Three...

Three...
2901 E. Baltimore St.
Canton/Highlandtown, Baltimore
410-327-3333
American (New)
Cost: $$$
Reservations: Not Accepted
Date of meal: Thursday, September 13, 2007 (8:30pm)
National Price-Quality Frontier: Inside It
Baltimore Price-Quality Frontier: On It

Last night, my spouse and I went to Three... This is a new restaurant on the northeast corner of Patterson Park. They don't take reservations, but there were plenty of tables at 8:30pm on a Thursday night. We took an inside table; outside tables on the street looking across at the park were all taken. (There was a disruptive and drug-addicted woman waving a half-used roll of toilet paper and a tube of Pringles outside, so I'm glad we sat inside.)

Three... has character. (This was a fact noted in a review in the Baltimore CityPaper.) I liked the vibe tremendously. As you enter, there is "Rx" laid into the marble-like composite at your feet; Three.. was a pharmacy in a past life. (Three... bears a slight resemblance to Rx restaurant in Philadelphia, perhaps for this reason; it used to be a pharmacy too but tries to run with it.) The walls are exposed brick, with richly- colored, abstract paintings on the wall. These were a bit like a cross between a Rothko and a Pollack. As you enter, the room is narrow and deep, with windows (and one table) on your right and a row of 4-6 tables against an exposed brick wall on your left. Half-way down the room, the space becomes an appealing bar. A hole was cut into the exposed brick on the left so that you can see the second room of seating for diners. This was decorated with black-and-white photographs (as best as I could see looking through the hole cut in the exposed brick). I liked the light fixtures that hang over the row of tables against the inner wall. Against the wall was a long bench, with a colorfully patterned upholstery. Music was by St. Germain. All night. (Dear Management, please get an iPod and set it on shuffle; variety is the spice of life.)

The menu is mostly tapas in size and New American in cuisine. Our server was very friendly and helpful. (We chatted a bit, and she was interesting too.) She recommended her favorite tapas dishes. We ordered 5 tapas dishes, mostly ones she recommended. I can't tell you about two of these (one with figs, another with tuna) because they were out of these by the time we ordered them. I'm all for running a tight inventory so you don't keep things longer than they are fresh. It would be ideal not to recommend dishes that have run out, but our server was funny and friendly about it and I don't mind at all. We ordered two more dishes.

We ate:

1. thinly-sliced, lightly-fried eggplant with a tomato compote/marmalade (there is a fancy name for this which I am forgetting). It was way too salty, almost to the point of being inedible. My spouse loves salt in her food to the point that I make jokes about it, and we both felt this way. Our server was kind enough to keep bringing us water; I didn't have the heart to tell her this reflected the saltiness of the dish and not my dehydration. Of course, I have no trouble telling all of you.
2. barbecue pork ribs with a garlic rub. These fell off the bone and were great. Too bad they were also way too salty.
3. scallops ($12) with a yellow pepper puree and crispy leek strings. Scallops were fresh and cooked just enough but not too much. The puree was nice but could have used a bit more punch. The crispy leeks are a brilliant idea. Why don't we see more of them in other dishes? (Think fried onion strings except with really thin slivers of leek, so thin that frying them doesn't make them oily but crispy.) The chef is really onto something here. I liked this dish but thought the sauce/puree was a bit too subtle.
4. ceviche, served on a bed of limes and orange rounds. Ceviche is tough to nail. In my view the trick is to put enough acid on it to "cook" it (so we don't get sick when eating it) while still having a complex and not overpowering flavor when eating it. To my taste, this ceviche was good but a bit overpowering.
5. flank steak with papaya, onions, and tomatoes. This dish was awesome. I loved it. Subtle, unusual, tasty, with high-quality ingredients. Steak cooked just right. Completely owesome.
6. dessert ($6): chocolate chess pie from Dangerously Delicious Pies. Very good. Served with whip cream because they were out of ice-cream.
   

Three... has a fair bit in common with Salt. Salt is trying a bit too hard to be hip, whereas Three... has a more inviting, neighborly, and personalized feel. (Our server knew we hadn't been there because she hadn't seen us before; we got great service even though we weren't regulars.) Both have interesting combinations of ingredients and a fun environment. Both have names that are too common to google without difficulty; Three... is especially bad in this because the street address is also the city name. Ironically, the thing that Three... had that Salt did not was too much salt in the food. I liked this place a lot. The price point is appropriate by national standards and therefore cheap by Baltimore standards. (We spent $68 including tax but not tip for a full meal for two and one glass of wine each. Three... is probably cheaper than Salt.) Decor, service, vibe and menu make me want to absolutely love it; execution of a few dishes was problematic and this makes me only like it a lot. (I'm hopeful these kinks can be worked out; after all this is a new restaurant.)

This restaurant would be absolutely perfect for a nice date. I would recommend it and happily return. If they would work the kinks out of their food preparation, it would be on my favorite restaurants anywhere in the country.