I was in Annapolis for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Most of the bars were packed, but I found one that could seat me. Normally it is a pretty popular place, but I had beaten the dinner rush. That was fortunate, as the Iron Rooster has great food and superb service.

Kyle Algaze opened Iron Rooster’s first location in Annapolis is in 2014. It was popular enough that a second location opened in Canton in 2015 and a third location in Hunt Valley in 2016. Just a few months back, the opened another location in College Park. Aglaze describes the concept as “breakfast-all-day’. It certainly seems to resonate with people.

The Menu

As you would expect with such a tagline, their menu is dominated by breakfast items: pancakes, waffles, French Toast, Omelets, and 5 kinds of Eggs Benedict. The also have a Bowls section that also features breakfast items (Shrimp and Grits, Biscuits & Sausage Gravy, Crab Hash, among other). The Our Breakfast Classics section includes several combination platters, Breakfast Burritos and Breakfast Quesadillas.

And that is just the breakfast section of the menu. There are also appetizers, soup, salads, sandwiches, and entrees. Entrees include fish (as this is Maryland, several include several with crab or crab cakes), pasta, and comfort food such as Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf. Sandwiches include BLT&E (egg), Patty Melt, and Southern Fried Rooster (a fried chicken sandwich).

My Meal

As it was, St. Patrick Day I decided to stick with something Irish: The Corned Beef Hash. This is a hash made with fried potatoes, onions, and corn beef; and is topped with two eggs any style and hollandaise sauce. I ordered my eggs sunny side up and they were perfect sunny side up eggs: nice and runny. I was also surprised at how fresh the potatoes tasted. There was plenty of food. I could easily have split it into two meals. All in all, it was excellent.

Dessert

The Iron Rooster has a small dessert section. It includes NY Style Cheesecake, Waffle Churros, Chocolate Chip Brownie Sundae, and Candied Bacon. But I decided to go with their signature item : RoosTarts. They are like Pop Tarts, but home made.

RoosTarts come in various flavors. Standard offerings are Mixed Berry or Brown Sugar. For St. Patrick Day they had a Shamrock RoosTart.

It was a tart filled with mint chocolate filling and topped with mint icing and chocolate chips. The filling had a strong minty flavor, while the chocolate was rich and intense. It was my favorite part of the dish. It was balanced by the icing, which perfectly cut the richness of the filling. The pastry had a good crumb and completed the dish. It was a little overcooked around the edges. The RoosTart was served with a dollop of whipped cream. It was not freshly made, and I decided to skip it. Despite some shortcomings, the RoosTart is an excellent dessert. I look forward to having it again.

Drinks

Fitting with the “Breakfast All Day” theme, Iron Rooster has mimosas; 4 kinds ot them. They also have Crushes and Signature Cocktails. The cocktails include Bloody Marys, Spritzes, and Martinis. Specialty drinks include Breakfast Bomb (Jameson, schnapps, orange juice, and a pint of beer), Rushn’ Rooster( vodka with cold brew) , and the Irish Wake-up Call (cold brew with Baileys). I had a Carmel Apple Mule, which I found sweet and refreshing.

It being St Patrick’s Day, I decided to order an Irish beer as well. I had a Guinness Stout. A great beer to celebrate the day. The waitress asked if I wanted it colored green. I said yes, but unfortunately the stout was too dark to be colored.

Ambience

I was sitting in the main dining area and not at the bar. Consequently, the atmosphere felt like a family restaurant. This was in stark contrast to the patio out front, where St. Patrick’s Day revelries were quite abundant. The service was fantastic. My order be taken immediately and my food coming out in short order. The waitress had a lot of personality and described the menu, especially the desserts, with a lot of gusto. It was a great dining experience.