Change in Power Brings Capital New Bill o' Fare

Longtime Deli Unveils An O'Malley Sandwich

Change is coming to Annapolis, and the signs are everywhere. While the most obvious changes are playing out in power and politics, some trickle-down effects can be seen around town, locals say.

"You see a lot less Ehrlich bumper stickers in the parking lot and a whole lot of r?sum?s flying around," said David Paulson, spokesman for the Maryland Democratic Party who reminisced recently about Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration and talked about the future with Gov. Martin O'Malley, whose inauguration was yesterday.

"When Ehrlich was elected, it was a tough time, almost like experiencing a tragedy in your life. You went through the five stages: denial, anger, etc.," Paulson said at the party's Main Street headquarters. "I remember the surge of Republicans in town, roaming the streets like a herd of pachyderm."

But even now, he said, "you can't gloat. That's not right. You do get a sense, though, that things are right in the world again."

It's not just about the power shift. There are the subtler things as well.

At Chick and Ruth's Delly, an Annapolis landmark, a change in power means a change in menu. The deli on Main Street has named sandwiches after local bigwigs since Republican Spiro T. Agnew was governor. (His was a ham and turkey sandwich with bacon.) Last week, owner Ted Levitt retired the Ehrlich sandwich (white-meat turkey with lettuce and tomato on wheat toast) and unveiled with a flourish of butcher's paper the new O'Malley sandwich (roast beef with provolone, horseradish and lettuce on rye).

"We presented it to the governor-elect in butcher paper. We didn't use anything fancy like cloth because we're a deli, after all," Levitt said.

O'Malley ate the new creation recently as he lunched with Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer, who told the former Baltimore mayor that the next time he visits, he must try her sandwich (cream cheese and olive on toast).

At other establishments in town, talk has focused on how O'Malley's election might bring a small surge of Irish pride and partying to Annapolis.

"I think it'll bring out the Irish flavor in town," said Michael Galway, owner of the Galway Bay Irish Restaurant on Maryland Avenue, an O'Malley favorite. "I don't think Ehrlich took a drink at all. But O'Malley likes the Guinness beer. He's been coming in for years."

Galway moved from Ireland in 1986 and opened his restaurant near the State House in 1998. "We're planning on going to the inauguration just to make sure he has some people from the old Irish sod to cheer him on," he said.

Lately, some customers have talked about the new governor's band, O'Malley's March. The Irish band, which had played a few gigs in Annapolis pubs, stopped playing officially almost two years ago so O'Malley could devote himself to campaigning.

"We're all good friends, and it's not like those friendships or the music ever disintegrated," O'Malley said earlier this month. "It can be reignited by a single spark."

"I haven't tried to book him yet," Galway said. "But we would be happy to have them."

Levitt said his deli wasn't Irish per se, but "we have an upstairs section that overlooks the main dining room. It would be perfect for the whole band up there. They'd always be welcome here."