Salt is Top 10, but Annabelle Lee isn't included - give me a break.

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Annabelle Lee shouldn't be. The last time I ate there, my salad was over 40% slime. I can understand one or two bad pieces of lettuce, but this nearly looked like soup.

Then again, the one time I ate at Salt wasn't that hot, either. Probably should try it again when it isn't RW.

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Wow, no Tio Pepe or Samos. Those seem like glaring omissions.

Richard, just a quick THANK YOU for posting it as a text version as well! Much easier to navigate.

I think the top 10 is great. No arguments from me.

Tio Pepe is the most overrated resturant in the city.

I like Birches, and think it should be in the top 50, but I can understand its exclusion, doesn't upset me.

At least its not the bar list which put The Laughing Pint #1 just to get people riled up, Prime Rib is a legitimate #1. RG you are the man, thank you for being honest and accessible.

Well, I'm not saying that Tio Pepe is #1 or anything. I just think it clearly belongs in the top 50.

BABABOOEY!!!!!!!

OK

I agree with almost everything except the inclusion of Da Mimmo. This place survives only by rooking tourists with its hype and glitz (limo service from downtown hotels). The food is bad, the service even worse, the atmosphere is creepy and the prices are outrageous.

The list of 50 best restaurants is clearly a ploy by the evil Tributon to gets hits and stir up the usual list-based fracas in a demitasse. Nevertheless, you brought it and I got served. Masterful, sir. I am in awe of someone who clearly loves writing as much as I do and does it so well. Pimpin’ ain’t easy, Union Card Kid.

Eh, knock it off about Da Mimmo's. What, you want that the Scungilli Kid sleeps with the fishes? We all know that the joint is as da kids say a fail, but only them outer borough morons go there anyways.

The only misstep I see is including Aldo's. The food is no where near worth the prices.

Kind of bummed there's no Sobo Cafe :-(

I also think Tio Pepe's should have been included. I haven't been to Da Mimmos in so long...but only because I never hear anything good about it. Aldo's is expensive - but it is good.

La Scala, anyone?

I think the Helmand's over-rated. Was not impressed with the pumpkin and yogurt that everyone goes on about. I'd put in Mr. Rain's Funhouse for inventive food - like Pheasant Sausage - instead. And I would have put Salt first, Jack's second, and then Prime Rib and Charleston. Because really, who's getting to Prime Rib and Charleston regularly enough to know?

No Roys?
No Capital Grill?

No Roys?
No Capital Grill?

The very first comment says it all.......I am shocked that Annabel Lees is not on here. I agree with Jacks Bistro and could even make an argument for Birtches.

Where's Birches?

I mean, really... I'd gladly sit through the bland trauma of a dozen meals at Helmand and Annabel Lee for one night in Birches' loving embrace.

I would put Peter's Inn at #1, but that is just me. Glad to see it made the top five. Nice work on the list.

If you want to see some great local reviews check out our website www.bobganoosh.blogspot.com

Let's go home and get away from these people.

Aldo's should be #1. Peters Inn is not one of the top 20 places in Bmore, it's food is just not that good.

I agree with Allen Grier David.

Thank you for not succumbing to the temptation of a bullshit #1 like the bar folks. This should be a list to educate people, not a vehicle for pretentiousness or to stir up controversy.

I've been to 37 of these restaurants and agree with 32 of those. I truly feel that Roy's and La Scala should be on this list and in the top 25...if you haven't been there in awhile go check them out. Always excellent food and excellent service. Both are now doing great Happy Hours for those on a budget!

Bravo Richard..might not agree with all your choices but thnk you did a yoeman's job..where did that phrase originate

KGM80, I always liked Sobo, but now that Winston has opened Clementine, I'm not sure about Sobo.

scoutmoss, here's one definition of "yeoman's job" from a quick look online: Doing a good job all round; working hard and competently. The phrase is associated with work that doesn't require specialized skills and can be done well by tackling the task industriously. An older phrase, "yeoman's service," means much the same thing and includes an implication of loyalty.

Hey, it's Tammy Wase. My kid sits on your head. (Canton Safeway shopping cart advertising joke because she bought cart face space for her real estate biz)

FLIRV, what is your beef with Aldo's? You seem to have been dogging them for years here and on chowhound.What's the grudge about? I've never met anybody who had anything but a great experience there.

I don't think price is a consideration for the list anyway. If you had a bad experience, maybe give them another chance. I think it's a real gem in the neighborhood.

P.S. Do we know each other? I'm sure we must have run into each other in the 'hood. Just curious.

If you can figure out who I am, I'll buy you a limoncello at Aldo's. I've had good and bad limoncello, but their homemade limoncello is unbelievable. Plus the sometimes bartender, Margaret, is a winsome treasure.

Try it as a limoncello martini. It's complex, smooth and creamy. It's the attention to tiny details that make Aldo's worth the price. They care about their food and service as much as anybody I have ever seen. They do an amazing amount of research and testing for their menu.

Plus, only a cyborg wouldn't appreciate Sergio's humor, despite his resemblance to Jack Donaghy.

Birches? Sweet fancy Moses, that's ridiculous. I'm still pissed that I wasted an evening when some friends insisted we go there five years ago. None of us enjoyed the food and the service was not good. Plus the whole no-split checks things is so unjarpy.

One observation that is not necessarily a complaint: The list seemed to have a quota for ethnic restaurants. What I mean is that there seemed to be room for only one Japanese, one Greek, one Thai etc. restaurant.

If you went to only one restaurant in Little Italy and it was Da Mimmo's, well, that would be a shame. My recommendations are always Rocco's and Aldo's.

People stop me on the street all the time and ask where they should go. I size them up, ask what they're interested in and proceed. If they want what midwesterners perceive as Italian food (spaghetti & meatballs (ugh), garlic bread and the usual cliché pasta dishes, I'll send them to Chip's, which does that stuff very well and has great local character. Plus they have a beautiful bar that you can eat at.

I don't like to dump on anybody in the 'hood but I do tell them one place to never go to even if the cab driver recommended it (you know where). I think there's only 3 places in LI that I would steer people away from. All the others have their merits. (4 if you want to pay in Euros )

Some observations:
1) No local seafood place
2) No crab place
3) No vegetarian or vegan place
4) No Chinese

Let's play a game. Below is a list of winners from the City Paper's Best of Baltimore in Sep. 2010. See how many made it to Richard's list:

Vino Rosina
B&O
Arcos (?)
Liquid Earth
Breezy Point
Faidley's
Crusty Scupper
Woodberry
Two Boots
Harborque
Andy Nelson's
Hamilton Tavern
Centro
West Indian Flavor
Grace Garden
Dukem #2
Shaheen
Ikaros
Young Kak
Max;'s Empanadas
Mi Viejo Pueblito
Byblos
Kimmy's Soul Food
Sushi Hana
Mekong Delta
Mari Luna
The Reserve
Rocket to Venus
Chameleon
Gertrude's
Pho Nam
J.D.'s Smokehouse–

That was from the crack staff/staff on crack.

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Now for the reader's poll. Yikes.
Vino Rosina
Woodberry
Sip&Barf
Pazo
One World
Miss Surley's
Vacarro's (jeez)
Dockside
G&M
Andyh Nelson
Abbey BB
Joe Square
Samos
Akbar (?!?)
SABA_FREAKIN-TINOS
Sabatino's? Sabatino's? REALLY?
Minato
Nam Kang
Arcos Barfos
Helmand
Thai Arroy
Tapas Teatro
Woodnberry.
_______________________________

People of Baltimore, your taste in restaurants really sucks.

Notice how the CP staff picks and readers' pickk have almost no overlap with The Sun's list.

Baltimore, you get the restaurants you deserve.

Discuss.

For the record, the few (four or five) times I've eaten at Birches, I've had fine meal and have experienced impeccable, attentive service. I've never had occasion to deal with their check-slitting policy.

D@L folk hold a grudge for a very long time, it seems.

My 2¢

Helmand - bottom of the list, overrated steam table food.

Mimmos - Should be on the Avoid List. Rude service. Creepy bar. Strange Middle Eastern guy who pretends that he is Italian.

Gertrudes - off the list. I hate the atmosphere and the menu does nothing for me.

Chianghiale (sp?) - way overrated. The dining room is like a veal pen. Awful atmosphere. So eat in the bar, I mean, enoteca. I don't want to. Boo.

Akbar - off the list

I do love Owlie's favorite, Rocco's Capriccio. Best parts: the jarpy family: Rosa & Rocco Sr & Jr. The homey unpretentious atmosphere. The clams the clams the clams! That beautiful sauce on the red snapper that Chef Rocco refuses to tell me the secret ingredient (grr); the unusual game specials they sometimes have.

Otherwise the list is great, not being a list fan.

Now I am sooo hungry.

I don't have a grudge against Birches. I just hated my dinner experience there and don't have the time or budget for second chances. The menu doesn't do much for me anyway. Meh.

Birches is okay. They don't aim high and usually hit their mark. They defintitely don't have the jarpness or elan of some of the more au courant joints. M'eh indeed.

Bankstreet wrote D@L folk hold a grudge for a very long time, it seems. Yeah--I'm still mad at the waiter at Corks who ran off with the last of our bottle of wine (the one that he said was a personal favorite). And this happened when George W. Bush was still president.

Andy Nelsons is the best Barbeque ever!!!!!! Go eat at Andy's and you can vote too!!!!!!!!!

Andy Nelsons is the best Barbeque ever! Go eat at Andy's and you can vote too!

Andy Nelsons is the best Barbeque ever!

I think chris nelson may be biased.

Dah, I've never been to Corks, but I still have a second-hand grudge based upon your experience

Does anybody else think that the live chat format is insanely inefficient? It's maddenly slow and is not really interactive. It's only slightly less gratifying than coversation by punch cards

R&o, I agree. The live chat feels primitive, even for me. I think RG should host a D@L talk radio show once a month.

"On the line now we have Bankstreet in Fells Point. Go ahead, Bankstreet..."

Food on the radio.

Too bad we missed the opportunity in Gorelicktober.

Why does the Trib seem to embrace technology only when it is 10 years old and in a ridiculously ham-handed manner? The Mobbies voting was insane. It was like going back to having a 300 baud acoustic phone coupled mo-dem. It feels like the corporate culture of TribCo is about to implode like a dying star.

Here's a better idea. Richard live broadcasts a meal at a restaurant. You get one of those spy cams in a pair of glasses or hat or a weird nanny-cam in a teddy bear. Since the camera would be on him, he could still remain anonymous.

And a thousand Trib lawyers' heads just exploded.

Is there any place on the list that could be considered indigenous? Like a place that represents Maryland or Baltimore food? I don't think so. Seems like all these joints could be in any other city. But think about, there really is no strong indigenous food here besides crabs and that's mostly a freak show.

The camera would have to be in glasses or a teddy bear since no civilised man would wear a hat while eating dinner in a restaurant.

Or in a nice hairpiece. I recommend the Shatner3000. We are also running deep discounts on the Governor2010 model due to massive overproduction and lack of interest.

Hello ...

Hello ...

Let me go turn down my newspaper ...

Is this thing on?

Hello ...

Hello ...

Oh ... and speaking of grudges ... I don't think I've completely gotten over Salt's skipping a course when my partner and I had New Years' Eve dinner there ... in 2008.

Check out Baltimore Food Rag blog. Great stuff.