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June 26, 2009

Brass Elephant for sale

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The Baltimore Business Journal is reporting this morning that the Brass Elephant in Mount Vernon is for sale. Of course, any restaurant that a newspaper describes as a "venerable eatery" (it was once known as the most beautiful restaurant in Baltimore) is probably in trouble these days.

I called the Brass Elephant just now and talked to a manager, Khalief Mack, who said he thought only the building was for sale, which isn't what the Baltimore Business Journal is reporting. He's going to have Randy Stahl, one of the owners, call me back. He also told me that the restaurant is staying open.

As soon as I find out more, I'll let you know.

(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)

Posted by Elizabeth Large at 10:26 AM | | Comments (19)
        

Comments

Naturally, I immediately checked your review of them to see if they had 3 1/2 stars. Just three, so maybe they actually will be staying open. Still, it sounds like I better hustle to move them from my "must go there" to my "been there" list, just in case. (Thank goodness I made it to Martick's a couple of months before it closed - hate to miss one of the "venerable" eateries in town!)

I have had the pleasure of having Brass Elephant as a sponsor of my radio show when it was owned by Jack Elsby. The food was always terrific as well as the staff and the embience. I hope that the restaurant can stick around.

The Brass Elephant is only a block away from my house, but I haven't gone. It just feels like I'll end up regretting spending the amount of money that it costs to eat there (like I did when I ate at Brewer's Art - stick to the bar food there, the dining room is over priced and over rated).

I have higher hopes for Brass Elephant, though. They have a great reputation and it makes me wonder if a mutual scaling back would help them and us, as diners. The biggest variable in their cost is the food. Seems to me removing a slight amount of flare and making some simple, more cost effective dishes would bring more people in there (I walk by every evening at 6, and its rarely busy). If the price reduction matches the cost savings, they could leave keep a steady margin, but increase their overall take.

It's a lovely place that I'd hate to see close. Mt. Vernon does not need to lose a good restaurant.

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I have eating at the Brass Elephant for many a birthday , Anniverary and just before a dinner meal for the Theater .

The Brass Elephant was once a furniture store many years ago , before it was converated into a resturant . It is a icon that I hope that will not go away

Anonymous, was that a Metafilter period, or just a regular period? Because the Brass Elephant isn't dead yet.

Brass Elephant was always my go-to place for celebrations such as my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, etc. Much of its magic for me was the fact that Jack Elsby was the host there and he always made it special. I get tears in my eyes for how much Jack means to me. He's at Milton Inn now, which is a trek, but he makes that place special, too.

:

Longtermmemory Laura Lee reminded me that the Brass Elephant is featured in the Owl Meat Apocrypha in December 2008 in Umberto Swarm's immortal ode to the mingling of food and fantasy at
http://owlmeat.blogspot.com/2008/12/is-that-brass-elephant.html

Actually the Brass Elephant used to be one of my favorite restaurants - although I hadn't been there for a while. In fact, I just sent my sister-in-law and her fiancee there when they wanted a "romantic" place for dinner while in Baltimore. Talk about a disappointment - after the experience they had, we decided that we would never go back! I guess what I'm trying to say is that based on the report I received and noticing how little business it seems to have been doing recently, the Elephant has apparently been failing to live up to its past reputation for quite some time - so I'm not really surprised nor disappointed in the news that it may be closing!

Jeff Shepherd said I walk by every evening at 6, and its rarely busy. Most dinner places aren't very busy at 6:00 p.m. It's a little early for dinner. I wouldn't judge their busyness by what you see at 6:00. A lot of people have barely gotten out of the parking garage at that hour!

Always enjoyed the Brass Elpehant when it was owned/operated by the Country Fare/City Lights/Kings Contrivance group. Not so much after that.
Maybe Rudy St. can coax Rudy Sp. back into the business.

Hue, the 2 Rudys together again and I'm so there!

If the Rudys reappear anywhere, I'll be there to re-experience their perfection of what was so great.

We only ate at the original Rudy's once, but the food struck me as a little heavy and Germanic. (Not that there's anything wrong with that ...)

A few months ago I had a long conversation with Chef Marcus at the Brass Elephant. We probably talked about four hours about the history and current state of restaurants in Baltimore. I was really impressed with his passion for food. However all of this turns out, I wish him the best.

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About this blog
Richard Gorelick was appointed The Baltimore Sun's restaurant critic in September 2010. Before joining the paper staff fulltime, he contributed freelance criticism and features articles about food to area and regional publications. Along the way, he dispatched for short-distance trucking companies, shilled for cultural non-profits, and assisted in cognitive neurology research – never the subject, always the control.

He takes restaurants seriously but not himself, and his favorite restaurant is the one you love, too.
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