Aldo's in Little Italy

On Wednesday, July 30, I enjoyed an exquisite dinner with friends at Aldo's Ristorante Italiano in Little Italy in Baltimore, MD. Aldo's is one of the highest rated Zagat restaurants in Maryland. The website boasts beautiful pictures and I've always heard good things about the restaurant.

Baltimorerestweek.com posted Aldo's menu for the fix price dinner and Aldo's offered up stuffed Amish chicken with mashed potatoes, penne pasta with eggplant, seared beef tenderloin, and line caught pomfret with summer vegetables and couscous. Two desserts; a strawberry shortcake and a vanilla custard with peach sauce were offered. I decided upon the beef tenderloin on arugula encrusted in sea salt, with the ahi tuna loin as appetizer and vanilla custard for dessert. To enhance the flavors, I ordered a Cabernet for the beef. My two friends got the Amish Chicken with mashed potatoes and Chardonnay and the penne pasta with tomato sauce, roasted eggplant, softly spreadable ricotta and a Pino Grigio.

The words to describe the dinner were sublime. Aldo's considers the diner's experience to be paramount and great attention was placed on pairing flavors of vegetables, meats, seasonings, and even down to the texture of the food. The food came in slow succession, however the server made up for it with a complimentary restaurant mixed drink of limoncello with cream. The after dinner cordial was very tart and pleasing to the senses.

However the words to describe the ambiance was interesting...the dining hall was beautiful and serene with low lighting. The seating was plush. A table sitting next to us used sailor like language all evening culminating in one lady's shocked gasp. It appeared that many drinks were enjoyed. Rising from the table the loudest gentleman knocked his chair upon the ground and into his neighbor's table. As he apologized, he recognized the unfortunate diner who was victim to his flying chair.

All in all, the overall experience was pleasant and memorable.

Top 3 for Restaurant Week

Baltimore Restaurant Week is finally here, starting this fine Saturday evening and running until August 3rd. Most assuredly, the restaurants will be brimming full of diners on this twice a year treat (Restaurant Week is in the winter too). From the website, I've whittled my top 3 down to this:

George's in Mt. Vernon

Petit Louis Bistro on Roland Avenue

and Aldo's in Little Italy

George's by far had the most innovative menu from my brief research, and I've always wanted to try Aldo's and Petit Louis Bistro. I must say that I am sad to not see Kali's Court participating this year. Still the participation is good and hopefully many satisfied diners will leave truly satiated and stuffed.