Tio Pepe

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Tio Pepe Restaurante, which temporarily shut down after 16 people became ill and city inspectors found health violations, will work with outside consultants to help the popular establishment come into compliance, an attorney representing the owners said yesterday.Keith Ronald, the attorney, said the outside consultants have not been hired. He declined to provide details about what the consultants would do.The downtown Baltimore restaurant that serves Spanish and continental cuisine was closed for one night Feb. 11 after 16 people at a private dinner there became sick with vomiting and diarrhea one day after their meal.

Eutiquio Sanz, a retired chef who for more than two decades prepared the celebrated Spanish cuisine of the downtown Baltimore restaurant Tio Pepe, died of cancer Sunday of cancer at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Bolton Hill resident was 66. Mr. Sanz was born and raised in Segovia, Spain. At 15, he became an apprentice chef and began working in some of Madrid's finest restaurants. A decade later, he moved to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and took over as head chef of the five-star Hotel Valle Mar. During the summer of 1983, his cousin Pedro Sanz, owner of Tio Pepe Restaurante at 10 East Franklin St., arrived for a visit in Tenerife and convinced him that he should bring his culinary expertise to Baltimore.

One of Baltimore's top-rated restaurants shut down temporarily after 16 patrons became sick in a suspected intestinal bacteria outbreak and the Health Department found violations.Tio Pepe Restaurante was closed Feb. 11 and reopened the next day, Health Commissioner Peter Beilenson said yesterday. The restaurant remains under investigation by the department after being cited for several violations, including serving the same food to different customers; food handlers not washing their hands; and insect infestation.

My husband and I had not been to Tio Pepe in five years, mainly because our attempts to make Saturday night reservations were inevitably met with a response along the lines of, "We can seat you before 5:30 or after 9." For us, that was either too early or too late.Last week, we tried making a Sunday night reservation. No problem.Arriving at 7 p.m., when we had reservations, we waited less than five minutes before being shown to our table. Surprisingly, Tio's was as bustling on this Sunday night as we had remembered it on earlier Saturday nights.

Funny, you'd think it would please me to walk into Tio Pepe and find it half empty, considering all those times I couldn't get a reservation or had to wait an hour when I did have one. But it just made me sad, as though an era had passed without my noticing it.Then the maitre d' -- about to seat us -- answered the phone, turned his back on us and had a lengthy conversation while we cooled our heels. I felt better. This was Tio Pepe as I remember it.I was there because so many new places have opened up recently I haven't gotten back to the area's older restaurants as often as I used to. But now those restaurants are closing at an alarming rate.

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.

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.

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.

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

I don't know if this is just my imagination, but it seems to me that people opening new restaurants now are taking fewer chances. A lot of the new places seem to be dishing up comfort food, whether they are Old School Italian, steakhouses or modest neighborhood spots. Maybe even the brand-new Maruha Steakhouse & Sushi Bar (6410 Freetown Road, 410-531-6288) in Columbia fits that description. It is a steakhouse, after all, and Japanese steakhouses hardly count as ethnic restaurants anymore.

Dr. Jerome S. Lenet, a retired podiatrist who maintained a neighborhood practice for 53 years, died of congestive heart failure Friday at Sinai Hospital. The Pikesville resident was 88. Born and raised in New York City, he skipped several years of school and graduated from high school at 15. He studied at St. John's University and earned a degree from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Cleveland. He moved to Baltimore in 1940 and established a medical practice on East Monument Street near the Northeast Market.

Venue Where -- 10 E. Franklin St. Call -- 410-539-4675 -- weekend reservations are a must. Notable -- Young conversationalists consume more than 100 pitchers of red, white and sparkling Tio Pepe sangria -- perfect for sharing -- each weekend night. If you're looking to avoid the higher-priced entrees, you can request an assortment of tapas or share the generous portions of Tio's famous oysters and champagne sauce. But an evening at Tio Pepe's is still an expensive one. Vibe -- Elegant yet warm.

Food **1/2 (2 1/2 stars) Service ***1/2 (3 1/2 stars) Atmosphere **1/2 (2 1/2 stars) I last ate at Patrick's of Cockeysville 11 years ago, but I still remember that one of the Lite Fare dishes was sour beef and dumplings. Amazingly enough, it still is. Which says something about the rest of the menu. The more things change, the more things stay the same at Patrick's. This is - how shall I put it tactfully? - a sedate restaurant. At least it was on the weeknight we were there. The maitre d' told us he had made 55 orders of bananas Foster flambe at table sides the Saturday night before, so clearly things are sometimes rocking at Patrick's.