High End Italian Cuisine and Prices

Aldo"s Ristorante

306 S. High St.

Baltimore, MD 21202

www.aldositaly.com

Flawless Cuisine in Little Italy

I have been determined to make up for all the years I avoided Little Italy in Baltimore, going to great distances to search out great Italian cuisine. Now I find myself in search of a bad meal in Little Italy as one trattoria outdoes the one that preceded it.

In deciding which restaurant to choose next I referred to several of the menus available online and was stopped in my tracks by the one at Aldo’s. There are many appetizers and entrees that I could sample over time, if my purse would allow it for the place is not for those who are on a budget other than a corporate expense account, which I certainly am not.

Like most of the restaurants in Little Italy, Aldo’s offers valet parking, which we took advantage of the evening we visited because of some broken toes I mangled a week earlier. There appears to be a valet parking concessionaire that has pretty well cornered the market in Little Italy, adding a quick $9.00 for their very prompt service. A self-serve public parking lot is located but a city block away and I’ll be using that venue in the future.

After turning over my car fob to the valet I was immediately welcomed at the entrance to Aldo’s by our tuxedoed waiter, a thorough professional who new every detail of the menu and extensive wine list. Dress at Aldo’s for the patrons is merely business casual so leave your Raven’s shirt and hole ridden jeans at home for the evening.

Aldo’s boasts several dining rooms and I am certain that regulars there have their favorite. The restaurant is beautifully appointed and we settled into the atrium room seen in the picture above. Notice that the tables have actual linen table cloths, something rarely seen in our native county and certainly never in the typical Italian franchise eatery, like Olive Garden. I am still impressed by such a little detail and yes I am aware that the linen service adds to the cost of the meal as overhead.

The evening’s appetizer and entrée specials were impressive but not enough to persuade me from the prize I had in mind from previewing the menu. Instead of an appetizer I settled for a nicely prepared Caesar salad but when I return to Aldo’s I’ll be sure to order the cold antipasti of meats and cheeses.  I chose a quite nice bottle of Nicholas’ Ambrosan Amarone to accompany the meal.  One would be hard pressed to find any bottle of wine on the extensive list that is priced under $60.00 and many are well over the $100.00 edge. Like I said, it is an expense account sort of restaurant.

Fresh bread is served promptly accompanied by a dish of extra virgin olive oil for dipping. No doubt butter is available on request but I have taken a real liking to using olive oil on my bread, with or without added spices or a green olive tapenade as is used at Restaurant Timpano in Rockville.

My steady date for the night ordered the veal chop prepared Milanese style, which it turns out to be quite spectacular. The chop is left on the bone but pounded out thinly, lightly breaded, then grilled perfectly and presented with a mess of diced fresh tomatoes and onion atop it with some sliced pecorino chese and arugula on the side. I’ve not seen this style presentation before but it is a welcome and refreshing change from the typical preparation which is smothered in melted provolone cheese and a tomato sauce. Alas it is one of the more expensive entrees on the menu at $45.00. Did I mention that Aldo’s would be a swell place to visit regularly if one had access to an expense account?

The entrée that brought me to Aldo’s to begin with was the veal shank or Ossobuco. I was not disappointed as it was prepared to perfection. The meat was so tender I never had to raise a knife to it as it slid off the sizeable bone it was attached to and was perfectly seasoned; accompanied by a delicious gravy reduction and superb side of risotto and mushrooms. It is certainly worth the $32.00 charged for it and the drive down that $#!&! Jones Falls Expressway to get to Little Italy. Unless one is dealing with traffic stacked up on the JFX due to an accident on a rainy night as we were, one can get to Little Italy comfortably in 35 to 40 minutes from Finksburg. Hell, it can take 30 minutes to reach Taneytown from my home on a good day and there you will find similar dining prices at the sole actual restaurant located there, Antrim 1844. Hmm, what a choice for those living in Taneytown: a pizza without anchovies, a McBurger or a $200.00 meal at Antrim.

I may be a bit poorer for the experience of dining at Aldo’s but  I shouldn’t make such a fuss about the menu pricing there as it has become typical of that in many of the fine, special occasion restaurants found in the Baltimore area … including Taneytown. No regrets about this meal other than that neither of us had room for dessert and that dessert menu does look promising. Check out their menu on line at the link provided above and you may find some combinations that aren’t worthy of the expense account crowd, and if you don’t care for wine, you are either truly blessed or damned to live an unfulfilled life.