The little hobbit house on Colesville Road pays a lot of attention to texture, flavor and proportion. The result: one friggin’ incredible dining experience.
The kitchen at Mrs. K’s Toll House (9201 Colesville Rd) must be staffed by Buddhist monks, because each meal is deftly prepared with balance. Spices don’t muffle the flavors of other ingredients. Textures don’t struggle to survive the cooking process.
Harmony in the universe is maintained.
During one lunchtime visit, the soup of the day ($4) is a creamy Florentine soup with plenty of chopped spinach. The cream base is balanced with chicken broth and a hint of cheese, giving the soup a light, clean taste. The portion is also enough to tempt the palate without filling the stomach.
The jumbo lump crab cake with chipotle-remoulade sauce ($17 lunch, $34 dinner) is mind blowing. Tender bits of crab (and little else) are seasoned gently, lightly coated with bread crumbs and seared to preserve the crabmeat’s intrinsic sweetness.
The single crab cake sits atop a drizzle of rich remoulade sauce with just enough kick from chipotle peppers. The spicy sauce and soft crabmeat are complimented by a dollop of hearty, buttery mashed potatoes, lumps and all.
Cumin overpowers the accompanying haricot vert, lending a slightly bitter but not inedible taste. But screw it. The sweet carrot, mildly seasoned with dill, more than makes up for the green-bean debacle.
The chicken pot pie — a restaurant week special — is also mind blowing, should there be any mind left to blow. Massive chunks of moist chicken breast lounge in a tarragon-infused cream base, surrounded by bright peas, carrots and mushrooms. In lieu of a crust, the “pie” is topped with a light square of puff pastry.
For dessert, the warm bread pudding ($6.95) is moist yet light, and is served with a sweet, bourbon-infused cream sauce and vanilla ice cream. Another dessert drops bright peppermint ice cream on top of — what else — warm, gooey toll-house cookies and chocolate syrup.
The restaurant’s environment ranges from cozy casual to hopelessly romantic. Not a bad seat in the house. The service is prompt and attentive without hovering. Just like the kitchen staff, the food servers give great attention to detail and create a relaxing experience.
Go on, spoil yourself!
Mrs. K’s Toll House, 9201 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, (301) 589-3500
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The crabcakes at Mrs. K’s are awesome. Johnny’s on a Half-shell are that bad either.
Went to Mrs. K’s for Christmas eve and it was terrible. We had to send my partner’s filet back THREE times before it was the correct temperature. The manager comped the entree and was appropriately apologetic, but I was a bit surprised considering the restaurant’s reputation. The waitress seemed very inexperienced as well, and discouraged us from ordering a particular dessert because “the kitchen was too busy.” And for this we paid 45 bucks a head. I imaqine dinner is fine on non-holidays, but it will be a while until we go back.
I’m sure that waitress didn’t last long there. I’ve never heard anything bad with Mrs. K’s. My parents have gone many a time. Oddly enough, I’ve never been, but plan on it soon.
Mrs K’s food used to be bland and boring. Before the new owners took it over it was a hang out for the little blue haired elderly ladies from all over. My husbands grandmother used to always order the Vegetable Plate (Vegetables Cooked beyond recognition – might as well have been mashed)
The food REALLY ROCKS now and they have THE BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH ON THE PLANET!
I really miss the MRS K’s TREE that they lost in one of our storms about a year and a half age. That tree was a landmark itself!
[...] Mrs. K’s Toll House and Crisfield Seafood did brisk business during that event, while Asian Bistro reported no [...]
My husband and I are new to the area and heard Mrs. K’s mentioned as a great dinner spot. We both love food and I am in the wine business so we are decent judges of restaurants. Maybe it was an off night but our experience at Mrs. K’s was HORRIBLE from start to finish.
We had a reservation (for my birthday) and were greeted by a less than friendly host after we had waited for about 5 minutes for anyone to even say hello. We were then seated at a table in that back, sort of tented room which to me seems a little on the cheesy side. The inner room seems to have a much cozier ambiance.
Our waitress was terrible and very unprofessional.
My entree (fettucine with mussels) was inedible and when I politely spoke up to the waitress she responded with “Ooops! Let me get it out of your way so you don’t have to see it anymore. Gross huh??? When I don’t like something I am eating I can’t stand to smell it or look at it so I’ll get it out of your way” Seriously. That’s what she said. But needless to say the item still showed up on our bill.
We left Mrs. K’s totally confused about all the good press and I doubt we will ever return.
CJ: I think your experience was an abberation. I’ve lived here 22 years and eaten at Mrs. K’s a number of times, as it morphed form a little-old-lady place to a very nice, 21st century kind of place. Was just there this past Tuesday night and the food, and service, were excellent. Not to say there won’t be bumps in the road at any reastaurant, but I think you just had bad luck. Indeed, the “tented” room is a disappointment. Give ‘em another try, when you’re up to it. (and when you make a reservation, I think it’s tood to remind them that the screwed up the first time, and you’re giving them that 2nd chance!)
My husband and I moved to Maryland only two years ago, but it didn’t take long for us to hear the good buzz about Mrs. K’s! We ate there for the first time for their famed Christmas Eve pre-fixe four-course dinner. This was December 2006. (You have to make reservations shortly after Thanksgiving to get in!) We were in one of the small rooms, so it was a bit claustrophobic, but still romantic and old-fashioned. We had WONDERFUL service from our waiter, and the food was great!
To start with, they were serving a special holiday “Chestnut Soup”. We were weary about ordering, because who ever heard of that?! But I swear to God, it was the best thing we ever ate. We actually JUST made our reservations for Christmas Eve dinner 2007 and are crossing our fingers that they will serve that soup again.
Our entrees (his salmon, I think, and mine a “traditional holiday dinner” of turkey, ham, potatoes, gravy, etc.) were great. The dessert we ordered was bread pudding– amazing!
The one thing we wished was different was that on the limited holiday menu, they included the crabcakes! But, oh well, we wound up returning to Mrs. K’s when family was visiting in April 2007, and ordered those then! SPECTACULAR! Also had a delicious portabello mushroom starter.
I’m suprised to hear the bad reviews, as this has quickly become our “special evening out” place. :)