Alchemy: It's Magic in Your Mouth

On a recent Thursday evening both my wife and I were in the mood for a good meal, but neither of us felt like preparing it.  So we took a trip down the road to check out one of Hampden’s new additions, Alchemy Modern American Eatery.  The word of mouth reviews we had received up to that point were mostly – but not entirely – positive, so we went in with an open mind and an empty stomach.

We arrived around 6:30 in the evening, and were seated almost immediately.  The interior of the small rowhouse restaurant looked like a cross between a swanky contemporary restaurant and a small European café, with the downstairs containing a few tables and a nice sitting area, and the upstairs containing a very small bar and a bunch of tables squeezed in.  We were seated upstairs, next to the stair well.  The dining room, as you could probably tell, was a little bit cramped, but I think the restaurateurs did the best they could given the small size of the building.

In addition to the regular menu, that evening the chef was offering a special of roasted duck with chocolate chili sauce, served with coconut rice and ginger carrot puree.  While our instincts as restaurant reviewers were telling us to select 2 different entrees off of the menu, to allow us to prepare a more thorough review, we both couldn’t resist ordering the aforementioned duck special.  We also ordered an artisan grilled baby pear salad and a Caesar salad. 

The salads came out after a few minutes of ordering.  The pears in the baby pear salad were ripe and sweet, but managed not to overpower the rest of the flavors in the salad.  The Caesar salad was good, especially the baked cheese wafer served on the side.  However, the pieces of anchovy were  a little bigger than I am used to (there was nearly a whole anchovy in my salad), which wasn’t a deal breaker for me but could be for someone who wouldn’t like the look of that.

Not too much later, our duck entrees were served.  The duck was sliced and served around the edge of the plate, while the coconut rice was served as a cake in the middle of the plate, with the carrot puree next to it.  The entire plate was drizzled with the chocolate chili sauce.  The chocolate flavor was stronger than the chili flavor, and was very sweet and flavorful.  We found it to be a great complement to the duck’s flavor; however, I thought that the carrot puree complemented the duck even better.  So for those that don’t care for excessive sweetness, I would recommend rubbing the duck in the carrot, and not into more of the chocolate sauce.

The duck dishes were served with a side of steamed vegetables.  We aren’t sure what they were seasoned with, but the seasoning was a bit strong, giving the veggies more of a “kick” than the chocolate chili sauce.

While we recognize that this option isn’t on the regular menu, our research shows that this is a pretty common special, so there is a good chance that Alchemy will be serving it next time you are there.

The service – which was one of the common complaints we had heard from friends when the restaurant first opened – was pretty good that particular night.  I suppose they have had a chance to work out all the kinks, as our drinks remained full and our meals were served in a reasonable amount of time.

Overall, we had a very enjoyable evening at Alchemy.  As mentioned previously, the restaurant is very small, so reservations are definitely recommended, especially for parties for more than four.

So make a visit to Alchemy and let them work their magic for you!

Alchemy: Modern American Eatery

1011 West 36th Street

Baltimore, MD 21211

410-366-1163

http://www.alchemyon36.com/

5-Star Rating

Food: ****

Service: ***1/2

Ambiance: ****

Price: $$$ ($25-30)

Baltimore: The New Home of the Food Network

No, the Food Network has not moved its corporate headquarters to Baltimore.

But they might as well, at least for the next few weeks.

Shawn at Cafe Hon in 2006.

After all, following a week or two of speculation over his visit to Cafe Hon for his Kitchen Nightmares show, well known TV chef Gordon Ramsay is completing his visit to Baltimore.  This visit was highlighted by yesterday's announcement that Denise Whiting has given back her trademark on the word "hon", which, as her annoucements usually do, has yielded mixed responses from the general public.

Plus, it appears that Diner's, Drive-ins, and Dives is going to be spending some time in the Baltimore metro area, visiting places such as the Sipe & Bite in Canton.  We can only hope that Guy Fieri will get the true Sip & Bite experience by bar-hopping his way across Fells Point first.  It is also being rumored that the show was spotted filming in front of Joe Squared in Station North.

Stay tuned for updates on the Food Network's visit to the Land of Pleasant Living (and eating)!

Looking Back - Baltimore Restaurant Week Summer 2011

Now that this summer's Baltimore Restaurant Week (as well as Baltimore County Restaurant Week) is over, we would like to know what experiences our readers had? Did you find a cool new place? Did anywhere dissapoint? Let us know what you think!

Leave us a comment below, comment on our Facebook page, or email us at BobGanooshReviews@gmail.com. If you give us permission, we will post your comments!

Chap's Pit Beef - Duff Goldman was right!

 One simmering-hot Tuesday evening a couple of weeks ago, we had a hankering for some pit beef and barbeque. And while our gut instinct usually directs us up York Road to Andy Nelson’s, we decided that we should mix it up a little and see how the other local favorite compares. And so we made the hike across town to Chap’s Pit Beef.

Located off of Pulaski Highway on the east edge of the city, Chap’s physical environment offers a unique contrast to that of its Cockeysville competitor. The joint operates out a small shack-like building located in the parking lot of a gentleman’s club, and across the street from an adult video store. Perhaps its modest digs is how it can keep its prices so low – but we’ll get to that in a bit.

When we arrived at about 6:00 p.m. we were pleasantly surprised to find a short line to order, and plenty of indoor seating. Don’t get me wrong, the dining area is not huge; but it was more than adequate at the time of our visit. The one thing that caught us off guard was the menu – there was a lot more on it than we were expecting! I was planning on getting the sandwich that Duff Goldman and Guy Fieri ate on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives – the one with several types of meat on it – but when we reviewed the menu it became apparent that there were a whole bunch of sandwiches with several types of meat on them. Pretty much, anything you dream up with their ingredients, they had.



As a result of my aforementioned confusion, I went with a rare pit beef sandwich, at the low price of $6.25. We also ordered a medium pit beef sandwich, and a barbeque pork sandwich ($6.70). The beef sandwiches were stuffed with generous portions of beef on a kaiser roll. The beef was very juice and was cooked to perfect doneness for both sandwiches. The barbeque pork sandwich involved pieces of pulled pork simmered in their house barbeque sauce and generously portioned within the kaiser roll. The pork was very tender, and the sauce was very sweet and well received by the group. The most significant way this sandwich differed from the famous Andy Nelson’s version, is that the sauce was already cooked into the meat. While this seems to be, based on my experience, the way barbeque is usually prepared in the south, Andy Nelson’s allows one to dress it with the sauce of his or her choosing, allowing for ultimate customization. So, which of the restaurant’s sandwich one would enjoy more is completely dependent on how much decision-making one feels like making at the time.

To supplement our sandwiches, we got large sides of macaroni and cheese ($1.75), baked beans ($2.55), and cheese fries ($4.50). The cheese fries were delicious, though there was nothing profound about them. Just a generous portion of fresh cut fries topped with a whole lot of cheese sauce. The macaroni and cheese was very cheesy, and was enjoyed by all. The most unique side was the baked beans, which were sweet and had a nice background flavor of the green peppers that were cooked into them.

Though there is no table service at Chap’s, we found the staff behind the counter to be friendly, hospitable, and quick. This was exceptionally noteable given the establishment’s low prices, and, well, the more rugged nature of this particular business district.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience at Chap’s. Admittedly, being such strong fans of Andy Nelson’s, we were a bit skeptical; but we were proven wrong. We definitely plan to go back. On the other hand, Shawn had a similar meal at chain restaurant Famous Dave’s a few days prior, and he said after this meal, he definitely won’t go back there!

Chap’s Pit Beef

5801 Pulaski Highway

Baltimore, MD 21205

410-483-2379
http://www.chapspitbeef.com/

5-Star Rating

Food: ****

Service: ****

Ambiance: **

Price: $ ($5-10)

WTF happened to the WTF

About a month ago my wife and I were slipped into one of our go-to watering holes, The Waterfront Hotel to grab a drink and a bite to eat. I was craving the buffalo chicken wrap; she was craving their homemade potato chips. To our surprise, we weren’t able to order either.

Apparently, WTF had changed owners recently, and the new proprietor(s) wished to shake things up a bit, by bringing in an almost entirely new staff, significantly modifying the interior, and rolling out a totally new menu. The old Waterfront Hotel that my friends and I had discovered within weeks of our 21st birthdays, and been in love with ever since, was no more.

After a month or so of grieving, Team Bob Ganoosh decided pay a visit to the new WTF with an open mind and a healthy appetite.

The menu required us to study it in great detail, as none of the traditional items – including those kettle chips or the buffalo chicken wrap – were offered. The new menu has a Tex-Mex meets Low Country theme, and included items such as Frogmore stew, an assortment of tacos, the Cuban sandwich. Pork belly also held a significant presence on the menu.

As an appetizer we ordered the crab queso fundito, which essentially was a traditional Mexican queso dip with crab meat inside. As far as queso dips are concerned, this was one of the better ones we have had. Of course, adding crab meat to a dish never hurts. However, the price point of $14 makes it a bit more expensive than the average nacho dip, and pricier than I prefer for an appetizer.

For our entrees, we ordered the WTF burger, a beef burger topped with mango barbeque pork belly and jalapeño flavored bacon; the pork belly Cuban, a traditional Cuban sandwich; and the black bean burger.

The WTF burger included a healthy portion of beef cooked to perfect doneness – we ordered it rare, and got exactly what we ordered. I have never really seen a burger from a restaurant cooked rare or medium rare – they are usually over-done for safety reasons – but these guys got it right. The pork belly was extremely flavorful and very tender.

The pork belly Cuban is dish in which the pork belly really shines, though. The well-stuffed sandwich is filled with ham, pork belly, and variety of fixins, and was proclaimed by our waiter to be the “best thing on the menu, hands down”. And frankly I must agree, which really speaks to the quality of this sandwich, as I am generally not a fan of pork, at all.

The black bean burger was obviously made in house from freshly-ground black beans and hand formed. The quality of the burger patty was excellent, though we found the spices to be a little bit overwhelming, and the guacamole to be a little bit too plentiful. For someone who likes a bite to their bean burger, this would be perfect; but for us, it was a little bit overpowering.

All in all, we really did enjoy the food we had; however, we are still having a hard time thinking of WTF as a Tex-Mex joint. We also didn’t care for the new look on the first floor, which much more industrial in nature. They also installed high-end sound equipment for live entertainment, which may make the place more marketable as a music venue, but also takes away the “small dark bar where the bartender knows your name and there’s a guy playing the guitar in the corner” quality that we have loved for so long.

And while the service was good, we miss the handful of folks who have worked there for a few years now.

In the end, the only things that have remained the same about this place are the name and the shell of the building (and I guess, the upper floors). And while we definitely do not dislike the new WTF or discourage anyone from going there, it will never be the same as the bar we stumbled into six years ago. RIP, WTF.

The Falls - The Best Sit-Down Lunch in Mount Washington

UPDATE:  As was reported in the North Baltimore Patch, The Falls has permanently closed.

Yesterday some coworkers took me out to lunch at The Falls in Mount Washington.  And although all of team Bob Ganoosh was not there, I thought my experience was worth mentioning here on the blog.

The restaurant was surprisingly more casual than its artistic logo and black cloth awning at the entrance imply.  The interior had more of a trendy café look (and smell), but also included a row of booths on the left hand side.  Our group, who is partial to booths, was pleased by this.

Most of us ordered burgers.  I ordered the B&B Burger, which is advertised on the menu to include “bleu cheese and balsamic marinated onions.  The burger was a respectable size, probably about one-third pound, and the meat tasted fresh.  The top of the burger was smothered with melted bleu cheese and a heaping pound of sweet caramelized onions, to the point where it became hard to pick up.  In fact, I ended up fork-and-knifing it at the end

Obviously, if you don’t like bleu cheese, I would recommend shying away from this burger.  But if you are a fan, as I am (at least in the context of a burger fixin), then this burger is a no brainer.  I ordered my burger medium rare, and it came out closer to medium or medium well, so I would advise being a little bit liberal with your doneness selection; but, it was not a deal breaker.

And the burger, which included an adequate portion of their homemade fries, was only $9 at lunchtime.  However, based on the menu posted on their website, it appears that dinner portions are a few bucks more.

We took deserts with us as a 3pm snack, which included a lemon cake, an orange cheesecake, and an Oreo pie.  While we were initially concerned whether we got our money’s worth, when we initially looked at the portions provided, we immediately conceded that they were worth every penny once we took the first bite.  Each desert was fresh, moist, and very rich, and exceeded our expectations.

It’s also worth noting that our server was friendly and the service was pretty quick.  In fact, we made it back to the office within an hour, including the 10 minute drive from the office to the restaurant.

Based on my experience, I strongly recommend The Falls as a North Baltimore lunchtime destination, particularly for anyone working in the Mount Washington/Bare Hills area.  They exceeded our expectations on all fronts.

The Falls

1604 Kelly Ave
Baltimore, MD 21209

(410) 367-7840
www.thefallsmtwashington.com

5-Star Rating

Food: ****

Service: ****

Ambiance: ***

Price: $$ ($9-20)

Grilled Cheese & Co. - This Ain't Your Mom's Grilled Cheese!

In honor of National Grilled Cheese Month, we took a trip to Grilled Cheese & Co., a relatively new Catonsville sandwich shop specializing in different variations of the grilled cheese sandwich.  Since its opening in March 2010, it has been a hit in the area (its owners are already working on a second location in Eldersburg), so we wanted to see what the place was about.

The Catonsville location, and Corporate
HQ, from Harlem Avenue.

The restaurant is a small and cozy, occupying the first floor of a converted house, and has about 10 small tables plus a few chairs out front and an outdoor table alongside of the building.  Though I suspect that most of the time this is an adequate number of seats, during our visit at 1:00 PM on a Saturday, there was standing room only in the dining room.  It was too cold to eat outdoors, but even if it was warmer, those extra seats would still have not been enough.  And parking, located in the rear of the building, was proportionate to the number of tables, causing us to have to park in the adjacent neighborhood.

The menu is printed on the side wall of the dining room, in huge font, which helps when trying to decide what to order.  And the line for ordering moved quickly.  

My wife and I arrive early, so while waiting for the rest of the party to arrive, we snacked on a bowl of Cream of Broccoli Soup ($2.99 for 8 oz./$4.99 for 16 oz.) and an order of Sweet Potato Fries.  The bowl of soup was larger than expected, and was flavored with cheddar cheese and small bits of chicken.  The small pieces of chicken were nice, as they did not overpower the broccoli and cheddar flavoring.  And the fries were seasoned with black pepper, though not too strongly, resulting in a very unique and flavorful rendition of the sweet potato.  We were very pleased with both of these.

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When the rest of the party arrived (and squeezed around a small 2-top table), we ordered our sandwiches.  The orders included the Crabby Melt ($7.49), filled with monterey jack cheese and crab dip; the BCT ($6.49), a more traditional grilled cheese sandwich filled with bits of bacon, cheddar cheese, and tomatoes; and the Smashed Meatball ($7.49), filled with meatballs, provolone cheese, and marinara sauce.  And of course, we got some Cream of Tomato Basil Soup ($2.99 for 8 oz./$4.99 for 16 oz.) for dunking.

The Crabby Melts were well received in our group.  The crab dip was generous, oozing out of the sides, and was not overpowered with Old Bay.  There were a few trace pieces of shell found in the crab, which is good because it shows that the crab is fresh, but is also a little bit annoying.  The BCT was quite good, and contained a pretty generous portion of chopped up bacon.  Almost too much bacon actually, but you’ll never catch me complaining about that.  It was simple enough that you almost can’t go wrong.  And the Smashed Meatball was also good, but could have used a little extra marinara sauce.  The soups were very good, but I would only recommend them to those who like basil, because the flavoring is significant.

The preparation and service was very prompt as well.  They operate using the two-window method – order at window one, pick up at window two.  But they always brought the food directly to our table, rather than making us come up and claim it.  And that was a challenging feat for the employees, because as I said, the place was crowded.

Overall, we really enjoyed our lunch at Grilled Cheese & Co.  We wouldn’t recommend it to a large party, and would recommend that you try to avoid the lunch rush, particularly on a Saturday.  But, definitely check it out!

Our only recommendation to the owners: keep an eye out on that 2^nd floor, and if the current tenant ever moves out, scoop it up and expand the dining room.

Reviewed Location:

500 Edmondson Avenue

Catonsville, MD 21228

(Right off of I-695, Exit 14)

410-747-2610

http://www.ilovegrilledcheese.com/

Additional Locations (some locations opened after the date of this review):

1036 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-244-6333

577 Johnsville Road, Suite 1
Sykesville, MD 21784
443-920-3238

2624 Brandermill Blvd
Gambrills, MD 21054
410-721-3423


5-Star Rating

Food: ***1/2
Service: ****
Ambiance: **
Price: $ ($10+/-)


***Bob Ganoosh would like to thank Sal, a local restaurant-goer and friend, for the recommendation to this restaurant!***