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In Chesapeake Beach, the food at Traders is a safe bet
Around town
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by DARWIN WEIGEL
Manager Sharon Jones, left, second chefs Kathy Bryant and Bonita Mackall and executive chef Ron Frawley hold a selection of items at Traders in Chesapeake Beach. They include a super breakfast on two plates, left, crab cakes, chicken quesadillas, taco salad and stuffed shrimp.
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The amount of happy customers at Traders can speak for itself. Any day of the week, and even sometimes between standard meal hours, Chesapeake Beach's restaurant and bar and pull-tab machine destination is fairly busy.
When a tornado hit Chesapeake Beach on June 4, 2008, part of Traders' roof was blown off and the establishment suffered water damage. It closed for nearly four months.
A year after the storm, Traders celebrated with a "tornado party." I also recall the July 4 party, with a parking lot concert featuring Middle Ground, drawing a large crowd to the outdoor deck. (There are more events coming up: a party on Halloween and a chili cookoff on Nov. 7.)
Inside, on a normal day, customers start arriving in the morning for "bottomless" cups of coffee and hearty breakfasts, like chipped beef on toast with grits or home fries ($7.89) or a three-egg Spanish omelet ($7.99) filled with ham, cheese, peppers, onions and tomato. If you like steak and eggs, Traders' menu has several suitable options for you. Light eaters, in turn, might munch on an English muffin ($1.69) or French toast sticks ($3.99). On Sunday, Traders serves brunch.
Overall, Traders' meals pack some serious value. While digesting one, you might even be able to win your money back with a game of Flaming Sevens or Dynamite Diamonds. Service, meanwhile, is rendered with diner-like efficiency: Most likely, your check will be on the table before you ask for it.
My recent visits were around lunchtime, and although it was earlier than 1:30 p.m. and breakfast remained an option, I focused my attention on Traders' sandwiches (not including burgers or subs), of which the list includes cold stacks of ham, turkey or roast beef ($7.79) and hot, open roast beef or turkey ($8.99). There are clubs and more, like a "beach" BLT ($6.29).
Most come with a choice of a side (of which there are six, ranging from fries to coleslaw) or onion rings for an extra buck. But when I ordered the hot roast beef, my server substituted deliciously whipped mashed potatoes. As my visit fell during a streak of cold, gray, damp, miserable weather, I settled into my booth with a hot cup of Vera's "famous" chili ($3.99), a dark creation filled with chunks of meat and red beans and then topped with cold, cheddar cheese.
Out came the meal: thick slices of roast beef, stacks of it, covered in gravy that was anything except bland. The mashed potatoes, as mentioned, were pretty much perfect.
Another good choice is the shrimp salad sandwich. Just don't expect the bread to hold it together. How could it? The baby shrimp, served cold and lightly flavored, was stacked as tall as some club sandwiches.
I also had the pleasure of trying Traders' cream of crab soup — the total package. After asking a bartender twice for a cup, I still received a bowl. Such twisted fate: It was topped with Old Bay, ultra-creamy, filled with big chunks of crab and flavored with herbs and spices.
Now I want to return for dinner. The menu includes big seafood meals, Italian specialties and, as the sign in the parking lot makes known, steaks. Of the latter, one that leaps off the menu is the Chesapeake ($22.99), a filet topped with lump crab and the house's béarnaise sauce.
Traders Seafood Steak and Ale.
8132 Bayside Road, Chesapeake Beach.
Winter hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.
Entrée prices: $7-$26.
Credit cards: AE, V, MC, D. Phone: 410-257-6126
