Sunday, March 12, 2006

chowing down at CHARLESTON in Baltimore

Last night before the opera, Will and I decided to dine at Baltimore top rated (Zagat gives its food a 28) CHARLESTON located on the harbor at 1000 Lancaster St (Tel 410-332-7373 www.charlestonrestaurant.com) where Chef Cindy Wolf has been reigning for over 10 years (after opening Georgia Brown's in DC). It was our first trip to the beautiful, if a bit dark, temple of multi-course dining where the bar and front rooms face the harbor and water. We arrived right on the button for our 530pm reservation, but were told the "dining room was not ready." We started to panic at 5:40pm, knowing we had to leave at 740pm to get to the opera, did not want to rush through dinner. We finally got seated a little over 15 minutes late, but luckily had perused the menu at the bar and were ready to take off.

Our delightful, charming and informative server Leslie told us that the menu offers 3, 4, or 5 course options, but that since dessert was mandatory, the prices were for 3, 4 or 5 courses PLUS a dessert course (or cheese).

We settled into our waterside table among the dark wood decor and fabric ceilings with rust accents(even the wine lists are bound in rust velvet!), as the mostly female servers in their handsome gray suits tried to get everyone organized. There are many wines by the glass and both 3 and 6 ounce options make it a great place to try wines, although the extensive and exciting wine list is award winning in itself. I started with a large glass of PINOT GRIS ZIND-HUMBRECHT 2004 which was loaded with apple flavors and I knew would pair with my appetizer of foie gras, Will chose (upon Leslie's recommendation) the excellent and smooth JOSEPH SWAN Pinot Noir "Cuvee de Trois" 2003 which must be a blend from 3 vineyards in Russian River. An adorable young man delivered an amuse bouche of HOT CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP and the bread arrived (sweet cornbread, raisin semolina and French roll). The cornbread was irresistible, but I managed to stop at one piece (it was large!).

As I mentioned I started with the PAN SEARED FOIE GRAS, Polenta, Serrano Ham & Pomegranate Molasses. The sauce was thick and gooey and acidic and sweet like it should be, the foie gras superb; just firm and tender. The Pinot Gris was not too sweet as anything sweeter would have had to fight the pomegranate--GENIUS!

Will had the BEEF & CHEVRE EMPANADAS which were the most boring thing we had all night. First of all, we both assumed the empanada would be combined, not two separate. We later told Leslie that combining the meat and cheese might make it more exciting, althought the pastry was superb.

The next course for Will was the WILD ROCKFISH CEVICHE with Lemon & Chilis. Our joint conjecture on this dish was that it was not Chef Wolf's forte. In trying to experiment, the fish was beautiful and raw and presented simply with a ribbon of chiles over it. The peppers were too strong and crunchy and the combination just seemed to be wrong, and the portion was way too small.

Will had moved on to a small glass of ALBARINO Pazo Senorans 2003 from Rias Baixas which was good, but slightly too close to room temperature.

I fared much better (as I somehow always seem to) with the DIVER SEA SCALLOP with GRANNY SMITH APPLE & MANGO. The scallop was presented on a bed of thick mango sauce with apples dancing around the sides and was a wonderful combination, and while not huge, quite filling. My small glass of wine was a nice COTES du RHONE "Les Clos de Caillou" 2004 from Bouquet des Garrigues, which was tasty, but I should have followed my instincts and had a chardonnay (I specifically opted not to, since I had tasted both of the ones on the menu).

When we first ordered our meals, Leslie suggested we make some changes to balance out the sizes and portions. She was correct, but this caused us to drop the FRIED GREEN TOMATO SANDWICH with LOBSTER & CRAB HASH. She could see we were disappointed, so at this point, she proffered a 1/2 portion to each of us along with a complimentary 3 oz. portion of the POMMERY BRUT ROYAL N/V Champagne. This was one of the highlights of the meal. A brilliantly fried tomato served as the "bread" with the chunks of lobster in between and small diced tender potatoes mixed with shredded crab for the hash. WOW! The bubbly was the icing on this cake!

I could not decide on the entree and when I mentioned the PORK CONFIT with Fried Green Tomato and Carolina Gold Rice, Leslie's eyes lit up and said I must have it, and so I did. A brilliant dish with the rice actually being cooked in a risotto-style low-country way. The pork was as tender as could be and the portion size just right. The BAROLO "Gattera" 1997 from Bovio was silky smooth and made this a truly successful plate. We now understood the strengths (and alas, the few weaknesses) of the chef. Will did just as well with the ROASTED CAROLINA PHEASANT BREAST with APPLEWOOD SMOKED BACON and ROOT Vegetables. His wine, also superb, was a very low tannin GIGONDAS, 2003 from Domaine de la Bouissiere in the Rhone.

We had some spare time (they got the timing perfect down to the second) and Will opted for a cheese tray which I had small tastes of: TOMME de ma GRAND-MERE was a semi-aged intense goat from the Loire BRILLAT SAVARIN, that famous rich triple-creme from Normandy DODDINGTON, a delightful sharp English cow from Northumberland which is made by Maggie Maxwell and has a production of only 400 wheels annually. one I must have missed and the ABBAYE de BELLOC a smoky Pyrenees sheep that was described on the menu as "semi-hard" a phrase one must be careful with when dining out!

The desserts were excellent as well. Will had a WARM GRANNY SMITH APPLE TART with APPLE CIDER ICE CREAM and my ROASTED PINEAPPLE NAPOLEON with BUTTERMILK PANNA COTTA was a presentation of pure artwork with three layers of thin pastry and 4 dollops of pineapple cream in between and on top. Atop all this lay an adorable edible silver coil. Opposite was a cone of custard that was more akin to frozen panna cotta, than the wobbly normal version, but tasty nonetheless.

A small plate of nut brittles and two decadent chocolates (a milk and a white each filled with runny caramel) accompanied our coffee as we ran off to the opera: DEAD MAN WALKING! (which incidentally is a stupendous work at the Baltimore Opera through next Sunday).

We look forward to returning to CHARLESTON again, but with more time and less rush!