Verde Pizza Napoletana

About two weeks ago I discussed the pizza at Verde Pizza Napoletana as part of The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit 2013. In short, the pizza was great. Today, I'll be discussing the restaurant and our visit as a whole.

As good as the pizza was Deana and I weren't overly thrilled with the rest our night. Despite making reservations, we waited well over 30 minutes before we were finally seated. I wasn't shocked that there was a bit of a wait to be seated given that it was the final weekend of Baltimore Restaurant Week, but 30 minutes is a bit extreme when you've reserved a table. And the worst part of that 30 minutes was being forced to squish into the front of the restaurant with everyone else who was waiting for a seat.

The building itself is very narrow with the tables very close to one another. I don't know if it was the fact that I had 84 people in my personal space during our wait, but the close proximity to the other tables was somewhat off putting. With that said, if you are lucky enough to be seated in the back half of the restaurant you have a view into the kitchen where you can see your pizza's being put together and cooked in the brick oven.

At the end of the night, after we had finished our appetizers and pizza, we had to wait quite a while for them to bring our dessert (we ordered it at the beginning of the night as part of the 3 course restaurant week thing). After 10 or 15 minutes of sitting around waiting our dessert was finally delivered.....and then we had to wait just as long to get our check. By the time we left there, it was no longer a guessing game as to why we had to wait 30 minutes for a table despite making reservations. The wait staff just wasn't efficient with their time. Yes, every single table was taken. Yes, it was restaurant week. But the restaurant is tiny and they had food runners. Why the waiter delays were what they were was beyond me.

Now, despite the tone of this review being negative there was a lot to like about Verde. If you read the review of the pizza alone, I spoke very highly of it. It was delicious. And the owner was more than friendly making two different appearances at our table to make sure our food came out tasting good. I appreciated that. For the pizza alone, I would go back to Verde Pizza Napoletana (and I highly recommend you try it yourself at least once). But given the long waits I'd have to endure and the somewhat awkward dining room layout, I don't know how often I see myself being a repeat customer.

Price: Middle of the Road
Recommendation: You have to visit this place at least once for the pie alone.
What to Order: Pizza Margherita

 

Alchemy Modern American Eatery

During my Bahama Breeze dinner a couple of weeks ago we were discussing restaurants to visit and Alchemy got a strong recommendation. When I saw that they were participating in Restaurant Week I knew that it was an opportunity I shouldn't pass up. Since the beginning of this blog a few different Restaurant Weeks have come and gone with me missing out on all the fun for one reason or another. This year, I finally made it happen and was rewarded with one of the best meals I've had.

For those of you that haven't experienced a restaurant week, the basic premise is that you choose an appetizer, main course, and dessert usually for $30 (sometimes $20). The appetizers we choose on our trip to Alchemy were Crab Mac and Cheese and Mojito Mussels.

The Mac and Cheese was pretty damn big for an appetizer. One could easily get away with eating only that  for dinner if they weren't overly hungry. The mac and cheese was super creamy with plenty of crab throughout and a few pieces of grape tomato. The mac itself was delicious, but the tomatoes just seemed a bit out of place. I'm sure they were thrown in there as a way to cut through the rich cheese, but both Deana and myself found them to be unnecessary additions to an otherwise outstanding appetizer.

The Mojito Mussels were also a great way to start out dinner. Plump mussels flavored with a blood orange, basil, cilantro and garlic butter broth.....I was a happy man dipping my crusty bread into this uniquely flavored broth. I think the basil they used was Thai basil as there was a licorice flavor throughout the broth. If you love mussels there is a good chance this is a variation on the classic you haven't tasted before. It's well worth your consideration.

For dinner, we were both debating the same two dishes. Smart cookies that we are, we decided to order them both and share. Deana ended up with the Shortribs and I decided on a Chili spiced Pork Loin.

The Shortrib was awesome. The two most tender pieces of meat I've ever tasted in my life were served at Alchemy. The Shortrib took the grand prize. The meat was soft beyond words and served on top of a bed of diced sweet potatoes, black beans, pomegranate seeds and I think apple (possibly pear). The little bursts of tart pomegranate were a great counterbalance to the savory Shortrib. It reminded me of a great fall dish, but it worked perfectly on the cold snowy night of our visit.

My chili spiced pork loin was equally fantastic. The meat was tender and flavored with a delicious ancho chili rub. The rub came off a bit spicy at first, but as you spent some time with it the heat dissipated. The spice was offset with a delicious pecan butter and I'm pretty sure there was coffee somewhere in the spice rub. All of those flavors made for maybe the best bite of pork I've had in a Baltimore area restaurant. I also got to experience my first tamale. These being pumpkin tamales and me being a huge pumpkin fan we hit it off quite well. It reminded me of pumpkin cornbread and I only stopped at 2 tamales because that's all that came on the plate. I'm pretty sure I could have put a half dozen of those down.

For dessert we split a Death by Chocolate cake and Salted Caramel Ice Cream. Both were great, but Deana and I both agreed that the ice cream stole the show.

The ice cream was (surprise) very creamy with just a touch of caramel flavor coming through. But what made it so great (and addictive) was the addition of the salt. These aren't flavors you run into on a daily basis and we quite enjoyed them. It was a simple dessert, but it was satisfying all the same.

The Death by Chocolate cake was also good, but didn't quite live up to our expectations. Both of us were expecting a cake more on the sweeter side of things, but instead were hit with flavors of cayenne and a bit more of a muted chocolate flavor. The cake was tasty, don't get me wrong, it was just missing the extra bit of sweetness we were both expecting when we heard the phrase "Death by Chocolate".

Overall, our dinner at Alchemy was an A. There were flavors that everyone is familiar with combined with flavors you may not have thought of before. Together they made for a dinner that was fun, delicious, and extremely comforting. We can't wait to go back. And for those of you who'd like to try some of these dishes out for yourself, I believe Alchemy is extending their Baltimore Restaurant Week deals so be sure to check them out ASAP.

Price: On the pricey side, but if you get a Restaurant Week deal it's a great value.
Recommendation: Alchemy should be on your "to eat at" list.
What to Order: Chili Rubbed Pork Loin

Weekend Fun: Maryland Wine Week,Harford County Restaurant Week & Sailabration

It's a huge week in and around Baltimore. If you can't find something fun to do in the next few days I think it's safe to say there is no hope for you this summer.

First up is Maryland Wine Week which has been going on since the 8th and will continue through the 17th.  It's a great week to try some new Maryland wines at a discount or enjoy them paired up with a dinner at various places throughout the area. If you're interested all the details can be found at the Maryland Wine Week website.

Next up is the Harford County Restaurant Week. It's actually well into its second week, but if you're looking to try out a restaurant that's local and new you can do so up until the 16th. A variety of restaurants will be offering 3 course meals for $20.12 or less. That's not a bad way to get a feel for what a place has to offer. I'll definitely be checking it out before the week is over. All the details can be found here. If any of you out there are Harford County residents please offer a suggestion from the list in the comment section as I've never visited 99% of the participating restaurants.

And this last one might not be food or beer related, but I think it deserves a mention either way. Starting today and continuing through the 19th is the Star Spangled Sailabration. If you don't mind gigantic crowds it should be a pretty fun time all around. The Blue Angels will be flying and the Harbor is going be full of all kinds of ships.

So, what are you doing this weekend?