using this color when the natural light is from north facing windows.
Q: Why is this restaurant HERE?
A: I've been asked this question many times and I really don't know how to answer it. Millington (population 482) is not exactly a metropolis, but I feel very strongly that where ever people may live, they should have a good place to eat. I believe that it is good to live close to work--and since I live in Millington, the restaurant is here. In other words, it is the center of my universe.
Q: Is there a dress code?
A: The staff at Two Tree is interested in the diner's comfort. As long as the diner is comfortable in their attire and it meets a modicum of decency so as not to offend (or amuse) other diners, then it meets our standard.
We do have a little sign that reads:
It is not codified, but we do appreciate it when gentlemen heed the request.
Q: Who is that old gray-headed man who goes around bothering people in the restaurant?
A: Sorry you asked. That's me and unfortunately, I have an opinion on just about everything. Recently Dave Wheelan of the Chestertown Spy interviewed me. To see clips from that interview, click here. It goes into more detail as to why the restaurant is here.
We don't particularly like to waste food. We noticed that a lot of the bread we served was not being eaten. Low-carb and gluten-free diets have made an impact. You may be surprised to learn that any food left on the table is discarded. Yes, we make croutons, bread crumbs and bread pudding--but NOT with bread that has been on your table. To reduce the amount of food we throw away, we only serve bread and butter on request. So, if your theme song is Please Pass the Biscuits, just speak up. You won't get biscuits, but you will get house-baked bread.
We really enjoy helping you celebrate your birthday, but is YOUR birthday. The celebration is for you and your friends and we want to keep it that way. If you would like to have a party that involves more than your table, then we would be happy to arrange a party in the private dining room. We will NOT be sending servers over to your table to sing and clap.
We're pretty serious about grits. We "import" them from Adluh Mills in Columbia, SC. They are nothing like the quick cooking breakfast product that is ubiquitous in the South. This dish takes hours to cook. There is no cheese added to it. It does however have a little chicken broth and heavy cream--and no, we cannot (will not) prepare the dish without both. If you are prone to comparisons, then Two Tree grits are to quick-cook grits as well-prepared risotto is to Minute Rice.
For those of you with gluten intolerance, grits can be substituted for pasta in any dish.
Chicken Pot(?) Pie
I was in college before I discovered that chicken pot pie was supposed to have peas and carrots in it. I only knew my mother's pot pie (one of my comfort foods),which was nothing like the ubiquitous dish that can be found in any grocery frozen food section. Her pie was made with the meat of the whole chicken and a tiny bit onion in a flaky crust. It was a little dry and she served it with gravy to compensate.
Recently, I learned (definitive proof that you can teach an old dog....) that my mother's pie is known in most of North Carolina as Moravian chicken pie, the name deriving from the Moravian religious community centered in Old Salem. Her family has lived less than 50 miles from (Winston)-Salem for generations. I have only scant evidence of Moravian influence on my mother's culinary skills, but I certainly recognize and appreciate the possibility.
Here at the restaurant, we serve a similar pie as one of our Wednesday comfort foods. I believe our crust is a little flakier and we call the gravy velouté. Just a little pretentious, don't you think?
Every now and then, I bring a few things in from my garden. Persimmons are on that list.
Back on the farm in Piedmont North Carolina, there were a lot of wild American persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) and I developed a taste for them. There is a lot of variation in wild persimmons. Some ripen earlier and size, color and flavor varies a lot. If you had the fortune of having a "good" persimmon as I did, you would develop quite a taste for this fruit. There are a lot of persimmons here on the Shore and over the years I have found a few good trees, but unfortunately, they were not on my property, so I planted 'Meader' a selected cultivar.
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We serve persimmon pudding in the fall. It is a baked pudding, but has the consistency of a steamed Christmas pudding and a distinctive flavor. It is my ultimate comfort food. The recipe is my mother's and I will share it. However, be warned that you must use American persimmons. You will not find them in the market.
On the day we put the hot dog on the menu one of my employees quit. As he walked out, he threw a copy of the menu down on the counter and said he would never work in a place that serves a blankety-blank hot dog. The hot dog is here to stay.
We also keep the hot dog on the menu as a reminder that not every meal needs to be over the top.
We also believe that no matter what your economic situation, you should occasionally be able to go out for lunch or dinner. The hot dog is on the menu so that practically anyone can find something on the menu that is well-prepared and in their budget.
There is no
dessert in this country that is the brunt of more jokes than fruit
cake. I have had fruit cake that would be better used as a doorstop,
but I've also had fruit cake that is memorable. If you have ever
seen the TV production of Truman Capote's
A Christmas Memory with
Geraldine Page, then you know how serious some Southerners are about
fruit cake. Our recipe is a family secret. It happens not to be my
family, so I am not in a position to divulge it. I will just say
that it has lots of pecans--just as any good Southern fruit cake
would.
Fruit cake is a
seasonal favorite. We only offer it during the Holidays.
My Hungarian connection is that the former owner of my home was a Hungarian physician. His assistant still lives in Millington. Many years ago, I sampled her sour cherry soup and I was hooked. She gave me the recipe and I planted a cherry tree.
The recipe was photocopied from a cookbook. It was listed as Hungarian Sour Cherry Soup (Meggy Leves). A few years later, when I joined the internet age (seems like ancient history now) I searched for recipes online. Notice that I did not google it. This was pre-Google. I found a few recipes and it appeared that every recipe was attributed to Meggy Leves. I was convinced that this woman was posting her recipes on every site. Little did I know that meggy leves is Hungarian for sour cherry soup.
Meggy leves is sour-cream based and is served cold as an appetizer or dessert. It can be made from commercially available frozen cherries, but our experience is that it simply is not measure up to using fresh cherries. Sour cherry season is late June. Look for the soup then.
Peppermills come in many shapes and sizes. Over the years, I have used many peppermills, both at home and in the restaurant. My favorite is the Unicorn Magnum. I would put one on every table, but experience has taught me that I would be replacing them frequently. Instead, we use the Unicorn Pepperstick, which is designed for restaurant use.
If you are in the market for a good peppermill, I would recommend the Unicorn Magnum. You can buy it online at unicornmills.com for $31 plus shipping, or if you happen to be in the restaurant, we also sell them for the same price. You will avoid shipping, but Maryland sales tax will be added. It's still a little better than the online price. By the way, it also makes a great gift.