Baltimore Restaurant Week: The Wine Market

The winter version of Baltimore Restaurant Week is almost over once again (though several restaurants, including the one below, have extended it for a week!  Check with them for details).  And it's been a while since I've had the pleasure of doing a Restaurant Week post.  So after my meal last night at the Wine Market in Locust Point, I figured I'd hunker down and write one more Restaurant Week post.

The Wine Market is one of those restaurants that I've wanted to go to but just haven't gotten around to going to yet.  My attention often gets diverted to the Harris Teeter when I'm in the McHenry Row area.  I finally got the chance to head in last night, walking through the gauntlet of wines and beers that you can buy and bring in with you.  I got a Loose Cannon ($5) at the bar while waiting for my friends to show, and then joined them at the table when they got there, ready to see what we could get for $30.13 each.

Alan and Eric splurged on a nice red wine that Eric got in the wine store.  I had a sip, and learned how to swirl the stuff around in preparation for sniffing it.  I'm not a wine person, but even with the various tastings I've been to, I've never done this.  It really does change things!

So, unlike our usual practice of each ordering something different and trying the things we have on each others' plates, we pretty much opted for very similar meals.  A few of us ordered the oyster first course.

These were the cornmeal fried oysters in a bacon beurre blanc (normally $10).  Just four juicy, tender oysters in a wonderful crispy breading.  Not much else to say about it.  I was satisfied.

For the second course, we all ordered the Grilled Piedmont steak (locally raised in Maryland, normally $27).  I rarely get steak, so this was a rare treat for me.  I ordered it medium rare, and got treated to a juicy thick (read: thick) steak.  This came with a sprinkle of Brussel sprouts, mushrooms and a sizable slab of root veggie gratin to round it all out.  I couldn't place the vegetables in the gratin, but it tasted fine nonetheless.

For our final course, we once more all ordered the same thing: a pumpkin crème brulée (not sure of the regular price).  I love me some crème brulée and this one was nice, though not the most memorable one I've ever had.  It had a pretty mild pumpkin flavor along with that nice sweet crunchy burnt sugar top.  Still, a lovely little dessert that I would probably order again.

Overall this was a good Restaurant Week experience.  Again, the Wine Market is extending their Restaurant Week menu through to February 10 (hopefully celebrating a possible Ravens win in the Super Bowl maybe??? I'll say no more: I do not want to jinx this).  Make sure you stop by there this week for more delicious food either for lunch or dinner.

Flashback - Baltimore Restaurant Week: Vīn (originally published 7/27/08)

A few years ago, Towson's Vīn Restaurant closed down for renovations.  It's a shame that it never re-opened, I think, at least from my one Baltimore Restaurant Week experience there - gasp - four years ago!  A glimpse of Restaurant Weeks that will never be again.

- - - - -

Baltimore Restaurant Week: Vīn (originally published 7/27/08)

Restaurant Week is upon us, and I started it off last night with a few friends as we went to Vīn. I had never been, and neither will you if you don't go this week - once Restaurant Week is done, they're shutting the place down for renovations for the next few months, as Towson begins work on that new traffic circle. So if you want a taste of what you'll be missing, and at $30.08 a pop (before tax, tip and drinks, of course), get to Vīn sometime this week.

My buddies Alan & Eric were quite impressed with the deal on wine: many of their bottles sell for half price this week. They ordered a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Charles Krug Winery, which normally costs about $60 but they got it for $30! Plus, they liked this wine. No, I am not usually a red wine person, but I had a little of it and I did like it.

Our wine. I only had a wee bit of it.

As with most Restaurant Week menus, the one at Vīn gave us a few choices for dinner (they don't offer a Restaurant Week lunch menu so you will need to get there in the evening):

• Appetizer: either the "Vīn Salad" of baby greens, endive, toasted walnuts, red grapes, apple vinaigrette, or the PEI Mussels in a lemongrass, ginger and coconut milk broth (my choice);
• Entrée: either Hangar Steak with grilled asparagus, "cheesy mash" and bleu butter; or the Tea-brined half chicken with roasted red bliss potatoes, baby zucchini and "natural jus" (my choice);
• Dessert: either a Whipped Chocolate Ganache with candied orange peel or; the Peach Cobbler with Butter Pecan Ice Cream (my choice)

After our complementary pita strips with garlic hummus, I got the Prince Edward Island mussels. It's like the mussels were sitting in a tom kha kai sauce. This was a tasty dish, with a good helping of mussels - about 20 or so. The mussels were tender and the broth, which is something I've never tasted with mussels, went beautifully with them. Those who ordered the salad liked it as well.

My chicken was big enough that I had to take half of it home. The flavor was difficult to place. I'd love to know what kind of tea this was braised in. It had an almost caramel-y, even chamomile-like flavor, though that may not at all be the tea they used for this chicken. Anyway, it was a delicious chicken. I'm so rarely sold on chicken because it's so easy to mess up. It's always cooked to be either dry or flavorless (usually both) wherever I eat it. So I just don't order it. Here it was cooked tender and juicy, with a fascinating flavor, echoed by the potatoes. The dark meat was even more tender than the white. Okay, that's like saying, "Wow, ice cream is cold!" but the difference doesn't usually jump out at me, because - again - most chicken I eat out is usually dry and/or flavorless, so the dark usually ends up stringy and greasy while the white just ends up crumbly and nasty. Not this chicken, that's for sure.

Everyone else got the hanger steak, a popular cut in other parts of the world but absolutely not so here. It's not the most tender part of the steer, and Americans usually prefer our steak to be as tender as possible. One of us couldn't finish his and since he's on a low cholesterol diet (he splurged, alright?), he just chunked half of his hanger steak onto my plate. Pretty tasty, though they all thought it needed just a little salt.

Vīn tried to make up for the larger size of our entrées by giving us microscopic desserts. Still, I'm not disappointed, because Americans eat way too large portions anyway, and who wants to follow up 20 mussels and half a chicken with a TGI Friday's-sized portion of peach cobbler? Okay, I know a few people who would, but I don't. So while the portion size was a little funny (funny ha-ha, not funny odd), it wasn't disappointing. The cobbler itself, though, could've used more of a crust. I know: not easy to fit any crus in that itty bitty teacup. There were some good slivers of peach in there, but only one little crumb of cobbler crust that I found. The miniblob of butter pecan ice cream on top was tasty.

My total cost was $36 after tip - wait, guys, I didn't give you money for tax! Oh well, I'll give it to them the next time I see them. The grand total for the four of us, before tip: $160, for four Restaurant Week prix fixe menus, one bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and six cups of coffee at $2 each (each of them had two, I had none). Again, a good deal for a usually much more expensive restaurant. But get over there this week if you want any of it any time soon: not only is Vīn closing for renovations next Sunday but Chef Chris Paternotte is leaving to pursue other ventures. So the menu is changing, too. Experience it before it's gone for the summer.

The restaurant isn't usually this pale - I just didn't use a flash.

Oh it's on again.....

Bawlmer Restaurant Week, hons.  Going on until August 5!  And yes, some restaurants are offering $20 dinners while others offer theirs for $30 (I like this flexibility).  Lunches at some places for only $15.  Go out. Eat.

And now it's the City's turn

Yes, Bawlmer Restaurant Week starts tonight and goes through the 29th.  They've made some economical (for us) changes, too: three course fixed price dinners are now either $30.12 or $20.12 depending on the location, and - get this - some places will offer two course lunches are only $15.12.  Now to find the time to get out there this week!

Oh look, Restaurant Week is here already...

It all starts at the end of next week: the latest round in Baltimore's Summer Restaurant Week. A lot of local favorites are taking part. I plan to get out once, at least for lunch which is always cheaper ($20.11 for lunch, $35.11 for dinner).

Winter Restaurant Week Starts Tonight!

Yes, it's that time of the year again, when many local restaurants offer delicious prix fixe meals for $35 ($20 for lunch if you want to save some money). Winter Baltimore Restaurant Week is here to cure those post-New Year's doldrums. I am hoping to indulge this year with friends, and I will write about it this time. Make sure you make your reservations as soon as you can!

It's Baltimore Restaurant Week again?

Yes it is. As a gentle reminder, dinner prices at participating restaurants are now $35 not $30, but lunch prices remain $20 at restaurants that do Restaurant Week lunch. It runs from today through August 22 at most restaurants that take part. And remember, a handful of these places are letting Restaurant Week go on beyond the 22nd, but check the websites to find out who is doing that.

And all this while Sonic celebrates its first day open in Baltimore. Yay, Sonic! But that's for another post...

Baltimore Restaurant Week: The Capital Grille

The Capital Grille is one of those restaurants I've never really bothered to visit. It always looked so expensive, so I never went in. And, well, yeah - it is expensive. Even at lunch. So when I called a friend of mine to suggest we do lunch for Restaurant Week, he suggested a place that was normally expensive. That way, we'd be getting a really good bargain. So Scott mentioned The Capital Grille and I figured it was time.

The Capital Grille is a national steakhouse chain - a very posh chain (that is: this ain't Sizzler). This much I knew, though I had few other expectations, except the hopes for a good lunch. Scott has eaten here before and has raved about it. One recommendation: the steak sandwich, which runs $18 - almost as much as the entire Baltimore Restaurant Week lunch menu. Not one for $20 sandwiches, I insisted on the Restaurant Week menu.

Scott and I were led through the rich wood-grained interior, past bright plate glass windows and massive portraits of famous Marylanders (NB: I had not known that famous Civil War figure Clara Barton was a Marylander, but the Massachusetts native spent the last 15 years of her life in Glen Echo). We were brought to a cozy table with a crisp white tablecloth, where we talked about family, friends and finances over freshly baked bread and butter. I ordered an iced tea (about $3) and Scott got a cocktail. I don't drink many cocktails, so I admit the $10 price tag on that one surprised me a bit.

Like most Restaurant Week spots, the Capital Grille offered a soup-or-salad course, an entrée and a dessert. Since we were in such a classy place, I didn't ask to try anything that Scott had.

I really need a new camera.

Scott got the clam chowder, which he seemed to really enjoy. I got the Capital Grille Garden Salad: a mixture of field greens and tomatoes in a balsamic vinaigrette with chunks of bleu cheese. I have grown tired of bleu cheese, so imagine my delight when I tried this cheese. It was perhaps the best bleu cheese I have eaten in several years: tangy and sharp but not too sharp ("wince-worthy" is the word I'm looking for). This bleu cheese was just mellow and even buttery enough to make me really savor it.


Each of us ordered the 8 oz. filet mignon with mashed potatoes for our main course. I ordered my filet mignon rare, and I got rare. Soft, tender and rare. I couldn't exactly cut it with my fork, but I was able to make a rather permanent dent with it. The filet mignon was beautifully juicy with a flavor that reminded me what quality beef is supposed to taste like. I also found out that day that 8 oz. of meat is a bit too much for me to handle all at once. And if that wasn't enough, Scott railed me about the meat selection at Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian churrascaria restaurant next door. So much meat as much of your meal is served on a skewer. And there is no vegetarian or seafood option. It's all meat. At least they have a wide selection of that. Fogo de Chão ain't cheap neither.

I have to rave about the potatoes. Rarely does a side dish stand up to a main entrée and not make a scene. No prima donna is this bowl of mashed potatoes. These were thick, buttery and moist. No lumps, which I often like a little bit of in my mashed potatoes. If I could just go to The Capital Grille and order the potatoes, I would in fact do that. They were a beautiful accompaniment to the filet mignon but also notable in and of themselves.


I liked my dessert, the chocolate espresso cake. But as good as it was, I can easily say it was not the highlight of my lunch. But something has to take that mantle, and the espresso cake is it. Thick, chocolaty and moist, it was SO dense that I truly had trouble finishing it at all. It was tasty, please don't misunderstand me. But it was the least memorable of my three dishes. This says more about how good the salad was and less about the cake, since I am not a salad person.

So for about $20 for me (before tea, tax and generous tip), I had a remarkably delicious and inexpensive lunch at one of the loveliest "business lunch" places in town - with, I might add, excellent service (kudos to our waiter and the staff). But with the generous amount of meat I got at The Capital Grille, could my system really tolerate a possible trip to Fogo de Chão?

Baltimore Restaurant Week: Sascha's 527

My sister and I were lucky enough to just miss the mammoth snow this weekend (forecaster FAIL anyone?) by going out to Sascha's 527 for Restaurant Week on Friday night. It's a restaurant whose samples we enjoyed at the Great Tastes Expo a few years ago, and we had been meaning to get there and sit down for a proper meal. Fortunate enough to find a spot in front of the Walter's, we trekked on over to Sascha's for our 8:30 PM reservation.

Only we didn't have a reservation. I'm not sure if that was a mix-up on the part of Open Table or Sascha's, but it didn't take too long for them to get a table ready for us. This was in spite of the fact that this trendy yet lush, spacious yet cozy restaurant was jammed for the evening.

With its columns, chandelier and massively high ceiling, Sascha's is imposing in terms of space. Its red and brown tones are actually kind of soothing, given the commotion of all the diners - such as the occasionally obnoxious woman laughing as loud as humanly possible (dontcha just love that?).

Sascha's offers an extra perk for Restaurant Week: a complementary glass of house wine. We each ordered the white and anticipated our three-course meal.

For the first course, Cathy got the shrimp and grits.


She loved the flavor. I found the grits nice and mellow, but a wee bit, well, gritty. They were still my favorite part of the dish. I do like shrimp, but be prepared for a very strong shrimp flavor. I mean very strong. Make of that what you will.


My first course was their bison sliders. I loved these moist little burgers. Even more than those, however, I couldn't rave enough about their special Moroccan barbeque sauce they provided with the sliders. It had a nice tamarind flavor. The sauce made the burgers taste even better. It might have also made the house-made chips that came with the burger somewhat more edible. These chips were very inconsistent: some tasted bland, others tasted burnt. It’s definitely not a plus for the meal.


The second course was less satisfying for Cathy. Her free-range chicken with butternut gnocchi had some definite highlights – specifically the gnocchi, perhaps the best thing about either her or my second course. The chicken we found to be dry in some places. Despite its pleasant flavor, my little piece of it was dry enough that it didn’t leave me wanting for more. My seared ahi tuna with saffron noodles was much better. Also medium rare, the tuna was juicy, tender and moist – everything I had hoped the tuna would be, and everything we wish the chicken would have been. The saffron noodles were not life-changing, but still more than satisfied me.


For our final course, we went to old dessert stand-bys. Many restaurants seem to offer some variation of chocolate cake and some variation of crème brulee as part of their Restaurant Week dessert course. I enjoyed the crème brulee – a simple one, unadorned with fruit. It had a mellower flavor than most I have eaten. We couldn’t say the same for the chocolate mousse cake, which was unspeakably rich. I don’t know Cathy finished it. I know I couldn’t have.

We left with an overall above-average experience. I found my dishes to be better than those my sister got. My favorite dish was clearly the bison slider plate with Moroccan barbeque sauce, though again, I could have easily done without those chips.

Tapas Teatro for Restaurant Week

I went with a friend last night to Tapas Teatro. I thought they might be taking part in Baltimore Restaurant Week, and they indeed are! Not that Tapas Teatro needs any more customers, as our half hour wait for a table made painfully clear. The dimly lit restaurant that shares a building (and a door) with the Charles Theater still somehow manages to be cozy, bright and lively all at once. And that is even as you try in vain to find some way to move around the place! It is constantly packed and for good reason - Tapas Teatro is one of those few places that not only lives up to the hype, but somehow seems underhyped! I have not eaten at all of the tapas places in town (I will get to Pazo, I promise!), but this one is a fave for good reason.

Eric and I waited a good half hour for our table while we nursed our alcohol - his choice was wine, mine a bottle of Bass Ale. We spent the half hour trying to choose between the $35 Restaurant Week menu and the regular one. At most area restaurants, the $35 prix fixe menu is a steal (less so than in August when it was only $30, but still). But at Tapas Teatro the Restaurant Week menu consists of three plates: one small tapa, one large tapa, and one dessert tapa. For a grand total of $35. I rarely spend more than $15 here, but Tapas Teatro is a place where you could easily spend $30, $40 or $50 on tapas, but not on just three of them, unless you stick with the pricier options. As indecisive as I am, it took me a good while longer to choose. Eric seemed to settle rather quickly on the regular menu, and after another 10 minutes of hemming and hawing, I did too.

We ordered a total of seven different tapas - I chose three, and Eric chose the rest. He said that this was that rare occasion where every dish he ordered was really good. He had some sort of unsatisfying flatbread plate the night before while eating there with another friend of ours (shout out, Jim!) but this night was different.

Here's what we ordered. I would recommend each one:

ensalada del teatro ($7) - A peppery arugula salad with very thinly sliced red onion and an almost chocolaty balsamic vinaigrette

batter fried vegetables ($6) - This is one of my tried and true favorites. I have ordered this so many times (it was, in fact, the very first dish I wrote about on this blog). I still love the tempura asparagus, eggplant and thickly-cut onion, and that jalapeño-mango jelly goes with anything batter-fried. But I think after tonight I have a new favorite dish.

asiago cheese with tomato on Ciabatta ($5) - This wasn't the new favorite I meant. That one is below. But I still found myself going back to this garlicky cheese-covered ciabatta for one bite here and one bite there. I almost didn't have room for anything else after that.

asparagus with serrano ham ($8) - I only had a little bite of this. Tasty.

baby potatoes ($5) - I rarely find potatoes that I really like when I eat out, particularly those of the whole-roasted variety. But the flavor of the potatoes was a pleasant surprise, especially combined with the garlic aioli.

fried calamari ($9) - This is my new favorite. On the menu, it's listed as grilled calamari, but you can get it fried instead. And it will be one of the best fried calamari dishes you will eat. The calamari is quite tender, more so than any I have eaten. In addition, the coating is crunchy, light and not too greasy. Sadly, there are no long, stringy tentacles (I like those, okay?), but what you get is very satisfying.

skewered lamb with lentils - Eric ordered these, so I'm not sure how much these were. I can't find these on the menu. So I will have to ask about it next time I am there. What it was, was tender skewered lamb laying on a bed of lentils. This is a simple sounding dish that packs a lot of wonderful flavor. You don't have to win me over to lamb - I am a lamb-lovin' person as it is. Perhaps it's less lamb than I am used to, but I still liked the dish.

Minus Eric's glasses of sparkling rosé and coffee and our pre-dinner drinks, the total food bill was about $50 to $52 (making that lamb dish about $11 or $12). That's seven tapas for about $50, minus the six tapas we could've gotten from the Restaurant Week menu for $75. I have to say that ordering off the menu was by far the better deal for my skimpy bank account (what I ordered cost about $20). But if you can find a seat for Restaurant Week, peruse the prix fixe menu and decide for yourself what you'll get next.

Have six months gone by that fast?

It's Bawlmer Restaurant Week, er, Fortnight, hons. And it's a little pricier this time around - $35 instead of $30. But lunch is still $20.

Y'all knew this was coming...

Baltimore Restaurant Week has been extended through August 23. Hilarity ensues.

Baltimore Restaurant Week: Ambassador Dining Room

Two things always pop up in my mind when I hear the phrase "Ambassador Dining Room" - "Indian" and "expensive". I did not realize just how (as our British friends might say) "posh" it is as well when I stopped by to kick off my own personal Restaurant Week. And "posh" it is. Inside that regal stone exterior that makes the phrase "A Separate Peace" pop up in my head, is an almost castle-like interior that leads out onto a lush garden with a direct view of the big Masonic center next door. On a beautiful August day such as this, it is a lovely place to eat.

I've heard great stuff about the Ambassador's food, too, but again, that's always coupled with "expensive" - as in "It's good but I don't get why Indian food is so expensive here." Yes, I am in that camp, but I am used to eating most of my Indian food at all-you-can-eat buffets. Yes I have eaten Indian for dinner, with no buffet to be found, but you gotta admit: the fabled Indian buffet is a wonderful dining experience. The Ambassador serves up some luscious Indian food (and, ironically enough, a buffet). As I would progress through lunch, I would find out what I usually miss outside the buffet box. I would also find out that the food and the view are pretty good reasons to go, despite some minor annoyances throughout the meal.

For $20 I got three courses and bread: the first course was an appetizer (such as soup, raita or a samosa); the second course was a main dish (and there was a dizzying array of both traditional and not-so-traditional ones) plus choice of one bread (various selections of naan and paratha); and the third course was dessert (sorbets, cake or kheer). I perused the menu, chose my lunch selections, and ordered an utterly forgettable Diet Coke, which had that wonderful dishwater-y flavor that fountain sodas usually have (NB: If you want to drink cheap at the Ambassador, don't order the damn soda. Just go with the free water and leave it at that).

Lamb samosa

My first course was a lamb and pea samosa. Usually the samosas I get are beef and pea or potato and pea, inside a heavy, greasy deep-fried pastry crust. But I love 'em anyway, so I keep ordering them. The samosa I got here was not greasy, and had a thin and very buttery crust, filled with soft ground lamb. It was perhaps the best samosa I've ever eaten, and that's before mentioning the tamarind chutney that came with it. I could eat these all day, and my waistline would not be happy.

Shahi korma with garlic naan

As good as the samosa was, the main course actually was the best part of the meal. I ordered the shahi korma, the "famous dish brought to India by the Mughals" as the Ambassador puts it. I had never eaten it, but since this place is one of the nicest Indian restaurants in Maryland I figured I'd get one of the classics and see how they do it up. My plate - which came out about 10 or 15 minutes after I finished the samosa (I think my waiter was a trainee or something) - was brought out with a lid on it! And under that lid was a plate bursting with basmati rice, a spinach dish and about ten hunks of tender lamb smothered in an almond cream sauce. The rice was standard and cooked nicely. That's important: clumpy rice can ruin the meal, as I've found with some buffets. The little hair's-width of a fried onion was decorative, nothing more. As for the saag: buttery and smooth, and I was so disappointed to see it go. Tasted lovely on the garlic naan that I ordered for my bread choice. The shahi korma was the best thing about lunch today: a sweet and savory cream sauce with raisins and almonds covering chunks of lamb that were more tender than I usually find when I eat out. Regrettably I could not finish it. I was that full by the time I got down to my last piece of lamb.

Rice pudding

My final course was dessert, a kheer sprinkled with minced pistachios, served in a martini glass. It was standard rice pudding, nothing terribly special.

I can't stress enough that the food and the view are two things that are really special about the Ambassador. This is despite some minor annoyances, such as, oh, the price? But I didn't get hit as hard by that since I was paying Restaurant Week prices. I've already mentioned the soda - again, just stick with water. The major problem I had was the choppiness of the service. I have never seen anything like it! It was, literally, equal parts doting, clueless and "Who really gives a fuck?" While it was a nice touch to open my napkin for me, it was a less nice touch to have the waiter stand there watching me wait for him to get my plate when he wasn't helping anyone else (another waiter finally directed him to grab it). The mildly rude - or moreover, socially inept - end to my dinner was when I turned away from the not terribly busy dining area to discretely wipe my nose. By the time I had turned around, the waiter plunked my check on the table and thanked me for coming. Odd enough as it is. Even odder since I was only about a third of the way through my dessert. Dude! Don't drop the damn check in front of me while I'm still eating! That's, like, rude! Don't act rude when a customer isn't being rude to you (if he is rude, then all bets are off). And since the place was about empty, it's not like they had to hurry me out (though they were hustling tables by mine to set up for the dinner rush, so maybe they just wanted me gone so they could move my table). While that didn't exactly ruin my dining experience, it was an unpleasant way to end it, basically sending that fond, special message of "Leave, bitch" that just makes you want to come back for more.

Okay, come back for this.

Despite that "Don't let the door hit you in the ass" sendoff, I still have to say I loved both the food and the view. I would go back if: 1) I had the money, and 2) I liked mildly rude service. Really the service isn't bad (I've definitely seen worse). But for a place that pricey and "posh" the service needs to be better than it is. Don't let it deter you: the Ambassador had some absolutely wonderful Indian food.

IIIIIIIIIIIt's Baaaaaaaaaaaaack...

Another Baltimore Restaurant Week is upon us. I'm saving up to go out some night - or to save money, some day for lunch. Remember: dinners are $30.09 before drinks, tax and tip, lunches are $20.09. Due to the recession, I wonder just how popular this is going to be? On the plus side, normally expensive restaurants get a little more affordable. On the minus side, more people are choosing not to eat out.

Whatever happens, remember to maximize your eating experience by finding somewhere to go where they don't just put average crap that would normally add up to $30 anyway. Instead, look for the places that really give you a bargain for your money. And avoid the places where a typical meal would not normally cost upwards of $30 for dinner or $20 for lunch. I still have no clue why Café Hon does Restaurant Week since you can usually cobble together a full meal for a good bit less than $30 there.

One thing that concerns me: will whatever restaurant I eat at for Restaurant Week wind up closing down not long after, even though I gave them generally good reviews? It happened to Nasu Blanca. It happened to Vīn. Will it happen to some newly unsuspecting restaurant? It almost makes me not want to take part at all, for fear of cursing the place.

Baltimore Restaurant Week: Sotto Sopra

Lots of restaurants have long waits. That said, there is a difference between a restaurant that knows how to treat its customers when they have to wait for a table, and one that does not. Sotto Sopra, which I've written about before, is in the former category. They know how to treat people in order to keep them coming back, instead of causing them to tell their friends the many reasons why they should not darken their doorstep again (**COUGH-GRILL-ART-CAFE-COUGH**).

Given a backup in reservations that lasts almost an hour, a restaurant that knows how to treat its customers will set you at the bar, even give you a complimentary drink. A restaurant that does not know how to treat its customers will sometimes seat you immediately if they can, and then let you sit for an hour before being helped (remind you of any other Restaurant Week experiences?). Sotto Sopra is, again, in that former category. They know what they are doing. Perhaps that's why there were so many people waiting last night. There were so many people who wanted to eat there, so the owner knows how to treat them if he wants them to come back.

I really can't sing the priases of Sotto Sopra enough. It's a lovely place with lovely food. But before last night, I had had little exposure to its typical menu, having come only once for its "authentic Sardinian Tuesday" (the next one is this Tuesday). Last night, Cathy and I headed in with reservations at 8:00 - and found out we'd be seated around, oh, 8:30, 9 o'clock, solely due to a backup in reservations. So the owner sent us to the bar, where Cathy had a diet soda and I got an Italian amber. Italy is not exactly known for its beers, and the Peroni Nastro Azzurro that I ordered was, well... I've had more robust beers. But ambers aren't supposed to be "robust" and it was a light and crisp beer, but I guess I prefer the darker stuff. Since the wait got to be even longer, we were given a second drink at the bar on-the-house! Cathy had a nice rosé and I got a Chianti. Yes, I usually prefer beer to wine, but my glass of Chianti was much better than the Peroni.

It did take a while to get our food, but again, we got complimentary foccaccia with goat cheese in olive oil (mmmm), which abated the wait. It helped that the foccaccia was tasty.

Sotto Sopra only offered its Restaurant Week menu last night. For the first of our three courses, I got a sizable plate of tender mussels in a thin but tangy tomato basil broth, while Cathy got the polenta with mushrooms. Both were good (yes, we tasted each other's dishes, of course). The polenta was mellow and cheesy, and I would get either again.

Our secondi piatti were a little more mixed. I ordered a cocoa foiade - cocoa noodles with crawfish and mushrooms in a cream sauce. No, I wasn't expecting a dessert pasta, but I had expected a stronger cocoa flavor. The noodles were good in the cream sauce, but they had more of a mellow mushroom flavor that seemed to overpower the cocoa. Added to that were the relatively small bits of crawfish. So it was good, but I'd sooner order what Cathy got: a peppercorn-encrusted salmon on a bad of mashed potatoes with an asparagus cream sauce underneath. The few bites I had were a wonderful mix of flavors, and given the chance I would go back and order that instead.

Our desserts were what originally drew Cathy to Sotto Sopra in the first place. At the Great Tastes Expo, she had the good fortune to try some of their tiramisù. I don't know if it was her favorite part of the meal, but she loved it all the same. So did I. But whenever I see crème brûlée on any dessert menu, I automatically have to get it. That's why I ordered the espresso crème brûlée, which was not only delicious but gave me a little jolt of caffeine.

Altogether, it was the typical restaurant week price of $30.09 per person plus tax, amouting to $63 (we bought the soda and beer separately, and our glasses of wine were on the house). We left a nice tip and headed out, satisfied by this end to an unusually long Restaurant Week. Not long for me, but long anyway. I hope they extend it a week for the summer, too! Especially restaurants like Sotto Sopra, which really know how to treat their customers right.

Celebrate Baltimore Restaurant,er, Fortnight!

I was booking reservations for Restaurant Week and found out that they've just tacked on an extra week. That means an extra seven days, from January 23 through February 8. Just don't expect them to lengthen it past Valentine's Day.

Baltimore Restaurant Week: Red Maple

I was not sure if I'd be able to do Restaurant Week this year, time and money wise, but I did manage to get around to it. So I asked my friend Eric if he and his better half would like to go to Red Maple. I wanted to try it out since the chef - Jill Snyder - is now locally famous. Fortunately for us (and her?) there was no ostrich egg on the menu. What was on the menu, however, was a mixed bag.

We got there for our 8:00 reservation, and got quickly seated - the only thing that happened quickly that night. I figured there were just a lot of orders. Eric, not impressed with that excuse, brought up a good point: they only have to worry about a few dishes. You see, Red Maple cut down its typical menu for Restaurant Week, only offering five selections for its first (appetizer) of three courses, five more for its entrée course, and four or five more for its dessert course. That's about 15 different things that the kitchen has to worry about putting on the tables of hungry patrons.

Red Maple is certainly not lacking in stylishness. It caters to a youngish, hip sort of crowd. As we brought up later in the evening, Red Maple is less of a restaurant than a lounge that serves food. It has not only a nice wine list, but a diverse selection of cocktails, all of which were a bit more than I wanted to pay (I just got a Sierra Nevada for $4, while Eric and Alan got a nice bottle of white wine).

The menu looked quite promising. For each of three courses, you could choose one of a variety of small plates, each of which was just large enough to share a little of everything amongst the three of us.


For our first course, we each ordered different appetizers: I got a tom kha kai sort of soup with lemongrass, coconut milk and chicken that was the best of anything on the table. The other guys ordered some okay egg rolls and some dumplings that were a bit on the bland side.


Our second course was the main one, with slightly more substantial portions than I would have expected on a small plate. That's not a complaint, mind you. This time, Alan's scallops were the tastiest thing amongst the three of us. I did like my seared and crusted tuna with wasabi pea mash, but the scallops were better. Eric, on the other hand, was thoroughly dissatisfied with his jerk chicken satay, which was very dry (to put it mildly).


For the final course, we had a selection of desserts. Both Alan and I ordered the double chocolate creme brulee. I loved this stuff, which came with some dots of whipped cream and a few blueberries on top. But it really didn't seem like creme brulee. It was more like a rich chocolate mousse with a crispy creme brulee top, but I liked it. Eric's apple tart was the best thing he had that evening, and really was the only thing he liked. Of course, the worst thing about the evening was the wait. From the time we were seated to the time we got our first course, almost a full hour had passed. As I alluded to before, the waitress said there were two big parties that came in and ordered just before us. Still, with such a limited selection of choices on the menu, one wonders if it should have taken that long, and just how long it would've taken for the food to come out had it been a regular night with the full menu!

Eric's not having much luck with my choices of restaurant.

As for my own assessment: I liked what I had. Perhaps it wasn't really worth $30, but I would eat it again. As for Red Maple: I probably won't be going back. The food is okay, and the desserts were lovely, but it really doesn't have that restaurant vibe. But at least there were no exotic eggs on the menu!

UPDATE (1/27/09) - Minx just let me know that Jill is no longer with Red Maple. She's "workin' the line" at Sotto Sopra. Is that a demotion? Regardless, our food at Red Maple the other night clearly can not be blamed on Chef Jill!

A few things I've noticed this week

Just a few thoughts about stuff I've noticed lately, but have simply had no time to post about:

1. On a friend's recommendation, I dragged Eric & Alan to Marie Louise Bistro, in the location that was formerly Gampy's.

The place looks nice and the service is friendly. But how we felt about it was mixed. Alan and I loved our French onion soups, and Alan seemed to be satisfied with his bouillabaisse, even though the kitchen had run out of one ingredient and had to substitute extra mussels for it. I enjoyed my rockfish in lavender sauce on a bed of caramelized Israeli couscous, but for a special dish of the night, I guess I expected more. It was satisfying but it didn't "wow" me.

Eric, on the other hand, was wow'd, but in a bad way. While I don't remember his reaction to his salad, he was pretty annoyed about his steak - something he doesn't eat often. He asked for it to be nice and medium rare. It comes out very well done. Granted, the waiter offered to bring it back, but Eric didn't take him up on it. It didn't taste bad, but he was still irritated that something as simple as the rareness of the food was messed up. Long story short: for a restaurant that's been open for a few months now, it should be working these sorts of kinks out faster. Especially in an economy such as this where you don't want to give potential patrons a reason not to come back.

2. The Amish have imposed a limit of two per household?

Um, Amish women actually wouldn't be doing stuff like this.
Come to think of it, neither would Amish men.

I kind of doubt the Amish really give a shit what we English heat our homes with out here in the freezing cold Devil's Playground. That idiotic ad, pictured above, caused three words to pop up in my head: "Amish slave labor." It's a scam, people. Please don't buy this.

And if anyone has one for me to try, the answer is no.

3. Man, I never realized how much I like Brussel sprouts. But I do! It's all in how you cook 'em.

4. Guess what's coming up soon? I don't think I can afford it this year, money or time wise. But if I can, it'll probably just be once.

5. Try to avoid peanut butter for a while - at least the kind you don't buy in the supermarket.

Baltimore Restaurant Week: The Spice Company

Please pardon the quality of the photos. I forgot my camera so I'm using my new, lower quality (!?) camera phone.

Cathy and I went to the Spice Company yesterday for lunch. It will be our last Restaurant Week outing since we just don't have the money to do anything else (and I want to save up for Body Worlds anyway). Spice Co. is a lovely place, located conveniently across from JHU, with a vaguely British Raj-like decor. We went for lunch, since the food was only $20.08 - the normal cost of an entrée.*

Just as the decor was appealing, the service was wonderful, and if money were no object (note the use of the subjunctive here), I would eat there more often. The menu for Restaurant Week lunch was more varied than I have ever seen at a participating restaurant. Each of us varied our menus, to maximize what the other could taste:

• Appetizers: Maryland Crab Soup, Grilled Vegetable Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella (my selection), or Small House Salad (Cathy's)
• Entrées: soooooo many, from crab cake to cheeseburger to roasted vegetables with couscous to "Crab Lauren" featuring blue crab meet, beets, avocado and maché in citrus vinaigrette. Cathy got the Blackened Chicken with peas, pine nuts and tomatoes over penne in parmesan sauce. I got the Soy Ginger Glazed Salmon with mound of mixed rice and little pieces of roasted squash.
• Dessert: three items to choose from: Cheese Cake (which neither of us got, which is a surprise), Key Lime Pie (Cathy's choice) and the mocha-flavored Pot de Crème (my choice).
  
  

Le bruschette. Cathy snapped photos of her foods with her camera phone, but for some reason they haven't gotten to my inbox yet.

We each loved our first courses, which came just after our complementary bread and butter (hot bread, cool and spreadable butter). Cathy's salad covered the whole plate, and had some nice flavors: a variety of greens with little strips of baby zucchini, plus what I think was a little feta cheese on top. My bruschetta plate was, well, smaller, but surprisingly filling. Three bruschette topped with tomato, mozzarella, and little pieces of squash (I think). Very tasty. They actually filled me up more than the salad would have.

Soy-Glazed Salmon with Squash and Mixed Rice

Our entrées surprised us. Cathy was surprised because what she got was so different from what we normally picture as blackened chicken. She hadn't read the "penne and Parmesan sauce" part of the description, and even though she liked it, it was a little rich for her. But the chicken didn't seem blackened to me at all. As for the salmon, I liked the flavor and the overall texture. The white-wild rice mixture was a little clumpy for my liking but, again, a good flavor. The squash was okay, but mostly forgettable.

My pot de crème, with a big-ass strawberry slice and dollop of whipped cream

Unlike with Vīn, our desserts were not only satisfying but could be found without the aid of a microscope. Cathy loved her smallish-though-not-stingy slice of key lime pie, with real key lime rind on the top. I loved my big ol' pot o' cream. Not usually a coffee fan here, but the mocha flavor was a nice surprise. The texture was smooth and the flavor was just wonderful.

Including $3 each for drinks, our lunch with tax came to a grand total of about $47. We left a $9 tip and headed on our way, bidding Restaurant Week (which technically ends on Sunday, August 3, so you still have time to take part in it) farewell until sometime in early February.

* That is the way to do it - don't go somewhere for Restaurant Week where most of the entrées normally cost $10 - being charged $20 or $30 will therefore be a rip-off. Café Hon's odd participation in Restaurant Week is a good example.

Baltimore Restaurant Week: Vīn

Restaurant Week is upon us, and I started it off last night with a few friends as we went to Vīn. I had never been, and neither will you if you don't go this week - once Restaurant Week is done, they're shutting the place down for renovations for the next few months, as Towson begins work on that new traffic circle. So if you want a taste of what you'll be missing, and at $30.08 a pop (before tax, tip and drinks, of course), get to Vīn sometime this week.

My buddies Alan & Eric were quite impressed with the deal on wine: many of their bottles sell for half price this week. They ordered a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Charles Krug Winery, which normally costs about $60 but they got it for $30! Plus, they liked this wine. No, I am not usually a red wine person, but I had a little of it and I did like it.

Our wine. I only had a wee bit of it.

As with most Restaurant Week menus, the one at Vīn gave us a few choices for dinner (they don't offer a Restaurant Week lunch menu so you will need to get there in the evening):

• Appetizer: either the "Vīn Salad" of baby greens, endive, toasted walnuts, red grapes, apple vinaigrette, or the PEI Mussels in a lemongrass, ginger and coconut milk broth (my choice);
• Entrée: either Hangar Steak with grilled asparagus, "cheesy mash" and bleu butter; or the Tea-brined half chicken with roasted red bliss potatoes, baby zucchini and "natural jus" (my choice);
• Dessert: either a Whipped Chocolate Ganache with candied orange peel or; the Peach Cobbler with Butter Pecan Ice Cream (my choice)
  

After our complementary pita strips with garlic hummus, I got the Prince Edward Island mussels. It's like the mussels were sitting in a tom kha kai sauce. This was a tasty dish, with a good helping of mussels - about 20 or so. The mussels were tender and the broth, which is something I've never tasted with mussels, went beautifully with them. Those who ordered the salad liked it as well.

My chicken was big enough that I had to take half of it home. The flavor was difficult to place. I'd love to know what kind of tea this was braised in. It had an almost caramel-y, even chamomile-like flavor, though that may not at all be the tea they used for this chicken. Anyway, it was a delicious chicken. I'm so rarely sold on chicken because it's so easy to mess up. It's always cooked to be either dry or flavorless (usually both) wherever I eat it. So I just don't order it. Here it was cooked tender and juicy, with a fascinating flavor, echoed by the potatoes. The dark meat was even more tender than the white. Okay, that's like saying, "Wow, ice cream is cold!" but the difference doesn't usually jump out at me, because - again - most chicken I eat out is usually dry and/or flavorless, so the dark usually ends up stringy and greasy while the white just ends up crumbly and nasty. Not this chicken, that's for sure.

Everyone else got the hanger steak, a popular cut in other parts of the world but absolutely not so here. It's not the most tender part of the steer, and Americans usually prefer our steak to be as tender as possible. One of us couldn't finish his and since he's on a low cholesterol diet (he splurged, alright?), he just chunked half of his hanger steak onto my plate. Pretty tasty, though they all thought it needed just a little salt.

Vīn tried to make up for the larger size of our entrées by giving us microscopic desserts. Still, I'm not disappointed, because Americans eat way too large portions anyway, and who wants to follow up 20 mussels and half a chicken with a TGI Friday's-sized portion of peach cobbler? Okay, I know a few people who would, but I don't. So while the portion size was a little funny (funny ha-ha, not funny odd), it wasn't disappointing. The cobbler itself, though, could've used more of a crust. I know: not easy to fit any crus in that itty bitty teacup. There were some good slivers of peach in there, but only one little crumb of cobbler crust that I found. The miniblob of butter pecan ice cream on top was tasty.

My total cost was $36 after tip - wait, guys, I didn't give you money for tax! Oh well, I'll give it to them the next time I see them. The grand total for the four of us, before tip: $160, for four Restaurant Week prix fixe menus, one bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and six cups of coffee at $2 each (each of them had two, I had none). Again, a good deal for a usually much more expensive restaurant. But get over there this week if you want any of it any time soon: not only is Vīn closing for renovations next Sunday but Chef Chris Paternotte is leaving to pursue other ventures. So the menu is changing, too. Experience it before it's gone for the summer.

The restaurant isn't usually this pale - I just didn't use a flash.