the project

I would like to introduce you to a new project I have started that benefits me greatly and may also be interesting for you to read.  I live in Frederick, Maryland, and for those of you who have never been, I’ll try to sum up the place as simply as possible.  Frederick is a little bit country because of the surrounding mountains and farmland; it’s not uncommon to be stopped on a major roadway because of a tractor.  However, Frederick is also a little bit rock and roll, thanks to a thriving downtown that I have dubbed “Little Brooklyn.”  There are more hipsters per square mile than probably anywhere else in the world, which helps to contribute to downtown Frederick’s expansive art and music scene that is most impressive because downtown is only 22 square miles of shops, restaurants, bars, and historic homes.  If you’re thinking you have heard of us before, it might be because Top Chef alum Bryan Voltaggio owns three restaurants in Frederick, the longest-running spot being Volt, located on Market Street, downtown’s main strip.  His appearance on the show brought some attention our way, and it definitely made an impression on the food downtown.  This is where my project begins; I love downtown Frederick, but I have hardly experienced it. I love good food, but I never go out to find the best.  So, I have embarked on a mission to go to every single restaurant in downtown Frederick and to tell you all about it right here.  I am not a food critic and I know absolutely nothing about the culinary arts.  I’m not attempting to review anything, and there are no stars, thumbs, points, ratings, etc.  The point is to have an experience and then to share it.  And, if in the end, it makes you want to come downtown and experience an adventure, well, you can totally crash on my couch.

To begin, Tyler and I decided that we were going to go to the restaurants in alphabetical order because, if we didn’t, we’d just end up going to the same four places that we know and love first before we tried anything else.  So, first on the list was Acacia.  Luckily, both of us had never been there, although I had heard a million things about how great it is.  It is the place where our friends got engaged, so in my mind, Acacia was this magically romantic venue where Tyler would turn into Isaac Hanson and I would live out all my fantasies.  Although that didn’t happen, it was the spot where Tyler and I had an opportunity to recalibrate and find each other again without having to dodge flying Matchbox cars and argue over whose turn it is to change the poopy diaper.  I guess that would happen anywhere our toddler wasn’t, but in this case, it happened at Acacia.  The lighting was dim enough for me to feel attractive (those bright lights can do a number on your self-esteem,) but still brilliant enough that I could see where the silverware was in front of me.  The room we were in looked like somebody’s finished basement, cozy and well-decorated with wood cabinets and conservative flower arrangements.  When you’re accustomed to going to places like TGI Friday’s with ten thousand souvenirs plastered on the walls all around you, a room with a pretty candle and not much else is like a breath of fresh air.  The tables were a little close together, but it seemed to me as if we were all friends dining there, hanging out, and we were all going to play a riveting game of Scattergories in just a few minutes.  It felt like a place college English professors go to have dinner with their wives and the friendly couple one of them works with – is there a place like that?  I don’t know for sure, but if there is an opening for such a place to exist, Acacia should take the title.

We ordered from the specials because it made the meal more momentous – these are the “special” things to eat tonight! From the appetizer, to the soup, to the main course, to the dessert, it was a meal that would end all meals.  I will never enjoy food from a freezer ever again (and I had the ultimate affection for frozen pizza before this date.) I ordered the butternut squash soup and it was as if I was eating a bowl of candy.  Tyler ordered the tomato soup and almost started clapping, it was the best soup he had ever had (after explaining to me that he didn’t like soup. That’ll teach him to ever question soup again.)  Dessert was the greatest of all (as it usually is) – bread pudding with maple syrup and bacon.  Not bacon that is salty and greasy and takes your taste buds hostage, making it impossible to taste anything else; no, this was subtle and sophisticated.  I have never been so satisfied after a meal, although I was a little disappointed we didn’t actually get to play Scattergories after dinner.  Apparently, our neighboring diners were not interested in bonding.  

Despite that, Tyler and I connected in that room, over that meal.  It’s easy to find the beauty in each other when all your senses are being entertained.  We made plans, we made jokes, we made googly eyes across the candle Tyler burned his hand on – just as any date night should be.  A couple glasses of wine, a couple bottles of locally brewed beer, four courses of deliciousness, and one crisp, winter night totaled a change of thinking about what happiness is and how we were going to find it, grab it, and bask in it.  We decided over smooth and creamy panna cotta that we were going to be better to each other, be better to our bodies and be better to our hearts.  Acacia turned out to be the romantic paradise I was looking for in my little village of downtown Frederick, and a great start to a new journey of appreciating everything I haven’t met yet, just around the corner.