It's finally spring, the season of renewal. With warmer weather here, a day of shopping and touring in historic Ellicott City is often on the list. An interesting spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner is the Trolley Stop, just across the Main Street Patapsco River Bridge at Oella Avenue.
Crossing the bridge technically puts the restaurant 100 feet into Baltimore County, but it's within easy walking distance of downtown Ellicott City.
The Trolley Stop is housed in a building that hearkens back to 1833, when it opened as a tavern and country inn. The trolley actually operated right by the building starting in 1898. Service stopped in 1955.
You know you're not in Howard County right away when you walk into the ground floor of the restaurant. There is no separate nonsmoking section, but a fairly powerful fan recirculates the air.
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The smoke-free upstairs dining room is only open Friday and Saturday evenings.
The Trolley Stop offers a good combination of appetizers, soups, sandwiches, pastas and other entrees, making it a very popular place for those who want lots of choices.
"We're an everyday place for everybody," said John Field, owner and executive chef, who bought the restaurant three years ago.
Dinner entree prices top out at about $16.
For an evening meal recently, we decided to start by sharing the Maryland crab dip ($7.95). This tasty appetizer was just right for two people. The lump crab was gently folded with a homemade cheesy sauce, baked to a golden brown and served with toast points.
I decided to pass on the several daily dinner specials and ordered the steak au poivre ($15.95), which came with a side dinner salad and a choice of potato.
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The strip loin steak was coated with cracked peppercorns, sauteed with shallots and brandy and smothered in a thick, rich demiglaze. The generously cut steak was very good, although it was cooked medium well even though I asked for medium rare.
My dinner guest chose the chicken Calabrese, priced at $13.95. This pasta dish included sauteed chicken breast, broccoli, mushrooms, pearl onions and proscuitto in a cream sauce and was served with a side salad. This entree was sinfully rich, so there was enough left over to take home.
The Trolley Stop's dessert menu is limited, featuring a few homemade bread puddings and double chocolate cake from Ms. Desserts. I tried the latter priced at $3. Next time, I think I'd try the bread pudding instead (which the wait staff did highly recommend).
The ownership of the restaurant, as you might imagine, has changed hands many times. Hurricane Agnes destroyed the ground floor of the building in 1972, but it has since been restored to an attractive, rustic setting. The kitchen was expanded and a bar added in 1985, and the second-floor dining room was built in 1995.
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The Trolley Stop attracts a wide variety of patrons. Families with young children seem to like the casual atmosphere, reasonable prices and the availability of sandwiches in addition to entrees in the evening.
The downstairs area is popular with the younger crowd on weekends, with its publike atmosphere. Friday night features karaoke and Saturday night offers live music at no cover charge.
The upstairs dining room is more sedate, although the hardwood floors and exposed brick and stone walls make it a somewhat noisier setting than you might expect. The room is cozy, accented by Colonial-style tables and chairs, a fireplace, mustard-colored walls and lace curtains with flowered valances on the large windows.
Downtown Ellicott City is always a great place to bring your out-of-town guests this spring or summer. The Trolley Stop is less than a five-minute walk from the old B&O train station.
Parking is available at several locations and behind the restaurant on Oella Avenue.
Trolley Stop, 6 Oella Ave., Ellicott City. 410-465-8546. Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays; 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays; 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays. Reservations accepted.Server Heather Andrews carries entrees from the Trolley Stop's kitchen.
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