I asked a pal who works in Baltimore where
Woodberry Kitchen was located and what he knew of Woodberry Kitchen. His response was, 'it's not far from my job and it's a hoity-toity place'. I decided to go anyway. I got lost enroute because I didn't see the sign Union Street (this could be a challenge at night). After getting back on track I arrived in the Clipper Parkway area.
Woodbery Kitchen is located in a converted mill space. The restaurant's large windows, exposed brick walls create and ambience décor which I would describe as ' rustic and refined simplicity'. Nearby studio space is occupied by retail shops. Woodberry Kitchen's whimsical website explains the restaurant's concept is farm to table highlighting local and organic ingredients.
While I perused the menu a member of the staff brought crusty bread, soft bread that is made on premises. Matt L., my server told me that the butter is from a Pennsylvania creamery.
I had a half portion of the Turtle boy green salad: yacon root, carrots, cremini mushrooms, pita toast, mustard dressing. Also had pickled orange bell peppers and red onion. The salad were greens fresh crisp and brightly colored . The sourdough crisps were a bit tough to manage. This was paired with Riesling Trocken, Stock and Stein. The Riesling seemed to compete with the vinaigrette.
Broccoli soup: ham. Cheddar, sour cream. Very tasty. Great color. More salt than I would've expected., it kind of takes away from the broccoli. The Riesling paired better with the soup.
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| broccoli soup |
Wood roasted sausages: weiswurst and lamb, red potatoes, braised red onion, harmony pickle, herb sour cream. Paired with Rousanne, picpoul Hecht & Banner 2011. This very savory German inspired dish was very tasty. Matt L told me Woodberry Kitchen makes the sausage on premises. The Hecht & Banner wine was a good choice.
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wood roasted sausages
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I ate part of the entrée, the rest was packaged to eat another day. Matt L smiled a conspiratorially as he slid the dessert menu in front of me. The bourbon pecan pie paired with buttermilk sherbet caught my eye (I adore Bourbon and my mother is one the best pecan pie makers I know). This pie was delicious! I'd venture to say the bourbon pecan pie would 'mother approved' - she'd love this combination as I did.
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| bourbon pecan pie and buttermilk sherbet |
Woodberry has an extensive and impressive wine list including Muscadet, Rousanne, Dolcetto, and Cab Franc. Mead, craft beer, and cider are on the beverage list too. Woodberry Kitchen uses
Riedel wine glasses - a nice touch.
What about my friend's 'hoity toity' comment'? I didn't find it be true of the restaurant staff . If the comment was meant to apply to the other diners, I didn't see that either. Families, groups, and couples dined near me and I didn't sense the 'what are
you doing here?' vibe that permeates some establishments and/or the establishment's diners. Adult contemporary music played during my visit (think James Taylor to Stevie Wonder) in the background; the noise level is higher in bar area
The staff is casually attired: women in white shirts, gray skirts, min jeans and shirts. Everyone is pleasant, polite, and attentive. I checked out the bathroom early on in my visit. It was clean, but some of the supplies (e.g. paper towels) were almost gone (this can be remedied easily enough - a member of staff checks the supplies every 30 minutes). Later as I departed the restaurant a queue had formed in the hallway for the bathroom.
Single diner's note: Woodberry Kitchen accepts reservations for 1 person. The staff does a good job in making sure you are taken care of.
Valet parking is available. On street parking is available, please note the posted signs. The attire is casual (a few people had on jeans) and the restaurant is family friendly. Reservations are recommended and can be made via
OpenTable.
Side note: Woodberry Kitchen is active on Twitter, @wk restaurant is the restaurant's Twitter handle. When I responded to an inquiry about my weekend activities and mentioned that I would be visiting Woodberry Kitchen within a hours I received a reply from Woodberry Kitchen, "We look forward to seeing you!" Had Woodberry Kitchen been on the lookout for me? I suppose I need to return to find out!
Ask for Matt L when you visit.
Would you like to follow me on Twitter? My handle is @Techdinegirl.
Be well,
Technicolor girl
Mimi asked me if I would write about my experiences with the 2015 James Beard Mid Atlantic Best Chef semifinalists. The short answer is yes. The longer answer is when I looked at the list of semi finalists:
