Langermann's

Langermann's, in the old American Can Company Building, has been a favorite of ours for many years. When we were writing and promoting our first two books, Neal Langermann was a great help to us. While Chef Langermann has moved on to other endeavors, his namesake restaurant carries on with his original concept of offering a refined take on "lowcountry" southern cuisine. The Minx and I were invited back for a chance to sample some of their current menu choices.

We started off with drinks. I had an unusual gin & tonic with a pleasing orange flavor and aroma instead of the usual lime. Other guests in our party enjoyed the southern classic, Pimm's Cup. The Minx opted for a glass of French rosé, which has become her new summer drink of choice.

Our meal began with a quite satisfying amuse of shrimp and grits. The creamy grits--a Georgia heirloom variety, custom ground--were served in a broth of clam juice and white wine and topped with slices of mild andouille sausage in addition to the shrimp.

We also sampled the baby arugula salad and Scotch egg starters. With shaved Parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, and a lemon olive oil dressing, the salad was light and refreshing for a hot summer day. The Scotch egg was heartier, with its crisp sausage coating and accompanying sweet sriracha-style sauce and stone-ground mustard.

A perennial favorite at Langermann's, the Low Country Louie adds lobster and shrimp to the traditional crab salad. The Creole mayo dressing makes the salad pleasantly spicy, and the corn kernels provide a bit of texture and sweetness to the dish.

We also sampled the pork belly appetizer, served over more of those delicious grits. The meat was perfectly cooked, with a crispy top layer and melt-in-your-mouth tender pork underneath. While it was lovely on its own, the smoky tomato jam and a sauce made from a reduction of the braising liquids made the dish more special. 

We also sampled a fellow diner's Pork Pops, savory spirals of roast pork and bacon with date and fig jam speared on lollipop sticks and glazed with hot honey. Maybe a bit trendy, but fun to eat and tasty to boot.

For an entree, I had a perfectly cooked piece of pan-roasted Alaskan halibut with a nice crusty top, served on a bed of corn, asparagus, and brown rice. The topping of sweet pickled peaches was unexpected, and the jury is still out on that.

The Minx's seared diver scallops were served in a rather autumnal cider butter sauce over a hash of sweet potato and mushroom. Coupled with the steamy hot weather outside, the dish really made her long for cooler weather. And while it all worked fine with scallops, the accompaniments would have been really perfect for a fat pork chop.

For dessert, the Minx had the rich bread pudding with creme anglaise while I opted for the light and citrussy key lime pie. Both were satisfying endings to a substantial meal.

Despite all of the many new restaurants that have been popping up in Canton recently, Langermann's still seems to be going strong. The spacious dining room was fairly busy that night, and there were several patrons enjoying the bar area as well. Langermann's has outdoor patio seating, too, where one can watch the comings and goings of Cantonites up and down Boston Street--a perfect way to spend a summer evening.

Langermann's
American Can Co, Building
2400 Boston St #101a
Baltimore, MD 21224
410-534-3287



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Gunther & Co Sneak Peek

Mr Minx and I were invited to a sneak peek of the new Gunther & Co. restaurant in Brewer's Hill the other night. We left quite excited about the restaurant's potential and feel it will become a sure-fire hit for owner Nancy Hart and chef Jerry Trice.

A glance at the outside of what was once the boiler room of Gunther Brewing Company doesn't even begin to hint at how cavernous and attractive the restaurant is on the inside. Brick everywhere, a huge open kitchen with bar seating, and a living wall of plants--which functions both as decoration and an air-cleansing device--are main features. A rustically lovely private dining room on the mezzanine level, with views of the dining room below, would be a fab place for a birthday party or rehearsal dinner, or a simple gathering of friends. The front bar area, too, with its large windows and creative cocktail menu, should be a popular spot for both neighborhood folks and visitors like us who hail from the far reaches of Towson and beyond.

While we didn't get to have a sit-down meal this time around, we were treated to selections from various of Gunther & Co.'s menus. They'll be offering weekend brunch, weekday lunch, dinner Monday through Saturday, and a special Sunday supper. There's also a selection of items available from open to close that includes more snacky things like oysters and cheese, plus salads and a burger.

We started off with two kinds of oysters, giant Pemaquids from Maine, and more petite Wild Ass Ponies from Assateague Island. "Meet the Beet-Alls," featuring beet liquor, rhubarb bitters, and the artichoke liquor called Cynar, was just one of bartender Shaun Stewart's inventive cocktails on offer. We went on to sample the dumplings, delicious pockets of shrimp and lemongrass with a finely cut kaffir lime garnish and a ponzu soy dipper, and crunchy garlic toasts topped with a flavorful beef tartare garnished with egg yolk and radish. While it won't be served in exactly the same way we received it, the tartare will be on the apps menu (and is well worth trying!) There were also crisp-crusted little biscuits filled with pork and mango chutney and fabulous tea-smoked duck breast served with grilled oyster mushrooms and an orange-ginger sauce. A flatbread cooked in a wood-fired pizza oven and topped with smoked salmon, capers, chopped hard boiled egg, and arugula was an example of Gunther & Co.'s flatbread of the day.

For dessert, we tasted pastry chef Aja Cage's light buttermilk panna cotta with citrus and granola, and an ultra rich chocolate pavé with scoops of smooth butter pecan ice cream on the side. I'm slightly disappointed we didn't get to taste the vegan carrot cake with matcha glaze, but we'll just have to go back and get a full-sized serving of that goodness.

Gunther & Co., shortly to become Baltimore's favorite restaurant, opens this Friday, May 20th. The bar opens at 4pm, and dinner service starts at 5.



Gunther & Co.
3650 Toone Street
Baltimore, MD 21224
http://eatatgunther.com

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The Boathouse Canton

 (photo: Downtown Diane)

For two decades, the Bay Cafe used to be the place to hang out on the water in Canton. It's gone now, but its replacement, the Boathouse, looks like an even better place to be.

Owners Gene Singleton and Maureen McEnerney put quite a bit of money into renovating the building at Tindeco Wharf; the result is airy and modern, feeling like a place on the water should feel, without being overtly nautical. Al fresco dining on the new outdoor patio is the big draw in warm weather, but the food should be a draw all year long.

Chef Matt Campbell, a Virginia native, works hard to make sure the food he serves is what the customer wants to eat. This being Baltimore, that means plenty of seafood and lots of things that taste good with a tall drink in hand.

We were introduced to the Boathouse's fall menu at a media tasting, and were impressed with the food, the starters especially. We tasted the seared ahi tuna on won ton crisps, and loved the hint of sesame oil in the dressing. We also enjoyed the pimento cheese, a southern specialty that's not seen in these parts too often. Chef Campbell's version is packed into small crocks, baked to an appealing crustiness, and served with crostini and crudite.

Oysters  (photo: Downtown Diane)

The rest of our dinner spread included some very fresh oysters, both local and otherwise...

Chicken Chesapeake  (photo: Downtown Diane)

and interpretations of classic fare like chicken Chesapeake and steak frites.

The chicken Chesapeake included thin slices of prosciutto sandwiched between a moist chicken breast cutlet and a mini crab cake, the whole thing topped with an Old Bay Gruyere cream sauce. The steak dish featured hanger steak cooked to a rosy medium, served with crisp fries.

One of the more popular dishes we sampled, judging from the speed the dish disappeared from the buffet, was the lobster mac and cheese. In addition to nicely sized bites of lobster, the dish contains four cheeses, andouille sausage, plus peas and roasted tomatoes. It's got vegetables, so it's healthy, right?

Lobster Mac & Cheese (photo: Jess Mayhugh)

My favorite dish was the grilled salmon. The salmon itself was fine, but the accompanying pan-seared brussels sprouts with caramelized pearl onions, bacon lardons, and rosemary balsamic butter were So. Good. And, the sprouts are available by themselves, as a side dish. Gimme.

Steak frites, fried cod (the "fish" portion of fish and chips), chicken Chesapeake

We also sampled two desserts, the seasonal fruit crisp, which featured apples (but in the summer contains peaches), and what was billed as a flourless chocolate cake, but was more like a rich classic chocolate cake. Both were pleasant ways to add a sweet finish to our meal.

Flourless chocolate cakelets (photo: Downtown Diane)

Let's not forget the beverages here. We tasted a sangria made with rosé, ruby port, triple sec, and cinnamon spice syrup that was quite nice and a change from the normal. There are also about a dozen beers on draft, with selections from local breweries Union, Heavy Seas, and Brewer's Art, plus bottled selections, wines, and crushes in several flavors. All this, including food to please many palates, seems like a pretty good reason to check out the Boathouse.



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Fork & Wrench

My father and I had dinner at Fork & Wrench not long after it opened in 2012. I wanted to eat there to get a feel of the place before adding it to the Food Lover's Guide to Baltimore but after ordering what our waiter talked me into (the duck) rather than what I wanted (the scallops), I left the restaurant feeling unsatisfied and probably wouldn't have returned. But then Cyrus Keefer became the new chef at Fork & Wrench and that changed everything.

In the year that Chef Keefer has been at the restaurant, he's cooked at the James Beard House twice. Maybe that coveted award will be his one day.

Mr Minx and I were invited to a media dinner to taste what's been going down at Fork & Wrench these days.

Because I love escargot, and also because Chef Keefer donated the recipe for his escargot buns to Baltimore Chef's Table, I just had to try it. It's hard to describe - the bun is a cross between Chinese-style steamed and baked buns. Almost like a giant potsticker, with its soft edges and crusty top. And filled and topped with snails! So good. Mr Minx chose the Scotch egg for his appetizer and was pleasantly surprised to find a soft-boiled egg inside, rather than the typical dry hard-boiled egg. Not so easy to wrap sausage around a soft egg and fry it while keeping the yolk runny. Very impressive.

One of my dining companions chose the poutine to share with the table. It was topped with a ragu of pork and stracciatella ("ripped" or "shredded" in Italian). Who needs cheese curds? This was outstanding, and hard to stop eating. And the portion is definitely large enough to share.

I haven't had a really good soft shell crab in a while, and the lightly tempura-battered whale served to me at Fork & Wrench really hit the spot. It was served in a bacon dashi with a saute of fiddlehead ferns and porcini mushrooms. Finally, fiddleheads with flavor! Mr Minx had the fried shrimp, which came with cornmeal gnocchi, shishito peppers, and a tomato broth. The shrimp had that nice, er, shrimpy flavor that we like, and the diminuitive size of the gnocchi made them nice and light.

Chef Keefer was surprised that none of us had ordered the octopus, so he sent a tentacle to the table for us to try. It was accompanied by papas bravas, salsa verde aioli, and a pepper broth. Nearly fork-tender and lightly smoky, it was some of the best octopus we've tried. Another dish we enjoyed was the duck preparation du jour, seared breast served with parsnips and blackberries. Unlike the duck I had the first time around at Fork & Wrench, this baby was tender, juicy, and not ringed with fat. And perfectly seasoned, as was everything we ate that evening. Both of our other dining companions chose the arctic char. Served with petit pois, fried batter bits, and a malt vinegar-infused butter sauce, the flavors of the dish evoked a haute cuisine fish and chips.

Finally, we had to have dessert. There were only three offerings on the list, so we tried all of them. Mr Minx's went for the milk and cookies, an assortment of rather large cookies including a snickerdoodle, peanut butter/oatmeal, one flavored with lemon peel, a brownie-like square, and a mammoth chocolate chip cookie, all made by pastry chef Janae Aiken. I had the creme catalonia. Not a flan, nor was it a creme brulee, it was rich and lemony, with a texture like dense pudding. The rest of the table chose the chocolate cake layered with chocolate cheesecake, which was outstanding, but a bit too rich for anyone to finish.

The decor at Fork & Wrench has always been something to see, with it's jumble of industrial bric-a-brac and tools. And now it has cuisine that makes it truly a place worth visiting.

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Farmstead Grill Opening

Since The Dogwood closed, everyone's been waiting for Galen Sampson's new venture. Farmstead Grill, at the Shops at Canton Crossing, will finally open its doors at 11am on Monday, June 16th. The restaurant, which makes farm-to-table dining affordable, will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week. Examples of dishes that will be served: grilled Chesapeake oysters gratinéed with smoked crab spring spinach and fennel; Moroccan spiced lamb with roasted tri-colored carrots and wilted baby dandelion greens; and mustard and lavender honey roasted half chicken with baby haruki turnips and rosemary salt-baked new potatoes.

Colorful and airy, the 6000-square foot, 230-seat, Farmstead Grill is flooded with natural light from both ground-level and clerestory windows. The interior weaves together such rustic elements as reclaimed barn-wood and beams, wrought iron and rough-textured linen with cream leather upholstery and colorful banquettes. The restaurant seats 190 on two levels indoors and 48 outside on a raised patio facing a leafy park. And parking is plentiful and free!

The restaurant is located at 3721 Boston Street, Baltimore, MD 21224. Reservations can be made online starting June 16th at www.farmsteadgrill.com or by calling 410-762-2100.

Farmstead Grill’s companion kiosk, Farmstead Shack, will open in July. This 430-square foot carry-out with 30 outdoor seats and a wine and beer license is across the park from Farmstead Grill and will host a wide variety of lawn parties and events. Its menu will feature house-made hot dogs, brats, breakfast biscuits, fresh juices and more.

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Cracking the Barrel at Fork & Wrench

Canton’s The Fork & Wrench Restaurant and Bar at 2322 Boston Street is cracking open the barrel-aged Vieux Carré and Negroni cocktails tonight!

Barrel-aged cocktails are where a mixologist pre-mixes cocktails and puts them in individual wooden barrels for a couple of weeks so the flavors become more harmonious and rounded, the strong edges smoothed and softened. It is startling how wood and air can alter the taste of a drink.

Cocktail connoisseurs and novices alike will have the option of enjoying the barrel-aged cocktails: 1) full size; 2) half portion of a Vieux Carré and half of a Negroni; 3) or taste a half of a barrel aged Vieux Carré or Negroni and compare it to a non-barrel aged rendition.

Both drinks have interesting back stories:

The classic New Orleans Vieux Carré (pronounced veeyou care-ay, meaning "old square" and referring to the French Quarter) is said to be the most responsive to barrel aging. A fine balance of rye whiskey, brandy, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, and Peychaud’s bitters, the drink was created by Walter Bergeron at the Hotel Monteleone back in the 30’s.

No one knows the Negroni's origins for sure. It is said that in the early 1900’s, a Count Camillo Negroni invented the drink when he requested that his bartender replace the soda water in his then-favorite cocktail, the Americano, with gin. The bartender also added an orange garnish instead of the typical lemon. A simple cocktail with equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, the Negroni can be thrown off if one ingredient is not exactly in the right proportion.

The Fork & Wrench’s mixologist, Shana Leachman, has timed the aging of both these cocktails for premium taste and robust flavor notes. The Fork & Wrench will serve no barrel-aged cocktail until its time. Notices will go up on their Facebook page and Twitter account @ForkandWrench, but pencil in Thursday, April 3rd and be the first to imbibe!



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Blend Your Own Bordeaux at Fork & Wrench

The Fork & Wrench is having an interactive food and wine event on Thursday, March 27th at 6:30pm. Diners will enjoy a multi-course family-style meal paired with Trinchero Family Estates wines and have the chance to blend their own Bordeaux. Yes, I did say, "blend their own" wine. Now who gets the chance to do something like that outside of Napa? Additionally, those wines will be judged in a blind taste test and prizes will be awarded.

Says the Fork & Wrench’s libation mistress, Shana Leachman: “Sometimes wine can come across as intimidating or unapproachable, and adding a formal coursed dinner can be uncomfortable for some. This ‘Blend your own Bordeaux’ dinner is different; it is more interactive, fun and welcoming to all levels of wine enthusiasts.”

There's only room for sixteen guests, so make your reservations now at 443.759.9367.

Fork & Wrench’s “Blend your own Bordeaux”
Thursday, March 27th – 6:30 p.m.
$75 per guest for reception, 4 course dinner, and paired wines
(Excludes tax and gratuity)
Limited Seating: 16 guests
Reservations: 443.759.9367

The Fork & Wrench
2322 Boston Street
Baltimore, MD
www.theforkandwrench.com/
Twitter @ForkandWrench



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Dining Out on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is one of the restaurant industry's biggest nights, and some notable local eateries are offering special menus.

Clementine's four-course Valentine's Day dinner is $50. I want to eat all of it, including the cauliflower and Gruyere bisque, smoked pork belly confit with spiked peanut sauce, and crispy potato-crusted halibut. Check out the menu here. Clementine is located at 5402 Harford Road in Hamilton. Call 410-444-1497 for reservations.

Cunningham's, the new Bagby Group restaurant in Towson, has a three-course Valentine's Day menu for $59 (wine pairings an additional $29). The special menu is here. A la carte items will also be available. Call the restaurant at 410-339-7730 to make a reservation. 1 Olympic Pl, Towson, MD 21204.

Fleet Street Kitchen is offering a $69 3-course seating from 5-7pm (menu here) and an $89 4-course second seating from 7:30 - 10:30pm (menu here). Fleet Street Kitchen is located in the old Bagby Furniture building at 1012 Fleet Street. Call 410-244-5830 for reservations.

Fork & Wrench is doing a four-course tasting menu for $60, excluding beverages, taxes, and gratuity. Selections include fricassee of escargot with a hazelnut flan, roast squab with Szechuan poached pears and chestnut gnocchi, foie gras wonton soup, and other tempting choices. The Fork and Wrench is located at 2322 Boston Street, Baltimore, MD 21224. Reservations can be made by calling 443-759-9360.

Waterfront Kitchen has a three-course menu priced at $69 ($99 with wine pairings). Menu items include roasted and stuffed marrow bones, cassoulet, and dark chocolate panna cotta. The whole menu can be viewed here. Reservations can be made by emailing info@waterfrontkitchen.com, visiting www.waterfrontkitchen.com or calling 443-681-5310. Waterfront Kitchen is located at 1417 Thames Street in Fells Point.

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Myth & Moonshine

Ever wonder what it would be like to sample a dozen or so kinds of moonshine and moonshine cocktails, followed by a ton of food? Sounds like the premise for a fab new show on the Discovery Channel, no? It actually describes a recent dining experience we had at a year-old bar/restaurant in Canton called Myth & Moonshine Tavern (originally Moonshine Tavern), where owners Shanna Cooper and Jake Millisock wined (moonshined) and dined us until we could barely stand without support.

I know, speak for yourself, Minx.

Our little group met at the bar, where we were invited to order drinks from the vast array of moonshine on the menu (some of which are house infusions).

Now, when I say "moonshine," I'm really talking about unaged white whiskies. Real moonshine, the stuff cooked up in backyard stills, is still illegal. However, Tennessee has legalized commercial moonshine production, and there are several brands on the market, some of which can be found in Maryland liquor stores. There are also some whiskey companies that have jumped on the moonshine bandwagon, including Jack Daniels and Jim Beam.

Legal moonshine may seem like an oxymoron, but let's just ignore that for now, shall we?

Mr Minx, a fan of the Manhattan, ordered the White Manhattan, a combination of High West silver oat whiskey, Bianco vermouth, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, and Regan orange bitters. It was indeed completely colorless, but very flavorful, if not completely Manhattan-like. I went for a drink called the High School Crush (Ole Smoky cherry moonshine, fresh lemon juice, Coke) which was sweet and easy to drink, like an alcoholic cherry Coke. Armed with our cocktails, we went into the dining room and sat at a table lined with still more cocktails and shot glass samples of variously-flavored moonshines.

Hic.

These two drinks are the Fizzy Daddy (left), made with Catdaddy moonshine, Coke, and ginger ale. The other drink is a Russian Bride and contains Kahlua, Rumchata, and more of that Catdaddy stuff. That was our favorite, by the way. Catdaddy moonshine is flavored with vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon and is pretty damn delicious. (And can be found at Beltway Fine Wines!)

Other moonshines on our side of the table included shots of Midnight Moon Apple Pie, and moonshines flavored with butterscotch and fruit punch. Also included was a shot of Tim Smith Climax, made by the star of the Discovery Channel show, Moonshiners. He's gone legit, and his original moonshine is sweet and clean-tasting. Other flavors that made their way around the table included peach, pink lemonade, and pumpkin pie, all of which were smooth and quite tasty.

Hic.

Now, we didn't just drink. We sampled an assortment of appetizers, including deviled eggs topped with crawfish...

...blackened crab dip...

...a spinach-topped flatbread...

...and something called Mushroom Manchego toast, which was a pile of mushrooms served with...you guessed it...toast topped with Manchego cheese. As a mushroom-o-phile, this was my favorite dish of the evening. Just give me a bowl of mushrooms and a couple shots of Catdaddy, and I'll be a happy camper. Oh, I'll take some of that crab dip, too, while you're up.

And then there were entrees. Among those our group sampled were the non-traditional, rice-free "Maryland-style" jambalaya served with a dollop of very rich grits.

And a fine shrimp and grits.

I had ribs, which were a special that night. The half-rack was very tender and the sauce was, happily, not too sweet. It's bed of mashed potatoes was very rich, yet only about half as rich as those grits.

Mr Minx chowed down on a bacon cheddar cheeseburger flavored with Guinness and accompanied by a pile of well-cooked fries. 

And, despite being full and half (mostly) drunk, we were served sweets, too. We were brought all three of the restaurant's house desserts, including a huge slab of dark chocolate brownie, a filo-wrapped baked banana, and unusual cinnamon roll hush puppies.

It really was quite the feast.

Now, nobody needs to eat and drink quite as much as we did at Myth & Moonshine (especially when one has to get up at 5:45 AM the next morning!) but we recommend a trip to sample some tasty hooch and an appetizer or three.

And then drink lots of water and take a couple aspirin before bed.

Myth & Moonshine
2300 Boston St
Baltimore, MD 21224
(410) 327-6455





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Galen Sampson's Farmstead Grill

People who were sorry to see The Dogwood in Hampden close will be happy to know that owner Galen Sampson didn't retire. Rather, he's working on a new restaurant, this time at the Shops at Canton Crossing. Farmstead Grill, slated to open spring 2014, will offer locally-sourced ingredients at affordable price points. “We don’t think diners should have to pay a premium for locally sourced food,” says Farmstead Grill COO and Executive Chef Galen Sampson. “At the same time, we believe that farmers who work so hard on our behalf should get their due.”

Sampson just spent a year working  as an apprentice team leader on an 800-acre farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the process he learned how to work more closely with farmers to lower costs while increasing quality in the restaurant kitchen.

The 200-seat Farmstead Grill will be located across a leafy green park from Farmstead Shack, a carry-out kiosk with 30 outdoor seats. Menus and beverage programs for both restaurants are in development. Now under construction at 3501 Boston Street, the Farmstead restaurants are part of the new urban development, The Shops at Canton Crossing, and will open in spring 2014.

Farmstead Grill and Farmstead Shack are owned by Charles Nabit and Michael Klein of Mission-Driven Dining II. The pair opened the restaurant Waterfront Kitchen in Fells Point in 2011. “We’re excited about the prospect of expanding the marketplace for locally sourced dining,” says Nabit. “And we’re looking to create a concept that can be replicated in other places.”



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The Fork & Wrench

For several weeks I'd been looking forward to eating at The Fork & Wrench. And wouldn't you know it, the day that my Dad and I both had free (he was my date for the evening) was the day the Sun review came out. Luckily, we managed to snag the last available un-reserved table for the evening.

We'd just come from Of Love & Regret, so we were only looking to try entrees at F&W. I really really really wanted the scallops, which the menu described as coming with a chilled pea panna cotta, watermelon radish chips, and Meyer lemon. I'm drooling just thinking about it. And I wanted the wild mushroom saute, too. But our waiter practically begged me to try the duck, instead, and accompany it with a glass of malbec. Since he gave me the puppy-dog eyes, I acquiesced and chose the duck over the scallops. But I did order the mushrooms (and still wanted the scallops).

Seared Magret Duck Breast, Mushroom Farro “Risotto,”
Brown Butter Carrots, Pea Tendrils, Duck Jus

Our waiter told us that he worked in the kitchen as well as the dining room and seemed excessively proud of this dish. It was very pretty. But the duck itself was underseasoned, and as evidenced by the photo, still retained quite a bit of fat. Also, the skin wasn't crisp. People who think they don't like duck really should try magret, which is definitely red meat and is remarkably "beefy." A shame mine was lacking salt (and there was none on the table). The accompaniments, however, were delicious, and I especially liked the texture of the farro risotto. The glass of malbec I was prompted to order was fine. Nothing that set my taste buds a tingling. Just fine.

And I never did get those mushrooms. Why don't servers write things down anymore? Is this memorization thing supposed to dazzle the customer? I am not impressed.

Brined pork chop, Grilled with Brown Sugar-Honey Glaze,
90 Minute Egg, Apples, Onions, Butter-poached Asparagus

Dad's pork chop was very nice, particularly the apple and onion side. The egg was a bit odd, as it was still quite "snotty" in texture and the dish didn't need another dollop of protein (especially since I ate it). One could argue that it was really an accompaniment for the asparagus, but there were only three slender spears, and they were already cooked in butter.... Anyhoo, a tasty dish.

We decided to split dessert, which was silly, since the portion size of our scoop of brown butter ice cream was so tiny. I loved the flavor, which was subtle, and really liked the tiny Florentine cookie, but thought it could have used a couple toasted almonds.

I think I've heard more about Fork & Wrench's decor than the food, so I made sure to pop my head into all of the dining rooms on the way out. I liked the space on the first floor behind the bar the best, mostly because of the light coming in from the back patio. The rest of it was a hipster's vision of shabby chic, with a soupcon of steampunk thrown in. I'm not big on faux-shabby or faux-rustic, so I suppose I was a bit disappointed.

Soo.... Not exactly the best first impression, although I could tell from the risotto and from Dad's dish that the kitchen (run by former Vino Rosina sous, Sajin Renae) has some mad skillz. Next time, I'll come back with a reservation and order exactly what I want to eat.

Fork & Wrench
2322 Boston Street
Baltimore, MD 21224
(443) 759-9360
theforkandwrench.com



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Of Love & Regret

For months now, I'd been eagerly following the progress reports on Of Love & Regret. This joint effort between Jack's Bistro owner Ted Stelzenmuller and Stillwater Ales' Brian Strumke offers Ted's customarily eclectic chow and oodles of artisan brews with which to wash it down. Because the focus is on the food and drink, the decor is really low-key: exposed brick, long wooden bar, a handful of tables. The space isn't particularly large, and when we arrived at 5pm, there were already quite a few people in it. I hope this popularity continues.

When my Dad and I visited, we were there to try a few beers and a handful of appetizers, but it was really hard to limit ourselves. Luckily, the beers come in half pours, so we were able to taste three without getting blotto. The Stillwater Cellar Door, a white sage infused wheat, is billed as the "quintessential food beer," and it's hard to argue with that. Light and refreshing, and rather floral, it was very easy to drink. Also on the floral side was a sample of Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, which was pleasantly (but not excessively) hoppy. Finally, the Brewer's Art/Stillwater joint called "Debutante" was surprisingly dry, considering that it was flavored with hyssop, honeysuckle, and heather.

As for the food - it all worked.

I just had to try the crispy pig's ears, because pig ears were on my foodie bucket list. Cut into matchsticks, the fried ears were indeed crisp, reminding me somewhat of a thick-cut pig-flavored potato chip. They came with a poached egg, grilled peppers and onions, and jalapeno, and I gotta say it was a bit difficult to eat. The pig was too crisp to stab with a fork, so I basically used the egg as a dip as I ate the ear with my fingers, then scooped up the rest with a fork when the pig was gone.

We also tried the Korean pancake, which was topped with a generous dollop of shredded pork that reminded me of traditional Southern BBQ pulled pork, and a drizzle of sweet soy. The flavors weren't quite Korean, but they were delicious. Dad ate 99% of this dish and proclaimed it "happy food."

My favorite of the three dishes we tried was the rock shrimp corn fritters. Three fat, nicely crisp fritters studded with nuggets of shrimp reminded me of hush puppies, and were made even tastier with a dip in the accompanying key lime mustard. Called mustard on the menu, I felt it was more mayonnaise-y, and rather eggy in flavor. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

As a special bonus to our meal, we were waited on by none other than Jesse Sandlin, former chef at Vino Rosina, and Top Chef season 6 competitor. We'd been Facebook friends for quite a while now, and it was nice to finally meet her. She's taking a break from the kitchen to work on her own projects, and I can't wait to see what she'll be doing next.

Speaking of next, another trip to Of Love and Regret - for more beers and a burger - is definitely on the agenda.

Of Love and Regret
1028 S. Conkling Street
Baltimore, MD 21224
(410) 327-0760
ofloveandregret.com


Posted on Minxeats.com.