Chesapeake Style Online

14
Style Spotlight~Moor Than A Restaurant
By Tara Ann Neville
All restaurants are
not created equal
in Kinsale. Rather,
e Mooring
Restaurant is more
like the key component of a fullscale,
pleasurable experience! With
e Mooring Restaurant open all
year long, a full-service boat yard,
bathhouses and overnight facilities,
plus a Ship’s Store, sand volleyball
court, picnic areas and bicycles, it’s
no wonder the fresh, local seafood
and homemade Italian meats and
pastas are the cherry on top of a
delightful day of fun, sea and sun!
Pulling in one of eleven dining
slips, boaters can dock and dine
while enjoying complete marina
services, just as land travelers often
settle into e Skip Jack Inn or the
Oyster Reef Cottages and relax with
a swim in the pool. e Mooring
Restaurant with its glass-enclosed
main room built around the “Sand
Bar” is the ideal casual setting
for family and friends—oering
panoramic views of the Yeocomico
River; whereas, the Virginia W.
Room showcases an upscale
and romantic atmosphere, aptly
named after a classic 105 year-old
skipjack moored at Port Kinsale.
But, the particularly unique
and always popular Lucky
Lady Deck has become the
Mooring Restaurant’s alfresco
dining where a 54 year old
Henry Luhrs boat named Lucky
Lady is permanently moored and
hosts the deck’s unusual bar.
Open since 1965, e Mooring
Restaurant’s current owners Rod
Porter and Georgia Derrico took
over the restaurant operations in
September 2005 determined to
make it “the best Italian/Seafood
Restaurant in the Northern Neck
and Middle Peninsula”. To that end,
only the freshest local seafood,
homemade Italian sausages, breads
and pastas are used to create “the
freshest and most avorful food
around,” says Devon Porter, co-owner
of Port Kinsale Marina LLC. “We
believe in local food and bringing
it into our kitchen fresh, daily.”
e delicious dining and daytime
activities and evening entertainment
keep diners coming back throughout
the year. Some locals have been
coming to e Mooring Restaurant
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so long that they remember when
Miss Nellie was in the kitchen. “Miss
Nellie was a cook from the 1960s to
the 1990s and was famous for calling
watermen on the CB Radio with
the daily specials,” Devon shares.
“Everyone loved Miss Nellie’s crab
cake recipe and her mud pie!” She
became known and respected by so
many in the community that Rod
and Georgia couldn’t wait to invite
Miss Nellie back. “She was happy to
come back and she knew so many
people on sta—often through their
parents!” Devon explains. “She
brought a hand-written notebook
with her special recipes. We sat with
Miss Nellie and merged our recipes.
We had a big event in her honor later
in the day. Hearing about her history
and the life she knew through three
dierent owners and a challenging
time in history, created a big place
in our hearts for Miss Nellie.”
e Mooring Restaurant strives
Spring 2013
to preserve Miss Nellie’s inuence
through her dishes and occasional
visits throughout the year. In her
90s now, Miss Nellie enjoys the
springtime specials today as much
as ever before. is season come
in to taste the freshest fried green
tomatoes, daily caught seafood,
and regular sh fry. For weddings,
parties and special events, ask for
the shrimp scampi, fried ounder
or rocksh to accompany mouthwatering
pulled pork bbq and
freshly-ground hamburger.
As the weather warms up, e
Mooring Restaurant is open 5-6 days
a week for dinner and delights in
providing a full family-oriented day
away on weekends. “We have a bunch
of bikes guests can use. Families can
ride, swim, and crab at the water’s
edge,” Devon says. “And then relax
in any of our dining rooms, just
taking in the beauty of the evening.”
e Mooring Restaurant is open
daily 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. and 10 a.m. – 7
p.m. on Sundays. During prime hours,
reservations are suggested by calling
804-472-2044. However, e Mooring
Restaurant sta insists all who come
will be welcomed and seated as
quickly as possible! Call or email
dnairn@portkinsale.com with your
wedding, party or special event needs.
e summer dining schedule
includes: Monday- Pizza Night,
Tuesday- Closed, Wednesday- Pasta
Night, ursday-Miss Nellie Night,
Friday- Live Entertainment, Saturday-
Live Entertainment, (check for
availability), Sunday- Brunch Buet
and Raw Bar/ Sandwich Night.
Visit e Mooring Restaurant
by land at 347 Allen Point Lane in
Kinsale or by sea at N 38.01.889
and 076.33.455 W. Check out e
Mooring Restaurant on Facebook
or at www.portkinsale.com/dining
to get more information on the
Chef’s Specials and daily activities.
Photos Courtesy The Mooring.