Last weekend, Bill and I spent some time in the Cambridge, Maryland area. We wanted to photograph the sunrise and hopefully some of the wildlife at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Not only did we get some great photos, we also found a new place for breakfast – J-BIrd’s Church Creek Cafe in Church Creek, Maryland.
Sunrise was spectacular – one of the best we’ve seen at Blackwater. We photographed the sunrise from Maryland Rt 335 – where the road crosses the Blackwater River.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
After sunrise, we took a couple of trips along Wildlife Loop in the refuge – lots of eagles and osprey were flying around and perched in the trees. One of our favorite trails – the Marsh Edge Trail – is closed due a pair of eagles nesting right alongside the trail.
Finally, we decided it was time to find something to eat. We’ve passed the J-Bird’s Church Creek Cafe on all of our previous trips to Blackwater – but had never stopped for a meal. This time – we went there for breakfast.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
From the moment we entered the restaurant, we suspected we’d found a great place to eat. Jay Smolins, the Cafe owner, greeted us and after hearing that we were in the area to do some photography, gave us a few tips on place to photograph that we weren’t familiar with.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
The menu has pretty standard breakfast fare – eggs, pancakes, french toast, waffles, etc. I had the French Toast – it was wonderful, very eggy and not soggy. Bill had a cheese omelet with a side of sausage. He really enjoyed the sausage – very sagey. Best guess is that is it made locally.
Lunch and dinner menu includes sandwiches, salads and burgers. Jay is expanding the menu to include barbecued and smoked meats. The dinner specials the weekend we were there included lots of BBQ options.
(c) 2008 Patty Hankins
For those of you who’ve been reading our blog for a while – you know how much Bill like BBQ. So he suggested we stay in Cambridge all day – just so we come back for dinner. Unfortunately, we both had work to do at home – so BBQ at Church Creek Cafe will have to wait until a future trip.
Had we stayed for dinner, I’m not sure either of us would have been brave enough to try one of the specials – muskrat – either BBQ or fried!
J-Bird’s Church Creek Cafe is located at 1963 Church Creek Road (Hwy 335) in Church Creek, Maryland. If you’re familiar with the route to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, the cafe is not far before the turn onto Key Wallace Drive. The cafe is open for breakfast and lunch on Wednesday – Sunday and also for dinner on Friday and Saturday. You may want to give them a call (410-228-1900) to get their operating hours.
J-Bird’s Church Creek Cafe was a great place for breakfast. We’ll definitely stop there on a future trip to Blackwater. My guess is – we’ll be there for the BBQ some night in the not too distant future.