Next Sunday I review Clementine (5402 Harford Road) in Hamilton. As the Chameleon Cafe down the street did, it started off as a neighborhood dining spot.
But also like Chameleon, I won't be surprised if Clementine ends up having citywide appeal.
(Andre Chung/Sun photographer)
Next Sunday I review the Oregon Grille in Cockeysville, which has a new chef after more than a decade. By chance, Dan Thanh featured the restaurant in her consumer column today. I can't imagine why what she describes ever became an issue, but I'd be interested in your take on it.
(Lloyd Fox/Sun photographer)
I'm sitting on the floor of a darkened motel room in Dublin, Va. so as not to wake up my other driver, and I'm wondering if Dublin needs a restaurant critic because I'M NOT GETTING BACK IN THE CAR.
We got a late start yesterday (gee, that's a surprise) and didn't roll in until 10:30 p.m. At that point we simply fell into bed, and as soon as Gailor wakes up we're supposed to hit the road again. This seems a lot worse than our road trip because she hurt her back and I have to do more of the driving.
Luckily there are some really fine eating establishments along I-81 to make me feel better. ...
Next Sunday I review the new Sushi Hana in Lake Falls Village shopping center. I was so terrified about Neighborhood Rage I placed it in North Baltimore, not Mount Washington or Roland Park.
Sushi Hana is certainly is doing better than its predecessor, Panda Gourmet, did in that spot. Getting a liquor license, which is in the works, will also help.
Look for my review in next Sunday's Arts & Life Today section.
(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)
Saute (2844 Hudson St.) in Canton is a restaurant and bar that opened with lofty ambitions and high expectations. The space is handsome, particularly when the weather is nice enough to allow the big windows on two sides to be opened wide. You almost feel like you're eating outdoors.
I'll be interested to see if and how the place changes as it discovers its constituency. I can't believe in six months there won't be a burger on the menu. But I admire the place for attempting more. For details, please read my review in next Sunday's Arts & life Today section.
(Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer)
Because I forgot of the holiday last Monday and the fact that I was in computer class all day Friday, I didn't assign the photo for next week's review in time to have it taken and put in the system to go with this entry. So no visuals today.
The restaurant is Ciao Pizza Bistro Italiano in the Shops at Quarry Lake, and I know the name sounds like something I'm making up as a generic Italian chain restaurant name.
Not so. This is a local, independently owned place. And it's a big success. Someone was telling me a lawyer friend who could afford to eat anywhere in the city eats at Ciao several times a week. It's his new favorite place. Just because that's hard for me to believe doesn't mean I didn't like the restaurant. Read my review next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section.
For the next couple of Sundays I'm going to look at some moderately priced alternatives to chains in my reviews in the Arts & Life Today section.
My first one is Stone Mill Bakery in Green Spring Station. It now offers dinner from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. every evening.
This comes at a good time for two reasons. One, the economy. All entrees are $14.95, which includes salad and bread.
Two, it's summer, and Stone Mill has a great patio.
This would be a good place to post any suggestions you have for places that aren't chains that have very reasonably priced dinners that aren't bar food. Or even a particular dish, even if the rest of the menu isn't a bargain.
(Amy Davis/Sun photographer)
Next Sunday I review the Catonsville Gourmet Market & Fine Foods. One of the partners has been in the wholesale seafood business for years, which explains the market part. But the restaurant has been so successful in its first weeks that I wouldn't be surprised if the retail cases disappear to make room for more tables.
Read my review of the Catonsville Gourmet in next Sunday's Arts & Life Today section.
(Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer)
You may have a preconceived notion of what a patisserie and bistro named "honey" would be like. I know I did.
Meli, which means "honey" in Greek, is the Kali's Restaurant Group's third place. It's nothing like I imagined it. For one thing, it's much more of a restaurant and night spot than I expected. I'll be writing about our meal there next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section. We can talk about it Monday.
(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun photographer)
Next week I revisit the Brass Elephant in Mount Vernon. It's been given new life with a new chef, Andrew Maggitti, and a new cuisine. The menu is now Italian once again.
To see what I think of the changes, please read my review next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section. And if you've eaten there since Chef Maggitti came on board, let us know what you think by posting below.
(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)
When people first heard that someone connected to the much beloved Matthew's Pizza in Highlandtown was opening a restaurant in Locust Point, they expected a sort of Matthew's West. That's not what Luca's Cafe is at all.
It does have pizza, but a thin-crusted kind with very different sorts of ingredients. And pizza isn't even the star of its bistro menu.
Luca's fills a gap in the Locust Point dining scene. (Imagine saying those words a decade ago.) To find out more, you'll have to wait for my review in next Sunday's Arts & Life Today section.
(Picture of Shrimp on Fire by Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer)
This is why I never get anything done. I go out to dinner, I write a thoughtful review, it gets thoughtfully edited, I post a snappy little entry about its being Next Sunday's Review, and then it all goes out the window.
I just got this e-mail from Night of the Cooker's Executive Chef Joshau Hill: ...
Restaurants in this area have had success serving upscale Southern cuisine (most notably Louisiana and Savannah/Charleston), but I can't think of one that has introduced upscale Southern Sunday supper cuisine to Baltimore. Until now.
The menu at Night of the Cookers on Antique Row is an unusual combination of barbecue (and other down home cooking) and high-class dishes like duck breast with risotto and blood orange vinaigrette. It will be interesting to see how this plays in Baltimore.
You know I don't like to say much about a restaurant before the actual review runs, but I will tell you this: I wouldn't mind some more of that etouffee.
Look for the review in next Sunday's Arts & Life Today section.
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)
It's weird but true that I never ate at Mencken's Cultured Pearl, the Mexican cafe in Southwest Baltimore that closed in '98. (It got reviewed, of course -- the last time by a LIVE critic.)
I hope Baltimore Pho gets more support than its predecessor did. I liked it a lot, in spite of a few flaws.
It wasn't what I expected; but to get the details, you'll have to wait for my review next Sunday in the Arts & Life Today section.
By the way, I've listed the address as 1116 Hollins St. because that's how the manager asked me to. Although technically the restaurant is at 1114 and 1116, the main entrance is at 1116 (unlike the Pearl).
(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)
Well, surprise. I've been on vacation so there isn't a review for next week. However, if you've been someplace good lately, feel free to tell us about it below. (Hey, if you've been somewhere bad or even just mediocre, we'll listen.)
To get things started, here's a review of Peter's Inn in Fells Point that ex-deskmate Steve Kiehl sent me. The only art for Peter's I could come up with is to the left. Mmmm, maybe time for a real review. (Sorry, Steve.) : ...
It's hard on a restaurant, I imagine, when people expect it to fail because of its location. But Tark's Grill in Green Spring Station seems to be making an early success of it, for reasons I'll tell you about in my review next week in the Sunday Arts & Life Today section.
(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)
This is a view of the Helmand, the Afghan restaurant in Mount Vernon, that you'll never see in real life: with empty tables.
Even after all these years, and even after all the hot new restaurants that have opened up, the Helmand always seems to be busy.
Next Sunday we're doing the Arts & Life Today section for those on a budget (or if you just like to be careful with your money). It wasn't hard to pick the restaurant that would be the best bang for your buck -- especially because I hadn't reviewed the Helmand since 1992, although I've been there on my own since then.
(Algerina Perna/Sun photographer)
When you’ve had all you can take of trendy new hot spots, one cure is to turn to Baltimore’s bar-restaurants, the ones that have been around forever and pride themselves on their crab cakes, hamburgers and steaks.
When you have one in your neighborhood like McCabe’s in Hampden, which offers five homemade soups to begin with and freshly baked desserts to end, all the better.
But with rising food costs, places like these could be hurting. The cost of beef and crab meat has skyrocketed, and what was once a bargain meal is no longer.
Then, too, has the smoking ban hurt McCabe’s — or helped? The open dining room is so close to the bar it wasn’t possible to have a no-smoking section before.
Find out what I think in my review in next Sunday’s Arts & Life Today section. And check out tomorrow's Monday Morning Quarterbacking if you want to talk about today's review of Abacrombie.
(Barbara Haddock Taylor/Sun photographer)
Baltimore foodies having been wondering what Abacrombie, once one of our finest restaurants, is like under its new management. After it and the bed and breakfast that housed it were sold, the dining room had a couple of false starts and then finally closed. Diners who ate there during that period sometimes had some pretty bad experiences. I actually wondered if it would ever reopen.
But now Jerry Pellegrino, owner of Corks in Federal Hill, has taken over the restaurant and is working with Jesse Sandlin as executive chef and Greta Clausen as general manager. The question is whether they will be able to duplicate the success of former owner/chef Sonny Sweetman. He’s a hard act to follow.
Find out what I think in my review in next week’s Arts & Life Today section.
(Chiaki Kawajiri/Sun photographer)
Next Sunday I go back to Kali's Court, the upscale seafood restaurant in Fells Point, to see how new executive chef Damon Hersh is or isn't changing things. He's the chef who made his name in Baltimore by opening Louisiana, also in Fells Point.
The shrimp dish pictured is still on the menu under Hersh, but the photo is from the archives because the ones for this review haven't been shot yet.
Read my review in next Sunday's Arts & Life Today to find out more.
(Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer)
I almost forgot to tell you about next Sunday's review, which will appear in the Arts & Life Today section. In honor of Chains Week, as this is turning out to be, I'll be reviewing the city's newest, Arizona-based RA Sushi in Harbor East. This is the rock-n-roll sushi bar and restaurant that specializes in whacko maki rolls like the one pictured (Viva Las Vegas).
If you can put aside for the moment that this is the loudest restaurant you've ever been in, and probably the reddest (not the most soothing combination) -- and if you're over 30 you probably won't be able to put the ambience aside for a moment; that's the point -- you may be wondering how the food is.
I'll tell you everything you need to know.
The wait for Junior’s Wine Bar to open in Federal Hill has been a long one. This is the restaurant located where Vespa once was, and at first glance there are many similarities. For one thing, Junior’s co-owner and executive chef, Mike Russell, is the chef who opened Vespa. Like its predecessor, Junior’s offers moderately priced bistro fare and an affordable wine list.
But the renovations that took so long have also made it a very different place. The back has been opened up so this is a much larger restaurant.
The focus has broadened, too. No longer is the emphasis completely on Italian food and wine, which gives Russell more latitude to show his range.
To see what I thought of our meal there, please look for my review in next Sunday’s Arts & Life Today section.
(Elizabeth Malby/Sun photographer)
