Cinnamon Tree at the Hunt Valley Inn

When Baltimoreans of a certain age hear the words "Cinnamon Tree," they think of brunch. At least we do. The Cinnamon Tree restaurant at the Hunt Valley Inn, once famous for its lavish brunch, has been around forever, and...it still is. Marriott no longer owns the facility; new owners, the Laurus Company, have turned the hotel into a Wyndham Grand and sunk some serious money into renovating the entire place.

Northern Baltimore County is horse country, so of course there's a horse theme at play in the decor. It's pretty subtle though - no hunter greens or plaids to be seen anywhere. Instead, the hotel is decorated in soothing neutrals, lots of browns, grays, black, and white, with a horse sculpture here and there. The Cinnamon Tree, too, is done up in neutral shades, with interesting lamps and chandeliers to catch the eye. We appreciate the carpet and padded seats, which will absorb the noise that 100+ people eating brunch can make.

While that signature brunch is held on both Saturday and Sunday, we came in for dinner one evening. We started the meal with two of their race-themed cocktails, the whisky-based Belmont and the vodka-based Black-Eyed Susan (official drink of the Preakness!). Mr Minx had originally ordered a Mint Julep, but the bar had run out of mint. Partway through our meal, mint had been obtained and two juleps were brought to our table. All three drinks were generously sized and quite tasty.

We started off our meal with a creamy she-crab soup with a pronounced sherry flavor and a decent amount of crab lumps. Think cream of crab, but without that soup's normal overly-thick quality.

We also tried the crab and corn fondue, which while thicker than a fondue and meant to be a spread rather than a dip, it had the customary Swiss cheese flavors, but with crab and corn added. Both the soup and fondue came with crusty garlic crostini, which were also delicious on their own.

We shared a classic wedge salad, which was light and refreshing with just the right amounts of bleu cheese dressing and bacon bits.

For our entrees, Mr Minx enjoyed the beef short ribs in a rich cabernet sauce...

...while I had the crab cakes with bearnaise sauce. Both dishes came with a slab of what the menu calls au gratin potatoes, but is actually a very rich potato pavé loaded with cream and butter, and sauteed asparagus and grape tomatoes.

We were quite full, but couldn't turn down the desserts that chef Patrick D'Costa himself brought to the table: a creamy almond cheesecake with a sturdy butterscotch-flavored crust, and a rich key lime pie. Both made in house, both delicious, both taken home in doggie bags to be enjoyed when we had some room to appreciate them.

It's nice to see an old classic being reborn like the Cinnamon Tree. Even the famed cinnamon tree sculpture itself, once a fixture of the dining room, will be given new life in the form of a waterproofing treatment and a new home in the courtyard of the hotel, visible through the restaurant's large windows.

Other dining establishments at the Hunt Valley Inn include the Polo Bar, on the other side of the lobby from the Cinnamon Tree. This cozy bar serves tapas like flatbreads and empanadas. Cafe 245 offers Starbucks coffee and light bites like pastries, sandwiches, and salads. And later in the year the Black Horse Pub will open, serving casual fare.





Posted on Minxeats.com.

Scoozi Restaurant, Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys

Last fall, the Minx and I went to a media dinner to preview the new restaurant in the Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys. The new place was called Scoozi and, as the name suggested, the menu would have an Italian emphasis. The dishes we tasted showed real promise and we vowed to come back as soon as it opened. Flash forward several months and, although the restaurant had been opened for some time, we still had not gone back. The oversight was even more egregious since we live only 10 minutes away. We finally resolved to return, this time with Minx's brother and father in tow so we could sample a variety of dishes.

The atmosphere felt a bit chaotic when we arrived. Part of that could be explained by the fact that it was a Saturday night, but we later learned that they were short on wait staff. Nevertheless, we were seated promptly and our waitress happily took our drink orders. She also dropped off the bread, which turned out to be strips of pizza dough nicely charred by the pizza oven. She then took our food order and disappeared.

Nothing happened for about 10 minutes. Our drinks had not arrived even though we had all ordered beers (no complicated cocktail alchemy involved). We drank our water and nibbled on the bread (which was quite good, btw), wishing for something stronger with which to wash it down. After the wait, a server arrived with the appetizers at the same moment that the bartender arrived with our beers. Each server elbowed the other in an attempt to get his respective items on our table. It didn't help that there was too much stuff on the table already, like an oversized candle and a foot-high salt-and-pepper shaker. We reared back in fear of being splashed with beer or tomato sauce or both. Once that crazy moment of awkwardness was over, we settled into tasting the food.

Point Judith Calamari - pomodoro and roasted garlic-caper aioli

At first glance, the calamari appeared hopelessly burnt. If you go much beyond a quick deep fry, the calamari can turn to rubberbands, but we were relieved to discover that they were still tender in spite of the extra crispy coating. The dish has both a pomodoro and roasted garlic-caper aioli dipping sauce. I preferred the pomodoro sauce as the aioli was a bit too thick in which to dip the calamari properly.

Veal Meatballs, white bean puree, whipped basil ricotta, tomato sauce

We had tried the veal meatballs at the preview dinner and the recipe had not changed. They were tender and garlicky with a bright tomato sauce and whipped ricotta on top. I could eat an entree portion of these meatballs.

Scampi -Shrimp, rose sauce,‎ grilled fennel and a pinch of hot pepper

Next came the pizzas. The crust has the kind of texture I prefer: crusty and slightly charred on the surface, but thin and pliable like New York style pizza. The shrimp scampi pizza was my favorite of the two since I'm a sucker for shrimp and the fennel brought a nice crunch. Fennel also marries well with tomatoes.

Kennett Square - local wild mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, garlic-herb-ricotta cream, white truffle oil

The Kennett Square pizza got the Minx's vote. While not ordinarily a fan of grainy ricotta cheese dolloped on pizza, she loved this. The smooth ricotta was nicely seasoned, and the combination of wild mushrooms and just enough white truffle oil brought out an earthiness that balanced nicely with the sweet flavor of the caramelized onions.

Cheese ravioli with olives and capers, served over ravioli topped with regiano frico

For the entrees, we chose the ravioli and the short ribs. The ravioli was tender and the sauce was a zingy concoction of chunky tomatoes, olives, and capers. Overall, quite satisfying.

Chianti Braised Short Ribs - Crispy parmesan risotto cake and sweet potato ribbons

The short ribs were also very good, with an nice wine-tinged flavor. The risotto, while more of a rice dish in a runny sauce than a true risotto, was still a fine accompaniment. I'm not sure it was worth the $27 price tag, however, given that the piece of short rib was more like an appetizer portion. Probably better to stick with the appetizers and pizzas if you're looking for optimum bang for your buck.

I think Scoozi still has some wrinkles to iron out, but there is certainly a commitment to the food. The service was clunky (there was a comedy of errors over a request for more bread that's too long to go into), but it could have been a bad night or some growing pains. I'm sure we will go back again, if only to savor those meatballs and pizza again.

Scoozi
5100 Falls Rd
Baltimore, MD 21210
Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys





Posted on Minxeats.com.