Buckets Bar and Grill, Lusby, Calvert County, Maryland

Buckets Bar and Grill never ceases to amaze. Is there anything they can’t do? I’ve reported on their sensational wings and other-worldy blue cheese dip, their amazing Reuben with house-smoked pastrami, and a host of other delights (the macaroni and cheese is amazing!) At our most recent visit to Barrel 9, Nancy and I were talking with some of the other food-lovers there and they volunteered that Buckets had become great.

It wasn’t always that way. We started out chary of Buckets, set as it is in the rear of a beer-focused gas station at 12020 Rousby Hall Road..

Buckets has been in the process of changing from a bar to a grill, and the transition, or I should say the blossoming, has been remarkable enough that Nancy actually suggested Buckets. There could be no clearer sign of their progress. We grabbed a table, grabbed beverages, perused the menu, and ordered.

A deviled egg, and then more. ($1 each).

I’ve never had a deviled egg I didn’t like, but these were kicked up a notch by a little horseradish. It added just the right flavor note.

Nancy chose a crab cake with green beans.

I was going to choose a crab cake, but I always like to order something different, so I went with the Cuban sandwich.

First the crab cake. It was excellent — a no-filler crab cake for $20. Honest! What more can I say? It was delicious in the way of Maryland crab cakes, and extra delicious in the absence of filler. And the green beans had been tossed with oil and grilled, with bits of caramelization. They were worlds better than the usual steamed vegetables.

The Cuban, I should stress, is not a classic Cuban or I should say one of the classic Cubans — but then few “Cubans” are. That is not Cuban bread. The bread was, however, grilled and pressed to a similar texture. The pork was roasted without sour orange and lots of mojo like the Miami Cubans, the slice of Italian salami a la Tampa Cubans, or the lettuce and tomato added to Key West Cubans. It did, however, have well proportioned tender slow roasted pork, ham, and Swiss — I enjoyed the flavor and texture. It’s a good sandwich.

We’ll return to Buckets again — and again, you never know what they’ll come up with next. Go try it, and let me know what’s new and great there.

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