Ellicott City Flood - Relief Efforts

Historic Ellicott City before the flood

It has been a week since the historic area of my town, Ellicott City, was devastated by a hideous flood. The storm destroyed much of the town, demolished sidewalks and the foundation of buildings.

Founded in 1772, the history of  Ellicott City pre-dates the Civil War - click here for more information.

We take great pride that many of the historic buildings are meticulous cared for and give our downtown its charm.

The aftermath of the flood left our town in pain. Two people lost their lives and countless businesses and homes were absolutely devastated. 

These streets housed a vibrant business district, including restaurants that we visited often.

It's really awful to see all the places you grew up with just obliterated. In just a blink of an eye, businesses, homes and two people, just gone.  It's really hard to even wrap our heads around that.

The road to recovery will be long but Ellicott City will #RiseAboveTheWater.

To help people and businesses get back on their feet, we are publicizing the following gofundme.com pages for the affected restaurants in the historic district (HT to Floria Volynskaya's Facebook page). Please help if you can.

Every penny helps to get these restaurants back on main street. So, let's all do our part in restoring the town we love back to its former glory.

Judge's Bench - https://www.gofundme.com/judgesbench

Ellicott Mills Brewing Company - https://www.gofundme.com/2hhhex8

La Palapa Mexican Grill & Cantina - https://www.gofundme.com/lapalapagrill

Tersiguel's French Country Restaurant -https://www.gofundme.com/2hkn2j94

Little French Market - https://www.gofundme.com/2hqefbg

Pure Wine Cafe - https://www.gofundme.com/2htkeac

Johnny's Bistro on Main (blog post here) - https://www.gofundme.com/2hvtrws

Sweet Cascades Chocolatier - https://www.gofundme.com/2hm8cwws

Tea on the Tiber - https://www.gofundme.com/teaonthetiber

The Rumor Mill Fusion Bar & Restaurant -https://www.gofundme.com/therumormillec
andhttps://www.gofundme.com/2hfdk6k

Cacao Lane Restaurant - https://www.gofundme.com/2hhmpbcc

Portalli's - https://www.gofundme.com/supportportallis

Bean Hollow Roastery & Espresso (blog post here) - https://www.youcaring.com/gretchen-shuey-614117

The Phoenix Emporium - https://www.gofundme.com/2hmcgtdg

Charles and Thomas at The Trolley Stop

Even though main street is closed, The Trolley Stop (read our 2015 blog post here) is one of the few restaurants still open in historic Ellicott City. Charles and I decided to show our support by dining there last night.

We will continue to share news and fundraisers about our town. Please contact us with information so we can get it out.

We are #ECStrong

- Thomas and Charles

The Trolley Stop - Ellicott City, MD

My friends Jack (left), me, and Ivan (right)

The Trolley Stop is a historic tavern in historic Ellicott City that has been in service since 1833 (one of  the oldest restaurant I've dined in).

You might ask why it is named the Trolley Stop? In 1889 through 1955, the trolley #14 and #9 cars stopped right outside the second floor of the building.

In this flyer above, you can see
how the trolley stopped on the second floor

My friend Ivan has been telling me about this place for the longest time. So Ivan, my friend Jack, and I decided to finally give the Trolley Stop a try for lunch.

Keep in mind this is an historic property and it feels like it has lots of stories to tell. Pictures and photos hanging on the walls document the timeline of the tavern. It's a cozy place with rustic feel. Noting fancy or new.

This picture doesn't come close to showing how big this platter was

For an appetizer, we all split the Trolley Chicken Wings. It really wasn't an appetizer, it was more like a full meal. The wings were savory and sweet and doused in a light honey bbq sauce (aka their "special wing sauce").

I was especially pleased with the generous amount of celery we were given since many restaurants don't give you enough in my opinion.

Classic Club 

The service was extra fast. In fact, as we were eating the last wings we were served our main courses.

Jack and I ordered the Classic Club with fries - turkey breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The entree could barely fit on the plate (in the photo you can't even see the two large pickles that are hidden under the humongous sandwich and fries).

While the sandwich wasn't he best I've ever eaten, it was tasty and the large size made up for any shortcomings. However, the crisp bacon was absolutely perfect on this delicate stack. My friend Jack agreed, and added "the sandwich wasn't the best I've ever had, sometimes it fell apart, but the Tavern atmosphere more than made up for it."

Crab Melt 

Ivan selected the Crab Melt - crab cake topped with tomato, melted swiss cheese served on a fresh baguette.

This was another ginormous sandwich - and we are perpetually hungry teenagers saying this. He liked how the gooey texture of the cheese covered the slightly crisp and lumpy crab cakes. It was super tasty. However the potato salad, that looked great, was nothing special.

I'm definitively going to try the Crab Melt next time at The Trolley Stop.

Oh yeah, did I say how big the melt is?

Turkey Reuben

Later that day, my parents decided to go to The Trolley Stop  for lunch based on my recommendation. They split an order of the Turkey Reuben with fries - grilled with sauerkraut, swiss cheese,and 1,000 island dressing served on rye bread.

They also commented on the huge size of the sandwiches making it easy to spilt. It was packed with thinly sliced turkey and creamy Thousand Island sauce that wasn't spilling out like some dressing do in a melt. They really liked the bread. It was toasty, warm and crisp with a lovely buttery taste.

The large entrees at the Trolley Stop are enough to satiate a teenager's cravings.

The lunch and dinner menu has so many choices -  hot or cold sandwiches, wraps, salads, burgers, pastas, soups - really there's something for everyone. They also serve breakfast.

Just remember, whatever you order, that the portions are crazy big. In fact, I didn't even have breakfast the day I went to The Trolley Stop and I was full. My friends couldn't finish all their food and took some home.

- Thomas