Once, hotel dining was likely to be a very formal affair. No longer. Look what happened to Hampton's in Harbor Court and Pisces in the Hyatt. Both gone, while their more casual counterparts remain.
It's not surprising, then, that the restaurant of the new Hotel Monaco Baltimore is a brasserie, the B&O American Brasserie (2 N. Charles St., 443-692-6172, BandORestaurant.com), with an exhibition kitchen, counter seating and a brick oven for flatbreads and pizzas.
The restaurant has a commitment to eco-responsibility. Its food is all-natural, sustainable and often organic, and the products used are environmentally friendly. The kitchen recycles and has its own water purification system to eliminate the need for bottled water.
FOR THE RECORD
In the Table Talk column Wednesday, the name of the magazine that featured Woodberry Kitchen as one of the 10 best new restaurants in America was incorrect. The magazine was Bon Appetit. The Baltimore Sun regrets the errors.
B&O's executive chef is E. Michael Reidt. Food & Wine magazine named him one of America's "Best New Chefs" in 2001. Reidt told me he favors "the peasant style of the world's cuisines," which is reflected in menu items like seafood pot pie, pizza, pot roast and buttermilk-battered chicken.
Still, he's no stranger to current trends, and can whip up Chesapeake Rockfish with Smoked Shrimp-Pea Risotto and Arugula Pesto or Steak Tartar and Carpaccio with Pickled Carrots and Dressed Mizuna Greens.
Reidt, who had his own fine-dining restaurant in Santa Barbara, Calif., called Baltimore "the best-kept secret on the East Coast" as far as restaurants are concerned, with his current favorites being Woodberry Kitchen, Salt Tavern and the Wine Market.
The designers of the 4,500-square-foot restaurant, which is in the former B&O Railroad headquarters, made use of its Beaux Arts architecture in the renovations, and details from old B&O dining cars are incorporated into the furnishings. It has a street-front bar and seats 146, including 76 on the mezzanine.
The restaurant serves food daily from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. The bar is open from 11:30 a.m. to midnight with happy hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
One step forward, two steps back: : It seems as if for every restaurant opening these days, there are two closings.
It may not be permanent, but Dogwood Restaurant in Hampden, known for its fine food and social consciousness, has abruptly closed for the month of August. Baltimore will have lost something valuable if it doesn't reopen.
