Shab Row Bistro brings the flavors France to your neighborhood restaurant. Dine, taste and shop here for the best in wine, beer and gourmet food in a friendly, fine dining atmosphere.
Jack and Lindsay Clark, owners of Shab Row Bistro and Wine Bar, believe their prized neighborhood bistro is more of an extension of their dining room than it is a restaurant. Tucked away in the historic Shab Row district of Frederick, Maryland, the restaurant takes its name and vibe from this laid back yet edgy side of town.
The Clarks have created a cozy, welcoming space where locals and visitors alike can come in, hang out, enjoy their favorite wine or cocktail at the impressive custom-made zinc bar, have a bite and hopefully make new friends.
On most evenings you will find both of the Clarks at the restaurant with Jack chatting up guests in the retail shop about his latest finds. He's always pleased when he can steer someone to a great wine at a good price. The Bistro's bar and retail section also feature a great selection of American craft beers and world class Belgian ales that are available on premise or to go. You'll see Lindsay up front playing host to all of their dining guests or you may find her in the kitchen tasting one of her mother's latest cobbler confections.
Kevin Longmire, Executive Chef
A graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Longmire began an externship at Bryan Voltaggio’s critically acclaimed Volt in Frederick, MD. After graduating from CIA, Longmire was invited back to Volt where continued to hone his craft in the world of contemporary American cuisine. After a collective year under the tutelage of Voltaggio, Longmire was invited to join the team at Frederick neighbor Shab Row Bistro and Wine Bar, where he would quickly be promoted from Sous Chef to Executive Chef at the notable neighborhood bistro.
“I constantly find myself looking for ways to push the boundaries when it comes to cooking, and at Shab Row Bistro and Wine Bar, I’m able to do just that”, says Chef Longmire. “Cooking for me is all about experimenting using unconventional cooking methods, not being afraid to try new combinations/ techniques, making my own rules, and finding new and exciting ways to feed my imagination. Pairing different textures, flavors, and temperatures with the hopes of surprising and creating memorable experiences for guests, is what I look to achieve. I always want to encourage them to look at food in a different light while enjoying it, as that’s what motivates me and pushes me to keep reinventing myself.”
Longmire enjoys working with seafood such as octopus, squid, dover sole, and lobster to name a few, and is also an advocate for utilizing fresh, seasonal and local ingredients. With little free time away from the kitchen, Longmire enjoys surfing, snowboarding, riding his motorcycle, and testing out new flavor profiles in his kitchen at home.
Alex Strange, Mixologist
A native of Washington, D.C., Strange began his pursuit of cocktail perfection as a barback at New York hotspot B.E.D. in 2004 and this former Broadway boy turned booze extraordinaire hasn’t looked back since.
Prior to his premiere at Shab Row Bistro and Wine Bar, Alex made several stops along the way including Vegas hotel showstopper the Venetian, where he created the cocktail program for the Aquaknox Restaurant.
A true showman behind the bar, Alex takes a unique approach to crafting his cocktails saying, “I begin the creative process as a food scientist - it’s a play on the kitchen cocktail approach to mixology.” Designing cocktails presents endless possibilities for Alex who always looks to ‘raise the bar’ by creating a sensory explosion for guests at SRB. “The most exciting cocktails are intense and have a real complexity to them”.
Alex and Executive Chef Kevin Longmire often work together when creating many of Shab Row’s signature and seasonal cocktails offering guests the unique experience of sampling one-of-a-kind concoctions infused with wine available only at Shab Row. “It’s not just about the spritzer anymore.” Chef Longmire and Strange will go back and forth experimenting and testing flavor profiles for weeks before declaring that a new cocktail is ready to make its debut on the Strange’s bar menu.
PRESS
Frederick Magazine "Maryland Dining" Review
Maryland Beverage Journal October 2010