REIGN RESTAURANT AND EVENT CENTER

more. located in the twilley shopping center off of mt. hermon road, it’s near coco’s fun house and salisbury super pet reign has been open for about a month and it’s definitely the new spot to check out. take a look. track 1- before you ever get to the food…the reign experience will leave a good taste in your mouth.when you get to the front door, it’s opened for you.and as you continue walking through the entrance, you’re met by a host, who seats you. it’s the beginning of what is less about just eating food and more about a dining experience. you have access to our wonderful fully stocked bar we do have the occupancy capacity of over 300 people and farther back is our stage.it’s one of the largest stages from bridge to bridge. track 2- and the “stage” has certainly been set for folks across delmarva and beyond to come out and enjoy themselves in an atmosphere designed specifically for them. our host, steven, called it a more mature atmosphere for their guests. we do have a vip section on either side as well as on the stage itself and it’s creating an atmosphere of relaxation accompanied by every service and pleasure track 3- well, after my exciting tour of this spectacular restaurant and venue, steven escorted me into the kitchen where i was introduced to executive chef daniel mears–who says his goal is an elevated cuisine from the area. take a lot of the familiar dishes and take them to the next level and mix a little bit of the southern belt track 4- he had all the makings out for one of my favorite dishes–shrimp and grits. this has tasso ham in it which comes from pork cheek.they braise it in blackening season and cajun seasoning and that’s pretty traditional, but you can use andouille sausage track 5- he also used some stone ground grits which are a little larger than your instant grits.chef said they come out more like a risotto or oatmeal.he also used jumbo shrimp and what’s known in the cooking world as the holy trinity. the trinity is the new orleans version of meriquoa with pepper, celery and onion.it’s the basic starter of any soup or french dish and that’s where a lot of that influence comes from track 6-well, as they say in new orleans…laisaz les bon temps rouller…let the good times roll. chef put some oil in one pan to start the ham gravy.he added our already cooked grits to the other pan with some cream for flavor.he added some shrimp to the first pan, followed by a little blackening seasoning and our peppers, onions and celery.he sauteed that for a few minutes and then added the ham which was already cooked but needed to be warmed through.he tossed it several times and added enough cooking wine to make a sauce at the bottom of the pan.he stirred our grits, and cut off the heat so they could relax a bit.he turned off the heat on our sauce and added chunks of butter to melt down and then he plated our meal. so basically we’re gonna plate these grits.come around to our bowl.like i said, it’s an oatmeal risotto type texture and just to give ourselves some presentation, stack shrimp in the middle and it gives it a 3-d effect then i grab a lot of this vegetables and ham, put that right on top of it track 7- he poured some ham gravy on the outside of the shrimp ad veggies, added scallions for garnish and then it was time. mmmm….oh my goodness.the flavors are so nice in there that was one of the most delicious meals i’ve tasted. i tasted a shrimp next and then put some of the grits with the gravy and ham….it was fantastic! now, they are open at 4:30, thursday-saturday and there is live entertainment each night from 9:30- 2 a.m. it’s also a venue that can be rented out for private parties, business meetings and conferences and they’ll be hosting events as well. they also have a full service brunch coming soon so watch out for that. it’s located in the twilley shopping center and is quit spacious. and join us next week for another great round of cooking in kitchen insider. stay tuned… more news and weather straight ahead. good morning delmarva! it’s