Gaithersburg, MD 20877
(301) 948-9170
www.smokeyglenfarm.com
Visited: June 12, 2010
Smokey Glen and Cupcakes Antonio have a looooooooong history. Smokey Glen is like that crazy ex-girlfriend that loved to cook and feed me, but always picked the hottest days to throw her cookouts. No matter how much I'd say to myself, "This is THE last time I visit this crazy dame" she ends up wooing me back with her free food and grilled treats.
The first time I visited Smokey Glen was back in the summer of 1994 when the bank I used to work for held it's annual picnic on the ground. Although the bank was local, they went all out with the food at Smokey Glen and even served beer and alcohol to keep their bank employees "hydrated" in the hot summer sun. I worked at that bank for over 4 years (while in college) and each summer we'd all look forward to the summer trip to Smokey Glen to get our food, dessert and drank on until my belly was full of beer, grilled meat and various fruit pies cooked over hot coals...yum.
After graduating from college and leaving the bank, my annual summer BBQs at Smokey Glen came to an end. It was a bit sad but I figured the end of the free summer BBQ party was just a part of growing up; a post college life. But that would not be the last time I would see Smokey Glen.
Fast forward six years later. I met my future wife to be and surprise surprise! Her company held their annual summer BBQs at Smokey Glen. Free beer and free food had returned to the life of this fat boy. The food was the same (okay, not too bad) but was made even better by the cold frosty brews they happily served to all the visitors. Nothing says happiness in my book (the book of Antonio, King James Edition) than a cold frosty beer and some BBQ'ed chicken. Ummm....I once again had an annual summer trip to Smokey Glen. Yee-haw!
Once the wife left her company after the birth of our monkeys, the summer trips to Smokey Glen were no more. Sad Antonio. :-(
**insert sad sad violin music here by some classical artist that makes me sound much smarter than I am**
Stop the music...Smokey Glen was out of my life...but not completely outta my life. "She" came back into my life this year after receiving a company email a few months ago telling us employees to saved the date for the annual summer picnic at Smokey Glen.
!!!!!
Smokey Glen! I was so excited and thoughts of the BBQ'ed chicken and other dead animals roasting on hot coals filled my mind. And the beer...I knew they would have some frosty cold ones to ward off the hot summer heat and humidity... I really looked forward to the picnic as past experiences at Smokey Glen danced in my head...to sum it up, I couldn't wait!!
When the day finally arrived, I was surprised to see that Smokey Glen had been completely redone. Gone was the single picnic area with a HUGE parking lot (field). Smokey Glen was not split into four different areas with their own parking areas, playgrounds and baseball fields. Everything looked new and better organized from my last trip a few years back.
As I walked up to the area designated for our company, my heart sank. The long army of grills stocked with chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs and steak were replaced by three grills roasting chicken. A few tubs of potato salad were in the "fixins" area along with some bean salad, lettuce and other sparse side items....
Disappointed...
I told myself it was okay as I didn't need some burgers as the tasty Smokey Glen chicken was enough for me as long as they had some beer. Meeting up with my coworkers I set my plate on a table and asked about the drinks. One coworker told me, "They only have soda".
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!"
Yep, no beer...no wine. The only thing available was water, Pepsi and lemonade. Ugh...apparently our company had not only taken the cheap route with the food but they also saved a LOT of money by not serving alcohol. I was so disappointed. The only thing that made a hot summer picnic bearable at Smokey Glen was a cold frosty beer.
That's when I realized that what made Smokey Glen fun in the past was the flowing beer. Without a cold cerveza, the food just seemed "okay" and the heat and sweat seemed to creep into all those cervices in my body. Ugh...I was SO disappointed.
Despite my great summer memories of the past, the Smokey Glen food was only worth 2 stars. I bumped them up to 3 stars because part of the new remodel create a ton of new play areas that kept my kids happy. I also loved the magician-clown that kept our boys entertained despite their fussy non-napping crankiness.
Will I return next year to Smokey Glen for the company picnic? Probably not...not unless they serve some brews. :-)
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