B&O Brasserie Springs into Fall with New Menu

Along with all the other holidays that populate this time of year, one of the biggest causes for celebration in the Minx household is when B&O Brasserie puts out its new Fall menu. We always look forward to seeing what Chef Scott Hines and his sous chef Tyler Johnson have created with all the robust Fall ingredients and comforting flavors that we associate with Autumn. Since we were also finishing our Whole 30 diet, the chance to finally indulge our cravings for bread, sugar, and alcohol was pretty tempting.

We started with the first cocktails we've had in a month. The Minx chose a full-bodied blended red wine while I picked something from their special Fall cocktail list. The "Monkey Business" matches Monkey Shoulder scotch with one of my great-grandfather's favorites Drambuie, along with Ramazzotti amaro, Fernet Branca, and black walnut bitters. A bruleed banana slice is cheekily perched on top to round out the monkey theme. The scotch and scotch-based Drambuie add a smoky quality while the amaros and black walnut bitters bring a touch of bitterness to balance the almost maple-like sweetness.

We were then treated to a collection of new appetizers starting with the housemade seasonal sausage, (which on this particular evening was a cheddar andouille) served with a red cabbage"sauerkraut" that was more sweet than sour, and an earthy mustard made with black mustard seeds and black garlic. All this dish needs is a bit of crusty bread and it could be a meal unto itself.

Restaurants aren't always successful in selling offal and other unusual animal parts to their customers, like the sweetbreads Chef Hines put on the menu earlier in the year. They were amazing, but diners aren't always receptive to trying new things. The Buffalo pigtails are doing well so far, and we could see why. They're the B&O's take on all of the various "Nashville" and "Buffalo"-style spicy meats that are popular right now, but with bits of succulent pig tail taking the place of the usual chicken. The tails are brined before frying, which makes them crispy on the outside and unctuous on the inside. They are coated with a spicy sauce that was just right for our palates. One has to be careful of the many small bones, but it's always fun the dig into this kind of dish. Housemade bread and butter pickles and celery hearts add touches of crunch and acidity.

Given sous chef Tyler Johnson's Italian cooking background, there's bound to be some pasta on the menu and the pumpkin raviolo is a terrific Fall entry. The al dente pasta is stuffed with calabaza pumpkin, goat cheese, and a perfectly runny duck egg yolk. Each bite is rich and creamy with the comforting flavor of pumpkin. The raviolo is topped with a hazelnut picada (a Spanish pesto-like sauce) and crispy Brussels sprouts and herbs are sprinkled on top. I could go for three or four of these as an entree.

Speaking of entrees, the Minx ordered the coffee-crusted pork chop. Chef Hines told us he was channeling his Jewish heritage with this dish--at least part of it--through the large potato latke at the bottom of the plate. Traditional accompaniments for latkes are applesauce and sour cream, and he chose to riff on those with a smoked apple butter glaze and a charred leek cream. Of course adding a fat pork chop to the dish, one with a fine grilled flavor, throws the whole homage out the window. No matter, it is a delicious sacrilege.

In Maryland where there is an over-abundance of deer, venison is about as Fall as you can get, so I ordered the rack of venison with juniper spaetzel, braised red cabbage, and bing cherry bordelaise. Venison can be a little tricky to cook because it's rather lean, but my venison was tender and juicy. The spaetzel was redolent of juniper berries and a hint of orange while the red cabbage brought acidity and the bordelaise added the right amount of sweetness. I tried to restrain myself, but I picked up the bone and chewed off every last bit of meat.

Although it wasn't officially a new Fall menu item, we were also treated to a plate of their carbonara. While it doesn't contain bacon like traditional carbonara, this dish does have garlic cream, delicata squash, Swiss chard, and grana padano cheese. The pasta itself is made in house with a chitarra, a device that creates ribbon-like strips of pasta somewhere between linguini and fettuccini. This was about as perfect a bowl of pasta as I've ever had, and I don't say such things lightly.

The Minx and I were concerned that, after not having any sugar or dairy for one month, the desserts might cause us some upset, but in the interest of food blogging, we soldiered on. I ordered the dark chocolate mocha cake and the Minx had the sticky date pudding. Choosing dark chocolate over milk was an inspired choice since it brings a deeper, less sweet flavor to this fluffy cake. The accompanying chocolate cremeux adds a richness, and the mascarpone ice cream offers another creamy texture. I particularly liked the bit of crunch provided by the generous scattering of cocoa nibs. I would've eaten it all if the Minx hadn't given me the evil eye.

Her sticky date pudding looked like a mini bundt cake and was quite sticky as advertised. It also came with whipped cream and toffee sauce, but the real surprise was the tuile made with bacon fat. The bacon flavor really came through and added an almost savory quality to break up the sweetness of the dish.

Fall brings a great many delights that we look forward to every year, not the least of which are the hearty meals associated with the Autumn harvest and the colder weather. Once again, B&O Brasserie has a Fall menu that will give you the warm, comforting feels that are so much a part of the season.

B&O Brasserie
2 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland, 21201
443-692-6172



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Vietnamese Noodles and Pork

I mentioned the blog The Woks of Life a few weeks ago. I am so in love with their food photography - it makes everything look absolutely mouth-watering. So of course I want to try every recipe. The latest one I tried was for a Vietnamese noodle salad with pork, bún thịt nướng. I've eaten this dish in Vietnamese restaurants, and what was most striking to me about it was that the pork had a lovely caramelized sweetness to it. The Woks' recipe didn't include sugar in the pork marinade, so I added some. It really makes a difference.

Nuoc cham doesn't always involve garlic, and the three cloves indicated in the original recipe seemed excessive, so I put it in the meat marinade instead. Which actually makes more sense. And it gets cooked eventually, so that makes for less garlic-breath.

Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Pork (adapted from The Woks of Life)

For the nuoc cham:
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
¼ cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons Sriracha
½ cup cold water

For the pork chops:
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ tablespoon cornstarch
4 boneless pork chops
Vegetable oil

To serve:
6 oz. dried rice vermicelli noodles, prepared according to package directions
1 small cucumber, julienned
1 medium carrot, julienned
A large handful of snow peas, blanched and cut into lengthwise strips
½ cup cilantro, mint, and thai basil leaves, roughly torn

To make nuoc cham: Combine all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

To make pork chops: In a zip top bag, make the pork chop marinade by adding the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, cornstarch, and wine. Marinate the pork chops for at least 20 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Sear the pork chops on both sides until cooked through. Set the pork chops aside to rest.

To serve: Add the noodles, cucumber, carrot, and snow peas to a bowl. Top with the pork chops and herbs, and serve with the nuoc cham.



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Ware House 518

The large townhouse at 518 North Charles Street was once Louie's Bookstore Café, a popular haunt for the artsy and literary set (and us). Then it became Ixia, then Creme, and now Ware House 518. It's still owned by Creme's Ezra Tilaye, who has given the space a bit of a renovation, and hired a new chef, Christopher Vocci, formerly of the late Oyster Bay Grille in Towson.

Ware House's fare is Southern-inspired, with lots of references to New Orleans cuisine. There's also a good dose of Maryland favorites like rockfish and crab cakes.

We were invited to a private media dinner (as in just the two of us) to sample both chef Vocci's food and Bar Manager Pat Raley's libations. I started with the Hulu Hideaway, a combo of honey rum, bitters, and champagne made aromatic with a generous curl of lime peel.

Mr Minx had the Pink Boots, a dry campari, vodka, and sparkling wine combo that was indeed pink.

For starters, he had the fried oysters: three mammoth molluscs, lightly breaded and fried until they were crisp on the outside yet still moist on the inside. They were served with a bit of slaw and house-made cocktail and remoulade sauces.

I went for the cider-braised pork belly, served with caramelized apples, a spicy "autumnal vegetable mash," apple cider jus, and crispy onions. The pork belly had all the right things going on: moist meat, a bit of luscious fat, and a crispy crust. Everything on the plate screamed "Fall," even if the weather outdoors felt more like full-on winter.

The mister chose the Dr Pepper-glazed Berkshire pork chop for his entree. The chop was fat and juicy, still a bit pink inside, and coated with a lightly sweet glaze. The accompanying mashed potatoes were lumpy and homey, and the braised greens were tender and tasty.

I went for the shrimp and grits. The shrimp and the tomato cream were swell, but the real star of the dish was the grits, which were fortified with goat cheese. They were addictively decadent and worth every calorie.

Ezra brought out a couple of desserts for us to try, a decent yellow cake that was topped with a sprinkle of coconut, and an inventive chocolate pretzel bread pudding served with salted caramel sauce and a dollop of Bailey's-infused whipped cream. Pretzel bread is a bit sturdier than challah or other breads typically used in bread pudding, so chef Vocci's version was firmer and less-custardy than what we were used to. Still, quite tasty, especially the whipped cream.

We were happy to have tried Ware House 518, a restaurant we might have otherwise overlooked as we find ourselves in Mount Vernon more and more seldom. We appreciate the quality ingredients, locally-sourced when possible, and the Southern flair. I'm curious to try the gumbo (one of my all-time favorite dishes), and the burger (topped with bacon jam and pimento cheese) sounds like it could be outrageously good. Oh, and the braised brisket with red-eye gravy. Pulled brisket sliders with crispy onions, slaw, and sriracha mayo, too....



* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Parts & Labor

We finally went to Parts & Labor. And I almost hate to admit that I loved everything about it.

Why do I hate admitting it? Well, for one thing, it's not much fun to write a review for a truly delicious meal. What else can be said other that dishes are delicious, amazing, tasty, well-prepared, outrageously good, and near perfect? And I can use all of those commendatory words for Parts & Labor.

For another thing, and I know I'm probably in the minority here, I think Spike Gjerde's restaurants are a bit pretentious. Like not serving lemons or soda (soda!) in cocktails at Shoo-Fly because neither are local products. (That policy has changed, due to public outcry. Sometimes you have to give the people what they want.) But Parts & Labor hits all the right notes--good food, good drinks, extremely pleasant service. We even got a table by a window, which made for good photos.

Charcuterie - smoked boar sausage, lomo, bastirma

Parts & Labor is very meat-centric, so vegetarians beware. The building, once a former tire shop, also houses the butchery for the Gjerde empire. Meat comes into the place whole (as in whole pigs and cows) and exits as sausage, charcuterie, and other meaty delights.

We started our meal with a selection of three items from the "salt house," aka charcuterie. There were six or so choices from which we selected a salami-like smoked boar sausage, lomo (a dry cured pork tenderloin), and bastirma, a highly seasoned air-dried beef. The latter, with it's curry-ish flavor, was the table's favorite, but all were outstanding.

Enormous lamb kielbasa

We tried the lamb kielbasa from the sausage selection of the menu. At $12, it was the most expensive selection on the list, but it's extreme deliciousness made it worth every penny. Plus, it was huge. The sausage's smokiness balanced the lamb's usual slight gaminess, and it was juicy and nicely seasoned. I think it was my favorite dish out of all, and we tried a lot.

Pork chop

My Dad is a bit of a fussy eater, and he likes his meat on the well-done side. It would have been a crime to order the restaurant's dry-aged beef well done, so we talked him into the pork chop, cooked to the well side of medium. It was moist and tender and even Dad enjoyed it.

16-oz rib eye

He wouldn't have enjoyed the rib-eye, which came medium-rare. Perfectly cooked and rested, the steak had a nice crust and added flavor from a topping of compound butter and bed of chimichurri sauce.

Korean short ribs, slaw

The Korean short ribs were a pretty close approximation of the kalbi one finds in a Korean restaurant, only, I think, more tender. The sweetness of the marinade was offset by a tangy slaw that would have been the only vegetable on the table had I not reminded our party that man does not live by meat alone.

Wood ash hominy

We tried a dish of hominy, which had a strong corn flavor and reminded me of the Southwest. At a book signing recently, someone lamented that hominy is seldom seen on restaurant menus these days, and to that I say...get thee to Parts & Labor.

Dirty rice with chicken livers, blood sausage, okra

I think the only dish that I had a complaint about was the dirty rice. While there was plenty of "dirt," in the form of chicken livers and blood sausage, I wanted it to taste even more funky.

Grilled potatoes

The grilled fingerling potatoes were buttery and perfect...

Hearth wok with swiss chard, banana peppers, turnips, mushrooms, fermented tomato, benne

...and the Hearth wok was a bowl of deliciousness. I guess I could complain that the serving was too small, compared to everything else on the table, but the combination of flavors was really nice. A little sweet, a little sour (but not agrodolce), a little salty.

After we pigged out on meat, we ordered dessert. It was, after all, my brother's birthday. He chose the chocolate lard cake. Don't worry, it doesn't taste of lard (maybe a bit disappointingly), just of rich chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate lard cake

Dad chose the blondie topped with peach conserve and an intriguing salty ice cream. This thing was huge, definitely share-able by two or more people, so I helped him. I had ordered only a single scoop of goat's milk ice cream, which was pleasantly goat-milky.

One hot blondie with salty ice cream and peach conserve

Mr Minx went for a peanut butter and bourbon concoction. It was good, but my favorite part was the super coffee-y ice cream that had noticeable bits of ground coffee beans. I wished I had ordered that AND the goat's milk flavor, but I had plenty to eat with sampling everyone else's desserts.

Bourbon caramel Peanut tart with coffee ice cream

Yes, we made complete pigs of ourselves, and I suffered when the bill came. But it was a special occasion and worth the splurge. I think on future visits we'll limit ourselves to 5 or 6 dishes, rather than 9. And maybe skip dessert. Or maybe we'll just do it all over again.



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Peach Mostarda

The farmers's markets had a plethora of peaches in July, and I was happy to buy them. Sad thing is--I am allergic to stone fruits. Fortunately, the allergy is peculiar in that if I cook the fruit, even for a short time, whatever compound within it that makes me itchy is neutralized. This means microwaved peaches, but once they cool down, I can barely tell they've been cooked. And they're still tastier and fresher than canned peaches. (I chop them and put them in a bowl before cooking them...I don't recommend microwaving a whole peach. I haven't tried it, but I can imagine an explosion might ensue.)

Sometimes I buy more fruit than we can eat out of hand (or out of the microwave), so that means getting creative. One batch of white peaches inspired me to make a mostarda, an Italian chutney-like concoction of fruit flavored with mustard. After checking out several mostarda recipes online, I decided to concoct my own. What I really wanted to do was make the pickled mustard seeds I had read about in David Chang's Momofuku cookbook. Since prepared mustard has vinegar in it, Chang's seeds (which he confesses to have stolen from Tom Colicchio) are like the ultimate whole grain mustard. Why couldn't I combine them with peaches to make a savory-sweet condiment?

So that's what I did. I made the pickled mustard seeds first, then I combined the peaches with more vinegar, some sugar, and powdered mustard to make a quick-and-dirty mostarda. Added the mustard seeds to the mostarda and voila! a lightly crunchy condiment that adds a bit of punch to a simple grilled chicken breast or pan-fried pork chop. That's how I served it the first time, as a sauce over a simple salt-and-pepper-seasoned pork chop.

Peach Mostarda

1/3 cup yellow mustard seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided use
3 firm ripe peaches
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon powdered mustard

Combine the mustard seeds, water, vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small heavy saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the mustard seeds are plump and tender, about 45 minutes. Add a bit more water if they look like they're going to dry out. They'll be plump and resemble caviar when they're done. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cut an X in the skin of each peach and blanch them in boiling water for a minute or so to loosen the skins. Peel peaches and cut into large dice. Combine the brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and powdered mustard in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the peaches and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, until peaches are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

When both are cool, add 3 tablespoons of the pickled mustard seeds to the peaches. The remaining pickled mustard seeds can be stored in a covered container in the fridge indefinitely. Both can be served with meats and cheeses, or used as a sandwich topping.



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Gato

When planning a trip to New York with Mr Minx, I determined that we had to dine at Bobby Flay's newest restaurant, Gato--especially after reading GQ critic Alan Richman's glowing review.

The Greenwich Village restaurant is dark. It's a high-ceilinged space with with lots of brick and dark varnished wood, so my photos are less than perfect. (I had to Photoshop the hell out of them to get the colors to show.) No matter...the food was pretty close to perfection, so even if we didn't get to eat with our eyes so much, our palates were quite happy.

We ordered a lot of food, starting with a trio of small plates from the "bar" section of the menu: eleven layer potato with caramelized shallots and fried sage; wild striped bass salsa torres; pequillo filled with raw tuna, saffron sauce. Each dish was bursting with flavor and we were sad that the portions were small. Those tuna stuffed peppers would make a fab party snack, and the bass would be lovely in an entree-sized portion. And how can one go wrong with a stack of tender potato slices touched with the sweetness of shallot?

I'm all about carrots, so when I saw the charred carrots with parsnip chips, harissa, mint, and yogurt, we had to get them. The carrots were indeed charred to blackness yet were still crisp-tender on the inside. The charcoal-y coating gave the carrots an interesting flavor that bordered on the medicinal. In addition to the carrots and crunchy parsnip chips, there were tender sweet chunks of beet, making this dish a showcase of the range of flavors and textures found in humble root vegetables.

We had just seen Flay make octopus in an episode of Iron Chef, so ordering his roasted octopus with sour orange, bacon, and oregano was a must. I'd never had octopus that was so tender before. Honestly, it could be cut with a fork. And the bacon lardons and orange sauce added just the right amount of salty and tangy flavors. We definitely could have done with several more tentacles....

Instead, we moved on to entrees. Mr Minx had the porterhouse pork chop topped with romesco over polenta. The huge chop was cooked to medium, and was juicy and well-seasoned. The polenta was smooth and creamy but not overly rich. And the chunky romesco was good enough to eat directly from the bowl with a spoon. Had they offered us a bowl of it and a spoon....

Knowing that we were slated to eat an all-fish luncheon at Le Bernardin the next afternoon, I passed over the menu's fish selections (halibut, orata, fettucine with prawns) and ordered something completely uncharacteristic for me: the rabbit. I haven't much liked rabbit in the past, finding its occasional gaminess unpleasant. But this rabbit was wonderful. A full leg portion and the tiny loin were served with a pile of fregula (a Sardinian pasta similar to Israeli couscous), fresh peas, chanterelle mushrooms, and a carrot hot sauce. The meat was tender and chicken-like without actually tasting like chicken, and I loved the textures and flavors of the fregula. I liked Mr Minx's chop, too, and really can't say which I enjoyed more.

At this point, we were stuffed, but ordered a dessert to share. The Meyer lemon tart must have been filled to order, as the crust was crisp all the way through and the tangy filling with its characteristic lemon/tangerine flavor was still slightly warm and a bit loose-textured, like freshly made lemon curd. We also loved the whipped cream, which was heavily flavored with pistachio and topped with a crumbled pistachio brittle.

As if that wasn't enough, we were brought a complimentary plate of wafer-thin biscotti and glasses of cream sherry. I had overheard our server tell the couple at the table next to ours that their sherry was to celebrate the male diner's birthday. We weren't celebrating anything, so I think we got the sherry because we're so darn cute. :)

Overall, an excellent meal. Everything was big and bold--no wimpy flavors on these plates! Proteins were cooked and seasoned perfectly, as were all accompaniments. I know some people don't care for Bobby Flay, but the man can cook. And as we saw him there in the kitchen, on the line, actually cooking, we know that he had to have personally touched at least a couple of our dishes.

Here's to many successful years for Gato.



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Pork Chops Milanese

I had purchased some thin pork chops in order to make mini roulades, but then I got lazy and didn't want to deal with making stuffing. Plus the chops had bones. Everyone knows the tastiest meat is attached to the bone, so why remove them before cooking?

I poked around through the pantry and found Trader Joe's 10-Minute Barley. I boiled up some of that and added a few dribbles of heavy cream, a blob of butter, and some Parmesan cheese. It reminded me of risotto, so I decided to go Italian with the pork. They'd get coated with crumbs and fried until crisp, a preparation known as Milanese.

To accompany the meat and starch was our one and only harvest of Brussels sprouts. We put one plant in the garden in April, not knowing what to expect. They took forever to form, and while the stalk grew fairly long, the sprouts didn't get very big at all. The largest was probably the size of the nail on my index finger, and the smallest was about half the size of my pinky nail. Truth!

I sauteed them quickly in olive oil with a couple tablespoons of chopped pecans and a sprinkle of salt. I was tempted to add some brown sugar and balsamic vinegar, but really wanted to taste the sprouts.

Pork Milanese (adapted from a recipe from Food & Wine)

4 thin pork chops, about 3/4 - 1 lb total
Kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup panko
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
Olive oil, for frying
Lemon wedges, for serving

Salt and pepper the chops. Mix the panko, cheese, and seasonings and put them on a large plate. Put the flour on another plate, and beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Dredge each chop in flour, dip them in the eggs, and then coat them with the panko.

Heat a large skillet and add about half an inch of olive oil. When shimmering, add the chops to the skillet (you may need to do this in batches) and fry over high heat, turning once, until both sides are crispy and golden brown, about 4 minutes total.

Drain chops on paper towels, give them a sprinkle of salt, and serve with lemon wedges.



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The Fork & Wrench

For several weeks I'd been looking forward to eating at The Fork & Wrench. And wouldn't you know it, the day that my Dad and I both had free (he was my date for the evening) was the day the Sun review came out. Luckily, we managed to snag the last available un-reserved table for the evening.

We'd just come from Of Love & Regret, so we were only looking to try entrees at F&W. I really really really wanted the scallops, which the menu described as coming with a chilled pea panna cotta, watermelon radish chips, and Meyer lemon. I'm drooling just thinking about it. And I wanted the wild mushroom saute, too. But our waiter practically begged me to try the duck, instead, and accompany it with a glass of malbec. Since he gave me the puppy-dog eyes, I acquiesced and chose the duck over the scallops. But I did order the mushrooms (and still wanted the scallops).

Seared Magret Duck Breast, Mushroom Farro “Risotto,”
Brown Butter Carrots, Pea Tendrils, Duck Jus

Our waiter told us that he worked in the kitchen as well as the dining room and seemed excessively proud of this dish. It was very pretty. But the duck itself was underseasoned, and as evidenced by the photo, still retained quite a bit of fat. Also, the skin wasn't crisp. People who think they don't like duck really should try magret, which is definitely red meat and is remarkably "beefy." A shame mine was lacking salt (and there was none on the table). The accompaniments, however, were delicious, and I especially liked the texture of the farro risotto. The glass of malbec I was prompted to order was fine. Nothing that set my taste buds a tingling. Just fine.

And I never did get those mushrooms. Why don't servers write things down anymore? Is this memorization thing supposed to dazzle the customer? I am not impressed.

Brined pork chop, Grilled with Brown Sugar-Honey Glaze,
90 Minute Egg, Apples, Onions, Butter-poached Asparagus

Dad's pork chop was very nice, particularly the apple and onion side. The egg was a bit odd, as it was still quite "snotty" in texture and the dish didn't need another dollop of protein (especially since I ate it). One could argue that it was really an accompaniment for the asparagus, but there were only three slender spears, and they were already cooked in butter.... Anyhoo, a tasty dish.

We decided to split dessert, which was silly, since the portion size of our scoop of brown butter ice cream was so tiny. I loved the flavor, which was subtle, and really liked the tiny Florentine cookie, but thought it could have used a couple toasted almonds.

I think I've heard more about Fork & Wrench's decor than the food, so I made sure to pop my head into all of the dining rooms on the way out. I liked the space on the first floor behind the bar the best, mostly because of the light coming in from the back patio. The rest of it was a hipster's vision of shabby chic, with a soupcon of steampunk thrown in. I'm not big on faux-shabby or faux-rustic, so I suppose I was a bit disappointed.

Soo.... Not exactly the best first impression, although I could tell from the risotto and from Dad's dish that the kitchen (run by former Vino Rosina sous, Sajin Renae) has some mad skillz. Next time, I'll come back with a reservation and order exactly what I want to eat.

Fork & Wrench
2322 Boston Street
Baltimore, MD 21224
(443) 759-9360
theforkandwrench.com



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