Rams Head The Blog

Tommy from Savage posted this our Rathskeller MySpace Page yesterday:

Got to love our customers!!

Chef Mary Walden and father David Cornwell, both members of the Rams Head family, have graciously decided to share this previously top-secret Cornwell Family recipe with you and yours this holiday season:

Cornwell’s Oyster Stuffing

Ingredients:

Take about a quarter of one stick of butter and gently sweat the onions and celery, making sure not to brown them, set aside.  Mix the cream and Perino, set aside. In a baking dish place a layer of ‘gently’ crushed crackers then top the crackers with part of the sauté mixture, 4-6 oysters, (depending on their size), lightly salt and pepper then top with sliced pads of butter, finish by putting just enough of the aromatic cream mixture to fill half way of the placed ingredients.  Continue to layer all the ingredients until oysters are gone. Top off with the remaining butter pads and cream mixture (leaving a ½ in. unsoaked).  Let settle at room temperature for twenty minuets, and then bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minuets. Set aside and enjoy a Cornwell family favorite.

The Cornwell Oyster Stuffing will be served at the Shore House if you’re not interested in cooking it yourself.

Take a look at what your local Rams Head is cooking by visiting us online at http://www.ramsheadtavern.com

I woke up this morning thinking about all of the things to be thankful this holiday.  In the midst of an economy downturn, it’s easy to become wrapped up in the doom & gloom the media fills our heads with… but, aren’t there so many reasons to find THANKS all around us?

Today, you get my Top 10 Rams Head List of Thanks… which personally and professionally makes me THANKFUL.

1.   Beer Dinner.  I’m so excited that there are only 2 spots left for the Beer Dinner in Annapolis on 12/9.  We had stopped doing these programs for awhile, and I was nervous as to how they would be received in the market.  The numbers prove me wrong & I look forward to more of these beer focused events in the future.  I am thankful that the market sold the event and didn’t mean more marketing for me!

2.  World Beer Club.  We have been running a JOIN FOR FREE program all month and 1000 beer lovers have joined in the pursuit of worldy beer knowledge!  This is one of our backbones to the Rams Head; we have over 100 different bottles of beer in house.   It’snot too late to get signed up before this FREEBIE disappears.  I am thankful that we have 1000 new friends and that this program still rocks.

3.  New On Hold Music.   In case your a regular phone patron at the Rams Head, you probably are tired of our On Hold Music, circa 2000.  Well, new and improved tunes arrived in the mail today and are coming to a Rams Head phone system near you.  I am thankful that I don’t have to listen to the outdated message any longer!

4.  Rams Head Owners, Management, Staff & Customers.  You couldn’t ask for a more stand up group; we’re surrounded with wonderful salt of the Earth people.  I won’t go on & on here, but after nearly a decade with the Rams Head, I am thankful for all 380 members of our working family and the thousands of Rams Head customers who make us who we are. 

5.  Food, Fun & Beer.   What couldn’t be better than having that as your daily motto!   I am thankful for all of the events our locations have brought us this past year… hundreds of concerts, Kegs n’ Eggs, St. Patricks day, Beer Releases, Lobster giveaways… you name it and we’re having fun doing it.  I am thankful that I have a job where my role is to help create fun.

6.  The Rams Head Courier. Over my seven year tenure, I have stuffed my car with more ridiculous Rams Head stuff; the day that I buckled a keg into the front seat was the pinnacle moment.  It’s not glamourous.  It’s got “love taps” all over the bumper (don’t park near me on Dean Street), but it’s carried a crap-ton of Rams Head stuff all over the state.  I’m thankful that my car starts every time, my seat is comfy and that the CD player and air-conditioning work… for all my trips to the Rams Heads, Kinkos, Staples, Frame Stores, Best Buy, City Council Meetings, Association Meetings and all the randomness in between.

7.   Rams Head Celebrity Sightings.  We get a ton of “celebrities” who grace our presence with their newfound musical and songwriting talents.  Rams Head On Stagegets a ton of them thru the door… Minnie Driver, John Corbett, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Costner, Billy Bob Thorton, Jada Pinkett Smith just to name a few.  When I lived in California, I was always dying to see a celebrity and never did.  I am thankful that I am now “cool” & over the need to go ga-ga over these celebrity sightings.*  

*I am however reserving the right to go nutso if we ever book Keith Urban, and welcome you to do the same for any artist of your choice!

8.  Dopplebock in Bottles.   Fordham Dopplebock returns to the Rams Head on 12/4… and , it’s available in BOTTLES!   Don’t miss our Holiday Extravaganza on 12/4 at the Rams Head restaurant locations, complete with the release of Dopplebock.  In case you haven’t sipped on this sweet indulgence, there is only one place to be on 12/4.  I am thankful that Doppelbock is now in bottles, giving new meaning to the term, “But, I only had one beer.” 

9. Rams Head dressed for the Holidays.   Everything seems easier when the holiday music and decor surrounds us.  The poinsettias, wreaths and garland have arrived!  I’m thankful (to Paula!) for dressing the Rams Head for the holidays this season! 

10.  For this List.   I am thankful that today I took the time to slow down and enjoy all the fun that surrounds my job here at the Rams Head!  I even got through the list without swearing, which should really be #11 on my thanks list .  I hope that you take the time to write your list of thanks as well.

From our Rams Head family to yours, we wish you a holiday filled with THANKS!

Tis the season for great music. From a marathon of sellouts to Michael Franti, Rams Head On Stage saw no shortage of the best our diverse musical universe has to offer.

Let’s not forget to thank WRNR for bringing us our favorite ‘Rebel Rockers’ Michael Franti & Spearhead for a lunchtime concert yesterday. As one happy show-goer put it:

“a warm front of peace and love breezes through an otherwise frigid Annapolis afternoon…”

Did you miss one of the sold out shows? Don’t be the last to know…

Click HERE to take our survey!

Movie Nights in Naptown.

“Food, Fun, and Beer.” – Yep! That’s our motto!

But how about, “Food, Fun, and Films?”….. and of course Beer!

Is it time to expand and offer more than just music?

We are proud to offer entertainment 365 days a year and when it comes to live music, we work diligently to book the shows that you want to see the most. The Rams Head guest’s opinion is a vital resource, so it is to you that we pose this question:

What would you say to a series of classic film screenings at Rams Head On Stage?

Admittance would be free, and the room would be transformed into a dinner theatre where guests would have to opportunity to drink and dine – the “food and fun” part. As an avid cinema-junkie, the idea of sipping on some wine while watching “A Christmas Story” with a room full of chuckling cohorts sounds like the perfect winter evening… An Annapolis night at the movies could be transformed into a whole new experience – perhaps a little warmer and cheaper than the over-air conditioned popcorn pushers that we’re well familiar with.

Participate! Tell us what movie you’d like to see on Christmas Day:

[polldaddy poll="1120934"]

Hell Yeah! We got to #9 in just 3 years of being open! Way to go Baltimore!! See official press release below:

Rams Head Live Listed as #9 in Pollstars Top 10 Worldwide Club Venues
Baltimore Club Has Sold Over 100,000 tickets to date in 2008

Baltimore, MD October 13, 2008, — Rams Head Live in Baltimore has earned the right to be called one of the Worlds Top 10 Club Venues, based on Pollstar Magazines recent compilations of ticket sales worldwide.

The club, located in Baltimores Power Plant Live, has sold 101,438 tickets through the first three quarters of 2008. The total gives them the ninth highest total in the world, one spot below the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado and one spot ahead of Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium. The Recher Theatre in Towson is Baltimores second highest ranked venue on the list, posting at #80 with 32,089 tickets sold. The Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis is Marylands second highest ranked venue, selling 58,255 tickets. The 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. tops the list overall, with 153,175 tickets sold to date.

Rams Head Live opened their doors in December of 2004, and has quickly emerged as one of the Mid-Atlantics best nightclubs. The 26,000 square foot club features 5 bars, 3 food stations and 44 monitors and screens. The club has played host to some of the music worlds most impressive acts, including Jay-Z, Natasha Bedingfield, Kings of Leon, Queens of the Stone Age, The Roots, Morrisey, Lucinda Williams, Rise Against, Marilyn Manson and Bob Weir and Rat Dog. The club finished last year at #13 in Pollstars list.

This past Friday night (nov. 14) I was fortunate enough to catch the sold out Brett Dennen show at Rams Head On Stage. Touring in support of his newest release “Hope for the Hopeless”, this Rolling Stone rated ‘Artist to Watch’ held his idealistic values close, while warming the croud with his sweet sound and endearing personality. A personality warmed by a few shots of Tequila. When offered a Fordham draft from one of the audience members, Dennen said “I can’t mix that stuff, man! I’m still recovering from election night.” But what he can mix harmoniously are sounds that echo Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Cat Stevens with lush lyrics that are all his own. When it comes to backing up those intensely personal and political lyrics, Dennen puts his time and your money where his mouth is. For each stop along the tour, a local non-profit organization is given the opportunity to inform the audience of their cause. For the Rams Head On Stage show, the Maryland Food Bank collected canned food items and cash donations. From those who donated, a winner was picked at random to receive a signed CD and a personal shout out and song request from Brett just before the set’s finish. In summary, a charming Friday night with a unique story teller in one of the area’s most intimate venues.

Rams Head Beer Dinner 2008

With only 30 tickets available, we’re sure these tickets will go fast!

And with Fordham and Old Dominion promoting themselves up and down the Mid-Atlantic, we figured – hey! What a great time to host a beer dinner! Lets invite Walter (Dover’s Brewmaster Extraordinaire) down to host and lets get Mikey (Annapolis Tavern Chef) to build a menu worthy of a frothy toast.

Enough blood and tears have gone into the renovations of this place. It’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy it.

“So cozy up to crackling fire and enjoy a true treat for your taste buds.”

Tax and gratuity are included with your ticket purchase, so all you’ve got to do is show up, sit down, and drink up.

I have to say that the highlight of my week was going to the Scotch Ale Beer Release last night.  Not only were great brews flowing (and hello, 8% ABV!), but there were Bagpipers here in Annapolis to put the icing on the cake.  There’s just something about the beauty and richness of bagpipers that gives me goosebumps every time.  I wish I would’ve videoed the event; still pictures doesn’t give it justice. 

We hope you can join us next year when these kilted men & women grace us with their presence again.

Did you know that nearly 1000 of you showed up to strut your “I VOTED” stickers and enjoy a 25cent brewskie?   It was great fun to see the bar filled with patriotic Americans after fulfilling their duty as a citizens by taking a moment to vote.   Regardless of party affiliation, THANK YOU for taking the time to make a difference in our great country’s history.

And then moving on to PARTIES… not the red or blue kind… the kind that flow with bubbling cold beer!   This Thursday join us for the long awaited release of SCOTCH ALE:

Here’s the juice on Scotch Ale:

HISTORY: The term “Scotch ale” is used specifically to identify a very full-bodied and often extremely dark, malt-accented specialty from that country.  This type of beer was said to have originated in Edinburgh, Scotland in the 19th Century. The reason Scotch Ale tends to be malt driven as opposed to hop driven is because back when this beer was first being brewed hops were rare and expensive.  The British at this time were specializing in Pale Ales.  Beers brewed in this style typically have more hops.  The Scots wanted to make sure that they stood apart from the British so they stayed true to their Scotch Ales and kept it malty and higher in alcohol content.

DESCRIPTION: Fordham Scotch ale is brewed with a small percentage of Beechwood Smoked Malt for a smooth yet very subtle smokiness.  This full-bodied Ale can stand up to your heartiest meal or your most decadent dessert.  This beer is rich, full-flavored and will surely keep you warm on those cold winter nights.

ABV 7.5 %  IBU 28

See you there!