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Cozy Restaurant, Thurmont - Family Restaurant with Buffet and Gift Shoppe, Founded in 1929 - Closed


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Has anyone been to the Cozy Restaurant in Thurmont, MD?

Umm... yeah. I'd skip the buffet unless you like ones that feature largely fried food (and salty at that). The buffet feels like a timewarp to the late 60's (I imagine... I wasn't alive then). My wife and I used them as our wedding reception caterers and the food they served on that occasion was night and day in comparison. I've not eaten off the menu there, though. If my wedding food is like the menu food, then it might be worth stopping by if you're in the area. I wouldn't make a pilgrimage solely for the food, though.

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Has anyone been to the Cozy Restaurant in Thurmont, MD?
I had an ex-girlfriend who loved the place. Whenever we would drive by it, she would always want to go just to get the sweet rolls. I remember that they were sweet, and yeasty, but not much else struck me as note worthy about them. As for the other food, the vegetables seemed like they came out of cans. They also hid quite a bit of the meat products under something akin to gravy, but far scarier. I have not been back since around 1990, but I doubt much has changed.
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A number of years ago, we stopped there after a camping trip, on the suggestion of a friend who's originally from Thurmont and who has a nostalgic attachment to the restaurant. I don't remember much about the food. There was a large group of us for a Sunday brunch/lunch, and it worked fine for that type of gathering.

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Oddly, the single best crab-related dish that I had at any restaurant last year was the crab cakes at the Cozy. They were shockingly expensive for the setting -- over $30 for two -- but were huge and packed with fresh, sweet lumps of crab. There is no question that they were made from actual blue crab meat, not the asian swimming crab stuff that even the high-end places are now passing off as the genuine article. Perhaps my experience was exceptional -- I was only there once and everything else I saw, either on the buffet or from the kitchen, looked horrid (right down to the canned green beans that someone mentioned). But the two cakes I got that day were unbelievable. It reminded me of why I used to like crab cakes and why I almost never get them now.

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They have a pretty good saturday and sunday breakfast buffet, great crispy bacon great quiche, potatoes fried with onions and peppers, lots of choices.

Their everyday buffet is forgetable.

Every year, the high school lacrosse team's banquet is at the Cozy. Cheap. Fried. Perfect for teenage boys. It's the only time I ever go there. Just a big old fashioned trough

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I think that the secret to buffets such as Cozy's is to be quite selective and go back for the stuff you like. My dining companion fell in love with the crab dip and I was pleased with both the fried chicken and the stewed tomatoes. Judging from the people eating there, there are a lot of families with small children and people who come to pig out once again. They have a small but pleasant Camp David museum and might be considered a decent enough place as the destination for a pleasant weenend drive to the country. It is really quite cheap, three people for about $47.

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I think that the secret to buffets such as Cozy's is to be quite selective and go back for the stuff you like. My dining companion fell in love with the crab dip and I was pleased with both the fried chicken and the stewed tomatoes. Judging from the people eating there, there are a lot of families with small children and people who come to pig out once again. They have a small but pleasant Camp David museum and might be considered a decent enough place as the destination for a pleasant weenend drive to the country. It is really quite cheap, three people for about $47.

I knew Cozy had been around for awhile, but I didn't realize it opened in 1929, making it one the very Oldest Restaurants In The Area.

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It is 11:56 PM, and I can't think of a worse way to end my day than to have read this news. :(

No, I didn't like anything at Cozy other than the Squish-Penny machine, but I loved it being in Thurmont - my aunt had a cabin in the Catoctin mountains, and the Cozy Restaurant was a regular stop for us - this is over forty years ago.

Another rock-solid foundation in my life, taken from me. Its identical twin next door is Mountain Gate Restaurant, and it, too, is quite an institution (perhaps *that* is the place with the squish-penny machine).

For fans of Cozy, even as a place to stop and rest on a northern drive, I'm sorry, and believe me, I feel your hurt, I really do.

"Historic Thurmont Restaurant Closes; Loyal Customers Seek Last Cup Of Cozy Clam Chowder" by Patti Borda on fredericknewspost.com

85 years old, and the oldest restaurant in the state of Maryland owned and operated by the founding family: A legend has been lost.

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I was there for the first and last time last summer, one for the regular buffet, one for the seafood buffet.  It was a pleasant enough place where the food was slightly above cafeteria level and it was a nice ride out in the country.  I can remember when we would ride out to Peter Pan in Urbana braving the long waits for the everything you can eat meal of steak or seafood and then only all the vegetarbles you can eat.  I also remember when Sam Eig had a buffet restaurant out in Gaithersburg which was a fun drive.  I wonder if 270 killed Cozy because the Secret Service agents and other types had a road to ride to find better food.

I do hope that Barbara Fritchie's in Frederick is still there.

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I wonder if 270 killed Cozy because the Secret Service agents and other types had a road to ride to find better food.

That strikes me as a rather odd comment. If I-270 killed the Cozy Restaurant, that was a very slow, lingering death indeed. I-270 came into existence when I-70S was renamed I-270 in 1975. I-70S goes back to 1956!

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That strikes me as a rather odd comment. If I-270 killed the Cozy Restaurant, that was a very slow, lingering death indeed. I-270 came into existence when I-70S was renamed I-270 in 1975. I-70S goes back to 1956!

Plus that's built to be a very easy off-ramp / on-ramp.

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I was there for the first and last time last summer, one for the regular buffet, one for the seafood buffet.  It was a pleasant enough place where the food was slightly above cafeteria level and it was a nice ride out in the country.  I can remember when we would ride out to Peter Pan in Urbana braving the long waits for the everything you can eat meal of steak or seafood and then only all the vegetarbles you can eat.  I also remember when Sam Eig had a buffet restaurant out in Gaithersburg which was a fun drive.  I wonder if 270 killed Cozy because the Secret Service agents and other types had a road to ride to find better food.

I do hope that Barbara Fritchie's in Frederick is still there.

Once upon a time Peter Pan was a big deal, long before there was a buffet, long before buying a ticket to go in.  I remember their frying chicken in a black cast iron skillet. (Stone House Inn in Four Corners, too...)  Of course I remember Sam Eig wanting to build a multiple of 26 story buildings for Washingtonian Towers.

Today i drove by Crisfield's.  It looked exactly the same as it did in ................  I haven't had their fried chicken in years but once upon a time it was equal to anyone's.  I'm guessing it still is.

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My comment on I-270 related more to the people who were out at Camp David for business relating to the President and who now didn't have to stay in the neighborhood because they had access to a high-speed highway.  I do remember when we had to take 355 out there from the DC suburbs because it was faster.

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I think Old Anglers owns the "oldest" title as the Inn dates back to 1860 although the current ownership purchased the Inn in 1957.  How many closed restaurants on this board have more posts AFTER they closed than they had before?

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My comment on I-270 related more to the people who were out at Camp David for business relating to the President and who now didn't have to stay in the neighborhood because they had access to a high-speed highway.  I do remember when we had to take 355 out there from the DC suburbs because it was faster.

And my comment related to the fact that I-270 was available for several decades before Cozy gave up the ghost, and I still don't see your point.

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OTTOMY - this one, and there is another thread about an Indian restaurant called either Indian Ocean or Coat of Arms (in Van Ness) that also had more posts post-closing...

OTTOMY: I'm probably being dense, but I have no idea what that means.

Indian Ocean actually opened and stayed open for a couple of years, although I never ate there. I don't believe Coat of Arms, its predecessor in the same space, ever actually opened, but had a good-sized thread here devoted to its saga all the same. The most interesting thing about all of the discussion of these places was the number of blocks between them and Delhi Dhaba.

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I think Old Anglers owns the "oldest" title as the Inn dates back to 1860 although the current ownership purchased the Inn in 1957.  How many closed restaurants on this board have more posts AFTER they closed than they had before?

[More than you might think. Sometimes, the very first post is that a restaurant is closing. I'll bet if you go towards the end pages, you'll find numerous examples. Here's the very first one I looked at (top of the final page, for now)]

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