So here's the truth: for the first few days in Baltimore, my dining was decidedly meh or worse. Sorry. Conferences don't always afford opportunities to dine well. Often it's finger foods or what is convenient or group dinners where you have to dine according to the lowest common denominator. I am a snob, I know.
But I did have a couple of noteworthy meals to blog about. So let's enjoy them together.
Sunday night found me, with Ed and Andrew,
heading away from the librarians to Woodberry Kitchen.
My gosh, it's been ages. A place I've liked every time I've gone. James Beard Award for the chef as well. It boded well for a nice dinner. The place has changed, for sure. The pandemic saw it downsizing, turning its larger dining room into an event space and turning the bar into the tavern, a smaller dining space. But it was cozy on a cold night. And the menu, while perhaps simpler (I can't recall, but it seemed that way), had a lot of great choices. I ordered a negroni (and then a glass of wine with dinner), and we shared the chef's board.
Loved the lightly pickled carrots, and the smoked trout rillettes was a delight with the seed crackers. A good choice to share. For my meal, the oyster pie (and a side of turnips that were delicious).
And that was it. That's what came out on the plate. It was all that was needed. Really perfect - a beautiful crust, a terrific filling. Ed had the mushroom version and liked it. After all that, Andrew and I shared dessert, and quick negotiations led to a baked Alaska that was flambeed at the table.
Honestly? Visually the star of the evening, and it gave the oyster pie a run for the money. Woodberry may have a menu of simply items, but according to what we had, they were executing those flawlessly. So happy I made it back there.
And speaking of happy to make it back: Charleston. What started out as a dinner for me, Sara, and her husband Peter eventually grew to encompass most of the board, and from three we grew to eleven. But that's the thing about Charleston. I love the food, but from the first time I went there to now, the service has always impressed. I arrived before everyone else, and I talked with the maitre d' (also named Peter) about the arrangements for the evening. They had things in hand, and I left it to them, and they delivered. Before the others arrived, I wandered into the bar,
chatted with the bartender, and ordered a Last Word. Eventually all of us were there, and we had a fine meal. Artichoke soup for me to start with,
then octopus (ah, that bean puree underneath),
then the duck (give me more of those onions!),
then a passion fruit creme brulee.
I sat in the middle of the big group and had conversation all about the table. I hope everyone else enjoyed it, but no matter. I knew how the restaurant accommodated us on short notice, and they did a marvelous job of it.
I will give an honorable mention to lunch on the Sunday with a couple of colleagues. The restaurant felt like a bit of a tourist place in the Baltimore inner harbour, but I loved that they had a version of loco moco on the menu.
Spam! It's good. The sauce eventually overwhelmed the dish, but it was tasty enough, and for that I was grateful.
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