Baltimore's Restaurant Week 2012 begins Friday, so shake off your post-holiday hibernating ways, and get ready to rejoin society. And "Week" is defined generously here. You've got ten whole days and nights (January 20-29) to get out of the house and let someone else do the cooking for not alot of moolah.
For a complete listing of the 90+ participating restaurants along with menus, website and reservation links, go to www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com. At $30.12 for a three course prix fixe meal ($20.12 at a few places), and $15.12 for a two course prix fixe lunch, Restaurant Week is your wallet-friendly opportunity to try that restaurant you’ve always meant to, or revisit an old favorite to see how they’re doing.
Looking through the many Restaurant Week menus, and encountering Caesar salads galore, numerous dolled-up mac-and-cheeses, oodles of Maryland Crab soups, and loads of unseasonable fare along the way (salad caprese, gazpacho, peach cobbler?), I’ve come up with my own list. Personal experience and reputation certainly wield influence, but mostly my shortlist highlights those places I think have the most interesting menus and/or best value. The restaurants that acknowlege winter and give us the soulful, rib-sticking dishes we want to eat when it's cold outside get my attention.
Of all the menus, I found Salt Tavern’s to be the most alluring. I will be hard pressed to make a choice from among their first course dishes. Shall I have shellfish chowder with applewood bacon, salt cod fritters, rabbit and oxtail terrine, or beet salad with candied pecans and goat cheese? I’m even considering the wild mushroom risotto, even though I’m rather risotto-ambivalent, just for the promise of house-made duck ham. Appealing as they are, I’ll struggle less with my second course - it will be the braised beef shortribs for me.
I’ve never been to La Tasca, but I think their approach to Restaurant Week is welcoming and seems a great value. Though the inner harbor location suggests a tourist trap, their atmosphere looks a bit forced (Pier-One-Spanish?), and the fact that they are a chain (though a local one), their $30 a head unlimited menu presents an occasion to taste and share a multitude of Spanish-inpired goodies all while admiring the watery reflection of city lights.
Other places I’m drawn to:
Ambassador Dining Room: I’ve never been, but heard good things, and I covet a table near the reportedly very handsome fireplace. Besides, I really need to go beyond take-out Indian.
b A Bolton Hill Bistro: I reviewed b Bistro last summer and found them seasoning-challenged, but really their menu is one of the most attractive of the whole lot. The one item I loved last summer, the beef tartare, is on this prix fixe menu.
The Brewer’s Art: Their prix fixe menu does not disappoint, with temptations of Utz-crusted cod and duck confit. Heck, it's worth a trip just for the good deal on Steak Frites.
Bluegrass Tavern: They’ve got peanut soup! (See one of my previous posts.) Smoked fried chicken? I’m curious.....
Blue Hill Tavern: Their balanced, inviting, yet quirky menu makes many of the other menus look tired and predictable. Oxtail, pozole, rabbit confit anyone?
Corner BYOB: Though I rave-reviewed them back in June, I hesitate to recommend Corner because of a friend’s very poor experience there since. Still, how can one resist braised pork cheek with foie gras broth?
The Helmand: Though I have not been for years and years, I have some very fond memories of delicious meals, and they still have a good reputation.
Rowhouse Grille: My friends had some nice things to say about this place and their menu describes some very comforting, but not boring fare (Almond Fig Tart with brandy-soaked figs, mascarpone and caramelized onions).
Sascha’s 527 Restaurant: I am taking a risk here, since when I last visited Sascha’s (late winter 2011) both the food and the service were miserable. Yet, I’m really liking the prixe frix menu they’re offering for Restaurant Week which is homey with some sophisticated details (like Sascha’s Catering back in the day). I’m hoping they’ve gotten their mojo back.
The Wine Market: I’ve dined here a few times and have always had a good experience. Their grilled sturgeon, Carolina trout and Korean BBQ lamb all sound fantastic.
Also note:
- Most of the participants offer vegetarian dishes
- Gertrude’s is advertising a vegan entreé
- Suprano’s Steak House serves gluten-free pasta.
Wherever you end up, I hope your chosen restaurant views your visit as an opportunity to woo you and win a customer, rather than as an evening with a thrifty diner they must endure.
Cheers!
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