Visiting Rockhall Maryland in search of seafood.
Having heard a lot about how great the fishing was from Marinas at Rockhall, and how there were great seafood restaurants there, I roadtripped over for an overnight stay, hoping to find some local seafood specials. Well, I should have called up to check on availability, because the catch of the day at the two places I visited for supper and lunch was swai and orange roughy, respectively. When I asked for anything sourced local at the Swan Point and the Harbor Shack, there were pauses and then the Harbor Shack waitress said that she thought that the Seafood Diavolo had local oysters. I had crabs a week before so I didn't order them, so I may have missed the best Rockhall has to offer.
Swan Point serves a nice, rich and creamy crab soup, I think a bowl was $7 which wasn't bad for the quality. I finished with a pound of PEI mussels, they were a bit under seasoned but I tend to like my foods a bit 'heartier' than most. The bartender was a good sort, the Sam Adams went down well, the wait staff was quick and friendly, and the chef popped his head in to say hello and see how my meal was. Pretty good, though I wished more of it was from Maryland.
Hit Harbor Shack for lunch the next day. When they tell you their service is slow, believe them. It wasn't bad service it was just laid back. I wanted a local catch but the waitress said there wasn't anything local, so I had a nice bowl of chili and the special, a seafood Diavolo with shrimp, mussels, one oyster and some calamari with fettucini pasta. Fair. But the Fat Tire ales were cold and the view of the marina made up for an otherwise average meal. All in all, I wish I had ordered the sizzling hotplate of fajitas I saw across the front porch. Smelled and sounded great.
All in all, Swan Point was worth digging deeper into the menu, they aren't super polished, but they are good sorts and they have some good items. Harbor Shack is a great little bar, and if you know what to order I think you could do well, I just don't think seafood is their forte.
