The Details

Project Name: Saddle Creek
House Plan and Interior Design: Folding Chair Design
Builder: Millstone Barn & Co.
Lumber: Reisterstown Lumber

Into the Woods

“Our intention was for the pool house to be a modern, tactile space that embraces the environment around it,” says Jennifer Walter, owner and principal designer for Folding Chair Design. “We selected the corner windows to max the view and the large bi-fold door that folds all the way back to allow a really easy transition from pool to pool house.”

Inside and Out

The client’s first request was to have stone as the focal point to match the base of the existing house, says Walter. “Once we decided on a deep charcoal/black Hardie plank siding, it made more sense to run with that across the upper half of the pool house,” she explains. “We loved the dark siding because it felt really contemporary yet harmonious with the outdoor surroundings.”

Function, Style, Comfort

“The bathroom came together based off a media console I saw while at Crate & Barrel,” says Walter. She fell in love with the Japanese-style joinery and decided to use it as the vanity in the bathroom, since its large countertops were perfect for stacking towels and other items while changing post-swim. “We ended up finding a carpenter that specializes in Japanese joinery and bamboo gardens to make the dining table to match the vanity,” she says. “It took five months to get it, but it was well worth it.”

When restaurateur Tony Foreman and chef Chris Scanga toured The Milton Inn prior to purchasing the property last year, they shared a lightbulb moment. As they walked through the historic home with its massive hearths and fieldstone exterior, they were in total agreement.

“We came to the same conclusion that we should serve game here,” says Scanga. “It reminded me of French hunting lodges I’d seen in Languedoc, France,” says Foreman. “The inspiration is about having an idea that feels right and honest, where it feels like something it should always have been.”

So, on the spot, they, along with Foreman Wolf partner-chef Cindy Wolf of Charleston, decided to reincarnate the once-legendary restaurant into something that had the feel of those French lodges but would be equally at home in Maryland hunt country, where the property is located.

“We envisioned a space that would feel elegant and rustic at the same time,” says Foreman, “a place where we could hang antlers on the wall, and where it would feel cool to do that.”

That concept came to life when The Milton Inn reopened its doors in July. (Chef Brian Boston served his last meal there in spring of 2020, when it became a casualty of the pandemic.) With its intimate dining rooms, plush textiles, impeccably sourced European oil paintings, a menu of French gastronomy’s greatest hits, and, yes, a collection of antlers artfully mounted on the wall ascending the staircase, the iconic Sparks restaurant is back—and better than ever.

It’s a happy ending for a space that dates back a few hundred years when the circa 1740 mansion was first a Quaker coach stop, then a boarding school (The Milton Academy for Boys, infamously attended by John Wilkes Booth), an antiques shop, and finally, a fine- dining fixture that, while beloved by many, was well past its prime.

After a complete restoration and reimagining of the space—this version of the storied restaurant is the same in name only. And somehow, Foreman Wolf’s first foray into Baltimore County manages to feel both current and timeless. Gone are the doilies, white tablecloths, and Eisenhower-era offerings like oysters Rockefeller of yore.

In are the craft cocktails (and an impressive French-accented wine list and Parisian maître d’hotel), rechargeable table lamps, and old-school Francophile favorites, which while deeply rooted in the past, have been updated for modern diners. In fact, Scanga describes the menu as “peasant food dressed up to be Instagram-worthy.”

 

“WE ENVISIONED A SPACE THAT WOULD FEEL ELEGANT AND RUSTIC AT THE SAME TIME.”

 

The atmosphere is equally posh. The talented Katie DeStefano created a series of seven spaces to choose from—the dark and dramatic Stable Room, the Hearth Room with its taxidermized pheasants, the genteel main dining room, and the airy Garden Room. (There’s also a lovely weatherproof outdoor patio area, for those who prefer eating en plein air only.)

In addition to reimaging the space, Foreman and Wolf have given the 32-year-old Scanga a platform for his talents. Prior to this gig, Scanga worked in the kitchens at Foreman Wolf’s other properties, including Petit Louis Bistro, Johnny’s, and Charleston.

He was also classically trained at the famed Culinary Institute of America, which makes him well-suited to design a menu of French comfort foods that pulls from the borders of southern and southwestern France, including the Basque Country and the Rhône region.

Think of Scanga’s perfectly rendered dishes—seared foie gras in plum sauce, grilled venison with chanterelles and sour cherries, duck leg confit with plums, and a succulent roasted guinea fowl—as an edible love letter to French fare.

“My style of cooking is doing stuff that is like grandma food that we can doll up,” he says, “but the flavor is classic French cooking.”

Scanga displays a deft artistic approach to his plates, but nothing is overdone—and every ingredient has a raison d’être. Take for example the divine steak tartare, a playful toad-in-the hole preparation that features a buttery brioche atop a luscious lobe of ruby-red beef, Ossetra caviar floating in black truffle vinaigrette, a quail egg at its center, and sorrel leaves that act as both garnish and a citrusy palate cleanser to cut the richness between bites.

The Pâté en Croûte (“pie in crust”)—a mixture of ground venison and pork pâté encased in a decorative puff pastry—is a work of art that takes days to prepare. This melt-in-your-mouth version honors the centuries-old French culinary tradition. On the seafood side, the Saumon la Cr me d’Oseille, a crispy-skinned piece of salmon sitting in sorrel sauce, is a delicious nod to the famed Michelin-starred La Maison Troisgros in Roanne, France, believed to be the birthplace of salmon in sorrel sauce.

Louis lovers will rejoice that many of that bistro’s flawlessly executed classics—the onion soup, the quiche, the steak frites—have earned a spot on the menu here. Also, familiar is Foreman Wolf’s gracious and caring service that never fails to make the meal. (We were so happy to see the suave Nezam Mojarrad, who has worked all over town, take command of our table.)

The Milton is an instant classic. As it was in the past, it’s a place to return to again and again.

THE MILTON INN 14833 York Rd., Sparks- Glencoe. HOURS: Sun. 5-9 p.m.; Tues.-Sat.: 5-10 p.m. PRICES: Appetizers: $11-24; entrees: $16-45; desserts: $11.

The Milton Inn has been a restaurant for 70 years. What’s the secret to its longevity?
This building—even though it’s almost 300 years old and has its challenges—is charming. It has charm you really can’t replicate in a new restaurant. You also have to be a little crazy to be in the restaurant business. This is not a normal life. This really is a lifestyle. I live and breathe the restaurant, and everything else is secondary. It really does take that much dedication. If you see a restaurant that’s been in business for 20 years, someone is working their butt off. It doesn’t happen by itself. 

Did you ever see yourself working here that long?
I came to eat here in probably 1980-something. I sat in that dining room with the hearth and I said to myself, “I’d love to own this restaurant one day.” And not even trying, it kind of fell into my lap. It’s weird, right?  

How do you keep up with Baltimore’s growing food scene?
Consistency is a huge part of the ingredients that make this place successful. But we also try to make gradual changes. You have to slowly evolve. If you don’t, you will go out of business.    

How do you decide what changes to make?
That’s always the hard part. What do we get rid of and what do we keep? I basically just look at the numbers. Okay, what’s selling and what’s not selling? Because of that, we’re a pretty traditional restaurant. My food is straightforward. It’s not smoke and mirrors. I don’t like trendy at all. Trendy doesn’t last.

You’ve made a big shift toward small plates at the restaurant. 
The small-plate menu has become a really important piece of our business. One of the things we saw was that people weren’t eating the same way they used to. You have to take your cues from your customers. Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest times, when people are going out on date nights, and it doesn’t cost them an arm and a leg. The moment you say “Milton Inn,” most people think “expensive and far away,” but I’m on a quest of changing people’s opinions of what we are. 

Leading up to the 70th anniversary, you spent $600,000 in renovations last year, which included your circa 1740 lounge. 
Doing things like renovations are necessary to keep you healthy. People are willing to spend money in a restaurant, but they’re not willing to spend $50 and look around and see everything looking shabby. That’s not going to cut it. We’ve always been willing to put money into this business. What used to be an empty lounge is now full. 

What changes have you noticed over the years in the local food scene? 
Dress codes are just completely gone. I got rid of ours years ago now—I’m a realist. I was probably one of the first fine-dining restaurants to say, “We’re not winning this battle.” Sometimes you just have to say, “How many people am I going to turn away before I change how I do something?” 

What’s one of your personal favorites on the menu?
The Filet of Chesapeake—it’s delicious. Filet mignon and a crab cake with béarnaise sauce, Jack Tarr potatoes, and fresh vegetables. It is a really simple dish, but it’s our best seller, and has been for the past 20 years. 

What’s next for you and the Inn?
I’m slated to be here until 2040.  

That’s a long time. 
It’s not really that far away, believe it or not. It all happens so quickly. Twenty years goes by in no time. I picked that date because I wanted to be here for the anniversary of the 300th year of the building, so that’s only 23 more years. Hopefully I can survive that long. [Laughs.] But that’s the plan.