A couple of years back, a friend from Annapolis recommended a gastro pub there. When I was looking for a place to eat for an out of town guest, The Fox’s Den came to mind. It now tops my list of places to dine in Annapolis!

The Fox’s Den is on Main Street in historic downtown Annapolis. As the restaurant is located in a basement (much like an underground den), the entrance is narrow. I’m not sure I would have noticed it if I was not looking for it, but they do have a sign on the street pointing you down the stairs.

The restaurant opened in June of 2015 by two brothers Andrew and Chris Fox and their nephew Thomas Burns. Their focus is on American food, with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients.

The signature item on the menu is their pizza, which is cooked in a large brick oven readily viewable from the dining area. There are 9 types available with names such as Nacho Libre (red pepper, caramelized onions, Mexican cheese, and poblano cream), Tropic Thunder (jerk chicken, pineapple, mango salsa), Fig & Pig (fig preserves, ham, brie, and honey), and El Pres (marinara with a 4 cheese blend).

As both my companion and I had pizza the day before, we decided to forego their signature item. Instead, we had salads and a smattering of the sharable plates. Many of these plates are heated in the brick over, so we did experience its product. The salads are found in the Market section of the menu. It also contains a couple of other vegetables and some appetizers. Notable items are: Heirloom Burrata, Brussels Sprouts, Duck Fat Fries, and Deviled Eggs. The Sharable Plates part of the menu has many meat or fish options. This includes Fried Green Tomato & Shrimp, Pimento Dip, Beef Carpaccio, Tajin Seared Tuna, Rockfish, and Moules & Frites.

Salads

We started our meal with salads. My companion had the Mediterranean Salad while I had the Poblano Caesar. The Mediterranean consists of a mix of greens, peppers, onions, and Greek olives, plus a hefty does of feta cheese on top. My friend loved it. The Caesar had a nice twist in that it used toasted pumpkin seeds instead of croutons to provide crunch. I also liked that the Romaine is very finely chopped. As is the poblano pepper, which is raw and not roasted. I found it hearty and filling.

Sharable plates

For our main meal, we shared three plates: Smoked Carrots (from the Market section), Lamb Meatballs, and Pig Wings. The carrots are roasted in the brick oven, covered with a chili maple glaze, and served on bed of cream cheese. It’s a great combination of flavors. The cheese complimenting the sweetness of the glaze and the roasted carrots quite well. It was my favorite dish of the three.

The Lamb Meatballs come swimming in a marinara sauce and are topped with a three cheese blend. The meatballs are not huge, but are quite tender and have good texture. The menu does not mention any spicy ingredients, but I found the dish had a little cook to them. I liked that and the sauce as well.

The Pig Wings are three pork shanks covered with Buffalo hot sauce and topped with crumbled blue cheese. The pork shanks are tender and delicious, but I feel it did not go well with the Buffalo sauce. However, the blue cheese did, added depth of flavor. I recommend smearing the cheese crumbles onto the shanks before eating them.

Drinks

The street sign is emblazoned with the words Rye, Beer, Bourbon, Brick Oven Pizza. This implies an refined selection of both beer and liquors. With several unique cocktails, local beer on draft, a selection of 16 types of rye, and twice that for bourbon, this is indeed the case. My companion ordered his straight up, while I opted for the cocktails.

My first one is called the District Boulevardier. It reminded me of an Old Fashioned, only made with rye instead of whisky. Other ingredients are vermouth, cinque liquor, chocolate bitters, and flaming orange. As the Old Fashioned is one of my favorite drinks, I liked this one as well. But if you prefer bourbon to rye, there is also a Maple Old Fashioned on the menu.

My second and final drink was For Fox Sake, which I assume is their signature cocktail. I mainly got it because I liked the pun. This is a bourbon drink. It also has lemon, ginger beer, and a mint foam. A nice mix of flavors, I quite enjoyed it. But be warned it is quite strong.

My friend’s first drink was a local beer, a KCBC stout. After the meal, he got a shot of the Woodford Rye. His first time drinking rye, he liked it well enough. But not as much as bourbon.

Dessert

Fox’s Den has one dessert and we had to try it. Called Truffle Shuffle, it is a brownie Sundae with pretzels, peanuts, and caramel sauce. The waiter suggested we share one, but my friend and I decided to each get one. When it came out, we realized why he made that suggestion. It is enormous! The brownie, warmed in the brick oven, is quite large. And the scoop of vanilla ice cream on top is huge. The brownie, nicely warmed, is also rich, dense and moist. And the ice cream is rich and creamy. And the caramel sauce, lightly drizzled on top, provides the right amount of sweetness. Everything complements each other perfectly. It is quite the decadent dessert. I ended up taking a good chunk of a brownie home.

Ambience

The Fox’s Den is a bar and feels like one. Most of the other customers were sitting at the bar, but there was a smattering of other people at tables. We were there on a weeknight, relatively early in the evening and had no trouble getting a seat. Despite the upscale menu, the restaurant had a casual ambience. The customers had a mix of age ranges, and not just a college crowd.

Final Thoughts

The Fox’s Den is a bit of a hidden gem in Annapolis. The food is great and they have a wide variety of drinks. The beer menu features many local beers and the cocktails are fantastic. For a good place to dine in Annapolis, The Fox’s Den tops my list.