 "Photo: Photos Courtesy of MCT Campus")
Baltimore restaurants participated in "Restaurant Week" this past week. For $30 ($20 for lunch at participating venues), a customer can select an appetizer, entrée and dessert from a limited menu.
This presents an opportunity to eat at pricier restaurants for a reasonable expense. Select spots have extended this offer until Sunday, Feb. 8. You can peruse menus online at baltimorerestaurantweek.com. Dinner reservations are advisable.
A penchant for Cuban food led me to Babalu Grill, located at 32 Market Place Road-close to the Inner Harbor Collegetown Shuttle stop and only an $8 cab ride to Fells Point. Making our way to the entrance was the only challenge at Babalu Grill. Its placement next to Power Plant Live! necessitates that you maneuver through a series of checkpoints, manned by over-eager security guards (leave your ID in your wallet).
Babalu Grill occupies a large, warehouse-size space. Seating spreads a few levels, divided by stairs. Lighting was quite dim, but red-frosted votive candles created a nice ambiance.
One of the finer experiences at Babalu Grill is the bathroom service. The attendants in the restroom provide anything from hairspray to gum to deodorant. The music tended toward the mainstream-Britney Spears graced the speakers at one point; I would have appreciated something more authentic, but perhaps the Spanish-speaking busboys and servers offset the pop music.
Once inside, we were seated immediately and served quickly. Our waiter, though attentive, made some mix-ups, serving raspberry instead of papaya sorbet and shredded flank steak instead of Palomilla steak.
My party ordered Caesar salads, chicken tortilla soup, and spring rolls for appetizers. (I intended to order the ceviche, but the restaurant was currently out-evidence of its popularity and/or Babalu Grill's unpreparedness.) The Caesar salad was fairly standard: a heart of Romaine lettuce, intact, drizzled with some Latin variation of Caesar dressing, served with fried plantain chips-an odd choice of accompaniment that seemed like an afterthought.
The chicken tortilla soup lacked inspiration. The spring rolls (not part of the Restaurant Week menu), resembling something you would get at T.G.I. Fridays, were much improved by what may have been a mole sauce. In addition to our appetizers, Babalu Grill provided an endless supply of crispy plantain chips (addicting enough to require a visit), fresh from the fryer and hand-seasoned with sea salt.
For entrees, we had broiled Caribbean salmon and shredded flank steak. The salmon was garnished with mango salsa (which was reportedly "a little kicky") and BBQ sauce. The flank steak-similar to the classic Cuban dish Vaca Frita-was perfectly cooked, salty, and topped with a thin, light tomato sauce; the sweet, ripe fried plantains served with the steak stole the show. Our sampling of desserts included raspberry sorbet, coconut crème brulee, tres leches, and rum flan. The sorbet, in a word, was sub par and perhaps too creamy.
The crème brulee could have been more firmly set, but the flavor was quite good. The tres leches, served with strawberries, was sweet and light. The flan's consistency was smooth, and the flavor was simple. The food at Babalu Grill, while somewhat average, would be a good introduction to Cuban cuisine. The atmosphere was worthwhile-certainly, it surpasses from venues like P. F. Chang's and Panera for a night out.
Ruth's Chris Steak House neighbors Babalu Grill on Water Street. Though a chain, Ruth's Chris' formula is flawless: for the non-adventurous, this classy restaurant ensures an ideal experience. Housed in a large space with plush carpeting, dark wood paneling, and dark green marble columns, the building is impressive in itself. The icing on the cake at Ruth's Chris has be the service. Charming waiters, dapper in their tuxedos, are the rule; some are more humorous than others, but all are remarkably affable.
The Restaurant Week menu offers lobster bisque. Texture-wise, the bisque was almost velvety, blended with the right amount of cream. Bits of lobster topped the soup, serving as both a garnish and an enhancement of the lobster flavor; but the soup did not taste fishy at all.
I ordered a medium-rare petite filet-the wisest choice to make in a steak house of Ruth's Chris' caliber. Pink in the middle, the steak is served at 500 degrees (as announced by the waiter), pan-seared in butter. This petite filet, which melts in your mouth, could be considered the Platonic form of steak. For dessert, I had chocolate "sin" cake, an extremely dense chocolate-espresso cake, garnished with a strawberry drizzle and powdered sugar. Resembling fudge in its richness, one might struggle to finish an entire piece. A cup of coffee, served in a French press, provided the perfect ending to the meal.
Both restaurants reviewed are extending their Restaurant Week menus. I would recommend both to students who desire a break from run-of-the-mill Loyola restaurants.
Be the first to comment on this article!