If you are looking for a fun date night that is more of an experience than just dining out; Preserve is the place. My husband and I had this date planned for weeks because you know how it is with kids – you plan in advance, schedule the sitter and coordinate all the schedules to make it work! As is often the case, both kids woke up Sunday morning with colds. Instead of cancelling, my husband encouraged me to call a friend and enjoy the dinner while he stayed with the sick kids. He made me promise not to gush about how good it was, however! So I won’t share this post with him!
Preserve, owned by wife/husband team Michelle and Jeremy Hoffman – both graduates of Culinary Institute of America – is nestled in downtown Annapolis on Main Street. You know when you walk into a place and can tell immediately that it’s going to fantastic? I got that feeling upon entering. The attention to detail from the menus to the décor was excellent.
I was taken to a seat by the open garage door-style window. While I waited for my friend to arrive I was able to people watch and enjoy the sights and sounds of Main Street. As a work-at-home-mom with two kids, I immediately felt myself relax upon sitting down.
I arrived a few minutes before 5 so I ordered from their daily happy hour menu (3-5 p.m.). I selected the Cava – a dry sparkling white wine – and the potted goat cheese. I felt a little guilty about starting before my friend arrived, but not guilty enough to wait.
When my friend arrived we talked with our waitress for a bit about the menu. It is one page – this is always a great sign to me. It means every single item on it will be delicious so you really can’t go wrong. All of the items are homemade and many of the ingredients in many of the dishes are locally sourced. Some right from Main Street shops. We decided to order several small plates in an effort to taste as much as possible. The menu has a selection of snacks, starters (small plate style) and main entrees. They also have lunch and brunch menus. You can see their full menu here.
So what’d we pick? It was really hard to decide. But here’s what we chose:
Sarvecchio Parmesan Stuffed Pasta – I guess when I ordered this I was expecting a traditional style pasta meal. What came out was so much better. The homemade stuffed pasta was so light and fresh and sat in a broth-like sauce with stewed green tomatoes and celery. When you sliced the pasta the cheese melted out absorbed the sauce. So good.
Pierogies – These were huge and of course homemade. And with ample scoops of sour cream and carmelized onions they were very filling.
Minced Pork Lettuce Wraps – This was the only meat dish we ordered and it didn’t disappoint.
Crispy Kale – Amazing. I dubbed these “kale nachos.” The kale was fried to perfection and then topped with homemade cumin yogurt sauce, red pepper jelly and minced red onion. I almost licked the plate on this one. At home I would have!
When we ordered I was nervous that I would still be hungry, but I was not! I really didn’t need dessert, but of course I indulged! I had the tandy cake and my friend ordered the bread pudding. Both were simple, yet delicious.
The food is the inspiration of Chef Jeremy (co-owner) and his culinary team. This is such a great spot to enjoy a drink, people watch and have good conversation while you wait for each plate to come out. It is not a rush in and rush out spot. So don’t go expecting to be done in 30 minutes. My favorite part was every time a new plate came out a story about the ingredients or inspiration behind the dish was shared. They do have a great kids menu as well.
At the end of our meal my friend ordered coffee and I chose to stick with water. When our waitress brought out a French Press of freshly brewed coffee from local shop Rise Up, I couldn’t resist. Even the creamer dish was local from Annapolis Pottery, along with many of the dishes we ate from. 
I’ve lived in LA and DC and have spent a small fortune on dining out and I’m not a food critic by any means, but I love a good experience and Preserve delivered on both fantastic food and a great night out! Because my husband missed out and although I promised I wouldn’t gush about the food to him, I did, so we’ll definitely be back!
Thank you to Preserve for hosting Jourdan and her guest. All opinions are her own.
