When I went back to check, I was surprised to find out that it's been nine years since I last reviewed Sascha's 527 Cafe in Mount Vernon.
Because it's close to The Sun, this has been a place I occasionally go for lunch when I'm meeting someone outside the office. By day, Sascha's, located on the first floor of a 19th-century Mount Vernon town house, is set up to provide a quick lunch of good food cafeteria style.
At night, like a scene change at the theater, the place becomes a sit-down, not-quite-fine-dining restaurant. As you enter past a claret velvet curtain, you first notice an ornate chandelier hanging from the 16-foot ceiling and then lofty marbleized columns. The sparkling chandelier, fairy lights and candles give the persimmon and gold color scheme a warm glow. In this light, the large canvases hanging on those walls look as if they belong in a museum.
Do the food and service live up to the setting? Well, yes and no. Most of our dishes arrived just a bit warmer than room temperature, and for that I think I have to blame the servers, not the kitchen. These aren't career waiters - if I had to guess, I would say they're students working their way through school. We had long waits before we got anyone's attention, and the people at the table next to us, who sat down after us, got waited on first - a kiss of death, as far as I'm concerned.
On the other hand, the wait staff seemed to be working hard and were very personable, two big pluses in my book.
Sascha's is the baby of Sascha Wolhandler, one of Baltimore's best-known caterers and restaurateurs, who started here with an outdoor creperie on North Charles Street in the '70s. I've always liked her food, which is entertaining and usually very good. I didn't see her around that night, so I have no idea if she was in the kitchen; but she's the guiding force behind the quirky global cafe menu.
It ranges from a Southwestern turkey burger for $9 to filet mignon with a dried-cherry demi-glace for $24. The menu is short on appetizers, but long on "taste plates." Unlike at some restaurants, the latter are more than a prelude to the main course. A couple of them can make a meal if you aren't too hungry.
The best of the taste plates is probably the large shrimp, gently charred, with creamy cheese grits and andouille sausage. The mini Baja tacos suffered from not being warm enough. The bites of fried red snapper were a little chewy, but the toppings of avocado, diced tomato and creme fraiche sparked with cilantro saved them.
