Annabel Lee Tavern

With a posh yet relaxing atmosphere and an always-satisfying menu complete with exciting weekly specials, it’s no wonder the Annabel Lee Tavern is the restaurant where EatDrinkBaltimore.com was conceived.

The Meal

Caesar Salad : with house Caesar dressing, onion foccaccia croutons and four cheeses: $7
Generous portion; creamy, delicious. What can I say? It was just a great salad.

Filet Mignon: with mushroom risotto: $19.95
I desperately wanted to try the New York strip steak special, but so did everyone else—it was sold out. Luckily, our server indulged my request to prepare the filet mignon without its usual cheese stuffing. When it comes to steak, if it’s cooked properly, it will be delicious and the Annabel Lee served up a perfectly-executed example of just that. Although I had been provided with a steak knife, I got halfway through my meal before Ryan reminded me to use it. The beef was so tender that I was able to eat it with my butter knife!

I have ordered risotto at several restaurants in the Baltimore area; one bite of this mushroom risotto put them all to shame. It is absolutely the best risotto I’ve ever had. Ever. It was creamy, but not too heavy, with a pleasant, savory flavor.

The Experience

The Annabel Lee is perfect for a date and won’t break the bank. The prices were astonishingly reasonable for the quality of the food. Although it was packed as always, I never felt ignored or neglected by the waitstaff. They were friendly and accommodating and the food arrived in a timely fashion with great timing between courses.

Everything just works here. The atmosphere is lively and friendly and suited to any age group. The low lighting and deep colors on the walls envelop the room with a cozy warmth that is romantic and welcoming. The ’20s-style music being subtly piped throughout the room further establishes the charming, special and intimate ambiance of the space.

The only reason this restaurant isn’t a 5 out of 5 on my scale is because I have yet to successfully order a special from the menu—my choice has been sold out on two occasions. With food this delicious, I will happily return to try again.

Stacy’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Sammy’s Trattoria

Sammy’s Trattoria in Mt. Vernon is the one Italian restaurant in Baltimore I wish I could like. With a large, airy, yet somehow cozy corner location and the genuine, authentic feeling of a family-owned and -operated business, it has all the potential in the world and just disappoints. My third visit to Sammy’s featured slow, inattentive service, a stripped-down but overpriced menu, and over-seasoned and improperly cooked dishes.

The Meal

Capellini ala Lula: shrimp, mushrooms, and artichokes in a lemon garlic white wine sauce over capellini: $21
To be honest, I found it hard to decide on a dish from Sammy’s menu because I remembered quite a few more options on previous visits. There seemed to be a surprising lack of dishes featuring varying pasta and sauce combinations as had been listed before and as is typical of Italian fare. I settled on Capellini ala Lula for its seemingly light sauce and the interesting combination of shrimp with artichokes and mushrooms, which was a flavor combination I hadn’t yet tried.

Although visually clean and appealing, my first bite tasted of nothing but lemon and pepper and made me cough immediately. Bite by bite, the dish was inconsistent in flavor, as though the sauce just wasn’t properly combined and the ever-present black pepper overwhelmed my palate with enough heat to stifle any other flavors on the plate. As I moved a few things around on my plate, I came to realize that what appeared to be pieces of the artichoke were actually large chunks to actual whole cloves of garlic. The photo above illustrates that there was enough garlic mixed into the pasta to comprise an entire bulb of garlic—the worst example of over-seasoning I’ve ever seen. A diner would return a dish after finding just one of the many pieces of garlic strewn about this dish.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara: “Breakfast Pasta” a light cream, parmigian cheese and egg pasta bowl with pancetta & Italian sausage: $17
It is also worth noting that I was dining with a friend who ordered Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Although I didn’t taste it myself, I didn’t truly want to. Described as “Breakfast Pasta” because of the combination of Italian meats and the mixture of eggs, cheese, and butter or olive oil as a sauce, the dish looked more like scrambled eggs on top of dry pasta—a clear indication that the chef did not stir the mix as it cooked to keep the ingredients combined and the eggs from solidifying.

The Experience

At first clearly understaffed with a packed two floors of diners at 7 p.m., when we returned at 7:30 p.m. to a modest crowd of first floor diners, the waitstaff continued to appear frazzled and distracted.

After being seated, we waited about five minutes before being presented with menus and a wine list; the wine list was actually missing from inside of the jacket, so we had to wait another five minutes or so just to request another one. Upon placing our drink order, the wine did not actually arrive for another ten minutes or more. It was actually a great portion for $7 a glass, but was presented with something like a scrap of paper floating in it.

Our server was hurried, never introduced herself, and never made eye contact with us; I had to request an explanation of the specials clearly displayed at the front of the restaurant, which she hardly seemed to know. I asked specifically about the ravioli special, of which there were two, and she quickly rattled off the ingredients of one and then nearly walked away before I could explain that I was curious about the other, as well.

I want to believe that this was just a bad day for a once great little spot in the city.  This experience just had the earmarks of a struggling business cutting corners.  From being short staffed and cutting menu options to using pasta from a box (as visible from their open kitchen) and hiring inexperienced chefs who cannot execute what is left of the menu, I can only imagine the crowds at Sammy’s Trattoria will dwindle and yet another restaurant will fail on the corner of N. Charles and Biddle.

Stacy’s Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

The Black Olive

The Black Olive, a self-described “authentic organic Greek” restaurant in Fells Point, remains a bright spot in my memory. Being a guest there truly felt like being on a Mediterranean vacation, but one where we stayed in the family home of a good friend.

The Meal

Russ’ Favorite Scallop Appetizer: grilled jumbo sea scallops on a bed of baby leaf greens: $16
As I said, I love scallops. These were absolutely perfect; I have never had a better grilled scallop, which is a true skill to master. The dish was simply plated, accompanied by some greens that were dressed in, to my surprise, something that tasted like wasabi; this gave the dish a great kick, but I truly wasn’t expecting that flavor at all.

Black Sea Bass grilled black sea bass filleted tableside, Black Olive fish sauce, savory cous cous: $27
This fish was sweet-tasting, low in oil content and tender. Though grilled over charcoal, the fish all but fell apart while being deftly filleted and plated for me tableside. The house sauce had the perfect accent of acid that one looks for to complement a light fish dish and lent a pleasant creaminess. All of the entrées were accompanied by a triangle of savory cous cous, almost cake-like in consistency; it was delicious, but I would have liked the option to choose from a few sides or to be given a vegetable option.

The Experience

Dining at The Black Olive reminded me of attending a great dinner party at a friend’s house. Although a high-end establishment, nothing is overdone there — the linens, glassware, and place settings are simple and classic; the plating is rustic, almost family-style; the ambience is more of an airy Mediterranean house than a business; and the waitstaff is attentive, but not overly formal.

The most impressive part of the experience had to be the personal attention that we were given and that we noticed other parties received, as well. Our server, Marlon, took the time to walk us through each of the fresh seafood offerings on the menu by actually getting us up from our table and pointing items out in their open-air display. It was the fact that he had clearly tried everything on the menu that impressed me and meant to me that his recommendations were coming from an informed and helpful place. Ultimately, I chose the Black Sea Bass because of his explanation of it as “sweet with a buttery finish”. His description of the fresh octopus salad also led Ryan to try it — something completely outside of his palate — and he loved it!

For the prices, the food didn’t have the WOW factor I look for, but there is something to be said for humble, rustic simplicity.

Stacy’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Meli

Meli is the Greek word for honey and this third restaurant from the Kali’s Restaurant Group is dripping with it — from the honey butter served with the complementary bread to the honey comb shapes throughout the décor to the subtle hints of it used in nearly every appetizer and entrée.

The Meal

Seared Diver Scallops: sweet corn polenta, acacia honey drizzle, apples: $13
I am a sucker for scallops and these were a dream come true — cooked perfectly with masterful carmelization and char provided by the chef’s use of a honey powder dusting. With all of the sweetness on this plate, this hot appetizer began to feel a bit like dessert, but the excellent addition of green apple added a tart, acidic punch to pull all of the flavors together; it was a breath of fresh air to pull out the natural sweetness of the scallop and balance the honey and sweet corn. This was a truly unique scallop dish that I would gladly taste again.

Slow Roasted Pork Cheek: rutabega purée, yucca chips, apple: $19
A truly lovely take on pork chops and apple sauce. The pork cheek reminded me of my grandmother’s slow-cooked beef stew — so moist and tender it falls apart with a little pressure from a fork. The flavors were rich and well-complemented by the clean flavors of the rutabega and apple. The crunch of the yucca chip was a welcome textural change-up from all of the succulent tenderness on the plate.

The Experience

Surprisingly, while the influence of honey is in clear abundance, Greek influences are almost non-existent aside from two dessert offerings that incorporate phyllo — one Baklava, of course. To further confuse the issue, this self-described “Patisserie and Bistro” (both French words in origin), features a more Italian spin on ingredients that typify Greek cuisine. But what’s in a name?

Regardless of Meli’s slight identity crisis, the food and experience dining there are equally impressive. The interior is an opulent delight for the eyes: rich reds and patterns; rounded, organic shapes; secluded nooks and crannies on multiple levels of the building. It’s a happy medium between Kali’s Court’s posh, high brow ambience and Kali’s Court Mezze’s casual small plates. I felt perfectly comfortable in jeans and heels and found that some in the dining crowd were even more casually dressed.

The staff smoothly transitions between courses, tops off water (still or sparkling), and refreshes utensils with the grace and poise of any tuxedoed waiter at any five-star restaurant — and without any of the stuffiness. Our waitress was attentive, polite, and well-aware of the menu.

Overall, Meli feels like a special, intimate place to dine and I look forward to another “date night” there.

Stacy’s Rating: 4 out of 5 stars