POV at Pier 450, Ridge, St. Mary’s County, Maryland

Nancy and I recently went back to POV at Pier 450. POV stands for “Point of View” in homage, I guess, to the beautiful water view, but everyone calls the whole thing Pier 450. The property was an abandoned Old School marina, restaurant, and motor lodge until Peggy Binzel transformed it into a high end restaurant and ultra-stylish motel. Nancy and I had been there a couple of times before, and kept meaning to go back. As the summer drew to a close, we took the whole gang — Liza, Michael, Ella, and Lily — for lunch.

We were seated, and I equally promptly ordered their ceviche for the table.

Those are delicious chunks of rockfish under the avocado and mango. The ceviche was “cooked” with lime juice and a good blend of seasonings. It came with tostones which, like just about everything else, were made in house and made very well indeed. They had an unusual lightness in both flavor and texture.

Lily, who is three, expressed her decided opinion that we needed some guacamole. She expressed her view persuasively several times. So we got guacamole.

Good call, Lily. Now it may not show in the photo, but that was the largest serving of guacamole and chips I’ve seen in a long life of guacamole-ordering. And it was very good guacamole, very fresh-tasting with enough spiciness to be good but not too much for Lily. The chips also were very good, thin and crisp but strong enough to hold the guacamole.

I added a half dozen oysters, for myself —

cold, fresh, local oysters. With just a few drops of lemon juice they were delicious. How could oysters be any better?

Well, Michael went with Carlos’s Baked Oysters.

The oysters were baked with a mixture of cubed potatoes, spinach, and bacon. They had a light dusting of parmesan. Michael was impressed, and Michael has roots in New Orleans.

Liza and Nancy both ordered the Crab Cake Sandwich.

That’s a whole lot of crab cake, and it sits on a large, house-made bun. The crab cake did have a bot of visible filler, but it also had a whole lot more crab, and a good flavor. Liza thought it was excellent but Nancy would have preferred a smaller sandwich without the filler.

The bun deserves special mention. It was great. Like all their breads, the bun had been made in-house, and grilled in butter. I loved it. POV makes and serves what has to be the best bread in Southern Maryland.

Michael and I both supplemented our oysters with the Corn and Crab Soup.  Wow! It had lots of crab, a remarkable amount, really, and fresh corn.  It also had some celery, which was a nice touch, as well as some onion, of course. 

The chowder was as rich as it was flavorful, a wonderful meal in itself. And that piece of bread next to it? Delicious.

Pier 450 doesn’t have a children’s menu, but the restaurant is exceptional in its willingness to accommodate customers’ whims, as with their deconstruction of Nancy’s “omelet” on our first visit. The chef transformed it into a completely different dish that was exactly what she wanted, at no extra charge. Ella ordered a grilled cheese, which came on the same house-made bun as the crab cake, and with layers of cheese inside.  Being a bun, it wasn’t really grilled — at least the top wasn’t. The interior sides may have been grilled in butter as were the crab cake buns. At any rate, it was too much for Ella at lunch, and made dinner as well as lunch.

Lily had chicken tenders.

Actually, Lily mainly had guacamole and chips, and chicken tenders for dinner.

This is a perfect place for a special meal, for a celebration. On our trip, a good meal was had by all, and a good time. After lunch we walked out on their long pier and watched some sporty boats come in bearing hungry people. It’s such a nice place, and such good food.

I was hoping to connect with the owner, Peggy Binzel, to see if I could peak into one of the motel rooms that she’s redone. I hear they’re something to see. She was running all over the place when we’d finished eating. Oh, darn! I’ll have to go back for another visit. Funny how these things happen. Heh, heh. Meanwhile, if you happen to stay there, send me some pictures. And have a great meal!

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