Wildewood Restaurant Tips by grandmaR

La Tabella Ristorante Italiano: Lively Old Folks Retirement Area

We went to this restaurant with friends. It is in the gated part of Wildewood - the area for residents over 55, but the gates are mostly open. We went for trivia and they were not prepared for the huge influx of people. Service and possibly food suffered. It took a long time before we even got a glass of water.

Favorite Dish: I had the steamer clams (1/2 lb for $8.00 when we asked what kind of clams, we were told they were Chinese). Bob had the steamed shrimp, and my friends had the cream of crab soup. They said there was very little crab. I had a Calzone Ripieno Al Forno for $10.00 which had an extremely thick crust and the crust was partly burnt. One our our friends had a crabcake sandwich without the bread. She said was mayonaise based, but OK. It came with a salad and fries. Our other friend had penne pasta, and he said it was cold on the outside and hot on the inside. We had ice cream afterward.

Address: 23154 Whetstone Lane California, MD

Comparison: about average

Price: US$21-30

Rating: 3

Theme: Italian

D. B. McMillan's: Irish Pub

In the 'old days' - i.e. up to a couple of years ago - we had two Perkins restaurants in the county - one north of Leonardtown and one in the Wildewood shopping center. They had good cheap sometimes stogey and ordinary food, and they had a bakery with a lot of different kinds of muffins, cakes, pies etc.

Then Perkins closed and both restauarnts became ALICE'S. Now Alice's is gone. In Wildwood, the former Perkins/Alice's became the INDIGO GRILL. (The one in Leonardtown is vacant.) They are due to have a 'Grand Opening' later this month, so we may have had the 'beta' version.

Then the Indigo Grill closed and it became Petruzzi's. We went there when it first opened. We came back today (July 2009) and found that it had now become an Irish Pub.

It was Friday night, and we went over to Cheeseburger's in Paradise, but they said it would be 20 minutes, so we swung across the parking lot to this place which I think had recently opened. I didn't have my camera out when we went in and it was raining when we left, so I didn't get a picture of it from the outside, but it looks more or less the same as the other four previous restaurants - just with a different sign.

I was a little unhappy about the fact that there was a guitar player singing as it made things a bit too noisy for comfortable conversation. The chairs were comfortable, but they stuck out into the space behind them which made getting around in the room difficult.

Favorite Dish: Service was quite good, and prices were reasonable. Bob had fish and chips (which was too much for him to eat), and I had the seafood chowder and a chicken boxty (which is a potato and cheese dish). Then I had bread pudding, but there was so much I couldn't eat it all.

We went a year later. Bob had fish and chips again. They had strawberry soup, but this time I just had Shepard's Pie, and eschewed dessert.

Address: 23415 Three Notch Rd, California, MD 20619

Comparison: about average

Directions: A stand-alone restaurant in the corner of the Wildewood Shopping Center

Phone: 301-866-0777

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: Pub/Brewery

Cheeseburger in Paradise: Jimmy Buffett owned chain

under construction

Address: 23415 Three Notch Road

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: Located in the Wildewood Shopping Center

Phone: 301-863-0489

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: American

Aloha Chinese Restaurant: Aloha in the Wildewood Shopping Center

We tried to go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner and the parking lot was chock full, so we came here instead. This is a tiny restaurant in the corner of Wildewood Shopping Center open for lunch and dinner, and has free delivery within 3 miles. The menu says it is MSG free. They have a buffet and sushi bar, and it is supposed to be the best Chinese restaurant in the county.

Favorite Dish: The buffet isn't labeled so it is hard to know what you are eating. There were 4 kinds of soup including won ton and egg drop, steamed and fried rice, egg rolls, wings, ribs, broccoli, salad potatoes, chicken, steam and fried shrimp, mussels, and various other things I couldn't ID. We had tea which was normal regular tea - not what you often get, and the service was good and the bill was $19.80 including a $3 tip.

Address: Wildewood Shopping Center off MD Rte 235

Comparison: less expensive than average

Other Contact: fax 301-862-4158

Phone: 301-862-4838

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 3

Theme: Chinese/Dim Sum

Outback #2142: Out Front in Wildewood Shopping Center

When my grandson was about 4, he liked to shout "OUTBACK .... STEAKHOUSE" when he was at a restaurant - regardless of whether it was an Outback or not.

Even though it was Friday, we went early enough to get seated right away. Or maybe Outback has lost some of the 'newness' and it will be easier to eat here in the future.

This is a reliable chain - perhaps a bit more expensive than some but popular. They also do take-out, and have a separate take-out window.

Proprietor: William Mandis

Hours of Operation
Mon-Thur: 4-10
Fri: 4-11
Sat: 3-11
Sun: 2-9

Favorite Dish: Outback doesn't have any 'seniors' dishes so Bob got a hamburger off the sandwich menu, and just ate the meat and didn't eat the bun or much of the fries.

I got the small steak with an added crab cake and a sweet potato, and I asked them for a Ceaser salad instead of the regular one which they supplied.

We also got a loaf of brown bread, and we each had iced tea and water, which the waitress kept filled, even to the point of bringing us extra ice when she determined that ours was melting too fast.

I asked for the steak medium rare, and it was quite red inside, but that's OK with me because that's the way I like it. (The waitress did warn me that it would be rarer.)

The crab cake was a bit more spicy than I like - I had a hard time tasting the crab in there. But it was a nice one - fried and with lots of crab meat and not too much binder.

The sweet potato had a nice amount of butter and some brown sugar and was very good. There was also a mayonaisy type sauce on the side, and a chopped tomato relish, each in their own little pot.

I didn't have dessert.

The total bill was $33.63, and Bob gave the waitress a $6.00 tip.

Address: 23415 Three Notch Road, California MD 20619

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: 2066 Wildewood Center. Stand-alone restaurant in Wildewood shopping center, north of MD Rte. 4 on Rt. 235 (Three Notch Road).

Phone: (301) 8635530

Price: US$21-30

Rating: 3

Theme: Steakhouse

Website: http://www.outbacksteakhouse.com/