Cypriana

When Cypriana was downtown, sprinkled here and there in office buildings and in the University of Maryland hospital, they specialized in things like kebabs and salads. I loved their Greek salad, the typical inauthentic pile of lettuce with cucumbers and tomatoes, topped with a generous amount of feta cheese and a cup of creamy tarragon dressing on the side. The dressing really made it.

A few years back, they closed their fast casual restaurants and opened a full-service place in the Broadview apartments, former home to the venerable French restaurant Jeannier's, among others. I'm not sure why we put off going for so long, but this spring we finally paid Cypriana a visit. It was a pleasant evening, so we asked to sit on the patio, which may or may not have been a good idea. The restaurant's patio is divided into two areas, one more loungy, and the other for dining. After we were seated, we noticed a lot of musical tables and chairs being played by a trio of people who were apparently hosting a graduation party. They never seemed particularly satisfied with the number of tables pushed together or the chairs arranged around them, and the whole thing got uncomfortably close to where we were seated. As in, perhaps one of us would get smacked with a heavy metal table or chair. Fortunately, seating arrangements were resolved before I felt we had to move out of the way.

But then the kids happened.

There must have been a large party inside, one with many small children. Many small children who decided to run around outside on the patio. A patio that is actually a large balcony. Had any of those children been curious enough to climb the short wall to see what was on the other side of the balcony (a drop into a courtyard), there may have been a tragedy. One parent was outside briefly, sitting on a chair and playing with his phone while the children ran in and out of not only the dining room entrance, but also the ramp into the kitchen entrance. Bad enough they caused a ruckus on the lounge section of the patio, but they also decided to run around in the increasingly more crowded dining section, hiding behind tables and running around servers with full trays of food.

And nobody said a word to anyone.

I'm not sure why half a dozen kindergartners were allowed to run around largely unsupervised in a restaurant. I don't understand why parents cannot parent their children.

Anyway...Cypriana is lucky that neither of us got belted by a chair or had food spilled on us by a waiter who had to avoid rugrats. And the food was good.

We mostly stuck with mezzedes, small plates. We tried the spinach and feta flatbread, which was crispy and melty and nicely cheesy.

Also the beef- and lamb-stuffed grape leaves. They were much larger than normal grape leaves, and really very nice, with flavorful filling and tender leaves. They were supposed to come with a yogurt sauce that our waiter forgot, promised to bring, but never did. I suppose they didn't need it.

The sesame roasted feta was drizzled with honey and served with fresh hot pita. I love baked cheese, and could have eaten a few more slabs of this stuff.

We also had the "Mousaka of Cypress," a small and unphotogenic ramekin with layers of eggplant, zucchini, potato, and a beef and lamb mixture, covered in a dreamy bechamel. It was quite possibly the best moussaka I have ever had.

We tried one entree dish of tender grilled octopus served with a cucumber salad (called tabouli on the menu) and some red quinoa, which brought nothing to the plate. The octopus itself was very nice. I tried dipping it in the container of what appeared to be plain, unseasoned, red wine vinegar, and felt that it was fine on its own.

We couldn't pass on dessert, especially when pistachio sea salt baklava was on offer. Made as individual pieces rather than in a large pan, it made for a much neater serving, though it was a bit difficult to cut into bite-sized pieces. The flavor was very good though.

The menu lists the chocolate rose cake as "layers of dark chocolate cake with rich Belgian chocolate and edible roses with a semi-sweet fudge icing." I figured the "edible roses" were made of frosting, but no, there was a definite rose flavor to the cake, and pulverized rose petal dust garnished the plate. I never would pair chocolate with rose, and while it worked here, I still probably won't pair those two strong flavors. The cake was otherwise moist and quite good.

I have mixed feelings about Cypriana. While by and large the food we had was good, the service was meh (still waiting on that yogurt sauce!) and the rugrat disturbance was pretty inexcusable. I can perhaps understand that management might not have wanted to upset their customers by asking them to mind their own brats (Really? I actually do not understand it at all.) but why sacrifice the enjoyment of the other diners?

Cypriana
105 W 39th Street
Baltimore, MD 21210

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Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spotlight On - Cafe Gia

Not sure if anyone knows, but I've been writing a restaurant column for the City Walker App Blog. The purpose of the app itself is to give visitors a local's-eye-view of a city, so they are able to experience it in the same way residents do--on foot. (Not that anyone actually walks anywhere anymore.) The blog offers a bit more detail; I have endeavored to take users on a stroll through the city while pointing out restaurants along the way. In addition to the walking posts, I have been writing others that put certain favorite restaurants of mine in a spotlight. I thought I could share those here with you.
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The brick building at the corner of President and Fleet Streets--currently home to the Baltimore Civil War Museum--has seen a lot of action over the years. Originally a train station, it was involved in the Baltimore Riot of 1861, a skirmish that produced the first casualties of the Civil War. President Street Station was also the terminus for scores of Italian immigrants who had originally entered the U.S. through Ellis Island in New York and took the train to Baltimore. They came from all over Italy--from Genoa and Naples on the mainland, Palermo and Cefalu in Sicily--and many settled down virtually at the station’s doorstep in the neighborhood that became known as Little Italy.

So it came to be that multiple generations of the same Italian family lived in the same small rowhouse with hopes to raise future generations in the same place. Today, most of the neighborhood is still of Italian descent, but there are folks of other ethnicities living here and there, drawn to the neighborhood’s warmth and staying power, and its proximity to downtown. The Aquia family are relative newcomers to the area, having only arrived in Baltimore from Cefalu, Sicily, in 1953. Matriarch Giovanna has said, “at a time when no one liked to move around, our family traveled 3500 miles and we haven’t moved 200 feet since.” Gia Fracassetti, Giovanna’s daughter, is first-generation American and the third generation to live in Little Italy. She decided she wanted to own a restaurant that honored not only her family’s long association with the neighborhood, but also with their Sicilian homeland. She and her Mom opened their eponymous restaurant in 2006 in a corner building embellished inside and out with colorful murals, some depicting life in Sicily, including a replica of the wedding portrait of Rosa and Pasquale, the first generation of the Aquia family to settle in Little Italy. Painted images from old advertising posters decorate the interior, and even the tabletops sport colorful illustrations, all done by local artist Yuri Fatkulin who sadly passed away not long after he finished painting those tables.

The chef at Cafe Gia is Gianfranco Fracassetti. Gian, who hails from Lombardy in the northwest of Italy, worked for a few Baltimore restaurants before ending up at Cafe Gia in 2009. After eight years there, he’s a member of the family. Literally, as he and Gia are married and have added a fourth generation to their Little Italy legacy. Chef Fracassetti’s specialty is homemade stuffed pastas, but he’s no slouch when it comes to anything else on the menu. On a recent visit, hubs and I were able to sit outside on their shaded second floor deck and enjoy the pleasant sunny weather without actually coming in contact with the sun. We ordered a special that evening, a flavorful tuna tartare with the crunch of fresh white corn and a healthy dose of garlic from the pesto aioli that bound it together. We also enjoyed a beet salad, which is not to say a green salad with a few token beets on top, but a great mound of tender cubed red barbabietole (a fun word pronounced “barh bah BYIH toh leh”) in the lightest of dressings, with a lacy garnish of finely shaved fresh fennel. I was intrigued by a pork shank braised with beer (a Flying Dog IPA) and peaches accompanied by a risotto with walnuts and broccolini. It was a dish that managed to be both rustic and elegant in all its many flavors and textures, from the porky depth of the man’s-fist-sized shank and the light sweetness of the rich sauce, to the perfectly cooked rice with vaguely asparagus-like broccolini and crunchy nuts. I loved it. My husband went classic; his order of tender veal saltimbocca had a pronounced sage flavor and just the right amount of cheese. It came with sides of roasted multicolored potatoes and green beans slicked with olive oil. A cannoli for dessert (though we were sorely tempted by Giovanna’s delicious tiramisu) and glasses of Sangiovese rounded out our meal.

On past visits, we’ve enjoyed the grilled octopus served with garbanzo beans, the super-tender sous-vide calamari, the beefy Bolognese sauce over house-made fettuccine, and the eggplant Parmesan. Also recommended are the polpette di Luca, meatballs made with ground bison and ricotta. Though bison is a leaner protein than beef, these meatballs are very moist and tender and remind me of the ones my aunt made. She wasn’t Italian, but her father-in-law was, and his recipe made the very best meatballs on the planet as far as I am concerned.

You may, of course, prefer to have a cocktail or a glass of wine with a few nibbles rather than a full meal. Next door to Cafe Gia is Pane e Vino, a sweet little wine bar owned by Steven Blatterman, Gia’s brother, but definitely a family affair. We love their specialty cocktails, our favorite being the Spicy Sicilian, a sprightly combination of pepper vodka, limoncello, kumquat syrup, and lemon, but the vodka/grapefruit/ginger flavors of the Charm City Girl and the tequila, blood orange, and ginger beer concoction called Redheads Have More Fun are tasty as well. The full Cafe Gia menu is also available at Pane e Vino, in case the crispy chickpeas on the bar whet your appetite for more.

Cafe Gia
410 S High Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 685-6727



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spotlight On - Points South Latin Kitchen

Not sure if anyone knows, but I've been writing a restaurant column for the City Walker App Blog. The purpose of the app itself is to give visitors a local's-eye-view of a city, so they are able to experience it in the same way residents do--on foot. (Not that anyone actually walks anywhere anymore.) The blog offers a bit more detail; I have endeavored to take users on a stroll through the city while pointing out restaurants along the way. In addition to the walking posts, I have been writing others that put certain favorite restaurants of mine in a spotlight. I thought I could share those here with you.
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Bryson Keens and Rey Eugenio were once managing partner and chef partner at Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion at Harbor East some years ago. This was back in the days before there were so many restaurants to choose from in the area, and Roy’s was the place to go. The menu, featuring dishes served in all Roy’s nationwide plus some local twists, was uniformly delicious. However, it was during the restaurant’s special wine dinners that Chef Eugenio’s cuisine really shone. Coupled with the amiable Mr Keen’s turn as emcee, plus wine, those dinners were a guaranteed good time. (Except perhaps for the husband who managed to talk his wife into leaving the kids with a sitter that night, only to find the dinner featured course after course of cute animals like Mary’s little lamb, Bambi, and Donald Duck, which the wife refused to eat. Fun fun sitting across from them!) Man, I loved those dinners. All good things must come to an end, of course: Rey eventually left Roy’s to work at a new Greek restaurant that quickly topped Baltimore’s Best Restaurant list. Bryson left a few years later to open his own place: Points South Latin Kitchen, in Fells Point. Chef Eugenio was brought on as a consultant, and now he’s running the kitchen. The food, predictably, is fan-fecking-tastic.

Points South is one of those places where making a simple decision about dinner can be quite difficult because everything sounds so tempting. Last time I was there with my family, we ordered what seemed like everything on the menu. We started out with the yuca croquettes, shrimp ceviche, lamb ribs, and grilled octopus, then went on to the beef short ribs and duck prepared two ways. A dish of chicharrónes, too, because every meal needs to have a side dish comprised entirely of slabs of fried pork belly. Every meal. Each dish was better than the last. Smothered in a honey chipotle barbeque sauce and complimented with garlic chips, scallions, and creamy mojo, the lamb ribs were a huge hit. Even my Dad, who has had a lifelong aversion to lamb, said they were so good, he would have eaten the bones if he could. The fork-tender beef short ribs, too, were excellent, infused with the spicy flavor of bittersweet chocolate sauce. We could easily have polished off a second order. But there was also that duck dish, a special that night: a large confit leg with luscious meat and crispy skin plus medium-rare duck breast, served with mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables.

We were too stuffed to get dessert, and would’ve had trouble deciding between the flourless marble cake of Venezuelan dark chocolate, dulce de leche, and cafe au lait whipped cream, and the pastel de maiz, a corn cake with chile-lime macerated berries, candied lime zest, and coconut whipped cream. The flan with orange liqueur caramel sounds yummy, too.

Points South also serves brunch and lunch. The “platos pequenos” (small plates) are similar among the three meals, but entrees are replaced by a selection of pupusas, a Salvadoran dish of thick corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and/or other items like beans or meat. There are egg dishes at brunch as well. Cocktails ranging from the Latin American classics mojitos, caipirinhas, and pisco sours to house signatures like the tequila-based Cucumber Fresco are available with every meal (as are those chicharrónes).

This summer, Points South will be hosting the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament. If you’re lucky enough to be in Baltimore from June into early August, you can attend one of the battles, which are held on Mondays and Tuesday evenings. The Tournament pits two local area chefs against each other in a themed three-course battle, not unlike the televised Iron Chef competition that originated in Japan and continued on the Food Network for many years (and is poised to make a comeback). Please see http://www.masondixonmasterchef.com/ for information and to purchase tickets.

Points South Latin Kitchen
1640 Thames Street
Baltimore, MD 21231
443-563-2018



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spotlight on: Hersh's

Not sure if anyone knows, but I've been writing a restaurant column for the City Walker App Blog. The purpose of the app itself is to give visitors a local's-eye-view of a city, so they are able to experience it in the same way residents do--on foot. (Not that anyone actually walks anywhere anymore.) The blog offers a bit more detail; I have endeavored to take users on a stroll through the city while pointing out restaurants along the way. In addition to the walking posts, I have been writing others that put certain favorite restaurants of mine in a spotlight. I thought I could share those here with you.

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When I was much younger, Baltimore was a pizza wasteland. Sure, restaurants touting their nightmarish “fresh dough” pizza were all over the place, and yes, I ate my share of it, always hoping to find a slice that actually tasted good. The whole ‘fresh” dough thing was quite a misnomer; it was made in a factory somewhere and trucked into restaurants around town, so how fresh could it be? Well into the 1980s, Baltimore-area pizzas consisted of these flabby, flavorless crusts topped with bland red sauce and puddles of rubbery salt masquerading as cheese. Though cooked up in mom-and-pop establishments, they were awful enough to make Pizza Hut and Domino’s seem like the good stuff.

There were, of course, exceptions to the rule. My favorite pizza came from a regional chain called Pappy’s, where they served birch beer by the pitcher and gave styrofoam hats to kids. You know, the ones that are modeled after straw boaters and seen on the heads of barbershop quartets and election day candidate-hucksters. I was probably 10 when I had my last Pappy’s pizza so can’t be held accountable for my taste back then. There was also Matthew’s Pizzaria in Highlandtown, Squire’s in Dundalk, and Pizza John’s in Essex, all of which are still in business lo these many decades later. The former has a strong fan base, but I’ve always thought their pies were bland. Squire’s pizzas are anything but, with a very herby and somewhat sweet tomato sauce and a crust that is crunchy rather than crispy. I’ve never been to Pizza John’s, but I hear that they serve thin NY-style pizza and they make their own dough, so I should probably get my ass out there, right? In any case, none of the pizzas of my Charm City youth could hold a candle to most dollar slices in New York. For a while there I decided I didn’t really like the stuff. Fortunately, in the 00s, a bunch of pizza joints opened up in Baltimore, all serving thin-crust goodness with toppings like pesto and arugula. I realized I did like pizza, even craved it, though none of these newer establishments were what I’d call a “holy grail.”

Then I tried Hersh’s.

Hersh’s is on the very end of Light Street, a good mile’s walk from the Inner Harbor. Owned by siblings Josh and Stephanie Hershkovitz, Hersh’s serves Neapolitan-style pizza and a whole lotta other yummy Italianate things. But first, the pizza. It’s cooked in a wood-fired oven and is served uncut, like in Naples. The crust is thin with a perfectly blistered cornicione and some leopard-spots of char on the crust and upskirt. While the pizzas look so damn good you just want to pick it up and shove it into your pizza-pie-hole whole, cutting it into at least four slices is probably a better way to approach things. Less hot cheese in the lap. Also as in Naples, you can’t just come in and expect to get a giant pie slathered in shredded cheese and slices of pepperoni perched on a 5-napkin oil slick. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) If you’re really into pepperoni, you can add some to a Margherita (otherwise topped with housemade mozz, grana padano, and fresh basil), but why not put a little more excitement in your life? My suggestion is to order the Tre Porcellini if it’s on the menu. It’s topped with three different pork products–sausage, braised pork, and guanciale–along with provolone, garlic and red pepper flakes, and it will take you to hog heaven. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!) The Fumo e Fuoco is my fave, topped with smoked mozz, grana padana, and soft rounds of fried eggplant, all drizzled with a spark of chili oil. Excellent for dinner, even better when eaten cold for breakfast.

But enough about the pizza. While a pie and a beer, glass of vino, or a crafty cocktail can be a perfect meal for some, Hersh’s kitchen magic is not limited to things on crusts. You see, Hersh’s isn’t a pizza parlor. It’s an Italian restaurant. Yet, it’s impossible for my husband and I to eat at Hersh’s and not order pizza. However, we like to make it one course of a multi-course meal and share everything. So we might start off with one of the antipasti, most likely the wood-fired octopus or maybe the meatballs in tomato sauce over housemade ricotta, then move on to a salad. Right now there’s a lovely Autumn Salad comprising escarole, apples, pecans, parm, and gorgonzola dolce in a dijon-apple cider vinaigrette that sounds perfect. And while the more protein-focused of Chef Josh’s main dishes are going to be dynamite, we usually lean toward ordering a plate of his tender housemade pasta, like a classic spaghetti Carbonara, or maybe some roast pumpkin gnocchi with crispy braised pork and arugula-pumpkin seed pesto. (Yeah, I’m drooling too.) Once we’ve demolished those items, then we’ll have pizza. And if we can’t finish it, that’s when it becomes breakfast the following morning. There’s really no losing with this meal plan.

So if you’re in the mood for really great pizza and a plate of pillowy ricotta ravioli or maybe tagliolini with some sort of seafood on top, you definitely need to walk all the way down Light Street to Riverside to eat at Hersh’s. (And if your feet are sore from all the other walking you’ve been doing, jump on the bus. The Silver Line goes straight down Light and stops within a block of the restaurant.

Hersh’s
1843 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 438-4948



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spotlight On - Encantada

Not sure if anyone knows, but I've been writing a restaurant column for the City Walker App Blog. The purpose of the app itself is to give visitors a local's-eye-view of a city, so they are able to experience it in the same way residents do--on foot. (Not that anyone actually walks anywhere anymore.) The blog offers a bit more detail; I have endeavored to take users on a stroll through the city while pointing out restaurants along the way. In addition to the walking posts, I have been writing others that put certain favorite restaurants of mine in a spotlight. I thought I could share those here with you.
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Baltimore is not known for its vegan restaurants. That’s not to say it’s not a vegan-friendly city; there are a handful of notable places that serve vegan cuisine. Some are completely vegan. And several of them are even planning a Vegan Restaurant Week from August 18th - 26th (check out https://www.mdveganeats.com for more info). I’m not vegan, or even vegetarian, but have always felt that a well-rounded food scene is beneficial for the city’s residents and visitors alike. Plus I understand that the high level of meat consumption in the US is not doing anybody any favors, physically on an individual level and climate-wise on a global scale.

Encantada, in the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) is a restaurant that pleases both vegans and consumers of animal products alike. But first, let’s talk a little bit about AVAM. If you haven’t been there, you must go. Seriously. It’s the most interesting, fun, mind-boggling, amazing art museum in the city (and we have two pretty fabulous museums in the Walters and the Baltimore Museum of Art). The term “visionary,” when applied to art, refers to works created by persons with no formal art training who are guided solely by their own inner voice. These folks may or may not march to the beat of a different drum in their public lives, but whatever it is that influences their work, it doesn’t follow the constraints of “learned” forms of art like went-to-art-school art or even the traditions of folk art. Think 25-foot-long ship models made entirely of toothpicks, or complex masks created from knitted and crocheted yarn. Amazing stuff. I consider AVAM to be in the top five places to visit in Baltimore (the others being the National Aquarium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Walters Art Museum, and Fells Point).

Now, on to the restaurant. The word “encantada” means “charmed, enchanted, bewitched,” which seems appropriate for a restaurant located in such a delightful museum. Apropos of its setting, the decor at Encantada is, shall we say, eclectic. Furniture and fabrics are purposely mismatched, walls may sport royal blue and black vertical stripes, or black and white diagonal ones. Art from the museum is hung here and there, adding still more color to the elegant cacophony of the restaurant’s interior. The menu is much more focused. The food at Encantada is grounded in the restaurant’s partnerships with local farmers, watermen, and ranchers to provide the freshest seasonal meat and produce. The animal proteins used by the restaurant have been raised humanely without GMOs, and while that still might not please PETA, it makes us carnivores feel a bit less guilty about indulging in meat. Vegetarians and vegans will be happy, however, that vegetables and grains play far more important roles at Encantada than at many other restaurants where they may be relegated to mere “side dishes.”

One can enjoy Encantada’s vegetable-forward menu at brunch, lunch, dinner, and happy hour. Conveniently, brunch is offered both Saturday and Sunday, with $15 bottomless bloody marys, mimosas, and beers from Evolution, a craft brewery based in Salisbury on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Vegan options include a bbq tofu benedict with avocado, crispy kale, and grilled tomato, and a spicy “chicken” sandwich made with seitan. Actual chicken is fried and coated in harissa honey and served with french toast in another dish that’s a riff on the now-popular chicken and waffles, and a burger with a runny egg is available, too.

The dinner menu is divided up into small and large plates, but it’s probably easiest to think of them as apps and entrees. On the current menu, all of the small plates are vegetarian or vegan apart from the “N’awlins BBQ Shrimp,” which of course is not.

One of the more popular vegan small plates, available for brunch, lunch, and dinner, is the Nashville cauliflower, made with Tennessee-style hot sauce and served with vegan ranch dressing and bread-and-butter pickles. It shows that whatever chicken can do, cauliflower can also do (and possibly do it better). The deviled turnips are another popular dish; it’s been on the menu from day one. They’re actually a play on deviled eggs--small white turnips standing in for the egg white, a filling of chickpea mash, and a dusting of smoked paprika. Cute and tasty, but egg-like in appearance only.

Entrees include more meaty selections, things like NY sirloin and duck breast, some fish options too. But even carnivores will enjoy the pasta with mushroom bolognese, its depth of flavor due to the umami-rich mushrooms. On a recent visit during Restaurant Week, we tried a housemade trofie (a hand-rolled twisted pasta) with pesto, peas, and optional guanciale (cured pork jowl or cheek) that was simply outstanding. You can’t go wrong with ordering a side of heirloom carrots, either; though the preparation is always slightly different, they are usually topped with toasted hazelnuts, which really make the dish.

Finally, don’t pass up on cocktails before, during, or after your meal. The Cheshire Cat is a particularly refreshing gin-and-cucumber beverage with a touch of lemongrass, mint, and lime, with a fun blue ice cube that gradually turns the drink purple as it melts. I also like “It’s About Fig & Thyme” and “Berryland Smash,” both tasty concoctions that are worth trying.

Encantada
800 Key Highway
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-752-1000
Encantadabaltimore.com



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Clavel

Clavel calls itself a mezcaleria, and yes, there are a vast number of mezcals on the drink menu available as single or double shots and in flights, but I'm in it for the tacos and ceviche. I do like a shot of mezcal now and again, don't get me wrong, but I have always found food to be far more interesting than booze, so I'm not even going to get into the alcohol at Clavel. We've tried a few of the cocktails, which are complex and interesting, but I can't really speak about them with any real authority so I'm not going to try.

What I can talk about, however, is the eats.

The food menu at Clavel isn't huge. There are five ceviches, two soups, quesadillas, tortas (sandwiches), and a selection of tacos. All three of the ceviches I've tried--shrimp, tuna, and rockfish--were lovely, with super-fresh seafood "cooked" until firm with lots of lime juice and complementary flavorings (pineapple with the tuna; tomato, cucumber, and avocado with the shrimp; a sweet potato mayo with the rockfish). They were served atop tostadas that had a toastier flavor and crisper texture than those I've eaten in the past. We ordered the small size, which was perfect for three of us to share. More people can try more types of ceviche, or order the larger size, which comes with chips for sharing.

We also tried the flavorful esquites, corn layered with mayo, crema, butter, cheese, lime juice, and chiles. The tender-crisp corn kernels were the main focus of the dish, which was not as insanely fatty as it sounds.

Then we had tacos, all of which were more-ish. My favorites were the cochinita pibil, shredded pork cooked in a tangy mixture of bitter orange and achiote, and the carnitas. Carnitas are chunks of pork cooked in its own lard (so how can that ever be anything less than amazing?), making them super tender. Clavel mixes in bits of crisp chicharrones (pork skin) and tops it with a bit of warm salsa verde. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

We've also tried the huitlacoche (a fungus that grows on corn), the rajas vegetarianas (strips of poblano chile with corn and crema), the lengua (cubed beef tongue in salsa verde), spicy chicken tinga, beef and pork barbacoa, and the coffee-tinged lamb barbacoa, all of which were tender, juicy, and flavorful. There are a trio of spicy sauces on the table, as well as pickled red onion, but I didn't find that any of the tacos needed additional garnishes. You might want more heat, but I didn't.

Three tacos and a small ceviche each made for a pretty filling meal because of all the protein. That doesn't mean we didn't briefly contemplate ordering more tacos, as there are still a few (including seafood) that we haven't yet tried. Next time.

Clavel is quite popular and there was already a line at the door just before they opened at 5pm. On a Tuesday. Thankfully, they've opened another dining room, but the place still got very full very fast. Be prepared to wait if you're not an early bird diner like we are. Totally worth it though.

Clavel
225 W. 23rd Street
Baltimore, MD 21211



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Spotlight On - The Brewer's Art

Not sure if anyone knows, but I've been writing a restaurant column for the City Walker App Blog. The purpose of the app itself is to give visitors a local's-eye-view of a city, so they are able to experience it in the same way residents do--on foot. (Not that anyone actually walks anywhere anymore.) The blog offers a bit more detail; I have endeavored to take users on a stroll through the city while pointing out restaurants along the way. In addition to the walking posts, I have been writing others that put certain favorite restaurants of mine in a spotlight. I thought I could share those here with you.
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If you find yourself in the Midtown Baltimore neighborhood of Mount Vernon looking for a place to indulge in some serious food and even more serious beer, go to the Brewer’s Art. Named Esquire Magazine’s “Best Bar in America” for 2009, it also made the list of Draft Magazine’s 100 Best Bars in America 2015, and Gayot’s Top 10 Brewpubs in the US 2017. As far as I’m concerned, the place deserves every kudos.

Brewer’s Art has 60 or so seasonal beers, many in the Belgian style. My personal favorite is the GPT, an intoxicating 9% ABV tripel spiced with green peppercorns that is available for a very short time in the winter. I’m also a fan of their regular year-round also-available-in-stores Resurrection (a full-bodied abbey brown ale) and Beazly (a golden “devil” ale). The latter was originally named Ozzy, after the Black Sabbath singer and MTV reality star, until a cease-and-desist letter from Mr Osbourne put an end to things--ten years after the brew was introduced. I guess it just took him a while to notice. (Note to our neighbors with the dog named Ozzy: you may be next.) And lest you think the Brewer’s Art is only a beer bar, I can reassure you that there are fancy house cocktails (and any classics you’d like) and a modest wine list as well.

Situated in an elegant rowhouse mansion on a somewhat quiet block of North Charles Street, the Brewer’s Art also shows a fair bit of artistry in the kitchen portion of the establishment. The restaurant’s chef is Andrew Weinzirl, who worked previously at Maggie’s Farm (which he also co-owned), the Wine Market, Chameleon Cafe, and the Dogwood, all very well-regarded Baltimore-area restaurants with strong farm-to-table sensibilities. The menu at Brewer’s Art has, in the past, had strong European influences but Chef Weinzirl’s approach is a little more on the global side. One can still get a dish of pierogies or steak frites, but a recent menu also offered red lentil croquettes in a curry laksa broth that got rave reviews from foodies. Weinzirl has also incorporated beer into several menu items, including a soup of Beazly with celery root, chicken, and dill creme fraiche. He also uses Beazly to steam spicy sambal cockles and to brine the pasture-raised chicken available on the lunch and bar menu. Obviously a very versatile beer, that one. (I’d have no problems if it had been named after me.) Weinzirl has even used spent grain left over from the brewing process in a cornbread appetizer. As they say, waste not want not!

Among always-on-the-menu favorites are the rosemary garlic fries. For some reason, people have gotten it in their heads that they are cooked in duck fat, but that’s never been the case. Isn’t rosemary and garlic enough? They’re delish nonetheless, and come with a side of mayonnaise, in the Belgian style. The frites are available in both the dining room and in the bar, but that’s about all their menus have in common, at least at dinner time. If you have a hankering for a burger (the beef comes from local Roseda Farms) with cheddar, beer onions, horseradish pickles, and BA’s version of “animal sauce,” then you’ll have to eat it in the bar. That also goes for the cheesesteak sandwich. And it’s not just any old beef cheesesteak (this ain’t Philly)--it’s a lamb cheesesteak, topped with smoked provolone. And roasted mushrooms. And broccolini. When faced with a difficult decision such as this--eat in the dining room or eat in the bar--sometimes the deciding factor is the noise level. On a rollicking evening (pretty much every evening), the decibel level in the bar can be high. Those of us with more sensitive ears might prefer to eat in the dining room, which is a little more reasonable as far as noise is concerned.

No matter what you end up doing at the Brewer’s Art--spending some time at the bar tasting various of their fine beers or having a full-blown meal--it’s definitely a place worth stopping by, even if you’re not already in the neighborhood.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Magdalena

When Magdalena opened in the Ivy Hotel last year, I took one look at the menu and the prices and determined that we'd probably never eat there. We just can't afford $38 entrees and $25 appetizers. But lucky for us, they participated in Baltimore Winter Restaurant week, so we were able to enjoy a fine 3-course meal at the reasonable price of $35 per person.

The day before our scheduled dinner, I received an email from OpenTable saying that the restaurant had cancelled our reservation. A phone call to Magdalena confirmed that we were still on the books, and I didn't have to pull out the, "don't you know who I am?" card. (No, I haven't ever done that. Mostly because it would be greeted with a shrug and a blank stare.) Probably an OpenTable glitch. But as we left our car with the valet (which is complimentary) and followed the two employees who each opened one of the two doors into the restaurant for us, I still had some feelings of trepidation. Hearing "your table is ready," was music to my ears, as was the jazzy music--including my favorite Ella Fitzgerald--coming over the sound system. We were led to a corner table at the banquette facing the courtyard in the dining area nearest the bar. We like to eat early, for many reasons, and have found that doesn't always get us a good table. In fact, it usually scores us a pretty crappy one, like near the POS station or bathroom. So getting what seemed to us to be a very nice table with a view was a good way to start our meal.

We ordered drinks. I had a glass of Pinot noir, and Mr Minx ordered the Bookie. A riff on a Manhattan, it involved Maker's Mark bourbon and Averna Amaro, garnished with a strip of lemon peel and a Luxardo Maraschino cherry. The drink cost $18, which is just $7 shy of the price of an entire bottle of Maker's Mark at our favorite liquor store. It was tasty, sure, but the price was excessive for such a simple concoction.

Sure the booze was pricey, but we were getting a bargain as far as the food was concerned. Mr Minx started his meal with the potato and watercress soup with Benton's bacon dumplings and tarragon. The generously portioned green concoction was smooth and surprisingly light; the bitter flavor of the watercress was balanced nicely by the blandness of the potato and especially the strong smokiness of the bacon.

My fried Maryland oysters were specifically Holy Grails, from Hooper's Island Oyster Aquaculture Company. The pleasantly salty bivalves were plump and perfectly cooked and served with a creamy horseradish-flavored sauce and a little pile of lightly pickled shaved cucumber reminiscent of the cucumber salads familiar to all Marylanders.

There were three entree options, one of which had a $30 upcharge ($50 on the Restaurant Week web site) which meant for us there were only two. I was intrigued by the idea of candied eggplant, so opted for the filet of sea bass, which also came with forbidden rice, broccoli, and chili oil.

I was somewhat disappointed that the eggplant was a puree. It was lightly sweet, but not what I'd consider "candied." However, it was a nice foil for the rice, which was doused in an acidic and quite hot chili oil. The fish was tender and perfectly cooked, with a nice crisp skin, but my favorite part was the broccoli. It had been roasted to a lovely crisp-tender texture, well-seasoned and buttered, with a pleasant roast-y flavor.

The other attractive entree option was roast chicken with bread sauce. What Mr Minx received was half a baby chicken that was clearly of very high quality. It was that rare chicken that had real flavor, juicy with the smack of chicken fat and simple seasoning. The sauce, a classic accompaniment to simple roast fowl and a nod to Chef Mark Levy's British heritage, was creamy without being overly rich, thanks to its thickening agent of bread. French beans and tender slices of rutabaga--a homely root vegetable rarely seen in restaurants--made the dish homey and comforting.

All three dessert options sounded wonderful, but we could only eat two. The Meyer lemon posset was something else not usually seen in restaurants (or really anywhere in this country). An olde worlde kind of dessert, a posset is a very simple pudding of cream and sugar and some sort of citrus flavoring which curdles the pudding and helps it set. It was quite tart, though the coconut sorbet added a little sweet relief.

My sticky toffee pudding was just sweet, in a soothing old-fashioned molasses-y kind of way. The pudding is actually a dense cake made with dates and drenched with a caramel sauce. The flavor is reminiscent of gingerbread, but without the spices. A perfect little quenelle of whipped cream flavored with a touch of Earl Grey tea added a bit of light and creamy contrast.

Speaking of gingerbread, we received a tasty mignardise of mildly spiced gingerbread topped with lemon buttercream along with our check. A nice touch in an evening full of them, starting with the crusty bread rolls accompanied by whipped butter flavored with sweet soy and yuzu brought to us at the beginning of or meal. The server urged us to tuck into them right away while they were still hot from the oven.

Magdalena is a small gem of a restaurant with delicious food and really terrific service. (It was impeccable, not quite formal, accommodating but not intrusive, very polite and friendly. Kinda perfect, actually.) But the only way most of us will ever get to enjoy the place is during Restaurant Week. I urge readers to be on the alert for the summer version of this biannual event and if Magdalena participates again, run, don't walk, to your phone or OpenTable and make a reservation. Otherwise, start saving up to enjoy a meal there at any other time of the year.

Magdalena
The Ivy Hotel
205 E. Biddle Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
(410) 514-0303
http://www.magdalenarestaurant.com/



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Iron Rooster All Day (and All Evening)

The Iron Rooster in the Hunt Valley Towne Center is the newest link in the Maryland-based mini-chain (the others are in Annapolis and Canton). We haven't been to the other locations, but we've been hearing great things from people who have.

While Iron Rooster isn't a diner, they're all about the comfort food, and for many of us, that involves things like pancakes and scrambled eggs, not to mention biscuits and bacon. And scrapple. Who doesn't like breakfast all day? When we got an invite to a media dinner at Hunt Valley, we were more than happy to attend. Our mantra has been "yay for locally-owned restaurants in northern Baltimore County!" and we've enjoyed repeating it on a more-regular basis in recent months.

A few moments after arriving at the restaurant and finding our party, we were asked about drinks. Not having a drink menu handy we defaulted to ordering draft beers, but I would have liked to try the Sriracharita, a signature drink. Next time. Drinks in hand, we explored the buffet provided to our group--after taking photos, of course.

We tasted samples from the supper menu, including the Iron Head Steak Salad. I am a fan of grilled romaine; the smokiness brings another layer of interest to a salad already packed with flavor. The crispy fried leeks and garlic aioli led the tasty charge, followed by the bleu cheese. Slices of strip steak and nuggets of fried pork belly "croutons" provided meaty umami.

Iron Rooster's Fried Green Caprese is a very loose translation of the classic salad of ripe tomato, basil, and Mozzarella cheese. The tomatoes are fried and green, the cheese is queso fresco, and instead of tomato slices there's a roasted corn salsa. A sprightly poblano pepper sauce and a chipotle aioli add a bit of moisture and heat, but the tomatoes were good on their own.

We also tasted the house-made kettle chips, which were crisp and perfectly browned. They're an accompaniment to all of the non-burger sandwich items on the menu, and a nice alternative to fries. (Burgers do come with fries, which is the natural order of things.) The chips with accompanying aioli can also be ordered as a side dish.

The Crabby Mac is an indulgent blend of mac and cheese with crab and Old Bay; spinach and red peppers break up the richness. Good call on the veg, which can also allow diners to fool themselves into thinking they're eating something healthy.

We also tasted Iron Rooster's biscuits. Oh myyyyy, they were good. Fluffy, moist, rich yet light. Perfection. And even better with a schmear of spiced maple bourbon butter (which was good enough to eat with a spoon). The butter regularly comes with their pancakes, French toast, and Belgian waffles, so you can enjoy it even if you're not scarfing down a plate of biscuits. (But why wouldn't you order a plate of biscuits? They are SO GOOD.)

This is a condensed serving. A normal serving includes three pieces of boneless chicken breast
with one waffle and the black pepper pan gravy.

The final savory dish was buttermilk marinated fried chicken on cornmeal waffles with black pepper pan gravy and maple syrup. What can seem like an odd combination really makes sense here. The chicken is well-seasoned and crisp, and the waffle is tender but not soggy. The gravy and syrup bring it all together.

For dessert, we had Iron Rooster's famous pop tarts in both brown sugar and berry flavors. We tried one of each, and really enjoyed them. In fact, they probably stuck in Mr Minx's mind the most, as the next day he mused that he would like to have them on a regular basis. They're served plain at the restaurant, but we fancy media types were presented with the opportunity to gussy up our pastries with frosting and bacon-shaped sugar do-dads. But these tasty treats certainly don't need any such fussy toppings.

If you haven't been to any of the Iron Rooster locations for one reason or another and you live in northern Baltimore County, definitely try out the Hunt Valley outpost. Honestly, I've been thinking about those biscuits frequently in the three weeks since that media dinner, and now that the holiday hubbub is finally over, am planning to get back there on a regular basis. The menu is pretty big, and I'm looking forward to trying other things. But always getting the biscuits.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week 2017

This year, Baltimore Restaurant Week falls between January 13th and 22nd (with some restaurants extending it another week or through the end of the month). I know some people pooh-pooh the event and prefer to stay away from participating restaurants during that time, but I love it and think it's a valuable event. How else to get people out to eat when the weather is crappy and the days are short?

I have always used Restaurant Week as a way to try places that are out of my price range. And these days, there are more and more restaurants that fit that description. While it's fun to try a new restaurant and eat three courses at a bargain price, it's even more fun to go to someplace expensive and enjoy a great meal for little cash.

For instance, at Aggio, entrees average $28 and full-sized pasta dishes are $32. During Restaurant Week, one can enjoy an app, entree, and dessert for $35. Cosima's entrees average a bit higher at $30 (although they are very generously sized and can feed two easily if you order apps and/or a pizza as well) which makes the $35 Restaurant Week dinner price there a bargain. Even more upscale in the cost department is Magdalena, in the Ivy Hotel. Entrees there average over $38 and even dessert will set you back $13, so that reduced three-course price is an amazing introduction to their cuisine.

If you fall in love with one of the restaurants you visit during Restaurant Week, then it can become a regular in your dining rotation, or at least a place to keep in mind for special occasions. And if you don't like the restaurant, well, then you didn't make a huge investment.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Gunther & Co Sneak Peek

Mr Minx and I were invited to a sneak peek of the new Gunther & Co. restaurant in Brewer's Hill the other night. We left quite excited about the restaurant's potential and feel it will become a sure-fire hit for owner Nancy Hart and chef Jerry Trice.

A glance at the outside of what was once the boiler room of Gunther Brewing Company doesn't even begin to hint at how cavernous and attractive the restaurant is on the inside. Brick everywhere, a huge open kitchen with bar seating, and a living wall of plants--which functions both as decoration and an air-cleansing device--are main features. A rustically lovely private dining room on the mezzanine level, with views of the dining room below, would be a fab place for a birthday party or rehearsal dinner, or a simple gathering of friends. The front bar area, too, with its large windows and creative cocktail menu, should be a popular spot for both neighborhood folks and visitors like us who hail from the far reaches of Towson and beyond.

While we didn't get to have a sit-down meal this time around, we were treated to selections from various of Gunther & Co.'s menus. They'll be offering weekend brunch, weekday lunch, dinner Monday through Saturday, and a special Sunday supper. There's also a selection of items available from open to close that includes more snacky things like oysters and cheese, plus salads and a burger.

We started off with two kinds of oysters, giant Pemaquids from Maine, and more petite Wild Ass Ponies from Assateague Island. "Meet the Beet-Alls," featuring beet liquor, rhubarb bitters, and the artichoke liquor called Cynar, was just one of bartender Shaun Stewart's inventive cocktails on offer. We went on to sample the dumplings, delicious pockets of shrimp and lemongrass with a finely cut kaffir lime garnish and a ponzu soy dipper, and crunchy garlic toasts topped with a flavorful beef tartare garnished with egg yolk and radish. While it won't be served in exactly the same way we received it, the tartare will be on the apps menu (and is well worth trying!) There were also crisp-crusted little biscuits filled with pork and mango chutney and fabulous tea-smoked duck breast served with grilled oyster mushrooms and an orange-ginger sauce. A flatbread cooked in a wood-fired pizza oven and topped with smoked salmon, capers, chopped hard boiled egg, and arugula was an example of Gunther & Co.'s flatbread of the day.

For dessert, we tasted pastry chef Aja Cage's light buttermilk panna cotta with citrus and granola, and an ultra rich chocolate pavé with scoops of smooth butter pecan ice cream on the side. I'm slightly disappointed we didn't get to taste the vegan carrot cake with matcha glaze, but we'll just have to go back and get a full-sized serving of that goodness.

Gunther & Co., shortly to become Baltimore's favorite restaurant, opens this Friday, May 20th. The bar opens at 4pm, and dinner service starts at 5.



Gunther & Co.
3650 Toone Street
Baltimore, MD 21224
http://eatatgunther.com

Posted on Minxeats.com.