Drovers Grill & Wine Bar

My husband and I finally had the privilege of visiting the new and renewed Drovers restaurant down the street from our house.  We had seen the new owner busy at work revamping the tired restaurant and were told that it would be reopening with a whole new dynamic.  He told us his goal was to open a Maryland themed restauratn with food and wine produced within 30 miles of the restaurant.  Needless to say we could not wait for the place to open.  Luckily our wish recently came true and we were able to finally see the new and improved Drovers.  We were greeted by friendly wait staff who seemed very knowledgeable about the menu and wine on the list.  Even though this was a reopening and the menu had only days before been written, it seemed to be running well.  The staff seemed eager and excited about what there was to offer.  The excitement of the staff seemed driven by the owner, Kevin whose enthusiasm and passion seemed to rub off on everyone in the restaurant.  "It all started with a Kubota tractor" according to owner Kevin Vanek.  The cute local restaurant located on Frederick Rd. in the Poplar Springs of Mount Airy was running into some financial problems and Kevin happened to be at the right place at the right time.  He was in the market for a tractor and got something more after hearing about the restaurant in need of a makeover.  His love of food and wine combined with a desire to make an investment in something he loved gave him the idea of starting his new venture.  Kevin is a trained opera singer, but decided that he was ready to make an investment in something else he was passionate about.  Thank goodness he did because the place is fantastic!  The first thing we experienced, to our delight, was a lovely wine sampling from several Maryland wineries.  All of the wines on the list are from Maryland, and Kevin himself gave us a brief introduction of each one we sampled.  This guy clearly did some major networking with some of the best farms and vineyards in the area and his efforts have really paid off.  My husband ordered the grilled romaine salad with blackened beef and I had the spaghetti squash pasta.  We were both extremely pleased with our meals.  I convinced Ben that we should also order dessert.  We were given a sample of the Chocolate Zin dessert wine (unfortunately I do not remember the winery).  It was Zin-ful to say the least.  This was paired with the baked apple dessert and was A-MA-ZING!  All I can say is what I told Kevin at the restaurant.  Wine and food is the best pleasure you can have in public!  ...And Drovers is the best public place to have this pleasure!!