Baltimore's Style Magazine: Our Comments

The new November, 2006, "special issue of Baltimore's Style Magazine arrived yesterday. Last night, I took the time to sit back for a little over an hour and take in all of its approximately 270 glossy pages, many of which consisted entirely of advertising. Quite independently, it seemed to me, the editorial part succeeded in raising awareness about many contributors to Baltimore's sense of style at the high end, of course. Much related to food and drink. In the spirit of encouraging our own readers to purchase and then read this latest issue of Style, here are the items of particular interest to Unique Culinary Adventures. The first four were picked from the "EPICURE" part of Style's "ABOUT TOWN" section. The rest were gleaned from "THE STYLE 100," which is the magazine's "highly subjective, totally random collection of 100 favorite stylish people, places, and things" in Baltimore.

• RUB BBQ: Kirsten Beckerman's exterior night-time photo of this relatively new restaurant in South Baltimore certainly deserved the full page it got. We're ashamed not to have tried it yet. Contemplating that Mike Marx is awakening our sensibilities about barbecue in Baltimore the way he awakened them regarding Mexican cuisine at Blue Agave, we expect a treat.
• NASU BLANCA: Very aptly Style uses the term "cultural divide" in referring to this new Locust Point restaurant, which is both Japanese and Spanish. By Baltimore standards, this one is an envelope pusher for sure and at the top of our list of places to try.
• CHARD: Just a couple of years ago, our backyard garden yielded enough Swiss Chard on Christmas Eve that we could serve it for Christmas dinner. If this year's chard crop survives as long, we'll give Carmela's Chard Soup a try and share on this site our own very special and just as healthy chard recipe from that Christmas of whatever year.
• VIN: Chef Paternotte's "World's Tiniest Dessert Menu" was featured. The idea of ordering and enjoying dessert as one would order and enjoy the tiniest of tapas is a sure winner whose time has come. Watch for the concept to explode.
• SALT: It's Style's idea of "the perfect corner bar" and ours too.
• CHAMELEON CAFE: They focused on the house-made charcuterie, which our own post on Chameleon of a couple weeks ago unfortunately neglected to note.
• THE WINE MARKET: According to Style, this Locust Point restaurant "has it all," and we agree.
• THE PRIME RIB: Of course the Prime Rib is a favorite. Nothing about it has ever changed, yet the Prime Rib is as stylish as ever and everything on the menu wonderful as always.
• BELVEDERE SQUARE: It was great in the nineties and now it's back and better than ever with even more.
• PIKESVILLE SUPREME RYE WHISKEY: Never mind that it's distilled these days in Bardstown, Kentucky. Rye whiskey seems to be making a comeback, and Baltimore's the place for this one.
• NORDSTROM CAFE'S COBB SALAD: We didn't know about it, but apparently it's a darned good salad to have been named to "Style's" or anyone's Top 100.
• FINNERTEA'S HIGH TEA: It's in Hampden, and Style refers to it as "the perfect high tea."
• OREGON GRILLE: Chef Mark Henry's Blueberry Slump is what they rave about, and the recipe is shared.
• AMBASSADOR DINING ROOM: For years, we've been part of the consensus that the patio here is in a class by itself as the best local spot for outdoor dining in the summer.
• bBISTRO: For outdoor Sunday Brunch, this is the place, according to Style.
• PAZO: This tapas emporium is exactly the kind of "culinary planet" that the new Baltimore needed.
• CHARLESTON: Style cited it for the wine list and of course could have cited it for just about everything else it has to offer.
• LINWOOD'S: Linwood's was probably the Baltimore area's first really good open kitchen spot and has only gotten better.
• EDDIE'S OF ROLAND PARK: Our response regarding Eddie's is one word: "Obviously."
• CREATIVE ALLIANCE'S ART TO DINE FOR: It's all about artists, art, and food, bringing them together in the best way.
• SOUTHSIDE: This cocktail is a specialty at the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club and where its members gather. Next Summer, when the Southside comes back into season , Unique Culinary Adventures will share the recipe.
• THE BRASS ELEPHANT'S TUSK LOUNGE: Can you name a more comfortable or timelessly stylish bar in Baltimore?
• THE BREWER'S ART: Just up the street from the Brass Elephant, Brewers' Art serves up its Resurrection Ale, which Style touts as possibly "the most stylish quaff in town."
• CLUB CHARLES: Style gives its reasons for calling Club Charles "the coolest place going."
• OWL BAR: Never lost in time, it's been a place to go for generations.

A few places were mentioned that unfortunately did become lost. Among them were Marconi's, Danny's Louis's Bookstore Cafe, the Pimlico Hotel, and Vespa. Vespa's Sicilian Iced Tea as fixed by Steve Ward lives on, however, and the recipe is given. To get it, you need to go out and purchase the lastest issue of Style.