A Special Occasion Place Without Fail

Restaurante Tio Pepe

10 E Franklin St

Baltimore, MD  

443-863-8808

http://www.tiopepebaltimore.com/

Twas a friend’s birthday and Tio Pepe was her choice of choices so off we all went for a quick scoot down the JFX and but one right turn to land in the public parking garage directly across from Tio Pepe. It wasn’t our first time there and certainly won't be our last; they do things well at this Spanish landmark.

I don't know just how long Tio Pepe has been in business but it surely one of those restaurants in Baltimore that have established a regular clientele over decade and are recognized a restaurant for that special occasion.

We were escorted right in on the Sunday night we visited but I have to warn you that there is usually a bit of a wait even with a reservation. Without the reservation on a busy night the wait list is hours long.

The decor is something like that of a grotto, a noisy grotto. Or perhaps it is reminiscent of catacombs as this is one of those restaurants you have to step down into to enter.

The wait staff is professional with many of the waiters having worked there many years. Fresh bread and free (yes, free) water arrives immediately after you are seated and our attentive waiter was on the spot to tell us about the specials and take our drink orders. I venture that 80% of those dining at Tio Pepe order the house sangria rather than a bottle from their very complete wine list. The Sangria is a trademark of Tio Pepe and arrives in a pitcher full of wine and fresh fruits.

The wine can either be a full bodied Spanish red or white with triple sec and brandy mixed in, along with the prerequisite slices of apple, oranges and lemons - and ice. It's a party in a jug.

The menu is deep, very deep. The appetizers and salads can be quite amazing although I would not order the onion soup I had again as it was a bit mild for my liking. The star of this course was the shrimp marinated in garlic sauce, a bowl of ample shrimp in a zesty sauce.

It was my intention to convince another of us order the Paella for their entree as it is only prepared for two and provides two huge portions ($52.50 for both). But this night they had roast suckling duck as a special on the menu and my friend suggested there was none to be compared with in Baltimore. So I forced myself to try it. Another had the crab cakes and Debbie ordered the escalloped veal with ham & Swiss cheese (go figure?)

The two orders of roasted pig came out as huge portions in a delightful brown sauce and black beans. Really huge with crackling skin and hardly a bone on the plate. So much so that both of us took at least 1/2 of our entrees home for a big leftover meal the following night. The beans I was not so enthusiastic about.

The two crab cakes were typical Baltimore portions, huge two inch thick slabs of backfin crab. There had to be some filler in them I suppose but none that we could detect. You don't order crab cakes in any restaurant and expect a bargain, what you hope for is perfection. These were perfection and one made the trip home with that piggy bag.

Debbie loved the veal and indeed it was a large serving over saffron rice and too much to finish that evening. It may not have been a true test of the Tio Pepe kitchen but hey, some people I know only like macaroni and cheese.

People rave about the desserts at Tio Pepe but I am always too full for dessert. How is it that the others at this meal couldn't finish their entrees but could find room for slices off the chocolate - crème cake / log? They loved it so, what the hey.

Now Tio Pepe is not a bargain restaurant but I am here to tell you that there are many restaurants in Baltimore that don't do as well for far more moolah. Our very good meal for four, with a pitcher of sangria and a respectable tip came to $120 per couple. Many a special occasion restaurant in the Baltimore area would have come to $200 per couple.

Parking is an additional $10 at the garage but then few restaurants in Baltimore still offer free parking (The Prime Rib does).

If you check out the Tio Pepe menu on line I'm sure you will find several dishes to your liking and you'll quickly understand the popularity of the restaurant after being seated.

Grilled Caesar Salad?

La Scala Ristorante

1012 Eastern Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21202

Phone: 410-783-920

http://lascaladining.com/contact.php

Another gem in Little Italy, La Scala does many things Italian well, including having the only indoor Bocce Ball court in Baltimore. We had not come for the Bocce; we came for Easter Dinner and were glad we had after a great evening in a relaxed atmosphere. Our tip to try La Scala came from Tony the tile master who had just recently finished some incredible examples of his craft in our newly renovated master bathroom.

The dining rooms are very comfortable with the main room overlooking the Bocce Ball court. It's a busy, noisy place with an executive chef who is constantly checking with you to be assured that you are satisfied with the meal. Our server, Carlos, was an old pro who made our whole night flow well. We were no sooner seated than a plate of marinated green beans and potatoes with garlic were put on the table along with a basket of fresh chewy bread. Not sure quite what to do with the cold green beans and potato wedges we were forced to eat them - all of them.

The wine list is impressive, long and impressive with bottles of affordable table wine, wine by the glass and wine for those with expense accounts. From a list of at least eight Chianti Classico Reservas, I am very glad I selected the Antinori Peppoli - very full bodied but still fresh and blah, blah, blah and all those other characteristics of nose and taste. No leather, cigars or mellon though, thank heavens. This is not a restaurant to go to when you are in a rush - this is a place where you want to sit back and comfortably enjoy several courses of great Italian food over conversation. No one tried to jam us with a $15 bottle of imported sparkling water.

The menu here is long with many veal and pasta dishes as one might suspect in Little Italy. I have to admit being a bit disappointed at not finding more of a choice of charcuterie among the appetizers but that was entirely due to a mistake on my part for not understanding just what to do with the separate Salumeria menu on our table. I couldn't eat the menu so I just set this wonderful list of fine cheeses and aged meats aside. It turns out this list is for ordering from as an antipasti selection - this is an Italian secret that must be taken for granted by those from Sicily.

Instead we just ordered a plate of the Calamari Fritti for our appetizer, expecting the usual. Wrong! The Calamari at La Scala is among the best we have ever had, rivaling even that at Ristorante Filomena in Georgetown wher it is soaked overnight in a buttermilk bath before cooking. The tender squid at la Scala is lightly battered and there isn't a trace of greasiness to be found. The large portion is accompanied by a bowl of very good marinara sauce.

Tony the Tile guy had recommended that I get a house specialty, the grilled Caesar salad. I would order a Caesar salad for my meal if I knew it to be my last. I probably wouldn't have it grilled but that's just my personal taste, most folks would love the extra tang that comes from grilling the lettuce head. Yep, it is enormous - half a head of Romaine that has been permeated with Caesar dressing crushed croutons and shredded parmesan cheese. I almost had to eat the entire plate full to decide if I was satisfied with it.

Debbie stuck with the typical Italian fare by ordering the veal Parmigiana - it was no disappointment as the large, tender veal cutlet was covered with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese, accompanied with penne pasta. I went way out of my norm and ordered the Lobster with cognac, butter and garlic served over some wonderful fresh linguine, they call it the Aragosta all' Americana. This was probably the first time I had ordered lobster for an entree in 20 years. I have no regrets but I am already ready for a return trip to sample some of the other great dishes on the La Scala menu.

We were so full from our meal that we not only didn't order dessert, I didn't even have room for a sip of grappa. We chose to use the restaurants $6.00 valet parking and were off in minutes of asking for our car. Maybe there was free street-side parking just around the corner but this is a luxury that I've become accustomed to and the courteous prompt door-side service available throughout Little Italy helps make each visit there a little more special.

Hats off to the attentive Chef Nino and his staff at this great Ristorante.

RESTAURANT WEEK RESCUED

Sabatino’s

901 Fawn Street
Little Italy
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-727-9414
http://www.sabatinos.com/index.asp
Reservations via Open Table: http://www.opentable.com/sabatinos-reservations-baltimore?rid=45034&restref=45034

Some friends could not join us on a weeknight for dinner earlier in the week at Da Mimmo but suggested that we join them for dinner on Saturday night at Sabatino’s, another of the many restaurants participating in Restaurant Week Baltimore.

I’m very glad we accepted their offer.

This was an entirely different experience from the Da Mimmo trip, from atmosphere to meal. Saturday night is a very busy time in Little Italy; the streets are hopping with tourists on the sidewalks and diners arriving by car. Sabatino’s is on one of the busiest corners, sharing it with 3 other popular eateries. We chose to use the very efficient valet parking at a cost of $10.00 rather than try to find a rare paring space along the narrow streets or park in the garage two blocks away at Bank & Exeter Streets. The valet parking team really hustles, pretty well directing the traffic in the area while doing so.

My first impression of Sabatino’s was that it is huge with several different dining rooms on two floors, it is a family place, and both crowded and noisy. We were promptly seated by a maître‘d who was quite calm amid the flurry of diners arriving and leaving, occasionally shouting to someone at the top of the stairway to ask if a table was available for diners. It works for them as the place was packed with obvious regulars who have been coming for decades. Hey, there were linen tablecloths on every table, something I fully appreciate in this day of paper placemats.
The servers work as a team to assure that all guests are taken care of promptly and attentively. As soon as we were seated a waitress brought us very plain glasses of cold tap water, followed only a few moments later with a huge basket of fresh, crusty Italian bread and our menus, both the regular and specials for Restaurant Week. Unlike the specials at Da Mimmo, this list was quite long, offering four appetizers, eight entrees and three deserts. And then the most pleasant surprise of the even appeared, our waitress Kitty. We knew immediately from her demeanor that we had a server who was at ease with the pandemonium around us and capable of the multi-tasking that working at Sabatino’s demands. While my friend and I discussed a choice from the wine list (prices from $18 to $75), Kitty near floored us by offering a special Restaurant Week wine list with about eight very reasonably priced selections from which we quickly settled on the Ruffino Chianti so that if we felt the urge to share a second bottle it wouldn’t give us second thoughts. I won’t be writing a paragraph praising the complexity of this wine but it ended up the perfect match of an acceptable Italian red wine to go with a fine Italian meal. I come from an age when restaurants in little Italy served inexpensive home-made house red wine in pitchers with the meals and no-one at the table cared that it didn’t come from Montepulciano in Tuscany because no one could pronounce it anyway. (Remember Maria's 300 on Albemarle St. from decades ago and Mamma Maria with a rose in her high hat hair -do?)
I was disappointed when we ordered that we didn’t choose a wider array of entrees to provide a better sampling of the choices but that’s the last complaint you will hear of me about this night out. Two diners had the fried calamari which arrived in more typical large portions with a large bowl of marina sauce, unlike the portion at DaMimo of which one could count the number of calamari rings with one hand. The calamari was breaded and nicely fried. I chose to overindulge and spend an extra $2.50 to convert the garden salad to a house specialty, a “Bookmakers” salad which added large portions of shrimp, salami, hardboiled egg, pepperoncini and olives, making a monstrous proportion of a salad covered in the creamy house  dressing. In all fairness, that salad would make a meal for some people I know. My friend had the regular house salad, also large, and he raved about it.

Out of the eight possible entrée selections, three of us somehow decided to have the Chicken Parmigiana. Timing throughout the meal was perfect – how Kitty and the kitchen manage to keep things that way on such a busy night is no easy task. Having enough servers is no doubt a part of it and we could see that there were several other attentive waitresses working our large dining room, often communication with one another by shouts to assure that all the tables were adequately covered and the food flowing. The pounded chicken breast fully covered the plate, lightly breaded and covered in mozzarella cheese a tomato sauce. The spaghetti with sauce had to be served in a separate bowl. Perhaps because of my Bookmaker salad, this was the first time I can recall in many years that I could not eat all of my entrée – I usually scoff at the idea of there being anything left to take home in a doggie-bag. The odd meal of our table was the Shrimp Renato, large butterflied shrimp in a brandy, lemon & white wine sauce. The numerous shrimp were accompanied by a side order of spaghetti.

Dessert came with the special menu although I don’t believe any of us needed a dessert to top off that meal. We chose the house-made cannoli and rum cake. The cake was indeed rum flavored and had a delicious layered filling in addition to the icing glaze. In keeping with all things Sabatino’s, the portion was not sparse. The cannoli’s disappeared so quickly I never had a chance to steal a sample. Our friend capped off her meal with a cappuccino served beautifully in a glass mug. Kitty was a terrific waitress, offering suggestions and filling us in on the restaurant that she is obviously pleased to work for. It isn’t often these days that you receive such personable, attentive service. We noticed that the owner was right in there with his crew escorting diners to their tables and checking with every table to make sure they were pleased with their meals.

The valet neither lost nor damaged the car, making it a pretty successful evening out.

If you decide to go to Sabatino’s be sure to pick up one of the free maps of Little Italy available in the foyer, it’ll help you plan future trips as all the restaurants and points of interest in the community are featured. Dress code is what has unfortunately come to be accepted in Baltimore these days: just about anything and everything from t-shirt & jeans to suit & tie. They won’t try to bump up your bill at Sabatino’s with unrequested bottled water or harking of garlic bread & bruschetta, although I have no doubt all are available on request. They even offer large and small carafes of inexpensive house wines as well as wine by the glass for those so inclined.

The great service and a vast regular menu are certainly enough to have me planning on another trip to Sabatino’s.

A Trip To the Cleaners

Da Mimmo

217 High Street

Little Italy

Baltimore, MD 21202

4100-727-8776

www.damimmo.com

The lesson from this meal is that one should choose their dining choices during Restaurant Week carefully because what looks like a bargain at the $30 per meal price can be very deceptive. It was at Da Mimmo in Little Italy, Baltimore.

Granted, we expected a limited menu before four of us dined there on a week night; in fact we reviewed the menu on line before going there. Da Mimmo is a very popular restaurant and for good reason. The kitchen has a very flavorful way with food, the atmosphere is comfortable Meditterean and it is probably the only restaurant in Little Italy that offers free parking on its nearby own lot. Forgedaboud trying to find a parking space on one of these garlic perfumed side streets, the residents and valet parking vendor have collected them all.

The trouble with our trip started in a very inauspicious way just after we were seated when a server began our meal by pouring our table water from a bottle. I suppose bells and whistles should have gone off before the first drop hit a glass but we had come to relax and have a fine meal at a fixed cost, not worry about the house trying to slip one over on this. This was after a very troubling situation before our arrival when we were virtually trapped on Albemarle Street for ten minutes when a truck from a rental furniture company refused to move while the employees repossessed goods from a residence. In an age not too long ago I believe I would have tried to resolve that situation with something other than patience. Such must be life in the city in the 21^st Century.

To compound the injury, the wait staff continued to fill our water glasses from yet another bottle of imported water.  Shame on us for being so naive as to think that a restaurant would not add an additional $20 to the bill without asking first (alas, the water was no better or different than Baltimore’s tap water). The amount wasn’t a lot in light of the total bill but there was a basic dining etiquette violated here to my way of perceiving things. We were later offered garlic bread or bruschetta by our server and fully expected to pay an additional charge for it when we accepted the offer. The garlic bread was quite delicious, full of garlic &  olive oil and quite cheesy too.

We also ordered a very nice bottle of Nobile de Montepulciano red wine from pretty limited wine list. Be prepared to pay a minimum of $45 for a bottle of wine at Da Mimmo and wine by the glass was not offered. As for the meal, it had some extreme highs and lows for us. First I must comment that the list of specials the kitchen had available was quite impressive, albeit that none were on the $30 Restaurant Week menu. It showed a certain amount of creativity available from the kitchen but I detect it was also a ruse to detract diners from ordering beyond the limited menu at a considerable hike in the cost. This has not been my experience at other restaurants during Restaurant Week when most see it as an opportunity to put on their best faces to lure new diners throughout the rest of the year. The Lesson from Da Mimmo was, OK, nice meal but I won’t go back for more abuse thank you.

I have a real culinary aversion to cucumbers. Hate the damn things unless they have been transformed into a pickle. The smell of a cucumber alone is a turn off to me so anytime I order salad I ask that the restaurant make certain that cucumber not be added. Such it was at Da Mimmo and the server nonchalantly agreed to make sure my salad arrived without cukes. Unfortunately, while there weren’t any cucumber slices in my salad it still reeked and tasted of cucumber. Apparently the kitchen had made a large quantity of the salad in advance and simply removed the cuke slices from my dish. The rest of my salad, what I could taste of it, was pretty unexceptional.

We tried the full array of appetizers. The lady ordering the Shrimp Reganati was quite pleased with the dish. Those who ordered the calamari were similarly pleased but from a distance I would fault the incredibly small portion offered, although some would find it just fine. I ordered the sausage and peppers and was disappointed to find it consisted of a few slices of an unexceptional sausage in a non-descript concoction of olive oil, green pepper slices and diced onion.

From viewing my friends entrée of Orange Roughy I suspect that that particularly fish must be quite small compared to others in the fish tank. She loved it though so who am I to pass judgment. I ordered the penne puttanesca and it arrived as advertised, flavorful and the pasta was accompanied with cherry tomatoes, capers, olives and grated padano cheese. The portion would have made a nice side dish elsewhere. The remaining entrees to reach the table were a contradiction to everything else about the meal because the veal chops were enormous, cooked to perfection and as pungent as anything I have ever stolen off my wife’s plate. Go figure how the chef decided on those entrée proportions.

We capped our meal off with a few glasses of a lovely grappa, one of the tamest, smoothest I have ever downed. Yes, it added to the price of the meal but also to the moment. I would not warn readers off from going to Da Mimmo entirely because what they do with specials and the regular menu could be quite different from our Restaurant Week experience. Just be prepared to pay for it accordingly. At least the parking is free.

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.

A Nearby Treasure

Mia Carolina


4844 Butler Road


Glyndon Square


Glyndon, MD 21071


410-526-5711

www.miacarolina.com


An Italian Masterpiece right in our midst.

Our most recent visit to Mia Carolina was the first since I started writing this blog and has made me sorry that we have not gone there more often as it is but 10 minutes from Finksburg. This trip was inspired by some seats we had for a concert at the BSO and wanting to improve on the fare that is served at restaurants near the Meyerhof Hall. Sure there are plenty of good restaurants in Baltimore but we haven’t found a worthy one in walking distance and with already having to pay for parking next to the concert hall I have not wanted to spend an additional $10 for the privilege at a restaurant.

So it is we decided to experiment by eating locally and driving to the BSO without any traffic issues, arriving closer to the usual 8 PM start. When we arrived at Mia Carolina we asked our excellent server to make sure we did not order anything that took exceptionally long for the kitchen to prepare. She assured us we would be out within an hour and sure enough we were, comfortably so with a relaxed by promptly served meal.

Mia Carolina has an excellent assortment of appetizers and I’m particularly fond of both the regular Antipasti di Mia Carolina and the Antipasti Frutti de Mare Griglia, both are large servings suitable for two. I believe the house specialty antipasti of meats, cheeses, and roasted vegetables is enough to make an excellent entrée for one. This trip I forgo the appetizer course and have a simple Caesar salad instead.

The restaurant itself is a very comfortable tratoria with fresh flowers and white lines set on each table and an eager, knowledgeable staff waiting to serve diners. The bread, actually a fresh roll, arrives warm and is accompanied with a wonderful trio of accompaniments – fresh butter, an arugula and garlic paste and a particularly nice dish of olive oil/tapenade that the term “zesty” doesn’t do justice.

My partner in crime decided to have the more traditional of our dinners, settling on a well prepared Veal Parmigiana. The veal cutlet was a very nice portion and served with cappellini pasta and a tomato sauce. A restaurant that shall remain unnamed, in proximity of the Meyerhof, managed to blow the preparation of this most standard fare of Italian eateries while throwing in rushed, sloppy service with their limited BSO night menu. That meal made us appreciate the one at Mia Carolina all the more.

My entrée was ordered with low expectations but turned out to be a spectacularly flavorful treat, the chicken with an assortment olives, artichoke hearts, and sundried tomatoes over fettuccini pasta. Wow, this dish really shows off Executive Chef Jay Cohen’s talent and the capabilities in the Mia Carolina kitchen. This simple dish, served with two nicely sized chicken breast cutlets is loaded with different tastes in every bite. The very moderately priced bottle of Barolo wine we shared actually stood up well to the sharp tastes in the dish that the olives and artichoke lend it. I was also pleased to see a dish that was not smothered in a red tomato sauce – this dish does not need a heavy sauce to bring in any more flavors.

We shall return again soon so I can order the grilled veal chop and it will probably be on a slow Thursday night when Mia Carolina offers its very nice wine list at half price.

This fine restaurant is within a comfortable drive time for even the most remote corners of Carroll County and gets a two thumbs up recommendation regardless of the drive. The chef here has mastered my keys to Italian cooking: the olives, the oil and the balsamic.

Reservations are recommended and I’m so glad when compared to being given a blinking toy to hold while you wait like a passenger on the Titanic for a seat on a lifeboat at the likes of an Olive Garden. Why settle for franchise food at prices hardly any less expensive when you can get excellent service, fresh linens, flowers & a comfortable trattoria atmosphere along with a real menu of delicious fare at Mia Carolina.

A Bit of a Drive but O Mamma

Vinnie’s

Neighborhood Italian

641 Merrimon Avenue

Asheville, NC 28804

828.253.1077

www.Vinniesitalian.com

OK, so you may not want to drive the 8 hours to Asheville, North Carolina just for the Antipasti alone but you could take in a side trip to the 230 room Biltmore Estate while there if it would make you feel the trip was more worthwhile.

Asheville is a happening place and town full of fiercely independent restaurants and art / craft galleries. With well over 100 downtown great eateries and many more on the periphery I counted a total of three franchise restaurants – a Bojangles, Hardees, and a McDonalds and you would never know the latter two from the low key signage compared to what they exhibit elsewhere (it’s also the only McDonalds I have ever seen a real grand piano in). You may be in the South but you’ll swear you are in Seattle or Vancouver or even Montreal for the nightlife scene and mix of redneccks, grunge, wealthy touristas, and lost souls. It’s a place where you can get an artsy draft beer for $9 or a 16 oz. tall boy can of PBJ anywhere for $3 (that’s Pabst Blue Ribbon y’all and why it is king in Asheville I don’t know … yet)

So after two nights of swank fois gras, elk tenderloin, and sweetbreads at some very nice 5 star restaurants we were ready for a real Italian meal and casual dining. Thank heavens we chose to cross town to stumble upon Vinnie’s on Merrimon Avenue. It’s the real deal for real Italian food. Not fancy but a very friendly place with a menu that just won’t quit with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin singing in the background. If I lived in Asheville I’d be there at least once a week and never get bored with the great regular selections and specials.

They start you with some nice fresh bread and an infused olive oil and some balsamic vinegar for dipping. From a large selection of reasonably priced wines I chose a Montepulciano for our meal and the wonderful Antipasti di Famiglia appetizer. Fortunately, Debbie does not enjoy many of the pickled delights on the Antipasti, leaving them for me and they are so many I have to list them: 3 meats, Sopressata, mortadella, & genoa salami. There is romano, and provolone cheese; cherry peppers, huge marinated mushrooms, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, assorted olives, and pepper berries. Itsa masterpiece!

Not expecting such a large Antipasti, I had also ordered a bowl of Pasta Fazool. I couldn’t do it justice and still eat my entrée as well but the wonderful combination of pasta, sausage and beans was very flavorful and on another day would make a stand alone appetizer or even lunch of its own.

For our dinner entrees we chose the Veal Parmigiana and Veal Piccata. The Parmigiana was a large serving with a marinara sauce over spaghetti done perfectly. The Picatta was in a light olive oil and lemon caper butter sauce with the pasta in the same sauce along with a serving of sautéed spinach. A few more capers wouldn’t hurt matters any.  

The residents of Asheville are fortunate to have such a great Italian eatery among all the choices there. Yes, we have good Italian restaurants in Washington and Baltimore but I cannot remember the last time seeing such a spectacular Antipasti for two with so much variety and a wine list that didn’t have bottle prices that exceeded the entire cost of the meal.

Asheville is worth the trip. Just don’t miss Vinnie’s when you go.

Restaurant Week Carroll County

Various Locations

Names Not Provided to Protect the Innocent and Keep Me From Being Sued

 

If there is any wonder why I do so few reviews of restaurants inside my home county of Carroll, Restaurant Week there provided the answers. There is damn little here to keep one here if it is fine food and a restaurant-like atmosphere one is in search of. In my dining experiences at three restaurants during the week of August 22^nd through the 26^th 2011 I found the all shared three of the same qualities, if that’s what you want to call them:

• They apparently believe that quantity is what it is all about. One had five huge courses – nothing extraordinary mind you, just 5 big courses of food.  Another, for $15, let you select an appetizer and two – yes two- full size entrees. Why the hell would anyone need two entrees? All the food was mediocre. Am I supposed to vote on these restaurants based on the number of plates of food I carry home as left-overs?

• The water sucks in every restaurant in Westminster. If they gave you a whole lemon to put in it the water it would still taste awful. They should either give you a bottle of Deer Park water or a demi bottle of white wine to atone for the lousy municipal tap water they are stuck with. What, they never heard of a Brita or a decent water treatment system of their own?

• They all play music for people who are not listening to it. It isn’t ambient white noise, it is noisy noise – annoying noise that makes everyone speak louder and the restaurant be louder than it need be. Yes, I have been to noisy fine restaurants but that’s because the people there were having a good time and the plates were clanging – not because Abba was playing the same old same old over speakers positions everywhere or the TV’s had some sports nonsense on while the dining room was pretending to be a restaurant in a sports bar.

None of the formula / chain restaurants participated in restaurant week, for example Olive Garden and Chili’s. From what I can tell, they did not need to as business there is quite good and for what it is, so is the food for the price. I try to avoid these type restaurants but you’ll catch me in one occasionally, particularly for their lunch specials.

I do hope Restaurant Week grows in Carroll County next year with more restaurants participating, particularly some of the Chinese restaurants who may have the originality to put something special together on their menus. Let’s hope that other restaurants realize that the occasion is more about the challenge of fine food than the quantity of it.

Happenstance Lunch Happens to be Perfect

Timpano Chophouse

12021 Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852

301-881-6939

www.TimpanoChophouse.net

We had been to Timpano twice before for dinner while going to the incredible Strathmore Concert Hall in Montgomery County. Both dinners were quite successful with the skillet roasted mussels appetizer really remaining in my memory as a hit. This large, dual level dining room right off Rockville Pike is very popular and from the looks of it one night we were there the drinks at the bar must be either very cheap or awfully good as people were three deep.

We were in the neighborhood this Saturday to check out the extraordinary tile and fixtures at Porcelanosa USA’s store / gallery a few miles away for a planned bathroom remodeling. Being close to lunch when we finished up at Porcelanosa we thought we’d revisit Timpano but when we arrived there was hardly a car on the parking lot. However the lights were on inside so the four of us piled into an almost empty restaurant. My first thought was oh oh, somebody died eating a bad clam the prior week and the resultant bad press had killed them. The waiter assured us it wasn’t so – just that it was a typical weekend lunchtime when people vacate town for the beach. The huge, open grill kitchen was abuzz preparing dishes and baked goods for the evening menu so we must have walked into a strange time warp indeed.

Warm rolls and an olive oil dipping sauce come out quickly. The rolls could really do without being pre-buttered, particularly since the olive oil dip is so good - it has a green olive tapenade, garlic and red peppers in it from what I could tell.

The lunch menu is quite extensive. Those mussels were on there calling me but I was determined to resist ordering them again in the name of trying something different and brother am I glad I did. Two among us ordered the flatbread style pizzas, one with Italian sausage, caramelized onions  and a tomato – garlic sauce; the other a  Four cheese special with pesto – both were big hits and required boxing up for the leftovers.

One of us settled on the Shrimp Diablo, a selection that got a real nod of approval from our attentive waiter. The shrimp were mixed in a large portion of fettuccini with asparagus, pine nuts and spinach with a rosa sauce. I was envious…until my order of lemon caper pasta arrived. It was just what I hoped for and more with angel hair pasta tossed with lemon zest, parsley, olive oil and many, many capers. Some might say too many capers but I love them and no one forced me to eat all of them. Since I wasn’t driving I broke my standby rule and had a glass of their house Pinot Grigio which was extremely fruity and served very, very cold as I believe it should be.

There is a nice selection of salads, chicken, fish and sandwiches on this lunch menu with prices running from $9.00 to $15.00 per entrée. That large order of mussels with olive oil and kosher salt is $12. Mind you this is the Washington DC market so prices are going to be a bit high compared to Carroll County. Check out their dinner menu on the very thorough web site and reservations are a must for dinner. Throw in a show at the Strathmore to make a full evening of it - that beautiful concert hall is acoustically and aesthetically perfect.

Little Italy Calls

Rocco’s Capriccio

846 Fawn Street

Baltimore, Md 21202

410-685-2710

 Itsa the real deal!

This dinner visit with friends was inspired by Baltimore Restaurant Week with its $35 per person menus. The story at Rocco’s is all about the sauces. While the menus at all participating restaurants provide limited selections from their full menus, the one offered by Rocco’s capriccio included a very large selection of appetizers, entrees and desserts. All four diners this evening were easily able to choose selections without duplicating one another.

It had been many years since our last meal in Baltimore’s Little Italy as we have been travelling to the superb Mama Filomena’s in Georgetown for our Italian food fixes. My family used to go to Maria’s 500 in Little Italy several times a year for the simplest of inexpensive cuisine and house red wine. This trip to Fawn Street recalled many of my memories of those good times as I stepped out of our car and engaged an entire neighborhood overwhelmed with the aroma of cooked garlic on a warm evening.

Parking in Little Italy has become competitive and expensive. The residents there are certainly entitled to most of the street parking but it makes for a nice business for those with nearby lots of valet services. One entrepreneurial fellow has staked out the restaurants on the four corners of Fawn St. and rather than cruise the neighborhood for 20 minutes looking for a free spot I paid the $10 tariff and moved onto our meal. Parking is even more difficult and expensive in Georgetown.

The dining room is not large at Rocco’s and it certainly has a homey mediterranean feel to it. Reservations are suggested for any evening meal regardless of which night you choose. The bread that comes out shortly after you are seated is the flavorful white loaf that has accompanied many a meal in many a restaurant in Little Italy. It did not need the butter that accompanied it but it would have been nice if some olive oil and herbs had been available for dipping it in.

Two of the appetizers we ordered were remarkable, the Prosciutto over melon and Insalata Del Mare. The Prosciutto was thinly sliced sheets of perfectly lean meat in over sweet green melon slices. The portion was huge. My mix of shrimp, mussels and clams were in a totally perfect red sauce that must have been cooking for days with EVVO and garlic. Everyone at the table took occasion to put that bread to use.

All of the dinner entrees were impressive. The Fettuccini and Shrimp in a white cream sauce was spectacular. The Stuffed Veal was a nice size portion in a wonderful brown / mushroom sauce with a stuffing of prosciutto & asiago and gorgonzola cheeses. My Rack of Lamb was cooked to medium just as I asked and the final dish of Costa Rican Snapper with leeks and carrots left only a very empty plate in front of my friend. The side dishes of penne pasta with marinara sauce that some ordered were fine but a bit disappointing.

Desserts of fresh cannoli and tiramisu finished our leisurely meal. I liked the tiramisu quite a bit because it was so moist from the rum saturation, another among us found it to be too mushy; less than the expected firmness. Oh well.

Looking over the regular dinner menu I found many reasons to return to Rocco’s with entrée prices ranging from $20 for the veal dishes to $32 for Rack of Veal. Chef Rocco Gargano twice visited tables in the dining room during our visit. It’s a family business there with his daughter serving tables and his son as bartender. I’ll return to this restaurant if only for some more of his incredible tomato sauce, perhaps with the calamari over linguini. Only next time I’m going to arrive early and walk the neighborhood, taking in as much of the aromas as I can. 



Oh My, Monsieur

Marie Louise Bistro

904 N. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21201

410-385-9946

www.marielouisebistrocatering.com

Magnificent food and terrific service!

I am a Baltimore native. I must also live in a cave because until visiting this wonderful restaurant during Restaurant Week Baltimore I had not been there before and hardly heard of it. Shame on me.

On a weeknight, it took only 35 minutes from Finksburg to arrive at the parking lot adjoining this Mount Vernon restaurant. The whole way home I blamed myself for not having eaten at this very fine restaurant years ago. Places like the Prime Rib and McCormick Schmucks get all the fanfare in Baltimore, some of it deserved, but here this French bistro with its incredible dessert pastry display at the entrance has evaded me and others I have spoken to about it since our meal there. The prices are downright reasonable compared to those big-name restaurants too.

Restaurant Week offers fixed price, limited menu fare at many good restaurants in the Monumental City. Its success has been copied in Howard County and now I see restaurants in Carroll County is jumping on the bandwagon during the week of August 21^st.  Washington ,DC has one as I'm sure many other areas outside my cave must too. Multiple course dinners are all $35.11 at every restaurant on the list, including even some of the most expensive eateries like Fogo de Chow. Lunches are also available at reduced prices so check out that web site http://www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com/

I admit that a review of Marie Louise Bistro in the Baltimore Sun  many moons ago piqued my interest, although there are so many restaurants on my list of eateries to explore that I could have chosen another during Restaurant Week and missed this gem. We hit it rich in Mount Vernon with this one.

It is not an ostentatious place and many of the diners the weeknight we stopped in were dressed very casually. Dumb me with my wear a jacket to a nice dinner philosophy! After absorbing the atmosphere and menu I can see why people were dressed down – this place has a huge neighborhood following. Many people came by just for a jumbo martini and one of the incredible pastries available until 10 PM. (11 on Friday & Saturday). The sidewalks outside the Bistro were buzzing with people as the neighborhood is just loaded with bars and restaurants of all sorts. Double recession be damned, drink up!

Our excellent server, Kirsten, was attentive throughout the meal and more helpful than most in her business when dumb questions about the food and the restaurant itself.

I momentarily excused myself from the pre fixe menu when I saw an appetizer for two that I could not resist – the Charcuterie Plate. Not wanting to dwell on how pate’ is made, I am a lush for it.  Unfortunately, my wife is not as crazy about pureed and cured meats so I was obligated to eat most of this large portion myself. I hope other diners are able to share more of the Plate than me but hey, I’m not complaining. Along with the basket of fresh baguette bread, the plate consists of slices of a rough, pepper-coated salami, a delightful house pate, larger still slices of a house fois gras torchon and cured / dried slices of prosciutto all accompanied by cured olives, some cornichons and a homemade, coarse Dijon mustard. In all fairness, this plate alone could make an entrée for most people and then you’d not have to share it with anyone. I thought the meal would surely go downhill from that point because the meats were just extraordinary. The picture above is an internet capture - the actual Charcuterie at the Bistro is much nicer.

Back onto the Restaurant Week special menu my wife had the cold Butternut Squash soup. There are very few cold soups that I like, save those made with berries. She loved the large, and I do mean large, bowl of the soup. I forced myself to try the Mushroom and Leek tart without regret.

Once again, we both chose the same dinner entree. I was not about to forgo the Trio of Lamb Chops just because my spouse insisted on having it. Three nice, small lamb chops accompanied as many incredible Merguez lamb sausages and two B’Steeya, a lamb compote in a fluffy pastry, all over delightful baked potato wedges with lamb jus and accompanied with pickled red onion (hey, it works!). We asked to have the tzasiki sauce on the side and were glad we did. This thick white sauce had a sharp dill flavor and I thought it unnecessary and overpowering. Had it not been served aside I think it could have ruined a marvelous entrée for both of us.

We only had dessert because it came with the package meal. Yeah, right. Wifey had the chocolate hazelnut dome and took no prisoners home. I had an incredibly light crepe with a heavenly crème filling and peaches in a glaze sauce. I would not normally order a dessert (honest), particularly after a large meal like this BUT before leaving we asked Kirsten to box up two pastries to go for the next evening’s delight. The next evening I enjoyed a coconut tart with a moist cake interior and fresh fruit topping. The Chocolate Purse that my wife took home was a visual wonder and delicious (she says, as she refused to share). This incredible dessert is made of a hard but thin chocolate exterior that you would swear is a small leather purse, complete with marks from the strings being pulled to close it at the top. It was filled with chocolate mousse. Now that is decadence at its visual best and a huge compliment to the pastry chef.

Wines are available by the bottle or glass. Bottles range from $29 to almost $100. If you are into the martini thing they have an impressive list as well as other liqueurs and ports. I have to make a comment here that no matter where we dine, the after dinner drink list never (so far at least) includes Absinthe and that is just a shame. This anise - like gift of the Green Fairies has been legal in the US since 2007 after getting a bad rap a century ago by tea toddlers who believed the wormwood in it brought out the demons in those who drank it. More nonsense from those so hypocritically pure of spirit themselves in that era accompanying Prohibition. I say put Absinthe on the menus and be dammed ye of demon spirit. Let the Green Fairies it is supposed to induce on imbibers dance into the night. Few would want to drink it straight and even diluted with the typical sugar cube and ice cold water it may be an acquired taste but I have seen the younger generation drink far more bitter chartreuse-colored spirits.

So, I will certainly be going back to Marie Louise Bistro, if only to have the Bouillabaisse. There are so many delicious items on their menu; check out the web site. And thanks to our server Kristin for making a very good meal a great one.