Salt

What is in a name? Parents labor over what to call their babe when they are expecting, knowing that often someone’s name shapes who they are. Car companies pick specific names for their automobiles to give them a manly spin or a family-esque flair. And restaurants, eager to lure hungry customers, have the moral obligation to select a catchy or kitschy name, tempting customers before they even walk in the door. The problem comes when a restaurant disguises itself beneath a name either too big or too misleading for its food.

The word “salt” makes me think of many things - you are the salt of the earth, hold the salt, shake your salt shaker and that violent Angelina Jolie “I’m-hot-but-I-can-kill-you” film – none of which I am overly fond of. I associate salt with bland, tasteless food desperately needing something to kick up the flavor. I almost never add salt on top of anything unless I am cooking with it. Nothing about salt particularly amuses or excites me; that is, until I went to Salt.

In a corner row home-turned-bistro, Salt stands as an unassuming eatery with bright green, neon lights hovering over the bar. Despite the Leprechaun-green color exuding from the fixtures, the restaurant is pleasantly charming and intimate. Salt puts a spin on American fare, infusing it with Asian and French accents. To begin, the three-cheese, cheese board with slivers of pear, crispy, candied brioche wafers and a fruity, homemade jam is a delicate, yet hardy start. The young manchego, the strong blue and the smooth goat make a pungent threesome. The duck ragout with potato gnocci and the rock shrimp ceviche sounded like superb starters but save your appetite for the main courses.

The seared tuna with seaweed salad was light and fresh. Because it was served with deep-fried, spicy pot stickers, the meal was just heavy enough and filling. It’s even better with a chilled glass of oaky Chardonnay. The lamb was okay, but not memorable. It was served with string beans and a reduction. All portion sizes were generous, but nothing was left to take home.

So what is in a name? Salt is anything but tasteless and none of the food needs extra spice. No need to hold the salt at all – in fact, holding out would mean denying yourself.

Salt

2127 E. Pratt Street

Baltimore, Maryland

Artfully Tasty: The Brewer's Art

To some, it’s a dungeon where lights are dim and leaning in to whisper is the only way to talk. To others, like myself, it’s a chaotic bar with limited seating and ordering at the register. And to others, it’s an upscale restaurant. Whatever it is, it’s delicious. Chef Dave Newman artfully scores with his The Brewer’s Art in Mt. Vernon. A brewery in its own right, the bar-turned-eatery brews its own beverages in house. Waiting for tables both at the bar and in the restaurant, happy hour crowds fill the bar at 5:30 p.m., eager to take swigs of aperitifs and special taps. The volume is bustling as people strip off their coats and share stories in this avant-garde, speak-easy-type eatery.

The Brewer’s Art offers food for patrons at all price points. The restaurant serves mouth-watering renditions of duck leg confit, braised lamb shank and baked Kabocha squash ravioli, while the bar conveniently serves bar food. Deciding to have a relaxed, quick bite, my friends and I ordered beer and wine while we waited like hawks for a first-come-first-serve bar table overlooking Charles Street. Annoyed about missing out on braised lamb and ahi tuna, I reluctantly took a menu from a girl working behind the bar. If there is anything I hate more than bar food, it’s ordering at the bar. Here, you do both.

To my surprise, the one-sided bar menu was anything but. Light fare including Miso white tuna tataki, Tuscarora beet and blood orange salad, rosemary garlic fries and curried cauliflower bisque adorned the menu. I couldn’t decide between the roasted pork belly and the mixed greens salad with warm Manchego-stuffed dates and 16-month aged prosciutto. With help from someone working behind the bar, I selected the stuffed dates. The crisp salad, sprinkled with Marcona almonds and balsamic reduction, was blissfully sweet with a tinge of saltiness from the ham. It was a perfect choice paired with the Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc from South Africa. The burger with Vermont sharp cheddar and the Caesar salad, beautifully platted, were equally as tasty.

The Brewer’s Art bar food is well worth the wait for a table and ordering at the bar (EK!) if you don’t feel like splurging for a table in the main dining room. Get there quick – the dishes change seasonally and the date salad won’t be around for long. Oh, and invite me, I’m dying to try the salt roasted Bosc pear salad.

The Brewer's Art

1106 N. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD

MexiCAN

With last-minute reservations to Pazo nearly impossible and Peter’s Inn swamped, some visiting friends and I trekked off the beaten path to the dramatically stark, concrete space in the Silo Condominium building, Miguel’s Cocina y Cantina. The space is bumping, the portion size just right and the in-house tortilla chips thick and flakey. Miguel’s Dia de los Muertos, skeleton-inspired décor lends itself nicely to the hip ambiance exuding delicious energy. The juxtaposition of the deeply colorful interior with the contemporary steel structure of the restaurant is just what this cantina represents – old Mexican dishes with a modern flare on flavor.

The open-space restaurant reminds me of the streets of Guadalajara, not Baltimore. The façade of Guadalajara along the inside glances at patrons to create an outside-looking-in feel. The bar, abuzz with happily drunken tequila lovers, served margaritas, tequila shots and other agave favorites, in addition to virginal Jarritos.

The food, just like the gig itself, is an authentic celebration of Mexican culture. Tacos are soft, not hard. There is not a “make-your-own-burrito” option. And don’t even try to ask for a chicken burrito without the spice. Take it or leave it. Hating food too spicy, I munched on beautifully plated, crunchy oveja flautas, filled with shredded lamb, crushed almonds and dried cranberries, giving the otherwise hot lamb a sweet kick. The squash blossom flower quesadilla with grilled zucchini and jack cheese wasn’t huge, but tasty nonetheless. And the pollo huitlacoche, too spicy for me to try, floated atop arroz verde, red chard and mole. It didn’t stand a chance and was devoured quickly. The spicy, green tomatilla salsa and the homemade, smoky mole were a hit with my party. The basket of deep-fried chips and sauces were gone within minutes.

Just like in Mexico, don’t expect anyone, or anything for that matter, to be speedy. The wait staff comes and goes as they please, eventually remembering to fill your glass or bring your food (they did, however, forgot our guac). Even without the chunky avocado, we left sated and satisfied.

If greasy, fast Mexican is what you are looking for, Miguel’s isn’t your place. But if spices – smoky and hot, frozen margaritas and fresh chips are what you are after, Miguel’s can provide your munch…and your hangover.

My end of the date rate the plate: Worth a good forking.

Miguel’s Cocina y Cantina

1200 Steuart Street

Baltimore, MD

443-438-3139

Spring into Sushi

For the first time in a long time, I heard birds chirping. Winter woes wash away with the sun; unpolished toes are making their way from insulated boots to summer-y flip-flops; and finally, the temperature is catching up to the time jump. Spring is here. To celebrate the season of sunshine and fresh beginnings, I craved light, refreshing sushi.

Among the bright lights of Broadway and Fleet, Asahi Sushi in Fells Point, serves fresh fish in a simple setting. The place is bustling on a Friday night with 20-something year olds pounding saki bombs and slurping miso soup. The reasonable prices are at play. In addition to the “hot” menu, a front-back sushi menu accompanied by golf pencils, lists sashimi, riceless rolls, tempura rolls and the more common inside out rolls – volcano roll, dynamite roll and a few more unique rolls to tempt taste buds.

To quell my quaking stomach, I ordered a ginger salad, two rolls and mochi for dessert. The ginger salad, unlike most, was a chopped salad with a tangy ginger dressing. My red and white tuna roll, with buttery white tuna and spicy mayo, begged me to eat it first. I did gladly, without complaint. Without much room left in my stomach, I tackled the salmon-avocado roll, which was nothing extraordinary, but still deliciously fresh. Giving into temptation at the urging of a friend, I ordered the red bean mochi. Its gummy outside filled with tart, yet sweet red bean ice cream made this chilly treat a perfect end to the casual meal.

This no-frills restaurant has the right food at the right price, and they even split checks without you asking. Despite tough street parking on a Friday night, Broadway’s high-restaurant population zone has people moving in and out quickly. Asahi Sushi is not to be missed for fast and fresh sushi. Oh, and it's BYOB...doesn't get better than that!

Asahi Sushi

514 S. Broadway Street

Baltimore, MD

(410) 534-4255

'Bout Time I Boast 'Bout Baltimore

As I make my culinary rounds ‘round Baltimore, I am slowly, but surely acquiring a taste for charm city and its gastronomic offerings. I’ve had my fare share of bland, rushed meals and hyped-up let downs. I’ve even had one particularly awful meal for free! But despite B’more's slow start, I have indulged in some mouth-watering meals and have pinpointed darling date domains, dingy hamburger joints, trendy hot-spots with booze abounding, perfect for girl pow wows and people watching, and of course, a few, unmistakable regular spots that I frequent weekly.

While I haven’t been writing, I’ve shared tapas by cool candlelight at Mezze; split a rack of lamb at Alizee, giggled over gelato and freshly filled cannolis at Vaccaro’s, lounged at Meli while devouring a plate of glazed salmon and found the best Baingan Bharta at Tamber’s, the most unlikely of places for indulgent Indian. I’ve brunched on “She Wore Red Velvet Cake Pancakes” and iced coffee at the famed Miss Shirley’s, sipped sugary sangria at Nacho Mama’s and even relived my love affair with jamon iberico, ceviche and manchego at Pazo. My foodie feast doesn’t end here – along the way I have dined at the in-vogue farm-to-table restaurant, Woodberry Kitchen, slurped garlicky noodles at Suzie’s Soba and toured the Boordy Winery before throwing back some wine and fondue in its 19^th century barn-turned-country-club. Best of all, I grocery shop at Trader Joe’s with my environmentally friendly canvas bag in hand, naturally.

Washington, D.C., Baltimore’s sister city and gastronomic superior, is just about a hop, skip and a jump away. While I don’t visit the Capital often, when I have, my taste buds have been pleased – French restaurants, fresh breads, farmer’s markets and chocolate salons to die for.

My adventure is still beginning with so much to dish on so many dishes. And so, my stomach growls as I say: bon appetite from Baltimore, Hon! I'm back!

A slice of Baltimore

Accepting my offer to be a Teach For America elementary-school teacher in Baltimore, MD, sort of quieted my burning desire to be a food writer. My passion for food would go by the wayside, I decided, while I feed craving, young minds with knowledge, washed down with a big gulp of confidence. This bittersweet trade off would be well worth it.

Then I got a text from my brother singing my praises for moving to Baltimore – not because I’ll be helping children, but because B’more is home to….wait for it, wait for it….Charm City Cakes - the locale behind the ever-so-popular Food Network show, Ace of Cakes.

For those of you with an intimate knowledge of me, you know that I am obsessed with cakes, fondant and all. Mad-hatter-style ones in bright pink and blue hues, and awesome pipe work are masterpieces in my eyes. Charm City Cakes is quite the icing on the cake, if you will, to my placement in Charm City.

But what about the rest of the city’s offerings?

During the past few years, I have discovered my standard foodie sites. Some tell me what to cook or bake; most tell me where to eat in NYC, Florida or Europe. I know that I go to 101 Cookbooks for healthy, yet delicious recipes, and Chef Olivia for restaurant suggestions in NYC. Never once had I examined the Baltimore food scene.

My first premonition was to find some new, reliable sites and blogs to guide me through Baltimore’s unknown abyss of eateries. With a few clicks, I had discovered Baltimore Eats and Baltimore Bites. Even the city’s newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, seems to have quite an extensive food base.

Of course, I could never accept a city with sub-par food. Baltimore’s blue crabs and Natty Boh (National Bohemian) beer beckon my taste buds. My boyfriend swears in agreement with Wedding Crashers, “Crab cakes and football – that’s what Maryland does.” Ethnic foods – Ethiopian, Indian, Thai, Japanese – are in abundance, and coffee shops abound. I’ve also read about B’more’s Corned Beef Row with Jewish delicatessens. While deli food isn’t my thing, I’ll definitely have to try it. Heck, there's even a Baltimore restaurant week! Even better, Washington, DC, just a 30-minute drive away, is home to some of the world’s best restaurants (Two Quail and White Tiger were my childhood favorites when I’d visit my aunt living on the Capitol).

So while I will be serving my students in my classroom, there’ll be tons of fab finds serving me. Guess I can have my cake and eat it too!