Bicycle: the budget edition.
At least that's the assignment I gave myself and my guests as we headed to the Federal Hill bistro, which has long been a favorite place for Baltimoreans for a nice dinner out, but not exactly a cheap date.
In early January the owners - chef Nicholas Batey, his wife and his parents - closed the restaurant for a few days to make some cosmetic changes. They reopened with a new menu and wine list designed to attract more everyday business.
I wanted to see if the Bicycle was now the kind of place you could drop by after work and have a reasonably priced dinner. And I was curious if it had started attracting the neighborhood people who couldn't afford it before except for a special occasion.
We would order a bottle of wine from the "18 for $18" list, and try to keep our first courses under $10 and our entrees under $20. Admittedly this isn't exactly budget eating, but considering that three years ago when I reviewed the Bicycle, entree prices ranged from $21 to $32, it would be a significant change.
It was a frigid weeknight not long after Restaurant Week and Valentine's Day, so I was surprised to see the front room pretty much filled. This was the first time I've been seated there, and I liked it a lot. The room itself is cozy and bistro-ish (read not much fabric and tables close together), but it feels very adult. A handsome bar runs along the back wall. Even though the restaurant has a young vibe and there was one large party in the center of the small room, it wasn't terribly noisy. How do they manage that?
I'm pretty sure it was Batey's wife, Saundra, who was serving as our hostess/sometimes waitress that night. Her warmth reminded me once again of the pleasure you get when you eat at a well-run family-run restaurant.
These days, menus can be redone so easily that I don't usually give the prices of individual dishes in my reviews; but for the purposes of this exercise, I will. Don't hold me to them - I'm sure they can change without notice.
One of us decided to go the small plate route, and started with the caramelized Onion Naan Pizza ($12). Two, or even three, could happily share this as an appetizer. The arugula and sliced plum tomatoes add a fresh note to the caramelized onions and goat cheese. The one who ordered the pizza paired it with a house specialty, the pan-fried oyster salad ($12). The slippery sweet treats inside their gold crust lay on a bed of mixed greens with a fiery vinaigrette and a drizzle of aioli.
