I went to the Brass Elephant with my boyfriend on Tuesday, mainly because we've never been there.

It was ohhhkay. The mushroom risotto was pretty good, though *slightly* to al dente. The chicken in my main course -- "Sauteed Supreme Chicken Breast" -- was tasty, but everything else was a mess: the butternut squash gnocchi was kinda heavy and was not enough to balance out the rest of the dish (spinach, peas, mushrooms, prosciutto and au jus). The dish was almost too salty. Creme brulee was average.

My boyfriend got the apple strudel -- the vanilla ice cream was actually really good; the strudel itself was OK.

Our waitress was nice enough, but was slow taking away our plates, filling our glasses and bringing out the check.
I don't think we'll be going back.

Even though I've been there many times, I wish b had been on the list this year. Both my boyfriend and I mentioned at the table that we certainly would have had a better experience there.

We (gf and I) has a nice experience at McCormick and Shmicks. Nothing was great, nor nothing was bad. Food was good, service was ok. overall, it gave us a chance to see a place that we havent been before

My girlfriend and I went to the Black Olive on Monday. Our reservation was at 8 but they seated us early. The service was impeccable - including a table-side filet of a fish with a spoon! I've never seen that before and thought it was quite cool. The food was amazing and the wine selection enormous. We've wanted to go to the Black Olive for some time. RW was a perfect excuse and save a little money. We will go back and pay full-price.

I'm interested in reading what others have to say about this edition of RW. The only menus that looked worth my while were offered at tried-and-true places that I already frequent.

And I'd love to know if anyone goes to Ding How. Three people can eat for $30.08 there on any non-RW night. :)

We had a really nice meal at Brasserie Tatin this week. The appetizers were much better than the entrees, but all of the entrees were pretty good. The pate was the star of the meal though. And the tart tatin was fantastic. I had never been there, and though it won't be at the very top of my list, I would surely go there again.

As always, Tio Pepe was phenomenal. Nothing is cut from the portion size and the service is excellent. I have yet to find a non-corporate restaurant in the city to match the combination of food and service of Tio Pepe. Certainly Worth a try. It might be tough to get in there for the rest of the week as it is not a large restaurant. My only complaint is that the place can get pretty noisy, especially on the crowded weekends.

Sabatino's was great, as usual. Big portions and awesome house salad and garlic bread. RW helped rediscover a favorite Baltimore restaurant.

I felt obligated to take advantage of a supposed bargain, however I can't decide if it is really a bargin... We had a perfectly acceptable dinner at The Wine Market in Locust Point last night. I had flat iron steak and the Husband had roasted chicken, we both started with a field greens salad and finished with desert - the Husband an apple cobbler and me a flour less chocolate cake (read brownie with sauce.) We both had a glass of wine. $73 + tip. The meal was just okay, not WOW, not wonderful, just okay. We've had fabulous lunches there in the past, I'm sure the dinners are just as good outside of restaurant week. I didn't walk away hungry, but portions were smallish and the service seemed rushed, very rushed. (I may have wanted a second glass of wine, but was never asked.) I left without a good feel for the restaurant's capabilities only only their ability to pump out a lot of dinners quickly.

When Restaurant week rolls around again, I think I'll find my bargain elsewhere

My wife and I went to Ryleigh's with her brother and his wife earlier this week. I thought the food was fantastic. My brother-in-law and I both got the spinach and arugula salad (with duck confit and goat cheese) as the second course, and we both said we'd order it again, every time we went back.

Waitress was very good, made a couple of suggestions while we were ordering. My only complaint was that the entree came out while we still had our salads.

If only some of the participating restaurants had vegetarian options... maybe my friends and I would consider going!

I'm surprised more restaurants don't offer that relatively low cost alternative.

My wife and I go out to dinner 2-3 times a week and enjoy trying new restaurants. So for us, restaurant week is a real treat. We decided to go out to dinner on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and lunch Wednesday afternoon. We had trouble getting dinner reservations for our top choices for Tuesday. Finally, we were able to get a reservation at McCormick and Schmick's (red flag number one). My wife got the seafood platter and I got the ribeye steak. Her dinner looked bland and uninspiring. My ribeye was as tough as the soles of the 20 year old Weejuns sitting in my closet. Our waiter, Jorge, was attentive but over-worked. McCormick and Schmicks was a bad choice.

We went to lunch at Brighton's on Wednesday and had possibly the worst meal we've had in quite a while. My wife and I had the prime rib sandwich. Perhaps it should have been called the prime fat sandwich. Enough said. What a waste of time and money.

Thursday evening we're going to Spice Company. I'll let you know if restaurant week can be salvaged!

A group of 4 ate dinner last night at The Spice Company. It was wonderful from start to finish. I would recommend this restaurant and will be returning soon!

Had some spectacular service at Capitol Grille Monday night.

My only complaint: The menu item Sam's Mashed Potatoes was not good enough to be named after me.

I second Addie's comments about the Black Olive. My RW partner and I were also there Monday night and were both delighted. The service was excellent (very attentive, no rush at all) and the food delicious. (I'll be fantasizing about the octopus salad for weeks.) And, yes, the table-side filleting with a spoon was pretty cool, too. I noticed that people at surrounding tables were stopping to watch the show.

For the vegetarians out there, they did have veggie options - multiple for appetizers but only one for entree. I think their menu is posted on their own website, but not the the RW site.

Black Olive is out of my usual price range, but based on this experience it's now high on my list whenever I have special occasions. I'll be back.

I moved this over from where it was originally posted. Dinner at VIN was Tuesday evening and lunch at Brasserie Tatin was Wednesday afternoon.

We had dinner at VIN last night and the food was really good. I started with their butternut squash puree soup with mascarpone and my hubby and our friend both had a lovely salad of Baby greens, endive, toasted walnuts, red grapes and apple vinaigrette. I had the salmon entrée, hubby had the steak, and our friend had the chicken. All were really delicious (we are really very shameless in passing around our used bread plates to each other to get samples). I love the tiny desserts. Just perfect for when you want something sweet but don't really have room for a big dessert. I got the Chocolate Ganache Cake with créam Chantilly and candied orange peel which was so rich that I would not have wanted it to be any larger.
Our server was very attentive. When he came to pick up the check, he gave each of us a $25 VIN gift card since it was our first visit there. Now that's the second best way to get a new customer to come back and in combination with the best way - excellent food & service – they guaranteed that we will.

I took off of work today for an early birthday treat (it's actually on Saturday - don't get me started on the horror of having a birthday on groundhog's day) and had lunch by myself, ala Sir Robert, the Single One. I took a book – This I Believe – from NPR’s series of the same name. This worked well because each essay is short and gave me a chance to read and then to stop and people watch.

I wasn’t sure where I wanted to eat and then settled on Brasserie Tatin since their lunch prix fixe menu looked every bit as good as their dinner menu. I started with Pate en Croute and then had Duck Confit which was served on a bed of parsnips puree and spinach. I had the Tart Tatin for dessert. Service there was spot on.

I came home and vegged our for a while. I may not eat again until the weekend!

I've been told that many of the participating restaurants will accommodate vegetarians even if they don't have an option listed on the menu. It never hurts to ask...

Went to Brasserie Tatin last night. Everything was delicious - Scallops for appetizer, Duck for entree, and the Tarte Tatin for dessert. I will be going back again sometime.

we chose babalu grill just because i like their food and their menu was most appealing to me. since they aren't a pricey location to begin with, the prix-fixe was $20 per person instead of $30 for dinner. service and food were great- the palomillo steak was especially good. and.... the sponge cake for dessert! i wish they had it on the menu all the time, it was heavenly!
total was i believe $51 with the 3 courses and drinks (before tip). pretty good deal!

We went to Tiburzi's in Canton on Monday and had a really nice meal. It was not at all crowded, but we were there late 8:15 and it was Monday (I think some folks are used to places being closed on Mondays).

They brought out a basket of bread with a whole head of roasted garlic (plus a plate of olive oil for dipping), so you could spread the soft garlic on the bread yourself. The boy had the cream of crab soup - and said the crab was really sweet. He had the steak - which came with asparagus and mashed potatoes. It was cooked just as he ordered it. Being veggie, I didn't have the RW menu - pieced together some bruschetta and salad, both of which were tasty. He finished off with the creme brulee, which we both ate. I'm usually not a fan, but this was really good - strong vanilla flavors.

If your other choices are full, and even if they aren't, I'd recommend giving Tiburzi's a try. It was a bit sad to see it so empty. The service was friendly and attentive - the boy also gave a big thumbs up to the Manhattan he ordered.

Well, Restaurant Week has been salvaged (see my earlier blog above)! We just got back from Spice Company. What a delightful experience and a huge improvement over the markedly mediocre meals at McCormick and Schmick and Brighton's.

First, we shared the calamari and the scallops. Very nice. Light. Lots of flavor. My wife got the crab cakes and I got the short ribs. Both were winners and were very well prepared. Even the bread was a delicious assortment. The entire experience was terrific and we cannot wait to go there again. I give it an "A."

I went to Ruth's Chris- Water Street last night with three friends. We were very excited, as we love it there but don't get the opportunity to dine there often.

We were seated right away for our 6:30 reservation- the place was packed!

The meals were good. Three of us ordered the filet and one the salmon. The portions were plentiful...and we have no complaints from a food perspective.

However, we didn't experience the service that we expected. First, our waiter spilled a drink while placing it on the table. Accidents happen, but he didn't offer to have the wet dress cleaned, nor did he apologize, nor did he offer to change the wet tablecloth. So I sat at a damp placesetting for the entire meal, and my hands and wrists were sticky from the sugar in the drink.

Our meal seemed a bit rushed, the courses came out immediately one after the other, and when it was time for dessert, we weren't even asked if we wanted coffee or tea.

I can't help but feel let down by the service. Part of me wonders the service we received was due to the fact that we were a group of young 20-something professionals, who didn't order alcohol (except for a drink) and stuck to the promotional menu.

RW is killing me, and its only going to get worse tonight and tommorow night. Please, people, when you come to Little Italy use either the VERY CHEAP parking garage on Central Ave or the street lot on the corner of Albermarle and Trinity. That street lot is visible from President and Eastern; there is also a side entrance on Eastern.

I went to Pazo on Tuesday, which happened to coincide with my b-day. Off the bat, great service! My girlfriend and I ordered the RW special. Started with a goat cheese mouse which is very fluffy, light, slightly salty. My fried got the teggplant dip, which was too smoky, like cigarette smoky. Next was the pork empanadas and salsa dipping sauce (heavy on the mint). Then a garlic shrimp. I thought It was great, but others thought It might have been over cooked. Main course was the Seared Scallops with chickpea polenta. Excellent scallops. Polenta was so-so (too heavy in contrast to scallops). For desert, my girlfriend got a creme broule' (nice and light) and they served my a nice piece of cake ( they called it a spanish -style tiramisu).

I'd definitely recommend Pazo.

Went to McCormick and Shmicks. Had been there once before when it first opened and thought I would try it again. With all of the talk of Chain vs. Local and my own preference towards local ownership, I wanted to give the other side a chance. The place looked great; the service was better then 90% of the local venues and the food was very good. I did not order off of the RW menu as the items I was interested in were not offered, but were still less priced then the RW price. No rush, coffee was plenitful and very good. While I like to support local ownership, there still is the realization that the chains employ many locals who are working very hard to earn a living.

I've already left my comments about Bicycle- very disappointing, the portions were ridiculous- much smaller than normal- I'd say exactly half of what is normally served. The food was delicious though. And they were definitely understaffed on the service side...

Went to Matsuri too on Monday- I was craving sushi and it turns out that it was the beginning of restaurant week-you can eat there for less than 30 dollars per person for dinner normally so we ordered of the regular menu. The food is great.

I went to Brass Elephant too- my entree (filet) and my soup were luke warm when they came out and the strudel was so so- I would definitely say it was baked from frozen, anything but "home made". The tastes were wonderful but again the temperature left something to be desired. Our server was very polite and attentive.

Returning to Oceanaire tonight for my last RW hurrah- hoping it was as good as last year!

On another note- I had lunch at the new sushi place in Harbor East- "ra". AMAZING. Creative rolls, decent prices, fabulous decor. It's about time we have more chic restaurants in Baltimore!

I'm glad Waldo had a good experience at the Spice Company! Some co-workers and I went there for lunch during last summer's RW and were very impressed. (the pots de creme - mmmmm!) It sounds like they do it right.

Taste last night was a rather different story. I knew several people here had panned it last summer, but it was my friend's pick and I hoped they'd learned from the feedback. It was ok, but not especially good. My tomato bread pudding was kind of dry and cold (which made me wonder, was I wrong to expect warm bread pudding, or is it sometimes served cold?), and the food in general gave the impression that it had been prepared ahead and left sitting around. Service was very attentive when we first arrived (for an early dinner), but then we waited well over 30 min. for the check after they'd cleared the dessert plates. I didn't want to be rushed, but that was a bit excessive. Doubt I'll go back there at regular prices.

My husband and I went to Brasserie Tatin last night for dinner (first time there) and it was excellent! I had the brie and apple tartellette app, steak frites and the Tart Tatin for dessert-- the steak frites was superb, the brie and apple excellent, but I think I should have picked a different dessert to go with my meal. My husband had the escargot and filet of salmon, which he loved, and he got the sorbet for dessert-- coconut, white peach and cassis, which I wish I had gotten. We had excellent service and would definitely go back.

Went to Sotto Sopra and was greatly dissapointed. The service was good and the atmosphere was very nice, but the food was not even worth the $30 "bargain" price tag. I had heard such great things about this place... but the pasta and veal were over cooked, the portions were small, and the ingredients were extremely uninteresting. I have had better meals at Olive Garden. And of course, the menu actually offered was different than the one originally advertised online. You would think that one of Baltimore's suppossed best restaurants would take some pride during restaurant week, and want to display its talents to new patrons (because I am sure that regulars don't venture there during RW) but I think I speak for everyone in my party when I say that we will need some serious persuading to ever go back to this restaurant when there are so many other better options. They did serve some tasty bread however... i'll give them that.

Has anyone been to Taste this week? I'm heading there tonight, wondering how the portions will be, and overall experience?

To the frequent Little Italy diner - and everyone, really - there is discounted parking ($3) during restaurant week at several city-owned garages. The list of garages is on the restaurant week website listed above.

To the other Kristin... give Taste another try. I have been there twice now and each time my food was piping hot, the service was great and it was a wonderful experience overall. The problem with RW is that it seems as though many of the restaurants prep their RW menu selections and leave them sitting under a heat lamp until they are ordered! I guess they have to do it to keep up with the volume. But definitely give Taste one more try on a regular night!

Here's another vote for Tio Pepe. Baltimore's venerable leader remains a class act. Lunch Monday started with the best black bean soup I've had since dinner at a legendary Cuvan restaurant in Miami -- and that was thirty years ago. The omelet that followed was apparantly baked rather than fried. A different taste and texture and absolutely delicious. After lunch, my wife chatted with the chef/owner who was relaxing at the bar and voiced her only complaint -- that there was so much soup (of which she didn't waste a drop) that she couldn't finish her garlic chicken. I trust he won't consider her suggestion of a cup rather than a bowl. Service, as always, was totally professional. Tio Pepe knows how to do RW right.

As a restaurant owner in the county I was wondering why Restaurant week is just in Baltimore City??? I'm sure that other restaurants in Baltimore County would love to participate in something like that.

Probably because it's sponsored by the Downtown Partnership. :-)

To Kristen:
The first time I visited Phoenix/Scottsdale, I had sushi at Ra and LOVED it. I wondered why we didn't have one in Baltimore. Yes, it's a chain - there are probably 10 in AZ, plus Las Vegas, CA, TX, etc. But glad to know there's finally one in Baltimore. Enjoy!

I'm happy to help! It's right on Lancaster St (on the bottom floor of the new apt building- The Eden). Im not even concerned that it is a chain, I just keep thinking about how delicious it was! See you there!

Thanks for the tip, Kristen. (Good thing the spelling helps keep us straight!)

Taste is only a couple blocks from my office, so it's nice to know I could have a nice dinner option nearby, for those nights I don't have to race home to tend to the dog.

Well, I went to Pazo on Saturday night, not only because it's one of my favorite restaurants, but it was the only place I could get a reservation @ 5PM, enough time for a nice leisurely dinner before our 7:50PM movie at the Landmark Theatre (FYI go see Juno, it's a good little movie). If you have dined @ Pazo, you know that "leisurely" is not in their vocabulary, I always feel rushed when I am there, and my date agreed, so we were prepared for this and ordered a few dishes from the Tapas menu and did not take advantage of the Restaurant Week selections.

The place was packed by 5:15PM, not an empty seat in the house, which my date complained that the tables were "too close" and we felt as if we were sitting on top of the diners next to us. We would have much preferred sitting at one of the sofas in the bar area, I'll have to try that next time.

The wait staff here is always attentive and this night was no exception. Our waitress was friendly, quick and all-around top notch.

We started with a bottle of Aglianico, ARS Poetica Basilicata, Italy 2004...we love this wine! It's so rich and yet a good value.

We ordered the following Tapas:

Ceviche - the freshest seafood and not overpowered with red onion, like so many other restaurants' versions.

Sardines - this was a special that night, one which we had on a previous visit and loved, grilled to perfection with a crispy skin and tender meat, although I was a little self conscious eating a sardine while seated so closely to other patrons.

Manchego & Manzana - I'm a cheese person, so I had to try this dish; beautiful manchego, scrumptious strips of apple with a citrus zing, topped with walnuts, quite delicious.

Wood Grilled Cremini Mushrooms - these were terrific, probably due to the fact that the mushrooms are grilled in their wood oven, awesome smoky flavor, juicy, with a hint of rosemary.

Shrimp with Garlic - this was very good, although the shrimp were on the small side, it was still a good value.

We planned on ordering bread, which is probably the best bread in town, and maybe another dish, but were just too full. The waitress was kind enough to offer us free desert, which I believe was the Cajeta Mousse Cake, I could only take a bite, there were layers of creamy mousse and light cake topped with almonds, it was quite good.

We still had some time to kill before our movie, so we sat at the bar and had another glass of wine.

After the movie we stopped at Charleston for a night cap. This was the first time I had visited since their renovation and the transformation is gorgeous!

So, two Charleston Group restaurants and a movie, what a fine Saturday Night!

Please, hold all hate email for my post on our Cinghiale visit, LOL!

Vin is in Baltimore County - how does it make it on the list?

We ended up going to Alonso's on Friday and I had the crab au gratin and the bronzini, both of which were very good. The crab dish had some huge lumps, and the potato leek saute that came with the fish was really decadent. I was disappointed only in the chocolate bread pudding dessert, which seemed to have been made with pound cake rather than bread, and the sauce was merely brown, but not necessarily chocolate.

I went to Ryleigh's on Friday night and the food was AMAZING! and the $10 gift card was really nice too!

Kathy - Restaurant Week is a joint creation of Downtown Partnership and the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association (BACVA). All members of BACVA are invited to participate, regardless of where they are located.

I'm late to this...but I went to Spice Company on Friday night. I really wanted to love it and there were some high points (the appetizers were very good and a couple of the entrees were) - but overall we were disappointed. Entrees were overcooked, desserts were clearly not made in-house and my husband's espresso couldn't have been the real thing - it was a tiny cup of (weak)coffee.

My two previous RW experiences have been at Black Olive and Tio Pepe and both were amazing.

I'm glad to hear others had good Spice Company experiences...