Ten!....

No, not the 32 (!!) year old movie with Bo Derek… where’s your mind? This is about food, remember?

In this case ten refers to 10 perfect courses (plus cheese course, plus dessert) we recently dined on in Baltimore. MFO was having a spot on her eye checked out at John’s Hopkins (fast forward, it was nothing), so we decided to drive up on Thursday and spend the night. We chose a Courtyard that was pretty close to the medical campus, kind of in the Little Italy region of the city. Of course (!) we would have to eat so I set about finding a spot. I have heard and read much, much, ado about a restaurant called “Charleston” which perennially appears if not tops various lists of Baltimore “best of….”; “top choices….”; “critics picks..”, etc. I decided to see where it was, and serendipity! It was within walking distance from the hotel. A call secured a seven o’clock reservation.

A pleasant drive (amazingly enough) got us to the hotel with an hour or so to relax, and gave us time to leisurely DFD. I did enough poking around to find it was a prix fixe (remember pronounced pree fix) restaurant, which seems to be more and more common these days, so I was at least prepared to make choices.

We eschewed outer coats, and gutted it out the one block through the gusty winds and got to the restaurant, where a nice man opened the door for us and welcomed us. You step into a sort of… “lobby” isn’t the word, but a space between the bar on your right and dining areas straight ahead and to the left. The person at the stand after confirming our reservation said “of course Mr. Moody, your table is ready but if you would prefer to have a drink in the bar that’s fine too”. We elected to go straight to the table and the young man in a three piece gray directed us to a two top along a row of tables with a banquette on one side and chairs (MFO rating: 7+) on the outside. “will this table be acceptable Mr. Moody?”. There were pillows available. Tables were of course set with cloth (no paper squares thank goodness), crystal and silver. The room was subtly decorated with panels of fabric, chandeliers (not Victorian) and a few prints on the wall. Very comfortable. “May I get you a cocktail or wine list?” Of course. MFO did her standard and I did mine. “Which gin would you prefer, Mrs. Moody? And bourbon for you?”. I’m liking this a lot. Before he left the table he said “Leslie will be over in a minute..” (note the clever way of eliminating Hi I’m…). water (preceded by choice of bottled, of course) was immediately brought and glasses filled which were the stemless kind, a little different approach. While we waited we could observe other diners, and I am extremely pleased to report that they understood DFD. Some ties, but mostly jackets or at least very nice sweaters..harmony.

Leslie did show up (also in nice gray slacks and jacket) and said our drinks were on the way, and asked if this was this the first time we had the occasion to dine with them. When we answered in the affirmative she presented the menus and explained that they were sort tasting oriented.. The menu (on that night) consisted of a list of around 18 options, plus a Seasonal Menu of six courses selected by the chef (Cindy Wolf). And, as such, portions were more of a “tasting” size than the usual restaurant entrée so that a diner could select a number of things to try. As to pricing, one could select three to six courses from $75 to $109, and with per course wine add from 40 to 60. The set menu was a base of $89 and wine added another $55. She also explained that desserts were not counted as a course, and that they were: “mandatory!”. The wine for each course was listed, along with vintage. Not “appropriate wines will be served”, but variety, vineyard, and vintage all listed. Nice.

Shortly our drinks did arrive, and I am pleased (and relieved) to report that they were of good portion and perfectly made. Almost as soon as our straws were set aside, they were whisked away by the gray suit guy, who roamed the room all evening, removing, straightening, and whispering to the back waiters which table needed more water or bread (which was presented several times on a silver tray, with choices of French roll, golden raisin, or corn bread), or clean utensil, etc. Nice.

After a few welcome sips of our drink, one of the side waiters appeared with a little tray containing two cups, and a small lump of something on a little slice of toasted baguette. It of course was the amuse bouche, which was described as a mushroom broth with and butter poached snail on garlic toast. A sip of the broth immediately took you to a rain soaked forest floor with moss everywhere and earthy aromas filling your head, and the taste was essence of woody mushrooms. And, while I am not extremely experienced with snails, it was a perfect pairing for the soup. More earthy, leathery tastes, right out of the forest.

A little aside here, just to illustrate what a good restaurant can do. The menus were rather large, maybe 12 by 15 inches or so, and MFO propped hers on her lap and just over her plate so we could enjoy the mushroom and snails. At one point, she leaned forward which propelled the upper edge of the menu into one of the cups of broth, spilling the cup into its tray and a 6 or so diameter on the table cloth. She of course felt terrible, but caught the eye of the staff who immediately came to the table with Leslie who said, no problem it’ll be like it never happened! The tray and cup were removed, the flowers set aside, and a rectangular white napkin was spread covering the stain, things replaced and it was like it never happened. And, in short order another (full) cup of broth was brought. “don’t worry about it again”. And we never did.

Finally we ordered after considering our choices over the drinks and broth and snails. MFO wanted to try the Seasonal Menu, which was four courses plus cheese and dessert, so I went with 4 choices from the upper portion. Since she was to be poked at the next day she elected not to do the paired wines, but asked if she could have the dessert wine with her last course. Of course. Since we were walking and I was anticipating cooling my heels in waiting rooms the next day, I accepted the wine pairings. What the hell, it’s only money.

At this point dear reader, the Feeder is faced with a problem. Between us there were eight main courses, two desserts, cheeses, not to mention the amuse bouche. I could go on about each dish and probably go on for several more pages. So I will try to condense. Which is hard. For me.

I chose for my four courses a curried lobster bisque; ruby red shrimp and (sic) real grits; baked wild rockfish, and grilled rack of lamb chop. MFO’s seasonal menu included: artichoke soup; a salad of roasted beets; the same wild rockfish I chose, seared foie gras; Keen’s farmhouse cheddar, and dessert. Those are the so called “center of the plate” items, and naturally each dish had a further description of the preparation. For instance my Bisque was: “Intense Lobster Stock Reduction finished with Cream, Poached Lobster, Arugula Oil and Curry Oil”. Or MFO’s foie gras: “poached pear and pomegranate sorbet”. My shrimp: “Sautéed Carolina Shrimp finished in the pan with Andouille Sausage, Tasso Ham & Butter; Creamy Stone Milled Grits”. You get the idea..

So, with eight dishes with maybe four other ingredients we have around fifty tastes to try. To try to go through those would not be possible. So, let me just say that each of those tastes came through on each dish. I would have eaten the grits served with the shrimp with pleasure by themselves..the sausage and ham? Delicious. The main ingredient was of course the star, but the supporting cast on each dish was wonderful.

Service? Impeccable. When each dish was served, it was described in detail: “here’s your red Carolina shrimp…..”. They were served at the proper place every time. Upon finishing, it was cleared, and silver replaced for the next course (clearing speak: are you still enjoying that? – not my favorite but at least not “are ya still wurkin’ on that?). My lobster was served as a mound of the poached lobster resting on the oils, and then a small pitcher was used to gently add the reduction. I have only had that elegant service once before, at my legendary retirement dinner (Thank you Brome Howard Inn!). When the wine for the course was served, the bottle was brought to the table, label displayed and a short description on why that wine with that dish. For instance, with that lobster bisque, an Amontillado Viejo, Byass “Del Duque” was offered because the “nuttiness of the sherry compliments the slight spiciness of the creamy lobster reduction”. You know what? It worked.

When it was time for MFO’s cheese course Leslie asked if I would like to have some also, and if so, what would I care for? What the hell, it’s only money. She didn’t have the requested Morbier, but instead suggested an Irish Gubbeen, which brought back flashes of our trip last fall.

We chose our desserts from a special menu, and I took a lime meringue tart, and MFO selected a Beignet. Both were served along with little side sweets and were delicious. When those were cleared and we were enjoying coffee, a little tray was delivered with a chocolate bit, a strawberry gel kind of thing, and the increasingly popular macarons. “from the chef”. Nice.

And here’s a little thought for you…when tables were vacated and reset for the next party, the staff actually brought an iron to the table and ironed the tablecloth on the table...I’ve never seen that before.

As I approach the end of the third page, I’ll apologize for the running of the pen, but here’s a restaurant I would put in the “destination” category. It was that good. In the end, very expensive (three digits and the first wasn’t one!), but we left with “gee, when is the next time we can come back?’, not boy that was expensive. So what? This is why we worked all those years. A FOJTE would say, “living well IS the best revenge!”. Yes, one time, one night, but I think if you ever are in the area you won’t regret it..and if you do, please be sure you are

DFD