Last week, I was invited to the media preview of the new Alexander Brown Restaurant (135 East Baltimore Street) in Downtown Baltimore. The renovated bank building on the corner of Baltimore and Calvert Street was the oldest investment bank in the country built in 1901. It also has the oldest flushing indoor toilet in the United States, but of course it’s non-functional and tucked away behind a locked door… but a fun fact nonetheless. This building has bones, it survived the Great Baltimore Fire in 1904 and continued to operate as a bank until 2016.
The newly renovated 150-seat restaurant opens its doors on Monday, February 4th and will offer lunch, dinner and brunch service. Guests can also sit at the bar and the bar/lounge area and order food from an abbreviated bar menu.
Beef TartareQuail Deviled EggsCauliflower Pakora
Let me know what you think of the new restaurant. Leave your comments below.
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The first time I visited The Black Olive Restaurant (803 S. Caroline Street) was for an invite only champagne sip and tasting. I remember being excited because the location had a rooftop patio making it one of a few locations in Baltimore City. The Black Olive Restaurant is a rooftop restaurant above the Inn at Black OliveHotel. Located in Baltimore’s Harbor East district, the hotel website boasts that it’s the only eco-organic hotel in Maryland.
At the champagne event, I only drank champagne and did not order food from the restaurant. On my second visit, I was invited to a birthday brunch and I was very excited to try the food because my best friend and her husband visited for dinner and they told me the food was delicious. The Black Olive Restaurant specializes in authentic organic Greek cuisine. Beforehand I looked over their website to see what the brunch menu had to offer, but I was surprised to find the website didn’t list a brunch menu, just lunch and dinner. I did notice that the restaurant received many accolades and awards for their food and wine.
When I arrived on a Sunday for brunch, the restaurant and patio view were beautiful. Sheer white curtains hanging from the ceiling mixed well with the warm breeze blowing through the patio doors. The brunch menu presented to me had about six entree options. There was not a bottomless mimosa option, but my friend managed to negotiate with the manager and worked out a deal for our party of 12.
I ordered the Crabmeat, Spinach and Cheese Omelet accompanied by potatoes and fruit. My friend ordered the French Toast, scrambled eggs and sausage.
I must say that I was not pleased with the meal. I was expecting so much more from the rave reviews I’d gotten from my friends and with the obvious accolades and awards the restaurant received.
My omelet was bland and the eggs were rubbery. My potatoes tasted like they were from a frozen pre-made batch. My friend’s French Toast was actually pretty good, light and flavorful. The wait staff and the owner/manager were very friendly and attentive, they kept the mimosas coming.
I really want to give The Black Olive Restaurant another chance. I plan on visiting again during lunch or dinner hours and I will update with a new post.
Have you had breakfast at The Black Olive Restaurant? What did you think about it?
That Baltimore Harbor East is really making my heart flutter with all the new restaurant additions they’ve introduced within the last two years.
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the neighborhood hidden gem known as Ten Ten American Bistro (1010 Fleet Street, Baltimore, MD). The restaurant is located in the Historic Bagby Furniture Building on Fleet St. adjacent to the Whole Foods Market. I call it a “Hidden Gem” because it’s literally hidden – pull up to the valet, get out of your car, hang a quick right, walk between Fleet Street Kitchen and Bagby’s Pizza Co., through a pedestrian alley courtyard, and there you will find the restaurant… hidden. I’m not complaining because valet was free and a minor detour sure beats circling the block three times and walking five minutes to the restaurant with the wind beating my face.
The restaurant decor is like most in that area with hardwood floors, exposed brick, and leather seating. The restaurant seats about 75 people comfortably and maybe six more at the bar area. The floor plan is split level with a sheer veil-like partition and three steps separating the main level and upper level.
The upper level features a corner wall with built-in wine storage, more seating, and a large corner booth that my eight friends and I had the pleasure of filling. Bagby’s does branding well with signature wine glasses on the table etched with the “TenTen” logo. The entrée menu features the traditional American restaurant fare with flair, items such as crab cakes, fish, chicken, shrimp & grits, pork ribs, and steak. These items are paired with non-traditional ingredients such as duck cracklings, sunchoke puree and quail egg. I will say, even though the items are traditional, the taste is exceptional. I decided on the barbecue pork ribs served with cornbread and greens. The ribs were slow-cooked and tender, a nice compliment to the sweet and sticky barbecue sauce.
But as always, I had food envy when three of my friends ordered the chicken breast topped with a fried quail egg with a side of sweet potatoes. Eggs are the one thing I know how to cook and when I make them at home I always opt for sunny-side up. One bite of that seasoned chicken with egg and I wanted more. I was slightly disappointed when all my friends removed the egg from the chicken and ate their chicken without it – where’s the fun in that? The entrées are reasonably priced between $18.00 and $25.00.
No desert for us because we were still celebrating a birthday and brought our own cake to enjoy with our meal. After the birthday song concluded and the cake was cut, the manager came over to our table and advised us that the restaurant normally charges a fee to customers to customers for bringing their own cake, but I guess we were having such a good time he didn’t charge us.
The Bagby Restaurant Group also includes the aforementioned Fleet Street Kitchen and Bagby Pizza Co. I look forward to visiting both in the near future.
**UPDATE** Creme Restaurant & Lounge has been renamed “Warehouse 518”.
Being the self-proclaimed “Foodie” that I am, I make it a point to never miss an opportunity to participate in Baltimore Restaurant Week. Some time ago I visited Crème Restaurant & Lounge (518 N. Charles St) in downtown Mount Vernon.
The newly opened restaurant is located in the same building that housed the previous Ixia Restaurant. From what I am told, not much has changed with the décor of the space; brightly colored walls in shades of yellow, blue, and red are accented with gold trim. The color combination sounds like an odd mix but it actually works well together in the space. I must admit, I visited Crème previously for brunch and sampled their Chicken & Waffles and Shrimp & Grits so I already knew what delicious caliber of food to expect.
The Restaurant Week three-course menu at Crème featured a full array of what the restaurant has to offer. Strategically I ordered the caesar salad as my appetizer because (a) I like caesar salad and (b) two of my friends ordered the shrimp risotto and I knew I would taste theirs…way to get my sample on! The shrimp risotto was true to taste and texture. The consistency of the rice was tender and blended well with the flavors of parmesan cheese. It was accompanied with two perfectly placed shrimp skewers that added a little spice to the dish.
Rissoto
For my entrees selection I ordered the “Meat and Potatoes” a boneless beef short rib with sautéed spinach and sweet potatoes au gratin and this dish did not disappoint! Our server told us that the chef marinates the short rib for over eight hours giving it the tender and flavorful combination that the regular patrons have come to love. I found it to be everything he described and more. The potatoes side dish was a casserole-like mix of au gratin and sweet potatoes that I found pleasantly surprising because I was wondering how they were going to mix the two. My only suggestion and slight disappointment about that the au gratin is that I wish the portion size was bigger because it was about the size of a post- it-note. I don’t know, call me greedy but I like lots of potatoes with my meat. It definitely left me wanting more.
My dessert choice was a no-brainer thanks to a pre-scan of the menu the day before, I ordering the “Not Ya Momma’s Banana Pudding”. The pudding was served layered over a cinnamon pie crust in a small martini glass. The pudding was tasty and nothing out of the ordinary. The real star of the night was the coconut cake which was a warm slice of pound cake with vanilla icing and coconut shavings. The dessert was phenomenal and so delicious that my friends couldn’t stop talking about it all night or the next day.
The historic area of Fells Point in Downtown Baltimore has added another trendy attraction on the cobblestoned corner of Thames and Bond streets. Bond Street Social is a hybrid restaurant that also doubles as an upscale sports bar and cocktail lounge. Newly opened in October 2011, the idea of mixing dinner, drinks, and dancing together in one location is a great one and definitely a change from the previous DuClaw Brewing Company that occupied the same building before closing its doors in 2009. At Bond Street Social the primary goal is to promote a social atmosphere among all guests and patrons that visit the establishment.
Walking up to the entry of the restaurant I was amazed by the large floor to ceiling windows surrounding the sides of the building. The large windows are inviting. During the day they welcome the light and give a certain ambiance at night with the soft glare of the outside lights. Once inside the décor is warm and inviting. The hardwood floors and rock walls have the feel of a Brooklyn brownstone apartment. The wooden panel walls and marbled fireplaces anchor the room along with a cozy fire pit that sits in the middle of the dining area.
I originally made reservations for a group of six, but later discovered we would be joined by a few more in our group. The friendly hostess and server worked together swiftly to locate a larger table and accommodated our party of eight within a matter of 20 minutes.
The greatest start to any meal is a tasty cocktail and Bond Street Social boasts a full bar complete unique “social drinks” that cannot be found anywhere else.
“Cocoa Cosmo” Martini with Liquid Nitrogen
My personal favorite cocktails on the menu are the Liquid Nitrogen Martinis. They were so exciting mainly because the bartender advised me to wait 2-3 minutes before taking a sip so that the dry ice added to my drink would not harm me. I ordered the “Cocoa Cosmo” martini made with raspberry vodka, cordials, and sprite. The bartenders seem to be very skilled in the art of mixology because I later asked the bartender to make something “special” for me with Apple Puckers and I was pleased with the result of a gingerbread rimmed martini that taste like caramel apple candy.
The menu was described by the server as “social plates,” meant for ordering in groups and shared by everyone at the table. I would describe them as artfully crafted appetizers or tapas. Compliments of the restaurant our party munched on Corn Bread Muffins with Jalapeno Butter.
Bond Chicken Skewers
Later, we blissfully ordered the Rock Shrimp Tacos, Corn Bread Crusted Mozzarella Sticks, Mac & Cheese Bites, Bond Street Burger Sliders, and the Chicken & Biscuits. I especially liked the citrus slaw that was served on the Chicken & Biscuits. It added an unexpected flavor to the cheesy biscuits and spicy chicken. The shrimp in the Rock Shrimp Tacos were pleasantly fresh, and I must admit I did not expect them to be because normally when preparing seafood for appetizer purposes it can taste old and processed. The tacos were served on soft shell pita bread with black beans, lettuce, and a remoulade glaze. My only regret is that we didn’t order more food because the menu items are served in different quantities; Sliders (2), Tacos (3), Mozzarella Sticks (4), etc. Needless to say I was still hungry after the kitchen closed at 11:00 p.m.
I know 11:00 is a premature time to close the kitchen on a weekend, but it closes early for good reason because midnight is when the real fun begins. The tables are rearranged, the lights are dimmed and restaurant brings in a live DJ to get the guests up and on their feet, ready to mix, mingle and dance the night away.
