How about just saying no to the Cindy Wolf/Tony Foreman hype machine and ferret out stories about restaurants real people can afford?

And on that note, captcha says seduces other.

How about the fact that this is from Baltimore Magazine and it's supposed to be the BEST restaurants in Baltimore??

Of course they cost more - TGIFridays isn't gonna make the list.

They're restaurants for special occasions unless you're wealthy enough to visit often.

Why does there seem to be this immediate negative post/posts for just about everything LV posts??

To those this applies - RELAX!

There is a reason these restaurants make the list every year, they serve good food (for the most part). Everyone has their opinions about corporate-owned restaurants. If you don't like them, then don't be a patron. It is easy as that. Personally, I'm happy that the Wolf-Foreman "empire" is still focused on keeping their restaurants in Baltimore and I hope they continue to grow. You can say the same thing about Hopkins. There is a reason Hopkins is the #1 hospital in the US for over 20 years. They have great doctors, conduct a lot of groundbreaking research, and help a lot of people. Not to mention they have done a lot of great things for the city of Baltimore. I know people have their opninions about Hopkins, both positive and negative, but if I was diagnosed with a rare disease or needed top-notch care that is the first place I'm heading. Yes, I am an employee there, but I don't work in healthcare, I work in IT. Thankfully Baltimore has a lot of great hospitals, so if you don't like Hopkins there are other hospitals where you can seek care. Summary: there are many choices.

I started writing a response, but, yeah, what they said.

Had dinner at Charleston last weekend... Had the 4 course- Curried Lobster Bisque, Shrimp & Grits, Rockfish and Beef Tenderloin- finished with a Chocolate Sable dessert. There is no doubt in my mind- it is definitely the number 1 restaurant in Baltimore. While it is expensive, and for most treated as a special occasion restaurant, I have yet to find a restaurant with better food and better service in Baltimore. I also commented to my husband while we were there that I really love that the servers and their support staff all wear suits, its a nice touch.

One of the cindy wolf restaurants is looking for a new executive chef -- what, top 10 isnt good enough?

Not talking about TGIF, rather small, locally-owned spots with great food that can't afford a PR person on speed dial.

Okay, Beer Budget, let's hear your Top 50 Small, Locally-Owned Spots With Great Food That Can't Afford a PR Person on Speed Dial.

Great! Another Top Ten Tuesday idea. LV

Sean, forgive me if I mis-read your intent, but I don't respond to being bullied.

I'm sincerely happy for our local economy that there are those who can eat out often, and often at expensive places, but most of us live on much more restricted incomes. Information about more modest restaurants tends to be scarce when magazine articles, newspaper columns, blogs, etc., are often stuffed with re-worked press releases from the usual suspects. I'm sure they offer wonderful food, but so do many others who remain in shadow because they're busier churning out food rather than publicity. I can't imagine how anyone puts him or herself in such debt to open a restaurant, but when he or she does and the offerings are well-prepared and reasonably-priced, I'd like to know about it so I can possibly patronize it. A little more ink and a few more pixels thrown that way would be just as nice for our local economy .

BB: Forget Baltimore Mag and the other glossy monthlies. There's plenty of good info on affordable places online. Chowhound is a good place to start. Plus, City Paper just put out their food guide, and they review places at all price points.

I don't disagree at all with their ratings - I love the Wolf/Foreman places - but I've always suspected that Baltimore Magazine's "ratings" are advertiser-driven.

Beer Budget, what are your favorite places?

I had an amazing meal once at Charleston and can eat occasionally at Cinghiale and Petit Louis and I think they deserve all the good press they get. A bunch of the other, less fancy or expensive, restaurants I love and patronize were also in that list. I'm wondering which ones you think they missed?

To clarify, I'm always interested in finding new places to eat good food!

Beer Budget, sorry (and mystified) you felt bullied by being asked for your Top 50 list, since you apparently don't agree with the one Baltimore Restaurant came up with. You absolutely mis-read my intent. Would you consider it an actual physical assault on your person if I repeated my query?

Again, as has been stated before, this post refers to Baltimore Magazine's 50 Best Restaurants. I'll repeat that - Baltimore Magazine's 50 Best Restaurants. So yes, they're going to be more expensive. And no, it's not surprising that Wolf/Foreman place so highly on the list. Your dismissive remarks implying that the restaurants placed so highly due to a hype machine, as opposed to, say, the fact that they're great restaurants, seem unfounded to me.

As far as places that "real people" (whatever that means) can afford, I'd point you to Cinghiale's Sunday supper - appetizer, meal, and dessert for $25.

If you spend a few minutes browsing through previous posts on this blog, you'll find countless entries on budget-conscious dining, cheap eats, etc. Here are just a few examples, taken from Top 10 posts alone (note: I think the blogware only allows one or two links per comment; I'm sure you can find these on the site, though):

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- Top 10 places to have brunch
- Top 10 affordable steak dinners
- Top 10 Fine-Dining Bars
- Top 10 Romantic Restaurants for the Budget-Minded
- Top 10 restaurants in a strip mall
- Top 10 Dive Bars With Good Pub Grub
- Top 10 places for fish and chips
- Top Ten Delis

And on and on and on, etc. "Re-worked press releases from the usual suspects"? Hardly.

The "Ho-Hum" affectation tells all of us some very sad things about the writer. Playing the cool guy is for the extremely shallow.

Have you ever had someone you love in a dreadful, backwater hospital?

Have you ever been stuck in a "city" where the best restaurant in town is on the low end of mediocre. Wolfe-Foreman

Eve, by "Ho hum," I meant only that the rankings are no big surprise. I'm not knocking the restaurants -- or Hopkins for that matter. LV

It's entirely possible that the only thing more "ho-hum" about Baltimore dining than Wolf/Foreman constantly being rated at the top is the incessant whining that accompanies said rankings.

From the Baltimore magazine list, I can spot at least a handful of places that might qualify as 'affordable' - certainly within the range of TGI Fridays prices. The Helmand has always jumped to the forefront of my mind as a marvelous value, for instance. Likewise, teh

Similarly, there are also some great specials to be found at places on that list with some research. Gertrude's and Blue Hill Tavern have specials, Brewer's Art has their bar menu, and many other places have happy hour -- there are ways to dine well for cheap in this town with a little homework

I would like to point out that Wolfe/Foreman aren't the only people with more than one restaurant on the list--both Kali's Court and Meli are on the list. And next year, I bet Tapas Adela will be too.

I think all of the Wolfe/Foreman restaurants deserve a spot. They are all fantastic, as are the Kali's restaurants. And as others have said, best mean best, not cheapest or budget friendly

Also, The Helmand and b (No. 22 & 23) are both part of the Karzai restaurant group.

There are 46 non-Wolf-Foreman restaurants on the list. I don't think they are the Yankees yet.

Is it really a surprise that the top 50 restaurants in a city are going to tend to be expensive? If someone rated my restaurant one of the top 50 in Baltimore, I'd be printing menus with new prices the next day. I'm pretty sure a list of the 50 best wines, 50 best beers, 50 best cars, 50 best anything is going to tend to include the more expensive brands in the category.