In the past, I have made drastic employment decisions during times of crisis such as Ms. Sandlin. It was one of the biggest mistakes that I have ever made. I wasn't thinking rationally at the time. I sincerely hope that she thoroughly assesses her decision and wish her the best of luck.

D'oh! Another restaurant I didn't get to in time!

I gotta work on that!

Glad I stopped in last weekend for dinner. She will be missed.

She will be sorely missed, a truly talented chef. Hope she gets through her personal grief
and returns refreshed and ready to do what she does best, cook.

Good ridance. We went there for a 15th anniversary dinner at the recommendation of some friends who raved about the food there. Well it was a very hot summer day and their AC had gone out earlier in the day. I had told them when I made the reservation that it was for an anniversary and gave them my telephone number. Why didn't they call and tell us the problem with the AC given that it had happend well before the time we had made the reservations? Not surprisingly there where very few people there and still we had to wait a very long time for your food. Not only that but our server dissapeared half way through the meal! Someone else waited on us after that. We found the food very mediocre especailly for the prices charged. I saw the chef/owner sitting there cooling herself off and I really wanted to tell her that we where very unhappy with the way we had been treated and just walk out and refuse to pay. But like fools we paid and scratched that restaurant off of our list. Hopefully her new venture will be in another city or better still another continent!

I believe that Jerry Pellegrino is the owner of Abacrombie (he also owns Corks).

Have not had the pleasure of eating at Abacrombie when Jesse Sandlin was cooking, but I heard great things. I wish her the best.

Jesse is truly one of Baltimore's brighter stars. The location of Abacrombie makes it an uphill challenge from the start. The food has always been steller there. I hope she gets over the loss of her loved one quickly and gets back to doing what she does best, my opinion would be either pompano or duck 2 ways that I've had there. I'm curious just how many places meet or exceed Hughs standards

I, too, was at Abacrombie during the air conditioning outage in July of last year. Talking to the staff of the restaurant, I learned that the issue was with the owner of the building, who owned the B&B upstairs, and didn't want to pay for the AC repair.

What was bad for them was that the building owner repeated told them that he was getting the issue fixed "that day", only to have it persist for weeks. By the time Restaurant Week rolled around, Jerry/Jesse/Power That Be had gone our and rented these huge, ungainly portable AC units. They did the job, but it certainly took its toll on the ambiance of the dining room.

We went there on a couple occasions with friends who have special (different) dietary needs, and Jesse prepared individual, off-menu meals for them that were stellar. I've always found the menu to be fun--whimsical, as my girlfriend once put it--and the meals themselves to be noteworthy.

Like others on this forum, I wish Jesse the best, and I hope she decides to return to our town soon.

Hugh-
wow. that's a pretty harsh little letter you wrote there. I don't recall your reservation, probably because you didn't mention that you had been unhappy about your meal. I wish that you had given us the opportunity to ammend the situation. dear diners-it does noone any good to be miserable in silence and then post nasty things in a blog over a year later. let the restaurant know at that time so that they may make ammends or change thier ways.
I'm sorry you had such a terrible time, Hugh. the air conditioning has since been fixed, and sorry to tell you, but I will be returning to cooking in Baltimore, so you'll just have to steer clear of whatever place I choose to work at. i also wonder what restaurants in this city you do actually enjoy? oh, also, your server did not abandon you, the floor staff work as a team, pooling tips and looking after every table together. one server does not own one specific table.

Jesse,
I am glad that you saw my comment on the awful time that we had at your restaurant. What really surprised me was the snippy tone of your comments especially in light of the fact that you ruined a special anniversary for us! It is obvious to me that you are not a professional because no one would make outlandish excuses for the wait staff like you did in your comment. Maybe you didn't understand but the original waitress who served us (who was dressed in jeans and knew next to nothing about wine) left the restaurant and I know that because the second server that we had told us. Also when we arrived we ran into 2 friends of ours who told us that they had been waiting at the bar for their drinks for a very long time, when they ourselves and another party of 4 where the only people in the restaurant. I think I have every right to express my dissatisfaction at they way we where treated and we will NEVER dine in any establishment that you are associated with in the future and will warn our friends (who I might add have a lot of disposable income and know a lof about food) to stay away!

Ewww, what an unpleasant personality. Your wife of 15 years has my condolences!

Hugh - I am sorry, but you make it sound like it was entirely Ms Sanlin's fault for your "ruined" experience. I am pretty sure she has nothing to do with the wait staff's attire (and how do you know your first server did not have to leave because of an emergency for example?), how long you had to wait for your drinks, or the AC being on the fritz.

You only made one comment about the food being mediocre. The majority of the comments regarding her cooking are positive. To attack her so personally for one bad experience is very harsh, in my opinion.

Have Hugh and Jay C. ever been seen in the same place at the same time?

It seems Hugh's engaging in a bit of subterfuge here, painting himself as so unpleasant and entitled that no one could possibly take his criticism to heart for fear of being associated with him.

Very underhanded, Hugh. But alas, you've convinced me. I'll now make a point to eat wherever Jesse lands next, and at Abacrombie, despite her departure.

Wow. interesting read! Apparently somebody thought enough of Jesse's talent to let her compete on Top Chef? It is pretty amusing to re-read your comments referring to AC problems at Abacrombie, like it has anything to do with Sandlin's food. Maybe Jesse should also get a HVAC certification, just to appease future disgruntled customers? In my opinion, and after reading the last few rants, you do have to wonder what restaurant will EVER be good enough for the great Mr.Hugh to spend his vast amounts "of disposable income" Arrogance and pomposity at its best!

Jesse- Good luck in all you do, and sorry for your loss!

Jesse is an amazing talent, I am so proud to call her a friend . I feel badly for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure of tasting the food she prepares or sharing her company. I hope that she continues to bring joy to this sometimes harsh world through her cooking and her dynamic personality.