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Fell's Point's Meli: a honey of a restaurant
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Meli Patisserie and Bistro – in Fell’s Point – serves Greek/Mediterranean food with an emphasis on honey. Even the décor has a honey theme! And, just like a hive, the ambiance is warm and cozy. Mediterranean music plays in the background. You can go there for a full meal, snacks, dessert or simply for their specialty cocktails. Meli has a selection of exotic international beers, too. Often those can have a honey quality, too. The “Melitini” – their honey liqueur martini, has complex layers of honey flavor. You get the bite of the vodka and the smoothness of honey throughout your drink.
The chef starts you off with an “amuse bouche”, which is French for “amuse the mouth”. The purpose is different from an appetizer: they are to be tiny and condensed in flavor, to get everything going. This amuse bouche delivered, composed of a tiny bit of tomato, red onion, pungent goat cheese and cucumber, beautifully presented.
Even the bread and butter that is brought to the table is well thought out. There is a variety of breads -- and some top restaurants don’t do that – and they’re paired with a cinnamon-y honey lavender butter. I dare you to not finish it up!
You can go in several directions for appetizers: hot, cold, hearty, raw. The lobster mac and cheese is really awesome: it’s served up heaping with two kinds of melted cheeses, lobster, applewood smoked bacon, fresh herbs, and French-fried onions. The mac and cheese itself is creamy underneath. The duck sausage appetizer is like having a mini-cassoulet to yourself! It has duck sausage, duck confit, beans… deconstructed and very tasty.
If you love duck – and I have since I was a little girl – then march on to the Duo of Duck! It’s served both seared to your specifications and roasted, each seasoned differently. The presentation is terrific, with frisee, a poached quail egg, and diced smoked bacon. It’s kind of an eggs and bacon thing going…with 2 ducks, of course.
A very homey-comfort entrée is the seared veal hangar steak. It’s served with a mushroom ragout and potato gauffrette. If you are a “meat and potatoes” person – don’t let the French terms throw you – this is for you!
You can order sides a la carte and you certainly won’t go hungry with the sweet potato fries, served with a spicy honey remoulade. It’s perfect to share on a date night and irresistible.
Meli doesn’t let you down for dessert, either. Presentation and recipes are individual and unique. The yogurt parfait is made with very rich Greek-style yogurt, hand-selected berries, honey and nuts. It compliments the entrees very well, by giving you a dessert that’s refreshing but still a treat. Then, you have the cheese plate. This is a must! When I was there, I had three very different selections: a goat cheese, Mimolette and Valdeon. These were paired with truffled honey, apple-walnut chutney and buttered toast. Then, very thoughtfully, pickled cucumber is served with it as a palate cleanser between each cheese!
For more info, check out http://www.kalismeli.com
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