Mark’s Score 8.1 and 8.6 respectively
I love living here, except for the months of July and August. I spend July and August threatening to move to Iceland, and the older I get, I become increasingly less tolerant of the heat. But this August has been splendidly cool. Last week I was up in St Michaels and I decided to have a picnic lunch in Oxford Beach Park. The park is in the center of town just across the street from the conveniently situated Oxford Market and Scottish Highland Creamery.
The Oxford Market is locally owned and tries to source as much of their product as possible locally. In addition to typical convenience store items, they also have a deli, and sell wine and spirits. It very much has that old-time small-town general store vibe.
Vince, the owner of Scottish Highlands was born and raised in Edinburgh. As a child, he lived above an Italian ice cream parlor. He began working at the parlor at age 15 where he learned the craft of making quality ice cream. He uses quality ingredients and sources the cream locally.
It was a picture-perfect summer’s day. The temperature was in the high 70Fs (25C), the sky was a brilliant cerulean blue. There was a slight salty breeze off the bay. It was one of those days that makes one happy just to be alive. In short, it was a perfect day for a picnic lunch in the park. I strolled across the street to the Oxford Market ordered a club sandwich, picked up a bag of chips (what is a picnic without chips) and a coke. Here is a little-known fact, food and drink have no calories on picture perfect summer’s days.
I strolled back across the street, and sat myself down at a picnic table near the shore under the protective shade of a majestic oak with a breathtaking view of the bay. I had never purchased a sandwich at the Oxford Market deli before. But I had heard good things about the deli. Honestly, deli meat is deli meat, so it is the other ingredients that make a club special. The tomatoes were ripe and juicy, the lettuce crisp, and there was just the right amount of bacon.
You can’t have a picnic lunch by the water on a summer’s day without having an ice cream. So, after eating my sandwich I crossed the street again and ordered a cup of the raspberry chocolate ice cream at Scottish Highlands. Not all ice creams are equal and this ice cream was some of the best I have eaten on the Eastern Shore. Vince learned his lessons well from that gelato maker in Edinburgh.
Not every meal has to be gourmet, sometimes eating a picnic lunch in the park followed by a scoop of ice cream makes for a perfect moment on a perfect day, and all is right in the world.
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