The Gist: http://www.woodberrykitchen.com/
The Why: En route from Washington DC to Philadelphia I had one night in Baltimore, a Monday with the Orioles in town and time for both an early dinner as well as late dessert bookending a visit to Camden – the former an easy decision based on what I’d read about Spike Gjerde’s environmentally conscious, locally sourced, and impressively in-house focused Woodberry Kitchen.
Clearly a trend setter rather than one simply following the “farm to table” trend of the day Gjerde’s immense restaurant acts not only as a place to feed the customer, but also as a champion of brining, pickling, canning, curing, and cooking rustically – often with a wood fired oven using everything from carrot tops to the bones of the beasts with little to nothing going to waste. Rustic and restrained, housed in an old warehouse district with defunct factories converted to galleries and green living spaces the entire area seemed to fit the ethos of Woodberry Kitchen and perhaps unjustly I entered the space with very high expectations after wandering the area for approximately an hour before the restaurant opened its doors.
The Reservation: Opentable, one guest at 5:00pm – a necessity despite the large space as the restaurant would fill by 5:30pm with walk-ins being quoted at 45-60 minute wait even on “Meatless Monday.”
The Setting: Having mentioned the location in an old manufacturing area outside center city by a good five miles the restaurant itself is an interesting two-story space with an outdoor patio and an interior centered around the large open kitchen heavy with wood, concrete, and brick – a situation that admittedly formed a bit of an echo-plex as the room filled but not so loud that it was unpleasant. Having arrived at the restaurant’s opening, however, what I did find unpleasant was the seat I was provided – a small two-top in the loft where the hostess sat me facing a cold brick wall, though I guess I could look sideways down onto the floor of the main room…
The Service: Worse than the seat I was given would be the service that came along with it – a space largely ignored by everyone save for my server, Randy, who was admittedly pleasant enough but otherwise occupied by his other tables thus frequently leaving my water glass unfilled until I eventually switched to the other side of the table so that I could flag down assistance when necessary. Adding on substantial delays from the kitchen including a glaring error where they completely forgot to prepare my main course the phrase “trainwreck” (or worse) seemed quite appropriate leading me to do something I rarely find appropriate – asking to speak to the manager, a pleasant and apologetic young man who seemed well trained in the art of service-recovery.
The food: One non-alcoholic cocktail, complimentary bread service, three appetizers, one main course, one side, two desserts, and coffee.
Strawberries ‘n’ Cream – Strawberry, milk, rhubarb bitters: At $5 and featuring all local ingredients with the bitters made in house this was so good I ordered two; the flavor quite like Strawberry Rhubarb jam with a creamy finish (a la mode, perhaps?)
Bread Service: A changing rotation depending on whatever pastry chef Billington feels like baking that day the meal started out well with Ciabatta, Wheat Berry, and Yeasted Cornbread served in a little wooden box, still warm, with Trickling Spring butter. Dense with a great toothsomeness to it I particularly enjoyed the wheat berry option while the ciabatta was great for sopping up sauces. The cornbread? It was decent, but not even close to the version you pay for…
Warm Skillet Cornbread with Trickling Spring Butter, Cybee Honey: At $5 this is the steal of the menu for anyone who loves cornbread – each bite loaded with smoky notes and grounded in the sweet cornmeal base with whole kernels of corn lightly tinged with what I believe to be bacon grease. Lovely on its own but better with the honey this is apparently always on the menu and should always be ordered.
Rettland Farm Chicken Liver Spread with Warm Pullman Toasts, Prune, Red Lantern Jam: Say you take the intense sweetness of house dried plums and blend it with the subtle heat of sweet red peppers and serve it with ‘foie blond’ so creamy and light on mineral notes that you’re shocked that it isn’t duck or goose and then tell me you’re going to serve it alongside a pile of buttered toasts for a mere $10 in a portion easily large enough for two – if you can say those things then I say we can be pals.
Tilghman Island Crab Pot with Lump Crab, House Quark, Fish Pepper, Sherry, Toast: In case you’re not noticing the bread theme yet suffice it to say that the team at Woodberry Kitchen likes to bake and in this case toasting the daily breads and placing them alongside housemade crackers and a cast-iron pot of bubbling crab fondue with a splash of dry sherry and house-fermented fish sauce proved to be the best dish of the night. $14, ample, and not at all subtle this was precisely the sort of dish I expected from Gjerde (even if I did manage to scald my hard palate in my overzealousness.)
Wood Roasted Asparagus, Pecan Cream, ‘ewe’s dream’: After a nearly one hour delay this side dish arrived and although the manager opted to remove the $8 from my bill I’d have gladly paid double that for perfectly cooked asparagus topped with funky cheese and subtle cream – the entirety of the dish tasting like it had just emerged from a smoker and a great point/counterpoint to my main course.
Slow Cooked Anson Mills Gold Rice with Slow Poached Whitmore Egg, Turnips and their Tops, Scallions, Pickled Fish Pepper: At $18 (also taken off my bill for the substantial delay) this was the most expensive dish from the “Meatless Monday” special menu and although billed as ‘sort of like congee’ the dish was decidedly nothing like congee – the rice too firm, the egg overcooked and barely runny, and only the butter cooked turnips and scallions really providing any flavor. Admittedly entirely forgotten by the kitchen until I brought this to Randy’s kitchen my only explanation for the poor quality was that it was rushed, but all things being equal this dish plate was an unmitigated disaster and most of it went back downstairs untouched.
Finca Nueva Armenia from Guatemala: From Counter Culture and a mere $4 for a French Press this aromatic and cocoa accented brew arrived with a timer so that I could press it myself after a minute and provided with a free refill by the manager when he came to my table after the side/main issue the quality of the coffee at Woodberry Tavern, much like the majority of the food, far outshines its pricetag.
Carrot Cake with Quark Icing, Pecan Brittle, Carrot Top Ice Cream: Not ordered but offered by the house presumably because I inquired about the ice cream I received no bill for this $8 dish and with a base slightly caramelized, the cake itself moist and dense, and the icing far more funky and interesting than your standard cream cheese it was a welcomed addition to the meal. Regarding the ice cream – yeah – not at all named after the ‘comedian,’ this harkens to my comment about nothing going to waste, the greens from the carrots turned into a creamy vegetal treat that tasted clean and fresh, particularly when paired with the cake.
CMP: My proper dessert of the evening and a restaurant signature this $11 Sundae was not your standard boring vanilla sundae but instead a restrained sweet meets savory juxtaposition of malt Ice Cream, wet peanuts, and house made chocolate sauce plus marshmallow fluff covered by a crystal sugar shell. Reminiscent of my favorite childhood dessert, the Reese’s Pieces Sundae at Friendly’s, but clearly all grown up this was the sort of food that stirred good memories and a very necessary pick-me-up after the main course debacle.
The Verdict: With the pre-tax/tip bill reduced to a mere $54 the GM presented the bill himself to my table and again apologized for the seating and service issues noting that he too did not understand why a solo diner would be placed so far from the action and assuring me that such a thing would not happen to ‘anyone again under his watch’ and with the bill paid I was greeted once more at the door where I was gifted a $50 Gift Card should I ever choose to return – something that everything about the food and concept of Woodberry Kitchen suggests I should do the next time I’m near Baltimore (assuming the experience is ‘under his watch.’)