So this weekend, I did eat out a lot.
I went for brunch to Ambassador Dining Room and I was happy to see things are still, every bit as delectable as usual where that is concerned. The fish was fresh, the naan was hot out of the oven and it remains – with its glassed in patio dining room – complete with fireplaces on in the day time – one of my favorite places to eat on a Sunday after a long night out the day before.
Why is the Ambassador such a winner – is it the BEST Indian food? no.
Is it the fanciest decor? no.
Is it the location and the parking – come on, have you tried parking there on a busy day… my point is – its the odd combination of English colony decor, good quality food – nice price/quality ratio and proximity to other Sunday activities such as… Movies at the Rotunda or eventually the BMA, that makes it worth going back to again and again.
Besides – when you’ve had your fill of waiting in line – amidst the crowds at Miss Shirleys – this can be a great respite.
Later that evening I joined a friend with excellent taste, who was happy to indulge my queer desire for Mexican. We went into Holy Frijoles about 7pm…
First, can I just say – is it a pre-requisite to hire space cadets there as hostess and servers? I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be harsh – but I walked in, there was I kid you not 5 empty tables and the person tells me “I’m sorry you’ll have to wait for a free table”. Maybe she was just on auto-pilot from being slammed over the weekend.
Food arrived and well – aside from overly salty guacamole – was as usual, sigh – delish.
So – worth the stop even though we had to forgo my usual margherita as they don’t serve alcohol on Sundays.
Great that you keep plugging the “tried and true”, in addition to what everyone is clamoring for. There are the “can’t get in” restaurants all around (I was lucky enough to get into Woodberry Kitchen last nite, but it wasn’t about my pull in the gastronomic community; it was more about Mother Nature making Clipper Mill a slip n’ slide. Good food, by the way, there’s a reason for THOSE lines, not only to be “to be seen”. (PS, I do now a certain Baltimore Blogger who was touting farm-fresh cuisine before, waaaaay before, it was featured in restaurants that packed ‘em in at refurbished mill buildings). Nice, juxtaposition, by the way. . . .free range chicken, sustainably harvested salmon and unbelievably decadent martinis. Now, that’s a life in balance.
But for every Woodberry, or Dogwood, there remains, for us City Dwellers, an Ambassador, with all the ambience and all the good food you describe. For anyone not interested in exclusively sampling the newest hipster dishes, (like the lovely savory quarter chicken with olive and roasted peppers special I sampled over a harder-than-usual crossword at Rocket to Venus, a now-from a trendy restaurant/bar half-life standpoint-venerable re-do of Showalter’s, tucked into a nondescript corner of Hampden (there IS live after The Avenue), and instead wanting authentic Mediterranean food, try, just around the corner from the Ambassador, on University, the Carlyle Club Restaurant in the Carlyle Suites Hotel. Every bit as good, dish, by dish, as the lovely meal I just had at Tabrizis, on the water, downtown. But nowhere near as “trendy”. Just good, authentic Lebanese food. Not on a night like last night, (when I slipped on my, fortunately, still well-padded keester-despite my ongoing New Years’ workouts-on the way in) but in a cool summer night, it’s a great time to sit outside in their outdoor cafe tables with a sweater (or a hug) and enjoy a nice dinner, there. Meantime, M, keep dining and keep blogging. I’ll pass you one day, perhaps over a dessert bar. We can jog the calories off together.
Comment by The Occasional Gourmande — February 13, 2008 @ 1:06 pm