Restaurant: Wild Tomato

I went to Wild Tomato with Diane, John, Sherry and Mike.

The restaurant seats about 80 people including some 10 seats outside which are available when weather permits, as it did the night we were there. There is also an outdoor bar with six high seats.

The restaurant does not take reservations but based on their experience Mike and Sherry knew that at about 7 p.m. tables from the first seating of the evening begin to open up. On the night we were there we were seated as soon as we arrived.

There is a wooden bench that runs the length of one wall of the restaurant. I got the impression that it is not the most comfortable. The remainder of the restaurant is composed of 2-tops that can be arranged to meet the needs of the groups. In our case, putting two 2-tops together provided an ample table for the five of us and we could have accommodated one more. All the tables are made of heavy wood.

Sherry and Mike are regulars at Wild Tomato and have gotten to know Olga, usually the bartender, who on this evening was our server. Olga has worked at the restaurant for six years at least 4 days a week while also attending a local college. Beginning next year, she will be attending the University of Maryland.

Diane and John started by sharing a Caesar salad. Then Diane had the special for the night, lamb chops and French fries. John opted for the pasta and meatballs.

Sherry ordered the Greek salad and added grilled shrimp. Mike went for the
Stuffed Fish Soft Tacos which he asked to be “severely blackened.”

I ordered the Wedge Salad and Chicken Wings, to be delivered at the same time. As suggested, I ordered half the wings (3) to be done with a spicy teriyaki sauce and the other half with honey BBQ.

Portions were ample. In fact, I could not finish what I had ordered, either the wings or the salad. I noticed that the gentleman at the next table ordered exactly the same dishes that I did and finished it down to the last morsel.

I had a second visit to Wild Tomato. This time with Debbie, James and, no surprise, Sherry and Mike. Again, we had little wait for a table.

We started the meal by sharing two orders of the Chicken wings. Mike and James followed with the Stuffed Fish Soft Tacos “severely blackened.” Sherry selected the Greek Salad with pulled chicken. Debbie and I chose the Grilled Romaine Hearts, Debbie with Chicken and me with Shrimp. I was the only one who had dessert – ice cream of course.

Frankly this visit did not live up to our first visit. The service was not as attentive and I did not find the grilled romaine as well prepared, although the shrimp was fine. Olga did stop by, but she was busy elsewhere.

Notwithstanding the hiccups on this visit, I am looking forward to my next visit and plan to try the beef and the veggie burgers which look particularly inviting.

Two restrooms are down a long corridor. The sign on the men’s room is a colored drawing that has written in large letters “Wild Boys.” While there is a lock on the door it does not seem to work. No one tried to get in while I was in there. The floor is covered with very large rectangular tan tiles. The walls up to about 4 feet are covered with small square tiles. The walls are painted a tan color above the wall tiles.

As you enter there is a double set of low black frame shelves on which one finds extra toilet paper and paper towels. Against the far wall there is a low white ceramic commode. A few steps away on the same wall there is a white ceramic wall hanging urinal. There are appropriate wall bars designed for those who need a little help moving on an off the commode. The room is clean but for some used paper towels on the floor which seemed to have missed the waste container located under the washbasin.

A sign in the restroom reads, “Don’t flush more than once it will overflow.”

Wild Tomato
7945 MacArthur Blvd
Cabin John, MD 20818
301-229-0680
Wildtomatorestaurant.com