Can't wait to hear how it is!!

I went to Cinghiale last night for wine only. It does refer to itself as an osteria! The restaurant was bustling so word obviously got out that it was open for dinner. Local celebrity spotting - Jayne Miller.

Anyways...a lot of familiar faces from other Cindy Wolf/Tony Forman restaurants. Seems like they plucked many out of their other places to get Cinghiale off to a decent start - Tony was buzzing around the dining room. Unfortunately, this includes sommelier Olivia Buro. Good for Cinghiale patrons but a major bummer for Charleston. I thought she added panache to Charleston and I wish she would've stayed. Oh well.

Nice stemware - all Riedel including the new Vitis line and Amadeo decanters (adds some drama to wine service that doesn't quite fit with the Italian osteria theme). Well-balanced list that throws in some likely performers from the restaurant group's other lists. The Roero Arneis could end up becoming the go to bottle for people who want to drink a modestly priced Italian wine but steer clear of reds. We won't even get into the reds. Mmmm...

I have a lot more drinking to do at Cinghiale before I venture into the food.

I ate in the Osteria at Cinghiale on Saturday night, and you would never have known it has been open for such a short time. Both the food and service were superb. Everything was fresh and delicious, and the tiramisu was the best I've had in the states. My wife's macherroni with wild mushrooms was phenomenal, but everything was great.

I didn't order off the enoteca menu, but I did look at it, and it appears to be a place where you can get a nice bite and some top notch wine for a casual dinner for $25 a person. I'm looking forward to trying that out.

Had a wonderful meal at Cinguale's but the experience was diminished by all the rats running around across the street while walking back from the restaurant--Is anyone aware of all the rats running on the promenade there at night? is it because of the construction? is anyone going to do anything about them jumping in and out of the garbage cans? Not sure I want to see that every time I leave the restaurants in Harbor East

Locke,
That sounds like the experience we had in New Orleans walking from Bourbon Street back to the hotel.

In the old days sailors would sink their ships a couple of times a year to rid them of rats. Having grown up at the confluence of the Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi rivers with grain mills along the shore I have seen some monster rats. Some the size of small horses. This is the price you pay for being right on the water and providing a food source. You can pass laws to outlaw panhandling but not rats. If you don't like rats you need to avoid rivers and bays.

Is anyone aware of all the rats running on the promenade there at night?

That was very nice of them to build a promenade for the rats.

What happened to Moxley's Ice Cream Parlor in Towson? It is closed, but they still list in on their website as being open.

Rats are attracted to trash. If businesses don't secure their trash properly and have it picked up often, you'll have rats around.

I caught myself bragging to someone the other week about how much tougher than Detroit rats (now extinct due to trash can regulations) Baltimore rats are.