#44 Aida Bistro

Last night, for our December Monday Meal, we dined at #44 on Baltimore's Top Restaurants List, Aida Bistro.

Aida Bistro is in Columbia, so a bit out of the city, but I would say, well worth the drive!

Half of us arrived early to take advantage of their happy hour which features 1/2 price Wines on Tap, $4 craft beers, and $5/$6 cocktails.  It was very interesting to see their "Wines on Tap," and while some stuck with wine, others couldn't resist the delicious cocktails, I personally ordered the Appletini!  We also ordered two appetizers to share, both of which were delicious!

Arancini Risotto Balls:

Flash-Fried Rock Shrimp:

As happy hour ended, and the rest of our party joined us, we left the bar area and were seated in the dining room.  As we were looking over our menus the owner of the restaurant came to our table and asked: "so how many have you visited so far?"  When I had called to make the reservation, the hostess had asked me if we were dining for any special occasion, and I had explained that we were working our way through the top 50 list, so I thought it was pretty neat that she had passed that along to the owner, and that he made a point to come over to speak to us.  The owner also offered to show us their wine room, and we of course took him up on that offer!  He explained that the "Wine on Tap" idea actually comes from Atlanta, which was surprising to me, and that all of their wines are kept in a temperature controlled wine room (that we experienced first-hand) so that their wine is always served at optimal temperature.  What I found most interesting was the "green story" behind serving wine on tap ... each "wine keg" holds the equivalent of about 25 bottles of wine, so that's 25 less glass bottles being manufactured and 25 less corks being manufactured which reduces the carbon footprint and also reduces the cost of the wine.  All of the wine was stored in kegs which were either reusable or recyclable.

We returned to our table, everyone ordered, the service was great, and everyone enjoyed their meals!  Feast your eyes on some of the dishes we ordered below!

Linguine w/Lobster, Shrimp & Crab:

 

Sausage Ravioli:

Uncle Frank's Shrimp Fra Diavolo:

Cheese Ravioli:

Spiced Almond Encrusted Atlantic Salmon:

Eggplant Parmigiana:

And for dessert ... Warm Apple Crumble:

This is a restaurant I would definitely recommend, for more information check out their website:   http://aidabistro.com/

..... just for fun, while waiting for our credit cards to be returned, two of our talented friends created this Masterpiece:

Next up, #43 Tapas Teatro, Charles North

Restaurants 45 - 50 + 24

Monday Meals ... what it's all about:

Back in April (2014), Sun Magazine, published the "50 Best Restaurants" in Baltimore.  After browsing through the list, I realized, that after living in Baltimore for almost four years at the time, I had not been to most of the restaurants listed, and wanted to know what I was missing out on.  I e-mailed a group of friends with the idea of once per month working our way through the list and trying out these restaurants; they were interested, and so it began, once a month, usually the fist Monday of the month, we try a new restaurant from the list.  Every time we go out, we talk about the fact that we should document our experiences, and I'm just now getting around to it - better late than never!

The plan is to work backwards from #50, but the first "Monday Meal" fell on Cinco de Mayo, so we decided to go with #24 Tio Pepe in Mount Vernon for a bit of a Spanish feel as there were no Mexican restaurants on the list.  The atmosphere was great (cozy), the service was great, the food was delicious, we all had a great time!  Highlights:  we ordered a pitcher of sangria to share, and it came in a large, beautiful pitcher, large enough for all six of us to have two glasses!  Our waiter also brought us a large plate of "Hallow Potatoes," to try on the house!  I am a huge fan of any restaurant that treats us to free food - the hallow potatoes were quite good - and we still talk about them and ponder how they make them!

In June we tried #50 Of Love and Regret in Canton.  The atmosphere was cool, the food was good, and there were lots of beers to choose from.  This place is close by to where many of us live, and it's off the beaten path.  We did not however get any free food (I've been spoiled, there's no going back), and some people in the group were not pleased with the small portions of their order.

In July we tried #49 Ikaros in Greektown.  Some of us had been before, but decided it was worth going back.  We got appetizers to share, which were delicious, our meals we're quite good, as anticipated, AND, we got a free plate of desserts!  I think dining in large groups is key to the free food, just saying!

We skipped #48 Blue Hill Tavern in Canton because the majority of us had been before, some multiple times, but we've always had great meals there!  It too is close, and off the beaten path, and the atmosphere is classy!

In September we tried #47 Alchemy in Hampden.  Another place with a classy atmosphere, everyone enjoyed their unique cocktails, and meals, and ...... FREE veggies for the table!

October was #46 Donna's in Charles Village (they have another location in Cross Keys).  This restaurant brought us to an area most of us were not familiar with - yay for exploring!  The menu is extremely varied ... you can get pasta, or tacos, or burgers, or pizza, or fish, so it's good for large groups, something for everyone.  The atmosphere was unique ... upscale diner is the best description that comes to mind.  I'd like to go back to check out their brunch menu!

In November we tried #45 The Black Olive in Fells Point.  This place is known for it's fresh fish, which is not really my thing, but those in the group who got fish/seafood seemed to thoroughly enjoy it!  I got "savory bread pudding" which came with a side salad and was quite good.  Before you order, they take you on a "tour" where you are shown the different fresh fish they have available displayed in an ice-filled marble tub, so that is definitely unique.  Our waiter not only named each fish, but told us where it was from, how it would taste, how they prepared it, what it was paired with, etc.  Also, if you order a fish, they fillet it table-side.  Note:  when ordering water, make sure to specify not just that you don't want sparkling water, but that you want tap water (if of course that's what you want) as opposed to still water, or you will end up paying $7 for WATER.

Next up in December is #44 Aida Bistro in Columbia, stay tuned!