Mark’s Score 9.6
It has taken me far too long to dine at Ruse. I have been meaning to eat here for a while, but it is at the opposite end of Talbot Street from the winery, and every time I intended to walk up to Ruse, I would get distracted and stop at another restaurant along the way. Finally, I found the will power to make it all the way to the end of the street.
Ruse is the inhouse restaurant for The Wildset Hotel, a boutique hotel opened in 2021 by the Erkiletian family. The name Ruse is an historical reference to the ruse St Michaels played on British navy in the War of 1812. The Erkiletians wanted Ruse to be more than a mere inhouse restaurant. Their intent was to create a sophisticated destination that would appeal to guests and local residents. To that end they hired Executive Chef Michael Correll. Correll’s culinary philosophy could be summed up as ingredient-driven, locally-sourced, seasonal cooking rooted in classic French techniques with global and contemporary American influences.
On this particular day I had been conducting a wine tasting at Bordeleau in the early afternoon. I had missed both breakfast and lunch, and though it was only 4:00 pm I was starving. Ruse opens for happy hour at 4:00. I walked up to the maitre’d and asked if they served their complete menu at happy hour. The maitre’d told me they did, and recommended the scallops. A lovely young woman showed me to my table, asked if I had eaten at Ruse before, when I said no, she explained the menu and recommended the scallops. The waitress came to take my drink order and explain that day’s menu and recommended the scallops and the labne dip as a starter.
Correll only features food items that are in season, so the menu is pleasantly short. Everything looked delicious, so I decided to let the staff guide me and ordered the labne dip to start, followed by the scallops. I ordered a glass of Raza Vinho Verde to accompany the meal – which proved to be a perfect combination with the scallops.
Correll is a James Beard Award semifinalist, so I had high expectations. I expected beautifully prepared and presented food, cooked to perfection, and offering a pleasing balance of tastes and textures, and that is precisely what he delivered. I don’t know what magic they employed but the highlight of the labne was the yogurt. It was the silkiest creamiest yogurt I have ever eaten. But the best was yet to come…
The scallops were more than a merely well-prepared meal. The dish was a work of art, it was so beautiful I was reluctant to spoil the presentation by eating it. Of course, the scallops were cooked perfectly, but the star of the dish was the corn polenta, the combination of Moroccan spices with the rich creamy texture of the polenta made this dish memorable, and firmly places Ruse as one of the best restaurants on the Eastern Shore. I can see why Correll was a James Beard semifinalist.
What else is there to do in St Michaels?
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