Thompson's Sea Girt HouseThompson's Sea Girt House 5919...

Thompson's Sea Girt House

Thompson's Sea Girt House 5919 York Road, 435-1800. This popular establishment has been part of Baltimore's restaurant scene for more than 100 years. There are many traditional dishes on the menu, as well as touches of Spanish fare, which reflect the change in ownership several years ago. I found the Onion Soup a la Anciana unusual and quite good with its light base and sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Some of the other offerings were not as flavorful. The $13.95 four-course dinner special, which is offered weeknights, draws many diners. $$moderate. (Last visited 8/90.) CoChin, 800 N. Charles St., 332-0332. Baltimore now has its long-awaited Vietnamese restaurant. So why this sense of culinary deja vu? Perhaps because most of the dishes have the look and taste of good old Cantonese stir-fries. (A more authentic menu is promised for the near future, we hear.) On the plus side, CoChin has a cozy wine-cellar look, the service is polite and swift, and the food, while not adventurous, has the advantage of being tasty and bargain priced. $inexpensive. (Last visited 11/90.)

LYNN WILLIAMS Capriccio, 846 Fawn St., 685-2710. Dinner at Capriccio was expensive and uninspired. Seafood salad was mostly oily squid; minestrone, mushy vegetables in stew liquid, ravioli and part old lobster. Veal saltimbocca set prosciutto and powdered sage inside leathery veal. Oil and garlic on pasta was bitter with the green center in garlic that should be pitched. Shrimp were served in an astonishing half-inch of butter fat. A rubbery rolled up pine nut roll cost $5. $$$expensive. (Last visited 10/90.)

JANICE BAKER