Tapas Teatro - 1711 N. Charles Street, Baltimore

I love watching a good movie. I am very excited about the new James Bond film, Quantum Of Solace. The trailers have looked very exciting. Initially, I was concerned about having a blonde guy trying to be the tall dark and handsome Bond that I myself aspired to be. But Daniel Craig's first portrayal of Bond was really engaging. I think this next movie is going to be a cracker.

I know Quantum Of Solace is going to be shown in lots of theatres when it releases, but unfortunately, I do not like the majority of cinemas. The sticky floors, people talking through the movie, and overpriced soda and popcorn. The Wife and I went to watch a movie at AMC Towson Commons once. One girl shouted another down, and asked the B*$%h to step outside. We haven't been back. Thankfully I have been impressed by the growing number of independent and 'boutique' movie theatres that have been arriving in Baltimore.

We really enjoy the old school Senator, it provides a refreashing step back in time. Old school elegance with a hightech (ish) movie experience. The new Landmark Theatre in Harbor East is much more modern, and like the Senator you can take your drinks in to the movie. But I do take objection to drinking out of a plastic cup. So that leaves The Charles Theatre at 1711 N. Charles Street. This is the epitome of cool. They show arty films for film lovers. I don't know what it makes me, I went to see Borat there. But it is a great experience. It is a shame they do not have Quantum Of Solace lined up to play.

I would highly recommend that you visit 1711 N. Charles Street though if just to go to Tapas Teatro.

This trendy restaurant is very popular, and for good reason. The service is always polite and prompt. The drinks are well mixed, with great wine and beer selections. Their tag line, small plates big pleasure, really is true. The quality of ingredients is very difficult to fault. This is a restaurant you can rely on for consistently good food.

The restaurant has just started a new scheme to use local produce. This doesn't only mean the quality of produce can be easily monitored by the restaurant, the menu will be even more seasonal, they will be helping local farmers and their carbon footprint will be reduced significantly. We often forget the thousands of miles our produce often travels and the impact that is having on our environment.

The Wife and I are big fans of restaurants that support local farmers and are environmently friendly.

I chose the Sprouts with Truffle Parmesan sauce, and Lamb Meatballs. The wife chose New Potatoes and Beef Skillet Steak. The wife said the Sprouts were the best she has every had, the new potatoes were fresh and really tasty. 

To be honest, I felt a little let down by the steak and meatballs. Often we have the Lamb Cutlets, but we stepped outside our box, and they were not as tasty as the Lamb. Still excellent, but slightly dissapointing for this fantastic restaurant. I felt there was a little too much cumin in the meatballs, and the steak was a little over cooked for our taste.

Overall we love Tapas Teatro, and we know we will be going back time and time again. Maybe next time we will have a meal and then head to the cinema. 

Our Rating

**** given our usual experience it should be five.

Kalis Meli - 1636 Thames St, Baltimore

So, not being from the US Halloween is a bit lost on me. Adults dressing up in costumes and getting so drunk that they can't see. It doesn't really appeal. Don't get me wrong, us Brits know how to drink. But the whole adults dressing up thing, that really confuses me. In Baltimore, it looked like Fells Point was the place to be if you were dressed up as the joker or a slutty nurse.

The Wife and I were grateful for the refuge that was Kalis Meli. The restaurant was a stones throw from all the 'action', but it seemed like a world away. Entering through the patissere, the restaurant and bar area has a very cool and sexy atmosphere. We were invited downstairs to the lounge area which was much more laid back than upstairs. The other diners, were young, hip and sexy. Some of our friends were there too. We decided we could hang out here. 

The waitress promptly took our drinks order, the Wife chose a glass of red, and because the place was very cool and sexy I chose a martini. If Bond can get away with it, then surely I can too?

Looking through the seasonal menu, we found it hard to decided what to eat. I went with the Duo of Duck and the Wife went with the Lamb Shank. Very difficult to choose though.

Not long after ordering, our drinks arrived. I don't think James would have ordered my martini. He definitely could have pulled it off. I didn't feel so comfortable drinking from the leopard print glass. Not very macho. The Wife's red wine looked much more manly. After getting passed the glass, the drink was nicely mixed, strong enough to know it was alcoholic but not blow my socks off.

The food didn't take too long to arrive, they clearly have the system well organized. The portions are pretty big, they probably could cut the size down by a quarter and keep people happy. We may then also have room to order dessert.

My Duo of Duck was cooked perfectly. It was juicy and slightly pink. It came with a nice side salad, that had orange marmalade running through it and was topped by a quails egg. Being a duo there was a leg and breast with a rich reduction gravy. The flavours were very well balanced, and I can highly recommend this dish.

Dining with the Wife is great, she is so small it is rare that she finishes a meal. Given the large size of the portions here, I was in for a very special treat. The Lamb Shank was very tender. The meat just fell off the bone. I could eat this everyday. Another meal we could highly recommend.

With the great atmosphere and food, there wasn't anything scary about the restaurant. It was the perfect hide out from Halloween.

The Wife's Rating

****

My Rating

****

* Are you Joking?

** A Horror Show

*** Trick or Treat?

**** Candy Apple Sweet

***** Light my Lantern

India Tandoor - 2101 North Charles St, Baltimore

The wife went out with girls tonight, Kali's Mezze. I wish I had gone. I was all excited about ordering Indian take-out. I thouhg tI would have a man's night in. Beer, sport and curry. Read how my night went below.

I ordered my food at 19:12 online, they said that the food would be delivered at 19:45. It is now 20:50, so they are an hour late. Very annoying.

Now 21:12 two hours from when I ordered. I have no idea how many times I have called the restaurant but they have stopped answering their phone. 

21:30. Still no food. The driver called at 21:20... he would be 3-4 mins. Last time I called the restaurant, they said his cell battery had died. Why lie? Why not just tell me the trough... you can't run a take-out restaurant.

Restaurant called to say they can't refund my purchase. I had given the driver a hard time, the restaurant told me to negotiate with him. No idea what that meant. So I just went off on a tirade about how late he was.

Driver called again, 2-3 mins, that was 21:32. Let's see when he arrives.

21:42. So that is ten mins then?

Open order. Plain rice not the saffron rice as ordered. No garlic naan. Idiots. Giving them a bad review everywhere and phoned foodler to say take them off their site.

Never, ever, order from India Tandoor.

My Rating
No Stars.


Order from India Tandoor on Foodler

Dukem (again!)

Back to Dukem on Friday. Man, that place is good.

We went with some friends and their 1 year old baby. Because we knew he would get grumpy we decided to have an early dinner. Getting to the restaurant at 18:30, the place was packed! We have been at about this time before and it has been nearly empty. News must be spreading.

Everone had a lot of fun. The baby got stuck in with his hands and a big smile on his face.

The Wife and I had the same thing as last time, our friends had our usual. I was very jealous, the beef tibs are not as good as the lamb. We are definitely going to have the lamb next time (next week?!).

No need to write more about this place. We love it. It rocks. See our previous review.

The Wife's Rating
*****
My Rating
****
* Dukem Schmukem
** Injured Injera
*** Say Wat?
**** Sweet Nectar
***** Fit for the Queen of Sheba

Little Italy - Germano's, 300 South High Street, Baltimore

So, tonight wife and I visited little Italy for the first time together. We thought we would try Germano's Trattoria on S High Street. We are always excited to try new restaurants.

As you know, we are well travelled. We will try food in any restaurant anywhere. Often, it is 3 hours drive from the nearest town. I am convinced I ate monkey in a small Liberian village. The soda was warm, but the meat was tender, the peas cooked to perfection, and the rice was delicious.

Wife got dressed up today. She put on a very sexy number. Certainly lit up the restaurant.

The hostess at the bar was polite, ish. My accent clearly threw her. But then, I am sure not many Europeans visit Germano’s. She recommended the Chianti Straccali, half price of course. Half price? Well, only if a $9 bottle is worth $36. Which, it isn’t.

We waited, waited a bit longer and then waited more. Eventually, we decided we were hungry and couldn’t wait longer. Ordered the calamari fritti. It was bland, to put it mildly. It came with a tomato based sauce. Actually, I think it was water based. It may have seen a tomato, once. Not that night though.

We ate the entire appetizer. We had waited a long time, and by that time had drank most of the wine.

Taken upstairs, we could not understand why we had been waiting for so long. The place wasn’t packed out, even though the queue outside the door suggested so. In fact, upstairs the place was HALF EMPTY. This was not looking good. Either they were trying to create an ambience in the tired main dinning room. Or the chef wasn’t up to the task.

We sat next to a group of young kids celebrating someone's birthday. They  struggled to sing happy birthday and were given some free profiteroles for the birthday girl. They didn't eat them. This should have rang alarm bells, who leaves free profiteroles?

The décor is what you would expect for an Italian restaurant trying too hard. Terracotta walls. Old posters. Sponge worked stencils and the obligatory grimy, dirty carpet.

Reviewing the menu (again), we chose the Seafood Risotto (Wife) and Beef Shank (mine). What we didn’t expect was the bagged salad, with plastic tomatoes, ground pepper and what I am convinced was giant brand parmesan. Wife says it wasn’t even that good.

Finally, the food. I ate half, the wife ate less. Bland. Don’t bother going. We have the left over’s in the fridge. We both said, we don’t think we can face them. I wish we had a dog.

The Wife’s Rating
No Stars

My Rating
* But only for the ‘Half Price’ wine

No Stars: Who do you think you are?
* Really? That's it?
** No Grazie.
*** The Mafia eats here.
**** Luigi and Mario own this place.
***** Si, Si, Si, SI!

Dukem - 1100 Maryland Avenue, Baltimore

The Wife and I are creatures of habit. We like things to be done in certain ways. This often leads us to have little arguments. The other week it was about my laundry. The Wife had graciously put my clothes in the wash. But instead of checking the pockets of my jeans, she just threw them in the washing machine. With my passport.

Now, that would have been fine if the passport wasn't just a few weeks old, and I was travelling to Europe two weeks later. To put it mildly we had a little argument about the best way to wash our clothes. I like to throw my clothes in the basket, and then check everything before being washed. She puts clothes in the basket and then throws them in the machine. No checking. Needless to say, I now have a separate laundry basket, and I am responsible for my own washing.

This can be extended to any number of daily tasks in our house. Washing the dishes, cooking, cleaning. We both have our different ways of doing things.

One habit we both share is enjoying the great tasting food at Dukem Ethiopian restaurant. The Wife especially like Dukem, I have the feeling she would go every week if I let her. We did go every week for about five weeks once. Often, eating the same meal. It is that good.

The restaurant has been open for quite a while, they offer authentic Ethiopian cuisine. Thankfully there isn't anything American-ized on the menu. They have a lot of Ethiopians who eat there regularly. A sure sign they know how to cook proper Ethiopian food.

There's not much to look at inside. The restaurant is pretty basic and laid back. No need to get dressed here. The waitresses are very friendly and efficient. Upstairs is quiet, downstairs can get a bit drafty with the busy door opening and closing often. 

The Wife usually has a glass of Chardonnay, and I have the Harar lager. Both are excellent. Even the Wife who detests beer, likes Harar. 

As I mentioned, we have our favourites we stick to. The Dukem Special Lamb Tibs and Dukem Special Veggie Combo (3).  Don't have the fish, that is Dukem's only weak spot. The wife is an Island girl and knows a thing or two about good fish.

The lamb tibs are definitely tastier than the beef ones. I have heard other customers ask to have the jalapenos removed from the tibs. Don't do that. Have them as they come, as the chef intended. You use an Ethiopian bread called Injera to pick up the food. Injera is also spread underneath the food. It sits there absorbing the tasty juices, waiting for you to eat enough to get access to all the sauce.

This is a great social place, also very romantic to be eating with your hands. Become a creature of habit like The Wife and I, visit Dukem regularly.

Grab lots of injera, be brave, dig in and enjoy.

The Wife's Rating

*****

My Rating

****

* Dukem Schmukem

** Injured Injera

*** Say Wat?

**** Sweet Nectar

***** Fit for the Queen of Sheba