Inevitable, tales from the Watt.

“But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed."  -Stephen King, 'Salem's Lot
Leaves holding their breath, South Gate Pond, Ocean Pines. 11/14/2019

   You can run, but you can't hide. Cold nights make for cool, crisp mornings, leaving the ocean waters in the low 50's. Five dark thirty has meant no surf during the week. Solstice is but little more than a month away. Leaves have turned all sorts of colors, like they're holding their breath for the inevitable, then exhale, die, and fall to the ground. Yep, no escaping it, the holiday seasons are upon us. They do the creep. Walmart...as usual...has been all out since October. The local grocers have begun to glean shades of red and green. We have seen lights here and there. Black Friday and Cyber Monday ads are in the papers, mags, and Internet sites. Before ya know it, radio stations will be going all Christmas music. No wonder burn out comes so swiftly...for most.
   This past week we hung around Ocean Pines South Gate area. DeNovo's Trattoria had not yet put up the decorations, although they had some Thanksgiving specials going on. We were there for the inevitable judgment. The Crew's critique. The restaurant had mostly dining, but we were there for the bar area. A Pines locals joint, the bar had just enough seating where only a few patrons forced us to a high top table.

Our waitress, though not completely knowledgeable of the menu, was very attentive and had mine and Target's beers to the table in short time. As DeNovo's was Italian and featured pizza, a large Cheese Pizza it was...with half Pepperoni, and half Bacon, extra crispy, and a pound of Old Bay Wings to start us off.

The wings were less than. In both presentation and taste, they were little more than baked chicken wings dusted with Old Bay. Meaty and hot, yet they had no punch nor flavor. Now the Pizza surprised us. It had an excellent crispy crust, the toppings were well baked into the cheese and sauce giving the pizza an overall good taste worthy of a future take-out order, should the need arise. In retrospect, the place had limited TVs...primarily around the bar. The bar itself was vanilla...mostly dated white pine and limited seating. Surrounding music was too low to hear. The beer selection was fair, but the glasses it was served in was at room temp. However, it was the pricing that bumped DeNovo's above average; probably one of the lowest tabs of the year. This place was not a standout, but the Pizza alone would be worth a return trip. We said our "good-nights" as the Journey moved towards Berlin and the next destination, the Holidays in hot pursuit.

THE RATINGS-

Pepperoni-Bacon Pizza: B+

Old Bay Wings: C-

Beer: C+

Atmosphere: C+

Value: B+

Overall Score = 2.55