ENTERTAINMENT
By Richard Gorelick, The Baltimore Sun | August 17, 2012
For years, Tio Pepe was my family's special-occasion restaurant. This was the mid-1970s, when the Franklin Street restaurant, which opened in 1968, was already established as a Baltimore classic. Even then, Tio Pepe seemed as if it had been around forever, and Baltimore spoke of it in absolute terms. Some of those absolutes no longer apply. Tio Pepe is no longer the most expensive meal in town. It's certainly no bargain — figure about $75 a person — but other restaurants that have much less to offer have caught up. A Tio Pepe dinner, though, still feels like a luxury item, bathed in drawn butter, covered with hollandaise, flavored with brandy, and layered with cream and rolled in pine nuts.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Richard Gorelick | February 6, 2012
Baltimore's dining scene is getting some national bandwith. Spike Gjerde reveals seven of his favorite Baltimore food highlights for "Short Order," a regular feature of GQ's website. And the noted food authority, Esquire contributor and author John Mariani has written a "Day Tripper" piece about Baltimore for his weekly Virtual Newsletter. Gjerde's piece was published a few weeks back, but we're just seeing it now. Chef Spike Gjerde's Guide to Baltimore tells the world about Spro , Grand Cru , Belvedere Market , Patisserie Poupon , Wit & Wisdom , the restaurant at the new Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, Alexander's Tavern and Thames Street Oyster House . Mariani's piece , which takes the form of a day-tripper's guide, has very nice things to say about Aldo's and Chazz: A Bronx Original , which he says are the exceptions to the dismal norm in Little Italy.
NEWS
By Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun | May 20, 2011
Jesus Perez Goenaga, a founder of downtown's Tio Pepe restaurant who as its pastry chef created desserts that were "sinful perfection," died of pneumonia May 10 at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center in Bradenton, Fla. He was 77. Born in Burgos, Spain, he was the son of the personal chef to Francisco Franco, the country's military leader and dictator. His father taught him to scrub stock pots with sand. Mr. Goenaga attended culinary and pastry-making schools and worked in Madrid's Ritz Hotel and the Jockey Club as well as in a San Sebastian restaurant.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun | March 16, 2011
Tio Pepe is one of those constants in the world of wine. As a nonvintage blend of bone-dry sherry, it doesn't change from year to year. It may not be the greatest fino sherry; it is simply the definitive wine of its type — certainly the best-known dry sherry around the world. Tio Pepe is a pale-colored wine of great complexity and elegance, with hints of almond and very subtle citrus. Its distinguishing feature is a hint of salt water, as though it were meant to be sipped by the sea. If you tasted this wine in your youth and thought it too severe, it's worth retasting to see if your palate has changed.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Laura Vozzella, The Baltimore Sun | December 4, 2010
Francisco "Paco" Lobo wears out tuxedos the way marathoners do running shoes. The longtime Tio Pepe maitre d' keeps three tuxes in his wardrobe at any given time, and every year, at least two succumb to the rigors of dry cleaning. Lobo himself has held up far better. At 74, he is trim and lively and able to charm hungry, impatient crowds for 10 and 12 hours a day, five days a week, in the elegant Mount Vernon basement restaurant. His hair has gone silver, but the size of his tux jacket, 44 regular, hasn't budged since he started at Tio's more than 40 years ago — no small feat given the occupational hazards of a place that dishes up off-the-menu, twice-fried potatoes known as pommes soufflés before diners even have a chance to order.
NEWS
November 22, 2010
Failure to include Tio Pepe in The Sun's list of Baltimore's top 50 restaurants caused me to disregard any recommendation your writer made. For decades, my friends, family and I have enjoyed delicious, abundant meals served elegantly and politely in one of the country's most superlative restaurants. Thank you, Tio Pepe. Susan Wolf Dudley