Pazo (MD - Baltimore)

I am generally down on the Baltimore restaurant scene - and cast a highly skeptical eye on new restaurant openings - but Pazo proves me wrong, time after time.

This funky, converted warehouse has been draped in thick, dark velvet, warmed by candle light and split into a bar/lounge area, an open kitchen, a dining room and reserved areas upstairs. The result is something that would be far more comfortable in Manhattan than in downtown Baltimore.

The menu is another curve ball. Here you get a heavy dose of pan-Mediterranean tapas in a dizzying range of ingredients and preparations. I would argue that it is primarily a modern menu and that Barcelona is the dominant influence, but there are plenty of dishes that defy categorization.

I have now been about a half a dozen times - various days of the week, various times of day and with parties that ranged in size from four to 14. Each and every time, the service has been well-informed, polite and more than capable and the kitchen is already showing the ability to deliver the same dish, with the same appearance and flavor each and every time I order it.

The dishes that I keep coming back to include:
- whole wheat fougasse
- eggplant spread
- tono crudo
- jamon iberico
- manchego & manzana salad
- grilled lamb chops

Whole wheat fougasse - This dish reminds me of a soft pretzel scented with rosemary and garnished in rock salt. It arrives at the table deliciously fresh and still warm from the oven. It is a must. This is the sort of bread people go off Atkins to eat. Pair it with olive oil or order the eggplant spread - a dish that is similar to a babaganoush, but a thicker, more uniform consistency with perhaps a bit of sesame (maybe tahini?).

Tono Crudo - If Pazo has a signature dish, this might be it. Fresh-off-the-line cubes of red Jell-O colored tuna are coated in chili oil and sea salt and presented on wooden sticks like a plate of upside-down lollipops. Don't miss this dish - and order more than you think you need, because once people try it, it is addictive.

Jamon Iberico - This is a faithful reproduction of the classic Catalan dish. Coarse bread is topped with a tomato and olive oil spread (pan tomate) and then luxurious ribbons of melt-in-your-mouth jamon are draped over them. The ham will never be as good as what you can get in Spain (at least not until the FDA loosens its attitude towards Spanish agricultural practices and curing techniques) but it is as good as anything else you can get stateside. I will never tire of this dish. Order a plate of this and a bottle of cava and save the airfare to Barcelona.

Manchego y Manzana - This is one of the simplest - and best - salads you are likely to encounter. Strips of nutty, opulent manchego cheese are tossed with similarly sized strips of green apple and garnished with walnuts. What this lacks in visual appeal (the flesh of the apple and the cheese are identical in color) it makes up for in flavor. Manchego is a hard/firm sheep's milk cheese that has enough body to neutralize the acidity in the green apples, but doesn't overpower the apple. In New England they offer pair sharp cheddar cheese with green apple, which does a great dis-service to the apple.

Lamb Chops - Here too, there is a simplicity of preparation and presentation that belies the extraordinary flavor of the dish. Superior quality lamb chops are seasoned with salt and pepper and expertly grilled to medium rare perfection (red in the center, in this case) and dressed in nothing more than a "salmoriglio" sauce (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and oregano). As with all of the other dishes I mentioned, simplicity is the rule - there are no gimmicks or elaborate sauces to cover up mistakes in the kitchen - and none are needed.

Pazo has a lovely list of desserts available, but I am usually too full to try any of them. Besides, who needs dessert when you can order a perfectly authentic "cortado" to finish your meal?