9200 Chesapeake Avenue, North Beach, 410-257-0001

Good music, fabulous food, you can’t lose at the Westlawn Inn in North Beach.  We visited on a warm, late spring evening and we found out exactly what all the buzz surrounding this year old restaurant is about.

The Westlawn Inn is one of Calvert County’s newest restaurants.  Most impressively, having only opened in June of 2004, this restaurant has already received the “Best new restaurant in Maryland” Diner’s Choice Award by the Restaurant Association of Maryland.  This all on its own should speak volumes about Travers’ venture into the restaurant industry.

Or shall we call it an adventure.  Lee Travers openly admits that he has little or shall we say no experience at all in the restaurant, culinary, (or anything remotely related to either one) industry.  So, when he decided to invest in a former guest house for bay side vacationers built in 1906 and to convert it into a restaurant that would offer “an exceptional dining experience featuring the elegance and personal service of days gone by,” he knew he was taking a leap into the unknown.

Lee found himself totally committed to opening a restaurant but without a chef there was a slight problem he knew he had to overcome and he did in a big way.  Meet John Kozik, head chef at the Westlawn Inn. Recruited from the Washington DC restaurant scene, “John is off the board,” Lee said of this 27 year-old culinary artist and his right hand man. 

When our waiter Sean promptly arrived at our table we found him to be well versed in the evening’s specials.  After making a wine selection (from a comprehensive list) we began our meal with a fried red tomato with spicy jumbo lump crab, mustard sauce, and bacon and herb dressing.  Kozik also offers other choices for an appetizer which include the deconstructed oyster Rockefeller or a crab spring roll, both culinary delights no doubt.

From the sea, we tried the Southern shrimp and scallops with creamy Carr Valley cheddar grits, southern greens, tasso ham cream and barbecue glaze. This was simply delicious and quite a bit different than the usual shrimp fare offered in the region.  Kozik definitely makes this dish with a signature twist.  Also from the sea may we suggest the seared Atlantic salmon with the blue crab fritter or the pan roasted Alaskan halibut.  Lee promised us and guarantees you that all of his seafood is fresh everyday, also assuring us that Chef Kozik is extremely particular about everything that he selects, from produce for his salad (which is local) to the beef he lays before you (100% Hereford Sean tells us).

Finally, from the land we tried the Premium Hereford 8 oz filet with potato au gratin, roasted white asparagus, wild mushrooms and port reduction with tempura lobster tail.  The cut of meat was a generous portion, quite filling and extremely tender.  Kozik also boasts a domestic lamb loin, bistro sirloin and pork tenderloin each worth the visit to North Beach!

For dessert, Lee himself suggested the chocolate decadence, a chocolate fudge tart topped with cinnamon ice cream.  We had it and it topped off our meal perfectly. 

Dinner is served every evening except Monday (Westlawn is closed on Monday) beginning at 5:00 p.m. The lunch menu offers sandwiches (10 oz Angus burgers, pan crisped softshell with advocado) and entrees (shrimp-n-grits, seafood stew with chorizo,clams,shrimp, scallops and fish) alike and is served from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.  If  breakfast suits you, why not visit for the Sunday brunch buffet and eat hot French style crepes while taking in the view of quiet North Beach from the veranda of the Westlawn.  The menu is ever changing, depending on the season and what is available fresh.  You’ll find the daily specials exceptional as well.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is perfectly quaint.  “We didn’t want to lose the ambiance of this old house,” Lee said as he explained that many considerations were made when renovating to retain the antiquity and charm of the house turned restaurant.  It indeed remains a window into the North Beach of yesteryear. 

In addition to all of the perfection that is the Westlawn, Lee Travers offers a cigar night (in the bar area only he emphasized) on the first and third Tuesday of every month and a wine dinner once a month. Lee also reveals his musical side and plays guitar for the crowd every other Saturday.  

Lee recommends you call ahead for reservations.  We noticed while we were there that there was not an empty seat in the restaurant and this was a Thursday evening we would like to point out.  So it seems as though reservations would be a good idea.  Especially as the word continues to spread about this treasure near the Chesapeake.