Restaurant Week (Baltimore)

Hello food lovers! It's a beautiful day. Correction, it's a beautiful WEEK. That's right, it's Baltimore Restaurant Week. This is the fourth consecutive year that I have reaped the benefits of this gourmand's goldmine, and I've learned some helpful tricks to ensuring you get the most out of your week of feasting that I think all foodies need to follow.

1. Restaurant Selection
OK, so you opened the list of participating restaurants and are currently swimming through the barrage of names and ethnicities...questions run through your mind such as, what's the difference between American and New American? What is this Latin fusion fused with?
Step back. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes.
Think of 3 restaurants that you use to treat yourself. Check the list and see if any are there. My choices are Salt Tavern, Fogo de Chao, and Pazo. What do you know, they're all on the list! (OK, I cheated, I went to those places last year during Restaurant Week so I knew they'd be there...)
Now try to recall 3 restaurants you have been thinking of trying for a while, but haven't got around to. Recently I've been thinking about the B&O American Brasserie, Petite Louis Bistro, and Woodberry Kitchen. Two of my three made it, not bad odds.
Now that you've narrowed down the list of choices, you can move on to step 2, 

2. Getting your money's worth

As a lover of exotic, eclectic, and experimental food, I cannot in good conscience let any of you fall into the prix fixe trap of pubs or Italian Bistros. Remember that all of the restaurants have the same $30 deal, but not all $30 meals are created equal. If first course is a side salad drenched in Caesar, second is a mediocre cheeseburger, and dessert is a heaping slice of chocolate cake that leaves something to be desired (see menu for Alchemy), you did not get your money's worth. Yes, you are probably full, and the food probably wasn't bad, but Oh, the places you can go with $30 during Restaurant Week...
I'm begging you, skip the "Mom's Ravioli" at Chiapparelli's and opt for the explosive Chorizo Stuffed Quail at Salt. Ravioli is delicious, but my cravings for pasta in meat sauce are as easily satisfied by Mr. Boyardee as they are by a Maitre d'.
Of course, if your taste buds don't crave quite as much excitement as mine, there is a more traditional option that will still give you plenty of bang for your buck in the form of one of America's most beautiful institutions: Steakhouses. As much as I love new wave flavor combos, I will never abandon my one true love, red meat. Baltimore has a lot to offer in that category: Fogo de Chao, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, The Prime Rib, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse. You'll get a fantastic hunk of beef at any of these places (and the steak isn't too bad either!). In fact, at Ruth's Chris*, I believe the $30 prix fixe menu is cheaper than any individual steak on the regular menu. Also, Fogo's selection is all you can eat, so there's no question of value there.

*Ruth's Chris is not my favorite steakhouse of all time, but if a petite filet is what gets you going, this is a good deal for you.
 

3. Representing the restaurant

I mentioned in Step 1 that you should pick a few restaurants that you have yet to try. This part of the process helps you determine whether Restaurant Week will provide a good first-impression of the restaurant. If your friends are anything like me, they will give you a step by step breakdown of the flavors they just experienced at a restaurant they are recommending. Scan the prix fixe menus of the restaurants on your list and see if anything seems reminiscent of that experience. Restaurant Week is a great way for eateries to gain a new loyal fan-base, so they often do their best tap dance to win over the masses. However, there are quite a few of these establishments that get lazy, or even nervous about a large influx of clientele, and put out a very safe (translation:boring!) menu. I'll give you an example of each.

Accurate Representation: B&O American Brasserie.
First Course: Corn chowder with bacon and Maryland Crab Fritters
Seconds Course: Flatiron Steak with specialty Worcestershire sauce and Crab & Jalapeno Mac n' cheese. 

Third Course: Raspberry Creme Brulée

(My dinner date had the Butter Lettuce Salad, Crispy Skin Chicken, and Devil Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Lemongrass Ice cream)
Wow. Everything on the menu looks extraordinary.  Each dish had a different combination of flavors that you don't find in your home cupboard, which is a quality I look for in most restaurants (if I could make it myself, why am I paying $30, or attempting to parallel park on Charles St.?)
Inaccurate Representation: Petite Louis Bistro

Now, I can't say whether or not the meal was delicious because I opted not to go there. But after hearing it hyped so much, I was more than a little disappointed when I saw the Starter and Dessert options. The dish that I had long anticipated, a leg of Duck Confit, did happen to be on the menu, but since the dish is $21 on the regular menu, I would rather pay that, and skip the two courses that I was less excited about. 

So, you've sorted, sifted, and selected your final choices.....

4. Reservations

For most cases you should be fine, since you have a whole week to play with, but nothing is worse than getting yourself jazzed for a banquet, embossing the invitations, and arriving to the restaurant only to find they've been booked solid since January. This is often the case with Fogo de Chao and Ruth's Chris, which are already extremely popular venues. So practice safe dining, and call ahead to see if you can actually get a spot before you start dreaming about scarfing down piles of meat (trust me, you will only have your heart broken when you find out the truth).

There you have it. Follow these steps and you are sure to have some of the best meals of your life this week, and many Restaurant Weeks in the future. Whether you plan one special night, or eat somewhere every day this week, you are ready to be an informed Restaurant Week diner. Bon Appetit!