Old-fashioned customer care,
home-cooking returns to Flanders
What began as a serendipitous bike ride
on a blustery day has turned out to be a new restaurant – imagine that!
– in Ocean City.
Patti and Steve Schauffele owned and operated a popular luncheonette in
Mt. Laurel before selling it after six years.
“The Soup Ladle was in business for 30 years, and when it was up for
sale I said to my sisters, let’s buy it. And they said no way but that I
should buy it and run it because they always say I’m the Martha Stewart
one in the family,” said Patti. “When my birthday came around, my
husband gave a birthday card that said, ‘I may not be able to give you
the world but I can give you the Soup Ladle.’ And I didn’t have a day
off for the next six years.”
They sold the restaurant and decided to buy a house in Ocean City. After
a couple of years of piddling around, Patti got the urge to get back to
work.
“Just something to keep me busy,” she said.
One Sunday afternoon this past October, Patti and Steve decided to go
for a bike ride and see what restaurants remained open in the shoulder
season. Undeterred by a steady gale, the two wound up at a local
landmark.
“We’re pedaling and pedaling and not getting anywhere,” Patti said. “I
don’t even know why we were out there. It was bad, but we kept going and
couldn’t find anything that was going to be open for dinner. So we said
let’s go down to The Flanders to see if they’re open.”
Patti left Steve to hold onto their bikes while she went in to inquire
about the restaurant.
“There was a lady in the lobby,” Patti said, “and I asked her if they
would be open for dinner. She said no and that they were looking for
someone to run the Ocean Room. I told her I had owned a restaurant for
six years and she took my arm and said, ‘God sent you here. Come back
and see the kitchen.’ ”
After wandering through the dining room and exploring the spacious
kitchen, the women got talking about the possibilities.
“She just kept talking to me and wouldn’t let me leave. Finally here
comes poor Steve, all wind-blown and worried, and he said, ‘Where have
you been?’ She finally said, ‘Please think about it and get back to me.’
”
Steve and Patti went to dinner with friends that night at Mildred’s in
Strathmere. Later that night, she called The Flanders and said she
indeed was considering it.
“I was intrigued, and serving breakfast and lunch was a perfect way for
me to get started, work my way into it, and then we’ll be ready to do
dinners in the summer,” she said.
She’s already tasted some success with dinner when her prime rib buffet
on New Year’s Eve attracted 200 people, and now she’s looking forward to
her Valentine’s Day special, served on two nights (Saturday, Feb. 10,
and Wednesday, Feb. 14).
“It’s fun, these special occasions. People really like to be treated
special, and that’s what we’re all about. I work the back of the house
and Steve is our gracious host. He makes sure everyone is comfortable
and enjoying their meal,” she said. “Simple, sweet, old-fashioned
customer service. Our wait staff is excellent, very gracious. And the
whole staff here has been great to work with. Everyone is always looking
out for the customer. To make sure their visit is pleasurable.
“It’s like our menu,” she added. “It’s all simple, basic home-cooked
food. There’s nothing fancy about it. It’s just good old-fashioned
homemade food made fresh daily, made from scratch every day, with lots
of love.”
Especially the many soup recipes she brought with her from her days at
the Soup Ladle. Her daily soup special rotation includes Tomato Cheddar
Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Baked Potato Soup,
Spinach and Parmesan Soup, Mean Bean Soup, Vegetable Corn Chowder, Cream
of Chicken Soup, Cream of Asparagus Soup, Vidalia Onion Soup, Broccoli
Au Gratin Soup and Carrot Soup. There are plenty more on the list.
“Deciding what the special is usually is based on the fresh ingredients
that are available, or the weather, or the time of year,” Patti said.
“Like right now I have chili on the menu because it’s cold and because
of the Super Bowl. A nice big, hearty bowl, and you can get it served in
a nice bread bowl, too.”
You want cheese melted on top? Just ask.
“That’s the old-fashioned part. We do whatever it takes to make
customers happy,” Patti said. “We want them to feel like they just came
home for breakfast or for lunch. We want them to feel special.”
Emily’s Ocean
Room Café
11th and Boardwalk
Flanders Hotel
Ocean City
398-5700
Serving breakfast and lunch daily from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.Special prix fixe dinners served to celebrate Valentine’s Day (Saturday, Feb. 10, and Wednesday, Feb. 14) include soup, salad, traditional surf and turf (filet mignon and lobster tail), beverage and dessert, $48.95 per person. Dinner will also be served on St. Patrick’s Day, and nightly in the summer.
Parking on premises.
All major credit cards accepted.
Customer favorites: Quiche of the Day (baked daily with freshly grated cheeses and vegetables served with a croissant and fresh fruit, $6.50); Cream Cheese and Honey on Raisin Bread (two country slices of freshly baked raisin bread spread with cream cheese and drizzled with honey, $5.25); Homemade soups made fresh daily (cup $3, bowl $5, bread bowl $6.25); TST (turkey, Swiss and tomato served with bacon on a warm onion roll, $6.50); BLT Club ($5); Crab Cake (jumbo lump crab served on toasted Kaiser with lettuce and tomato, $7.95); Burger (eight-ounce black Angus beef, $6.95).
Who’s Emily?
“Emily is the ghost here. There are a couple stories as to why
she’s here, but they revolve around her trying to find her
engagement ring that she misplaced. She’s very happy, she sings
and wanders around. I’ve experienced her myself. I’ll turn the
music off and it will still be on. I turn the lights off and
they still stay on. I’ll be walking down the hall and I’ll smell
a sweet puff of perfume, and it smells like honeysuckle. I heard
singing before so I thought someone was back in the kitchen, but
when I went back there no one was there. She’s always wearing
white, and she’s always barefoot. She’s not scary at all; I
don’t mind being here by myself.” – Patti Schauffele
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed
at seitz[at]catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by
calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
Check out his Cape Cuisine food blog