Amante

A Solid Choice in Eldersburg, MD

I love roasted garlic. Used properly it really can make a meal, even when served as a substitute for butter as they do at Paza Luna in Baltimore. The chef at Amante has garlic down pat, using tender roasted cloves in many of the pasta dishes but the night we were there it was quite late so it seemed a good time for a pizza and some Pinot Grigot.

For starters, pizza at Amante is nowhere near like the hastily thrown together pies you get from most carry-outs and home delivery joints. Pizza at Amante is a delicious work of art. We ordered a the Siciliano with tomato slices, prosciutto, pepperoni, red onions and Italian sausage...and of course garlic cloves. It takes a little longer wait for a pizza at Amante than it might at Pizza Hut but oooh what a difference. The pizza was perfectly arranged with balanced portions of ripe tomato slices and the other ingredient s equally and amply distributed. It looked like perfection, showing it was not just thrown together - the usual served up by far too many restaurants in the area that charge just as much for a pie that looks like the person making it was blind. A perfect homemade crust just couldn't support all the ingredients in those first few initial bites of a slice so a knife and fork is called for unless you like wearing more pizza than eating it.
A bottle of ice cold  Pinot Grigo topped things off superbly while also adding significantly to the dinner tab. No doubt others would be equally happy with a cold soda or bottle of beer. Or two.

The quiet dining room at Amante is upstairs while the noisy and popular bar is downstairs, sprawling out to a landscaped patio. The full dinner and lunch menus are available in both bar and dining cabins. Hey, this a nica place to eat!
Amante
21 Liberty Rd. Sykesville, MD 21784
(actually on Liberty Rd near the intersection at Klee Mill Rd.)
410-795-8888
www.amantepizzaandpasta.com